Tag Archives: management

August 2, 2013 · 8:45 am

Management And Mussels

Foodie Friday!  We were out to dinner last weekend and two of us split a plate of mussels as an appetizer.

Mussels at Trouville fish market

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They were delicious but they also got me thinking.  As you’re probably aware, mussels are part of the clam family.  There are lots of different varieties and you can prepare them in any of several ways.  You can grill them, fry them, smoke them or boil them.  Most of the time, they’re steamed in wine and/or water with different herbs and garlic.

Unlike other types of shellfish, I’m not aware of many places serving mussels on the half shell uncooked.  I’m not sure why that is although I’d speculate that it’s because their shell seems more fragile to me – sort of like steamer clams which aren’t really suitable to be served on the half shell.  It would be hard to get them open without breaking the shells and disturbing the meat inside.  You can tell if they’re alive before you cook them (and the MUST be) because they’ll shut down a bit when you disturb them.

Isn’t it interesting how working productively to supervise other folks can be just like cooking mussels?  The method of doing so usually involves the application of slow, gentle heat to coax the best out of them.  You can’t just apply that heat, to people, however intensely, and expect them to turn out great results.  Screaming at staff doesn’t work, nor do threats.  Explanations of goals and desired outcomes as a conversation (not a lecture) work wonders.  You’re in charge – you need to add the things that will enhance what your folks are bringing to the table – herbs and spices to the mussels; clear direction, and timing for your staff.

The expressions “clam up” applies both to shellfish and people.  Make them feel unsafe and they shut down, drawing shells tight around them.  It’s critical to notice if people DON’T react to events going on around them.  Those may be the ones that have lost their spark completely and, like dead shellfish, need to be dealt with before they spoil the dish (they can make you sick too!).

Managing as if you’re cooking mussels isn’t a bad thought in my book.  Yours?

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July 1, 2013 · 9:41 am

Driving For Show

There is something really extraordinary going on right now in the sports world and I’m not sure you’re paying attention to it. As it turns out (big shock) I also see a business point in it and that’s our topic today.

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 10: Inbee Park (KOR)...

(Photo by Keith Allison) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If the name “Inbee Park” is unfamiliar to you, it probably won’t be for long. She’s just won the U.S. Women’s Open, the third major golf championship she’s won this year. In context, the last time a pro – male or female – won the first three majors of the year was 60 years ago.  That’s amazing but what makes it even more so is how she’s managed to win them all.  It’s not because she hits the ball a long way – she doesn’t.  In fact, she’s usually using harder to hit clubs from the same distances as other pros because she doesn’t hit it as far.  She’s not a lot more accurate either.  She ranks 55th in fairways hit off the tee and 17th in green’s hit in regulation.  Where she excels is putting.  As a golfer I can tell you that I have never seen any pro on any tour putt the way she is putting.  She’s making everything of any length – 25, 30, 40 feet.  It doesn’t matter.  And that’s the business point.

There is an old golf expression – drive for show, putt for dough.  A big drive counts just the same as a perfect putt and great putting – as Inbee Park shows – can make a good golfer into a great one.  It’s the same for business.  Many businesses focus on the “big drive” – flashy new products, for example – instead of excellent putting – the stuff that really matters.  When was the last time you and your team thought about not what makes a huge impression but about what makes the cash register ring?

Golfers forget that putting is usually 40%-50% of the shots yet many spend hours practicing their driving which they might do 14 times a round.  Businesses need to focus on the little things that happen every day and constantly.  That’s how they win.  Your business doesn’t have to excel at everything as long as the focus and performance is there on the things that matter and the rest of the performance is solid if not exceptional.

Hitting a booming drive it satisfying but sinking a long putt wins – in golf as well as in business.  You agree?

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June 18, 2013 · 9:02 am

Learning From Cheetahs

Every once in a while I find something in the world of science that teaches me something about business. Such was the case the other day as I read an article about cheetahs in the N.Y. Times. No, this isn’t going to be some clever pun about cheetahs never winning (sorry) but about how many businesses can learn something from the cheetah’s hunting tactics.

Cheetah

(Photo credit: fatedsnowfox)

As the article said:

Anyone who has watched a cheetah run down an antelope knows that these cats are impressively fast. But it turns out that speed is not the secret to their prodigious hunting skills: a novel study of how cheetahs chase prey in the wild shows that it is their agility — their skill at leaping sideways, changing directions abruptly and slowing down quickly — that gives those antelope such bad odds.

Cheetahs don’t actually go very fast when they’re hunting,” said Alan M. Wilson, a professor at the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London who studied cheetahs in Botswana and published a paper about them on Wednesday in the journal Nature. “The hunt is much more about maneuvering, about acceleration, about ducking and diving to capture the prey.”

How many times have you read something urging businesses to “fail fast?”  I think that’s a misnomer – it’s not about failing; it’s about learning and having the cheetah-like agility to change direction.  Just as cheetahs don’t go full-out fast when hunting (they’re capable of running 65 MPH – they might hunt at 35 MPH), maybe those of us in business need to learn to slow down a tad so we can turn.  I think it’s also about being able to see the landscape more clearly as you’re moving more slowly.  As you know if you’ve ever looked sideways out of a car going 60, things are pretty blurry when you’re moving fast.

There’s an expression in racing – slow down to go fast.  I like that a lot better than “haste makes waste.”  Given the pace of change, it’s important to have the capability to run like the cheetah.  It’s equally important to know when that speed is something to sacrifice in order to have a successful hunt.  You agree?

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