The Age of Participation Trophies

It has finally come...


The day when all those kids who got A's for average work, gold stars for mediocrity, and trophies just for showing up are all grown up. Well, legally at least.


It is the "Occupy" generation.

The First and the Last: The Top and the Bottom

Recently I was given the opportunity to start the process of taking on more responsibility at work. Part of this increased responsibility will require a higher level of leadership than was required of me before.

As I move forward with the process I find myself often thinking about what kind of a manager/leader I want to be.

Years ago I was introduced to the concept of the upside-down pyramid as an organizational model.

I believe that I may have first seen the illustration and read about the concept in a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad that was written by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.

Now, I will stop and say that a great deal of what I found in this book was, even to my untrained eye, dangerous financial practice. However, I did latch onto the concept of the upward pyramid.

Over the years I have heard others use the concept of the upside-down pyramid. I don't know whether they picked this up directly from the book or through a third party, but one thing I have found is that I seemed to have picked up a different meaning in the concept than most other people.

When I think of a pyramid there are certain word pictures that come to mind.

I think about the ancient pyramids; I think of massive, expensive objects that were built on the backs of many (literally) to glorify one man. The men to whom these pyramids were dedicated considered themselves to be gods and often treated those that helped build the massive structures as tools to be simply used up and replaced.

I also think about the traditional corporate, top down, structure.

I think of massive companies that grew on the effort and talent of many to make a select few (sometimes one man) very wealthy. The men who stood at the top of these modern day pyramids often lived in opulence while giving little thought to the people that made the business work; treating them instead like tools to be simply used up and replaced.

Then I think about what an upside-down pyramid, and anti-pyramid if you will, would look like. I think of an organization that takes the opposite view of the people that make the thing work.

Where a pyramid system is cold, demanding, and demeaning the anti-pyramid system is caring, empowering, and enriching.

I think one of the biggest differences for me comes when I remember something my grandfather always taught me: Manure always runs down hill.

LET THAT SINK IN FOR A MINUTE!

In the traditional pyramid, whenever there is a mistake the blame is passed down hill from the one at the top all the way down to the many at the bottom.

If there is a problem with production, layoffs sweep through the bottom level of the pyramid. If there is a problem with morale, the one at the top blames those at the bottom.

In an anti-pyramid, when there is a mistake the blame is owned by the one at the top.

If there is a problem with production the cuts come for the few at the "bottom" first rather than the many at the "top." If there is a problem with morale the one at the "bottom" takes responsibility for the problems.

The more I learn about leadership the more I realize that nearly every problem in any organization can be traced DIRECTLY back to the leadership.

I guess for me, what the anti-pyramid has always meant to me goes beyond mere actions. It has to permeate the thoughts and behaviors of the leadership.

Think about it this way.

If one guy in the mail room makes a mistake there are rarely company wide effects; but when the CEO makes a mistake EVERYONE feels it.

Because of this, I see that as I move into positions of higher responsibility and authority the thing I must always remember is all those who depend on me to be and give my best. As I move toward being first I must strive to be the last; as I move to the top I must remember I am the bottom.

So, what kind of leader do I want to be?

I want to be a "The Buck Stops Here" kinda guy. I want to be the guy that you go to when it hits the fan because you know I am committed to your success. I want to be the guy that believes in you even when you don't. And when the hard work starts I want to be the guy right there in the trenches with you.

It won't be easy.

I will be fighting the conventional wisdom that says I should look out for myself. I will be fighting that voice that will tell me, "Kick back and relax. You earned this. Let everyone else do the hard stuff now." But I believe it will happen.

Why?

I have seen the pyramids... I want to build something better!

The Media and Manhood: Gran Torino

The other day I was looking for a movie to watch and came across our copy of Gran Torino.

For those who have not seen the movie; see it.

The movie is rated R for language and violence, and the characters are definitely not politically correct by any means; but it is a great movie.

In the movie Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a recent widower who finds himself living in a world that has changed a great deal while he remained firmly planted in 1950's America. He has a strained relationship (that is putting it mildly) with his two sons and seems to be haunted by the atrocities he witnessed during the Korean War.

As the movie plays out, Walt is surprised to find that he seems to have more in common with the Hmong immigrants who have taken over his neighborhood than he does with his own family. Through the process of a strange event, Walt finds himself acting as a mentor for the young man who lives in the house next-door.

What struck me most about the move, and particularly about the character played by Eastwood was the "realness" of the man.

When the government keeps you from going green.

I am a huge pack rat. I have such a hard time throwing away something that could be reused.

When I was a younger man I kept all sorts of odds-and-ends stored in boxes.

Old motors, resistors, capacitors, nuts, bolts, washers, wire string, unique items that I sometimes had no clue as to what it once was; but it all went into my boxes.

This was the reason that when I was 13 years old and my family moved I was required to carry all my own boxes. My dad told me that if I wanted all that junk I had to move it.

I have gotten a little better over the years.

One big help was that when I moved to St. Louis I had a 2001 Chevy Cavalier and could only take what I could fit in the car. That cut down my collection considerably, but it did not change my tendency toward reusing an item rather than discarding it.

Fast forward to the house on Stone Street.

Thursday Time Machine: The power of the budget.

I recently watched a video titled Dear 16-year-old Me, which made me realize that there is a great deal of advice that I wish I could go back in time and tell a 16 year old Jake. In light of that I have decided to devote Thursdays on my blog to the advice that I would give the younger version of me.

This week's piece of advice: The power of the budget.

One of the things I wish I had learned how to do better when I was younger was how to manage money.

The financial situation in my family growing up always seemed to be feast or famine. I did not learn how to set aside the extra in the good times to carry me through the bad times.

It was not until Heather and I started discussing financial matters prior to getting married that I realized how unhealthy my attitude was toward money. And the interesting thing was that I knew all the right things to do with money.

I knew that money was nothing more than a tool to be used. I knew that saving was important. I could spout off all the good advice I had ever heard in regard to money, I had loads of great advice from my grandfather on how to handle money, but my own financial habits were horrible.

Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Do you know why one side is longer?

When I was young I had the benefit of knowing and spending time with Bernard Paul Schweich, or as I called him, Grandpa.

He was on old school farmer who had a quite wisdom about him that I hope to someday attain. He was fond of jokes. To this day I will never forget why one side is longer when geese fly in a "V" formation. And woven in and among all the jokes and anecdotes were little nuggets of wisdom that have stuck with me all these years.

One bit of advice that he gave me that recently took on a new meaning for me was the phrase, "Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves."

When I was 15 years old, all that this meant to me was keep track of your money; but I have come to learn that it reaches far deeper than may bank account.

Essentially, when you break it all down, what he was really telling me was that if I mind the details then I won't have to worry as much about the big stuff.

Take my marriage, as an example.

Marriages end all the time. Statistically, a marriage is now more likely to end in divorce than to survive 25 years. But how does that happen?

Do people get married thinking that it is only a short term deal? Probably not, or they would at least change the vows from 'till death do us part to something more like 'till something better comes along. And if the problem is not on the wedding day, when does it happen?

Does someone just wake up one day and say, "I am not in love. I was in love yesterday, but today I feel nothing." No, more likely than not it was a gradual slide from devotion to apathy.

Our wedding day.

With that in mind, how can I increase my chances of one day celebrating 50 years of marriage to Heather?

Details.

Instead of letting the two of us grow apart I need to take the time on a regular basis to catch up with my wife. Ask her how she is doing and really mean it. I need to do little things like vacuum the carpet when it's not my turn or bring home flowers or rent a movie she wanted to see just so I can sit on the couch and watch it with her.

These are all small things; details. But what is the likelihood that two people grow apart when so much effort is put into making sure even the little things are taken care of?