The Art of Performance Management

I'm interested in work-enjoyment. Always have been I think. It might be due to seeing how much intrinsic satisfaction my dad got from his work. If we are going to spend so much of our waking hours working, it would be nice to enjoy it. Most people don't. Lots of reasons why.

One (unnecessary) reason why we don't like work is when we are mismanaged. Happens all the time. Managers are busy. Very busy. They are too busy to spend time with the individuals on their teams.

Ironic when you consider the role of a manager is to 'get work done through others'.

Managing is also difficult. Most of us stumble through it, honing our skills over time. As part of a project recently, I wrote some principles and practices that I try to stick to. Most of this is commonsense but I've borrowed ideas, techniques and insights from Larry Bossidy, Steve Kerr, Jack Welch, and James Kilts among others. And of course from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

I've tried to keep it practical, with an example at the end showing how objectives might be written. I've discovered (after too long) that getting a process is key to good performance management. It is time consuming in the beginning, but only in the beginning.

I've called it The Art of Performance Management, acknowledging that management is more art than science.

You can download the 6-page pdf here. Feedback (good, bad, random insults etc) is welcome.

Does this still work?

Recently I'm seeing lots of ads using this technique (lots of stuff forming the shape of the product). Now I know it was mentioned as a common ad cliche here, but does it still work?

Does it cut through into our consciousness and get the intended message across?

Grab your bag

Anybody that has studied 'operation management' is probably very familiar with Southwest Airlines - the airline that Ryanair is modelled on. Their founder and ex-ceo Herb Kelleher is considered a bit of a legend. I might write a proper post on him later.

I like the ad. Found it here.

Outdoor ad for homelessness

Nice outdoor. I'm assuming the 2nd ad went up after the first week or so. Found via AdsoftheWorld

I'm really impressed with the latest TV ad from Barnardos.

I'm really impressed with the latest TV ad from Barnardos.

They have managed to steer away from cliche and create something that connects with the viewer. It is always a courageous decision to go for the heart instead of the head. The urge is to lead with a rational message that appeals to our minds. But when done well, heart always wins. The production values are high, the visuals feel very real and the music is haunting.

I initially felt that the 'call to action' could be stronger but I know there is a 30" and and 10 second one to follow the initial burst. It is always a balancing act to engage the viewer in your story and still hit them over the head with a request for cash.

I hope the campaign works. They need the money to keep their children services going. I was invited to one of their centres a few months ago and was humbled by the work they do. Visit barnardos.ie to donate a few quid if you can.

Free books

I have not been online much these past couple of months. Clearly I'm writing less. But I've been reading fewer blogs too. The upside is I'm getting a chance to do some old-school-book-reading. Two of these are Free by Chris Anderson and Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig.

Both books get into some of the debates about content, copywrite, creative and the affect of the internet on all of this. They are very different books, coming at this from different angles, but both are well written with clearly articulated arguments. I remember a bit of banter during the summer about Malcolm Gladwell's review of Free but I definitely learned something new from both books. I'd recommend them to marketers.

Apologies. The headline is a bit sneaky. The "free" refers to the subject matter, not the price. I bought them both.

However, I mentioned both these books before - as both were available at one time for free (or a version of free) in digital format. And may still be. I actually read Lessig's one on my iPhone (via Stanza) but then decided to buy the paper version too (a behaviour Anderson says is common enough).

Online video ad

Online video ad from Apple. Nicely done.

Found via Darren at digital agency Brando.

Are clients to blame?

I admire the writing from Richard in adliterate. I have hundreds of blogs in my Google Reader but generally see what he, Dave Trott and a few other smart folk have to say first.

He posted a short article (also for Campaign magazine) suggesting that creative coming from UK is not as good as international work - because of the client.

Perhaps he is right, but I was a bit surprised. My view (from the bubble I work in) is that clients were more progressive than before. Sure, we rely on metrics and like our occasional focus group, but we're not looking for 'safe' work. In fact, we hate safe.

Am I wrong?

Levi's outdoor ad

I like it.

Found via Billboard and Outdoor advertising