The co-worker with feet up reading; The co-worker who is constantly out sick, at the doctor, or otherwise engaged in non-work activities; The co-worker who is perpetually saying how busy he is, but produces nothing; The co-worker who constantly needs more information to get anything done. These are the four levels of Slakerism. Slackers come in many forms, some employing very sophisticated tactics to maintain their life of ease. Read on if you dare, but don’t be alarmed if you find some of yourself in these slackers!
Level 1 – The lazy slacker
This is the traditional slacker. He is easy to spot because he is relaxing and talking instead of working. When forced to work, he moves slowly, often taking weeks to perform simple tasks. This slacker is a person not concerned about losing their job. Often his or her boss slacks also. However, because this slacking is so obvious, this person does eventually get his due. If not fired for outright laziness, be assured that he will at least not climb the ladder and may one day work for you. At which point you can fire him.
Level 2 – The HR slacker
This slacker uses HR policies to avoid work. They take numerous sick days, they come in late and leave early for “family emergencies” more often than a non-hospitalized person should. Sure, we all need to balance our work and life. We all get sick sometimes. The HR slacker takes this to the edge of possibility knowing that company policies can protect them. Working from home becomes a free vacation day. Other than not being at work, this slacker can be spotted by frequent Monday and Friday absences and no ability to reach them. Dealing with this slacker is more difficult. His management may not be able nor willing to document and deal with the issue. This slacker often does a decent job when at the office, making it more difficult to remove him. To further play the HR card, this slacker will often fight any criticism vehemently, and will threaten HR action. The only real path to normalcy for this slacker is to document everything and beat him at his own game. Live by HR, die by HR.
Level 3 – The busy-bee
“I’m too busy for that”, “Put it on my calendar for next month”, “I can’t make that meeting today, I’m swamped”. The busy-bee uses faux business to hide the fact that he does very little. Always on the run, this slacker is so bust looking busy that no actual work gets done. These slackers often inhabit a workspace that can be secured to surprise visits by co-workers. Often these slackers inhabit offices or secured area of the building (IT data centers?). They are social animals, always out talking to friends or other busy-bees, creating a hive of busyness that protects all from seeming idle, and taking them away from their work areas to further enhance their hectic illusion. Dealing with the busy-bee is harder still. They are likely at a decent position in the organization. Many have perfected the art of getting others to do their work (often you). They play politics well due to all the time they spend schmoosing, so promotions can come easy to them. Most insidious of all, their kind likes to absorb others into the hive (often you). Beware of succumbing to the charms of the busy-bee. Seeming busy, being respects, getting work done (by others doing it for you) is a siren call that many cannot resist. The downfall of the busy-bee is that there comes a time when others will not, or can not do their work, and they are left under skilled and unable to do it themselves. In addition, playing so deeply in the political trenches has its own risks. These two often combine to cause the downfall of the busy-bee.
Level 4 – The process shield
There are some who seem to believe that there is no problem that the application of process cannot fix. I myself am a big believer that a judicious process helps people to come to a common understanding of the tasks at hand while also providing tools to help manage complex issues. However, when a person takes process too far, it is sometime in order to shield themselves from real work. These masters of the slow play can take any task and turn it into a massive pile of bureaucracy. Like the HR slacker, these slackers use the policies of company to keep work at bay. They not only use the existing policy, but seem to create policies out of thin air: “Let me tell you how we need to do things here”. The problem is that the slacker process is a black hole, no matter how well you fulfill their made up processes, there will always be more they need. These slackers are the most difficult to deal with since work does get done, just less than they could do. They also appear to be on top of everything and intent on improving the business (although they really create a productivity pit for everyone around them). Escalation usually does not work since this will invariably lead to a meeting that not only creates more process (with you getting all of the deliverables), but this slacker will also make you look like a whiner and possibly incompetent with a statement like: “ I don’t even know why we are having this meeting, all I need from you is the detailed product description I asked for and we can get this done for you today”. You fall for the bait and counter: “I gave you the product description two weeks ago” (sucker!). Which leads to: “You mean that five-pager you sent me? That was a nice summary, just get me the details and we can move forward”. Shields up! The point here is that there will always be more that you need to give them. At some point they will probably do the work, “as a favor to you”, despite the fact that you did not provide the proper details. Oh, and by the way, should you ever successfully navigate their labyrinth of processes, don’t think you have won; the process will have changed the next time you deal with him. So what is a conscientious person to do? Well, remember that they are, after all, slackers. The whole point of their game is to avoid work. As distasteful as it is, adding some process on your end that causes definite deliverables on their end sometimes works to get them to back down. Sometimes this is a simple as squeduling a meeting. They key is to create more work for them to follow your process then it is to do the work in the first place. Here you might find this slacker coming to your door for a pow-wow to discuss if “we can just agree to get this done without all the paperwork and meetings”. Once they know that you mean business. They will take the easy way, and just get things done.
Are you a Slacker? The 4 levels of Slackerism
Judo and the art of Communication
Being a good communicator requires a Zen like presence. You need to facilitate without disruption. In Judo, movement is about knowing how to utilize the power of others to your advantage; know when to push; know when to step aside for the best result. Let it flow, and you will succeed. Here are some tips to make your communication better:
Keep it accessible. Make sure everyone knows where to find project information, and be diligent about putting documents there. Lack of information access is a major failure point in any endeavor. If they can’t find it, they’ll make it up, and nothing wastes time like people reinventing information.
Know when to shut up. This is one of the most difficult things to learn as a manager. There comes a time where others need to execute and you must step aside. Let them. Don’t hound them for constant status. Don’t set up meetings that sap their time. Not knowing where a task stands for a few days is NOT a failure of your management skills. This might mean that you are underutilized for a period of time, but that is OK. Asking too often communicates a lack of trust. Not giving trust often means not getting trust, and that will tank your project. If you need to ask, ask if there is anything you can do to make the task go smoother; don’t just be a status taker. Allowing yourself to be out of the loop takes a bit of Zen, but when you find yourself uncomfortable about not knowing everything about your area, just close your eyes, breathe and let it go.Seek out bad news. Listen to how the team is feeling. Listen for that high pitched, wavering voice that means discomfort, or worse. There is a time in Judo when contact must be made. When this time comes, do it forcefully. Wrench the bad news out of them. Dig, and then dig again. People often don’t like to give bad news, make them. In the end they will feel better and you will know about looming problems earlier. That just might save you.
Keep it up. Communicate everything multiple times. Send things in writing, and then send them again. People are busy. Your project might not be at the top of their minds. Stay in front of them by communicating over and over again. Remember that just because you told someone something, does not mean that they understood it and retained it. Whether giving or getting information, play it back to make sure it is communicated correctly. Knowing that all of the information is precessed and retained allows the information to do the work for you.
Three-way tie on Jeopardy - Why doesn't this happen more often?
On March 16, three players all finished with $16,000 on Jeopardy. The Associated press released a story claiming a 1 in 25 million chance of this happening (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17653609/).
My question is: Why doesn't this happen more? My prediction: It will now.
First off, the 1 in 25 million number is not correct. Odds cannot be calculated for a three-way tie on Jeopardy since a tie relies on one or more contestants choosing to tie. Final Jeopardy is not a game of chance. The contestants have free will to bet to win, or to tie unless all three contestants enter final Jeopardy with the same amount. In this case, Scott Weiss chose to tie the game.
Friday's game played out like this: Mr. Weiss entered final Jeopardy with $13,600.
The other two contestants each had $8,000. The rational bet for the two players with $8,000 was to bet all of their money hoping for a two way tie should Mr. Weiss get the question wrong. They would have assumed (incorrectly in this case) that Mr. Weiss would bet $2,599 assuring a win should he get the question correct. But that is not what happened. Mr. Weiss bet $2,600 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV9vuKfVO04), and all three tied. There is a lot of talk now about why someone would do this. Mr. Weiss says he was being generous. But what if he was following his own self interest?
Under the rules of Jeopardy, in a first place tie all tied players get the money, and all are crowned Jeopardy champions, and all tied players return the following week. So Mr. Weiss gets the payout AND he gets to face the same two people he just beat by 60% instead of drawing random players the following week who might turn out to be much stronger. Mr. Weiss gave up $1 to pick his competition. In game theory we would look at this as a sequential game. Mr. Weiss's two day payout is likely to be bigger with a tie than a win. As other contestants catch on to this, expect to see more ties for first place on Jeopardy.
The two-minute MBA
Need an MBA, but only have two minutes? Do you need to know how an MBA thinks? Here are some of the big concepts that shape the MBA mind: 
1. Time is money. MBAs call it the time value of money. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow because if you get it today, you have an extra day to invest it. Remember that when you slip a deadline you cost your company money.
2. What gets measured gets done. If you measure the wrong thing, you get the wrong results. When measuring people or processes, be sure to fully think through how someone might game your system. Want someone to cut costs? How about at the expense of profits, or by moving their costs to another department. Believe me, it happens all the time.
3. Execution is king. What every MBA knows is that there are a lot of good ideas out there. Sometimes it seems like everyone you meet has a good idea to make some money. What we also know is that few actually make money on their ideas. The difference between ideas and success is execution. It is the hard part of business, and the part that takes real work. Nobody wants to hear your ideas, they just want to know you can execute.
4. Decisions matter. Businesses succeed, businesses fail. To be sure part of the difference is the whims of markets and consumers, but most of the what creates success is the cumulative affect of decisions, and the best decision makers can overcome any market whim. When you make a decision at work, you are committing your company to a path. That path has large ramifications down the line. Have respect for the power of a well thought out decision.
5. Fit. In business fit is in. Your business needs to be consistent to be successful. This means internally consistent (the pieces fit together), and externally consistent (it fits with the industry / environment). This translates into smaller parts of the company also. The more things fit, the better the company will be. Think about your own business unit. Do all of the parts fit? If not, examine why.
More big ideas for MBAs? Let me know...
Dinosaurs in the field
dinosaurs in the field.1. Avoidance. Go around, go through, go over. Any way you can avoid the dinosaur. If you can't avoid (your boss perhaps), read on...
2. Find their motivation. This goes for anyone, but is particularly useful for dinosaurs. Are they motivated by self interest and political protectionism alone? Is it fame and recognition they seek? Respect of others? Money? Knowing the motivation helps you craft a strategy to deal with them.
3. Identify their reflection. What does the dinosaur see in the pond? Knowing how they see themselves gets you close to how to deal with them. Play back their reflection to them and they will trust you. Maybe if they trust you, they will leave you to do your work.
4. Maintain the order. Dinosaurs are wed to hierarchy. As unproductive as this can be in a modern collaborative work environment, keeping at least the illusion of order and hierarchy helps them deal.
5. If all else fails, bury them with data. Dinosaurs love certainty and data. If they want to know more about your work, give them all of it. The sheer volume keeps them occupied.
Do you have other tactics for dealing with Dinosaurs in the field? Let me know...
5 things to check before placing blame
When something goes wrong at work, it is often easy to get caught up in looking for the person responsible. Before you do, consider checking these five reasons things go wrong:
1. Process - Make sure the process is correct and doable. A good process should not leave room for errors to go undetected. Bulletproof the process, and this problem will not happen again. Place blame, and in all likelihood, it will.
2. Inputs - Was the issue really that someone failed or was it that someone had bad inputs? Was it bad information from the client? Was it an incorrect report? Find out to stop this issue from reappearing.
3. Equipment - Bad equipment can derail even the best process. Make sure your people have what they need to get the job done. Goes without saying.
4. Metrics - This is a tough one to ferret out, but it is also the most common cause of failure. How you measure success impacts what people do. Make sure your measurements make sense. Think how the focus of performance reviews and status reports might cause things to go awry. If people are following incentives, can you really blame them?
5. Chance - Sometimes failure is really just random chance. Nobody and no process is immune to chance. If the failure is an isolated event and the impact is small think about cutting some slack.
Of course if these five are all in shape, go ahead an place blame, someone really missed the mark.
Disagree? Let me know...