Some awesome business gyaan online

First, sorry for not updating this blog for a long time now. Now, I've decided to make it regular.

So for a new headstart, here's some awesome stuff I found online and use like a bible.

Management tips from Harvard Business Review online : http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/harvardbusiness?cm_mmc=npv-_-MANAGEMENT_TIP-_-NOV_2009-_-MTOD1113

Subscribe, visit or add it to your reader....whatever you like.

Musings from a Warrior Manager

Lee here again...

Last two posts are solid thoughts and I want to elaborate on them a bit, but first some thoughts from one of my favorite books on leadership: Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko. A precursor for you: if you don't know who this guy is, he is a former Navy SEAL and an expert in counter-terrorism and security. Here are his 10 Commandments for Special Ops:

1) I am the War Lord and the wrathful God of Combat and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear.
2) I will treat you all alike - just like s**t.
3) Thou shalt do nothing I will not do first, and thus you will be created Warriors in My deadly image.
4) I shall punish thy bodies because the more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in combat.
5) Indeed, if thou hurtest in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right.
6) Thou hast not to like it - thou hast just to do it.
7) Thou shalt Keep It Simple, Stupid.
8) Thou shalt never assume.
9) Verily, thou art not paid for thy methods, but by thy results, by which meaneth thou shalt kill thine enemy by any means available before he killeth you.

10) Thou shalt, in thy Warrior's Mind and Soul, always remember My ultimate and final commandment: There Are No Rules - Thou Shalt Win at All Cost.

Now, in this heavy-handed approach to things are some real gems for management. And these I will hit on first.
#'s 1 & 3 - Do not be afraid to get in the trenches with your people. If you understand the problem, you are better able to help find a solution. Too many managers do just that, manage. They forget that that is really only half the job. They have to lead and that means getting in and getting dirty at times. It also means helping your "troops" maximize their efforts.
#'s 4 & 5 - In a world of shortcuts that often get results, doing things the right way is a rarity. Focus yourself and your temas on doing things in alignment with the core values of your company, your department, and them selves. If their heart isn't in it, then they need to own up and say why.
#'s 6, 7, & 8 - Once a decision has been made, get it done. If it was a bad decision, new ones can be made to alter course. Eliminate wasted energy, time, and resources. Keep all communication lines open, especially the ones that have respectful disagreement with you...they are your moral compass.
#2 - The wording here is abrasive, but speaks to a fundamental principle: No favorites, no targets. Everyone based on the merits of their work and fought for based on the merit of their work. If their work is good and the politics are against them, fight for them and then coach them on the politics to improve it...don't leave them hanging.

Now that I have that off my chest, to the previous entries...

I think it's fair to say that no manager is loved by everyone.
Usually it is the people beneath them that are grumbling but not always the case. The goal as a manager is to be firm, fair, and faithful.
Firm - Be willing to stand ground when necessary and lead.
Fair - Treat everyone equally according to their role and work quality. Also give equal credence to their ideas and needs.
Faithful - An odd one, but possibly the most important. One of the quotes in the last post that caught my attention was being looked up to by those beneath you on the totem pole. That verbage denotes an innate sense of trust that you are given as a manager/leader. Those in your employ or your team believe that you are there for them, so DO NOT SQUANDER that. That faith is what will rally them to your cause when the email queues are out of control and need a weeks worth of overtime to knock down. That faith will let them speak well of you even when they disagree with you. That faith builds teams not groups of individuals.

I was occasionally likened to a zealous priest over his small flock where I used to work and I took some pride in that. My team always knew that I would lift them up, reprimand them, and always dig in with them when needed. Whenever I needed them, they had my back and were always clutch.

One last thought for this round: In my experience, your job as a leader and manager is to remove obstacles from your people's way so that they in turn can do excellent work and keep problems above you from coming down on the department. Acieve that balance and you will succeed.

Mentorship

Being bossy is one thing, but being looked upto is another ball game. Kinda makes me shaky. Maybe these are fears of a newbie or it's just me. There are a few in my team who look upto me (not boasting here!) and who ask me questions they genuinely feel I have answers to. Even if I have answers to their questions, I feel shaky giving them advise. I fear misguiding them. Here's my two bits on what I follow:

- Never give the wrong advise. If you're unsure, let them know that you don't know and you'll get back. Make sure you get back with the right info. Don't let the person's question go unanswered.

- You're the boss, doesn't mean you're right. You could be wrong. Accept it.

- Reportees are like kids. All the good experiences aside, they'll remember that one bad experience with you. That one time when you were rude, that one time when you didn't live up to your expectations. Be nice :)

What say Lee?

No matter what you do...people will still hate you coz you're their manager.

LOL...Yeah, I think this is true. As long as you assign work to people or people report to you, people will hate you for this or that. Just overheard a conversation of two of my direct reports. They had a complaint against me for a trivial thing. Well, I've learned this..let people have their share of fun bitching about their manager. Even we've done that when we were at their position and hell..we still do for our managers. It's a position of power and ridicule. Take it with a pinch of salt. Muhahaha..I'm sure most of us agree.

Self-Branding

Guest blogger again...sorry, I just keep sneaking in here when the main author is not watching to throw some ideas at you. I want to talk about branding yourself. No, this doesn't require hot iron or self-inflicted burning of any kind, it has to do with a mindset that you carry with you daily and use to help your decision making. It also is something not just for managers.

When branding is used in an advertising setting, it means creating a strong impression (hopefully positive) between the product/service and the potential buyer. Advertisers want their widget to be looked at favorably by the general public so that when buying a widget becomes important, theirs is the first to be purchased in the buyer's mind. Sounds simple, right?

When it comes to you, however, it is not that simple. What am I good at? Where do I see myself in five years? What do I want from life and work and and and...You get the idea. Our filters get in the way of being objective about us as workers and as human beings. So I'm going to offer a starter exercise to get at finding your brand.

1) What one value best describes you? (Think lofty ones like honesty, compassion, etc)
2) If you could see yourself as an animal based on your personality, what would it be?
3) Favorite thing to do with your free time.
4) What would you want your epitaph to say (headstone on your grave...morbid, I know, but work with me here people!)
5) Greatest area for improvement and what you do to improve it.

These five questions are by no means exhaustive...as a matter of fact I just thought of them now. But I think they get to the heart of some key images of ourselves that we use to describe who we are as people and therefore who we are as workers/managers. We are people first before we lead others. Now that you have answered those questions, make a billboard displaying you as a product with a catchy slogan on why you are the greatest thing since sliced bread (For those who don't know billboards, they are the giant roadside signs you pass on the highway).

When it is done, put it on your desk to remind you of why you are the product of choice for the tasks you do everyday at work. On the days when you aren't at your best, you may find it perks you up and reminds you of who you want to be and what you want to be known for in your company. If they know who you are and what you stand for, the brand of You is created in that image. So, to borrow a famous brand hook, JUST DO IT!!

Oops!

I'm not really happy as I write this. Just got to know that some people in my team have issues with me. I'm being very candid. They've pointd out certain things that I swore I'll never do and I was pretty sure I was on track. Sometimes..well almost all the time, you don't realize that you're going wrong. As wise people say "It's better said than done." I'm not gonna explicitly tell you the issues but here's what I learned from them and I'm pretty sure you'll figure out the issues. (Unless you're..you know..)

- Bossism: Never proclaim you're the manager. It's better to get things done as a friend than as a manager. People will work more for a leader they love rather than for a 'boss'. Ugh! How I hate that word.

- Feedback, feedback, feedback: Be open to feedback even as a manager. I'm grateful I got to know what the team thinks about me. Unless you have crack-heads in your team, most of their feedback would be very valuable. Also, it's very important to build your image such that they feel confident enough to give you feedback.

- Never micromanage: Don't ask people everyday about the work they're doing and the status of the task. It's only going to irritate them. It's better to set weekly tasks and leave it up to them to complete it. Employees are as responsible as they're made to feel.

- Recognition and reward: Most of us have heard this one but I really never understood the importance of this until today. Every employee has an invisible sign hung around their necks that says 'Make me feel important'. I feel every employee's contribution should be tied to the company's achievement and this should be expressed explicitly. Nothing makes them feel more important.

- Dealing with difficult people: The most difficult but important part. There is someone in my team who doesn't want to report to me. They think they should be at my level or above. I tried sortring this out with the people who created the team structure but they think this person should be managed by me. Well, I've tried to find a solution to this but still run into problems with this person. Any concrete solution? Anyone? Please let me know.

Blog under New Management

Not really, but I am a friend of the author and I was invited to add a post.

I've managed sales and support teams and the number one thing I can say is be true to your ideals. There are many things that are worth compromising in this world, but ideals should never be one of them. I'll give you my version:

My highest value is that the people under me are worth more than gold. They do the work assigned to my team and report up to me what is happening so we can adjust. If they do their work, my job is to remove obstacles so they can be more effective. If they aren't doing their work, then my job becomes one of assessing whether the problem is a training issue or a values issue. If it's training, then I get the person that training so that they are able to work at peak. If it is a values issue, then my job is to see if that person is a fit for my team or the company anymore.

That sounds very simplistic, but in essence, management isn't rocket science. To me, it is a business art form and one that requires connection to more than strict statistics and data. It requires values and principles that must be articulated clearly and practiced by everyone in the chain of command from the top down. The above example seems very mechanical, but the actual practice requires a lot of gut level instinct and assessment which many managers forget. I may add more on other topics,but this seemed like a good one to start the ball rolling.

Work on your image as you'd work on your company's brand image

I've heard this before, but I'm only realizing the importance of it now when I'm seeing someone else take all the credit for the work I've done. All they did was shout out to everyone and make it look like their achievement. Hmm...Important lesson learned.

- Pomp and show: Whenever you achieve something, make it look big. (Make sure the biggies hear you)

- Take credit: Come up with ideas, delegate it to someone else. Once it's implemented, don't forget to take credit.

- Don't go overboard: If you do too much of self bragging, you might run the risk of others hating you for it. Make it look like you did it but don't forget to thank the people who helped you (basically people who did all the real work.)

- Involve the biggies: Make sure your manager or the people who matter know what work you're doing and how important it is for the success of the company.

- Be sensitive to hints: People might not tell you your shortcomings on your face. They will be subtle hints, comments or funny remarks. Make sure you catch those and change. If you keep ignoring them, chances are that those funny remarks would turn into full fledged points of argument.

Don't know if this is completely true but this is what I've learned. Thoughts anyone?
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Media buying is like buying groceries!

It's really funny. Was sitting in a meeting with a branding agency today and was surprised at the kind of haggling that was going on...of course the words used were much more sophisticated. The marketing head was trying to ask for the 'commercial terms' as he called them, from the agency guys and the commercial head was trying to haggle in a rather euphemistic way ("Please be flexible in your commercial terms"). It was a spectacle. Reminded me of ladies buying groceries.

Lady: "Bhaiya iska daam kitna hai?" (Please forward me your commercial terms)
Shopkeeper: "Madam ji, aap sabji lo, daam baad mein dekhenge" (Once you make up your mind about the media properties you want to buy, we'll forward you the quote)

Lady: "Bhaiya daam theek lagana" (Please be flexible in your terms):D

Managerial mumbo jumbo

I've recently taken up this fun task of managing a team. My first entry into the top brass, first peep into those thick walled conference rooms where only the 'management' sits. It is fascinating to see how the corporate world is just like the real world only made surreal by big names, larger than life brand images and lofty designers. Here I jot down my daily experiences as a young newbie in the world of management. Read on...