Agile Learning Labs

Earth-like Planet Discovered

Average temperature ranges from 32 to 104 Fahrenheit.  It has about twice the surface area and twice the gravity of earth, and it celebrates New Year's Day once every 13 earth days.  As soon as we can travel at the speed of light, trips to the planet, located in the constellation Libra, will only take about 20 years. There is a full article on the World Science website.

Feedback

I just read this article at cio.com. It had some excellent advice about how to give, and how not to give, feedback to others in the workplace. Feedback is one of the most powerful tools in a manager’s toolbox. Use it early; use it often. It is far better to give regular feedback than to save it up for performance review time.

The author, Esther Derby, recommends a multi-step approach to giving feedback that is similar to that recommended by the guys over at Manager Tools, though a bit more flexible.

The steps include:

The Opening – Basically letting the person know that you want to give them some feedback and finding out if this is a good time. Of course, you should pick a time that you think is good for them before making your approach; check their calendar!

Sharing What You Observed – This is all about reporting the facts of the behavior that you are giving feedback on. Doing this without coloring it with judgment can be tricky, but is very important. At this stage it is better to say “Tom, I noticed you surfing the web during Bob’s presentation today.” than something like “You were disrespectful toward Bob this morning.” It is much easier for Tom to dispute whether or not he was being respectful than his web surfing. You really want to get agreement that the behavior occurred.

Describing the Impact – Here you might describe how others where distracted by his surfing, and that it undermines Bob and the information that was being presented. This step may not even be needed, as many people will quickly grasp the problem with their behavior. Tom might say, “Gee, I didn’t realize that other people would notice. I guess I was a bit of a distraction.” This may be as far as you need to go.

Request a Change – Tom may volunteer to change his behavior, or at least acknowledge the problem in a way that implies he will change. If he does not, then request some specific change such as leaving the laptop behind at these types of meetings.

Finally, it is worth noting that feedback can be positive as well as negative. Human nature being what it is, people tend to be more receptive to positive feedback. Use it! Reinforcing the good behaviors is just as important as changing the bad.

“Phew. This has been a long Meeting.”

Yesterday, Dilbert readers got to see how Alice deals with this common problem.

If Alice’s approach doesn’t work for you, let us know and we’ll teach you a few other ways to deal with the problem.

ABC

Hillary and I went to an Area Breakfast Meeting (ABC) sponsored by the Institute of Management Consultants this morning. At 5:30 AM I wasn’t so sure that getting out of bed to go have breakfast at a seafood place was a good idea. As it turned out, Scott’s Seafood in Palo Alto provided a nice atmosphere and perfectly good breakfast fare.

Jennifer Vessels, founder of Next Step, presided over the event and did a great job of soliciting topics and keeping the discussion focused and productive.

The first topic was how to go about getting a book and/or magazine article published. Our own Hillary Johnson had a lot to contribute, having written books and published articles in magazines such as inc, Worth, and US Business Review. She also was able to give the perspective from the other side as well, having been the editor of both a newspaper and a magazine. Hillary’s advice covered topics including copyright, self-publishing options, promotion, as well as how and when to approach magazine editors.

Here are some of the interesting people we met at breakfast:

Deborah Plumley helps clients with rapid planning and modeling.

Dr. Erich Helefert consults on the financial side of management, as well as being a founder of Modernsoft.

Michael Beasley Ph.D. had this beautiful business card.

Dr. Juan Montermoso runs Montermosos Associates as well as teaching classes for the St. Mary’s Executive MBA program.

We had a good time and will return for future ABCs.

Voted Off the Vegetable Island!

While walking this morning, I listened to the HBR Ideacast #35, What it Means to Work Here. In it they mention a hiring practice used by Whole Foods, that I really like. New hires are on probation for the first 4 weeks. At the end of that time, their coworkers vote to keep them or let them go.

Presentation Time

Managers, as well as engineers, are occasionally called on to give presentations. Preparation and practice are the biggest ingredients in a successful presentation. You don’t want the big day to be the first time you’ve given the presentation. Practice out loud, first by yourself and then in front of some friends or colleagues who can give you constructive criticism. Practice with the actual equipment that you will be using, preferably in the actual room where you will give the final presentation. The more you rehearse, the lower the chances of something going wrong. Sometimes, things still go wrong. John West tells the story of one such occasion, and how he did a respectable job recovering, in this post to Leading from the Trenches.

Entrepreneurs, Managers, and You

One of the podcasts that I enjoy is The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders lecture series from Stanford. The speakers tend to be smart, insightful, and inspiring. This morning I listened to the show from February 7th, which featured Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn.

Reid really grasps the differences between being an entrepreneur and being a manager. Listening to him compare and contrast the two will help you, no matter which you are. He also explains how even those who choose to have jobs are more and more entrepreneurial these days. You need to treat yourself as a product, and your career as your business. You even need a ‘business plan’ for your career.

If you want to network with me on LinkedIn, you can find my profile here.