Here's Why Performance Management Feels like A Cop is Running It...

You have great ideas.  You're going to decentralize the whole performance management process at your company.  Power to the managers.  Real conversations.  Let them run their business.  The way it ought to be.  The annual review, if it exists, is an afterthought.

Then, a funny thing happens on the way to the forum.  A manager with 10 reports turns in their annual reviews with no ratings separation.  No narratives written to reinforce the behavior.  Or, they have separation related to the ratings they provided, but everyone got a 3% raise.  Or both.

You know why that happens?  Because the manager can't deal with conflict.  Instead of having a tough conversation with the bottom 30% of their team related to their performance and the raise that follows, they make the whole thing generic and lacking "separation".

The goal is to avoid conflict.  The problem with Performance Management isn't HR, it's the manager.

So the cops come in.  They're from HR.  They're here to help.

Good luck with that, HR comrades.  You're not the problem.  Command and control is just the wrong solution.  

You know the right solution.  It's just hard as hell to execute.

3 Ways to Stop Hating Your Team...

Here's a dirty little secret of basketball everywhere:  By the time February rolls around, a lot of basketball coaches don't like being around their teams anymore.  I've actually heard it referred to it as "I hate my team", quickly following by "will this season ever end?"

The cause is pretty understandable.  Sports is a pretty intense experience where wins and losses go up on a standings board.  Basketball runs from October/November to February/March, and by the time you get to the fourth month, everyone is a little fatigued.  You (the coach) are tired of saying the same things.  They (the players) are tired of hearing you say the same things.  You know where you fall in the pecking order, and while everyone wants more, it's not always possible based on the talent you have.

Summary:  Everyone's a little bit sick of each other.  Practices get shorter, because well, what's the point?

The point is the coach is responsible for learning.  Just like you are as a manager.

Here's 3 ways for coaches (and you) to stop hating their teams (it works at your company as well):

1.  Get out of your rut and get some new freaking coaching techniques.  If you find yourself hating your team, you might just be hating yourself.  Get some new game - learn new things that are going to help you be a better coach/manager.  Try to implement some of those on the fly.  Shake it up.

2.  Actually give a S### about the development of individuals.  See that midling contributor who's a good person?  You've been so focused on your macro results that you've treated him like a transaction ("if I tell you to do this, then I get that").  Stop hating your team by taking a personal interest in the professional development of your mid-level talent.  Watch them grow once they understand that you're interested in making them better and more successful, regardless of what happens related to team results.

3.  Get a better definition of what success is.  Not everyone is going to make it to March Madness or the corporate equivalent of that.  Some of us have teams that can only deliver a .500 season.  Worry about that in the next recruiting cycle - for now, your job is to do a better job of defining what a stretch goal is for the team you have - and then coaching them up to get there.  Stop whining and complaining that you don't have enough talent.  Set a goal you can achieve with improvement that's realistic for the group you have.

It's normal to start hating your team if the goals you are chasing are difficult and the competition is intense.  The problem isn't them, it's you.  You're responsible for breaking out of the rut and the self-pity cycle.

Wake up, it's February.  You'll be sorry you gave up on this team in May.

Then go get some better players this summer.  You know what's common among the best coaches?  They all have great players.  Wooden would have been .500 at Seton Hall.

The Motivational/Performance Difference Between Batman and Superman...

A classic quote from Sports Illustrated on confidence:

"Greg Harden, a long-time employee of the Michigan football program who advises and counsels Michigan players, says Drew Henson (the favored child who competed with Tom Brady for the Michigan quaterback job before Brady became a megastar) was like Superman, Tom Brady was like Batman.

Batman doesn't have any superpowers, but as Harden says, "Batman believes he can whip Superman's ass."

Pretty interesting quote on confidence.  Read the whole article on who Tom Brady was before stardom here. 

VIDEO: One Suggestion for Your New Year's Resolution - To Compete...

Looking for a New Year's Resolution?  How about to compete more than you did in 2011?

Not everyone gets a trophy.  You're stale.  Get off your butt and find a way to compete - even if you're staying in a job you're bored with.  You know, to give a S#$% every day.

Here's a little video to illustrate how much you should care about winning in 2012.  And yes, that's old Temple great John Chaney threatening to kill John Calipari in a post game press conference when the two were at Temple and UMass respectively.  Arch Rivals.  Both couldn't be at the top.

That's right.  Not everyone thinks it's win/win.  Some people would love to see you fail in a big way.

"Next time I see you, I'm gonna kill you!"

"I told my kids to hit your kids in the mouth!"

Classic.  Find a way to compete in 2012.  Keep score, even if no one else around you is.

Why I Love the Salesforce Acquisition of Rypple...

One word:  Yammer.

(note: Yammer is a twitter like product for companies to use, but the outside world can't access the stream)

You know what the problem with Yammer is?  Yammer suffers from a chronic adoption problem. Everybody thinks Yammer is great for a week, then 99% of your company stops using it.  It's a great product, but it's not a destination in your company.  That means people won't go there after a week. I've witnessed 5 or 6 quick deaths to Yammer in corporations.

That's why the Salesforce acquisition of Rypple makes so much sense.

I wrote a while back that Rypple had to build out more traditional performance management flow to really get traction.  That was true as a standalone product.  That's no longer true with Rypple embedded in Salesforce.

Salesforce is the cloud CRM backbone of choice for thousands, if not tens of thousands of companies.  It's in the cloud.  Once Salesforce is in a company, it's pretty strong in gaining contracts and adoption for customer service, marketing and other departments in addition to its original promise as a Sales CRM.   They've taking advantage of that cross-departmental CRM feel by launching a product called Chatter, which is a CRM flavor of twitter.  Max interaction and collaboration through Chatter, the sales promise goes...

Does Chatter have greater adoption and staying power than Yammer?  Of course.  Chatter has to have much greater adoption than Yammer because, let's face it, your employees have to use Salesforce.

Which is why the acquisition of Rypple makes so much sense.  Rypple is about feedback loops on how you're doing as a part of a team.  Salesforce can plug the functionality of Rypple into Chatter and the core product in a bunch of ways.  Adoption is a given.  The beatings will continue until morale improves.  Rypple can remain cutting edge and not worry about traditional performance management to pay the bills.  

Salesforce paid exponentially less (than SAP paid for SuccessFactors) and got exactly what they needed. Rypple made a good choice.  They obviously got paid.  Everybody wins.

What's it mean for you as an HR Pro?  If your company uses Salesforce, you need to track the Rypple integration and offering into Salesforce.  HR always says they want to be embedded in the business. This is a pretty good chance to do that.  It's Salesforce, people.  If your company uses it, trust me - that's where the action is.

Congrads to Rypple.  

Murder Via Performance Coaching: This isn't Going to Help Those Who Avoid Tough Conversations...

Confrontation sucks.  That's why most of your managers don't do the coaching they need to.

This isn't going to help.  Someone got murdered in my city while they were delivering performance feedback.  More from the Birmingham News:

"A 50-year-old Birmingham man has been charged with murder in this morning's fatal stabbing of a supervisor inside a Center Point grocery store, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

John Boyd Jr. is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $75,000 bond in the death of Edward Shane Hammett, 26, of Center Point. 

Chief Deputy Randy Christian said the stabbing happened in the butcher shop of Food Giant of Birmingham as Hammett was talking to Boyd about his job performance. "He had counseled the suspect about work performance yesterday and apparently today they had an argument culminating in the suspect stabbing the victim to death," he said.  Hammett had worked at the grocery store for 18 months, Christian said. Boyd had worked there three months, he said.

Officials with Food Giant said despite the performance review discussion, Boyd had not at the time of the incident been in danger of losing his job.

"It's a tragedy ... especially at this time of year," said Wade Payne, operations director for Food Giant in Birmingham. "Our thoughts and our prayers are with Shane's family."

Don't even know what to say about this one.  Get away from areas that include items that can be used as weapons, etc.  You think I'm joking, but I'm not.

Be careful out there.  Keep giving feedback.

h/t: @MikeVanDervort

"BARs" (Big Audacious Rewards) in the Social Media Age....

"Nancy!  Get payroll on the line.  I want to cut some $5,000 spot bonus checks for my senior team so I can hand them out tonight at our Christmas dinner..."

Used to be you could do that and have it be your little moment with your team.  That's no longer the case in the digital era.  Consider this AOL story from Business Insider:

"AOL hosts a "global operating meeting" twice a year.  It's holding one right this very moment in New York to firm up the company's plans for 2012.

A couple sources tell us that Tim Armstrong just opened the meeting by giving everyone in attendance – about 150 execs – a $10,000 bonus on the spot.

"About $1.5 million just for showing up!" says our incredulous source.

An AOL PR rep declined to comment."

Ugh.  Your little moment in the digital era can be tipped to an industry insider whose job it is to create 20 posts a day on anything - and I mean anything - that's going on in your industry.    This story was tipped as the checks were handed out.  How's the rank and file feel about this one?

Layoffs, schmaoffs.  Things are good at the top.

My suggestion?  Give your team a note that says a donation has been made in their name to the "Human Fund".  Money for people...

Albert Pujols and the Art of the Counter-Offer: It All Comes Down to Replacement Cost for the Same Performance...

I'm from Missouri and a St. Louis pro sports fan.  In case you missed it, Cardinal great (pro baseball) Albert Pujols has left the Cardinals at the age of 32, signing a 10 year deal worth $254 Million with the Los Angeles Angels.

The reaction out of St. Louis is disappointment, but with a hat tip toward the realization that matching that offer would have been a suckers play.

It's a much different reaction than what happened in Cleveland when Lebron James opted to "take his talents to South Beach".  The reaction should be different, because the situations are dramatically different.

It all comes down to replacement cost, your brand and the profitability line.

Lebron James was a mega-star in a superstar-driven league.  The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't replace him if he left.  Cleveland as a sports town is a wasteland, a place where no free agent wants to dwell.  Lose Lebron in Cleveland, you're not getting back to the top.  Ever.

The Cardinal franchise is something entirely different.  Lots of world championships before Pujols arrived.  A great baseballl town and region where veterans want to play to bask in fan support all summer long.

Baseball is a sport where you need 20 contributors, and no one player can domineer the action - unlike basketball.

What would you do if Ed in Accounting told you he wouldn't be back in 2012 unless you gave him a 3 year deal giving him a annual 60% bump in comp?

Hit the bricks, Ed.  You're replaceable.

What about Stan, your top sales pro?  He's not coming back in 2012 unless you double his total comp and guarantee it for 4 years.  He's a great revenue producer, careful....

You've got 4 other reps that are near quota.  Stan's great, but you lose money on that comp structure.  Don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out, Stan.

Countering the star comes down to 3 things:

1.  What's the total comp point where the revenue/performance the star provides goes into the red?

2.  How strong is your organization?  Can you recruit good talent in to replace the star?  Is your brand good enough where others want to work for you?

3.  Is there anyone else that can come close to doing what the star does?

Cleveland had no other options, thus the total freak out when Lebron left.  St. Louis is pretty quiet in comparson the day after Albert took his talents to SoCal.

Is your organization like the Cavs or Cardinal nation?

Quit Your HR Job: What Would You Spend 10,000 Hours Mastering If You Had the Chance?

By now, you've read the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell or Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin - or read the summaries and understand the concept developed by the research of Anders Ericsson that says it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master any skill. 

You've probably daydreamed about it:  "What would I choose to become world class in if money and time were no object?"

Check that.  Most of us haven't daydreamed that because putting 10,000 hours in on any one thing is a crazy, hard grind.

But there are people out there who quit everyting to chase the dream of world-class mastery presented in Outliers.  Meet Dan McLaughlin, who is currently midstream in his quest to quit it all and play so much golf in a "deliberate practice" way that he'll be able to go pro.  More from BusinessWeek:

"After turning 30 last year, he (McLaughlin) quit his job as a photographer for a marketing company, built a website, hired a coach, and decided to live off the $100,000 he had saved. He’s now on the “Dan Plan,” which involves golfing for 10,000 hours—which will take six and a half years of full-time commitment—with the goal of becoming one of the roughly 250 men on the PGA Tour out of the more than 60 million golfers in the world.

In July, McLaughlin passed his 1,700th hour. His instructor, Christopher Smith (ironically, the speed golf champion of the world), decided McLaughlin would start at the hole and work his way out. Slowly. So McLaughlin spent the first three weeks doing nothing but putting from three feet away. Smith wouldn’t let him progress to bigger clubs until he’d mastered the small ones. He had only four clubs in his bag—he was stuck on mastering the eight-iron. When he told people at parties that he was a full-time nonprofessional golfer, and they didn’t walk away, they often asked his handicap: “I say, ‘Oh, I don’t have one. I’ve been practicing for 15 months, but I’ve never played a game.’ People assume a slight bit of insanity.”

Ericsson believes that only deliberate practice—intensely focused time spent trying to improve—causes progress. “Most people on a job spend 10,000 hours and they are at the level they started out,” he says. “You can count the hours people drive and you’re not going to see a high correlation to skill. You have to try to stretch yourself and attain higher levels of control.”   

To become world class, you just don't start playing a round of golf.  You do deliberate practice as described above.  He's never played a round of golf in 1,700 hours of practice.

Think about that for a second.  Mental discipline and patience, anyone?

So, what would you chase if you had 10,000 full-funded hours of practice and didn't have to worry about feeding the family?

For most of us, the answer would be nothing.  Too much of a grind.

Telling People What To Do Isn't Coaching...

In Houston this week to do some training on the performance side, namely taking a great group of managers through the 6-Step Coaching Tool that was the baseline for the Please Shut Up webinar and whitepaper...

Here's your nugget for today.  No one grows or is accountable for themselves when you simply tell them what to do.  That's you taking a shortcut, not being a coach.

It's like I tell people who are interested enough to ask about my youth basketball coaching philosophy (and really, who's not interested in that, right?  hahahahaha...)

Them: What plays do you run?

Me: We don't run plays.  That limits their ability to read and react, and to be responsible for adjusting....We go in with a general idea, then tell them what their options are against the different types of defense - they're responsible for the reads.  If something goes wrong, we ask them what happened and let them tell us.

Don't tell 'em what to do.  Make an observation and make them react and come up with an answer and where they go from there.  It may take a while to get to where you want to be, but you'll be happy you did it that way.

That's why I said hey man nice shot - what a good shot man....