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September 29, 2005
Where Did The Time Go?
BusinessWeek recently had a cover story on "The Real Reasons You Are Working So Hard....and What You Can Do About It". Both the story and the comments following it are interesting. Any manager I've ever talked to speaks of "not enough time" both to do their job and in their personal life. Cell phones and networked computers have just about removed the last vestiges of privacy and families don't even have the time to talk about their lack of time. The article pins the main problem on organizations that haven't re-structured to utilize new technologies to their best advantage. While that's probably the major item, I've often run into another major cause. The company CEO who likes to talk to their staff at their own convenience and ignores the same intrusions that come from board members.
In my first job as a manager, my boss was having continual family problems and so, would hide himself in his home office and talk to employees for half the night. Phone call would come in at all hours and last anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. This was before caller ID and as a new employee, I didn't feel comfortable hanging up on him. Job security and all. When I started not answering the phone at home, or returning calls at night, he took it personally and things were never the same. Since then I've worked with others who have similar penchants. A lot of company owners are Type A personalities who work 16 hour days and can't understand why you don't want to or can't.
Unless it's an emergency there is absolutely no reason to bother your employees or your manager (if you're a board member), while they are off the clock and at home. If you don't have a policy to let your staff know that they are entitled to some sort of privacy, it's past time to put one in place. The jobs tough enough without pushing it into their home.
Posted by joewest at 3:50 PM
September 4, 2005
Disaster - But Who Do I Contact and How?
Short of a major earthquake in California, the U.S. isn't likely to see another disaster as great as the one Hurricane Katrina just caused in Louisiana, Mississipi and Alabama. I don't have to repeat what everyone has seen on the news, but I would like to point out how its going to affect our industry. Management companies no longer have offices or communications systems. They don't know where or how to contact board members and owners and vice versa. The vendor list is useless, contractors have evacuated and have no means of communicating even if they knew where the managers are. Banks are closed. Records may be destroyed, including insurance policies. Backups may also be missing or destroyed. Condo buildings may be leveled or still under water. And, no one is in a position to give them any answers. It was a "perfect storm".
CAN is going to try and help out by creating the ability for management companies and associations to post basic information to the internet. It is likely that they internet will be the main source of communication for the impacted areas in the near future. Check the main page of our site as to when that will be ready.
I imagine management and boards will be thinking about their own disaster planning. Katrina adds a new dimension to those by displacing both companies and owners at the same time. You will probably never have to deal with something this big, but it doesn't hurt to have a plan in place (and a backup someplace else) that at least addresses most of the issues they are going to be facing in the months to come. What would you do?
Posted by joewest at 2:14 PM