Geoff Mazeroff

Dates covered: December 17-23, 2018 (week 51 of 52)

Business

A Look into Microsoft’s Data-Driven Approach to Improving Sales (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Networks are important, and re-orgs can destabilize them
2. Note how much time you’re spending with high-growth accounts (underserved customers could do better with more attention)
3. Satisfied customers come from better relationships (this one seemed like a no-brainer, and reminded me of the farmer vs. hunter analogy)
4. Monitoring communication through data analytics and help predict customer churn

5 Questions We Should Be Asking About Automation and Jobs (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Will workers whose jobs are automated be able to transition to new jobs?
2. Who will bear the burden of automation? (Typically more routine jobs, who are done by less educated people, typically men.)
3. How will automation affect the supply of labor?
4. How will automation affect wages and vice versa?
5. How will automation change job searching? (One person predicts that the privileged will be looked at by people, the masses by algorithms.)

Case Study: Should a Direct-to-Consumer Company Start Selling on Amazon? (via Harvard Business Review)

This post is a dialog between two individuals at a company who’s getting into the electric bike business and considering whether to use Amazon to sell their product. The big risk is that Amazon will figure out everything about that market and then start selling their own (which has happened with other products now being sold under Amazon Basics). However, it’s hard to compete with the breadth of consumers Amazon brings to bear. It’s a cliff-hanger….

Career

Summary: Developer Hegemony

My thoughts on Erik Dietrich’s book, which calls for a shift in how developers consider their labor and career.

Communication

How to Moderate a Panel Discussion (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Prepare the panel for what to expect (e.g., draft questions); don’t leave them in the dark
2. Your mission: great audience experience (don’t let people drone on; ask questions the audience wants to hear, even if they’re difficult)
3. Manage the panel; ask questions to those with the most expertise instead of “tossing it out there”
4. Dig deeper when something interesting or confusing comes up

The 5 Things All Great Salespeople Do (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Own your attitude; you can’t control everything, but you can control your reaction when things happen
2. Be resourceful (like MacGuyver) in difficult situations
3. Knowledge + Experience = Confidence to Lead; the first part you control, the second comes with time
4. Help others with no expectation of a return
5. Be responsive with customers

Crisis Communication and Technology: Communicating with Colleagues (via Communication for Technologists channel on Pluralsight)

It’s not a matter of if, but when a crisis will occur. This course covers the three phases — pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis — and what each one looks like. Victim, accident, and preventable crises take different forms and require different responses ranging from denial to rebuilding and bolstering. The course covers several responses to crises, showing why they are effective. There’s also a guideline for creating a crisis management plan, so you can anticipate your response before you need to use it.

The Secret to Leading Organizational Change Is Empathy (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Create personas (beliefs, feelings, questions, concerns) of audiences who will be impacted by the change. Those attitudes will shift over time, so reevaluate them often. How will you communicate change to those groups and individuals?
2. The more informed people are, the less discomfort they’ll have. Tell people what to expect, and acknowledge the downsides as well and what that means.
3. Involve individuals at all levels, not just top management.

Have the Courage to Be Direct (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Be clear on the reason you’re having the conversation/meeting
2. Don’t “sandwich” the bad news; it muddles the message
3. Go ahead and ask for what you want to happen

Culture

When You and Your Friend Both Want the Same Promotion (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Emotional balance and perspective are critical — this is one of likely several promotions, and your friendship is more important than not getting this promotion
2. Keep your feelings of self-worth in check — being promoted is a combination of skills and relationships; just because you didn’t get the promotion doesn’t mean you are less-than
3. Communication and planning are key — have the uncomfortable conversation early and figure out how to maintain the friendship

Cultivating Everyday Courage (via Harvard Business Review)

There are times when people need to speak out against things, which comes with risk of damaged reputations or even their jobs. “Courage, after all, is about taking wroth actions despite the potential risk.” People who successfully navigate these waters 1) lay the groundwork for action, 2) choose their battles, 3) manage messaging and emotions, 4) follow up afterward. Start small, and stay true to your values.

Remote Workers Are Outperforming Office Workers–Here’s Why (via Harvard Business Review)

Regular readers of my posts probably know where I stand on remote work; in case not, “it depends” — depends on the employee, the team, the company, the goals, etc. I don’t prefer remote work, but I’d be foolish to not allow someone to work remotely if it helps them be productive and happy. If you’re looking for an article with some benefits of remote work (compared to typical startups or cube farms), this article has a few.

Holidays Can Be Stressful. They Don’t Have to Stress Out Your Team. (via Harvard Business Review)

There’s lots of multitasking, shortened deadlines, and stressed customers during the holidays. Some things that can be helpful…

1. Ask people how they’d like to celebrate this year instead of just having the holiday party after-hours
2. Be inclusive; not everyone celebrates in the same way
3. Protect people’s personal time; maybe give them early afternoons off to catch up on shopping
4. Rebalance workloads so people aren’t overstressed
5. Give time instead of gifts

What Companies Can Do to Help Employees Address Mental Health Issues (via Harvard Business Review)

We still have a ways to go in talking more openly about mental health. Companies can signal to their employees that it matters and provide a safe place for them to get help.

Leadership

When Managers Break Down Under Pressure, So Do Their Teams (via Harvard Business Review)

“Respondents said that when their leader clams up or blows up under pressure, their team members have lower morale; are more likely to miss deadlines, budgets, and quality standards; and act in ways that drive customers away.”

1. What do you really want long-term? The pressure is likely short-term, so don’t knee-jerk, and the long-term goal will guide your decisions. Ex: make sure the team understands my appreciation for a short-term sacrifice
2. Challenge your story. Avoid blame and anger; look at the problem with curiosity and figure out how to solve the problem.
3. Start with facts. What did you observe compared to what you expected? Facts are emotionally neutral and can build common ground.
4. Create safety. Losing your temper isn’t effective. Frame your intent and let your team stay focused on what they need to do.

You Can Be a Great Leader and Also Have a Life (via Harvard Business Review)

Many of the work “role models” people look to are not healthy — working 60+ hours, rejecting family in favor of launching businesses, etc. As a leader, offer flexibility in how people work (e.g., remote work, different schedules), find a plan that works for you and advocate for it (e.g., more time off in the summer while your kids are out of school), and find role models of people that make it work.

Process

How to Keep Working When You’re Just Not Feeling It (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Set goals and objectives with intrinsic motivators
2. Closely examine your rewards (e.g., a reward for completing tasks quickly may lead to rushed work, eating a piece of pizza after achieving a weight loss goal doesn’t help); loss aversion is another effective motivator (e.g., instead of getting a reward, you’ll lose something if you don’t reach a goal)
3. Sustain progress by breaking things into smaller sub-goals, focus on what you’ve already accomplished, make the remaining work look like a small gap to fill
4. Get social. Ask high-performing peers how they do it; other people may also help you see the big picture when you’re in the weeds.

Fostering Employee Innovation at a 150-Year-Old Company (via Harvard Business Review)

Bayer has formed a team of innovation ambassadors, which in turn has teams of coaches that act like a tiger team to help solve emerging problems quickly or address new challenges. Being social and connected has been helpful, and it’s important to refresh your volunteers and give them adequate support.

How to Motivate Yourself to Do Things You Don’t Want to Do (via Harvard Business Review)

1. Find one (or more) reasons for doing something (e.g., I don’t feel like preparing this slide deck today, but if I do, I’ll less stressed at the end of the week).
2. Find a strategy for doing tasks when you have low emotional drive. Maybe get other people involved (social pressure), delegate, or be around other people doing work. Some other action-oriented approaches could be blocking out time on your calendar, or working on something for just 10 minutes.
3. Try linking pleasurable activities with positive ones — e.g., work on your presentation at a coffee house you enjoy.

The Goldilocks Rule: How to Stay Motivated in Life and Business (via Software Lead Weekly)

Goldilocks Rule: people experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are just on the edge of their current abilities; not too easy, not too hard. Seeing yourself make progress in the moment is motivating, especially if you can visualize it (e.g., charts, paper clips).

8 ways to be resilient and kind when things get hard at work (via Software Lead Weekly)

1. Figure out how you feel. Be present, don’t suppress your emotions, write things down for reflection.
2. Have a professional north star. What’s important to you and is what you’re doing moving you in that direction?
3. Build a brain trust. Your problems are probably more common than you think; who can you talk with about them?
4. Set the right tone. People look to you, so speak with a positive tone, be light-hearted, keep your body language open.
5. Be a co-leader. Facilitate and lead conversations, be a problem solver (not just someone who points out problems), expect and address conflict.
6. Have empathy for people around you. See the good in people, meet people where they are, keep venting to a minimum, tell people you appreciate them.
7. Practice self-care, whatever that means for you (e.g., meditation, time away from work, making art).
8. Know the tough times don’t last forever.

Technology

Open source confronts its midlife crisis (via The Software Mentor)

Now that open-source software has been around for several decades, it’s starting to hit some interesting snags as the technology landscape changes and different business models evolve. The article covers some specific examples. To me it sounds like the classic example of trying to combine conflicting systems — one whose goal is to make money, and the other whose goal is to share and learn. It reminds me of the example where everyone wants the benefits of public transit, but no one wants to pay for it.