Management Stories

“Tell me about the people at the organization you just left,” said the senior manager who was screening candidates to fill a key leadership role. “They were uneducated and lazy,” the candidate responded. “You always had to keep an eye on them because they were constantly trying to goof off or rip off the company. They were lousy communicators, resisted change, and only cared about themselves.” “That’s too bad,” replied the senior manager, “I am sorry to say that’s the same type of people you’ll find here. This doesn’t sound like a job you would enjoy.”

Once the next candidate was seated, she was asked the same question. “Oh, they were great,” she said. “Although many of them couldn’t read and we had some trouble communicating with each other, they were very driven to succeed. Once we all got to know each other, they were constantly helping one other and working together.” “Great,” the senior manager responded, “That’s the same type of people you’ll find here.”

Source: People Live Up or Down to a Leader’s Expectations / Jim Clemmer

1 Comment » Posted by Administrator / Leadership and Management and Organizational Behavior / HR

There’s an old story about a man searching for his lost keys under the light on a dark night, even though they were last seen elsewhere. When a passerby asks why he continues to search in the wrong spot, the man replies, “Because the light’s better over here.” Too often, companies search within their own sphere of knowledge rather than seeking solutions wherever they may be found.

Source: Real Returns On R&D / Michael Treacy, James Sims, and George Lieberman / Optimize, July 2003

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Innovation

The date was December 9, 1934. The New York Giants were playing the Chicago Bears for the championship of the National Football League. The two teams were thought to be evenly matched, but there was a special factor that day that changed the dynamics of the game: heavy rains and cold temperatures had turned the field at New York’s Polo Grounds stadium into a virtual sheet of ice. The home team trailed 10-3 after two quarters and looked done for, as the visiting Bears were doing a much better job of slip-sliding up and down the field.

But in the Giants’ locker room at halftime, somebody had an idea. It had little to do with the sort of midgame adjustments that were common in football, such as changing offensive plays or defensive formations. This was completely different. The notion was that maybe the Giants would be more successful not by changing their game plan but by changing their shoes-specifically, by taking off their football cleats and wearing sneakers for better traction. A mad scramble turned up enough pairs to accommodate the team, and the sneakers ended up providing the Giants with sure footing that led to 27 second-half points and a 30-13 victory. The “Sneaker Game” became part of sporting lore.

The lesson to be learned from the Giants that day is that challenging the accepted way of doing things-daring to be different-is critical to progress and can bring great success.

Source: Dare to Be Different / Michael Ackland, David Rhodes / Boston Consulting Group (BCG), December 20, 2002

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Innovation and Management

There’s a cardboard box company in Illinois that I ran into years ago. It was just phenomenal in terms of responsiveness. They were always on time or ahead of time, and they took on the tough orders. Their track record was brilliant. About a half dozen years ago, the guy who runs the company added two simple, innocent little columns to the end of the invoices. They stated “order requested” and “actual delivery date,” which pointed out, in black and white, that the company was always on time. It sounds corny, but it literally led to about a 20 percent instant overnight boost in business.

He was tooting his own horn; he was not bragging. One must be terribly careful because braggarts are the world’s biggest pain at age 22 or 72. But letting people somehow or other know that you have come through on a regular basis — subtly — makes all sorts of sense to me.

Source: Tom Peters / Business Finance, January 1997

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Management and Marketing / Sales

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck.

Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle.

By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

Source: Unknown Author / Jim Clemmer

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Organizational Behavior / HR and Success / Failure / Achievement

…my wife, Carol [Bolles], is a well-known career counselor in her own right. She was meeting with a client who worked in the rubber industry — let’s call him George. George told her in their first session, “I’ve got to get out of the rubber industry.” So she gave him some homework to do before their next session. He came back the next week, and he hadn’t done a lick of the homework. My wife, rich with intuition, asked him, “What will happen if you don’t get out of the rubber industry?” George said, “My wife will divorce me.” Carol said, “Do you want your wife to divorce you?” He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. She knew then that he would never change his job until it had given him what he wanted: a divorce, with his wife taking the initiative — and the guilt. Based on his behavior, my wife named this “the doctrine of the prior agenda.” You can’t help people change or find their mission when they have a conflicting prior agenda.

Source: What Happened to Your Parachute? / Daniel H. Pink, Richard Bolles / Fast Company, September 1999

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Career / Employment

Joel and Denise each led fund raising campaigns for their respective service club and community agency. Under another member’s leadership, Joel’s club had raised a record amount in their last effort. Joel wasn’t sure they could come close to that level again. But organization was one of his real strengths. Believing in “planning your work and working your plan,” Joel set targets and efficiently established roles and responsibilities for each volunteer in his fund raising group. He gave crisp reports at each meeting filled with words like “outcome measurement” and “goal realization.” He pushed everyone hard to meet his or her commitments. He developed recognition programs with rewards and incentives for those donating money and those collecting it. He organized rallies such as “Making a Difference days.” When the fund raising campaign was over, they fell just short of their target.

Denise knew that organization was important. She recruited someone with those skills to help her manage the fund raising campaign. She concentrated on connecting the donors and volunteers to the difference they were making in the lives of so many people in their community. Drawing from her public speaking training, Denise loved to tell stories about how the money they raised helped to support Lucy, who was blind, continue her education and find a job. Or she’d talk about how Ralph and his family used a counseling center to find new hope and direction after he lost his job from years of painful back problems. At many meetings, she invited the people they were helping to come in and tell their stories. Susan came into one meeting and quietly told of how drugs and alcohol led to horrible neglect and abuse of her three year son. With the help of a treatment centre funded by Denise’s agency, Susan was now clean, sober, and graduating shortly from a nursing school. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Throughout the fund raising campaign, Denise constantly reminded the group of their vision to build a “caring community” and improving quality of life for all. She kept referring back to their four “touchstone values” of CARE (Collaboration, Alliances, Respect, and Empathy). Donors, businesses, government agencies, and volunteers were moved and energized. They were making a difference. The fund raising campaign exceeded its target.

Source: Leaders Shape Focus and Context by Jim Clemmer

1 Comment » Posted by Administrator / Organizational Behavior / HR and Purpose / Meaning

Seven-year-old first baseman, Tanner Munsey, fielded a ground ball and tried to tag a runner going from first to second base. The umpire, Laura Benson, called the runner out, but young Tanner immediately ran to her side and said, “Ma’am, I didn’t tag the runner.” Umpire Benson reversed herself, sent the runner to second base, and Tanner’s coach gave him the game ball for his honesty. Two weeks later, Laura Benson was again the umpire and Tanner was playing shortstop when a similar play occurred. This time Benson ruled that Tanner had missed the tag on a runner going to third base, and she called the runner safe. Tanner looked at Benson and, without saying a word, tossed the ball to the catcher and returned to his position. Benson sensed something was wrong. “Did you tag the runner?” she asked Tanner. “Yes,” he replied. Benson then called the runner out. The opposing coaches protested until she explained what had happened two weeks earlier. “If a kid is that honest,” she said, “I have to give it to him.”

Source: Honesty and Integrity Build a Foundation of Trust

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Ethics / Integrity

A classic example of the conflict [between the skills, mindsets and structures needed for discovery and colonization] is the story of Lotus 1-2-3 in the 1980s.

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Entrepreneurship and Organizational Behavior / HR

One day a man came across 3 stonecutters working in a quarry. Each one was cutting out a block of stone. Curious as to what they were doing he asked the first stone cutter what he was doing. “What? Are you blind?” the stone cutter shouted, “Can’t you see, I’m cutting this stupid piece of stone.” Shocked but still no wiser the man turned to the second stonecutter and asked him what he was doing. “I am cutting this block of stone to make sure that it’s sides are straight and smooth so that the builder can build a straight wall.” Feeling a lot better but still not really any wiser the man turned to the third stonecutter, who seemed to be the happiest of the three, and asked him what he was doing. “I am building a cathedral,” the 3rd stonecutter replied.
Source: TheWorkingManager

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Purpose / Meaning