The Departed

I have been a traveling salesman for over 15 years. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area many of my commutes are accompanied by sports talk radio. As such, I was disheartened to hear that the great Ralph Barbieri was fired by his employer KNBR. In a statement he released, Ralph discussed that he arrived to work, was taken to the GM's office, was then told to hand in his keys, and to grab his belongs. He was escorted out of the building and his voicemail was immediately disabled. Standard firing procedure. But, after 28 years of service to the organization, I think Ralph deserves better.

Ralph Barberi was given the nickname 'the razor' for his edgy on-air demeanor. With this in mind, one might consider that his aggressive behavior may have worn on his employer after so many years. KNBR should have simply explained this. Now the parting of ways is mired in legal discussion that encompasses ageism and physical workplace limitations. Uncertainty breeds questions and formulates assumptions. The whole situation could have been addressed with more class on the part of the industry veteran's long time employer.

Of course, there are 2 sides to every story. Over time, the legal process will exercise itself and the real story will be reveled. So let's examine the lessons learned from this unfortunate parting of ways:
1. Performance should be measured daily
2. Animosity toward one's employer never produces results
3. Every day is Day 1
4. There is such thing as manners

Performance
Performance reviews suck! Annual reviews of performance are a legal charade to document areas and concern that will serve as defensible grounds for firing in the event that needs to happen at some point. Managers and Employees alike hate doing performance reviews. There is no dignity in telling people where they are falling short or by grading their life's work. Too much goes into a 10 hour day to quantify human effort. Ralph Barberi's firing is an advertisement for performance reviews. If you are going to shit-can someone, you better have documentation.

Ralph Barberi is a 70 year old man who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. This is not why he was fired, but he will site the aforementioned assumed disabilities in a lawsuit, and probably win a few dollars as a parting gift.

Animosity
Tom Tolbert and Ralph Barberi had a special relationship. The 2 men separated by a few decades in age developed a camaraderie that warmed the heart. There is nothing more special than seeing people who genuinely appreciate one another...it is even better when these individuals are on seemingly separate sides of the spectrum. The 2 gentlemen lived out a Hemingway story and a Neil Young song for all to hear...every day. The only thing better than receiving sage-like advice from an elder is when this process works in reverse.

Even Tom Tolbert recognized the blessing and the curse of Ralph's strong personality. That's why he was fired. His employer simply couldn't put up with his disruptive behavior any more.

Comfort
I have been enthralled by Reid Hoffman's book, The Start-Up of You. This book is a manifesto of the entrepreneurial ethos that drives today's working world. No longer is longevity a word that encompasses greatness in the workplace. Each and every day one must recreate themselves to stay relevant. The minute you stop moving forward, you start moving backward.

Employee's know when they are under performing. At a certain point in everyone's professional life they plateau, for some it takes just a year others endure it for 30 years. When you face professional 'burn out' you are faced with 2 realities:
1. Refocus on the task at hand
2. Get a new job

In both cases the key is to find the passion in what you do and let that drive. You can ruin the job of your dreams by taking it for granted. You can also fool yourself into believing you are doing the thing you should be doing because it is convenient.

Manners
The world of work is a heartless machine. So much is involved in running a business and thousands of decisions are made every day. Some decision are made it haste and they are usually fixable. Certain decisions made in haste can be ever damaging to a company's reputation.

KNBR will not soon be forgiven for the manner in which they released Ralph Barbieri. They could have allowed him to play out his contract for another 7 months, had an on-air ceremony in his honor, and sent him on his way. This leaving a proud company alumni and a new directions for the loyal listeners of KNBR to be proud of. Regardless of reason for Ralph's dismissal, it could have been handled better. I would venture to guess that hindsight creates regret in this case.

In his famous walk to the Exit at SMI, Jerry Maguire, makes a plea for decency in the workplace. The premise of the Jerry Maguire story is finding a heart in the professional meat grinder that we submit ourselves to every day. With each day a loyal employee sees 20 years of their life dismissed in a walk to the exit. Then there are those who view every day of work as their last and perform accordingly. It is impossible to be the greatest version of yourself every single day for 20 years. We all get complacent, it's human nature.

I would leave you with this question:
If Ralph Barberi really loved his job and his employer would it have ended in the way it did?

If the answer to this question is "no" then it seems the parting of ways will ultimately be best for everyone involved.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" - Dr Seuss

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Unique Value Proposition

It's the 4th installment of the the Employee Purpose Perspective (EPP)...and today we will focus on Creating Unique Value.

What have we learned so far:
Collaborate don't compete
Develop purposeful intent
Create personal relevance

We've discovered the power of collective effort, we have brought purpose to each task and we have personally invested in our work. Now that our intent is genuine we need to create value for those we have asked to take the journey with us.

Work becomes a monotonous grind because we allow it to. When Monday morning comes we hit the snooze button and wish we were training for the x-games. We put on the same shirt, get our usual cup of coffee, listen to the (bad) news on the way to the office, sit at our cubicle and think about 5pm on Friday. Boooring!

The unfortunate thing is that we think in distinct absolutes. It's our 'safe' worklife by day and a super hero existence by night. The work hard/play hard myth we visited a few weeks back. Our fear is that if we take that which we love, and make it part of our work, we will grow to hate it. Work might suck but we can escape to music, literature, or the movie house to level us off. The alarm clock rings, we forget what the movie was about, and head into traffic.

...then we snap. We get to a point of asking ourselves what good the countless work hours have done for the world around us. Another day, another week, another year....now what. We are tempted to quit our job and head for Alaska to work on a fishing boat.

What Are You Running From?

You have to be honest with yourself. YOU allow your day to be boring, YOU allow your job to be a drag, YOU wait to be told what to do and waddle off to do it with your tail between your legs.

You don't have to quit your job, you don't have to picket headquarters, you don't have to take peyote on a mountain top. All you need to do is accept every day as an opportunity to do something totally unique. The number one determinant of what makes you great to everyone around you is what you can do that no one else can. You possess it, you are simply afraid to use it.

What Are You Running To....

Stop hiding from what you dislike and set goals that involve your positive intent. Move forward, don't hide away. Take what you uniquely have and bring it to each and every day with divine passion. This is how you create value for your company, your customers and for yourself.

You are a person not a number, You are a creator not a commodity....now go prove it!

Create VALUE:
Be Yourself
Step Out on the Ledge
Find The Door

Last Night...
You dazzled your friends with your ideas for organizational improvement over dinner. Today you sit in the conference room silent. What happened?

Assess what you love, take the energy behind it, and make it part of your work day.

If you are an awesome story teller, build a presentation that tells a story for your clients. If you are an incredible athlete, use your competitive drive to motivate your clients.

You don't have to live a double existence. Working hard only to blow off steam does not create synergy....you need synergy to find a grander purpose.

You have the Conch...
Why do you try to out commoditize your competitors?

You have to bring meaning...a solution to a problem with a unique value. Something only you can create. A piece of YOU in the product or service that meets a need.

Don't be afraid to make a pitch with a bit of uncertainty to it. Uncertainty is an affect of treading in foreign waters. You need to find new frontiers to create irreplaceable value.

YOU know what?
Pretend you know something they don't because you do. That thing which you can bring to a job, company, or partnership that no one else can.

I can show you the box scores but teams need contributions beyond statistics.

Did the Yankees win the game that Derek Jeter jumped into the stands for a fly ball? We don't remember the statistical outcome, we remember the extraordinary effort! If you are able to extend yourself beyond the spreadsheet you bring a new element to the job. If you write a few more lines into the job description you have expanded the possibility of achievement without being asked to.

Don't wait to be asked, make it happen. Assume your opinion is valued and assert yourself. Create something every day. Focus on capabilities, do not let limitations restrain you.

There is no one in the world like YOU! That is why YOU are irreplaceable.

Go Prove It!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Benefits by the Numbers

In October of 2010 I took to LinkedIn to engage the top producers in their respective fields. The intent being to discover what top talent is
looking for in an employer and what said employer needs to retain said
talent.


The survey includes a generational perspective of:
* Benefits
* Pay Scale
* Expected Tenure
* Opportunities for Advancement
* The Importance of Recognition of One’s Achievement

The results clarified some forgone conclusions and debunked others.

Study Summary:
1. Google remains the Employer of Choice
2. Cash is still king, but a fun loving work environment is more important
3. Lack of pay is the last reason for leaving an employer
4. A Bad Boss is the number 1 reason for employee departure
5. Recognition from Senior Leadership is significantly more important than recognition from one’s peers
6. Top performers are seeking long term employment
7. Pay by performance is equally important as salary
8. Employees need to be recognized for their achievements at least once a month

The glaring facts
Our ability to conduct our work day at our own pace, to have a company vision we believe in, an opportunity for advancement and the need to 'have fun' at work are now the driving factors in the job search of those who have options.

What we didn't consider
Money is less a driving factor in employment than it used to be.

Generation Y has been categorized as the validation generation...our survey debunks these stereotypes in indicating that everyone wants to be recognized for their effort (at least monthly).

Despite the 'job hopping' categorization of today's workforce, our survey shows the majority of Top Performers are seeking long term employment (10+ years).

A Bad Boss can drive anyone from any company.

Statistics and case studies are everywhere. The default to many surveys is who is conducting them and what do I stand to lose by being honest.

It is my conclusion that this random survey of the Best of the Best gives us dependable data.

Note to Employers:
Big pay checks and generous benefits do not make up for lack of leadership
Everyone needs to hear Thank You!
Your company culture is what drives retention

Listen and implement requests from the field. Validate effort in a genuine manner. Create fun and a vision to believe in....Lead by Example.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave