DISQUS

Congrats to Matt and the parents that raised him.

It is quite a step forward.

We have been wondering.

There is a part of me that trutly wants the honest answer. Still, I cower waiting for the blunt truth.

Frank, I admire the concept of all positive feedback. I remember my most inspiring managers and that was their focus. I also am against Gotchas.

And yet I am facing for the second year in a row the most difficult performance reviews of my career. I am manager to a person talented in many ways, who works hard and is a good person. Yet he will not be able to reach his stated career goals without being able to change his approach to client work in a material way. This is a trees person who needs to learn how to see the forest.
We had this conversation last year and many times during the year. The feedback will have positive elements but will need some fundementally negative ones--- unless one of your readers has some approach that I am unaware of to positively state that he is not doing what he needs to.

Frank, $10 million is $10 million and too many of these people just do not understand that simple fact.

Before jumping to conclusions, let's put this in perspective. Wall Street CEOs have become accustomed to bonuses in excess of $100 million so Thain can argue that $10 million is a massive pay cut.
Also, he was brought in after most of the damage was done by the prior CEO and that the $15 million he got as a signing bonus does not count when assessing this year's pay--that was just a cost of getting him to take the job. The Fed bailout and the purchase by Bof A saved the company and he made that happen. That alone is worth $10 million.

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OK. Just kidding. There is no perspective other than the company failed while he was in the job. He would have taken many millions if he had somehow turned the company around and the only fair pay for performance is a big goose egg. Had you going there for awhile.

That picture alone would make NOT eating a cheeseburger impossible for me. You have great self control and you are looking good.

As long as we are insisting on taking an athelet's actions and relate it to a corporate environment to make a point, lets consider the following:

he did not just win the race against the best sprinters in the world but he obliterated the field and the world record. While I might have waited until the race was officially over to celebrate, I would be celebrating too.

In my opinion he did nothing to show up his fellow racers, the gestuture was internally focused.

Froma corporate standpoint even if he was American I would recognize his youth and perhaps take this as mentoring moment to help him undersatnd the beuty of acting like he has been there before which is a very good lesson for young associates

Lastly, damn he is fast

I was just at a client where the CEO bragged that he just celebrated the 5th anniversary of his last vacation. What do you think that company's vacation policy is like?

Is that a picture of a young Frank?

If you are going to run eith the bulls by 50 you better get going. Let me know how it works for you.

Frank, I absolutely agree.

However, "Because I said so" is acceptable as long as I am the one doing the saying.

I was going to say that I would trade your deer for the family of Racoons that lives in the tree in our back yard... and then I watched the video. I have had some stare downs with mom racoon while her babies were behind her (I chose to go back in the house).

At least I was not stomped on.

We need to do a whole hiking/biking thing when I come out next time.

How far ahead of you was Sheryl?

Unintended consequences baby. Gotta love 'em.

I am frequently amazed that people running companies, or HR do not think through the next few steps of the logic. Maybe chess grand master instead of MBA should be a qualification for all leadership positions. (I think that there is a new best selling business book in that idea.)

I agree. It is the action or inaction that shouts out a company's culture to employees. Platitudes never work. I have learned to hate the word engagement--unless it refers to an intention to be wed-- as much as all the other useless phrases that preceeded it.

Focus on the action words, otherwise known as verbs. Do things to engage people rather think about engagement. Pay your best people much better and help the others so they can become one of the best. Develop a strategy but don't promote it. Execute it.

I have a great fondness for verbs.

Say hi to my friend Ami for me. Let me know if you are ever staying overnight. Its not that long a drive from Lincolnshire.

Can't argue with the quote. Having fully formed capabilities or the ability to learn quickly are also high on my list these days. I may need to develop a great quote about these traits though it is hard to compete with TR.

If you manage people it is so important to keep up with the gossip. Far too many things become real even when they aren't. It is best to correct misperceptions quickly.

People like you make their own luck.

No one deserves it more.

The Dukes of Roche.

I don't know if I can limit to twitter but I am working hard to use fewer words and fewer pages.

Thoughful and clever post Shawn. Makes me wonder how my people perceive me as a leader.

The same comments can apply to managers generally. I learned my management style from two types of people. My boss of 15 years was the guy I learned from by doing the opposite of what he did. He was not a punisher per se, just clueless--as many people who grow up in professional services are on issues of management and leadership. Fortunately I had two people who served as teachers and mentors from whom I learned the right way.

In recent years I have devolved just a bit to where a few of the people that work for me would probably label my management style as "sarcasm". I have lost patience for people who make the same mistakes over and over and are unwilling to listen. Hence, the sarcasm. It got to the point with one young man that I had to pause and let him know that I was no linger joking and that he should pay attention to what I had just told him. A true teaching moment had occurred.

One of my goals in life is to get my 15 minutes of fame by being on a show like the Daily Show.

Charlie, if this happens, what will your kids have to look forward to for the rest of their lives after hitting the pinnacle at such a tender age.

Obama and Oliver in the same year. Amazing!