Tag Archives: advice

September 4, 2014 · 8:40 am

The Team

The college football season started last week.  The college I attended doesn’t field a football team and so I didn’t really have a rooting interest until my older daughter went to the University of Michigan.  I figured since I sent the Wolverines quite a bit of my money I’m entitled to call myself a UM fan.  Michigan had a legendary coach at the school – Bo Schembechler – who gave what I think is some of the best business advice ever.  Take a minute and watch it:

This is a boss doing some incredible things.  First, he’s sharing his vision for what the team is about and some very specific goals.  If there is one thing many bosses fail to do it’s exactly that.  They may give out lists of tasks but they fail to paint a picture of the overall mission and where the team is headed.

Second, he’s demanding that every person plays as a member of that team.  Implicit in that is that the glamor positions are nothing without the grunts in the trenches and those grunts can’t win without someone running the ball.  As a manager you have to get every member of your team feeling as if what they do matters and every other member of the team appreciating the contributions their peers are making to everyone’s success.

Finally, he lets the group know that while they will have differences they ill put them aside for the overall good of the team and to achieve their goals.  How many offices are torn apart by gossip and backstabbing?  Bo lets the Wolverines know that he’s not having any of it.

I listen to this speech from time to time and UM’s official football shirt this year simply says “The Team, The Team, The Team” on it.  It’s easy to remember but hard to execute as a boss.  Go Blue!

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August 19, 2014 · 8:47 am

Overdrawn

One of the best parts of managing a lot of people over the years has been watching them develop, even after our places of employment diverge. The bankI am still in contact with quite a few of the folks with whom I worked and from time to time they’ll reach out to say hi.

Once in a while, one of them will need career advice or maybe even help in getting a job. Sometimes I can provide nothing more than a shoulder to lean on, a sounding board and a few words to provide prospective. Other times I can be more active since they may be interviewing with someone I know.

Why I bring this up today is  exactly that happened recently. A kid I hired as an intern many years ago grew into a competent professional and through a series of circumstance he was out of work for a bit. He heard of a job working with another person whom I had also started in the business. I was happy to put them together since I think they’re both good at what they do and would enjoy a good working relationship. One thing led to another and the job was his.

Here is the thing.  Did I find that out from the guy I’d helped?  Nope.  I heard it from his new boss.  Have I heard from the guy I helped?  Nope, although he did post his new gig on social media, thanking all of the people who had put up with him while he was unemployed.  Am I angry?  Not a bit, perhaps other than at myself for not having done a better job of training him.  So let me use the opportunity to do so here since I believe he reads the screed once in a while.

One of the last things anyone wants to be is the person who only calls when they need something.  Even worse is the person who fails to express their appreciation for the effort you made on their behalf and who fails to keep you in the loop.  Each of those can be written off as bad manners but that’s way too simple.  Asking for help – which every one of us does from time to time – is a withdrawal from our karmic bank accounts.  Saying thanks is making a deposit back into the account and without them our accounts become overdrawn fairly quickly.

I hope the new gig works out for a number of reasons.  First, I endorsed the candidacy.  Second, I like both of the guys involved.  Third, if it doesn’t for whatever reason, I’m going to have to tell someone who may come back for more help that their account is overdrawn.  Maybe that’s harsh on my part.  So be it.

Thoughts?

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August 1, 2014 · 9:54 am

Old Cooks, New Cuisines

It’s Foodie Friday and this week I want to report on a business point I learned at supper last evening. IMG_20140801_092530It was a lovely, small Italian restaurant and the food they were serving was really excellent. High quality ingredients were used which always makes a difference but the skills the cook showed were impressive. He had a firm grasp on southern Italian fare.

I chatted up the owner who, as it turned out was both Italian and the wife of the cook.  I mentioned how much I appreciated his skill and apparent knowledge of Italian food and techniques.  I then asked where he was from, wondering as I asked it if he was from the north of Italy or the south.  As it turned out, the answer was south as is VERY far south.

As in Morocco.

They had met in New York  and she had taught him Italian food.  He was already an accomplished cook when they met and he was able to translate what he knew into another form.  After all, what is couscous if not a cousin to acini di pepe or pastina?  Many of the spices and seasonings are the same and the basics – knife skills, etc. – never change.  What does this have to do with business?

We tend to pigeonhole people.  This one is an accountant, that one is a fabulous assistant.  We don’t spent enough time thinking about how the skills they have can be used elsewhere in other contexts to make the business better.  There was a shrimp dish last night which had an extraordinary broth.  The cook had added a bit of his marinara – just enough to make the “usual” scampi broth a lovely light pink.  That sort of addition is more common in his native cuisine than Italian and, with the addition of some scallions it make for a great dish.  We need to let smart people with excellent skills use them in new cuisines and see what emerges.  As I found last night, the result is often surprisingly good.

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