Comcast BroadbandThursday, March 30, 2006It might seem a bit odd to for me to be talking about broadband cable; however, I need to drive this point home. This is for management and their staff. Do you have high speed internet or better known as broadband at home? If you work on a computer everyday and access the internet, the days of "dialing up" should be over. Dialing up to connect to the internet is a horrendous waste of your time. If you tracked how many hours you waste accessing the internet via a regular modem, you would be astounded. I have Comcast broadband service. I am going to use them as an example, because they offer great service. Comcast, like other cable companies offer promotions to get you installed and running on the net at high speeds. All you need is a cable modem, which you might get for free. If you get Comcast cable, you can call them and ask a bout whatever promotion they are running and within a week you will be downloading things from the internet at amazing speeds. Every year my broadband service gets faster. Every year I get more done faster. If your job requires that you need to access your computer from home or you are in some kind of support role, you should ask your employer to pay for part of the service. I am primarily using email and spreadsheets, but I would be lost without my speedy broadband connection. The best thing I did five years ago was to subscribe to Comcast's broadband service. There is no telling how many extra hours I have had with my wife and kids because of it. Check with your cable company and find out how their plan works. Then sign up and get plugged into world of high speed internet! posted at 3/30/2006 08:00:00 AM | 1 comments links to this post |
Bad Management, Higher CostThursday, March 23, 2006I was reading a review of a new book on micromanaging. I haven't read the book yet, so I am not going to talk about it right now. In this review, what was more interesting than the review of the book was the statement that there is a growing concern over cost of bad management. Cost? Yes, every bad manager costs companies money. Ask most companies how much money they lose each day to bad managers and I bet you they cantt tell you. Some do not even have a clue about the lost opportunity costs associated with managers that lack real leadership skills. It is true and it really makes sense. How does a company lose money by not dealing with a bad manager? Here are four reasons I came up with in just a couple of minutes. Lose employees - very costly Lose productivity - very costly Lose creativity - lost opportunity cost Low morale - exacerbates lost productivity and creates more lost opportunity With these four examples, you begin to see how they begin to move like a virus throughout the organization. The scenarios you could create would become alarming. In fact this whole issue is alarming to me. I have seen it first hand for years. What is more disturbing is that I have seen no appreciable improvement in dealing with bad managers over the span of my career. Even if you did the Jack Welch thing and got rid of 10% of your people (low performers), that leaves 90% of your employees reporting to almost the same number of bad managers. Out of the bottom 10% that are fired, a low percentage are actually managers. Don’t get me wrong, I support helping low performers find jobs elsewhere. I have told employees that I thought they may want to consider moving on. Truth be told, they would be happier and the company would be better off. It usually is a win-win, even if the employee does not have the emotional intelligence to understand it. Now think about the cost of a bad manager over time. The manager is probably getting increases every year and yet continues to build management debt. Over 15 or 20 years, how much did they cost the company? That would be interesting to try to figure out. Maybe one day I will try to do some rough calculations; however, I already know it is significant. posted at 3/23/2006 08:00:00 PM | 3 comments links to this post |
Don't Believe Everything Your Boss Tells YouTuesday, March 21, 2006I had a disturbing conversation with a friend recently. I asked him how things were going with his boss. I knew things had deteriorated between the two of them over the last six months. I was interested to see if there was improvement or a deepening chasm forming between both of them. The latter has proven to be reality and so it is time for my friend to spread his wings and fly. He knew it was coming for months now. So did I. And now it has reached critical mass. This is where many of us make the biggest mistake. We let things fester and mold. Time lures us into thinking that the impossible will become possible. We know if it is too good to believe, it probably isn't real. My friend's boss has succumbed to the call of the corporate gods and has let his recent promotion to an executive level position go straight to his head faster than a Martini. I have seen this happen many times over the years. As I get older and more seasoned I get more compassionate for someone who sells his soul to corporate life. I was there once and I have nothing to show for it. One day he will regret the time away from his family physically and emotionally. This boss told my friend that vacations were not really something earned, but just a gift. Now any of you who work for HR and have a firm understanding of the legal issues, you are screaming "Noooo, you can't say that." Too late, it was said and meant. Even if vacation time was not accrued (earned), how would a manager profit from such a statement? I can see the title of the book now, "How to Demoralize Your Employees in 30 Seconds." It gets worse. The next thing out of this young manager's mouth was the "We don't work 40 hours a week here" line. "If you think this is a 40 hour a week job, then you do not understand." My friend is an exempt employee. Again, HR would be running furiously towards this manager saying "Stop, Stop, please be quite until we train you." Sure as exempt employees we work more than 40 hour weeks sometimes. That is really okay. However, if you get the impression that exempt means 70 hours a week, think again. If your boss is young and inexperienced you should be on guard. I can say this because I was a young manager years ago and I asked my staff to do things that were ridiculous. I expected my top performers to put in long hours to prove their worth as an employee. I am not knocking my friend's boss. He is young, aggressive, and hungry. He is also misguided. If he is lucky, he will learn this a little later in his career. You can listen to what your boss says without taking ownership of it. Don't own something that goes against your standard of living, ethics or moral code. posted at 3/21/2006 08:00:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
Consumer Survey?Friday, March 17, 2006The last time you filled out a survey, did your company take it seriously? Surveys are really popular and are used as a report card on performance. A survey is a good tool to see how people feel about many things. It can't just stop there. The results of the survey must be used to affect change. If you filled out a survey and never heard anyone talk about the results, you have just wasted your time. If there is communication about the results, then you are at least getting feedback. Ultimately any of us who take surveys want to have our voice heard and see improvement. That means after the communication there should be action. You should start seeing cultural change within your company. There is no difference between consumer surveys where companies use the data to improve products or even create new products. They are trying to make a change that will help them to serve their customers better. Obviously they want to make more money. So why should it be any different with a survey at your company? If 75% of the people who filled out the survey say they like Diet Coke over Diet Pepsi, then you should be able to find Diet Coke on every floor. This is a simple and somewhat stupid example, but then is it really so hard to listen to what people are saying and change? Anyone see change after a survey? I would be interested in hearing about it. posted at 3/17/2006 08:00:00 AM | 1 comments links to this post |
Tax RefundSaturday, March 11, 2006I don't know about you but I totally disagree with the financial experts who tell us to avoid tax refunds. The financial gurus tell us to claim as many dependents on our W4s as we can, but not too many that we end up owing tax at the end of the year. I like getting a refund, and I usually try to plan ahead as much as possible to get around $10,000. Now I could just deduct $833.00 a month from my salary and get about $300 interest and actually end up with $10,300.00 by the end of the year. Maybe I could do better investing it in a money market or a stock. How fun is that? I am not sure about you, but I would have a hard time taking $833.00 out of my pay check every month, because I already pay myself first, have a 401K, and take out the maximum FSA ($3600.00). I take a lot out of my check every month already. So I let the government do it for me and I don't even think about it. Get the psychology? I forget it happens and then as January rolls around each year I start to get excited about my check that will come in March. I own a business in addition to working fulltime, so February is the time my CPA gets my business taxes figured out. I just got my refund today! Deposited in my account and I feel good. I use TurboTax, the web version and it walks me through every step of doing my taxes and then sends it electronically to the IRS. 48 hours later the IRS sends back a message and tells me if it accepts or rejects my return and if all went well, it takes about two weeks before I get my money. I just really like getting a nice chunk of change each year, even though the government was holding it for me and I was not getting interest on it. I exchange the practical with the less prudent option and have fun. I am investing half of it in home improvements and a condo on the beach for a week this summer. The other half - well I paid myself first. So to all of the tax experts and financial gurus, I think you are wrong. I just spent $300 or even $500 to play this game and I had fun! (Even if it was financially stupid) posted at 3/11/2006 08:00:00 AM | 4 comments links to this post |
Consolidate Student LoansThursday, March 09, 2006If you are fresh out of college and on your first job or still in college, I ran across something that might interest you. Interest rates are going up and are likely to continue to trend up. If you are a college student you know that debt is mounting and the day to repay is coming. For some of you that day has come and your student loans are no longer something that you need to pay for school, but rather something that you have to pay. Typically rates on student loans are good. However, the current climate has some college grads scrambling to pay this debt. One answer is to consolidate student loans. The number of student loan consolidations is on the increase. So is the number of options, both good and bad. If you have significant debt from college, you should see if this is the right option for you. It may reduce your payment per month. When times are lean, you can pay less and when you have extra money you can pay more. There are many companies that consolidate student loans, so you are in the driver's seat. Do some searching and research. There are good deals and bad deals out there. Just another option for you to consider. posted at 3/09/2006 08:01:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
Ever Had A Conversation Like This?Monday, March 06, 2006You: Yes, I know this project is important to the company. Boss: Good, good. Then you see the value of working 16 hour days for the next 10 months, correct? You: What? Boss: Hey, we all have to do what we need to do to get the job done, right? Keep the money coming in so we keep our great jobs here. You: What? Boss: I mean, we all have family obligations or other things, but what is more important? I mean we all need to keep our job. You: I think I am not on the same... Boss: Good, we are on the same page. I can see you agree. You: But... Boss: Don't worry; your wife will get over it. Mine has given up. You: But… Boss: If you have any objections, let’s talk about it right now, ok? Only fair. You: Well, I do... Boss: Holy cow, I didn't realize it was 10:00; I have to be in a meeting with my boss. This was great. I am glad you are on the same page. Great, great. You: But... Boss: My door is always open, feel free to stop by and talk any time. See you later. (boss runs out the door, you are sitting in the chair in front of his desk) You: But I came to give you my resignation letter (you mumble to yourself). Guess I will leave it on your desk. You probably will never see it. If you do, you probably will never read it. If you do, you will probably deny it. Even if I leave, you will probably still assign the work to me. When it doesn't get done, I will still be responsible for it in your eyes. It was a pleasure to work for someone who always had his door open and was willing to listen to me. posted at 3/06/2006 08:00:00 AM | 4 comments links to this post |
My House is Asking for More Money, AgainSunday, March 05, 2006Every year, my wife and I decide what part of the house we are going to give some attention. Our house is only six years old, but it requires maintenance like everything we own. Last year we painted the living room, the downstairs hallways, foyer and the parlor. I also added some extra wainscoting. The foyer is 22 feet high, so the painting was not easy. It was rewarding when it was all done. We bought some new furniture for the living room and then we were done. We did a lot and watched our pennies. The furniture was on clearance at a furniture store that was shutting it's doors. I did all the labor, so we bought just the materials, like paint, wood for the wainscoting, paint brushes, etc. This weekend we started on our home improvements for 2006. We are going to redo the girl's room - new paint, closet storage, curtains, and linens. They will be thrilled. The other major project is what we call the "family" room. This is where everyone hangs out to watch a movie or read a book. This room has become a challenge. The carpet was a Berber that was installed incorrectly when we built the house. We have a nice seam that has unraveled running the entire length of the room. Neither the builder nor the manufacturer stood behind their defective product and installation. We are looking at new carpet, a new color, blinds, curtains, new lights, repainting all of the trim, and some furniture changes. Basically a makeover. We ran around all weekend looking at furniture. It was fun at first, but quickly became exhausting. Furniture stores either want too much for good quality or want too much for mediocre furniture. They always want more than the stuff is worth, so it drives me crazy to go furniture shopping. We chose a paint color for the family room and bought a quart to put a little up on the walls to test it out. The first color was all wrong. It looked nothing like the microscopic strip that we based our decision on. We picked a second color and another quart and painted over the 5 or 6 places where we painted. We love this color. So now I have a month's worth of work to do to make sure that our home feels the love. It all seems so overwhelming right now, but I know when we are done we will be glad we did it. And we will have two "new" rooms. I guess I will run up and see if I still like the color, now that it is dry. If I do, I can start on the trim. Yeah!!!!!!! posted at 3/05/2006 08:00:00 PM | 1 comments links to this post |
Be True To YourselfFriday, March 03, 2006Are you happy? Do you like the company you work for? Do you like what you do? Are you happily married? Are you where you want to be financially? Do you like where you live? I have realized recently that a lot of us are not answering those questions truthfully, if we even ask them at all. Have you asked yourself any of these questions? If, so have you asked them recently? What are the answers? Do they disturb you? If you answered yes to all of them, are you really telling the truth? Take time this weekend and ask yourself questions that will lead you to a place where you will either discover or confirm. I am going through this exercise right now and it is very interesting. I have discovered that I have not been self-aware in some areas. I have not been honest with myself in some areas. The point is not to get into a depressed state, but rather get liberated from what holds you back from living out your passions. Sometimes you have to face tough realities before you can start moving in the right direction. Once you discover the areas where you are out of alignment, you need to quickly develop action items. These action items will be definitive things that you can do and will do immediately to start moving in the right direction. Very few of us are living out our passions. If you are a creative-type like I am, it can be an uphill struggle to make a living and do what you are passionate about. The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. -Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892) posted at 3/03/2006 08:00:00 AM | 3 comments links to this post |
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