roy's blog

A few days ago I read an interview on Wired magazine's website.  The topic was "digital overload", and the person being interviewed was Maggie Jackson.  In the interview, Jackson says that paying attention isn't a simple act of self-discipline, but a cognitive ability with deep neurobiological roots.  These roots are being destroyed by all of the electronic devices that we now are tethered to, along with their applications.

I've been spending a lot of time lately writing end of year performance
appraisals.  Studies show that this is #2 on any manager's list of tasks that
they dislike.  Firing someone is #1.

In this Amazing Leadership podcast, Roy speaks with Dan Markovitz, founder of Timeback Management.  Dan is bringing LEAN principles into the workplace and is a breath of fresh air for anyone that has worked in any size company.  Dan's methods and recommendations lead to more efficient and effective ways of getting things done.

Here you go...quotes from various peridocials around the world!

"Who, exactly, seeks out a coach? Winners who want even more out of life.” - Chicago Tribune

The 44th president of the United States of America has been sworn in (twice). Many people expect President Obama to waste little time before he begins to try to deliver the kind of change promised by his campaign.  Most of the country seems eager to move in a new direction.  I know I am.

In this Amazing Leadership podcast, Roy speaks with Rich Rees, retired Army Lt. Colonel and currently a leader at Dell.  Rich provides insight into the Army’s Leadership development framework and the attributes that it seeks to instill in its people.  Some key points discussed are:

• Levels of respect
• Decision making
• Communication
• Be-Know-Do Framework
• Planning
• The mission

and more!  This interview is filled with nuggets that you can utilize in your work, because it is fundamental. 

Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.  Congratulations and enjoy this day! 

This Saturday morning was a bit different for me.  I got to meet with four others over coffee to discuss Dan Pink's book "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko". The group was diverse-two women, three men.  Janet is a teacher, Les is a youth minister, Nicole is a freelance photographer and Brandon is in product marketing.

According to a Robert Half International survey that was just released, employee retention is still a top priority for companies, even in tough times.  The other thing that the survey shows is that "bad manager" is the #1 reason people quit a job. In fact, 35% of those polled cited this reason (up from 23% a few years ago).  This was followed by limited opportunities for advancement.  Salary was near the bottom.

In this Amazing Leadership podcast, Roy speaks with Kurtis Wheeler, Lean Transformation leader for Acuity Brands-Austin.  Kurtis provides solid information on what Lean Transformation is, how it’s used and its benefits.

Someone told me about Wordle the other day and I decided to check it out.  It's an online tool that allows you to view text from a blog (or just pasted text) in different fonts, formats, etc.  Here's what my blog looks like to Wordle:

In this Amazing Leadership podcast, Roy Gatling sits down with Brian Gladden, CFO at Dell, to learn how Brian approaches leadership development within his organization.  He is passionate about developing his team and that comes through in this podcast.

Here are a few things that Brian mentions during the interview:

How about a round of applause for our first Affiliate Coach, Keith Tully!

Keith is the New York representative for Amazing Leadrship. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, majoring in Spanish and Environmental Engineering. As a Cadet at West Point, he was responsible for developing ethics and integrity training classes for all Cadets as the Vice-President for Education while serving on the Honor Committee.

Have you heard of Johnny Bunko?  He's the creation of Dan Pink, author of "Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko".  "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko" is America's first business book done in Manga (Japanese comic book style) and 'the last career guide you'll ever need".  Watch the video trailer to get a flavor of the book.

Several people that have reported to me over the years have said that I take a "Socratic" approach in managing them.  For those of you that aren't familiar with Socrates, you could watch "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" OR continue reading...

Happy New Year!  We made it to 2009.  We've got a lot of great info coming up:

- Interview with Brian Gladden, CFO at Dell, on leadership development

- Interview with Kurtis Wheeler, Lean Transformation leader at Acuity Brands, on Lean Transformation

- Interview with Rich Rees, leader at Dell on Army leadership development

"If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm."  ~Vince Lombardi

I hope coach Lombardi's quote got your attention.  There is a ton o' truth in it.  When employers start to make staffing cuts, those with lackluster attitudes end up being high on the list for termination.

Rant on...

Well, true to its collective nature, Congress has voted itself another pay raise.  At a time when people are losing their jobs by the thousands, companies are shutting down factories, eliminating pay increases, 401K contributions, bonuses, etc, our Congress wags it's finger at Wall St. and Detroit, then flips off its constituents.

I've written about emotional intelligence a few times this month, and I just read this press release from the University of Chicago about "Asymmetric Reciprocity to Positive and Negative Acts".  Bascially, if you're nice to others, they tend to be nice to you, but if you are mean, they tend to be REALLY mean to you.

With another year wrapped up and a new one about to start, it's a good time to be thinking about expectations for yourself and your team.  Start the new year with a higher set of expectations.  Remember, people rise to the level of expectation.  Set the bar low, and that's what you get.  Set it high, and people will strive for it.  Some will make it, others will not.  If your team is like most, 80% of them are not delivering the results that they are capable of.