Monthly Archive

A letter from a reader says:

Will: I’m not your target demographic, but I need some help, and I think your site is really good. I’m sure you can help me with this problem. I got a promotion a few months ago to a position where I work directly under a really strict boss who is really good at what she does. I earned my position and I am also really good but I always feel like I can’t measure up in her eyes. I feel like I’m screwing things up much more than I used to and she’s just sitting there watching me fail. I feel like I was given this great opportunity but all I’m doing is failing and ruining my reputation. How do I prove to my new boss that I really do deserve this promotion and how do I stop making dumb mistakes?

Originally, when I read this, I thought I knew the writer. She sounded like someone I had worked with a long time ago. Turns out, I was wrong, but my friend’s story isn’t much different from Misti’s.

I have a reputation of being a really hard manager. Not because I’m needlessly hard on the staff, but because I also have the reputation of being the best there is at what I do. I’m not bragging about this, I’ve worked very hard to cultivate and earn that image. People are afraid of making mistakes around me because they think I am going to be unforgiving. Once people work with me for a while, they understand that I am more concerned with their growth than their perfection.

A few years ago, I was at a bank, (actually a credit union, but I use the term bank for those who are unfamiliar with the concept of credit unions) and I was temporarily assigned to a specific branch to “fix” the staff there. They had consistently bad customer service scores and staff rarely stayed there for more than six months before going up or going out. The company originally thought the problem was management, so they traded managers out on a fairly regular basis. The incentive for managers was to be the one that turned this branch around. One manager actually started to turn things around, although it was after the reputation for the branch had become so bad that being sent there was a punishment rather than a benefit. He asked me to come in to help him for a while.

Pretty early on, I had a meeting with the staff to see where the problems were, and how to deal with them. The staff felt like they were on the Island of Misfit Toys, because they had no stability in leadership, the management never came and visited, and they were pretty much left out there alone to sink or swim. Most of the staff just gave up trying.

One particular teller was known as a bad apple, because she would openly voice her opinion to whoever would listen. She was a smart girl, but she had had no guidance in how to behave at a job (this was her first job ever!), and she had a bad rep. She didn’t want to give up, but she was mad about the situation. Having had a lot of experience with bad reps, I took an immediate shine to her. I told her that if she was willing to do the work, we could turn her reputation around and maybe save the branch in general. The end result was that she worked hard and did the work. She became very highly regarded, and was offered a better position at another bank.

Months later, she called me to thank me for everything. She told me that she used to be terrified of me because I was so precise and she was afraid I would hold her to the same standards I held myself. It wasn’t until much later that she realized that she could relax a little, knowing that mistakes were treated as anomalies until they became habit. I would coach someone who made a mistake on how to avoid doing so in the future, and I would come down hard on someone who slacked off or was just a general *******. Her story and Misti’s sounded very familiar to me.

For Misti, I would suggest that she knows how good she is. She needs to stop thinking of her boss as some ogre who is out to get her (especially since there is no indication that she IS out to get her), and start trying to learn from her. Take your time, relax, and don’t focus on not making a mistake: Focus on doing your best, and if you make a mistake (which should be an anomaly), fix it and move on. Don’t dwell on it too much, and don’t let an occasional mistake dictate how you are perceived to those in power. The mistakes will stop as you become more confident in yourself and stop looking for someone to validate your mistakes.

Does anybody else have anything to suggest for Misti?

Spring is an interesting time:

Changing clocks with Daylight Savings, spring break, Easter, spring cleaning, Irish Spring, the list goes on of excitement around this time of year. Almost all of it deals with the themes of growth, rebirth, and renewal.

When we change our clocks, we are also told to change out the batteries in our smoke detectors.

When we go on spring break, we are taking some time off after months of hard studying to refresh our psyches and come back to finish out the school year with renewed energy.

The Christians believe that Easter marks the resurrection of their principal figure, Jesus Christ.

Spring cleaning is for getting rid of a year’s accumulation of clutter to make your home a new place for the next year.

Flowers start coming back in bloom, lawns become green again, and the circle of life goes on from this new beginning.

So what does this have to do with finance? Well, I don’t know of anybody who has done everything exactly right when it comes to their finances. We all have regrets. Springtime can serve as our “reset” button on the whole thing. We can forgive ourselves for making mistakes, and pledge to start today not to make the same mistakes. We can start a new program; one that is more aligned to our goals and aspirations for our financial future.

I hear quite often that people are in despair because they feel they have already screwed up so badly that there is no return. Very few people really screw up that bad, so why assume that you are one of them? Take Spring to acknowledge that mistakes were made, but today is a new day, and those mistakes are now over. Set down and plan out your budget, keeping in mind where the last one failed, and adjusting appropriately. Start tracking your expenses a little better today. Add a little more daylight to what you are doing and how to do it better.

“Wait a minute! This sounds suspiciously like a New Year’s speech.” Sure it does. That’s part of the beauty with life, and with the world. There are so many chances to start over. This is never more true than when you are young. Take advantage of today to start over!

So, I get a call from a family member the other day that really irks me about the current educational system when it comes to personal finance education.

This family member is 19, lives on their own (with a roommate), drives a beater that has been beaten (more about that in a little), works part time, and is going to school. She’s got a pretty full plate, and I’m impressed that she is trying to handle all of it. What really impresses me about her is that she is not too proud to ask for help and advice from her family. Many kids her age don’t have that sense of security of themselves.

This car that she drives: It sucks. Another member of this girl’s family (not my family) thought they were going to do her a favor by “buying” her a car for graduation. They both got a loan for (not at the time) more than the car is worth. A little over a year later, the car is falling apart, and the costs to repair are almost as much as she owes on the loan, and more than the car is worth. Either way, she doesn’t have the money to:

1. Pay for the repairs
2. Pay off the current loan and get into something better

I’ve struggled with how I allowed her to get to this point, but I also realize that part of being an adult is to make decisions. Some of those decisions will end well, and others will end badly. The result is only of mild importance now. Later in life, when she has kids, a house, or other life-altering situations, the results will be much more important. Right now, what is important is what she learns about her reactions. I never allowed her to do anything. In fact, as I said earlier, I think she is doing pretty well considering. Would I have advised against buying that car? Possibly, but that doesn’t matter either. It is more important that I can help her with what is, and not beat her over the head with what could have been.

It’s a hard situation, and she doesn’t have a whole lot of good options. It’s not a hopeless situation, but the solutions are difficult, and may be more than she is willing to put herself through. So my question to the readers: What would you tell her?

One positive side of the recent writers’ strike is that I get to catch up on a few shows that were entertaining, but not quite enough for me to miss my regulars. Yesterday, I was watching a rerun of THE OFFICE (American Version) that struck me as an important lesson for young people.

There was an opening for a position in “Corporate” that Michael applied for. He was sure that his getting the job was a “lock”. Because he is a well-known idiot, a few of the other cast members also put in for the job. At the end of the show, the (former) temp Ryan gets the job for the sole reason that he had an MBA, in effect making him the boss over Michael.

Here’s the thing. While education is a great and wonderful thing, it is NOT a prerequisite to becoming successful. There are plenty of examples of people with no formal education who achieved great things. I’ve done well with nothing more than a high-school diploma. In fact, if my chosen career path didn’t REQUIRE a degree, I wouldn’t spend the money on getting one. My wife has an Associate’s Degree, but I don’t think she uses it in her job. As I said, we both do just fine.

I know a couple who are big into education. One is going to get a Master’s Degree, and the other is getting a Doctor’s degree in education. I like both of these people in a large sense, but they are really snobs individually. Each as made comments that were condescending towards people without the advanced degrees.

Here’s where the lesson comes in: Sometimes, you will get passed over for a promotion for someone who has a degree. Don’t dwell too much on it. Just for clarification, it is unfair, and it shouldn’t happen, but it does and it often will.

The second lesson here is about being nice to those who may not seem like they are anybody. Sometimes, these people will surprise you.