Productivity

In my book, The SuddenTeams™ Program, I cover different ways to pay teams that will improve teamwork. A study sponsored by The International Society for Performance Improvement confirmed the value: “tangible incentives in the form of money or awards increase performance an average of 22%.”

Nobody likes to talk about death. Maybe that’s why none of the 1,000 study and book titles related to teamwork I’ve seen in my research related to the impacts of various endings on teams: reorganizations; project closures; the loss of liked teammates; and lest we forget, actual deaths.

Most startups in America, and many established companies, seem convinced that an open seating arrangement with low-walled cubicles and people facing each other is the best one to foster collaboration. Yet, in my two contracts at Microsoft, I noticed that every regular employee was given his or her own office, or at least a high-walled cubicle shielding everyone within direct view. There’s a disconnect here. Every company would love to have the financial success of Microsoft, so why don’t they adopt Microsoft’s seating arrangements?

This week I finished reading a monumental book on people and their relationships to work. The stories are poignant, maddening, funny reminders of the good and bad in the American workplace.

"Proud of my work?" spot-welder Phil Stallings asked. "How can I feel pride in a job where I call a foreman's attention to a mistake, a bad piece of equipment, and he'll ignore it. Pretty soon you get the idea they don't care." This from a man who also says of his work, "To a great degree, I enjoy it." A poor manager can create a poor employee.

The relatively stable unemployment numbers in the U.S. suggest that the worst of the layoffs have passed, but companies are reluctant to hire. For those of you looking for work, this has to be incredibly discouraging. I’ve been there, so you have my compassion. But those who have jobs find little solace in the numbers either. Team managers and members are being asked to meet slowly increasing demand without more help: in short, to do more with the same.