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This & That

Anonymous Stars

Mr. Ed's Voice:

When "Mr. Ed," debuted in 1960, the horse's voice was credited to "An actor who prefers to remain nameless." TV Guide sent a reporter to the studio to figure out who it was. The reporter found a parking space on the "Mr. Ed" set assigned to an old 1030's movie cowboy named Alan "Rocky" Lane. Lane admitted it was his voice (he'd been embarrassed to let people know). He dubbed Ed's voice off-camera, while the horse was "mouthing the words." A nylon bit concealed in Ed's mouth made him move his lips.

Source: The B.R. Institute Reader, The B.R. Institute, PO Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520

"Quotables"

It's unwise to pay too much, but it's also unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot-it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.

Source: Ruskin

On Being Right:

You are partly one hundred percent right.

movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn

Source: The 176 Stupidest Things Ever Said, by Ross and Kathryn Petras,
Doubleday Publishing, 1996.

A Novel Suggestion System

Looking for a different way to collect employee's ideas? Want to learn what's bothering them? Consider the system used at Dana Corp., where managers check for employee feedback at the "HAT rack"-a twist on the old suggestion box. It works like this:

"HAT" stands for "Here's a thought," the heading on a large bulletin board-the "HAT rack." Employees can post suggestions, complaints and questions or comment on items left by others. The system asks each employee to muse the rack at least twice a month. They can place confidential items in a box below the rack.

Management vows to act on or implement 80% of all items. And employees always receive a corporate response. At the least, they get a GINI-Good Idea. Not Implementable.

Do employees respond well? Consider this:

The 1,000 employees at Dana's plant in Elizabethtown, KY., put 52,000 items on their "HAT rack" last year. Every one landed on the desk of Steve Moore, the plant manager, who expects his workers to use the rack at least four times a month instead of only two.

Source: Management Review, American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

Why Workplace Stars Shine

Becoming a top performer in the workplace means that you:

• Realize you shouldn't try to change the way you work but turn how you work to your advantage. Example: You may have a cluttered desk, but if it doesn't affect your productivity, why change?
• Identify the project you'd like to tackle next well before you finish the one you're working on by answering this question: "What assignment can I do next that will increase my value to the organization?"
• Know how to be an effective follower by focusing on what the leader needs to help the team win. Figure out what to do without being told. By doing so, you show you're working for the good of the organization as well as for your benefit.
• Lead with a small "l." That means you know what to do, you apply energy to the job and create it in others, and you pay attention to all those involved in a project. You also do the small things that matter, and your approach to them shows that they matter.

  Source: Robert E. Kelley, author of How to Be a Star at Work, cited in Fast Company, U.S. News & World Report and The Atlantic Monthly Co., 77 Washington St., Boston, MA 02114.