GenXmanager: Leadership for the Generation X Manager

Dunder Mifflin corporate asked Michael to gather some information on a competitor in a potential new market. Michael and Dwight decide to go “undercover” and obtain competitive intelligence. Michael pretended to be a potential client while Dwight pretended to be an interested potential employee. You can watch the episode to get caught up.

Michael successfully extracted the necessary competitive intelligence. However, because he pretended to be a potential client, the owner of this small, “ma and pa” paper distributor also gave Michael their full client list. Michael realized that if he were to share the client list with Dunder Mifflin corporate, he would likely devastate the small business and cause harm to the family who owned the business.

Here’s the ethical question: Should Michael have used deception to obtain competitor information and should Michael share the list he obtained from the competitor? If he does share the list, he will likely advance his standing at Dunder Mifflin corporate which will likely help his career. If he doesn’t share the list he will have done the minimum information collection but will not overly impress his boss.

Michael was deceptive in the way he obtained the list. It was easy to sense his inner turmoil and guilt. So we need to first determine the ethical significance of his deception.

Some would say, as Dwight did, that “It’s business, nothing personal.” Some would rightfully argue that the business landscape is competitive and companies need to gather intelligence. If it means “going undercover” then that is what it takes. Others, however, would say that deception is not an acceptable business practice. Michael lied to get information and therefore his actions were unethical and wrong.

The next consideration is his sharing of the competitor’s client list with corporate. From what we know, corporate did not ask for a client list and only wanted information that would have been available if the competitor were a public organization. Michael began to collect that information by asking, “How many clients do you have?” and “When did you setup shop?” He even asked about how they stocked their trucks. But the client list was an unexpected “gift”.

Michael knew he was experiencing an ethical dilemma but eventually gave into Dwight’s unconvincing arguments (it dealt with Lord of the Rings and other such Dwight nonsense). In the end, he gave the client list to corporate.

I’ll be asking my MGMT 600 class to deal with this ethical dilemma and I’m sure some will fall on the side of Michael and others will say that everything he did was wrong. What would you do given the same situation?

Last consideration…perhaps it is time for business to move beyond this type of activity. I’d argue that the current financial mess of 2008 and 2009 is in part a result of unethical business practices, greed, and deception. Business is business but perhaps it’s time to move beyond business and become enterprises that earn profits, innovate, act ethically, and are socially responsible. Call it Business 3.0.

First, I must apologize that I did not write a lessons learned for Episode 12. Because Episode 12 was chock full of business lessons, I am still working on detailing those lessons. For those who don’t remember, Episode 12 featured Stanley being insubordinate. I vow that a business lessons post will be forthcoming. I might wait for The Office season to be over so I can give this episode its proper focus.

For Episode 13, I want to concentrate on Jim. In Episode 12, Jim was reprimanded by Ryan for essentially goofing off and not taking his job seriously. Instead of complaining or whining, Jim decides to make a change. He states, “I’m doing something I’ve never done before in this job. Try.” In this episode, we see Jim take a prospective client on a golf outing. He attempts to close the sale multiple times but fails. However, he doesn’t give up. Through persistance, he closes the sale.

Let me ask you a basic question. Are you valuable to your employer? I’m not talking about “doing your job” or filling a space at your desk. I’m talking about going above and beyond. Do you ask questions no one else asks? Do you do more than is expected? Are you engaged in your work? Are you an inspiration to your co-workers?

I will assume that since you are reading this blog, you are interested in succeeding. To succeed, you need to do what others won’t. I would guess that 65% of all employees do exactly what they are suppose to do and 10% do less. That means only 25% add value (it is probably less than 25% but let’s be positive). It is these 25% who earn the money and get the promotions.

Success is not accidental. Again, success is NOT accidental. Think about any successful person you admire. I bet that person added value in all they did. Sure, they made mistakes, but overall, they added value to their employers, their bosses, their customers, to everyone who they came in contact with.

Here are few easy steps to add value each day:

1. Download The Add Value Worksheet.
2. Review your job description.
   Dig out your job description. Sure, you haven’t looked at it since you were hired, but get it out and note all of your responsibilities. Write them in the Add Value Worksheet.
3. Review additional work activities.
   Next, take some time to think of everything else you are expected to do but aren’t in your job description. Add these to the list.
4. Rate your Value Score on the worksheet.
   Be honest on this one.
5. Collaborate with your boss.
   Don’t complete the worksheet in a vacuum. Ask your boss how you can add more value. Share the completed worksheet with him/her. You don’t want to add tasks to your day that you think add value when in reality your boss sees them as time-wasters. In addition, your boss may think of great ideas you may have never considered.
6. Craft an Action Plan.
   For those items where you rated yourself as a 1 or a 2, create an action plan to add value. Think of concrete ways you can add value to your expected responsibility. What can you do each day that will “WOW” your boss, co-workers, subordinates, or customers?

After you complete the worksheet it is time to act! Post the list in your cube or office. Each day make sure you are following your action plan. It will not be easy, but remember, success doesn’t come easy.

Tonight’s episode of The Office demonstrates what happens when a problem is not thought through critically from start to finish. Ryan, former temp worker turned senior manager, returned to the Scranton branch to generate ideas to help improve the Dunder Mifflin Infinity website and boost sales. To do this he takes up the staff’s work time on Friday which means everyone will need to work Saturday. Jim, however, decides to present an idea to the rest of his office colleges. If they work late Friday, they can avoid coming into work Saturday. The office staff agrees to stay late.

It is about 9PM and the Dunder Mifflin Scranton team is finished their work. Jim triumphantly gives kudos to the staff. Everyone is happy until they go outside to leave and see that the gate is locked thus trapping them in the parking lot. Stanley looks at Jim and says, “You didn’t tell the security guard we were working late?” “Nope,” replies Jim.

Jim Halpert had a fantastic idea but failed to think through the entire solution. The concept of ‘systems thinking’ is common for engineers and IT professionals but perhaps not as common as it should be for managers. Business happens due to the interplay between people, processes, and technology. When making decisions or simply planning, it is essential to think of the whole and how the parts work together rather than simply looking at the parts themselves.

If you Google ‘systems thinking’ you will find a lot of complex theory with very little “how to” information. I don’t want to over simplify the concept, but at its core, becoming a systems thinker is relatively straight forward. After you’ve identified a problem or opportunity you will enter the problem solving phase. As you problem solve, think of the process as a whole. When does the process start and when does it stop? As creative solutions present themselves, think of the ramification of the solution throughout the process.

In Jim’s situation he simply thought “we stay late, we don’t work on Saturday.” Sounds simple. But, the solution of staying late had specific consequences. The process of locking the facility was not aligned with the solution of staying late. Without integrating these two processes, the Dunder Mifflin team was forced to wait for the security guard to come back and let them out. In the end, the cleaning people showed up and saved the day.

Completely unrelated to business lessons – I’ve noticed that this season is very serious and not as “light hearted” as in previous seasons. Thus far we’ve seen Michael and Jan suffer through financial difficulties, a legal deposition and now we see Ryan with a drug problem. I’m not sure I like this new drama. The Office is a much better show when it is focused on situations in the office and on less serious subject matter.

The Office again demonstrated why it is not only a brilliant comedy, but a show chock full of practical business lessons. There were many lessons to choose from last night’s episode but the one I want to focus on for this article is the topic of delegation.

In last night’s episode, W.B. Jones Heating and Air trucks were parked in the spaces closest to the building and thus making it necessary for Dunder Mifflin employees to park in the ‘satellite lot’. Andy and Kevin were particularly perturbed so they approached Michael so he could fix the situation. After they ask for his help the exchange went as follows:

Michael Scott: I wish I could [help] but I can’t. Well, I can. But won’t. Should. Maybe…I can probably handle it but I think it would be a good exercise for you to do yourselves.

Andy Bernard: We won’t let you down.

Michael Scott: [under his breath] You can’t because I don’t care.

In this exchange, Michael has delegated a task by “empowering” Andy and Kevin to “own the solution” and do it themselves. Of course, the motivation behind Michael’s delegation was to get them out of his office and to avoid confronting “The Five Families” of Scranton Business Park. This little exchange in the show begs the question, what should be delegated to employees. Empowerment and delegation are great buzzwords but when is it appropriate to delegate. Here are a few do’s and dont’s.

Don’t delegate…

1. because you simply don’t want to do the work;
2. because you are afraid of the challenge of the task or what the task might entail;
3. to set someone up for failure by giving them an assignment you know the employee does not have the skillset to succeed;
4. you are a laissez-faire manager and not really in touch with your co-workers or employees;
5. because you want to be like Michael Scott!

Do delegate…

1. because you don’t have the necessary strengths in a certain area to perform the task successfully. Delegate it to someone who does;
2. when you don’t have the expertise to perform an assignment;
3. because it is more efficient for someone else to do the task;
4. because the task is not part of your core responsibilities. What I mean is that you cannot do everything and if you spent time dealing with issues that are not core to your job responsibilities, you won’t get to those responsibilities in the course of your day. Your job is not to do someone else’s job well but to do your job well;
5. you want to challenge someone and have them reach a higher level of achievement. At the core, isn’t this what leadership is all about? Give someone a responsibility you would normally take care of. It might be challenging for that person but without challenge, people stagnate. Challenging this person will give them a new skill, confidence, and experience to tackle a similar task in the future.

Delegation is a means of developing employees, ensuring tasks are done by those who have the strengths to perform the tasks, and is critical to living a balanced life so you aren’t spending 60 hours in the office.

This article touched lightly on delegation but for more tips please visit Management hack: The sweet spot of delegation at Slacker Manager.

Finally, in the this article I mention “The Five Families” of Scranton Business Park. For those of you who want to know, they are:

Micheal Scott, Dunder Mifflin
Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration
Paul Faust, Disaster Kits Limited
W.B. Jones, W.B. Jones Heating and Air
Bill Cress, Cress Tool and Die.