Being the Bob Newhart fan I am, I couldn't resist the following skit a la YouTube
I talk a lot about accomplishment, which implies doing something. Maybe... just maybe... in 2009, your greatest accomplishment might be stopping something.
Happy New Year!
I'll bet after watching this ad, there will be a lot of last-minute requests for trunk monkeys. It seems to be a cure-all for society's ills. We tend to do that a lot in business: look for the silver bullet.
Sigh... if only...
Each risk in life (or projects or business) has a pre-disposed response. Depending on how much probability and impact there is for each risk, there are different responses you can take:
Accept the risk - that's right, boys and girls, do nothing. You'll take this approach when the risk isn't that big of an impact to your project, so you really don't care if the risk occurs. You'll also use this if the other two approaches are too expensive or time-consuming to implement. Just suck it up, and deal with it, bucko.
Avoid the risk - if the risk's impact to the project is so bad you can't bear to think of it, then this may be your best course of action. This approach generally involves the more drastic measures, like replacing a risky vendor or firing a non-performing team member. Whatever it costs, you will not let this risk event occur.
Mitigate the risk - develop an appropriate "plan b" response to the risk, to be implemented if the risk does indeed occur. This may involve insurance or warranties, multi-sourcing with vendors, or cross-training your project staff to pick up the slack. You're just keeping it tucked in your back pocket until you need it.
Either way, projects and life require their own kind of trunk monkey. The trick for you is sorting out which is needed and when. That's just one way to keep on track to seize the accomplishment.
"If one does not understand a person, one tends to regard him as a fool." - Carl Jung
I'm bothered by something. Even though I write for Iowabiz, I generally do not read it as carefully as I probably should... at least until this week. Todd Razor wrote a great piece on a new marketing approach by Hubbell Realty here in town. To help sell a new community of brownstones, they created a fictional character named Hailey Brownstone. She has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. She has videos on Youtube and a webpage. There are disclaimers stating she is not real, although they may not be as obvious as some would like.
Drew McLellan and Andy Drish jumped on them for not being authentic and for trying to deceive customers. Before weighing in, I talked to the Marketing Director at Hubbell Realty, who informed me this was their most effective ad campaign ever. They've already sold two brownstones, one of their other communities wants Hubbell to create a Hailey character for them, they are on target for one of their best Decembers ever, and another realty company in town is already copying them with the creation of their own character.
After going back and forth with me and others on Iowabiz, Drew took the argument to his own site. What happened next can best be described as the blogospheric equivalent of the carnivore attack on Wild Kingdom. Most commenters viciously attacked Hubbell, simply based on the fact they didn't like the videos. They weren't provided with the facts about how effective the approach has been. Drew has yet to produce one Des Moines real estate customer who has actually felt deceived. I've been surprised at who commented. People like Connie Reece and Brad Shorr are those I not only respect, but genuinely like (and their comments were tame compared to most). Except for Drew, most involved have no vested interest in Des Moines and have never heard of Hubbell Realty until now. Yet it seems some have just jumped on the bandwagon because an opinion can be given without accountability. Nothing illegal has been done in this marketing approach; people just want to criticize because they wouldn't have done it that way.
My question is, where is the blogospheric integrity? I remember listening to Anita Bruzzese at SOBCon back in May, hearing her emphasize the importance of demonstrating a high level of journalistic integrity in our blogs and comments, checking our facts, and viewing all sides of an issue before commenting. I'm not seeing this here. In an era where the real estate market is tanking on all sides and our economy is generally shaky, I'm not inclined to attack a company for doing something successfully. To do otherwise demonstrates the same lack of understanding demonstrated in the Jung quote above. In my comments, I asked the question on Iowabiz whether social media could afford to reach the land of sacred cows. In a world of Madoff, Blagojevich, and Big Three Bailouts, there are plenty of things that deserve our angst-ridden criticism. A company successfully employing innovation isn't one of them.
I've been enjoying the essays of Peggy Noonan recently. She's been talking a lot about the need for grace in our society. At this season of Christmas, at this time when we need desperately to see the positive among a field of negativity, at the cusp of a new era of leadership and hope, I would think some of us should pause before we comment and think about what grace really means... to us personally and as a community.
What do you think? Too much righteous indignation on my part? Maybe. I have no vested interest in Hubbell other than sharing a community with them. I've had a couple of students from there, but I would probably feel the same way if Iowa Realty or JDR Group were being attacked. I guess I'd like to know what YOU think. Are they just registering an opinion, or did this one go too far? Do we have a responsibility to our stakeholders to look at all sides of an issue before we blog or comment? As always, I admit I may be wrong. This one just isn't sitting well in my gut. I guess I'm just feeling a little disappointed in some of my blogging compadres right now. I'll get over it. To do otherwise would be a lack of the same grace I've just been talking about.
Just in time for Christmas and Santa's naughty/nice list, Career Builder publishes the 10 worst employees of 2008. It is quite a rogues' gallery this year. At least it came out before Blago hit the headlines; he could take up all 10 spots single-handedly:
Worst employee No. 1: Marie Cooley, architect
The story: After seeing an ad in the paper for a job that sounded like hers, Cooley thought her company was planning to fire her. For revenge, she attempted to sabotage theJacksonville, Fla.-based business by destroying $2.5 million worth of computer files. Cooley told investigators she went into work over the weekend, got angry, disconnected internal power cables and deleted files from the server. She was arrested and charged with damaging computer equipment. (Source: News4Jax.com)
Worst employee No. 2: Charlena Graham, deputy coroner
The story: Graham,of Augusta, Ga., plead guilty to stealing $325 in gift cards from a deceased woman. Graham obtained the woman's personal belongings after her death; her family alerted authorities that the gift cards might be missing. Graham was sentenced to seven years probation. She was also ordered to pay back the $325 within 90 days and pay $5,000 in fines. (Source: NBC Augusta.)
Worst employees No. 3: William Vinyard, Christopher Stephens, Stacy Vining and George C. Phelps, firefighters and EMTs
The story: Four employees of the Marion County (Fla.) Emergency Medical Services Alliance were arrested and accused of grand theft for collecting pay upwards of $20,000 per person for hours they didn't work. A police news release stated that several part-time EMS paramedics were clocking in for each other, exchanging badges and not actually working the hours for which they were paid. All employees have resigned or been suspended without pay from their full-time jobs. (Source: The Star-Banner, Ocala, Fla.)
Worst employee No. 4: Judge Robert Restaino
The story: Restaino was hearing domestic violence cases in his Niagara Falls, N.Y., courtroom when a cell phone rang. After no one owned up to the phone, Restaino "snapped" and jailed all 46 people who were in the courtroom. New York's top court removed him as a city court judge, saying punishing innocent people is "inexcusable." (Source: Associated Press)
Worst employee No. 5: Karen Baer, teller supervisor
The story: In an FBI affidavit, Baer admitted to taking $10,000 at a time over several years from the Westminster, Md., bank where she worked as a teller. She told investigators that she used the money for vacations, bills and college tuition for her kids. She is facing federal embezzlement charges of more than $1 million. (Source: Baltimore News)
Worst employee No. 6: Jarrod Hankins, court bailiff
The story: Hankins forgot to remove a woman from a courthouse holding cell in northern Arkansas when he failed to contact the sheriff's office transport personnel to take the woman back to the county jail, according to officials. She spent four nights locked in a room without food, water or a toilet. Hankins was suspended for 30 days without pay. (Source: 4029TV.com)
Worst employee No. 7: Robert Irvine, chef and TV personality
The story: Irvine embellished and fabricated the more impressive parts of his résumé, including claiming to have cooked for the British royal family; catering to four U.S. presidents; and helping to make Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake. His contract with the Food Network was terminated. (Source: St Petersburg (Fla.) Times)
Worst employee No. 8: Jamie Day, bartender
The story: Day was arrested after a patron at a bar in Alton, Ill., called police to complain that Day was bartending in her birthday suit. She was charged with misdemeanor lewd entertainment. The county suspended the tavern's liquor license for 30 days and fined the owner $500. (Source: Fox News)
Worst employee No. 9: Pythias Brown, transportation security agent
The story: Brown was allegedly stealing items from checked luggage in the back rooms of the airport in Newark, N.J., where he worked, making off with more than $200,000 worth of travelers' belongings. The stolen goods included a camera belonging to a CNN employee who found it for sale on eBay. Police discovered 66 cameras, 31 laptops, jewelry and more in Brown's home. (Source: Yahoo! Technology)
Worst employee No. 10: Patricia Villegas, beautician
The story: Villegas was convicted of giving two clients fake cosmetic injections, which resulted in facial disfigurement. The women paid $2,000 for what they were told were beauty enhancers using collagen and cortisone, but were actually similar to silicone. Villegas, of Flushing, N.Y., was found guilty of assault, reckless endangerment and scheme to defraud. She faces up to 14 years in prison.
I could contribute a few Des Moines workers onto this list, but I'll show some restraint. After all, "he knows if you've been bad or good" anyway, so what more could I possibly add?
The movie, Bull Durham, started it. The chief character, played by Kevin Costner, delivers a minute-long monologue about his beliefs with such conviction that he leaves his co-star's character absolutely speechless.
Then Starbucker introduced it to the blogosphere: his personal belief statement. He even shortened it for the Twitter age.
In this season, I thought it might be fun to share a Christmas belief statement, telling what I think about the holidays. I believe:
What about you? What do you believe about Christmas?
Looking forward to a couple of local speaking engagements:
On Thursday, December 11, I will be addressing a room full of auditors (no cracks from my marketing friends) at the annual ISACA/IIA combined meeting.
On Friday, December 12, I will be addressing an event sponsored by the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce.
For both events, I will be talking about office politics. Should be a great time. Hope to see some of my local buds there. Always fun to talk to the home-town crowd.
I ran across a story on the web about dogs and how they experience envy if another dog is rewarded and they feel left out. Of course, anyone who owns a dog (or is owned by a dog) is wondering why people were paid to perform a scientific study on this topic. I'm on my third long-term canine relationship, and I could have saved the researchers a lot of time and money.
But who knew the principle applied to Illinois politicians?
I was dumbfounded, but Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was found dumb. Well, for all of you still wondering what to get that special someone for Christmas, I hear there's a senate seat for sale in Illinois. He could have cut to the chase of all the wire tapping, joined the wave of social media, and put it on Craig's List. After all, it's pretty bad when you get the finger wag of shame from the FBI... these guys don't get disgusted very often.
Every once in a while, you get the megalomaniac in the office, too. Most of them get shown the door eventually when they self implode. But for the few who hang on, Karma will catch up to them eventually. Maybe that is the grander purpose of this economic downturn... purging the bad people from our workplaces.
It's gonna be an interesting winter, folks.
I read with interest the story in yesteday's Des Moines Register about world class schools. Deputy Editorial Page Editor Linda Lantor Fandel has been running a fascinating series, comparing Iowa schools to those abroad (more recently Finland and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). One of the things that struck me with the Canadian schools was how much the teachers made learning fun.
In an un-related story yesterday, there was an AP story about a "humans vs. zombies" game at Gaucher College in Maryland. (Hmmmm... sounds like one college is truly preparing their students for the workforce.) While I read through all the hub-bub about letting students use Nerf guns on campus, what really caught my eye were the last four paragraphs:
And on a campus where students refer to each other as "kids," Humans vs. Zombies is a chance to bring back a childhood that some never even got to experience. Growing up with structured activities, safe playgrounds and schools that ban dodgeball, they didn’t get the primal appeal of the chase out of their system.
"My mom didn’t let (toy) guns in the house, and I didn’t get TV till I was 18," Modine said. "This is just me catching up."
Said Asa Eisenhardt, a creative writing major: "It’s our last chance that we get to play pretend and really immerse ourselves, and maybe it’s due to ... the quirkiness of Goucher, but you somehow don’t feel like an idiot when you’re strapped to the gills in Nerf gear and you’re running around yelling squad commands.
"Conversely, can I laugh at myself? Absolutely."
I've asked the question before in this blog, but it begs repeating: Have we forgotten the fine art of "play time"? Do we spend enough time just being goofy? Do we know how to let our hair down (OK, for some of us, that's much more figurative rhetoric) and have fun? Regardless of what I am teaching at Drake, I make sure my students come away with one guiding principle to help them through office politics, project management, or executive leadership:
If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.
It doesn't matter what "it" is. Every mundane chore has the opportunity to infuse fun.. it's just up to us to let it happen. We're faced with a train-wrecked economy, a world of cowardly terrorists who can strike at a moment's notice, tight budgets, downsizings, corporate corruption, celebrity meltdowns... and the list goes on. We can either sit and fret about it, or we can do what comedians around the world do every day: laugh about it. Make light of it. Poke fun at it. Not to mention the health benefits of good strong laughter, it will also improve your outlook and help you think more clearly.
So on this Monday, make it YOUR accomplishment to stir up some good clean fun ... for your coworkers and for yourself.
"Nobody now fears that a Japanese fleet could deal an unexpected blow on our Pacific possessions... Radio makes surprise impossible." -Josephus Daniels, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, October 16, 1922
We never saw it coming... or did we? Sixty-seven years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is interesting to read the reports and watch the documentaries. The Japanese fleet was picked up on radar that morning. So, could the attack have been averted? Well, it's a moot point, only to be argued by "what if" arm chair historians. The fact is that it did happen.
Having visited Pearl Harbor, I stood in awe of the monument. it's a sobering reminder of the damage which can be caused by war and hatred. It's a beautifully haunting memorial. A lot of lives were lost that day because of the surprise attack.
We have surprise attacks all the time. In the office, we have adopted the unflattering term of "being thrown under the bus." And the victims always declare, "I didn't see it coming." But this is a situation which needn't be argued in the past tense. I contend there are ways to see if you're about to be thrown under the proverbial bus:
Pay attention - first and foremost, allow yourself to let your inner Jane Goodall come out. Observe the office animals around you. Their body language and word choice will give off clues on how they feel about you and each other.
Same page - getting the whole team focused on a common goal early will prevent some of the politics which occur as a project progresses. Have team members sign off on deliverables to show (visibly) everyone's support of the project and the approach.
Build relationships rather than alliances - from the beginning, look for ways to forge long-term relationships with those you work with. Test the waters for snakes, but look for means to build trust. Your project is NOT a reality TV show, so don't look for the short-term win just to get a deliverable out the door.
Heightened Accountability - if people are shirking responsibility and making excuses, then it's likely they'll attack you when your back is turned. If you are having to play the accountabilty cop, then be alert to possible back-lashes from your slackers who are now more visible in their boss's eyes than they care to be.
Hide, Achilles - if you have a weakness which can be exploited, be careful how public you make it. The snakes will use it against you at the first sign that it can benefit them.
Peaks and Valleys - be on your guard during deliverable reviews and peer reviews, which are the most vulnerable moments for sneak attacks. Spend quality time with your stakeholders to shore up any weak links or loose cannons.
Tell me first - create a culture where honest feedback may be given and constructive criticism received directly. People are more likely to throw somebody else under the bus if they've been shot down by giving honest feedback previously.
I just finished a semester when one class of students had to do peer reviews. There were a couple of students who were thrown under the bus by their teammates. I'm curious if those individuals even knew they were perceived as poor performers by their peers. My guess is they will perceive their grade as a complete sneak attack.
I couldn't resist a little humor at the beginning of a workweek. After all, who wouldn't like a little Coldplay a la Muppets?
I'm in the process of answering a really tough letter for Office-Politics.com, and one of the people in their letter is "pulling a Beaker" - he's stealing somebody else's thoughts and passing them off as his own.
It seems there's a lot of credit stealing going on in the office. I created a document over 10 years ago for a client laying out how to tell if a project status is red, yellow, or green. It's since been plagiarized all over the city of Des Moines. Oh well, at least I know who the original author was.
So, how do you protect yourself from credit stealers? Here are a few simple tips:
Archive... often! I start out all of my documents with an 8-digit date (e.g., 20081201 Blog Post.doc) and then as I go back and work on it, I change the date appropriately. This way, I have a paper trail to protect the creative thought process and prove I worked on it longer than anyone else. I may have 20 iterations of the same file when I'm done, but it's also compelling evidence, if needed. Share and share alike. It may seem counter-intuitive to share your work with others if you're trying to protect from a credit-stealer; however, if you've archived (above) then getting your work for others to see shows them who the author is. Should a credit-stealer arise, you have witnesses. Um... excuse me... If you catch a credit stealer trying to pass off your stuff (or someone else's material) as their own, call them on it (in a nice way). "Bob, that was a great presentation. I'm sure it was just an oversight that you used a few of Andi's ideas from her project and forgot to give her credit. You did a masterful job of building on what she created, though." Once a thief... If you know somebody has a history of stealing others' work, steer clear of them. They most likely will try it again. More importantly, warn new people coming in (a favorite target of the credit stealer).
Most importantly is to show some backbone and hold people accountable. Letting a credit-stealer get away with their work is as bad as... well... as bad as letting the Muppets sing Coldplay hits.
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Anders Henriksson: Ignorance is Blitz: Mangled Moments of History From Actual College Students
Steve Farber: Greater Than Yourself: The Ultimate Lesson of True Leadership
Kevin Eikenberry: Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time
Bob Prosen: Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company
Michael J. Gelb: How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day
