"What does the manager do when the team is not 'finishing' any tasks?"

I received this question from a fellow Wichita State University M.B.A. and instead of simply answering him directly, I thought I would provide my input on this subject in blog form.

Many individuals gut reactions would be that the problem is that the team members are unmotivated because the manager has not found or implemented measures to properly motivate the team to pursue the proper goals. I would believe that this is partly correct. However, the issue is deeper than simply offering positive or negative stimuli to attempt to prod the team along to a goal.

Team settings, particularly in project based office environments are set up to reach an "end game" state. What occurs in many of these situations is that management will define the goal and finite time period in which the goal must be met. The project is handed off to the team and management expects, rightly, that the task is completed correctly and on-time.

There are two possible problems with this common scenario:

1. Management did not provide enough (or did not know the right amount of) time to allow the team to finish the task.
2. Management did not either backward plan the task or encourage the team to do the same.

These two problems really go hand-in-hand. Management is told by their superiors when the task should be done, but no one in the process has figured out by this point what is required for task completion. Management needs to work with the team to not only define the "end game" (project completion) state, but also the steps to complete the project. Helping the team use backward planning techniques will help them better define the tasks that need to be completed and the order in which they need to be completed. There are several software packages that can assist with backward planning, such as Microsoft Project, but nothing in my opinion beats a white board and a set of markers.

Once the tasks are defined and assigned to individuals team members answer to one another. If there are perceived delays, they can be assigned to an individual "bottle neck" in the process, which is hopefully assigned to an individual or individuals. This "bottle neck" is likely a task that is under defined for the individual or group. As a manager, it is important to try to break the task into as bite-sized steps as possible for individuals. Task completion becomes a motivator for most employees, so they need to see that the number of steps to complete a task (or sub-task) is very low.

Finally, I cannot stress this enough, as a manager do not forget to thank your team members for completing a task, no matter how small or menial it may seem to you. Telling your subordinates "thank you" is one of the most powerful motivators in the workplace. Making cultural and tactical changes to your team environment will not impact the problem of task completion overnight. However, consistent planning, accountability, and having the courtesy of recognizing when small tasks are completed will eventually lead to a more positive and productive work environment.

Minding My Own Business is a blog written by Augustine Iacopelli. This blog consists of a mix of general business observations and contrarian positions on relevant topics as well my own forays in the world of business and networking.

Managing the Social Mixer Professionally

On Wednesdays, I take a look at the impact of current events directly or indirectly impacting me and apply them to a business management context.

Tonight, I will be attending the annual "mixer" for Wichita Professional Communicators. This provides me with an opportunity to chat and get to know other professionals in a more relaxed atmosphere. However, because I do not wish to offend with poor etiquette this evening, I believe that it is appropriate to review the commonly accepted social etiquette for an event such as this. These etiquette tips are identical regardless of the professional atmosphere, because this evening's event, while called a "social mixer" is ultimately a professional event requiring the same level of professional tact that I might carry myself in the office or other professional settings.

Arrive on time: This one is a no-brainer. I am expected to arrive a little early so that I may be able to collect money at the door for this mixer. To not arrive on time to assist with this task would be a slight to the host of the event.

Avoid controversial topics like they are the plague: Another no-brainer, but it is a trap that some of my fellow attendees at this event may still fall into. If I run into something like this, I will do my best to either shift the topic or move to another group at the event (see "graceful exit" below). Offending someone with subject matter ranging from politics to religion is a bad way to obtain their business in the future.

Introduce yourself/greet anyone within about a 5 foot radius of you, unless it is disruptive to do so: Always introduce/greet with a firm handshake and a brief introduction (if you do not know the person) or a brief statement, such as "how are you this evening?"

Bring all group members, including new arrivals into conversation as much as possible: This part of the dance I struggle with, as I believe that many of us do. Try to pepper what you are talking about with questions of the others within the group you are speaking, especially new members of the group. Remember, that you obtain more important information by listening than by speaking.

Practice remembering names: Another area where I wish I were better with. The most recommended method of trying to remember names is by repeating the name of the person you are greeting when they mention it to you (e.g. "Ann, it's a pleasure to meet you."). If you are actively mixing with others, there is a good chance that you will not remember everyone's name off the top of your head, but by using the "name repeat" method, the length of time that it takes to connect the face and the name is decreased.

Be sincere and show that sincerity to others with good eye contact: The eyes are the gateway to the soul. By connecting your eyes with those of another, you are opening yourself up to the other person or people in the group. This non-verbal technique will add validity to what you are saying and will encourage others to open up to you.

Mingle between multiple groups to maximize the contacts you make during the mixer: My only caveat to this advice is that if you are not great at remembering names, I believe that you can over-mingle. Introducing yourself to everyone in the room is great, but if you cannot remember more than half of them later, it's less useful than introducing yourself to fewer individuals and having a much higher recall rate later.

Understand and implement the "graceful exit:" It is important to always politely excuse yourself before moving on from one person/group to another. Never simply turn and walk away! At worse, simply say, "Excuse me" and wave to the rest of the group before moving on. At best, say, "it's been a pleasure to meet you (use name(s) when possible), please excuse me," and throw in another handshake for good measure.

The "mixer" can be just as much of a professional battlefield as the office place, and perhaps more so because many people let their guard too far down during these types of events. I'm going to try not to be one of those people this evening. I encourage you not to be one of those people as well!

Minding My Own Business is a blog written by Augustine Iacopelli. This blog consists of a mix of general business observations and contrarian positions on relevant topics as well my own forays in the world of business and networking.

MMOB Classic - Web Site Maintenance Etiquette

Note: Minding My Own Business publishes at knowmybusiness.blogspot.com on Monday's and Wednesday's. While I am in the process of migrating fully to this new home, I will fill in non MMOB days with my blog entries previously posted on my MySpace blog page.

Problems with routine web site maintenance were brought to my attention twice over the past week by students, while I was working at Wichita State. I felt this was a relevant topic to discuss as nearly every business today has a web site.

I believe that there are 3 major issues that must be taken into account and are often not handled well by web designers and technology specialists in organizations.

1. Keep in mind upcoming events relevant to your business.

One problem brought to my attention was regarding access to our web registration site. Early each semester, students frequently utilize this site for adding or dropping classes from their schedules. Wichita State's tuition and fees office schedules deadlines for partial refunds of tuition payments. These deadlines are very tight and stringent for students, particularly those students who meet near the deadline to drop with a refund. Some of our WSU students had only two hours after their first class meeting to drop with a full refund. Unfortunately for these students, the university's routine scheduled maintenance was going on from the time the students' classes began until the deadline for the students to drop with a full refund. This prevented students from dropping their classes at the last minute and effectively changed the deadline from what students had been originally told. Fortunately, this problem did not impact many of our customers; however it reflected a lack of foresight, which can serve to damage the goodwill of the university.

In most businesses, there are peak times of consumer interest in their product lines (alcohol and greeting card industries are first in my mind) that they need to be mindful of when scheduling routine maintenance. Avoid website updates that will interrupt consumer access at all cost during these times.

2. Do not keep a regular schedule for site updates.

This seems counterproductive and contrarian to common sense regarding web updates. However, we do not know when our customers or potential future clients will access our company web site for information. As an example, another student was attempting to access a non-WSU managed web site for a university course assignment on a weekend morning, when technology support can sometimes be in short supply. The student was unable to complete his assignment because the site was down at the time. He mentioned that this was the time that he intended to be doing his homework during the week. However, the maintenance schedule for this particular web site is such that he must always alter his own schedule to accommodate the schedule of the company.

The business world no longer operates 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday in an Internet age. Be aware that some of your clientele may only have limited after-hours to access your information. By rotating your routine down time and notifying customers in advance of website maintenance, you will maximize the likelihood that all your clients will be able to have access to your web presence at some point and will not always be inconvenienced when attempting to access your web page.

3. Consider using a mirror site during site updates.

While more expensive, utilizing a redirect off your main web site to a secondary site, while your main web site is under maintenance may be a viable alternative depending on the features that are being updated. For example, if a web site needs to update its storefront, but not the features that critical to the shopping process, it does not make sense to completely shut down the web page to make such a change to the site. In this case, a redirect to a secondary store might be adequate while the update to the main store is taking place. It takes much less effort to go to a competitor's web site to purchase a good than to wait for your site to become available again. In addition, by having a mirror site at the ready your company is able to move operations quickly to your mirror location, should your web site become compromised by hackers or web hosting problems.

Web site down time happens. How a company handles their down time and plans ahead for contingencies in the case of unexpected problems may be the difference between a sale or satisfied customer and lost revenue or at least lost goodwill for your company.

Minding My Own Business is a blog written by Augustine Iacopelli. This blog consists of a mix of general business observations and contrarian positions on relevant topics as well my own forays in the world of business and networking.

Picking the Right Target

In business, it is essential to develop means to target the correct audience. Companies unsure of their audiences spend money needlessly chasing potential clients that will never materialize. However, many companies have well-defined target markets, but take their eye off the ball when it come to proper execution of their marketing plans to ensure that their messages get to the right people and are placed into the proper context.

Minding My Own business, while certainly not a million dollar marketing message is no different. I began my entrance into the world of blogging, early this year as a promise to integrate social networking software into my professional life. MySpace was the first social network that I chose to explore, which was where I chose to post my blog due to the ease of posting.

However, it has increasingly become apparent to me that a professional business blog is ill placed on MySpace. A small business producing a product for a geographically niched product would never produce a Super Bowl ad because it reaches and creates costly, thin, and limited awareness in people who will never be able to utilize their product. While their is no capital expense to me for posting on MySpace, there is an expense in the manner by which MySpace is branded and targeted. The younger target of MySpace is out of sync with the message that I have been trying to disseminate through this blog. Therefore, beginning this Wednesday, July 18, I will close my blog on MySpace and migrate all my previous entries onto my new blog at Blogger.com. I feel that I have much better control over the image of my blog at this new location and hope that those of you have enjoyed my previous blog entries will find me at this new location.

Minding My Own Business is a blog written by Augustine Iacopelli. This blog consists of a mix of general business observations and contrarian positions on relevant topics as well my own forays in the world of business and networking.

Is There a Time to Drink the Kool-Aid?

Earlier in this blog, I discussed the importance of developing a "culture of candor." This is a phrase used frequently in Jack and Suzy Welch's book Winning. Unfortunatly, in many business cultures, "candor" is spoken about, but not truely esposed. Are there times when drinking the corporate "Kool-Aid" is positive for the company as a whole?

This largely depends on the risk tolerance of the individual. If you are a person who is unafraid of being viewed as a troublemaker, then it is unlikely that, provided criticism is constructed positively that there is any situation where drinking the "Kool-Aid" is positive. I have yet to find a company that operates free of challenges, irregardless of size or scope. Having the courage to challenge the status quo within your company, provided it is carried out within the appropriate organizational structures of the company, is almost always rewarded. However, if you have medium risk aversion in your career, it may be to your advantage to find a leader among your peers to support you prior to taking your concerns to your superiors. However, even those with some risk aversion, can and should present their beliefs to their superiors in a candid manner.

Only in a case where an individual fears for their job, or fears a demotion, should they remain quiet. These individuals are also well advised to be looking for other employment anyway as they are clearly not in a healthy employment environment for themselves.

Keep in mind that your idea may transform your company, or at least lead to a larger transformation. I will discuss my own discoveries about how some of my candor and creative thinking lead to a positive result for a former employer on Wednesday.

Minding My Own Business is a blog written by Augustine Iacopelli. This blog consists of a mix of general business observations and contrarian positions on relevant topics as well my own forays in the world of business and networking.