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Category Archives: Management
The Trouble with Performance Reviews by Jeffrey Pfeffer
The Trouble with Performance Reviews [the broken link was removed] by Jeffrey Pfeffer Managers don’t like giving appraisals, and employees don’t like getting them. Perhaps they’re not liked because both parties suspect what the evidence has proved for decades: Traditional performance appraisals don’t work. But as my colleague and fellow Stanford professor Bob Sutton and I pointed out in our book, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management, belief and conventional wisdom often trump the facts. … Continue reading
Computer Network Operations Center Failures
Obviously many businesses are now dependent on computer Network Operations Centers (NOC). Some of these data centers can cause millions of dollars in lost sales each minute if they fail. So sound engineering, including off-site redundancy is critical. Authorize.net is a recent example of such a failure, Authorize.net Goes Down, E-Commerce Vendors Left Hanging Payment gateway service provider Authorize.net has been down and out for several hours… That has big implications: since the service is used by tens of thousands … Continue reading
Posted in Customer focus, Economics, IT, Management, Systems thinking
Tagged customer service, engineering, IT, Systems thinking
Toyota Develops Thought-controlled Wheelchair
Toyota has developed a thought-controlled wheelchair (along with Japanese government research institute, RIKEN, and Genesis Research Institute). Honda has also developed a system that allows a person to control a robot through thoughts. Both companies continue to invest in innovation and science and engineering. The story of a bad economy and bad sales for a year or two is what you read in most newspapers. In my opinion the more important story is why Toyota and Honda will be dominant … Continue reading
Google Innovates Again with Google Wave
Google Wave is a new tool for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year. They are developing this as an open access project. The creative team is lead by the creators for Google Maps (brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen). A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. You really have to watch to understand what it is. This is a long webcast … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Google, IT, Management, Process improvement, Software Development, webcast
Tagged Creativity, Google, Innovation, internet, IT, Software Development
1 Comment
Top 10 Reasons Why Employees Leave in IT
Some of the problems expressed in the post linked to are specific to IT, and some are more important in software development (where as I have said before employees have higher expectations of management than most employees do), but many have truth for many employees. A good manager can create an environment where these problems are eliminated or reduced. Top 10 Reasons Why Employees Leave in IT No prioritization on items therefore constant interruptions in projects are the norm leaving … Continue reading
Posted in IT, Management, Software Development
Tagged management, managing people, respect for people, Software Development
1 Comment
Management Improvement Carnival #67
Not Invented Here by Nicole Radziwill – “when a NIH culture is observed, perhaps the resources and opportunities that are available to a group or an organization that could use them are truly invisible.” Re-th!nk[ing IT strategy] by David Anderson – “if something is not strategic and we are not good at it then we should outsource it and buy the service instead. If we are good or world class at something but it is not strategic then we should … Continue reading
Posted in Carnival, Management
Tagged Carnival
If Your Staff Doesn’t Bring You Problems That is a Bad Sign
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. – Colin Powell I discussed my feelings on this in a previous post, Bring Me Problems: If an employee never learns how to find possible solutions themselves that is not a good sign. But it is … Continue reading
Management Improvement Carnival #66
The Curious Cat Management Improvement Carnival began in 2006 with the goal to provide links to interesting blog posts for those interesting in improving the practice of management. Jidoka is not just “built-in-quality” by Jason Yip – “Jidoka is not just about stopping and notifying of problems immediately. It also includes the concept of separating human and machine work. Effectively the idea of using machines to free humans.” How to Engage People in Kaizen by Jon Miller – “Frame all … Continue reading
Posted in Carnival, Management
Tagged blogs, Carnival, management
Penske to Buy Saturn from GM
Penske to Buy Saturn from GM “When Saturn launched in the 1980s, it was the new, new thing, with the best dealer service and no-haggle pricing that put customers at ease,” said independent marketing consultant Dennis Keene. “But in recent years, it has just been another GM division, operating the same as Chevy or Pontiac, with nothing to differentiate it and a marketing message that keeps changing, so that people haven’t been able to get a handle on what the … Continue reading
Posted in Management, Manufacturing
Tagged cars, management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Systems thinking
1 Comment
Job Listings Online Filled with Jargon
The job market is not great, 9.4% unemployment in the USA, and not efficient either. At my full time job, we hired a ruby on rails developer (web programmer) this month, and are looking to hire another. Job listings online filled with jargon With unemployment reaching historic levels, online job search traffic is heating up. Sites like Monster.com, Dice.com, and HotJobs.com are gaining steam with anywhere from a 20-90% increase in traffic in February. Somehow CareerBuilder.com managed to dip 3% … Continue reading
Posted in Career, Management, Software Development
Tagged Career, IT, jobs, respect for people, Software Development
3 Comments
Pixar Movie Management Magic
Image of Wall-e, from the Pixar film of the same name. Pixar’s secrets on display in ‘Up’ “I think it comes down to two basic things: one is that we’re run by artists. … John Lasseter is a film director, as opposed to being from a business school or whatever. He has that side of him as well, but he’s always approaching these things as the same way we are. “Second, we have some pretty great people that they’ve managed … Continue reading
Posted in Management, Management Articles, Respect
Tagged Customer focus, Innovation, Investing, management, respect for people
1 Comment
In-N-Out Burger’s Six Secrets for Success
In-N-Out Burger’s six secrets for out-and-out success [the broken link was removed] Listen to Your Customers — One of the company’s mottos is “Our customer is everything.” Applying that belief led to the company policy of preparing burgers just the way customers asked for them. Some of the customer favorites became popular and were eventually adopted as the restaurant chain’s “secret menu.” By listening to their customers, In-N-Out created menu choices other stores couldn’t duplicate. … Treat Employees Well — … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Customer focus, Management, Respect
Tagged Books, Customer focus, management, managing people, respect for people
1 Comment
Warren Buffett Answers Shareholder’s Questions – 2009
Each year Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions in front of crowds of tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in Omaha, Nebraska. The question and answer sessions provide great wisdom on economics, investing and management. Here are some of the highlights I have found from the meeting (see more on the Curious Cat Investing and Economic Blog review of the answers) Buffett, Munger praise Google’s moat “Google has a huge new moat,” Munger said. “In fact I’ve probably … Continue reading
Posted in Management
Tagged Google, Investing, management, Warren Buffett
Revealed Preference
Revealed Preference: the preference consumers display by their action, in contrast to what they may say they prefer. While surveys may be useful people often say they will do one thing and actually when given the choice to do so, don’t. Normally what matters is not what people say they want but what they actually will choose. For that reason revealed preference is a better measure than stated preference. Stated preference is often used as a proxy for actual preference … Continue reading
Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Psychology, Statistics
Tagged Customer focus, Data, Psychology, Statistics
1 Comment
Dr. Russell Ackoff Webcast on Systems Thinking
Dr. Ackoff is one of two management thinkers that any manager, that is serious about improving management results in their organization, should study (the other is Dr. Deming). There are plenty of others that are also great resources. From part 2 of his talk: “Why-questions, about objects called systems, cannot be answered by the use of analysis… The product of explanation is understanding… The product of analysis is how things work, never why they work the way they do. Explanations … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, quote, Science, Systems thinking, webcast
Tagged Ackoff, Creativity, quote, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge, webcast
4 Comments
Toyota Posts Loss of $6.9 Billion in Last Quarter
Toyota Posts Loss of $6.9 Billion in Last Quarter For January-March, Toyota booked a $6.9 billion loss, in line with consensus estimates, and cut its annual dividend nearly 30 percent — the first cut since at least 1994, when it changed its reporting period. … Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe was more downbeat, stopping short of predicting when sales would pick up in major markets, or when the company would return to profitability as it remains saddled with excess capacity. “Of … Continue reading