Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for March 11, 2024

Is there such a thing as skilled management?

“Watch what you say about my son and nephew!”

“The truth shall set your teeth free!”—Calvin & Hobbes

You touched a nerve there Pig!

Well played Pig, well played.

Checkmate, CEOs! Get roasted!

Hey Pig, the next cup’s on you…..

That’s why the means of production should be owned by labor, not capital.

I’m sure Pig’s lawsuit against neighbour Ned will provide a relaxing diversion from his problems with unskilled labour! :D

HR’s main function is justifying its own existence and deciding on where they are going for their two hour lunch… on the clock, of course.

This is especially true on the political side, just ask them about all the great accomplishments they have done.

There is no such thing as unskilled labor.

We always called it manglement.

The stories I could tell with 50+ years dealing with unskilled management.

You never hear about a company bringing in cheaper executives from Hong Kong…

Especially when you tell the truth

Sadly, there are many more management positions than there are good managers to fill them.

I find the term “unskilled” offensive . Everyone has skills and the capacity to learn new ones

About 35 years ago, I had a management position with a large insurance carrier and had 5 supervisors reporting to me. One of the younger supervisors came into my office with a thorny problem. We kicked it around for a while and finally came up with a solution that we were both happy with. He started to walk out of my office, then stopped and turned around to face me. He said, in a slightly incredulous tone of voice, “You actually know what you are doing. Do you have any idea how much easier that makes MY job.” I was glad that he then turned back around and left my office, because I was speechless. PS – He went on to become a senior executive in the company.

Well you’re not wrong.

Management is Nature’s way of removing incompetent employees from the work flow.

Ned reminds me of the Man with No Eyes from Cool Hand Luke

See Boeing

“We have shelf space in every supermarket, grocery store, and deli in the country, we use it to sell two Twinkies for two dollars, but somehow, we’re losing money. It must be the fault of the guy who actually makes the Twinkies.”

The “unskilled” jobs I had when I was a teenager – like french fry cook – were the most exhausting jobs I’ve ever had in my life.

Yes; they’re called “Boeing”, Inc.

When a layoff is required, they should outsource the CEO, the board and SVPs. 1) That’s where the big $aving$ are and 2) responsible for the poor performance. But, for most situations, they are rewarded with bonuses as they layoff the staff.

I know he’s just setting up the joke, but referring to his employees as unskilled immediately pegs him as a bad manager. There are times when a bad actor among the workers can wreak havoc in a company, but a skilled manager can neutralize them.

Sign over the door to the maintenance dept where I used to work read “Good maintenance costs money, poor maintenance costs more.” Someone changed maintenance to management. Management didn’t like it.

Sometimes people get management jobs they don’t want and aren’t good at because it’s a dirty job that has to be done

Maybe he should manage the ‘unskilled labor’ better eh?

No one mentioned the Peter Principle (but I will).

MBAs have replaced the engineers in design and management decisions at Boeing.

Ain’t that the truth!?!

Heard about a guy who went to a helium factory to apply for a job. He left very upset saying, “I will not be spoken to in that tone!”

What’s good for General Motors is good for all the other Generals

Skilled management? I pledge the 5th.

One of the most satisfying work experiences I ever had was when my boss took my advice over that of an attorney. My boss had an MS degree from a respected college but was very diffident, even though she was a director of the business. We were an entity that was supported by tax dollars so we had an attorney on close call: she vetted all Board minutes, etc. Unfortunately, the attorney was a person who took advantage of any perceived weakness and she really gave my boss a rough time; had her pretty much completely cowed. Being a specialty business, when the time came to decamp to temp quarters for a major building remodel we required a moving company that specialized in our business. The attorney had the director brow-beaten into hiring a consultant for the move, although she was unhappy with the idea. I had talked to the mover, familiarized myself with their procedure and knew they knew what they were talking about. So when the time came, my boss actually asked me to sit in with her, the associate director and the mover to discuss the move and the need for a consultant. The mover made his pitch again. I told my boss they knew what they were doing and we didn’t need the consultant. The assc director agreed with me. My boss looked me in the eye and said, “You really think we can do this?” I said, “We absolutely can.” And this beleagered woman said, “OK, then. No consultant.” The attorney wasn’t happy, but that was a real victory for my poor boss. Further, when we came out of the meeting, a staff member came up and wanted to know what the decision was. When I told her, she gave a nod and whirled off the let others know and start their part of the process. THAT was a victory for my boss too. And yes, the move was smooth as glass with nary a dropped stitch anywhere.

Pig is learning, literally, that trickle-down economics isn’t good.

A successful company really is a two way street.