Hello Everyone,

August 2019

It's been over 3 years since I have posted any material.

Today I begin with a trilogy based off a challenge someone gave me.

Enjoy the read

~g

September 29, 2013

What's your management style?

What's your management style?


In my career I have had quite a few different types of managers.  Some have left a great mark and others a great scar.  Let's break it down...

The Tyrant
This was not decades ago, but much more recent.  Which in and of itself surprises me.  You see, most would like to believe that there are laws and companies follow them.  Need I mention Enron?  The tyrant has usually been around for a while, has the ear and smile of the higher up or owner.  They don't outright abuse, they have mastered the skill and therefor the staff is left with he said/she said.  The tyrant has tenure and also usually the company fears them.

The Passive Aggressive
This person doesn't care who likes them and who doesn't, that's not the reason for their nilly willy ways.  Rather, they enjoy the passive aggressive game.  These managers have deeper issues then just being mean.  It is near impossible to have a real conversation with a passive aggressive manager let alone do anything they will approve of and if they do, they won't approve consistently.  These managers usually like the infighting and may just even provoke it.

The Micromanaging Willow tree
These managers stay until they die.  No storm will unroot them and knowing this makes them lazy.  They usually come into work and simply exist.  On occasion they will take an interest and micromanage any situation to the minute detail.  Most want them out and yet most pity them too much to get them out.

The Emperor
These managers take their title way too serious and in some cases mistake manager for emperor.  They will dictate, take over and pressure anyone throughout a project.  They want to know your personal life as well, usually to use it against you.  Unfortunately, there are lot of emperors around.

The Sloth
These are a dime a dozen.  Their title happened in a rhetoric pay increase scale.  Basically, every few years to justify a raise a title is given.  They don't want to manage and therefor do as little of it as possible.  They avoid conflict which leaves their staff open to attacks.  Their purpose is to collect a check and a title...period.

The Ex Military
This manager runs a tight ship.  Everything runs the same each day and at the same hour.  Change is seen as the enemy and so progress is also the enemy.  Usually pretty fun managers as long as all the work is done exactly how it was laid it out to be completed.  Open forum is not allowed, there is a hierarchy and not following it is treason.

I have worked for each of the above at one time or another.  On a brighter note, I have also worked for some pretty good managers.

The Andy Griffith
This type is usually the Opie type, clean cut and raised with so much morals it shows in their smile.  They have that Andy type simpleness in which they explain something and you would have to be a complete ASS not to understand.  You always learn from this type of manager.  They plow through and adapt to change, they show you how but they don't hold your hand to do it.  Usually mistaken for kiss asses, they just know how to handle all kinds of people.  Very little bothers them and holding a grudge seems pointless to them.  Not to be mistaken for a wuss, they will do what it takes to get the job done.

The Die Hard
This type usually looks like they've been through hell and back.  The stress has deteriorated them.  They believe in people and they fight for their staff.  In the process pissing off their higher ups.  These Die Hards never make it to VP or a CO.  They are appreciated for their effectiveness and ability to get their staff trust and loyalty, however they're usually seen as a maverick.

The Home Depot
These types really take serious The Home Depot book and see their people as ducks that need to be kept in a row.  They have a vision and progress is always on their mind.  They understand the ant colony and find it amusing that others don't.  If listened to, they usually make sense and one needs to strap in and get ready for a fast and bumpy ride to progress.



What type of manager are you?  What lessons have you learned that made you a better manager?  Have you taken the time to learn some lessons along the way?  More importantly... are you sharing that knowledge?

September 09, 2013

AndMore...have a little faith and throw in some hope

Sometimes life is so hard, rough and painful.  But...there are those moments when the sun peeks in and reminds you that you are alive.

I have had many losses in the last few years.  Father, family, friends, lover and hope.  Death is not the only loss, at least when my father died I knew that there was no way I would see him again.  I had to each day even today remind myself that the memories are all I have.  The loss of people out of your life is different, you know they are out there living.  You know that they are not a part of your life and perhaps it is best.  That still doesn't mean you don't go through the mourning process.  The same five steps can apply to the living.

Denial and Isolation
You wonder who went wrong, what went wrong.  If you know what and who went wrong you wonder why you didn't stop it.  You lose a part of yourself and in the process you lose the trust you had in your own judgement.  You deny that it is for the best or a mistake, you deny that things can change and you isolate yourself.  Since I was already in this phase when Dad died, I just stayed there when everyone else went their way.

Anger
How can you not get angry at all the wasted time?  Angry about the situation, the result and fact that you won't see or speak with that person.  And that person is alive and well.

Bargaining
You tell yourself there are other fish in the sea.  Family don't have to be blood.  Love can happen again.  Deep within you really don't believe it.  You bargain that it may be so.

Depression
This one is rough.  Few people understand depression, some are ignorant enough to believe it is a non existent condition.  Well, POO to them.  I know it exists, for years it was my only true and constant companion.

Acceptance
Finally, you realize what will be - will be.  Dad won't come back.  Mom won't change.  Sis and I will never get along and just because you are a friend to someone, it doesn't mean they are a friend to you.  You can love someone and they can shun that love, hurt you and walk away with a smile as if they did you a favor.  You accept that this can and did happen and you finally....see the sun peek at you and you wink.

Friends come in all shapes and paths
An unlikely person handed me a book. Anger by Thich Naht Hanh.  The profound effect this book has had on me is indescribable.  It shattered the wall and ceiling of rose tinted glass.  It just burst the sun right in.  I heard the angelic song of hope.  Faith embraced me and I smiled from my core to my lips.

A friend moved East, a pen pal whose kindness always came on a screen prompt.  He visited me on a day when even the book could not help me from the malice of others.  We went to lunch and two like minded people ate, talked and laughed.  The healing that I felt in that afternoon was like the sweet scent of summer carried on a warm welcoming wind.

I have embraced death in all its facets.  I now face life and with wonder await it's surprises.  I long for it's hope and cherish the new found faith it sends as a courier.

So....have a little faith and throw in some hope.