It's ugly out there

There are 5.4 million managers leading teams in more than 30,000 U.S.firms. Unfortunately, most managers are inefficient and create a workplace disaster.

Harris Interactive interviewed 8,000 full-time employees and found these sad facts:

- One third of workers feel they are at a dead-end in their current jobs, and 42% say they are "trying to cope with feelings of burnout."
- Only 37% believe that their "top management displays integrity and morality."
- Only 29% say that their "top management is committed to advancing the skills of employees."
- Fewer than half say they "really care about the fate of this organization."

According to Accenture, 58 percent of U.S. managers are open to changing jobs and 30% are currently looking to make a change.

Most companies seem to forget that they should stand for more than gross margins, profits and short-term gains. These companies forget that their employees need more than a paycheck and healthcare.

Or as Howard Schultz from Starbucks said: "People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for , trust.”

(I guess Baskin Robbins has some issues: I found this picture on Flickr - the manager of Baskin Robbins closed the store and took a little nap. One of the prospective customers took a picture instead of getting an ice cream...)

In the end, it's all about others. And, ultimately, you.

The ability to manage and to believe in the opportunity to make others better and greater than yourself are based in a strong, unwavering belief in humanity.
We often make the mistake to assume that the human experience should be a zero-sum game: When one wins, somebody has to lose. This assumption is not based in reality: When you're happy, I don't have to be sad. My success doesn't require your failure. The human spirit and experience leaves room for all of us to be happy, lead a fulfilling life, and enrich others.

Clearly, this does not happen to all of us. But, there's no law or rule that tells us it can't. Ultimately, our only choice is to devote ourselves to this ultimate goal: mentor and develop those people that will create and achieve bigger things we ever envisioned.

If you try to make others greater than yourself, you create an amazing situation: They become human giants while you morph into a spiritual giant.

Thank you to Steve Garber for this inspirational thought.

Time to vent

So much about controlling the message: Jobvent.com is every employers nightmare: This site allows employees to write good or bad things about their experience working at the specific company.

Will people write more about bad or good experiences? Well, you guessed right.

I scanned the site briefly and discovered a recurring theme: Managers have lost touch with their employees and don't listen to them anymore. Instead, they focus on charts and metrics.
Nothing creates more alienation than converting people into resources/numbers.

People are talking. Are Managers listening?

How to test future employees

Found this on Tom Peters site:

"Trying to evaluate a potential new hire? Here's a great test: Arrange for them to work for a day—a particularly slow day—at a place like Best Buy or a hotel check-in desk. Make sure that there are ropes set up to control long lines—you know, the kind that corral the crowd and make customers walk back and forth many times before making it to the counter. Remember: Be sure to choose a slow day.

Now, station yourself at a place where you can surreptitiously observe your prospective new hire. Watch him as he watches the occasional customer walk back and forth through the empty labyrinth, following the course of a long line even though there is no line and no other customers. What does your potential new employee do as he watches customers take these extra steps? Does he do nothing? Does he assume that "the powers that be" (I hate that term) have decided the ropes are necessary, even on slow days? Or, does your future star worker take the initiative to undo the ropes and let customers walk right in?

The formula is simple: If he does nothing, don't hire him. If he takes the initiative to change the configuration of the ropes, hire him."

Obviously, this shouldn't be taken literally. What we need from employees is to question th Status Quo, and look for new ways to improve the customer's brand experience. Everyone in your company has an effect on brand experiences and nobody should be passive when customers enocunter bad brand experiences.

Let's be clear: Most prospective employees won't move the ropes. Cherish those that will.