Great Manager Newsletter - Jan 22, 2025
The Memo First Meeting Culture
Fun Fact: Category 5 winds (the highest level at over 150 miles per hour) are faster than the worlds fastest roller coaster (148 miles per hour).
Before we get started, a little business - I’ve set 2 goals in terms of this newsletter.
To increase membership by 5X (admittedly a big goal).
To increase the interactions between the community.
To reach both of these goals, I need your help.
There are millions of managers in the US and if the stats are correct, millions are struggling. Share this with your colleagues and lets use this community to help. The more managers here, the more we can help.
Interact with me and the others. Every post has a button to leave a comment - please do! I want to hear your thoughts, questions, concerns, etc. It will let me build better content as we go and enable us to use the power of community to succeed.
Consider becoming a paid member. I don’t do this to become rich (trust me, that ain’t happening). But there are expenses to this project. Your paid memberships help me defray those costs.
Reach out to me personally at bwatkins@btomconsultants.com and tell me what questions you have and what content is most valuable. I want to make this the best newsletter and the only way to do that is through your suggestions.
Enough of me babbling - let’s get started.
1 Big Thing
The Memo First Meeting Culture
Dropbox has adopted a "memo-first" meeting culture inspired by Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos. In this approach, meetings begin with attendees spending 10 to 20 minutes reading a detailed memo, often up to six pages, which provides comprehensive information on the topic at hand. Participants can leave in-line comments and feedback directly in the document, facilitating a more informed and efficient discussion. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston explained that this method addresses common issues associated with traditional slide presentations, such as redundancy and inefficiency.
Watch This
Radical Candor
"How can you say what you mean without being mean?" asks CEO coach and author Kim Scott. Delving into the delicate balance between caring and challenging when leading in the workplace, she introduces "radical candor" as the way to give constructive criticism, compassionately.
I recommend Kim Scott and her book on Radical Candor.
By the Numbers
12%
Just 12% of mid-level execs think today’s entry level workers are prepared to enter the workforce.
Words of Wisdom
A Manager is a guide. He takes a group of people and says, with you, I can make us a success; I can show you the way.
― Arsene Wenger
Business Laughs
Discussion Topics
How do you stay connected with the front-line experiences of your team members?
Thanks for reading. I appreciate each and every member of the Great Manager Community and look forward to us working together to rid the world of every bad manager.
If you have any comments or questions for me, feel free to send them to bwatkins@btomconsultants.com. I promise a timely response to each inquiry.
Have a great week and be a Great Manager.