Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

Something Has to Give

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Miguel was stunned. At some point, he thought I was a nice guy, but now he was not so sure. He was already working twelve hour days running a 10 hour staggered shift. We were about to expand to an 18 hour swing shift and expected Miguel to run the whole thing. Welcome to management.

“But I am already working as hard as I can,” Miguel protested. “How can you possibly expect more?”

“I expect more, because you are capable of more,” I replied. Miguel’s face turned blank. He was tired of fighting. He was tired of fighting the twelve hour days, he was tired of fighting me, but mostly he was tired of fighting his own thinking.

“I can’t work this way any longer,” he resigned. “Something has to give. I am already in trouble with my wife. I hardly get to play with my kids. My golf clubs have rust on them.”

“And I want you to manage a longer work process with about double the headcount you have now. What are you going to change?” -TF

Only One Manager

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Miguel looked at me, then back to the schedule on his desk. He put the pen down and let out a sigh.

“It’s not going to get any better, is it?” he asked. We had been talking about the 12 hour days he had been putting in since becoming a manager. I didn’t say a word. Miguel continued.

“But, it’s my responsibility. I feel guilty if I’m not here and something goes wrong.”

“Miguel, you are in charge of this work area, running two shifts on staggered schedules. What if I told you, we were planning to ramp up production in two months, to add another shift to run 18 hours per day? What would you do, then?” Miguel’s eyes got wide. I raised my eyebrows in response. “What are you going to do then?” I repeated.

“Well, I don’t know, you would have to get a different manager for the other shift.”

“Miguel, you are the manager for this work area. Everything that happens here is your responsibility. I will not have another manager so you can blame each other for things going wrong. I want one person to be responsible for the area. That’s you.” I stopped to gauge his reaction.

“Well, how am I going to do that?” Miguel responded.

“That’s what I want to know, how are you going to do that?” -TF
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Thanks for those who responded to our survey. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

It’s Not Going to Get Better

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It was 6:30p when I stopped by Miguel’s office. “What’s up?” I asked.

Miguel picked his eyes up off the paper, holding his place on the schedule with a ballpoint pen. “Just going over tomorrow. It’s going to be another big day. Three special orders to get out the door.”

“Where is everyone, why are you still here?”

“Oh, we shut down at 4:30p. My crew is up with the chickens, tomorrow we start at 6:30a. I run a staggered shift. The first guys get the day started, then we’re full strength by 7:30a. The first wave is off by 3:30p, while the second wave picks up the pieces for the day.”

“Why are you still here?” I repeated.

“Well, there is just a bunch of little things that have to be done each day. Sort of out of control, huh? This won’t last forever. My schedule is getting better.”

“How long have you been working this late?”

“Gosh, ever since I became the supervisor, I guess. But it’s going to get better, soon.” Miguel looked optimistic.

I didn’t believe him. -TF
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Thanks for those who responded to our survey. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

Ability to Engage

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Gretchen’s face displayed confusion. “What do managers do to their teams that systematically, over time, disables them from being able to solve even the simplest of problems?” I repeated.

“You’re not thinking this is my fault, are you?” she finally spoke.

I turned my head to the side, still staring at her.

“No way,” she protested.

“Every time a manager provides the solution to a problem, it robs the team of its ability to engage the problem. Over time, the team’s ability to solve problems begins to atrophy. Before long, even the simplest of problems will be brought to the manager for solution finding.

“The team begins to enjoy this new arrangement. With the responsibility for the decision now firmly resting on the manager, so goes the responsibility for the outcome. If the outcome is poor, it’s the manager’s fault. If the outcome creates more problems, it’s the manager’s fault. Your team likes this arrangement.” -TF
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Thanks for those who responded to our survey. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

Systematically, Over Time

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“You know, you are right,” I told Gretchen. “Your team, over time, has systematically become incapable of solving problems.”

Gretchen didn’t speak, but began to slowly nod her head.

“How did they get that way? What happened to them?” I asked.

“What do you mean, what happened to them?” Gretchen’s nodding stopped.

“When the people on your team started working here, they were full of questions. They were curious. They experimented. They made mistakes. They learned.”

Gretchen began to nod again.

“But, now, you tell me they act more like zombies. So what happened to them?” I was looking directly at Gretchen, not blinking. Her nod stopped again, so I continued.

“Gretchen, what do managers do to their teams that systematically, over time, disables them from being able to solve even the simplest of problems?” -TF
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Thanks for those who responded to our survey. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

They Don’t Care

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“I know you think your solution is better than anything your team might come up,” I agreed. “Do you think that is really the point?”

Gretchen was resisting. “But, I don’t have time to have a meeting, and besides, I don’t think my team wants to be creative. Sometimes they act like dolts.”

“They act like dolts when you solve a problem like this for them?”

“Well, yeah. I can solve problems like this pretty easy. I have been in the business for six years. I have the experience. But when I tell them what to do, they’re like zombies from the Night of the Living Dead. Some of them walk around like they still don’t know what to do, even though I gave them the solution.”

“Why do you think that is?” I asked.

“Like I said, I just don’t think they care,” Gretchen insisted.

“You are right. They don’t care about your solution.”

This caught Gretchen off-guard. She didn’t expect me to agree so easily. “They don’t care about your solution,” I repeated. “So, who’s solution do they care about?”

“Well, I’m the only one who can solve the problem,” Gretchen tersely replied.

“Indeed?” -TF

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Thanks for those who responded to the survey yesterday. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

I Have to Stop

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Some time ago, you made a choice that changed your life. You made a decision that separated you from most other people. Each of you has a story.

We started telling your stories of management almost three years ago. Along the way, this blog has helped us create friendships around the world.

We have so many things we could talk about, that I have to stop. I have to stop and ask some questions.

If you follow the link below, you will arrive at a page that will help us in the final stages of design and delivery of a new online project. (No, this is not some cheesy way for us to get your email address, because most of you are on our email subscription list already.) I am most interested in the geographic scatter of our subscribers, the level of management responsibility and specific issues you are facing.

For those who participate in this survey, we will offer a $50 credit that you can use when we roll out this new project. We will run this survey through October 19, 2007 and publish the results soon after.

Here’s the link:

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

If you have any questions, just let me know. -TF

Corrective Action

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

We had a deliverable and the engineers on the project came in 3 days late. We want to acknowledge their success and we also want to understand why they didn’t deliver on time. Extra hours were not put in near the end of the project to meet the delivery date. We struggle with acknowledging success when they are simply just doing what they were hired to do.

Response:

It really doesn’t matter what you, as the manager, think. The only thing that matters is what your engineers think. Based on your description, time sensitivity, or sense of urgency was not top of mind.

Project effectiveness, in this case is mixed. While the technical side may have been solidly constructed, the client may have lost several thousand dollars per day because of the delay. Many construction contracts contain liquidated damages for failure to meet deadlines. Most construction litigation is based around damages due to delay-claims.

So, time is important, in many cases, critical.

At the conclusion of every major project, I always insist on a post postmortem meeting to review the following questions:

  • What did we expect?
  • What did we do well?
  • What went wrong?
  • What can we do next time to prevent this from going wrong?

These questions would allow your engineers to pat themselves on the back for things done well and give them the opportunity to address real issues of underperformance.

On an extended project, I use these same questions at interim checkpoints.

  • What do we expect?
  • What are we doing well?
  • What is going wrong, what is beginning to slip?
  • What corrective action do we need to take, now, to get back on course?

Expecting engineers to call their own meeting to ask these questions will never happen. That is your responsibility, as the manager. Remember, what you think doesn’t matter. What matters is what your engineers think. -TF

Which is It?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

How can you motivate a team member whose appraisal has not been good?

Response:

In the past, I have talked about the four elements for success. They are:

  • Capability
  • Skill
  • Commitment
  • Absence of a negative Temperament

So, which is it? And how did you get here?

If the person received a poor effectiveness review, is it a matter of capability? As the manager, you should have made an accurate (within a reasonable range) assessment of capability during the interview and testing process. If the person received a poor review based on capability, you have only two choices, reassign the person or redefine the role.

If the poor review is from a lack of skill, then training is indicated. Skill is two things, technical knowledge and practiced performance.

If the poor review is from a lack of commitment, you, as the manager have two routes. One is to create artificial commitment. Artificial commitment comes in the form of pizza, promises or other incentives. Artificial commitment is okay, but is usually shortlived and requires the presence of the manager. Real commitment requires the discovery of the interests (passion) of the person and the alignment of that interest with the work. If that connection has not been made, poor performance is a likely result.

If the poor review is from the presence of a negative temperament, you, as the manager can talk until you are blue in the face, or perhaps bash your head into the wall for a while, but in the long run, negative temperament is rooted inside the individual. It takes a very special manager (and a blue face and some head bashing) to change a negative temperament. This is usually outside the skill base of most managers. In this case, I would seek to reassign or terminate the team member.

So, you decide. Which is it? -TF

Wrong Question

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I ask questions of my team members, and they provide answers but not always the right answer and, as a result, the conversation can appear like an inquisition. It’s challenging, at that time, not to revert to “telling” rather than “asking“.

Response:

This is a critical understanding. If you are asking questions and you do not get the responses you want. It is not because the responses are wrong. It is because you are asking the wrong questions. -TF