Rothacker Reviews

Cynicism and Success

My manager is a moe-ron. Why else would someone agree to be a human fire hydrant every single day? His manager, the crew, staff and customers circle the hydrant, all jockeying for a clear shot.

The people who I work with are moe-rons. They punch in, punch their minds out and hang on by their fingernails to the day's end. They could care less about the company and customers. They care even less about themselves. Professional development? Huh, that's about a pro ball player going from the minors to the bigs. It has nothing to do with them.

The people who own this company are moe-rons. There's no connection between them and their employees. Reality has left the house. Customers? Oh yeah, they buy our stuff. The owners treat them like farm animals - give em some feed and box up the milk and eggs.

This guy sure has a distorted point of view, doesn't he? A cynical sot, isn't he. Sure not like us, is he?

He was me. He was so tired of the passion-less, focused-less, caring-less business world around him that he sank to cynicism. In the beginning he thought Dilbert was for losers. In the end he worshiped Dilbert. The system and the drones who ran it and those who trudged through it wore him down. His inability to escape from it brought illness to his body.

Don't be Evil

Google's Code of Conduct

Under the heading Serve our Users, Google states this guiding principle: Is what we are offering useful?

Whether or not you are a company or an author, is there a more clear and coherent guiding principle than this?

Ten Things Google has Found to be True

Under point # 9: You can be serious without a suit. Give the proper tools to a group of people who like to make a difference, and they will.

Just a couple of points that stood out to me.

One of Your Employees?

I went down a rabbit hole yesterday and discovered the United Breaks Guitar video along with this one. Forget the very last word in this video because it is of no relevance to me. I am more enamored in the most succinct description of many modern day corporate employees. Many thanks to Roy Williams for the inspiring inspiration.

The Technician Shop

The Technician Shop is a career, work, education and life resource for technicians.  A technician is a person who works in a residential or commercial setting to repair, replace, maintain or install various things.  From an A/C technician to a window cleaner to a landscaper with a million professions in between.

I created The Technician Shop to help technicians grab hold of their career, work, education and life.  So often I would hear, "my manager doesn't appreciate and recognize me for what I do."  While management should be held accountable for their inadequacies, I must ask, "are you doing everything necessary to be appreciated and recognized?"  Most likely, on this two way street, both parties are at fault.

My message is: Perform your work with passion, care and quality.  Design both a career and educational plan and follow them.  Do it to the point that you can hardly not be appreciated and recognized.  Take care of your health, family and life. 

I'll be reflecting more about this endeavor here at Rothacker Reviews. 

Stop over for a visit and let me know what you think.

Why Aren't You Successful?

According to Peter Drucker, "We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do.  We don't spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop.  Half the leaders I have met don't need to learn what to do.  They need to learn what to stop."

  Marshall Goldsmith writes, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, a book that meets Mr. Drucker's  statement head on and tells us what to stop doing.   Marshall Goldsmith is a communicator extraordinaire!  Although over the years, he's dealt with CEO's, he writes in a clear and specific style so   that average people like myself can understand.  He first caught my attention as a columnist for Fast Company.

 Perhaps you have achieved a level of success but you have stalled.  As Marshall says:

You are here.

You can get there.

But you have to understand that what go you here won't get you there.

Pick up a copy today and get there!

Management Podcasts: Communications & Authenticity

Nick McCormick, author of Lead Well and Prosper, writes about management at his site Joe and Wanda on Management.  Nick recently kicked off a new podcast gig titled, Management Tips.  He plans to have accomplished managers, business coaches and authors talk about leadership and or management tips.

Nick's first guest was fellow JJL author, Slacker Manager & Make it Great! author Phil Gerbyshak.  Phil talks about how as a manager, it's important to know and understand what you bring to the table.  And, what you cannot bring to the table.  A firm grasp of the latter is the foundation to building a vibrant team.  I"ll not deprive you of Phil's fresh perspective and his beaming smile (you can see it right through your ears!), but I must add that his thoughts on a leader's capacity to be true and authentic in regards to his own abilities, which provide a pristine example for his team, is spot on!

Nick's second guest was Wayne Turmel.  When I think of Henry Ford I think of the assembly line.  When I think of Thomas Edison I think of the light bulb.  When I think of management I think of Rosa Say.  And when I think of podcasts I think of Wayne Turmel.  Wayne is host of the  Cranky Middle Manager Show. 

Wayne picks up the mike and talks about communications.  Or perhaps I should say that he illustrates about communications, with a big fat paint brush, using gorgeous, neon colors.  Wayne uses the human heart to frame a compelling visual that leaves an impacting imprint on those of us eager to learn.

I was about to hit publish this morning when I noticed that Nick was up late last night with his third show in the series:  Trevor Gay on Being Bold.  Trevor, our friend from across the pond, is the proprietor of the Web site Simplicity and author of four books.

Trevor says that one key to success is to be bold.  He goes on to make sure we do not confuse that to be bold is not necessarily to be arrogant.  I am pretty sure I get exactly where Trevor is coming from.  His message reminds me of the day when I was a shy, awkward young lad who was very much attracted to girls.  I held great battles with myself.  After going dateless for months I became weary with the war.  Finally, I banished all thoughts and fear from my mind.  I picked up the phone, dialed the number and began to talk without worrying about what I would say.  I think a younger dave and students of Trevor would benefit from Nike's words of wisdom: Just Do It!

I absolutely love Nick's management tip graphic!!

Remarkable Leadership

Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry

Do you work for a living?  Buy Remarkable Leadership now!  Next.

"Jeepers Dave, we're not sure we got our money's worth with that review."

"Let me get this straight, you're paying me for this review?"

"Well, errr, uhhh..........no, but could you tell us a little more?"

Dave is a softy, he relents.

After reading Remarkable Leadership the first time, I closed the book and the first word that popped into my mind was prolific.  Remarkable Leadership is not just a book, it is a work.  Kevin focuses on thirteen core competencies.  They constitute Remarkable Leadership.  Each competency gets a chapter and Kevin weaves within each chapter components that entice you to participate.

"Participate Dave?"

Yes.  Kevin begins each chapter with a self-assessment.  This technique sets the stage for the book to become a conversation.  Then he provides in depth content on topics like continuous learning.  Kevin sculpts out each chapter with:

• Skill areas
• Your now steps
• Bonus Bytes
• Your Remarkable Principles
• Remarkable Resources

Bonus Bytes and Remarkable Resources direct you to an accompanying Web site that is packed with extra information.

If you are a teacher, mentor, manager, boss, coach, executive or otherwise bigwig, this book is for you NO QUESTIONS ASKED!  Jack Welch could benefit from reading Remarkable Leadership. 

"Daaaaave, we're feelin' a twist in the road ahead"

Do you know why Jack Welch could benefit from reading Kevin's book?  Because he isn't a bigwig anymore.  If you work, you need this book as much or even more than your manager does!!  Two reasons:

1. By understanding how your manager is trying to lead you, you'll become more effective.
2. You can become more effective.

Do you know that little guy who is dressed in white and sits on your shoulder?

"Now Dave, keep it together.  Don't loose it buddy."

Well, he kept asking me one question as I read the book.  He said, "Dave, what if you dropped the word leadership?"   I knew exactly what he meant.  I had the same thought myself.

"Your toast."

If  you approach reading Remarkable Leadership with the intent to become more effective, you will.   Nearly everything that Kevin talks about, can be instructive learning for every working person out there.  For instance, Kevin devotes time to the act of Listening.  Now, as much as you hope they would, do you think only leaders could benefit from advice on listening?  How about learning, dealing with change, communicating, telling stories, building relationships, networking, customer service, building values, creativity, innovation, collaboration, teamwork, problem solving, making decisions, responsibility, accountability, projects, processes and goal achievement?? 

"Dave!  You rebounded son!!"

Remarkable Leadership is a prolific book.  I would bind it with good, hearty stock, cover it in leather and cherish it for a lifetime.  But that's just me.

Remarkable Leadership was Smoked-n-Signed.

The Starfish and the Spider

The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

I wrote a short overview on this book over at Joyful Jubilant Learning last month.  I thought I'd explore a little more today.  What tickles my imagination more than anything else in The Starfish and the Spider is the explanation that there is no hierarchy or structure in a starfish organization.  When taking notes in this book, I can't tell you how many times I wrote Starship instead of Starfish.  In my sub-c they must be one in the same.

Ori and Rod explain that a decentralized organization is built on a foundation of five legs:

• Circles
• The Catalyst
• Ideology
• The Preexisting Network
• The Champion

Circles consist of folks who buy into the organizations ideology.  Norms are a circles backbone.  Whereas rules are someone else's idea of what you should do.  Norms are the ideology that you joined the organization for in the first place.  As the norms of a circle mature, trust develops.

My concept of a circle is that everyone involved knows what they gotta do.  If a person doesn't buy in they are collectively eased out.  This type of environment is wildly liberating. 

The Catalyst is someone who forms a circle then quietly fades into the background.  The lads say the catalyst lets go of the leadership role and transfers leadership to the circle.   Ori and Rod say that a catalyst has the following tools.

• Genuine interest in others
• Loose connections
• Mapping
• Desire to help
• Passion
• Meet people where they are
• Emotional intelligence
• Trust
• Inspiration
• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Hands off approach
• Receding

You'll notice in the comment section of my post at Joyful Jubilant Learning, Rosa Say, the ultimate and consummate manager raises an eyebrow to all this decentralized, non-hierarchy type of talk.   As someone who has logged twenty eight or nine years as a manager, I need to articulate to Rosa and myself why I am enamored with the Starfish gig.

First and foremost we all buy into the same ideology, the same mission.  Perhaps just as important, there is no bureaucracy to weigh you down.  I perfected the craft of protecting my staff from bureaucratic meddlers - my bosses.  I hated doing it and it wore me down.  But I love the concept of channeling strengths and letting folks do what they do best. 

In my vision of a circle within a decentralized organization, there is no dilution.  One part water to a straight up whiskey is dilution.  One part slacker to a circle dilutes the circle.   I do not like dilution.

The Starfish and the Spider is a most excellent book!  It gently guides one to the fringe, to think outside of their norm and this is the environment where great things always happen.

In true Starfish form, Ori and Rod open up information for us in the form of a wiki.

Why Should I Work For You?

I am one chapter short of smoking and signing Mavericks at Work by William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre.  Bill and Polly present insights and case studies on companies and people who are today, running the companies of tomorrow.

As I read about these present day mavericks who build on purpose and fuse character with innovation to make a difference for their employees and customers, I couldn't help but to think of a theme that the authors weave throughout their work:  Why should great people join your organization?

I work in an industry that is starved for technical people.  And I don't mean hungry, I mean Ethiopia.  As a manager who hires these folks, I myself need to be able to articulate this answer with crisp clearness (which I've never satisfactorily done).  In tune with some words I wrote the other day about working in transparency, I'd like to answer this question with a public statement about why folks should work with my team.  I probably will have to return and tweak this - which is the point.

Once we've established that a candidate fits our culture of:

• The need to develop personally
• Respect for each other and our customers
• Loyalty to each other
• The desire for excellence
• The desire to move forward

...then I can say with confidence:

You should work with my team because:  We are going to dial you into a world of learning, a world where we channel your strengths toward finding solutions for our customers...(in progress)

Management: My View

I have been employed, as in contributing to social security, for thirty-four years.  Approximately twenty-nine of those years have been spent in management.  I've often said my official position has been that of fire hydrant...as in those above me use it and those I manage use it...as a dog uses it.  But this is the glass half empty view of management.  When looking at the position through the lens of it's all good, it can be so much more.

Out of sheer necessity, the largest portion of my career* has been spent providing air cover for those who report to me.  While the thrill of seeing an associate excel and succeed at something because you've isolated him from upper management danger is exhilerating, it isn't what I enjoy the most about management.  For me, the best part of this position has been the outcome of connecting an associate with resources, channeling their strengths toward the appropriate role and customer and then allowing them to do their work.  That outcome?  An evangelistic customer! 

To be sure, one can provide resources, channel strengths and get out of the way and not create evangelistic customers.  I believe a manager must first get the right people on the bus.  It has been my experience that once the team understands what you are doing, it has a tendency to shed members not going in this direction.  My analogy to this involves pirana, the fish.  Your team is a school of pirana.  New members are an animal carcass.  Dip the carcass into the pirana.  If it comes back devoid of meat, toss the bones and go find another carcass.

Creating an evanglistic customer with engaged associates - that's it for me.  Nothing less complicated.  Nothing more complicated.

* I presently have the good fortune, the most excellent fortune, of working for a company that doesn't require my skill as a pilot.