28 November 2011

A Plea to Retailers for More Humanity

Black Friday weekend was, by standard measures, a huge success this year.  According to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BigResearch, the number of shoppers and the spending per customer both increased over last year, each by more than nine percent.  The stock market’s reaction this morning is a euphoric, due in part to the positive outlook for retailer’s holiday season.  More positive statistics are expected on this Cyber Monday start to Cyber Week. 

Despite the good economic news, I am left feeling discomfited.  Shoppers were encouraged to come out as early as Thanksgiving night, abandoning the home fires before the dinner dishes were even washed.  Many retailers opened at midnight early on Friday, offering deals with limited availability that caused customers to camp outside the doors to be first in line.  We saw video of overexcited shoppers stampeding into stores.  The news highlighted the shocking tale of a woman spraying her shopping competition with pepper spray.  She reportedly had two children with her.  In other headlines, a man was shot while resisting a parking lot robbery.  He was protecting his purchases.  In Arizona, a 54-year old man put a video game under his shirt in a store, to protect it from being wrestled away by other shoppers.  He was reported as a shoplifter, thrown to the ground by police, bloodied in the process, handcuffed and arrested – all in view of his young grandson.  He has since been released from custody, and the legal finger-pointing has just begun.

We, the people, have allowed retailers’ marketing hype to draw us from our warm beds on a holiday night into the darkness and hysteria.  We willingly put our lives and safety in jeopardy, to beat others to the deals.  We are eager to elbow our neighbors and snatch goods from their hands, to rack up charges on credit to provide gifts that commemorate high religious holidays.  Ironically, surveys show that about 44% of the people out shopping on Black Friday this year were buying goods for themselves – not gifts for others.  My personal disgust with all this keeps me at home on Black Friday.  I do not argue others’ prerogative to enter the fray.

My plea for responsible humanity is to the retailers.  Find another way to market deeply discounted items available on a limited basis.  Retract grossly extended hours of operation that lure people into the night.  Eliminate the blatant and negligent disregard for the safety and security of your customers and employees.  Use your creativity to come up with a new approach.  Perhaps instead of encouraging shoppers to trample each other to be the first to the big screen HDTV’s, you could conduct a lottery drawing, and provide free home delivery for the winners.  Orchestrate interactive events within the store that would draw customers throughout the day - not just for the frantic crush at the ungodly opening hour.  One bright spot in trends is that online purchases continue to grow in percentage of total sales.

The term “Black Friday” used to refer to the time of year when retailer’s financials went from red ink losses into the black (profit).  With each year, the term is earning a more sinister connotation.  Black Friday norms need to be re-imagined.  Which retailers will lead the way to a kinder, gentler holiday shopping season?

21 November 2011

Don't Be a Lazy Stranger

Why do people send generic requests to make social/professional connections with people they don’t know?  The charitable way to look at this is to assume that they actually have a good reason they would like to develop a relationship.  My more cynical side knows that there are people who have less legitimate motives, such as (A) Oddballs that “collect” connections, trying to reach some silly, arbitrary number, or (B) Leeches that want to grab onto your coattails to gain benefit secondhand from your connections.

You CAN reach out to people you don’t actually know, if you have a legitimate reason to do so.  Here’s how:

1.       ALWAYS ADD A COURTEOUS NOTE explaining why you want to connect.  I can’t count the number of LinkedIn connection requests I have received from strangers who do not provide that courtesy.  I purposely ignore them.
2.       MAKE IT PERSONAL.  Your request to connect should always be personalized.  For example, you could point out that you are fellow alumni, explain that you follow their blog and have learned a lot from it, say that you are looking for a contact within their organization because you are applying for a position, or that you appreciate them for providing a thoughtful answer to a question you posted to LinkedIn.  Pointing out commonalities and/or employing a little sincere flattery can go a long way.
3.       GIVE A LITTLE of yourself.  Remember that your target will be thinking, “Why should I connect with this person?”  What do you have to offer that may enhance their network?
4.       PROVIDE A REFERENCE.  Do you have a friend/colleague in common?  If so, refer to the nature of your relationship with that person.
5.       ASK FOR AN INTRODUCTION through a common connection.  It is not always appropriate or effective for you to approach a stranger directly, especially when the person is a high-profile professional.

I enjoy meeting and corresponding with professionals with like interests, but I will continue to ignore requests to connect that come from lazy strangers.

14 November 2011

Beware of Icons

The word icon is from the Greek εἰκών, meaning “image”.  One of the dictionary definitions is, “an object of uncritical devotion”.  We throw this designation around quite a bit, although it is often used with a qualifier.  Ronald Reagan has been called a “Republican Icon”, Hitler was an “Icon of Evil”, and Marilyn Monroe has been tagged a “Cultural Icon”.  Tiger Woods is referred to as an “Icon of Golf”, Kenneth Lay became the “Enron Icon”, and now, of course, Steve Jobs goes into the afterlife as an “iCon”. 

Icon is a hefty moniker for any living person to bear.  It carries a connotation of historical significance.  How can anyone be referred to as an icon and not succumb to the risk of developing a dangerous ego and delusions of grandeur?

Now we come to Joe Paterno, “Icon of College Football”, and arguably the most powerful and popular person at Penn State University.  Paterno fell far and hard from his pedestal last week, when he was implicated in the Sandusky child sexual molestation scandal in Happy Valley.  Paterno failed to follow through and act decisively to assure the safety of children brought into the Penn State athletic facilities, or to do what he could to block the actions of a predator that he counted as a friend.  Why he failed so miserably to do his duty may never be understood.  If you are inclined to defend JoPa, read the 23-page Grand Jury Report and get back to me.

There are lessons to be learned from this tragedy, and I pray they will be learned.  By definition, icons reach a point where they escape reasonable criticism.  In an organizational environment this means that the icon’s followers and beneficiaries have imbibed the Kool-Aid and are feeling the euphoric effects.  They don’t question decisions.  Followers do what they are told, to protect the icon and the surrounding institution.  They seek approval.  No one wants Nirvana to be disrupted.  Everyone is in La-La Land.

At the end of the day, and your career, you need to be able to know that you spoke up and fought for your principles and values.  Someday you might have to take on an icon to make things right.  I bet McQueary wishes he had.

07 November 2011

No Place for Bias in Management

The 2010 U.S. Census unveiled a trend I find startling. More young people are continuing to live with their parents into adulthood. Specifically, 19% of men and 10% of women between the ages of 25-34 have not ventured out and established their own households (an increase from 15% and 8% in 2005). I’m sure there are many reasons for this, including the state of the economy, but I have some trouble relating to it. When I graduated from college, I was anxious to be out on my own. I shared crummy apartments with friends and worked multiple low-paying jobs at a time until I got my career jump-started and could afford my own place.

This got me thinking about the domino effect resulting from young adults living with their parents. It means that they aren’t renting apartments or buying homes. Most likely, they are postponing marriage. They may be preventing their parents from moving on with their plans, since Mom and Dad assumed that they would be empty-nesters by now. Is Mom still making their meals and doing their laundry? What kind of employees are they in the workplace? Oops. This is where my husband threw a wrench into the conversation by reminding me…

We cannot let our biases affect how we relate to our co-workers and employees. What matters is how well people work within their teams and how they perform in their jobs. It’s easy (and dangerous) to project our own life experiences and values on other people. Everyone’s life unfolds differently, and their challenge is to find a way to meet their personal and professional goals.

As managers, your responsibility is to understand as much as your employees choose to share about their personal situation and avoid judging them. Mentor them in ways that will help them be successful. Create learning opportunities, coach and direct, be a good role model, provide thoughtful feedback, reward successes, and be accessible for help and support.

Regardless of where a person comes from or where they are in their life today, you can provide wisdom and experience that will develop young professionals in a way that may positively impact their lives for much longer than the time they work for you. Wouldn’t that be remarkable?