“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)

Raise time is a conundrum for managers, eagerly anticipated and anxiously dreaded. As both givers and receivers, managers are at once the brokers and the broken. That’s because, except at the senior-most levels, what applies to their employees, generally applies to them as well. Stature changes scale, not principle.

By intent or by accident of position, raises are a way of exerting power over staff and yet, for many supervisors tied up in a complex merit raise process, it is a disempowering and frustrating exercise, fraught with the potential to enhance the discontent and cynicism of that very same staff. Raises are necessary evils, barely satisfying long-standing wants with, at best, short term returns. At the end of the day, the positives are fleeting while the negatives linger in the fridge like a left-over tuna salad sandwich.

I have been asked by a number of readers to discuss raises… more precisely, how to ask for them.

There is a difference between unionized and non-unionized staff raises, the former governed by negotiated collective agreement, the latter essentially by management fiat. I will focus on the second.

Asking for a raise is a little art and a little science. But with timing so much a factor (as we will see), it is also a lot of luck. It shouldn’t be, but it is.

So, here below, are four things to take into account when asking for a raise.

1. Consider the Context.

Put your desire (need?) for a raise in context. It may be the best of times to ask for a raise, but it may also be the worst of times. Every company goes through stuff and even those that try to benchmark the industry and that try to maintain a proven, disciplined, meritocratic process regardless of economic volatility and market vagary will take a step back when things get tough. Despite policy, companies are at different places at different times and, as your mother probably told you, there is a right time and a right place for everything. In your specific company, division or even department, the timing may simply not be right for a raise.

Yes, you say, but yours is a special case. You have taken on additional responsibilities or have achieved something truly special over the course of the past year. There is an old English proverb that goes: Circumstances alter cases. So, indeed, yours may be a special case, but, if the company is having financial issues, if there are confounding circumstances, you may have to rethink your timing or, at least, your approach.

Under stress, companies don’t always behave in a consistent or fair manner. Asking for a raise creates stress. Your boss may be under pressure. Perhaps, an important deadline has been missed, a performance target missed by a mile. Your messenger is no longer in a position to be helpful.

That does not mean you shouldn’t bring up the issue at all. As negotiation guru Chester Karras has wisely declared, you do not get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. Most likely, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. So if you realize the timing is bad but feel you are truly deserving of additional recognition and remuneration, discuss it with your supervisor, tell him or her that you understand the situation and do not wish to add pressure to the system but, all that said, you would like this to at least be acknowledged in your appraisal and at least mentioned to senior management. It might just get you to the next level. At the very least, it will be appreciated and be added to the bank of good will from which a raise could be drawn when the timing is more propitious.

Bottom line: Look around. Listen hard. Be wise.

2. Be honest with yourself. Do you really deserve special consideration?

Did you have an extraordinary year or did you ‘merely’ do excellent work or extra work. Because, frankly, excellence and hard work are not causes for reward. They are, in tough times especially, the minimum acceptable standards for performance.

Most companies of size have a raise policy and raise period, likely in the first quarter. Pretty much the only way to get a raise outside this period is to get a promotion or, at least, a notable increase in responsibilities. In cases where an employee had a significant achievement, the likely reward is not a raise but a bonus.

You’ve got to stand out. You have to take leadership on high visibility projects and then execute perfectly. You have to turn around disasters that have been hanging like albatrosses around the corporate neck. Perhaps you have revitalized a fading brand. Or saved a plant slated for closure because of poor productivity. Perhaps you have come up with a groundbreaking technology that opens up a new and highly lucrative market or dramatically reduces costs. If you show you can spin straw into gold, you have a claim on some of that gold.

Conversely, if your request comes as a surprise, don’t be surprised if it is rejected.

3. Be prepared.

So you have your supervisor’s attention. Set up a formal meeting expressly for the purpose. Nothing dampens the mood like an unwelcome surprise. As with any meeting, you must go in prepared. Remember, this is your meeting so you must take control.

By now you should have looked through all the salary calculators and know what is appropriate for your position, in your industry, in your area. These calculators always have a range. Find your place in the range based on your level, experience, and scope of responsibilities. Fudge for qualifications and skill set. By defining a range, you are not only helping yourself, you are giving your manager a negotiation strategy and wiggle room. Present your accomplishments – the ones that are the foundation of your request and put a present and future value on these accomplishments. How much money have you saved or earned or will be saved or earned for the company now and down the road? By giving him a range and the ammunition to use, you have done half his work for him. He can calculate in his mind the ceiling suitable for the circumstances and he knows the minimum you will find acceptable. That minimum number should be one at which you will come away satisfied.

Some companies cap promotion raises at 5%. Some companies will try to limit the ‘damage’ by splitting the raise over two years. Know your company and, again, know the context in which your raise will find itself.

Do not threaten. Under any circumstances. If an employee lays down an ultimatum and threatens to leave should the ultimatum not be met, a good company man will say, “Good bye. Send a postcard.” A poor manager will succumb, look bad to his boss and resent you for it. Rightly so.

4. Have a sponsor. Have two.

You’ve heard the expression: It’s not what you know; it’s who you know. Well, I would amend that to: It’s not who you know; it’s who knows you. It is good if your supervisor is supportive, better if he is mentoring you, better still if he is managing your career. But it help immeasurably if your supervisor’s boss knows and likes you, wonderful if the CEO knows who you are and has heard good things.

Outstanding performance gets noticed. Heading up a project of import can put a spotlight on your work, especially if the outline, progress and/or conclusion of said project are formally presented to senior management. Three times blessed. It is an opportunity not to be missed.

It also does not hurt to be friendly to senior people in the Human Resources department. Yeah, I know. But some of them are actually human. HR specialists can be pretty good at structuring a deal that works for the company and employee. They would know precisely what can and can’t be done, given the financial climate and salary structures under which they have to operate. They know how to work the system because they are the system.

Conclusion

There is no bulletproof way to ask for a raise. But, if it is truly merited and it otherwise doesn’t seem forthcoming, ask you must. Put the odds in your favor. Get your timing right, get your support in place, be prepared and make your case calmly and forthrightly. It may just be the smartest thing you did all year.

Good luck.

This was the headline in a Financial Post editorial written by Hollie Shaw:

Love It or Hate It, Nike’s Ad Got Noticed

The sub-head: Widespread reaction means ad worked, executives say

Really?

I have a lot of respect for Hollie Shaw and I am sure her reporting is accurate. I also swore to myself way back when that I would not weigh in on the whole Tiger thing on the basis that enough ink had already been poured into the sea of Tiger Woods reporting to keep the Titanic afloat. But the premise that noise for noise’s sake is a good thing bears discussion.

You all know about the commercial. Trading in on the dead father’s memory and the respect in which that memory is held. A cut and splice job assembled to set the stage for the son’s redemption. A swirl of publicity ensued in the wake of the ad’s appearance. Some decried it for being in bad taste. Others, including a goodly number in the advertising industry said that bad taste or not, the commercial wouldn’t hurt Nike a bit. Indeed, they surmised, all that publicity would be a boon for a company that seen its golf sales decline 11% in 2009.

“If I were the marketing guy at Nike the day after that ad ran, I’d be a pretty happy guy”, said the chief creative officer at one large at agency.

Why?

In the bad old days, that mantra was a variation of the line usually attributed to master showman, P.T. Barnum: “I don’t care what they write about me, as long as they spell my name right.” Which is reminiscent of the classic from Mae West: “Call me anything, but call me often.” (Note: you may also find the first quote ascribed to Mae West and, another old time entertainer, George M. Cohan.) Any publicity, it was said, was good publicity.

Well, we know better now. And, somehow, I don’t see where the Nike ad is good publicity. Here’s my thinking.

1. Reflected Glory?

Nike’s promotions are celebrity-based, with Tiger Woods the centerpiece of its celebrity platform. If the ad reflects badly on Tiger Woods – and even the ad execs admit it doesn’t help polish Woods’ already tarnished image – how could it be a plus for the advertiser who clearly produced the ad to play off that image? Sorry, but ugly is as ugly does.

2. Bottom Line Contribution?

The link between Woods and Nike is well-established…and well understood by the golfing community at large. If this ad had not been aired, would Nike’s notoriety be one wit less impressive? I doubt it.

For example, none of Nike’s 2009 sales decline is attributed to the Tiger factor (if there is such a thing).

According to a survey conducted by TNS, a world leader in market research, global market information and business analysis, the scandal may have hurt Woods’ personal reputation, but not those of the brands he endorses. Respondents to a TNS survey said they had a more favourable opinion of Tiger’s brands including Nike, EA, Gillette and Gatorade (which did drop Woods but only at a point too close to the survey to have an impact).

I cannot see where this ad did Nike any good in the market or that missing out on the publicity garnered by its airing would have done it any harm.

3. The Fatigue Factor

Polls confirm that most people are tired of hearing about the Woods scandal. It was interesting…even titillating. For a while. But most now feel it’s time to move on and time to let Woods move on with his life, sympathy for Elin Nordegren notwithstanding. The ad, therefore, did nothing but keep the embers lit. It contributed to the fatigue.

Plus, frankly, the ad wasn’t that interesting. Or the production quality that good. In fact, objectively, the ad was pretty boring and, were it not for the context in which it was placed so callously, it would have been eminently forgettable.

In short, if I were the marketing guy at Nike the day after that ad ran, I wouldn’t be that happy with myself.

Any good presentation will be a combination of interesting information and arresting graphics. Graphics aid in concentration, comprehension and retention. The better they are, the more likely the message being communicated will be understood and remembered.

In the many presentations I have made over the years, I seldom counted on delivery alone to ensure that the information I offered up would have the desired impact. I was just not that good. So, I liked to use props, and the best and most readily available props are invariably the graphics by which the information is being conveyed.

There are basic rules for infographics, be they in a PowerPoint presentation, in a printed document or on screen.

1. Each graphic should make one point. Which means that if there is no point, don’t have a graphic. (Actually, if there is no point, don’t do a presentation at all.) The corollary is that if you want to make several points, then use several graphics. Layering can work, if your points are sequential and if the layering is handled delicately and judiciously. It’s a dangerous practice, however, that should be attempted only by the most adept.

2. The graphic itself should be obvious. Obvious doesn’t mean plain. It doesn’t mean boring. It does mean clearly understandable. Whether you are showing market share, population densities, product life cycle stages, elevations or critical paths, the viewers’ or readers’ eyes should know instantly where to focus.

3. If you have devices like legends, eyes are forced to hop from place to place just to have a reference point. Legends are not helpful. They cause clutter. They cause confusion. They should be avoided. Graphics where the legend is built into the concept are most effective.

If you are looking for a really great website on infographics, check out infographicsblog.com. It showcases some of the finest – and, sometimes, the less than finest – infographic work being done, saluting innovation and creativity as well as the ability to educate and impress. For each example, the author explains what works well, what doesn’t, and what essential element is missing that might, if present, have put the illustration over the top.

One of my favourite, if slightly flawed, graphics from this blog shows the evolution of Crayola crayon colours over time (100+ years). The kid in you has got to love it, though the ability to have the colour name pop up as your mouse rolls over each colour strip would have been a wonderful touch.

A particularly troublesome illustration tries to present the 10 best places to buy a house in America. Focusing on small cities, it looks at such factors as median family income, average property tax, the number of universities and museums within 30 miles, the number of librairies and movie theatres within 15 miles, the number of sunny days per year, as well as unemployment levels. It uses a variety of charting tools, several overlapping X and Y axes, and a map where the cities are identified by numbers for which you must refer to a legend. I would challenge anyone to actually identify, at a glance, which city would top the chart. Actually, I would bet that, given 10 minutes to study the graphic closely, most people would still be hard pressed to choose. It is one of those well-intentioned if ill-conceived graphics laden with data but light on useful information.

Spend some time at the site. It is as much fun as it is enlightening.