Surrounded by Insanity at Work

Donald Meador has survived mergers, promotions, re-organizations, and downsizing. Throughout his career, he has led multiple technical teams of varying sizes consisting of both on and offshore resources. He is the author of the book Surrounded by Insanity: How to Execute Bad Decisions.

Donald Meador

Top Takeaways: Surrounded by Insanity at Work with Donald Meador

A long-suffering middle manager
Most of us are unprepared for the environment of middle management
Are you ever asked to do something that you aren’t prepared for?
Maybe you have an assignment to carry out and think “there has to be a better way, a different way
Are you a supervisor forcing your direction on your team?
How are you going to execute a bad decision?
Here’s a bad idea that we are going to do
You can’t fight a decision after its already made
Stop fighting back on bad decisions and figure out how to move forward
Bad decisions are fantastic for your career
People who solve problems stick around and get promotions
The one rebuttal rule
Communication within business is absolute trash- from the top down
As a middle manager, you are a generational translator
We can also find 5 minutes for what we believe is important
The most selfish thing you can do in your career is to focus on making others successful
Do people want to work around you, work with you?
Relationships are based on perception
Ego ruins leaders more than anything
Nobody cares about your career but you