Chef Jim Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 Dude, he said MANAGE people, not milk 'em. What's the difference??
boyst Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 What's the difference?? Pretty much. Id rather work wth cattle then people. At least the cows have an excuse to act idiots.
KD in CA Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 Don't nail any of your subordinates, no matter how much you want to.
Phlegm Alley Posted April 10, 2013 Author Posted April 10, 2013 I don't have any advice for what you are doing... Sorry to be a little skeptical... Jim's concerned post earlier about the whole east coast being out sick has me asking: "What's "the catch" with the job?" Were you promoted or are you a new hire? Are you on the hook with a lot of your own money? They are paying you right, something? For travel expenses too? Training? You do NOT have to answer my questions, please do not be offended. Just be careful... There are a lot of good employers out there and there are a lot of not so nice ones especially in a tough economy... I do not want to see your hard work get taken advantage of IN A negative way... Same withe your personal finances... Please don't think I am being too forward. Think of this as what family would be asking. The offer sounds great, go for it! Hope it all works out for you PA. I appreciate the quality feedback from everyone, and I appreciate the well wishes. To provide a little background, I wasn't promoted to this position, but rather, I was an outside hire. I was contacted by a recruiter, as they were looking for a person with a big media background (I used to work for CBS for a couple of years), and digital advertising agency experience, preferably in a business development role. It just so happens that my background was an ideal fit for what they were looking for in a candidate. Additionally, they wanted the candidate to be positioned in Philadelphia. It's a big company based in Denver, built in the newspaper industry but transitioning to become more digitalyl focused. The digital arm of the company was only established two and a half years ago and operates like a start-up company, but has the resources behind it to ensure its success and has far exceeded sales forecasts for the first two years. It is a huge jump in compensation for me. I travel to Denver on Monday morning for a week of training. All of my travel is to be taken care of with the company credit card, so no money out of pocket for expenses and subsequent reimbursement. I won't be directly managing the 340+ reps. I will be working directly with the digital sales managers that are based out of their respective markets.
Just Jack Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 All of my travel is to be taken care of with the company credit card, so no money out of pocket for expenses and subsequent reimbursement. Still sign up for every hotel and airline reward program. My company reimbursed me, but I still got the points by giving the check-in desk my member number.
NoSaint Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 Still sign up for every hotel and airline reward program. My company reimbursed me, but I still got the points by giving the check-in desk my member number. best thing you can do. some programs you can even get straight cash/gift cards instead of free travel nights if you are sick of being on the road, or cant get away for a vacation.
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 I appreciate the quality feedback from everyone, and I appreciate the well wishes. To provide a little background, I wasn't promoted to this position, but rather, I was an outside hire. I was contacted by a recruiter, as they were looking for a person with a big media background (I used to work for CBS for a couple of years), and digital advertising agency experience, preferably in a business development role. It just so happens that my background was an ideal fit for what they were looking for in a candidate. Additionally, they wanted the candidate to be positioned in Philadelphia. It's a big company based in Denver, built in the newspaper industry but transitioning to become more digitalyl focused. The digital arm of the company was only established two and a half years ago and operates like a start-up company, but has the resources behind it to ensure its success and has far exceeded sales forecasts for the first two years. It is a huge jump in compensation for me. I travel to Denver on Monday morning for a week of training. All of my travel is to be taken care of with the company credit card, so no money out of pocket for expenses and subsequent reimbursement. I won't be directly managing the 340+ reps. I will be working directly with the digital sales managers that are based out of their respective markets. Awesome! Congratulations and best of luck!
GOBILLS78 Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 This is the main rule: Call them your friends, but don't be their friend.
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 This is the main rule: Call them your friends, but don't be their friend. LoL... Wow... What a bunch of dicks! :-P I gotta remember this when "the man" puts the squeeze on me. As labor, this thread is priceless to throw it back on the status quo! ;-) ;-)
Fan in San Diego Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 I appreciate the quality feedback from everyone, and I appreciate the well wishes. To provide a little background, I wasn't promoted to this position, but rather, I was an outside hire. I was contacted by a recruiter, as they were looking for a person with a big media background (I used to work for CBS for a couple of years), and digital advertising agency experience, preferably in a business development role. It just so happens that my background was an ideal fit for what they were looking for in a candidate. Additionally, they wanted the candidate to be positioned in Philadelphia. It's a big company based in Denver, built in the newspaper industry but transitioning to become more digitalyl focused. The digital arm of the company was only established two and a half years ago and operates like a start-up company, but has the resources behind it to ensure its success and has far exceeded sales forecasts for the first two years. It is a huge jump in compensation for me. I travel to Denver on Monday morning for a week of training. All of my travel is to be taken care of with the company credit card, so no money out of pocket for expenses and subsequent reimbursement. I won't be directly managing the 340+ reps. I will be working directly with the digital sales managers that are based out of their respective markets. Sounds awesome! Good luck!
GOBILLS78 Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 LoL... Wow... What a bunch of dicks! :-P I gotta remember this when "the man" puts the squeeze on me. As labor, this thread is priceless to throw it back on the status quo! ;-) ;-) Haha, I'm talking out of my ass. I manage 10 people in one office, not 340 across a third of the country!
Lurker Posted April 10, 2013 Posted April 10, 2013 (edited) So your first management position is the whole east coast managing 340+ reps?? Did the rest of the management team come down with a terminal illness?? Congrats and good luck on that. LOL! That was my first thought as well. Since you'll be on the road so much, you absolutely need a solid, reliable second-in-command (or at least a high level admin assistant) who can fight the fires for you while you're "outside" the loop / in-transit. Someone you can 'mind meld' with, rather than just a 9-5 clock puncher. The other thing would be to develop easy-to-generate reporting that continuously stack ranks the performance metrics for those 340+ reps, so you'll be able to monitor their activity while you're 'working' in your 40,000-foot office. Edited April 10, 2013 by Lurker
ajzepp Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 (edited) Pretty much. Id rather work wth cattle then people. At least the cows have an excuse to act idiots. Are cows pretty much the best farm animals to work with? I'm thinking they'd be a step up over pigs for sure, but maybe not quite up there with the sheep? Edited April 11, 2013 by ajzepp
Jim in Anchorage Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 Are cows pretty much the best farm animals to work with? I'm thinking they'd be a step up over pigs for sure, but maybe not quite up there with the sheep? I did see a B&W film once where a guy took a chicken and...never mind.
tennesseeboy Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 1. You'll learn a lot more listening than you will talking. 2. Give other people credit whenever possible. Tattoo this on your chest..."Thank you, but it was really a team effort" 3. Know the territory...what does the company reward. Listen...not what the company SAYS they reward...what does the company reward. 4. Be straight and rigourously honest with those who report to you. 5. Everyone is watching...follow the rules.
boyst Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 Are cows pretty much the best farm animals to work with? I'm thinking they'd be a step up over pigs for sure, but maybe not quite up there with the sheep? it depends on your temperament. Cows are more forgiving then most animals and as long as you have good fences you can keep a cow. Pigs are not that bad. Sheep can have a lot of issues if not kept clean. Goats might be the easiest, though. $40 and you can get a decent goat that will eat anything you put it on.
ajzepp Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 I did see a B&W film once where a guy took a chicken and...never mind. it depends on your temperament. Cows are more forgiving then most animals and as long as you have good fences you can keep a cow. Pigs are not that bad. Sheep can have a lot of issues if not kept clean. Goats might be the easiest, though. $40 and you can get a decent goat that will eat anything you put it on. Goats, eh? Nice...do they have any idea what's going on in the world or are they pretty much oblivious?
DC Tom Posted April 12, 2013 Posted April 12, 2013 it depends on your temperament. Cows are more forgiving then most animals and as long as you have good fences you can keep a cow. Pigs are not that bad. Sheep can have a lot of issues if not kept clean. Goats might be the easiest, though. $40 and you can get a decent goat that will eat anything you put it on. Aren't sheep supposed to be the dumbest animals anywhere outside of PPP?
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted April 12, 2013 Posted April 12, 2013 Take the approach to review what bosses you have had. Which ones were good and which were bad. Why were they that way ? What qualities or lack there of did they possess? Use your own personal observations to help. Best advice I can give, if your in a position to lead, then lead. Hold people accountable and bring them up to the standard. Coach them and mentor them. Set the example.
boyst Posted April 12, 2013 Posted April 12, 2013 Aren't sheep supposed to be the dumbest animals anywhere outside of PPP? Sheep are not as dumb as some animals... Pigs are chickens are the smartest. Any bird, for that matter, is pretty smart. Turkeys incredibly so. If a turkey sees you it will immediately flee. If you are far enough away it will get in a location where a tree will be between you and it and use that angle to walk directly away from you. Pigs are free thinkers, though. They have the ability to create new thought from my experience. Many animals learn by routine. A pig will say screw it, that seems like a good opportunity or idea and do it. I would argue that cows are smarter then horses. Cows are just lazier. A horse in a square pen will walk until it reaches a corner. At that point it just stops. A cow, on the other hand will continue the perimeter. Goats are good with spaces and dimensions, they are willing to try anything and are tough as nails so they can get away with a lot...unlike a horse who is a sissy. Sheep are finicky little idiots who just sit there and stand there and eat. They are like cows but they do not move.
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