Six weeks ago I started Seize Your Leadership Day; each post had info and links to resources or articles I felt would interest/be or use to you.
Based on your reaction to date, it’s been of little use to you—a giant yawn.
So I thought I’d ask you directly, do you like the feature?
If so, is the content I find of use to you or does it need refining?
If not, what would you like to see here on Saturdays?
Please don’t be shy. The worst thing for any blogger is to ask for guidance from readers and not get any. Makes us wonder if anyone is reading.
In the meantime, Here are a couple of goodies for today.
Margaret Heffernan’s two most recent posts (1/6 and 13) are the start of a series and offer smart, real-life examples on dealing with the recession. As Heffernan says,
“Think of recessions as tests. Companies that fail them die. Companies that survive live to fight another day. But a few companies emerge stronger than ever.”
They’re short, with solid lessons and ideas for you to start using immediately.
Another useful reminder for recession managing comes in an 18 month old article in Business Week on the value of failure in achieving success. It’s more important in today’s economy than it was then, because without a safe environment in which to fail there can be no innovation and a company without innovation is a company on the slippery, downward slope to mediocrity—or worse.
I hope they’re of use to you.
Don’t forget to leave your thoughts and preferences for Saturday subjects as requested earlier. If you’d rather send them for privacy, you can reach me at miki@RampUpSolutions.com (please put Leadership Turn in the subject line to avoid filters).
I’ve focused a lot over the last six months on the problems in education and attitudes of the workforce-to-be and it’s been a pretty dismal picture. Obviously, there are plenty of exceptions, but that, too, is problematic.
It’s not just that entrepreneurship attracts the best and brightest, is also attracts a significant percentage of high-initiative students and it’s those with initiative who drive innovation wherever they’re at.
And there lies the problem.
Not because these kids want to solve problems, start businesses and attack the world’s social ills—that’s great. But the MAP that drives these kids is the same MAP that is so desperately needed by today’s corporations.
“”They’re [the Net generation] great collaborators, with friends, online, at work,” Mr. [Don] Tapscott wrote. “They thrive on speed. They love to innovate.” … A report issued last year by the Kauffman Foundation, which finances programs to promote innovation on campuses, noted that more than 5,000 entrepreneurship programs are offered on two- and four-year campuses — up from just 250 courses in 1985…Since 2003, the Kauffman Foundation has given nearly $50 million to 19 colleges and universities to build campus programs.”
We live in a world of impatience; Boomers, contrary to some perceptions, were and are impatient; Gen X is still more impatient and it’s increased by an order of magnitude in Gen Y—and it will continue to increase the faster the world moves and changes.
And, to paraphrase, the world, it is a changin’.
The youngest generation is the most impatient, and that impatience is traveling up.
Yet, it is those with initiative, not just impatience; those with a desire to accomplish, not a sense of entitlement, that companies need to attract if they want to compete and thrive in the new world.
These are the people who can fuel innovation and corporate America’s ability to succeed.
Judy Estrin is amazing. She co-founded seven companies, including Bridge Communications in 1981. Back then I was living in San Francisco, had several friends who worked at Bridge and was fortunate enough to meet her and hear her speak. Like I said, amazing.
But you may not know who Judy is, in spite of her being named one of the 50 most powerful women in American business by Fortune magazine three times.
So here’s your chance. In addition to the Google author’s interview below, there are other several other videos, and an interview by McKinsey here (may require free registration).
Enjoy getting to know Judy, she’s great fun and really smart.
There’s been a lot said (and ranted) over the last couple of decades about the dumbing down of America. Not just kids, but adults, too.
I’m not referring to the expertise each of us has that allows us to do our jobs and generally function, but of the general knowledge of the world in which we live—literature, geography, art, etc.—call it liberal arts, if you will.
Few Americans are multi-lingual, as opposed to Europeans, East Europeans, Russians, Asians, etc., and our knowledge of geography is laughable.
I remember a survey during the Bosnia war and more than half of the respondents didn’t know where Bosnia was or that it, along with the republics of Slovenia, Croatia, and Herzegovina, were part of the old Yugoslavia, with Serbia and Montenegro forming the rest—nor did they seem to care.
For centuries, fighting of one kind or another has gone on almost constantly in the Middle East and, to put it mildly, is still going on and having a major impact on us today.
But most people have only a vague idea where these countries are.
How much do you know? Click the MAP below and see how well you do on arranging the listed countries.
On a general level I had them on the right continent, but don’t think much of my knowledge beyond that.
Does it matter? Does knowledge in liberal arts areas foster more than interesting, late night discussions over a bottle of wine?
What does it mean to be educated in the Twenty-first Century?
My regular readers know that normally Wordless Wednesday is truly wordless, but all good rules have exceptions and flexibility is a virtue.
The video is a great example of how an innovative combination of socially unacceptable food and a culture of exceptional customer care turned a restaurant into a destination and a major hit with people who aren’t intimidated by the food police. Heart Attack Grill here we come! (Good grief, a reason to go to Chandler, Ariz.)
If I had spent the entire year scouring for business quotes to fit this title I probably wouldn’t find as perfect a selection as the ten offered up by Business Week in the Worst Predictions About 2008.
Here are my favorites, which do you like?
The Bad
“I’m not an economist, but I do believe that we’re growing.” —President George W. Bush, July 15, 2008 Nope. GDP shrank at a 0.5% annual rate in the July-September quarter. On Dec. 1, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that a recession had begun in December 2007. (I thought that’s why presidents have advisers, so they didn’t have to be an expert in everything.)
The Worse
“A very powerful and durable rally is in the works. But it may need another couple of days to lift off. Hold the fort and keep the faith!” —Richard Band, editor, Profitable Investing Letter, Mar. 27, 2008 (This is not the guy you want editing your investment advice.)
“I think Bob Steel’s the one guy I trust to turn this bank around, which is why I’ve told you on weakness to buy Wachovia.” —Jim Cramer, CNBC commentator, Sept. 15, 2008 Two weeks later, Wachovia shares lost half their value from Sept. 15 to Dec. 29. nearly failed as depositors fled. CEO Steel eventually agreed to a takeover by Wells Fargo. (Can you imagine who he distrusts?)
The Ugly
“I expect there will be some failures…. I don’t anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large internationally active banks.” —Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, Feb. 28, 2008 In September, Washington Mutual became the largest financial institution in U.S. history to fail. Citigroup needed an even bigger rescue in November. (Come on. If you’re gonna head the Fed you need to prognosticate at least as well as you obfuscate!)
“In today’s regulatory environment, it’s virtually impossible to violate rules.”—Bernard Madoff, money manager, Oct. 20, 2007 On Dec. 11, Madoff was arrested for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that may have cost investors $50 billion. (Unless your name is Bernie and you’ve been doing it for a decade.)
OK, your turn now. Click the link and choose your favorites or supply your own in comments.
A newspaper article 30 years ago talked about the initiation rites of girls who joined gangs. Previously, girls hadn’t been active members of gangs and I remember thinking then that equality was happening in the wrong places.
There was a time when attitudes and actions moved from older to younger.
But it seems that more and more, instead of children learning from their grandparents, the grandparents are adopting the attitudes of the kids and, as with girls in gangs, it’s not the good ones that are moving—it’s the worst.
Entitlement. Instant gratification.
There are thousands who knowingly bought homes they couldn’t afford (as opposed to buying out of financial ignorance and/or mortgage chicanery) because they wanted it now, not in three to five years when they could actually afford it.
When I was young I thought the same way, but there were all kinds of adults who, by example, showed me that that wasn’t the way the world worked.
Now, with these attitudes spread throughout the generations, where are the everyday examples that show a different way? Worse, the examples that are out there are often ridiculed as being out of step with the current world.
I know that some of you reading my Thursday posts wonder what they have to do with leadership, managing and business.
The answer is simple; these are the people who work for and with you; they are the people you hire now and the people you’ll be hiring for decades.
Can you build a successful business or non-profit of any size on attitudes of entitlement and instant gratification?
Any organization with more than one person has a culture.
Ask Google “what is corporate culture” and in less than half a second you’ll have 12,400,000 responses. Read a few and in less than half an hour and you’ll end up with conflicting information and a headache.
As with every other person, pundit or not, I have a definition to offer and some insights, but, hopefully, no headache.
Notice I said ‘group’; culture isn’t limited to the company, it exists at every level as either an active or passive product of that particular manager.
Think of it like multiple sets of nested dolls, each department makes up a nest of dolls from VP though team leader, all fitting into the biggest doll that is the overarching culture of the company.
Ideally, the overall culture sets the guidelines for the subcultures—but that ideal only happens by design.
It’s important never to lose sight of the fact that managers, no matter the level, will interpret the company’s culture through their own MAP—and modify it accordingly. That’s why cultural synergy is so critical when hiring.
Culture is, or should be, important to you, since you’re probably responsible for creating one of those dolls. For that reason, I thought we’d spend the next few Ducks In A Row learning
how to create a culture in both friendly and hostile circumstances;
the what, why and how of IBBs (infrastructure building blocks);
the importance of retaining flexibility so the culture can grow and change with the needs of the organization; and
the differences, pros and cons of active, passive and benign neglect in cultural propagation.
Along the way I’ll answer any questions you have; feel free to email or call me if they’re too sensitive to post in the comments.
I keep files of interesting stuff I read and reorganize them each year; some are deleted, but most hold their value. Today’s choices include some of the oldies.
“People are not machines. They don’t need fixing. Using the “4 A´s” – awareness, acceptance, ask, and acknowledge…”
I highly recommend Front Line Manager. Scott says that he is a “relatively new manager” and he writes from his own experience and efforts. He’s a pleasure to read (I’m a writing snob:) and seems to be overflowing with common sense. My kind of leadager. I especially appreciated Change & Tough Times.
I’ve always stories about entrepreneurs raise my spirits. While I like reading about people who had the guts to go for the gold ring, I find entrepreneurial vision in kids even more inspiring.
“…the inspirational lives of five whiz kids who built million-dollar enterprises before the age of 20…Three are from the U.S., two from the U.K. All started at age 15 or younger–and one before he broke double digits.”
Finally, have you ever seen something that you thought was really cool, but you wouldn’t be caught dead doing it? That’s how I felt (still do) when I first read about having dinner in the sky. Fascinating, but not for a confirmed acrophobite. Besides dinner the company now offers other events, including weddings. I wonder if the idea will weather the current economic storm.
A couple of weeks ago, Steven Pearlstein said, “Their leadership failure was a big part of the story of how we got into this mess…a number of executives have complained that this indictment is both too broad and too harsh. Given what was known at the time and the competitive and legal pressures that come to bear in these situations, they believe their actions and judgments were reasonable.”
“I didn’t know…” is America’s favorite excuse, although it won’t hold up in a court of law; ignorantia legis neminem excusat (ignorance of the law excuses no one) dates back to Roman times.
The operative word is ‘know’ and, unfortunately, there’s a lot of latitude in what one chooses to know.
People don’t know anything that
disagrees with their ideology or world-view;
is presented by the opposition or those with whom they disagree;
conflicts with their personal goals/agenda; or is
inconvenient or annoying.
The irony is that Wall Street’s leaders really didn’t know—for all the above reasons.
If you truly want to lead—yourself, your family, a company or any other organization—than it’s your responsibility to not just listen, but also to hear past all those reasons.
We’ll talk more about how to do this in tomorrow’s Ducks In A Row post.
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,
Six weeks ago I started Seize Your Leadership Day; each post had info and links to resources or articles I felt would interest/be or use to you.
I’ve focused a lot over the last six months on the problems in education and attitudes of the workforce-to-be and it’s been a pretty dismal picture. Obviously, there are plenty of exceptions, but that, too, is problematic.
If I had spent the entire year scouring for business quotes to fit this title I probably wouldn’t find as perfect a selection as the ten offered up by Business Week in the 
A newspaper article 30 years ago talked about the initiation rites of girls who joined gangs. Previously, girls hadn’t been active members of gangs and I remember thinking then that equality was happening in the wrong places.
Any organization with more than one person has a culture.
First up is a terrific article showing why 
A couple of weeks ago, 
