Rich Moran
On Judgement and the Governor
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged jobs, mark sanford, feedback, careers, Entrepreneurs, Current News, Workplace
There is no need to pile on South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford for his problems. There is enough opinions flying about should he resign or not and the future of his marriage. But there is an organizational and career lesson to be learned from the good Governor’s adventures. The lesson is, if you indulge in bad behavior and misdeeds you will get caught. I repeat, You Will Get Caught. Since most people, even children, know they will get caught, it just makes me wonder when high profile people do irresponsible things.
At work, in general, truth will prevail. I have just seen it too many times. It may not happen immediately, but bad people doing bad things do get caught. So will you.
In that light, I have questions for the Governor, I know he won’t answer them but I am dying of organizational curiosity:
- Did you think you could go away for five days in another country to meet you girlfriend and not tell any one where you were going and that you wouldn’t get caught? If a state employee like a clerk at the DMV in
South Carolina - Did you have fun in Argentina knowing that the entire country was wondering what the hell happened to you especially since your wife was saying she didn’t know where you were either? Bernie Madoff knew for years that he would get caught and ran his business accordingly and maybe he is a guiltless guy but when you know you will get caught it sort of takes the fun out of the trouble you can make.
- Have you heard of John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton or the guy who taps his foot under the stall in the men’s room? These guys aren’t from ancient history. I have heard parallels drawn to you and Herodotus, Thucydides and other guys I sort of remember from Western Civilization 101, but the examples of getting caught are recent and frequent.
- Do you remember high school? In high school if you were dating one girl and went out with another, the entire school knew by the next day. Now all of
Argentina and theUS - Do you want to run for President? Even Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett and
Iran - What about later, did you think about that? Fantasize forward to a time when you could be elected to a bigger office. That is the time when all the information would come out anyway. JFK and Thomas Jefferson are still getting caught.
- What did you plan to say to everyone when you returned since I bet you assumed you would get caught? OK, I know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I apologize to everyone I hurt.
- Who did you sit next to on the airplane to
Argentina
People are fascinated by the Governor’s Big Adventure and it is mind boggling how he even pulled it off logistically. Like so many others before him, he is caught and the lesson for you, and me and everyone at any level in the organization: Do something weird or bad and you will get caught.
Career Night
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged jobs, careers, Current News, Entrepreneurs
Career Nights – Blast from the Past
- The students are not interested. Sure they show up because Mom or Dad or both suggest it would be a good thing to attend, but the student is more interested in the homework that isn’t done and due tomorrow. When it comes time for questions in the break out sessions, the most they can muster is “Do you make a lot of money?”
- The speakers are either self-important, secretly wish they had opted for a more challenging and lucrative career, or wish they were still in high school. Most are prepared but the audience is a tough one. It is not an easy role to try to convince a sixteen year old that the life of an actuary is wildly exciting.
- The information is still awful. Instead of a flyer that declares, “So You Want to Be a Brain Surgeon!” the new info declares “Careers in Brain Surgery for the 21st Century!” In a list of Hot Professions for 2009, the list included:
- Auditor
- Health Care Technician
- Networking/Systems Administrator
- Nurse
- Software Designer
- Counselor
Without checking, I would bet that is the same list given out to the Classes of 2000, 1990, 1980, and 1970. And I know kids have changed but I would guess the prospect of any of these careers hold as much interest to the high school student today as they did to earlier classes. A cynic would say those are still the hot careers because not a lot of people want to do them. Supply and demand.
In spite of the current economy, I don’t know if there has ever been a more exciting time in career choices. Everything is changing in wild ways. What is happening in technology, finance, energy, healthcare and even the government arena are creating huge changes and huge opportunities.For all of you auditors and health care technicians and others out there, no offense and I hope you enjoy your work. For all you undecideds out there, find something that makes your heart go pitter patter.
This and That
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged jobs, careers, Current News, Workplace, Uncategorized
Ideas for blogs about the workplace and careers don’t usually pop out in surf shops.
Surf shops for me are the place where I check out the banged up old boards and wish I was younger whilst the rest of the family checks out the latest fashions for people that hang around water. Surf shops at one time reeked of fiberglass fumes, now they are more likely to send off bamboo vapors from yoga mats. But this week, I enjoyed a most revealing, unusual and gnarly chat about careers with a dude who happens to work in a surf shop.
Before the question, “Can I help you?” could even be asked, the surf shop dude looked at me and asked, “What do you do?” It is never an easy question to answer (just ask my mother), but when asked by a young guy with a long dot under his lower lip and borderline dreadlocks, I wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know or not, so I chose to take the easy way out.
“Oh, a little bit of this and that.” I said, not dismissively, but more like, it’s too hard to explain what a career of venture capitalist, writer, consultant, wine maker would add up to.
“That’s cool,” he smiled, “I’m doing this before I do that.”
“Sometimes this is better than that, you know, so don’t be in a hurry,” I counseled.
“I know, but sometimes if you do this too long, that never happens. That probably pays the bills better but since I don’t know what that is, this is cool,” he said.
“Given the economy, you are lucky to have this,” I countered.
“Yeah, that for me is going to be really expensive and not sure if it will have a payoff, so this is good enough,” he postured.
“Lots of times this turns into that and you don’t even know this is it. When this happens you usually wonder about that,” I finished.
“Well, I know when I do that, I can’t do this and this is what I love. Do you ever wish you were still doing this instead of that?” he asked.
Given that I was talking to a twenty year old in a surf shop on the beach, it was hard to respond any way other than, “This and that can both be pretty good. Different times require looking at a lot of this until you find that.”
What Kind of Gone?
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged Uncategorized
Feedback on Feedback
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged feedback, jobs, careers, Current News, Workplace, Entrepreneurs, Uncategorized
He is a professor that wants his students to understand the realities in today’s organizations and I was there to tell stories about those realities. He called me a “war correspondent” about life in the work world.
Not surprisingly, the two sections were full of the bright, ambitious, poised students one would imagine at the GSB. I was there to speak about power how it can be used and abused and they were there to learn. The basic premise I wanted to convey was that in most organizations power comes from relationships. The strength and depth and number of relationships often dictate one’s power base. The more the relationships, the better. The higher the relationships the better. This concept is one that organizations like Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and the Davos crowd at the World Economic Forum have long recognized.
There were no debates in the two sections of the class about the power that relationships can generate or that competence counts for more than credentials. Where there was debate was over the concept of feedback. A student asked about one of my early books, entitled, Beware Those Who Ask for Feeedback and the debate went on from there. When it comes to feedback I operate from two basic hypotheses.
The first is that, in general, people can accurately assess their own performance. Key phrase here is “in general”. While watching a youth soccer game recently, a boy who was maybe five years old, ran out of the game with the declaration, “I sucked!” Immediately, a group of adults coddled him and said, “No, you were great, Johnnie.” But I had been watching other players beat Johnnie to the ball and score around him. Johnnie was right, he had sucked and he had accurately assessed his performance. When I give a speech I know how I believe I know how I performed. When I handle a situation, I know whether it was the right way to handle it, in my mind. Of course, what I tell my boss or my wife about it may be different, but in my heart of hearts, I think I know. The sports metaphors for this hypothesis are legion.
The second hypothesis is that when people ask for feedback, they are really looking for affirmation, not criticism. When your spouse comes out of the bathroom and asks, “How do I look?” be careful before you say anything other than a positive. After a speech when your boss asks you, “How did I do?” only say it was a bomb if you have another job lined up. Don’t believe me, try giving negative feedback in either situation. There are exceptions to the rule. There are those people who honestly want feedback, but those are often the people who want to move their performance from a level 8 to a level 10. Those are the people who know how they performed (see thought #one above) but may want to be told they performed really well, no matter the reality.
Even in an official performance review, I believe people know how they performed and they are testing if the reviewer agrees with the assessment. In any case, the one who is reviewed believes he/she is right. And in that same review, any negative feedback will be heard but want people want to really hear is how well they are doing.
It is a rare manager, and always a good one, who is self aware enough to understand performance perceptions and provide direct and helpful feedback to all.
No doubt, doctoral dissertations and major studies have been performed on both hypotheses but through the School of Feedback Follies I believe I am right on both hypotheses. Trust me on this one.
Cameras to the Left of Me, Cameras to the Right of Me…
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged Current News, Entrepreneurs, Workplace, Uncategorized
Rhetorical question….When does technology detract from a special event? Much has been written on the topic and we are approaching the condition where it never detracts or always detracts. There is very little left in the middle.
We are digital people and it can be a good thing. We love our cameras, webcams, iphones and all devices great and small. Usually. There are times when one wonders if the devices have taken over the event.
During the exhilarating broadcast of the Obama Inauguration, Tom Brokaw was filling time and said, “I wish I had the digital camera franchise in
Don’t get me wrong. Like most people I know, I was thrilled by President Obama and his presence. I was moved to tears by his speech and the hope he has instilled in the country. The crowd was inspirational too and I wished that some of those kids using their digital cameras to take photos from miles away had huge telephoto lenses. I know they will be posting those photos all over Facebook to prove they were there and that it was cold. What surprised me and had me wondering about the cameras, was all the people so close to the President who were taking photos. As he came down the stairs on the main platform, I saw Senators and former Vice Presidents whipping out their little digitals for the photo op. I saw members of the new and old Cabinet trying to figure out whether to look at the big screen on their camera or put their eye up to the little viewfinder. The cameras were everywhere. I was expecting Chief Justice Roberts to take out a camera and take a quick one while he was doing the swearing in. I was worried that a Secret Service Agent would whip a camera out of a shoulder holster. No worries there.
Don’t believe me? Check out the official photos and see the photos of all the photo-takers. In fact, with all the Official photographers there, why do the luminaries even have to worry about photos? Did they want to prove they were there?
At the luncheon immediately following the swearing-in, I spotted Cindy McCain on her blackberry while standing six inches away from Al Gore and a host of other dignitaries. I wondered who she could possibly be texting that was more important than the people around her. Was it the baby sitter to see if everything is all right? That might be an excuse but I doubt the baby sitter was of concern to her. There she was at probably the most historic event of her life and she is looking down thumb dancing rather than talking about global warming or at the very least, the
The behavior is everywhere. I went to a reception not long ago where the honoree was over in the corner on his blackberry. Who was he pinging? I can see a day where grooms will be taking photos of the bride while she recites her vows. I can see a day when the quarterback will be taking photos of the defense while on the field. I can see a day where …there are very few places where the camera isn’t there already.
Be present or be in the moment are sentiments that are worthy of heeding. If the camera makes you a spectator instead of a participant, leave the photos to the people who are getting paid to take the shots.
Long ago at a Bonnie Raitt concert the crowd was going wild for an encore. The stadium was full with forty thousand fans, each calling her name. She came back out, strummed her guitar a few times and said, “It’s not like I had something better to do.”
Sometimes there is something better to do than to text or take the photo.
Down Turn Opportunities
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged Current News, Entrepreneurs, WorkplaceDown Turn Opportunities
As a young boy I spent time with my Grandfather, trotting along behind him as he told stories. He was a story teller and a character of the first rank. To all of his grandsons, and there were a lot of us, he was fascinating. He would raise pigeons in his garage, have guinea pigs running around in his back yard, bury fish heads under his tomato plants and eat fried eel for lunch and share it with us. The stories he would tell often had to do with the “Great Depression”, as he called it.
We would drive around in his old DeSoto and he would point out giant houses right on the ocean and say, “See that house? During the Depression I could have bought that house for $2,000.00 but I didn’t have it.” We would drive by a big Cadillac convertible and he would say, “See that car? During the Depression a guy wanted to give me a car like that but I couldn’t afford the gas, so I didn’t take it.” The list of deals that he missed was long and grew longer as he grew older.
The word depression roams the front pages and conversations every day now and has a double meaning. There is the comparison and reference to that Great Depression of my Grandfather’s time and the mood of anyone who reads their 401K statements or labors in the auto or financial services industry. As in, “I am suffering from depression because I feel like we are about to enter a depression.”
If my Grandfather was around today he might say, “Don’t make the same mistakes I made. Times may be hard but don’t miss the opportunities that these times can create.”
It is a story I have been repeating lately as the waves of worries about the economy keep on coming.
It means take advantage of prices, take advantage of the time you may now have available, plan for when things come back. Here are some opportunistic activities for this down time that might help the glass at least look half full:
- Look for a job #1 : Test the waters. Then you can tell your kids how hard it was in ’08-’09 even for a real talent like you. Troll on www.monster.com and you will get a sense.
- Look for a job #2: If you are one of the many who don’t have a choice about looking for a job, and there are many don’t hide it. You have lots of company and you might make new friends.
- Look for a job #3: Try something new. This might be the time to convert from actuarial work to zoo keeping or go back to school to get that degree in preservation. Look on the job site at www.chronicleofphilathropy.com for helping jobs.
- Look for a job #4: When you see what the rest of the market looks like you might learn to love your boss who continues to invade your cubicle space.
- Keep a glass of water on your desk. Fill it half way with water and don’t let it evaporate. Gin or vodka might be an appropriate and handy substitute.
- Buy a house or two. Eventually the real estate market will come back and you can do your part to make it happen.
- Hit the romance key. Some old movies and TV shows managed to make the Great Depression seem romantic. Christmas gifts were simple and presented with love. (Think your kids would like a string of dried cranberries?) Think lucky romantic thoughts for this downturn.
There will be opportunities in this “special” time, just like there were for my Grandfather. The trick is to discern which will be the really good ones that you can tell your grandchildren about.
Meltdown ‘08
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged Current NewsThe events of the last week have been nothing short of shocking. Comparisons to the Crash of ’29 are everywhere. The downfall and perilous nature of the greats like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have us worried about all institutions. The latest turn of events makes the dotcom bubble and bust look like a test drive in an Aston Martin.
It is a perilous and serious situation and devastating for those losing their careers and nest eggs. The last thing I want to do is make light of it. But.
But these crazy events do raise questions about what will happen next and present the opportunity to make a few predictions. In that spirit, and you heard it hear first, I present the post ’08 Meltdown Predictions:
1. Retirement calculators will be the most used application on the web. What we thought was our retirement is being recalculated daily, not in the right way.
2. All Presidential candidates will soon offer you a job. The promised job may have compensation limits on it and it may be hard to find, but it will be promised.
3. Job search sites will bypass Facebook in traffic. A new site may crop up only for displaced investment bankers.
4. Company loyalty will increase. The old country song, “It Ain’t Love But it Ain’t Bad” will replace “Take this Job and Shove It” when it comes to careers.
5. Airlines will start giving pretzels again. Since people will curtail flying, it will be the lure to get people back into that middle seat.
6. Staycations will be the buzzword next summer too. As long as they don’t stay with me, that’s ok.
7. Wine sales will sky rocket. The attitude will become “Why Not?”
8. Do it yourself injuries will increase. Professionals of all sorts will try to fix their own garage door openers and it will be ugly.
9. Investment bankers will be the new Enron/Worldcom poster children of good gone bad.
10. The dot com crash will look better and better and sock puppets will go up in value.
11. A Virtual WPA will be created. A good idea. Use technology to get people back to work.
12. No one will actually take any blame because the blame will be dispersed onto so many people because no one understands exactly what happened. So far the blame has included all the CEO’s of all investment banks, Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan, George Bush, Chris Cox and many others.
Like other periods of crisis, financial or not, this one will pass. Investment bankers and Wall Street will re-emerge in a newly defined and regulated way. Many in financial institutions will look at this time as a defining period, the B.C./A.D. of their fortunes or lives and “normal” will take on a new meaning. Maybe we will all be wiser about how fragile organizations are, even big ones. Entrepreneurs who are smug about hitting a new revenue target need to remember that the venerable Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers all but disappeared over night.
We will get through this and we will be better for it. In the meantime, keep perspective and keep your job.
Tom Brady
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged Entrepreneurs, Workplace
The only one that suffers from holding back is you and your career. Imagine Steve Jobs or John Chambers or the Google Guys holding back. Those innovation ideas or process flow improvements or your creativity and sense of humor should be brought forward now, not next time. Next time may be too late. The more you add the more you will see. Too often, people hold back and stuff the value they can add in the lower right desk drawer waiting for a better time. That time is now. Get the recognition now, get the satisfaction that you made the place better now.
I wish Tom Brady a speedy recovery and I wish you would show everyone what you can really do now.
Free Consulting for Airlines
Published by Rich Moran on Tagged UncategorizedFrom inside any airline, they know that there are good reasons why a snowstorm in
The tweaking continues but in the wrong direction. Charging for checked bags, and three inches of extra leg room is insulting. Now taking away the free pretzels which are ok with me; I never liked those pretzels anyway. They weren’t really pretzels but more like a pretzel or two surrounded by some synthetic doodads in a sea of some kind of garlic powder that gave all passengers bad breath. People wonder what is left to cut. Since I am cheering for the airlines, the following is my list of ways for the airlines to continue to cut costs and move toward profitability:
- Lavatories could be a revenue generator. Why not charge by the minute? Public restrooms often charge for use, so why not here? On long flights the airlines could make a killing.
- Armrests are often contested territory. A charge for the use of armrests would guarantee usage.
- Updates from pilots are often rare, especially if there is a delay. For a surcharge, you could get updates about why you are still on the tarmac four hours after scheduled departure.
- Barter could be an option too. If passengers promise to stay and clean up the cabin, they can get free pretzels and coffee.
- The “Seat Pocket in Front of You” can come in handy. They could be locked until you pay for its use.
- Sitting at a window and enjoying the scenery should be a privilege. There could be a charge to get the window shade to go up.
- There could be a slot for quarters on the armrest that would enable passengers to use the recline feature on the seat. Conversely, airlines could charge people to prevent the passenger in front of them from using the recliner feature.
- Flight attendants could charge to chat with customers. It would be extra to be nice.
- Airsick bags are often used for scribbling notes that you don’t want to forget and for air sickness. There could be a small charge to use those bags.