I was just watching a 1940s movie with the Andrews Sisters and heard the following chorus:
“If some poor suckers could choose
They’d love to be in your shoes.
You’re a lucky fellow Mr. Smith.”
Appropriate to the season, no?
In a previous blog post and article , I wrote about Jay Bertram, president of the TBWA office inToronto, who asked his people to evaluate him and offered to resign if he did not improve how well he performed his role as their leader.
As a follow up, here’s an end-of-year email that Jay received from one of his people:
Subject: We Succeed When We All Succeed
Dear Jay,
There are few leaders that have the many qualities that you have. You guide, support, listen, mentor, advise, educate and best of all lead by example (and these are only a few of your great qualities.) You find the good in everyone you come into contact with. You bring out the good in everyone.
It is because of you that I want to work harder, work better and not only achieve, but also exceed my personal and professional goals. You have allowed me to open new chapters in my career and to further my knowledge. Sure we are working hard, and although at times it can be stressful, you still make it a fun place to work. Nobody could ask for a better job; nobody could ask for a better President. I certainly can’t. I am proud to work with you in a dynamic Advertising Agency.
Thank you for the many opportunities; the many, many chats; your continued support and teaching me to become a stronger person. Neither our colleagues nor I would be where we are at today, without you at the helm.
We have worked together for four great years now. I look forward to working with you for many more.
I hope that you get some R&R and enjoy the spirit of the season with your family during the Christmas break. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2007 and beyond.
Sincerely,
(name withheld)
PS – We are closed Monday thru Friday next week. I am begging you to take this time to NOT WORK. But if you do work, you are always welcome to call me at anytime if you need anything. I’ll be there!!
Isn’t that fabulous?
Jay was kind enough to say that I had made a real difference in his life and now he is affecting others. As he says, it clearly demonstrates that if you practice what you preach you can make a difference in the lives of others.
We all love to believe that we are very rational in our own buying, especially when it comes to purchases of important things like professional services. Nevertheless, there are times when marketing and selling approaches that we would like to believe don’t work on us, well, they actually do.
For example, this is a terrible confession, but you’ve almost always got me to complete those silly questionnaire’s that come in the mail if you include a dollar bill with the questionnaire. It’s an old direct marketing technique, but just as Robert Cialdini analyzes in his justifiably famous book Influence , the “sense of obligation†that putting that dollar in my wallet creates is enough to make me complete and return the darn questionnaire. And there’s no way I’m going to avoid the problem by throwing the dollar away, am I? And it will cost me more in time to send back than it’s worth! I’m trapped with no way out!
Similarly, I hate it that I’m a sucker for the freebies that exhibitors give away at conferences. I know, if I had more courage, I could just go and help myself to the freebie (pens, computer flash memory, free software) without getting into a conversation with the people staffing the booth, but it just feels rude not to enquire politely about their product or service. I’m not saying I always end up buying, but a high percentage of the time they get my business card, and they follow up. The darned approach works on me and I wish it didn’t.
I’ll confess that I’m also a sucker for “extra features.†If you show me a plain vanilla option and an “extra special option,†I’m going to listen hard for what the latter can do for me. I hate that I fall for it — but I do. I hate it that I buy the “extra insurance†when renting a car, even though my statistical training tells me it’s a stupid purchase. They play on my insecurities, and they win.
Have any of you got confessions to make about marketing or selling tactics that worked on you that you really didn’t think were going to? I don’t just mean at the supermarket or the car showroom, but perhaps in hiring a professional provider to assist you.
Have you ever spent more than you planned to on a service provider? What did they do that “worked†on you? I don’t mean the honorable, trust-earning things that truly make you want to work with an honorable provider. I mean the things that make you say (as the title of this blogpost says): I can’t believe this worked on me!
I received this email earlier today:
Dear David I’ve taken the liberty of sending you this email and attaching a copy of my brand new book Happy Hour is 9 to 5 – How to Love You Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work as a pdf-file.
Now, if I was sitting there talking to you, the conversation might go something like this:
You:Thanks for your email Alex, but come clean here: It’s obvious you’re just trying to get me to mention your book on my blog.
Me: Weeeeelll… OK. I am.
You: Give me just one good reason why I should do that…
Me: I’ll give you three good reasons:
- Many workplaces are plagued by stress, burnout, bad management, conflicts, power games and disengagement. We must change this. We can change this. Happiness at work is enormously important for both employees and companies alike, and this is the first book specifically on this topic. It’s also a great book – or so all my preview readers assure me.
- The whole book can be read free at this link
- - so this is not just about me making a buck. Well, that too – people can also buy the book on paper or on pdf.
- It will make me really, really happy
.
You: Are you spamming thousands of people in this way?
Me: No, this goes out only to a few, carefully picked people who blog about themes relevant to happiness at work. I specifically picked you because your take on HR is very much about creating good workplaces. I’ve also cited one of your statistics in the book.
You: What’s the book about anyway?
Me: The book is for employees and managers who want to love their jobs and create organizations that are inspiring, meaningful, energizing and fun. It’s about taking work from crappy to happy. From drudgery to luxury. >From “shove it” to “love it”. From… I’ll stop here! I’ve been writing the book on my blog The Chief Happiness Officer over the past six months with the help of my readers. They’ve been giving me constant inspiration and feedback and even came up with the title for me!
You: Hmmm… Interesting. What would you like me to do?
Me: Here are some things you could do:
- Mention the book on your blog.
- Read the book and review it. You can read the attached pdf or I’ll be happy to send you a free copy of the book.
- Do an interview for your blog. You can email me some questions about happiness at work and I’ll send some answers back right away.
- Something else that I didn’t think of that you think would be fun.
- Any combination of the above.
Stay amazingly happy,
Alexander
The Chief Happiness Officer
So, I read the book instead of doing what I was supposed to be doing today. (Darn!) And you know what? It’s very, very good. I learned a lot. It’s incredibly well written, full of insights, and there are exercises to improve your own happiness at work. You can’t ask for more than that!
Thanks for sending it, Alex. (And my compliments on a brilliantly composed, irresistible email approach!)
I have been “tagged†by a number of people with this exercise / game, so here goes:
***
I will tag:
A European newspaper has decided to drop the weekly business column written by Jack and Suzi Welch (for those who don’t know, he was CEO of General Electric, she was editor of the Harvard Business Review) and they have asked whether I would write a weekly column in their place.
Help! I’m immensely flattered, of course, but terrified at the same time. This is where I have to try to live up to my own principles, and keep stretching myself.
But am I really ready to take on a weekly commitment of writing 1000 words? What an obligation! It’s not the writing that worries me (I can pontificate at the drop of a hat.) It’s having something fresh to say, week in and week out.
Actually, that’s been the fear throughout my career, and is probably every authors fear. Do I have anything left to say? I’m already doing a blogpost per day, a podcast per week and an article per month. Can I realistically do a 1000-word newspaper column as well?
So, help me out here. If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, then you know I like to build blogposts around the questions that readers submit. It makes it easier to focus my thoughts, and also to ensure that I’m writing about real issues that address what’s happening in other people’s lives, not just my own.
So, if you’ll be willing to help me by sending me emails (david@davidmaister.com) containing a description of real-world issues you face, I can accept the challenge and keep trying to contribute through the various media I use. (I ask for emails — otherwise the questions and issues will pile up in this blogpost.)
Here’s my guidelines for submitting your “advice requested.†Imagine you are writing not just to me, but to your peers in the blogosphere.
You should not choose a trivial, minor matter of no significant importance to you. Similarly, you should not pose an unanswerable question about which no-one else is likely to be able to offer any truly helpful advice.
A good compromise is to describe, in some detail, a specific situation that you face, or have faced recently, which is likely to re-occur. Describe the alternatives open to you, or how you may have dealt with this type of situation in the past. Ask others how they would deal with the situation. Include sufficient background information for them to understand the important considerations surrounding your problem.
Choose any issue you wish, as long as it passes two key tests: (a) you would really like to hear the opinions of others, and (b) you think others might really be able to help.
Will you help me help you? If you send me questions in the next few weeks, I’ll be able to assess whether I have enough to say for a weekly column (as well as this blog.) Thanks!
What you do with your paid time determines your current income, but what you do with your unpaid, non-reimbursed time determines your future. You can (no, you must) use those unpaid hours to improve your “career assets,” by investing the time in building client relationships, breaking into new markets, and developing new skills to increase your future success.
My latest podcast episode, entitled “It’s About Time” (based on a chapter from my book True Professionalism), explores a powerful regimen to harness your most valuable professional asset: non-reimbursed time.
You can download It’s About Time 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.
IMPORTANT: Podcast series subscribers should note that I’ll be taking a break from posting new episodes in this careers series until after the holidays. The next new episode will be posted on Monday, January 8th, 2007.
I have long held a theory that organizations ought to have (enforced) “rights and obligations†that each of their members (ie employees at any level) must follow. Here’s a first attempt to draft a sensible “rights and obligations†list for a professional business.
Members of the organization have an obligation to:
Act with integrity and high ethical standards at all times
Serve client first, firm second, themselves last
Continuous self-improvement (no cruising)
Preserve reputation of the firm
Reach out for additional responsibility
Take the initiative
Help others (that report to them) succeed
Be a team player
Work hard
Treat all people as valuable members of the “team”.
Treat all professionals with trust and respect.
Cooperate with everyone within and between departments.
Delegate work to the appropriate level.
Members have rights to:
Stretching assignments
Be kept informed of what’s going on in the organization
Be treated with respect
Know the criteria by which they will be assessed
A good understanding of the overall goals and objectives of our firm.
Freedom to make the necessary decisions to do their work properly.
Be kept informed about the things THEY need to know to do their job properly.
Input on issues that affect their work.
The resources necessary to provide high quality client service.
Understand how their compensation is determined.
Work that makes good use of their knowledge and ability.
Work that has variety, interest and challenge
Encouragement and opportunity to learn new skills
A clear understanding of their responsibilities.
Useful performance feedback throughout the year.
High quality of on-the-job training.
**
What would YOU add or delete for an ideal professional business?
Instigator Blog has come up with a neat idea: asking people what they have learned this year.
In the past year, I have been trying to get a great deal done. I have been working not only on continuous improvement for my own website (and my consulting work) but also helping with a thousand decisions needed for my wife’s new website.
New ideas and new initiatives have been launched weekly, sometimes daily — and that’s been the problem. A great deal of effort has been put in to things that were started and never finished. It’s not that they were bad ideas — it’s that the priorities always seemed to be changing. I lived with it because I thought it was evidence of innovation and creativity.
Now I’m not so sure. I (and the people who work for me) have wasted a lot of time stopping and starting.
When I heard Craig Weatherup (former CEO of The Pepsi Bottling Company ) speak he was asked what he thought his strengths were as a CEO. He said that one of his strengths was that he was always good at having a “filter” for actions, decisions and topics. He would lay out a strategy, and from that develop a strong decision screen that clearly identified which issues should be passed through the screen and brought to his attention, and which should be refused.
If, for example, his Board wanted him to look at something that was “off the screen,” he would say “I’m not going to change my priorities just for this topic. If you want me to go back to the beginning and redesign my entire screen, I will, but I’m not going to make constant readjustments.”
Another way he said it was that he felt that one of his strengths was that we was slow to say “Yes” and quick to say “No.”
Every two weeks, he would look ahead at the appointments on his calendar and eliminate non-essential, non-strategic activities.
There’s a term for all this that some other people, especially those in software design: the point comes in every project when you must “freeze the design.”
I now understand the power of that, and the wastefulness that results from constantly shifting priorities and work tasks. Weatherup’s rules are invaluable: Be ready to make changes only if it’s truly worth going back and redesigning the entire strategy of what you’re up to. Have a slow yes and a fast no. Brutally eliminate off-strategy activities.
Now, if only I had the personality and discipline to do all that!
What do you think? Is it better to go for focus and constancy of purpose, or be open and flexible to new ideas as they emerge? Is it possible to have the best of both worlds?
Today marks the official launch of my wife Kathy’s website, startcooking.com. Almost exactly one year ago, she came up with the observation that while there are many cooking shows and books, there was little around for the absolute beginner. Yet many otherwise smart people (including her husband) never learned even the basics.
She also saw the opportunity to present cooking guidance in a new way: using the net, iPods and mobile phones. After a year of much experimentation, many false starts and resolute determination to continue, the site is now live. StressLimitDesign, who are responsible for my web activities, also designed and run her site.
Here’s one of her videos:
We’re off to a good start: iTunes has featured the startcooking.com videocast as a ‘New and Notable‘ food podcast, and the startcooking.com blog has been invited to join the 9rules Network, a community of the world’s best weblogs. The editorial group of cell phone manufacturer Nokia has chosen to feature startcooking.com in their video podcast directory preloaded on the new N-series phones, alongside elite videocasts including Ricky Gervais, Rocketboom, and Ask a Ninja. The Men in Aprons blog has said of her site: “This is where the future lies in food publishing on the web.”
Take a look. I’m incredibly proud of what she has accomplished — and this is only the beginning!
