I didn’t say all “dumb” questions were bad and why I said think before you ask. For eg, if it’s a question for which you are expected to know the answer, then don’t ask. It also depends on how the question is phrased.
I tell them if they aren't sure, ask. It may be because we deal with crazy safety and insurance issues. When I've had employees wing stuff in the past in generally doesn't work out. But I'm also not dealing with managers, just boots on the ground folks. So I just don't risk it. "Hey I just got a phone call that XYZ says nobody has dumped their dumpster in two weeks and it's overflowing?" "Yeah, they didn't have any trash for a few weeks so I just stopped going there."
I think there’s a big difference between how you treat people during the pursuit of an opportunity and becoming too emotional about the opportunity itself. I was referring to the latter.
Understood and thats what I thought you meant but I felt compelled to answer the way I did. Appreciate your posts, as always.
This is good stuff. It is hard to hire out there and every candidate will have a deficiency (you will to as a the owner boss). But if you can have that right candidate with the correct experience that is not a personality that will be a detriment to what you are building. It is worth paying for. We last year had an application come through. I ignored it originally as it was for a position that gets 98% deleted and no phone call. But I do save ones that are good but as in this case are from a completely different part of the country. A couple weeks go by and the applicant sends a second email saying they will be in the area interviewing. At which point I dive in on the resume. I had a number one and paying for two number 1's did not make much sense. But I knew we needed to at least meet. So set the interview up. It was a homerun in the first 15 minutes minus I did not know whether we would be able to meet on compensation as we had a Number 1 already and they were every bit of that position. After meeting with her for 30 minutes I handed it off to my wife and as she was about to go in she skimmed the resume and said why are we doing this. We can't pay her what she will want. I just said...I know she likes us and I agree she is worth a Number 1 but this might be the perfect fit where we come up and she comes down to a mutual agreement. And it worked out. I knew our office was what she was looking for. I was not looking to pay what she was looking for but she asked for a fair wage. I actually bumped it up slightly in the final offer. She has been a phenomenal asset! Came with loads of experience. And I have accelerated her bumps in pay because of what she has brought to the office.
What a great thread. I think this shows that there’s a ton of great wisdom to be mined on Too Hot if one asks the right questions.
Lots of good stuff here. For anyone in a relationship driven vocation, I'd forward along this bit of advice given to me years ago: People won't necessarily remember what you said or what you did, but they'll remember how you made them feel.
That's what my marketing lady tells me all the time. "You're selling nothing more than yourself. Now go get a haircut."
Clients and bosses will mostly remember the last thing you did for them. Make sure they have good memories.
Also heard once that 80% of any job is just showing up. Your job activities are what they are and you have to do them but that one time you aren't there or are late is when the boss needs something urgent from you and if you aren't there to do it, it erases all the other activities that you did before.
My father gave me a bit of advice. "You don't always have time at work to get things right. So better give yourself time to do things over." Didn't make sense at the time, but now, it makes a ton of sense. Don't procrastinate and give yourself/team time to make improvements. Working in Marketing, I have similar advice about how they make their potential customers feel. I say if you can make someone smile, you can make them purchase. Or, "If they're smiling, they're buying."
That is extremely kind, head. Especially since I offered basically nothing to the thread after witnessing the high quality of the offerings already here!
One hour in the library can save 10 hours in the lab. (think thru task, strategy, most effective path to completion - whatever task is)
As I got proficient in my job as a fire/arson investigator (in all areas) my supervisors, many who didn’t have 1/2 the knowledge I had stopped questioning, reading, and editing my reports. I was pretty much on my own without supervision. I also filed 5 grievances, two that went as far as city hall. Won all 5. I gained some respect (for lack of a better word). Now my position was protected by a union (AFLCIO 754) contract to where I couldn’t be fired because someone didn’t like me. The one thing I learned from experience was how to answer questions from higher ups about policy, procedures, personnel (I supervised about 65 people), etc. I had a reputation for telling it like it is whether they liked my answer or not. Many still came to me for my opinion. So here’s my suggestion,,, When confronted with a tough or sensitive question about people or policy answer like this. Sir (or mam), Do you want me to give you the answer you want or the truth which you aren’t going to like? Then do what they say.
