Cracking Whips

Someone once told me, "I'd never date you because you have too big of balls for me." I took it as a compliment...

I started grad school this September and I thought it might be different this time around considering I am with working professionals all looking to advance their careers and take the next professional step. Grad school is heavily based in group work. Anyone that has done grad school probably already knows that.

I have found that many people especially in my program do not know how to work in groups. Very competitive. They want to work alone. Unfortunately, people don't realize in the REAL world the majority of times especially in upper management positions its usually a team effort. The managers that don't grasp this concept are usually the ones everyone hate.

Many of these people whom we refer to as "A" type personalities go above and beyond what is asked of them. It is actually annoying not just to the other students but to the professors as well. They think it makes them look good but instead it back fires. One of my professors just flat out said when the question asks for a SHORT answer, he means it. He does not want an essay and admittedly said he does not read it anyway. He is simply looking for 2-3 key words. Another professor for a take home exam specifically said we do not have to answer in full sentences, fragmented sentences or bullet points would suffice. The "A" type personalities don't understand this concept. They STILL write paragraphs.

I could consider myself a "determined overachiever". However, I always understood that time is money. I don't want to waste my time doing extra work that is unnecessary nor do I want to create extra unnecessary work for someone else. Often these "A" type personalities will look at me and think that I'm a "slacker" because I haven't read the whole damn text book or started on my 20 page research paper by the second week of the quarter when its due at the end. What they don't realize is, I just have better time management and discipline than they do. I don't NEED to start writing my paper 5 weeks in advance. The funny thing is, we both will probably get the same grade in the end.

Bill Gates said, "Give the hardest job to the laziest person, they will find the quickest way to get the job done."

I love this quote because the people that feel like they have to get things done in advance frown upon the ones that wait till the end to get it done because they simply don't understand how it can possibly be accomplished in so little time. That's the beauty of it. I don't need to waste 100 hours doing something like writing a 20 page paper that a professor is MAYBE going to spend 10 minutes reading.

The same is applied in a business stand point. It's the "A" type personalities that get so frazzled and worked up for a big board meeting or a short presentation. They will put hours and hours into the presentation and think they have an hour to present their ideas or findings when in reality that is not the case!

They do not realize in the real world if they want to present something to a board with the CEO/CFO they better have their sh*t together in less than 10 minutes. Yes, spend time practicing your pitch in UNDER 10 minutes. No one is going to sit and listen or watch a power point for an hour for you to get your point across. GET TO THE POINT.

Personally, from a management stand point, everyone is replaceable. Managers want their team to do their job and do it well. If there are problems the manager wants to find the source of the problem and fix it. If that person does not correct the problem what SHOULD happen is that person gets fired and replaced! If you speak with any CEO or CFO of a big company they will tell you they are not afraid to fire or replace anyone. Good managers are not scared to fire people. You are running a business.

Often managers are too comfortable and too lazy to just fire the people who drag down their business. The best managers fire people and replace them. I would do it in a heart beat. It seems cold but as a manager that is my job. If you can't do your job, I sure as hell am not, and there is at least 100 others that want your job. Therefore, I am replacing you with someone that will get the job done CONSISTENTLY.

I hate work arounds. Work arounds are a band aid to the problem. There needs to be a root-cause analysis for the work around and have it fixed right away. Once people start doing work arounds it sends that message out to everyone that they can continue doing what they are doing because everyone else will accommodate what they are doing wrong. It's like a virus. Everyone is sick of it but does nothing to change it.

Get your job done and do it well.

Dont forget,

give credit where credit is do. The employees that do their job, recognize and reward them.

I am a soft hearted person the will go above and beyond to make people happy however, don't mistake my kindness or weakness. When the whip needs to be cracked, I'm definitely not scared to crack it.

Until next time.

-Norah