Wall Street and Detroit auto executives have become the objects of mockery in the past year for their managerial foibles, and most of us never miss an opportunity to vent about our boss's flaws. But the world depends on many unsung, dedicated, and competent bosses - you might even be one of them. Management consultant Lisa Haneberg celebrates them with verse, on her Management Craft website
BEING BOSS
It is not always easy to be the one in charge
In charge of fixing the daily conundrums
That inevitably come up at 4:30 on Friday
The Friday you have ball game tickets with a pal
Having to make the calls can cause nerves to flare
Flare with fear and raw vulnerability for what's unknown
And the issues get more gnarly as the day wears on
Wearing patience thin and testing tired brain cells
Why would anyone want to be the boss?
The boss gets all the complaints and aggravation
Constant interruptions render plans obsolete
Obsolete and out of touch before clearing the gate
Being boss comes with these and many more challenges
Challenges roller coaster emotions and energy
These diversions don't overshadow the reason to lead
Leading is about people, connection, and excellence
Leaders can see and develop our potential
The potential to fully express and utilize our talents
The boss cares about whether people are engaged
Engaged and unencumbered by rolling crud
Hats off to all leaders who get through the muck
The mucky muck of business to help people be great
Jobs would be unbearable without great bosses
Bosses who get what leading is really about
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POWER POINTS
Getting stuff done
You have probably heard the advice to start your day with the worst thing on your to-do list, getting that unappetizing chore completed. But it's also sensible advice to start the day with your most important task. And often those rules won't lead to the same task. Former Synnex CEO Jim Estill says that, in such situations, attack the worst thing first, but limit yourself to 15 minutes, which you can always spare, before getting on to the most important. jimestill.comExistential process Process improvement is wonderful, but even the best process improvement experts don't ask: Should we be doing this process at all? kevineikenberry.com
Negotiauction strategy
In negotiations, the competition is between you and the individual or team on the other side of the table in the deal. In auctions, the competition is with others on the same side of the table vying to buy the item. Traditionally, we have viewed negotiations and auctions as separate avenues to purchase assets, but Harvard University professor Guhan Subramanian says that increasingly - mergers and acquisitions with several bidders are a prime example - the process is a combination, a "negotiauction," that will call for a strategy alert to the different interests. hbswk.hbs.edu
Consumers prefer e-mail
Direct marketers are now shifting their eyes from e-mail to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. But the 2009 customer preferences study by ExactTarget, while charting a decline in e-mail usage, still found that almost all consumers - 90 per cent - prefer to interact with marketers through e-mail, saving social sites for friends and family. 1to1media.com
PowerPointers
The top three complaints about PowerPoint presentations from a recent survey: The speaker read the slide to us; the text was so small I couldn't read it; and full sentences were used instead of bullet points. thinkoutsidetheslide.com
Go mouseless
If you use Firefox and want to reduce the strain on your hands from constant mouse clicks, try the mouseless browsing add-on (http://www.rudolf-noe.de), which allows you to tap in numbers from the keyboard to navigate to other pages. news.cnet.com/workers-edge/
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SELLING
Capitalize on 'trigger events'
When cold-calling a prospect, his or her initial instinct will be to get rid of you. Your instinct, in turn, must be to find a "trigger event," Calgary-based sales consultant Craig Elias observes on RainToday.com.
A trigger event is something that occurred - whether recently or in the past - that ignites interest in your product or service. It might be a bad experience that has soured the prospect on a current provider; a change in people, places or priorities, such as a shift in the account representative handling the product you wish to provide; or awareness of the need to change for legal, risk-avoidance, or economic reasons.
Mr. Elias says that during the first minute of your call, you should try to understand which of the following three buying modes the user is in:
Status quo
The prospect is completely happy with where he is - no trigger event in the past, although one might occur in the future, so start a relationship-building process.
Searching for
an alternative
The trigger event occurred a while ago, the person has searched for alternative suppliers, landing on a favourite. Position yourself as the buyer's No. 2 choice, to be called first if the current favourite falters.
Window of dissatisfaction
The trigger event occurred recently, the buyer knows the current supplier is insufficient, but has not yet acted. If you are told to call back in a few months, persist now, since you want to get ahead of any competition.
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OFFICE CULTURE
What's taboo and what isn't
Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway says discussion of sex is accepted these days in open-plan offices, as workers have loud conversations with their divorce lawyers or discuss disastrous dates. Strong emotion is now viewed as a good thing, and skimpy or scruffy outfits are no longer banned.
So what is taboo? "By far, the biggest workplace taboo is the truth - or at least any truth that punctures the self-importance of work," she says.
There is also a taboo surrounding ambition - you can't have too much, or too little, but, like Goldilocks, need just the right amount. Finally, it is deeply taboo to criticize your own company.
