Archive for Workplace
April 27, 2008 at 8:19 pm · Filed under Leadership, Workplace
Leadership is covered extensively in news publications and this week two contrasting examples are highlighted in “The Economist”.
The first is a positive case study of Disney, showing how creativity and profitability have flourished under CEO Bob Iger. Iger opts to release the reigns and allows creative leaders the freedom to develop new ideas. He’s axed “junk” production (straight to DVD sequels) and is building franchises around new concepts (”High School Musical”) that attract new audience segments (”tweens”).
The second is a negative review of the performance of General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. Finance unit GE Capital missed performance results leaving the CEO in the embarassing state of missing financial forecasts - that he’d committed to a few weeks earlier.
On Saturday The Sydney Morning Herald had an excellent column by Ross Gittins on the common mistakes of CEOs when managing staff. I heartily recommend the article and especially liked the advice on information sharing. Gittins says the more the better. Companies that keep information from staff create resentment and a sense of distrust.
I’ve witnessed it recently, when a company was undertaking a massive and complex project. The leadership team felt it best to keep all information from staff yet occasional slips led to information “haves and have nots”. Those not entrusted to the information felt excluded. Their trust in leadership was not reciprocated - if they can’t trust me, why should I trust them?
Leadership is the hardest task for any CEO, and recent articles point out good lessons of leadership. Trust, delegation, empowerment, sharing - all words we’ve heard before. But it’s great seeing the lessons supported by success (Disney’s Iger and creative empowerment) and failure (GE’s Immelt on missed promises).
Read the Gittins article - it’s required reading for any leader.
April 22, 2008 at 9:50 pm · Filed under Workplace, Public Relations
This morning I had an email from a discouraged university graduate who is having trouble landing her first job. She knows herself well enough to aim for an in-house position with a corporation’s public relations department. Seems the rough and tackle world of consulting isn’t for her.
How do you land your first job after graduation? I’ve had the question enough times. It is hard to get experience when you don’t have any - and few companies seem keen to take on fresh recruits.
First and foremost you have to network. Too often graduates mass mail CVs to employers looking for work. If I get your application 99% of the time I don’t have an opening just then. And while I may file the details too often it rests forgotten in a drawer full of other candidates.
Instead, ask for information interviews. While few people may have a job opening when you apply almost everyone is free to share their viewpoints. Pen a smart, targeted note to people in your preferred industry and ask for a half-hour of their time. You should prepare questions tailored to them that will help you better understand their background. Some examples:
- How did you land your first role in public relations?
- What were the most important lessons from your first job?
- How well did university prepare you for your first role?
- What advice would you give recent graduates seeking their first job?
- Are there other people you know who I might approach for information interviews?
Don’t just approach the old nuts (folks like me who have been around forever). Sometimes the best interviews come from recent graduates who are in their first jobs. And the younger workers tend to have contacts who know where new roles are opening. Best way to start is to approach your university’s alumni office or career development office.
I can’t stress enough the importance of doing every step right. Send a tailored letter with the correct spelling, title and address of the person. Follow up four days later with a telephone call - and if need be, leave a concise and precise voice message (”Good morning this is Mary Calm following up on a letter I sent last week requesting an information interview. I can be reached on 123-456 and I look forward to hearing from you.”).
Then send a prompt thank you letter - reflecting back one major idea you heard that made sense. You might want to have personal business cards printed (small batches at any print shop or online). And if you see an article a month later that reminds you of what that person said, then clip it and mail it with a short “thought this would be of interest” cover slip.
It is all about the details. Employers are easily impressed by someone with a good grasp of all facets of meeting and correspondence etiquette. Sadly it will make you stand out from the shocking number of people who don’t get the basics right.
Network with one person, they’ll recommend another and in time you’ll have a dozen people who know about you and are keeping their ears to the ground for possible roles. In time one will call with an opening suited to your interests.
Now - get started!
November 13, 2007 at 9:24 pm · Filed under Workplace, Social Media
What is the cost to businesses of social media? How many hours are lost toggling back and forth between MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and all the other networks?
Bacon was already described as the friendly version of Spam - instead of being unfamiliar and annoying (Spam), bacon is a message from a social media site alerting you to news - someone sent a message, or bit you as a werewolf, or sent you a hug, or posted a video, etc.
Not so bad if everyone you know is hard at work like you. But add the global impact and it’s always happening somewhere in the world. New Facebook friends have been made in Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Connecticut, Sydney, Taiwan, London, Kuwait, South Africa - get the drift? So while I’m hard at work they’re kicking back ready to engage.
“POS” was early texting code for “Parents Over Shoulder.” It alerted teens not to get smutty on instant messaging because Mom or Dad were in the room. Is there a “BOS” for when the boss takes that spot? Leaving the corner office every boss sees screens toggled back to Outlook so employees look assiduous in their efforts.
But that Inbox may be clogged with Bacon. Meredith sent you a hug. Connie bit you. Aswani wants to be friends. I’ll have to calculate the cost to Australian business later. Someone just voted me as a Hottie - gotta go!
September 18, 2007 at 11:56 am · Filed under Workplace
Michael C. Hyer is a former publicist who now leads a human capital firm, Novations. He is also co-author of a book, “The Power of Inclusion.” He is to address the issue of leading with authenticity in a global work environment.
Arthur Page principles he wants to stress are:
- Listen to the customer
- Manage for tomorrow
- Realise a company’s try character is expressed by its people
Peter Drucker said leaders spend more than half of their business day in communications situations. Business days are basically communications situations that have an impact on people. Yet before today very few leaders have taken that seriously. Yet an organisation cannot perform to its maximum until people fully understand the company’s mission, vision and strategies. It’s all about moving people to action.
Insights into today’s workforce:
- 21 year olds today have played 10,000 video games, spend 10,000 hours on the phone and have received 250,000 emails or text messages.
- MySpace visits in 2006 exceeded 100 million and it started only in 2003.
- Today’s leaders will have 10 to 14 jobs by their 38th birthday.
- 50% of 21 year olds in the USA have created content on the web.
- 1 of 2 workers have been with their current employers for less than 5 years. (Source: Did You Know Video)
Companies are driven by cost efficiencies and that’s leading to a true global economy. Skills required that enable you to work and communicate effectively with people whose world views are unique - you need to meet the localised needs of people, while remaining true to yourself.
When trying to nurture people in the workforce, we see through generational filters:
- Traditionalists (Born 1922 to 1943)
- Baby Boomers (Born 1943 to 1960)
- Generation X (Born 1960 to 1980)
- Millenisals (Born 1980 to 2000)
This poses problems for companies - as Baby Boomers are retiring and plan to retire. How is the intellectucal capital these people have being saved and passed on? This is crucial as clients are more and more demanding.
Lots of insights into the differences between the generations - one of interest is that Baby Boomers believe work comes first and socialisation/relationships come second. For Gen X people the most important is the relationship. Work is a social connection and the task is secondary.
September 10, 2007 at 12:23 am · Filed under Workplace, Public Relations
I always see it coming. The Immigration Officer starts kindly enough and uses the same old banter. “Welcome. How long will you be staying? Business or pleasure?” My passport goes in the scanner and it comes up clean. But then she flicks looking for a space to put the stamp. The eyebrows furrow. The questions begin.
It’s time for me to confess; I own a dirty passport. It is littered with stamps from countries far and wide. It has many of the unusal suspects (England, France, Italy). But then there are some wierdos (Argentina, Malta, Burma, Egypt).
I blame my university. They offered a great “study abroad” program and soon I was hooked. Montreal for six months was an appetiser to a year in France. Senior year back on campus felt like a dog year - it was tough not to travel.
Immediately after school I landed a junior account executive role with Hill & Knowlton in New York City. Two years later I was at Edelman Worldwide. After three years there they volunteered to send me overseas. I wound up in Sydney for seven years then three years in Hong Kong. I did go back to the USA but the pull of an international posting had me boomerang back to Sydney. Here I rest.
And in-between I’ve gone everywhere I could. I learned more about communications outside my home country than I could have ever learned back home. How do you get your message across when you’ve not experienced the same upbringing? How does culture influence perception? Can you ever truly understand another nationality’s points of view?
If you want to enjoy a monster puzzle then head overseas. Travel is a good way to start, but try to find a posting outside your home country. If you need to stay in an English-speaking country, try a former British colony - there are plenty! If you really want to test your head go to a country where you need to learn a new language. You can - I learned French through school and picked up Mandarin nearly 15 years later!
Try an international posting. The worst thing that can happen is your passport can get dirty - and you’ll start getting THAT look from the next Immigration Officer!
Note from Me: I just started contributing to a blog dedicated to teaching and mentoring public relations (see: http://www.marcomblog.com/). This posting first appeared on that site!
June 4, 2007 at 2:22 am · Filed under Workplace
In a book on the challenges of managing workplaces today, author Anna Maravelas talks about the rise of tension and stress in society. She lists a number of unrelated statistics that make it appear as if we’re mid-epidemic. From road rage to attacks on referees at sporting events to poorly mannered children - it’s a daunting compendium.
We don’t need to go to the movies to realise life has changed since Forrest Gump sat on a bench pondering the simplicities of life. Last month I read Bill Bryson’s The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid and then this past weekend watched a film called My Dog Skip. Both reflect back on a lost era when times were simpler and the biggest challenge was winning friends and surviving school.
I won’t deny life has gotten a lot harder and a lot more complex. I thought it might be the rise of email, mobile phones, Blackberries and other productivity-enhancers. But then again every era feels faster and more rushed than the simpler times that preceded it. Imagine the horror of life during World War One as mechanised warfare took a toll greater than any cavalry every could. Or the hubub of the Industrial Revolution compared to life on the farm. Or the demands my father faced in boom-time America after WWII. Every day is faster than the other - every modernisation sets us up to be more productive.
But I didn’t intend this to be a rant or cynical post. Let me move on…
What is refreshing about Maravelas’ work is her ability to take away the complexity and focus instead on the actions of the individual - herself included.
“In reality, most conflicts are the results of predictable errors made by very conscientious, well-intentioned people. Surprisingly, and somewhat annoyingly, I found the same patterns in my own behavior.”
Her central argument is that men and women are innately good and want to do good work. Politics, misunderstandings, pettiness and other human failings get in the way. She then outlines ways to overcome these difficulties in any work environment.
It’s starting off as a good read. The simpler the insights, the more profound the impact they have.
April 11, 2007 at 5:28 pm · Filed under Workplace
I’m in mourning. Funny as this may sound I’m in a deep funk because my boss resigned. I don’t see him often - we speak monthly. He’s in Hong Kong and I’m in Sydney. I’ve seen him a grand total of four times. Yet he’s smart enough to leave me alone yet available when I need him.
Am I missing the man (even though he’s tendered his resignation and has yet to leave - that’ll be months from now)? Or am I disappointed by the mere fact there’s change coming?
I’ve had more loser bosses than most people had suits. The micro-manager. The tyrant. The absentee. The control freak. The ambivalent. The unclear. The meanie. The head-tripper. They start to take their toll.
So a request: Define for me the perfect boss. Give me examples - of the good. And what makes the worst boss the worst? Let’s not name names - but profile real jerks.
A good laugh or an inspiration may help the mourning process.
April 3, 2007 at 5:37 pm · Filed under Workplace
Australians shorten everything. Christmas becomes Chrissie. Sunglasses are sunnies. Swimsuits are cossies (figure it out yourself).
And every single name gets reduced to the shortest nickname possible. Is it the heat? Does the extreme temperature make it hard to get more than one syllable out? When I first moved here in 1990 Walter became Wal. That’s right - Wal. But try dragging the vowel sound out by a yard or two. Oops - make that a metre.
And then there are the nicknames. Some of them come from Cockney rhyming. Americans are Septics. (Yank rhymes with Tank and while we’re there I think Septic Tank.) Every person gets a nickname. One of my colleagues has the surname Churcher. She got the nickname Cherry and now can’t shake it (see the photo she sent - I think she’s quite proud)!
What was your nickname? What’s the worst nickname you ever heard - or gave? What’s the fascination?
March 23, 2007 at 6:13 pm · Filed under Workplace
We’ve changed the way we manage performance reviews - instead of an end of year formal review we’ve shifted to ongoing
March 16, 2007 at 6:44 pm · Filed under Workplace, Public Relations
It’s a hard work, no play kind of industry - most times. The stress of life at a public relations agency can be formidable. There are multiple clients, competing demands on time and then the high profile issues that break on short notice. It’s a perfect role for the adrenalin junkie or those with some forms of ADHD - you get to swap back and forth across a wide range of subjects daily.
But there are rewards. This week we paid local staff bonuses in Australia. This is the second year in a row and comes after a year of incredible change. Throughout the team focused and delivered. And tonight after work we had a drinks celebration to honour the accomplishment.
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