Once you delegate then follow up to see if / how they have completed the
project is that micromanaging? It's a sinking feeling if you learn they didn't
do something you asked them to do. "I forgot" isn't the best answer.. ...
----- Reply message -----
From: "Chuck McCown via AF" <af@af.afmug.com>
To: "AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group" <af@af.afmug.com>
Cc: <ch...@go-mtc.com>
Subject: [AFMUG] Short Term Employee
Date: Mon, Apr 10, 2023 10:16 AM
It is always a fine line between training, course corrections and
micro-managing. I tend to over delegate and under train at times. I
don’t always notice the glazed over eyes when I think they got it.
Employees are sometimes very reluctant to tell you they don’t have it, don’t
understand or need to go over something again.
I did have to teach a whole batch of youngsters how to sweep a couple of
years ago. We were microtrenching in a city street and they needed to
sweep up the street. Big push brooms, and that is what they did, the
pushed them. Of course leaving a trail of crap behind them. I
literally had a broom lesson with five (allegedly) adult men in the residential
streets of Salt Lake City...
From: Steve Jones
Sent: Monday, April 10, 2023 7:53 AM
To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Short Term Employee
Im new to owning a company and really struggling with being the
boss boss. One of the big things im struggling with is identifying where i am
micromanaging. Im not saying you are micromanaging and Im not saying he was
doing a good job, but I do find that because of my situation at my full time
job
where i was the only guy so everything was designed around things being done
with only two hands that its hard to let go of any detail on any process. At
that job ive been stepping back and allowing them to build their own processes,
not at all the way i would do it, in the end the outcome is success some of the
times (the bosses kid is replacing me, so access to better tools and materials
is helping that along). In my boss man role I am catching myself micromanaging,
telling a guy how to hold a shovel when hes already dug a five foot hole faster
than me.
The point is, make sure he is definitely fucking up, and not assuming hes
fucking up just because of a different process than you would use. Talking more
than working, make sure he was not just talking more than you and working less
than you, hes not the owner and doesnt have to, his skin in the game resets
every payday.
I really doubt your the asshole here, but you are an aging nerd, and we
nerds tend to become fickle with years.
He is calling OSHA, but that shouldnt be a concern, you just hit the osha
guy with a pipe and put him in the dumpster, landfills are full of OSHA
inspectors. But really, im coming to find out OSHA compliance isnt the beast it
is presented as, just dont let him see your triple stacked boxes falling
over
The “I
guess I am going to have to ignore my own exceptionalism to be able work here”
was enough to fire him. Thats a poison apple statement, even if its accurate,
that guy would have poisoned your workforce dynamic if he would say something
like that to the boss, he definitely would design mutiny amongst labor.
FYI, he cant call OSHA if hes in the landfill with the OSHA
guys.
On Sat, Apr 8, 2023 at 2:48 PM Chuck McCown via AF
<af@af.afmug.com> wrote:
I hired a guy to be a production manager over our grout mixing machine
product.
He came with a pedigree of doing this at other places. I didn’t
check him out, just trusted the resume.
He did have interesting ideas but soon it became evident:
He liked to sit and talk –alot.
He did not want to start helping cleaning up the bill of materials
(primary job responsibility). (did absolutely nothing along those lines)
He wanted us to farm things out to his buddies (like have fastenal kit
the nuts and bolts, have this other company make your sheet metal for
you).
OK, was trying to absorb ideas and suggestions. After all he was
over building all the production equipment at the local Purple Mattress
factory (or so he said).
I expected him to help task employees in his department, but soon when
asked where they were and what were they doing, he had no idea.
I gave them a task to modify a mounting fixture by cutting it and
inserting 10” of steel tubing. Rather than have them do what I asked, he
took new steel and made one from scratch.
So he wasted the steel, his time and he used too thin of material.
Took two hours.
I told him you could make the modification in 10 minutes, he argued that
point.
So I took a stand, cut it, extended it, using a stopwatch. 3
minutes 43 seconds....
When I complained about it, he said that my fixtures were too weak and
they were going to kill someone. I demoed one with about 10X load not
failing.
Then he started complaining about other things, deflecting that he did
not do what I asked and did something else wasteful and substandard.
Interspersed with my request was not clear and he didn’t understand what
I wanted...
He said my repair to a air compressor was unsafe.
He said he got arc flash in his eye from a distance of about 60 feet, etc
etc. Had to buy stuff to build safe welding stalls, etc etc.
So I made a casual comment to my son (who is taking over)
yesterday: “you know, when a guy like this leaves a company whether fired or
not, they sometimes call OSHA just to cause problems”
Then I actually listened to my own words and agreed with myself.
Late in the day this problem employee said to me: “I guess I am going to
have to ignore my own exceptionalism to be able work here”.
That bugged me the longer I thought about it. I fired him via email
about an hour after he left... Made it one full week and a couple days
the prior week.
He can bless someone else with his exceptionalism.
AITA?
--
AF mailing
listAF@af.afmug.comhttp://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
-- AF mailing
listAF@af.afmug.comhttp://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
--
AF mailing list
AF@af.afmug.com
http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
