Topic: Annual Reviews - The "Puppy Theory"
Written by Chris Titus, CFA

Language: English (business)
Level: Intermediate and up

Vocabulary

• Annual review / Employee review / Performance score (n)
• antiquated (adj) - obsolete, out of style
• feedback (n)
• micromanager (n)
• to implement (v)

Idioms 

• On the same page
• Bent out of shape
• Beyond the call of duty
• Every time I turn around
• Face the music
• To lose your temper

Warm Up Questions:

• Tell me about the worst manager you have had during your career.
  
  - What were some of the things you disliked about this person?
  - Was there anything you liked about this person?
  - How much of your dissatisfaction was related to the job you were doing?

Interview Excerpt

Interview with Carol Bartz (CEO of Yahoo!)
Conducted by Adam Bryant

Question: How do you give feedback?

Answer: I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don't say six months later, "Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?" That doesn't make any sense. "This is what's on my mind. This is quick feedback." And then I'm on to the next thing. : How do you give feedback?

Questions

• List a few pros and cons for the puppy theory.
• I am your manager. After reading the interview, I come to your office very excited about this new theory. I tell you to replace the annual review process with the "puppy theory" method for providing employees with feedback. Using the pros and cons you just listed, convince me why it is a mistake.
• Same roles as above. Now, it is you who has read the article and must convince me to incorporate the puppy theory in our overall review process. It is your choice if you want to replace or modify the annual review.
• Describe the main obstacles to implementing this plan in your culture or organization.

Answer (continued): If I had my way I wouldn't do annual reviews, if I felt that everybody would be more honest about positive and negative feedback along the way. I think the annual review process is so antiquated. I almost would rather ask each employee to tell us if they've had a meaningful conversation with their manager this quarter. Yes or no. And if they say no, they ought to have one. I don't even need to know what it is. But if you viewed it as meaningful, then that's all that counts.

Discussion / Questions 

• Tell me about your relationship with your current manager.
• Describe the last meaningful conversation you had with your manager
• How does he provide feedback?
  • Describe his tone of voice, his approach, etc.
• Tell me about something in your organization that is antiquated and how you might change it. Examples include a procedure we‘ve not talked about, a technology, dress code, etc. 

Additional Conversation Topics

Are you currently managing anybody?

• If yes, what is your management style?
• If no, you are going to develop a management style now. How would you manage employees? Describe how you would handle the following situations:
  
  • First day on the job
  • Giving people new assignments
  • Hiring people - what personality traits or achievements would you look for?
    • List five and rank them from most important to least
  • Resolving conflict between two employees
  • Correcting a problem in someone's work ethic (motivation)

Tell me about a few experiences that have shaped your management style

Name some things that affect a manager's style of management, then rank them from most important to least: (possible answers below)

• His/her boss
• Organization
• Subordinates
• Childhood
• Education or lack thereof

Writing Assignment

Consider Carol Bartz's comments about bad managers.

I also think people should understand that they will learn more from a bad manager than a good manager. They tend to get into a cycle where they're so frustrated that they aren't paying attention actually to what's happening to them. When you have a good manager things go so well that you don't even know why it's going well because it just feels fine.

When you have a bad manager you have to look at what's irritating you and say: "Would I do that? Would I make those choices? Would I talk to me that way? How would I do this?"

When people come to me and say, "I can't work for so-and-so anymore," I say, "Well, what have you learned from so-and-so?" People want to take a bad situation and say, "Oh, it's bad." No, no. You have to deal with what you're dealt. Otherwise you're going to run from something and not to something. And you should never run from something.

Write one paragraph about a bad situation (job, manager, school, etc.) you experienced. Write a second paragraph describing what the situation taught you about yourself or life in general. Use the idioms above in your paragraph

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