Cranky Videos

Today the Cranky Middle Manager talks to the Lazy Project Manager and between them actually get something done! Peter Taylor joins us  to talk project management efficiency, we look at a Roman Caesar who talked a good game and a Greek engineer. Such a classy show . Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager. This was the first picture I found, couldn t be bothered to look any further. Probably an example of bad laziness but what are you gonna do? Show Notes 0:00 Thanks for stopping by the show. Today we are talking laziness. There s good laziness and bad laziness and a man who knew the difference was Archimedes .who did NOT invent the lever but did figure out how to get the job done right the first time. Something to be said for that. 3:15 The quote of the week is from Marcus Aurelius whose work I really like even though he didn t really walk it like he talked it. At some point just reading and claiming to do research is really being lazy (bad lazy) so get on with it already! 4:14 Welcome Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager to the show. Project Management is one of the 4 Disciplines of Highly Effective, Leadership Exhibiting, Project Nailing, Cheese Moving Managers. Can you be lazy and still get the job done? Well according to Peter (And Robert Heinlein) laziness is responsible for most of the progress in the world.  Here s another guy who understood that the lazy and smart make the best leaders: Field Marshal von Moltke 8:51 Delegation is hard and it s a discipline to be learned. Sometimes we get dragged in to do the job but mostly we need to know the boundaries. Give yourself space and time close the door on occasion and give yourself time to THINK. 10:24 This is probably the only management concept ever inspired by Monty Python s Anne Elk character. Does this show have a dinosaur fetish? Check out Wally Bock and his Dinosaur Egg Theory. 12:24 Projects are thick at the beginning and end, thin in the middle. Trust me, this makes sense, but how you start is vital to how you finish. You can t get lazy yet and you don t want to finish lazy. Lots of time to read the paper in the middle. 14:44 A special bonus dinosaur theory: You don t want to carry a dinosaur, you want to ride it. And if you can t do that, then eat it.  When you have to establish your leadership of a project, don t be afraid to look like it. Dress for success. 17:00 Yeah, I know but communication is important and listen to this: 70% of your time on a project is spent communicating and there s a difference between communication and reports. Lots of reports don t communicate much of anything. 20:55 The other thick part of a project is at the end- you have to finish strong. Debriefs and consultation with stake holders is really important to making sure the next project goes well. 24:24  Peter s Resources Hey you can also hear John Warshawsky s Cranky Interview Here

...and generally acts/sounds like a loony toon. This video was followed by a nap, which is currently still happening, which is why his mama can be on YouTube!

Today Wayne Turmel talks to author John Spence about his book Awesomely Simple- Essential Business Strategies for tiurning Ideas Into Action . We also look at austrian philosophers and cavalry generals with a fear of horses. All just another day at the virtual office .. John Spence joins us to talk about his new book, how to tell when you re ready to start a business and why he s the human Cliff Notes guy. Show Notes 0:00 Welcome in whatever language you choose, pull up a rolling chair and make yourself at home. This is a darn fine edition of the show, which we dedicate to Col Benjamin Grierson a grand example to middle managers who didn t have the advantages of family connections or the right schools, took the lousy projects and still managed to have fine careers. 3:13 The quote of the week is from Ludwig Wittgenstein. The simple is often hiding in plain sight, or we pretend it is so we don t have to do what we know we should. 3:45 A shameless commercial for www.greatwebmeetings.com. check out all the free resources as well as our Course Offerings. Tell the training people at your company about us, no matter where you are in the world. 4:55 Welcome John Spence to the show so what s the difference between simple and easy? Simple is easy to UNDERSTAND but that doesn t mean the DOING isn t going to be a real bear. 6:45 Business owners constantly claim they want their employees and managers to have an ownership mentality. We expose one or two basic flaws with that approach. 9:00 How is having a vivid vision different than having a fancy vision statement? Can you state it simply? Do you know what it means? After 200 shows my tolerance for consultant speak is about zero so I hold his feet to the fire. 13:15 It s not every show that will quote Charlie Daniels and Steven Covey in the same conversation, but that s why you listen to us .what s the difference between having a sense of urgency and losing sense of what s important instead of urgent? Oh, and I finally tell a story that has changed my training and speaking career, not to mention how I tackle emergencies. 21:00 John is the Executive in Residence at the University of Central Florida s Technology Incubator. How do you know if you should stay gainfully employed and what s the litmus test for going out on your own? Here s the answer: How do you feel Monday morning? How obsessed are you with your idea and where you want to go? John s Resources Joe Calloway Readitfor.me Alltop.com Change This Manifesto

Today Wayne Turmel talks to Mark Wiskup about his new book- Don t Be That Boss-  How Great Communicators Get the Most Out of Their Employees and Their Careers . We also look at someone who shouldn t have been THAT king, and quote Turks about listening skills. Not just another training workshop today boys and girls .. The incredibly energetic Mark Wiskup talks to us about good bosses communicate, and bad ones just give orders Show Notes 0:00 Hello everyone, a bit late but still hanging in here. Today we talk to Mark Wiskup about the communication skills managers need to be effective, and typically we dedicate this show to Raynald of Chatillon who knew absolutely nothing about that and lost his head as a result. We also revisit an old vaudeville joke with a point you know what bad bosses do, DON T DO THAT. 3:50 The quote of the week is from the Turks or so I m told but I m always suspicious. It was probably Seth Godin, he claims credit for everything these days. What is your listening/pondering/speaking ratio? 4:15 Welcome to Mark . so what boss do you NOT want to be? A boss who totally leaves out of the equation that you have to connect with your employees. They don t have to love you but they do have to be willing to listen to you. 7:00 Here s a hard lesson for all of us being right has very little to do with being a boss. It s your ability to influence and convince others. That s not data, that s communication. Oh, and communication is more than just transmission of messages. 10:46 Good heavens something we haven t talked about before- managers dealing with vendors and why good communication is so critical in that relationship. 14:11 We often believe in if/then IF I nag enough people WILL do whatever the heck it is I want. Yeah, how s that working for ya? 17:40 How do we maintain communication that works when we aren t around it s simple. Ask them personal questions and at least pretend to care about the answer. Seriously. If you re not willing to put in the effort, don t complain when you can t connect. 22:50 When you re talking to an employee or vendor and they re complaining spend some time to find out what they want in place? Drop the business speak and define what you want. Mark s Resources Arment/Dietrich s Newsletter Execution, by Larry Bossidy Anything by John LeCarre

New England Revolution Midfielder Steve Ralston shows 12 year-old soccer players The Cranky Donkey, another goal celebration that will come in handy at the VW Junior Masters World Tournament in South Africa.

Today Wayne Turmel talks to Rick Smith, Author of The Leap- How 3 Simple Changes Can Propel Your Career From Good to Great . We also shamelessly plug some upcoming webinars, salute King David s career plan and take a new assessment tool. Just another typical Cranky Middle Manager Show. Rick Smith, author of The Leap joins us. Don t forget our upcoming webinar workshop: How to Create and Manage Remote Teams September 30, North American version click here for info and to register October 1, Asia/Pacific version click here for info and to register New Webinar Workshop: How to Conduct Great Web Demos and Sales Calls Click here to register and get more information. Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we dedicate this episode to King David of Judah and later of Israel Shepherd to King might seem a bit of a career leap but if you plan it right, anything is possible. 4:19 The quote of the week is from Ella Wheeler Wilcox who said that nothing can hinder the firm resolve of a determined soul. With poetry like hers, she should know. 4:50 Welcome Rick Smith to the show. Before we talk about our careers, we should define the difference between a job and a career. The job is the list of activities, the career is the longer journey. Clear now? Some of us set out to be managers, some have managership thrust upon them. Rick is one of them so he can relate. 8:54 So often the logical path might lead somewhere you don t want to go, but you can leap to something else. Rick gives us his own story. Volunteer for things they d never consider you for is a good start. 12:15 A good example of someone who embodies this is Silvia Lagnado who started Dove s Campaign for Real Beauty. 16:28 So what are the three myths that hold people back? I have to fix myself that I have to change inside. What you really have to do is become more of who you really are You don t need to go it alone . Big selfless ideas attract a supportive team that will help you You don t need to take dramatic risks .. 18:03 Rick talks about finding your Primary Color it s kind of a fun assessment tool You can take that test here. For the record I m a Purple Mountain Majesty (Far left top corner) Big on curiosity and leadership, not so much with the execution. 24:40 Why is Curiosity such an important part of making The Leap ? Rick s Resources Tim Ferris   Four Hour Workweek Blog Penelope Trunk s Brazen Careerist Blog Leapbuilder.com for all Rick s stuff

I can still remember the smell of the fake flowers and potpourri. Don't worry though, I wasn't actually mean. I won customer's choice 6 months in a row ;] Worst job you had?! Tell us about it! CONTACT ME Twitter http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18 MySpace http://www.myspace.com/gogreen18 BlogTV http://www.blogtv.com/people/laci Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com for the music!

One of my favorite people in the management space is Lisa Haneberg. She s been a guest on the show numerous times and i often link to her work. Well a couple of things happened recently you might want to check out. The first is that her blog, ManagementCraft has been around now for 5 years- nine months longer than this show and is an excellent resource for managers everywhere. She recently asked some of her favorite bloggers (i pause to blush at the excellent company I m in ) to tell her what we ve learned in the last 5 years. My answer to that question is in yesterday s post. Check it out. Secondly, I was able to finally meet Lisa. For all we ve collaborated, interviewed each other and supported each other s work over the years, we finally met last week in Chicago for dinner. Yes she does exist, and she s as lively, smart, funny and terrific as you d expect. She ambushed me by pulling out a tape recorder during after-dinner beverages and recorded our conversation. Of course, what you think happened, happened. She listened and added intelligent comment while I rambled on but it s the kind of conversation this show was built on. I think it was a lot of fun and I think you ll enjoy it. Download and listen to it here.

Author: SomeVideoGameMusic Keywords: Donkey Kong Country Dixie Kong's Double Trouble Diddy Kiddy Funky Cranky Candy Wrinkly Bannana Bird Rool Brothers Bear Kaos Super Nintendo My Favorite Video Game Music Added: July 31, 2009

Dharma Boutique's founder, funny man and spiritual adventurer Adam Bauer gets cranky in India on a road trip from Jaipur to Delhi - loses his flipflops and his cool. Produced by Sara Karl

I would like to play a few songs from the game Donkey Kong. In this video, I use the Florentine tenor ocarina. You can find more information about this ocarina at: http://stlocarina.com/f1.html Ok, so if you look very closely, you'll see a fly in the video hovering around the camera. I sure hope that fly enjoyed the music.

Seems the more I travel the easier it is for me to get cranky. Today, a RT fare from HNL to DTW to HNL cost $700 but a one-way fare cost $1100! That is not about fuel prices...Anyway, I am learning to just pull my aura in and focus on myself, in the midst of the madding crowds. And curiously, after an hour or so, people are not bothering me. It's this concept of "hui hui" or blending together without actually having to interact. We get trapped into thinking other people have to change for us to be happy or content, but really, sometimes all that's necessary is to just let it be and focus inward. Have you found this works for you?Hawaiian Word: Hui hui: blending, comingle together

Given that things are never black and white, I still like having little tricks that can help me 80-90% of the time. In today's case, it is remembering that one of the main causes of crankiness is just plain being tired. I find it so easy to get attached to the crankiness, thinking that some things are the problem, when I might just be due for a decent night's sleep! In fact, just by remembering that point all by itself, I can relax and not let the little things "get to me" regardless of my sleep deficit.Hawaiian word: M luhiluhi: tired Maha: restJoin us at The Reef and Listen to Reef Radio

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My snow day was like a National Lampoon movie except without the hilarity. If you like depression with a little cynicism thrown in and snow days, you'll love this video!