by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Aug 8, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
…and perhaps didn’t want to.
This is, however, 2018, and the need to be transparent is overwhelming me. Plus some of them are kinda strange as I thought of ’em.
- I grew up in a two-bedroom house with four sisters, a mother and a grandmother. An isolated male buoy in the middle of an estrogen ocean. Some say “that explains a lot.” I say “I learned to
pee outside well before my peers.”
- My grandfather was a Special Ranger in the Texas Rangers before it became part of the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1935.
- My daughter Stephanie was born in Spain, and holds dual citizenship.
- I tested out of 83 of my undergraduate credit hours. Gotta love the military’s free CLEP and ACT/Pep tests and programs.
- My mom and my baby sister passed away at nearly the same time. Their services were a week and a day apart. Family matters.
- My genealogy includes being related to Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, the dude who invented the bunsen burner (high school chemistry shenanigans!)
- I once had to run 500 bleachers for getting busted with beer while on my high school golf team. Coach with no sense of humor whatsoever.
- My mom had to call my HS English teacher to see if I should be at commencement. That’s how bad my high school grades were. In my defense, who the hell studies MacBeth for an entire year??
- I used to be a runner, clocking 30+ miles per week.
- I served in the United States Air Force for 13 years, 8 months and 13 days. I almost enlisted in the Marines, as they were going to allow me in right away without my right index finger (needed a waiver for USAF)–the Marine recruiter told me to just claim I was left-handed, and that “they didn’t give a shit.”
- My first corporate job after leaving the USAF? Engineering Recruiter for Management Recruiters Int’l (3 months). Averaged over 90 calls per day. Second job? Resume writer at Sears Resume Service (2 months).
- My son Stephen was born exactly one year after I enlisted.
- I used to be a scratch golfer. Damn, those days are long gone…
- I made only one B in all my college courses (all the rest A’s). In Meteorology. The instructor was my racquetball partner; he later told me he had no idea, and that he would have given me an A if he’d known he was breaking some sort of record. Asshole.
- I’ve only had one cell number, and I got it in 1991 (one of those early flip-phones that got hot as hell). I dropped two Motorola StarTac phones into the toilet the same week. Also had a Palm Pilot, and one of those honkin’ big Kyocera 6035s, one of the first with internet access. Mr. Technology, that’s me.
That’s a wrap…
Be Brazen.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Aug 4, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
As always, “The times, they are a’changin’”
In my upcoming At C-Level, I make mention of a survey I recently completed, in which many of you participated. The full results should be available shortly, but I did want to give you a sneak preview.
From a long-range perspective, with only senior executives (more than 20% were CEO/COOs) participating, here are the top 3 issues you identified:
1. Finding, hiring, developing and retaining talent,
2. Organizational changes, outsourcing, merger/acquisition assimilation, and
3. Compliance, poilitical change, legislation.
We’ve got work to do. Changing our focus to these initiatives — on a long-term basis — takes proactive thought and some simple change management methodologies. Change is simple; just close your eyes, hold your breath, and wait. It happens. Effective change management, on the other hand, takes some skill. From my view of the world, 3 things are necessary for senior executives to successfully drive positive change:
1. Belief and commitment. You gotta believe — really believe — that what you are doing is right and appropriate, using a variety of litmus tests. Mid-management and line employees will quickly detect if your commitment is anything but resolute. Change management isn’t for the weak at heart, so strap in, point the way, and hold the course (I always wanted to use that line).
2. Provide direction. Even if people can believe in your resolve, and even if they understand the basic need, they need real direction, from YOU, to know where to head. Don’t expect overnight adjustment and buy-in to your newfound commitment for change; until that real buy-in occurs, they need a really good map — a compass is probably a better word — to help them start off in the right direction.
3. Unqualified support for the cause. Pay attention here, this one’s really, really important. Not only can you not afford to lose your focus (see “commitment” above), but you must insist others join in the quest. You must insist. Help them work through their issues, convince — as best as possible — for the need to change. At the end, though, the change must occur, and you must be prepared to make all those decisions necessary, some good, some tough, to make it happen. Naysayers can be a fatal distraction. Disbelievers can poison an effective team. Misdirected managers can ruin the entire effort. Make sure you stay aware, and be prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure the focus is maintained by all.
2007 is upon us; we have work to do, and some unique challenges facing us.
Let’s charge that hill…
Happy New Year…!
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jul 23, 2018 | Miscellaneous Business Topics
Six or eight months ago, American Airlines rolled out iSolve, a tablet-based software wherein flight attendants could offer on the spot compensation (usually in award miles) for complaining passengers. Mind you, these are not complaints due to uncontrollable circumstances (force majeure, acts of God, etc.), as those are (rightfully) not due further compensation.
No, these are airline-caused, exacerbated or ignored problems, usually with the aircraft itself.
In other words, “airline screws up, airline compensates passengers.” What a unique freakin’ concept.
Except it worked. Passenger complaints were resolved by the flight attendants on the spot. Sorta like the restaurant screwing up your pork chop and giving you free dessert. Everyone wins.
American has now told flight attendants to ease up on the happy passenger bit. It seems they are paying out more miles than anticipated. So, let’s dissect that a bit:
- “Paying more miles than anticipated.” Really? Exactly how many miles did you anticipate paying out for passenger complaints caused by the airline itself? Did you chat with flight attendants, maybe asking how many such complaints they received in a typical 90-minute flight? What data did you use to come up with the far-exceeded miles compensation quota? I’m guessing they either (a) pulled it directly outta their ass (the PDOMA method), or (b) had no clue what was going to happen, as they believed the complaints to be infrequent.
- This should have opened the suits’ eyes. Do they have any idea–any idea at all–how many complaints are fielded by flight attendants during each flight? Who else can a passenger complain to? Banging on the cockpit door to speak to the Captain will likely end poorly, so there’s no one left in flight except those flight attendants. Now, you give them a tool to make their –and their passengers–lives a small bit more bearable, and you’re sayin “wait a minute, we don’t want it to be that bearable!?”
- Don ‘t forget, these are problems fully and completely managed by American. The in flight power outlets. Seat back recline mechanisms, internet problems, food outages, and cabin temperature. All are 100% controllable
by the airline, and are problems that passengers bring up as complaints to flight attendants, which flight attendants can no longer resolve quickly and peacefully.
I’m trying not to use the F-word, but this situation makes it damned hard.
So, I’ll say this: American execs– get your heads out of your collective asses, and act like a leader of some sort. You’re about to hit a rough patch in airline business… are you certain this is the best possible face to show right now? Did you think we wouldn’t hear about it? Are you so freakin’ tone-deaf that you simply don’t believe these are real problems that matter to travelers?
More fodder for my common refrain: cell carriers, cable companies and airlines… all view customers as fungible resources. You’ll leave one provider, go to another. I leave American, someone else joins American from United.
Just stop it. Pretend customers matter, act like a leader, and stick to decisions that make life better for both your employees and your customers.
This ain’t rocket surgery.
Be Brazen.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jul 19, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
First, that phrase for this post — “I’m just sayin’,” drives me nuts. I hate it. Now that I feel better for sharing…
A diversity consulting firm called The Novations Group, apparently surveyed a couple thousand managers, and concluded that senior managers were poor communicators. For this, they seem to want acclaim…
Survey respondents blamed senior management for (in order of survey popularity):
1. Relying too much on e-mail.
2. Assuming a single message is enough.
3. Having no feedback loop in place.
4. Messages lacking clarity.
To this, I say “hmmmm…”
Nonetheless, there is some truth here.
We all rely too much on email. Email is great for simple information/data sharing. It breaks down when we try to have conversations, include emotion, or the worst: we try to manage by email.
Walk down the hall or pick up the damned phone. Email is the worst medium on the planet for any communication requiring acknowledged understanding, purposeful dialog, or meaning other than the simple written word. There is no defined ‘subtlety’ in emails. And managers shouldn’t use it as a proxy.
Another pox on communication occurred while we were gutting mid-management from organizations. In flattening org charts, we forgot that most on-the-ground communications with employees was done with middle managers. Today, they are either extinct or a bit harried from the evolution of their jobs.
Further, much of what we as senior leaders do has at least a modicum of confidentiality. Next thing you know, we’re acting like everything we say and do is some state secret.
It ain’t.
The problem, of course, is in the absence of communication, our employees fill in all the details, blanks, and relevant information themselves. From spotty knowledge, connecting rumor dots, or simply making it up as they go. None bodes well for us while trying to lead an organization in this age.
Next week, I’ll post some tips and techniques for communications that, though maybe not necessarily “easy,” they probably won’t leave visible scars.
Until then,
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jun 20, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
In this and 2 remaining blog entries, I’m expanding on the “5 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” I outlined in a recent article.
This third law is a reminder that development is essential for employee growth, and for your own well-being. In other words, it’s both selfish and generous; making someone else smarter while you do less work. This is a good thing, eh?
Law #3. If you always answer employee’s every question, you’ll forever be answering employees’ every question.
Questions are teaching moments — don’t rob employees of the opportunity.
Sounds trite, and I don’t mean it to (ok, maybe I mean it to be a little trite). If an employee is asking because they’re stupid, get rid of the employee. If they are a decent employee asking because they do not know, then teach them.
Next time, they’ll know how to do it — or at least the thought process behind it — and you won’t have to. How’s that for planned efficiency??
Now, you have time to go do something important. And to answer in advance: No, answering every employee’s every question is not something important you should be doing. If you’re doing that, you may as well just do it yourself…
Now that sounds fun, eh?
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 10, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Human Resources, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
Human Resources needs to get past this, “Do it for one, must do it for all” mentality. It’s just not true, and a lousy way to help a business succeed.
I regularly tell people this about precedents: “Yes, I’ll likely do the same thing, given the exact same circumstances, in the future.”
For example, if I allow an extra week of protected FMLA for a stellar employee in production with 6 years with the company, I may very well agree to do that same thing for the next “stellar employee in production with 6 years with the company.” Change a single parameter and the precedent doesn’t exist.
But even that isn’t the right answer, since decisions need to be made based on current business needs. I’m not trying to create a social system at work whereby all receive identical treatment. They won’t. I’ll do those things necessary, including making nondiscriminatory employment-related decisions, as the business needs dictate.
There’s all this talk about HR’s “seat at the table.” Want to get “kicked off the table” in a hurry? Adopt the inflexible, “Do for one, do for all” mindset. It has no place in business, in my opinion.
Cheers,
