Electronic communication tools have replaced the water cooler as the place for most of us to “present” our point of view.  Of course, each time we do so, we have an opportunity to take two distinct courses of action—support or destruction.

It is easier to tear down than to build…ask any construction engineer.  Building requires planning, having support beams in place, putting the right accent pieces to highlight the features of the structure.  Destroying an idea, a person or an organization requires nothing but a few words.

Management is about making decisions and in this context, at each interface with peers and direct reports, making a choice.  Here are some points to ponder in those interactions:

• Refrain from venting downstream.  A top favorite for many managers is to take a direct report, or a group of folks one or two boxes lower on the org chart and lash out at what is wrong with the company or their boss.  Serves no purpose, since there is nothing any of these groups can do to fix the problem.  Only one way to vent—upstream, or not at all.

• Stop feeding negativity. It is so easy to join in the rock throwing.  Another favorite activity is the morning coffee in someone’s office, where those present can start at one end of what is wrong with their place of employment and finish when….the boss arrives.  Serves no purpose, but everyone feels better afterwards, and the poisoning process starts over the next morning.  In lieu of feeding the negativity search for an answer to fix the problem.

• Take sides for the right reason. We yearn to be loved by those around us.  We falsely believe that the masses will follow us, if they like us.  Leadership in management is not about popularity.  It’s about being right based on the right facts.  Sometimes the customer is right, other times the employees and maybe, just maybe, once in a while, the company is right.  Be strong and don’t fall prey to the wrong side.

Here is a challenge.  Look for opportunities to promote something positive that your boss or company is doing.  Expand to one a week.  And, when someone speaks against what you believe is right, defend your ground.

Be the best manager you can be and remember that PR, represents the first two letters of PRomoting.  Engage in it regularly.

At a young age we all learned never to judge a book by its cover.  This would hold true for a creature of the ocean often mistaken for a monster in mythology. 
Through no fault of its own, the octopus is one of the ugliest and scariest creatures in open water.  So much for the cover.

The Octopus is highly intelligent in the order of invertebrates.  For example, Octopus have been known to break out of their tanks and into others in search of food.  The have boarded boats, opened holds to eat crabs.  They even know how to open a jar to reach the food inside http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWF6d0nelY.  Research has shown them to be strategic, with an ability to learn.

Perhaps we are motivated to be creative when we have a need to satisfy basic needs like eating.  Whatever the motivation, we need to be more innovative in everything we do, in order to add value to our respective stations in life..  Here some ways to do that:

• Feed your brain. One way is to visit TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design)http://www.ted.com/.  Perhaps their tag line says it best:  Ideas worth spreading.  Read magazines like Fast Company.  They will stimulate your creative side and just maybe, give you a spark for a new concept—a better way of doing something.
• Leave your tank. Learn to get out of your comfort zone and flex your right brain to think of solutions to problems at work or in your community.  If you are highly creative, exercise your left brain by learning and doing something technical like enrolling in Advanced Excel!
• Benchmark innovation. In the same way that much can be learned from studying animal behavior, we can adapt innovative ideas from unrelated businesses to our own and continuously improve process.  When Federal Express was looking to implement “when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”, they did not study UPS…….they did study the Mario Andretti Pit Crews.

Set realistic expectations and then find a new, better way to getting something done, or a solution to a problem, and you will increase the value of your personal brand.  Don’t wait until you have a need to eat.