by Jane Perdue | Leadership
Gregory is the CEO for a small manufacturing firm that’s struggling to retain market share. The company has a long and proud history of financial success, so the poor business results are troubling.
To right the ship, the leadership team introduced multiple changes in how the business is run and staffed. While these changes were necessary for staying in business, they caused turbulence in employee morale and prompted employees to lose confidence in the ability of the firm’s management team.
The decline in employee confidence troubled Gregory and his team. He wondered if they might not have changed too much, too fast. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Be your best you
A fried egg doesn’t seem a likely cause of consternation—yet it was.
Perched atop a grilled hamburger, the egg drew stares not only from Katherine who had ordered the dish but from several of her dining companions as well.
“Well, I never expected this,” she exclaimed. “Who would eat an egg on a burger? This just doesn’t look right.”
Having lived in Denver where we experienced eggs on top of lots of unexpected foods, I suggested that she surprise her taste buds and take a small bite. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Character
We’re a people, a world, in love with numbers.
If it can’t be measured, the pundits say, it’s not worthwhile.
So, I have to give props to Klout for its sheer genius in playing into this love of numbers and formulating its influence scoring system.
How cool, some say, that there’s now a way to quantify online influence.
Fascinating how some individuals and companies raced to use klout scores for event invitations, advertising, social media ROI, job searches (really?), prestige, and self-esteem. Easy, but does it capture the whole picture? The truest essence? The heart of the matter?
From my perspective, a klout score is an arbitrary one-dimensional number that seeks to quantify something that’s qualitative.
I left corporate America because of the prevailing mindset that someone is only as good as their last set of numbers. I don’t believe everything about someone or something can be reduced to a single metric.
Some matters of the heart, the intuition, and the gut just can’t be quantified. Things like kindness or respect or collaboration.
If you’re like me, and have a love/hate relationship with klout and its algorithms, repeat after me: I am not a number.
I am not a number.
I won’t let a number determine my circle of contacts.
This heartless (IMHO) advice from “Klout expert” Amy Schmittaueron on how to improve your score gets a major thumbs down from me: “Make sure you’re engaging with people who have a relatively good to a higher Klout score. When you engage with people who have like no Klout or a really low score it’s reflects poorly on you.”
Come on!
Let’s not forget or ignore or discard the human factor here.
Go ahead on and let it “reflect poorly” on your score:
- Dare to share with an up-and-comer
- Boldly engage with someone who’s lonely and has few online connections
- Generously show some heart to those in need. It’s good for you and for them.
There not much soul in an algorithm.
I am not a number.
And I won’t treat you like you are one either.
Image source before quote: morgueFile.com
by Jane Perdue | Communications
My bad for getting behind in responding to my Twitter follow back messages, yet what an enlightening experience that turned out to be.
A number of people who had followed me on Twitter had unfollowed me—and a gazillion others—by the time I reached their Twitter home page to follow them.
Their follower and following ratios were quite lopsided. They were following a small handful of people (normally in the two-digit range), yet had numbers in the hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of people who were following them.
Hmmm, how interesting.
While I wonder whether or not they care enough to be interested, here’s the story their actions tell me.
- Others are simply a means to achieve my ends. I’ll fake some interest in you by following you but all I really want is you following me to boost my numbers.
- Don’t expect any reciprocity from me ‘cuz it’s all about me. I’m not gonna follow you, yet I know you’ll be watching your Twitter stream to see what I have to say.
- Superficial appearances are important. My follower/following numbers tell my elite story. What else is there to say?
- Who wants real connection anyway? It’s messy. Takes time. Might require an adult conversation from time-to-time.
I know I’m climbing the ladder of inference here, drawing conclusions that are based on my perception of reality. If you’re one of those folks I’m talking about here, do enlighten me! I’d love to know the reasons behind all the work you do to build a following and then drop them.
LeadBIG tip: be mindful of the stories your actions create in the minds and hearts of those around you. And, if you’ve created a story as I have, be mindful it’s your story: you wrote it based on your perception and view of point which might be correct…or dead wrong.
What’s your story?
Image source: morgueFile
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
A small company in economic distress engaged a research firm to help explore options for salvaging the business. The research firm suggested a series of small group meetings with employees to gain their perspective.
The company was reluctant to do so, yet decided to give the employee sessions a try, hoping to hear suggestions for improving productivity which they considered key to their survival.
The first question asked in the employee sessions was “tell us how to improve (name of the firm) so they can remain in business.” A few concrete suggestions for improvements to work flow and production schedules were offered.
However, employees at all levels of the organization – from administrative assistant to warehouse to shop floor to management – were fixated on talking about how badly they believed they were treated by top management.
Consider these comments, illustrative of 80% of the feedback:
- “My boss makes me feel like a piece of equipment, something to be used and discarded at his whim.”
- “The only thing senior leadership cares about is the numbers. If your results are good, it doesn’t matter what kind of person you are; and some of them are pretty despicable.”
- “When I reported a safety problem, my boss said I could quit if I didn’t like it. She said there were plenty of other people who would be happy to take my job.”
- “The guys in the ivory tower don’t even know us folks on the shop floor exist. We’re just a way for them to get their bonuses.”
When the research firm relayed the interview results to the company’s senior management team, the CEO quickly ended the meeting and fired the research firm on the spot, saying they had obviously botched the assignment.
Beware the warning signs of profits before people
If you’re a manager in an organization where company performance needs improving:
- Try to remember the last time someone in senior management walked the shop floor, asked questions of employees and really listened to their answers. If it’s been more than three months, schedule a walk around asap.
- Ask yourself if you have been ignoring the early warning signs of employee distress, things like turnover or low morale. Employees not sharing information with their boss. Whispering that stops when anyone in management walks by.
- Explore how senior management truly thinks about employees: are they viewed as assets or a means to drive profit?
- Are employees who share bad news dismissed as quickly as the research firm as?
- Do you feel valued, like you really matter; or do you feel like your efforts are only a means to someone’s economic end?
- Do you trust your colleagues, superiors, and your CEO? Do they trust you?
What have you experienced as far as principles and trust being sacrificed for profit?
Image source: morgueFile.com
