Frequently Made Mistakes

1. Frequently Made Mistakes Standard practices and their possible side-effects Old whine new titleOld whine new title

2. 2 Points to Ponder Even after following each stage and step of a perfect model, are you sure your product is good? Everything looks green on dashboards – truth or managed realities? Why are you doing what you are doing? Hiring someone you are not sure of because of a deadline? Star of the month, performance appraisals, sandwich model – can anything be wrong in these standard practices? Have some managers become a controlling rather than an enabling/supporting function? Everyone is doing the best they know, under their circumstances Ever so often there is crisis, panic, chaos Let’s look at a few oversights, assumptions, following/aping standard practices and not realizing their inapplicability, and honest to God mistakes rather blunders. Everyone is doing the best they know, under their circumstances Ever so often there is crisis, panic, chaos Let’s look at a few oversights, assumptions, following/aping standard practices and not realizing their inapplicability, and honest to God mistakes rather blunders.

3. 3 About the Session Not a fault-finding, ranting, or preachy session There is no magic solution to all that ails the world around us Sharing some “Oh what just happened?” “It never works” moments Collection of information available on the net, some text reused, some amended Encourage us to recognize limitations, confusions, and mistakes Not in any particular sequence Not a reflection of any particular place or people

4. 4 Recognizing (and Avoiding) Mistakes Mistakes and bad experiences are harsher, better teachers. A look at a few: Management mistakes Drawbacks of the standard management incentives and carrots Product management mistakes Documentation mistakes Hiring mistakes Everyone is doing the best they know, under their circumstances Everything looking green on management dashboards Ever so often there is crisis, panic, chaos Let’s look at a few oversights, assumptions, following/aping standard practices and not realizing their inapplicability, and honest to God mistakes rather blunders. In no particular Order Everyone is doing the best they know, under their circumstances Everything looking green on management dashboards Ever so often there is crisis, panic, chaos Let’s look at a few oversights, assumptions, following/aping standard practices and not realizing their inapplicability, and honest to God mistakes rather blunders. In no particular Order

5. Standard Management Incentives Drawbacks of “carrots” and common practices

6. 6 Employee of the Month Meant to motivate all employees to deliver superior performance and earn the title of "employee of the month" By definition, only one can earn it while the others are left with performances that go unrecognized Obvious use as a PR/visibility exercise Worst implementation – rewarding people for what they are paid to do, nothing extraordinary Going round-robin through the team

7. 7 Stretch Goals Seem necessary to drive improved performance Are typically set too high Failure to reach them, leads to discouragement Efforts toward stretch goals diminish over time Disenchantment sets in and effort toward all goals is eventually extinguished Positive reinforcement and really needed improvements get side-lined

8. 8 Performance Appraisals Needs no explanation – been around forever Mandates that all performers cannot receive a top rating at the same time Doesn't recognize performance as it happens Appraisals should be continuous Each employee should know how well they are doing – if need be on a daily basis Evaluate each person against what they should do, not in relation to anyone else

9. 9 Undeserved Rewards Every day organizations reward routine things Million hours without an accident Reduction in errors Perfect attendance Is that really valuable behavior and deserves celebration? Any perk or benefit given across the board punishes all those who do a good job and rewards the poor performers Rewards and recognition must be earned

10. 10 The Sandwich Model Sandwich criticism between two positive statements Creates a "waiting for the other shoe to drop" environment Eases the manager’s task of delivering bad news to the employee Does nothing to buffer the blow from the employee’s Pov Be direct. If some behavior needs correcting, pinpoint the behavior to be stopped Remember to positively reinforce all instances of the new behavior

11. 11 Favoring "Smart" People Smart, talented people are not really in short supply Thinking that some employees are smarter that others is harmful to all Given the right environment, most people can become "smart and talented" Create a culture where managers are rewarded for the number of "smart, talented people" they produce—not hire Obvious favoring is rarely a good idea

12. Management Mistakes New managers in organizations From star individual contributors to management Reminder for the seasoned professionals

13. 13 New Managers Transition from worker to manager When you're a worker, you have a job and you do it As a manager, you are responsible for the results of a group of people, not just for yourself Becoming a manager requires the development of a whole new set of business skills – people skills Some of the most talented employees from a technical perspective become the worst managers

14. 14 As a manager, are you guilty of … Not setting clear goals and expectations Effective performance starts with clear goals Employees have little motivation to do anything but show up Failing to delegate Failing to communicate Not sharing information Employees must be empowered with information so that they can make the best decisions

15. 15 Managers Manage Managing is all about people You need to make time for people Some workers may need your time more than others Not recognizing employee achievements Finding meaningful ways to recognize your employees for the good that they do is more important than ever Most managers agree that rewarding employees is important; they just aren't sure how to do so and don't take the time or effort to recognize their employees Failing to learn Most managers are accustomed to success, and they initially learned a lot to make that success happen Often, however, they catch a dreaded disease — hardening of the attitudes — after they become managers, and they only want things done their way Successful managers find the best ways to get tasks done and accomplish their goals, and then they develop processes and policies to institutionalize these effective approaches to doing business. This method is great as long as the organization's business environment doesn't change. However, when the business environment does change, if the manager doesn't adjust — that is, doesn't learn — the organization suffers as a result. Today, managers have to be ready to change the way they do business as their environments change around them. They have to constantly learn, experiment, and try new methods. If a manager doesn't adapt, he or she is doomed to extinction — or at least irrelevance. Successful managers find the best ways to get tasks done and accomplish their goals, and then they develop processes and policies to institutionalize these effective approaches to doing business. This method is great as long as the organization's business environment doesn't change. However, when the business environment does change, if the manager doesn't adjust — that is, doesn't learn — the organization suffers as a result. Today, managers have to be ready to change the way they do business as their environments change around them. They have to constantly learn, experiment, and try new methods. If a manager doesn't adapt, he or she is doomed to extinction — or at least irrelevance.

16. 16 Rehearsed Reacting Resisting change Is futile Discover how to adapt to change and use it to your advantage Proactively anticipate and address the changes before they hit Going for the quick fix over the lasting solution Everyone loves to solve problems Instead of finding the tumor and performing major surgery, many managers simply dole out aspirin Find the source if you really want to solve a problem Taking it all too seriously Business is serious business It’s not only about the money, it’s about the people and a fun place If you think that you can stop change, you're fooling yourself. You may as well try standing in the path of a hurricane to make it change its course. The sooner you realize that the world — your world included — will change whether you like it or not, the better. If you think that you can stop change, you're fooling yourself. You may as well try standing in the path of a hurricane to make it change its course. The sooner you realize that the world — your world included — will change whether you like it or not, the better.

17. Product Management Mistakes Bad products are everywhere

18. 18 Customer vs. Product Requirements Are the right people defining requirements? Product management should define the right product understand the target market and their needs create products that solve real problems Product for market vs. customized solution Product marketing - very important, just very different Communicating about the product to the target market Supporting sales Critical to define market requirements but not product requirements Customers don’t always know what they want It is impossible to predict the effectiveness of a solution without actually building at least building a prototype. Customers are busy with their own lives and jobs and don’t have the time to learn about others in the market and how their needs may be similar or different Customers don’t always know what they want It is impossible to predict the effectiveness of a solution without actually building at least building a prototype. Customers are busy with their own lives and jobs and don’t have the time to learn about others in the market and how their needs may be similar or different

19. 19 Confusing Innovation with Value Innovation needs to happen in the context of a vision and strategy What motivates the engineers on the product team may not be the same thing that motivates users Engineers enjoy technical challenges Recommend technologies that they want to learn and use Innovation should be for true customer value

20. 20 Confusing Yourself with Your Customer We have spent too much time with our products What you really like, need not even be what they want Get real customers to evaluate your products/prototypes Usability testing should be done early in the development cycle A late and unfavorable usability test creates pressure Either the results will be downplayed or schedules will slip

21. 21 Get Users to Connect Emotional element of a design is most neglected Boring products don’t generate user interest To meet timelines, inspiring ideas are first victims An uninspiring product interests neither the customers not the developers Minute to win it Else the product is wrong or the message is wrong Minute to win it Else the product is wrong or the message is wrong

22. 22 Common Documentation Mistakes Lack of knowledge about product or application Writing without thinking – “because the SME says so” Scope and requirement not well-defined Missing glossary, big-picture, needs, flow Not enough focus on documentation quality, processes Aspiration for creating an excellent product often ignores the documentation Add your own favorites … 

23. 23 Common Hiring Mistakes Forget to balance Talent, Organizational requirements, and Passion Giving maximum importance to the interview Don't settle for less. If you lower your standards, you are stuck with: Under-performing employees Resentful coworkers Buy, don't sell Never lose focus of the critical job skills

24. 24 In Closing Everyone makes mistakes, only the wise learn, and the really smart ones avoid mistakes What matters is having the right people doing the right job

25. 25 References & Acknowledgements Zoozoo pictures are from the net – all rights with original creators Content sourced from: http://www.goodproductmanager.com/ http://www.docsymmetry.com/mistakes-technical-writers-make.html http://humanresources.about.com/cs/selectionstaffing/a/hiring_mistakes_2.htm http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/recognizing-and-avoiding-common-management-mistake.html http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/08/0810_13_management_practices/1.htm http://www.svpg.com/assets/Files/toppmmistakes.pdf http://www.recruitersnetwork.com/articles/article.cfm?ID=1196

26. Thank You! Rachna Singh Ganguli rganguli@cadence.com November 13, 2010 12th Annual STC Conference New Delhi