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Lousy quality and small portions
We're always hearing that ineffective managers cost billions in lost productivity. But we're also being told that the shortage of managers is the end of business as we know it. So which is it? What war for talent?
We're constantly hear that there aren't enough people out there to fill the jobs on offer and that it's about to get worse. I beg to differ. There's no real war for talent, just a shortage of people willing to take crummy, low-paid, insecure, dead-end jobs. A field guide to underappreciated workplace geniuses
There are some employees out there who are downright geniuses in a strange kind of way – and whose extraordinary abilities are mirrored only by complete inability to work and play with others. Here's a quick field study of four of these types. Mind the (generation) gap
For the first time in over 40 years, the workplace contains people with two very different sets of experiences. As managers it's our job to leverage the best thinking of each group as well as find ways to help them understand each other. Employee engagement has a ring to it
When I think of engagement I think of a smiling couple, shiny rings and promises of a bright future together while everyone smiles and thinks "I'll give it three years". Come to think of it, that's not that different from hiring employees. Truth is overrated
Apparently, lying at work is on the increase. But I'm not so sure that's such a bad thing. Lying - especially at work - has its place and always has.
Forgive me, for I have sinned
I am, my reputation for crankiness notwithstanding, a rule-abiding citizen. But being told that I have to submit itemized receipts for all meals is taking rules just a bit too far. The kids are alright
You can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone in the business world complaining about the dearth of qualified young people and how business is doomed as a result. What nonsense. Fact is, the kids are fine. Wearing my big-boy clothes
After a couple of years of wearing business casual, I have a shocking confession to make: I'm going back to wearing my big-boy clothes. For someone who has always thought of himself as something of a rebel, this change of heart is somewhat disturbing, but let me explain why. Decisions aren't a problem – it's getting things done
Like most managers in the middle of organizations, I can make a decision easily enough. What I can't seem to do is make anything happen once I decide. That's a very different thing to being dithering, lazy or useless. Satan's training brochure, Fall 2007
Yes, it's that time of year again. The Unholy One has sent out his training schedule for the rest of this year and looks like another busy fall season. Leadership: Big "L"s and Little "l"s
Mention the word "leadership" and the arguments soon start. What are leaders? Are they made or are they born? It's actually quite simple. Leaders don't necessarily lead and don't always show leadership qualities. It all depends whether they're Leaders or leaders. Let me explain. . . I don't want to be a manager!
Getting promoted, especially into that first management job, can be a nightmare, one that is made all the worse by a lack of support and training. Which could be why so many people just don't want to be managers. Confessions of an ENFP Lion-Otter hybrid
I have officially taken every personality profile known to man. Other than telling me that I'm an ENFP, Independent-Working Blue-Green Lion-Otter hybrid, the one thing they have in common is unanimous agreement that I do have a personality. 300 is NOT a Training Film
However much rhetoric CEOs might spout to the contrary, the way that organizations handle their people is almost guaranteed not to inspire the sort of loyalty that legends are made of. And as history shows us, throwing money at the problem won't help, either. Paying lip service to leadership
Leadership training is the current corporate fad. Everybody says they're offering it, but most of it is hooey and it won't change a thing. So does all this lip service about leadership stem from corporate schizophrenia, hypocrisy, or just outright lies? Titles, tequila and power
The job of a manager is an incredibly powerful one. And like alcohol, its effects can kind of sneak up on you. The difference is that when you say something stupid as a manager, you can't call the next morning and claim "it was just the job talking". Santa's performance review
I don't know about you, but I hate writing performance reviews. Then I got to thinking that some are harder than others. Take Santa Claus - what would you say about him? The whiney middle manager quiz
I thought that I would share the quiz from the latest issue of Whiney Middle Manager Magazine - all in the spirit of understanding and so you'll know what we managers really email each other during those monthly all-hands meetings. Incompetence at the speed of light
If Genghis Khan managed to rule over half the known world without once having a conference call or conducting a webinar, why is it that most companies today, with more ways to communicate then ever, do such a lousy job? Don't ignore the chickens
Are you listening to the chickens around you? Are they warning you of danger or letting you know things are okay? Do you even know what chickens to listen to? Satan's training brochure
The secret is out. Satan has his own training company and a more mercenary (and more successful) man than I would buy stock - because it's having a heck of a year. It's a long walk to Mumbai
As projects involve more people, from more functions, in more locations, the job of getting top performance, meeting deadlines and simply communicating is becoming increasingly difficult. Training's dirty little secret
In far too many organizations, Training has been mistaken for Learning, with pretty dire results. You can also do all kinds of training and have no learning take place whatsoever. So why do training at all? Just more useless management advice
There are about 3,000 new business titles published in the U.S. alone each year and most of them are useless. Because, let's face it, most of what passes for business advice is warmed-over common sense and not new at all. Survival is an option - sort of
We all know people who have been axed as a result of corporate mergers, buy-outs, acquisitions or restructuring. But what about those who stay behind and try to herd their charges through the maze? How do they survive? Meet like you mean it
By far the number one crankiness-inducing thing in our lives is bad meetings. But with a little planning, you'll get the most out of them and give participants a reason to live - or at least show up with better attitudes. Internal consultants, not internal combustion
Why do organizations spend so much on consultants but ignore their middle managers? Perhaps it is because consultants know how to make senior management take notice of their ideas. Lessons from the Royal Navy
Believe it or not, the British Royal Navy of the early 19th century is full of great examples of what does and doesn't work in terms of recruitment, retention and motivation. Treat your people more like machines!
In most organisations, machines are investments but people are costs.
And because the accounting principles and the laws of most countries encourage this view, machines tend to get treated a whole lot better. View from the middle
New columnist Wayne Turmel kicks off a new series all about getting people at the top of organisations to start recognising the value of the people in the middle. |
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