Laura’s Winning Ideas

Jared Sandberg of the Wall Street Journal, published his column on Bosses Who Fiddle with Employee’s Work Risk Ire, Low Morale. There were examples of executives tweaking presentations and reports at the last minute, focused on the minutea that drives team members to drink.

Anyone who hasn’t been trapped by last minute nonsense changes because an executive thought some tweaking was in order, can be excused.

From the team member’s perspective, this meddling can be eliminated or minimized by distributing storyboards of presentations or proposals to all the likely culprits at the beginning of the project.

I had one fellow who was notorious for ditching proposals at the Red Team Review and bringing proposals to the brink of disaster. I managed the Red Team Review, in which he would be participating, for a critical proposal. I brought everyone’s storyboard markups with me to the Red Team Review meeting.

His markups were exceptionally sparse. In fact, if we hadn’t badgered him for a week, he would not have returned anything for the storyboard review.

The review team was large. In the hallway, before the meeting, this fellow was agitating the group, barnstorming that the proposal was in terrible shape and we would have to rip it apart and put it back together.

When we assembled, we went around the table for comments on the first section on our agenda. As each person commented, I took their storyboard markups, and confirmed whether their comments now were in accord with their recommendations on the storyboards a few weeks earlier.

When they were, I thanked them and explained how those comments had been used to improve the proposal. When they weren’t, I asked them what had changed in their thinking about the section since their review of the storyboards.

By the time we got to my bomb thrower, he had figured out the drill. His comments were mild, specific, and manageable.

Most importantly, his storyboard comments in future were detailed, specific, and helpful. I’m sure he missed the adrenaline rush terribly, but we were thrilled to have his great experience harnessed to a wagon worth pulling.

Executive input at the end of the project is almost worthless. Executives shouldn’t be focusing on fonts and proof-reading, and they know that, but it is waaay too late for any critical analysis to be implemented. Proof-reading is the only contribution executives can make without threatening the project delivery.

I once pointed out to an EVP that he was paid 10 times more than any other proof-reader I knew. I wonder if he ever got it.

From the executive perspective, I taught my team to get my attention early. I can really help when I get a look at the strategy behind a presentation, or the focus of the message to a customer. My comments at this stage can really sharpened the project because I bring a more seasoned perspective. But it’s helpful only if this input comes before the materials are produced.

Once the presentation, proposal, or report is in final production, I don’t really want my time spent proof-reading, so I stay away. Funny, but folks are pretty motivated to do a careful job when they know I won’t be rescuing them at the end (nor second-guessing them).

As with most things in work groups, each party can choose to contribute to the solution, or become a victim of the problem. Executives are paid to be wiser and more experienced, so it works best when they model a more strategic method than fiddling with employee’s work. AND work group team members can take the initiative to model more strategic behavior so your boss can learn from you.