Incentive - January 2008 - (Page 82)

The Big Bad Bully LAST WORD BY STANLEY BING In this month’s excerpt from his book Crazy Bosses, Stanley Bing profiles the first of five aspects of the crazy boss. Known simply as ‘The Bully’, this managerial monster’s manipulative and insensitive work style has a wrecking ball effect on office morale and loyalty. Noted bully example is Joseph Stalin. H ere in a nutshell are several key aspects of the bully: perfectionism, meanness of spirit and a completely twisted concept of loyalty that runs one way only. The only one in more peril than the subjects of his attention is the guy telling us the story. The last body on the pile is often that of the bully’s right-hand man. Stalin was famous for this, killing his friends right and left when there were no enemies around to satisfy his lust for terminal control. Like many bullies, he was also the best at everything in the world— best swimmer, best violinist, you name it. Why shouldn’t he be? Nobody told him otherwise. Nobody dared to disagree with him in any way. Geneen called me three days before Christmas. He wanted some special data related to labor relations throughout my region, and he wanted it on January 3. I warned him that around these parts, Christmas is taken very seriously. It’s spent with families, sledding, that kind of thing. The infor mation Geneen wanted had to be gotten from managing directors, other key people. Geneen got very upset. “Are you trying to tell me this can’t be accomplished?” I said: “We can accomplish any- thing, Hal, I’m merely trying to say that we will do a great deal of damage to morale. If there’s some way you can hold off for a couple of weeks, I think it would be tremendously appreciated.” Geneen hung up on me. A couple of minutes later, I got a call from a senior VP: “You really upset Hal by telling him you don’t want to cooperate.” Actually, the intrusion on religious or social days comes up quite often in discussions of crazy bosses, although it is only the Scroogian bully who will make Bob Cratchit work on Christmas Day. Part of this is inherent in their own meanness, self-absorption, alienation from every human interaction, and anxiety that can never be assuaged. Add to that the fact that people both at the office and at home truly hate to be with them, and you have a powerful inducement for the boss to work on weekends and holidays. The quality that distinguishes the bully is his total lack of guilt or embarrassment about the fact that he has no personal life, and his willingness to strip other people of theirs. s CRAZY BOSSES by Stanley Bing. Copyright © 2007 by Stanley Bing. Reprinted by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers. Readers interested in bulk purchases of Crazy Bosses may contact the HarperCollins special markets department at (212) 207-7528, or by e-mail at spsales@harpercollins.com. Photo: David Neff JANUARY 2008, VOL. 182, NO. 01—INCENTIVE® (ISSN 0019-3364; USPS 799-880) IS PUBLISHED NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA. CORPORATE AND EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS: 770 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10003-9595. SUBSCRIPTIONS: US—$59, CANADA—$75, FOREIGN SURFACE—$95, FOREIGN AIRMAIL— $195, SINGLE COPIES—$10. COPYRIGHT 2007 BY NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO INCENTIVE, PO BOX 1255, SKOKIE, IL 60076. PERIODICALS MAIL PAID AT NEW YORK, NY, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. MONTHLY BY 82 | Incentive | January 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - January 2008

Incentive - January 2008
Contents
Editor’s Note: Out of SITE
In The News
Cover Story: Include a Meeting, Improve Morale
Case Study: DHL Delivers Recognition
Incentive Primer: How To Use Promo Products
How Bob Nardelli Rallied Chrysler’s Dealers
Incentive Interview: Ken Blanchard Says Be Nice
TV’s Extreme Makeover Motivates Giving
Pre-Employment Motivation
The Daycare Dilemma
Happy Employees Shouldn’t Mix with Sick Employees
Incentive Research: Consumer Promotions Report
In Her Shoes: Winning Approval Of Flextime
Travel News
Field Report: Barcelona
Field Report: Bermuda
Golf: Follow The Pros
potentials Here and Now
Watches As Jewelry
Awards: Online Gift Cards
Tech Gadgets for 2008
Last Word: Stanley Bing Bashes Bully Bosses

Incentive - January 2008