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Gen. George S. Patton On Leadership

Wednesday, March 30th, 2016

377px-Wounded-on_wayto-hospital-RG-208-AA-158-A-015

Gen. George S. Patton, who commanded the US’s 7th Army in Europe and the Mediterranean during World War II, is one of the most loved and respected soldiers in US history.

Patton was tough, irascible, inspiring and considered a guru on the subject of leadership.

After reading a list of brilliant, succinct, one-liners on leadership, taken from the 1995 book “Patton’s One-Minute Messages” by Charles M. Province, I picked seven to share, with appropriate (if sometimes irreverent) commentary.

“No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.” Even if it’s a Herman Miller design, so get up, get out and walk around.

  • “Do everything you ask of those you command.” Especially since no boss does a lot of commanding these days.
  • “No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike.” The only thing that may benefit from hiring yes-people is your ego and that’s only in the very short-term.
  • “Never make a decision too early or too late.” That said, worst of all is no decision at all.
  • “Know what you know, and know what you don’t know.” Now learn to admit it.
  • “Success is how you bounce on the bottom.” I can personally swear to the accuracy of this having bounced several times in my life.
  • “Any man who thinks he’s indispensable, ain’t.” This is my all-time favorite. It’s similar to one my first boss used when a team member got a little too cocky, “Nobody can be duplicated, but anybody can be replaced.”

You can learn a lot from Patton as long as you remember that he was a great leader not because of his skill for soundbites, but because he always walked his talk.

Image credit: National Archives

Ducks in a Row: a Different Role Model

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pochacco20/247245798/

Good bosses work hard to provide a positive culture where their people can learn, grow, make a difference and build a career to be proud of.

Most cast a wide net to find role models and use what they learn to improve their organization.

Sports has provided many of these role models, but most are the tough-talking, in-your-face style that many managers and most workers don’t like.

But Pete Carroll, Coach of the Seattle Seahawks, takes a different approach.

“Football has an old-school mentality: We’re going to grind you into the ground, we’re going to make men out of boys, and when you do something bad, we’re going to demean you. But here, they feel like you guys are already men and we’re going to treat you like men. It’s literally all positive reinforcement.” — Jimmy Graham, all-star tight end

And it’s not a when-times-are-good attitude that falls by the wayside when adversity hits — as it always will.

Even the intercepted pass that cost the Seahawks the Super Bowl last year didn’t rattle or change Carroll’s approach.

In his five years leading the Seahawks, he has made a mark not just by winning games but by reshaping the role of N.F.L. coach. Carroll, 63, has embraced diversity, encouraged free expression, promoted self-discovery and remained relentlessly positive.

Just think what your team could accomplish if you choose to emulate Carroll, instead of the more typical coaches.

Flickr image credit: Mark Lee

Influence, Persuasion and Manipulation

Monday, March 23rd, 2015

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aafromaa/4476152633

Last week I had lunch with four managers, “Larry,” “Mandy,” “Paul” and “Ashish.” At one point the conversation turned to how the ability to influence people affected the ability to lead.

It was a lively conversation, but I stayed on the sidelines; noticing my silence, Ashish asked me what I thought.

Instead of responding I asked all of them what the difference was between influence, persuasion and manipulation.

This provoked another active discussion, with the upshot that while it was acceptable to influence people it was wrong to manipulate them. This time it was Mandy who asked what I thought.

I responded that I didn’t see a lot of difference between the three.

That shocked them all, but really upset Larry.

So I explained my thinking, which formed the basis of this post in 2011.

Influence = Manipulation

Every conversation about leadership talks about ‘influence’ and how to increase yours.

In a post at Forbes, Howard Scharlatt defines influence this way,

Influence is, simply put, the power and ability to personally affect others’ actions, decisions, opinions or thinking. At one level, it is about compliance, about getting someone to go along with what you want them to do.

He goes on to describe three kinds of influencing tactics: logical, emotional and cooperative, or influencing with head, heart and hands and talks about ‘personal influence’ and its importance in persuading people when authority is lacking.

A couple of years ago I wrote The Power of Words and said, “Personally, other than socially acceptable definitions, I don’t see a lot of difference between influence and manipulation,” and I still don’t.

I realize most people consider manipulation negative and influence positive, but they are just words.

I often hear that leaders are good people, while manipulators are bad people. But as I pointed out in another post,

  • leaders are not by definition “good;”
  • they aren’t always positive role models; and
  • one person’s “good” leader is another person’s demon.

Everyone believes they use their influence in a positive way, but when you persuade people to do [whatever] who are you to say that both the short and long-term outcome is positive for them?

Influence, persuasion, manipulation; call it what you will, just remember that it is power and be cautious when you wield it.

In spite of the heated disagreement I saw no reason to change my thinking.

I was surprised at the end of the discussion when even Larry commented that while it made sense that the words didn’t actually signal intent he still didn’t like it and wasn’t about to use them interchangeably, which made sense to me, because language carries the meaning (and the baggage) of the time and place in which it’s used.

Image credit: Anne Adrian

Entrepreneurs: Another Myth-Killing Role Model

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

Belkin

Myth: innovation is the province of the young.

Myth: old companies don’t innovate.

Myth: successful startups IPO.

Myth: billionaire founders live loud.

Oops. Chester Pipkin, founder, chief executive and chairman of Belkin International, blows up all these myths.

Pipkin started his company in the 1980s in his parents garage and the innovation has never stopped — from the earliest days of computing to today’s Internet of things and on to tomorrow.

The company capitalized on the early explosion in personal computing, selling devices that connected computers to printers. Through the years the company has kept pace if not stayed ahead of the changing tech landscape. In 2014, Fast Co. named Belkin one of the 10 most innovative companies specializing in the “Internet of things” thanks to its Wemo line of Internet-connected home accessories.

Belkin is still private, has 1300 employees, a billion in sales and Pipkin keeps a very low profile.

He’s low on ego and high on hands-on philanthropy, as opposed to just writing checks.

Definitely a role model for all times.

Image credit: Belkin

If the Shoe Fits: Is Airbnb a Good Corporate Role Model?

Friday, July 18th, 2014

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

5726760809_bf0bf0f558_mFrom Napster to Uber and Airbnb, I’ve never been partial to startups whose success was based on cheating, AKA, breaking laws.

And the explanation that the law(s) are outmoded, even if true, doesn’t change my opinion.

Airbnb just introduced a new logo that was jumped on in the Twitterscape for its blatant sexual innuendo.

But that pales in comparison to its apparent theft.

 Airbnb’s new logo is an exact copy of the Automation Anywhere logo, as Jay Yarow pointed out on Twitter

Automation-Anywhere

Automation Anywhere started life as Tethys Solutions, LLC in 2003 and rebranded as Automation Anywhere in 2012.

Perhaps Airbnb sees appropriating a logo in the same light as moving into a community and ignoring its laws.

It should be interesting.

And with a client list that includes Cisco, Harley, MasterCard, Coach, Boeing, Oracle, Intel, Virgin and dozens of others, I doubt Automation Anywhere is going to roll over any time soon.

Image credit: HikingArtist

85 Individuals vs. 3.5 Billion People

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

http://www.flickr.com/photos/playerx/6046898628/

There’s been a social media firestorm since Tom Perkins had his say in defense of the so-called 1%.

I asked a retired serial entrepreneur who was funded by KPCB decades ago when the names on the door were actually working partners what he thought.

Tom was reasonably liberal when he was running KP. Many VC’s who had made tons of dough became very conservative as they aged, supporting right wing Republican and Libertarian causes. They seemed to regard it as an insult that the government was trying to take even a tiny smidgeon of their billions in taxes.

I get why Perkins comments incited so much noise, both sincere and politically correct, but the real story a few days earlier didn’t get the play it deserved.

Here’s the headline that should have gotten more attention.

World’s richest 85 people have as much as bottom half the population

This means the world’s poorest 3,550,000,000 (3.55 billion) people must live on what the richest 85 possess.

The statistics are from non-profit Oxfam and are neither political nor partisan—they just are.

Nor are they an indictment of the US, since they are global.

In line with the mantra of “think globally, act locally” what can you do to help change this?

KG Charles-Harris says,

“It’s really action in the little ways that makes a difference.  Not everyone has to do big things, but small things are possible every day with little cost.”

Here are some ideas,

  1. Choose your role models more carefully; Richard Branson, Bill Gates and, more recently Mark Zukerberg are all in the 85%, but they model their lives very differently from Larry Ellison or the Koch Brothers.
  2. Commit to giving one week’s worth of what you normally spend on coffee to a cause you care about.
  3. Do the same with the time you save.

I’ll end by borrowing a line from a 1971 Alka-Seltzer® ad, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

Flickr image credit: playerx

If the Shoe Fits: The Myth of Meritocracy

Friday, August 30th, 2013

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

5726760809_bf0bf0f558_mThose who like to believe that tech is a utopian-like meritocracy need to wake up to reality.

Silicon Valley is indeed a meritocracy for those to whom these criteria are not hurdles. But others—the blacks, women, and Hispanics whom it overlooks—find it an elite private club from which they are excluded. — Vivek Wadhwa (see the entire article series here)

According to Mitch Kapor, who founded Lotus and (for those of you who are too young to remember) sold it to IBM in 1995 for $3.5 billion, the idea that all it takes is hard work and a god product to be a success in the Valley is pure fantasy.

“There’s an admirable belief about the virtues of meritocracy – that the best ideas prove the best results. It’s a wrong and misguided belief by well-intentioned people.”

The idea that merit matters goes further down the drain when you see comments, such as the most recent one from Paul Graham of Y Combinator fame.

One quality that’s a really bad indication is a CEO with a strong foreign accent. I’m not sure why. It could be that there are a bunch of subtle things entrepreneurs have to communicate and can’t if you have a strong accent. Or, it could be that anyone with half a brain would realize you’re going to be more successful if you speak idiomatic English, so they must just be clueless if they haven’t gotten rid of their strong accent. I just know it’s a strong pattern we’ve seen.

Or this comment.

I would be reluctant to start a startup with a woman who had small children, or was likely to have them soon. But you’re not allowed to ask prospective employees if they plan to have kids soon…Whereas when you’re starting a company, you can discriminate on any basis you want about who you start it with.

Kapor now runs Kapor Capital, a for-profit venture firm focused on funding minorities whose ideas are focused on improving opportunities for the poor through education, sees the world very differently.

“We have a responsibility to give people opportunities to do what they can do. It’s a fundamental tenet of democratic society. Libertarians who believe in a completely minimalist state, and don’t feel we have that responsibility, are harming humanity.”

Choosing a role model is a private decision. 

Who will you channel? Mitch Kapor or Paul Graham?

Image credit: HikingArtist

If the Shoe Fits: a Non-typical Role Model

Friday, August 24th, 2012

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

5726760809_bf0bf0f558_mDavid Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, may not have the kind of background you typically look to as a role model.

In this short interview he talks about the attitudes and approaches that worked for him.

I think three of the most important points he makes are in bold with my added commentary.

  • Learn to disagree without being disagreeable: disagreeable refers to much more than hostility, anger and raised voices; it includes, but is not limited to, eye rolls, glares, sniffs, snickers, snarky responses and martyred expressions.
  • Present a problem and your proposed solution together: you need to hear about every difficulty and challenge your team faces, but it’s better to encourage your people to think them through and present possible solutions along with the problem, instead of having them come across like complaints.
  • You are not bigger than the mission: even if you’re the founder. Once other people buy into your vision the mission becomes larger. You are not the sun; decisions should be based on what is best for the mission, whether or not they are best for you.

You’ve probably heard them before, but that doesn’t mean they sank in or that you are practicing them.

I find many younger entrepreneurs tend to write off people like Strickland, because of his age, experience or work; they prefer role models from their peers or with high profiles.

More fools they.


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Entrepreneurs: Role Model Revenue

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daijihirata/3293544324/Last Friday we looked at high profile role models—LinkedIn, Facebook, Zynga and Google.

With the exception of LinkedIn, which developed serious products that sell for serious bucks, they all rely on advertising for revenue generation; even Zynga’s virtual products revenue, which has tanked, is earned from its specialized ads on Facebook.

In March we looked at Angie’s List, also a subscription product.

Monetizing humongous user bases isn’t all that easy.

And it’s getting more difficult.

  • Mobile ads are ignored more than 99% of the time.
  • Privacy laws in other countries are far more onerous than in the US.
  • Much like a slowly awakening Goliath, American’s attitude towards privacy is changing.

I’m no kind of expert, but I think founding a successful company based on ad revenue is going to be a much tougher sell as time goes by.

Even mighty Facebook seems to be following LinkedIn by creating products and even offering gambling outside the US.

Founding a company—wonderful.

Creating something that could change the world—fabulous.

Generating non-ad-based revenue—priceless.

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Flickr image credit: dh

If the Shoe Fits: Role Models

Friday, August 3rd, 2012

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

5726760809_bf0bf0f558_mWho is your role model?

When asked, most Internet entrepreneurs talk about building the next Facebook as opposed to the next LinkedIn.

On the surface that’s not surprising.

Facebook has 900 million active users around the world vs. LinkedIn’s 150 million global users.

Mark Zukerberg is a household name unlike LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman or current CEO Jeff Weiner.

Based on user time on site Facebook, at 6.4 hours a month, kills LinkedIn user’s 18 minutes per month.

Now, take a closer look.

Users add $1.30 revenue to LinkedIn’s coffers for every on-line hour, whereas Facebook generates a whopping 6.2 CENTS for each online hour.

When LinkedIn users started using it for job hunting LinkedIn jumped on the band wagon and created a product called Recruiter that costs as much as $8,200 a year per seat. (Adobe pays for 70 seats—do the math.)

LinkedIn’s top salespeople make as much as $400,000

I can’t find mention of Facebook salespeople.

Facebook’s share price is $29 (IPO price $38; no first day pop), while LinkedIn is $104 (IPO price $45; doubled first day of trading).

Facebook is desperately trying to monetize its users, but there are no products that have emerged as they did for LinkedIn, so all that is left is user data and user actions.

In an effort to boost its advertising revenue Facebook decided to use the names and photos of anyone who clicked a product’s ‘Like’ button to plug that product—referred to as “Sponsored Stories”—and, as usual, did so without notifying users let alone getting permission.

A class-action suite was filed and Facebook lost.

Until now, Facebook users were unaware when and how they were exploited for advertising, and they may not have realized that a click on something as vague as a like button could be used to enrich Facebook, the company.

Facebook settlement update.

And then there is Zynga, whose executives are being investigated for insider trading after selling off 43 million shares a few months before the stock tanked to $3, down 70% from its IPO price.

Zynga executives, including CEO Mark Pincus, CFO David Wehner, COO John Schappert, and general counsel Reginald Davis, as well as many heavy investors, such as Google, Venture Partners, Union Square Ventures, Reid Hoffman and others, all cashed out part of their stock in April, months before the stock cratered on the disappointing earnings report.

Google, under Larry Page’s leadership, is still making excuses for not fixing the privacy complaints in France (Americans have no privacy rights and so can’t complain.)

The French data protection authorities asked Google on Tuesday to examine private information that cars taking pictures for its Street View service collected, after Google acknowledged that it had retained some of the information despite promising to delete it.

You may want to rethink your role models along with your revenue model.

Option Sanity™ provides lasting value.
Come visit
Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation system.  It’s so easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.”
Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

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