See all mY generation posts here.

Unlike many people I like slow. I don’t like my days jamb-packed, I don’t over-book myself and am very good at saying no when necessary. I enjoy conversation and have found that real communications can’t be rushed.

In short, I believe as Gandhi did when he said, “There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.”

Computers have sped everything up, but as common wisdom says, “All computers wait at the same speed.”

I also chuckle at David Ferrier’s view of the technology, “Computer: a million morons working at the speed of light.”

Two thoughts from Edward R. Murrow are worth sharing. The first is, “The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it.”

Sadly, the old problem is often solved as it always has been, by saying whatever comes to mind without consideration for its clarity or even its veracity. Murrow had something to say about that, too, “The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.”

Isaac Asimov said “I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander,” but that’s only true for those who take the time to actually listen. These days most folks are so busy multitasking that I doubt they listen with more than 20% of their mind.

Finally, listen and take heed of a very wise woman (not me).

Maya Angelou said, “Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence–neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish–it is an imponderably valuable gift.”

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikerslanefarm/3226088712/

People make the world go round. Love ’em or hate ’em they are the only thing that truly keeps boredom at bay. However, we’re not all fascinated by the same ones. Personally, I require more substance to fuel my interest than is usually offered by most of the glitterati and sports figures that many people follow; here are a few that I’ve enjoyed recently.

I always find salaries and those who receive them interesting and this synopsis of a Wall Street Journal article and the article itself (links in the synopsis) fill the bill. I especially chuckled when I saw that Steve Jobs would have made more holding his underwater options than he did with the restricted stock that replaced them; he also wouldn’t have gotten into a backdating bind.

Of all the articles written about Tony Hayward, my favorite was Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s guide to Hayward’s leadership skills. To wit: “deny and minimize problems; emphasize your own power and importance; make the story all about you; never apologize, and don’t even pretend to learn from your mistakes; and hang onto your job even when it’s clear you should go.” Although many executives practice one or more of these traits, the list seems a better fit for 99.9% of politicians past, present and, probably, future.

Next is an absorbing article about Alex Bogusky, the whiz of Madison Avenue—or he was. The guy responsible for Burger King’s success and Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” campaign quit. Not uncommon, but Bogusky not only left the industry and turned his considerable talents to making a kind of peaceful war on it.

Finally, the story of socialite Judith Peabody—a truly remarkable woman. Remarkable not just for the money she raised, but for her courage in the face of a disease that terrified a nation—AIDS. 30 years ago when even much of the medical profession refused to touch an AIDS patient, Judith Peabody spent hours visiting patients offering hugs and encouragement.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedroelcarvalho/2812091311/

Last week I again attended the AlwaysOn 2010 Summit at Stanford, held at Stanford University in California.  It was a beautiful setting with people from all parts of the technology ecosystem—from very large companies such as Hewlett Packard to small 2 person startups, banks, venture capitalists, angel investors and consultants.

One of the most interesting takeaways from the conference was the very different views that people had on how the venture capital industry was developing in the present environment.  On the one hand, there were strong assertions that the VC industry was in good health and that there was a lot of money looking for investment.  Most of the VCs I encountered asserted that they were very much interested in early stage investments and that they provided a unique service to founders and early stage management.

However, this was in stark contrast to the intense frustration many startups were expressing when describing their hunt for capital.  They felt that VCs were far from interested in early stage investments and were mostly focused on follow-on investments in portfolio companies or syndicated deals.  Some (probably about 70% of the people with whom I spoke), who had received investments felt that the VCs were often a distraction on the Board and either were micromanaging or otherwise not helpful.  Yet these founders and executives have little choice but to continue to seek venture money to fund their growth.

Could these developments be due to the fact that many of those running the largest firms are no longer the seasoned operating managers that brought forth the storied companies of old, like Apple, Cisco, Fairchild Semiconductor, Silicon Graphics, etc.?  Many have the impression that the generation of VCs that joined when the names on the door wanted to kick back are simply bankers; portfolio managers unable to take risk or understand a vision.

The industry has always been prone to “herd mentality,” where a lot of VC firms invest in similar startups; as was blatantly obvious during the dot com debacle.

A preference for financial manipulation and unwillingness to take risks combined with a lack of operating experience and little vision could signal a death knell for the kind of leaps that created high tech in the first place.

The upside is found in younger VCs and angels; men and women who founded or worked in startups and are putting their money where their mouth is to help create the next wave.

The question is there enough of them or will it be a case of too little too late?

KG Charles-Harris is CEO of Emanio and a special contributor to MAPping Company Success.

I used to have a really cool purple neon frame for my rear license plate; then I moved and was stopped by a cop because they aren’t legal where I now live. I choked when he said the fine was $150 and explained that I had just moved and didn’t know it was illegal. He reminded me that ‘I didn’t know’ didn’t matter, but let me off with a warning (the frame came off that night).

Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat (Latin for “ignorance of the law does not excuse” or “ignorance of the law excuses no one”) is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its content.

I was reminded of this when I read that those growing up in the digital age may not realize that appropriating words and skipping attribution is stealing.

“Now we have a whole generation of students who’ve grown up with information that just seems to be hanging out there in cyberspace and doesn’t seem to have an author,” said Teresa Fishman, director of the Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University. “It’s possible to believe this information is just out there for anyone to take.”

And that reminded me of my days in an office and the guy who ate whatever was in the fridge that appealed to him—even when it had a name on it. When confronted, he said he would have asked, but didn’t know whose it was or didn’t notice the name.

He obviously knew it belonged to someone, unless he believed in a refrigerator fairy, but he was hungry and that trumped all.

The words in cyberspace, especially the ones worth copying, like the food in the fridge, didn’t get there on their own and there sure as hell isn’t an Internet fairy.

Anyone who copies or downloads from the Internet knows the material didn’t magically appear—that is if they bother thinking about it at all.

And it isn’t just those in school, I came across a white paper on a business site and was flabbergasted to see whole sections lifted from this blog and twisted to fit the authors premise.

Needless to say, I was not amused.

Jen T. Verbumessor said, “Imitation is the highest form of pissing me off.  Quit stealing my content and violating my copyright.”

We who write work hard; those who copy sans permission or attribution are thieves and ignorance doesn’t change that.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3020966500/

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/backpackphotography/1133613942/

Most people hear ‘Triple A’ and assume that it is the best something can be, but it depends on what “A” stands for.

In this case they stand for anger, aggression and apathy.

Most managers create AAA cultures by accident and there are those who’s standard management style fosters it, but unintentional or not, the result is the same.

This post isn’t about those who intentionally rely on AAA culture to run their organization, they are destroyers (you can learn more about them here and here, although this one can also be unintentional) and the best thing people who work for them can do is leave.

But for the unintentional it works like this.

• Something happens that makes you angry; it may not even be work related but you are angry.

• Whether simmering or roiling, it drives you to act out with some kind of aggression making you short-tempered and abrupt or it can show as impatience, sarcasm, contempt, disgust, obnoxiousness, etc.

• When your management style becomes erratic the team becomes unsure on how to interact, not just with you, but with each other. Since people don’t know what will set someone off they start keeping their head down and getting the hell out there, breathing a sign of relief if they made it through the day safely.

As time goes by the trepidation settles into apathy—a Triple A culture has formed.

As to the cure, that should be apparent from the cause.

Please join me next Tuesday to see why RAT culture is so great, not to mention a lot more fun and profitable to build.

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

This month’s Carnival is hosted by Jason Seiden at Fail Spectacularly. It’s a packed Carnival today, so I’ll skip the commentary, except to say that you’ll find the ‘Plus’ at the end of the Carnival. Be sure to scroll down.

leadership

Mike Henry Sr. presents Biased Justification for Poor Leadership posted at Lead Change Group Blog, saying, “Response to some advice given in Entrepreneur Magazine suggesting that business leaders should be ‘benevolent tyrants.’”

Wally Bock presents Be the boss, but don’t be a jerk. posted at Three Star Leadership Blog, saying, “George Cloutier’s recent article in Entrepreneur was seriously silly, but it stimulated some good conversation about what a boss’s job is.”
JS: A great follow up piece to Mike’s article that includes a wonderfully illustrative anecdote about a young lieutenant that I’d personally like to see read to every graduating MBA class.

Mark Stelzner gives us The Art of Saying No at Inflexion Advisors.

Dan McCarthy presents Defensive Driving for Leaders: Watch Out for Your Blind Spots over at Great Leadership by Dan.
JS: Interestingly, I’ve never had a coachee disagree when I’ve told them they have a strength hidden in their blind spots…

Art Petty presents The Triple Threat to Good Decisions: Data, Time and Emotion posted at Management Excellence.

Meg Bear presents Picking and Delivering a Winner on the Talented Apps blog. This post focuses on what defines a winner, and the drivers that create one.

Sonia Di Maulo presents How to Give Negative Feedback Effectively at Ready to Feedback.

Tanveer Naseer presents 4 Questions To Help Your Team Keep Their Focus posted at TanveerNaseer.com, saying, “Article looks at four questions leaders can ask to determine whether their team is focused on the right tasks that will help them reach their objectives.”

Tanmay Vora presents 5 Ways To Build Trust (Lessons from a Conversation) posted at QAspire – Quality, Management, Leadership & Life!, saying, “How does a new leader build trust? 5 Lessons from a conversation with a friend who was about to join in a new leadership position.”

From Germane Insights, we get Leading Change: Lessons from the Sandbox. “Grab your beach blanket and don’t forget the sunscreen. We’ll be going to the beach for a live case study on mandated versus inspired change. While we’re there, we’ll also learn how to gain access to old boys network.”
JS: A surprisingly clear example of how to break down the barriers between groups—without any outside intervention at all.

Kevin W. Grossman presents Lead small. Think big. And be of self-aware endurance. posted at Leaders. Better. Brighter.™ The Glowan Consulting Group L3 Blog.
JS: I see I’m not the only one combining leadership and running…

Jane Perdue presents Got Influence? at Life, Love & Leadership. Jane took off her Fortune 100 HR VP hat and now loves life, helping folks to manage with their head and lead with their heart.

Guy Farmer presents Five Ways to Be a Better Leader posted at Guy Farmer – Unconventional Coaching and Training, saying, “Practical tips to become a better leader.”

Bret L. Simmons presents Leadership Is A Journey | Bret L. Simmons – Positive Organizational Behavior posted at Bret L. Simmons.

Dominic Rajesh presents The Leader’s “Mastery” Journey…. posted at Dom’s Blog ….

Kevin Eikenberry presents Six Ways to Respond Rather than React posted at Leadership and Learning with Kevin Eikenberry.

Shamelle presents The One Minute Manager: Highlights From The Book posted at Enhance Life. An overview of the book that validates the 1-minute concept.

Laura Schroeder presents Are High Performers the Worst Managers? posted at Working Girl.
JS: The path from individual contributor to manager is not as linear as org charts make it seem.

Taylor Coburn presents 3 Reasons for Confidence | Motivia posted at Motivia.

Jose Anajero presents Fame ? Is it Wrong to Desire to be Famous? posted at Real Life Success.

Michael Cardus presents a downloadable communication exercise for teams called Communicate This and Stick it here. More information at Create-Learning Team Building & Leadership Blog.

Graham Stoney presents Communication, Public Speaking, and Leadership Skills Development at Toastmasters | Communication posted at Graham Stoney’s Personal Development Adventure, highlighting the importance of communication in leadership skills development and the opportunities available at Toastmasters.

Daniel M. Wood presents The Key To Success; Confidence posted at Looking to Business, saying, “Earn the respect of your coworkers and employees by showing your confidence.”

management

Andy Klein presents Empowerment allows management to prepare for the unexpected posted at Fortune Group Blog, saying, “Management can prepare for all sorts of scenarios and implement protocols on how employees should respond, but most situations are unpredictable. So how do you deal with those? You put trust in your people and empower them to make decisions in the moment.”

Adi Gaskell presents Do looks matter in recruitment? | Chartered Management Institute posted at The Management Blog, saying, “A new study has revealed interesting insights into how looks influence the recruitment process.”
JS: This subject may not be polite to talk about, but it does impact you, and it pays to get smart about it.

Erik Samdahl presents We Need to Talk – i4cp posted at Productivity Blog, saying, “A researcher’s perspective on internal communication.”

Alice Snell presents Six Engaging Talent Practices posted at Taleo Blog – Talent Management Solutions.

Nick McCormick presents Get Hard Results Through Soft Skills posted at Joe and Wanda – on Management, saying, “In this ten minute Management Tips Podcast, Susan Cramm, president of Valuedance, talks about how to build a coalition of support in order to achieve results”

Sig presents Timing is Everything! Or is it?? posted at Zen and Mountain Biking, saying, “Manage your decision to get things done”

William Matthies presents Business Caution posted at Business Wisdom: Words to Manage By, saying, “Knowing when not to, is at least if not more important than knowing when to.”

executive development

Mike Myatt presents Identifying Leaders | N2Growth Blog posted at N2 Growth Blog, saying, “I hope you enjoy this post…”

other leadershipy stuff

Benjamin McCall shows What you NEED to be an effective trainer at Rethink HR

SpiKe presents Newspapers And The Forgotten Art Of Being Informed — Part-Time Wage Slave posted at Part-Time Wage Slave.

Chris Young presents Three Reasons Why Small Companies Do Not Use Pre-Employment Personality Assessments posted at Maximize Possibility Blog.

Plus

The plus is Becky Robinson’s July Roundup at LeaderTalk all about leaders and communications.

First, from Tanmay Vora, “Connecting, Building Relationships and Team Success,” gives leaders tips about how to communicate well and connect others in relationships.

It’s important to make communication clear and understandable –the first time. Miki Saxon tells you how in this post: “Clarifying Communication.”

Wally Bock has some great ideas for bosses in this post “Conversation: A Key Supervisory Tool.”

Listening is an important skill for leaders. Be sure to read all three of these posts from Mary Jo Asmus for some ideas about how to improve your listening skills.

We have weak relationships, according to Randy Seitz, because we don’t communicate well. This great post gives some ideas about how to cultivate quality communication.

Improve your ability to communicate by removing these communication blockers, Dan Rockwell says in this post.

Social media provides a great platform for leaders to communicate with others, leveraging influence. Read more in this post from Griff Wigley.

Image credit: Great Leadership

See all mY generation posts here.

A note from your editor: Today’s post is bittersweet, since it’s pulled from real life. Three days ago Jim Gordon’s phone died. No date has been set for the funeral because Jim is prostrate with grief. I know you’ll join with me in offering Jim sympathy and assuring him that he will soon be wired again.

I love words. Words are why you visit and how we get to know each other.

There are hundreds of quotes about words and writers, so I picked a few of that would give you more insight into moi.

The first thing you need to understand is that, for me at least, writing is easy; as Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith said, “There’s nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.”

My goal has always been the same—to effortlessly pleasure my readers, but, as Nathaniel Hawthorne points out, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug,” and I dearly love a good lightening storm.

Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The wastebasket is a writer’s best friend,” but today the delete key is for most of us, although not all.

I often get asked why I keep writing when I get so little feedback from my readers and I can do no better than quote E.L. Doctorow to explain, “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”

Finally, for all those who think that I and my fellow writers, past and present work hard just to supply you with great words, sans footnotes or attribution, with which to dazzle your professors, bosses and friends take heed of the words of Jen T. Verbumessor, “Imitation is the highest form of pissing me off.  Quit stealing my content and violating my copyright.”

Hat tip to the Quote Garden for making my search so simple.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enochprattlibrary/4266345242/