Q&As
when you have a problem that requires
complex data processing (analysing
marketing campaign performance,
for example) or some form of creative
output (such as needing to create 50
variants of a logo).
You could write software to do the
work and let’s say it would take 80 hours
to do that. Or you could spend that 80
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what parts are easy to automate (which
software can do) and what parts still
require a human. Then you have a much
better idea of where software can be the
most helpful.
Usually the part software can easily
take care of isn’t your competitive
advantage. It’s the part that currently
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you from your competitors. If you better
understand what the human does then
turn that into software, you’ll have
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Management
FINDING A MENTEE
I don’t work as a manager but I have in
the past and I have a lot of experience and
knowledge. I’d like to mentor someone but
no one has ever asked! How do you suggest
I go about finding someone to mentor?
Anayah Markham, Perth, Australia
LH: I believe mentorship should be
double opt in: both the mentor and the
mentee should have the opportunity
to sign up for the relationship. I’ve
seen folks successfully put a call out
on Twitter or a general Slack channel,
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spots open! If you want to learn A, B or
C skill, you can sign up for one here’.
This way, potential mentees clearly
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or topics you’re prepared to mentor them
on and then they can opt in to learning
from you.
The Association for Women Surgeons
has an excellent paper on mentorship,
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can seriously undermine a mentoring
relationship... Qualities of the successful
relationship include honesty, active
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respect, a personal connection and
shared values.”
Without these qualities, you might
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mentorship relationship, which is
frankly a waste of time for both sides.
So, as you think about becoming a
mentor, keep these qualities in mind and
make sure you’re prepared to hold up
your end of the bargain.Aside from your own
book, are there any
complementary resources
that can help me be a
better manager?
Bryan Bowes, Leeds, UK
LH: For sure: I include links to additional
complementary resources, including free
worksheets and tools, in my newsletter.
In the meantime, I recommend checking
out the following:- Book
Switch: How to Change
Things When Change
Is Hard by Chip and
Dan Heath, explains
how to create change
when you have few
resources and no title
or authority to back
you up. - Manager toolkit
Wherewithall’s New Manager Toolkit
(https://wherewithall.com/tools/#care) is a
physical set of tools and plans for action,
designed to equip new managers with
everything they need to do in their first
30 days. - Start pack
One-to-ones are vital to building trust
but what are you supposed to talk about
in these meetings? Plucky’s 1:1 Start
Pack (https://shop.beplucky.com/products/
the-plucky-1-1-starter-pack) is a set of 48
prompt cards to help you out.
Manuware is a prototype that looks like software but is actually powered by real humans
3 SIMPLE STEPS
Image^ from
Pixabay