Manager Sandwich: The Middle Manager's Survival Blog

I was daydreaming today in class and I came up with the best idea for a blog posting.  Unfortunately, I completely lost my train of thought and can't remember what I was even thinking about.  I have been so frustrated trying to realign my thoughts so I could pick up the lead, but alas the only thing I can remember is that I needed to get some clip art showing pictures of someone donating blood.  I can't explain it, and have no idea what it means, except that I am getting a little older and a little bit dumber. Interestingly enough, earlier in the morning, I made a request online with my local library to hold the movie DVD for Finding Forrester for me to pickup.  I made a detour on the way home to get it so my wife and kids could enjoy it with me.  It is certainly one of my favorite movies for several reasons: 1) It stars Sean Connery, who clearly is an excellent and my favorite actor; by far the best ever James Bond, 2) The William Forrester character strongly parallels the

A while back, I endured the results of miscommunication between myself and a coworker.  There was a serious accident at work.  Fortunatley, there wasn't anyone hurt, but quite a bit of equipment damage did result.  I received the call late in the evening, about an hour before I was going to sleep.  My coworker was a bit frantic with his description about what happened.  I tried several times to get detailed information, but he was unable to answer my questions clearly.  It could be that he hadn't seen the damage himself or that he had a tough time describing what had happened.  Either way, while driving into work, I called a few other people in the plant to gain a better understanding about the mess I was walking into.  I finally reached someone who knew what was going on, and thankfully received better details on what really happened. During the last twenty years, I have received hundreds of calls from work about mechanical failures, accidents, explosions, inujries, etc.  So

Mid-Air Controller (E-3) My son and I are huge afficianados of military aircraft.  I have purchased a couple of Jane's books for him to review all sorts of trivial facts about different aircraft from all over the world.  My son can go on for hours about the nuances and intricacies with each type.  The complexity and power of these different platforms has always been exciting for me as well. Even though military aircraft are meant for different purposes, they all have one thing in common; they are expensive and nobody in command would like to see them crash into one another because of carelessness.  That is precisely why every air force in the world uses a combination of ground control and mid-air control.  Very sophisticated systems are used to keep  aircraft from turning into one another or mistaking friendlies for enemies.  Why can't there be a similar system used in mangement? Management in an organization is like a sky full of multi-million dollar aircraft.  Each memb

  Have you seen this character before?  Chances are you remember a slightly rounder, more jovial version from Family Circus cartoons in your Sunday funny paper past.  This image is just bit more menacing because of the frustration that he causes while at work.  We aren't talking about missing cookies, tumbled snowmen, or broken windows.  No sir, we are talking about fudged inventory, damaged mobile equipment, vandalism, petty theft, graffiti, and dangerous spills. It is amazing how much effort we put in teaching our children about honesty and accountability, and how so many adults can't practice these same values in the workplace.  Perhaps it is because owning up to a mistake, misjudgement, or screw-up can cost us our job and ability to earn a living.  Would your eight year old son or daughter buy that rationalization?  I know mine wouldn't.  I wouldn't be able to hold their respect if I broke the very same rules that I hold them accountable.  As supervisors, we will