CAREERPATHS

　　Manymanagersthinkresponsibilityendswhentheyhavetoldsomeoneelseaboutaproblem.Withoutaction,talkisjustawasteofbreath.

　　Mycolleaguewasn'thappyaboutherhouse-theonestillonthemarketafterthreemonths.It'snotthatI'mangryattherealtorbecausethehousehasn'tsold,shesaid.It'sthewayshecommunicateswithme.

　　Listentothis.Myrealtorsentmeane-mailthatsaid:'IfeelIshouldpassonallthefeedbackIget.Yesterday,acouplesuggestedthatthehousebeoverpriced.Doyouthinkweshouldlowerit？'

　　Sohere'swhyIgetangry,continuedmyfriend.WhenIlistedthehouse,Iaskedher,'Atwhatpricecanyousellit?'Shegavemeanumber,andIagreed.Nowshe'shidingbehindfeedbackfromananonymouscouple,whomayormaynotexist,toaskmetolowertheprice.She'stakingthepositionthatshe'sjustaconduitforinformation.Wimpy！Sheneedstotellmethatshegoofedandpricedthehousetoohigh.

　　INSERTYOURSELF.Ithoughtthatwasagreatobservation.Howoftendoweseebusinesspeoplepassingoninformationasiftheirroleistobeapostalcarrier,whenwhat'sneededisnotonlyinformation,butacommitmenttoaction？

　　Agoodexampleistheaddirectorwho,whenthevice-presidentofmarketingasks,How'sthenewadcampaigncomingalong?replies,Theagencysaystheadsarerunninglate.

　　Okay.Soyou'retheaddirector,whatareyoudoingaboutit?What'sPlanBifthecampaignisn'treadyontime?

　　Ifyousimplypassoninformationwithoutinsertingyourself-here'swhatIheard,andhere'showitaffectsus,andhere'showI'mmanagingthesituation-youaren'taddinganyvalue.Whenlargeemployersshedlayersofmanagementbackinthe'80s,thisiswhattheyweregettingridof:peoplewhosechiefresponsibilitiesweretopassinformationtoandfro,withouthavingmuchotherimpact.Looksliketheydidn'teliminateallofthat-ormaybeithascreptback.

　　NOONE'SSAYIN'…Plentyofmanagersremain（includingthoseborninthe'80s）whobehaveasthoughtheirpurposeinlifeistoletotherpeopleknowwhat'sgoingon,sothoseotherpeoplecanhandlethesituation.Butthatisn'tmanagement.

　　IntheSouthsideChicagoneighborhoodwheremyhusbandgrewup,there'sagreatexpression:Noone'ssayin'...I'mjustsayin'isacolloquialismthatcracksmeup.

　　Soifnoone'ssayin',whatexactlyareyousayin'?Businesspeopledothisallthetime.I'mgoingtomakeastatementnow,butIdon'twantyoutoholdmetoit.Ifyouwatchme,mylipswillmove,butIdon'thaveanopinionaboutwhatI'msaying,andIdon'twanttohavetoactonit.

　　That'sthegistofit.Noone'ssayin'[thatwemissedourlastthreedeadlines]……I'mjustsayin'.

　　Okay.Thanksforsayingthat.Nowwhat？

　　WHOSEPROBLEM?YOURS!Ionceworkedwitharegionalrecruitingmanagerwhohadabadcaseofthis.Onedayhecameintomyofficeexclaiming:Man!Youshouldhaveheardthesalesmanageronthephonescreamingattheheadhunter!（Weweredoingsalesrecruitingandusingaretainedsearchfirm.）

　　Me：Sowhatwashescreamingabout？

　　He：Thesalescandidatesthesearchfirmissendingarenogood.

　　Me：Andaretheyanygood？

　　He：They'renotthatgreat.

　　Me：Sohowdowefeelaboutthat？

　　He：Iguessthesalesmanagerwasmad.Hewasreallyscreaming.

　　Me：I'mnotabigfanofscreaming-badforthevocalcords-butifanyoneisgoingtoscreamattheheadhunter,itshouldbeyou,notthesalesmanager,right?Aren'tyouinchargeofrecruiting?

　　He：Well,Iletthesalesmanagerknowthatthesalespeoplesaidthecandidateswerenogood.That'swhenhepickedupthephoneandstartedscreaming.

　　Thisistheproblem.Noimpactontheprocess-justalotoffact-pushing.Peoplewhomakeadifferencearen'tmerelylettercarriers.Theyjumpintomakethingsworkbetter,movefaster.Andwhentheyspeak,theysaywhattheymeanandownit.NotNoone'ssayin',butHere'swhatI'msaying-andhere'swhyyoushouldcare.

　　BEARAINMAKER.Corporatepostalcarriersaretoanenterprisewhatspectatorsaretoamildlyinterestingtennismatch:Wow,there'sagoodshot.My,lookatthatreturn.

　　It'snotthatyouhavetoquiverwithregretasyousharewithyourfellowmanagersthe40-secondincreaseinresponsetimesdownincustomersupport.Butneithershouldyoumerelyreportthefacts.Youaren'theretoreportthenews,you'reheretomakeit.

　　ThisiswhatmakesyourtypicallyvolatileCEOjumpupanddownandpoundthetable-thisknow-lots,do-nothingdiseasethatcanspreadlikepink-eyethroughmanagementteams.Yougetenoughofthishere'stheinformation,althoughnoone'squitesayin'aroundaboardroom,andyoucanliterallyseetheCEO'sbloodpressuresoar.

　　Sowho'sfixingtheproblemhewilleventuallyroar.Yes,Iknowthesethingsarecomplicated.YourgroupiswaitingforresultsfromtheStrategicPlanningGroup,whichisonholdpendingasecondroundofinterviewsbytheHighly-PaidConsultants,andthenthere'stheinterplaywiththeIntegrationTeamand…

　　HEARTANDSOUL.Look.Justdothismanafavor.Nowisyourmoment.Standupandbellow,I'LLFIXIT!That'sallhewantstohear.

　　Andrememberthisthenexttimeyou'refeelingsmugaboutyouroh-so-perfectPowerPointdeckandup-to-the-secondinformation:Informationaloneisn'tpower.Informationdeployedwithheartandvigorforgoodeffectispower.Therestisjustreally,reallyboringgossipthatwillbecomeoutdatedinthetimeittakestogasupyourcar.

　　Ifyouwanttobeapostalcarrier,applytotheU.S.PostalService.Ifnot,stoptalkingandmakesomethinghappen.