(6/3/15)

Over two-thirds of the people surveyed in a recent Gallup Poll indicated they voluntarily quit their jobs because they felt their manager wasn’t doing a good job.   In other words, they didn’t quit their company….they quit their BOSS!

Anyone who has been a boss knows that his or her actions as a boss not only impact the employee, but also what happens in the employee’s home and the dinner table.

If you work for a company, I’m sure you’ve been there.  You may see it as a helpless feeling.  The company is a perfect fit for what you want to do with your career, but the man or woman to whom you report is a direct roadblock on the path to your happiness.   You don’t want to quit your job, or maybe you can’t afford to quit your job.

“What am I supposed to do,” you may think to yourself, “Fire my boss?” While you probably can’t actually fire your boss, you CAN manage him or her.

Flipping the script on who manages who is the perfect chance for you to take back control of your job. While the actual, literal chain of command won’t change…..he or she is STILL your boss…..you can at least manage the circumstances of your situation to the point where you can maximize your skill set in order to succeed.

Based on my experiences, the ability to successfully manage the manger centers around three core concepts.

1.     Clear and Reasonable Expectations – I’m a data guy at heart.  I like metrics, and am often leery of business elements that cannot be measured in some way.

You should be the same way when it comes to the expectations your boss has for you.  Get this in writing….NOW!  If your boss doesn’t have a written set of expectations for you, come up with your own, and ensure that your boss gives it the OK.  These expectations should be measurable and quantifiable.  They should lay out a plan for what you are expected to do for the next 12 months or so, drilling down to quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily, as needed.  They should be something you can refer to at any point along the way to determine if you’re on your way to meeting these expectation, or, failing that, what you need to do to get there.

Most importantly, these expectations need to be reasonable.    You know the level at which you are capable of performing.  Your boss knows the level at which he or she expects you to perform.  Rarely are these two levels in alignment from Day One, as it takes a feeling out process to establish what level works for both parties.  Once the expectations are laid out, work closely and communicate frequently with your boss, especially early on, to ensure that you’re both on the same page, and customize a plan to get you at the “win-win” level you can both be happy with.

2.     Respect – Remember those adages that your parents instilled in you growing up?   Especially the one about “Treat others as you, yourself, would like to be treated”?

The same holds true for a corporate environment.  Would you dare talk down to your boss, or act disrespectful?  Probably not.   So you shouldn’t tolerate or accept any instance where your boss talks down, or acts disrespectful to you.

If you find this happening in your company, take control of the situation.   Find a one-on-one setting in which you can tell your boss that his or her behavior is not acceptable in that situation.

Same goes for any corrective feedback that your boss wishes to share with you.  If your boss has an issue with an element of your performance, instead of taking it public to other managers or employees, ensure that you are more than willing to listen to any corrective feedback he or she wants to share with you, so long as it’s in a private, one-on-one setting.

3.     Integrity – While most any company possesses a sense of integrity at its core at all times, it is a must-do for EVERYBODY in the company to conduct  themselves with integrity around the clock, starting with the company’s leadership to lead by example.  If this does NOT happen, and a leader doesn’t conduct him- or herself with the utmost integrity, you MUST communicate this to that boss ASAP.   Let that person privately know that you’re not OK with the situation at hand.  If you feel that your comments are falling on deaf ears, then don’t hesitate to take your ideas to another channel in the organization, such as HR.  It’s the primary purpose of that department, after all.

This policy should extend to your customer and client base as well.  As long as the integrity is being upheld on both sides of the coin, act as if the customer or client is ALWAYS right.  Never forget this.   But if you think the client is jeopardizing integrity, then it’s time to huddle up with your team and plan a set strategy going forward.

These are three of the ways in which YOU can take control of your situation at work, and manage YOUR boss.

Got any other recommendations on managing your boss?   Send me an email at raja@therajashow.com, or call me during the show.   I’d LOVE to hear from you !

Last Week, We Put the Show in Your Hands…..This Week, We KEEP It There!

We weren’t sure how well it was going to work.

Sure, up until last week’s show, we had taken a few of your calls on The Raja Show, but we had traditionally been a guest-driven show that takes a call or two once we were done with the guest segment.

But we figured it was time to give an “open talk” format a shot, to give you the chance to share your thoughts on Raja’s insights on what’s driving the economy, on a global scale, a national scale, and your personal scale.

And you responded!  

Not only did many of you step up your game with calls, they were GOOD calls.  (And we know that in talk radio, there IS a difference.)  You didn’t just blindly discuss issues like the falling price of gas and other economic issues.  You shared insights with Raja as to WHY these issues were happening, how long they will impact us, and what we can do on an individual level to manage these issues.

This Sunday, we’re going to do it again.  We’re going to feature another hour of nothing but calls from you, the audience.   In case you missed out on last week’s opportunity to sound off about the issues on your mind, this is YOUR chance to let Raja know that you’re out there, and you’re on board with what he’s saying.

And if you’re not on board?  Well, you can rest assured Raja is always up for a healthy debate!

(And in the interest of full disclosure, we did postpone a confirmed one-on-one interview with one of the biggest business names in the country to keep the open talk flowing….that’s how much Raja wants to engage with you this week!)

This Week, We Put the Show In YOUR Hands…So It’s YOUR Turn To Sound Off!

Being the shrewd entrepreneur that he is, one critical thing that Raja has learned about business is the importance of listening to what the market wants.

The same holds true for being a shrewd radio host, and with almost two years of “The Raja Show” under his belt, Raja is fast becoming attuned to what a host must do in order to be successful.

In short, when it comes to talking…. he listened.

And while, by and large, our audience gains information, motivation, and inspiration from the great guests who have joined Raja on the show to discuss their stories of success on a weekly basis, there are those who have told us that one thing is missing:  participation.

And yes, we DO get great calls on the show from those who want to express their thoughts about what’s going on with their business, or the current state of the economy. And there are those who are eager to pick the brain of one of the most successful business leaders in Western Pennsylvania about how THEY can be more successful when it comes to their business or their finances.

But for every one of those callers who have joined us on the show, there are many more who haven’t been able to get through due to time constraints.

For those callers who have felt the pinch over the past few months, this  show is for YOU!

We’ll be open all hour to hear your calls about the issues that are blocking your path to business and financial success.  You’ll be able to talk one-on-one with Raja, who will aim to provide an answer to your questions, and to engage in the thoughtful, reasonable discussion of the issues that impact all of us, topics that truly matter, and that are often missing in the current landscape of talk radio.

And if you don’t want to join us on the air, you can always sit back, relax, and listen to the people in your businesses and communities discussing the issues and providing the solutions that directly affect all of us.

Want to Take Your Investment Portfolio To the Next Level?  Try Private Equity (….But Be Sure To Listen To This Week’s Show First!)

If you’ve checked out Raja’s  three-step plan for financial success on our new and improved website for The Raja Show, you’ll note the importance of having a strong investment portfolio.

But for many adventurous investors, especially those looking for a challenging, yet potentially lucrative ROI, they tend to take the private equity route, investing in a share of a company they feel could be the next Apple, Google, or Facebook.

But when examining a company’s potential for success, investors finding themselves asking a simple question:

“How much is this company actually worth?”

This answer to this particular questions drives the next step action in a variety of ways.  How much does it cost to invest in x percent of the company?  How much of a piece will my allocated budget afford me?  Given the company’s current trajectory, how will this number change going forward?

Fact is, company valuation is often one of the trickiest paths that investors have to navigate when looking at a company’s current and future performance.

Thankfully for these investors, Kenneth Lehn is here to help.

The Samuel A McCullough Professor of Finance at the University of Pittsburgh, and former Chief Economist for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is one of the foremost authorities in the world when it comes to corporate finance and company valuation.  The companies that have called on Ken’s wisdom and experience to guide them through turbulent economic waters reads like a “Who’s Who” of American business giants, from the Walt Disney Corporation and Proctor and Gamble to the National Hockey League and J.P. Morgan Chase.

And on this edition of “The Raja Show”, Kenneth Lehn shares that wisdom with you, as he will be Raja’s featured guest on the show. You won’t want to miss Kenneth’s insights, not only in the areas of corporate finance and valuation, but in the overall state of the American economy.  While some key metrics appear to be on the rise, are these trends here to stay, are we bracing for a bigger fall than ever before?

“Famous” Was His Middle Name…..Until It Wasn’t: How Wally Amos Gained, Lost, and Regained His Business Mojo

As Wally Amos grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and then Manhattan, he had two loves: cooking and people.

It was the former that got him through school, having enrolled in a Manhattan-based cooking trade school, based on his aunt’s encouragement, as he had taken her recipes for cookies and other foods, and put his own spin on them, taking them to a whole other level.

It was the latter that got him his first job following his college graduation, and a stint in the U.S. Air Force. Wally took a clerical job at the William Morris talent agency, en route to becoming the agency’s first African-American talent agent. Among his clientele were music icons Diana Ross and the Supremes, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.

Wally showed his savvy in both areas early on, as he sent his cookies to prospective clients as a friendly icebreaker.  These cookies were such a hit among the high-rollers in the entertainment industry that in 1975, at the suggestion of a friend, Wally opened up a “Famous Amos” cookie store in Los Angeles, thanks in large part to the financial backing of legendary singers Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy.

Wally was off and running.  The store was a hit.  “Famous Amos” cookies made their way to supermarket shelves nationwide. And Wally, complete with the same signature hat and salt-and-pepper beard found on packages of his cookies at the time, became a celebrity in his own right, giving motivational speeches, appearing on talk shows, and even scoring a cameo appearance as himself on the TV sitcom “Taxi”.

But as quickly as Wally rose to fame, it all soon went away, thanks to the financial woes that would befall his company.  The nadir could very well have come in 1988, when Wally was forced to sell the company, including his personal rights to the name “Famous Amos”, which had been trademarked to the company that was no longer his. He even shaved his iconic beard.

Gamely, he tried to fight on, rebranding a follow-up effort as “Uncle Noname’s Cookie Company”, but it was no longer the same.  Wally wanted nothing to do with cookies anymore, and it seems everybody had written him off.

Except Wally Amos.

Six years after selling the Famous Amos company, he was approached by one of the company’s distributors about starting a new project, based on a nutritious, fat-free muffin.   And soon “Uncle Noname’s Gourmet Muffins” was born.  And five year’s later, he got his name back….sort of….as the company rebranded as “Uncle Wally’s Muffin Company”.

Eventually, the full-circle path would continue for Wally, all the way back into the cookie business. And while he is no longer “Famous” Amos, he is now the “Cookie Kahuna”, spearheading his revival based on the pure ingredients that made him “famous” in the first place.

(And he even made his way back to TV sitcoms, making a cameo appearance on “The Office” in 2012.)

Throw in his side project of being a strident activist for literacy, and you have the makings of a truly remarkable entrepreneurial story, one which we at The Raja Show will be proud to feature.  Raja goes one-on-one with Wally Amos, to discuss Wally’s amazing career, and what lies ahead for the seemingly ageless entrepreneurial icon.