I have often heard managers refer to their job as “herding cats;” this is especially true in technical fields where much of the work requires individual efforts.
Scientists are probably the most difficult, since they often come from an environment where publish or perish is the mantra and egos are super-sized.
This was the difficulty that David Ferrucci faced when he set about building the team that created Watson for IBM. He not only had to herd cats he had to hire cats.
As most of the world knows, Ferrucci’s team was wildly successful and created a computer that won playing Jeopardy against its two top past champions and is moving on to far greater challenges.
He says, “In the end, the hero was the team, not any individual member or algorithm.”
What do the researchers think? This comment from one of them pretty much says it all, “Compared to the way we work now, it’s like we were standing still before.”
These scientists are all considered ‘stars’ in their respective fields, but none of them could do anything close to Watson on their own.
Nor could they have done it if their egos and desire for personal recognition had stayed their driving force.
“As for the members of the original Watson team, they’d tell you that never in a million years could they have imagined what we accomplished. Just like Watson itself, we all learned that the sum is much greater than the parts.”
Hiring and herding cats is the true talent of a great manager/leader and absolute proof that in today’s world the boss needs to be both.
And Watson is proof positive that the only stars worth having are the ones who join the team.
“It’s all about sales. I’ve never seen an entrepreneur who wasn’t a salesman. I always feel like, with an entrepreneur, it’s not just about convincing someone to come in but it’s really about getting them to see life the way you see it through your eyes.” —Barbara Corcoran, Shark Tank
Corcoran is right, but it isn’t just entrepreneurs; it applies to everyone.
“See it through your eyes.”
Isn’t that what everyone wants?
From convincing investors to give you their money to selling yourself to a potential boss (or selling the company to a candidate), to making the case to your boss for a new piece of equipment to deciding what movie to see, it’s all sales.
Persuade, influence, blandishment, brainwash, cajole, con, conversion, enticement, exhortation, force, induce, inveigle, sweet talk, wheedle, preach, manipulate—call it what you will it’s still sales.
Folks do tend to get upset when “negative” words—manipulate, brainwash, con—are included in a discussion of sales, but then, there are people who think ‘sales’ is a negative action.
Which is ridiculous.
Without all the myriad ways we sell every day not only commerce, but religion, relationships and most of life would grind to a halt.
The actions that are termed sales or any of its synonyms aren’t good or bad; as with any tool it is how you choose to use it that defines whether it’s positive or negative.
Or, to paraphrase, sell to others how and what you would want sold to yourself.
Whoever came up with this one is a genius. “A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”
With his usual wisdom, Mark Twain reminds us that resolutions are necessary to keep the Department of Transportation running smoothly (and in this economy that’s very important). “New Year’s Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”—
I’ve never understood why people would even consider starting their resolutions January first. That’s definitely setting yourself up to fail and Helen Fielding agrees with me, “I do think New Year’s resolutions can’t technically be expected to begin on New Year’s Day, don’t you? Since, because it’s an extension of New Year’s Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year’s Day isn’t a good idea as you can’t eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second” Note, the second only works if it’s not a holiday as it was this year.
Food, or more likely food abstinence, plays a role in probably 90% of resolutions, but is it really necessary? Perhaps Jay Leno has a point—or at least a great rationalization—“Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution.”
But if you really want to lose weight here’s some popular wisdom with which you can’t go wrong, “People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas”
I’d like to offer you my New Year’s wishes in the words of Joey Adams, “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.”
Finally, do read the links in the first paragraph; they’ll help make 2012 a banner year for you!
There’s a lot of talk about “thought leaders,” but it seems that a lot of what is presented as new are old ideas redressed in current language.
That’s not always bad, because there is an enormous amount of classic management and leadership information that works but is ignored because it sounds old-fashioned.
Sure, not all were original and some was based on common worker wisdom, but presented in this forum won it more credibility than it probably had—after all, if management listened to workers they wouldn’t need nearly as many consultants.
I hope you’ll bookmark the site, share it with your network, contribute yourself and treat it as the resource it is. The search function works well, so dig in, tweak as needed and put the ideas and approaches you find to work in your organization.
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
I met an interesting guy over the holiday.
“Chris” has a small startup in the financial services sector and is starting to gain traction.
He said it’s been an uphill battle and that he wishes he had spent the same energy doing something “socially responsible,” because it would be a lot more satisfying.
I’ve heard similar comments from other entrepreneurs and small biz owners.
Happily, this is one of those times it is possible to “have it all,” because all it takes is changing the way you look at the world.
Having a socially responsible business doesn’t require a focus on solving social ills and it certainly doesn’t mean forgoing profit—without profit your business won’t be around.
It does mean running your business in a responsible manner
pricing fairly, passing on savings whenever possible and never gouging
fair wages and other compensation
fair employee treatment (not playing favorites, etc.)
reducing your carbon footprint
community involvement and contributing whenever possible; and
None of this is rocket science and all of it makes good, profitable, business sense.
In fact, Chris and others who feel the pull to help fix the world would do well to read Richard Branson’s Screw Business As Usual to see how others are ‘doing well by doing good’.
Note: the unseen pause is between ‘screw’ and ‘business’, not between ‘business’ and ‘as’,
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I read an article on naming a company or product, but it is the need to REname it that I want to focus on today.
Not when, why or what to rename it, but the founder resistance to doing so.
I work with both foreign and US entrepreneurs and although I’m not any kind of naming expert I’m often asked what I think of the product or company name (often one-in-the-same).
As a good wordsmith, I can spot many of the obvious problems described in the article, especially those that center on meaning, sound, spelling, etc. (I have no knowledge of legal stuff, other than knowing that domain availability is not sufficient.)
The resistance to any suggestion of name change is almost laughable—not just resistance, but umbrage—about the same reaction you would get if you comment unfavorably on a child’s name.
Yes, startups are often compared to babies and references to founders giving birth are common and no where is that more obvious than when discussing the name.
Falling in love with anything in your company, let alone a name, is never a wise move, since responding to your market is a big chunk of your success.
But strange as it seems, founders are more willing to pivot than they are to change a product name.
As hiring has picked up I’m getting the same questions from a variety of managers at different levels and in different industries.
Boiled down they all want to know if there is a way to avoid bad hires, i.e., the ones that happen in spite of a rigorous interviewing process.
The answer is yes and I’ve written about them at various times over the years; rather than compose yet another post discussing them I thought I would just link back to them (getting lazy in my old blogging age).
The most persistent reason for bad hires is unconscious.
On the flip side, attractiveness, which we are actually hard wired to prefer, is the biggest reason for missing good hires. But that, too, is preventable.
There are additional links and trackbacks in each post that you will find useful.
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As I said New Year’s Day, I’m looking for guests who want to share their own experiences whether as a boss or a worker. Areas of interest are culture, management, motivation, people acquisition and retention and startups in all their gory glory.
And if you always wanted to draw a comic based on your experiences in the workplace, but aren’t much of an artist, give me call at 360.335.8054 or write me; I care more about your sense of humor, irony and irreverence than your drawing skill!
Creativity. Thinking outside the box. Innovation. Whatever you call it, idea generation often starts with a brainstorming session and too often goes no where.
McKinsey alumni Kevin P. Coyne and Shawn T. Coyne offer a seven point guide that will make your efforts much more productive.
Know your organization’s decision-making criteria.
Ask the right questions
Choose the right people
Divide and conquer
On your mark, get set, go!
Wrap it up
Follow up quickly
Sounds like common sense, right? But you’ll see from the explanations how habit, misconceptions and politics often undermine these efforts.
And remember, while the first six points assure you of a productive effort this time, ignoring number seven will cripple not only this time, but all your next-times, too.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
I have often heard managers refer to their job as “herding cats;” this is especially true in technical fields where much of the work requires individual efforts.
When writing on a repeat subject, such as New Year’s resolutions, I check my archives in an effort not to repeat myself. I’ve offered advice on 
There’s a lot of talk about “thought leaders,” but it seems that a lot of what is presented as new are old ideas redressed in current language.
I met an interesting guy over the holiday.
I read an article on 
As hiring has picked up I’m getting the same questions from a variety of managers at different levels and in different industries.
