Management Is A Privilege

So some people have this notion about management that is all wrong. 

– Management is not a right or entitlement.

– Management is a wonderful privilege!

The privilege comes with responsibility and is earned by knowing how to manage and treat your people right.

That means:

– Acting with integrity

– Treating people fairly, with dignity, and respect

– Showing you value them

– Helping to develop them

– And of course, achieving results together!

I heard it said well like this:

“If you don’t treat people well 

you won’t be a manager for long.”

Again, it’s a privilege, not a right, to manage and lead others. 

Those who abuse their privilege and people–it’s like the cycle of life. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Relationships Matter Most

So if I have only learned one thing from work and office politics…it is that relationships matter to results!

And not only that they matter, but that they matter the most. 

Results are great and important; however if they come at the expense of relationships or it’s a “burn the bridges” type deal–then the results are not just tainted, but perhaps will be doomed to fail anyway and all the more so. 

The way we treat others is paramount to what we do. 

G-d watches us–and He/She will judge us accordingly. 

Every interaction with others is a test for us. 

How do we speak to and act with another one of G-d’s loving creations. 

Treating people well does not need to come at the expense of results–rather it is the secret sauce to getting results. 

This doesn’t mean that you have to be liked or loved, but that you do the right thing and for the right reasons–great deeds come with truly best intentions. 

Integrity is not just a word–it is a life principle!

When you treat people badly–how do you think that impacts the office and the ultimate mission?

Success is people and product.

And life has a funny way about it with karma being ever present.

(Source Photo: here with attribution to PoYang) 

Back On The Hiking Trail

Such beautiful weather today–still February, but Spring has sprung!

We went hiking and I am so grateful to G-d after the surgeries of the last couple of years that I can once again start to enjoy Sugarloaf Mountain together with “my sugar.”

Thank you so much Hashem!

On the hike, one brief thing we talked about was how to email (and speak) nicely to other people.

My wife told me something really smart she heard from a colleague at work:

“WHEN you are having strong feelings and want to communicate them to someone…

Sit down at the table.

Pull your chair in.

Write down what you want to say.

THEN…

Imagine the other person is sitting right across from you.

Turn the paper towards them.

Pretend that they are reading from it in front of you.

NOW…

Decide whether you still want to send it that way.”

So much stupid stuff we say and email could be avoided if we just did this little mental exercise in our heads and in our hearts. 😉

(Source Selfie: Us)

Thank You, See Ya

So one of our contractors was moving on to a new position. 

It was toward the end of the day, and I saw him getting ready to leave the building.

I went over to him to thank him for his service, tell him how we appreciated his contributions, and wish him well for the future. 

Someone nearby overhead me talking with him, and in a lighthearted joking way says, “That’s not what you told me about him by the elevators [one of our typical watercooler chat spots],” and then he gave a big smile.

He is another wonderful person and I understood he meant it in complete fun, but I couldn’t help feeling bad for the other person, and his thinking perhaps that people were talking bad about him somehow. 

I know I am a sensitive person, but somehow I could sort of feel the possible sting for the person leaving.

Sensing maybe something gone wrong, the other person came over afterwards and sort of apologized that he didn’t mean anything bad, which I knew of course.

We all like to have a good congenial relationship in the office, but I suppose even well-intentioned joshing around has to be thoughtful and with good timing. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)