Are there any management lessons from the Ashes?
The Ashes starts tomorrow so cricket fans across the nation will be turning up to work bleary eyed after a night following affairs down under. So it was interesting to read an IMF study this week that perhaps provides some insights into the world of work.
In the bad old days of English cricket many a talented cricketer was laid to waste by an overly pernicious selection policy that would often see players ditched to the wilderness after a couple of games. IMF researchers Shekhar Aiyar and Rodney Ramcharan looked into this by investigating the correlation between the start of a players career and the subsequent success of their cricketing career.
Whilst the rational perspective would grant the newcomer a bit of time to find their feet in their new environment, with their career steadily improving from there on, the research suggested the exact opposite was the case.
They found that every additional ten runs scored in a debut series adds an extra five runs to a player’s career average. The location of the matches played a big part in this, with home test matches typically regarded as easier to succeed in than away matches, with more familiar environments and supportive crowds.
How to make a good start in a new job
If this is equally true in the workplace then making a good start to a new job is crucial to the success of your career. Here are a few tips to help you on your way.
- Be energetic - Try and take a bit of time between your previous job and your new one to recharge your batteries and hit your job full of energy.
- Put in the hours - On the first day make sure you arrive early and leave late. Create a good first impression that you're hard working and proactive.
- Work on your names - Nothing's more off putting than someone that can't remember your name, or worse gets it wrong, so make sure you quickly remember your colleagues names.
- Be inquisitive - Spend a good bit of your first week observing how things are done and learning about the culture of your new environment.
- Take the initiative - In most situations, in your first days on the job, you will be given small doses of work. As you finish assignments and are ready to handle a bigger workload, take the initiative and ask for more assignments.
Here is the full research if you wanted to read it in more detail.
http://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/10-225.html
Do you think a good start is essential to a career?
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube
Comments
Can't wait for the Ashes. Should be a cracking series. I wonder how long the 'honeymoon' period lasts in the workplace? A typical 5 match test series can go on for a couple of months. I dare say that's a pretty decent length of time to see how a new employee is going to go.
Incidentally the Beeb have a guide here on how to stay awake to watch the cricket.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11814630
Not strictly speaking on topic but fantastic performance by the English batsmen over the weekend. 512-1 is pretty incredible.
Not strictly speaking on topic but fantastic performance by the English batsmen over the weekend. 512-1 is pretty incredible.
It was a dominant performance by Cook and Trott. Hopefully the team can carry it on into the next match.
If this research is true it doesn't bode well for the Aussies as most of their debutants have had absolute shockers.
Well if this is true it doesn't bode well for the Aussies as they've blooded several new players this series and by and large they've all done terribly. It goes to show that bedding in new people into a successful team is so much easier than bedding them into a failing team though. Tremlett and Bresnan have both come in and done very well straight away, a marked contrast to the likes of Beer and Smith for Australia.