If people do not have active assignments, if they only attend meetings to hear reports and ask questions, truly professional work cannot be accomplished. Management: The Essence of the Craft. Pp 217. Fredmund Malik, Campus Verlog (c) 2010 Malik was speaking specifically of an institution’s supervisory board. But it strikes me as equally useful in… Continue reading Active Meeting Assignments
Category: executive
Malik on Charisma
Historically, charismatic leaders have almost always produced catastrophes — in every field. … Charisma … is neither necessary nor desirable for true leadership or right management. Uncluttered Management Thinking: 46 Concepts for Masterful Management. Fredmund Malik. Campus Verlag, Frankfurt / New York. (C) 2011. pp 16-17. This is going to be a good read.
Your Number Two Time Management Problem
OK. I hope I don’t lose anyone over this post. I waited for April 1 to publish it as a softener for anyone that might take this hard. If you’re like some of my peers over the years you may be flushing precious time down the drain. Here’s some tips to help manage your basic… Continue reading Your Number Two Time Management Problem
Get Into Internships
[I Love It] One of my favorite parts of being a manager (and I didn’t anticipate this) is recruiting interns on university campuses. Being part of offering a great opportunity to students right when they need it is very rewarding. [Good For Students] A good internship helps a student make a transition from a mostly… Continue reading Get Into Internships
Sometimes we give equal weight to outcomes and risks that sound similar but in reality don’t deserve equal treatment.
Swimming will get you wet. So will walking in the rain. But I keep my phone in my pocket when I walk in the rain.
Hear the other side well enough to fairly weigh their point. Same sounding words can signify dramatically different things.
Gray Wrinkled Liars
The perception and recall faculties of the brain are strongly biased to confirm what you already believe. They fib. Sometimes they tell great big whoppers. That’s what I learned from Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me). The title doesn’t express the thesis of the book very well (except in hindsight). It’s all about cognitive… Continue reading Gray Wrinkled Liars
Cheap Problems
Problems are cheap. A team-mate is valued for the solutions they identify. me, just now
Accidental Jerk Still Equals Jerk
When my future wife, Ann, first met me in 10th grade she thought I was a “pompous jerk.” (She didn’t tell me that for years, though.) It was because of how I talked. Now she says that, after she got to know me, she realized that was just the way I spoke. She is too kind.… Continue reading Accidental Jerk Still Equals Jerk
Weasel Words Magnify Doubt
When you’re fact finding address your doubts before you return and report. Don’t come back to your team with “allegedly” or “supposedly.” Words like that telegraph your own uncertainty in a way that paints your sources as unreliable. If you really can’t be sure then state who reported which fact. Such as, “John told me the site… Continue reading Weasel Words Magnify Doubt
Pretend It’s All Voicemail
Today’s Mad, Sad, Glad. by Wendii Lord hit dead-on for all three links. Voicemail: Still Kickin’ I’d like to add my amen in particular to her note on voicemail: it’s still useful. If you call me, get voicemail and don’t leave a message then I’ll probably assume you don’t need a call back. In fact, I’m not… Continue reading Pretend It’s All Voicemail