It Ain’t About the Tsotschkes

Bill Strahan at Human Markets wrote a great piece today titled Before the Tee Shirts. The lead in to his Top 10 list knocked me out:

Here is my list of ten things that you should have in the work place before you fire up the silk screen.

My favorite is #7, which begins, “Pay competitively, reward success lavishly.” Put that one in your pipe and smoke it.

Who I Want to Work with Me

I’m fascinated by Teddy Roosevelt. I read everything about him. And there’s one quote that keeps coming to me time and again that I like so much. When I re-read it again today, I thought, “That about sums up people I want to work with me.”

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

Advice for Employees in an Economic Downturn

This is “How to Deal with the Economic Downturn Week” at KnowHR. Most of the time I talk to HR people, but today here’s a piece of advice for employees:

If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.
–Henry J. Tillman

This is no time for fooling around or thinking “this too shall pass.” It won’t. There will be fallout.

Companies need employees to be on their “A Game,” both in terms of results and how they’re achieved. Because, employees, it’s either that or learn to ask that all-important question: You want fries with that?

I’m a Fan of a Little Exclusivity

Lord, Give Me Patience, But Give It To Me Now
I’m at a hotel on a famous square in Boston as I write this. I’m sitting in the lobby watching hundreds of people flit this way and that, most of them dressed in Boston Red Sox shirts and caps. And with all this activity and buzz, it’s the quietest it’s been this morning. You see, I just came downstairs from the Concierge Level.

Quick, Everyone Get on the Plane at the Same Time
Remember when having frequent flier status meant something? When they called for “Plutonium Status” and it didn’t start a cattle call for very single person on the plane? Or when concierge level meant that you didn’t have to fight like underfed pigeons for the last scrap of bread in the free breakfast line? That’s when a little exclusivity went a long way.

All Animals are Created Equal, It’s Just That Some Are More Equal Than Others
Your best people feel the same way. Sure, there are legal and cultural reasons to treat everyone the same. That makes sense for workplace and career elements. You have to. But everyone isn’t the same. Not when it comes to top performers. And, trust me, they want a little exclusivity.

Exclusive and Elitist Are Not the Same Thing
I’m not talking about being an elitist. I’m the farthest thing from that. My dad was a Chicago cop, I grew up in a big family, and I feel lucky for everything I get. But I am talking about making distinctions based on performance. It’s what pay-for-performance should make happen. It’s not enough for your high performers to get one percent more than your average performers. It has to be 10 percent, 20 percent, or 100 percent more.

Know What to Expect and When To Expect It
Which brings me back to where I am. I don’t consider it a benefit to eat in the concierge lounge when there are more people there than at a Red Sox game. (They had their 400th consecutive sellout last night. A record.) Because I have a certain membership status, I sorta kinda expect that it’s meaningful. If it’s not, I’d just as soon know that. And I’ll pay for my own breakfast that hasn’t been touched and prodded by 50 overanxious people ahead of me in line. And that’s the kind of exclusivity I’m talking about — the kind where you know what to expect and then get it.

A Little Bonus Thought
NB: If you’re in the hotel business, charge $5 for the concierge breakfast. That which is offered for free, is valued for free. (And it keeps away the pigeons.)

The Happy Worker Kit

Happy Worker KitIf Monday isn’t as happy as it just might be for your employees, secondose offers up The Happy Worker Kit.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Possibly some NSFW ads at the top of the page.

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