Effective Management: Getting the Best from Your Team

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Effective ManagementGetting the Best from Your
Team
Pete Isensee Principal Program Manager Xbox
Platform Team
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About Me
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Development Failures

• Of 500 real world development efforts
• 15 cancelled or aborted
• Of those that lasted 25 work-years
• 25 failed to complete
• For the overwhelming majority, there was not a
  single technological issue to explain the
  failure.
• DeMarco and Lister, Peopleware

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Key Takeaway

• Effective managers solve sociological problems

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Pop Quiz

• Who has a sociology degree?
• Who took management classes in school?
• Who has a manager mentor?
• Who has read any books on management?
• Who has been to a manager training class?

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Recipe for Success

• Hire the best
• Motivate and inspire
• Turn them loose
• Give feedback
• Manage underperformers

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Hiring

• Use your network
• Need smart productive
• Examine portfolios
• Involve the team
• Compare notes
• Make a decision

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Key Takeaway

• Effective hiring managers never settle for good
  enough

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Recipe for Success

• Hire the best
• Motivate and inspire
• Turn them loose
• Give feedback
• Manage underperformers

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Trust Cycle
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Motivational Tactics

• Be real
• Think long term
• Celebrate progress
• Try something new
• Foster lesprit de corps
• Maximize the workspace
• The trivial and the silly are neither

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Team Chemistry

• Build a cult of quality
• Cultivate a sense of eliteness
• Encourage diversity
• Foster employee connections
• Give strategic, not tactical, advice

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Key Takeaway

• Effective managers build trust through
  relationships

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Recipe for Success

• Hire the best
• Motivate and inspire
• Turn them loose
• Give feedback
• Manage underperformers

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6Ps Setting Course

• Premise
• Purpose
• Principles
• Priorities
• Plan
• People

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6Ps Example

• Premise The game engine keeps crashing
• Purpose Improve the quality of the engine
• Principles Invest for the future, minimize
  content changes, evaluate multiple options
• Priorities Quality, efficiency, readability,
• Plan Investigate middleware, hire consultant,
• People

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Cut Loose

• Trust the team
• Foster work/life balance
• Dont waste the teams time
• Build consensus

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Manage Change

• Improvements involve change
• Fundamental response to change emotional
• Celebrate the status quo first

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Key Takeaway

• Effective managers point the team in the right
  direction and get out of their way

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Recipe for Success

• Hire the best
• Motivate and inspire
• Turn them loose
• Give feedback
• Manage underperformers

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Im Listening

• Give feedback
• Shortly before or after behavior
• Start with what you like
• Talk about ways to improve
• Receive feedback
• Ask for feedback
• Listen
• Two valid responses Thanks and Go on

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Key Takeaways

• Effective managers give feedback early often
• Effective managers accept feedback graciously

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Recipe for Success

• Hire the best
• Motivate and inspire
• Turn them loose
• Give feedback
• Manage underperformers

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Failure is Not an Option

• Match skillset to the work
• Dont delay
• Pave the way
• Coordinate with mgmt, HR, legal
• Your team will thank you

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Key Takeaways

• Effective managers match skillsets to work
• Effective managers know when to fire people

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General People Mgmt Tactics

• Use Different Communication Modes
• Get People Alone
• Get People Together
• Hunt People Down
• Hide/Work Offsite
• Grant Authority
• Get Advice
• Go on Walkabout
• Call in Favors
• Stack the Deck
• Buy People Coffee/Donuts

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Remember the Recipe

• Hire the best
• Motivate and inspire
• Turn them loose
• Give feedback
• Manage underperformers

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Takeaways for Effective Managers

• Solve sociological problems
• When hiring, never settle for good enough
• Build trust through relationships
• Point the team in the right direction and get out
  of their way
• Give feedback early and often
• Accept feedback graciously
• Match skillsets to work
• Know when to fire people

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Resources

• Email pkisensee_at_msn.com
• Website tantalon.com
• DeMarco Lister Peopleware
• Spolsky Guerilla Guide to Interviewing (web)
• Berkun Making Things Happen
• Brechner Hard Code