Hello Everyone - I am posting this today to let all of you know that our blog has moved. You can click on the link below to access it.
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I hope to see you there!
Thanks Pam
http://abacusandco.blogspot.com/
Monday, July 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Love and Profit by James A. Autry Presented by Vince Palumbos
I first read Love and Profit about fifteen years ago. James Autry sent a powerful message that never left me. After discussing this book with my colleague Pam Bauer, her enthusiasm compelled me to reread this wonderful work of prose and poetry. The principles are old and new, time tested and forgotten, applied and abandoned. I believe now more than ever our true character as business leaders is being tested, our nation is being tested and our resolve as Americans is being tested. This wonderful little book puts the principles that make us decent and caring human beings into a paradigm of pragmatic yet practical practices. Practice is key, as we never arrive. The journey is what we make of it. The destination is not the end.
Special treatment is something we all want. We want to feel special and we all are special. When we listen we learn and begin to understand that love and understanding makes us better. “ Listen, in every office you hear the threads of love and joy and fear and guilt, the cries for celebration and reassurance, and somehow you know that connecting those threads is what you are supposed to do and business takes care of itself”(Autry 1991 p32)
Business takes care of itself but business dies, just as we must confront our own mortality. We can choose to ignore it, pushing aside the reminders we encounter every day or we can embrace life and the realties of our humanness. In our humanness we listen we talk and we ask your opinion and advice. As managers we are better for it. So is our company and so are our employees. Our business is in our relationships. Some managers hide behind masks with one facade for the office and one for home but you would not do that. What you see is what you get at work and at home.
Do you love your job or do you love your work? Loving you job is status and materialistic. But to love your work shows passion and commitment. Loving your work is a calling to who you are and what you want to be. Good employees and managers work hard and sometimes work many more hours than usual. They take their work seriously but not themselves so seriously. They strike a balance in their lives of work, family and other interests. They are complete people and generally more productive at work. ‘ We must stop going to work…but must think of our lives as a continuum of endeavor, a collection of works making up a larger work that is our lives” (Autry 1991 p79).
To love your work is omnipotent. It can be rewarding and fulfilling. To love your job gets us hung up on the wrong things, such as job title and the perks of the position instead of professional growth and development of our employees and our company. If we apply the seven Principles of common Sense: Every person is worthwhile, all workers deserve the opportunity to succeed and be listened to and heard, compassion and sensitivity helps create a productive work environment and the company succeeds because its employees succeed. The principles have no rules. The tough decisions still have to be made and managers have to make them. They are the guiding light to love and profit in business.
What do organizational charts accomplish? According to the author nothing but inflate a few egos and deflate most others. Generally the charts are inaccurate and don’t define relationships. The purpose is to provide a framework so “ people can effectively use resources to accomplish their goals” (Autry 1991 p88). How we talk and the jargon we use can create a chasm between the jargon types and the non-jargon folk. Using language to create illusion of elitism is counterproductive. Additionally the use or abuse of conceived power can be the downfall of a manager. Employees give power to managers. The company gives authority to manage.
Autry titles his next topic “Everybody Talking Bout Heaven Ain’t Going There” He’s really talking about Ethics. Business ethics in particular and to the fact there is no such thing as business ethics only “ People ethics” (Autry 1991 p96). Talking about ethics just isn’t good enough. Company policies are like business ethics. Most will comply but some will not. Addressing disregard for company policies by berating an entire group give the offenders a justification for continued abuse of policies. It’s best to go straight to the source, identify problem employees and address potential problems with the people involved.
The author discusses secrets as something that shouldn’t be. Secrets build barriers. Secrets are only good if they are shared so someone else knows you have a secret and the next person can only show he/she has a secret if she shares it and so on. The bottom line is “an employee cannot have too much information” (Autry 1991 p103). You’ll get more commitment if they know.
Honesty is the best policy when confronting an employee’s shortcomings. Let him know he’s not producing quality work or he is in over his head. Firing should not be an option for a quality person but maybe a reassignment. Metaphors about winning belong at sporting events. We don’t have to defeat someone so we can win. We don’t need an enemy to define ourselves. We should win by our own standards and guidelines. Winning is exceeding our expectations and doing excellent work. Winning is teamwork for a common good. “Winning is more how you feel about what you do and less about what you do” (Autry 1991 p110).
To cry or not to cry, that is the question and Autry puts it in perspective. Crying expresses an emotion and it’s all right for managers to cry or share tears with an employee. It doesn’t show weakness but humanity. “…if you are going to be on the leading edge of management , you must sometimes be on the emotional edge as well” (Autry 1991 p116).
This also applies to the termination process. Acknowledge the failings of management but always care for the person involved.
Understanding honesty is to understand the difference in brutal, rigorous and dehumanizing versus tactfulness, caring. “Companies can no longer tolerate ego-driven managers… who never become leaders and whose effectiveness will always be limited by the amount of ill will and discontent they are destined to create” (Autry 1991 p126).
Autry makes a point on fear of trust or overcoming that fear. While most employees accept and trust management and perform their duties with good intent, some employees and managers do not accept trust. Companies have systems in place to monitor various activities such as tardiness, sick and vacation days, expense reports etc. The manager should review these reports before an employee sees them as they may give the impression big brother is watching and the employee cannot be trusted. Trust is important is the delegating process as well. It is counterproductive to trust an employee with a project then monitor their every move.
A very difficult or insoluble problem management faces is a senior or tenured employee that is not keeping pace with higher or more rigid production or sales objectives. The individual may have reached his maximum potential but is slowing the momentum of the group. Do you fire the person or accept his not keeping up. When he was hired his forecast was lower and he always came through. Is it right to punish him because he can no longer grow in his position? Autry does not have a definitive answer for this but does suggest that for the good of the group it may be necessary to disappoint an employee. “ Or on a more haunting note, it could be that when the difference becomes obvious, it’s already too late” (Autry 1991 p140).
Autry evaluates good managers with a human element. Is democracy or autocracy a better corporate environment? Democracy can be a hiding place for indecision and mediocrity. Autocracy places decision-making and accountability with management.
Job life and community has in many instances replaced the old neighborhood mores. Friendships are built in the workplace and management that embraces community at work embraces the essence of management for the times. Values and relationships are or should be a priority of management. A testament to this is the fact that so many best selling business books deal with values and relationships and not high finance.
On mixing religion and business, Autry suggests the values of Christianity be the paradigm for management. The act of being a Christian is in and of itself not significant. It is the act of treating everyone “with dignity and respect, with honesty and trust, and with love” (Autry 1991 p162).
Feeding the mind and spirit with broader enrichment potential will help to make the workplace more positive and productive. There are different types of heroes in every company. Some heroes are easy to find and others may be performing their duties in a quiet and unassuming manner. When management recognizes its heroes, management acknowledges its gratitude for going the extra mile and making the company what it is.
Autry discusses diversity in the workplace by citing three different case histories and his approach to managing the situations. All the diversity issues were with white Anglo-Saxon people. No people of color, no disabled and no ethnic differences. Management must honor diversity in all forms. “We need the talents and productivity of every good worker if we are to succeed in a diverse and challenging marketplace” (Autry 1991 p177). We as a business community should embrace talent from every diversity and when we choose not to embrace it government will pass laws to ensure it.
Autry examines what he titles” Boss hood.” Consisting of the perks, the bonuses, the big office, executive parking and dining facilities etc. We all know who the boss is. The author feels this type of remuneration has gone too far and this book was written twenty years ago. But one way managers earn their keep is in effective conflict resolution.” Managing conflict is never easy but you must face the job head-on because conflict and disagreement are predictable parts of the work process, particularly among people who work hard and care about what they do” (Autry 1991 p196). Managing sameness is another and more difficult situation. Some departments or organizations are very homogenous. There is no conflict. There is order and the work is satisfactory. There are no complainers or no job dissatisfaction. Then again, there is no creativity or attempts to improve a product or streamline a procedure because things are ok and no one wants to make waves on smooth sailing seas. The manager must encourage his employees to think beyond their comfort zone and initiate change and growth from within with minimal disruption of current levels of productivity.
The last chapter is a reflection life with a balance of work, family, faith and community. Our lives are eras or a place in time. Each era represents experiences along our journey. As mangers we teach, guide, comfort and promote. We pass along our spirit, knowledge, enthusiasm and kindness to the managers who follow us. It is a manager’s legacy. It’s her or his piece of immortality.
Thank you Vince for sharing this book with all of us. It is truly timeless and such a great read!
Thank you readers for stopping by and be sure and check out our other services at www.abacusandco.com.
Meanwhile I am currently reading "The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life" which was recommended to me by my collegue Bob Peter of Insights2Improvement. It is a great read and I will be writing about it next month. Until then....Keep Reading! Pam
Special treatment is something we all want. We want to feel special and we all are special. When we listen we learn and begin to understand that love and understanding makes us better. “ Listen, in every office you hear the threads of love and joy and fear and guilt, the cries for celebration and reassurance, and somehow you know that connecting those threads is what you are supposed to do and business takes care of itself”(Autry 1991 p32)
Business takes care of itself but business dies, just as we must confront our own mortality. We can choose to ignore it, pushing aside the reminders we encounter every day or we can embrace life and the realties of our humanness. In our humanness we listen we talk and we ask your opinion and advice. As managers we are better for it. So is our company and so are our employees. Our business is in our relationships. Some managers hide behind masks with one facade for the office and one for home but you would not do that. What you see is what you get at work and at home.
Do you love your job or do you love your work? Loving you job is status and materialistic. But to love your work shows passion and commitment. Loving your work is a calling to who you are and what you want to be. Good employees and managers work hard and sometimes work many more hours than usual. They take their work seriously but not themselves so seriously. They strike a balance in their lives of work, family and other interests. They are complete people and generally more productive at work. ‘ We must stop going to work…but must think of our lives as a continuum of endeavor, a collection of works making up a larger work that is our lives” (Autry 1991 p79).
To love your work is omnipotent. It can be rewarding and fulfilling. To love your job gets us hung up on the wrong things, such as job title and the perks of the position instead of professional growth and development of our employees and our company. If we apply the seven Principles of common Sense: Every person is worthwhile, all workers deserve the opportunity to succeed and be listened to and heard, compassion and sensitivity helps create a productive work environment and the company succeeds because its employees succeed. The principles have no rules. The tough decisions still have to be made and managers have to make them. They are the guiding light to love and profit in business.
What do organizational charts accomplish? According to the author nothing but inflate a few egos and deflate most others. Generally the charts are inaccurate and don’t define relationships. The purpose is to provide a framework so “ people can effectively use resources to accomplish their goals” (Autry 1991 p88). How we talk and the jargon we use can create a chasm between the jargon types and the non-jargon folk. Using language to create illusion of elitism is counterproductive. Additionally the use or abuse of conceived power can be the downfall of a manager. Employees give power to managers. The company gives authority to manage.
Autry titles his next topic “Everybody Talking Bout Heaven Ain’t Going There” He’s really talking about Ethics. Business ethics in particular and to the fact there is no such thing as business ethics only “ People ethics” (Autry 1991 p96). Talking about ethics just isn’t good enough. Company policies are like business ethics. Most will comply but some will not. Addressing disregard for company policies by berating an entire group give the offenders a justification for continued abuse of policies. It’s best to go straight to the source, identify problem employees and address potential problems with the people involved.
The author discusses secrets as something that shouldn’t be. Secrets build barriers. Secrets are only good if they are shared so someone else knows you have a secret and the next person can only show he/she has a secret if she shares it and so on. The bottom line is “an employee cannot have too much information” (Autry 1991 p103). You’ll get more commitment if they know.
Honesty is the best policy when confronting an employee’s shortcomings. Let him know he’s not producing quality work or he is in over his head. Firing should not be an option for a quality person but maybe a reassignment. Metaphors about winning belong at sporting events. We don’t have to defeat someone so we can win. We don’t need an enemy to define ourselves. We should win by our own standards and guidelines. Winning is exceeding our expectations and doing excellent work. Winning is teamwork for a common good. “Winning is more how you feel about what you do and less about what you do” (Autry 1991 p110).
To cry or not to cry, that is the question and Autry puts it in perspective. Crying expresses an emotion and it’s all right for managers to cry or share tears with an employee. It doesn’t show weakness but humanity. “…if you are going to be on the leading edge of management , you must sometimes be on the emotional edge as well” (Autry 1991 p116).
This also applies to the termination process. Acknowledge the failings of management but always care for the person involved.
Understanding honesty is to understand the difference in brutal, rigorous and dehumanizing versus tactfulness, caring. “Companies can no longer tolerate ego-driven managers… who never become leaders and whose effectiveness will always be limited by the amount of ill will and discontent they are destined to create” (Autry 1991 p126).
Autry makes a point on fear of trust or overcoming that fear. While most employees accept and trust management and perform their duties with good intent, some employees and managers do not accept trust. Companies have systems in place to monitor various activities such as tardiness, sick and vacation days, expense reports etc. The manager should review these reports before an employee sees them as they may give the impression big brother is watching and the employee cannot be trusted. Trust is important is the delegating process as well. It is counterproductive to trust an employee with a project then monitor their every move.
A very difficult or insoluble problem management faces is a senior or tenured employee that is not keeping pace with higher or more rigid production or sales objectives. The individual may have reached his maximum potential but is slowing the momentum of the group. Do you fire the person or accept his not keeping up. When he was hired his forecast was lower and he always came through. Is it right to punish him because he can no longer grow in his position? Autry does not have a definitive answer for this but does suggest that for the good of the group it may be necessary to disappoint an employee. “ Or on a more haunting note, it could be that when the difference becomes obvious, it’s already too late” (Autry 1991 p140).
Autry evaluates good managers with a human element. Is democracy or autocracy a better corporate environment? Democracy can be a hiding place for indecision and mediocrity. Autocracy places decision-making and accountability with management.
Job life and community has in many instances replaced the old neighborhood mores. Friendships are built in the workplace and management that embraces community at work embraces the essence of management for the times. Values and relationships are or should be a priority of management. A testament to this is the fact that so many best selling business books deal with values and relationships and not high finance.
On mixing religion and business, Autry suggests the values of Christianity be the paradigm for management. The act of being a Christian is in and of itself not significant. It is the act of treating everyone “with dignity and respect, with honesty and trust, and with love” (Autry 1991 p162).
Feeding the mind and spirit with broader enrichment potential will help to make the workplace more positive and productive. There are different types of heroes in every company. Some heroes are easy to find and others may be performing their duties in a quiet and unassuming manner. When management recognizes its heroes, management acknowledges its gratitude for going the extra mile and making the company what it is.
Autry discusses diversity in the workplace by citing three different case histories and his approach to managing the situations. All the diversity issues were with white Anglo-Saxon people. No people of color, no disabled and no ethnic differences. Management must honor diversity in all forms. “We need the talents and productivity of every good worker if we are to succeed in a diverse and challenging marketplace” (Autry 1991 p177). We as a business community should embrace talent from every diversity and when we choose not to embrace it government will pass laws to ensure it.
Autry examines what he titles” Boss hood.” Consisting of the perks, the bonuses, the big office, executive parking and dining facilities etc. We all know who the boss is. The author feels this type of remuneration has gone too far and this book was written twenty years ago. But one way managers earn their keep is in effective conflict resolution.” Managing conflict is never easy but you must face the job head-on because conflict and disagreement are predictable parts of the work process, particularly among people who work hard and care about what they do” (Autry 1991 p196). Managing sameness is another and more difficult situation. Some departments or organizations are very homogenous. There is no conflict. There is order and the work is satisfactory. There are no complainers or no job dissatisfaction. Then again, there is no creativity or attempts to improve a product or streamline a procedure because things are ok and no one wants to make waves on smooth sailing seas. The manager must encourage his employees to think beyond their comfort zone and initiate change and growth from within with minimal disruption of current levels of productivity.
The last chapter is a reflection life with a balance of work, family, faith and community. Our lives are eras or a place in time. Each era represents experiences along our journey. As mangers we teach, guide, comfort and promote. We pass along our spirit, knowledge, enthusiasm and kindness to the managers who follow us. It is a manager’s legacy. It’s her or his piece of immortality.
Thank you Vince for sharing this book with all of us. It is truly timeless and such a great read!
Thank you readers for stopping by and be sure and check out our other services at www.abacusandco.com.
Meanwhile I am currently reading "The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life" which was recommended to me by my collegue Bob Peter of Insights2Improvement. It is a great read and I will be writing about it next month. Until then....Keep Reading! Pam
Thursday, May 14, 2009
"A Whole New Mind - Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future" by Daniel H. Pink
If you listened to your folks - you went to college. If you really listened to them - you became a Lawyer, Accountant or Software Engineer. However, Daniel H. Pink the author of “A Whole New Mind” suggests you may not want to push your kids to do the same. Mr. Pink believes that we have entered a new age and he is calling it the “Conceptual Age”. Basically he contends that we have moved from the information/knowledge based age to an age where the people who have the capacity to use the tangible information in concert with the intangible - well your time is now. These people are the Right Brainers of the world.
Let’s back up for a moment and explain how we define a Right Brainer from a Left Brainer. Scientists have long known that a neurological Mason-Dixon Line divides the brain into two regions. And until surprisingly recently, the scientific establishment considered the two regions separate but unequal. It was believed that the left side was responsible for all of the important stuff and the right side was just something left over from a prior period of human development.
This theory lasted until 1950 when a Caltech professor named Roger W. Sperry studied patients who had had a portion of their corpus callsum, the thick bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres, removed. Through a set of experiments Sperry performed on these split-brain patients; he concluded that our brains are divided into two halves but they both are performing vital tasks to our survival. Sperry said “The so-called subordinate or minor hemisphere, which we had formerly supposed to be illiterate and mentally retarded and thought by some authorities to not even be conscious was found to be in fact the superior cerebral member when it came to performing certain kinds of mental tasks.” Sperry went on to write “There appear to be two modes of thinking represented rather separately in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. The left hemisphere reasoned sequentially, excelled at analysis, and handled words. The right hemisphere reasoned holistically, recognized patterns, and interpreted emotions and nonverbal expressions. Sperry earned a Nobel Prize for his work and dramatically changed the way we view the brains functions forever.
So now consider for a moment how much of what we do with or left brain is now being done by computers or cheap labor from China or India. Then consider how fast information and connections can be made and/or exchanged. These two developments have led Pink to surmise that we have entered an age where the right brained people will need to play a bigger role in our economies and we will need their expertise to navigate this new period that we find ourselves in.
The author goes onto tell us that “In the Conceptual Age, we will need to complement our L-Directed reasoning by mastering six essential R-Directed aptitudes. Together these six high-concept, high-touch senses can help develop the whole new mind this new era demands.” Here is the list:
1. Not just function but also DESIGN
2. Not just argument but also STORY
3. Not just focus by also SYMPHONY
4. Not just logic but also EMPATHY
5. Not just seriousness but also PLAY
6. Not just accumulation but also MEANING
Pink recognizes that some people will embrace this new age with enthusiasm and open arms; however, others are going to enter this period with great trepidation. This change is along the same lines as when we went from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age. There were farmers that would not touch that new piece of fandangle equipment when they had the use of a good mule or oxen in the barn that didn’t smell half as bad and was easier to start in the morning. Of course in the end if they didn’t learn how to adapt they ended up selling off that mule and anything else that was left on that farm. Mr. Pink says not to worry. “After all, back on the savannah, our cave-person ancestors weren’t taking SATs or plugging numbers into spreadsheets. But they were telling stories, demonstrating empathy, and designing innovations. These abilities have always comprised part of what it means to be human. But after a few generations in the Information Age, these muscles have atrophied. The challenge is to work them back into shape”
Being a Right Brainer, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Validation is wonderful. But I also recognized in reading this book that the author is really advocating for a more balanced use of our minds. Recognizing our strengths and improving on our weaknesses will improve our chances for being successful and ultimately a happier and healthier person.
I would love to hear what you think of this book; so read and come back and leave a comment. But meanwhile – thanks for stopping by and be sure and check out our many business services at www.abacusandco.com. Next months review will be done by a colleague; Vince Palumbos and he will be reviewing “Love & Profit” by James A. Autry so be sure and check back.
Let’s back up for a moment and explain how we define a Right Brainer from a Left Brainer. Scientists have long known that a neurological Mason-Dixon Line divides the brain into two regions. And until surprisingly recently, the scientific establishment considered the two regions separate but unequal. It was believed that the left side was responsible for all of the important stuff and the right side was just something left over from a prior period of human development.
This theory lasted until 1950 when a Caltech professor named Roger W. Sperry studied patients who had had a portion of their corpus callsum, the thick bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres, removed. Through a set of experiments Sperry performed on these split-brain patients; he concluded that our brains are divided into two halves but they both are performing vital tasks to our survival. Sperry said “The so-called subordinate or minor hemisphere, which we had formerly supposed to be illiterate and mentally retarded and thought by some authorities to not even be conscious was found to be in fact the superior cerebral member when it came to performing certain kinds of mental tasks.” Sperry went on to write “There appear to be two modes of thinking represented rather separately in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. The left hemisphere reasoned sequentially, excelled at analysis, and handled words. The right hemisphere reasoned holistically, recognized patterns, and interpreted emotions and nonverbal expressions. Sperry earned a Nobel Prize for his work and dramatically changed the way we view the brains functions forever.
So now consider for a moment how much of what we do with or left brain is now being done by computers or cheap labor from China or India. Then consider how fast information and connections can be made and/or exchanged. These two developments have led Pink to surmise that we have entered an age where the right brained people will need to play a bigger role in our economies and we will need their expertise to navigate this new period that we find ourselves in.
The author goes onto tell us that “In the Conceptual Age, we will need to complement our L-Directed reasoning by mastering six essential R-Directed aptitudes. Together these six high-concept, high-touch senses can help develop the whole new mind this new era demands.” Here is the list:
1. Not just function but also DESIGN
2. Not just argument but also STORY
3. Not just focus by also SYMPHONY
4. Not just logic but also EMPATHY
5. Not just seriousness but also PLAY
6. Not just accumulation but also MEANING
Pink recognizes that some people will embrace this new age with enthusiasm and open arms; however, others are going to enter this period with great trepidation. This change is along the same lines as when we went from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age. There were farmers that would not touch that new piece of fandangle equipment when they had the use of a good mule or oxen in the barn that didn’t smell half as bad and was easier to start in the morning. Of course in the end if they didn’t learn how to adapt they ended up selling off that mule and anything else that was left on that farm. Mr. Pink says not to worry. “After all, back on the savannah, our cave-person ancestors weren’t taking SATs or plugging numbers into spreadsheets. But they were telling stories, demonstrating empathy, and designing innovations. These abilities have always comprised part of what it means to be human. But after a few generations in the Information Age, these muscles have atrophied. The challenge is to work them back into shape”
Being a Right Brainer, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Validation is wonderful. But I also recognized in reading this book that the author is really advocating for a more balanced use of our minds. Recognizing our strengths and improving on our weaknesses will improve our chances for being successful and ultimately a happier and healthier person.
I would love to hear what you think of this book; so read and come back and leave a comment. But meanwhile – thanks for stopping by and be sure and check out our many business services at www.abacusandco.com. Next months review will be done by a colleague; Vince Palumbos and he will be reviewing “Love & Profit” by James A. Autry so be sure and check back.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Leadership and Self-Deception – getting out of the box by The Arbinger Institute
How often do you find yourself being annoyed with an employee or person because they didn’t say or do something you thought they should have? What about that problem employee that you can never seem to get through too? Well, The Arbinger Institute via “Leadership and Self-Deception” wants you to know it is because you have but them in a box. Further more the only way to resolve these issues is for you and them to get out of the box. Here is an example of how we put people in the box. I will use one of the situations the book sites with a little expansion on the idea to make the point clearer.
A man, Bud and his wife, Nancy are sound asleep when their new born baby wakes and starts crying. Bud at first thinks I should get up and get the baby and give Nancy a break. However, not really wanting to leave the warm bed he immediately decides that she should be the one to get up because: He works as hard as she does……He works harder than her…….His job is more demanding……He has an actual boss to contend with…..She can take a nap during the day….She is lazy…..What a terrible mother for not jumping out of bed! So as you can see within a few nano seconds Nancy goes from someone who is worthy of help to a terrible lazy person. Keep in mind, Nancy is still sleeping and unaware of the hoops her husband has just jumped through in his mind. Why did he do it? Well, he felt guilty because he didn’t act on his initial feeling. And in order to get over his quilt he had to make her into an undeserving slacker. Now this would be all well in good but watch what happens next. Nancy hearing the baby; gets up. Bud, now quite furious pulls the covers a little tighter over himself and in doing so robs some from Nancy’s side of the bed. His new found hostility is vibrating from the bed. So when Nancy returns to the bed she can sense his rage and ask him “What’s wrong?” Response “Nothing I’m just tired and I have a hard day tomorrow!” Nancy climbs into bed and mutters to herself “It’s not my fault you hate your job why do you insist on taking it out on me?” And the ice storm begins. Bud and Nancy were the exact same people before the baby waking as they were after the baby waking. Yet now Bud tags Nancy as lazy and he is unappreciated while Nancy sees Bud as a whiner and complainer and she is his victim.
The authors suggest that Bud’s refusal to act on his first impulse is an act of self betrayal. “Self betrayal is an act contrary to what I feel I should do for another. When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal. When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted. So when I betray myself, I enter the box. Over time, certain boxes become characteristic of me, and I carry them with me. By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box. In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box.”
The book explains that most people when they start a job are grateful for the employment and for the opportunity. They want to do their best for their company and for the people in it. But interview those same people a year later and their feelings are usually very different. Their feelings toward many of their coworkers have changed. The same people who where committed, engaged, motivated, and looking forward to working as a team, are now having problems with each other. And who do you suppose they think caused those problems, everyone else in the company. They have roundly boxed in the company and most of their colleagues. This leads to mutual lack of commitment and motivation. They end up thinking “Why should I when they won’t” instead of honoring their original intentions.
The authors go onto explain that once you start betraying your self you also begin deceiving yourself. This is the way you stay in the box. Remember how Bud had to start blaming Nancy and over emphasis his own virtues so he didn’t have to feel bad about not acting on his initial feelings. His self deception was the only way he could keep her in her box which automatically made him stay in his. He justified his not getting up and blamed her for not getting up. Meanwhile she got mad at his reaction to her so she put him in a box to justify her own anger which kept her in her box,
I know to many boxes, so I went ahead and made up an easy to read chart that will help you understand the concepts in this book. Just click on the link located in the sidebar. Download it and use it however you like I only ask that you acknowledge where you got it. I really enjoyed this book and have used the concepts more than once. These concepts when applied can make a big difference in the outcome of a situation. Try them for yourself and see.
Meanwhile thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the review. Pam
A man, Bud and his wife, Nancy are sound asleep when their new born baby wakes and starts crying. Bud at first thinks I should get up and get the baby and give Nancy a break. However, not really wanting to leave the warm bed he immediately decides that she should be the one to get up because: He works as hard as she does……He works harder than her…….His job is more demanding……He has an actual boss to contend with…..She can take a nap during the day….She is lazy…..What a terrible mother for not jumping out of bed! So as you can see within a few nano seconds Nancy goes from someone who is worthy of help to a terrible lazy person. Keep in mind, Nancy is still sleeping and unaware of the hoops her husband has just jumped through in his mind. Why did he do it? Well, he felt guilty because he didn’t act on his initial feeling. And in order to get over his quilt he had to make her into an undeserving slacker. Now this would be all well in good but watch what happens next. Nancy hearing the baby; gets up. Bud, now quite furious pulls the covers a little tighter over himself and in doing so robs some from Nancy’s side of the bed. His new found hostility is vibrating from the bed. So when Nancy returns to the bed she can sense his rage and ask him “What’s wrong?” Response “Nothing I’m just tired and I have a hard day tomorrow!” Nancy climbs into bed and mutters to herself “It’s not my fault you hate your job why do you insist on taking it out on me?” And the ice storm begins. Bud and Nancy were the exact same people before the baby waking as they were after the baby waking. Yet now Bud tags Nancy as lazy and he is unappreciated while Nancy sees Bud as a whiner and complainer and she is his victim.
The authors suggest that Bud’s refusal to act on his first impulse is an act of self betrayal. “Self betrayal is an act contrary to what I feel I should do for another. When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal. When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted. So when I betray myself, I enter the box. Over time, certain boxes become characteristic of me, and I carry them with me. By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box. In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box.”
The book explains that most people when they start a job are grateful for the employment and for the opportunity. They want to do their best for their company and for the people in it. But interview those same people a year later and their feelings are usually very different. Their feelings toward many of their coworkers have changed. The same people who where committed, engaged, motivated, and looking forward to working as a team, are now having problems with each other. And who do you suppose they think caused those problems, everyone else in the company. They have roundly boxed in the company and most of their colleagues. This leads to mutual lack of commitment and motivation. They end up thinking “Why should I when they won’t” instead of honoring their original intentions.
The authors go onto explain that once you start betraying your self you also begin deceiving yourself. This is the way you stay in the box. Remember how Bud had to start blaming Nancy and over emphasis his own virtues so he didn’t have to feel bad about not acting on his initial feelings. His self deception was the only way he could keep her in her box which automatically made him stay in his. He justified his not getting up and blamed her for not getting up. Meanwhile she got mad at his reaction to her so she put him in a box to justify her own anger which kept her in her box,
I know to many boxes, so I went ahead and made up an easy to read chart that will help you understand the concepts in this book. Just click on the link located in the sidebar. Download it and use it however you like I only ask that you acknowledge where you got it. I really enjoyed this book and have used the concepts more than once. These concepts when applied can make a big difference in the outcome of a situation. Try them for yourself and see.
Meanwhile thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the review. Pam
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
"What Got You Here Won't Get You There" by Marshall Goldsmith
Business owners and CEO’s seldom do a post success analysis as to how they got from one point of success to the next level. But according to Marshall Goldsmith’s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” they would probably find out that it had a lot to do with not doing some things. The author notes that getting to the next level requires, that you “Know What to Stop” as well as what to do. Seldom do you attend a seminar or speech within an organization that is titled “Stupid Things Our Top People Do That We Need to Stop Doing Now”!
He further explains his point by using the Time Warner/AOL merger debacle. Gerald Levin was a much admired chairman of Time Warner in the 1990’s. He was hailed as a visionary who foresaw the future of cable TV. In 2000 he merged Time Warner with AOL a new online service. He was convinced the two companies together would dominate for decades. However, it was a mitigated disaster. The stock lost 80 percent of its value. Thousands of employees lost the majority of their retirement savings; and Levin lost his reputation and his job.
Now what do you suppose would have happened if Levin had said no to the merger. We would have probably never have heard about it. It would have been just one more bad decision avoided. But if he had said no; his reputation and net worth would have probably stayed intact. Goldsmith comments that we reward ourselves all the time for avoiding bad decisions outside of the work place but within the company walls it gets very little attention. He recommends before you make another To Do list, make a To Stop List.
In addition, Goldsmith lays out 20 workplace habits that you need to break in order to reach that next level of success. They are:
• Habit #1: Winning too much – the need to win at all cost
• Habit #2: Adding too much value – the overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion
• Habit #3: Passing judgment – The need to rate others and impose our will on them
• Habit #4: Making destructive comments – The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty
• Habit #5: Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, I’m right. You’re wrong.”
• Habit #6: Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are
• Habit #7: Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
• Habit #8: Negativity or “Let me explain why that won’t work”: The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked
• Habit #9: Withholding Information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
• Habit #10: Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
• Habit #11: Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
• Habit #12: Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
• Habit #13: Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
• Habit #14: Playing favorites: Failing to see that we re treating someone unfairly
• Habit #15: Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
• Habit #16: Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues
• Habit #17: Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners
• Habit #18: Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attach the innocent who are usually only trying to help us.
• Habit #19: Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves
• Habit #20: An excessive need to be “me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are.
Goldsmith actually has one more habit – Goal Obsession. He has given this habit its own special place because he feels that by itself it is not a flaw. However, it becomes a problem when we put achieving it above all else. It is non transactional; it is not something you do to another person.
This habit is one that is necessary to success but can actually be the cause of our failure when we confuse the achievement of the goal with the actual accomplishment of the mission. The author goes on to explain this by telling us that “It comes from misunderstanding what we want in our lives. We think we’d be truly happy (or at least happier) if only we made more money, or lost thirty pounds, or got the corner office. So, we pursue those goals relentlessly. What we don’t appreciate until much later is that in obsessing about making money, we might be neglecting the loved ones – i.e., our family – for whom we are presumable securing that money; in obsessing about our weight with extreme diets we might actually end up doing more harm than good to our bodies; in pursuing the corner office we might trample upon the colleagues at work whose support and loyalty we will need later on to stay in that corner office or move even higher. We start out with a road map heading in one direction but end up in the wrong town.”
I found this book so compelling that I had the 21 habits put into poster form and have posted them in my office. Goldsmith’s “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” provides a lot of insight to how to get to that next level of success and I highly recommend it as a great read.
He further explains his point by using the Time Warner/AOL merger debacle. Gerald Levin was a much admired chairman of Time Warner in the 1990’s. He was hailed as a visionary who foresaw the future of cable TV. In 2000 he merged Time Warner with AOL a new online service. He was convinced the two companies together would dominate for decades. However, it was a mitigated disaster. The stock lost 80 percent of its value. Thousands of employees lost the majority of their retirement savings; and Levin lost his reputation and his job.
Now what do you suppose would have happened if Levin had said no to the merger. We would have probably never have heard about it. It would have been just one more bad decision avoided. But if he had said no; his reputation and net worth would have probably stayed intact. Goldsmith comments that we reward ourselves all the time for avoiding bad decisions outside of the work place but within the company walls it gets very little attention. He recommends before you make another To Do list, make a To Stop List.
In addition, Goldsmith lays out 20 workplace habits that you need to break in order to reach that next level of success. They are:
• Habit #1: Winning too much – the need to win at all cost
• Habit #2: Adding too much value – the overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion
• Habit #3: Passing judgment – The need to rate others and impose our will on them
• Habit #4: Making destructive comments – The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty
• Habit #5: Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, I’m right. You’re wrong.”
• Habit #6: Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are
• Habit #7: Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
• Habit #8: Negativity or “Let me explain why that won’t work”: The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked
• Habit #9: Withholding Information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
• Habit #10: Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
• Habit #11: Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
• Habit #12: Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
• Habit #13: Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
• Habit #14: Playing favorites: Failing to see that we re treating someone unfairly
• Habit #15: Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
• Habit #16: Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues
• Habit #17: Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners
• Habit #18: Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attach the innocent who are usually only trying to help us.
• Habit #19: Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves
• Habit #20: An excessive need to be “me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are.
Goldsmith actually has one more habit – Goal Obsession. He has given this habit its own special place because he feels that by itself it is not a flaw. However, it becomes a problem when we put achieving it above all else. It is non transactional; it is not something you do to another person.
This habit is one that is necessary to success but can actually be the cause of our failure when we confuse the achievement of the goal with the actual accomplishment of the mission. The author goes on to explain this by telling us that “It comes from misunderstanding what we want in our lives. We think we’d be truly happy (or at least happier) if only we made more money, or lost thirty pounds, or got the corner office. So, we pursue those goals relentlessly. What we don’t appreciate until much later is that in obsessing about making money, we might be neglecting the loved ones – i.e., our family – for whom we are presumable securing that money; in obsessing about our weight with extreme diets we might actually end up doing more harm than good to our bodies; in pursuing the corner office we might trample upon the colleagues at work whose support and loyalty we will need later on to stay in that corner office or move even higher. We start out with a road map heading in one direction but end up in the wrong town.”
I found this book so compelling that I had the 21 habits put into poster form and have posted them in my office. Goldsmith’s “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” provides a lot of insight to how to get to that next level of success and I highly recommend it as a great read.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Long Tail by Chris Anderson Reviewed by Pam Bauer
The Long Tail
By Chris Anderson
I have read many business books in my time; but I have never read a book that has left me more excited about the future and the opportunities for small business as did “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson. His premise is that “The Future of Business is selling less of more”. Now I know before you even start that it sounds like another one of those hyperbole statements that so many books start with. No real meaning and a lot of overstated ideals. Well you would be wrong. Chris goes through example after example to make his case.
First, let me explain what he means by long tail. That is a term that is used in statistics to explain a distribution curve that never quite gets to zero but continues a few points above the zero mark for a long time. Those statistical curves are called a long tail distribution. Imagine you are selling widgets and for the next few months the item has gone from selling 500 a day to 5. Your distribution curve might look something like this:
By Chris Anderson
I have read many business books in my time; but I have never read a book that has left me more excited about the future and the opportunities for small business as did “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson. His premise is that “The Future of Business is selling less of more”. Now I know before you even start that it sounds like another one of those hyperbole statements that so many books start with. No real meaning and a lot of overstated ideals. Well you would be wrong. Chris goes through example after example to make his case.
First, let me explain what he means by long tail. That is a term that is used in statistics to explain a distribution curve that never quite gets to zero but continues a few points above the zero mark for a long time. Those statistical curves are called a long tail distribution. Imagine you are selling widgets and for the next few months the item has gone from selling 500 a day to 5. Your distribution curve might look something like this:
This scenario could play out for the next few months. Well at some point you are going to make the decision to drop this particular line of Widgets and maybe move on. After all it doesn’t make sense to keep them in inventory and incur that expense if they aren’t going to sell but 5 a week.Well….. What if you didn’t really have to hold them in inventory? What would make sense then?
Chris gives us the example of online music. Prior to the current internet online stores; music stores had to keep inventory based on the best selling labels. They could not afford to keep slow sellers on hand. You could special order them but most people just went without. Now with the innovation of online music stores like itunes it does not matter how long it takes for a song or album to sell just as long as it sells. The cost does not change based on time and the storage is minimal.
In addition, the song might appeal to a very small interest group but because the store is accessible to anyone with a computer and internet access it can be sold anywhere. The small interest group could actually translate into very sizable profits. Imagine people in India sharing their music with people in Norway - niche markets take on a whole new dimension. The cost is a one time factor and the potential profits could just keep on rolling in. How cool is that!
However, it isn’t all roses as you might expect. It can be hard to see how these new digital bits enter the markets without driving price down to far (i.e. free). At one point Chris reminds us about the economics of abundance with the following passage:
“It’s hard to overstate how fundamental to economics the notion that you can’t have it all for free - the entire discipline is oriented around studying trade-offs and how they’re made. Adam Smith, for instance, created modern economics by considering the trade–off between time, or convenience, and money. He discussed how a person could live near town, and pay more for rent of his home, or live farther away and pay less, “paying the difference out of his convenience”. And since then, economics has been all about how to divide finite pies. That’s just the way it is Neoclassical economics explicitly does not deal with abundant inputs. It doesn’t deny that oxygen is free when you’re trying to light a fire; it just doesn’t include that in its equations. It leaves that to other disciplines, such as chemistry.”
Anderson goes onto remind us that we have entered the era of effectively infinite shelf space. The main functions of traditional economics are the marginal costs of manufacturing and distribution. Those components are trending to zero; or at the very least becoming a non factor in the long tail markets of digital goods.
It is my hope that after you read “The Long Tail” you will have another quill in your quiver to be more successful in your endeavor whatever that may be.
Thanks for stopping by feel free to comment if you feel the need. Meanwhile keep checking back I will be reviewing another favorite book next month. Bye for now Pam
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
YOU FEEL THE WARM BREATH ON YOUR NECK...........
....…. the boss is watching over your shoulder again. He sees that missing period ……….at the end of the sentence....... of that unnecessary report……….. that has to be completed every day by 9:15 am……… so he can see exactly how many office supplies each employee is using on a daily basis...... AHHHH THE DREADED MICROMANAGER!!!!
Most people who have been in the workforce any length of time have been exposed to bosses who micromanage. The micromanager is the manager who must personally make every decision, take a lead role in the performance of every significant task and, in extreme cases, dictate every small step the workers take. To many employees the micromanager is, in modern parlance, a control freak. The micromanager hovers over people who are trying to get their work done and rarely, if ever, seriously considers their ideas and opinions. The only "original" thinking the micromanager recognizes is his or her own.
Micromanagement is readily recognized by employees, but most micromanagers don't think of themselves as micromanagers. Rather, they usually believe they're practicing good management. The micromanager is customarily authoritarian in outlook, taking the job quite seriously, accepting personal responsibility for everything that's done and generally following an approach that says, in effect, "The buck stops here." Most of the time the micromanager also firmly believes the adage that "If you want something done well, you've got to do it yourself."
The micromanager takes essential management practices to extremes and interferes with employees' ability to do their jobs properly, while creating undue stress for them. Outstanding examples are evident in the area of performance feedback. All employees need regular feedback on performance, though some need more detailed feedback more frequently than others. From the micromanager, however, feedback tends to be constant and detailed and often excessively focused on procedural minutia rather than on overall performance, quality and results.
In no other area are the shortcomings of the micromanager more evident––or more damaging––than in the practice of delegation. Delegation is a primary management skill, essential to effective management, but the micromanager seems unable to delegate properly. Concerning delegation, the micromanager:
· Cannot delegate effectively or delegate at all
· Often hands out only the easy, boring or dirty tasks while delegating nothing of interest or importance.
· The manager may become so busy with micromanagement that they are forced to hand off tasks without any clear direction or guidance. This is known as abdicating responsibility not delegation.
· May delegate, but put the employee in a position of deciding nothing of significance without prior approval
· May hand out work, supposedly delegating, but hover instead, providing detailed direction, dictating methods rather than providing proper preparation, making the employee responsible for results and not allowing he or she to figure anything out and learn by doing.
· May hand out a task, but pull it back at the first sign of trouble, failing to provide the employee with a condition essential to growth and development: the reasonable freedom to fail.
Micromanagement is damaging to employees and eventually to the manager. In addition to creating stress and discontent among employees, the micromanager's style has two critical effects:
1. It inhibits employee development. No effort is made to challenge employees with learning situations. The micromanager delegates nothing of consequence, thus depriving employees of opportunity for growth. Because the micromanager often punishes mistakes, employees learn to hide their mistakes and avoid taking risks. The micromanagement style creates "yes men" or "yes women," as employees discover it's easiest and safest to go along with the manager.
2. It limits the manager's ability to properly manage the organization. The manager who is so busy running around making sure that they are in control of every detail has no time to effectively manage an organization. They will not be able to do the necessary things that will allow them to grow or keep the overall business healthy and prospering. They can never plan anything because they are never sure of what or who they will have to micromanage next. It is an old saying but a very true one “Fail to plan… Then Plan to fail”!
Consider, in addition to impeding business growth and their own development, other effects on the micromanager. The micromanager tries to do it all, only to eventually discover that this isn't possible. But on the way to that discovery the micromanager regularly works extra hours and can frequently be found at work on weekends or other scheduled days off. The micromanager also eventually discovers that work quality diminishes and that turnover increases as the better employees respond to the absence of challenge by looking for greener pastures. The micromanager is constantly flirting with the hazards of overwork and the problems of a de-motivated work group. It helps to remember at all times that a manager is there to ensure that the work gets done as effectively and efficiently as possible. If the manager is attempting to dictate all actions and otherwise trying to control the employees' every move, the group will be neither as efficient, nor effective as it could be under rational, enlightened management. Micromanagement is mismanagement, and under it, the manager, the employees and the business all suffer.
Most people who have been in the workforce any length of time have been exposed to bosses who micromanage. The micromanager is the manager who must personally make every decision, take a lead role in the performance of every significant task and, in extreme cases, dictate every small step the workers take. To many employees the micromanager is, in modern parlance, a control freak. The micromanager hovers over people who are trying to get their work done and rarely, if ever, seriously considers their ideas and opinions. The only "original" thinking the micromanager recognizes is his or her own.
Micromanagement is readily recognized by employees, but most micromanagers don't think of themselves as micromanagers. Rather, they usually believe they're practicing good management. The micromanager is customarily authoritarian in outlook, taking the job quite seriously, accepting personal responsibility for everything that's done and generally following an approach that says, in effect, "The buck stops here." Most of the time the micromanager also firmly believes the adage that "If you want something done well, you've got to do it yourself."
The micromanager takes essential management practices to extremes and interferes with employees' ability to do their jobs properly, while creating undue stress for them. Outstanding examples are evident in the area of performance feedback. All employees need regular feedback on performance, though some need more detailed feedback more frequently than others. From the micromanager, however, feedback tends to be constant and detailed and often excessively focused on procedural minutia rather than on overall performance, quality and results.
In no other area are the shortcomings of the micromanager more evident––or more damaging––than in the practice of delegation. Delegation is a primary management skill, essential to effective management, but the micromanager seems unable to delegate properly. Concerning delegation, the micromanager:
· Cannot delegate effectively or delegate at all
· Often hands out only the easy, boring or dirty tasks while delegating nothing of interest or importance.
· The manager may become so busy with micromanagement that they are forced to hand off tasks without any clear direction or guidance. This is known as abdicating responsibility not delegation.
· May delegate, but put the employee in a position of deciding nothing of significance without prior approval
· May hand out work, supposedly delegating, but hover instead, providing detailed direction, dictating methods rather than providing proper preparation, making the employee responsible for results and not allowing he or she to figure anything out and learn by doing.
· May hand out a task, but pull it back at the first sign of trouble, failing to provide the employee with a condition essential to growth and development: the reasonable freedom to fail.
Micromanagement is damaging to employees and eventually to the manager. In addition to creating stress and discontent among employees, the micromanager's style has two critical effects:
1. It inhibits employee development. No effort is made to challenge employees with learning situations. The micromanager delegates nothing of consequence, thus depriving employees of opportunity for growth. Because the micromanager often punishes mistakes, employees learn to hide their mistakes and avoid taking risks. The micromanagement style creates "yes men" or "yes women," as employees discover it's easiest and safest to go along with the manager.
2. It limits the manager's ability to properly manage the organization. The manager who is so busy running around making sure that they are in control of every detail has no time to effectively manage an organization. They will not be able to do the necessary things that will allow them to grow or keep the overall business healthy and prospering. They can never plan anything because they are never sure of what or who they will have to micromanage next. It is an old saying but a very true one “Fail to plan… Then Plan to fail”!
Consider, in addition to impeding business growth and their own development, other effects on the micromanager. The micromanager tries to do it all, only to eventually discover that this isn't possible. But on the way to that discovery the micromanager regularly works extra hours and can frequently be found at work on weekends or other scheduled days off. The micromanager also eventually discovers that work quality diminishes and that turnover increases as the better employees respond to the absence of challenge by looking for greener pastures. The micromanager is constantly flirting with the hazards of overwork and the problems of a de-motivated work group. It helps to remember at all times that a manager is there to ensure that the work gets done as effectively and efficiently as possible. If the manager is attempting to dictate all actions and otherwise trying to control the employees' every move, the group will be neither as efficient, nor effective as it could be under rational, enlightened management. Micromanagement is mismanagement, and under it, the manager, the employees and the business all suffer.
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