Falling on Deaf Ears

[ianr]

Hey Jocko,

I wasn't sure where the best place to post this is, but I have a leadership question. I can usually anticipate what you are going to say, but this one through me for a loop.

Hypothetically, lets say there is a situation in the workplace where there are potentially things going on behind the scenes, that make it not possible for the leadership team to answer the question of "why".

For example, I am a lower level manager and I am tasked with managing a project to completion. The project is to implement a new process to a team over seas. After working on this project for several weeks, I KNOW it is going to fail. After doing everything I can (within my authority), I expressed my concerns to upper management, which fell on deaf ears (which is unusual). My hypothesis is that something confidential is going on behind the scenes (lets say a Merger, Acquisition, or Buyout) that makes them unable to tell me whats really going on. So they are okay with the mission failing (and potential want the mission to fail).

1. What advice would you give from my perspective (as a lower level manager), where there may be things going on behind the scenes that you are not privy too, and you are unknowingly being set up for failure. Not spitefully, but its just part of the business process.

2. What advice would you give the senior management? They are unable to tell their team the "why", and thus are having a hard time getting their team to buy in.

Oss

[mynewunit]

I love Jiu Jitsu guys.

Strangely I have actually dealt with something similar, as far as training/working with an overseas office. We use an Asian office to create building models that we/they then use for project calculations. Now if someone else reads that statement, they see it as one task. For me it was more like 10. 1. How to communicate with someone on a different continent and time zone. 2. How to clearly define what I want. 3. How to clearly define what I don't know. 4. How do they tell me they don't understand or think I am wrong. 5. Then logistics stuff. Latest files, Reference documents. How to check, verify. When is their task "Done".



They first problem I see is that your company leadership can't explain the why. That means we need to ask better questions. For my work, the Asian office is cheaper than the US one. The more Asia did, the more project time ($) I had to complete my work.



So question Number 1 is Why are you doing this? You don't have to tell me, but have a reason.

Number 2. What pieces are going right? How is team communication? Have they tried a sample or test run? Should they be able to?

Number 3. How many of the problems can you control? You can't control issues with the overseas supplier, but you might be able to have some influence. You can't change their daylight hours, but you might be able to shift your workday to line up with theirs. Yes. You look like a moron sitting in the office an 1 in the morning to have a project call asking people to repeat themselves because you are half asleep and can't understand their accents.

Number 4. Clearly communicate to you supervisor the successes and failures you are having. What is the next step? What are the knowns and unknowns? Assumptions?

Number 5. Not my fault is not a plan. This is the saying that is bouncing around my house. I don't care that it doesn't work. I don't care that the world stopped you from doing your spelling homework. What are you doing to fix it? Do you need to go visit the overseas operation? Is there another manager that had a similar project? Is there a person you believe would make a difference if they were added or removed from the current situation.


Number 6. Focus on one area and get a victory. Don't beat a dead horse. Define the next step for each project element. Give it to someone else to review. Ask them which to focus on first, and why they answered that way. Then communicate it to the team. Let them know that you can't do this project by yourself. You are here to help them. Ask where they need help. Tell them where you need help.

Good luck ianr

[B Deim]

Hey Jocko,

I run a family owned company, I’m 31 years old, I have been working at the company since I was in the 8th grade, working my way up through the ranks, started with cleaning up the shop every day then moved to greasing our trucks, then to oil changes, then to ground man with our excavation company, then to driving one of our truck then into the dispatch roll and now general manager /dispatcher for the past couple years and now moving more into my fathers roll of running the company as a whole. I have sacrificed a lot of time with my young family, keeping my eye on the prize of someday owning this multi-million dollar company and providing a great life for my family.

My brother came on and started working for us about 5 years ago, he started out making the same money and benefits as me. He never worked his way up. He never had to work for anything. Long story short he doesn’t value anything that anyone does for him especially my father or myself. He thinks he deserves more than anyone else in the company just because who he is, but puts forth no more effort than just a regular employee.... both my father and myself have tried to reason with him but he thinks we are only putting him down when in reality we are only trying to help him understand what he has in front of him. How can we get through to him? How do we get him to understand the damage he’s doing to us and himself, even thought he thinks he is the one that’s always right?

Thank you Jocko
Brandon Deim

[mynewunit]

Welcome to the boards.
  The prodigal son. First question. Is there a great place in the company for your brother? Maybe he would be good at sales, purchasing, etc. but needs to understand the operation better. If you or he don't see that perfect match, then he needs a coach.
  How do you coach up an employee who doesn't feel the need to hustle? He needs 2 things. One is he needs some basic business knowledge. Maybe Dave Ramsey's EntreLeadership, or Richard Kiyosaki,  or something else that you might like. Understand, it is going to fill his head with ideas of what you do right and what you do wrong. He should come back with ideas and you and Dad will have to sift through those and pick one for him to implement. If he comes back and just complains about all the stuff that other people do better, then let him go.
  The other thing I have heard is that it is good every once in a while for the foreman to hold the shovel. This gives a little perspective. Lets the guys around you know that you aren't too good to dig ditches with them, but it is more valuable to them that you are sitting in an office getting jobs, equipment and drawings lined up keep them busy and getting things done.
  Obviously you could stay on brand. The muster, either DC or San Francisco. Extreme Ownership by Jocko and Leif. or Way of the Warrior Kid, Discipline equals freedom.

  Normal warnings.  People are not one dimensional.  Health, Family, mental, money. All these non work things play a part in how we act and respond.  Check in on all of these things. See if there is a glaring hole or problem.  Maybe you can find a challenge outside of work. Spartan Race, Go Ruck Event, Toast Masters, etc. Maybe get him a mentor. 
He might have a problem being the second string. He is late to the party, you are the golden child where this has been your "life's" work.
  I am not Jocko. Just the board moderator, self appointed leader with a bunch of leadership experience. Let me know how this goes.