johnporcaro: mktg@large

New York for $350

New York for $325

• RT Airfare, Seattle to JFK: $219
• One night, The Pod Hotel: $104 (free Internet)
• RT Subway: $4
• RT Airtrain: $10
• Lunch: 4.50
• Dinner/Breakfast/Lunch: included with meeting
• Dinner: $4.98
• Turkey Sandwich on plane: $8

Around here, everyone is focused on saving money where they can.  While I was looking for a flight and hotel from Seattle to NYC for an all-day meeting I attended, I found a round trip, direct flight for $219.   That inspired me to see just how little it would cost for the entire trip. 

The lowest discount rate at every hotel downtown was more than $300 a night, so I thought I'd check around. For one-night meetings, I've stayed near the airport, so I thought I could find something a little less expensive.  

I logged off our corporate travel portal, and checked out Expedia.  When I searched on price, I found The Pod for $89.  Expedia rated the hotel with 2.5 stars (of 5), but it earned a 4.3 for User Satisfaction, and 94% recommend it.  Add my name to that list.  New hotel.  Good neighborhood, just a few blocks from Times Square.  One block from an express subway from JFK.  A few blocks from the meeting location, and one block from the place we met for dinner the night before (BTW, world's best guacamole, Dos Caminos). 

The Pod Hotel (my new favorite "anti-W" place to stay) is a cross between a very, very nice hostel where you don't have to bring your own sheets, and a very, very small full-service hotel.  The hotel lobby was as nice as many niche hotels in NYC (hip artwork, nice furnature, professional staff, bellman, even a decent cafe).  The lobby had several business travelers in suits, and several college-age visitors. 

 

The rooms themselves had good beds, clean linen, air conditioner, a flat-screen TV, phone with free local calls, a clock radio with iPod dock, a small desk, a room safe, and a trundle-type full-size bed.  It also had a small vanity sink/mirror and a hair dryer.  And free wi-fi Internet. 

Two catches: 1) It was small.  The entire room was (no kidding) 6 feet by 12 feet.  Sitting on the trundle bed my feet hit one wall, and my head the other.  But if you're looking for a place to do a little work and get some sleep, it was as comfortable many full-priced hotels (think Holiday Inn, not Starwood).  2) Shared bathrooms--no kidding.  There are lights in the room that indicate when the bathrooms (four on the floor I was on) were empty.  For the record, I never saw anyone in the halls heading to/from the bathrooms.  And they were very clean (though they had been used by others, evidenced by water in the shower floor and towels in a corner).  In my case, there was a bathroom right next door, very easy to get to. 

Who does The Pod Hotel owe for getting my business?  Expedia, for starters.  And a decent website that made me feel like the hotel was legit.  But ultimately, if there weren't recommendations from people who had stayed there, I wouldn't have made the decision to stay there.  And now, they have one more advocate with a story worth sharing.  In "Purple Cow" terms, the experience was "remarkable." 

Getting to downtown from JFK took a little time, about 50 minutes from the time I walked out of the airport.  The Air Train cost $5 each way, and the subway to downtown (the E train) cost $2.  A direct cab during the day would probably take 25 minutes, but last time I took a cab from downtown to JFK during rush hour, it took 90 minutes and cost $100. 

The catch: 1) Dragging your luggage on a subway isn't fun, but an overnight trip only required a small wheeled bag--not bad.  I usually take the subway from JFK, so I knew where to go.  2) Coming home during rush hour was crowded (I stood most of the time), and it was humid and hot in the subway.  Not as pleasant as a cab with air conditioning taking you from door to door, but it took nearly the same amount of time (it might have even been quicker getting there during rush hour), and cost 1/10 of the price. 

Fiscally sound?  Or a little crazy?  I'm not sure.  But I do have a good story to tell when we're discussing ways to cut travel expenses. 

Getting a Job in the Videogame Industry

What are your employees telling people about your company?  They can be some of the best (and/or worst) recruiters, and with the rise of social media, everyone will get some camera time sooner or later. 

Rio Pesino is a gamer, and runs The Reboot, a site for videogame enthusiasts.  He did a piece that was fun to watch, and interesting.  And not done by a corporation for recruiting purposes.  Where'd I find it?  It found me.  On my Facebook news feed.

Employee Reviews Revisited

Four years ago, I posted about Employee Reviews.  In the meantime, I've done another 8 reviews, including one that I'm working on as I speak.  I've moved groups, changed bosses, added more employees.  The review model has changed somewhat dramatically in the past few years.  As I look back, some of the advice is the same, but some has changed. 

More to the point, I've changed.  I've been much more involved with our management team, I've often been in frank discussions about employees performance, and I've taken a peek behind the HR curtain and seen things that prompt me to update my tips for completing your own employee review. 

Here are a few more tips that have held true for (at least) the past four years:

Doing your job really well will make you mediocre. A few years ago, Microsoft moved to a model of having all employees create agreed-upon "Commitments," a set of objectives, goals, and accountabilities, prior to the new year.  The review process at the end of the year lists your Commitments, and you and your manager both have a chance to give feedback on how you did over the past year.  For most people, your commitments probably look a lot like your job description.  If they don’t, they probably should. 

Key point: You were hired to do a job.  You’re being paid to deliver results that are worth a lot of money to the company.  Your reward for doing everything you committed is collecting your paycheck.  If you didn’t add value beyond what is expected, you shouldn’t expect exceptional rewards.  Even if you worked 80 hour weeks, sacrificed your personal life, and brought donuts in every morning, doing what’s expected isn’t enough to warrant a raise or a big bonus or a promotion. 

What will get you an exceptional bonus or a promotion?  Exceeding expectations in ways that add value for the company.  A key point in one of my favorite books, The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers, is that you should do your job in 80% of your time at work, and spend 20% of your time doing the job you want next.

Seth said it best: Safe is Risky. 

By the time you write your review, it might be too late to really influence impressions.  This is especially true if you wait until the last minute, like I do…  Not only are opinions formed over the entire year, but there may be cases where promotions/bonuses/rewards are decided before your review is ever read.  It shouldn’t be the case, and Microsoft is trying hard to make sure that things are done far enough in advance to avoid this, but just to be sure, make sure your manager knows about your value to the organization long before your review is due.

Be visible.  This is one of the hardest areas for me, and I’ve learned the hard way how not being visible can stall your progress.  I love my job so much, that I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing things I’m working on come to fruition.  I’d rather work independently to avoid roadblocks or approval processes that slow things down.  I value flexibility over accolades, and sometimes, in the crazy world of Social Media/Community, explaining things takes longer than just doing them.  I have to admit that it’s easier to give a good review to an employee if I know what they do every day.  And as a leader in the org, it’s hard to fight for one employee’s advancement in the organization if I understand their value. 

True confession for me: I’ve been told in the past by co-workers that they don’t understand what I’m working on, and I thought that was okay, because it didn’t involve them.  Fair enough at a co-worker level.  What I didn’t think about is that the leadership team, as a group, was deciding if I should be promoted, or if I should get an exceptional review bonus.  Ooops.  I can only imagine the conversation: “Who is John?  I’m not sure I’ve ever worked with him.  I’m not sure what he does.”  Blank stares around the room.  Not a scenario I ever want to have played out, ever. 

Moments are more important than hard work. Speaking of the leadership team meetings, I’ve been in quite a few of them lately.  I’ve found that all the conversations and the resulting decisions (like promotions or bonuses or awards) come down to memorable moments.

Imagine this scenario: “Who should we pick for employee of the year?”  “I like John.  He’s a hard worker.  I’ve never seen him come in late.  And he only took one week of vacation.”  “Well, I like Alex.  I was in a meeting with him last week, and he took charge of a sticky situation, and explained how important Social Media is in a way I’d never thought of.”  “I agree.  And once, we were under a deadline, and he jumped in at just the right time and offered help that changed our program from a failure to a success.”  “I had one of my employees tell me how much they appreciate Tony’s ability to pull a team together.  I’ve never heard anything but good things about him.”  “I’d like to suggest Alyssa.  A few months ago, I asked him for some feedback on a project my team was working on, and she came back with three solid ideas that we hadn’t considered, and saved us thousands of dollars.  She’s really smart.”  I could go on, but you get the idea.

Make every interaction you have count, especially with senior managers.  If you’re only in a few meetings a year with your VP, you have more to lose by keeping your mouth shut than any risk you might fear of saying something stupid.  Make sure you’re prepared, practice if you need to, but don’t ever go into a meeting where you don’t make a solid, hopefully memorable contribution. 

Whom do you work with, especially at the leadership team level, that wouldn’t be able to come up with their own “moment” where you made a positive impression on them?  You’ll do more for your career by focusing on creating that opportunity than you will doing a great job in isolation. 

Ask for the promotion before your review.  This might be more general advice than review advice, but in my experience as a manager at Microsoft, I have to admit to trying just a little bit harder to get an employee promoted when they’re open about bringing it up throughout the year, during our regular one on ones.  It gives me a chance to give them feedback without the fear of offending them, since they brought it up.  It also puts me in a position where if I gave them advice, and they followed it, I feel compelled to fight to get them promoted.  I can only hope my current team doesn’t read this advice and use it against me…

Don't sweat the small stuff.  There may be things, even in your commitments, that you didn’t do exactly like you thought.  If something didn’t matter to you, and it didn’t matter to the rest of the org, chances are that it won’t matter to your manager.  And if you overdo the documentation, adding pages of metrics/status updates/feedback, your manager might only skim through your review, and miss the good stuff you really want him/her to read.  My MO (YMMV) is to skip the details, and only type out details that strengthen the overall message you’re presenting to your manager.  At the same time, if there was a big commitment you missed, don’t forget to bring it up.  I wrote a bit about that in the previous post four years ago…

Corporations and Web 2.0 Adoption

I just added CRM for Xbox and Games for Windows to my responsibilities (in addition to Online Community), so I'm in the mode of catching up--it's been a while!

Everyone I talk to about my new role as Director of Customer and Community Relationship Management (that's a mouthful, tell me if you think of something better!) is intrigued by the idea that social networking, blogging, influencer marketing, WOM can actually live side by side with CRM and "traditional" Marcom.  I've been describing it as the infusion of targeted content and the machine of CRM.  The biggest challenge in WOM is distribution and reach (especially when most corporations are using the toolkit of traditional advertising), and the biggest challenge of good customer messaging is targeted, relevant content.

One of the few newsletters I allow through my mile-wide firewall at work is the Harvard Business Publishing's email update.  Josh Bernoff published something I've been talking about with co-workers on our Global Marketing team--Why Web 2.0 Is No Bubble: Corporations Are Willing to Pay for It. 

I am talking about companies that serve corporate social application needs. ...in many of these companies, the technology itself is positively mundane. But the startups grow because they deliver value for which they can charge a premium and get customer loyalty. The customers of these companies don't defect when something shiny and new comes along, because they like the service they're getting."

Jeff also outlines a handful of companies that are building tools to help push-start efforts, and prove the ROI.  It includes my friend Sam Decker's company, Bazaarvoice, and others that are helping companies get their arms around making sense of this new space. 

Every company is--or should be--grappling with making sense of what this all means to their Integrated Marketing efforts.  Some will approach it using existing strategies and tools, with limited results.  Others will ignore it, to their peril.  Hopefully your company is going to stay ahead of the wave.  My prediction is that it's only going to be possible if you're paying attention to what's going on, hiring the right people, partnering with the right firms, and investing appropriately.

Management Training

Okay, I know it's been a while.  I've been way too busy with my job working with the online communty for Xbox, Games for Windows, Casual Games, and Zune.  All my blogging love has gone to nearly daily posts to www.gamerscoreblog.com, and to building the community program.

This week, I'm at a four-day management "foundational" training event.  I took a similar class several years ago, but since the company has changed so much, along with our culture, I assumed that the management principles have changed too.

Today we covered many basic principles of management, but I was impressed that a lot of the day was spent speaking about the culture, and the role managers play in the ongoing climate. 

One thing that caught my attention was the struggle that still exists as new managers in the room transition from individual contributor to manager.  In many instances (especially in the past), managers were assigned because of their technical skill--not because they would be good managers.  Many terrible people managers were brilliant technically, and even had a broad background that allowed them to be good strategists.  But without the right mix of interpersonal and communications skills, they drove good employees down (or out).

Some new managers express the fear of "losing their technical edge," and not being able to set the direction for the team, or not being able to make decisions about technical issues.  They don't realize that they're moving into a "second career," where new skills are required, and older skills become less important (in fact, could even be a liability).  The old addage of "hiring people smarter than you" is not just a good idea, it's a necessity.  Your team will be taking on things that you won't have the skill to do yourself.  Your value will come from a other things you do.     

I'm gald to see the company bringing a lot more focus on bringing managers (with or without experience) together to build a common foundation of expectations.  I happen to work on a team with some great managers (especially my own), and I'm seeing the value of management skills being recognized and valued more and more. 

After a day of lectures, we split into groups and were assigned projects we'll work on over the next few days.  Ought to be interesting.   

Ricky Gervais Trains Microsoft Employees

If you're a fan of the British television show "The Office," you'll love seeing these training videos with Ricky Gervais, done for Microsoft employees.  Brilliant!

Part one of two faux training videos for Microsoft UK employees featuring Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant in their roles from the BBC version of The Office

Part two of two faux training videos for Microsoft UK employees featuring Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant in their roles from the BBC version of The Office.

Employee Reviews

Just got out of a two-hour meeting to talk about the new review process here at Microsoft.  I join all my fellow 'softees in congratulating our new(ish) HR VP Lisa Brummel in abolishing the curve (forced distribution of appraisal scores).  I think this new system will go a long way in eliminating some of the negative aspects of the former system.

In the training, they mentioned that the existing system has been around for 15 years.  It started up about a year after I started, so it's really all I ever knew.  This new system will require a lot more attention to setting commitments, and better employee-manager interaction.  All in all, a very, very good thing. 

I honestly thought this was one of those "sacred" things this company would never change.  It's evidence to me that cultural change is possible at any level.  We'll see how well it goes over this review period. 

Team Building

Busy week, sorry for the delay in posting for a few days.  My team has been at an offsite in sunny Las Vegas.  A few that were here for CES last week stayed the weekend, and they tell me they’re totally ready to get home! 

So what does a typical Xbox Marketing team offsite look like?  The two-day meetings were held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and contrary to what you might think, there wasn’t a whole lot of time spent at the gaming tables or bars (though some opted out of sleep to make sure they got plenty of both!). 

The night of our arrivals, we got together for drinks at the penthouse suite of the Hard Rock Hotel.  The suite had a complete bar, lounge area, pool table, and full-size bowling lane.  I can only imagine the folks in the room on the floor beneath…  It’s always fun to get to know co-workers better in a situation different than a meeting room or one-on-one.  But what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…

On Wednesday, we had a full day in the hotel conference room, where we dove deep into areas we think are important to our business.  We had mini-breakouts where a group of 8-10 discussed a specific topic, brainstormed some ideas for improvement, and came up with some action plans.  Topics ranged from employee development to optimizing our marketing mix.  We rotated topics until everyone got a chance to think about each area.  Of course my team was quite vocal about bringing “customer voice” into every area, but I was pleased to see that it’s already top-of-mind for almost every group in our global marketing team.  We also got to dive into some new research our team has been conducting, and had a great discussion around it.

After wrapping things up Wednesday, we drove north of the city to the “Richard Petty Driving Experience” at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway track, where we each got a turn to take a few laps.  They suited us up, strapped us in, and let us ride shotgun in a 600 HP NASCAR stock car, where we took a 3-lap NASCAR qualifying run at 165 MPH. I couldn’t help making the connection to Forza, as the sound of the engines rumbled (talk about 5.1 surround sound!).  Hitting the bends at those speeds was a bit harrowing, but exhilarating.  I’m definitely up for the weekend course, where you get to drive one of these cars after some training.

Thursday, we had a different kind of session.  We did a workshop on working together as a team, and focused on work and communication styles.  Lots of you may have taken tests like Myers-Briggs, so you know what I’m talking about.  A company called Insights Learning and Development walked us through the “Insights Discovery System,” based on Carl Jung’s work.  Each of us got a personal profile, and we spent a lot of time working with each other to understand the implications for working together.  We all shared our own profile with our managers, our co-workers, and those we work with regularly.  Some of the information came as no surprise, but for the majority of the folks in the room, we learned so much more about ourselves and each other, that we all will be able to work together more closely (or at least better understand each others’ quirks…).  Sometimes these types of sessions fall flat, but this group did a thorough job on the research, and did an outstanding job presenting the information.  For those who care, I came out as a strong green/yellow.  In a nutshell, that means that I care a lot about relationships, and value experiences more than data.  Closely aligns with my Myers-Briggs type of INFP. 

Thursday night, we went to dinner (our group went to Mix Lounge at the Mandalay Bay), then took a walk along the strip.  And now, I'm off to the airport to head home...

"I'm Staying Here..."

Lots of discussion in the hallways this week about the Forbes article, Microsoft's Midlife Crisis.  Then, when I got to my mailbox at home, I saw this cover story in this week's BusinessWeek: Troubling Exits.  They include two articles, a Q&A With Steve Ballmer, and Meet Mini-Microsoft.   This story also is the first for BusinessWeek to podcast.  The inaugural audio features the writer who had an interview with Microsoft's own "deep throat," Mini-Microsoft." 

Of course, there's no story if the news isn't sensational, so some conclusions are based on the opinions of the most outspoken.  Still, the article brings up a few points that have crossed my mind, and have made it into conversations I've had behind closed doors (at least once or twice). 

More than one co-worker asked if I was mini-msft (emphatic no!).  This blog has always been a way for me (in my sometimes indirect way) to voice some of my personal frustration.   But unlike "mini," I usually choose to feature what's right with the company, highlighting when things go right.  You might accuse me of being a "Pollyanna," or of being too afraid to voice in public my complaints. 

I'm the first to admit that Microsoft has changed in the 15 years I've been around.  Of course, as any company grows, so does its bureaucracy.  As Microsoft grows into a global organization, we lose some agility.  As legal restrictions increase, our ability to innovate decreases.  But just as many things are much, much better (stock options aside). 

reasons to love Microsoft.

I think the article in BusinessWeek was a little unfair.  It generalized things that were unique to those interviewed, and it made the move of a few employees in a small department seem like thousands of employees are fleeing to Google en masse (though the article later points out that's not the case).  I see dramatic innovation in some areas, and stagnation in others.  I see ideas become reality more often than I see them die because of red tape.  And just like in "real life," I have low morale some days, and irrational exhuberance others.  There are things I'd change, but just like Kevin Schofield, I can think of lots of

Are there things Microsoft can improve?  Ya.  We need to continue to be creative to find ways to work collaboratively, without killing the ability to make quick decisions and get things done.  I can't imagine any company our size that wouldn't have the exact same problem.  We need to value diversity and reward employees and streamline processes and disband fiefdoms.   But what company doesn't have similar challenges? 

More than anything, I think that every employee should do what's best for them.  Hopefully that closely aligns to what's best for your company.  If it's not, find another job.  If your morale is low because your employer only pays for generic drugs, or offers raises at only slightly higher than most high tech companies, you should look for (or create) a company that better meets your expectations.  If you're in a job where your skills aren't leveraged in your job, find a job that does.  If your management is mired in slow-moving processes, or can't make decisions, help find solutions to the problem, or at least do your part to research your proposals so every question is answered before seeking management's approval.  Don't give them an excuse to delay a decision.

If you're not passionate about coming to work in the morning, and you can't wait to leave at the end of the day, start right now figuring out what you are passionate about, and make a plan to find a job that leverages that passion.  (Hint: if you don't know where to start, check with my friend, Curt Rosengren.)  I can't think of anything more dreadful that working with a team member (or boss or employee) who is apathetic about their job. 

Maybe I'm lucky to work with great people who love what they do.  And heck, somebody has to sell life insurance.  But life's too short to work with jerks.  And with the freedom most of us have to get education and change jobs, I'm amazed anyone feels like they're stuck doing what they're doing.

Work Relationships Matter

While I was in the hospital, I shared a room with another patient (I'll save the customer sat aspects of that policy for another blog post...). 

For a few days, one of the patients was a 9-year-old boy who was hit by a car while riding his bike without a helmet.  He had a 10 inch scar down the side of his head that I'll always remember.  Remarkably, he was in good spirits, and will likely recover nicely. 

His father and mother were there in the room with him most of the time.  Just after they moved in, I heard the boy's father on the phone with his company.  He was asking his boss for two things: 1) for two weeks vacation to help take care of his son; and 2) access to his retirement account (401k) funds to help with medical bills.  His company flatly denied both requests.  Because he was two weeks shy of being there a full year, he was told he had no accrued vacation.  They told him if he took any time off, he'd be fired.  Additionally, he was told the only way he could access his retirement account was if he left the company. 

Contrast that to my situation.  My wife called my manager on Monday morning, and I was immediately told to take all the time I needed, even if was going to be for an extended time.  People from work sent flowers, books, goodies, and even arranged to have meals delivered for my family.  I got personal notes from folks I hadn't seen for months.  Everyone understood the situation, and were forgiving of missed deadlines or canceled meetings.  And when I returned to work, my office was decorated with balloons and streamers to welcome me back.  And many of the important projects I was working on were on track by the extra work of people on my team. 

Even when it's a family member with an illness or injury, my team's been unquestionably supportive.  Several years ago, my wife was diagnosed with cancer, and I took three weeks off without advance notice while she underwent several emergency surgeries.  The reaction by my managers and co-workers then was almost identical.

It makes me sad to think that the injured boy's father had to deal with the stress of possibly being fired, on top of his son's near-fatal accident and lengthy recovery.  I didn't even know the guy, and I wanted to call a lawyer and drag his company in federal court.  I know in this case, he didn't choose his company based on the people with whom he'd work (he is a truck driver), but it made me think about the team I have, and the importance of the personal friendships we've developed. 

It sure makes it easier to get through the rough spots when I know my co-workers are there backing me up.  And ultimately, it makes it easier for me to trust them to help with the mundane aspects of my daily job.  All that leads to a more engaged team, better productivity, and ultimately better results in the marketplace (and better products for our customers).