Rutgers President Barchi Must Go. Athletic Director Pernetti Needs to Come Back!

Barchi lacks the leadership to remain as President of Rutgers University. Barchi called the situation involving Mike Rice a “failure of process”. Really! Where is the accountability we assume of a Rutgers president? He took no personal responsibility other than regrets that he should have watched the video when first confronted by Pernetti.

To Pernetti’s credit, his first instincts were to fire Rice, but brought it to Barchi for his review. Instead of offering to watch the same video Pernetti was referencing to fire Rice, Barchi instead insulated himself by bringing in the lawyers, HR, and then hiring an outside firm to make an assessment. 30 seconds with the DVD would have negated all those extra steps, but Barchi instead chose to hide behind “process” instead of taking personal responsibility.

The law firm contracted to assess Rice’s behavior concluded that Rice crossed the line of permissible conduct and “tended to bring shame and disgrace to Rutgers”, a clause in Rice’s contract that would allow Rutgers to fire him for cause. But Barchi at first declined to intervene, then fired him just because he could, but NOT for cause. Since the termination was not for cause, the university is on the hook to pay out over $1 million dollars to Rice when he could have made the right decision the first time and saved the payout and more importantly, saved Rutgers reputation, or at least limit the damages. Barchi’s lack of decision and then wrongful decision shows that he lacks the courage leadership we should expect from our university president.

As for Pernetti, he should have made the decision and then informed Barchi, but with the new guy in place, chose to involve Barchi in the termination decision. At that point, Pernetti lost control of the decision and it then lay in the lap of Barchi.

Pernetti is arguable the most influential AD Rutgers has seen. He brokered the Big 10 deal, the Highpoint Solutions deal, and the new TV deal. He has been on the forefront of making Rutgers a nationally recognized university. Barchi has undone all of that by allowing this to go viral and not step up and take responsibility.

It’s argued that Barchi has bigger fish to fry, namely the massive merger of the University of Medicine and Dentistry. Barchi’s background as a physician and scientist made him a logical choice for this major project, but that background is clearly not sufficient to run a world-class university like Rutgers. The merger role is best handled by someone with his background acting in a consultative role to a real university president. I suggest we transition Barchi to just that role and allow him to succeed where he is best, and start the search for a university president that will lead the entire university with courage and integrity, being personally responsible for everything that happens and not blame outcomes on a failure of process. Barchi’s is a failure of leadership and for that he must go.

 

Virtual Work Place of the Now

Social media provides instant feedback.  If you struggle with that thought, toss something controversial on Twitter and see how quickly it gets re-tweeted.  The virtual workforce is more aligned with Social Media behaviors and requires and demands immediate feedback to advance the goals of the organization.  Performance appraisals that are now performed on a semi-annual or annual cycle are outdated.  You should be getting performance feedback every day in our ultra-connected virtual world.

When working virtually, most communication is work centric transactional without the emotional investment of social and non-verbal feedback.  The imperative of feedback is critical to keep progress towards objectives aligned.  It is equally critical to allow more prudent risk taking.  Consider the role of the waiter in a restaurant.  The server receives instantaneous feedback on their “performance” through customer interactions and the compensation feedback through the tip at the end of the meal.  Presentation style, fluency of the menu, and checking for feedback during the meal together provide a table by table appraisal for the server.  How does this fit into our virtual meeting and conference call process of today? Do you get regular and immediate feedback from virtual meetings or conference calls?  If not, what might not happen that can propel the team forward to meeting and exceeding their goals?

Virtual work can attenuate risk since the physical feedback of facial expression and body language can’t be assessed to determine whether the risk is additive or aggravating to the process.  For the majority of the less courageous and politically insecure workforce, risk will be averted in the virtual workplace.  Consider how much quicker and more creative a result can be achieved when risk inviting processes are part of the decision process.

There are ways to mitigate this challenge. One advantage of the virtual workplace is less time spent commuting.  In my case, my commute consists of descending a flight of stairs and crisscrossing a busy kitchen to get to my home office.  How best to spend this found time?  Set aside time each day to invest in the relationships with those you need to collaborate with.  Schedule time with someone you don’t know well or is new to the team and spend 10-15 minutes to get to know them as a person, not just a work colleague.  Learn about their backgrounds and experiences.  Ask them what they enjoy most about the work problem and what they find the most challenging or frustrating.  Share the same with them such that each of you understands better how to partner in the virtual work place.

Special attention should be directed to those that participate at a minimum level.  Are they not challenged in their role?  Are they bored?  Do they feel they are an outsider to the team?  Not knowing the answers puts their contribution at risk.  Spending 10-15 minutes understanding their concerns could provide many hours of positive ROI for that small time investment.

By now I hope you see my theme.  Virtual work places will become the norm.  If we do not invest in building the emotional cultural fabric that exists by default in the physical work place, the results will be pedestrian and the euphoria of celebrating as a team will be non-existent or disingenuous at best.  Virtual work is harder and challenging as it demands purposeful reaching out to build the pathways to relationships necessary for organizational success.

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Ed Becker Joins CSC Health Services 2011 – Update May 2012

Update – I joined CSC Health Services in 2011. Due to a major restructuring at CSC and the stated goal of driving $1B of cost out of the firm, my role was eliminated.  While others may delete the following post, I was thrilled to have the role in CSC’s Health Services group, so keeping the blog is respect for all those I had the chance to work with.  Best of luck to my CSC colleagues going forward! 

This blog post is available as a podcast – http://bit.ly/oNx1xC

I am thrilled to report that I have joined CSC’s Health Services group in the role of Resourcing Manager. I’ll be working alongside the brightest health care industry professionals in a leadership role. Around the world and across the healthcare spectrum, CSC is transforming healthcare with better information for better decisions. Our solutions revolutionize the way physicians deliver services, governments manage public health, experts conduct breakthrough medical research, and institutions provide coverage.

The time that I was in pursuit of a new career opportunity was an exciting and educational time that I made the most of while searching for that next perfect job.  I typically broke my “work” week into three main segments;

• Competency growth in technology, industry, and professional services best practices
• Networking to meet my next set of business partners and mentors
• Pursuit management for my own career

I’ve been privileged to have nurtured the many friendships at CSC, met many outstanding leaders in their respective fields, and have been provided the opportunity to assist others with their career choices and search techniques.   I’ve become an expert in using social media for career awareness, specifically mastering best practice techniques using LinkedIn to expand my circle of influence and partnerships.  I have many new valued contacts at companies that span the consulting, financial, pharmaceutical, telecom, insurance, and HR outsourcing, to name just a few.  I hope to be able to leverage some of these contacts into new business partners for CSC.

I started to list all those that provided guidance, support, and creative ideas, but this blog has a finite length and candidly, I fear most that I might omit someone’s name.  So I’ll list a few organizations that have been a great source of creative leadership for me while in transition. 

• CSC – my many friends at CSC were always close, and I am now delighted to be back as a colleague. 100′s to thank.  I’ll get to each of you over the next few weeks!
• Rutgers Career Services, Rutgers Alumni, and Rutgers Club Success Club – what a great set of people to have been around most every week. Len Garrison, you’re the best!
• Princeton Public Library – Janie Hermann makes the PPL a destination spot with 100’s of programs that bring together a diverse set of people in a multitude of venues.
• The Whine and Dine organization.  Not any whining but tons of great supportive people. Keith Bogen, thanks!
• IEEE for their many technology programs and networking opportunities

I’ll close with this gratitude for now, but please understand that this blog could have run on for many more screens.  It has been a special opportunity to meet so many new people, learn so much, and now be back with my dream company, CSC.

For my many LinkedIn connections and others, I’ll be a bit less present on the social media sites as I dig into my new role and get the chance to meet many new CSC Health Services colleagues.  Trust that once I get some traction on this, I’ll return to the blogging posts, Twitter, Google+, and whatever comes next on the social media horizon.

If you are not familiar with CSC, click on the “We Do Amazing Things” link.  Then take a look at the attached link for CSC Health Services.  Finally, glance at the web page I tossed together for my introduction to CSC Health Services.

In closing – many thanks to everyone, both at CSC and everywhere else, that has been a contributor to my growth and spirits.

CSC – We Do Amazing Things  http://www.csc.com/careersus/fre/36086-we_do_amazing_things_video

CSC Health Services http://www.csc.com/health_services/

My CSC Health Services Introduction   http://www.wix.com/edbeckerprincetonnj/becker-csc-healthcare

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Independence Day? – Aren’t We More Dependent On Main Stream Media, Prescription drugs, and … ?

Let me declare up front that there was much to celebrate on the 4th of July, and this blog is not meant to distract from the great beginnings of this country that July 4 commemorates, and the many outstanding accomplishments that the USA can claim as our own over the past 235 years. In many ways, it’s remarkable how well the subsequent Constitution and Bill of Rights have fared over such a long period of dramatic change in the country.

We celebrate Independence Day as freedom from overt government intrusion into our lives, yet gazing back over the landscape of events and behaviors in recent years, I sense that we have allowed ourselves to become more dependent. The freedom and advances we benefit from today have come at a cost of our critical thinking skills and accepting responsibility for outcomes that effect each of us, our communities, and our nation.

I’ll touch on a few that are top of mind. You’ll likely have a different set, but these are top of mind as I write this.

• Main Stream Media – Stories That Sell Advertising Revenue Instead of Objective Informing

• Prescription Drugs Abuse

Main Stream Media

We use Main Stream Media (MSM) to educate and inform us on global and national events knowing full well that each major MSM channel has its own political and commercial (revenue) agenda. You can scan the channels any evening and hear very different “news reports” depending on whether you are watching Fox, CNN, MSNBC, or your local programming. We tune to the MSM channel that best fits our belief system and then allow the flow of information to confirm and advance those beliefs. Remember that MSM is a for-profit business, and you get what you pay for, meaning MSM will follow and report on the rubbernecking story at the expense of what events here or abroad are truly shaping our future.

I have been using the remote much more lately to scan between the major MSM channels in an attempt to triangulate on the information provided and then go off and coalesce those disparate reports such that I can make a more informed assessment of the information provided. When that isn’t enough, I’ll do more research to better understand the issue. I refuse to allow my belief system to be informed or altered by simple sound bites from the most polished, handsome, or politically biased newscasters. Be cautious when forming an opinion dependent solely on one news source, regardless of the stature it carries in MSM.

Prescription Drugs Abuse

This past April, the White House announced taking action to try to reverse what it characterizes as a growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse. A look at recent numbers demonstrates there is a ton of work ahead to reverse this problem.

• 33 million: Number of Americans aged 12 and older that the Food and Drug Administration estimates misused prescription drugs in 2007 alone. It represents an increase of 4 million from the 29 million who abused prescription drugs in 2002.

• $234.1 billion: Amount of money spent on prescription drugs in the United States in 2008 alone. This sum more than quadrupled the amount spent on prescribed medications in 1999.

• 48: Percentage of Americans who used at least one prescription drug per month from 2005 to 2008. This is a 4 percent increase from usage levels a decade ago.

• 90: Percentage of Americans aged 60 or older who have used a prescription drug in the past month. Most of these are a result of combating age-related diseases. Some are a result of doctors over-prescribing medicines.

• 20: Percentage of U.S. children who have used a prescription drug in the past month.

Just recently, four people were killed in a NY pharmacy by a person intent on gaining access to pain killers, one of the most insidious addictions that arise from the abuse of pain management in what are otherwise normal people. Parents run off and acquire antibiotics when their child develops a sniffle. Poor test grades? Try an ADD drug. Can’t cope with work or relationships? Pop a few benzodiazepines to get through the day.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are many medically necessary prescriptions written, though I can’t help but consider how many of these have now become the new normal when dealing with pain, minor infections, or manageable stress. I’ve tried gutting it out after knee surgery and that was clearly a mistake, pain medicine was needed. But are prescription pain pills needed for what are everyday aches and pains? Minor infections have a way of running their course instead of abusing antibiotics and creating a more drug resilient bacteria. Stress seems to be the new normal for many as more work is heaped upon a “right-sized” organization. Can benzos (like Xanax) really get more work done, or are they removing the eustress we need to accomplish more in tight time frames.

That’s my two for now. You will likely have your own top two or three and someone else will have another few. There seems to be an abundance of ways to become dependent on expedient decision-making or eluding difficult issues. I’m doing my best to better understand the issues that are framing our collective future and our ability to enhance the way we go about shaping that outcome. Our personal leadership in action can translate into community and corporate leadership. There is a huge opportunity to make a difference, if we once again declare our Independence.

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EthiCorVigilance and Integriology Create an Ethical Culture and Employee Engagement

A Podcast of this blog post is available at http://bit.ly/nHlVzO

In a previous blog, Hello, I Must be Going – Employee Engagement in a Recovering Economy, I suggested some ways that management could enhance employee engagement. That discussion was focused on retention of employees that drive the success of the firm. The short list included communicating the company’s strategy and goals, developing a sense of community, recognition, and supported development plans. Click on the link above for a more detailed discussion of these topics.

EthiCorVigilance and Integriology (ECV&I) or Ethical Corporate Vigilance and Integriology (my term – study of integrity) is the practice and processes necessary to not just retain top performers; it is the defining set of ethics and values that gains the maximum benefit from these employees. Engaged employees recommend their company to friends and family and take pride in working there. They are willing to go the extra mile for their organization, making it possible for the company to do more with less. They can be counted on to make independent decisions and take action in ways that are consistent with the company’s culture, objectives, and values. They require less supervision and direction and adapt easily to changing roles and responsibilities. Employee engagement can be linked to observation of the company’s commitment to Ethical behaviors and demonstrated processes that support Ethical conduct.

In a 2009 National Business Ethics Survey from the Ethics Resource Center and the Hay Group, a key finding showed that “positive perceptions of an organization’s ethical culture are associated with higher levels of engagement. Furthermore, management’s commitment to ethics is particularly important for employee engagement”. Their key takeaway was “given the profound connection between a com¬pany’s ethical culture and employee engage¬ment, managers should work actively to demonstrate a commitment to ethics, foster open communication, promote ethical role modeling, and encourage accountability.”

Ethics are central to situations where “the right thing to do” is in question, and the outcome of the decision affects many people including employees and customers. Identifying the “right thing” is often a complex challenge that in¬volves identifying conflicting responsibilities to a wide range of stakeholders. Challenging every employee to act as ethicists and keep the company’s core values in sight provides an opportunity for each employee to see their contribution in the larger picture of the company’s public profile and brand in the marketplace. As each person experiences their unique contribution to building the company brand through ethical and value driven behaviors, employee engagement is amplified.

Some questions that every organization should grapple with are

1. Can every employee identify one or more key executives who have proven to uphold the company values?

2. Does the company have the right values in place to guide them in a difficult situation or crisis?

3. Will the company be proud of their core values if exposed to a critical public, government agency, or customer segment?

4. Which values will the extended stakeholders of the company expect in challenging or crisis situations?

It’s not enough to talk about “company culture” when a firm says that their culture is a defining competitive advantage. The company must come forth with their value statements, articulated by senior executives and board members. It must be instilled in every manager and employee through training and measurement of adherence to ethical and value driven behaviors. The growing power of social media, which provides a platform for employees to share their perspective with a wide audience, greatly amplifies employ¬ees’ impact in the marketplace, and creates both opportunity and risk. It is imperative that every employee experiences ethics and values through the consistent behaviors, decisions, and actions of every member of the leadership team.

EthiCorVigilance and Integriology (ECV&I) must be the overarching and sustainable practice for enhancing brand awareness and creating proud and passionate employees wanting nothing short of amassing competitive market success creating strong career opportunities and growth. Done well, ECV&I will create an ethical culture that indeed creates a unique competitive advantage.

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Independence Day – Travel Safe, Be Healthy, Spend Time with Family and Friends

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, and family reunions.  Flags adorn many lawns and town squares.  This three-day weekend gives us “independence” from the headlines of tragic global and national events, and allows us to take a breath and spend time with those most important to us. 

While celebration and enjoyment are the focus, I will take time to keep a special thought for all of our military serving in the face of imminent danger.   They serve at the command of our government and though I may not agree with every decision made by our president and congress, the soldiers are there and each one deserves our thoughts and prayers.  I can hope that sometime soon, we will not need to have so many of our country’s brave woman and men in harm’s way many miles away from the families and friends back home that will be thinking of them each time a firework explodes high in the sky a safe distance away.

Enjoy the time ahead.  Time with family and friends is precious.  Be safe, healthy, and safe this weekend!

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42nd Street – Tap Dancing Into Your New Career

A Podcast of this blog post is available at http://bit.ly/iq5aRC

What does the musical 42nd Street have to do with a business blog about career moves?  Everything!  As a quick primer, 42nd Street the Musical is based on a movie of the same name from 1933.  It’s a play within a play in that all the casting and rehearsals are the scenes of a fictional 1932 Broadway play called Pretty Girl.  Recall that 1932 was the beginning of the depression and here we are in 2011 still oscillating with our current recession.

Though the economic times are similar, that is merely the backdrop of why I am blending the musical with business.  I recently attended a local community theatre opening night performance of 42nd Street.  I was utterly amassed that they could find 29 local actors that could tap dance, since almost all of the numbers involve serious tap dancing.  I leaned over and whispered this to my wife and she said that most of them likely learned to tap for the show.  This is at least true of one of the male leads who credits the choreographer with teaching him to tap. The frequent cheers and applause during the show, and the standing ovation at the end, was well-earned by the energy, passion, and outstanding singing, acting, and dancing.

So how did the producer and casting director pick the actors during the auditions?  Was it because they could tap dance?  Not likely.  It must have been their theatrical accomplishments, competencies, and passion for the role.  The choreographer/producer made the assumption she could teach them to tap if they brought forth the core talent to perform. Because of the casting choices and excellent directing and training, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the singing, acting, and tap dancing of every cast member and their collective ensemble stage presence. 

Now contrast this with the current methodology many companies are using today as they seek to audition a candidate for employment.  The job requirement often lists 10 things the candidate must have and if a candidate doesn’t possess all of the requirements, they are often excluded from moving forward in the hiring process.  In the pre-recession days of scarce resources, those 10 requirements would have been divided into Must-Have’s and Nice-to-Have’s with about a 50/50 split.  With an abundance of people in the job market, some recruiters and hiring managers are insisting on all 10 without applying weighting factors.  Are they seeking to hire the best overall employee for the company or one that can identify with the current needed skill?

Imagine if the choreographer chose only those that could tap dance.  Would that have produced the excitement and passion that thrilled me the other night?  Is tap that popular these days?  Or did she pick the best actors that had proven they could sing and had dance talent and then assume that a few weeks of intense tap dance training would create an outstanding cast?  Would I have enjoyed great tap dancing at the expense of stage presence, singing strength, or acting ability?

How many candidates possess that stage presence, functional strengths, a progressive record of outstanding accomplishments, and core professional competencies, but are minus one learnable skill?  If the one learnable skill was absent from the requirement, would these same candidates be much better employees in the long run and bring sustained success to the company. Are these companies hiring for that one next assignment or hiring people for a career that will provide year over year value to customers and increase shareholder value?

I have been spending more time networking recently and have met many intelligent and motivated people who are seeking a new career opportunity.  They often talk about the one thing that excluded them from becoming an employee of their targeted company.  I can’t help but wonder if the person chosen over them was really a better addition to the people equity of that firm. Over a cup of coffee, I had the privilege to experience tremendous strengths and passion they could have used to make a difference in value creation for that company.  Would the company acquire a more loyal employee by taking the risk and investing a small amount of time for that person to “hit the ground running” a few weeks out?  Or have they hired the sub-optimal candidate that can “hit the ground running”, but then head in the wrong direction really quick?

The challenge to acquire that next employee in this recession recovery period is the responsibility of both candidates and employers.  The candidates need to prove they are active learners and can demonstrate this with recent skill acquisition and demonstrated active learner behaviors.  The employers need to evaluate the accomplishments and competencies of the candidates and assume that a missing skill is one training event away.  Given these assumptions, every employer has a golden opportunity to hire proven, accomplished, and talented people who will leverage new skill training into success for their customers and shareholders.

Candidates – step up to the challenge to prove you are an agile and active learner.  Employers – step up to the challenge to hire your best next employee.  After all, you will end up spending more time with them during the work week than you will with your family or friends! 

“Come and meet those dancing feet on the avenue I’m taking you to… 42nd Street.”

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