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Manager or Cox?

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These days I am 6ft 4″ and carry a few extra pounds.

However there was a time when I was 5ft 4″, skinny as a rake and sought after by rowing crews as a cox.  Yes the small person who sits in the back of the boat – barking a very limited range of orders and making small adjustments to direction with a tiny rudder.

Truth of the matter is that as a cox I could achieve very little.  I could urge the rowers to give more effort, or even get them to ease off a little if they are in danger of peaking too early.   I could plot the best course possible.  But that was just about it.

I couldn’t really see what was going on in the boat.  I could tell just how hard the crew was currently working (the stroke rate) and could ask for extra effort in short bursts to try to get the boat ahead of the competition.  I could make some educated guesses at what individuals were doing by watching how their oars moved through the water.

I couldn’t coach the crew.  The coach would usually be be seen on the bank, riding a bicycle and shouting instructions to the rowers.

In terms of really helping the crew to improve performance – well that was out of my hands.  I could just get the best out of them on the day.  I would do this by putting their effort into context.  Keeping them informed about whether we were catching the opposition or not.  About how far we had to go before a bend came into our favour or we reached the finish line.

All I could do was create a context in which the crew were likely to give me more effort.

And I meet a lot of managers who work just like a cox.  They tell good stories and demand more effort in return for prizes.  But they never get their bike onto the river bank to really understand what is going on in the boat.

They miss a lot of chances, that a cox never has, to develop their crew.

WOW – Watch Out for the Whelmers…

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Watch Out for the Whelmer Vampire

Chip Conley has written a great book called PEAK – How great companies get their mojo from Maslow. In it he gives grave warning of the dangers of whelmers.

According to Chip there are three types of recruit in your organisation.

There are the over-whelmers – those people that ‘over-whelm’ you with their energy, skill, passion and enthusiasm. These people are what you need. They provide the foundations on which excellent can be built. However you will need to work hard, very hard, to recruit and retain them. These people have choices about where they work – so why should they choose to stick with you?

Then there are the under-whelmers – those that leave you distinctly unimpressed. According to Chip these don’t constitute a real problem either – because they are easily recognised and managed. As a consequence they either perform or get fired. I only wish it were this simple – but I do get the point. Under performance is easily recognised and can then be managed if you have the courage and commitment to do so.

The real dangers are those people that neither over nor under whelm. These are the whelmers. Their work is OK without being great. Customers are satisfied without being thrilled. Colleagues have kind of got used to the mediocrity. And the over-whelmers will not want to be any where near them as they sap energy and enthusiasm. They are passion vampires.

And this is the pernicious culture killer – mediocrity. If the whelmers are allowed to carve out a quiet life of mediocrity they will drag the culture of your organisation down to their level.

In the words of the legendary Van Morrison:

“You gotta fight every day to keep mediocrity at bay”.

More From Tom Peters

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Tom Peters was back in London recently.  Here are some highlights…

“Remember. You are the only human being in the world who can help this particular customer at this particular moment in time.”

“The thing that keeps a business ahead of the competition is excellence in execution.”

“Brand inside is more important than brand outside for sustained success.”

“Make sure that you spend your time on the things you say are your priorities.”

“It’s remarkable how quickly an excellent culture can be torn apart by poor management.”

“Irrelevance comes from always doing the things you know how to do in the way you’ve always done them.”

“If you love your company and love what you do, you will serve your customers better—period!”

6 Word Management Essays

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I was sent this by a PMN member who knows that I am a bit of a mangement geek. It is a bunch of essays on management – all just 6 words long! I think they speak volumes about different approaches to management:

  1. Seek understanding, give support, find results
  2. Look, listen, learn. Lift, laugh, lead.
  3. Learned to GTD, teaching others how.
  4. They tried harder but kept failing.
  5. Learned management wisdom, tried something else.
  6. Eventually she understood what really mattered.
  7. Empower the team, hold them accountable.
  8. Facilitate the network, let the net work.
  9. Always learning and teaching, join me
  10. I requested, they failed, I fired.
  11. Challenge your people; pay them well.
  12. I trust you, make it happen
  13. Living to shape minds and destinies!
  14. He tried, sometimes failed,always learnt.
  15. Worked hard, failed alot, succeeded some.
  16. Chaos ensuing, unaccountability ruling, we’re compelling.
  17. I am interested in your work.
  18. Worked hard, failed alot, succeeded some.
  19. I trust you, make it happen
  20. First, take care of your people.
  21. Living to shape minds and destinies!
  22. They tried harder but kept failing.
  23. ‘He tried, sometimes failed, always learnt.’
  24. Empower the team, hold them accountable.
  25. Eventually she understood what really mattered.
  26. Most importantly, learn to ask questions.
  27. Herding Cats, Taming Lions. Why Not?
  28. Your worth is in their eyes.
  29. Demand high standards; measure with grace
  30. I ask questions, you find solutions.
  31. To learn more sooner, fail faster.
  32. Outward transformation begins with internal change.
  33. Let’s squash the competition like bugs!
  34. My success begins with your success.
  35. Share vision. Don’t be an obstacle.
  36. You will rise above and conquer!
  37. Do Plan. Study. Act. Celebrate. Repeat.
  38. Lead by staying out of the way.
  39. One of many; catalysts don’t boast
  40. Life is a journey…so enjoy.
  41. Dare to dream…and dream BIG!
  42. Watch, Do, Teach; Learn, Live, Give.
  43. Orders are easy, Examples are harder
  44. Measure twice, cut once.
  45. Honeydew this, Honeydew that, I’ll watch.
  46. Open hands hold more than fists
  47. Who, What, Why, where, When, How.
  48. My work is their work, succeeding.
  49. Succeed by failing different every time
  50. You’ll be MY boss, one day
  51. Find the “why”, then act. Repeat.
  52. Once knew all. Now know better.

Let me know which ones you like/dislike and why?

I think my favourite is ‘Your worth is in their eyes’ -so true!

And if you know who was the originator/collector of these micro-essays please do let me know so that I can pay them full acknowledgement!