Management Craft

Contingent Accolades, AKA Praise-Request Email Sandwiches – They will backfire, so don’t do them!

I have been thinking about this topic for some time and was not quite sure how to approach it. Why? Because the inspiration for this post comes from the frequent requests I get by email to interview an author, do a guest post, do a link exchange, advertise on the blog, etc.. I get many every week, usually a few a day.

Inevitably, the email begins with praise about a post. Lisa, I really loved your posts about XYZ and think that your idea is right on. Some call me brilliant! Insightful! Enjoyable! It makes a girl’s head swell.

And then it deflates. Everything would be peachy and wonderful if the email stopped there, but it never does. The next paragraph pitches someone or something. Often, the topic of the book or speaker or site is not even a good match this blog’s focus (I got one that was about financial planning and I can assure you that in the eight years I have been doing this blog I have never written about financial planning).

Why am I bringing this up? Am I not grateful for the attention? Do I not think their praise is legit?

I think that some of the people who write are somewhat sincere. They do like the blog or post and are sharing that they are a reader to establish some relationship.  I think some are using the latest PR technique to write to bloggers personally and refer to a post (note to PR people, you have a lot of competition and we get these same emails, nearly word for word, every week, you are not being unique).  Some are new to the blogosphere and don’t yet understand why a real blogger would not jump at the chance to share obvious link sites with their carefully cultivated but ever fickle readers (dear readers, I hope you do not mind that I called you fickle, but alas you are, and I know that if I went to the dark side and started being more commercial/slick that you would drop my blog in a microsecond, which is not why I would not do it, BTW, what’s wrong is wrong, I am just saying..) .

And many don’t understand that our blog is our brand and that we believe that everything we do is a reflection upon us (a major distinction between individual and corporate blogs, for sure). I have had a few guest posts on Management Craft but they were provided by people I know and love. Most are other bloggers I admire. None come from people I have never heard of nor have no interest in getting to know. None.

I am grateful that my little blog has a wee bit of popularity and I understand that part of being a blogger these days is fielding PR requests. I am not complaining about the emails. I assume they will continue. So why the public mini-rant? In the words of the White House, I see this as a “teachable moment” related to leadership (pretty cool how I have tied my mini-rant to the blog topic, eh?).

I think that most of the people sending me these praise-request email sandwiches are smart, hardworking, and well-intended. But I wonder why they can’t see the problem with their approach? Why do they think that this should work?

Managers and leaders do this all the time in our workplaces, too, don’t they? I bet some of you have done it already this week and it is only Monday. In an attempt to soften the request or ease into the conversation, we start with praise and transition into the request. The problem is that this approach totally negates the honesty of the praise and makes us look like manipulative fools. We are not – for the most part – manipulative fools but using the praise-request sandwich makes us look this way. In an effort to try to relate we alienate.

If the work someone is doing means something to you, share that and make the person’s day. And if you need something from them, leave that for another conversation and get directly into it when the time comes. You might even start with being really open. For example, I have yet to get an email from a PR person that said:

“Lisa, I know you get many of these emails every week, so I am going to cut to the chase. I would love your help getting the word out about XYZ book, which is about managing drama in the workplace. I know this is a burden and that you need to consider these requests carefully so as not to dilute your brand. I would like to make this as easy as possible, so I have attached a link to a post that I think you would enjoy and that aligns with the Management Craft focus. Link to it if you are so inclined and I appreciate your consideration. I would be happy to send you the book if you want, although I know you will not likely ever have the time to read it. I will not bug you a second time.  PR Guy.”

To be clear, I would likely not link to the post, but at least it is real and sincere. I would be more inclined to consider it. The odds would be higher and I would not feel manipulated.

The bottom line: We humans are pretty quick to sniff out ulterior motives even if they are born from sincere intentions. If you want to have more impact and influence, improve your ability to filter out potential sources of these feelings and reactions. Be more cognizant of how your message is being interpreted. Think through what the unintended consequences might be. See the praise-request email sandwich (or conversation or meeting or whatever) for what it is – a tool that does not work.

And in an effort to save my time and yours, all you PR guys and gals out there, here is my stance on requests related to this blog:

• I do not entertain requests to advertise on this blog. It is not my thing. The only exception is the ad to the right you see from Forbes, which I agreed to years ago as part of being one of their bloggers. Also, I am an Amazon affiliate and when you click to buy one of my books on the right side, I get a wee commission. Both of these income sources add up to about enough to buy a cheap purse or fake pair of earrings each year.
• I do not do link exchanges. Ever. I link to sites and posts I find and I like and I think you might like too.
• I do nothing with blanket press releases. I realize that you will not take me off your list because you want to be able to tell your client that you sent the release to a million bloggers and media outlets, but I won’t do anything with it. Please don’t follow up.
• A rarely entertain the book review requests or guest post requests – really, your energy will be better used asking someone else. It is so rare that I will say yes. I share resources I hear about from pals or find on my own.

This is my stance. It might hurt me in the long run because I know that bloggers can make some money or find more readers by being more amenable to these requests. I don’t care, this blog is eight years old and it will attract the right people. You, my dear readers, are the right people. I want you to always feel special to me. If I ever slap you with a praise-request sandwich, slap me right back and put me in my place.

Top 5 Ways to Innovate

There's a great video on the Fast Company website of Jeremy Gutsche from Trendhunter.com talking about his top five ways to innovate during times of change and chaos (which is all the time, right?).  He advocates for getting rid of the walls that separate people and ideas and checking out other industries.  Watch him discuss his full list here. Love the Peter Drucker quote.

This Sign Feels Your Pain @danielpink

Have you ever seen a sign with wording so unexpected it made you stop and look at again?  This just proves that something out of the ordinary has the ability to really catch our attention.  Dan Pink talks about emotionally intelligent signage and has a hilarious example in a recent posting.  I wonder how we could improve the workplace by using more signage like this?  For example, what about a sign outside the boss's office that reads, "You did a great job on that report.  Don't mind what the boss said about it.....he didn't get enough sleep last night."

As a manager, doing something positive and unexpected can be a good thing.

Here's another example. Instead of a curly line to punctuate the words "Our Mission" on those posters in your conference room, include the following fine print:

"We hesitate to put this poster up because it makes our mission seem like a political slogan. It is not. We love our mission and it is like our breath. We are proud of it and that's why we put it on the wall."

Three Ways You Can Increase Your Leverage

There are 24 hours in a day, how do you manage them? My friend Rajesh Setty blogged about the "Uncommon Cure" and lists the three ways you can increase your leverage. Check it out. I love this first one:

"Ensure that your job increases your personal capacity."

How many of us choose our jobs and stay in our jobs with this criteria in minds? How might we turn a job that saps us of our brilliance (you know what I mean, some jobs make people dumber) into one that expands our potential and skills? Is this important enough to justify a change? I think so.

Check Out Leadership Digital

Here's the link to go check out Leadership Digital, a new home of all things leadership and management. You'll find blogs, articles, and lots of other types of content focused on leadership and management. I am happy to be one of the blogs feeds they are pulling together and there are many other writers you can discover. For those of you who manage or develop managers and leaders, this would be a great site to recommend to folks because of the variety and breadth offered!

 

 

Blog to Keep Your #SHRM Credential?

I received an email from SHRM with general updates and the following one caught my attention:

"HR Blogging Can Earn Recertification Credit
HR professionals now can earn re-certification credit for creating blog posts covering HR-related subjects, the HR Certification Institute has announced."

This is interesting because the idea that someone with the PHR, SPHR, or other credential could keep it current means that blogging is seen as a learning tool.

I like the idea as we might find that more talented folks start blogging. As a blog reader, this is a good thing - more talent more choice. As a blogger, I can tell you that keeping a blog should help you stay up to date in your field (if you read others, link to them, and be an active member of the community).

So far, the number of recert credits you can earn by blogging is very low. But it is a start! This is just one of the many reasons you might benefit from blogging.

50 Top Leadership Blogs

Here is another "Best of" List that can help find awesome bloggers and posts that will provide you with great New Year inspiration. Check out the list of top 50 leadership blogs and put these folks in your aggregators. I am pleased that Management Craft made the list under the "leadership and management" category.

20 Best Biz Blog Posts for 2010 #TMbythenumbers

Blogger Dan McCarthy was asked by DDI to put together a list of the 20 best business blog posts. Click here to check out all the great writers and posts. I am very pleased to have one of my posts included on the list.

Not only are these posts great, these are the bloggers you should be following.

Check it out and enjoy!

Best #Management #Blogs and Hail to @WallyBock!

A new listing of the top Leadership and Management blogs came out and I am pleased to see Management Craft at #35 (especially since I have been so erratic with posting frequency lately, must be the six-year itch). And I was very pleased to see that fellow blogger pal Wally Bock, of Three Start Leadership was at #10, and one the highest ranked of what I will call the "real people" (along with pal Raj Setty at #8). (Real people meaning not the famous jet-setting guru types like Anthony Robbins or Tom Peters or Guy - you know you are a guru when you only need one name)

Check out the list and add a few new folks to your regular reading list. I also want to thank Wally for his thoughful review of my book, The High Impact Middle Manager.

These lists are not perfect, but they are great for finding good blogs. Unfortunately for the bloggers listed, it is also a source many PR agencies use to pitch their books, clients, and stories (I get a couple requests a day, most of which are not worth replying to - you send me a form letter, I will not respond). So let's use the list for GOOD and enrich our perspectives and broaden our exposures to great thinkers. Thanks, Jurgen, for putting together and sharing this list!

Excellent Posts from Fellow Biz Bloggers

I have book marked several great posts and want to share them with you. Consider it to be my personal periodic management post carnival. Enjoy!

Here are two links from pal Raj Setty (Life Beyond Code). The first challenges us to think differently about measurements - Metrics that Matter for 2010. The second post is super inspiring and is called, Lighting the Fire. I love the way Raj writes and thinks and I recommend his blog be in your aggregator.

Check out this post from Leo at Zen Habits called, The Definitive Guide to Sticking to Your New Year's Resolutions. This is a long post that offers many specific ways you can stay focused and in action (without stressing yourself into a straight jacket).

I book marked THREE posts from pal and fellow management thinker Wally Bock. Wally is so smart and he is delightfully sassy. The first post is called, What Your Team Members Want from You. The second post offers Wally's picks for business books from 2009. It is a great list and I feel honored that he included my Hip and Sage book among his faves. Thanks, Wally! The thirst post is called, Leadership Development: Big Company Programs and You, which is a review of the book, The Leadership Pipeline (not a new book, but one that offers solid info on big business leadership programs that you can learn from).

Dan over at Great Leadership offers a great roundup of the "best of" posts from the Leadership Development Carnival. Every post on this list is a great read.

Check out this post from Dwayne over at Genuine Curiosity called, If You Aren't in the Game, You'll Never Win. Dwayne links to a video that is very memorable.

Pal and fellow Canuck blogger David Zinger offers this post called, Good Management Matters. David shares several distilled down messages and suggestions for managers (including to read Management Craft, thanks very much!). Also from David is this great post called, 15 Kudos to Big Blue: IBM Offers Great Guidance in Social Media and Employee Engagement. Awesome post.

And last, but not least, check out this very provocative post from Paul over at Incentive Intelligence called Motivation and the Theory of Everything, which looks at the parallels between physics and motivation theory.