Fixing broken things is not success

Posted: October 12, 2011 in Individual performers, Management
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Mean curve performance management processes.

Relentless focus on managing the low-end of the curve.

Forced compliance of activities – on time, to formula.

Business doesn’t succeed by preventing people from underperforming.

Management doesn’t happen by one-size-fits-all templates.

Success is not the same as ‘not-failing’.

Good is not ‘not-bad’.

‘Not bad’ is ‘all right, I suppose’.

I have a broken leg. Resetting my broken leg does not make me an athlete.

Fixing broken things is not success.

Superstar performers fear less for their employment prospects.

Superstar performers seldom rest easy in the midst of the herd.

Come join us, we aim for average!

Come join us, we manage poor performance really well!

Come join us, you have potential to earn an above market-median salary!

Superstar performers perform despite Washington and Media hysteria.

Define success.

Free performance.

Burn templates.

Superstar performers will go further than you ever thought possible.

Working at 11pm on a Saturday

Posted: April 21, 2011 in Destruction HR, Individual performers
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Learning a new web-scripting language at the moment. Unlearning hard-learned lessons and restructuring my neural pathways. It’s painful, frustrating and soul-destroying.

But I’m doing it for myself. For my own business.

Self-employed, I found myself putting the kids to bed and then stepping into my office at home to solving the latest in a stream of code problems.

Couple of hours later, perplexed by programming madness, I hit the hay. Slept on it. Woke up the next morning to the sound of the kids’ laughter and with a fix for the problem emerging from my subconscious.

Learning.

And I ask myself, how any corporation can hope to compete with self-employment for an employee-value-proposition.

Working where I want, in the way I want, at the time I want – all at the whim of my own choices.

I didn’t have to consult the policy manual.

I didn’t have to clock in.

I didn’t have to confirm objectives and priorities.

I didn’t have to persuade someone else to look past their own insecurity and distrust of my motives and intent.

All those “didn’t have to” things that corporations choose to place every day between people and performance.

I learned more in the past couple of weeks than I did in the course of years in a corporation.

I didn’t have to.

But I did.

Destruction HR… removing those things that people shouldn’t have to…

Competency frameworks kill innovation

Posted: March 30, 2011 in Destruction HR, Individual performers
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By rigorously defining specific channels and skill-sets, competency frameworks stifle the spark that leads to innovation.

Discuss…

Competing with this…

Posted: March 19, 2011 in Destruction HR, Individual performers, Meaning
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Those organizations maintaining twentieth-century practices and mindsets have to compete with this:

Our small team is growing and is in need of a full time current or future rockstar to help us get to the next level. You’ll work with a team of 5 which includes two experienced ruby/rails developers, a front end developer, a creative director and a U/I developer/designer/specialist. Here are the details:

this is what we do for 80% of our week-

we make web sites, web apps, and mobile apps for clients ranging from pre-funded startups to fortune 500 companies. there is variety in the tasks our team performs, which allows everyone to learn new things and hone their skills while not getting bored.

this is what we do for 20% of our week -

our backgrounds are very entrepreneurial, and as such, we’re always tinkering on new problems to solve and itches to scratch hoping we’ll stumble upon the next big thing. Our team spends (at a minimum) 20% of our time working on these ideas. Each team member (and future team member) will be an equity partner in any of our ideas that we launch.

work environment -

casual, in a very cool office space in historic downtown durham close to bars, restaurants, theatre, baseball stadium…and bars.

our ideal candidate -

some experience is a must, but we highly value attitude and mentality. if you want to solve problems and grow, then we’ll consider all levels of experience. Our ideal candidate is a team player who is interested in the thrill and rush of a startup yet realizes the benefit of working hard and doing a great job for a client to pay the bills.

Lastly, this is a full time position in house in durham, nc. we will consider remote opportunities but they will be prioritized lower than someone who can come to the office.

our goal for every team member -

to create the dream job that pays well, provides a fun atmosphere and comraderie, and allows everyone to pursue bigger goals.

Where are the statements on pensions and benefits? Where are the ‘minimum years experience’? Where are the ‘minimum academic qualifications’?

More importantly, where do you think the next generation of talent would rather work?

[Note: this was an actual job spec posted by North Carolina-based Smashing Boxes - if you're interested contact nick@smashingboxes.com]

Cross-post from BadConsultant: Don’t worry, they’ll turn into us one day…

Posted: March 17, 2011 in Destruction HR, Individual performers, Leadership
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http://badconsultant.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/dont-worry-theyll-turn-into-us-one-day/

Mandating the many

Posted: March 16, 2011 in Destruction HR, Management
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Somewhere along the march to compliance, someone decided that mandating the specific actions of all managers was the preferred route to protect against a very small proportion who might damage people or performance.

It was never going to work.

And leads to the infantilization of managers, as captured in the common HR resistance to change:

I can’t let managers do that, they don’t know how and will get it wrong

The vast majority of managers are decent human beings who want to see their teams flourish, perform and grow. The vast majority of managers know how to manage better than anyone in HR. The vast majority of managers carry huge organizational tax complying with HR’s impossible premise of mandating the many.

Destruction HR is about demolishing that unnecessary tax burden.

Discuss…

Measuring what counts

Posted: March 15, 2011 in Destruction HR, Experiments
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Profitability (or net contribution to profitability) per person:

Profitability = (Revenue – Cost)/ # of people

Anything else is a distraction.

Discuss…

 

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