it's ALL about the experience

The Twilight Zone

Well, it's the start of a brand New Year, and Michael Maynard is back with yet another interesting and entertaining perspective, this time about the relevance of an old TV show and the current political fanfare. 

 

One of the guilty pleasures of the holiday season is to watch episodes of the original "The Twilight Zone."  It has been 50 years since the TV show was first broadcast (1959 - 1964).  The shows were in black and white -- I find the black and white makes the episodes more scary and ominous.  The backdrops and acting are frequently over the top and cheesy, but they just add to the overall suspense.  Writer and Producer Rod Serling's introductions were intense, melodramatic and pithy.  I was five-years-old at the time -- I was allowed to stay up late on Friday nights to watch the scarefest.  I became so scared that I couldn't sleep, but my fears weren't so consuming to prevent me from watching the Friday Night Fights and Make That Spare professional bowling show.

There were recurring fear-creating themes in the 156 episodes that were indicative of the time:  explosion of the atomic bomb, unknowns of outer space and replacement of humans by machines. An astrophysicist and a priest have discovered a long-dead world that has been emitting a signal for centuries, the town that agreed to a "cultural exchange" program with space aliens, and the girl who trades in her parents for new, mechanical ones.  Some of the shows involved timeless themes, such as the horrors of war, during the time of the  United States' increasing involvement in the Vietnam War.  One episode involved a National Guard tank crew seeing strange things while on war game maneuvers near the Little Bighorn battleground.

But there were more subtle continuing themes, such as the continued erosion of civilized culture.  A bibliophile bank teller has all the time he wants to read the classics in the post atom bomb world; a man's old radio plays programs from the past that only he can hear; a mediocre saxophone player becomes the best musician ever but can only play to an audience of one, himself.  Serling tried to show that the losses of culture to time, disinterest or machines causes the citizens of the world to be continually pulled farther apart, with little hope to be together again.

The similarities between the youthful, mediagenic President and First Family of that time to the President-in-Waiting and his family have been reported many times. There are lessons to be learned from the tragically short life and time in office of John Fitzgerald Kennedy as President that Barack Obama, or any newly appointed leader, should consider:

What's the mood?  Kennedy intuitively understood that the Russian successful launch of Sputnik had made the populace fearful about the future. The US allies were concerned about America's losing political and military standing throughout the world. What was needed were new and different programs that would restore the national and international confidence. The race to the moon and the creation of the Peace Corps were bold, decisive and needed re-engagement programs.

Use the power of symbolism - The symbolism of the New Frontier made the Peace Corp and moon exploration programs seem possible, even though both were untested to the scale of previous similar efforts. The United States was going to lead the world towards the New Frontiers of space and peaceful internationalism.

Admit your mistakes and cut your losses - Being talked into undertaking the Bay of Pigs by the urging of the rich, politically supportive Cuban expatriates was dumb, undertaking the Bay of Pigs without the needed planning was dumber.  While it was personally and politically difficult to pull out, it was the right decision.  Other than major military escalation, there was no possible win scenarios and the downside of this approach was potential nuclear war.

Don't flinch under pressure - The television drama, "The Guns of August," showed the pressures on the young and inexperienced president.  One wrong signal or misstep could potentially lead to the destruction of the world, a potential scenario that even the previous Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman did not face.  Not only did Kennedy not flinch, but he also understood the USSR leader, Nikita Khruschev, faced similar personal and political demise as he did. That apparently small realization was integral to the Guns of August resolution.  Not only did Kennedy not flinch, but his actions were correctly interpreted by Khruschev as allowing both of them joint political face saving scenarios. What Kennedy did and did not do was extraordinary for any leader, not just an inexperienced one.

Who do you trust? John Kennedy had his team of the "best and brightest" Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, McGeorge Bundy, and others, but his relationship with them was problematic due their being out of the loop in the decision to undertake the Bay of Pigs.  The options that were presented by these advisors were the traditional ones: use diplomacy, challenge the Soviet armada, find a Soviet proxy similar in importance as Cuba was to the US.  Kennedy turned to the person who knew him best, his brother Bobby, who would both emotionally support and mentally challenge him as the best advisors do during crisis.  It was unlikely that Rusk, McNamara, et al, would have come up with the naval blockade idea, but gaining their support of the blockade so that they would do their jobs accordingly was imperative.

Think outside the box - After obtaining the spy satellite pictures showing the Soviets building Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles silos in Cuba, all of the traditional responses to the threat may have led to an atomic war.  One conventional option, do nothing, would amount to appeasement and signal tacit acknowledgement to the Kremlin that the new, young United States leader could be bullied into submission.  Another conventional option, take out the missile silos by air was problematic because of the defensive anti-ballistic missiles used by the Kremlin to shoot down the planes would demonstrate the potential technological military power of the USSR to the world. The third conventional option, invasion of Cuba, would likely lead to World War III.  The unconventional option, use a naval blockade around Cuba, took the Russian leadership by surprise, and made them reconsider their estimate of the young President.

About Michael Maynard:  Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  Michael is currently lending his consultant talents to Improved Experience, which helps employers use feedback to measure and manage competitive advantage, engagement, and retention. You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

 

Technorati tags:  John F Kennedy, Barak Obama, political lessons. 

Profile: Barbara Bissonnette

Another fresh perspective from Michael Maynard, this time about a condition most of us has heard of but know little about.  Interesting read, Michael, thanks.

 

Barbara Bissonnette looks like a model. She’s very pretty, tall and elegant, even while wearing jeans and a sweater. She walks gracefully as she approaches to introduce herself. Anyone could easily assume that she would be planning a holiday season black-tie party for her socialite friends, but they would be wrong.

Ms. Bissonnette is a business coach to adults having Asperger’s Syndrome. She is a principal at Forward Motion Coaching of West Boylston and Wellesley,  Ms. Bissonnette coaches adults with Asperger’s Syndrome on how to handle the demands of their work environment. She is one of the few coaches who specializes in helping adults with Asperger’s Syndrome with employment issues.

Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) is a neurobiological disorder which causes those afflicted to have difficulty with social interactions. The prevalence of Asperger’s is estimated at 1 in every 250 people in the United States.  Males outnumber females by a ratio of 4:1. People with Asperger’s are generally considered to be on the high-functioning end of the  autism spectrum. Asperger Syndrome is named after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who, in 1944, described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, demonstrated limited empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy.

Bill Gates, Woody Allen, and Garrison Keillor are three of the many notable public figures who show symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome. There is evidence to suggest that Albert Einstein, Leonardo DaVinci and Isaac Newton suffered from the condition as well.

 

Most adults with AS are very intelligent, have superior memories for details and speak and write with a large vocabulary. They are honest to a fault, so you can trust what they say to you. They work very hard and have exceptional abilities to handle minute details. This is why you find them gravitating to certain professions like software engineering and accounting where attention to detail is important and they can work independently from others.

 

Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome vary widely in their abilities and challenges. Some are awkward in their interactions with others, perhaps forgetting to make eye contact or to smile, or talking too loudly, softly or quickly. Others are charming and talkative but may ask too many questions or alienate others with blunt comments or social gaffes.

People with Asperger’s tend to miss most of the non-verbal communication that we take for granted. Imagine how hard it would be to communicate if you couldn’t tell whether someone’s facial expression or tone of voice was happy, sad, or mad. Or if you heard language very literally and thought, for example, that having a “bad hair day” at work was a grooming issue. Or if looking someone in the eye was distracting or painful. Imagine not understanding how to make small talk or casual conversation during a lunch break.

Organizing and prioritizing information can be challenging due difficulty assimilating information from various sources to see “the big picture.” People with Asperger’s tend to focus on the details and can find it hard to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant facts. Also there is a tendency to focus on one thing at a time and become overwhelmed with too many interruptions or multi-tasking.

 The literal-mindedness of people with Asperger’s can be unintentionally humorous. One young man was asked by an interviewer, “Why should I hire you instead of the other candidates?” He truthfully replied, “I don’t know how to answer that because I haven’t met the other candidates.”

Sometimes their honesty can get them into trouble. When asked during interviews what their weaknesses are, my clients have said things like, “I’m not a morning person,” and “My self-esteem is very low.” They made themselves stand out in the wrong way!

So why did this woman with the skills and abilities to become a senior executive become a coach for adults with Asperger’s Syndrome?

 

 “I had been working in industry, first as a Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Asset Alternatives, and then as a Marketing and Business Consultant. Although I was doing well in business, I was not being challenged. In 2006 while completing a graduate certificate in executive coaching from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, I attended a workshop on coaching people with Asperger’s Syndrome. I was fascinated and realized that I had worked with a number of AS individuals during my corporate career. I wanted to give back my business experience to people who could really use it, and coaching these individuals does just that.

 

“I presented a workshop for the Asperger’s Association of New England in February of 2007 on the subject of employment that matches ones skills and it sold out in 3 days. Now I provide career development coaching for people with Asperger’s full time.” Ms. Bissonnette said.

 

“I also work with corporations to train human resources personnel and coach employees who have social, communication and organizational challenges. I think more and more companies will begin to realize that they have employees with AS or may begin hiring people who do. There are often inexpensive accommodations that can be made that enable people with Asperger’s Syndrome to be successful at their jobs.

 

 

About Michael Maynard:  Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  Michael is currently lending his consultant talents to Improved Experience, which helps employers use feedback to measure and manage competitive advantage, engagement, and retention. You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

 

Somebody Has to Do This ... The Appeal of Dirty Jobs

Michael Maynard has dropped in for yet another interesting perspective, this time on Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs TV Show.  If you haven't yet seen this program, it's definitely an entertaining and educational viewing experience worth a visit.

 

    Most wives and girlfriends would agree -- their man still has a little boy in him.  It doesn't matter how young or old, how educated or self-taught, or how rich or poor, the man has a little boy in him somewhere.  Usually he will find an activity that is fun and gets him dirty, like rearranging the landscaping, even when the landscaping doesn't need rearranging -- again.  Even after hours of this hard manual labor, the man will have a goofy grin on his face.  Remember this was the little boy who spent hours in his backyard digging a hole to China using a tablespoon.

    For us men, having a job that involves getting dirty, having fun and getting paid well in the process would be nirvana.  My last dirty job involved working in a lime quarry the summer before my senior year of college. I pounded away on the limestone until it broke or used a pneumatic jackhammer for the tougher-to-break rock.  I quickly found out that it was better to use as much of my physical labor as possible because the jackhammer was waist-high and the constant vibration caused other physical activities to malfunction at inopportune times.  This job was supposed to only be be dirty, not libido-lowering.

    After watching the Dirty Jobs TV show marathon during the Thanksgiving Day mini-vacation, my new hero is Mike Rowe, producer and star of this hour-long weekly Discovery Channel hit.  Mike Rowe is smart, urbane, funny and likeable.  He had the bright idea to show jobs that are hidden from the public, sometimes hazardous, but need to get done for every day life functions to occur. Somebody has to do this and Mike Rowe spotlights the jobs that those previously faceless workers perform.  Renovating a sick house, plucking out non-standard potato chips before being packaged, and any job involving getting rid of waste products, no job is too dirty for Mike Rowe.  I admit that part of my interest in this show is seeing a pretty boy, a man usually too good looking to be doing these grungy dirty jobs, putting on his coveralls, rolling up his sleeves and literally getting down and dirty.

    My favorite show in the Dirty Jobs marathon involved fertilizing turkey eggs, an appropriate job for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It seems that turkeys are none-too-bright, therefore cannot be relied upon to produce quantities of fertilized eggs on schedule by themselves.  No fertilized eggs?  Look forward to eating ham at future holiday feasts.  While most of the functions in the egg processing process can be automated, getting the most reluctant turkeys to do their should-be biological imperative is not so automatic.  These recalcitrants turkeys must be captured, put into their pen and have their reproductive organs stimulated so that the eggs are laid and later fertilized.  Mike Rowe found out how hard it as to capture a reluctant turkey and get the cob or hen to cooperate.  Afterwards, he had to orally operate a pipette to ensure proper non-mechanical egg fertilization.

    This week's (post-Thanksgiving Day) Dirty Jobs features maggot farming.  I'll watch the show but I don't want to know any of the details ahead of time.  This is one dirty job that I'm sure that the little boy in me doesn't want to get dirty doing.  That's why Mike Rowe is such a success.

About Michael Maynard:  Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  Michael is currently lending his consultant talents to Improved Experience, which helps employers use feedback to measure and manage competitive advantage, engagement, and retention. You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

 

Technorati tags:  Mike Rowe,  dirty jobs,  employment, Thanksgiving turkey.  

Can You Manage Consulting?

Michael Maynard provides his perspective on whether a career in consulting is suitable for you.  Sage advice -- just in time for Thanksgiving consideration.  Thanks Michael.

 

Previously I discussed RIF's (Reduction in Force), otherwise known as getting laid off.  Being without a job can be a very jarring experience.  What you thought you knew about your status with your ex-company is no longer true.  For many, this blow to the ego leads to loss of self-worth and depression, even though it wans't really their fault.

A natural emotional over-reaction is to start thinking, "I'm never going to be the pawn of the corporate world ever again.  I'm going to work for myself."  Translation:  I'm going to show how valuable I really am by helping other companies succeed, especially my former company's competitors.

I'm going to be a consultant.

OK, go back to the phone booth and put on your civilian clothes. Just because you want to strike a blow against the evil doings of corporate Jokers, doesn't mean you're ever going to get the opportunity to do so.  I was a management consultant for over 20 years (and I was a very good one at that)... However, I'm the exception, not the rule.

I've read various consulting industry studies that showed 95% of individuals and companies that enter the consulting business leave within 6 months.  Expand the time to 1 year and that percentage goes up to 98%.  My goal in writing this article is not to stop those of you who want to start consulting, but to provide information that will help you make a more informed decision about whether the consulting business is right for you.  These are the major misconceptions about consulting.

Clients call you.  In my time as a consultant, I think I had 3 potential clients call me or my company first.  The business world is not looking for another management consultant who wants to help their business.  The biggest initial challenge for beginning consultants is to land their first consulting assignment, other than those with their former employer or where friends and family work.  Don't wait by the phone expecting IBM, General Motors or even Joe the Plumber to call  you.  It just doesn't happen.

You spend your time consulting.  My analogy about entering consulting is like being a club golf professional.  You become a pro because you love and have passion about playing golf.  However, the various managerial duties of the golf pro limits their time to play to a minimum.  Part of the joy of management consulting is getting to work with your clients and help them solve problems or start new initiatives.  Even in the large consulting companies, like Bain or Anderson Consulting, it is the junior consultants who spend their time on site consulting.  The higher you go in the consultancy, the less time you spend doing the consulting work.

What you really spend time doing is the administration, marketing and sales that lead to consulting assignments.  When you are working on assignment, you still need to spend the same amount of time doing the administration, marketing and sales.  You hope that you can get out from the assignment to make an in-person sales meeting.

You control your schedule.  I once was on a 3 AM conference call with my client's CEO.  Because of the CEO's nocturnal life style, he was raring to go, I and his managers who were on the call weren't.  Back to the golf analogy, I got a lot of "you must spend a lot of your time playing golf with your clients all afternoons."  I can remember 3 times where I played golf with a client or prospective client.

Even if you are doing well, being an individual consultant or part of a small consultancy means spending 60 to 80 hours per week, every week.  My former business partner, Dr. William Mott, had a great term for this:  "persistence over time."  The more you make the time doing the right things:  mailing out pitch letters, writing articles for publication, or lining up speaking engagements, the more business you will get in the long run.

But even when you are consulting, your time is not your own. There was more than one time that I did an all-nighter to put together a proposal or write the findings report.  What ultimately became my last assignment, despite having a strep throat, I worked all night, drove to the client site in a snow storm and delivered the report 10 minutes before the final project meeting.  I knew that I almost put a good client and friend at risk because I could no longer be counted on to deliver on commitments I made.  I needed to get out.

You can consult while finding a new job.  Maybe you can, but I never met anyone who could do this.  As described above, consulting is a full-time job. So is finding a new job.  Occasionally, I know of consultants who go to work for their clients, but I would maintain that if you can be tempted by the offer of a job, then you aren't really a consultant.  You also run the risk of crossing yourself, having a potential employer/client get your consulting materials and your resume.  The risk is not getting either employed or consulting because you've given the executive the idea that you don't really know which one you want.  If you can't manage your own business, then why do you expect executives to meet with you?

There is a lot more I can write about becoming a consultant at this time, but I think the above gives you a realistic picture of what the consulting life is really like.  You have to want to do it or else you're just wasting precious time that you should be spending finding a "real" job.  Consult with yourself and manage yourself to be successful with the career choice you've made.

About Michael Maynard:  Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  Michael is currently lending his consultant talents to Improved Experience, which helps employers use feedback to measure and manage competitive advantage, engagement, and retention. You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

 

Technorati tags:  consulting, self-employment, Reduction in Force.

RIF (FED)

Michael Maynard, a free-lance journalist who has joined us to provide his weekly perspective on various topics from Human Resources and Recruiting to business at large, shares his experience on the ever-growing phenonemon of being "relieved of one's responsibilities" at work.  Thanks, Michael.

 

The economic downturn appears to be widespread.  Industries that previously have been inured, like high technology and financial services, are having to lay off employees:  Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) minus 500 employees, Motorola minus 4,000 employees, Fidelity Investments minus 1,200 employees.  The reality of a Reduction in Force (RIF) is that real people get laid off, real pepole lose their jobs.

It happened to me.  No matter how much you prepare yourself for it, being riffed hurts.  You've given your best efforts, you've given your heart and soul in doing your job, and it wasn't good enough for the company to keep you.  So, what do you do?

There are plenty of articles which tell you what to do.  It is equally important to know what not to do. Here's a list of no-no's:

Take a vacation.  You won't be as desirable for other companies to hire you as when you are first riffed.  As soon as you get home, your job search campaign must start.  Redo your resume.  Go through your Rolodex. Start calling your former company's competitors.  You have to be tough-minded to succeed in this new step in your career.  Taking off one week will cost you three weeks of lost job search momentum.

Get involved with non-job search activities.  You now have a new 24X7 job, finding your next job.  Anything that takes away from the new job search extensively must be verboten.  It's nice that you now have time to fix the screen door or coach your daughter's soccer team, but if doing those activities takes away from the job search, don't do them.  You have two main assets in the successful job search -- your knowledge and your time.  Don't waste either of them.  Which is more important in the long run -- your daughter's soccer team winning or finding a new and (hopefully) better job?

Badmouth your former employer. I've worked for companies where I couldn't leave fast enough.  The door couldn't possibly have hit me on the way out. The business community is very large and very small.  It's very large for the number of companies who might hire you now and in the future, including your former employer.  It's very small when you are interviewing and find out that one of the interviewers is from your former employer.  What goes around does come around--there are no good reasons to badmouth your former employer.  You cashed their paycheck, didn't you?

Get together with former co-workers.  Sorry, but commiserating isn't going to help you find your next job.  Yes, you have a lot of anger inside and it makes you feel good to bash your former employer.  However, you'll feel even better when you get your new job.  You win by getting the best job possible with an employer that is not going through financial problems.  Wait until you get your neew job and then invite your former co-workers to celebrate.

Contact family, friends and neighbors. Unless you are trying to sign your family, friends and neighbors to be part of your cell phone's calling circle, then don't get them directly involved in your job search.  If they offer to help, accept their support as it is intended. Sure, they want to help you find your next job, but if they're not in the position to do so, they'll feel worse about not being able to help you.  Accept the offer from those who are in a direct position to help you.

Answer want ads. Reading the want ads as one part of your overall reconnaissance is valuable.  The want ads are one measure of how the local and industry markets are performing.  But only answering want ads has a very low probability of succeeding.  As you probably have read, 80% of open jobs are not advertised.

You have no way of differentiating yourself and your skills by answering want ads.  Twenty-five years ago, one of my former employers ran a small ad for a position in my department in the Sunday Boston Globe Career section.  I received over four hundred resumes; many were applicable for positions in other departments.  Those resumes ended up in the wastebasket.

What the job search agencies don't tell you is that the decision making process for hiring is negative in focus.  The process is less about finding the right person, however long it takes and how much it costs, and more about finding an overall acceptable new hire.  The likelihood that your resume will be read in full during the hiring process is very small.  Going through all those resumes quickly means that the ones that obviously don't fit are tossed first; the ones that have some relevance to the position are tossed next, and hopefully, the best candidates will be left.  And yes, you do need to create a professional looking reume. If your resume is poorly designed or poorly written, the resume will also get tossed in the wastebasket for being disrespectful to the parties who have had to peruse it.

Call repeatedly. Remember what it was like doing your daily job?   You hardly had enough time to wolf down a sandwich and Diet Coke.  Calling the hiring manager once is acceptable.  If you really believe that you are the right person for the job, then calling again is usually taken favorably that you really want the job.  But calling repeatedly just makes you appear to be desperate and needy.  Don't do anything that you wouldn't want to have done to you when you were the hiring manager.

Use multiple job placement companies. There are only so many jobs in your geographic area and in your line of work, so using more than one or two contingent job placement companies, unless you are looking for different types or different geographic jobs, is counter-productive.  For example, if you were looking for a job as an accountant or as a sales representative, then using more than one contingent job placement likely isn't necessary.  If you are looking for a job as a biochemist, then using one contigent agency which specializes in biotechnology should be sufficient. But if you are looking to be the Vice President of Marketing, where there are fewer positions available, you need to work both with a contigent job placement agency and a retained search company, if the "head-hunter" agrees to work with you.  Find the agencies that you want to have represent you and let them do their jobs.  If after four to six weeks, you haven't had any job interviewers from the contingent agency, then use a second one.

I know how difficult it is personally, professionally, and financially to be without a job. But conducting a successful job search will be an asset to your career because of what you have learned about yourself.  You have skills that you didn't think you had, like in marketing and sales.  You have risen to overcome the challenge. Ccongratulations! Go forth and prosper!   

About Michael Maynard:  Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  Michael is currently lending his consultant talents to Improved Experience, which helps employers use feedback to measure and manage competitive advantage, engagement, and retention. You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

 

Technorati tags:  reduction in force, job interviews, job search, job agencies.

Damn Dram

Here's a "sobering" perspective about holiday partying from Michael Maynard, a free-lance journalist who has joined us at Improved Experience as a consultant to provide his weekly view on topics from Human Resources and Recruiting to business at large.  Thanks for this timely reminder, Michael.

 

As the summer is ending and fall and winter are rapidly approaching, this is the time many businesses start planning to hold their holiday banquets and parties.  In many company cultures, these events are part of the company's "work hard, play hard" philosophy so these events often lead to many employees getting drunk and acting in bad behavior.

There are legendary high-technology industry stories about the havoc caused by Wang Laboratories sales people while attending the company's annual sales meeting in Rome.  Allegedly, the sales people behaved so badly that the Pope wrote Dr. An Wang, requesting the company not hold any more sales meetings in Rome.  If your company lives by the "work hard, play hard" belief, like Wang Laboratories did, your company's CEO and other executives must become very aware of the Dram laws, which, if not followed, could become very costly to the company and its executives.

A dram is 1/8 of a fluid ounce and is usually used as a measure of Scotch whiskey. The Dram laws are in effect in 38 states. If an intoxicated employee leaves the company's party and gets into a serious traffic accident, the CEO can be sued for negligence and violation of the Dram laws.  These laws are based upon the legal theory of "social host liability,"  which in relation to the company party, asserts that it is the responsibility of those who supply liquor to others to stop an intoxicated employee from driving or other forms of normal activity which become dangerous to the employee.  If the employee leaves the party and harms another person or property, the supplier of the alcohol, (in this case the company and its CEO), are responsible for this bad behavior and can be sued for damages.  The application of the Dram laws is hard on bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.

If a customer leaves the establishment in an intoxicated state, whether or not they show intoxication in their behavior, the bartender can be sued, the servers of the alcohol can be sued, the valets can be sued, the security staff can be sued and the owner(s) of the establishnmenent can be sued. All of them will be held liable for violation of the Dram laws.  The server, valet and bartender should recognize the intoxication of the patrons and prevent them from doing harm to themselves and others.  These employees should take the car keys of the intoxicated guest and call a family member, relative, friend or the police to drive the patron home. They must stop serving alcohol to the intoxicated guest immediately.

In 1999, in a New Jersey court, a $135 million verdict was awarded in the Antonia Verni case, a seminal case for the Dram laws. A six-year old who was paralyzed when a drunk driver, who had been served 14 beers at a New York Giants football game, drove home and accidentally hit Verni.  Verni's family sued the National Football League, the New  York Giants, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the concessionaries, who were found liable according to the Dram shop laws of varying degrees of comparative negligence. Since this point, the State of New Jersey, has tightened up its Dram shop liability laws and expanded upon the duties of the servers of alchol. (Source: wikipedia.com dram (unit)).

The rule of thumb calculation to avoid getting drunk is imbibing one drink per hour. This calculation varies by each person's gender, age, weight, amount and type of alcohol served and other factors, such as eating food with the drink.

I have a major problem with the Dram laws. These laws shift responsibility from the individual imbibing the alcohol to the person(s) serving the alcohol.  I drink very seldom and have a limited capacity to do so.  When I do consume alcohol, I drink either a glass of wine or one of those drinks with an umbrella in it. By nature, I am very quiet. How can someone who doesn't know me and hasn't been able to watch me continually know that I've had too much to drink?  The Dram laws force the busy valets, servers and security staff to keep count of each patron's number and type of drinks imbibed and to look for any typical intoxicated behaviors:  talking loudly, slurring of words, unevenness in balance, and abnormal behavior, such as trying to start fights or aggressively trying to befriend other patrons. I' ve talked with bartenders about the Dram laws. They all said that requiring them to know when one patron is drunk amongst many patrons is an impossible standard to meet.

I do not agree with the shifting of responsibility for intoxicated behavior from the individual.  It is another case where the individual who causes harm can shift responsibility from themselves to others, even others who weren't there.  However, the law is the law. If you or your company are planning to host a holiday party, remember the penalties for violating the Dram laws, and be sure to limit the amount of alcohol served so that your employees and guests drive home safely.   

About Michael Maynard: Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

 

Technorati tags:  Dram laws, holiday party, Wang Laboratories, personal responsibility. 

The Petri Dish

Here's a fresh perspective about first impressions to keep in mind when interviewing as penned by Michael Maynard, a free-lance journalist who has joined us as a consultant to provide his weekly view on topics from Human Resources and Recruiting to business at large. 

Upon entering a business that I have not visited before, there are two things I initially check as indicators:  the receptionist and the noise level.  Understanding what each represents can give you an advantage in your interview process and in determining whether you would like to work for this business.  The receptionist and the noise level are initial keys to understanding the business's culture.

Business law considers a business as a single entity, similar to an individual.  Individuals have unique personalities.  Each business has its own unique personalities, which when put all together, create the company's culture.  The individuals who work for the business are amoebas in the business' Petri Dish, singular beings brought together whose collective health or disease determine survival.

Why is the receptionist such a big factor of the company culture?  The receptionist is the first representative of the business that an outsider meets. I've seen many instances where a security guard is the receptionist.  This makes me wonder if the company is concerned about robbery or other forms of illegal activities.  Or the receptionist is untrained to do the job and is overwhelmed by having to answer the phones and deal with the visitors.

If the receptionist is pleasant, the outsider feels welcomed and is in a positive frame of mind to attend the upcoming meeting.  If the receptionist is negative, the outsider wonders whether this attitude is prevalent in the business. If there is no receptionist, but a phone and a list of names with their phone extensions, the outsider wonders if the business is in financial difficulty or is uncaring about visitors.

The noise level is a much overlooked indicator of business health.  Good businesses are noisy.  Employees are constantly moving to meet with others.  There is laughter at the water cooler.  Impromptu meetings occur in the hallway.  Even if employees are having a loud disagreement, this is a welcome sign.  These employees are passionate about the company and the outcomes of the work. These employees feel secure about the business culture that they can talk loudly and disagree without concern about losing their jobs.

Nearly all the time, the business culture is instilled by senior management. Enron is a classic case of business culture being a mirror image of senior management.  Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling created a culture of greed and law breaking through their words and actions.

However, not all business cultures are representative of senior management.  Many years ago, I consulted for a local software developer whose management were seldom seen or heard. It was the Marketing Communication Manager who set the tone of the business.  The Marcom Manager had AIDS and his skin showed the ravages of Kaposi Sarcoma.  The employees rallied around their sick friend because he showed up for work each day with a smile on his face and went out of his way to help his job mates.  The employees did work hard and played hard, as he continued to do.

From my consulting experience, I know that it is very difficult to change an ingrained business culture. Changing senior management does not usually change the business culture.  There has to be a catalyst for culture change in the business, like the Marcom Manager.  All employees have to be aware of their role in sustaining the old culture and what they have to do to change it.  It is very hard to change an individual's behavior after working for the company for many years.  But the potential outcomes; increased productivity, reduced employee turnover and an overall happier work environment makes the effort to change worthwhile.

About Michael Maynard: Michael is a free-lance journalist and management consultant.  As a freelance writer he has written for CEO and CIO magazines and other magazine and newspapers.  He was managing editor and featured columnist for Global Business Newsletter.  He was also a featured columnist for the Washington Post-Newsweek syndicate.  For more than 25 years, Michael has been President and Co-Founder of Azimuth Partners, a marketing and business development consultancy.  You can reach him at michael@improvedexperience.com.

Technorati tags:  interviewing, recruiting and hiring, first impressions, business culture.