Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

Why Dilbert-style upper management still stymies good performers

Pattie Vargas of The Vargas Group, in San DIego did an article last year called On Incompetent Employees.

This article which referenced a piece appreaing on Bnet, entitled  “The Five Ways Managers Breed Incompetence” struck a chord with me.

One of my former Booz-Allen & Hamilton colleagues recently queried a group of us asking, "What was the top ethical issue" in the marketplace today?

After thinking about it, I responded, "setting the wrong incentives" which as we know, more often than not, results in rewarding the wrong behaviors.

Pattie hits the nail on the head with her article when she states:

One of the ways cited in the article was “Rewarding Mediocrity.” Hear, hear. An organization I once worked for had this process down pat. As I was leaving a meeting where one of the senior product managers had tap-danced his way through a late schedule, incomplete deliverables and cost over-runs, I cynically thought to myself, “He’s in line for a VP position.” Even though I was half joking (gallows humor, you know) my premonition came true within the week.

So I'd like to thank Pattie for bringing this issue into clearer focus for me.

Perhaps the "top ethical issue" is the damage that "setting the wrong incentives" for poor performers has on the rest of the workforce who are trying to do the right thing, just because it's the right thing, not because there is a "carrot" being help out in front of you.

Thank you Pattie !

Does Workplace Loyalty Cut Both Ways?

I suspect that one of the main reasons why so many people put up with long hours, constant demands to increase output, and even Hamburger Management is simply loyalty: loyalty to colleagues and friends, loyalty to a workplace, even corporate loyalty.

Not familiar with Hamburger Management? A relatively new term, coined by the folks over at Slow Leadership, refers to the process of doing everything as quickly and cheaply as possible. When everything has to be done yesterday, there can be no time for debate or questioning. Blind obedience is required because that is the only response that fits the constant demands for going faster and doing more with fewer and fewer resources. Blaming others? Hamburger Management is like every other type of cheap, shoddy goods. It doesn’t work very well. So those who use it must constantly find excuses to avoid the truth being seen: that they are incompetent because of the methods they are using.

I recently was introduced to an excellent piece entitled: Workplace Loyalty Cuts Both Ways, authored by Carmine Coyote. a brand of Adrian Savage a noted marketing guru, Englishman and a retired business executive who lives in Tucson, Arizona. You can read his serious thoughts most days at Slow Leadership, the site for anyone who wants to bring back the taste, zest and satisfaction to leadership; and his crazier ones at The Coyote Within..   It's really a good article.

The trouble is that organizations don’t appear to have the same sense of loyalty in return. That puts a huge strain on employees. Do you pitch in and help out your colleagues, who are struggling with the latest batch of unreasoning demands from on high? Or do you start polishing your resume and get ready to walk out the door as quickly as possible? Do you stay with your belief that the job you’re doing is both worthwhile and valuable—even if it’s poorly paid, as so many jobs in teaching, nursing, and other public services tend to be?

Or do you decide to follow the money into a different career—or even consider leaving to work overseas—and let go of your loyalty to an ideal?

You owe it to yourself to read Workplace Loyalty Cuts Both Ways
check it out for the full coverage.

We All Want To Work for A Company That Supports Us, Don't We?

I wanted to share this with you my readers.  I received this message from a close friend of ours, who also like myself is a vet.

My cousin sent this to me and I thought you all would like to know about it.  Happy holiday shopping!
Shannon

I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first choice. Amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and they haven't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year? How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years. I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution.

I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves. Pass it on.

Decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department: I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, th e Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it's cheaper at that store.

This is their answer to my e-mail:
Dear Customer: Thank you for contacting Sears.The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback. Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.
Bill Thorn
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com
1-800-349-4358

Please pass this on to all your friends. Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!!

It's Verified ! By Snopes.com at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp (shows the entire article)
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/sears.htm

Is Fraud or Incompetence Now a Skillset?

I am an avid reader of CFO magazine, an award-winning Economist Group publication, dedicated to providing relevant insights to senior financial executives around the world. Reaching an international audience of over one million corporate decision makers each month through specialized events, conferences and research, it is a highly credible "microscope" into the complex world of corporate finance.

Just for grins, I went back into the first three (3) weeks of headlines for September 2007 and discovered the following:

• Apple's Jobs Was Subpoenaed, Report Says
• Ex-CFO Says He Won't Be the "Fall Guy"
• Del. Court Slaps Staples on Backdating
• Retiree Miscount Leads to Restatement
• Quest's Quest for More Backdating Errors
• German conglomerate, embroiled in scandal
• Wachovia Sued over Drink Company's Spill
• Dynegy Settles Charges with Pensioners
• UTStarcom to Redo China Revenue Report
• Mentor to Fraud? Two Former Execs Settle
• SEC Charges Hedge Fund Head over PIPEs
• SEC Aims to Clean Up Grocery Spill
• Dried Dough: Krispy Kreme's Woes
• Fairchild Dumps KPMG
• CTRL-ALT-DELETE: Dell Frozen, Restarting
• Former HealthSouth CFO Back in Court
• Grand Theft Auto, for Real
• The Morality Play
• Shareholders Cry Foul in Calpine Plan
• Former CFO of a high-end car dealer is accused of embezzlement
• Ex-Controller Settles Fraud Case
• Unregistered Auditors Busted by SEC
• SEC Takes Aim at Ex-Nortel Finance Execs
• CFOs' Optimism Plummets to Six-Year Low
• CSC Tax Review Uncovers Years of Errors
• Wireless Company's CFO Takes a Leap
• Ace Discovers $154M Inventory Error
• Finite-risk Probe Halts Assurant Buyback
• Couple Guilty in "Pillow-talk" Case
• Top Exec Steps Down from FASB Parent
• Macau Gambling Plan Loses $1B in Loans
• Saks Settles SEC Vendor-Allowance Suit
• Motive Inc. Restates, Looks for Auditor
• Did Fake Purchase Orders Oust CFO?
• Overhill Farms CFO Goes over the Fence
• Internal Probe Stalls Retailer's Filings
• CEO Put on Leave Following Audit
• Uncollectibles Force SEC Settlement
• Internal Probe Stalls Children's Place Filings

I couldn't believe it - almost 40 headlines IN 21 DAYS showcasing matters relating to corporate fraud or incompetence (or both).

Makes me wonder?  Is fraud or mismanagement of company assets becoming a "corporate value?"  The headlines over three weeks would seem to indicate that is the case?  Has greed overtaken "core values" as being more desirable for workers than working hard, protecting company assets and keeping the customer satisfied?

Is the "I got mine" mentality, where managers and executives put their own self interest ahead of the employees, customers and shareholders leading to higher levels of frustration in the business world resulting in the attitude of "what the hell, everybody else is doing it?"

If this phenomenon is occurring on an increasingly widespread basis, what effect does this have on Workforce Development?  Do frustrated competent and honest workers leave for places they perceive as better or more ethical?  Does it become harder to attract and recruit top talent, when a cloud (either publicized or not) hangs over the business/organization?  Or do the "opportunists" flock to the firms being investigated in the hopes that they can profit from the "birds of a feather" mentality?

Readers - what do you say?

The Fastest Growing Top 10 Middle Class Jobs

As a person about to enter the workforce or someone who is simply trying to hang onto your job, the middle class has become a worrisome place for many. If you aren’t laid off you might soon become outdated.

If you are going to work you might as well work for the most money you can. You might not be aware of the highest paying middle class jobs and

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Before you give orders, you need experience taking orders

Many years ago, when I was aspiring my first supervisory role, my mentor asked me what experience I had in "taking orders", by which he meant, did I have any experience being directed what to do, and being held accountable for the result?

As it happens I had multiple such experiences - by directive parents, teachers, and early employment situations, and time served in the armed forces - all of which gave me perspective about examples of leadership - some were great leaders - some were awful.

This is a critical skillset to master, even if you're only a crew chief of a two person crew.

From these experiences however, I learned a couple of important things:

• giving orders is not as easy as it seems - properly done, there is a good deal of work that precedes the order.  It is not just "passing the buck" for someone to do something that the supervisor doesn't want to (or won't) do themselves.
• taking orders and getting them done requires good listening, and attention to detail, and especially important - finishing the assigned task
• It is not just about "assignment of work" and intimidation ("because I'm telling you to"), as much as it is facilitating the completion of the work to be done.  The "baby boomer" generation would take orders without question - increasingly, people want to know "why" and "why is this important" - you need to be prepared as a leader to answer these questions directly.

When I encounter someone who has not experienced first hand "taking orders", who wants to accede to supervision or management, it makes me wonder what kind of orders they will give, and what kinds of results they will see.

Seems like the "veterans" who have been the most successful, can relate to their own personal experiences and draw upon not just theory of management, but actual emotions that help them give orders that important, are appropriate to the person and address the situation at hand.

How do you acquire the ability to direct others if you've never had to do it yourself?

You Are Not Your Job: Part II

A good chunk of early education is really to prepare most people to just follow the rules once they enter the workforce. In many ways, the educational system is just an initiation to the workplace environment – with it's authority figures, their expectations and their reward system – and not truly about learning anything practical.

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How to Get Employees to Meet Their Jobs Head On

Internal communications, planned and executed correctly, can have a profound impact on transforming a workforce from disengaged and lethargic clockwatchers into engaged and motivated coworkers, who view “their” company as an employer of choice. By following some simple principles, employers can get their employees to meet their jobs 'head on.'

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The Upside to Assholes in the Workplace

Our colleagues over at Management-Issues always provide insight into the most compelling issues in todays workplace.  A recent article, entitled "Is there an upside to assholes" cited the contentious question posed in a thought-provoking manifesto by Robert Sutton, a professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford Engineering School and author of (the excellent) The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't (Warner, 2007).

The article discusses the unfortunate truth, Sutton concludes, is that, yes, there are advantages to acting like an asshole (just ask such famous assholes as Steve Jobs of Apple).  As sad as that is, it reminds me of a time when I as a typical precocious and somewhat rebellious teenager was confronted by my Dad who hit me with "Even though you're acting like a total asshole, I don't want you to think you're completely useless."  I couldn't believe in the middle of this verbal attack that he was actually making a supportive statement.  It didn't last however as he continued:  "You can always serve as a terrible example to others."  So, I discovered that being an asshole did in fact have a redeeming side to it.

Unfortunately, Sutton didn't appear to cover THAT specific aspect in his book.  Sad.

Slackers, take note: Workers who know science, math are in demand

We're going to get blunt here about why it's dumb to blow off school.

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