The Manager - Edition 63 - Dungeon Master and High Standards - By Rob Lambert
Welcome to the Cultivated Management Newsletter
Hi,
I hope you've had a cracking weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead.
It's been a busy week in Lambertville with Birthday Parties, trips to London for work, Beef Wellington meals and lots of the usual football training taxi services.
I am excited though because I spent a good few hours yesterday plotting world domination for my many brands and businesses. I'm rebranding Cultivated Management over the next few weeks so expect a new website, refined content, new colours and new style - and new offerings. It's all very exciting.
I'm also nearly complete with Zero To Keynote books, courses and in person events. The squirrels book is coming together well. And I'm nearly set to launch Parent Brain too!
I also gave The Social Tester an overhaul as I still get plenty of traffic that way too.
So expect a much more focused newsletter, video content, new look and feel and plenty of great content to help you become the best manager you can be.
This week's newsletter is all about setting high standards
Until next time.
Rob..
Dungeon Master and High Standards
I had a chemistry teacher at school who looked just like Dungeon Master.
For those of you too young to remember Dungeon Master, he looked like this and was the Master of the Dungeons in the classic game Dungeons and Dragons.
My chemistry teacher was so small he had to stand on two drinks crates to see over the top of his desk. He was quietly spoken but stern, but he also lost his cool if you dropped below his standard.
You see he set high standards. He expected a lot from his students.
For example, he made us all sharpen our pencils until they hurt your hand if you dropped them from 2ft above your hand. Can you imagine that now? A teacher asking students to drop a sharp pencil on their hand.
He expected quiet and careful study. He expected careful use of the chemicals. He tolerated no messing about at all. He expected neat notes and clear workings out. He expected quiet but challenging discussion. He expected a lot.
As much as I feared this man, I also respected his standards. I learned a lot. I enjoyed Chemistry. I respected him because he dealt with those intent on messing about, he worked with everyone, he respected all, he tailored his work for all to succeed. He never lowered his standard, but instead helped those below it achieve it. He was one of the few teachers who I saw achieve this.
His results were impeccable and in my chemistry exam I got 99%.
Compare this to maths for example where the teacher let anything go and the distracting kids ruled the classroom, and I got nowhere near 99%.
It's why setting standards matters - people live up and down to them.
What's Dungeon Master got to do with management?
As a manager you need to set high standards. You should demonstrate these standards and demand them from all. You must explain what the standards are (a behaviour matrix works well) and be honest with people when they fall below the standard.
You don't get behaviours that you expect, you get behaviours that you tolerate.
But be warned. 90% + of companies and managers do not have high standards.
I expect meetings to run on time and with clarity and effectiveness - many managers do not.
I expect people to do what they say they will - many managers do not.
I expect executives and managers to demonstrate high standards and lead by example - many do not.
I expect a recruitment process to be effective and find good quality people - many companies do not have these standards.
So be careful.
In many organisations when you set high standards you run the risk of being alienated and rejected. High standards mean change, they mean upsetting the apple cart, they mean becoming effective, they mean that some people may fall behind the standard, they mean managers and executives no longer have anywhere to hide. And many organisations don't want this.
Setting high standards and leading by example is an effective way to create amazing results, build teams of people with equally high standards and provide epic business value. But it's not always welcome everywhere. It's not always wanted. Many organisations are more than happy to plot a bright future, tell people we need to become better but then never raise the standard.
They want the end goal, but not the journey through hardship to get there.
Choose your organisations carefully - and choose ones where your standards are welcome and encouraged - not one where being effective is not welcome.
Go forth and set high standards. Be like Dungeon Master. Sharpen those pencils.
Rob..
Cool Stuff To Click On
1 - Resilience and Tolerance - which one are you hoping for when you build your team and service?
2 - Some mind mapping tools. Mind maps are a great way to get ideas out of your head and combined together. I use them for outlining books amongst many things. Just be careful - a lot of people use them to then communicate to others - this takes time and care. After all, it's a map of your mind - and your mind works differently to others.
3 - Slowing down might make you faster.
4 - Taking tech apart so we can see what it looks like and fix it.
5 - A digital gangster destroying democracy - Facebook - where can it go from here.
6 - Study what companies in other fields are doing can lead to innovation. I do this a lot. I read what other business owners are doing - and I incorporate it in to my own work.
7 - The U-Curve of happiness. The messy mid-life is indeed the unhappiest. Dammit.
Book Of The Week
This week's book of the week is an oldish one by Cal Newport called So Good They Can't Ignore You.
The premise of the book is that you need to stop being driven by those who say "follow your passion" and trying to make a career out of your passions and instead find what you're good at and become amazing at it. Only by trying to become really good at something will you derive long term joy from your career.
It's all about becoming rare and valuable. If you become brilliant amazing at something people will no longer be able to ignore you. I like it.
However, be careful. It's a long and difficult road to become insanely good. A reasonable alternative is one proposed by Scott Adams where becoming reasonably good at many things adds value. For example Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) was not the best employee, nor is he the funniest person around, nor is he the best artist - but by combining these things together to create Dilbert, he's become insanely successful by most standards.
In a sense - I reckon they're both maybe saying the same thing. Become good at something and see where it leads. Follow the path of becoming good, and keep building on this, and then see where it goes. By doing this, you will become rare and valuable.
It's a good book.
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Thanks for reading this week's edition of The Manager.
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Thanks
Rob..