http://www.rtodd.com/notebook/default.aspx Personal and Professional Blog of R. Todd Stephens, Ph.D. en-us Copyright 1999-2011 R. Todd Stephens, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Tue, 12 Jan 2011 14:21:32 EST 240 In one of our major universities, a professor of economics gave a test to his class. The test had several sections of questions, each of which contained three categories of questions. He instructed his students to choose one question from each section of the test. The first category of each section was the hardest and was worth 50 points. The second category in each section was not quite as hard and worth 40 points. The third category in each section was the easiest and worth only 30 points. When the students had taken the test and all the papers had been turned in, the students who had chosen the hardest questions were given As. The students who had chosen the 40-point questions got were given Bs, and the students choosing the 30-point questions or the easiest questions, were given Cs. Whether or not the answers were correct was not considered. Understandably, the students were confused and asked the professor how he had graded the exam. The professor leaned back and with a smile explained, I wasn’t testing your knowledge. I wasfont-weight: bold testing your aim. Can you imagine that discussion in one of our annual reviews? What would it be or sound like if your manager didn’t discuss the success or failure of your actions but what you attempted. One thing that concerns me each year is not what I succeeded at but what I reached for and failed. Again, not the failure part of the equation but the reaching part. Last night I had to remind myself of that since I spent 3 hours working on a development technique. The last hour was spent backing out and trying to repair the damage I had done and needless to say I was mad. But, I had to remind myself that all part of learning something new. How would you do if your manager tested your aim? http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/testing-your-name.aspx Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Well, its that time of the year. It is time for your annual journey to the mountain top where someone will pass judgment on your performance during the past 12 months. Will you get the Great Job or the Needs Improvement speech? I was reading an interesting article yesterday while waiting on my son to get out of track practice. Here is a partial text: The great majority of companies that control their finances masterfully have no comparable processes for developing their leaders or even pinpointing which ones to develop. While theyre disciplined and vigilant on the financial side, their efforts around recruiting, assessing, and developing leaders lack rigor. They depend on checklists of vague cliches such as strategic, innovative, great communicator, very bright, analytic, or intuitive and settle for superficial impressions. Consequently their talent management remains hit-or-miss. In other words, we know how to cut costs but we dont know Jack about developing talent. Using vague cliches is just plain laziness on the part of management. Yes, there are some folks in management that take talent seriously but the majorities simply play lip service to the concept. Why? Because it takes time and education on how to develop talent. You cant take some watered down training class and deliver that to 100,000 people and expect that to be the answer to developing talent. The article ends with the following text: This is the kind of insight talent masters drive for, and knowing their peoples core talents, they then search for jobs that are the right fit, creating a job if they have to. They do this repeatedly, passionately, even obsessively, day in, day out, not just once or twice a year. They make spotting and developing talent part of every leaders job, and they work hard at it. They spend a huge amount of time and energy on people because they understand a fundamental truth: It is people who ultimately deliver the numbers. If they miss the people part, its just a matter of time before theyll miss the numbers. Well worth the time to read: rect href=http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/25/how-steve-jobs-gets-things-done/ target=_selfhttp://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/25/how-steve-jobs-gets-things-done/ http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/employee-review-based-on-vague-cliches.aspx Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Last week marked the 40th anniversary of John F. Kennedys inaugural address where perhaps the most famous quote ever taken from an inaugural speech was given. Here is a partial text; In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. While it seems our government has moved away from JFKs vision, corporations have not. We still hold true that we must ask what we can do for the company, not what the company can do for us. The mindset of developing ones own skills, leading where others would choose to follow, and standing up for what is right versus what is popular is a difficult position. That being said, we must continue to move forward despite the voices of “hold steady” and do what everyone else is doing. This year I am going to challenge myself and you as well to move beyond the 8 to 5 mindset. Note, I said mindset not actual hours worked. The mindset allows you to work more or less hours but it doesn’t allow you to step out of the cycle of mediocrity. Can you name me one athlete, Hollywood star, or corporate executive that followed the 8-5 mindset? No, me either. Even those that are naturally gifted put in the development time. This post is a s much a challenge to myself versus anyone else but I need to stay focused on my development and not expect the company to do it for me. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/jfk-ask-not-what-your.aspx Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT This week, Steve Jobs stepped down for health reason and very little information was provided to when or even if he will return. A sudden departure would have to be a ripple effect through out the organization if it happened here. But, the news of Steves leave of absence reminds us all of the need ensure we have a succession plan. From the very top of the organization to the very bottom, what would you do if that key person comes in tomorrow and tells you they have had enough? Along those same lines, I was reading Peter Drucker this week and he addressed the idea a little differently. From his perspective, effective managers should continually be reviewing their employees based on results, values, and development. That last one seems to have a direct impact on the idea of succession planning. Here is the exact quote: Every organization needs performance in three major areas: It needs direct results; building of values, and their reaffirmation; and building and developing people for tomorrow. If deprived of performance in any one of these areas, it will decay and die. All three therefore have to be built into the contribution of every executive. Do you get a steady dose of these three components? I think we do a pretty good job on that first one within the annual review but those other two, I am not so sure. You can bet Apple has been developing those folks in the top tiers but what about those at the lower levels. I still believe that the development is more my responsibility than the companys. The reason is that they can only offer traning that everyone can take. Assuming that we are all different and need different levels of training, we must move beyond what is offered within the walls of the company. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/steve-jobs-steps-down-impact-to-you.aspx Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Well, I know I sound like a broken record when I talk about leveraging the social media, the traditional web environment, and other mediums to communicate your personal brand. However, this month’s Communications of the ACM has an interesting article. Early in her career as manager at HP, Patty was put in charge of a software development team whose product life cycle took two years. It was a ridiculously long period of time to develop software, Patty said, and the length of the development cycle left both the HP Sales department and the customers frustrated. Patty revamped the team, reinvented the operating model, and reduced the cycle time to nine months. The success of the software life cycle first product coincided with Patty’s annual review where she expected a healthy raise as the economy was strong at the time. While Patty was able to reward her staff with great raises, her raise equaled a grand total of zero. When she asked her boss why she wasn’t receiving a raise his response was that nobody knows you. Ok, let me see if I can break this down. Results don’t matter. Experience doesn’t matter. Working hard doesn’t matter. Ok, maybe saying results don’t matter is a bit of an overstatement but you can bet that results can be interpreted differently depending on the perspective. Believe me, there is always someone out there willing to interpret your successes as failures. The reality is that you will not always be recognized and justly rewarded for your good deeds. One key point of the article is that successful employees figure out how to deliver their work and find enough free time manage and advance their career. You must understand the company’s goals, promote yourself, build relationships, and deliver results all at the same time. Hard? Yes, but if it was easy everyone would be doing it. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/brand-you-yea-it-is-that-important.aspx Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Joe Frazier made a great comment when it comes to development. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/life-plan-of-fight-plan.aspx Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Well, the change has been made. For the past 12 years, I have used Microsoft’s FrontPage for authoring my web site. Back in 2005, I added Moveable Type for my blog engine. I tried a couple of times to move to WordPress but the learning curve was a little much. In December, I decided that is was time to learn something new and begin to develop a new set of skills in order to extend myself out of my comfort zone. I did look at WordPress and Moveable Type but decided that a traditional platform would be best. I then looked at PHP, CGI, even Sharepoint but decided against those environments. I finally decided to invest my time in SQL, ASP, and .net in order to get a better understanding of web development and what it means to create a database driven web environment. I still have a ways to go but you can see my first 40 hours of effort has produced a decent looking site. The longest time was the conversion of the over 500 blog pages stretching all the way back to 2005. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2011/new-as-net-version-of-rtodd.aspx Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Long before I was part of the ATT family, I was invited to speak in Dallas for a national conference on something or another. My wife and I flew in the day before and while driving to the hotel we noticed a restaurant off the interstate. The restaurant was called Baby Does which served BBQ and ribs. We decided that would be a great place to eat dinner that night. After we settled into the hotel, I ran down to get directions from the concierge. I gave him a few dollars and he gave me a little wry smile. We jumped in the rental car and headed south as the directions indicated. After about 25 minutes, we concluded that I copied the directions down wrong and we were getting no where fast. We pulled into a Holiday Inn and I ran inside to try again. According to the lady at the front desk we were not that far off, only about 5 miles. She shot me an odd glance as I was walked away. Unfortunately, we still couldnt find it. After another 10 minutes of driving around, my exasperated wife asked me to stop at a 7-11 and she would go ask for directions. As she was walking back to the car, she stopped and looked around. As if she was half expecting to see the restaurant. She gets in the car and says that we were close and pointed across the street. Sure enough, the directions had been perfect. Baby Dolls, a gentlemans club, was right across the street. Still not sure if my Georgia accent was the issue or if people were just accustom to giving out directions to the dolls versus the does. We still chuckle thinking about that trip and yes, we did finally make to Baby Does for a wonderful meal. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2010/my-one-and-only-trip-to-dallas.aspx Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT You might not know this, but I actually played golf at the college level. I wasnt all that good in fact I was 13th on a 14 man team. But, you know the old joke about the lowest scoring medical school graduate. You still have to call him/her doctor. Every now and again, I get a kick out of a letter from the NCAA wanting money from former athletes. Back then I carried a 4 handicap but marriage and two kids later, you can triple that on a good day. My experience with the golf team was that it showed me three different types of players. The first type was the motion players; that would have been me. We went through the motions of world class golfers but we were far from it. We showed up to practice like we were told to do. We hit as many practice balls and putts as the next guy. As motion players, we didnt put a lot of pressure on ourselves because when your 13th there is little hope in moving up. In tournaments, we said we didnt prepare like we should have and we had little expectations. Our scores were slightly above where we normally scored during a practice round. We routinely performed as expected; mediocre might be a good word to describe our rounds. Every now and again we would get lucky but those were few and far between.The second group was the excuse players. Like the motion players, they did all the right things. The main difference was in the tournament results. They didnt prepare as they should have, both mentally and physically. The excuses usually started long before the tournament actually did. Maybe it was the weather or how they felt but inevitably the excuses went to describe how poorly they had played. This group usually scored 4-5 strokes higher than they would have in normal play. Perhaps the motion players had apathy going for them but the excuse group let the pressure or perceptions get to them over and over again. Individuals in the final group were the real players. The ones that didnt just hit practice balls. They understood that practice doesnt make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. I once watched this guy hit balls for four hours five days in row with the same club. Can you imagine hitting 1,000 balls with a five iron? This group focused on winning not on playing. These guys were so focused on winning that they would bet on anything in order to create similar circumstances on the field. One guy wanted to bet me that he could out putt me by hitting the balls on the toe of his putter. I was slightly smarter than the average bear and avoided these bets at all cost. One tournament I got the opportunity to caddy for the number one guy. He would actually plan every shot before the tournament started. This was long before GPS and yardage lasers. We walked the course the day before both of us putted each green laying out the breaks. On the practice tee, he never said a word to anyone or me. His focus was incredible which is why he was number one. The first group didnt care, the second group couldnt let go of the side of the pool but its the third group that separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Commitment, focus, dedication, and a desire to get better were the characteristics of this group. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2010/ncaa-athletes-three-types-of-players.aspx Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT Why do careers stall? How would you define a stalled career? Can you define a stalled career based on your job title? If so, what length of time would you use to say that youre stalled? Would five years meet the definition or would ten years be a better indicator? Maybe job function or level of responsibility is a better measurement of a stalled career. Suppose you have been doing the same thing for the past 7 years, would that be a clear indicator? I am sure we could take a look at the number of resources, frequency of rotations, and perhaps a ton of other characteristics to define a stall. I suppose the answer to the question is that it depends. Everyone is different so every situation is different. This may be one of those questions where you answer: Ill know it when I see it.The one thing that we tend not to do is look at is ourselves when we have stalled. I am going to argue that there are three things that we can use to describe a stalled career or perhaps the reason for it.First reason is that we fail to keep up with the technical or business dimensions of our career. Make no mistake, technology is changing on a daily basis and anyone that is trying to keep will have their head spinning until the cows come home. But thats exactly what we have to do. We must re-invent ourselves and our value model in order to stay employed. This will allow us to continue to move our career forward. While luck and situations do dictate stalled careers, individual commitment to change will be far greater in the end.Second, we tend to focus on the short term versus the long term perspective. We make decisions based on the immediate impact to our job versus asking ourselves where we want to be in 5 years and then act accordingly. On a daily basis, this might not seem like that big of a deal but imagine 10 years of focus on what youre going to do today. Remember, one of the key differences between the rich and the poor is the time perspective. The poor think in terms of hours or days, the middle class act in a month by month time frame but the rich focus years down the road.Finally, we lack the ability to leverage our own past and accomplishments. I tend to use the word trademarks to define past accomplishments. Trademarks may be degrees, projects or relationships that you develop which can be leveraged for new opportunities or responsibilities. Trademarks are the building blocks of your career. Build them correctly and you can leverage them for years to come. http://http://rtoddcom.w02.winhost.com/notebook/2010/why-has-your-career-stalled.aspx Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT