All the World’s a Stage

Guest Blogger Mary O'Donnell, Fundraiser, Performer...MBA

 Following up a recent Business Women’s Finishing School article about the work of a performer, I have expanded on some of the lessons from the theater world that can be applied in the corporate world.

1.      Be prepared.

Like a job interview, an audition is all about research and preparation.  I always read the play before I audition, and if it’s a musical, I familiarize myself with the score. I had the opportunity to audition for (name drop) Ben Affleck for the first movie he directed.  I got a call the day before the audition, bought the book and read it before the audition the next morning.  Although I did not get the part, he was impressed that I had read the book on such short notice so that I could better understand what he was looking for in the on-camera audition.

2.      Know the players and their expectations.

You often have one or two minutes to do a “cold reading” for a director or casting agent, so you’d better know as much about the client as you do about the characters before the audition.  On-camera auditions involve clients who have clear expectations about the age, hair color, etc. for their characters.  If they say memorize the script and wear a business suit, do it.

3.      Establish clear goals.

Theaters projects have short time frames and lots of moving parts in various stages at any point in time.  If the goals and timelines are not clear for all of the participants onstage and backstage, the project can grind to a halt.

4.      Focus on your own goals.

When you are onstage acting, singing and dancing, there is no room in your brain to think about anything else but executing the script, your own staging, props and costume changes. There is no point in worrying about what everyone else is doing or not doing. If everyone focuses on achieving their own prescribed goals, it all comes together like a quilt—a crazy quilt, but an integrated whole nonetheless. 

5.      Rally the troops around a single shared vision

In any theatrical production, there is a specific script, but each actor uses his or her unique skills and perspective to interpret that script to bring it to life. The director’s job is to bring out the best in every performer through a process of respecting the actors’ instincts and interpretations, having a solid vision for the end product, and helping all the actors achieve that shared vision.

6.      Don’t take feedback personally

In the theater world, rejection is constant, and you can’t take it personally.  I go into every audition doing my best, but I know that there are too many elements of the audition outside my control.  The local theater circuit is a very small world with a smaller number of directors who have their friends, and cliques reign. A director may have very strong ideas about the physical “type” required for a role.  Sometimes you’re just not the vision the director has in his or her brain, and it’s more about your build and hair color than how well you read in an audition.  Accept it, and move on to the next project. 

7.      “There are no small parts, only small actors.”

Everyone is essential to success of a theatrical production.  Period.  See #8, #9 and #10.

8.      It takes a village

The people the audience never sees usually outnumber the performers onstage and are vital to the success of a show:  the guy backstage who built and moves the set pieces, the person who figures out a special effect, the lighting designer, the prop person who creates the 1959 newspaper, the costume designer, the stage manager who runs the show, and the volunteers who do the publicity.  This is a team effort, and everyone needs to pitch in on some less glamorous parts of the project to get the job done. 

9.      With concerted effort by all, today’s chaos can be tomorrow’s success.

“Tech week” is the week just before a theatrical production opens.  The set is onstage for the first time, the technical people are setting light cues, the orchestra is suddenly there, actors have quick costume changes to figure out, and everyone’s patience is tested.  Tech week is a very compressed version of a product launch where what looks like a looming disaster on Sunday becomes Friday’s successful opening night.

10.  It’s a small world

Your reputation can be broken in an instant.  One false step, diva moment or negative remark will be transmitted cryptically through Facebook status and backstage conversations, reaching everyone in the theater microcosm.  As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “One minute you’re in , and the next you’re out!”  If you have a reputation for being difficult to work with or unable to be a team player, you will not get the part.

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Am I My Resume?

20 questions for performing artists

East Coast and West Cost comedy come together in friendly harmony for our latest installment of “20 Questions.” Caroline Bender sat down with 3 talented women for a round of 20 Questions that explores the professional environment of the working actor/comedian, to expand our horizons in the world of work.  What us to spotlight the "workplace" of your profession?  Email the Finishing School at bwfinishingschool@gmail.com.

Deana Tolliver is Associate Managing Director of ImprovBoston, where she has been performing professionally for 6 years, in improvisation, sketch, and musical theatre. Her kids have joined the family business as the go-to cast for short films and live bits

From Los Angeles, meet Robyn Simms,  a 20 year veteran of the funny, from acting and writing to costume design and puppetry.   Her short film "Sisyphus" has played a number of prestigious film fests, including Palm Springs Shortsfest and the LA Comedy Shorts '09 and won a jury prize at the FilmOneFest. Robin is currently the assistant director of the Santa Barbara Minute Film Festival (the films are not small; they are 60 seconds long).

Sara Faith Alterman (also known by her nom de blog, “SFA”) is a bicoastal performer frequently subjected to bad in-flight comedy as she travels between San Francisco and Boston to practice her crafts – primarily, as co-producer of Mortified: Boston, and a member of San Francisco’s The Loose Interpretations. To the IRS, Sara Faith works full time as a freelance writer. She is working on her third book and contributes the occasional feature article.


Not all the comedians Miss Bender knows are Emerson College graduates. Just the best ones.


CB: I tend to start these interviews with a naïve question based completely on stereotype. Working in performing arts seems to me like a constant stream of job interviews. Or dating. How does it compare to, say, a business interview or a job application?

Robyn: It is totally a constant stream of job interviews. You know when they like you. I find it comforting when they at least like me, even if I don't book it. It's awful when you know they DON'T like you.

SFA: You have to constantly try to market yourself, then cross your fingers and hope for the best. I thought I did a really great job on that press release. Are they going to call me? Or are they going to choose some other starving idiot?

Deana: As artists we all kick into performance mode easily, and therefore we do incredibly well in job interviews. We can convince anyone to hire us. The problem is that we might not want that job. I had to learn to shift out of that mode long enough to ask the important questions so I could evaluate whether the job was right for the "real" me.

CB: Which describes the experience more accurately: Fame, High School Musical, American Idol, The Apprentice?

Deana: Is there a reality show where a stay at home mom takes a class and gets cast out of nowhere in a show? That was my experience. That should be a show... 

Robyn: Fame- the original movie. It captures the thrilling soaring feelings of creating, and the really sh***y times too. When they have the hot shot grad as their waiter, the dancer having an abortion and Coco having to take off her shirt at the end. I stand by Fame. A fairy tale, yes. But one with actual reality. 

SFA: I've only seen Fame, and the live theater version of High School Musical. Don't ask. So, I have no idea. But I DO get a lot of comparisons to the lovably annoying Rachel on Glee. Because I'm a diva. And Jewish. And I love knee socks. 

CB: But the rejection - the rejection! How do you bounce back from "we'll call you"? 
Robyn: You keep other irons in the fire at all times, and don't take it personally. It's a numbers game, and as long as a percentage of [it] is sticking to the wall, you know you got something. 

Deana: Since I am [also] on the business side of things … I cast just as often as I want to be cast. I learned that there really is something specific folks are looking for. More often than not the choice is not about who is the most talented - when you get to this level everyone is talented. It's about the right look, the right vibe with other actors, the opinion of one person that day. There are so many variables that, at least for me, there is no way to take it personally. It's not about me, it's about what they need for the role. 

CB: Yes, let's hear a pep talk. Tell us a story about nailing the audition. 

Robyn: I just went through 3 rounds of phone interviews and one on-camera, and then booked it. We shot it over this past weekend, a game show pilot which we then won. 

SFA: When I walked into my audition for the a cappella group I sing with, I was so nervous I thought I was going to boot all over my sheet music. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, opened my mouth...and f[lubb]ed up the opening lines of my song so badly that I had to start over. I just made a joke about it, slipped the director a fifty, and voila! Not only did I get in, but if you don't blink during the first 10 seconds of the latest promo for Hawaii 5-O, you'll catch me and the girls shoo-be-doo-bopping in front of the Golden Gate bridge.

Deana: The last commercial gig I got was amazing. I was the first person they saw for the role. The call was for a "Kelly Rippa" type. I got in, chatted them up, read the sides (part of the script) in a perky, Rippa-esque way - light news interview, morning show style. I finished and the director said, "I really wanted it to be more hard-hitting, like Barbara Walters". I wouldn't characterize Barbara Walters as hard-hitting, but what do I know. I asked if I could read again. I delivered a blend of Barbara Walters and Hank Phillippe Ryan - pensive, smart, then went for the jugular. He loved it. He was impressed with the reading, but he was more impressed that I could throw away the first reading so quickly and give him something completely different. He went out to the lobby and sent everyone else home. The shoot turned out to be a really fun day and has led to more work with that company. 

CB: What have we seen you in? 

Robyn: I have an episode of Tim and Eric Show this season-I'm in a Cinco commercial. 

Deana: I perform at ImprovBoston at least once a week in various improv and sketch shows. This month you can see me in the Mainstage shows each Saturday at 8 & 10. I just finished a run of the musical Lube - which I wrote and starred in. I will also be hosting the Boston Improv Festival here at ImprovBoston September 8-12, featuring improvisers from all over the world. 

SFA: The latest promo for Hawaii 5-O! Plus Mortified shows in Boston, LA, and San Francisco. And you can find my first two books on Amazon. 

CB: What's a role/show you've always wanted to do but haven't? 

Robyn: The wacky neighbor. 

CB: I find that an obvious misuse of resources.


SFA: Saturday Night Live. It's been my lifelong dream to be a writer and performer for that glorious Svengali Lorne Michaels.


Deana: As comedians, we all have the same dream - getting on SNL or winding up with a tolerable sit com. In mine I play Ellen Degeneres' sister, we have a large family, our other sisters are Bonnie Hunt, Katherine O'Hara and Amy Poehler. You know, because we're all funny and blonde. 

CB: These crazy kids today.... what are they doing wrong you would like to set them straight on? (is it ending sentences with prepositions, perhaps?) 

SFA: Stop thinking that life would be so much more glamorous if you could just land a reality TV show for you and your posse. 

Deana: If it isn't a joy for you there is no reason to do it. Each audition is an opportunity - even if you don't get the role it is not wasted time. A casting director might remember you for something else, that actress you met in the lobby might turn out to be a great contact or an even better friend. 

CB: That sounds like good advice in any profession 

Robyn: The crazy kids are doing everything right. I got no complaints about them. 

CB: Correct our naive notion that Life is a Cabaret. But without calling me "chum." 

Robyn: We have a saying at our house called "Circus Family." It is for when we have to do something (good or bad) that might seem really out of the ordinary to regular people. For instance- I have a coffin stored in the garage, for a short film [my husband] Steve wrote, but we have not gotten around to shooting yet. This weekend it's getting hauled out for a photoshoot that is being staged in our backyard. 

Tomorrow, Dexter is coming with mommy to pick up the rented costume jacket at the fancy dry cleaners that has a giant popcorn machine for customers, 24 hour service and limo parking. The coat had to be specially cleaned because the animation guys wrapped it around an actual fish during the shoot this week. It was rented from a costume house where Dex and I spent a hour finding it in a warehouse the size of a football field. It was my job for the week-costuming a live action segment for Cartoon Network's "Flapjack." 

Deana: Life is a Cabaret! Except without having to perform for the Germans' Weimar Republic. 

SFA: It is. It's full of song and dance and terrible wigs. 

CB: Describe one of the "special skills" on your resume and how you came by it. 

Robyn: my favorite special skill I have is a very loud whistle. I learned how to do it the summer before 8th grade. I practiced a lot, and it is an awesome skill and the envy of many. 

SFA: I can pick a lock with a credit card. I wish I could say I picked that one up in the pokey, but the truth is I was locked out of my dorm room in college and I was too lazy (or drunk?) to call security, so I figured it out. 

Deana: I actually have "Single mother of two" under special skills - because it IS a special skill to juggle all this. I will refrain from telling you how I cam by that special skill in this interview, but if you ever want to grab a drink... 

CB: It’s important that we acknowledge that in addition to practicing your crafts, you are all employed at full-time jobs, and Deana and Robyn, you are parents as well. It's so trendy to talk about work/life balance. How do you find work/work balance? 

Deana: Divorce! It's honestly been a godsend for my career. Now that the kids are with their dad every other weekend I can travel to festivals and book more gigs. I mean, my personal life is a disaster but I have a lot more time for the funny. (I'm joking, I'm fine) 

Robyn: I don't sleep. [T]he middle of the night seems to be the only time I can get the peace and solid time to create anything. This is a terrible cycle. I recently had two nights in a row of sleep- 10 hours and then an 8, and I felt amazing. But nothing got done-my house was a mess, no bills got paid, no emails answered and certainly no personal art was made. 

SFA: Work/work balance is a tricky little bitch that's been playing hide and seek with me for my entire career. I have a hard time focusing on my "real" job sometimes, because I'm so excited about upcoming [Mortified] shows that I'll spend hours flipping through my old diaries, or fiddling around with arrangements of Beyonce songs on Finale. Is there a pill for that? Can you get me some? Basically, I sit around in my pajamas and stress out about my cell phone bill. 

CB: What would it take for you to be a full-time performer ? How do you work to make that happen? 

Robyn: Money to pay my bills when I'm not working, money to pay for a babysitter to watch my child while I exercised myself daily into a size 6, money for new pictures, money for a better wardrobe, money for more and constant grooming. 

Deana: I have been very lucky to create a combo of administrative work/performing at ImprovBoston. It allows me to go on auditions, and then take time off to shoot things. I have a steady pay check and still get to work in the arts. Now, if someone wants to offer me a full-time performing gig that will be steady I'd love to chat with them! With two kids, the stability of having a "day job" is important - I just happen to have a really cool day job.

 
SFA: Honestly, it's all about the Benjamins, baby. If i could be confident that I'd be able to pay my rent, and that I wouldn't have to face too much rejection on a regular basis, I'd go for it. Wow, that makes me sound like a timid a****le. Maybe I should just go for it right now. 

CB: When you imagine yourself in a completely different professional field, what do you think is most likely? 

Deana: Teacher - which is sort of cheating because I teach here as part of my job. But I mean classroom teacher, like elementary school or something. A good teacher uses the same elements that we use in improvisation - tapping into what interests your audience and exploring that, setting up an environment that insists on supporting one another and thinking quickly on your feet. 

Robyn: My fantasy jobs all seem to involve wearing smart looking suits with statement jewelry and working in an office. They also pay a lot. I'm always well groomed and have many material possessions. I think it always boils down to money. Happiness doesn't play into these fantasies at all, they are pure and utter Stuff Porn. 

SFA: In my next life, I'd like to run an animal rescue organization. 

CB: When do these kind of thoughts occur to you? 

SFA: Every time I look at my dog, Noodle, who I rescued/kidnapped from Beijing, China in 2008. 

Robyn: When I realize there is too much month at the end of the money. 

Deana: But then I remember that teachers don't make any money either. 

CB: Do you now, or have you ever, worked in a traditional office/cube type environment? 

SFA: I was a reporter with The Boston Phoenix until 2009, but being a journalist, especially for an Alternative Weekly newspaper, isn't terribly traditional. I kept a bottle of whiskey in my desk, and would toss one back with my coworkers on a rough day. Don't think that would fly at a financial services company. 

Deana: I have certainly worked in lots of offices, though I would not call any of them "traditional". They have all been crazy in some way or other. Maybe the common thread there is me, and when I am not there they are very normal places to work. I have also worked in very corporate environments where I had to wear suits all day, it just wasn't the right fit for me, but they were all great opportunities and led me to where I am now. 

Robyn: For about 6 months at the beginning of my career in NYC, I was the receptionist at two different production houses. Both were terrible jobs. Had one of them been better, instead of making me think I would go postal, where would I be now?
 

CB: Anything you would (or do) borrow from that culture to benefit life backstage? 

SFA: Being a successful business person means constantly having to go with the flow and not let unexpected obstacles trip you up too badly. And to constantly envision the big picture. That sort of mentality is tremendously helpful when you're trying to produce a show, or when you f*** up onstage. 

Deana: [I]t is important whenever meeting directors, casting agents, and other actors to be very professional - some actors just don't get that. Be on time, be polite, follow up after the shoot to say thank you, simple things that the corporate world knows very well. 

Robyn: The [entertainment] world I work in…IS corporate. Still art, but there is a lot of money at stake. 

CB: What aspects of the arts/entertainment environment would benefit the corporate world?
 
Robyn: Craft Services would be a great morale booster. So would wacky costumes and better lighting. 

SFA: The principals of improv are the same as those of negotiation and general communication; accept another person's idea and build upon it, rather than shoot it down. That idea makes for much more productive communication and idea/product development. 

Deana: I am a corporate trainer as part of my day job. I teach businesses how to use the foundations of improv to benefit their bottom line. We teach people how to create corporate cultures that encourage support and creativity, that truly allow for ideas to grow, and that allow for better communication across all levels of the company. I truly believe that in order to have a successful business you need to embrace ideas, encourage humor and allow folks some fun in their day. 

One to grow on...


Audio-Visual Aids
Sisyphus
Hawaii 5-0
Single Mother on Election Night

note: 20 questions round tables are conducted by email.  Participants are not in actual conversation.  But then, this isn't a real Finishing School.  ~~CB

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Ask a Manager: Managing Up

Dick Whitman, Manager in Residence


Dear Manager, 

"Do you have any tips on how an underling should initiate a conversation with her boss about concerns she has regarding their working relationship? For example, my boss shows up late for meetings I am facilitating, gives me assignments that lead me to believe she thinks I'm her assistant, and she doesn't provide feedback in a timely manner, which slows my progress on projects. I'd like the conversation to be mature and productive, not a laundry list of things that are annoying me. Thanks for your input."



There are a few questions I’d love to ask you before sending you in for that tough conversation. If I had a little more detail, my guidance might be more direct, but ultimately what I’m going to tell you should lead to the same end result. So in preparing to address this situation, I’d suggest you analyze it from two additional points of view.


First, I’d like you to consider your boss’ behavior with others to determine if this is truly an issue with how she sees you or if these problems might be areas in which your boss needs to improve in general. For example, does your boss show up late for everyone’s meetings? This might not be an issue of your boss not respecting you. Maybe your boss has time management challenges, or better yet maybe your boss has had too damn much work piled on her plate and how can they expect her to find enough hours in the day to get through all of these endless back to back meetings!


Sigh. OK better now. Where were we?


I kid. But seriously, I would like you to try to truly understand whether you are being singled out with this behavior because, while it won’t necessarily change the words you use in raising the issue, it will give you some additional perspective as to how much of this issue is within your control.


In thinking this through, it’s ok to ask a few trusted peers for their input, but I would recommend you use your own powers of (objective) observation as much as possible. Going around asking everyone in the group if the boss treats them like an assistant would be  “stirring the pot”, and I’ve never been convinced that the input you get from this kind of thing is all that valid. I’ve had people come to me with complaints at times that end with “and everyone else feels that way too” and this always makes me picture the scene by the water cooler where heads are all nodding as the villagers are getting ready to storm the castle.


We managers have enough trouble trying to keep morale up in this economy. I would get kicked out of the managers’ union if this response were viewed as a recommendation to go pot-stirring. You can get more trustworthy results by observing the other meetings you are in with your boss where you are not in the lead, nd her interactions with those who are.

 The second bit of perspective to think about is your own interaction with others. Think about past bosses you have had as well as peers and others senior to you in the organization. Is this situation with your boss a new dynamic, or are you having a “here we go again” feeling?  This kind of exploration is important before having the conversation with your boss so you can truly understand if this is a pervasive problem that you want to break out of for the good of your long-term career or if this is truly an issue of your boss needing to change her behavior to better support you.

 Now if you take all of this above reflection and organize it in your head, you will hopefully have a pretty well-rounded view of the situation and the potential drivers. You won’t necessarily talk about your findings with your boss. They are meant to provide you with perspective to ground you and help you to steer the conversation.


I highly recommend that you stay away from anything that sounds like “we have problems with our relationship”. That risks putting your boss immediately on the defensive, which will cause you to exert a lot of time and emotion in the world of denial. Depending upon your boss’ personality, this can lead to all sorts of reactions ranging from hostility at the notion of her being challenged to a hypersensitive effort to do everything in the opposite way….and probably with that sugary-sweet fakeness that people try when they are called out on bad behavior. You know the one.


Think about the goals that each of you (should) have within the workplace. A boss wants her team to be effective so she will be successful as the leader of that team. A team is made up of individual employees. An employee wants to be effective, treated with respect, and see growth in her career.


I think the best way to lead into the discussion is to talk about where you fit within the group. The issue you are raising should be about your role, your impact, and your ability to be effective. It should be about how you think you are perceived based upon concrete things you have observed, and how you would like your boss to help you to change this perception so you can be more effective within her group for the benefit of both of you.


For example, “I would like to understand how you perceive me in terms of my ability and effectiveness….it is my perception that you might not see me at the same level I see myself and I would like to understand what I need to do to change your perception of me…I would like to contribute at a higher level, as I have expected my job to involve x, but I’m finding myself spending a lot of time doing y…”


You will notice that I putting a heavy burden on you to take the hit for “what you can do” to change the situation. While I do think that you need to be prepared to share in the solution, this is not to suggest that it is all on you. I have just found this approach to be disarming and to help to mitigate some of the natural defensiveness that your boss might feel if coming under what feels like criticism.


Now get ready. Your boss might tell you that your perception of how she views you is actually not correct from her perspective.
 work and you don’t need it.

• She might tell you that she gives you the tasks that make you feel like her assistant because she trusts you more than others to help her more directly.
• She might say that she shows up late for your meeting because she trusts you to run the show (or she might throw out some whiny excuses about her workload being too high).
• She might tell you that she doesn’t give you a lot of feedback because she’s just happy with your work and you don't need it.

If the conversation goes in this direction, it is important to emphasize what you need from your boss to be effective. You can accept and appreciate this new perspective from her, but stick to your guns with regard to your needs. Tell her that you would like to have her support in your meetings and that you want to get feedback so you can continue to improve.

Tell her that you want to have challenging assignments and you would like to have the opportunity to contribute at a higher level than you do now. From there, you will probably need to let that percolate a bit, but I am hopeful that over time you will see some changes stemming from the fact that you raised her awareness.

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The Wicked Recruiter: Are they just not into you anymore?

Tina Duccini, The Wicked Recruiter

In a follow-up to last week's post, we asked the Wicked Recruiter to reveal more behind-the-scenes insight into Recruiter behavior.
Dear Wicked Recruiter, 
What does it mean if a recruiter has started talking about making an offer and seems enthusiastic, but then stops contacting you or returning your calls altogether? Are they "just not into you" anymore?

Answer: It means you have an underperforming recruiter. They likely ran into an awkward corporate situation and simply don't know how to talk about it.

The general awkward situations are:

1. req frozen due to public company quarterly shenanigans
2. req frozen due to department budget issues
3. req frozen due to company not doing so hot and not freezing reqs before candidates got to the offer process
4. Department/Hiring manager believing they had the right to hire but bypassed administrative steps and got stuck in the mud.
5. compensation inequity issues

A great recruiter knows how to talk about each of these types of issues. Companies with recruiters who can't address these issues have taken the first step in showing you how important hiring is to them. Companies may still get lucky and find some great people, even when they have an alarmingly bad hiring process; however, bad bait will only get you a good catch once in a while. Eventually, not taking your own hiring process seriously and failing to realize it is one of the 2 most important parts of your business will catch up to you.

You are only doing two things in business...

1. recruiting customers
2. recruiting employees to serve those customers

A business needs everyone in the company to know how the company makes money and use that knowledge to make good business decisions, the most important of those being hiring.

Hiring Human Resources/Recruitment staff who can't have hard, yet real, business conversations during the hiring process means a business is not taking #2 seriously. Which should make you ask how seriously they are taking #1.

However, there is still a chance they may turn out to be a good company to work for despite some awkward potholes in their hiring process. Take your experience seriously and look in to what happened. 

If you decide to take a job with a company that has an underwhelming or even downright insulting hiring process, then please do everyone a favor and insist on a better process and if necessary, a better HR/Staffing team.

Sometimes you have to play the game
Play to win
When you are in power
Change the rules!

Because putting people who don't get #1 and #2 in charge of hiring is costly and like arming your gates with your worst enemy. Bad HR and Recruitment staff is a Trojan Horse. Remember how that turned out for Troy?

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Tips from the trenches: Make your coworkers look good

Miss Minchin, Dean of Students

In school, group projects were the worst. One person always did all the work, one person always dominated the planning, or everyone did their own thing and it never came together as a cohesive project. The same dynamics can come into play in the world of work whether you are working on a cross-functional team, or simply depending on other groups to help you meet your deliverables. It can be tempting to sit back and let the slackers in the group expose themselves as unprepared or non-collaborative, while you seemingly “shine” in comparison, but in reality this will have the opposite effect. Your manager wants to know that she can rely on you to produce results, and this applies to team projects as well as individual contributions.

Rather than silently seethe when you find yourself doing more than your fair share, or focus only on your own contribution to the effort (and be surprised when someone drops the ball at the 11th hour), work to bring out the best in your team. Take a few proactive steps to help your colleagues shine and the whole team will look good. Here are a few examples:

• At least a day before a status meeting or presentation, check in with your team and make sure everyone is prepared.
• Ask:”Do you have everything you need for tomorrow? I’m expecting you will present X and I’ll present Y, is this what you had in mind?”
• Determine which updates/sections each person will present, and talk through how you think the meeting will be run.
• If you are presenting to executives, it doesn't hurt to stage a dry run in advance. Everyone will benefit.
•  Ensure any obstacles or negative reports your team has to make are presented with a plan to overcome them:
• “We are still waiting for the reports, but we’ve escalated this and it’s been promised by no later than next Monday.”
•  Help your colleagues present their results in the best light, you may have more experience in presenting than they do, or you can simply serve as a second pair of eyes.
• Instead of “the marketing campaign was not very successful, but it was our first one”, encourage them to report “the marketing campaign had a respectable showing for a first run, and we are working on a plan to make the next one even better”\
• Instead of letting your developer state that the code is only 30% done, encourage him to present it as “We prioritized the main workflows which are 90% complete and we are starting on the secondary workflows next week. “ (Of course – only if this is true)
• Make sure you check in with your team members on a regular basis, and set up a status call if there isn’t one already. 
• This is the place to check progress, ask if anyone needs help, and uncover obstacles before they lead to big problems. If your company culture doesn't support that, check in with each person one-on-one.
• This is not a forum to publicly shame team members into taking action. Understand that they each have their own individual priorities, and are stretched just as thin as you are.

In the end, it’s the finished result that counts, and supporting your colleagues will make you all look better. Throwing your colleagues under the bus will reflect negatively on you as well. What goes around comes around, and it never hurts to generate good will among coworkers. You never know, someday you might end up reporting to them, but with these skills under your belt it’s more likely they’ll end up reporting to you. ;)

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Ask A Manager: Asking for a raise

Dick Whitman, Manager in Residence

Dear Manager,
What was the most compelling request for a raise you have heard?

I think the most compelling request came from a guy who was brought into my company in an acquisition. His prior role in the smaller company was relatively contained and specific. Shortly after my company came onto the scene, a few key players from his very small group left abruptly and unexpectedly. We were left in a very bad spot in that we had so few people left who knew anything about this operation that was so new to us.

This guy – let’s call him “Bob” -- saw an opportunity to help the company while helping himself, and he volunteered to step up into a much bigger role that had been left without an owner. Bob told me where he saw the need for the business, and explained to me why he felt that he was the right guy to take on the role. In the process, he described some new ways that he would like to approach the job. Given the fact that I was in a bind and had very little to work with, it was an easy sell.

All of this was done before anyone mentioned money. Bob’s actions were far louder than any words he could have spoken. It was only after we had figured out the new structure that he said to me, with great candor and sincerity, “I want this business to succeed. I am happy to have this opportunity and I intend to make it work. I have seen the potential for years and I have wanted to play a bigger part in it. All I ask is that you look at my pay in relation to my job and consider whether it is appropriate.”

The combination of Bob’s words and actions made me fight as hard as I could to improve his compensation. I was able to give him a very healthy raise that put him more in line with his value to the organization, and to me.

The key here from a manager’s standpoint is that the increase in pay needs to be tied to the value of the work, and that this evaluation is most effective when it is done objectively. In other words, managers want to know that you have the business’ best interests in mind and that you are asking for a fair shake based on your contributions.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had employees ask for a raise because “they need one”. In my younger years I tried this once (and failed) myself, so you should know that I am not playing the holy card here. You just don’t want to be arguing for a raise because you want to start a family or because your kid needs braces, or because your in-laws are moving in and you need to buy a bigger house. These motivators might be the force that brings you to the table for the discussion, but they cannot enter into the justification for higher pay from the company, particularly when budgets are tight.

Remember, unless you work directly for the CEO, or maybe the Corporate Controller, your manager most likely will not be able to make an off-cycle raise happen for you without going up the chain and fighting for it in turn. Picture your manager telling the VP or Finance department that Nancy needs a raise because she has a wedding to pay for. Doesn’t work.

You also don’t want to be demanding anything. These are sensitive talks, and there is an inherent risk that your manager will be put on the defensive when asked. A manager can feel like he is faced with the problem of an important employee at risk of leaving -- or at least at risk of being unhappy, maybe spreading some bad cheer along the way -- and he is also being asked to do something that is not entirely under his control. As an employee, if you can help your manager understand the business rationale, you are then partnering with him to come to a solution together.

So my advice is to first show your value by going the extra mile, helping out, and working above the expectations of your job. After that, to do an honest assessment of where you stand in the market based upon the job that you do. If you feel like you have a clear case of undercompensation, then the tone of the discussion that works best, in my opinion, is something like this, “I like it here. I don’t want to think about leaving. Based on the information I have, and from my perspective, I believe that my compensation is out of line with the value that I bring. I am asking that you evaluate this and let me know if you agree. If you do, I am asking you to help correct this. If not, I’d like some help understanding why.”

-------
What's your opinion? Any positive/negative experiences asking for a raise? Does gender make a difference here? If you think it does, is it because we make it an issue or does management make it an issue? Tell us in the comments!
-Miss Minchin, Dean of Students

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Ask a Manager: What should we focus on for the new year?

Guest Lecturer, Dick Whitman, Manager in Residence 

What goals would you recommend our readers focus on at work for the new year? (e.g.what general skills should most people take more time to develop? What could women in particular do better at?)

You might have noticed that a lot of my answers to these questions have taken on a theme of “it’s not about you / it’s about the business.” Perhaps this is because a lot of the questions I’ve been getting have been about some sort of negotiation that is taking place in the workplace, where I maintain that you can be so much more effective in sticking to the facts.

I saw one of your (wise, charming) readers post a reply to the post about how women can hurt their own careers with some insight into the way women answer unreasonable requests with “it can’t be done” while men tend to turn the situation on it’s ear and lay out the scenario in which “it” could be done. I think this analysis is dead on.

While I referred to this just now as negotiation, I think the overall category is bigger than that. At the core of it all is interpersonal communication. It’s pretty big if you think about it. Ultimately we want to be successful in getting what we want. In the professional world, we use our communication skills to achieve this, just as a welder uses a blowtorch and a tailor uses a needle and thread.

Understanding how we communicate is just as important as the mastery of any tool by the person using it. Unfortunately, looking at how you communicate through your own lens is only part of the solution. It is more important to understand how you are perceived by others. You might be throwing off signals that are unknown to you but which can cause others to perceive you negatively without your knowledge.

It is hard to generalize and suggest a course of treatment that works for everyone, so I will recommend a more personal approach for you to meet your goals. I’m a big fan of gathering feedback from others. It can be something formal like a 360 review, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. Try having some one-on-one conversations with people that you interact with and whom you respect. See if you can get them to give you some input on how you are perceived.

Of course, it is very hard to get someone to open up with constructive criticism, but if you make it clear that you are trying to grow, you just might be surprised at the help you get. The key is to set up a non-threatening environment for the person you are talking to: nods and clarifying questions are much better than disgusted looks and folded arms. One trick about gathering constructive feedback from someone who is otherwise a fan is to ask the question this way: “what is one thing that you think I can do to improve at [insert lofty goal here].” The person you are talking to is more likely to understand that no one is perfect and it’s ok to call out just one. From there, you can ask for examples around where and how this issue has come up.

If you can stay mindful of the perceptions that others have of you, you will be on your way to changing the ones you don’t like so much. In the process, you will probably find that your openness to feedback will strengthen the relationships that you have with the people who have helped you to gather it.

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45 Things You do That Drive Your Boss Crazy (book review)

Recently, we referenced columnist Anita Bruzzese and her book 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy (and How to Avoid Them).  As you consider the change(s) you are prepared to embrace in 2010, you may be ready to take a look within.  This is a practical place to start.

Bruzzese lists the most glaring employee errors, categorizing them according to 4 simple statements:
1) Bosses don't promote employees who make them feel uncomfortable
2) Bosses get rid of employees with too many bad habits
3) Bosses don't give great projects to those who can't play nice and get along with others
4) Bosses don't give leadership roles to those who lack maturity and common sense

The language is pretty blunt, the stories jarring, but as Bruzzese writes,

"[employers] do not want to spend more dollars and time educating you about issues that they believe you should already know...They don't have time to write a book of rules..because they think you should already know that stuff.... But I do have time to write down the rules.  At the same time, I want you to know why the rules are important and why they matter to the boss."

We talk a lot in this space about toxic workplaces that are out to get you, that are trying to crush the beautiful independent soul you knew yourself to be.  But sometimes... it is you.

This is real Finishing School stuff -- the finer points of professionalism (or unprofessionalism, as the case may be) that will separate you from the others, that will get you noticed, for good or for bad.  It has value for all types of readers: new professionals, returning Moms, new Bosses, middle managers, and new hires. 

How to use this book
First, read it.  Go ahead and read it all the way through.  Each behavior is covered in 5 or 6 pages with a simple "might be obvious to you, but not to the guilty employee" explanation of how this behavior works against you (and it isn't just because it is annoying).  For example, "If you're not getting enough sleep, you will be cranky, forgetful, less productive, more likely to call in sick and can run the risk of having a wreck on the way to or from work."  I'll add, and likely to produce poor quality incomplete work with long lasting (even potentially dangerous) repercussions.

Second, quiz yourself, highlighter in hand.  How many of these do you do?  Don't make a lot of excuses, just make a mark if you have ever been guilty of the behavior described.  We are all guilty of some, some time or another.

Now, using Bruzzese's 4 postulates, identify where most of your behaviors lie.  Use this discovery to drive your priorities. This can be as simple as counting your behaviors in each section and writing the number at the top of the section introduction.   Are you most concerned with being promoted, retained, given an opportunity, or given leadership?  Start there.

Ask your confidantes for their input.  This takes some guts, so choose wisely.  Asking former co-workers may be less risky than asking within your current team.  Their examples will be less fresh, but you may feel less defensive about them.  Discuss which behaviors you should start with -- which are the most damaging, which can be changed most quickly?  Be prepared to listen (this is Thing #16, by the way.  Fighting Change is #45)

Take an action.  Bruzzese offers steps for each behavior that are practical, measurable goals.  For the Sleepy Employee, she recommends simple behavior changes that can help.  Don't feel pressured to try them all at once.  As with any life-changing goal, a small simple start is more likely to succeed and encourage you to continue.  I had a co-worker who literally took a nap on his lunch hour.  He knew he needed it every day, and his performance never showed that he did.

As a management tool
Managers, it is likely you know exactly what it is about Pouty McDrama that drives you bats (#4).  On the other hand, if you are unable to connect with some of your team, the list might help you articulate what is bothering you.  Bruzzese's bullet points can become talking points in your next 1:1.

As a performance review component
Whether you are writing your employee's goals, or your own, look for performance goals that can get you to the "Be a Better Employee" end you are both looking for without setting it as a vague goal itself.

Example:  Barbara has developed a reputation as an "undesirable."  Cross functional teams groan when she is chosen to represent her group, co-workers trade tips on how to work with her, upper managers wonder aloud whether she should be higher on the potential layoff list.  Asking Barbara to change her personality is not a fair performance goal.  Instead, identify what drives this ostracism and work to correct those specific behaviors.  Remember to choose those with the greatest/most frequent impact on business success and include Barbara in seeing the connection between what she does and the impact it has.

Best of luck, and Happy New Year!


45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy (and How to Avoid Them)
(c) 2007 Anita Bruzzese
Also available in Kindle version

Read Anita Bruzzese's  On the Job, in our blogroll at right.

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How To: Improve your performance review experience

Miss Minchin, Dean of Students

Here at the Finishing School, we hold a few truths to be self-evident:
1. Your performance review will be largely based on events from the 2 weeks preceding the review (rather than the prior year)
2. Your manager will rely very heavily on the self review you provide to complete her assessment of you
3. Performance reviews are often treated as a necessary evil, and few managers can deliver them well

Track your achievements:
Given these facts, it behooves you to keep solid records of your achievements throughout the year. Set a resolution this year to keep a log of all your accomplishments (large and small) so that when you need to write your self-review, you won't struggle to fill it with successes from 9 months earlier.

Set achievable goals:
Nothing is worse than having to acknowledge on your review that you failed to meet your objectives. Even worse is when these are personal goals you set for yourself. Don't shoot for the moon when you set your personal goals. If you think you can take 3 courses in advanced programming by the end of the year, set your goal to complete one.  You never know what emergencies will come up that can quickly sidetrack your plans.

Be prepared to work for quality feedback:
Most managers are not very good at delivering performance reviews, and let's be fair it's not an easy thing to do. Unless you have a great manager like I do, you're lucky if you get any constructive feedback at all. If you find yourself enduring a critique of your personality, or getting feedback that would have made a big difference 6 months ago (when it happened), you have some work to do. It will help to be prepared to ask some specific questions about how you can achieve more success in your role. One good exercise is the Stop, Start and Keep Doing question - Ask your manager "What would you like me to Stop doing, to Start doing and to Keep doing?" Keep the conversation focused on behaviors that are objective and measurable. And make a point going forward to check in with your manager or request mid-year reviews to ensure she does not hold onto feedback until it's too late to be helpful.

What are your top tips for surviving performance reviews? Have any horror stories? Share your stories in the comments.

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A Turning Point in a Working Mom's Career

We asked Joyce Maroney from Workforce Institute, to tell us about time when she realized she needed to make a change in how she saw or defined herself or her way of life. How did she prepare herself mentally/emotionally to make such a change, and how does she see that change now as she reflects on it?

Between 1983 and 2006, I worked for five different companies. Each time I left an organization, I did so because I had been recruited by a former manager. The upside of “managing” my career this way was the familiarity of working for people I knew, as well as the flattery inherent in being pursued by people I admired. I never left a job without knowing exactly where I was going next, and my responsibilities and title escalated steadily.

During this same period, I married and had two children. I worked full time, including extensive traveling for many years, throughout my childrens’ childhoods. Having entered the workforce in the late 70s, I didn’t take my status as a working mother for granted, and worked very hard to prevent my motherhood from being perceived as an impediment to my career progress. My children remember that I missed school plays and award ceremonies for work commitments that at the time I thought were critical, although I certainly no longer remember why.

In 2005, when my older child entered her senior year of high school, I realized that I had never been fully present and available to her due to my attitude toward work. As I looked ahead, I realized she’d be off to college in a year, and I’d likely never have that opportunity to demonstrate how important she was to me again. I decided to quit my job, and for the first time in my career, I left my job without having another job to go to. During the next eight months, I was available to participate in school events, go on college visits, and just hang out with my kids without feeling guilty that work would suffer as a consequence.

As far as mental/emotional preparation goes, I felt like I was stepping off a cliff, but I was willing to take the risk in order to be available without restrictions to my daughter.

I also realized that although I enjoyed many aspects of my position as an executive at a mid-sized tech company, I didn’t enjoy much of the content of my job. Throughout eight months of unemployment, I networked with lots of people and explored job options that were very different than what I had been doing. When I did start a new job - two weeks after my daughter started college - it was in a completely different functional area than my prior role. More than three years later, I am happy with my job, but more importantly have managed to maintain a healthier attitude toward work. I work just as hard when I’m on the job, but I don’t treat my family, volunteer and personal time commitments as less important than those required by my work.

In hindsight, it’s possible that I could have achieved better balance in 2006 without quitting my job, but I doubt it. I needed that period of no job to teach me that my worth as a person wasn’t inextricably bound to who I worked for or what my title was, and that the successes I’d achieved on the home front – happy kids, happy husband, good friends – were significant personal achievements. These may seem like obvious lessons, but I needed that respite from full time employment to have that epiphany.

Workforce Institute is a think tank that helps organizations drive performance by addressing human capital management issues that affect both hourly and salaried employees.

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Weekly roundup 12-4-2009

Some 2nd and 3rd opinions on topics we covered this week:

Waggleforce is a network of career clubs that provide a 10-week course of action for managing your job search.  If you are feeling lost and un-energized, if you have tried the local job center and found it wanting, find a local Waggleforce to connect with.  You will need to register before you can explore the tools, and most clubs will charge a fee for pay for materials.  You may also find success forming a club of your own with former colleagues, alumni, sorority sisters, even your book club has some percentage of members "in transition." 

We have not talked about the Jobs Summit in the space, but we can connect you to a couple of sites that are.  One CEO's open letter to the President was published on the Huffington Post and responds to most of the major points raised at the Summit.  Sphere takes an angle on the CEOs in attendance who represent some of this year's significant losses.

Recently one of our readers brought to our attention the role that childcare service can play in choosing a gym membership, which led us to this resource on licensure of in-gym childcare.  The article is from last year, and tips you off to what questions you should ask and assumptions you should not make.

Dayton Business Journal quotes BWFS member/reader Jay Hargis of HRCleanup.

We'll recommend another read -- good for both New Professionals and the Seasoned among you starting a new job, perhaps after several years as an expert on your last one: Michael Watkins' The First 90 Days.  Check out this article ("What to Do in the First 100 Days of Your New Job")  as well, from CIO.com.

Have a great weekend!

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20 Business Books They Expect You Have Read

crib notes for the current canon

Instructor, Caroline Bender

Business reading (or reading in whichever trade you practice) can be quite rewarding.  It helps articulate and codify your own workplace experiences, provides insight into the experiences of others, explains the development of a particular business practice, and earns points with management.  The Finishing School understands that keeping up with the business canon is very low on your list -- not because of its priority, but because it can be time-consuming, and requires both hands.


As our faculty tend to sigh, when we ask for their weekly book reviews, "I wish I had time to read."


In the interest of your time management, and just in time for holiday hinting, BWFSandSC present our crib notes for 20 commonly cited business references, to help you keep up with the herd and select which of these texts will get your precious time.


full disclosure: The Finishing School is an associate of Amazon.com and indicates in the capsules below whether a book is available in Kindle format.  We are referring specifically to the Kindle brand electronic reader, powered by Amazon.  Texts may also be available through other electronic reading devices.


last disclaimer: consider your public library and/or starting a book-buying co-op with workmates and networking groups.  A share/swap program can help everyone benefit.


Now the list - chronological order
The Art of War - by Sun Tzu (6th C, BCE)

Indulge your zeal to win by studying the master’s 13 chapters on waging war, from Laying Plans to The Use of Spies. Made available in English in the 1970s, Art of War might be the business book most cited by other business books (unless The Prince holds that honor). Sun Tzu the man may be more legend than fact, but he is very quotable: “Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.”
Print, Audio, Kindle

The Wealth of Nations – by Adam Smith (1776)
You think you read this in Western Civ. Don’t read it again; just memorize this: unregulated markets will naturally lead towards equilibrium
Print, Kindle

How to Win Friends and Influence People – by Dale Carnegie (1936)

We think of this text as coming from the “gray flannel suit era,” but it is a generation earlier. Its core principles, carefully outlined, sum up as “don’t be a jerk.” These were indeed hard times. While not the first self-help book, it may be the inspiration for the first self-help book parody, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, published the following year.
Print, Audio, Coursework
 
Atlas Shrugged – by Ayn Rand (1957)
Not technically a business book – a novel, in fact – but quoted often around the cube rows, usually by frustrated upstarts who have not yet shrugged themselves. Atlas:Rand as Dianetics:Hubbard. You’ll never read it, but you might check out the audio for your commute.


Here’s all you need to know:
“Objectivism” means “man [is] a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” (that is pg 1170, so we saved you some time.)
Alan Greenspan was a disciple of Ayn Rand’s
“Who is John Galt,” is the workers’ catch-phrase we know today as “It is what it is.” Get the t-shirt.
Print, Audio, Film
 
The Feminine Mystique – by Betty Freidan (1963)
“Housewifery expands to fit the time available.” If you read this in your 20s, as an assignment, try reading it again. By the way, it is not the “feminist,” mystique. We weren’t there yet. As a working woman, you owe it to the Mad Men generation to familiarize yourself with this. Freidan analyzes why women of a certain class (and, let's be honest, race) were bored and frustrated, and plows through the modern century’s (Western) definition of successful womanhood. Flash forward to My Secret Garden and The Beauty Myth for more of the same.
Print, Audio
 
The Peter Principle - by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull (1969)
Everyone is eventually promoted to their level of incompetence. With this book came the study of "hierarchiology," the study of stratifications in human society. Decades later, structures like “flat” and “matrix” organization would attempt to resolve Peter’s basic principle. Let us know if you think it has.
Print
 
The Managerial Woman - by Margaret Henning (1976)
The premise of this text, and of the Simmons College School of Management, which Henning helped establish, was that nothing taught to Henning and her co-author Anne Jardim in their Harvard Business program seemed to apply to the world as they moved through it. Moreover, they could not move their male colleagues to their way of thinking. They write, “The primary aim of this book is to help men and women understand the critically different beliefs and assumptions which they hold about themselves and each other, about organizations, and a management career.”
Print
 
In Search of Excellence - by Tom Peters (1982)

Tom Peters is the kind of expert the word “guru” is applied to, having forged his chops in organizational consulting practice, being listened to by bigger heads than his. Tom Peters says pithy Zen-like things like “Great people don’t make great teams,” which of course is true. Why didn’t you think of that?
Print, Audio, DVD
 
The Leadership Challenge - by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner (1987)
“Leadership challenge” is a registered trademark and a sort of Mary Kay cleansing system for leadership development. Kouzes and Posner were big in the adult learning/student development scene when they dared to suggest that Leadership could be taught and learned ...and presented evidence to back it up. They also opened discussion on whether Managers and Leaders were necessarily the same thing.


Learn the 5 Practices of Exemplary leadership (also trademarked): model, inspire, challenge, enable, encourage.
Print, Audio, Kindle. Currently in its 4th edition, and updated constantly.


Bonfire of the Vanities – by Tom Wolfe (1987)
What other “business read” would have been serialized in Rolling Stone? This late 80s “Crash” type novel drops The Master of the Universe into New York’s boiling over melting-pot when he hits a black man with a car. Cited in the business world, it is usually meant to refer to opportunists looking out for their own interests at the expense of others and not understanding the culture they themselves live in.
Print, Audio, Kindle, Unwatchable Film

 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - by Stephen R. Covey (1989)
This is self-help more than business, but so many business people turned to it, to figure out what the heck had just happened to them, that it qualifies for our purposes here. Most managers have this on their shelf, along with One Minute Manager, and sometimes First Break all the Rules. If you can actually invoke the habits to managers, you might have a conversation starter (they bear a striking resemblance to the 7 Principles of Kwanzaa, to tell you the truth).


You know “win/win” from this source. 7 habits went a little Chicken Soup crazy in recent years (see Highly Effective Teens, by Covey-the-Younger, Sean). If you have to pick only one, stay with the original. And yes, that’s the Franklin Covey guy.
Print, Audio, Flashcards
 
Barbarians at the Gate - by Bryan Burrough (1990)
1990 seems recent to some of us. It isn’t. We are so accustomed to leveraged buy-outs, mergers, and bail-outs, that it is hard to understand why the fall of RJR Nabisco was such a big deal. Or how a cigarette company and a cookie company were the same company in the first place.


Barbarians at the Gate brought a Capote-like narrative non-fiction to business reading that made later works like The Predator’s Ball, The Informant, and The Smartest Guys in the Room possible. It also evoked an All the President’s Men memory as the story unfolded slowly before being compiled for publication.
Print, Audio, Kindle, Film
 
The 5th Discipline – by Peter M Senge (1990)
…is systems thinking. Well, sure, we know that now, but it took an MIT professor to work it out. Senge advocated for “learning organizations,” a popular idea that drove some mission statements, until chief learning officers and knowledge managers needed to be cut.


“The tendency to see things as results of short-term events undermines our ability to see things on a grander scale. Cave men needed to react to events quickly for survival. However, the biggest threats we face nowadays are rarely sudden events, but slow, gradual processes, such as environmental changes.” Senge states 11 Laws of the fifth discipline, which make for good quoting, but most didn’t catch on. “The cure can be worse than the disease,” did, and “small changes can produce big results.”
Print, Audio
 
Built to Last – by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras (1994)
Collins challenged companies and their leaders to become “visionary,” before "start-up," "innovate," and "leapfrog" were thrown around the office. Instead it tried to coin the word “BHAG” (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) which the grateful nation notices did not, in fact, last. (See Fast Company’s review of the companies Collins and Porras claimed would “last,” before the Internet boom.)
Spawned a franchise which includes Good to Great (2001) and Success Built to Last (2006)
Print, Audio
 
Who Moved My Cheese – by Spencer Johnson (1998)
Subtitled “An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life,” which turns out to be “go with it,” which is…sort of amazing. Also amazing was 5 years on the NYT Bestseller list. Change management is all the talk in the Information Age, as organizations attempt a do-over every few months or so. Cheese used the allegory/parable approach to over-explain how not to let stuff bother you. Rather than simply tell us the story, the narrative has us listen to someone tell it to someone else, which stretches the story to book length. This one can be read on Wikipedia.
Print, Audio, Braille
 
The Tipping Point - by Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
The phrase means "the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable" and uses the “3 laws of epidemics” to explain how change happens. People ate this book up, but couldn’t figure out how to make it drive profit. It did help the case for “viral marketing,” and may be the Big Bang of social networking, but that remains to be seen.
Print, Audio, Kindle
 
Good to Great – by James C Collins (2001)
“Greatness” in this context has a financial meaning, not necessarily “immortalizing” your brand or your impact on the world. Like any solid biz-text, it has 7 principles of (in this case) companies that “went great,” and coins a lot of cutesy terms like “rinsing cottage cheese” and “getting on the bus.” Collins himself calls it his “prequel” to Built to Last, but some of the eleven Great companies named in the text did not last.
Print, Audio
 
Jack: Straight from the Gut – by Jack Welch (2001)
Management went mad for GE CEO Jack Welch, and he may have been an early role model for those you work with and alongside (see Jack Donaghy and Don Geiss on “30 Rock”). In the 20 years he ran GE, he sliced through inefficiencies and personnel, adopted Six Sigma quality control, and increased the value of the company 10 times over. He also seemed famously out of touch with public outrage.
Print, Audio, Kindle
 
Freakonomics - by Steven D. Levitt (2005)
This is one for the water-cooler, if people still stand around those anymore, or for the smokers’ bench, esp. if you have no sports talk. Freakonomics gained notoriety for suggesting that abortion had actually reduced crime, but it also does creative math with baby names and wrestling. It’s awfully mathy, but in ways that try to appeal to a general readership For example:


“…as incentives go, commissions are tricky. First of all, a 6 percent real-estate commission is typically split between the seller's agent and the buyer's. Each agent then kicks back half of her take to the agency. Which means that only 1.5 percent of the purchase price goes directly into your agent's pocket.


So on the sale of your $300,000 house, her personal take of the $18,000 commission is $4,500. Still not bad, you say. But what if the house was actually worth more than $300,000? What if, with a little more effort and patience and a few more newspaper ads, she could have sold it for $310,000? After the commission, that puts an additional $9,400 in your pocket. But the agent's additional share -- her personal 1.5 percent of the extra $10,000 -- is a mere $150. If you earn $9,400 while she earns only $150, maybe your incentives aren't aligned after all. (Especially when she's the one paying for the ads and doing all the work.) Is the agent willing to put out all that extra time, money, and energy for just $150?”


One you can cite when making sure you and your business partners as “aligned.”
Print, Audio, Kindle, Film in progress


The Wisdom of Crowds - by James Surowiecki (2004)
New catchphrase preferred by those who also like “the law of large numbers.” Repeating the subtitle (Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations) would be too annoying. An expansion of the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – in this case smarter – that favors “disorganized” decision-making. The key difference between a smart crowd and a dumb mob, says Surowiecki, comes to 4 factors: diversity of opinion, independence of individual thought, decentralization, and a mechanism for turning private judgment into collective decision. (This is the part your organization may be missing.)
Print, Audio, Kindle


Can you provide the 20th?  If we have left out your favorite(s), please contact us through the comments, or through our Facebook page. We would welcome your review and recommendation on an upcoming book review Sunday.

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