Passion, People and Principles
post # 309 — February 14, 2007 — a Client Relations post
Well, not all of us, but many of us are.
The point about dentists is that while we may need them, we never WANT them. While they do very honorable, helpful caring things for us, their patients, we patients would rather avoid them if we can.
I believe the same is true of my profession — consulting. I doubt that anyone ever said “Oh, goody, the consultants are coming in.†Or “Oh, joy! I get to woork with the HR department today.”
Similarly, I doubt that anyone said “It’s my lucky day, I need to bring the lawyers in!†(or the accountants)
And, of course, the same is true of IT technicians, PR people, and a whole host of other professionals, (internal and external.)
As providers, we see what we do in a positive light (solving problems and bringing about improvements.) However, from the users’ perspective our presence signals pain, disruption, inconvenience, expense. Ultimately, we may benefit from the provider’s activities, but I’d rather not HAVE to deal with them at all.
We need to remember our place. We’re not glorious “saviors†of clients with problems: we are an unfortunate necessity.
***
Does anyone have stories to tell and when they learned this truth, and what changes in behavior they had to make as a consequence?
post # 308 — February 13, 2007 — a Careers, General post
When I posted last Friday’s blogpost, making the point that “No-one will look after you , you have to manage your career yourself,†my wife reacted by saying “Wow, David, that’s tough! You usually write upbeat, inspirational material. What’s going on?â€
Kathy is right that there was a different tone to last week’s post, but I’d like to try and reconcile what I said then with the (more inspirational?) things I have previously advocated in my books and articles.
The key message is that the willingness to take responsibility for what happens to you, and to make things happen, is the beginning not only of healthy thinking and exciting productive careers, but also of a life of integrity, standards and relationships. These things, I believe, are connected.
Ayn Rand was (and remains) a major influence on my thinking, although I’m not sure she would recognize and endorse even a small fraction of my current thoughts and writings.
For those who need an introduction, Ayn Rand was an author who wrote “The Fountainhead†and “Atlas Shrugged,†two novels that communicate her philosophy of “enlightened self-interest.†She also wrote non-fiction books about her philosophy — objectivism — but it’s the novels that have had the biggest impact. I first read her books when I was 17 (and met her briefly when I was 18.)
It would be hard to summarize an entire philosophy in a few words, but one way might be to say that she thought that each person should stand on their own two feet.
This doesn’t mean you never help others, nor accept help from others — just that you should never EXPECT it as a matter of rights or obligations. Others may choose to help you, and you may choose to help others — but the key, is that it’s a matter of choice. In a truly free society, nobody has a “claim†on your efforts, nor the “obligation†to help you — unless they choose to.
When taken up to the societal level, this leads to a political philosophy of “libertarianism,†but I don’t want to discuss politics or political philosophy here. This is a blog about business, professional life and professional services.
Contrary to what many people think at first, “no-one owes you and you don’t owe anyone†is NOT a pessimistic message of dog-eat-dog, where we’re all against each other. It’s a point of view that says “Not much can be done unless I get people to help me, but I have no CLAIM on their help, so I have to learn how to make them WANT to give it freely.â€
If you start from the assumption (or the real-world observation) that everybody else is a free agent, you can’t expect others to give you what you want unless you deal with them in ways that make them WANT to give it to you.
That means the only way to really succeed in a society of free people is to be a person of integrity, honor, skilled at earning relationships and trust — to be someone others want to work with.
If no-one OWES you anything as a matter of right, then you need to work at making them want to give you things — and that means giving them what THEY want, in fair, enlightened exchange. And that means being consistent, dependable, intimate and not too immediately self-oriented: All the things that make up the trust equation in THE TRUSTED ADVISOR.
This is meant to be GOOD news, not sad news. If the negative aspect is that you can’t rely on any one else to clear the path for you, the optimistic, positive, healthy thing to say “I’m in charge of me — I can make things happen for myself if I accept the responsibility to do so.â€
As Ayn Rand would point out, there’s great liberating power in that way of thinking (especially in contrast to an opposite which begins by saying “I can’t achieve things because other people don’t give me chances.â€) People who think the world (or their firm) “should†be looking after them will probably fail to develop important attitudes and skills, as they wait for others to act. As Ed Kless wrote on my blogpost: “When are we going to recognize that Ayn Rand was right in a lot of ways — ‘The man who lets a leader prescribe his course is a wreck being towed to the scrap heap.’
As I see it, there’s nothing in the “Take responsibility for yourself and expect that of others†that prevents you from being a generous person — with those you choose to be generous with.
So that’s my argument. It’s the very fact that you ARE on your own that leads to the conclusion that you need to be an honorable, caring, high integrity, relationship-building person. Being generous, kind, trustworthy, attentive to others and a person of high integrity is not, I believe, inconsistent with the philosophy (and the REALITY) that you must take ownership of what happens to you, but a logical consequence of it.
But maybe, in the eyes of some readers, I’m trying to have it both ways. I start from the proposition that I don’t OWE anybody anything (and they don’t OWE me anything) and end up saying that FOR THAT VERY REASON those who will succeed are those who take the initiative to build bonds of relationships with the bosses, clients and employees that you CHOOSE to have relationships with.
- Does anyone out there have a different view of all this?
- Are there others out there who were influenced by Ayn Rand and have struggled to live by her principles (pure or modified) in their daily lives?
- Or those who have rejected her philosophies as a guide to personal and business life?
- Do you agree that Ayn Rand’s core philosophy is not only consistent with idealistic, high-standards behavior, but can be (is?) the cause of it?
post # 307 — February 12, 2007 — a General post
As a business school professor and as a consultant, it has been my job to teach people how to be effective managers, and how to build successful businesses. Dyelry (Jerry) Labbate, the manager of the exercise gym I attend in downtown Boston, seems to have figured the art of managing out on his own.
My latest podcast episode, A Natural Manager, explores crucial lessons on effective management from the Jerry’s intuitive managerial approach.
All these lessons apply in other workplaces, even among highly paid people with advanced degrees in glamorous professions (though they don’t always like to admit it).
Timeline
00:51 — A brief professional history
02:23 — Essential hiring practices
05:25 — The importance of clarity in employee training
08:13 — Structuring monthly meetings with your team
10:33 — Dealing with underperformers
13:05 — Takeaway lessons from a natural manager
You can download Learning to Manage or sign up to receive new Business Masterclass seminars automatically with iTunes or other podcast players. (Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to subscribe.) My seminars are always available for download at no cost.
post # 306 — February 9, 2007 — a Careers post
- The cold, hard, truth is that you’ve got to look after yourself.
- You can’t assume that anyone is really looking out for your best interests (in spite of what they may say.)
- There may be a human resources department in your firm, managers, coaches and a mentoring system. But don’t get fooled. Your career is up to you and you alone.
- No one will tell you what experience you should be obtaining, let alone help you get it.
- If you want a specific experience, ask for it.
- Better yet, just go grab it.
- Do not expect that you will be promoted because you deserve it – it is unlikely that anyone is really keeping track.
- If you want to be promoted, ask to be promoted.
- Generally, things do not come to those who do not ask for them.
- None of this means you should be rude, disrespectful to others, or fail to be a team player. It just means don’t be naïve.
- In spite of what they may say, it’s up to you. You’re on your own, kid.
- Manage your own career. No one else will.
Anyone disagree that this is both the right philosophy to have and the cold, hard reality?
Here’s today’s question from a participant on this blog:
We are moving to a new area, and my wife wants to start a preschool out of our home (which we have yet to purchase). Our question is how to price and promote such a business.Most preschools in the area are more like “day-cares” (more like a baby-sitter than a private school education). The businesses may or may not be licensed (from what we hear), and the teachers are not certified. The highest end “institutional” preschools in our area charge as much as $100/month. My wife knows of someone who has run a high-end “home-based” preschool for years and charges $240+ per month, has 40 students per month and has a waiting list. Like my wife, this teacher is state certified.
My wife would like to have 20 students, all signed and committed by August 1. As we will purchase a larger home than we would normally need (to accommodate the preschool), the earlier we can receive cash flows the better. It would help if we could commit families to “terms” of about 4 to 5 months, but we feel like we probably would have to charge them monthly rather than up front (like a traditional school).
Extreme versions of your principles (“Earn a relationship by giving something free first”) would tell us to give everyone a month for free and then charge a steep premium after they fall in love with my wife’s teaching of their kids. Yet we feel we might get a bunch of free-loaders that way.
In addition, if we did start out at a discount to “earn and deserve the relationship” how would we then raise the price if people are willing to pay for a premium? Should we wait until we have a waiting list? We could also try the variation mentioned in one of your books of charging a minimum payment of (say) 80% of target fees, subject to parents agreeing to paying us a satisfaction payment at the end of term.
How should we think of marketing and pricing this business in an area that will be new to us?
It sounds to me to be very ambitious to aim for a “full-house” within 6 months in a new business in a new area where you are not known. And I don’t think you can solve it with creative pricing schemes.
I suspect that your big challenge is not pricing but establishing a marketing presence; i.e., being accepted as a credible supplier — particularly if people have to trust their kids to you. Is there any way of doing a deal with one or more of the current high-end teachers who have a waiting list? Paying them a commission or going into partnership with them? Since you’re new and they’re established, teaming with them for the first few years might make the most sense.
Since prices are set by supply and demand, I have lots of questions about both. Why aren’t there more high-end certified preschool teachers? Is the fact that the one you know about has a waiting list evidence that there is a shortage of supply? Or is it just one anecdote? Are people unhappy with “institutional” preschool, thereby creating a pent-up demand? And what are the rule in your state — can parents qualify for programs that get the state to pay (some of) the fees? State bodies might also be a good “partner” to get you launched in the new area. They certainly would be a good source of ‘market intelligence.’
If it is a shortage of good teachers is the issue, where are the kids that you hope to attract going now? Will you be “stealing them” from the institutional preschools ($100 per month), from other high-end teachers, or from situations where the parents keep the kids at home? Which is the most likely source?
As to pricing structure, I don’t know if “freebies” would work here — they may be viewed with suspicion and a sign of low quality. Instead, I suspect you want and need to create an image of being “special”, so a high fee with a money back guarantee might work better than agreeing to a discount up front.
Anybody else got some initial views about how to launch and price a business like this?
post # 304 — February 7, 2007 — a Managing post
Kathy Sierra, on the fabulous Creating Passionate Users blog, argues convincingly that managers should be getting people excited about the kind of work they do, not trying to get them to “do it for the company.†She’s right, but there’s a very telling (joke) picture she uses at the top of her blogpost.
One person is saying to another: “Hey, isn’t that Jim pulling out of the parking lot? He only worked ten hours today?†The other person responds: “We have a client demo tomorrow and he’s only working a half day? I’d fire his ass.â€
It’s meant as a joke, but there’s an incredibly important and serious lesson here.
For decades I have been involved in conducting upwards evaluations of managers by their subordinates. Consistently, over time, geography, profession or industry, and size of firm, the one aspect of managerial performance that is consistently rated as done most poorly is “tackling underperformance promptly.â€
Subordinates, it seems, are rarely satisfied with how well their superiors do this. What’s fascinating is that the result is subject to interpretation. Is it that managers, everywhere, always, are relatively poor at this compared to other aspects of managerial performance?
Or is it that, no-matter how well they do it, this issue is particularly annoying to co-workers.
Naturally, I think the answer is a little of both.
Many of us, as managers, find confrontation emotionally difficult, so don’t want to tackle issues until we “have to.†If a subordinate is only “average†not yet “failing,†why bother making a fuss?
The reason is the effect that one person’s underperformance has on the motivation, morale and energy of those around them. If management can’t (or won’t) enforce the standards and help underperformers achieve competence, then why should the rest of us try for excellence? It’s hard to feel like part of an energizing, exciting team if there are passengers (or what are seen to be passengers.)
This is not about management being rapacious and trying to get the most out of everybody, but the simple recognition that a team cannot form if group norms are not clear and adhered to, and it’s a manager’s job to ensure that that happens.
Your views? How well would you rate your manager at “tackling and dealing with underperformance in your group?†Do you have any theories about why it’s often done so poorly?
post # 303 — February 6, 2007 — a Client Relations post
I received two emails at opposite ends of an important spectrum yesterday. The first, from Bill Paul, Author (Ex-Wall Street Journal and CNBC energy reporter) read, in part:
As a former Wall Street Journal staff reporter, I’m not big on self-promotion, but I thought you might be interested in knowing about a new book just published by Wiley about the future of energy. . . Title is: Future Energy: How the New Oil Industry Will Change People, Politics and Portfolios. Sorry again about the self-promotion.
The second email was from Keith Ferrazzi, the author of the best-selling Never Eat Lunch Alone, one of the most successful recent guides to networking and self-promotion. Here’s (part of) Keith’s email:
I really wanted to maximize the opportunity for readers to actually start using the advice (in LifeCoachTool 1.0) in their own lives, I also had my team put together a simple online quiz/survey/tool that doesn’t cost anything and only takes a couple minutes to complete. If you visit this link
You can:
- Watch a brief video of me explaining what it is
- Even enter a contest we’re running that rewards you for helping make others more successful — prizes include personalized coaching calls with me, signed books, and DVDs. Should be fun.
What struck me about these two emails is not just the extra thought and investment that has gone into promoting Ferrazzi’s new venture, but (no surprise here) his utter self-confidence in putting himself forward.
By way of contrast, Bill Paul, (in common with many people including myself, ) actually feels so bad about letting me know about his new book that he apologizes – twice — for doing nothing more than politely informing me of the availability of something I might be interested in.
But here’s the interesting thing. While it’s clear that Ferrazzi’s approach is going to get more response, I’m not sure I could do it on behalf of myself. Like Bill Paul, there is something in me that holds me back from the more explicit forms of self-promotion.
Like many other professionals, I’m comfortable with showing my material and saying “Let the work speak for itself†but I’ve been around long enough to know that more than that is required. I’m just not comfortable doing it.
Those who are in marketing often laugh at the people who don’t want to “get out and network,†but the reluctance to self-promote is something many of us were brought up with. We can read and be impressed by Ferrazzi’s book about networking, but find it hard to do personally. (Maybe that’s why we try to hire other people as our marketers for doing it for us — which rarely works out too well.)
These are the things I am reflecting on:
- Where does the reluctance to self-promote come from? Is it a “social graces†thing that we were taught by our parents? A psychological characteristic we are born with? Is it a class-based thing?
- How many of you out there are like Bill Paul and me — fundamentally uncomfortable with self-promotion?
- Can non-self promoters be taught to get psychologically comfortable with it? (I know I can be taught to DO it, but can I be taught to get comfortable with it?)
- Are the Keith Ferrazzi’s of this world — stellar, skilled, unabashed networkers and self-promoters – born or made?
- Can, or should, I be doing more of what Ferrazzi advocates (eg., Never Eat Lunch Alone)?
post # 302 — February 5, 2007 — a General post
Accepting the role of manager means accepting the responsibility not only for your own actions, but also for the actions of other people — which can be a scary experience. For the first time, perhaps, your fate is determined by the actions of others.
My latest podcast episode, Learning to Manage, examines the skills new managers will need to excite, energize, organize, and produce with your team.
Timeline
00:55 — Managing = Creating Energy
02:28 — Require and Relate: the dual focus of effective managing
04:06 — The importance of one-on-one management
05:48 — How to engage the individual with the team
08:58 — How does the manager add value?
11:08 — 12 Questions to evaluate your management performance
You can download Learning to Manage or sign up to receive new Business Masterclass seminars automatically with iTunes or other podcast players. (Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to subscribe.) My seminars are always available for download at no cost.
post # 301 — February 4, 2007 — a General post
Thank you to everyone who contributed to make these posts the most linked and discussed ideas in the month of January.
What a Company Needs Most
This discussion of the most important key ingredients for an organization stands out for eliciting some outstanding comments from readers.
Can We Be Manipulated?
A great discussion on how to discern between convincing hucksters and actual trusted advisors.
Politics Part II
Readers weigh on on how to cope with, or avoid, office politics.
How Polite Are You
Readers report that they are a very polite group of professionals in this discussion on replying to phone calls.
Managing Up
A collection of great ideas from readers on how to deal with a less-than-perfect boss. (Don’t miss out on Managing Your Boss, the careers podcast episode based on this blog post as well.)
If you still have ideas or opinions to add in to these or any other discussions on the blog, please join in!
post # 300 — February 3, 2007 — a General post
It clearly takes a virtual village to run a blog, because this month the site has been teeming with support and participation from at least a village worth of people (and a big village at that).
It is my pleasure to acknowledge the contributions of everyone who joined in here during the month of January.
Commentors
Adnan, Adriana, Lora Adrianse, AdsBay, Jerome Alexander, Stephanie West Allen, Allen, Ann, Kishore Balakrishnan, Ann Bares, Jason Bates, Richard Becker, Nagesh Belludi, Stuart Blake, Wally Bock, Breakingranks, Eric Brown, Rob Brown, Duncan Bucknell, James Bullock, Shawn Callahan, Johnny Canada, Brian Cassell, James Cherkoff, Clarke Ching, Brendon Connelly, Carmine Coyote, Jef Cumps, Krishna De, Kathleen DeFilippo, John Dillard, Bill Dotson, Stephen Downes, Bill Dueease, Lance Dunkin, Heidi Ehlers, Judith Erickson, Doug Ferguson, David Foster, Adrian G., Robert Gagliano, Gautam, Paul Gladen, Mark Gould, Charles H. Green, Lisa Guinn, Rachael Heald, Ken Hedberg, Heidi, Brad Hendricks, Scot Herrick, Dennis Howlett, S. Anthony Iannarino, Jennifer, Jim, Timothy Johnson, Danielle Keister, Dr. Delaney Kirk, Matthew Klein, Howard Krais, Greg Krauska, Peter Linton, Stephanie Lunn, Bruce MacEwen, Carolyn Manning, Arnoud Martens, Marti, James Mason, James McGee, Bob McIlree, Arthur Mcbeth, Ann Michael, Mike, Nitin, Emmanuel Oluwatosin, Erek Ostrowski, Peggy, Bill Peper, Tim Percival, Steve Portigal, RJON, Brady Reed, Rob Reed, Steve Roesler, Stephen Ruben, Rich Saletan, Bryan I. Schwartz, Daniel Scocco, Stephen Seckler, Tracey Segarra, Shank, Maureen Sharib, Mark Shead, Pamela Slim, Stephi, Ed Strickling, Bilal Succar, Charles Tippett, Tom “Bald Dog” Varjan, Tim Travers, Heidi Tryon, Peter Vajda, Raj Waghray, Michael Wagner, Ellen Weber, Ian Welsh, John Wesley, Gerald Whyte, Randy Yniguez, Liz Zitzow
Trackbacks
A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects
Accountants Round-Up
Afficionados of Ink
All Things Workplace
Anecdote
Aridni
Balanced Life Center
Be Excellent�
BIZ GROWTH NEWS
BizInformer
Blawg Review (also: here)
Blog Business World (also: here)
Blog Critics Magazine
Bob Brown’s Consulting Intelligence Briefings
Bryan C. Fleming (also: here)
BurstCreativity: Personal Development Blog, Innovation training, Creativity and Self Help community
Business Growth Network
businesspundit
buzzflash.net
carpe factum
Chief Innovation Officer
Clarke Ching’s I Think Not, Baby Puppy
Common Ground
Compensation Force
Connecting Technology, Strategy and Execution
Conor’s Blog
Converstations
Copywrite, Ink.
Creating a Better Life (also: here)
CRM Lowdown
Cultivate GREATNESS | Personal Development
Data-Scribe Blog | Musings & News
David Crow
David Jacobson’s External Insights
Endless Gibberish Personal Finance Blog
Execupundit.com
Fat Pitch Financials
Flooring The Consumer
Free Money Finance (also: here)
Gautam Ghosh – Management Consultant (also: here)
Half an Hour
InsureBlog
JainTech Blog
Jarango
Jorge Arango
Lead and Gold
Legal Andrew
MabelandHarry
Managing the Professional Services Firm
MANGROVE ROOT GANG.com
marketingLEGAL
McGee�s Musings
Minor Wisdom
Modern Marketing – Blog by Collaborate PR
MorePartnerIncome
One Man Band
Organize Your Home and Office
PMToolbox.xom
Positive Psychology Blog
Pro PR
Public Defender Stuff
purple motes
Re: The Auditors (also: here)
Roth And Company, P.C.
SalesMotivation.net
Searchlight Crusade
sellingbrand
Software Project Management
Stark County Law Library Blog
Startup Spark (also: here)
StartupSpark
Strategic Design | marketing & branding thoughts by Nick Rice
SuccessJolt (also: here)
The Agonist
The AntiSyphus Effect
The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Busine
The Career Encouragement Blog
The Changing NHS
The Conway Group LLC
The Dragon Slayer’s Guide to Life
The Engaging Brand (also: here)
The Entrepreneurial Mind
The General Counsel Blog
The Lawyer Coach Blog
The PR place
The Sales Blog
Think Happy Thoughts
This is not
Towards Better Life
TrackKnacks: Aptitude Wizard Watch
Trusted Advisor Associates
Verve Coaching (also: here, here)
Victus pro Scientia Opus — Food for the Knowledge
Your Trusted Selling Brand
Podcast Trackbacks
Accountants Round-Up
Balanced Life Center
Burst Creativity
Creating a Better Life
JainTech Blog
Michael’s Thoughts
Re: The Auditors
SalesMotivation.net
Think Happy Thoughts
Towards Better Life
TrackKnacks: Aptitude Wizard Watch (also: here)
Verve Coaching (also: here)
These lists represents a collection of some tremendous blogs and professional experts. If you are looking to add to your reading list, take a moment to click through and visit everyone on their ‘home turf.’
