J. T. Pedersen » General

Martyrdom Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up to Be

JT — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:53:40 +0000

For way too long, I was always the Martyr. Had the misplaced belief that, if I did my job with excellence, I’d be recognized for my work. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way. If you’re not also tooting your own horn, the world just passes you by. Some will love you, most won’t know enough to miss you when you’re gone.

This is also one of the beauties of contemporary social media. It gives everyone who care to pick it up, a bull horn to serve their own purposes. Even today I’m probably too conservative in self-aggrandizing activity, but I’m working at it.

The article triggering the thought, originally is courtesy of Chris Guillebeau discussing what Hustling is.

Joey Roth created the artwork and I think you’ll agree, no words are needed beyond the labels.

(photo credit: Joey Roth)

Possibly Related

Capturing Boomers’ Knowledge

JT — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:20:00 +0000

Given current economic conditions it is hard to believe there may be a looming labor shortage in the U.S. Periodicals of all size and repute have discussed the topic. Just do a search (boomer “labor shortage”) and read a few articles to reach your own conclusion.

The short version, as soon as 3-5 years the U.S., due to increasing numbers of Boomers retiring, will be left with a smaller, less-experienced work force.

There are so many variables, the argument won’t have been decided for another 20-30 years .

Tied to concerns of a potential labor shortage are concerns involving knowledge transfer. As the more ‘worldly’ move on, they’re taking their hard-won knowledge with them. Those left behind will have to relearn everything themselves. There is a potential loss of competitiveness from things like lost productivity, re-learning, and ability to recruit to meet needs.

Here’s a real-world example.

A friend of mine was an electrical engineer at Ford, calibrating transmission designs, when Ford did the infamous ‘Ford 2000’ program. The gist of the Ford 2000 program was the accelerated retirement/departure of older workers to give room for younger people to advance. New blood would give fresh life to a stale industry.

In the following re-organizations, my friend was assigned the ‘added’ task of doing transmission oil dipstick tube routing. You know, how does that tube go from ‘down there’ to ‘up here’ with all the kinks in it? She spent a good part of the next year learning the INs and OUTs of dipstick tube routing. Before the basic ‘design’ work is done, a lot of effort is expended negotiating with other teams (e.g. engine folks, A/C folks, suspension folks…) for the ‘air space’ her tube could pass through. How might an experienced Boomer have helped grease the process, pass on who to talk to, and how?

Of all the things that go on in the design of a modern vehicle, one can only wonder at the knowledge loss behind ‘routing oil dipstick tubes.’

In my experience, with companies of differing levels of sophistication, there is near-zero succession planning. Yes, there’s an increasing appreciation that boomers are leaving; the remaining work force is smaller; and, knowledge loss is a concern. But it typically is a tertiary concern at best, pushed aside by more pressing short (and long) term concerns.

I believe one of the best ways to drive knowledge transfers involves a combination of *structured support platform and *ties to compensation. There are tools to help support education processes; nothing new there. What typically is missing is the compensation piece. “What gets measured gets done,” as the saying goes. And, often, you can just as readily supplant ‘measured’ with ‘paid for.’

We all like to support grand ideas, support noble causes, and the like. But, within ourselves, the reality is that we all do these things for much more personal reasons. It may be as simple as we like to ‘feel good’ about ourselves.

The about-to-depart boomer, like any other ‘short timer,’ is increasingly self-minded once a departure date is identified. Interest in sharing what they’ve learned, since doing so doesn’t help them in ‘their’ job anymore, rapidly dissipates. To keep them engaged, to motivate them, requires creative thinking which often involves adjusting compensation to support what you want to achieve.

At the most basic level it comes down to ROI. Is it worth a $30K bonus (an example), to make sure the people Bob is leaving behind, have the knowledge to continue being successful? I’m interested in your thoughts and encourage you to comment.

Possibly Related

Tigger’s 10 Steps for Obtaining Celebrity

JT — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:07:53 +0000

Today, feel like loosening up a bit. Maybe I’ll post a more-serious blog post today…and then again…maybe I won’t:). For those closest to me, you’re likely aware there’s a much-awaited new member to my family. Tigger is a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (GSMD), or Swissy for short, coming to us from Wildest Dream Farm. At 15 weeks, she’s already clocking over 35 lbs and has been an absolute pleasure.

More than prior puppies I’ve had, Tigger has an incredible ability to attract followers and become a local celebrity. Some of her litter mates have inquired as to how she’s been able to attract such fanfare.

According to Tigger herself, here are her Top-10 steps for obtaining celebrity

Look cute
Find high-traffic areas; like corner coffee shops, store entrances
Frequent, repeated visits, so they know to expect you
Video spots, YouTube can help
Social media participation – Facebook posts are good. Fan page
probably over the top though.
Post pics to Flickr
No biting, minimal barking—not a problem for us Swissies
Posturing (sitting puppy, puppy’down-head between paws, tail wagging)
Occasional bathing for lustrous gotta-touch coat.
Have a nut-job for an owner
BONUS: This is the big one—Love others as much as they love you!

Hope you’re ready for a Grrreat! weekend,

Tigger!

Possibly Related

iPad Dominance? Nah….

JT — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:42:56 +0000

Two things triggered the following post today. First, was a stop at the local mall. Second, was happening across an online article on ereaders.

This afternoon my wife and I happened by the local Apple store. It was my wife’s first iPad interaction. She’s seen, and briefly used, my Sony eReader PRS-505. She ‘gets’ the eReader. Over lunch, I was surprised when she asked me where the iPad ‘fit,’ and who it was best suited for.

Darn good question…as the sole device for someone…it’s a narrow market. I think she said it right. In her mind the iPad’s a luxury device. Most of us need a computer first, iPad later. It’s been said elsewhere, of course. But I found it very interesting coming from someone who focus is elsewhere; not worrying about ‘iPad dominance’ or ebooks and ereaders..

Eventually, I will get an iPad (or similar) device. I do a –lot—of reading, in multiple formats, from newspapers, to magazines, eBooks, whitepapers, and presentations. Being able to consume all that content, mixed with in-line video and active linking to complimentary content, has strong appeal to me.

Having spent some time with a friend’s iPad, and having consumed oodles of books/PDFs/docx on my eReader, I’m somewhat surprised. I’m not drooling over getting an iPad.

iPad’s got a problem for me: battery life. I make the following comparison: iPad|eReader and iPhone|Blackberry. The ‘i’ devices just suck power. “If” you get 10 hours real use, be happy about it—especially as their batteries age. My eReader, like my former Blackberry, isn’t sexy, but does most of what I want and—importantly—happily goes days (or over a week for the Reader) on a charge.

Cost, so thoroughly debated elsewhere, is going to continue to be a barrier to adoption. What I believe will happen, as in the cell phone market, is that devices like the iPad will redefine the high-end market, pushing more options down, lower in the market, giving more functionality to everyone at all price points. We’re no more likely to see ‘iPad only’ offerings in 2013 than we are dedicated ‘eReaders only.’

A major current impediment is coming from the market makers themselves, folks like Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, Sony’s eStore, and the like. Some of them are focused on trying to lock us in with one of ‘their’ devices and selling content only those devices can consume. Guess what: there’s a reason I stayed away from the Kindle, and it had nothing to do with the device itself.

Yes, iPad can borrow from McDonald’s signs of years past, with signs saying, “Millions and Millions Sold.” The stage lights are bright. iPad’s strutting its stuff. It is itself a great market maker for application developers selling to specific markets. Let’s not forget the world remains pretty busy off-stage too.

Possibly Related

Experiences—Our Summer Travels

JT — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:49:23 +0000

A very common summer experience for Americans is a summer, ‘road trip.’ Many of us first experience this quintessential summer experience as children, riding in the back of the family sedan, heading off to points far far away.

This experience varies a lot by who you are in the car (SUV, crossover, truck, whatever). The dog’s experience is typically from 6” above the floor; nothing to see, warm vibrating floor, stuffy. Kids might be able to just see out the windows, a tad bored, asking, “are we there yet?” As adults, as parents, we get the full exposure of the experience. The dog(s), kid(s), logistics, climate control, road signs, and near-hourly stops at restrooms and vendors for snacks or drinks.

Have you stopped to think about what made certain portions of the road trip more or less enjoyable?

Take a look at just two parts of the trip that can have a significant impact on Mom & Dad: Construction and Pit Stops.

Road construction

Road construction’s rarely a ‘fun’ experience, a box you check-off as one of your Things to Do or Places to See. Shunted this way and that, stop-n-go traffic, with a seemingly endless procession of orange barrels.

As you travel through different states you get a feel for the different ‘flavors’ of construction in each. Many, arguably most, states do absolutely nothing to help smooth the experience. Construction zones are abruptly marked, sometimes with little or near-zero warning. Repaving areas may continue on for many miles without giving you even a hint as to how much you need to endure.

Some states do far better…they actually work to make the experience at least tolerable if not occasionally fun. Most appreciated are the signs that give you advance warning so you can investigate alternative routes. In no-options situations, they might at least tell you what’s coming ‘10 miles ahead,’ or, ‘Repaving next 29 miles, …next 18 miles, …12 more miles…’ or some such. They’ve set your expectations. Unset expectation is a large source of stress—not knowing. In some states you’ll also see a series of Smiley faces that themselves help display displeasure. At the first mile you might get an ‘unhappy’ face. Halfway through you get a ‘straight’ face . And as the end approaches, the face starts to turn happy, giving you a smile . We all like those, don’t we?

Pit Stops

Pit stops are another major component of a road trip. My own family might stop every 90 minutes given the option. Over the course of a long day we might stop 5 times to take a break. At each stop we have an opportunity to stop in at a store for more drinks, snacks, or fuel.

We all appreciate clean restrooms, prompt service, and foodstuffs not being over-priced (particularly held captive on toll roads). But what one thing can really make the individual pit stop more memorable than another? I’ve noticed it often is as simple as a store clerk that simply, openly and genuinely, smiles as they help you.

The Power of a Smile!

There must be something behind the power of a smile. A contemporary search engine will turn up 20, 30, 40 million entries on the topic (this will be +1). I encourage everyone to remember, despite current economic, job, or home oriented stresses, to do your best to smile during your travels this summer. You will feel better, those with you will feel better, and those you come across will as well.

Smile. It’s contagious:)

Photo credits:
Road Closed – Laura Leavell
Sun & Cloud – Billy Alexander

Possibly Related

No Related Post

A Dog’s Life – Trip to the Vet

JT — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:04:29 +0000

Sometimes, it’s nice to just relax. Have some fun. See what happens. Recently, my family and I (JT) became proud owners of a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (GSMD) pup, Swissy for short, named Tigger. She’s proven to be an absolutely beautiful dog, both personality-wise and cosmetically.

The breeders, John & Tina Bailey, Wildest Dream Farm, created a Google Group for the litter’s owners. We’ve had great fun learning, comparing notes, and sharing pictures and stories. Today, Tigger had a trip to the vet for more shots, and shared her story with the group. Now that the background has been set, here’s her story, my new guest blogger, in her own words…

Greetings,

For my siblings, comparing notes, JT took me to the vet again. Strange place. Smelled funny. And then, there were two sets of doors we had to go through on the way in. Why do places need doors anyway? They just keep me from being able to pee on the grass whenever I want. Carpet’s a good substitute though.

Anyway, there was this -wild- black dog in there. JT said it was a year-old black lab, whatever that is. He sure needs to grow up and get some better manners. I thought it safer to sit underneath JT, behind his legs, just in case Wild Thing came toward me. Let JT deal with it, after all, what are owners for?

There are nice people there. They -really- like to pour on the lovin. I keep hearing, “She’s so cute; He’s gorgeous; You’re going to be a big doggie; Look at her paws; Swissy? Swiss Mountain Dog? Awwhhhh; [repeat endlessly]. You’d think I hadn’t been there just two weeks before. Well, at least they give me treats. Figured I could climb up on this big flat thing for them. JT said the numbers, while I sat on it, said 21.4 lbs. Whatever that means. Up 7 from my first visit. He said their scale’s a bit whacky, likes the number on the tiny one at home better. Guess someone told him, ‘slow to grow,’ ‘thin to win,’ which means he likes to rub my ribs every day. Weird, feels nice
though.

Got to sleep on the exam table again. They’re always so amazed I do that. Hey, it’s cool, I can look around, and that blonde lady JT likes keeps fawning all over me….said she’s cute or something like that. He better watch it. “I” am cute, she can take a number.

She scrunched up my fur, gave me a cookie, poked me with something. I don’t care. Cookie was pretty good. Then all of a sudden we were getting ready to go. More of the, “She’s so cute,” stuff. At least they all know my name almost as well as me now.

Best part of these trips? I get to ride in the convertible. The green things next to the car go by, really fast. Tons of different smells. After a while I get tired and want to put my head down. JT won’t let me climb into his lap, so I just rest my head on his arm sometimes. He seems to really like that. If it makes him feel better
I’ll keep doing it. Beside, it’s the lazy dog’s way of resting while still being able to look around at stuff. JT said one day I’ll be too big for the little car. Hope he’s planning to buy a bigger one—I like rides:).

Tigger (JT’s busy working now)

Possibly Related

Tigger’s 10 Steps for Obtaining Celebrity

Would You Invest? Clear as a Bell

JT — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:03:10 +0000

This past Friday, I attended a competition worth $50,000. In short, five entrepreneurs had been selected as finalists in a business plan competition. Each had 3 minutes to present their business plan and then do a 1 minute Q&A session. Targeting about :30 for all 5 to present, it actually took just shy of 40 minutes.

Here were the five companies:

Data center cooling solution
Sign language system (for the deaf)
Coffee shop point of sale (POS) system
Diesel/Ethanol hybrid fuel system
Pre/Post conception gender determiner

Of all the companies originally submitting it is hard to imagine a more diverse group of finalists.

Question is, if you were being asked, as an investor, to pony up $50,000 based on a 4 minute discussion, how would you decide? Surprisingly, keeping this frame of thought in mind, it became very clear, very quickly, who I would put my money behind.

At a very high level:

Data center
- Pro – Very promising solution. Industry stats suggested good-size target market
- Con – Plan not well thought through, unclear what was being asked of an investor
Sign language system
- Pro – Very good presentation manner, addressed most investor-oriented concerns.
- Con – Very small target market, competition not well identified for investors
Coffee shop POS
- Pro – Most articulate presenter of group, motivated, with very sound business plan
- Con – Unclear what would make this solution good enough for existing shops to switch
Diesel/Ethanol hybrid system
- Pro – Presentation addressed the right audience, solid field testing done, in-use currently
- Con – Too complicated to comfortably discuss in 3 minutes, concerns about taking a foreign solution and being viable domestically
Pre-Post conception gender determiner
- Pro – 70% of the 90 million/annual parents-to-be want to know baby’s gender before birth; well tested clinically.
- Con – Needs larger scale field testing, uncertain how product would go to market in a highly competitive arena (e.g. pharmacy shelves)

After listening too all five, it became clear as a bell which two I would lend or give money to. Tied for first would be the coffee shop POS and the Diesel/Ethanol hybrid system. Why? For the coffee shop presenter, he had worked in the field and knew, first-hand, of the problems these businesses face—particularly as they moved beyond a single store—knowledge, combined with first-hand experience and quality of presentation. The Diesel/Ethanol system got my vote because the solution exists in Australia and has a wealth of field data to support the claims. Nothing like betting on an established business—the only one of the five.

Alas, it wasn’t my money and neither of my finalists were selected. The winner, Jason Gilbert with the sign language system: Mobile Sign Language Systems LLC. And, to Jason, Congratulations:)!

(photo credit: Thomas Picard)

Possibly Related

Four (4) Keys to Employee Retention

JT — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:12:14 +0000

Therein lays the first clue of what to fix: ‘employee’ retention. There are uncounted articles written about employee retention. Employee retention is a very human topic. Yet the vast majority of related articles treat their subject (we humans) very impersonally, like things. Not, ‘how to keep your people,’ or, ‘how to keep your team together.’ Rather it’s ‘employees.’ Makes the topic sound about as exciting as personnel, headcount, ‘bodies’ (my least favorite).

It’s interesting. Do me a favor and try doing a couple internet searches. Try, ‘why employees leave’. And then, try swapping out ‘employee’ with ‘people’, or something similar, and see what happens. All of a sudden, your results go from being very dry, very clinical in nature, to results that tend to have human interest, deal with real ‘people’ issues.

Think about it, do you think it matters? It sure does, for me. How do you feel when referred to as ‘employee’ versus ‘team member’?

There are a few basic keys to keeping people engaged. They are trust, communication, faith, and guts.

Trust

At the end of the day, at the start of the day, those who work for you, those who work with you, need to be able to trust you. For instance, an open door policy is more than whether you physically leave your office door open, or not. It is a state of mind, a matter of your mind and ears being open to whomever may come by for a chat. It also means, making sure that if someone brings a difficult issue to you, that they know they can do so without fear of reprisal.

In my last role, this was something that took my team awhile to believe. Coming in, I let everyone know from the start that they could feel comfortable speaking their mind. After all, I’d much prefer to be told an idea was stupid, by my team, rather than by outsiders or (arguably) worse, my own boss. It took three months, but eventually, they did feel comfortable enough to tell me…and then I knew at least a basic level of trust had been achieved.

Would your team feel comfortable telling you what’s on their mind? Without concern?

Communication

What the heck’s going on? It’s right up there among the major issues for most employees. What’s going on? What should I know that I don’t? Are my efforts worth doing? Am I doing the right thing(s)?

Every one of us wants to know what’s going on around us. We all want to know our efforts are appreciated or, failing that, at least not a waste. We’ve likely all read articles pointing out most managers don’t even know what their people are doing on a day-to-day basis. Why is that?

Fundamentally, I firmly believe it comes down to a lack of effective communication. Sure, with flatter organizations resulting in many more direct reports for each manager, it’s impossible to truly ‘know’ what everyone’s doing. Nor should you have to. But, if every manager communicates effectively (e.g. frequently, with guidance and value), he or she should feel confident their staff knows what they should be doing.

Faith

Outside scholarly, theological works, this one word seems to escape discussion; probably because Faith and Trust are often seen as synonymous. For me, I see them a bit differently.

Trusting someone can be as simple as knowing how the person will react in a given situation. If I bring an issue to your attention, I may trust you will not treat me poorly as a result. Faith, goes a step further, I not only know how you will likely respond…I agree with and/or support what I believe you’re likely to do. That is because, as a leader, you are willing to boldly, brightly, clearly state what you believe. This is the extra ‘bit’ required to go from trust, to having faith in someone.

Guts. Determination. Morale Fortitude.

Your team wants to know that you believe…in them. Woe is the manager who throws his own team under the bus at the first sign of trouble. The team will perform best, be willing to take risks, if they can trust their boss to defend them when problems arise; that there will be good communication as problems are worked through; and, have faith that the paths chosen were the best ones available at the time.

Teams also appreciate their manager having the ‘guts,’ the determination, and morale fortitude, do what’s right even in tough times. This boils down to having integrity—doing what’s right even if no one else knows. I speak to this topic at length in Do You Have It In You…to be an Entrepreneur (Guts).

Today

Today, there is a lot being written, worried over, the anticipated exodus of ‘employees’ as soon as the economy starts showing signs of life again. If all people are to you are ‘employees,’ I suspect you should worry. If you’ve built a team, if the team is engaged and positive relationships are in place, my expectation is you’re going to be Ok.

Possibly Related

How Do You Learn?

JT — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:25:55 +0000

Someone asked me this question, last week. How do you learn? Struck me as not only a genuine question, but one I hadn’t thought about in some time.

How do you learn?

Prior to the advent of the internet, digital media, and ubiquitous connectivity (for most), we were largely constrained to three methods. Social (talk with people), reading, and video. There just weren’t too many ‘other’ options. Now, there’re so many it really is worth thinking about.

Digital mediums have dramatically changed all three of the traditional mediums. Social learning was largely limited to in-person face-to-face activity. These might be local business events, service club gatherings, or simply talking with a mentor or friend over coffee. Now, we have the ability to ‘talk’ continuously to folks through instant messaging, social networks, telephony (e.g. Skype) and more. We can ‘talk’ until our minds go numb. My view is that face-to-face cannot be beat—but it isn’t always possible.

Reading is—even as we speak—going through dramatic change. I love reading using all manner of textual and graphic presentation. Books, newspapers, magazines, ezines, online blogs, white papers—you name it. Here too digital is rearranging things. I really enjoy my Sony Reader (a PRS-505 if you must). Rather than print out someone’s whitepaper, I read it on my Reader. eBooks, typically half-price, are increasingly easy to find across all genres. In one hand, my entire library…and then some…can travel with me and takes up a fraction of the space in my computer bag than did that last hard cover.

And then, we have video. Heretofore we had the luxury of B-movie rated corporate training flicks. Our younger generations get to never experience a corporate training event being held up as a projector bulb burned the film, or the reels (know what a reel is?) had to be thread, or VCRs ‘ate’ a tape. And those were just the appetizers—the content themselves might’ve been passable if the production quality didn’t simply, well, suck.

Today, I note Apple’s iPad has—in under 30 days—broken the 1 millionth unit sold. Here is a device that will (potentially) further improve on all three of these ‘classic’ mediums. Text will no longer just be text. Soon, we’ll have texts with embedded visuals (static or video) we can click on that will further explain key ideas. Socializing online becomes even more ubiquitous with a device that can go anywhere and which even more people will have on hand. Video? We’re not quite at the point of an ‘Avatar’ display glass…but not quite transparent…the iPad does let you hand-carry the movie of your choice around with you while playing (didn’t see that coming 10 years ago, did you?).

So how do you learn? My preferences have always been to read, and to socialize. Video was a distant (very) third place. As all these mediums continue to blur, morph, and evolve, does it even matter anymore?

(photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/hvaldez1, Girl Studying)

Possibly Related

Kodak’s Zi8 – Initial Experiences
What I’ve Read Lately: Open Leadership
Nasty Mudslinger: To Be or Not To Be
Leading Through Social Media?
Why Don’t We Talk About Social Media With Ease?
G’Wave, Not Exactly a Crescendo
What I’ve Read Lately: Presentation Zen
Believing in Open Education
Ways To Build Trust
A bit off-target for my blog, I have seen this basic question come up at least four times in recent weeks. Many job seekers, increasingly hungry for work, have begun to adopt a, “I’ll work anywhere there’s work…” mindset.

This mindset certainly seems reasonable if you’re in Michigan. For the first time in 10 years, Michigan is expected to have positive job growth. Imagine. A new University of Michigan economic forecast, just out, is now being discussed. For a state that’s lost 855,000 jobs in the past 10 years (since June, 2000), 230,000+ last year alone, state job growth is forecast to increase for the first time. With only 20K new jobs expected next year, moving anywhere, somewhere, certainly seems a requirement for many.

The question may be where? And, how do you decide?

Should you consider the unemployment rate before jumping? The short answer is Yes. Among other things…

In my own search for work, I decided take a structured approach toward evaluating where to search. My wife and I gathered a number of statistics to support the process. For instance we obtained information on taxes, costs of living, unemployment, foreclosure rates, and likelihood of natural disasters. These were considered ‘needs’ and fully weighted (e.g. 1=1).

We also evaluated (somewhat subjectively) our ‘wants.’ These included an affinity for mountains (I’m a motorcyclist), inland waters/ponds/streams (my wife likes to fish), and so on. These criteria were half-weighted (e.g. 1=.5).

Much of the information is publicly available from places like www.city-data.org, www.bls.gov, www.wikipedia.org, as well as major online media outposts.

Everything was compiled into an Excel spreadsheet. When we looked at the ranked results, we were surprised. The top 3 states to look at were Utah, Virginia, and Colorado, in that order. Who would have thought Utah? We sure didn’t. Keep in mind, your results would vary based on your preferences.

One driver behind taking a constructive approach, were the calls we’d receive from friends, colleagues, and family pulling us in different directions. Rather than diffuse my resources too much, this has let me take a more sensible approach.

So, should you check out Unemployment before moving? Absolutely (and, a whole lot more)!!!

(photo credit: Sergio Roberto Bichara)

Possibly Related