150 years ago Walter Bagehot focus probably wasn’t on entrepreneurs, but that just goes to show that wise thoughts may have multiple applications.
To start with, Bagehot’s take on what work really is should resonate, “The real essence of work is concentrated energy,” especially with entrepreneurs.
“Anyone can start a company” is today’s mantra, but it’s also true that “No great work has ever been produced except after a long interval of still and musing meditation.” Notice that he says, ‘great’.
However, at some point thought needs to become action because, “What impresses men is not mind, but the result of mind.”
Ever wonder why people are willing to put up with 100 hours weeks and financial deprivation to follow a dream? Bagehot sums it up perfectly, “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
A common idea that runs throughout all history it that “One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.”
Long before the advent of focus groups and experts telling entrepreneurs to get out of their office and talk to people Bagehot pinned down the result of not listening to your market, as well as why some people don’t, “The habit of common and continuous speech is a symptom of mental deficiency. It proceeds from not knowing what is going on in other people’s minds.”
Finally, for all of us who truly love what we do, in spite of what other think, “Business is really more agreeable than pleasure; it interests the whole mind … more deeply. But it does not look as if it did.”
What is innovation? Is it really embodied in a good deal playing Farmville on Facebook for hours? I found an excellent definition of innovation in a fascinating article about Bell Labs and Mervin Kelly, who, over the course of 34 years, worked his way up from researcher to chairman of the board (something few people today would consider doing—assuming they could even find a company in which to do it).
By one definition, innovation is an important new product or process, deployed on a large scale and having a significant impact on society and the economy, that can do a job (as Mr. Kelly once put it) “better, or cheaper, or both.”
“On a winter day the ball is cold, which makes the rubber harder, the air in the ball denser, so the ball doesn’t really expand and contract off the bounce,” said Ruben Acosta, 32, a hotel concierge who is known on the court as Superstar. “Boiling the balls gives them back their zing.”
While not all innovation makes money they do make waves. When large-scale corruption is uncovered it receives plenty media coverage, but how to address the endemic petty corruption that millions of people face around the world is a tougher question. In 2010 Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan and Sridar Iyengar started ipaidabribe.com, a site that collects anonymous reports of bribes paid, bribes requested but not paid and requests that were expected but not forthcoming.
Now, similar sites are spreading like kudzu around the globe, vexing petty bureaucrats the world over. Ms. Ramanathan said nongovernmental organizations and government agencies from at least 17 countries had contacted Janaagraha, the nonprofit organization in Bangalore that operates I Paid a Bribe, to ask about obtaining the source code and setting up a site of their own.
On a totally different scale is Tony Hsieh, whose dream is to fix the world by fixing cities, starting with Las Vegas, not as dictator, but as facilitator. According to his friend Sarah Nisperos, “But he wanted all these things based on happiness and merit and how nice you are. I said you shouldn’t build a strip mall, you should be downtown.”
Hsieh’s working through Downtown Project, a company he created with $350 million to spend, to seed technology startups, invest in education and attempt to build a walkable, vibrant downtown.
“You can’t dictate what the neighborhood is going to look like. But you can definitely help support and accelerate people’s dreams and visions,” Hsieh says. “That is really our belief as to what drives our culture. It needs to be organic.”
But never before has it built a citywide system integrating data from some 30 agencies, all under a single roof. It is the handiwork of an I.B.M. unit called Smarter Cities…
Innovation often borrows from the existent to create something new; that process is especially thrilling when something relatively frivolous is used to make something with the potential to truly change the world. Such is what is happening as MMOG expands to MMOC. This is one link to share with everyone you know.
Welcome to the brave new world of Massive Open Online Courses — known as MOOCs — a tool for democratizing higher education.
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
A few weeks ago I had lunch with a potential client to get a feel for his MAP, i.e., management style, cultural vision and underlying beliefs, etc., while “Tony” got to know mine.
Afterwards I told him I didn’t believe we could form a productive relationship, wished him luck with his startup and we went our separate ways.
Yesterday I received an email from him regarding a senior level executive he was anxious to hire.
Tony said that the interviews seemed to go well, but when he made the offer it was turned down.
When he asked why the candidate responded in writing, below is the relevant paragraph.
The company culture can be moderately formal to moderately informal. I care most about professionalism and mutual respect. I do not tolerate a highly politically charged environment where I must spend a lot of time calculating what the impact of a recommendation or observation will have on alliances, potential career tracks and other selfish-focused issues for the people around me. I must be in a place where we are solidly aligned towards a clear set of goals, and those goals are not about personal advancement per-se, they are about people exceeding their own goals in pursuit of the company’s goals (which may shift with market conditions). I need to be in situations where there are bright, optimistic people, who are open to new ideas. There needs to be an environment and culture of accountability, and at the same time, one of try-fast, fail-fast, try again. I need to surround myself with people who are good at not “this is not possible” but rather “this is what needs to happen for this to be possible.”
Tony said he didn’t see anything in the email to account for the turndown and asked if I had any suggestions on what he could do to land the guy.
I’ve only been speechless a few times in my life and this was definitely one of them.
Option Sanity™ reflects culture.
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock process. 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.
Are you curious? Are you creative? Do you jerryrig (innovate) solutions to your own problems? Are you into contests?
If your head’s been going up and down, or even if it hasn’t, do I have a deal for you.
Not me, actually, but dozens of companies in a multitude of fields are looking for you.
They are looking for you and others like you to solve their problems, but they aren’t looking for experts.
According to Karim Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, “The further the problem from the solver’s expertise, the more likely they are to solve it.”
30% of the unsolved problems of science-driven companies posted on InnoCentive were solved by its non-expert network.
InnoCentive posts both the problem and the reward for solving it.
Interested in health?
“Another model combines smaller prizes for promising ideas with big prizes for success. The Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, for example, gives out $100,000 grants for interesting but unusual ideas for solving health problems the foundation sets out: like finding cellphone-based ways to increase vaccination rates, or creating the next generation of sanitation technologies. Entrants need only submit a two-page write-up of an idea. The money finances research, and if a project succeeds, it can win a prize of up to $1 million. Since 2008, the foundation has awarded prizes to 602 researchers in 44 countries.”
You just need to describe your idea—having the skills to make it happen has nothing to do with conceptualizing it.
So click here and start putting your creativity to work now!
“The stakes are high. You’re dealing with volatility. There are often secrets. … You often feel confused, at odds with a least one of your people, out of control.”
Do you ever feel this way when dealing with team members who are at odds?
It’s actually a quote by Richard Simon, editor of The Psychotherapy Networker (article in the NY Times), addressing the extremely high stress of being a couples therapist. (I did change ‘patient’ to ‘people’)
The parallels between couples therapy and managing are amazing—and frightening.
Frightening because too often these days people are making guns their solution of choice, so ignoring stuff may not be the best option.
Even managers with fantastic teams working in great companies with excellent cultures often feel stressed when dealing with the daily squabbles of normal human beings.
Downgrade any of those components and the stress goes up accordingly.
When dealing with the situation and resulting stress you need to recognize is that it’s not unique to you or your organization; it’s normal.
The first thing to do is make sure that you aren’t the source, but if your MAP is contributing to the problem apply whatever corrections are necessary to change that.
The second thing is to recognize that you have little choice but to act as a therapist on occasion, take time to learn a few of the tools and add them to your management skillset.
Because as much as your team and company will benefit from that knowledge, there is no question that you will benefit more.
So very true. I once worked at a company where one of the Vice Presidents took obviously sadistic pleasure in torturing people below him in the company hierarchy.
He even said to me once in private, with a smirk on his face, “I love scaring the hell out of people. Watch how I can make them shake when I threaten their ability to support their family. It feels good to have this much power.”
Adult bullying—particularly in the workplace, where people are often terrified of losing their source of income—is a serious problem and society has to stop ignoring it. You may be “the boss” but that does not give you the right to brutalize and abuse the people who work for you. –Father and Husband, Seattle
This comment is from an NYT op-ed piece on about bullying and Lady Gaga’s official unveiling of her Born This Way Foundation at Harvard.
Sadly, the comment isn’t outlandish or even a recent phenomenon.
A memory dating back to the late Seventies is of a VP whose favorite pastime was forcing the managers under him to run layoffs a few days before Christmas; he really got off on that.
Last year Stanford prof Bob Sutton published Good Boss, Bad Boss about how power makes us focus more on our own needs and wants and less on others, also to act like the rules apply to others and not to us.
Based on new research Sutton has added more material on what he terms “power poisoning” to the recently released paperback version.
“Alas, recent developments suggest that staying in tune with the people you oversee is even more difficult than this book suggests. And the other disturbing effects of wielding power over others are even worse than I thought.”
Worse than Sutton thought? That, indeed, is a scary statement and one that should get your attention.
Bad Bosses are the source of bad cultures; there is absolutely no way to separate them.
Bad cultures are the source of bad results; there is absolutely no way to separate them.
This makes it simple for you to know if you have a case of power poisoning, as well as how severe it is.
Look at the results of your organization, whether team, department, division or company.
Just yours, not in combination with the rest of the company or in light of the economy or any other of the dozens of rationalizations available.
If you can actually do that you are at least half way to being able to counter the poison and reading Good Boss, Bad Boss will actually be worth your time.
That is green as in St Patrick’s Day. Host Dan McCarthy offers up a lot of gold to enjoy with your beer and some little people and shamrocks to enhance your luck. Enjoy them today or save some for your daily commute and anywhere else you been a brief reading break.
Jennifer V. Miller, from The People Equation, gives us 7 Things Employees Want to Know In a Department Reshuffle.
As a leader, have you become blasé about seemingly endless company reorganizations? Your employees haven’t. Read Jennifer Miller’s post to get the low-down on how to get your employees on board with the latest reshuffling of the boxes on the org. chart.” Hint: it starts with the radio station WIIFM….
Jane Perdue, from LeadBIG (new name and design) submits this post by Deb Costello: Just Get Up and Lead.
Deb using a moving story to illustrate that good leaders are a combination of three things; ability, integrity and compassion.
Miki Saxon, from MAPping Company Success gives us this 4 part series: Ducks in a Row: A Serious Downside to Always On.
How important is it that your people disconnect instead of being on 24/7? Is it the boss’s responsibility to make sure that happens? If so, what kind of example do you set?
And if you liked that last post, wait until you read Steve Roesler, from All Things Workplace, with Master the Segue.
Leaders are databases of information. Successful leaders know how to tie that info together and connect the dots for their people. Here’s one really good technique to remember.
Pot ‘O Gold:
Welcome Chery Gegelman, from The Profoundly Simple blog, with her debut Carnival post Diamonds in the rough: How to recognize your star employees, published in SmartBlog on Leadership.
“When I ask executives and hiring managers what their biggest challenge is, at least 90% of the time I get the same answer: “People.” Followed by a quick explanation about how hard it is to find enough qualified and caring people to do the work. So here’s the challenge, if polished gems don’t grow on trees: How and where do you find them?”
Robert Tanner, from Management is a Journey passes along some wise advice from his Grandmother with In 100 Words: When Being Too Smart is the Problem.
Have you ever heard the expression that some people are too smart for their own good? It turns out that there is much truth in this saying and leaders are often the biggest culprits. Sometimes leaders are just “too smart” to effectively lead others.
Rising leadership blogging star Jesse Lyn Stoner, from Jesse Lyn Stoner Blog, gives us Characteristics of an Effective Vision: Create a DRIVING Vision.
What’s the difference between a vague, “pie-in-the-sky” vision and one that steers your team on a daily basis? This post describes the 7 characteristics of a DRIVING vision. It also includes a link to a quick (free) assessment that shows to extent your team is guided by a shared vision and provides advice on how to proceed.
Leprechauns:
A warm welcome to another new blogger Mary Ila Ward, from Horizon Point Consulting, who gives us The Priceless Handwritten Note.
“This blog post discusses importance of leaders writing handwritten notes in order to express to people that they are valued. It highlights instances of where I’ve seen the handwritten note used and its impact as well as recommendations for getting started on writing handwritten notes regularly.”
Mike Henry Sr., from Lead Change Group presents a post from Chad Balthrop, The Remarkable Power of Lists.
Chad Balthrop makes a compelling argument for the value and importance of lists, not as a substitute for leadership, but as a way to clarify vision, purpose and priorities. Lists help us think and communicate and, like the monthly carnival, they help us eliminate the noise and focus on the important.
Green Beer:
Mary Jo Asmus from Mary Jo Asmus, What is the Conversation You Need to Have?
Even leaders sometimes have a hard time knowing how to conceptualize and start a tough conversation. Some tips to get started from Mary Jo Asmus are in this post.
Wayne Turmel w/guest Jay Jamrog from The Cranky Middle Manager Show gives us The top human capital needs of 2012.
What do the people who lead companies worry about when they think about their people? Research says leaders of good companies think a little differently than those just hustling to get by…..
Benjamin McCall from ReThinkHr presents We were not meant to work…
There is no doubt that more of us are feeling the pressure to work and perform. However, we also need to remember why we are truly here! Our sole purpose was not for us to work… We are meant to do more than just that…
And to close out this Green edition of the Leadership Development Carnival, Dan McCarthy from Great Leadership presents the Muppets, with a tearful rendition of “Danny Boy”.
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States; he served from March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841. He is a great example of why your mom told you to dress warmly when it was cold and experts warn against being too long-winded. Harrison listened to neither bits of wisdom. His inaugural speech was nearly two hours long, in fact, the first sentence alone was 100 words, in spite of Daniel Webster’s editing it for length. (Can you imagine it before editing?) Wearing neither coat nor hat Harrison gave the speech on a cold, wet day, caught pneumonia and died a month later.
“I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free.” The same can be said of companies.
I’m sure the 1% and 1% wannabes will argue this, “All the measures of the Government are directed to the purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.” I’m also not sure if it’s intentional or unhappy coincidence.
Although I agree with Harrison’s statement, “There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power,” but I don’t think the power has to be unlimited. However, whatever limiting factors exist must pay attention and be willing to get involved. Join me Wednesday for a look at what happens when they aren’t engaged.
Have you ever wondered what people will make of the first Twitter messages in 30 years? Will there be another wave of technological change that makes that world radically different from today?
Long before Twitter and social media there was Usenet; a communal meeting place for scientists, developers, hackers and other early adopters.
Along with the more mundane Usenet was the place of firsts, including some of the most amazing technological announcements of the last 30 years.
For $ 1,565 you get a keyboard and logic unit with 16K RAM and a Basic interpreter in 40K ROM. A cassette interface is built in, I think; but no diskette or monitor at this price — you use your TV set. … A “business configuration” with 64K, dual diskettes, printer, and “color graphics” goes for about $ 4,500.
Among the many ‘firsts’ are some that boggle the mind.
In 1991 there were two that forever changed our world.
WorldWideWeb – Executive Summary: The WWW project merges the techniques of information retrieval and hypertext to make an easy but powerful global information system.
“I’m working on a free version of a minix-lookalike for AT-386 computers. It has finally reached the stage where it’s even usable (though may not be depending on what you want), and I am willing to put out the sources for wider distribution.”
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
Over the past few days we’ve been discussing the importance of disconnecting, the destructive force of 24/7 work and what drives people to do it.
People who found companies do so because they have a vision; they recognize a need as well as a way to fill it.
The real work comes between recognition and fulfillment—sharing and evangelizing the vision, building a framework within which the vision can become reality and then sharing the reality with the world at large.
The middle step, the framework, is what differentiates short-term success from long-term.
The middle step requires a cultural vision that also needs to be shared and evangelized.
There is much truth in the analogy that startups are like children and, like parents, founders need to decide ahead of time the value system they want their child to absorb.
As founder you have a far-reaching choice to make; far-reaching because it will affect your company for years to come and determine if your child is
respectful and values the people in and around it; or
a spoiled brat that sees the world only in terms of mememememememe.
Option Sanity™ is values-based.
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock process; 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.
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,
150 years ago Walter Bagehot focus probably wasn’t on entrepreneurs, but that just goes to show that wise thoughts may have multiple applications.
What is innovation? Is it really embodied in a good deal playing Farmville on Facebook for hours? I found an excellent 
A few weeks ago I had lunch with a potential client to get a feel for his 
Are you curious? Are you creative? Do you jerryrig (innovate) solutions to your own problems? Are you into contests?
Do you ever feel this way when dealing with team members who are at odds?
This comment is from an NYT op-ed piece on about bullying and Lady Gaga’s official unveiling of her 
That is green as in St Patrick’s Day. Host Dan McCarthy offers up a lot of gold to enjoy with your beer and some little people and shamrocks to enhance your luck. Enjoy them today or save some for your daily commute and anywhere else you been a brief reading break.
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States; he served from March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841. He is a great example of why your mom told you to dress warmly when it was cold and experts warn against being too long-winded. Harrison listened to neither bits of wisdom. His inaugural speech was nearly two hours long, in fact, the first sentence alone was 100 words, in spite of Daniel Webster’s editing it for length. (Can you imagine it before editing?) Wearing neither coat nor hat Harrison gave the speech on a cold, wet day, caught pneumonia and died a month later.
