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[A522]An Open Letter To Obama

by Bob Selden, Bob

Dear (please put your name here .......................),

If you are a young manager, perhaps recently graduated, then there's a good chance you are intelligent, confident and ambitious - keen to make your mark in the world. Chances are also high that you have high expectations of both the job and the organization, and that you are quite independent.

Additionally, if you have been promoted from within the team, then no doubt you have some very good ideas on what needs improving. Your own manager will see you as innovative, technologically savvy and willing to learn. He or she may have said to colleagues "My new team leader / manager will be like a breath of fresh air for the team - just what the doctor ordered."

All of your traits and characteristics are highly valued by your employer - probably the reason you have been promoted so quickly. Applied appropriately, they are very positive characteristics to have and will ensure your success in your new role.

On the downside, these same characteristics that are valued so highly by your employer, may count for nothing with the people you are about to manage. They did not appoint you.

Having worked with many experienced and not so experienced managers, I have seen what leads to success and what can impede success. Below are my nine principles for avoiding career derailment. They are in my own personal priority order and are what experienced managers call "learning how to learn".

Priority #1: Give recognition to your people for good work regularly. Find at least one of your team doing something well every day and thank them specifically for what they have done. This builds a positive culture within your team.

Priority #2: Ask for help when you need it. Use the experience within your team. It's easy to think that "I'm the manager. I'm supposed to know what I'm doing, so it may make me look weak if I ask for help." There's only a very slight difference between self confidence and arrogance. The self confident manager says "I definitely know there is an answer (somewhere) to this challenge or problem." Whereas the arrogant manager says "I have the answer to this challenge or problem".

Priority #3: Keep a Learning Journal. Jot down things in a small pocket book that you think may be important. In particular, when you do overcome a major challenge or problem, take time to reflect (and record) - What was the challenge? What did I do that worked well? What did I do that did not work so well? What will I do differently next time? Review your journal once a week on a designated day and time. Make this a habit.

Priority #4: Avoid snap decisions. Certainly trust your gut instinct, but before jumping into action, reflect - Is this the best approach for this issue at this time? What are some other alternatives?

Priority #5: Admit mistakes. The leadership research suggests that all great leaders share one common trait - they are willing to admit when they are wrong. Admitting mistakes shows that you are human. It also builds trust and respect.

Priority #6: Build your network. Look at the organisation chart. Who are the successful managers? Who could possibly be of help to you? Make sure you build a network of colleagues from outside your team.

Priority #7: Be careful when giving negative feedback to experienced staff. Make sure you get the words right - ask them for their input in solving the issue or improving their performance. If you have not had some training in giving feedback, ask your manager or consult a good book.

Priority #8: Check your results. Once you have been in the role for nine months, complete a 360 degree profile. As well as getting feedback from your own manager and perhaps informal feedback from others, you need to get an accurate view of how you are performing as a manager. If your organisation does not have a 360 process, see the link at the end of this letter.

Priority #9: Find a mentor. Look for a manager within your organisation whom everyone respects. Build a relationship with that person. Over time, this friendship should turn into a mentoring relationship. Mentoring takes time - take yours!

One final piece of advice from an old, experienced manager. You are young, energetic and have great potential to move up the corporate ladder. The only thing you lack is experience. In twelve months time, make sure that your manager will be telling his / her colleagues "Yes, that was a great decision I made promoting (put your name here ................). What a fabulous young leader he / she is."

Copyright (c) 2008 Bob Selden - Author, What To Do When You Become The Boss

"The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries,"

"The productivity figure is found by dividing the country's gross domestic product by the number of people employed. The U.N. report is based on 2006 figures..."

AP is stating the productivity figure is found by dividing the country's gross domestic product [GDP] by the number of people employed. If you calculate the average U.S. worker productivity rate based on the explanation provided by the Associated Press the numbers don't jibe. They don't even come close.

Using GDP for 2006 in billions of dollars $13,194.7 [13 trillion] and dividing it by the number of people employed in 2006 - 151,428,000 (81,255,000 men and 70,173,000 women) will not provide anyone with $63,885 in productivity.

$13,194,700,000,000.00 / 151,428,000 = $87,135.14

If you work backwards and take the 2006 GDP figure [13 trillion] and divide by the $63,885 in productivity, it should provide you with the number of people employed - it doesn't.

$13,194,700,000,000.00 / $63,885.00 = 206,538,311

206.5 million "employed" in the U.S. is no more than wishful thinking. There are two major problems with the Associated Press productivity article as far as we're concerned. One is the $64,000 (rounded) figure for worker productivity. The other is the number of workers--200 million (rounded)--implied to produce the stated GDP of $13.1 trillion.

All the endless formulas and equations presumably showing how productivity is computed are questionable, to say the least, when they end up showing $64,000 per worker.

The ILO report is an extremely complex document and when the AP writes an article with a statement indicating a formula for determining a specific number, readers should be provided with more than a one sentence definition. We're not familiar with the ILO report so we don't know if the problem is we're using the wrong figure for GDP, the wrong year for GDP, or the wrong number of employed workers - obviously AP knows what to use otherwise they wouldn't be writing an article providing a definition.

So how about it, AP - what is the full story on the ILO productivity calculation?

The United Nations, International Labour Organization (ILO) released their report entitled "Key Indicators in the Labour Market - Fifth Edition" on September 3, 2007. KILM is a major undertaking by the ILO that is published every other year. The KILM contains a core set of 20 market indicators with KILM 18 focusing on productivity.

The AP article headlines the fact this report indicates U.S. workers are the most productive in the world. Based on the explanation of rankings indicated in KILM 18, U.S. workers might be better off being last.

"The difference in rankings can be explained by the fact that annual working hours per person employed are considerably higher in the United States than in the majority of European economies; therefore, each US worker is able to produce more, leading to higher labour productivity when measured based on per person employed."

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Both Bob Selden & Patricia L Johnson And Richard E Walrath are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Bob Selden has sinced written about articles on various topics from Management, Customer Service and Education. Bob Selden is the author of the newly published "" - a self help book for new managers. He also coaches at the International. Bob Selden's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.

Patricia L Johnson And Richard E Walrath has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath are co-owners of Articles and Answers and often join forces to write articles on subjects of interest to both. For further reading please visit the following site:. Patricia L Johnson And Richard E Walrath's top article generates over 720 views. to your Favourites.