A Consultant's Chronicles

Facebook & Today's Workforce

In earlier posts I have written about the fact that while social media sites like Facebook & Twitter represent fabulous marketing venues for individuals & [small] business, they are also not without business peril. There have been some notable examples of how people err on these sites because they blur the lines between professional & personal life. This merging of the public & private spheres of life is like a giant pothole on these sites, which is to say the problem is easily seen yet people stumble anyway. Until recently, I have only been involved with professionally oriented sites where everyone's guard is up. However, now that I am on Facebook, I see just how easily those lines can be crossed in a way that could be harmful to a career. A picture posted of someone smoking a bong is probably not their ticket to the corner office.  Should that be the case?

The Facebook Faux Pas: A Dealmaker Or A Deal-breaker

There is a school of thought representing the belief that as people become more at home with social media, the "Facebook online faux pas" will become a mere "blip on the radar screen;'' others maintain that if online indiscretions don't interfere with their work performance, it shouldn't matter.  I believe this view to be naive & self-serving. Allow me to explain. Part of what employers & [potential] colleagues  look for is how you handle yourself in every setting especially personal ones. Why? It's a window into what you will be like to work with as well as providing a feel for your ethics & moral compass. For example, how do you treat the wait staff when dining out with the boss, do you cheat at golf, do you drink too much at business mixers? These are all "real life" examples of where professional & personal boundaries cross & as a consequence, fairly or not, we are judged accordingly. Social media just provides another venue for more information. Is your input responsive, communicative, and a reflection of good judgment or is it immature and unprofessional? Does it matter? In my view, absolutely. Can a Facebook or Twitter post be a dealmaker or deal-breaker; without a doubt-just ask "Cisco Fatty!" She lost her job as the result of "140 characters or less!" 

What Your Golf Game Reveals About You To Business Colleagues

In the business world, the approach of September & October means many things but one particular item always comes to my mind: it's business golf tournament time. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say right here that I am not a "gifted golfer" [understatement of the year!?] but I do know how to conduct myself to make the fairways enjoyable & profitable.  However, in the fall there always seems to be these big company wide tournaments each year. In fact, in certain industries [like insurance], golf & business are a year round affair paired together like ham & swiss [cheese].

What Does Your Golf Game Say About You 

A friend of mine, Suzanne Woo is a business golf specialist & she believes that it is often beneficial for people to play golf together before deciding whether or not to do business together. Why? Just like in any other non-work activity, there is much that can be gleaned just by playing golf together. What are some examples of the kinds of things you can learn?

• How a person handles pressure? Are they at ease or do they crumble?
• What happens when they make a bad shot? Do they make excuses, get so angry that they crack a club over their knee, or simply say "my bad" & move on?
• Do they cheat? Do they lack integrity or are they someone who has to win at any cost?

Would A Stranger Elect To Do Business With You After 18 Holes

Anyone who's ever played golf knows it is extremely difficult to master but at the end of the day, it's just a game.  How do you conduct yourself on the fairways? Could you survive a game with the boss? Would a stranger elect to do business with you after 18 holes together?

Behavior In the Workplace: The YouTube Guide To Life

Recently I read an article, which offered many different & useful tips when it comes to managing in a crisis. The source of these tips came from consultants, academicians, authors & CEO's alike. However, there's a tip that really caught my eye. It comes from columnist Bruce Weinstein & it is something that I believe every manager should heed at anytime. It requires screening your actions in a very simple way. Always ask yourself "can my actions pass the YouTube test? If you wouldn't mind seeing what you've done [or plan to do] "going viral" in a video clip great but if not, stop right there! Actually this is a pretty egalitarian guidepost since it could easily be applied to managers & employees alike.

The Ethical Layoff: Lose the Job But Keep Your 'Face'

In this financial climate jobs have been decimated across almost every industry even those, which were traditionally immune like the law. In some ways comparing a struggling factory worker's job loss to that of a lawyer in a "white shoe" [read; conservative & elite] firm is like comparing "apples to oranges" but at the end of the day, a layoff is a layoff. This brings me to something that impressed me in an article in this past Sunday's New York Times. It was about White & Case a century old Wall Street firm that recently cut 200 lawyers off their payroll, both junior associates & partners alike. These days there's is nothing remarkable about a big company laying off employees. While much of the article was spent discussing whether or not this move represented a paradigm shift for the profession as a whole, what struck me was how they conducted the process. 

Keeping The 'Face"

According to the chairman Hugh Verrier, they could have done one of 3 things:

• they could have done nothing [considered unhealthy for the firm's survival]
• they could have dissembled alleging poor performance
• they could tell the truth; basically they could no longer afford the larger staff

While the first option clearly sounded like a death knell for the firm, there are many companies today that opt for "plan B:" asserting the reason is poor performance or [gasp] some other malfeasance. What's the difference between alleging poor performance/malfeasance & the truth? Aside from the fact that it would be untrue, it therefore also opens them up to legal liability. However doing what White & Case opted for generally puts the company on the hook for more money [especially at the partner level]. What their choice did NOT do was destroy their employees' "face," their professional & personal prestige. Instead White & Case decided to be candid & reveal that as a firm, that they were ill prepared for a financial downturn, a move that tarnishes their brand further.  As a result, their employees "only" had to deal with the layoff & could at least take [cold?] comfort in their ability to market their skills elsewhere with the general expectation of supportive references. A difficult task but done in a cleaner & far more ethical manner. Now if only they could take "ethics" to the bank... 

 

 

 

'Everybody, Somebody, Anybody & Nobody:' How To Keep Your Job

About a year ago I shared something here I saw in a Dr's office that everyone in the work world can relate to probably because to varying degrees most of us can see ourselves & our co-workers in it. Considering the post was well before our economic tsunami I believe it bears repeating.

The Story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, & Nobody

The title is "Whose Job Is It" & it says:

"...This is a story about 4 people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry with that, because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done..."

Author: Unknown

Moral of the story: Like the commercial says "just do it" [& improve your chances of staying employed]!

Is The Newspaper Industry Capable of Changing

I live in the San Francisco bay area & our newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, is like a 3 legged stool with 2 wobbly legs & 1 leg so compromised that if a strong wind comes along, the whole stool [read: newspaper] will fall. As a result, well-known writers have had to take buy-outs, opt for early retirement, etc; basically they have had to "order" from the same undesirable menu as employees in many other industries all over the country.  

Means vs Medium

Opining about the death of newspapers [particularly her own] & questioning whether there is even a shred of a chance of saving the dying industry, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd cleverly frames the problem by appropriating a theme from the new Star Trek movie. Borrowing from one of the movie's themes, the difference between what is morally praiseworthy & what is morally obligatory, she maintains that while newspapers may do the praiseworthy thing of shining a bright light on our political & cultural darker tendencies, it seems that society as a whole no longer views this endeavor as obligatory.  Personally I believe this is only partially true. I think she's mistaking means & medium. People are hungrier than ever for news otherwise things like blogs & sites like Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon & many more simply could not exist. On the other hand, what has changed is the desired medium for information. Instead of newspapers people have turned to their computers, mobile phones, Ipods, & Kindles.

Newspapers Are No Longer In A Class By Themselves

Basically if they want to thrive, newspapers have to stop seeing themselves as a "protected class," & change their delivery system with the times. The entertainment industry [music, TV, & movies] changed its delivery model & newspapers must do the same. Not unlike the American auto industry, their choice is change or become extinct.

 

Line of the Week 5-3-2009

Commenting on the public vs. private attitudes of CEOs when it comes to drastically changing the status quo of our healthcare system, BusinessWeek regular Catherine Arnst reports that while publicly they support the status quo, privately it is an entirely different story: they want to end their involvement. She cites a fabulous quote by Joseph J. Minarik, research director for the Committee for Economic Development, a Washington think tank, which summarizes the current state of play. In his estimation, it's like saying:

"...'I've got the best stateroom on the Titanic, and I'm not moving..."

Sadly, this might help to explain why so many people are so invested in doing little more than moving around the deck chairs. 

Line of the week 4-26-09

This week's Line of the week belongs to Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine (R). Opining about the GOP's problems with moderates as reflected by Senator Arlen Spector's switch to the Democratic Party, she said:

"..It is true that being a Republican moderate sometimes feels like being a cast member of “Survivor” — you are presented with multiple challenges, and you often get the distinct feeling that you’re no longer welcome in the tribe..."

While what she says is true, at least with Specter the demarcation lines have been clear. Democrats have their own "wild card" in former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman (I-CN), the Democrat turned Independent who campaigned for John McCain (R-AZ) in 2008 & spoke at the Republican convention. In short, you have the U.S. Senate behaving very much like your standard dysfunctional organization. 

Layoffs & An Employer's Moral Imperative

A couple of years ago a client of mine was brought here to the bay area to work for a fine establishment that while still young had an excellent reputation. He was there 2 months before he lost his job; then again so did everyone else! The business closed rather unceremoniously. Why? The owner's accountant sat down with him & said, "you lost $1,000,000 last year; your other business is feeding your kids, so you have to shut this place down!" He did & my client & his staff were out "pounding pavement."

Trying To Stay Afloat

This is a rather drastic scenario but more commonly today we are seeing companies who are a little more aware of their financial situation trying to stay afloat through the use of workforce reduction [commonly known as layoffs]. Sometimes companies pull this particular trigger too quickly without examining alternatives. Recently I attended an HR training sponsored by Fitzgerald, Abbott, & Beardsley that highlighted some options for companies.

Alternatives To "RIFS"

What are some alternatives to reductions in force [RIFS]? There are three general categories which I am going to put under three subsections: money, tasks,& lifecycle.

The "money" alternatives include:

• Salary & bonus freezes
• Bonus reductions 
• Deferring salary increases
• Altering benefits [ex. greater cost sharing & higher deductibles] 
• Of course, hiring freezes

"Task" related alternatives include:

• Declare a moratorium on temporary & part-time workers
• Job-sharing
• Transfers
• Work furloughs
• Reduction of work hours [& pay]
• Execute terminations based on legitimate & documented poor performance 

And finally, "employee lifecycle" alternatives, which include:

• Informal "severance packages"
• Formal [& therefore covered by ERISA] voluntary attrition programs [using early retirement incentives & voluntary resignation incentives]

An Employer's Moral imperative

Without a doubt, an employer's first obligation is to its board & to its stockholders. However, while recognizing that the primary goal must be to stay alive, in my view, trying the more atomistic measures first is an employer's moral imperative before putting large numbers of people out of work. Why, because an employer's human capital is its most valuable asset.

Line of the Week 4-12-09

Struck by the long arm of the Google search engine, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd shared her initial impression when walking into the lobby of Google headquarters. She said:

"...there is a vaguely ominous Big Brother wall in the lobby of the headquarters here that scrolls real-time Google searches...from people around the world. You could probably see your own name if you stayed long enough. In one minute of watching, I saw the Washington association where my sister works, the Delaware beach town where my brother vacations, some Dave Matthews lyrics, calories Panera, females feet, soaps in depth and Douglas Mangum, whoever he is..."

I know privacy is a thing of the past but I'm sorry, that's just a little creepy!