Culture at Byrnecut

For me culturally, the most frustrating part is the scarcity of leaders and how common it is to just have a bunch of bosses. I regularly encounter bosses here at Byrnecut, as I am not shy at challenging the status quo through principled debate. I have seen some of the most intelligent, productive, friendly, and ambitious people be severely mismanaged by Byrnecut bosses. I have seen it culminate in mainly two ways: (1) the person quits, giving their drive and abilities to a competitor, or (2) they become an uninspired, self-doubting, and timid employee that is, at best, average in their role with no drive to do more than what is demanded. That disillusionment then catches fire to other high performers who are discouraged by the lack of motivation within their peers or by their perceived lack of support from their managers. In my experience with Byrnecut, it most often results in scenario 2. In my opinion, experienced Byrnecut employees do not spend nearly enough time thoughtfully developing the skills of those around them. When I worked for SRK consulting in Denver as a new-grad, I was expected to be “billable” over 90% of the time at work. Being “billable” meant charging a client for your time which was ultimately how SRK made their money. The more experienced you were, the higher your billable rate and the hours you worked over your expected meant bonus. You would logically expect that the most experienced consultants at SRK would be the ones that strove to be the most billable. My boss at the time (who at this point had over 20+ years of experience in the mining industry) revealed to me that SRK only expected him to be around 60% billable. The company wanted the rest of his time developing others around him, including me. By SRK management supporting that kind of development, they sacrificed short term profit for long term success. The SRK Denver office was their most profitable branch around the world. Simply put, Byrnecut would see a notable swing in site employee retention, productivity, innovation, engagement, and profitability by a sincere and thoughtful focus on officially defining their expectations of what a Byrnecut leader looks like. Then communicating and educating their employees, through an E-Learning exercise, on what this defined leaders attributes are, why it is important to be one, and how to become one. Then have top-brass leadership facilitate in-person sessions with Area Managers, PM’s, and Foreman to reinforce how important it is for their site leadership to embody this Byrnecut leaders image. It is those Area Managers, PM’s, and Foreman that ultimately shape the culture of the employees on site. If I may provide some suggestions on what topics would prove useful in helping build the Byrnecut leader. I found some starter reference material for the topics: - Defining the difference between a Boss and a Leader. o https://www.intelivate.com/team-strategy/boss-vs-leader-image - The importance of managing perception. o https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Leaders%20How%20Do%20You%20Manage%20Perception.pdf - How to navigate generational differences in the workplace. o https://www.purdueglobal.edu/education-partnerships/generational-workforce-differences-infographic/ - Understanding the Status Quo Bias and how to manage it o https://online.wharton.upenn.edu/blog/status-quo-bias/ - Reading “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher & William Ury o Developed at Harvard Law, the overarching theme of the book is the importance of using what they call “Principled Negotiation” o Principled Negotiation doesn’t bargain over positions/title, it separates the people from the problem, and it insists on objective criteria

The culture in the office is enjoyable. Often talking about past experiences and socialising professionally. There is a clear structure and people are aware of their roles and responsibilities all throughout. Teamwork within each site is great, but more could be done to help each other between sites (manning and equipment)

The people I associate with on a daily basis have a great work relationship. We all understand our roles and how we can help each other to complete our individual and site tasks for the benefit of the company. After hour socialising is minimal, after a days work i like to have personal time to unwind before bed,

In office there is a very collaborative environment and supportive.

Family-oriented culture both in the office and after hours. Good structure and hierarchy, Good cooperation and teamwork, however, socialising amongst colleagues has to improve.

We have great teamwork in our company as everyone is happy to help out. we also maintain consistent communication with each other even during times off.