So I stumbled upon this Michael Tobin guy while doomscrolling business podcasts last Tuesday. Honestly? Had no clue who he was. But everyone kept raving about his leadership at TelecityGroup. Figured, why not dig into how this dude thinks? Maybe steal a trick or two.
Starting from Absolute Zero
First, I grabbed whatever scraps I could find online – interviews, old articles, those weird quotes people screenshot. Noticed a pattern real quick: he never used fancy MBA jargon. Just straight talk about people and operations. My kinda guy. Printed everything out like a dinosaur – ended up with coffee stains everywhere.
The Awkward Copy-Paste Phase
Next Tuesday, I tried mimicking his “direct feedback” thing at work. Walked up to Dave from accounting about a budget report and blurted out “Dave, this section feels disconnected from reality.” Total crickets. Just stared at me like I grew antennae. Epic fail. Learned fast: context matters. Tobin probably earned that bluntness over years.
Implementing the “Shaking Hands” Thing
His big mantra is “Know the details.” Annoying but true. That Thursday, I cancelled my Zoom meetings. Wandered down to the warehouse instead. Asked Terry the forklift guy: “What actually slows you down?” Turns out our inventory software glitches every damn Tuesday morning when shipments arrive. Nobody in IT knew because nobody asked Terry. Fixed it with a $20 plugin. Who would’ve thought?
What Actually Stuck
- Scrap the dictionary talk. Called a supplier and said “Your shipping window sucks” instead of “addressing logistical inefficiencies.” They actually laughed and fixed it faster.
- Weekly ground walks. Found three broken pallet jacks in five minutes last month. Operations manager owes me coffee now.
- Prioritize like a bulldozer. Shoved two “urgent” projects off my desk yesterday. Asked: “Will this matter next quarter?” Tobin’s right – most things won’t.
Still Messing Up (Obviously)
Tried his networking tip – “Just talk to people.” Went to a Chamber of Commerce meetup Wednesday. Humidity was 90%. My shirt stuck to me like plastic wrap. Talked to three people total before escaping to my car. Not Tobin-level charisma yet. Baby steps.
Biggest win so far? Last Friday. Production line halted. Panic everywhere. Remembered his interview quote: “Breathe. Then ask who touched it last.” Tracked down Maria – she’d seen a sensor acting funny since lunch. Fixed in 12 minutes. Simple beats complex every time.
Still keeping notes. Even started scribbling random stuff in a beat-up notebook like “Why does Terry dread Mondays?” or “Who knows where the circuit breaker is?” Feels stupid till it works. Guess that’s the whole point – quit overthinking and actually do the obvious things consistently. Even my mechanic uncle gets it now when I explain Tobin’s ideas. That’s how you know it’s solid.
