tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post3624991871535952232..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Stonekettle Station’s List of Things You Shouldn’t Have to Tell Business LeadersJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-47847346911755299392012-08-23T15:41:43.471-05:002012-08-23T15:41:43.471-05:00Jim, Nick,
Based on my experience on both sides o...Jim, Nick,<br /><br />Based on my experience on both sides of the fence, it's not very difficult to successfully get your money's worth out of consultants. Unfortunately very few organizations make use of the following simple approach:<br /><br />Make your "consultants" *contract temporary employees* with concrete goals, timelines and budgets for which they are accountable. Do NOT engage them as advisors. Even better, if possible, make the "consultants" their own profit center and tie their compensation to the performance of the profit center.<br /><br />There is an old joke which runs: <br /><br />A Pig and a Chicken are walking down the road. The Chicken says, "Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!". Pig replies, "Hm, maybe, what would we call it?". The Chicken responds, "How about 'ham-n-eggs'?". The Pig thinks for a moment and says, "No thanks. I'd be committed, but you'd only be involved!"<br /><br />In the "Agile Methodology" culture which is currently sweeping the software industry, it's common for everyone associated with a project to be identified as either a Chicken or a Pig, and only Pigs get to sit at the table when decisions are being made. <br /><br />The implication of this practice is that any senior management who feel they have a right to a seat at the table had better have an active project champion role or else they should go mind their knitting and let their designated champion handle things. Likewise, any supposedly active contributors to the project (developers, consultants, product managers, etc.) who wind up identified as chickens should be cut from the project immediately since they have no incentive to actually make the project a success.<br />Mack Mackenziehttp://www.facebook.com/mack.mackenzie.1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-26172132126101678822012-05-08T08:47:12.269-05:002012-05-08T08:47:12.269-05:00What applies to large business applies equally wel...What applies to large business applies equally well to small. I work at a company that is in a screaming dive to oblivion and the owner does not have a clue. She can not wrap her head around the following:<br /><br />Just because you make money today, doesn't mean you will next week.<br /><br />Intangible costs are often your biggest costs. Lost revenue is still a cost.<br /><br />In a service business REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING!<br /><br />This women does everything you comment on and then some. Lies to her employees. Changes her mind every thirty seconds. Comes up with rules that she or her friend manager breaks instantly. Doesn't supply essential items so employees can do their jobs, and tells employees that the customer "Will never know the difference." (Ha! They do.) According to her, none of her employees are trustworthy, dependable, or worth the air they breathe. Wonders why prospective employees are never heard from past the first interview.<br /><br />I work on a ship that not only is sinking, it's on fire. And the captain doesn't notice or care about the gaping hole in the hull, because she is too busy running around trying to smack rats on the head.<br /><br />Can you tell that you poked a sore spot?<br /><br />JCBuzzing Beehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03991683583671827870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29451044683690029192012-03-06T13:13:21.598-06:002012-03-06T13:13:21.598-06:00I told the manage this project is not going to mee...I told the manage this project is not going to meet the deadline. It is simply not going to work. Just based on my 30 some years of software development, mind you. <br /><br />"You aren't being a team player." <br /><br />The project flopped a few months later. My part worked fine but there were parts that simply did not, and could not, work as intended.Rud Merriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05243211372637967124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-47252204130216401792011-10-26T00:42:51.711-05:002011-10-26T00:42:51.711-05:00First, I'd like to say that I'm glad I fou...First, I'd like to say that I'm glad I found your blog, Jim. My husband and I have been agreeing and laughing all evening. <br /><br />I'm choosing to comment on this post because it has hit me very strongly tonight. I'm a business owner. Well, a one lady business really. I'm also young, stubborn, and don't have a college education by choice. <br /><br />I honestly can't tell you how much my own mindset has changed since starting my own business. I make candles (yes, of all things, but I enjoy it.) I started because of so many of the reasons you've posted here. Quality is a big one in my line of work. And customer service plays in quite often as well. I hate seeing so many businesses trod on their customers and employees just in the name of making an extra buck. You won't stay in business long that way. <br /><br />I come from a background in customer service. I used to work as a night auditor in a casino hotel. The way that company ran literally makes me sick to even think about it. It was tribal run, which isn't always a bad thing. However in this case, it was a situation of "how do I make more money for me?" and not one of "let's bring in more gambling clients so we can keep the light bill on." I ended up on a tribal member's bad side for being too honest and got canned. I'm not surprised. Also, last I heard, the same casino is looking at bankruptcy soon. <br /><br />I'll also put in a comment about Iron Bess' first reply. "Don't fucking lie to your employees." Also don't lie to your customers. That one can be a vicious cycle. Sure it may not be a good thing to tell your customer that "oops I am shipping the order late because I couldn't afford to get the supplies to make it" or other comparable excuse, but be honest. It's much like the old excuse of "Oh the check's in the mail." It doesn't help and certainly won't get repeat business out of someone. <br /><br />And the thing about consultants, oh yes. We've had a couple come through offering help on how to set up my business to maximize my profits, ect. I luckily had enough sense to not go down that route. I had a friend in another line of business that was contacted by the same group tell me that it seemed the company was more of an outsourcing facility. They wanted her to contract out to China (go figure, huh?) for her supplies and product manufacturing, because it would be cheaper per piece. They didn't tell her that the quality would be about 1/100 of her current quality. <br /><br />I haven't seen a point yet that I disagree with. I'm sure there will be one eventually, but I look forward to having discussions with you and the other regulars here.Janet the Candle Ladynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-66186208004514461902011-08-30T13:55:57.972-05:002011-08-30T13:55:57.972-05:00Here's one for the list. Despite all argument...Here's one for the list. Despite all arguments to the contrary, it's a good idea to promote people who know the job rather than hiring people from outside who don't know the job. It infuriates your veteran employees who then have to train the person in actual boots-on-the ground operations. On top of their regularly scheduled workload. For no extra pay.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08492976083075624478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-43730155091937016582011-04-01T19:46:44.099-05:002011-04-01T19:46:44.099-05:00I'll chime my general agreement with your post...I'll chime my general agreement with your post, but in my experience (I'm an IT guy), the finest IT gurus are often found with no credentials. Most bore too easily with mundane studies, however valuable, and have long since realized that after you take the time to bake a certification cake, it's already stale and moldy. The <i>really</i> difficult job is finding the rock they're hiding under so you can offer them a job.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02931928607855404316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-69355675714812391082011-03-28T01:37:45.729-05:002011-03-28T01:37:45.729-05:00I'd like to add a couple of small notions if I...I'd like to add a couple of small notions if I may....<br /><br />a) If you want to improve your product, ask your support staff what is wrong with it. They know, because they talk everyday with the people who use your product and complain about its deficiencies.<br /><br />b) If you're going to run/manage a company, have a clue/buy a vowel/get an idea on what your company actually does and who their clientele is.... Too much upper and middle management are associated with the "one management style fits all" school. Coding medical software isn't going to thrive using the same business model as manufacturing sports equipment.piratedanhttp://dan-piratescove.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-30508388756899332312011-03-26T19:14:32.751-05:002011-03-26T19:14:32.751-05:00"First Corollary: There’s nothing worse than ..."First Corollary: There’s nothing worse than an outfit that spastically keeps changing direction." In one sentence you have just described the crux of the problem with our educational system. I know that's an oversimplification, but it rings pretty true nonetheless.<br /><br />"Don’t teach your grandmother how to suck eggs". Well, now you are implying that you understand that veteran teachers are a valuable asset in educating children. <br /><br />"Nobody ever understood a subject from looking at a couple of Power Point slides." Has someone been telling you about some of the more typical educational staff development and/or educational information sessions that educational decision-makers (e.g., people who have generally never actually walked a mile in a classroom teacher's shoes) sit through?<br /><br />Education cannot be run like a business but it's quite interesting to see the relationship between a bad business model and what's going on in education today. And kind of scary.sundenenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-44423609089567459402011-02-23T11:25:45.243-06:002011-02-23T11:25:45.243-06:00Between TQL, Covey, and Six Sigma, I'm suprise...Between TQL, Covey, and Six Sigma, I'm suprised that U.S. business is doing as well as it is. There are some outstanding things to learn in these three business philosophies, but most of them can only be learned in the negative (i.e., what not to do). There is 5% of each that is actually useful in the positive sense.<br /><br />I can only think that U.S. business is still alive because most people who really get things done ignore the 95% of each of those which is pure schlock.Wine Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-58025155789243425192011-02-14T19:26:02.287-06:002011-02-14T19:26:02.287-06:00Converse of what Pbluuz said,
I have a friend who...Converse of what Pbluuz said,<br /><br />I have a friend who was interviewing to be the Costume Designer on a movie (present day, set in NYC), and the Producer said something to the effect that costumes wouldn't be anything special on the show and "he could do them himself if he had the time."<br /><br />My friend suggested he hire someone's unemployed nephew, since he'd be cheap and "time on your hands" seemed to be the only job qualification.<br /><br />Telling someone their expertise isn't needed is a great way to inspire somebody's best work.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-72908582077122942402011-02-14T15:29:20.609-06:002011-02-14T15:29:20.609-06:00Great article. I do have one point to add:
Do no...Great article. I do have one point to add: <br /><br />Do not, under any circumstances, tell new employees that you "value their experience and welcome their input" and then turn around and ignore any suggestions they may offer regarding improvements to efficiency, production, cutting waste, etc. <br /><br />When you perform the above action, you are not only depriving your company of my years of experience, you are also telling me that said experience means nothing because it was not accrued at your company. This is a quick and effective way to motivate me to continue the search for a job where the most common response to the question "why are you working in an inefficient, backward, dangerous, and all around wrong way?" does not trigger the response "we always done it this way."Pbluuznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-5912118496292027202011-02-14T12:11:29.653-06:002011-02-14T12:11:29.653-06:00In my profession, Sun Tze was required reading.
...In my profession, Sun Tze was required reading. <br /><br />I should mention: I'm married to an MBA, and a damned fine one too. <br /><br />And while I said that MBA's shouldn't be making engineering decisions, the converse is also often true, i.e. engineers often make lousy business managers. Doctors often suck at running hospitals. And nobody should ever invest in a company run by IT geeks.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-71889105701693298012011-02-14T11:23:16.417-06:002011-02-14T11:23:16.417-06:00Linked here from the Mudflats. Nice to see that so...Linked here from the Mudflats. Nice to see that someone read Sun Tzu rather than the usual MBA syllabus. Say what you want about ADM Zumwalt, his reading list for naval leaders was worth the work.<br /><br />You are a writer, keep it up. I'll join you if you want to conquer the universe.nitejazzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14167242306021896906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-21301445398174902832011-02-14T10:40:45.809-06:002011-02-14T10:40:45.809-06:00From Connie Willis' Bellwether,
Meeting Surv...From Connie Willis' <i>Bellwether</i>, <br /><br />Meeting Survival Rule Number One:<br />Always be out going to the bathroom during sensitivity exercises.Pamelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14984600539171463313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-50490052682710813882011-02-12T11:08:26.682-06:002011-02-12T11:08:26.682-06:00Hate hate hate consultants.
Long ago at Avantek (...Hate hate hate consultants.<br /><br />Long ago at Avantek (provider of microwave components) was doing a looong downhill slide. In come the consultants to teach us TQM so we can meet Motorola's 6 sigma qualification.<br /><br />Instead of segregating the classes by expertise, we had sessions with technicians and engineers having to sit through a consultant teaching people how to place points on a Cartesian grid. Seriously. These guys had no idea what our products and markets were, either. So the poster paper and marker scenarios were worthless.<br /><br />Here's another hint for business - don't dismiss grousing for Bitching, Moaning, and Whining (BMW). We're trying to tell you where the problems are.<br /><br />Brigham finally drove the corporation into the ground, and we were bought by HP. In the process of due diligence, they discovered that the senior management had no clue where the cash flow was going. For instance, we were spending large amounts of money on a building that had about 30% utilization.<br /><br />Sorry for the windiness, but it's a pet peeve of mine.<br /><br />KimUSAF wenchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-83752596169124124002011-02-11T17:14:16.240-06:002011-02-11T17:14:16.240-06:00I've a relative who works at such a job, as a ...I've a relative who works at such a job, as a consultant hired to investigate problems and provide recommendations for improving companies, and like Nick from the O.C. he sincerely tries to help companies save themselves. His experience, however, is that when push comes to shove, there is often an entrenched culture within the company that refuses to make changes. Of course it always exists in the trenches, but even at the top, after paying those expensive fees for the advice, someone can't handle it and the consultant is suddenly the bad guy.<br /><br />As for what you, Jim, describe (like building forts from couch cushions. lol), I suffered through those sort of contrived activities in college and professional education workshops provided by the employer/s. I hate them. As soon as the butcher paper and colored pens come out, I know I'm in for time-wasting, demeaning misery. My peers enjoying them were invariably people who lived for process without caring a bit about conclusions and outcomes.beemodernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180046342466780318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-26692119857676557512011-02-11T17:03:25.501-06:002011-02-11T17:03:25.501-06:00Amen to that brother Jim. What we need is a Consu...Amen to that brother Jim. What we need is a Consultectomy in a big way. And they shouldn't piss around with those small lumpectomies, in order to get the cancer they have to cut off the whole boob!Iron Besshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10528952665201218687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-72241222767370698262011-02-11T11:13:03.482-06:002011-02-11T11:13:03.482-06:00Nick, over two decades in the MIC I've met doz...Nick, over two decades in the MIC I've met dozens, if not hundreds, of consultants, the majority of which were worthless assholes. <br /><br />They droppped in, sucked up huge amounts of our time telling us why we were doing everything wrong, gave us lectures on the management snakeoil of the week, collected huge fees, and then vanished into the night never to be seen again. <br /><br />My personal horror was the decade of TQL, when an endless parade of "Quality" witch-doctors and juju-magic men chanting Demming's bullshit jargon held us prisoner and forced upon us a steady and relentless diet of gantt charts and fishbone diagrams and magically incantations of "Process" and "Product." That idiotic nonsense has cost this country untold billions in lost hours and consulting fees. <br /><br />I've seen everything from TQL to those assinine workshops were a bunch of perky 20-something Barbie and Ken-dolls in matching T-shirts make you build a fort out of couch cushions and role play idiotic management scenarios that they themselves had absolutely no experience with. <br /><br />I <i>do</i> understand that there are consultants who truly do attempt to work themselves out of a job, but Nick, in my experience those are few and far between.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-62318262153725151182011-02-11T09:56:11.760-06:002011-02-11T09:56:11.760-06:00Jim,
You're playing in my ballpark now. Whil...Jim,<br /><br />You're playing in my ballpark now. While usually I agree with you wholeheartedly, this time I think you miss the mark several times.<br /><br />Here's one point with which I disagree.<br /><br />While during the normal workweek I play a salaryman within the military-industrial complex, at night and on weekends I don my superhero costume and save companies. Yes I am a business consultant.<br /><br />And I care passionately about improving my clients' businesses. Knowledge transfer is baked into my business model. In fact, in my consulting company's published "run rules" that all consultants agree to follow, it expressly says that our goal is to work ourselves out of a job.<br /><br />Just sayin'.Nick from the O.C.http:www.apogeeconsulting.biznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-55795028023156961612011-02-11T09:12:53.302-06:002011-02-11T09:12:53.302-06:00Awesome post Jim, I live in the very environment y...Awesome post Jim, I live in the very environment you speak of! I recognized every talking point as crap that I have had to endure for the last 12 years.<br /><br />There was a point in those 12 years that I became truly aware of the type of business model I had exposed myself to. Ever heard of the book, "Who Moved My Cheese?"?<br /><br />This book made me all too aware of the fact that I was now being treated like a rat.<br /><br />Yeah...Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04140485984112282705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-16237111640595729452011-02-10T22:57:59.530-06:002011-02-10T22:57:59.530-06:00Oh, I just love this one. Can I add?
The dweeb w...Oh, I just love this one. Can I add? <br /><br />The dweeb who told you that customers can magically answer their own questions through your new multi-million-dollar automated phone system needs to have his merchandise shoved all the way up into his small intestine. When I hear some computer telling me to listen carefully, because your menu options have changed, and I begin to stab the '0' button through the back of my handset, some phone on some human's desk had better start ringing, and there better be someone who speaks fluent English there to answer it. The only reason I'm calling is because I've already hit your website (assuming you have one) and read the FAQ, and what I don't want at this point is to have Molly Microsoft reading it out for me all over again. <br /><br /> Failure to heed this rule is only going to cause me to come down to your local office/store/place of business and I'm not going to be easy to deal with when I get there.Kenneth Headhttp://www.politicalhangover.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-14892776089074111492011-02-10T21:34:54.218-06:002011-02-10T21:34:54.218-06:00"Or rather, they are hiring only a small cadr..."Or rather, they are hiring only a small cadre of highly specialized technicians ..." Hey, thanks. I appreciate that. Oh, wait...<br /><br />Also, hire people smarter than you. Give them interesting work to do. Expect big things from them and don't let them ship oars and drift.Steve Buchheithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-82494450421034418812011-02-10T20:28:44.817-06:002011-02-10T20:28:44.817-06:00All true. Thank you.
I will purposely spend more ...All true. Thank you.<br /><br />I will purposely spend more to do business with a company employing humans in a local office who have to talk to me directly in person until they fix their mistakes on my accounts, because almost every account I have for any kind of business makes mistakes these days.<br /><br />Also, I will spend more to buy from a company that has a very liberal return policy to make up for all of the crappy retail goods they <i>all</i> sell; the goods are crappy and problematic no matter how expensive they are. <br /><br />In fact, we paid a little more in fees to take out a mortgage with a local credit union that promised <i>not</i> to sell our loan (our other credit union does sell their loans, and we refuse to do business with banks). It was important to me because I'd been ripped off for both my school loans and my daughter's. We were charged bogus fees and interest attached but could never get them to admit to or find their mistakes, even after I spent countless hours pouring through our records to find the mistakes for them. Each company claimed they'd inherited the record as it was and refused to remove the pirate charges.<br /><br />During that same period, a friend was abused <i>royally</i> by a lender with no local office that made one mistake on her record, and then refused to clear it up without a fight. By the time she got the lender to write a letter admitting to the mistake, it was too late and she had to accept another mortgage at a higher interest rate. That one mistake on her record will cost her many thousands of dollars. When possible, I want to do business with locals who have to look me in the eye.<br /><br />Next, will you write about how condescending and misleading all those do-gooder public service ads are? They make me want to kick my TV in every time one comes on. It isn't okay with me that grant money and government agencies are used to mislead with sloppy pseudo-stats, no matter how <i>righteous</i> one believes his or her cause to be. The end does not justify the means. <br /><br />Like I said, they make me want to kick the TV in, but I just yell at the TV instead.beemodernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180046342466780318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-20574128176524331662011-02-10T20:00:41.460-06:002011-02-10T20:00:41.460-06:00Thanks for that link MWT, very interesting stuffThanks for that link MWT, very interesting stuffJim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-53367962968816010632011-02-10T19:57:14.012-06:002011-02-10T19:57:14.012-06:00Heh, I read this NY Times article just before I sa...Heh, I read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19Urban_West-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow">this NY Times article</a> just before I saw this. The end part about corporations goes well with it.MWThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09446603415730525882noreply@blogger.com