Middle Manager Videos

Today Wayne Turmel talks to Christopher Edgar, author of Inner Productivity: A Mindful Approach to Efficiency and Enjoyment in Your Work . I also try to spit out a couple of words of Mandarin, we salute a prolific writer who couldn t pass a simple test, and quote Robert Browning. Not a bad day s work. Chris Edgar looking mindful. Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to the show and  a big ni hao to our friends in China. I have no idea how or why, but our audience has grown a lot there and it s now our second biggest audience. Anyway today we are talking productivity and mindfulness. As a result, we dedicate this show to the prolific Feng Meng Lung who wrote productively yet couldn t pass his civil service exams which suggests his head wasn t really in the game.  Do you procrastinate? This is the show for you because the problem is all in your mind. 3:00 The quote of the week is from Robert Browning. Do you know your search? 4:34 Welcome to Chris Edgar. This show treads some lines  we don t normally tread but as Dr Phil would say you know what you should be doing and how s that working for ya? What does he mean by mindfulness and it has an awful lot to do with procrastination because we love to get distracted and aren t always hip to why. 7:24 Many of us know the systems and have every tool we need to get the work done, so why is procrastination such a problem? The problem is a wandering mind. He comes from the legal profession which would seem an odd path to trod for someone in this field. 11:57 This isn t about religion, but about practice and exercise. A lot of people have a knee-jerk reaction to meditation or other touchy feely ideas but the benefits are real. 12:50 It s important to understand the difference between Response and Reaction. Reaction is automatic and unconscious. Response is how we CHOOSE to respond to the stimulus. Misery (or procrastinating)  is optional.The trick is to slow down and find out WHY you re feeling like procrastinating. 15:30 A practical example of how this works . 17:00 What s the difference between INTENTION and ATTENTION? Attention is putting our mental focus on something. Intention is taking a big-picture view of what we re trying to achieve. You can put a lot of attention into playing Solitaire on the computer but are you achieving your Intention? 20:00 Being mindful can be as simple as askingAdd New Post ‹ TPN :: The Cranky Middle Manager Show — WordPress yourself why am I doing what I m doing right now? . Physical symptoms can be a sign we ought to ask those questions. Tension, discomfort and stomach pain are all clues. 23:00 What is breathing through a situation? You think by now I d know what breathing is. 25:00 Chris takes us through a couple of simple mindfulness exercises. When you re thinking about NOW you can t think about anything else. CHRIS RESOURCES

Jeff Klein and Kathy Hines from the Sunday Business Networking Brunch interview Carolann Jacobs, founder of Vivid Epiphany Brain Based Coaching, about challenges and triumphs of the Managewhich.

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

Today we talk about Managing Projects across the miles with author and expert Deasun O Conchuir. Continuing the Gaelic state of mind we salute the beleaguered project manager of Hadrian s Wall and you can avoid some of those problems by taking our How to Create and Manage Remote Teams webinar workshop. Deasun O Conchuir talks to us about managing across distances. If that s important to you, check out our How to Create and Manage Remote Teams webinar workshops. For the September 30th workshop for North America, click here For the October 1 workshop for India/Asia/Australia click here Show Notes 0:00 Welcome our guest Deasun O Conchuir of Scatterwork. Since he s our first Gaelic speaking guest, it seemed an opportune time to dedicate the show to the poor schmuck who had to fight the Scots on behalf of Rome, Aulus Platorius Nepos. His fate as project manager awaits us all if we don t take care of the details and keep our teams together. 3:18 The quote of the week is from GK Chesterton. How would you define your pet project. Are you constructing or creating? 4:15 Welcome Deasun O Conchuir. Project management is one of the 4 Disciplines of Highly Effective, Leadership Exhibiting, Project Nailing Managers. Managing projects across distance involves language, culture, context and lots of other stuff it s hard to do. Lots of practical examples today. 6:55 Why does it matter if you can meet face to face since we re all professionals and such is life?  It has to do with brain chemistry as much as anything else. Brain chemistry and project management, you don t get that connection just anywhere. That s what this show does best. 9:20 Avoiding chitchat and personal time seems like a good idea but it leads to  bad assumptions and miscommunication. 12:30 Sometimes you have to take the time to make concepts clear to a remote team. Roles may differ from place to place even if you don t know it. Lots of cross cultural examples.Yes, there s a thin line between stereotype and observation, hopefully we re on the right side of it. 16:00 When do you check assumptions and when can you assume everything is okay. You want to avoid Wile E Coyote moments. I assume everything is okay unless told differently. Apparently I m wrong. Cultural norms create all kinds of unintentional problems. 23:27 Communicating with your own team members is easier than getting them to communicate with each other. Recognition and sharing wins is really important. What s also important is making sure you share everyone s objectives so they know who does what with which and to whom. Good specification is important and small teams. 27:00 What tools does Deasun like? Sharepoint is a good one when they use it well, but bits and pieces of different tools work well. Facebook is a simple way to help people get to know each other, IM works and it doesnt have to be but it s quick. Also, Basecamp is a cool tool. Other Resources LumoFlow for project managers Oxygenz

Today Wayne Turmel talks about the most common mistakes managers make, mostly because they re company policy, and why they often backfire. We talk to Aubrey C Daniels. We also look at  where the center of the universe is (it s not Sales) and lucid words from a crazy person. Just another typical day in Crankyland. Today s guest, Aubrey Daniels, author of OOPS! The 13 Management Practices that Waste Time and Money and What To Do Instead. Whew, I m exhausted just typing that, never mind implementing his ideas. Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to your oasis of sanity in the desert of workplace craziness. Today we talk about challenging common wisdom- like the stuff all managers are asked to do but usually doesn t work. Because of that we celebrate Nicolaus Copernicus who challenged conventional thinking but had the good sense to die before actually having to do anything about it. Not a bad plan. 2:00 The quote of the week is from William Blake, who most people considered mad but had some brilliant and lucid thoughts, one of which is if you don t drain the swamp you wind up with reptiles .or something like that. Check it out yourself. 3:00 Welcome Dr Aubrey C Daniels. Are we lacking good role models for managers? TV doesnt help, and who the heck would work for Gordon Ramsay? 5:52 If he had to pick one, what is the most common mistake managers make? Stretch goals are doomed to failure and yet we keep setting them. Instead of one big monster goal, the solution is many, mini-goals . 10:15 Ranking employees doesn t work well either, but I do challenge him on his notion that you don t have to try your best, just be better than everyone else. My mother would take him to task and then some but she s not here to take him on. 12:55 Competition is often used badly. External competition is good, internal competition is usually disastrous to group dynamics. 15:30 Done well, bonuses are lovelyPavlovian rewards. Done badly (most of the time) they drive the wrong behaviors or they feel they re owed a bonus. We look at a sales example that sounds all too familiar. 23:00 We have a little difference of opinion with last week s guest over the most talented people. (If you haven t heard it, listen to Rob Goffee s cranky show here). The best and brightest don t always get you the results you need and frequently they cause more trouble than they re worth. Aubrey s Resources

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.

Wayne Turmel talks leading change from within with Alexander Grashow, author of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. We also look at what the Chicago Blackhawks can teach middle managers about taking care of the little things or your mulleted head will roll. Alexander Grashow, co-author of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to show 201. Back to talking leadership. This show is dedicated to Dale Tallon, former GM of the Chicago Blackhawks and a sad lesson to all of us- do your paperwork. 3:33 The quote of the week is from Audre Lorde. Are you using the master s tools to dismantle his or her house? How s that working for you? By the way this is the first time in history Dale Tallon and Audre Lorde have been mentioned together. Just part of the charm of this show. 4:08 Welcome to Alexander Grashow, no stranger to grand ambition. His parents had more hope for him than mine had for me but I digress. What is Adaptive Leadership? Basically it s how do you change businesses and people conduct their business? Can you actually evolve? As Darwin said, it s evolve or die. 6:00 Here s something you don t want to hear- most systems are NOT dysfunctional, we get the processes we deserve. They get the results they are designed to get. Chew on that for a while. 9:49 I like to think of myself as the Steve Irwin of business people. Detached observation is the only way to really understand what s going on and leaders need to listen and observe. This really applies to the politics of a situation- and there are ALWAYS politics. 14:30 Loyalty sounds like a grand thing, but understanding what people are loyal to and why is critical if you re going to really assess a situation. Name your assumptions and make them plain. How do you test your assumptions without taking too much action too soon? 17:30 Finally a unique definition of leadership: disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb. I ll let him explain. Beware the Jerry McGuire moment. 21:39 How do you make conflict useful and productive instead of having it tear the team apart.? We have to get comfortable with productive conflict. Try to keep the conflict going 5 minutes longer than we re comfortable. 24:00 Did you know YOU are a system? What is the part of you that contributes to the mess? What should you let go of? Alexander s Resources His Book His Leadership Housecall Blog Mark Bittman s cooking blog

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Today Wayne Turmel talks about how telecommuting and telework has changed the role of the middle manager with Kate Lister, co-author of Undress for Success- The Naked Truth About Making Money At Home. Oh and Marcel Proust and Ethiopian Falashas get a mention too. The usual eclectic mess that is this podcast. Author Kate Lister emerges from her teleworking hibernation long enough for this picture. She saw her shadow so it s 6 more weeks of project work. Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to the show. Misery loves company, we ll provide the love and the company, your misery is your responsibility. Today we talk Teleworking with Kate Lister, and since distance makes communication tough even when you try to do what you should, we present as proof, Menelik I, king of the Falashas, Emperor of Ethiopia and more Jewish than many Jews if separated by time and distance. 3:00 I bring you the quote of the week from Marcel Proust, which I shouldn t have done since no one can give you wisdom, you have to get it on your own. 4:14 Today we re talking to Kate Lister, co author of Undress for Success.  How is working from home making things easier or more difficult for managers and companies?  Well the world is changing and US companies could save over half a BILLION dollars a year if more people teleworked. How do you determine whether your job could be done at home? 6:54 Federal employees in the US are mandated now to work at home if they can which is no big surprise, a lot of them have been phoning it in for years .. the cost of setting up a telecommuter can be $300-$2500 dollars versus the costs of keeping an office for them. 10:30 If you re not crazy about the idea of being out of the office, here s a question for you- Do you see your boss everyday now? Probably not.  There are real concerns though. What are the things companies and individuals need to think about. Fundamental to this is very precise metrics for success. Once you ve set the metrics, get the heck out of their way. 14:00 Home Shopping Network learned they can increase customer satisfaction and reduce turnover by having people work from home. 15:50 Okay, if you are a people person, it s hard to work from home. Kate is a nice person but apparently highly anti-social . some of us need to get out of our 4 walls. MySQL is an amazing example of the entire company working remotely. I also feel better about going to Caribou Coffee just to sip coffee and stare at my laptop even though that s what I do at home. I m still around people. 21:40 Developing a routine is important. What works for you works for you. I need to put on my big boy clothes . others don t. You also need to manage the family- Kate tells a story about a mom and a tiara that will leave some serious scars on those kids. 23:48 The dark side of working from home is overworking. How do you set limits and what s the role of the manager in helping their people set limits that make sense, even while benefitting from the extra work? And what are the legalities? 27:40 It takes planning for a company to put together a teleworking program. Security is frequently over-analyzed but it s important .  remember, if you re a moron at work, you re not going to get smarter working from home. Kate s Resources Her book Her website check it out Managing Telework by Jack Nilles Free Agent Nation  Daniel Pink The Future of Work- Thomas Malone Don t let the weasels get you down!

Today Wayne Turmel talks to author Scott Halford about careers, being known as the guy (even when you re not), and establishing the kind of rep at work you want. Oh and the usual assortment of Greeks, Persians and pretentious 19th century white guys. Scott Halford, author of Be a Shortcut- The Secret Fast Track to Business Success Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to our 172nd show. Today we re talking being a shortcut becoming the kind of person people want to have around because you can get things done. We dedicate the show to Themistocles.... nothing says you know your stuff like getting hired by the competition although it s a bit tacky in wartime. 3:02 The quote of the week is from William Hazlitt once again- don t undervalue yourself or people will agree with you. If you like quotes, check out 125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show 4:17 Welcome Scott Halford, of CompleteIntelligence.com and Beashortcut.com to talk about, well, becoming a shortcut. This is all about you and your career today so listen up. These are what old folks like to call parlous times and if you become what we in Chicago like to call the guy it s great for your career. Shortcut is NOT a bad thing. 9:02 Are you a shortcut or a bottleneck? It s really about influence.Think of someone you go to for a specific reason, and they know it will get taken care of with no drama, on time and correctly. That could be you. 12:42 Three things make people utilize a shortcut- time, talent or desire. Then there s  one more thing do you have the emotional intelligence to complete the equation? 15:32 How do you make it known that you could be a shortcut for people without being seen as grandstanding or showing off? 21:47 Some of us make a shortcut out of helping connect other people and knowing where to go for what. John Naisbitt wrote about this in Megatrends. Your network is incredibly powerful if you utilize it. Of course, picking up dog poop is useful too. 25:38 One of Scott s resources is Mark Sanborn Also, there s Barry Schwartz on the Paradox of Choice. Watch him speak about it here. Don t forget, if your company uses web meetings or is thinking about using webinars more, visit us at www.greatwebmeetings.com. Don t let the weasels get you         down