how do i make a veteran meet deadline without being a jerk?

[Drip]

How about telling him that you made a mistake and turned his timeslip in 20 minutes late this week and he won't get paid. Maybe that will drive the point home in a passive-aggressive kinda way.

Ace, I don't know if that is a good idea. These are tough times. The veteran is liable to go postal upon hearing news like that.

Well, that's one way to get rid of him without seeming like a jerk. What's a few casualties?

Yeah but the SE may be the first casualty.

 

[John]

Make him stay in and take calls.

 

[Fredrick]

Too many cut-throats on here. Hope you cut throats sleep well.
The original poster, the sports editor, said this veteran does a great job. It's not like this writer is horrible. He's good and he's valuable.

With that in mind, you tell him NICELY you respect his work greatly but the stories have to be in by 10:30.
Make it a low key discussion.
Then if he gives guff you change your tone. You don't need to be an ass. Dictatorial editors should look at themselves in the mirror. You don't have to be an ass to get people to produce. Geez.

 

[Angola!]

Too many cut-throats on here. Hope you cut throats sleep well.
The original poster, the sports editor, said this veteran does a great job. It's not like this writer is horrible. He's good and he's valuable.

With that in mind, you tell him NICELY you respect his work greatly but the stories have to be in by 10:30.
Make it a low key discussion.
Then if he gives guff you change your tone. You don't need to be an ass. Dictatorial editors should look at themselves in the mirror. You don't have to be an ass to get people to produce. Geez.

I don't think you have to be an ass either, but this is deadline we're talking about.

Kind of the whole point of the newspaper business.

If the guy is a 20-year veteran, then he should know better.

Seems to me, he is taking his sweet ass time because he is a 20-year vet. Guys like him should be able to bang out copy, no problem.

Instead, he is causing the department to miss deadline. He should be dealt with swiftly.

If he gives any guff, then I'd definitely get in his face and threaten him with not covering games anymore, but staying in and taking calls.

You should only kow-tow to vets that can actually handle their jobs.

 

[EGM67]

We made deadline tonight. Veteran guy turned in his story 10 minutes before his deadline.

Again, thanks for all the advice.

 

[shotglass]

Hey, give yourself a pat on the back. Sounds like whatever you did worked.

 

[Fredrick]

EGM, tell us what tactic works. Since you seem like a good person who has a clue unlike some of the cut throat sports editors who think they are god's gift to low paying jobs, I am assuming you did the right thing and had a civil discussion with this person who you said is a valuable member of the staff. To you cutthroats ... continue to be jerks and realize you are really tough guys bossing people around in this lowpaying profession. Congrats EGM. Tell us how he met the deadline.

Some of you hardasses should look at yourselves in the mirror. Paper trails, being assholes, grow up and quit being management.

 

[buckweaver]

Some of you hardasses should look at yourselves in the mirror. Paper trails, being assholes, grow up and quit being management.

Question: Have you ever had a professional conflict that could not be resolved through a casual conversation?

If you have, you'd know that documenting a paper trail does NOT make one an asshole. It's an important part of the resolution process, especially if you are in a position where you might need to cover your bases. As a sports editor, this person needs to cover his bases -- and keeping a record of communication between a supervisor and an employee who is not doing their job, if that is indeed the case, is something that must be done.

You're blasting people for taking this way out of proportion and, without knowing all sides of the story, maybe you're right. But you're wrong if you think that some of these so-called "hardass" methods aren't necessary, when the situation calls for it. Sometimes, it does. That's up to EGM to decide.

Whatever he decided, it seems to have worked. But if the writer had resisted, he'd still have a problem on his hands, and there are other effective ways of dealing with that. Sometimes, the boss has to be the asshole -- it's part of the job.

 

[Tom Petty]

i'll make a bet that the guy is just pacifying egm.

i'll bet in another month, he's missing as many deadlines as he's ever missed.

 

[Drip]

i'll make a bet that the guy is just pacifying egm.

i'll bet in another month, he's missing as many deadlines as he's ever missed.

I'm inclined to agree with Tom but I reserve judgment until I hear what happens. Everyone goes through slumps, maybe the vet had other things on his mind instead of his job.
This sounds like its is going to be a weekly soap opera. I can't until next week's episode.

 

[shotglass]

EGM, tell us what tactic works. Since you seem like a good person who has a clue unlike some of the cut throat sports editors who think they are god's gift to low paying jobs, I am assuming you did the right thing and had a civil discussion with this person who you said is a valuable member of the staff. To you cutthroats ... continue to be jerks and realize you are really tough guys bossing people around in this lowpaying profession. Congrats EGM. Tell us how he met the deadline.

Some of you hardasses should look at yourselves in the mirror. Paper trails, being assholes, grow up and quit being management.

I don't like confrontation either.

But sometimes it's inevitable, and the only thing that will achieve the desired effect.

 

[Tom Petty]

EGM, tell us what tactic works. Since you seem like a good person who has a clue unlike some of the cut throat sports editors who think they are god's gift to low paying jobs, I am assuming you did the right thing and had a civil discussion with this person who you said is a valuable member of the staff. To you cutthroats ... continue to be jerks and realize you are really tough guys bossing people around in this lowpaying profession. Congrats EGM. Tell us how he met the deadline.

Some of you hardasses should look at yourselves in the mirror. Paper trails, being assholes, grow up and quit being management.

I don't like confrontation either.

But sometimes it's inevitable, and the only thing that will achieve the desired effect.

shots - what old freddy doesn't understand is that there's a huge difference between honesty and confrontation ... huge.

when i first became a news editor, after being an SE for a few years, i occasionally started talking management philosophy with the gentleman who was my publisher. he said one thing that will stick with me for life: "tom, at the very least, we owe our people honesty. we should never blindside one of our people with the decisions that we make. we owe them that much."

truest words i've ever heard from another journalist.