I enjoyed writing 1/2 of Slacker Manager for the past 15 months. I wrote close to 200 posts at this site.

Thank you to Phil Gerbyshak for being my partner through thick, thin, and numerous behind the scene quirks, glitches, and changes. I wish Phil all the best with this site and know he can continue to keep this a leading site for management and leadership. It was strange to have a partner for 15 months that I never met in person but I really felt I got to know Phil from his writing, his emails, and our phone calls.

Thank you to b5media for letting me write this blog.

Thank you to the channel editors for your perspective and explanations.

Thank you to Bren Connelly for creating this blog.

But most of all, and my favorite part of the blog, was you, the reader of this site.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy days to muse upon some of my posts.

And a very special thanks to all of you who took time to comment.

I will continue writing on employee engagement and leadership and I invite you to come and visit me at Employee Engagement Zingers: www.davidzinger.com

Carry on caring…

David Zinger

Post from: EveryJoe

Goodbye from David Zinger

by David Zinger

Reminder: This is the Change Poverty – Two Cent Challenge. Click the penny below to join us:

Here are the responses you gave to the September 23rd request for one word for management.Thank you for your responses. You have the last word in management on Slacker Manager with David Zinger.This is the last management article I am writing for the blog. In two days, On October 30 I will express my thanks and say my farewell.

Here are the people and their word:

• Gerald
  

  Management = Details.

• Carrie
  

  Stupidity

• Devin Willis

  Service

• Koen

  availability

• Harry

  Priorities

• Phil Dourado

  Outdated

• JoelC

  Management = nurturing

• Chris Parente

  management = leadership

• Darth Sidious

  Control

• Bo Aphran

  management = help

• Liz

  effectiveness

• csbmonkey

  Balance.

• Kathryn

  direction

• Lisa

  Communication.

• Mike King

  Joy

• Michael

  Results

• Patty

  understanding

• Darina

  Allowing

• Chris Young

  Accountability

• Nathan

  empowering

• CK

  cronyism

• Corinne

  Quality

• Phil Gerbyshak

  management = compassion

• Don W.

  Relationships

• Emily

  second michael:
  management = results

• Nancy Lewis

  LISTENING

• Robert Story

  Responsibility

• Rob Hooft

  fine-tuning

• Pronoia

  Mgmt = Enabling

• Darin

  organization

• Michael Haberman, SPHR

  Management = Guidance

• Brad Henderson

  Management = Influence

• EMMANUEL ABDULSALAAM

  Management = Enhancement

• Chris
  

  Management = Management

• Edward
  

  Management = Challenges

• Bob
  

  Management = Flow

Post from: EveryJoe

Your One Word for Management: David’s Second Last Post

Post from: EveryJoe

Age of Conversation 2

The first is on the credit crunch: Click here if the show does not load in this window.

This second slide show is an appeal to bloggers to donate two cents to overcoming poverty for every word you write next week. You choose who receives you money, you could give $20 for each picture – as a picture is worth a thousand words!

Click here to commit to this initiative.

Post from: EveryJoe

My Two Cents Worth on the Credit Crunch and Giving Two Cents for Every Blog Word You Write This Coming Week

One More time

by David Zinger

This post appeared in April and had some wonderful responses that I have included here. I thought I’d do it once again…

Just once…We all have dreams.Some of us even wake up.Most of us forget our dreams.Or we don’t feel entitled to our own dream.What is your “just-once” dream as a manager.Articulate your dream by completing the following sentence:Just once I’d like to ___________________ .
Perhaps you’d like to just once have an empty inbox, or just once you’d like to tell your manager what you really think, or just once you’d like to put a pillow on your desk, curl up into a ball, and wake up in a place far, far away from your cubicle.No dream is to big or small. What is it that you dream of doing just once…Go ahead complete the sentence in the comment section. Can you do it for me, just this once? Steve Roesler Just once I’d like to bring my band to a client’s meeting and rock the house instead of sitting around measuring results.

 Sara That’s a really good question. Just once I’d like to finish a day with every “to do” crossed off my list. I like the clean email inbox one too, can I pick two?

Anita Bruzzese  I like this idea for everyone at work. Just think of the common bond is could bring for everyone to find out they may have different opinions, but they all dream the same dreams. And, just for the record, “Just once…I want a midday nap (in a hammock on the beach) to be mandated by law.”

Bridget Oh David…here’s my “dream.” Got sidetracked by the “power” comment. I would LOVE to complete each and every project that I have and be totally caught up. Just once. Then, spend an entire day at the mall, unwinding. You know – - from all that catching up I did!

Phil Gerbyshak I’d like to have a meeting start on time AND end on time.

Susmita Hi. Good stuff….stumbled upon it as I was browsing the gmail blog. Just once I wish I could really share my opinions and criticisms of the company with my superiors.

Post from: EveryJoe

Once Again…

by David Zinger

I spend most of my time reading  management/leadership blogs. There are a few management or business sites that are not strictly blogs that I also follow.

Do you have a favorite non-blog site you visit for management or business information?

Here are a few of mine:

• BNET – The Go To Place for Business
• Fast Company
  
• The Globe and Mail Report on Business
• SlideShare – Management Slides

In the comments please share your favorite non-blog business site.  You can write the url or you can also add a sentence or two why you like the site.

Thank you for contributing to great sources on management for Slacker Manager readers.

Post from: EveryJoe

What is your favorite non-blog Management or Business Site?

Overcoming Poverty: It Just Makes Cents – Oct. 26 to Nov. 1.

Calling all bloggers…Small is the New Significant.

Click the coin button below and take a step to Change Poverty.

Two cents a word, your choice for donation, an honest campaign. We are encouraging all bloggers to pledge two cents a word for every word they write in their blog between October 26th and November 1st. to their favorite or local charity involved in work to lessen or overcome poverty. As a blogger, we respect both your choices and honesty. We want you to be able to choose who to give the money to and we don’t need to collect it to know that you will do the right thing!

No Cents – No Problem. If your country does not use pennies — just use the smallest unit of currency to calculate your donation.

David Zinger’s Slacker Manager send off. It was not deliberate to launch this campaign in my last week of writing for Slacker Manager but I could not imagine a better way to end my tenure here than by ensuring every word I write in my last week is helping someone in my city (Winnipeg) experiencing poverty.

A small initiative to lessen poverty. One initiative that came out of blog action day from Joyful Jubilant Learning was to encourage bloggers to put money where their mouth (word) is.

I (David Zinger) am pledging 2 cents a word to Winnipeg Harvest  a non-profit, community-based organization. They collect and share surplus food with people who are hungry and their ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for food banks in our community. For every $1 they receive, they are able to pick up and deliver $20 worth of groceries.

This two cents a word includes every word I write the last week of October on www.davidzinger.com  www.slackermanager.com  www.joyfuljubilantlearning.com  and www.diehappytoday.com.

Here are the steps for you to get involved:

1. Commit to pledging two cents a word by completing our short Google form.
2. Ask other bloggers to join you by writing a short blog on the topic or offering a link to this post or the Google pledge form.
3. Keep track of all the words you write for the week.
4. Complete a second form that will appear here on November 2nd. to let us know how much you wrote and who will recieve your donation. You can also access this form by clicking here.
5. Ensure the organization gets your donation.
6. Have the satisfaction of knowing you put your money where your mouth was and probably helped put food in the mouth of someone who struggles to be able to do this.
7. We’ll keep you posted of the totals.

Here is the url for the form for the first part of our two cent campaign: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pNDHpM04XdlxUl5CQ8eh3Pw

Click here after November 1st to let us know how much you wrote and how much you raised!

The initial form is also embedded below and you can complete it right in this blog post. What are you waiting for, go ahead and sign up right now.

Post from: EveryJoe

It Just Makes Cents: Will You Join Us?

by David Zinger

I can’t be a slacker when I see what is currently going on in our economy and workplaces. I am getting angry and I am choosing to give my anger voice while channeling that energy into constructive action.

My background is in counselling psychology. I have taught educational psychology at the University of Manitoba for over 20 years, I was also a crisis counsellor, and I was the employee assistance counsellor and career development coach for Seagram Ltd. for 15 years.

My work has been devoted to creating authentic and caring connections with people to make the workplace a safe place that also produces organizational results that matter.

When the going gets tough…it really gets me going. This current economic upheaval really has me going…

I would love your responses to two of my posts from this week at www.davidzinger.com:

Make Love Not War: Stop the War for Talent Now! A personal rant against the War for Talent. I have always been troubled by the so called “war for talent.” Now, I am beyond troubled, I am angry with the use of this metaphor for those of us who offer our best in organizations…

and

Managing Economic Mayhem: When life throws you a lemon….duck! Eliminate Pollyanna positive thinking now. I never cared for statements such as, “when life throws you a lemon make lemonade.” When life throws me a lemon I duck. Then I get back up and figure out what to do. This is a time for authentic, and heartfelt leadership that is constructive not naive or blind. There may be a need for tough actions and behaviors that require a lot of courage and gumption on your part…

Post from: EveryJoe

A War for Talent Rant and When Life Throws You a Lemon…Duck!

by David Zinger

Don’t lose sight of happiness at work.

Slide into happiness with this short slide presentation on Happiness at Work.

Watch the slides and then be determined to be happy.

Remember: Happiness is the ultimate currency at work.

Stay current.

Post from: EveryJoe

You can be happy at work

by David Zinger

Here is a classic from October of last year. I have 7 posts left for Slacker Manager.

What would be the last 5 statements you would voice to other managers if you knew those statements were the last 5 things you could say?

This was a very thoughtful and emotional post to write. It builds upon Phil’s post: The 5 things to say at your last team meeting.

The Last 5 Zingers:

1. People are people not human resources. You manage people. Living, breathing, feeling, imperfect, lovable, exasperating people. People will enliven you, deaden you, excite you, disappoint you, thrill you, and contort you into many different shapes. In short people will have a profound impact on you. As a leader, always remember you are also doing this to them.

2. Be strong. Tap into your own deep well of strengths and make sure you bring them to the surface. Your strengths are your gift to your community. They say we only use about 10% of our brain, I don’t know about that but I do know we only use about 10% of the full strength of the workplace. Be strong enough to pull the strengths out of the people you manage. List your strengths. Love your strengths. Live your strengths. Leverage your strengths in the service of the people you manage.

3. Plan and improvise. By all means have goals and develop plans. Work on strategies and tactics. Also learn to improvise as the world of work is changing faster than the color changes a chameleon experiences walking across a kaleidoscope. Here are some quick lessons from improviser, Patricia Madson:

• say yes,
• start anywhere,
• just show up,
• pay attention,
• make mistakes please,
• enjoy the ride.

Balance GTD (Getting Things Done) with CPC (Conscious Playful Collaboration).

4. Let me level with you, you can’t do this alone.The organizational pyramid is ancient, crumbling, transforming, and inverting. Always be on the level with the people you manage even if you have different responsibilities. The old dictum: if it is to be it is up to me has transformed into if it is to be it is up to we. Strive for the highest quality of interactions with everyone you meet.

5. Live now. This is the moment. This is the only moment. Don’t wait for some magic promotion or milestone to make you feel alive. Bring your living into the moment. It is never too early. It is never too late. Always remember: you only have moments to live.

Post from: EveryJoe

Your Last 5 Zingers (revisited – October 2007)