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Happywork TV Episode 10: Hire People Smarter Than You

Posted on November 6, 2014 // 1 Comment

In Episode 10 of Happywork TV, I discuss commitment 8 in the list of 46 commitments in my book Happywork. Here it is: I implore you, Mr. Manager and Miss Owner, to hire people smarter than you! As I say in the video, it’s the sign of a great owner and a confident manager.

Reasons why this doesn’t happen more often? Control and ego, I think. Ego = for some entrepreneurs and leaders, it’s difficult to fathom that anyone is more talented than them. It’s this bravado that might allow them to take the risk of starting a business in the first place. Control = in certain situations, you don’t want to bring in someone who could challenge you for control of a situation, or worse, control of a company. It would be like LeBron and Kobe on the same team – they’d win tons of games! Or would they? Who’s the alpha dog? Who’s more talented?

We enjoy when ESPN pundits get into such sports discussions, but you may not have realized that this same situation happens (perhaps on a slightly smaller scale) in businesses every day! It’s not just about accomplishment as a team. It’s WHO accomplished it. Some of us are constantly scratching and clawing for recognition – we don’t want to merely succeed. We want the credit for the success of the business. And we absolutely do NOT want anyone else getting ANY credit for stuff we did. So, to avoid this, we consciously or subconsciously ensure that such situations do not rear their ugly heads – we don’t bring talented people who could challenge us for supremacy.

So that’s my take on this. However, guys, this is the episode I need some comments on! I can speculate as to why a person in power wouldn’t want to bring in someone of similar ability and intellect, but WHY would that person decide not to do so?

(By the way, at the beginning at this video, I explain something that I probably should have already explained. I keep referring to these commitments and this “work code of conduct.” Without giving too much away, this work code of conduct is used to fix Vunorri Inc., the incredibly broken company in my story. My two main characters write the code of conduct, and they call it “The Happywork Agreement.” My book was almost titled “The Happywork Agreement,” but we decided on Happywork instead.)

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Watch Episode 9 here!

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Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!

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Happywork TV Episode 8: Give Your Employees Variety in Their Work Day

Posted on October 28, 2014 // 1 Comment

p.s. Really sorry about the sound on this one. I was using my shotgun mic, but it was quite windy. Some gusts of wind really cut into the audio quality a few times. My bad!

In Episode 8 of Happywork TV, I discuss the sixth of 46 commitments in my upcoming book “Happywork.”

Here it is: “I will try to provide some variety in my employees’ work days. Working at Vunorri does not have to be like some Henry Ford assembly line. Cross-training would be helpful. I respect my employees’ curiosity to know how things work, even in other departments.”

If you’re running a company and you’re not giving your employees a little variety in their work day, or you’re not cross-training them, I don’t think you’re committing one of the cardinal sins of management. You’re not firing someone because they’re the wrong color, or sexually harassing them, or threatening them, or sabotaging their work. As I say in the video, providing some variety to your employees isn’t completely necessary. Let’s admit that.

By the same token, let’s also admit that, if we want to cut down on turnover — keep our good employees — and have a workforce working to excel on our behalf, we might do well to keep those employees engaged and interested in what they’re doing. If you don’t care about this, and you just want to keep hammering the square peg into the round hole, you can do that. But please don’t! Boredom is one of the big reasons good people leave their jobs.

So consider the notion that we can build a more cohesive workforce by keeping our best employees, and we can do that by respecting their desire to learn and grow.

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Watch Episode 7 here!

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Happywork is available for pre-order on Amazon – HERE!

Please SUBSCRIBE to my email newsletter! Pretty please – you’ll get these blog posts delivered to you automatically. Merci!

And subscribe on YouTube!

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Happywork TV Episode 4: Give Your Employees Direction

Posted on October 20, 2014 // Leave a Comment

In Episode 4 of Happywork TV, I discuss the third of 46 work commitments in my new book, “Happywork.”

Here it is: “I will give my employees direction … I do not want my employees to have to wonder what is most important to me.”

As I say in the video, I think it’s great when companies are looking to hire “self-starters.” I think what they really mean is, “I want an employee I don’t have to harass to have them get their job done.” But here’s what employees need: at least SOME direction. I have worked jobs with NO job description. I have received employment reviews from bosses when they started getting on my case regarding tasks I didn’t even know I was supposed to be doing. (now I ask lots of questions – lots and lots of dumb questions, to be honest. It’s how I learn).

I like clear communication, and teamwork. I like when bosses tell me HOW they like to work, how they like to communicate, and I love when they inform me what is most important to them. No, I don’t think employees need their hand held, but as an employee, management’s vision is rather important (especially to those managers). So please create a wide open line of communication, and use it!

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Click here to watch Episode 3!

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Happywork is available for sale on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Happywork-Business-Parable-Journey-Teamwork/dp/0768405319/

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Happywork TV Episode 3: Don’t Rule With Fear

Posted on October 17, 2014 // 2 Comments

In Episode 3 of Happywork TV, I take a quick break from discussing the 46 work commitments contained in my book to comment on an article I saw on Sir Richard Branson’s blog.

Sir Richard was giving an external talk about Virgin’s new unlimited leave policy, and found that certain people in the room were afraid to clap for this ridiculously awesome idea. Keep in mind, Sir Richard Branson can give a moving public address, and everyone loves him so we listen even more closely and clap even harder when he’s around (it’s just human nature). The reason those employees didn’t want to clap was that their bosses were in the room. How screwed up must that business be to have a bunch of employees living in fear of their managers? Let me say it plainly: I would not to work at that place, and I can say this without knowing anything else about the situation.

Draw a line in the sand here and don’t take a single step over it!

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Click here to watch Episode 2!

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Happywork is available for sale now on Amazon. Preorder so you don’t forget!

NOTES:

1. Yes, the damn camera was out of focus. I must have accidentally turned off auto-focus. I’ll work to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Still learning!

2. I think I need to shorten these. My wife said 3-4 minutes tops. She’s smart. I kept yapping and went to 7 minutes. Let me know what you think about making these videos shorter. I will get better at this as I go.

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Happywork TV Episode 2: Don’t Take Credit for the Hard Work of Others

Posted on October 16, 2014 // Leave a Comment

In Episode 2 of Happywork TV, I discuss the second of the 46 commitments in my upcoming book, “Happywork – A Business Parable About the Journey to Teamwork, Profit, and Purpose.”

Number 2 is as follows: “I will not publicly take credit for my employees’ great ideas and hard work. This destroys employee morale even faster. I hired the talent here; there is my opportunity to take some credit.”

Ever had this happen to you? (When I ask this of you regarding these 46 commitments in my book, the answer is almost always going to be “yes”). This drives me up a wall, and is damaging to one’s confidence. Yes, it is possible to find purpose solely in the completion of tasks. But most of the time, we like to be recognized for our good deeds. We like to feel both a sense of significance and contribution when we’ve done well. Almost worse than being ignored is having someone steal your thunder and the credit for your hard work.

Let’s face it – we feel a surge of tingly happy feelings when a superior publicly compliments us. These are the kind of feelings every boss should work to engender in their people. So this would seem to be a great strategy. When a boss takes the credit and gives you none, it just kills your self-confidence (and often makes you think it’s time to move on).

Of course, when you’re working with an equal (not your boss), perhaps there’s even more incentive to steal the credit. You’re often competing with that person for raises and promotions. And when someone does unfairly steal the limelight from you and you speak up about it, you look like a sour grapes knucklehead. You look like the crazy one.

A brave manager is the one that hires great talent and lets them spread their wings, and then compliments them when they do.

A few requests of you:

1. Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. You’ll be able to see all Happywork TV episodes there.

2. Please consider subscribing to my blog’s email list. I’ve spent years making friends on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, but completely neglected my email list.

3. Finally, please pre-order Happywork. I think you’re going to enjoy it, and I’ll really need everyone’s support to spread this message far and wide. Hook a brother up!

CLICK HERE to watch Episode 1!

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