Category: Culture

Greg Hoy on the Cycle of Agency Life

“Time and time again, ideas were presented to various internal stakeholders, all of whom had their own agendas and budgets. Pushing ideas through the maze of red tape and exhausting levels of buy-in was usually a soul-sucking effort in futility. Even though everyone was theoretically working for the greater good, everyone was working against each other at the same time. Great ideas became mediocre ideas that became ghosts of ideas put on the back burner.”

https://the-pastry-box-project.net/greg-hoy/2014-april-17

Having only worked with and for large internal shops I’m always curious as to what the other side of the table (at a dedicated agency) would be like.

Put Your Phone Away

“I would often catch myself pulling out my phone to merely check the time (and then check the time again since I never actually remembered it the first time). This frequent ‘time check’ reenforced the habit of constantly pulling out my phone and undoubtedly led to unnecessary browsing if a waiting notification piqued my interest. Buy a watch. Wear it.”

https://medium.com/p/15308056cfae

Speaking of distractions, put your damn phone away.

How Chipotle Transformed Itself

“After Flores expressed his frustration, Moran showed him his early notes for the restaurateur program, which is unique among fast food restaurants in that it ties pay and promotion to how well you mentor people, rather than store sales.

“It was a great meeting but I didn’t know what was going to happen. At most companies you meet the top execs and then you never hear from them again,” Flores says.

A few weeks after the October meeting, while vacationing in Houston, Flores got a call on his cell from Ells and Moran letting him know that he had been promoted to restaurateur and was getting a $3,000 bonus. Rather than waiting until he returned to Milwaukee to get him the check, it was delivered to him in Houston the following day. At the time his salary was around $38,000, and the bonus was meaningful.

“That’s when I knew the company was special,” Flores said.”

http://qz.com/183224/how-chipotle-transformed-itself-by-upending-its-approach-to-management/

 

I think the portions are absurdly large at Chipotle, but the few times I’ve gone it’s been a pleasant experience. Different than traditional fast food.

Creating Serendipity with Collision Hours

“Whether in person, or online, the idea of collisions and creating collisionable hours throughout the day, month or year is a powerful concept and one that I’m trying to embody more and more.

When I look back on my career there are a series of key collisions that have opened door to entrepreneurial opportunities and future investments. I’e always seen them as such, but didn’t have a term that captured what they meant to me and how to quantify them until I was sitting in that ballroom listening to Tony that day.”

http://bryce.vc/post/81685761115/collision-hours

Some of my best conversations have been in the times where I’ve bumped into someone (at work, at the store, at the park, etc.) and just chatted a bit about life and work.

The referenced slide deck from Tony Hsieh is worth a read.

The best measure of an employee is how well she mentors others

“Most companies measure performance based on individual accomplishments. But that system doesn’t reward people for a lot of essential behind-the-scenes work. And it can reward people that either take credit for others’ work, or are better at showing off than working. The traditional approach sometimes advances the wrong people, and can end up hurting companies, Grant argues.”

http://qz.com/197420/the-best-measure-of-an-employee-is-how-well-she-mentors-others/