Commercial Integrator October 2022 - 10

AV BRAINS & BRAWN
into the bigger picture. The manager
translates that understanding into
meaningful goals and objectives for
their team members. All associates
want to understand how, exactly, their
work fits into the big picture.
› Finance: Although it's certainly not
necessary to be an accountant to be a
good manager, it's imperative to learn
and apply solid financial basics.
› Project Management: Projects can
become complex and unwieldy. Managers
must understand and leverage
formal project-management practices
to ensure timely completion and proper
control of initiatives.
The Need to Change Our Approach
I hope that, now, we understand (at least
at the top level) the concept of inertia
and the forces that motivate employees
to leave or to stay. In both cases, those
forces relate directly to management.
Now, let's turn to the need to change our
approach and be more effective managers.
To paraphrase Albert Einstein's definition
of insanity, we can't do the same
old things time and time again and expect
different outcomes. This certainly applies
to a " conventional " approach to management.
I would suggest that what we once
thought of as effective management does
not work as it once did - and, perhaps, it
never worked.
This is clearly illustrated in the book
First Break All the Rules: What the World's
Greatest Managers Do Differently, written
by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.
It's based on in-depth interviews
with 80,000 managers at all levels and in
companies of all sizes. The authors write,
" Great managers routinely break all the
rules. They take the conventional wisdom
about human nature and managing people
and turn it upside down. "
The authors' research uncovered the four
keys for how to unlock the potential of each
of your employees. You must read the book
to get a full explanation of each of the four
keys, and it's a journey worth taking. I'll just
summarize here.
1. Select employees based on talent,
rather than based on experience or
intelligence.
2. Evaluate performance based on
10
Commercial Integrator OCTOBER 2022
Success or failure for most companies will be revealed in how they approach and
practice management.
desired outcomes, rather than based
on direct control over how a worker
performs their job.
3. Reject the conventional wisdom
that people can be fixed. Focus on
strengths, rather than on weaknesses.
4. Find the right fit for your employees'
talents.
Characteristics of
a Strong Workplace
Perhaps my favorite part of the book is
when the authors present the 12 characteristics
of a strong workplace, as seen
through the most successful and productive
employees' eyes. Each is presented
as a question. If employees answer them
affirmatively, then you have a strong
workplace...a workplace where the best
performers want to work and stay.
1. Do I know what is expected of me?
2. Do I have the equipment and material
to do my work right?
3. Do I have the opportunity to do what I
do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received
recognition or praise for good work?
5. Does my supervisor or someone at work
seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages
my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does my company's mission or
purpose make me feel my work is
important?
9. Are my coworkers committed to doing
quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, have I talked to
someone about my progress?
12. In the last year, have I had opportunities
to learn and grow?
Homework for Companies
Here is the homework for companies in
our industry: Look at the 12 questions and
explore if your managers and management
approach contribute to the attainment of
affirmative employee responses. If not,
you must do some work.
A recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
report said that 24% of the working population
(hourly and salary) stayed with a company
less than a year. The cost of this is nearly
incalculable. It is clearly in companies' best
interest to develop and retain good employees.
Excellence in management starts at the
top, but it's the middle managers, functional
managers and their teams that make a company
" work " -that make sure the company
achieves all it can.
Times have changed. Companies have
changed. Employees have also changed.
Success or failure for most companies will
be revealed in how they approach and
practice management.
Alan C. Brawn, CTS, ISF, ISF-C,
DSCE, DSDE, DCME, is the
principal of Brawn Consulting.
commercialintegrator.com
NICOELNINO/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator October 2022
