Tag: clueless management

Are you an overbearing manager if you identify with The Devil Wears Prada?

Editor’s note: The Skeptical Guy is back. I’ll explain my absence very soon.  *********************************** I’VE MET A LOT of big-name media people over the years, but one I’ve missed is Anna Wintour, the famous (some would say infamous) and feared editor of Vogue magazine. The British-born Wintour is known for a lot of things –

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The Christmas Bonus Dilemma: Sometimes, You End Up Feeling Like Clark Griswold

I’VE WORKED THROUGH so many holiday season that I’m starting to feel a little like Clark Griswold. If that name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, the character should. It’s the role Chevy Chase played numerous times, but most memorably, in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. One thread throughout movie was how Clark was anxiously waiting to

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Good Leaders Give Bad News, While Bad Leaders Avoid Doing the Tough Stuff

I’M ALWAYS AMAZED at how so many leaders can get so far without learning one of the very basic tenants of management. It’s this: Good leaders have to give bad news. Patty Azzarello learned this back when she became the youngest general manager in Hewlett-Packard (HP) at the tender age of 33, and she reminded me

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No Matter What You Call It, Taking Time Off Between Jobs Is a Good Idea

I LOVE IT WHEN a long-time workplace practice suddenly gets re-defined and is referred to by some silly new terminology. Yes, I was excited when I discovered what The New York Times is now calling that time you get off in-between jobs. Although I have a lot of problems with America’s Newspaper of Record – it’s

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A Business Truism: You Learn a Lot More From a Bad Boss Than a Good One

HERE’S A MANAGEMENT TRUISM you can’t avoid: You learn more from a bad boss than you do from a good one. I was struck by this when I came across an old Corner Office” column in The New York Times. It was a Q&A with Dawn Lepore, the now-former chairwoman and CEO of Drugstore.com, and

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I Saw a Good Woman Dump a Bad and Clueless Boss During the Rose Bowl

ON NEW YEAR’S DAY as I was watching the Rose Bowl, I saw a hard-working woman who was mistreated by a self-centered boss who didn’t appreciate her. So, she quit and left the clueless jerk to go work for herself. Who knew? It’s amazing what can happen in 30 seconds during a big college football

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Don’t Forget That Clueless Management Never Goes Out of Style

IT’S LATE SUMMER, everybody out here in the People’s Republic of California seem to be on vacation, and Labor Day is still a couple of weeks away. So, it’s time for some old school clueless management from the good people over at Tronc. Don’t know what “Tronc” is? I’d be surprised if you did, but

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