Big Bonus = Poor Performance

-- NOTE: Post taken from The Smart Supervisor, a blog for front line supervisors --

Yesterday on Marketplace I heard some fascinating new research that shows excessively large bonuses are associated with poorer performance. The researcher noted that higher at-risk compensation motivates us (the desired effect) but also acts as a stressor (an undesirable effect). At a certain point, huge bonuses create more stress than motivation resulting in poorer performance.

This research adds to a growing body of empirical evidence supporting what smart supervisors have known all along: people don't leave, stay, or work hard because of money. Employees are retained and motivated by the vision the leader casts, the accountability the leader creates, the responsibility the leader gives, and the empowerment the employees feel. We are entering a period of time in which soft skills will be far more critical than hard skills. Or as Tom Peters puts it, "'soft' is the new 'hard'". So work on your soft skills, especially listening and communicating.

Check out the full Marketplace report. The researcher sounds a bit like Dr. Nick on the Simpsons.

On the Reduction of Errant Whizzing

I recently read through a presentation by Tom Peters, which I downloaded from his blog. It mentions a significant reduction in errant whizzing through the seemingly small act of etching an insect-like target into urinals. Tom calls slight changes which have proportionally large results "nudges".

I thought of this today when I visited the bathroom of the Black Drop. They have innovated in their bathroom space in a different way. Being counter-cultural (or anti-establishment, or something like that) they have placed chalk boards in their bathrooms, presumably to encourage graffiti rather than discourage it. Would-be vandals probably don't feel cheated that their work can be wiped away effortlessly.

Speaking of the Black Drop, I hope to hear from them after this post. If they have Google Alerts set up, they will get notified that someone (me) is blogging about them. I set up Google Alerts for my name. No one is really talking about me. At least not yet.

That is all for now.

I Want to Work at Twitter, Or...

What Makes for a Good Job

Recently I had the chance to read @dom's post about how twitter got started. It was both interesting and inspiring, and it illustrates a number of the things that make for a good job.

1. A Smart Team
I love that the Twitter team works together so much. They brainstorm, design, dialogue, and meet in big open warehouse type places. I want to be part of a team like that.

2. A Clear Vision
Part of what creates such a compelling team atmosphere is the pursuit of a clearly defined vision. Nothing brings people together like a common problem, and vision is the anticipated solution to a problem. It would be great to be part of a team pursuing a clear, meaningful vision.

3. A Continuous Learning Opportunity
If I were to work at Twitter it would put me alongside people who know WAY more than me about technology, creating software, starting companies, and a whole host of other things I'm interested in. I'd be surrounded by really smart people. No matter what the job, the opportunity to ask questions and learn from smart people is very compelling to me. Maybe that's why this job opportunity intrigued me so much. My dream job: working as part of a brilliant team pursuing a clear, meaningful vision with continuous learning opportunities.

4. A Sense of Achievement
Twitter's creators must be incredibly proud. Their brain child has millions of users and Venture Capitalists are falling all over themselves to invest in their company. I hope to find work which I can look back on and feel proud of. For me, the impact of not getting a sense of achievement from my work is that I have a really hard time relaxing. I feel a built in need to improve, create, learn, and grow something - and when I don't feel like I am accomplishing this at work, I take that desire home. I get restless and anxious and I try to work at anything that will show progress when I should be recreating, laughing, and enjoying life's truest pleasures: coffee, The Office, comic strips, sunrises, camping, fishing, crossword puzzles, friends, sunsets, gardening, etc. I can tell this is becoming a problem based on the movies I want to watch. My favorite movies, the ones I truly enjoy, are rarely acclaimed. They are cliche, funny, and predictable. Like Emperor's New Groove (yes, the cartoon). When I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything, I try to relax and achieve at the same time; so I pick movies that are critically acclaimed, or that I think will make me smarter, or that I can blog about later. Also, I start trying to work on my lunch breaks. I go to the library, research business ideas, bring books to read, and above all, I find myself asking "What can I do with this time? What can I get done?". I feel restless. All that to say, I need to feel a sense of accomplishment at work so that I can enjoy my family and friends and my life.

Basically, I want to work as part of a brilliant team pursuing a clear vision that provides continuous learning opportunities and a sense of accomplishment.

There, I said it. If you know of any opportunities like that, let me know.

PS That job I linked to above might still be available.

Learning From Tim O'Reilly

I mentioned in my initial post about Twitter that one of the first people I started following was Tim O'Reilly. It's been one of the best following choices I've made. I've only read two of his blog posts, but I learned something from both. And not the kind of things that just make you think "oh, that's kind of interesting". The type of things I will try to remember and apply in the future. Things that, in a small way, shape who I will be in the future.

The first was posted shortly after Bernard Madoff's giant Ponzi scheme hit the news. Tim's post included a quote from Herman Daly differentiating between a growth economy and a steady state economy. The idea that stuck with me is that we need to transition from an economy based on using things up to an economy based on taking a fixed amount of things and constantly remaking and improving them. In Daly's own words: "Growth is more of the same stuff; development is the same amount of better stuff (or at least different stuff)." This idea builds on what I learned from The Story of Stuff: that a linear system with a limited amount of resources is unsustainable.

The second was a little more recent: an explanation of Tim's "work on stuff that matters" mantra. In particular I like the second principle: create more value than you capture. In summary, he insinuates that creating and capturing value are more or less mutually exclusive activities; if you're focusing on capturing every last cent of value, you'll find yourself creating less and less. On the other hand, if you capture some of the value of a constantly evolving value creation string, you'll actually end up capturing more value in the end. And you'll have a stronger sense of accomplishment.

What Brazen Careerist Should Do

I'm taking a page from @ev's book. Evan recently wrote a post about what Blogger should do; I'm going to try to do the same for Brazen Careerist. The main difference here is that I didn't start Brazen Careerist, nor did I sell it to Google for like a gazillion dollars. Evan did both with Blogger. So, for what it's worth, here goes:

Background
I joined Brazen Careerist a few weeks ago, sometime in that pre-Christmas blur. Since then, the number of "careerists" has probably quadrupled, which is a good sign. Anyway, I found Penelope Trunk's blog, which I usually enjoy, and she started Brazen, so I decided to check it out. It's a place for Gen-Y type people to discuss work, share their thoughts, and develop their careers. And there's also something nebulous about interacting with companies looking to hire bright people. Which is what initially interested me. More on that later.

What Brazen Shouldn't Do
I'm a little worried, because a lot of the features ("Fans", Profiles, Blog Feeds, etc) are reminiscent of all the other social networking sites, including Facebook, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, etc. Don't focus on the social networking thing. Why? All those other sites have been doing it a lot longer than Brazen, and they're doing it better than Brazen. So Brazen must be more than a place for people to connect and get to know each other. Which I believe it is, or can be.

What Brazen Should Do
The thing that attracted me to Brazen in the first place was the opportunity to interact with potential employers on a personal level. That's a revolutionary idea, and I don't know anyone else who is providing that. Unfortunately, as a Brazen Careerist I haven't been able to connect with any companies or their representatives (so far). So, as a first step, if individuals from sponsor companies haven't joined Brazen, they need to. Get some young recruiter-types from each company participating in the community. Then:

1. Help me find them. Set them apart, so I know who they are. An icon, a different font, a different color, their company's logo, something. And differentiate their contributions throughout the site so everyone knows a company's response or opinion from a Careerist's.
2. Give them a different profile template with info about the company, the individual representative's job, personal and corporate goals, mission statements, etc.
3. Feature their blog postings about their company, it's culture, their personal as well as corporate struggles, successes, and problems. Help them solicit feedback from the community, and allow them to provide input (and value) to the community.

In a sentence, Brazen should facilitate personal interaction between companies (reps, recruiters, marketers?) and the Brazen community. In fact, in addition to finding a source of great people, participating companies may gain new perspectives, innovative solutions, and access to critical feedback. And Brazen Careerists can get to know the companies offering the opportunities they're looking for. Imagine having a window into the decision making process, culture, and environment of a potential employer. That's what I hope I can get at Brazen Careerist.