As you all know, I’m a corporate culture addict; I follow stories on culture the way most people follow celebrities. I have three to share today.
As anyone who follows business news knows Alan G. Lafley, CEO pf P&G for the last nine years is stepping down. Read this McKinsey interview with Lafley from 2005 and compare it to what he did. This is a guy who walks his talk. Then take a look at this short comparison by Bruce Nussbaum of Lafley and Bob Nardelli and decide which one you’d rather channel.
Want to read a short short story about changing corporate culture? Good, because here is one.
Last is a fascinating story on how to innovate from the outside in. Which leads you to Innocentive and the opportunity to innovate on your own and get paid for it. Don’t laugh, real creativity doesn’t have a job title, nor do colleges offer degrees in ingenuity.
Three slightly odd, but very valuable, views of the business world today.
For a lot of managers it’s that time of year again, the time of mid-year reviews. A lots been written on reviews, but I found the interview with Will Wright, developer of The Sims, Spore, etc., brought out a very new point. Wright says, “The really important motivational stuff is more in their [employees] secret identity.” This isn’t just true about ‘creatives’, but about every employee.
I have a stack of books to read, many of them the result of a review I read. I usually hold off recommending them, but this one looks too good to put on hold. It’s Alain de Botton’s The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and it looks like a great read—even vacation fare.
Quick. What sort of business would the entrepreneurial daughter of Ralph Lauren start? Something in fashion? A new publication? How about a candy company? Yup. Dylan Lauren sees “…a row of Polo Ralph Lauren cashmere sweaters or colored shirts…as food or candy.” Sweet.
As I said in the old posts I pointed out yesterday, I don’t believe that anyone ever gets out of their box, but boxes are infinitely enlargeable and the only constraints are the ones you put in place.
I thought I’d offer up two visual mind-expanders today. Fun for you and fun for me.
Did you know that research shows that no matter how scrambled the letters if the first and last are in the correct position you can read the words? Try it now.
Could you read it? If not, try again.
How are you at spatial puzzles? Here’s one that’s been around for a long time, but I haven’t met many people who solved it.
Think abut what you just saw. The MAP that stops most of us from figuring it out is based on what we start hearing as toddlers when we get our first crayons—
“Silly, whoever heard of an orange sky?”
“But cows only have 4 legs.”
And from our first coloring book, and as a metaphor throughout life, we hear over an over “color inside the lines;” then all of a sudden we’re being chided for doing exactly that.
Go ahead, expand the lines; push the boundaries; you’ll be surprised at how easily they move.
Some see calamity where others see opportunity. There’s a lot of confusion and still a number of fiddlers who continue as if nothing is wrong or different. Let’s take a look at some examples.
We’ve been reading for more than 50 years about one type of survivalist—from those who built nuclear shelters to those who fled to the wilderness loaded with various weapons. Now comes a suburban version fueled by the economic meltdown.
While others see this as a time to push innovation to the extreme; witness the air-powered car—works for me!
Pity some of the affluent kids who are finding spending four or five thousand dollars (or more) on summer volunteer efforts overseas, but instead are having to work at more mundane jobs.
Honors have taken a big hit. All those glitterati studded fund raisers that honored this person or that are hurting, since far fewer are willing to pay for the honor. (What? You thought they were free?)
Apparently the fashion world doesn’t believe all the talk of the new frugality, since Tom Ford’s shorts cost $650 and Armani’s are $775. Prada’s are a steal at $465 or you can splurge on Thom Browne’s $1,495 seersucker man-skort.
The last few days have been about the importance of culture, so why change now?
If you’re a long-time reader you know that I’m a culture fanatic. I believe that culture is the root, driver and cure for 99% of business and, as is said today, that culture eats strategy for lunch.
Culture also makes companies a lot of money, think Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Google, Southwest, and Costco. And if that doesn’t convince you look at the dark side and think about what happened when Robert Nardelli trashed Home Depot’s culture.
Next, a Rambus alumni talks about how culture influences innovation in a company that makes its money by inventing and licensing its IP.
I’m a firm believe in using your company’s culture as a screening tool and I’m not the only one. Steve Balzac has some thoughts on the subject, too, including the price you pay for not remembering that people don’t magically change after they’re hired.
Next up is an article from Clark Bosley who asks the companies he visits, “Do you have a copy of your company’s code of conduct?” Read what the answer portends.
Finally, a bit of cultural levity. We all know that Southwest Air Lines has a great culture, which now includes rapping flight attendants. But they aren’t the only ones, if you want more click here.
I don’t hang out of the bleeding edge of techdom nor am I an early adopter, but I saw this and thought it would be interesting to y’all.
“The new system, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at Harvard University in the US last week, takes the first step towards what many consider to be the internet’s Holy Grail – a global store of information that understands and responds to ordinary language in the same way a person does.”
Next, a great 2-part post from Steve Roesler on why we fear success and what to do about it.
Third, here’s a way to do as the big shots do—even if you’re not around to enjoy the show. A kind of last hurrah with panache.
Finally, AIG beat out all comers to win the Consumerist’s Golden Poo Trophy as the 2009 Worst Company In America. I heartily concur with the final vote—Comcast, B of A and the rest don’t even come close.
Although these three links are aimed at executives, I think you’ll find what they offer applies to everybody.
First is a Forbes article looks at what some CEOs keep in their office and explains how those items reflect the corporate culture—the premise holds true for managers at all levels and even for non-management.
Next is an interview with Richard Anderson, chief executive of Delta Air Lines. He offers some great career advice along with insightful comments on what he looks for when interviewing. Useful no matter which side of the desk you’re on.
Finally, the HBR Editor’s Blog talks about Myth of the Tireless Leader. The post has several links that illustrate and prove that lack of sleep does not yield smart actions, intelligent decisions or innovation. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Who knows, maybe after reading it you’ll stop bragging about how little sleep you need and get the rest required to be truly productive.
It’s a new site dedicated to the premise that not all CEOs are bad guys.
So grab yourself some coffee, or a beer if it’s that time, and take a look at what some of the thousands of good CEOs are doing to have fun and/or give back.
A second innovation commentary comes from consultant Peter Bregman who offers up and interesting perspective on why it’s better to be David in this economy than Goliath.
Finally, what’s happening in compensation these days aside from Wall Street bankers with dubious bonuses?
As anyone who follows business news knows Alan G. Lafley, CEO pf P&G for the last nine years is stepping down. Read this McKinsey interview with Lafley from 2005 and compare it to what he did. This is a guy who walks his talk. Then take a look at this short comparison by Bruce Nussbaum of Lafley and Bob Nardelli and decide which one you’d rather channel.
and it looks like a great read—even vacation fare.
Some see calamity where others see opportunity. There’s a lot of confusion and still a number of fiddlers who continue as if nothing is wrong or different. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Culture also 
The first is a new article from Malcom Gladwell, author of 
I don’t hang out of the bleeding edge of techdom nor am I an early adopter, but I saw this and thought it would be interesting to y’all. 
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