Rick Brenner
@rickbrenner.bsky.social
Coaching at intersections of teamwork, conflict, workplace bullying, workplace politics.
Joined bsky Nov 2024. Dog dad (rescue).
Free weekly newsletter: https://c4i.co/27j
Newsletter archive: https://c4i.co/27r
Joined bsky Nov 2024. Dog dad (rescue).
Free weekly newsletter: https://c4i.co/27j
Newsletter archive: https://c4i.co/27r
Subject Matter Bullying (SMB) can be difficult to identify because a degree of subject matter mastery is required. While ordinary bullying often focuses on issues unrelated to the subject matter of the work, SMB often looks like ordinary work. In SMB, the bully uses the work to torment the target.
Subject Matter Bullying
Most workplace bullying tactics have analogs in the schoolyard — isolation, physical attacks, name-calling, and extortion are common examples. Subject matter bullying might be an exception, because it...
ChacoCanyon.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Subject Matter Bullying (SMB) can be difficult to identify because a degree of subject matter mastery is required. While ordinary bullying often focuses on issues unrelated to the subject matter of the work, SMB often looks like ordinary work. In SMB, the bully uses the work to torment the target.
Imbalance of power is a defining element of bullying among children, where power is largely based on age & size. These factors are dominant, in part, because a child intent on bullying another child can easily assess the power of potential targets by visual observation. Adults are different.
Yet More Ways to Waste a Meeting
Experts have discovered that people have been complaining about meetings since the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BCE). Just kidding. But I'm probably right. As an aid to future archaeologists I offer this com...
ChacoCanyon.com
June 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Imbalance of power is a defining element of bullying among children, where power is largely based on age & size. These factors are dominant, in part, because a child intent on bullying another child can easily assess the power of potential targets by visual observation. Adults are different.
In the workplace, when the bully takes steps to conceal the bullying, careful definitions of bullying have little relevance for the effectiveness of anti-bullying policies, because secrecy limits policy effectiveness. In covert bullying, the degree of power imbalance has little direct effect.
Yet More Ways to Waste a Meeting
Experts have discovered that people have been complaining about meetings since the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BCE). Just kidding. But I'm probably right. As an aid to future archaeologists I offer this com...
ChacoCanyon.com
June 4, 2025 at 6:01 PM
In the workplace, when the bully takes steps to conceal the bullying, careful definitions of bullying have little relevance for the effectiveness of anti-bullying policies, because secrecy limits policy effectiveness. In covert bullying, the degree of power imbalance has little direct effect.
New issue of my newsletter today: "White-Collar Contractor Sabotage": Firms in competitive markets have many types of employer/employee relationships. By providing privileges and perks preferentially among different types, they risk creating resentments that can reduce effectiveness.
White-Collar Contractor Sabotage
Modern firms in competitive, dynamic markets draw on many types of employer/employee relationships, including contractors. By providing privileges and perks preferentially among these different types,...
ChacoCanyon.com
June 4, 2025 at 2:01 PM
New issue of my newsletter today: "White-Collar Contractor Sabotage": Firms in competitive markets have many types of employer/employee relationships. By providing privileges and perks preferentially among different types, they risk creating resentments that can reduce effectiveness.
If you know you’ll be late for a meeting, tell the chair and provide an estimated time of arrival (ETA). The chair can use your ETA to re-order the agenda. Don’t make the others wait for you.
Our Last Meeting Together
You can find lots of tips for making meetings more effective — many at my own Web site. Most are directed toward the chair, or the facilitator if you have one. Here are some suggestions for everybody.
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 28, 2025 at 6:01 PM
If you know you’ll be late for a meeting, tell the chair and provide an estimated time of arrival (ETA). The chair can use your ETA to re-order the agenda. Don’t make the others wait for you.
The US will no longer cover COVID vax for most everyone under 65. If you’re 65+ & thinking you’re unaffected, re-think. Bc each new host is a chance for the virus to mutate, part of the protection of the 65+ came from protecting the under-65. All those new hosts under 65 are now threats to the 65+.
May 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The US will no longer cover COVID vax for most everyone under 65. If you’re 65+ & thinking you’re unaffected, re-think. Bc each new host is a chance for the virus to mutate, part of the protection of the 65+ came from protecting the under-65. All those new hosts under 65 are now threats to the 65+.
Unless you agree in advance — explicitly — about how to run the meeting, most people assume that it will be run their way.
How to Make Meetings Worth Attending
Many of us spend seemingly endless hours in meetings that seem dull, ineffective, or even counterproductive. Here are some insights to keep in mind that might help make meetings more worthwhile — and ...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Unless you agree in advance — explicitly — about how to run the meeting, most people assume that it will be run their way.
New issue of my newsletter 5/28: "Mismanaging Project Managers: Leadership": Project managers are usually accountable for project performance. But Senior Managers escape notice when they interfere with the project managers' ability to lead their teams. Some tactics they use when intervening.
May 28, 2025 at 9:01 AM
New issue of my newsletter 5/28: "Mismanaging Project Managers: Leadership": Project managers are usually accountable for project performance. But Senior Managers escape notice when they interfere with the project managers' ability to lead their teams. Some tactics they use when intervening.
A brief end-of-meeting review of the parking lot should assign each item to someone to follow up. If you don’t do the parking lot review during the meeting, you’ll have to do it later, when people might be far more difficult to reach.
Using the Parking Lot
In meetings, keeping a list we call the
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 27, 2025 at 6:01 PM
A brief end-of-meeting review of the parking lot should assign each item to someone to follow up. If you don’t do the parking lot review during the meeting, you’ll have to do it later, when people might be far more difficult to reach.
If the length of a team meeting, in minutes, divided by the number of people attending, is 4 or less, then: 1- the meeting is too short; or 2- way too many people are attending; or 3- way too many people have speaking roles; or two or more of the above.
How to Make Meetings Worth Attending
Many of us spend seemingly endless hours in meetings that seem dull, ineffective, or even counterproductive. Here are some insights to keep in mind that might help make meetings more worthwhile — and ...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 27, 2025 at 2:01 PM
If the length of a team meeting, in minutes, divided by the number of people attending, is 4 or less, then: 1- the meeting is too short; or 2- way too many people are attending; or 3- way too many people have speaking roles; or two or more of the above.
In meetings you’ll be assigned fewer action items if you actually attend. People dole out work more freely to those who aren’t present to object or raise questions.
How to Make Meetings Worth Attending
Many of us spend seemingly endless hours in meetings that seem dull, ineffective, or even counterproductive. Here are some insights to keep in mind that might help make meetings more worthwhile — and ...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
In meetings you’ll be assigned fewer action items if you actually attend. People dole out work more freely to those who aren’t present to object or raise questions.
The chainsaw rule: If you wouldn’t do it while using a chainsaw, don’t do it in a meeting.
Discussion Distractions: II
Meetings are less productive than they might be, if we could learn to recognize and prevent the most common distractions. Here is Part II of a small catalog of distractions frequently seen in meetings...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 26, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The chainsaw rule: If you wouldn’t do it while using a chainsaw, don’t do it in a meeting.
3/3 Eleven conditions that suggest layoffs may be imminent: \#9- Sudden executive departures, especially for hazy "new opportunities;" \#10- New executives have finance focus, not product or service focus; \#11- Those with expertise in company's core offerings leave to start their own enterprises.
Layoff Warning Signs: I
One of the better career moves you can make is leaving your current position before your employer conducts layoffs. When you choose the time, you aren't under pressure and you make better decisions. H...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
3/3 Eleven conditions that suggest layoffs may be imminent: \#9- Sudden executive departures, especially for hazy "new opportunities;" \#10- New executives have finance focus, not product or service focus; \#11- Those with expertise in company's core offerings leave to start their own enterprises.
5/ Plan-hostile environments arise when we confuse uniformity with fairness. Doing so risks creating indefensible situations. For example, requiring two days per week of presence in office is senseless when nearly all meetings are videoconferences. Uniformity must bow to common sense.
On Planning in Plan-Hostile Environments: I
In most organizations, most of the time, the plans we make run into little obstacles. When that happens, we find workarounds. We adapt. We flex. We innovate. But there are times when whatever fix we t...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 23, 2025 at 2:01 PM
5/ Plan-hostile environments arise when we confuse uniformity with fairness. Doing so risks creating indefensible situations. For example, requiring two days per week of presence in office is senseless when nearly all meetings are videoconferences. Uniformity must bow to common sense.
2/3 Eleven conditions that suggest layoffs may be imminent: \#5- Bad news or a convenient scapegoat arrives or becomes evident; \#6- Reliable information from your network; \#7- Layoff rumors are intensifying; \#8- Reorgs and consolidations render make layers of middle management redundant;
Layoff Warning Signs: I
One of the better career moves you can make is leaving your current position before your employer conducts layoffs. When you choose the time, you aren't under pressure and you make better decisions. H...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
2/3 Eleven conditions that suggest layoffs may be imminent: \#5- Bad news or a convenient scapegoat arrives or becomes evident; \#6- Reliable information from your network; \#7- Layoff rumors are intensifying; \#8- Reorgs and consolidations render make layers of middle management redundant;
4/ Plan-hostile environments arise when we focus on project health at the expense of employee well being. Projects cannot succeed when employees burn out, leave, or fail in place. Attend first to such practices as bullying, favoritism, discrimination, and toxic conflict. Project health will follow.
On Planning in Plan-Hostile Environments: I
In most organizations, most of the time, the plans we make run into little obstacles. When that happens, we find workarounds. We adapt. We flex. We innovate. But there are times when whatever fix we t...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 22, 2025 at 2:01 PM
4/ Plan-hostile environments arise when we focus on project health at the expense of employee well being. Projects cannot succeed when employees burn out, leave, or fail in place. Attend first to such practices as bullying, favoritism, discrimination, and toxic conflict. Project health will follow.
1/3 Eleven conditions that suggest layoffs may be imminent: \#1- The company's market position is weak; \#2- The company has announced they are developing a "performance action plan;" \#3- No raises or bonuses this year; \#4- A hiring freeze is in place, especially when "effective immediately;"
Layoff Warning Signs: I
One of the better career moves you can make is leaving your current position before your employer conducts layoffs. When you choose the time, you aren't under pressure and you make better decisions. H...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 21, 2025 at 9:29 PM
1/3 Eleven conditions that suggest layoffs may be imminent: \#1- The company's market position is weak; \#2- The company has announced they are developing a "performance action plan;" \#3- No raises or bonuses this year; \#4- A hiring freeze is in place, especially when "effective immediately;"
3/ In plan-hostile environments scope creep thrives. Project scope expands, for example, when we combine a troubled project with a healthy one, hoping to cure the troubled project. Scope expands because we must now do both projects AND replan the combined project.
On Planning in Plan-Hostile Environments: I
In most organizations, most of the time, the plans we make run into little obstacles. When that happens, we find workarounds. We adapt. We flex. We innovate. But there are times when whatever fix we t...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 21, 2025 at 9:28 PM
3/ In plan-hostile environments scope creep thrives. Project scope expands, for example, when we combine a troubled project with a healthy one, hoping to cure the troubled project. Scope expands because we must now do both projects AND replan the combined project.
New issue of my newsletter out today: "Mismanaging Project Managers: Mechanics": Most organizations hold project managers accountable for project performance. But they don't hold Senior Managers accountable when they interfere with project work. Here are some issues worth looking at.
Mismanaging Project Managers: Mechanics
Most organizations hold project managers accountable for project performance. But they don't grant those project managers control of resources. And some Senior Managers escape accountability for their...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
New issue of my newsletter out today: "Mismanaging Project Managers: Mechanics": Most organizations hold project managers accountable for project performance. But they don't hold Senior Managers accountable when they interfere with project work. Here are some issues worth looking at.
Layoffs often signal their arrival in advance. Long before most management teams reach consensus that they must impose massive force reductions — layoffs — they deploy a series of measures that they hope will delay those reductions or reduce the likelihood of layoffs.
Layoff Warning Signs: II
Layoffs often signal their arrival well in advance, if you know what to watch for. Some of the indicators are subtle and easily confused with normal operations. Here are three more indicators that lay...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Layoffs often signal their arrival in advance. Long before most management teams reach consensus that they must impose massive force reductions — layoffs — they deploy a series of measures that they hope will delay those reductions or reduce the likelihood of layoffs.
2/The fundamental issue in plan-hostile environments is that the lifetime of any knowledge of the plan's environment is much shorter than the time required to develop the plan. In effect, the organization is unable to cycle through its OODA loop fast enough to execute the plan.
On Planning in Plan-Hostile Environments: I
In most organizations, most of the time, the plans we make run into little obstacles. When that happens, we find workarounds. We adapt. We flex. We innovate. But there are times when whatever fix we t...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM
2/The fundamental issue in plan-hostile environments is that the lifetime of any knowledge of the plan's environment is much shorter than the time required to develop the plan. In effect, the organization is unable to cycle through its OODA loop fast enough to execute the plan.
Since about 1990, there has been growing use of a construction similar in form to the phrase "begging the question," but entirely unrelated to its meaning. The form, "begs the question," used in a context in which it means, "raises the question," can create confusion.
On Begging the Question II
Some of our most expensive wrong decisions have come about because we've tricked ourselves as we debated our options. The tricks sometimes arise from rhetorical fallacies that tangle our thinking. One...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 19, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Since about 1990, there has been growing use of a construction similar in form to the phrase "begging the question," but entirely unrelated to its meaning. The form, "begs the question," used in a context in which it means, "raises the question," can create confusion.
1/ In plan-hostile environments executing most kinds of plans — strategic plans, project plans, employee development plans, whatever — runs into serious trouble. Few plans can be executed as intended. Replanning and rescheduling are common. Conventional project management fails.
On Planning in Plan-Hostile Environments: I
In most organizations, most of the time, the plans we make run into little obstacles. When that happens, we find workarounds. We adapt. We flex. We innovate. But there are times when whatever fix we t...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
1/ In plan-hostile environments executing most kinds of plans — strategic plans, project plans, employee development plans, whatever — runs into serious trouble. Few plans can be executed as intended. Replanning and rescheduling are common. Conventional project management fails.
When a task-oriented work group has a member who's a Star, and when that star is reassigned, someone must cover the ground the Star was covering. The group then enters a Tuckman Forming stage of development. And from there it will enter a Storming stage.
On Substituting for a Star
Newcomers to work groups have three tasks: to meet and get to know incumbent group members; to gain their trust; and to learn about the group's task and how to contribute to accomplishing it. All can ...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 16, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When a task-oriented work group has a member who's a Star, and when that star is reassigned, someone must cover the ground the Star was covering. The group then enters a Tuckman Forming stage of development. And from there it will enter a Storming stage.
The Curmudgeon Team is a subgroup of a team. Its job is to strengthen the team's conclusions and results by raising thorny issues that cause the team to examine the path it's about to take, so it can make adjustments. The Curmudgeon Team helps the group avoid disasters by giving it an early warning.
A Framework for Safe Storming
The Storming stage of Tuckman's development sequence for small groups is when the group explores its frustrations and degrees of disagreement about both structure and task. Only by understanding these...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
May 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The Curmudgeon Team is a subgroup of a team. Its job is to strengthen the team's conclusions and results by raising thorny issues that cause the team to examine the path it's about to take, so it can make adjustments. The Curmudgeon Team helps the group avoid disasters by giving it an early warning.