I'm betting your boss didn't write this one

Posted on March 1, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

Happy to receive this emailIf you had received this note from your boss–or the boss–at your last job, would you still be there? Would you like to get a note like this from your current boss? (Hat tip to Seth Godin)

Posted in Accountability, Honesty, Truth | 1 Comment

Thanks for contributing to More than a living in February 2007

Posted on February 28, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

During February 2007, the following folks have taken the time to stop by, read, consider, and comment. And for that, we are very appreciative. Thank you.

Posted in Thanks | Leave a comment

Hey Ma, look! I'm a social entrepreneur.

Posted on February 27, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

My reaction to our new classificationAfter following a series of links, I just stumbled upon Intuit’s Future of Small Business report.

And as I was reading it, I was already composing my post. Thinking of describing it as a “good refresher on the world today.” Not a great deal of “Ah ha!” moments, but I did encounter a number of “Well, duh!” moments. I can always use “Well, duh!” moments. It heightens my sense of superiority.

I thought the report was appropriately timed, given this passage:

Workers realize the traditional social contract is broken and there are few “jobs for life” left. Work increasingly consists of a series of employers and opportunities rather than a lifelong relationship with one company. With less security, lower benefits, and often long and inflexible work schedules, working for a large company simply isn’t as attractive as it used to be. This has resulted in people increasingly looking to small business and entrepreneurship for employment.

And both Penelope Trunk’s and my own post of the same ilk.

That was my plan. Call it a good piece. Promote it. Share and share alike.

But then, I encountered this little ditty:

Just as a business entrepreneur identifies an unfilled market niche, a social entrepreneur focuses their business on addressing socioeconomic problems. A social entrepreneur often starts as a concerned citizen, disturbed by some societal or economic dislocation, who wants to effect change. Just like business entrepreneurs, the social entrepreneur identifies opportunities others have missed to improve ways that systems work. But rather than just generating profits, social entrepreneurs primarily seek to generate social value.

And it dawned on me that More than a living now has its own buzzword.

I mean, we’re not doing this to get rich. If we were, we’d already be well on the road to failure. We’re doing it, because it seems like the right thing to do. It seems like it needs to be done. And we don’t see anyone else doing it exactly the way we wanted.

So I guess we’re “social entrepreneurs.” Whoopee.
All kidding aside. It’s interesting to see this in print. This concept that people are taking on this type of charge. For the greater good. Good to see it classified and “made real.”

I’m not so sure it’s good that it’s called “social entrepreneur” (partly because I devolve into a fifth-grade spelling-bee contestant every time I type it). So it’s a mixed blessing. Sort of aggravating and sort of invigorating.

Kind of like reading this blog.

And one of the keys there, I think (I’m no expert; I just discovered I was a social entrepreneur), is that it’s “social.” Meaning, your participation is key.

You’re important. You’re part of this. And, we’re glad you here.

Join us in reveling in buzzword-dom, won’t you? That’s being social. And entrepreneurial.

Oh, and take a chance to read the report. It’s a quick read.

Posted in Culture, Entrepreneur, Report | 3 Comments

Are you reading Brazen Careerist, Penelope Trunk?

Posted on February 26, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

If you’re not you should be.

Why?

Well, for one reason, Brazen Careerist is good. Really good. All of it. Most everything Penelope Trunk writes. (She is part of 9rules, after all.)

I’m serious.

But today, especially, in this post: Make Life More Stable with More Frequent Job Changes. There is so much there, in terms of good content, I don’t really know where to begin.

Oh, wait. Yes, I do. This quote:

Staying in one job forever is today’s recipe for career suicide.

You sing it, sister.

Or maybe it was this one:

The best financial security today is to have great job hunting skills that never stop. Go to the best job, do it until you find another best job. This is the kind of person who will always be able to get money when they need it.

Sigh. Is it getting hot in here? I feel a bit faint.

I mean, this is the one of the best rants against the “two-page resume” generation I’ve read in quite some time. And you know that’s saying a lot, given how much I enjoy reading my own rants. Chuckling smugly to myself. And re-reading them, again.

If I’m making time for Penelope, you should be, too.

Posted in Career, Change, Employment, Experience, Fear, Success | 2 Comments

That toward which we are working

Posted on February 26, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

Your job and your calling

Courtesy of indexed.

And yes, indexed is always this good. Please subscribe.

Posted in Career, Happiness | Leave a comment

Kathy Sierra's bad marriage metaphor dead on for employees, too

Posted on February 26, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

Day 1You don’t need me to sit here and prattle on, yet again, about how much of a genius Kathy Sierra is. If you do, I’d be happy to do that. But I won’t until you ask. (Maybe I’m just tittering on about her, this time, because we both just used the marriage metaphor in blog posts. Who knows?)

But please go read Creating Passionate Users: Too many companies are like bad marriages. And think about it.

It’s been said that the secret to a good marriage is… don’t change. In other words, be the person you were when you were merely dating. Don’t stop paying attention. Don’t stop being kind. Don’t gain 50 pounds. Don’t stop flirting. Stay passionate, stay sexy, stay caring. Answer their calls. Unfortunately, too many companies are all candle-lit dinners, fine wine, and “let’s talk about you” until the deal is sealed. Once they have you (i.e. you became a paying customer), you realize you got a bait-and-switch relationship.

Brilliant, yes. But there’s one business relationship missing from her list. I mean, isn’t this relationship structure the same for most businesses and their employees?

How much energy do companies spend on the hiring process? Tons! Literally. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been through the “talk to these 20 people who really, really care about you and go out to lunch with 10 others who really want you to work here” only to wind up somewhere that the company couldn’t really seem to care less about the employees.

In fact, it seems to work in an almost inverse proportion. It seems I’ve had to go through more interviews to get incarcerated in a hostile environment, than I do to get hired into a good company.

Why is this?

Well, the cynical side of me says misery loves company. But, the real reason may be the same reason we all get nice around the holidays. It’s the one time you can be nice and polite–and be encouraged to do so.

For most employees, the interview process is the one time that they get to treat people how they would like to be treated. The one time the business encourages them to be respectful rather than combative.

In other words: they’re using customer acquisition practices to acquire employees.

Read Kathy’s Too many companies are like bad marriages. And think about it.

Maybe we need to start using “customer satisfaction” metrics as one our prerequisites for choosing our next employer?

Posted in Corporate Culture, Employment, Hiring, Passion | Leave a comment

Unhappy Employees Almost the Majority

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Toby Lucich

DissatisfactionAnd you thought you were alone in your unhappy job situation?

Only 47 percent of Americans say they’re satisfied with their jobs, a sizable drop from the 61.1 percent who expressed satisfaction in a similar survey 20 years ago.

That increased unhappiness was detailed in a survey published Friday by The Conference Board, a business research organization, which has asked the same questions periodically since 1987.

Fewer Happy with their Jobs, Diane Stafford, Kansas City Star

I don’t know that you should feel so much better, just because you have quite a bit of company. What this tells me is that companies are doing a damn fine job of alienating their workforce, which is kind of odd to me if you need those people to continue to run your business.

The findings show that “employers may get the talent to come in the door, but they’ve got to work on keeping them,” said Lynn Franco, director of the board’s Consumer Research Center.

On balance, workers said they were dissatisfied with their bonus plans, promotion policies, performance review processes, workload, work/life balance, communication channels and potential for future growth in their jobs.

“Perhaps this is why two out of every 10 employees do not see themselves in their current jobs a year from now,” Franco said.

Whoa -that’s quite a list of things to be dissatisfied with, even for the disgruntled. This sounds the “unappreciated” bell loud and clear – “I have no future, I’m not appreciated now, and I have way of remedying the gap”. What a sad, disenfranchised lot we all must be.

Ready for some positive findings?

The very highest satisfaction ratings were recorded when workers said they were satisfied with their co-workers (57.7 percent) and with their commutes (57.1 percent). Nearly as many, 56.3 percent, said they were interested in their work.

Longer hours spent on the job didn’t appear to contribute to unhappiness. Among those who said they worked 51 to 59 hours a week, 52.3 percent were satisfied with their jobs.

How can this be? Working long hours, and not hating your job, even when compensation and your path to the top are ill-defined?

This says alot about the caliber of person you surround your employees with. If you want folks to love their work and spend their time growing your business instead of looking for a new one, consider the following management actions:

  • Understand why your key players have stayed. Hopefully, you’ll hear that it is because of great people in a stimulating setting that lets them explore their best selves. Or, more likely, they enjoy what they do, who they do it with, and accept you with your managerial quirks. There are bound to be a multitude of reasons why people work with you, but understanding how and why those MVPs are still showing up tells you quite a bit about how you should fill your next vacancy.
  • Hire for cultural fit as for technical excellence. “Friendly” and “brilliant” can co-exist within one person, it just doesn’t always happen. If you are in a business that is very customer-facing, think about the balance you are seeking. If your staff feels like family, consider their feelings and level of involvement when you “marry” someone new into the fold.
  • Learn to discern the difference between workplace tolerance and professional passion. You want passionate people that really love what they do, not folks that have recognized a strong income vocation but hate Mondays.
Posted in Accountability, Career, Feedback, Growth, Performance, Work-life balance | 1 Comment

Friday pop quiz: Performance reviews

Posted on February 23, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

ThinkerIn terms of performance reviews, would you prefer:

  1. More reviews of your performance with more qualitative feedback?
  2. More reviews of your performance with more quantitative feedback?
  3. Any performance review with honest critical feedback, constructive or otherwise?
  4. All of the above?
  5. None of the above?

P.S. If anyone picks 5, I will cry. I’m not ashamed.

Posted in Performance, Quiz, Review | 2 Comments

You're not going to retire from there

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Rick Turoczy

Holding you backThat seat in which you’re sitting right now? It’s not going to be the same one you’re sitting in the day you retire.

I’m not a betting man, but I feel that’s a pretty safe bet.

You see, jobs aren’t permanent. They haven’t been for a long, long time. And yet, we all get caught up in the idea that they might be.

This might be the job I keep forever. I might love it so much here, that I’ll stay. And stay happy. My kids will work here.

Phooey. Not going to happen.

Somewhere, in the recesses of our brain, we got attached to this idea that a job was a marriage. A til death do us part arrangement. True blue. Forever and ever.

But that’s a mistake. Your career isn’t even a marriage. Your career is a serious relationship, but it’s not a marriage.

And jobs are even less serious. Jobs are like dating.

Now, to keep myself from being completely cynical, there are some cases of true love. Some jobs turn into careers. Some careers turn into a lifelong commitment. But those are happenstance. Luck.

Whoopee. Lucky you.

But, they’re not the standard. They’re the thing of folklore. Something with which to regale the masses.

But you’ve got to break that thought. You’ve got to say it.

I’m not going to retire from here.

Because you’re not.

And if you treat it like a marriage, then guess what? You’re going to be getting a divorce every few years.

Hoo boy. That will be fun.

I’m not going to retire from here.

And that, that little phrase, will give you the vantage to think about your career. Or, more importantly, to think about you. What do you need? What should you be doing? What will help you grow?

Get a little selfish.

You’re not going to retire from there.

Posted in Career, Change, Employment | 10 Comments

Top 10 (or so) Ways to Ensure You Never Lose Another Employee

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Toby Lucich

10 Ways to Ensure You Never Lose Another EmployeeTurnover blows. Here is how you can prevent the pain – forever:

  1. Hire incompetent people – no one else ever will. They will be yours to keep until the day they retire.
  2. Promote people beyond their abilities.
  3. Always eliminate training first in budget cuts. Training only enhances peoples’ self worth and sense of mobility.
  4. Describe your micro-management practices in “employee collaboration” terms.
  5. Work your people to death, and enforce “use it or lose it” vacation time. They will not have time to interview, or realize that their work/life balance sucks.
  6. Never give people performance reviews. Reviews present the risk of encouraging or discouraging marginal (or exceptional) performers, and can lead them to take action.
  7. Create an environment that embraces the teflon suit: make commitments on others behalf, but then encourage professionals of all ranks to side-step accountability when It hits the fan.
  8. Managers: after whipping your team into a performance frenzy, be sure to publicly take credit for all their good work. This ensures that they will not get a big head or reputation within the company, and keeps the keys to their success tightly deposited in your hip pocket.
  9. Praise in private, abuse in public. See #8 for the logic of this.
  10. Don’t press, don’t push, don’t punish, don’t encourage. Treat your employees like mushrooms – keep them in the closet, feed them a little crap now and then, and definitely keep them in the dark.

If you – a reflective, humble professional – have checked more than a box or two, consider dusting off your resume. Or looking for a way to start getting some independent feedback. This isn’t a “congratulations, you’ve won” list where the highest score wins.

Posted in Burnout, Career, Criticism, Feedback, Management, Motivation | Leave a comment