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.

Interest and Passion

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If you were with us in the early days of this blog, you may remember that, on Friday, I always posted something related to cycling. I know it was selfish, but cycling is also my passion.

I was sitting with a guy from the Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees) at breakfast this past Monday. He is a Harley Davidson fanatic, had a bike that he rides as often as he can, boasting 30,000 miles. I said, “Yeah, I’ve got a bike, only 23,000 on the frame.”

He smiled, knowing he had bested me out of the gate, “What kind of bike do you have?”

“Trek,” I replied, waiting for reality to set in. I could see him searching, for a motorcycle named Trek, then it cleared the threshold.

Tomorrow begins the Tour de France. You can find my early posts on cycling under the category of Henrik’s Wheel. Henrik is my favorite wheel. When I am tired, I can always find a place to rest in his draft. When I get complacent, I can always expect No Mercy. Henrik is leaving Sunday on a 750 mile ride with a 90 hour cutoff. The California Gold Rush. Not for the faint at heart.

July 4th, is a US holiday, but also kicks off the Tour de France. Once again, my hometown hero is in the mix. Lance Armstrong is 37 years old, out of retirement after 3 years, broke his collarbone early in 2009, still raced in the Giro d’Italia, 12th place overall.

So, why after winning 7 previous tours and then retiring, does he want to race again? It could be to win number 8, but his team is committed to Alberto Contador as the team leader. So why?

Each of us faces that same question. Why do we do what we do? It is our interest. It is our passion. We cannot stop. -Tom Foster

Blaming and Whining

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“I’m the manager. I’m in the best position to make the judgment about pace and quality?” Gail stood firm. “I can’t have the fox watching the hen-house.”

“You are correct. Never hire a fox to watch the hen-house. Only problem is, this isn’t a hen-house. This is your team. You have worked with some members of this team for five years. Your newest recruit, you have worked with for three months. You know who they are,” I replied.

“Yes, but I am still the manager. I am responsible for their productivity. No passing the buck here. The last manager in this position had to learn that lesson the hard way,” Gail explained.

“What lesson was that?” I was curious.

“Well, he didn’t hold his team accountable, on one hand, but blamed them for their lack of productivity. In fact, it sounded more like whining than blaming. My boss couldn’t take it anymore, and that was that.”

“So, what are you going to do differently?”