Greatest movie line ever

The Secret to Having Happy Employees?

by Jay Goltz
Thursday, March 11, 2010

About 10 years ago I was having my annual holiday party, and my niece had come with her newly minted M.B.A. boyfriend. As he looked around the room, he noted that my employees seemed happy. I told him that I thought they were.

Then, figuring I would take his new degree for a test drive, I asked him how he thought I did that. “I’m sure you treat them well,” he replied.

“That’s half of it,” I said. “Do you know what the other half is?”

He didn’t have the answer, and neither have the many other people that I have told this story. So what is the answer? I fired the unhappy people. People usually laugh at this point. I wish I were kidding.

I’m not. I have learned the long, hard and frustrating way that as a manager you cannot make everyone happy. You can try, you can listen, you can solve some problems, you can try some more. Good management requires training, counseling and patience, but there comes a point when you are robbing the business of precious time and energy.

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t happen a lot. There’s no joy in the act of firing someone. And it’s not always the employee’s fault — there are many bad bosses out there. Bad management can make a good employee dysfunctional. On the other hand, good management will not always make a dysfunctional employee good. And sometimes people who would be great employees somewhere else just don’t fit your company, whether it is the type of business or the company culture.

In the worst cases, the problem of a bad fit can have a bigger impact than just one employee’s performance. Being in charge does not necessarily mean you are in control, and being in control does not necessarily mean being in charge. Have you ever seen a company or department paralyzed by someone who is unhappy and wants to take hostages? It is remarkable how much damage one person can do. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you watch “The Caine Mutiny.” Basically, one guy takes apart the ship. He was unhappy. It only takes one.

This is only my opinion. I don’t have a Ph.D., an M.B.A., or even an economics degree. What I do have is a happy company. And that makes me happy. Now I know some people argue that business is about making money, and not everyone has to be happy. That is also an opinion. Everyone has a right to his or her opinion. When you own a company, you also have the right to surround yourself with the people you choose.

I have spent the last year and a half focusing on cutting costs, figuring out how the market has changed, and worrying about the economy. Things seem to be getting better, or perhaps I am just getting used to it.

Either way, I had a good day today. Not because I got a big order, great financial reports or even an employee stopping by to tell me what an awesome boss I am. (That generally doesn’t happen. You have to tell yourself. It’s a boss thing.) I had a great day because I spent most of it walking around the company and appreciating the fact that even after a year and a half of soft sales and cutbacks and furloughs, I have wonderful people working for me. They care. They are committed. They understand the whole customer–staff–company triangle, where all of the legs support each other.

If you read books on great companies, they usually leave out a dirty little secret. It doesn’t make for good public relations — like talking about how you “empower people” or how your “greatest assets” are your people. Both of these well–worn clichés are true. What is also true is that it’s hard to build a great company with the wrong people.

When you have the right people, business is much easier. I know because I have tried it both ways.

Jay Goltz owns five small businesses in Chicago.

Your resume and your job search

I was a little testy yesterday. My old boss, a man I genuinely like and greatly respect sent me his friend’s resume. He said his friend had been just laid off from a major company and wanted to know if I could help him.

As I read the resume, I started to feel myself getting agitated. I wasn’t sure why, but the more I read it, the more agitated I became. It took me a few minutes to figure out why, but I did.

The reason I became testy was that I didn’t like the resume I was reading. It was obvious to me that this man was most likely a brilliant executive with a great career, but his resume read like something an average student would write to minimally satisfy the requirements of his teacher or professor. It had mixed word tenses, did not clearly explain what his profession was, or what he wanted to do. He spent important “real estate” talking about his former employer instead of himself. And then it dawned on me.

As I said, this man was probably a brilliant executive. He might even have a genius IQ, and a long, successful career, but he has probably written a handful of resumes in his entire life. He had no experience writing resumes. He probably bought a book, or went to a website to figure out what to do, or maybe he just tried to wing it, but in all candor he was terrible at it.

Is that a reason not to hire him? No, but unfortunately, HR people are using a resume to figure out if you are worthy of a phone call, and then an interview. They read so many resumes each day, they can’t help but to become callous and quickly dismissive of poorly written resumes. If your resume, which is nothing less than a product brochure selling you, isn’t professionally done, then your customer (the HR guy) isn’t buying.

Here is my advice. If you are a successful executive looking for work,. outsource the writing of your resume to a pro. I am not soliciting work. I do it for free as a hobby. But, if you think you are going to land a six figure job with a $2 free resume, think again.

I have more to say, but its Saturday and beautiful outside. If you want more information or have questions, email me at michael_e_anderson@yahoo.com

Mike

Which Jobs Pay New Hires Best?

Charles Purdy, Yahoo! HotJobs, Yahoo! HotJobs

Most college grads enter the workforce with thousands of dollars in student-loan debt–the College Board cites an average of close to $20,000 for bachelor’s degree recipients. And then come the lean years: at the beginning of a career, many people expect to live on the cheap as they build a resume, develop relationships with clients, or continue to hone their skills.

But not all careers require a long apprenticeship. People who want to earn high salaries right from the start of their careers can choose from several fields in which newcomers are relatively well paid, according to the new, second edition of Laurence Shatkin’s “250 Best-Paying Jobs” (Jist Publishing).

“Within these occupations, the workers who earn at the 10th percentile–meaning that 90 percent of the workers in the occupation earn more than they do–still earn at least $51,540,” explains Shatkin.

In other words, the lowest-earning 10 percent of workers in these careers earn more than 75 percent of all American earners. (Shatkin’s salary figures are based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Survey released in May 2008.)

The following list features ten occupations from Shatkin’s list of jobs in which even beginners are paid well. People who want an immediate return on their educational investment may want to take note. Have an interest in teeth? Even better:

1. Orthodontists
Beginning Wage: $100,980
Median Earnings: $166,400+

2. Prosthodontists
Beginning Wage: $72,710
Median Earnings: $166,400+

3. Nuclear Engineers
Beginning Wage: $68,300
Median Earnings: $97,080

4. Computer and Information Scientists, Research
Beginning Wage: $57,480
Median Earnings: $97,970

5. Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School
Beginning Wage: $55,580
Median Earnings: $83,880

6. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Beginning Wage: $55,330
Median Earnings: $111,680

7. Lawyers
Beginning Wage: $54,460
Median Earnings: $110,590

8. Financial Managers
Beginning Wage: $53,860
Median Earnings: $99,330

9. Chemical Engineers
Beginning Wage: $53,730
Median Earnings: $84,680

10. Mathematicians
Beginning Wage: $53,570
Median Earnings: $95,150

Hitler reacts to Google!

One “aw $hit” wipes out ten “attaboys”

I was taught not to take compliments, nor criticizm too seriously. What does that mean? Well, basically it means that when people are criticizing you, you should really let it roll off your back as much as you are able. Most criticizm is done in a such a way that it does not really improve the situation, or the performance of the person being criticized, but just makes the target feel badly.

Compliments are no different. When you are complimented it feels very good at that moment, but is nearly as short lived as the criticism. When being complimented, simply learn to say thank you and move on. If you try too long to revel in it, it will be much harder when you come down from that high.

One important point to remember as well, is that all it takes is one bad moment, what I call an “aw shit” to wipe out ten compliments, or what I like to call “an attaboy”.

Why is that?

I think it is because mistakes often invoke anger, and an air of superiority over the person having made the mistake. The idea that people make mistakes is a known fact, but for some reason we seem to forget it and become angry when humans do what is normal for them – to be human. Unfortunately, it is much harder to forgive the mistake in the moment, than it is to simply criticize it.

So, never forget that one bad moment will wipe out ten very good ones.

Mike

The future of laptop computing

Take charge and don’t name drop

I have been in business for some time now.  I love business and I love management.  I have had my fair share of challenges, but I have worked to learn from each one.

Some years ago, as a new manager, I had a bad tendency to drop my boss’s name anytime I had to deliver bad, or less than happy news.  I used to say “Ken said we need to work overtime” or “Ken said that we need to improve our quality.”  In my mind, I was not the bad guy, so that would make my staff  love me.  I never had a problem delivering good news, only bad.

One day, after a particularly tough meeting, a meeting I probably dropped Ken’s name 15 or 20 times so to avoid being the bad guy, I had a visit to my office shortly after the meeting had ended.  Tena came in, sat down and sheeplishly and asked if I had a minute.  I had a good relationship with Tena, so her visits were normally pleasant and I invited her in.  I could tell from her body language that this was not a normal visit. 

She began by telling me that she really liked me, and enjoyed working, but…..  A friend  once told me that everything before the “but” is bull. so I waited for the rest of the story.   She went on to say that I should stop using Ken’s name.  She explained that believed that I had no authority with the group by doing so.  She suggested that I just needed to just say “I need you to do this by Friday” or “I am not happy with your quality.”   She advised me to stop dropping names immediately.

Well, I was a little taken aback by her critique, but also knew on a gut level that I was guilty.  I knew that I had been dropping Ken’s and other bosses names for years so to avoid responsibility for things.  I thought for a second and agreed with her.  I was embarrassed, but after Tena called me on it, I worked to stop doing it.  I still had an instinct to do so, but any time I did, I immediately took corrective action.  As time passed, I stopped blaming Ken and took complete responsibility for the good and bad news.

That small change affected my management style forever.  My team slowly began to respond to me differently, and my confidence, along with my personal authority grew.

If you are dropping names, or blaming others in your job, marriage, school, family or life in general, start to stop that today.  You need to take complete ownership of your career and every other aspect of your life.  Blaming others, if they own part of it, will never pay off.  And, if you are a boss, will have an adverse affect on your standing with your staff.

Hope that helps!  Leave me a comment or email me at michael_e_anderson@yahoo.com.

Just suit up and show up

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

Thomas Alva Edison

When I first heard that quote, I thought it was an utterly ridiculous concept, even if it did come from one of our greatest inventors.  Surely he was wrong, and in fact genius was a God given talent that allows those in possession of it to breeze through life by lending their divine gift to society in order to solve the world’s problems without lifting hardly a finger.  Perspiration? No way.

I know you have been taught how many failures our greatest heroes have had to endure before they reached the heights of their success.  I know you have heard of the lack of education that some very successful people have had, but yet they seem to overcome it and become our greatest thinkers.  And, I know you have heard or no of the man that starts a sandwich shop, landscape company, or car wash that is able to turn it into a multi million dollar success with a thousand dollars borrowed from an elderly aunt.  But how?  I will tell you – perspiration.  By working at it long and hard.  By perspiring 99%.

I was taught to get up, suit up, and show up every day.  I often tell my employees to give me a good eight hours and go home.   Woody Allen said “Eight percent of success is just showing up.”  Woody is right.

My point is that you will not be brilliant every day.  You will not be a genius every time out.  Nor will you shine every minute of every day, but you will be brilliant, a genius, and shine at some of moment of your life.  But, if you are not suited up and have not shown up, no will be there to observe your inspiration.

Just keeping putting one foot in front the other, no matter what curve life may throw you.

As long as you are breathing, the race isn’t over.

Leave me a comment.

Thanks,

Mike

Just Do It! Excellent video!!