Everybody is talking about the NY Times article detailing little-known aspects and actions of Amazon’s culture.

There is a plethora of discussion, commentary, vehement agreement/disagreement on the information presented in the article and I don’t plan to add more.

What is important is knowing when your workplace crosses the line from tough to toxic.

While the fluidity of the line is a function of the individual, that is only true when there is choice.

And fear, whether real (no new job prospects), instilled (abuse resulting in an “it’s my fault” mentality) or imagined, precludes choice.

Without choice it’s toxic.

Flickr image credit: eek the cat

Over the holiday weekend “Eric” canceled his email subscription and the reason given made me smile.

He said my post about the potential for hacking the “Internet of Things” was more fear-mongering than fact, so he was, as I always recommend, “voting with his feet” and unsubscribing.

Granted, I should have referenced my proof, but it’s hard to remember every article I read and this one dates back 15 months.

It’s an article about a search engine called Shodan — the Internet of Things’ worst nightmare.

Shodan crawls the Internet looking for devices, many of which are programmed to answer. It has found cars, fetal heart monitors, office building heating-control systems, water treatment facilities, power plant controls, traffic lights and glucose meters. (…) “Google crawls for websites. I crawl for devices,” says John Matherly, the tall, goateed 29-year-old who released Shodan in 2009.

Shodan wasn’t built for nefarious purposes, but intent has very little to do with actual usage.

Currently, Shodan is the only device search engine with public search results, which is, obviously, a boon to hackers.

However, I agree with Matherly, because if he hadn’t built it someone else would have.

“I don’t consider my search engine scary. It’s scary that there are power plants connected to the Internet.”

And, in case you are wondering, yes, I sent the article URL to Eric.

Flickr image credit: centralasian

Not long ago an entrepreneur with whom I work and I disagreed. He said that entrepreneurs and managers were different and that while entrepreneurs should be managers managers couldn’t be entrepreneurs.

A study using brain scans from MIT professor Maurizio Zollo seems to back him up.

…when entrepreneurs performed explorative tasks, they used both the left and right sides of the frontal parts of their brains, the entire so-called pre-frontal cortex. In comparison, managers tended to use primarily the left sides of the frontal part of their brains. This is an important difference, as the right side of the pre-frontal cortex is associated with creative functions involving high-level thinking (like poetry, arts, etc.), whereas the left side is associated with rational decision-making and logical thinking.

But I still don’t agree.

Zollo isn’t sure either, but thinks that it has to do with the willingness to take risks.

People who just reason with the rational and logical part of the brain might be a bit more risk averse.

Or perhaps that’s more Pavlov’s dog and a conditioned response.

I’d like to see the right/left brain activity of managers at companies known for innovation, such as 3M, Google, and Jeff Immelt’s GE, as opposed to Jack Welch’s.

That would be much better comparison of apples with apples instead of with oranges.

Companies that focus on metrics often lose their innovation mojo.

Managers who work for companies that focus on innovation, have done away with fear and celebrate failure think differently.

Flickr image credit: Nathanial Burton-Bradford

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Are you familiar with the old saying “a fool and his money are soon parted?”

So are a fool and his startup.

In the situation I’m talking about both could happen—will happen unless the fools with the money dump the fool from his startup.

The founder fool has great talents, but his best is wooing and managing money fools, i.e., investors.

He’s also good at wooing people to join his fledgling company, but even better at being the author of their destruction.

He is a master of disparagement—eye rolls, winks, smirks and, of course, sarcasm.

This founder fool’s arrogance is based on his ability to manage upwards, but mostly on fear; fear that someone who works for him may somehow, somewhere, become more successful than he.

That arrogance, combined with his unfettered belief that anybody who works for a living, including in his own company, is a lesser person creates an environment that destroys people by damaging their self-respect.

Not only does he take out the (in his mind) competition, he also improves retention, since those he undercuts are less likely to leave.

As Jeff Haden says, “Self-respect is a lot like trust. Once lost, it’s almost impossible to regain.”

Almost. It can be regained, but doing so takes careful rebuilding and support by a manager skilled at seeing diamonds where others see a lump of coal.

And that means either the investor fools rise up to oust the tyrant or the people find the courage to walk away.

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Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

If you listen to the media, especially new media, you would think the US is a hotbed of innovation.

You would be wrong.

“The Information Technology Innovation Foundation ranked the U.S. last of 40 countries in terms of improved innovation capacity over the past decade.”

What if you asked business leaders? More than two-thirds would give their organizations high marks for innovation.

But what happens when you ask the working stiffs in those same organizations? You’d find innovation marks well below half.

Some 78% of leaders said yes; just 43% of employees agreed. Does the leader “urge employees to continually expand their understanding of business trends and emerging issues”? Leaders 77%; employees 51%. Does he or she “guide employees who fail or make mistakes to reframe the experiences as learning opportunities”? Leaders 77%; employees 47%. And does he or she “champion the merits of employee-initiated ideas to senior management”? Leaders 75%; employees 42%.

Those questions were asked of “513 leaders and 514 non-leader employees.”

I found grim amusement in the recommended fixes.

Senior Management Sets the Pace

Choose the Right Leaders

Develop Innovation Leaders

Build a Business Process for Innovation.

I thought senior management were the leaders, but obviously not since they are supposed to choose the “right leaders” and develop “innovation leaders.”

The idea that innovation thinking and support can be delegated by senior management to specialists at lower levels is just plain ludicrous.

If you want an innovative company filled with innovative employees then you need a culture of innovation that includes no fear, room for initiative and where the messenger is never killed.

(For more on culture and innovation, including links to research and articles, click here.)

Oops; I forgot to send an entry to The September 2012 Leadership Development Carnival NFL Kick-off Edition, but at least I remembered to give you the link!

Flickr image credit: EFF

Most of us live with one kind of fear or another, although few of us admit it. Fear often masquerades as something else—envy, arrogance, failure, success—to name just a few. Bertrand Russell provides interesting commentary on fear in it’s many guises.

“Fear makes man unwise in the three great departments of human conduct: his dealings with nature, his dealings with other men, and his dealings with himself.” This explains much of what’s going on in the world today.

Fear not only paralyzes us it builds in our minds until it’s many times its original size; as Russell points out, “Until you have admitted your own fears to yourself, and have guarded yourself by a difficult effort of will against their myth-making power, you cannot hope to think truly about many matters of great importance . . .” I would add that ‘of great importance’ doesn’t necessairly mean global in scope or world-changing—unless you mean your own little corner of the world.

These days superstition is rampant and cruelty—physical, mental and spiritual—abounds in epic proportions at every level of human intraction. It’s worse now than ever before because technology has shrunk the world, given a louder voice to these evils and muted what wisdom is available. Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom . . .

Envy is another form of fear; fear that someone has more, but as Russell points out there is always someone with more… “Envy consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon, but Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed.”

Fear feeds off fear and can be overwhelming. Fear of technology is usually well masked, but it can be substantially diluted if you remember that technology is finite, while humans deal in the infinite. There will still be things that machines cannot do. They will not produce great art or great literature or great philosophy; they will not be able to discover the secret springs of happiness in the human heart; they will know nothing of love and friendship.”

Fear drives ideology, ideology preempts thought and not thinking kills or, as Russell said, “Many people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.”

Russell didn’t name it, but he had a wonderful take on ideology, “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Do you ever see titles like 5 Ways To Commit CEO Career Suicide, but skip the article because you aren’t a CEO and have no intention of ever being one?

You may want to rethink that.

Frequently the advice is just as applicable to other levels including non-management.

The five behaviors mentioned are

1. naiveté,
2. unbridled optimism,
3. arrogance,
4. fear, and
5. disconnect.

As the old saying goes, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, too.

Model any of them, let alone more than one, and you are just as likely to lose your job whether you’re at the top of the org chart or the very bottom.

Flickr image credit:  Rennett Stowe

An excellent article called Saying No to the Boss (definitely worth reading) that highlights yet again the importance of fostering a culture that never kills the messenger, because it recognizes the importance of getting bad news soonest.

Jay Grinney, who replaced Richard Scushy as CEO of HealthSouth, made his first priority changing the culture.

“That culture was characterized by fear, intimidation, favoritism, a very ego-centric CEO.”

He confirms what everyone on the receiving end of culture knows, but often ignores when on the initiating end.

“I don’t think there’s any single formula for proving your intent. It has to be demonstrated in every single thing that I do and has to be reflected in the people I surround myself with.”

There are two very important thoughts in that comment, but the second often gets lost or falls victim to expediency.

The first is simple and obvious—actions speak louder than words; better known as talk is cheap.

The second requires more tenacity, because it often means passing on a candidate with great skills, but not a good cultural match.

If the CEO goes ahead and hires that person it does more than send a message that the new direction is a lie; it guarantees the wrong culture will be propagated, since that person will hire people true to her cultural vision, not the company’s.

Finally, Grinney points out the one of the worst errors any boss can make and it’s one that has had a higher profile in the last decade than ever before.

“One of the pitfalls of being the CEO is you can start believing your own press. The business world is full of examples of hubris taking over.”

In other words, don’t drink your own Kool-Aid.

From CEO to team leader, you have the ability to foster a culture of openness and safety or one of fear and intimidation.

As always, it’s your choice; make it consciously.

Fickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/

I suppose I should apologize, although I’m not really sorry. It’s the end of the year and this is what I was in the mood to do. It’s one of the worst rhymes I’ve ever written, but that doesn’t change the value of the meaning in the message.

Christmas is past the year’s almost done
it’s gone by so fast I really am stunned.
In one short week 2011 will dawn,
meaning the potential of this year is gone.
Did you accomplish all that you planned
or did time drain away like grains of sand?
To prevent that happening this coming year
execute wisely and ignore the fear.
Fear is sneaky and will try and stop you,
while ignoring it is a tremendous break through.
Stay focused on the goals you set
and you’ll have your best year yet!

Be sure to read Friday’s post for a look at the changes coming to  MAPping Company Success.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosoflessthanamazingjourneys/2419185671

A reader, “John,” emailed me with a question and suggested that I respond in the blog, because he felt that the information would be useful to everyone and I agree.

Miki, like many people these days I was laid off and have had a lot of trouble finding work. I finally interviewed and they have told me that I’ll be receiving an offer next week.

It should be terrific, but I’m very concerned about the manager I’ll be reporting to. I was in the department for most of a day and never saw anyone smile or joke with a colleague; people seemed to be tip-toeing around and trying their best to avoid this person.

The interview included conversations with three other people, one in the same group and the other two are people I’d be interfacing with. None of them would discuss the hiring manager, not a word and the internal guy practically freaked when I asked him what the manager was like to work with.

I know that beggars can’t be choosers, but I’m really concerned. I don’t want to accept and then quit a few months later. I have enough savings to hold out for awhile longer, but have no idea what else might open up.

I remember something you wrote a long time ago that a person can’t be miserable for 8+ hours a day and then come home and be fine.

So, what do you think?

John remembered correctly, 20+ years of experience has proven to me that people aren’t water faucets—they can’t be miserable in half their life, turn off the feelings and be happy in the other half.

Under normal circumstances, including a normal recession, I’d suggest waiting, but there is nothing normal about what is going on.

The great advantage that John has if he decides to accept the offer is that he is knows something is wrong, knows there is fear in the air, knows the hiring manager is the likely source.

Knowing all that, John is in the position of being able to build protective barriers around his psyche before he comes under fire.

He needs to discuss it with his wife and explain to his close family and closest friends; doing so ahead of time alerts them that he may be in very difficult situation and need extra support. It’s important to have the conversations now, not when he’s inside and under attack.

In doing all this, John needs to be very careful not to turn it into a case of assumptions and self-fulfilling prophecy.

In short, John needs to hope and strive for the best, but prepare for the worst.

It’s always best to avoid a toxic boss and to leave one as quickly as possible, but desperate times call for unusual actions and a lot more preparation.

Image credit: eek the cat on flickr