On Sun, 2 Mar 1997 15:23:36, Bob Gately <
gately@COMPUSERVE.COM>, wrote:
>Subject: MBAs and behavior
>------------------------------MBAs and behavior, Part 1
>
>I wrote:
>
>"When managers learn that their top performers are not always
> their quickest learners they are really surprised. Quite
> often the most troublesome employees are the quickest learners."
>
>Then Jack Ring <
jring@AMUG.ORG> wrote:
>
>>>... Troublesome? Are they troublesome
>because the manager wants status quo
>instead of innovation? ...<<
>
>Not necessarily. Sometimes they just get bored to death. Half of
>the working population will always be in the top half of mental
>abilities, be definition, and it is a good thing too since many
>jobs do not require employees who are in the top half.
>
>"Most of us do not change our behaviors easily or quickly."
>
>>>... We do it, especially when we want to do it....<<
>
>I agree. WE can change our OWN behavior IF and when WE want to
>change but that does not mean managers can change their employees'
>behaviors whenever the managers want them to change.
Bob, this is true, but off the mark. We are talking about what B-schools
should be doing, aren't we?
>
>>>... Changing our behavior can be
>hard if we are bottled up with fear
>but not when we are pursuing a goal...<<
>
>Whose goal? Yours or mine? What if I work for you and your
>goal is not my goal? What if I just want to earn my paycheck
>and go home at the end of the day? What if I am a great employee?
Yours, of course. If there is a mismatch between employer and employee
goals then both both suffer. Hopefully they will discuss goals, discover
any mismatches, and negotiate a mutually better situation. And this is
equally the responsibility of the employee (employment candidate) as the
manager.
>
>>>... I have changed my behavior
>when "attractors" made it
>seem worthwhile...<<
>
>How about when you are stressed, does an old inappropriate behavior
>sneak out? (May I presume that you have one old inappropriate behavior?)
Sure. And it reminds me that I need more attention to managing that aspect
of myself. Needless to say, I have several opportunities each day!
>
>>>... All it takes is practice...<<
>
>Practice by whom? I agree with you that you and I need to practice our
>desired new behaviors to make them second nature, but we are not our
>own employees. This approach only works when the person wants to change
>and even then it is harder than saying practice makes perfect. The
>psychologists I have talked to about changing behaviors tell me that
>changing our own behaviors is one of the toughest tasks we face,
>thus changing other peoples' behavior is even tougher.
Practice by the person who wants to be an excellent MBM/L.
Universities have football fields where some of their students practice.
Why don't B-Schools build practice fields?
>
>>>... That is why it is so important to
>practice, practice, practice while in
>the comfort zone. Then, when stressful
>situations arise, you are much more
>likely to opt for the better behavior...<<
>
>I agree again, but we are talking about managers who recognize a need
>to change, who want to change and who will practice the new behaviors.
>I am afraid we are a small minority. If you and I help others make the
>same intellectual leap to self-criticism and improvement we will have
>done them and their employer a great service.
I am not interested in saving the world. A small minority (7,000 per year)
of good men and women MBM/L's is all we need.
>
>>>... I agree that employers should
>be doing it. But what about universities?
>What responsibility do they have for the
>tuition they charge?...<<
>
>The best we can hope for is that a university exposes each student to
>the information necessary for the student to come to the realization
>that perhaps their behavior is inappropriate and should be changed.
I think that is way too underdemanding of B-schools. What if the same
university treated their athletes program that way? What if they never had
debate teams but just talked about debating? What if their music school
was limited to reading "case studies" about Mozart's compositions?
>
>>>... There you have it. I believe that
>it is certainly the employee -- to the
>point that if (s)he is not getting the
>learning opportunities from their manager,
>they should exit that job, post haste...<<
>
>If that were the case we would have turmoil in the economy with turnover
>rates exceeding 80% per year, since 80% or more of employees report
>that they are dissatisfied in the jobs.
Well, you would find out that 80% of the dissatisfied did not have the
gumption to take action so there would be about 10% to 15% net turnover.
That is not much higher than what we are experiencing today if you include
downsizing. And once, again, I am not trying to save the world. I am just
trying to accelerate those who are qualified to become MBM/L's.
>
>There are a few things we need to keep in mind about employees:
> 1 - they are all different
> 2 - many are afraid of change
All I need is 2%
> 3 - many are afraid to lose their jobs
Not the ones who fit your criteria for management and leadership.
> 4 - many will suffer under abusive managers because of 2 and 3 above
That is their choice. A dumb one, but theirs.
> 5 - most work for incompetent supervisors and/or managers
Not for long. Half the establishments that now exist will not be here in
ten years and that half will be the ones with incompetent supervisors and
managers.
> 6 - they know their next manager my be even worse
Then they are pessimists -- in which case they may not fit your criteria,
anyway.
>
>----- continued from MBAs and behavior, Part 1 ---------
>
>>>... The capability is not MBA (as we know
>it) but is MBManager/Leader. Each MBM/L has
>five "apprentices" and each of them have five
>work group supervisors...<<
>
>I hate to ask, but where are we going to find all these Manager/Leaders?
>I heard that one well-known consultant has stopped working directly with
>his company's clients because he says that only about 2% to 3% of the
>companies have Manager/Leaders capable of implementing the changes that
>need to be made. I would have thought more like 15%, but I yield to him
>and his many years of experience.
His numbers seem right to me. I would hope to get all those
Managers/Leaders from universities. That is why I think they should stop
MBA'ing and start MBM/L'ing.
>
>With 70,000+ MBA graduates a year, the untold number of consultants and
>an endless supply of books of the subject, I wonder why there are still
>so few effective managers and leaders? My answer is that effective
>management and leadership is closely related to having the appropriate
>personality along with the necessary mental ability and, of course, the
>interest to use both in a managerial position and/or leadership position.
>That is why it is a stubborn problem--there are not enough people with
>these traits to fill the demand,
If you consider the statistics on MeyersBriggs, and other "readiness for
leadership" measures, about 5% to 8% seem to fit your criteria. I think
there is enough "raw material," especially if we allow females to
participate equally.
>and worse, many ineffective managers
>reject or will not promote subordinates who exhibit the leadership
>skills that the managers do not possess.
agreed. So let's acknowledge that it will take the better part of a
"generation" to retire that problem. But let's get at it.
>
>>>... That means an average of 17 worker
>bees per work group. Not bad...<<
>
>I think you underestimate the need for the knowledge that B-School graduates
>possess.
I think not. For example, how many MBA's do you want at each McDonalds
franchise?
>The problem is not the B-school graduates but rather
>the people who hire the B-School graduates.
And where did they come from? Ergo, the problem must be with B-school
grads. In fact, it is with the inadequate learning environment through
which they were extruded.
>Employers expect B-School
>graduates to solve the employers' problems when in fact the employers'
>problems are caused by the employers' managers.
So they should be prepared, in b-school, to solve that problem.
>>>... Also, there are over 10 million businesses...<<
>
>I used that before as a round number but was told that may be high.
>Ten million works better for my argument.
>
>>>... but I think less than half of them
>need MBM/L talent on their staff...<<
>
>I think that is precisely the reason why so many businesses are
>in trouble, they don't have MBM/L talent on staff.
Agreed. So let's get on with creating them, however we can. But it does
not take that many, especially to get the bandwagon rolling.
>
>Every employer needs at least one effective leader and many more
>effective managers, but, if the consultant I mentioned above is correct,
>there are only 2,400,000 to 3,600,000 (2% to 3% of the work force)
>leaders available. I guess one good leader could be shared by 3 to 4 companies.
Or your premise is wrong. How many effective leaders (MBM/L level) does a
McDonalds franchise need?
>
>>>... Common sense will serve them adequately...<<
>
>Not quite. Common sense is applying your knowledge and experience to
>the task at hand. If a manager is short on experience or lacks
>knowledge his common sense may well be disastrous. Too many people
>in business think common sense is a substitute for knowledge--it isn't.
Agreed. But it is a substitute for sanity. And sanity is what most
business lack (especially your favorite -- inept managers). If you accept
the definition of insanity as: "continuing a behavior that produces
results that are unsatisfactory to you" then the antidote is common sense.
Not knowledge, but the wisdom to use the knowledge.
>
>>>... We don't need "teach" we need "lead"
>It seems to me that you are one of
>these -- or at least a carrier...<<
>
>Thank you very much. I little personal history follows.
>
>[ My former boss told me I could motivate the entire company
>single handed, but when I asked him to harness my leadership
>abilities for the good of the company he had not the slightest
>idea how to do it. The problem was that the company would not
>allow anyone but another member of the board of directors to
>be in a leadership position.
>
>In 1990 the company, 230 employees, was losing $50,000 per month and
>about to go under--the bank was close to calling in our line of
>credit--the comptroller came to me in tears and begged me to do something
>even though I was not director. I was at the level from which directors
>were selected. Needless to say tried and earned an Executive MBA along the
>way while trying to help the company change for the good.
>
>Like many companies it hired a consultant to help them stop the red ink. The
>company laid off people by the month, then every other week then weekly then
>twice weekly until they stopped spending more than they were taking in. Of
>course, they drove an already low morale into the sewer so to speak. Yes, the
>company survived it has not changed much. Changes I had lobbied for in the
>mid-1980's were implemented in the mid-1990's. Progress is so slow that
>employees who have and recognize their own leadership abilities leave for
>more rewarding positions. Looking back I realize that the company probably lost
>their best employees before the employees reached their 30th birthday. ]
So now you are a consultant and probably enjoying it more than being a
worker bee. My question is, don't you have a lot of ideas about a) what
people should learn on their way to becoming an MBM/L and b) what learning
environment would be effective (regardless of the cartesian University
model)?
-------------------- ooof ------------------
Bob, this has been an informative interchange for me. Thanks for that.
But I think we have pretty well clarified our beliefs and positions and I
have put way more hours into this topic than I have available. So thank
you. I will be interested in your views but will not likely respond any
further (unless you really trip my trigger) <;)+ Good consulting.
Jack Ring
602-488-4615, fax) 4616