Assignment Nr.2- Veronika “Module literature”

“What a star- What a jerk”

The article about Andy Zimmerman, the prototype of the bad attitude employee and at the same time the top performer made me think and reflect upon the actions I would undertake to face this Andy.
I came to the conclusion that the best way to deal with attitudinally deficient employee is to put aside the concern about the attitude itself and not even try to fix it, because it will do no good. A person’s core attitudes are well fixed by the time he is three years old.
I agree with the solution proposed by Chuck McKenzie, that is: “rather than wasting time on that hopeless strategy, carve out a role that lets him focus on what he’s best at: developing sales plans and selling”.
There is also a saying that confirms the above mentioned: “It’s easier to develop someone’s qualities, than to eliminate his weaknesses”. Another good idea is that Jane’s group could eventually become stronger and more creative in case it could deal with true diversity that comes with clashing personalities.

Another thing to do, in my opinion is to show Andy who’s the boss. Jane should directly tell Andy:”Stop behaving like this, it is unacceptable”, and tell the individual exactly what kind of behavior is required: courteous, cooperative and helpful.


The other article “Weird rules” made me think if hiring people you don’t like, rewarding failure, getting your best workers argue are a fuel for innovation.

I personally believe that applying these rules is extremely risky and these weird creative implications must be managed by ingenious professionals in order to succeed.
I think a huge attention should be focused on the elaboration of the weird rules that will probably work for your company, depending on its future goals and expectations. Because things that work for a company will not surely work for another one. And it is not so easy to ensure your company with an innovative workplace. First, you have to choose the right people with creative-thinking skills, then your innovative ideas should fire up their intrinsic motivation- their passion for particular challenges.
Also, a good point I agree with is to offer employees few hours per week to play with their ideas, the time when they are not compelled to follow the job schedule and obligations, but just wreak the imagination and creativity. That is, telling them what mountain to climb …but not how to climb it, and let them know that what they do matters.

Unfortunately, there are only rare occasions when owners of companies allocate money for innovative strategies development and elaboration of new concepts. They would rather apply the traditional management of making money from tried-to-true products and services.

References:
“What a star-What a jerk”, Sarah Cliffe
“The weird rules of creativity ”, Robert I. Sutton