Recommend page to a friend

Contact us

Web site comments

Add to favorites (bookmark)

"Quotables"

If he works for you, you work for him.

Japanese proverb

He [the business executive] is the only man who is forever apologizing for his occupation.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

American editor

I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everyone to tell me the truth--even though it costs him his job.

Samuel Goldwyn (1882-1974)

American motion-picture producer

You people [his subordinates] are telling me what you think I want to know. I want to know what is actually happening.

Creighton Abrams (1914-74)

Commander of the American forces in Vietnam

Be ever soft and pliable like a reed, not hard and unbending like a cedar.

the Talmud

(a compendium of Jewish law, lore, and commentary)

No "average" man or woman can be a successful manager. Average is a number. A number has:

• No hands to reach out to help;
• No heart to beat faster at the success of someone you have helped;
• No soul to suffer a bit when one of your people suffers.

An average person lacks the disciplined mind to be tough and the self-confident strength to be gentle.

William A. Marsteller (1914- )

American advertising agency executive

Handling a Hostile Audience

Consider these techniques to keep cool when your listeners turn up the heat:

• A heckler or adversary interrupts you. Solution: Get audience support by reminding listeners of why you're speaking. Example: "I can discuss that shortly, but let's first finish tackling the critical issues that affect all of us."
• An angry listener stands and refuses to sit down. Solution: Ally yourself with the group. Say something such as: "If you'll please sit down so others can see, the audience would appreciate it."
• A co-worker tries to score points with the boss by throwing you a loaded question or contradicting you. Solution: Say you want to stick to the agenda and cover what people came to hear. That subtly suggests that the opponent is keeping them from getting needed information.

• Someone shouts an emotion-laden question such as, "Why did the company have to fire such a loyal group of employees?" Solution: Respond in a soft-spoken tone and restate the question before you try to answer it. Example: "Why did the company, in a fight for survival, have to resort to layoffs?"

Source: Morey Stettner, writing in Investor's Business Daily, 12655 Beatrice St., Los Angeles, CA 90066.

Are You a Difficult Boss

Ask yourself the following questions--from Development Dimensions International of Pittsburgh--to see if you're turning into a difficult boss:

• Do you raise your voice more than you used to?
• Are your employees avoiding eye contact with you?
• If you went away for a week, do you think your organization would fall apart?
• Do you withhold information from your staff because it takes too much time to fill them in?
• Is the energy level dwindling in the environment you manage?
• Do you believe that most of your actions are worthless?
• Do you avoid taking responsibility for your mistakes?
• Are you setting time aside to talk over problems, pass along information--and communicate company goals to your employees?
• Do you spend more of your time making sure employees are doing their jobs correctly--rather than developing yourself as a leader?
• Are you giving employees more negative and less positive feedback?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, you need to reexamine your management style.

Source: Industry Week, 1100 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114.