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Using KeywordsAsk Wally a Question Author, keynote speaker, and leadership expert Wally Bock published the Monday Memo ezine newsletter about life and business in the Digital Age from 1995 until 2004. Features are archived on this site. You can find out more about Wally and his leadership training by visiting the Three Star Leadership site. Here's what's new on Wally's sites.
Click here for a list of new articles.
Click here for a list of answered questions from visitors.
Click here for a short list of Wally's favorite Monday Memo features.
Here's a list of articles we've recently added to the Three Star Leadership site. Don't forget to check out Wally's Three Star Leadership Blog.
Serenity for supervisors
The morale and performance of your team, and your own serenity depend on knowing what you can change and what you can't.Coaching in Business: What you need to know
Coaching is something that every leader should do every day. It's one of the keys to high productivity and morale. Here's what you need to know to improve your coaching performance.Leadership: In praise of praise
Praise is a supervisor's power tool. It's the very best tool you have for getting people to try something or to continue learning something important but difficult. Here's what we know about praise and how to deliver it.Being a boss is not for everyone
Susan was an employer's dream until she got promoted to team leader and discovered that she really hated being a boss.Leadership: Can anyone learn to be a great leader?
Can anyone learn to be a great leader? The short answer is, "No."Leadership: every day in every way
Leadership is an every day thing. What you do every day determines your results, more than grand decisions or magic traits.Rip van Winkle Promotions
For a lot of people getting promoted is a Rip van Winkle experience. You go to sleep as an individual contributor and you wake up a boss. It's also one of life's toughest transitions. Here's what to expect.Developing leaders the natural way<
Leaders learn to lead by leading. They don't learn to lead in a classroom. They don't learn to lead from a book. Great leadership development programs provide tools and support to help developing leaders learn faster and more effectively.The Apprentice Leader: Training for New Leaders
Even though an apprentice leader will learn more on the job than anywhere else, there's still a need for training. Here's what it should cover and how it should be structured.The Natural Laws of Parties for Leaders
It's holiday party time. And, if you are an 'official' leader, you need to pay attention to the natural laws of parties and leadership.The Apprentice Leader: Making the transition to leadership
Every year thousands of men and women are promoted to management and then left on their own to deal with one of the most difficult transitions of their lives. We'd have a lot more effective leaders at all levels if we paid more attention to their transition process and training.The Apprentice Leader: Who should we promote?
Good leadership development begins with selecting people for their first leadership job so that the odds are good that they will succeed. It's the first step to putting together a Leadership Apprentice program that develops leaders who will be effective at all levels in your organization. Future CEOs and other senior leaders will come from the pool of people you decide to place in their first leadership position.The Apprentice Leader: Making the Most of Learning on the Job
Leadership is an apprentice trade. You will learn most of it on the job. Here's how to get the most out of that on-the-job learning.Management by the Letters
It doesn't take the whole alphabet to cover the key concepts for management success. You don't have to spell out some silly acronym either.Put your trust in systems, not in genius
What do Toyota and the Roman Army have in common? They both rely on systems instead of heroes and talented geniuses to produce results. They both created systems that enabled ordinary people to produce world-conquering results.Magical Thinking and Management
Human beings have a natural tendency toward magical thinking, and sometimes it can even be helpful. But making management decisions and committing resources without getting the facts and understanding cause and effect can be very disastrous indeed. That's why you need specific ways to overcome magical thinking and make the best decisions possible.Career Development: 20 Tips for the Young
If you're just starting out and want to get ahead, here are some ideas about what to do from a businessman who's watched decades of people come and go.Evidence-Based Management has Issues
Evidence-Based Management offers the manager some effective tools for making better decision. But it may be harder than you think to make the vision of what Evidence-Based Management can do match up with reality.Career Development: Things You Should Know about Yourself
Knowing yourself is the first step toward career success. Here are three sets of questions you can use to increase your self-knowledge.Engagement: Seven Ways to Increase It
Engaged employees are great for business. Here's how to create the kind of place where they'll want to work and where they'll thrive.Sales Managers: Invest in the Best
Sales managers have a huge impact on both the top line and the bottom line. To get the best sales management, you need to invest in smart selection, management training, and on-the-job support.Supervision: What you must learn to do
If you're thinking about becoming a supervisor, if you want to be a great supervisor, or if you are designing training programs for supervisors, it just makes sense to pay attention to what supervisors actually do every day.How the Great Supervisors Do It
If you learn to do what great supervisors do, you can get the results they get. No matter where they work, great supervisors do pretty much the same things in the same way. Here's a look at what they do, based on over three decades of practice, observation, research, training and feedback.Letter to a New Manager
Advice to a young man who's just been promoted to his first management job.What You Should Learn from GE
You can learn important lessons from the General Electric Company. They just may not be the ones you think of right away.Getting Ideas is the Easy Part: Here's what you need for innovation
Getting a good idea is only the first step in innovation and lots of companies even mess that up. If you want your company to be an innovation leader, here are some things you should do.Addicted to Praise
Some experts think that the young people coming in to business today are narcissistic and addicted to praise. Are they right? And what does that mean for you as a manager?The Many Lessons of the Hawthorne Experiments
The experiments conducted at Western Electric's Hawthorne Works between 1924 and 1932 established the importance of human and social factors in productivity. Three quarters of a century later, we're still following lines of inquiry these studies opened up.People is people and parts is parts
Some companies treat their employees like interchangeable parts. Other companies treat their people like people. Which is more profitable? Which are you?Motivation Magic
Everybody talks about motivation, but hardly anybody tells you how to do it. Here are some things you can do to get the results you want from the people who work for you.Nine Questions about Baby Boomer Retirement that your Company Must Answer
The Baby Boomers in your company will be eligible to retire soon. Here are nine important questions to help you assess the threat to your operating excellence.Caution: A War for Talent mindset may be hazardous to your results
A "War for Talent" mindset is supposed to be the key to success in today's tough business environment. Evidence suggests otherwise. Instead of waging a war for talent, you need to hire good people that fit your culture and pay attention to three important keys to success.Help! My Boomers are retiring!
What would you do if a third of your senior managers, seasoned craft workers and experienced office staff retired as soon as they could? There's no easy answer to the Boomer Brain Drain but we know you'll need an integrated approach that involves human resources, business process changes, technology, and organizational culture.Do you really want to be a manager?
Management isn't for everyone. Before you seek or accept that first promotion to management, take some time to decide if management is something you'll like and be good at. Here are some questions to help you.Who's more important the CEO or your boss?
The CEO gets all the press, but the most important boss to you is probably the one who supervises you directly. That boss is important to your company, too.New Leader: Figuring Out What do Do
When you first get promoted, it's hard to know what to do. Sometimes the easiest way to figure things out is to think about great bosses you've had in the past.You're the new boss. What now?
When you take over a new group there are some things you should do right away to assure the success of you and your team.You can't manage knowledge
You can't manage something that you can't assess and measure. So forget fancy "knowledge management" systems and put together simple tools that help your people solve problems better.How can I pick the right leadership training program?
Well chosen leadership programs will help you become the leader you want to be. Great programs help you learn the skills you need to develop and then apply those on the job. Here's how to decide which programs are best for you.How to Learn More about the People Who Work for You
If you know your people well, you can be a better boss. Here are some simple things you can do to help you understand and supervise the people who work for you.How do I delegate better?
Delegating is just one way to give an assignment to the people who work for you. To be a great manager, you need to master the art of determining just how much control to allow someone who works for you. That way you'll understand when and how to delegate, and when and how to assign work in another way.How can I pick the right leadership training program?
Well chosen leadership programs will help you become the leader you want to be. Great programs help you learn the skills you need to develop and then apply those on the job. Here's how to decide which programs are best for you.A Secret No One Tells New Managers
There are lots of differences between being an individual contributor and being a boss. But there's one important difference that no one talks about. That's why it often causes new managers to fail.Achieving Work/Life Balance
There's an awful lot of nonsense about achieving work/life balance. Here are some of the myths and realities.Why do managers find it difficult to fire poor performers?
Firing poor performers is one of the toughest jobs any manager has to do. Lack of good training makes it even harder.So now you're the boss
When you get promoted from individual contributor to boss, lots of things change in your life. Some are good and some are bad. Understanding the changes can help you become an effective boss sooner and set you on the road to becoming a great one.Why most leadership training is a waste of money and what you can do about it
Companies waste millions on leadership programs that train the wrong people using the wrong methods and then don't check to see if anyone actually learned anything. It doesn't have to be that way.Cargo Cults and Management Practice
Many companies adopt the management practices of successful companies without understanding why the practice succeeds where it is and whether it will succeed in their own companies. That's magical thinking just like the cargo cults used in the period right after World War II.What do workers really want anyway?
The people who work for you are more likely to stay and more likely to do a good job, if some basic, common-sense, human needs are met. There are things that workers want that you can deliver and that will make a difference in morale and performance. Here are some of them.Are Leaders Born or Made?
Are leaders born or made? After centuries of debate and decades of research we know the answer. Leaders are sort of born and always made. Here's what you need to know to select and develop quality leadership bench strength.So you want to get promoted?
To climb to the top of the corporate ladder you need to consistently deliver great result, but that's not all. You also need to find ways to develop both your skills and your reputation.What Great Supervisors DO Differently
Great supervisors get great results because they do certain, specific things. Once you know what they do, you can do the same things and get the same results.Performance Evaluation Made Simple
Many managers hate conducting performance evaluations. But performance evaluations don't have to be an awful experience. They can be a positive way to help the people who work for you grow and develop, if you handle them right.Here's a list of questions we've recently answered on the Great Supervisor site.
- How can I get more star workers?
- How can I fire a non-performer in today's environment?
- How do you handle tattletales if you're the boss?
- How do I give constructive criticism to people who work for me?
- How should I communicate with employees in tough times?
- How do I empower employees?
- How can I pick the right leadership training program?
- How has workplace discipline changed in the last several years?
- How can you improve your listening skills?
- How can employees find meaning in what they do?
- What should you do if you work for a jerk?
The End of Monday Memo
as We Know It
I started writing Monday Memo almost exactly nine years ago. This is the final Monday Memo.
In the beginning, Monday Memo consisted of a news item and "Wally's Comment." Over the years, it went through several different changes until it became what it is today. It was a great basket in which to collect the pieces of my life and interests.
I got to write about interesting and amazing people. Some of those people were famous, like Steve Jobs and Howard Dean and David Brinkley.
Several of them were just fascinating. I got to write about Ron Popeil and his amazing infomercials, and Malcolm McLean, inventor of the cargo container.
I got special joy from writing about people who didn't get the recognition I thought they deserved. One of them was Peter de Jager.
Peter de Jager was a programmer and futurist. While nobody else seemed to notice, he figured out that we could have a major, worldwide mess on our hands when computers designed to handle two-digit years rolled into a new century on January 1, 2000.
Peter became the Paul Revere of the Millennium Bug. In articles, and speeches and interviews he urged us to pay attention to a looming threat. Folks finally took notice. Around the globe millions of lines of computer code were changed in time and the rollover turned out to be a non-event. We have Peter to thank.
Then there was Dan Nigro. Dan was a career firefighter. He was Chief of Operations in the New York Fire Department on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center towers came down and killed his friend, Peter Ganci. Days later, Dan got Peter's job.
He became Chief of Department, the highest uniformed rank there is in New York. Then, without the fanfare, flash, or bluster, of so many public figures, he set about the daunting task of healing and rebuilding the department he loves.
I also got to write about people I admired. There was my father, most of all, but also folks like Steven Jay Gould, Al McGuire, Marvin Bowers, and my friend, Deb Haggerty.
Naturally, because businesses provide so much of the energy of what goes on in our world, I wrote a lot about a lot of them. My favorites included the pieces on Harley-Davidson, McDonald's, Ford, and Semco.
It was important to me to say, over and over, that values and principles shouldn't change, just because we're in the Digital Age. That's why I had to write about Enron and the scandals and many other issues of the day.
Many of those issues involve ethics and how we deal with one another. So I wrote about things like courtesy and trust, and about historical events like the First World War's legendary Christmas truces and about my own family and relationships. I wrote about historical forces, like the malling of America and about new problems like the rise in American obesity.
There were other, specifically Digital Age, stories that were fun. We've talked about phishing, and spam, and piracy and the network computer that wasn't. But we also talked about e-books and personal selling in the Digital Age and many of the ways that Digital technology has infused and enveloped our world.
Monday Memo, for me, has been all about how human beings wrestle with the angel of the Digital Age. It's true that we face some unique challenges. But we also face the same challenges that human beings have always faced. That's why today, as always, we look for heroes.
I got to write about people who were heroes, whether they were giant, larger-than-life public heroes or quiet behind-the-scenes heroes. I also wrote about the imaginary cowboy heroes, who inspired me and the father who set the example for me.
All of this has been great fun. It has been a wonderful intellectual exercise. Increasingly, though, Monday Memo and its weekly 2000 words has become an investment of time and energy that takes time from other important things in my business and my life. In the last few months, I've become worried that Monday Memo would soon become a chore.
That would break my covenant with you. You expect good writing and careful research and creative thought. I wanted to quit Monday Memo while I could still deliver those things joyfully.
So what will happen now? Monday Memo as you've known it will close up shop. This as the last issue. But the spirit of Monday Memo will live on in Postcards from the Digital Age.
That's the name of a radio commentary that I started doing about five years ago. It originates on public radio, WHQR, in Wilmington, North Carolina. The topics on Postcards and on Monday Memo have been similar.
Monday Memo has had longer features, its own Web site, sections for Thought Starters, I'm Not Making This Up, Snippets and Resources and it has been emailed to you weekly. Postcards from the Digital Age has had Web presence, but nothing else. Postcard features have been about half the length of those in Monday Memo.
Starting this week, Postcards from the Digital Age will be mailed to you weekly, usually on Monday night. It will consist of a short feature article and a resource section. You'll receive your first issue tomorrow, about Google and its Initial Public Offering.
The Monday Memo site will stay up for at least a year, longer than that if it's getting visitors and use. I'll also, finally, put together a book of favorite Monday Memo features.
Monday Memo has been a star of joy in my sky these last nine years, and you have been among the reasons. There was the intellectual challenge and satisfaction of wrestling with issues and deadlines to be sure, but mostly it was the notes and feedback I got from you that made the whole effort worthwhile.
I hope you'll stay with me as a subscriber to Postcards from the Digital Age; but whether you do or not, I wish you great joy and prosperity, and I close this chapter of my professional life with a heart overflowing with gratitude for the blessings you have given me. Thank you for letting me come into your life every week for these last nine years.
Monday Memos
Here is a list of the Monday Memos mentioned in the article above plus a few others. I've grouped them roughly into the following categories: People, Companies, Issues, Digital Age, Heroes, Trust, Personal and My Father.
People
- Steve Jobs: The Hero with a Thousand Faces
- Howard Dean: What a Way to Run a Campaign
- David Brinkley: The Town is Father to the Man
- Ron Popeil and the Amazing Infomercial
- Malcolm McLean: A Man Who Changed the World
- Lessons From 9/11
- In Memoriam: Stephen Jay Gould
- Lessons from the Life of Al McGuire
- Marvin Bower: Quality, Integrity and Principles
- In Memoriam: Johnny Cash
- Rudy Giuliani: The Long View of Leadership
- Can You Say "Role Model" Boys and Girls?
- Adam Osborne: From Here to Obscurity
- Cancer & Christmas Both Begin with "C"
Companies
- Harley-Davidson at One Hundred: An American Story
- McDonald's: When the Passion is Gone, the Profits are Over
- The Ford Saga
- J. C. Penney: 100 Years of Retail
- Lessons from Semco on Structure, Growth and Change
- Starbucks Voyage of Success
Issues
- The Legendary Christmas Truces
- The Malling of America
- If We're Both Working, Why Do We Need to Borrow So Much?
- Wow! The Government Says We're Fat! Now What?
- They May Be Soft Skills, But They're Real Important
- Thank-You Notes
Digital Age
- They're Phishing for Your Information: Don't Take the Bait
- Spam, Spam, Go Away
- What's the Story on E-Books?
- Personal Selling in the Digital Age
- Multitasking: An Extreme Sport for the Digital Age
- Information Wants to be Free, but Someone has to Pay
- Digital Deceit
Heroes
Trust
Personal
My Father
Got a favorite site we should tell folks about? Email Wally and tell him why you think it's a great one.