| You are not logged in | Free Registration | Add to My AOL, MyYahoo, Google, Bloglines |  |
>>advanced search |
Just asking
For years, people have been trying to get HR to take a more strategic role in companies. But perhaps HR isn't and never will be a strategic partner. Maybe it should quit trying to be something it's not, accept a tactical role and got on with the job. Why can't IT speak our language?
A lot of IT folks grumble that people are too afraid of technology. They're wrong. It has nothing to do with fear. People will use a new technology if it makes their lives easier or helps them do their job better. If not, they have better things to do. Corporate cultural studies
I've been doing some thinking about corporate culture lately and it strikes me that there are some parallels with anthropology. Because one of the best ways of exploring a culture, be it the Yanomani tribe or your sales department, is through the study of relics and rituals. Rashomon at work
When I talk to managers about how they manage their remote employees, it quickly becomes clear that no-one sees the challenges in the same way. Some raise issues around communication and trust, others are more worried about those who are still office bound. Where's my badge, darn It?
When a boy or girl scout demonstrates a new skill, they get a nice merit badge to prove to the world they know what they're doing. So wouldn't it be wonderful if, when we mastered and demonstrated a new management skill, we got a badge too? Never too early to distrust HR
I'm not normally one of those people who slams HR. Not this time, though. I can forgive a lot, but there's a special place in hell for the HR person who ruined my kid's introduction to the workplace. Socrates, Plato and the guy in accounting
If we cast our minds back to the best managers we ever had, most of us will think about someone who helped propel our careers. But would our people put us in that lofty category? What are we doing for them? Remote teams and the new virtual reality
While Remote Teams might be virtual, and Virtual Teams are almost always remote, there is an important distinction between them. A smart manager needs to know this, because the roots of success or failure lie in this distinction. Agile teams, fragile teams
Agile project management is fast becoming the next big thing. The more I learn about it, the more I'm convinced that while there are extremely valuable lessons to be learned, there are also some warnings to be heeded as well. Obama's Crackberry
It turns out that the first major challenge facing the Obama administration is not a foreign power or an economic crisis, it's an IT issue: should the President of the United States be allowed to keep his Blackberry? Santas' management challenges
A changing product line, a shortage of skilled workers, distribution challenges, IT problems, not to mention the effects of climate change on the polar regions. Yup, Santa Claus has got more than his fair share of management challenges to deal with. Winning with webmeetings
In the current climate, webmeetings ought to save companies a fortune. But all too often, I've seen good companies and smart managers snatch defeat from the jaws of certain victory and waste vast amounts of precious time and dollars in the process. Two faces of leadership
Every time there's a presidential election, plenty of advice is proffered about what we can learn from the candidates about leadership. But this time round, there are real – and illuminating - differences in the candidates' leadership styles. It's the little things, stupid
I'm just a lowly manager. The big things – like global economic melt-down - are out of my control. So I'm going to turn off the news for a while and focus on the little things that make a manager's life at work so complicated. I'm a GOOF Not a MOOF
I work from home now and happy to do so. I'm not technically mobile, but I am "gladly out of office" - which makes me a GOOF, an acronym both unfortunate and true. Because having a workplace that ISN'T the same as your abode was not without its charms. World peace through middle management
One thing that is consistent around the world is the need for good managers and management development. In fact a few good management practices could save us from a lot of the trouble the world is in at the moment. The hitchhiker's guide to the cubicle
It's been said that there is more social commentary in science fiction than in any other form of popular writing. And the Hithchiker's Guide to The Galaxy contains an incredible amount of wisdom on the subject of the despairing workplace. 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. |
|
|||
Copyright © 2000-2009 Management-Issues Ltd. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Contacts | Submission Guidelines
