Tag: Satire
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Valuing Employees
How do you best tell an employee that they have value? As a manager that may be the single most important question you can ask, but fortunately the answer is easy: reward them! While the how is easy, the what is not obvious. Just walking up and saying “good job” isn’t enough in today’s world.… Read more
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Employee Development: A Hammer and Chisel
Michelangelo said “The sculpture is already complete within the marble. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” As a manager, you are the artist and your employees are the stone, just waiting for the superfluous material to be chipped away by your deft hands. The people reporting directly to… Read more
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Inspiration!
Famed baseball coach Yogi Berra once said “100% of inspiration is 90% perspiration.” Yogi Berra didn’t actually say that, but it sure sounds like something he would say. And you can too. Confused? Of course you are. That’s because everything you’ve ever learned about inspiring people is wrong. Your team looks up to you, not… Read more
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Such Sweet Sorrow
Saying goodbye to a trusted colleague and work friend can be a difficult time. It may be the hardest thing most employees will face during their entire working career. Years or even decades of camaraderie somehow get washed away with a few gluten-free cupcakes at 2PM in the break room. You’ve been through challenges together… Read more
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No I in Team
As the old saying goes “There is no ‘I’ in team”, but that’s just an old cliche dragged out to remind people not to be too full of themselves, right? Why then, would Frederick E. “Fredly” Frederickson, Professor of Leadering and Manageristical Arts trot out that old saw? Because there is truth that must be… Read more
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The Truth & Lindbergh’s Baby
The truth is too important to be tethered to just the facts as we know them. Truth is very much like faith, you must see the Divine before it appears. As the story goes: Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was the child of famous aviator Charles “Lucky Lindy” Lindbergh. “Little Lindy”, as he was called, was… Read more
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100 Years Down the Drain.
Fred and I do most of our writing and blogging in a quiet, removed part of our corporate offices affectionately named ‘The Loft’. Imagine a 1200 square foot singular creative space with admittedly too much Lovesac and not quite enough pendant lighting. The overlapping throw rugs and light jazz gently oozes a calm vibe from… Read more
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Message to the C-Suite
Everything you’re doing is great! Every personnel decision you’ve made since you reached the top has been perfect. As long as you have the “C” in front of your title, so will be every decision going forward.* *Note to the reader: At ICBM we occasionally use sarcasm to make a point, but not in this… Read more
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Captain Corn Pop
################################################ International College of Businessery and Managering OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASECOURTESY: REUTERS TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE For immediate release: Wednesday 18:00 EST ################################################ Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am Dr. Fred P. Frederickson, Chief Content Officer and Co-founder here at the International College of Businessery and Managering on 1105 West 83rd Avenue. I sincerely wish we were all… Read more
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The Kum-By-Yah Factory – Part 1
In answering the question “how do we best cultivate healthy, productive employees?” – it turns out science answered this question for us nearly 80 years ago. Dust off your psychology textbook and open your eyes. On the topic of employee motivation, Abraham Maslow has something important to say, and I suggest you listen closely. Of… Read more