My Secret Life on the McJob
There was a time when inBubbleGuy decided to go undercover. He wanted to learn valuable management lessons, and what it took to make a group of kids believe in themselves, so he disguised himself as a baseball coach for a local Legion Baseball team (ages 16-18). He stayed close to the sage of a coach, monitoring his every movement, examining every conversation and speech. He analyzed every strategy, every last gesture and nonverbal communication. And he learned a hell of a lot in that summer. About people. About leadership. About influence. About motivation. And even when to break away from the sage and act on impulse (meaning he yelled and questioned the kids'..um..fortitude). OK, so it wasn't undercover, and the team's masterful manager was his father, but nonetheless, the experience was irreplaceable. The respect he gained for his long-time father coach and the difficulty he discovered in leading was invaluable. But sometimes, people do need to go "undercover" to learn valuable leadership lessons. That's what Jerry Newman did. You see, Jerry had been a professor for over 30 years, but decided to hop into the trenches to learn some real life lessons at the very bottom levels of servitude - the fast food industry. You want to know what he learned? Well, I'll tell you that it's thoroughly documented in the book, My Secret Life on the McJob.
The dude decided to work on lines at places like McDonalds and Burger King. Why? Because he found that the environments in such places were the perfect form for covert research because they offered a high-pressure, high-volume business with high-employee turnover. Not an easy place to manage, or work within for that matter. And do you know what he discovered?
This is good stuff. Some of the places he worked were full of rainbows and cotton candy. Every member of the team was motivated and stayed in good spirits. Other places he worked made employees long for ten minutes of torture at the feet of a most intimidating Christopher Walken via True Romance type hellion. Why such varying spirits in such similar circumstances? The very simple answer Newman discovered: The manager. It all boiled down to the mentality, personality, and outward presence the manager possessed. If the manager was a miserable, unsatisfied, life-is-out-to-get-me type, the entire staff followed suit. If the manager inspired a collective interest and desire to perform well, to be positive and have fun, well then damn it, the rest of the staff followed suit.
You all get the point right? This type of managerial influence isn't just relegated to fast food joints. This happens everywhere. You have a good boss, life is good. While the bad boss makes everyone miserable, and it never fails to show in the results. Productivity, longevity, creation, growth...everything can hinge on the caller of shots. What this book does a marvelous job doing is making it clear that the changes necessary to inspire workers isn't really that difficult. If you simply make a few adjustments (based on Jerry's experiences AND sound management knowledge) to your management style, you can achieve the "Supersized Management Principles" that are sure to invigorate and better your workplace.
Just a thought: I know a great many of you are, or will be, in a position to lead. You wouldn't spend time trying to get business books if you simply wanted to fall in line all the time. So take the advice in My Secret Life on the McJob. ">McJob and use it as much as possible. Maybe you're a parent, maybe a little league coach. Perhaps you have employees under you, but maybe you work at a homeless shelter (a couple of you do). There are countless situations for you to hone your leadership skills, to make a positive difference. I trust that everyone reading this has good intentions. Now, let us all collectively put them to use. McJob is another read that will help us do just that.
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