Monthly Archives: December 2011

Most Popular Practical Managers Post of 2012

Posted on December 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Survival, focus, feedback seemed to come out on top this year. I was surprised by some of these, but not by others. Here’s an obiligatory year-end top five list of the most popular Practical Managers blog posts:

5. The Definition of Business Focus

“If we did not do this already, would we go into it now? If not, what do we do now?”

One of the shortest blog posts ever, and quoted from Drucker.

4. Before Leading Others, Lead Yourself

I am more and more convinced that the biggest  obstacle to leadership is the self-imposed lack of regular blocks of uninterrupted time to think. This article came out of what happened when one of my clients went to France for a week on a family vacation, without his Blackberry. Since then he’s doubled the size of his business.

3. How to Give Corrective Feedback

2. How to Give Positive Feedback

One of those simple things that outstanding managers do well – giving continuous, mostly positive feedback. Can you become an okay manager and still avoid giving feedback? Maybe. Can you become an outstanding manager? Absolutely not.

Here’s the four “F’s” of feedback, in an easy to remember mnemonic so that you have no excuses:  fast, friendly, frequent, focused. Make it factual and actionable. That is all. Now go practice.

1. Deep Survival: Business Lessons From the Wild

I’d like to say that this is the most popular article because of my deep insight and wildly lucid writing style. I’d like to say that, but I can’t. More likely it’s because the work “survival” is a popular search term. Which just goes to show that sometimes you have to get lucky to make the hard work pay off, but if you don’t do the work you can’t get lucky.

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Posted in feedback, focus

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See you in the New Year

Posted on December 19, 2011 | 2 Comments

Hi Guys & Gals,

I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thank-you to everybody who reads and comments on my humble attempt at a blog. It’s been a great year, and I lots more planned for the next. See you in the New Year – and stay tuned for some “Top Ten” lists!

Thanks,
Bernie

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Creative versus Planner: How to Get Along

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve been accused of being “pie are squared”, a little too much of a colour-inside-the-lines kind of guy. Which is fine. If I’m trying to get something done I set my goal, set out the steps, and start ticking things off my to-do list. That doesn’t mean that I always succeed, but I enjoy the process of steadily making progress towards my goal, and the anticipation of completion.

Which is why I couldn’t figure out why how entrepreneurs were just as successful with their approach. It seemed to me that they couldn’t make up their mind, didn’t know were they were going, and changed course at random. Their approach was puzzling to me until I realized they just go through life in rapid-prototype mode.

They start with were they are, figure out what they have, and try to put it together in strange and interesting ways to see what happens. If something useful comes out of it, so much the better. If not, they’ll quickly drop it and go onto the next thing. They’re the creative types.

So if you’re a planner working with a creative type, remember that they don’t think in terms of process, but in terms of what if. For you this means you have to figure out what you (collectively) are trying to accomplish in the long term, which will give you a context for figuring out where the hell that latest idea came from and what it means to you. It also means that you need to check in with the current environment often, to make sure the plans haven’t changed. Sometimes this means waiting a day or two to see if the latest idea stuck, but also be ready to move quickly on it.

For you creative types working with us planners, please remember you’re working on a team now. If you could do it all yourself you wouldn’t need to hire other people. Let them know where you’re going, and try to cross the finish line with all of your people together. There’s no point finishing the race if the rest of the company is still in the parking lot tying on their running shoes. And remember: all those good ideas mean nothing if you can’t make them reality.

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Posted in emotional intelligence, engagement, relationships, self-awareness, teamwork

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The Four F’s of Feedback

Posted on December 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

Fast, Friendly, Frequent, Focused

Giving feedback sucks. For whatever reason many managers aren’t good at it. I won’t list all the reasons I’ve heard , but I’m sure you can think back to some of your own, perhaps from bitter experience.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

It doesn’t have to be torturous, drown-out, or dramatic. My clients who give fast, friendly, frequent, and focused feedback to their staff  have found it doesn’t take very long to see huge changes in performance, both individually and at the team level.

Fast

10 seconds is all you need to give feedback. Longer that that you’re not getting to the point. Think about what you want to say, then say it. End of story. Don’t make a big deal about it. Giving feedback should be as natural as breathing for a leader. Treat it that way.

Friendly

Giving somebody feedback is an act of love. You’re trying to help them get better. Helping people do better is part of your job. It’s not the end of the world. If the person you’re giving feedback to treats it that way, it’s their choice, and that’s a different conversation.

Keep it friendly, keep it relaxed, keep it informal. Remember also that while positive feedback isn’t as powerful a kick in the pants as constructive feedback, it’s more likely to result in the behaviour you want. You just have to give it more often. Catch them doing something right.

Frequent

My wife was driving back from giving a presentation in small-town Saskatchewan once. It was late, it had been a long day, and she was tired. She fell asleep in one town and woke up in another 50 kilometers later when the smell of farmers burning their fields got her attention. Good thing the highways in Saskatchewan are so straight.

Usually when we’re driving we are continuously making small corrections using the steering wheel, instead of waiting just before we hit the ditch to yank on the wheel to get us back on course. Feedback is the same thing.

Start by giving feedback once a day. You’ll quickly see what difference it makes, and you’ll want to do it more often.

Focused

By focused I mean specific and actionable. Tell them what you want them to do, what behaviour you want them to change (or keep doing), or what physical, tangible action they need to take in order to improve for next time. Feedback is useless if the target of your feedback doesn’t know what to do with it.

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Posted in behaviour, change, coaching, communications, feedback, focus

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