Category Archives: Learning

Make Sure It’s Not Fatal

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Ernesto was going to be a fun student. He had fifteen years experience with his company. He was an expert. Starting last week, he now had one person reporting to him. He was now a manager. And there were already complaints.

“How could a person so valuable, with so much technical knowledge alienate his direct report so quickly?” asked Ernesto’s boss.

“How long did it take?” I followed up.

He shook his head. “A nanosecond.”

“How does it happen?”

“I think he is afraid. He is afraid that his direct report is going to do something wrong, it will be done incorrectly and it will come back on his shoulders.”

“Welcome to management. Of course those things will happen. People learn the most from their mistakes. In fact Ernesto will have to learn from his mistakes. Let’s just make sure they are not fatal.”

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Our next management program begins January 22. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
Our next sales program begins January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com.

Something About Rose

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I spent the past few days thinking about Rose. This past March, Rose became one of our Malaysian subscribers to Management Skills Blog and wrote to ask for help.

“A very good day to you Mr. Tom. I am looking to join a new corporation as a Business Unit Manager here in my country of Malaysia. Prior to this, I’ve had ten years of working experience, both in sales and production. Currently, I’m studying for my MBA.

“I was approached by the Unit Manager of a company to take over her post when she opts for retirement at the end of this year. She has actually done a good job in establishing the brand name of the company in its niche market. My job is to bring the business to a new level, through differentiation into new market segments, and find leading franchise opportunities to expand our reach. At the same time, I’ll oversee operations as well. I’m already feeling nervous now. My experience was in industrial sales, and now, I find myself taking up something really new to me—a management job, building a franchise for this business. I’m scared that I may not deliver although I never promised miracles during my interviews.”

Over the next few posts, I will tell you the story of Rose and the decisions she made. By the way, she took the job.
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Publishing note: Beginning today, we will publish three times per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Co-Dependents

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Ernesto was on a roll. Emily was now seated in a chair at the front of the class.

“Emily, you think there is a morale problem on the line, but that’s not the problem. You know they are not meeting their daily quota, but you haven’t shared the numbers with them. Bottom line, you are not telling the truth because you are afraid to hurt someone’s feelings. By not telling the truth, you have made them incapable of improvement.”

Emily’s body language was retreating. Ernesto continued.

“And you have created co-dependents out of them. They are just fine not knowing what their quota is. As long as they don’t know, they don’t have to perform to it.

“When you tell them they are short, they think it’s your problem not theirs. They are perfectly willing to continue this non-accountable relationship. No skin off their nose.”

The color in Emily’s face began to pale. I called a time out. The room was very still and quiet.

“The problem we name is the problem we solve. That is why it is so important to name the problem correctly,” I said. “How will we name this problem?” -TF

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Our next Management Series begins on October 30 in Fort Lauderdale. Registration at www.workingmanagement.com.

Morale is Only a Symptom

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Emily was nervous as she entered the classroom. She knew that I would not allow her to be a passive observer, but front and center in the crucible. I turned to greet the other folks who were now streaming in.

“I would like everyone to meet Emily. She has an interesting problem at work. With our help, she is going to walk us through some solutions.” Emily looked at me sideways. It would take her a bit to trust this group.

Up at the front, Emily stood. “I really don’t know what kind of problem I have,” she started. “Our manufacturing line is not meeting its daily quota and the reject rate is at 11 percent.” Emily continued to describe the circumstances, considering morale, motivation and working conditions. Then the questions started from the group.

“Who decides the daily quota?”
“How is the daily target communicated to the line?”
“Who tracks the number of completed units?”
“How does the line know if they are falling short or getting ahead of the target?”

Emily responded crisply, “The daily quota is determined by the sales forecast and what we need in stock, but the people on the line don’t need to know that. They just need to build the units faster. When the QC people pick up the units for inspection at the end of the day, they count them and it’s on my report the next day.”

Ernesto raised his hand. “So, the line doesn’t know how far they missed Tuesday’s quota until Wednesday?”

“Not exactly,” Emily replied. “I don’t want to discourage them, so I just tell them they were a little short, that they are doing good job and to try harder. I am worried about morale getting any lower.”

Ernesto tilted his head to directly engage Emily. “You are treating this issue as a morale problem. Morale is only a symptom. You have to treat the root cause of the problem, not the symptom.”

Randy dragged a chair up front for Emily to sit. We were going to be there a while. -TF

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Our next Management Series begins on October 30 in Fort Lauderdale. Registration at www.workingmanagement.com.

The Problem You Name

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It was early. Early, meaning we were the only two people on the plant floor. Emily had drawn a flow chart of how materials were received, then assembled and then carted off to QC for inspection.

Emily had defended the competence of her workers in the assembly process. “The issue isn’t assembly,” I said. “The issue is speed and accuracy. Have you ever counted rejects off the line?”

“Well, no,” replied Emily. “That’s what our Quality Department does.”

“So, when units leave this line, we have no idea which ones meet the spec and which ones are defective?”

Emily was searching in her mind for a better answer, but she couldn’t find one. “No,” she replied.

“Emily, we are talking about competence. The biggest reason for failure is incompetence. Most managers will accept all kinds of excuses. The problem is not that the line is running too fast or too slow or that it is too hot or too cold, or that we don’t have great health insurance or that the team isn’t motivated. The problem is incompetence. Most managers won’t call it incompetence, because they don’t know how to solve that problem. The problem you name is the problem you solve. The issue is speed and accuracy. The problem is incompetence.”

“So, what should I do?” Emily asked.

“Funny, you should ask. Tonight, in class, we are going to talk about control systems and feedback loops. Why don’t you come, as my guest? I will help you teach the subject.” -TF

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Our next Management Series begins on October 30 in Fort Lauderdale. Registration at www.workingmanagement.com.

The Student is Ready

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Emily was ready. She was promoted to manager two years ago and her performance was above average. “I am ready for the next level,” she said. “I am not satisfied with things. I know there is more to being a manager than management. What is the difference between management and leadership?”

I hate that question.

I hate the question because it appears to promote a difference. In the end, to be a successful manager requires leadership. While we talk about the difference, the purpose of that conversation is integration. Successful management requires leadership. Leadership is necessary.

“Emily, you have been a manager for a couple of years, now. What exactly, are you dissatisfied about?” I asked.

“There are times, when it seems, I am only able to get people to do what I want by forcing them to do it. By being a bully, or threatening. Not directly threatening, but, you know, do it or else.”

“And how does that work?”

“Not well,” she replied. “I may get some short term compliance, but as soon as I leave the room, it’s over.”

“Emily, the pressure that people are not willing to bring on themselves is the same pressure you are trying to tap into. If they are not willing to bring it on themselves, what makes you think you have the ability to overcome that?”

“But that’s my job, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. And managing your way to it, will get you where you are today. Leadership is a different journey. And I believe you are ready.” -TF

Not the Way I Learned It

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Karl shook his head, laughing at my description. “No way,” he shouted. The rest of the class began to chuckle, a communal piling on.

“What?” I looked around the room. I know when people are laughing, that they get the joke. I know when people get the joke, learning happened.

“Here’s how you learned to use a spreadsheet,” I explained. “Your IT guy handed you a book and commanded you take it home. Reading cover to cover will make you an expert.”

Chortles and chuckle was all I got. Of course. “No one learned to use spreadsheet software by reading a book. You told the IT guy to take his book, and himself, and leave the room. By golly, you learned this software on your own, dinging at the keyboard, trial and error, you learned by doing.”

I stopped. The laughter turned to smiles, the room grew quieter.

“People learn in different ways. Some people learn best by doing. Yet most training seminars I attend are PowerPoint slides and a lecture. Tell me, how effective is the learning? How effective is the training that happens in your company?” -TF

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Registration closes this Friday, September 22 for our next Management Program (www.workingmanagement.com). Registration closes on Monday, September 25 for our next Sales Program (www.workingsales.com).

Like a Little League Team

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It was a simple question. After all was said, I am not even sure Erwin expected an answer. We had been talking about accountability, specifically, how to train managers to hold team members accountable.

Erwin wasn’t sure that it was even possible. Perhaps he was becoming a believer.

The first step is building the connection. The second step is the model itself, the sequence of steps. The third step, aahh, the third step is practice. This is the step most companies miss.

“Bring them to a meeting, run them through a PowerPoint, answer a few questions. Boom. They should get it. Right?” Erwin was staring, not a blank stare, but a focused stare. Behind his eyes danced the hundreds of hours his company had spent training its managers.

“Was it a waste?” he finally asked.

“I can show you how to throw a ball, but if you want to get good at it, what do you have to do?” It was my turn to stare.

Erwin took a long time to respond. “Like a Little League team?” he quietly whispered.

“Like a Little League team. Most companies expect a high level of performance after a single pass in training.

“How do you teach accountability? The method is easy. It’s the practice that’s hard. In fact, most companies skip the practice, then wonder what happened.” -TF

Monday, July 24 is the kickoff day for our Working Management Series. We have four spaces left. For more information, follow this link.

Tour de France Update

You may have noticed we missed our TDF coverage yesterday. I was in a small township in Pennsylvania with a cobbled together internet connection. Just enough bandwidth to crank out a couple of emails, but not enough to post the update.

It was the second stage in the Alps, which brought out the real mettle. Mickael Rasmussen (DEN-RAB) had his way, true to his favorite form, by himself all alone. No sprint to the finish, as the contenders were already done many kilometers before. Even Floyd Landis (USA-PHO) was broken, dropped in a breakaway by Carlos Sastre (ESP-CSC) with 10km to go. Landis never recovered and lost ground to all the top riders, ending the day in 11th place overall, eight minutes behind.

But Thursday was different. Landis recovered from the dead, against all odds makers. In a calculated move, Team Phonak lead off the front of the peleton, following an escape of eleven. Once Landis had caught the yellow jersey, he pummeled forward to the chase group and picked them off one by one. He crossed the finish alone, almost six minutes ahead of Sastre and seven minutes ahead of Oscar Pereiro (ESP-CEI).

After all was said and done, it is these three separated by thirty seconds.

Overall Standings after Stage 17

1-PEREIRO SIO, Oscar -ESP-CEI -80hrs 8min 49sec

2-SASTRE, Carlos -ESP-CSC –+12sec

3-LANDIS, Floyd -USA-PHO –+30sec

4-KLÖDEN, Andréas -GER-TMO –+2min 29sec

5-EVANS, Cadel -AUS-DVL –+3min 8sec

6-MENCHOV, Denis -RUS-RAB –+4min 14sec

7-DESSEL, Cyril -FRA-A2R –+4min 24sec

8-MOREAU, Christophe -FRA-A2R –+5min 45sec

9-ZUBELDIA, Haimar -ESP-EUS –+8min 16sec

10-ROGERS, Michael -AUS-TMO –+12min 13sec

11-SCHLECK, Frank -LUX-CSC –+13min 48sec

12-BOOGERD, Michael -NED-RAB –+13min 52sec

13-CAUCCHIOLI, Pietro -ITA-C.A –+15min 46sec

14-CUNEGO, Damiano -ITA-LAM –+17min 18sec

15-FOTHEN, Marcus -GER-GST –+17min 23sec

16-VALJAVEC, Tadej -SLO-LAM –+20min 50sec

17-RASMUSSEN, Mickael -DEN-RAB –+21min 4sec

18-LEIPHEIMER, Levi -USA-GST –+22min 1sec

19-AZEVEDO, José -POR-DSC –+34min 1sec

20-ARROYO, David -ESP-CEI –+37min 11sec

It’s Something Invisible

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“This accountability model is more than just a way for the manager to talk about performance.” I was talking with Erwin about managers and accountability. I was talking about step two in this four part model.

  • Making the connection.
  • Creating the model.
  • Practicing the model.
  • Coaching the model.

“On the face of it, the model is just a sequence of steps, but it has to accomplish something invisible.” I stopped. Erwin furrowed his brow.

“Look, Erwin. Why don’t managers hold their team members accountable? It’s not because they don’t know how. It’s for a whole bunch of other reasons. Mostly, it’s fear; fear of confrontation; fear that the team member will quit; fear that the team member will respond negatively; fear that the team member may stir up trouble. The fear is invisible.

“But, the model has to face this fear. The model has to be stronger than the fear. If it’s not, at the first sign of stress, the manager will retreat into avoiding the accountability conversation.”

“And your model does that?” asked Erwin.

“Yes, it does. Do you want to know how?” Erwin grinned, his eyes grew wide and he leaned forward in his chair. -TF

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There are six spaces left in our management program that begins next Monday, July 24 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, please follow the link to www.workingmanagement.com.

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Tour de France Update

Even with a day of rest, the Alps took their toll. The finish staging area looked more like triage than jubilance. Floyd Landis (USA-PHO) regained the yellow jersey, but at what price. His consolation is that his muscle exhaustion is no different than the others.

This is the start of week three. At this point, the riders split. Some break down, the kilometers ravage the body that wants to quit. Others get stronger. The rigor hardens the muscles and disciplines the body to tap its reserves.

Today saw a breakaway of 25 riders early on. As they assaulted the steep climbs, the escapees were picked apart, one by one with Landis in control. He held back from the stage win, focused on gaining time against Denis Menchov (RUS-RAB), Andreas Kloden (GER-TMO) and Cadel Evans (AUS-DVL). It is likely to be one of those four in yellow on Sunday. The picture becomes clearer.

But there are two more days in the Alps. Everyone is tired. Some will be strong. Some will break.

Overall Standings after Stage 15

1-LANDIS, Floyd -USA-PHO -69hrs 5sec

2-PEREIRO SIO, Oscar -ESP-CEI –+10sec

3-DESSEL, Cyril -FRA-A2R –+2min 2sec

4-MENCHOV, Denis -RUS-RAB –+2min 12sec

5-SASTRE, Carlos -ESP-CSC –+2min 17sec

6-KLÖDEN, Andréas -GER-TMO –+2min 29sec

7-EVANS, Cadel -AUS-DVL –+2min 59sec

8-ROGERS, Michael -AUS-TMO –+5min 1sec

9-LEIPHEIMER, Levi -USA-GST –+6min 18sec

10-ZUBELDIA, Haimar -ESP-EUS –+6min 20sec

11-MOREAU, Christophe -FRA-A2R –+6min 22sec

12-SCHLECK, Frank -LUX-CSC –+7min 7sec

13-POPOVYCH, Yaroslav -UKR-DSC –+7min 36sec

14-MERCADO, Juan Miguel -ESP-AGR –+7min 39sec

15-FOTHEN, Marcus -GER-GST –+8min 23sec

16-BOOGERD, Michael -NED-RAB –+9min 15sec

17-CHAVANEL, Sylvain -FRA-COF –+9min 56sec

18-MERCKX, Axel -BEL-PHO –+10min 25sec

19-PARRA, Ivan Ramiro -COL-COF –+10min 43sec

20-TOTSCHNIG, Georg -AUT-GST –+10min 53sec

Making the Connection

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“The point is to change the behavior,” I said. “The skill is easy to teach, it’s the behavior that’s difficult to change.” Erwin and I had been talking about how you go about teaching a manager the skill of accountability.

“So, how do you do it?” Erwin insisted.

“There are four steps to the process.

  • Making the connection.
  • Creating a model.
  • Practicing the model.
  • Coaching the model.

“Let’s start with making the connection. Before a manager considers any change in behavior, they have to make two connections. First, they have to understand why the behavior is valuable. And not just valuable in general, but valuable to them in their situation. For example, managers know they should hold their team members accountable, but they never sit down and think about the benefits when they do that. They never think about the impact to themselves or the impact on the team member.”

Erwin was nodding and listening.

“But worse, managers never sit down and think about what happens when they don’t hold their team accountable. This connection may be even more important. Managers don’t think about the impact to the team member when there are no consequences for their underperformance.

“So, we talk a lot about this, making it vivid and personal. That’s the first step.” -TF

Next Monday is the kickoff for our Working Management classroom series in Fort Lauderdale. Please follow this link to find out more.

Tour de France Update

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday brings the first of three mountain stages in the Alps. It will be a day of challenges. While Floyd Landis (USA-PHO) is in the best position among the top riders, his team may not be strong enough to protect him. Tuesday, look for a serious challenge from Mickael Rasmussen (DEN-RAB), last year’s King of the Mountain champion, in support of his teammate Denis Menchov (RUS-RAB).

Overall Standings after Stage 14

1-PEREIRO SIO, Oscar -ESP-CEI -64hrs 05min 4sec

2-LANDIS, Floyd -USA-PHO –+1min 29sec

3-DESSEL, Cyril -FRA-A2R –+1min 37sec

4-MENCHOV, Denis -RUS-RAB –+2min 30sec

5-EVANS, Cadel -AUS-DVL –+2min 46sec

6-SASTRE, Carlos -ESP-CSC –+3min 21sec

7-KLÖDEN, Andréas -GER-TMO –+3min 58sec

8-ROGERS, Michael -AUS-TMO –+4min 51sec

9-MERCADO, Juan Miguel -ESP-AGR –+5min 2sec

10-MOREAU, Christophe -FRA-A2R –+5min 13sec

11-POPOVYCH, Yaroslav -UKR-DSC –+5min 44sec

12-FOTHEN, Marcus -GER-GST –+5min 46sec

13-ZUBELDIA, Haimar -ESP-EUS –+5min 55sec

14-SINKEWITZ, Patrik -GER-TMO –+7min 7sec

15-LEIPHEIMER, Levi -USA-GST –+7min 8sec

16-BOOGERD, Michael -NED-RAB –+7min 23sec

17-TOTSCHNIG, Georg -AUT-GST –+8min 16sec

18-KARPETS, Vladimir -RUS-CEI –+8min 36sec

19-AZEVEDO, José -POR-DSC –+9min 11sec

20-SCHLECK, Frank -LUX-CSC –+10min 6sec