Are Employees Your Organization’s Greatest Asset or Just a Necessary Evil?

Ever since I was introduced to the writings of Peter Senge and his ground-breaking book, The Fifth Discipline, I’ve tried to apply a systems perspective to my interpretation and analysis of business, economic and social trends. So it’s from that point of view that events in the U.S. economy concern me so much and lead me to the conclusion that our political and business leaders are losing sight of a fundamental pillar of this country’s storied economic success of past generations. What’s good for people is good for business.  As the current economic landscape (and recent history) would suggest, the opposite is not true…at least not if it disregards the first.

The featured article in a recent edition of BusinessWeek titled, The Disposable Worker, is a must-read analysis of the plight of U.S. workers. Through interviews and sound trend research, authors Peter Coy, Michelle Conlin and Moira Herbst describe the gradual, but painful decline of both pay and job security for the vast majority of American workers. More importantly, they hypothesize about the potential consequences for both employees and employers, at least at the macro level. A couple of highlights:

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Paul was recently quoted in the New York Times on sensitivity training for one of the most stressed out and disrespected group of workers – traffic enforcement agents.

Sensitivity Trainers’ Advice for Traffic Agents
by James Barron

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wants the city’s 2,795 traffic enforcement agents to undergo sensitivity training, and Paul Meshanko, a managing partner of a company that runs the Web site RespectfulWorkplace.com, knows exactly what he would tell them. Mayor Bloomberg has called for the city’s traffic agents, some of whom were issuing summonses for blocking the intersection of 96th Street and Third Avenue, to undergo sensitivity training.

Mr. Meshanko would explain to the agents what happens in the amygdala — the portion of the brain “responsible for assessing threats”: A $115 ticket, he said, is enough of a threat to set off a blast of stress hormones to keep someone angry for a couple of hours. He would then tell the agents why words like “I got you, buddy” should never cross a traffic agent’s lips.

He knows just how much of a challenge sensitivity is for people who worry that things will get a little too up close and personal.

“One of our larger clients is the Internal Revenue Service, another organization that’s not thought warmly of,” said Mr. Meshanko, the managing partner of the Cleveland office of the Edge Learning Institute.

Read the entire article >>

Are you really aware of all the stereotypes you have? Probably not. Most of us aren’t. A stereotype is often defined as a simplified mental image that is held in common by members of a group. Below, learn how a morning run by Paul forced him to confront his own age-related stereotypes and how he turned it into a positive experience.

A Lesson in Stereotypes

It started out like any other July morning. Well, any other July morning that’s 64 degrees - but that’s another story. Anyway, it was a great morning for a run, and I intended to get a good one in. I woke up at 5:30, got the coffee maker set for Kim, slipped on my shorts and running shoes, and quietly slipped out the garage door so as not to wake the kids. Ah, the cool morning air was magnificent and I immediately began stretching my legs and back. I checked my watch, made a mental note of my intended route (about 4.3 miles) and off I went.
 
I could immediately tell that I was going to be on a record pace…at least for me. I really hadn’t been running long - about 3 months - and I was already down to about an 8 ½ minute mile. As I passed the one mile point, I checked my watch. 8 minutes…I was jamming! As I turned right out of our development and headed up the hill on Bainbridge Rd., I immediately caught sight of three older men, also out for a run. I estimated by their looks (and their rather dated running attire), that they were probably in their mid-sixties. They were jogging along, casually chatting and laughing away. “How cool is that”, I thought. Never too old to exercise and stay in shape!

Read the entire article >>

Earlier this year Paul was interviewed for a story in Inside Business magazine about how to respectfully lay off employees.

His latest article as a featured expert on respectful layoffs appeared in the business section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Sunday, June 21, 2009.

The Difficult and Delicate Job of Laying Off Employees: Though Workers are Most Affected, Managers, Company Feel Impact
By Marcia Pledger

When Lloyd Buckwell accepted a new job last year, he knew he would have to lay people off.

Knowing it didn’t make it any easier.

“You’re trying to build and right-size an organization so it will survive, but at the same time, you’re dealing with people’s lives,” said Buckwell, who was involved in about 1,000 layoffs as director of human resources for Wastequip Inc., in Beachwood.

“It’s always personal,” Buckwell said. “I’ve had to be in the room as people are calling their spouses saying, I just lost my job. I’m coming home.’ ”

As the recession has lingered, hundreds of bosses like Buckwell have found themselves in the uncomfortable position of telling employees they’re losing their jobs.

How they handle the task could be one of the most important decisions they make in their working lives. It obviously has the most effect on the laid-off employee, but it also carries implications for remaining workers, the company’s reputation and the manager’s own emotional well-being.

And there’s no good way to do it. But some ways are better than others.

(Read the Entire Article)

Being able and willing to look back at childhood challenges through the eyes of an adult has been a tremendous vehicle for my own personal growth over the past 10 years. In no area has this been truer than the subject of self-esteem.

While all kids (teenagers especially) wrestle with the awkwardness of puberty and slowly transitioning to the adult roles they will eventually play, most figure it out without too many permanent scars. But some, it seems to me, handle the process more smoothly than most. They’re typically no smarter, athletically inclined or attractive than others. There’s just something on the inside that seems to give them an emotional edge in dealing with the feelings of vulnerability and inadequacy that go with being a teen.

Thinking back to my own days at a private, all-boys school in Columbus, Ohio, there were a few kids who always seemed to have a resilience and depth of character that I didn’t understand. No matter how average their appearance, how un-athletic their bodies or how average their best academic efforts, they absolutely flourished in a highly competitive high school environment. They formed strong friendships (many still intact today), were involved in a wide range of extra-curricular activities, always seemed happy, and just really enjoyed the high school experience.

In contrast, there were also a few kids possessing great physical and/or mental prowess who, for whatever reason, were never quite at peace with themselves. What marked their behavior was hostility in all the traditional forms: bullying, incessant teasing, practical jokes and even physical hazing of their less aggressive peers. No natural advantages or gifts seemed able to satisfy their need for attention and domination over others.

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