Management Craft is 5 Years Old - Reflections from Pals - Wayne Turmel with bonus new podcast

Yesterday I told you that Management Craft is celebrating its 5th anniversary this month. I asked several of my long time online pals what lessons they have learned in the last five years (so that I could post their thoughts as part of my celebration). Today's guest post is from Wayne Turmel, the Cranky Middle Manager and owner of Great Web Meetings.

In addition to his post, I have a special treat. Wayne and I met in Chicago last week and recorded an impromptu podcast over a drink. We talk about what's changing in managerial science, the essential qualities of a great manager and the challenges involved in creating strong virtual teams. It's lively and, if I do say so myself, quite evolved and interesting. It was very fun.

Click here to enjoy the podcast. 

Click here to download the MP3 version.

And here is Wayne's sassy and provocative guest post. Thanks Wayne!

What have you learned in the last five years?

Response by Wayne Turmel

Funny you should mention this, because The Cranky Middle Manager just turned
4, and I have been wondering what I've learned. I think the biggest lesson I
learned from two different people (one of whom is on this list) and the
other I seem to have offended since he refuses to come on the show or
acknowledge my existence.

It started with Bob Sutton, and his contention that 90% of all business
books are, and I quote, "crap". Doesn't take much to extend that to bloggers
and the fine humans on this list and in our audiences. On my worst days, I
actually agree with much of that sentiment. Do we all breathe each other's
exhaust? Why is so much of it ignored if it's so obvious to us? (of course I
may have offended him by asking which of his 9 books would qualify as crap,
since by his own statistics they can't all be useful).

As we have all muttered in a moment of weakness, we know that training
doesn't work like it should and if we have the answers, why are we still
trying to spread the same messages after all this time? Really, other than
the words we choose to use, how much difference is there in the fundamental
philosophies of the people on this list? How many times must I ask "can you
teach leadership or is it just ingrained in some people?"  and pretend I
don't know what they're going to say before I slash my own wrists in
frustration?

In short, why do we bother?

But one day I spoke to Rosa Say about Managing With Aloha. As she spoke
about Ho'ohana and other concepts I found myself at first tuning out (oh,
leading with integrity and passion- there's a new concept) then focusing
because she explained it in a way I hadn't heard (I'm a sucker for vowels
and the Hawaiian language is full of them, plus Rosa is just so darned
nice). The unfamiliarity of the vocabulary made me listen to her message and
hear it in a way I hadn't before. It slowed me down long enough for her
message to filter through.

I wish I could say it was her message that slowed me down (she was preaching
to the converted), but instead it was the way it was presented that made the
difference. This was my epiphany and it's stuck with me ever since.

This is a long way of saying here's what I've learned:

The book, or information or blog post is only "crap" if it's either poorly
written or irrelevant. Since quality is seldom the problem with this group,
that leaves relevance. Humans learn from something when we need to. If it's
not on our radar screen we'll dismiss it. The brilliance of your piece on
performance reviews will be so much blahblahblah to someone who has that
skill down or isn't thinking about it because they have something else on
their mind.

If we really need to hear something, we need it to stand out from the other
noise in our lives. We need to hear it in a unique way. What works for one
person will not work for someone else.

I use humor to pry open people's minds (and humor-like pornography- is
intensely personal. What turns one person on or amuses them will not appeal
to someone else the same way). Some people dig it, some don't. Other people
use tools like reason or unique experience- some of you even use your great
talent which I think is an unfair advantage over the rest of us. It will
work for some and not others. To me, "Who moved my cheese" is an insult to
intelligent people- and most mice-  everywhere but I can't tell you how many
people found it instructive. What's crap to me is someone else's lifeline.

Which is a way of saying that we all do what we do in the hope that on any
given day, someone will find us, be inspired or uplifted or amused or at
least find solace in the fact they're not alone or crazy. That's why we keep
plugging. Most day's it enough for me to get up and do it again, and that's
what I've learned.

Thanks to everyone here for your words, your passion and your willingness to
reach out. I have spoken to some of you, have read all of you and am honored
to be let into your collective sandbox and be part of this community.

Don't let the weasels get you down.

Comments

[JonIngham]

Lisa,

Congratulations on your anniversary. I've enjoyed listening and reading over the last couple of years.

And another very interesting show with Wayne.

However, I do disagree that there are no new things in leadership.

I think Wayne makes the point very clearly just how much things have changed. If the world is such a different place now, I don't believe management technologies from 50 years ago still apply.

It's a point that Gary Hamel makes very effectively in his book the Future of Management and in his recent article on Moon Shots for Management (which is also picked up in http://moon-shots.ning.com). And also in your post: http://managementcraft.typepad.com/management_craft/2006/11/we_need_new_man.html.

Anyway, keep on the great work!

Best regards, Jon.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Jon:

Thanks for your comment and for reading and listening. I am familiar with Gary Hamel's work and have heard him speak - I respect his work a lot.

I agree that some aspects of what constitutes great management has changed - but the fundamentals regarding how to manage people have endured (I agree, however, that the management fads of the past should be left in the past, like Pavlovian positive reinforcement.

And we have lots of new tools, or ways to communicate and organize work.

The changes in underlying managerial and leadership science would be like a small blip compared to other aspects of life. I think that what makes someone a great manager or leader today would not be too dissimilar to the things that made someone a great manager or leader 30 years ago.