Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It

Change the way you think about work (and life) by focusing on results—and only results

Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It shows how the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) mindset can make you or your organization more entrepreneurial, more connected with the broader trends in your industry, and more willing to take smart risks. It explains how to set clear expectations and focus on the endpoint as opposed to managing the process that gets you there. With eyes set on getting rid of distractions, long meetings, and unnecessary updates, this book offers quick, everyday strategies to experience huge increases in productivity (without adding resources) and dramatic drops in turnover.

• Authors Ressler and Thompson began their work together at Best Buy where they are credited with revolutionizing the workplace
• Reframes thinking away from counting on general availability (Where's Bob?) to creating clear expectations (Does Bob know exactly what's expected of him?)
• Explains how to reduce the number of meetings while increasing their quality
• Shows how to eliminate scheduled events in order to increase critical thinking and improve communication

ROWE is a bold, cultural transformation that permeates the attitudes and operating style of an entire workplace, leveling the playing field and giving people complete autonomy—to manage their measurable results using adult common sense.

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Wake Up! Go Beyond Telework 21

Creating an Accountability Culture by Karren Fink 55

Chapter 2 Motivate Me. No Pizza Party, Please 63

The Importance of Trust by Bryan Sivak 98

Chapter 3 S.M.A.R.T. Goals ¼ Senseless Minutia Against Random Tasks 105

Down with Billable Hours, Up with Results by Otmara “Omi” Diaz-Cooper and Todd Cooper 137

Chapter 4 24/7 Kicks 9–5’s Ass 143

Focus on What Matters by Greg Watt 169

Chapter 5 No More Bullshit Meetings. Period. 177

Delighting the Customer by Ronnie Wooten 201

Chapter 6 Results. Not for Every Job? 207

Results-Only Competency-Based Education by Jeff Herzberg 237

ROWE in the Public Sector by Nancy Dietl Griffin 244

Epilogue 256

About the Authors 272

Index 273

CALI RESSLER and JODY THOMPSON are the cofounders of CultureRx and authors of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It. CultureRx provides training services customized to the needs of their clients that successfully shift teams and entire organizations into a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). Cali and Jody began their work together at Best Buy, where they are credited with revolutionizing the workplace.

Is your talent energized, focused and ready to deliver the results necessary to drive your business? Or do they spend the day flinching at their bosses’ attempts to micromanage the minutes of their day? If your organization sounds more like the latter, it’s time to transform your workplace.

Focusing only on results can differentiate your business from the competition. A Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) positively impacts the bottom line while simultaneously improving the employee experience. Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It shows how the transition to a ROWE can make you or your organization more entrepreneurial, more connected with the broader trends in your industry, and more willing to take smart risks. Companies that embrace a Results-Only Work Environment enjoy staggering increases in engagement. ROWE teams report an average increase of 35 percent in productivity by eliminating waste from systems and processes and a 90 percent decrease in voluntary turnover rates.

This book explains how to set measurable, outcome-based expectations and focus on the endpoint as opposed to managing the process that gets you there. With eyes set on getting rid of distractions, pointless meetings, and unnecessary updates, this book offers easy-to-implement, everyday strategiesto help you experience huge increases in productivity (without adding resources) and dramatic drops in turnover. You’ll learn:

• Quick tips for restructuring customer service, technology, and work flow
• How to reframe thinking away from counting on general availability (Where’s Bob?) to creating clear expectations (Does Bob know exactly what’s expected of him?)
• How to reduce the number of meetings while increasing their quality
• How to effectively move into an unlimited vacation scenario, do away with the billable hours/time-based billing setup, and infuse new life into your health and wellness programs

Smash tired assumptions about what work has to be. The transition to a ROWE creates a bold, cultural transformation that permeates the attitudes and operating style of your entire workplace, leveling the playing field and giving your workers complete autonomy to manage their measurable results—using adult common sense.