Maurilio Amorim

Month: May 2012

Dealing with Difficult People: The Drama Queen
In this series of dealing with difficult people we must tackle one of the most disruptive personalities in any environment, especially in the work place: the drama queen.

Before you label me a male chauvinist, let me say that the drama queen is not gender specific. Males can make some of the most disruptive drama queens, sexuality issues apart. I do not refer to them as drama “kings” because that title sounds too dignified to represent the type of chaos this personality type brings into any group dynamic.

A drama queen is someone who makes every issue and problem about herself. She always has to be the center of attention. Drama usually follows her or she’ll make sure to create it.

Left unchecked, the drama queen will
- Keep tabs on everyone just in case she needs material to create drama
- Give with the expectation of receiving
- React, well, over react based on run-away emotions
- Never feel satisfied unless she gets her way
- Fail to empathize with the broken, hurt and even sick
- Demand compassion but extend none
Unfortunately this person is also not self aware, so dealing with her in reasonable terms is almost an impossibility. Your options to neutralize her disruption are few. If you suspect you work for a drama queen, I’m sorry for you. Update your resume and keep looking. However, most of us have to deal with her inside work and home environments.

The most effective way I have found to deal with the drama queen is by acknowledging her status as the center of the universe and enlisting her help in dealing with your problem, that has suddenly become hers, and, therefore, worthy of solving.

Is this strategy too manipulative? Do you have a better way?
May 31, 2012
Dealing with Difficult Clients Part II: The Cheapskate
Dealing with difficult people is not an option; it’s a human dynamic we all face, sometimes daily. Next in this series, I want to address a type we all deal with, especially in lean times: the cheapskate client.

There is a big difference between being frugal and being cheap.

Frugal people:
- Maximize resources
- Optimizes opportunities
- Value quality
- Understand priorities
- Not afraid of spending on the right tools and opportunities
Cheap people:
- cut corners to save a little
- sacrifice outcome or quality for the bottom-price deal
- do not value quality
- under-resource their organization
- see where they can save but seldom what they can gain
Early in my career as a creative director/designer, I was hired by a former college teacher who was cheap…very cheap. I should have known my challenge when he hired me to develop a book cover. I remember seeing him buy a small soft drink with no ice and a free large “ice” and pouring the contents of the small drink into his large cup of ice in order to save the extra 30 cents it would have cost him to order the larger drink. That’s not being frugal. That’s being cheap.

At the very end of the long book cover design process, he asked me to output film for the printing presses (for those of you who are digital natives, film was used to create the plates for the printing press). I remember telling him that the color proofs were going to cost $120. He balked at the expense and asked why we needed proofs. “Because if something goes wrong during the film output, we can catch it,” was my reply. He thought for a second and decided that the printer would pull a proof as well and that would be good enough. I protested, since I was not comfortable about going to press without a guide. But nonetheless he prevailed.

You know where this is going. The printer did not pull a proof before printing the 5,000 book covers, and there was a major issue with one of the plates. A very obvious, big, and ugly output error. It was neither a design fault nor a printer fault. He tried to blame everyone: me, the printer, the people who outputted the film–everyone but himself. He “saved” $120 in production but lost thousands of dollars, created havoc for everyone, delayed the release of the book, and burned bridges with everyone involved in the project.

After that episode, I developed a strategy to work with cheapskates: minimum requirements on projects that are not negotiable.

Unless you know where you cannot compromise in price, quality, and resources, you’ll end up giving in. The project will most likely fail and you’ll be blamed for lack of performance, and to make matters worse, you might not get paid after all.

Take if from someone who learned it the hard way: know when to say, “I’m sorry, but that’s outside my ability to provide the quality of product I know you want. What I proposed is the minimum I can do.” Stand your ground. If he’s not willing to pay, then walk away. Trust me, you’ll thank me latter.

What has been your experience with the cheapskate?
May 30, 2012
The Hidden Costs of Bargains

As a general rule, we do not want to spend more money than we have to. But for those of us who love a bargain, chasing the “best deal” can ultimately cost us a lot of more. I know. I have done it several times. It took a good friend to say, “Are you willing to lose a $250,000 deal over $1,500?” as I got caught in the trap of the haggling game I had created. Since then I have tried to wise up and get to the bottom line of every major purchase, construction project, or service contract. The question I try to answer is “What’s the true cost of my short cut?”

That’s not an easy one to answer. Before I can come up with the true cost of my decision, here are some variables I have to consider:

How much more of my time will this less expensive option take? In my experience, a bargain always come with extra effort, therefore, extra time. As a rule of thumb, I figure what I make per hour and account for the extra time I will have give to this project. That alone can put an end to my cheap alternative.

How much will it cost the entire company in lost productivity? Slow computers, inefficient systems, missing personnel, and crowded quarters can cost you more than paying full price for their replacements. If you are not careful you can starve the very thing that feeds you. You can “save money” to the point of losing it.

What opportunities will we lose because of the extra headache, inadequate personnel resources, and general lack of focus? That’s perhaps the most difficult question to quantify, but I see it happen often. A simple fail to follow up on a lead that could be your biggest deal ever can cost you a lot. The inability to focus on growth engines can have an organization preoccupied with the urgent but not important. You might put out the fire but you will also fail to secure the future.

What other hidden costs of any give “bargain” should we consider?

May 29, 2012
Dealing with Difficult People: The Know-It-All Client

Dealing with difficult people is not an option; it’s a human dynamic we all face, sometimes daily. There are different levels and types of difficult people. In this series, I would like to identify a specific type and how I try to deal with them in a professional environment. Anyone who works in any type of service industry must learn how to manage people well in order to survive, especially dealing with the know-it-all client.

You know the type: they know more than anyone in the room, no matter the subject. They always, and I mean always, have an opinion about everything…sometimes even more than one opinion on any given subject. And now it’s your job to manage this person and get your project done to his or her standards.

When the know-it-all client starts to pontificate on matters that you are suppose to lead and begins to tell you not only what but also how to do your job, the temptation is to say something like: “Well, John, if you know so much about this, why did you bother hiring me? Just go ahead and do it.” is strong. While that sounds extreme, and it is, I have terminated relationships with clients who were unreasonable in their approach and expectations. I knew that no matter what I did, she was not going to be happy. So even before the project started, I politely told her, ” I don’t think I will be able to get this project done to your satisfaction. I think you should hire someone else.”

But often we don’t have the luxury of firing a client and must work with, through, or around them. If that’s your case, then here are a few things you should try:

Get his buy in before the meeting. Know-it-alls don’t like surprises. They need to feel the sense that their brilliance has guided whatever strategy or project you are doing for them. Bring them into your presentation or strategy as soon as possible. Have their buy in early on. I call it the meeting before the meeting. If you know she is going to be in a meeting with decision makers, make sure she is on your side of the fence before even walking into the room.

Transfer to him the credit. I worked with a client who would not pull the trigger on any new strategy unless he had come up with it. It was terribly frustrating and counter productive until the day I realize that all he wanted was credit for the idea. No problem! Instead of pitching new ideas as “here’s what I think we should do.” I started the pitch by saying, “What you said the other day in our meeting got me thinking. You were right on, and I think we should do . . . .” Even though it might not be his direct idea, he was the one who spawned the genius plan; therefore he will not easily shoot it down.

If you try to argue or reason with the know-it-all you will lose every time. Unless you can get his buy in early or transfer the credit to him, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. The next best thing is to fire him from your account.

How do you deal with the know-it-all?

May 25, 2012
The Problem With Over Communicating

I used to believe one could not over communicate in a volunteer organization, specially church members, volunteers, or leadership, but I have changed my mind on that.

Early in my career, communicating with a large group of constituents meant sending them letters, newsletter or post cards in the mail and for church members that would include a blurb in the bulletin and an announcement from the pulpit. The rule of thumb was that you needed to communicate seven times the same message before the majority of people would even become aware of it.

Today we have more channels: email, text messages, social media to ad to the mix. But like anything else in life, sometimes more is not better but more is just, more noise, more junk mail, more interruptions. And instead of getting our message through, we become a nuisance to those we want to engage.

So how should we communicate the needs and opportunities of a growing and multifaceted organization without alienating our volunteer base? It’s a simple strategy, but hard to implement: be strategic and brief!

It’s easier said than done. I get that. But before your next letter or email blast goes out, consider this:

Segment your database. Not everyone needs to know everything that is going on in your organization. Make sure the information you are sending me is something I want and need to know. If I’m single professional, I don’t need to know about the pre-school cookie drive or the senior adults trip to the botanical gardens.

Say no to verbosity. In the days of print-only communication, words were costly; after all they occupy physical space on paper. In the digital world we are no longer limited by our “page count.” Unfortunately that has given some license to say more than they should. Say the minimum possible to get people all they need to know but no more.

Limit communication. More than one or maybe two touch points a week from any organization is too much. I love my church but if I get more than 2 emails from the staff a week, I’ll stop opening them, specially if there’s too much information and it’s not relevant to me.

Have you been over-communicated? How do you handle it?

May 23, 2012
What to Do With Learning Piracy

Learning has been a foundation of any growing society. Good education was costly because it employed the best minds to teach the fortunate who could afford it. But content, much like everything else in our world that once cost to obtain is now available for free. Everywhere. Instead of buying a do-it-yourself book on how to lay tile at Home Depot, I can go online and find a dozen free videos that will walk me through the entire process better than any book could. With the democratization of digital tools and basically free storage, the knowledge base of the planet is growing at an exponential rate. Learning piracy has become a growing concern for content providers who are finding it more and more difficult to charge for their products—from book sellers to higher education providers.

People have always found a way to violate copyrighted information by making illegal copies of songs, movies, and other media. In the past the cost of re-purposing media was the expense of a piece of gear…a transferable mechanism like a tape–even the time it took to rip a CD to create a new copy. Those deterrents, however minor they were, are all but removed from our lives. Most smart phones can accommodate audio, video, and text– and do it in a matter of seconds. My 13 year old son can watch a hardvard lecture on his smartphone while waiting to be picked up from school.

So how should we handle learning piracy where multiple sources are pulled together to facilitate learning without any remuneration to its authors? I’m thinking of TED talks and the brilliant presenters that are available to anyone with a fast connection. Will we still want to pay for a college education in the next decade when we could access the best minds on the planet on any given subject instantly?

I’m not certain of what the answer should be. I know, however, that people are willing to pay for experiences and not necessarily just knowledge. While you can access information instantly and freely, you cannot gain the experience that a collaborative environment creates. However, I am sure we don’t need large, expensive campuses to create such environments.

The question is not as much about the future of education as it is about how learning piracy will become the norm and how content providers should address this shift away from paid, quality content.

Where do you think this all is going to evolve into?

May 22, 2012
Expectation + Inspiration = Greatness

Think of your favorite teacher, your favorite boss or coach. Positionally they all could have demanded the best from you; after all they had positional influence on you due to their professional status. But chances are that’s not the reason you liked them so much. If you are anything like I am, your favorite boss or teacher was not the one who let you get by easily or gave you easy assignments. It was the one who not only expected much from you, but also inspired you to continue to grow and outperform your own standards.

Four years after arriving from Brazil with very little knowledge of English, I was asked to finish the last month of a senior-level Shakespearean course. I was surprised and shocked to be asked to lead the rest of the semester for several reasons, but the most compelling of them was the fact I was a student in the very class I was to take over.

The conversation with the professor who had fallen ill and could not finish teaching the course went something like this: “I’m very flattered, but do you realize I’m a student in your class and have never taken a Shakespeare before?” “Yes, of course, but I also know that you are a fast learner, I have seen you develop in the past few years and I’m certain you will do a great job with the few remaining classes. I have total confidence in you.”

I wasn’t sure I could do it, but after that speech I knew I, at least, had to try. And much to the surprise of my fellow classmates, I stood before them the next few sessions to work through the rest of the material, including drafting a final exam. Later on I found out that very experience was a catalyst in my having a full scholarship for my masters program at another university.

It’s easy to demand that people who work for us perform to our expectations; however, it is more effective to expect greatness from those under our watch while inspiring them to achieve it. Expectation without inspiration is hard labor, but expectation plus inspiration often produces greatness–the type of greatness we did not even know we were able to accomplish.

Who in your life used expectation and inspiration to move you to heights you did not know you could reach?

May 21, 2012
The A Group 10th Anniversary Celebration and Open House

Yesterday was a big day for me. Our entire team celebrated 10 years in business and moving into our new offices. There were a lot of details to come together since the save-the-date email was sent prior to even moving in. I’m so proud of my entire team, specially TAG’s President, Shannon Litton, for making it all come together seamlessly. The food, flowers, gifts, and many details all turned out the way we envisioned. I’m so proud of my entire team for pitching in and making this happen.

Here are some of the pictures:

Jenny Cupero, Kristen Pope and Taylor Searfoss at the lobby

The tech area

Yours Truly around the conference room table now transformed into a banquet table

With Pete Wilson and Shannon Litton

The collaboration room where you can connect wirelessly to the monitors and, well, collaborate

The conference room with our enormous and amazing touch screen, white board tv

To see more pictures of our open house click here

How does your organization celebrates its milestones?

May 18, 2012
Why We Need Deadlines

Deadlines are critical in order to get things done. Most of us, myself included, need deadlines to avoid procrastinating on things that might be important but are not urgent. Both at home as well as work, I try to bookend our projects with an event that forces everyone involved in wrapping up lose ends and making sure the project is completed in time for guests to see it.

I decided to schedule an open house for The A Group’s new offices less than three weeks from our moving in date. I knew it would be a tight deadline. It’s staggering the amount of work that goes into moving offices, computer systems, phone systems, workstations, furniture, signage, and on and on. And while in the midst of all of that, still get work done. The tendency is to get enough done to be functional and continue to fix things up as time allows. Well, time never allows for much. So after years of moving in, all the good-intentioned things we had in mind for the new space is forgotten and abandoned as the newness wears off.

Right now our new offices are frantically getting put together. Our entire team and vendors are working hard to make sure this space is done in time for our guests to walk through it. After all, we don’t want to say, “in this space we plan on putting a collaborative conference table with multiple monitors so we can connect to screens and share what’s in our computers, and we also want to create artwork based on some of our projects.”

Right now you might have projects that are in perpetual limbo. It’s functional but not completed. I suggest you set a date, invite people you care about over and give yourself a hard deadline to be finished.

What came to mind as you read this post?

May 16, 2012
Work Smarter Part 2

Working hard and working smart are not synonyms. Yes you can work both smart and hard, but you can also spend a lot of effort and fail at the end of the day. Here are 5 more principles that will help you create and maintain a healthy and productive work environment. Ignore them at your own risk.

Rebuke privately. Praise publicly. Getting these principles right has the greatest impact on morale for both paid or volunteer staff. One time I almost, and should have, fired a staff member for publicly scolding a volunteer that was late for a key rehearsal. The same is true for praise that’s done privately. If you’re happy with someone’s performance, make sure you praise them in front of their peers and superiors.

Monitor morale. Leaders are always looking ahead to figure out what’s the next move. If morale is eroding for whatever reason, it’s your job to identify the issue on its inception and deal with it quickly. A team that loses morale is ineffective at best and a poisonous cancer (I know this is strong language, but I feel strongly about this) for the entire organization. Do not allow rudeness, bickering, or lack of respect to enter your organization. Once these traits find their way in, they will eventually create a culture of cynicism and conflict. Nothing good comes out of that…nothing.

Respect the organizational structure. As you grow and move up in the organizational chart or the organization grows deeper, the tendency is for those whom you’ve know for a while to bypass the chain of command and go straight to you, as oppose to the newly appointed direct report between you and your eager friend. Avoid the temptation to engage in a professional conversation and make sure you work the organizational chart. Unwittingly, you will be undermining your new hire and create a system of inefficiency and team hostility.

Listen intently, but reserve judgment. The tendency of a manager or leader is to want to help fix someone’s problems as soon as possible. However, the worst thing you can do is agree with a disgruntled person based on the “facts” of his or her story. I have learned that there are two sides of every conflict and the truth might be something altogether different. While you should listen, stop short of making a judgment call until you’ve done your work and heard the rest of the story.

Be as loyal to your leader as you would like for your followers to be to you. This is my number one rule in business as well as ministry. Internally we might argue over a course of action, but once a decision is made, then it is the entire team’s responsibility to defend it. If you don’t agree with the decision, you have two options: defend it or leave. People with their own agenda will always try to get to a leader through someone on his team that they think can be easily manipulated. If you agree with a disgruntled client, church member or donor and allow them to feel a sense of righteous indignation, you open the door for a lot of trouble.

What other principle would you include?

May 15, 2012