Many of you know about my mother Judi.  For those who do not, here is the briefest of bios:  Judi is 64 years of age, lives happily in Florida, and absolutely loves crocheting blanks for a number of local charities.  She’s the greatest.  Unfortunately, mom has been diagnosed with stage 4a squamous cell carcinoma (basically, late stage throat cancer).  Her odds are decent according to the research.  She has just completed her first week of chemotherapy, and, if all goes well, she will complete nine weeks of chemo and then seven more for radiation.  Of course, at any time things can develop in an unexpected direction.

I know that so many of you have been touched by this disease.  I have heard from more than a few of you.  Thanks for sharing your stories.  I lost my father to a rare form of stomach cancer nine years ago.  Now for the second time I am watching my parent go to battle – and battle she will.  If you have been up close and personal with a loved one while they deal with this disease you know precisely where I am:  working hard each and every day to see the glass half full and working hard to share that perspective with my mother.

I am so blessed and so lucky.  I have so many kind people with whom I have been associated sending warm notes and positive thoughts.  Professionally, I have amazing flexibility compared to many such that I have been able to spend most of the last few weeks with Mom.  I have a wife who has stepped up magically during the days I cannot be there to help with anything that needs to be handled.  I have two amazing boys – just young enough to not really know what Grandma Judi is experiencing and just funny enough to make us smile even in this challenging time.

Finally, I have you:  the few thousand wonderfully crazy folks who follow me.  You listen to my rants on the podcasts, you retweet my tweets, you read the newsletter and blog, and you show the most amazing kindness when we meet at events where I speak and tell my stories.  I have no doubt that this episode with Mom will produce a few more interesting stories to share with others.  Fist, however, I need to spend some time focused on just that – getting through this episode as productively as possible.  While Dr. Dewett has gone global in the last few years, it is still a one man shop!  Thus, aside from a tweet here and there, you are not likely to see much activity from me over the next few months.

Please know that 1) I’ll be back with more energy and insight before you know it, 2) I greatly appreciate your support, and 3) I love my mother!  Go tell your mom you love her.  Stay positive – see you soon

Todd

Ps – the picture below of the little pink rubber duck was taken at the cancer clinic where Mom receives her treatment.  She of course knows all about my mascot Danny the Devil Duck, so she wanted me to snap this picture.  I told her the pink duck likely had horns like Danny, but they fell out during chemo.  Mom cracked up.  The glass is half full.

FYI – more of Danny on my Dr. Dewett Facebook page… 

The common mantra is diversity = good.  However, that is not terribly accurate or useful.  The truth is diversity always hurts before it helps.

Diversity has the potential to broaden perspectives and enhance our creative decision making capacity.  However, that potential is not realized as often as should be the case.

The workforce is increasingly diverse in terms of race, gender, age, and socioeconomic background.  There are many bases of diversity.  However, in the end, these categories of differences are not useful.

What is useful is how they contribute

to a diversity of thought.

To harness the power of diversity, understand that:

• Diversity makes people uncomfortable.  A huge self-protective left over tendency from the cave days is to react less than positively to those who look, think, and act differently than we do.  It was useful then, not so useful now.

• Diversity can help if leaders model the way.  When leaders move past the rhetoric and thoughtfully act in a manner supportive of diversity, others begin to follow suit.

• Diversity can help if the team has decent conflict management skills.  When you follow the rules and guidelines noted above, diversity moves past a focus on differences and towards being a catalyst for improved performance.

• No amount of diversity training trumps thoughtful conversations within a group.  Training might build sensitivity, though it is often hurts as much as it helps.  Real change related to embracing diversity begins with words and actions within the group on the job.

To be clear, diversity is an amazing asset and an increasingly unavoidable reality.  Build up your appreciation and tolerance and conflict management skills and soon enough you will see how diversity can enrich your team.

(no – I did not film this, my passenger did!)

Unfortunately, the downside is huge – and all too common:  we give 360s that are too long, too expensive, and we give them to the wrong people.

Too long.  Rating someone should not take an hour!  I have heard from many a cube dweller who loathes participating in 360-type feedback processes since it takes so much time.  The result is that they hurry and provide less than useful data.  If it takes more than 15 minutes to rate a target, the instrument is too long and the data is suspect.

Too expensive.  It should not cost thousands to execute a simple 360 process.  Think hundreds, not thousands.  Too many consultancies – in the never ending pursuit of self-justification – will pile on the extras, the bells and whistles that push the fees higher and higher.  That is not necessary.  Honestly, less is more because absorbing feedback is tough work for most people.

Wrong people.  This issue really has two parts.  First, we err on providing (demanding) 360 evaluations for under performers.  This is a doomed strategy.  They don’t want feedback and resent you for making them do it.  This tool can add value only when the person really wants to improve.  If they don’t genuinely want to participate, no grand tool will help them.  Second, we give 360 tools to individuals, when the real target should be teams!  If one or two individuals try to improve and the rest of the team is not in on the process (i.e., all members giving and receiving feedback about each other and the team as a whole) I promise you dollars and hours have been wasted.

Bottom line:  to get real bang for the buck, err on shorter, inexpensive, team-based feedback and 360-feedback tools and you might just see a bump in productivity!

FYI – if we have not yet connected on Facebook (I have a personal and “Dr. Dewett” page), LinkedIn, or Twitter – please reach out!

There are thousands of ways to recognize and reward your employees.  The problem is not finding ways to say thank you.

The problem is that we

usually recognize and reward

people too much.

Since we all recognize the importance of the basic notion of motivation, it is easy to see how, in fact, we might over recognize.  We send out emails touting others’ successes, we select the employee of the month, we have quarterly recognition ceremonies with food or gifts.

The profound rule we too often

neglect is that all recognition

and rewards should be

provided contingent on performance.

Not for showing up.  Not for average performance either, but for providing clearly above average efforts and for achieving clearly above average outcomes.

CHALLENGE: Do a quick count in

your head.  How many people in

your office have received that

certificate from the office laser printer

that says High 5 Award, or

Super Achiever, or Team Player?

If you have trouble naming the people who have not yet received the award, you know exactly what I mean.

Under such conditions, the award will soon cease to have any positive effect.   In fact, it can have a negative effect.  Rewarding people because they are mediocre or because they simply meet standards is bad practice.

When you reward mediocrity, you

get more of it – and you really

upset your high performers.

At work we have “A players” (by far the most capable employees; usually about 20% of the employee base), “B players” (the worthy and reliable 70% of most organizations), and “C players” (the underperformers who snuck through the cracks in your hiring process; about 10%).

Treating B players like A players makes the B players think they are A players.  They quickly grow an entitlement mentality.  The A players rightly feel underappreciated and either 1) stop trying so hard, or 2) leave the organization.

Treating C players like B players by making sure they all receive the quarterly High Five award at some point is a sure way to kill the morale of all of your A and B players.

From Dewett’s Rules you will recall that the Golden Rule is not always helpful at work.  We need to reward and recognize people legitimately based on their performance and then reward the rest by genuinely maintaining a positive and transparent work environment.

A friend of mine recently started a group on Facebook called “TATTOO acceptance in the workplace” that quickly grew to over 500,000 members!  (please join)  Funny how slowly things change.  More than 1 in 4 people in the US have ink and yet a stigma remains?  Seems hard to believe, but it’s true.  Take my word for it.  [Background for those who don’t know me:  I’m a management professor and professional speaker and trainer.]

True story:  I was sitting at bar a few years ago, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.  Tattoos were visible on my arms.  The bartender delivers the beer I ordered and chats me up for a second.  I tell him I am waiting for friends.  Little did he know, I was working for Ernst & Young at the time and was waiting for several colleagues.  A few minutes later he approaches and informs me that my friends had arrived.  I followed his gaze to a corner table.  Who were being seated around the table?  A group of skin heads!  I politely informed the bartender that I was not with them.  He grimaced, fearing he’d just blown his tip.

Things like this happen all the time – and it happens at work more than in social situations.  Here is my proposed solution:  MORE OF US HAVE TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET!  The more we share our ink the more normal it will become.  I do a lot of speaking and thanks to my decision to come out of the closet, I have decided, for better or worse, to never to hide my ink again.  I no longer wear a jacket and I roll up the sleeves!  It’s a part of who I am.  Our ink is part of our very fabric, more so than the clothes we wear or the hairstyle we choose.  Say, why is it ok to show off so many incredibly bad doos at work?  Why is it ok to show off bad dye jobs and comb-overs, but showing great ink is a problem?

Pay attention.  The workforce is changing rapidly.  In a few short years, those without ink will be a minority…

Look out world – I’m out and I’m proud.  Who’s with me?

New striving, new learning, new winning.

It is a time to cut loose the week before.

The very best time to pick yourself up off the floor.

Like a child if you wish you will see things anew.

Possibilities, opportunities, bright sun and sky blue.

If nothing else, Monday means you are alive!

So smile and breathe deep when at work you arrive.

What Monday means is really up to you.

For me, Monday brings the ultimate chance to renew.

Be thankful for Monday.

A bit pithy or cheesy?  Sorry about that.  Too much coffee this morning.  I do not, however, apologize for the sentiment.  Monday is the most misunderstood and overlooked motivational asset we all possess.  It is the perfect time to cut loose old grudges and tackle problems from a new perspective.  It is a beautiful and regularly occurring “do over.”

Guess what – if you are a leader, it is your responsibility to shape how others perceive their day.  Because you know that Mondays can be difficult for some people, try reminding them of the possibilities.  Good luck!