My opinion of Falcon’s head coach, Mike Smith, dropped several notches week before last because of his action in the Babineaux case. For those who don’t follow the Falcons NFL football team, Babineaux is a star defensive player for the Falcons. He was arrested earlier in the week for felony possession of marijuana, an expired license tag, no valid driver’s license, really dark tinted windows, and a burned out tag light. As one blogger wrote, “why not just wave a big banner saying, “STOP ME, I HAVE DRUGS!!” Jeez….some of these guys are just absolutely clueless.” (more…)
‘Leadership’ Articles
The reason some athletes think they are above the law is because they are!
Young Entrepreneurs Get It
I spoke last week to a group of 500 managers at Fortune Small Business Growth Summit, a yearly conference in Dallas organized by Verne Harnish. The group was composed of small business owners and their key managers. (By the way, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in certain classifications a business can have over $175,000,000 in sales and up to 1500 employees and still be considered small.) The youthfulness of this group is important for a couple of reasons. First, they are quick to see the advantages of arranging conditions for change through rapid reinforcement and secondly, they are dedicated to early adoption of strategies that will make their businesses successful.
When you explain the science of behavior to this audience, they get it! The reason for the exclamation point is that I have spoken to thousands of more seasoned managers who take a long time to get it-and some never really understand the importance and value this technology brings to their businesses. A common question I got from these managers was, “When can you help me do this.” The seasoned managers often say, “Sounds good, but I’m going to have to think about it some more.” When I was presenting in India in 2005 I was frequently asked after presenting the 13 Oops, “Should we change all thirteen at once or one at a time.” They didn’t question whether to do it, rather how to do it. This bias for action is one of the reasons that young Indian managers believe that India will soon become the dominant player in global business.
The new generation of managers gets positive reinforcement. They have grown up with it all around them. Often older managers have to be convinced that positive reinforcement is vital to maximizing organizational performance. Not so with younger managers. Don Tapscott wrote a book, Grown Up Digital, a sequel to Growing Up Digital. To paraphrase him in Growing Up Digital, the present generation is the first generation in the world to know something of significance to society more than their parents. Those who have grown up digital, people born in the last 20 years or so have lived in an environment where each year of their lives has produced more positive reinforcement for their behavior than the last. Think video games, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
For a number of years I spoke to classes of young entrepreneurs at an MIT program called Birthing of Giants. More than 95% said they started their companies because they felt that they were undervalued and underappreciated for the contributions they made. When I asked them what management model they used to manage their own companies a sense of shock comes over them almost immediately as they realize that they manage in the same way as the company they hated and left. In growing their businesses they have all experienced management problems and when the science of behavior (behavior analysis) is explained, they get it.
When young managers imbed positive reinforcement into their business processes and into their management systems, larger competitors had better watch out. Since positive reinforcement accelerates behavior, which accelerates performance, which accelerates profits it becomes clear to me that soon many of these companies will be snapping at the heels of their now much larger competitors.
I am biased by my reinforcement history like everyone else, but I am very confident that after 40 years of working with managers and executives on accelerating business performance, the future belongs to those who can apply the science of behavior to organizational design, strategy and execution. My recent history tells me that young people are doing this at a much faster rate than older executives realize. It is not the businesses that change that will survive; it is the rate of change that is important. Positive reinforcement accelerates change. I hope you get it.
More Bad TV Bosses: Gordon Ramsay: Brilliant Chef, Lousy Manager
To Aubrey’s list of the bad examples by TV bosses, and to those of you who submitted your own recommendations, the winner is,
Gordon Ramsay.
Guest post by Cloyd Hyten, Ph.D., CPT
As a dedicated foodie, watching Ramsay is both entertaining and frustrating. A highly skilled chef and restaurateur, Ramsay is perhaps best known for his angry verbal tirades on his staff.
While Ramsay is brilliant in helping failing restaurateurs overhaul everything from their menus to marketing, it is too often overshadowed by his uncontrollable rage and insults.
What went wrong:
Ramsay falls into the “Oops!” category of “promoting people nobody likes.” He is the very picture of what we call an “aversive control” style of management: rarely acknowledging good performance but pouncing on mistakes with brutal punishment and abuse. His abuse is perfect for TV, so over-the-top you can’t believe that anyone could be so offensive. Personal insults seem to be a standard, with name calling and threats of firing, all while his staff responds “Yes Chef.”
If he were a manager in a company making widgets, his employees would have all quit, filed grievances and lawsuits, brought a union in to protect them, and likely never given their best.
What to do instead:
You do not have to act this way to be a good leader, a celebrity chef, or a successful restaurateur. In contrast to Ramsay, there are other celebrity TV chefs that are very successful at creating willing followers. For example, Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Masters” pits two chefs – Rick Bayless and Hubert Keller – against each other, . Bayless and Keller guide their teams while soliciting and accepting their ideas, never raising their voices, and calmly dealing with a series of limitations the show threw at them.
Every organization should motivate employees in such a way that they are continuously looking for ways to do things more effectively and efficiently. Since the best indicator of what people will do in the future is what they have done in the past, ensure that managers are getting results the right way.
Cloyd Hyten is a Senior Consultant with Aubrey Daniels International. He brings a systems perspective to organizational safety. Cloyd has been in the field of performance improvement for over 20 years, with experience in training and consulting in a variety of settings experiencing performance problems or opportunities. Cloyd has a Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis, and taught in one of the nation’s best behavior analysis graduate programs for many years. While in this academic position, Cloyd started a consulting group that specialized in systemic solutions to help organizations ranging from professional service firms to manufacturing companies to medical clinics improve their performance.
In addition to consulting work, Cloyd has been a thought leader in the field, presenting papers at national conferences, serving on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, currently President-Elect of the OBM Network, and co-authoring a book on improving performance in work teams. Cloyd is a highly rated instructor, recognized for his knowledge of behavior analysis and his ability to communicate it to audiences in an enthusiastic and humorous manner.
Oops!: The Biggest Mistakes Made By TV’s Top Bosses
From Mary Tyler Moore to Mad Men, the workplace has served as the setting for many of television’s most acclaimed and beloved series. It’s no wonder. The office provides the ultimate backdrop for observing human behavior in all its glory, moving us to laugh, cry, and, all too often, cringe and cover our eyes.
In my latest book, OOPS! 13 Management Practices that Waste Time and Money (and what to do instead), I look at 13 time-honored management practices that actually reward bad habits and punish good behavior, often with devastating results.
With the new season of Mad Men about to premiere and the fall season on the horizon, I thought it would be both fun and revealing to look at how five of our favorite television bosses stack up against the 13 common management mistakes highlighted in Oops!
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be adding to the list with other management mistakes from TV land and I invite you to share your own favorites. We’ll give away five copies of Oops! to the best suggestions we receive. Send your submissions to http://www.aubreydanielsblog.com/ask-aubrey/.
Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) – The Office
Made OOPS Mistake #1 - Employee of the Month
What went wrong:
Michael created the Dundies, an annual awards show in which he presented awards to various members of the office based on their job performances.
While his goal was to motivate all employees to deliver superior performance, the Dundies, like other “employee of the month”-type programs, ended up angering or humiliating the majority of the office staff. The problem is that only one employee can earn the accolade while the others are left with performance that goes unrecognized – violating every known principle of effective positive reinforcement.
What to do instead:
Michael can make his efforts more effective by setting measurable criteria and rewarding and recognizing everyone who meets or exceeds the goals. In order to make recognition effective, Michael must create a culture of positive reinforcement that provides ongoing positive reinforcement for everyone who goes above and beyond their daily activities.
Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) – 30 Rock
Made OOPS Mistake #12 – Downsizing
What went wrong:
When Liz must reduce staff by 10 percent, the entire staff tries to please her to avoid being laid off and Liz ultimately bases her decisions on irrelevant factors, such as firing a romantic rival. By indiscriminately firing employees, the remaining employees will likely wonder if they are next and develop a distrust of management. There will also now be more work for fewer people, potentially leading to lower office morale and productivity.
What to do instead:
Rather than allowing employees to try to sway her firing decision, Liz should have gotten all employees involved in a solution as a first step to avoiding a layoff, such as eliminating wasteful expenses or taking salary cuts or furlough days.
If layoffs must happen, Liz should treat those being terminated fairly and generously in order to demonstrate to those remaining that she cares for her employees. Most importantly, Liz must make sure that she increases positive reinforcement for those who remain as they take on additional work.
Simon Cowell / American Idol
Made OOPS! Rule #7 - “You did a good job, but…”
What went wrong:
While Cowell’s primary goal is to entertain, like all bosses he should also want inspire contestants to improve upon each of their performances. However, his critiques sometimes combine both positive and negative comments as in “Although it was good, I don’t see it as an American Idol-winning performance” or his critique of Idol winner Taylor Hicks: “You’re like every dad who’s ever got drunk at a wedding … got on stage and sang. The difference is, you can sing.” The effect of such statements is to cause people to ignore the positive comments and obsess on the negative comments. It is a prodding, nagging style of management that does not motivate and is more often a punisher.
What to do instead
Always separate complements from negative criticisms. Give the good first and at a later time deliver the corrective feedback. That way the good will be valued and the employee will be more responsive to the corrective feedback.
Wilhemina Slater (Vanessa Williams) – Ugly Betty
Made OOPS! Rule #11 – Promoting People No One Likes
What went wrong:
There is a perception in leadership that managers who are well-liked are not effective at producing results. It is understandable given that most managers believe that hard-nosed, negative practices are the most effective. They are not. Case in point: Wilhemina Slater. Backstabbing, cruel, and vindictive, Slater may strike fear in her employees, but she is ultimately only able to hold onto her position through scheming rather than inspiring great work among her team. Bully bosses also create toxic workplaces. The only thing her two assistants seemed to have learned from Slater is how to scheme and backstab just like her.
What to do instead:
The first test in promoting someone to management is whether people would want to be around this person. If the person does not have good social skills, look for someone else. Look for those managers and leaders that get results the right way; those that understand behavior from a scientific perspective and can design systems, policies and procedures that bring out the best in people everyday. These people are always well-liked.
Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) / Entourage
Made OOPS! Rule #2 – Stretch Goals
What went wrong:
Like Slater, Hollywood agent Ari Gold is the epitome of the “bully boss,” crass, offensive, and constantly disparaging his assistant Lloyd. In this instance, however, Gold turns to a time-honored business practice – stretch goals – which ultimately backfires on him. When the career of Gold’s client, Vince Chase, is at an all-time low, Gold puts pressure on his staff to develop a presentation and strategy that will put Chase’s brand on par with Microsoft and McDonald’s. The presentation comes off as rushed, thoughtless, and unsympathetic, ultimately pushing Chase farther away.
What to do instead:
The problem with stretch goals is they are typically set too high and people fail to reach them 90% of the time. With a 90% fail rate, efforts to reach these goals diminish over time and discretionary effort toward all goals is eventually extinguished. To get Chase’s career back on track, Gold should have set many mini-goals instead. Managers need to ensure that positive reinforcement is delivered for the many small achievements along the way to reaching some final goal.
Guest Blogger: Russell Justice, a.k.a. Mr. Whiskers, offers his best “Gems” from Oops!
I just finished reading and studying a new book by mentor and friend Dr. Aubrey Daniels – OOPS! 13 Management Practices that Waste Time & Money (and what to do instead). Below are my gems:
Top Dozen (tried to pick 10 but couldn’t) Gems (in priority order):
1. Solutions that involve tweaking the current process must be rejected. It is up to leaders to establish a context to which alternatives are vigorously examined (pursued, and deployed). (more…)
Google is looking for answers in the wrong place
In a May 19th article in the WSJ, Scott Morrison wrote, Google Searches for Staffing Answers. The article is about the fact that Google has recently lost a number of top executives and other midlevel employees. Google’s approach to solving this problem is what you would expect, given the nature of their business. They are working on a mathematical formula to predict employees who are likely to quit.
I will be interested to know what Google plans to do when they find these people. No doubt there will be a lot of false positives, i.e., people who they identify as likely to quit, when in fact they have no intention of quitting. But in any event, once they have a list, what will they do? Will they give them a raise, a new benefit, a promotion or a new title? Any one of these actions will create more problems for the company than it will solve. (more…)
Talk Does Not Cook Rice
On hearing of the North Korea test of a nuclear bomb, Obama said, “The U.S. will take action.” I hope he will. However, I am afraid that he meant that he will get other people (U. N. and China) to tell North Korea to stop their nuclear program.
The title of this post is a Chinese proverb which contains a scientific discovery about behavior: antecedents don’t cause behavior, i.e., telling someone about consequences doesn’t change behavior unless the telling has been paired consistently with consequences in the past. One thing that we can count on about our government, past and present is that there is a lot more talking than there is action. This means, of course, that the application of consequences is inconsistent and the impact on behavior is questionable. (more…)
Is Management Broken?
In an article in Fortune Magazine (May 11, 2009) called, How Business Can Stand Tall Again, David Gergen quotes Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic as saying that the cause of today’s economic crisis is “failed leadership.” Gergen says that public scandals and other management behavior of the last few years have destroyed the trust between leaders and other employees in organizations. In order to restore American business as something to be admired and copied by the rest of the world, he says, trust has to be rebuilt. One of the things he suggests as a means of rebuilding trust is, “Embrace the concept of corporate management becoming a true profession.”
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, professions involve the application of specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science to fee-paying clientele. What is the specialized knowledge or science on which managers base their day to day decisions? What kind of answers do you think I would get from most managers to the following questions, “What are the standards against which you evaluate management effectiveness?” “What is your management process?” Or “Explain the science behind your management”. (more…)