Ryan Grepper’s Coolest is proof that necessity is the father of invention.

Not that his invention is a necessity and it won’t save the world or even a little bit of it, but it will make your summer fun easier.

The original galvanized metal cooler was patented in 1954.

Coleman introduced a plastic liner in 1957 and wheels were added a couple of decades later.

But nothing, including the fancy electric versions, even comes close to Grepper’s Coolest.

There are far more moving parts to manufacturing a complicated product such as Coolest, which Grepper seems to understand.

It’s also nice to see a “real” product from a twenty-something that while focused on fun will generate revenue through sales, not ads.

Obviously, others agree. Coolest has raised over $5.5 million dollars from more than 29,000 people—and the campaign still has 42 days to run.

Coolest is definitely a global business in the making.

I’m sure it won’t be long before he will have to choose between building a company and selling or licensing his technology.

What would you do?

Image credit: Coolest on Kickstarter

The word “leader” is all over the news; media loves talking about individual “leaders.” Executives and people in positions of power have worked hard for decades to perpetuate the myth that leaders are magical and larger-than-life; special, unique, irreplaceable and, above all, can’t be duplicated. But that emperor has no clothes, according to HBS Assistant Professor Gautam Mukunda, who, in his new book, Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, kicks large holes in the myth that individual leaders really make a difference. (Book excerpt)

The result was his Leader Filtration Theory, or LFT, which states that a leader’s impact can be predicted by his or her career. The more unfiltered the leader, the larger the prospect of big impact. The more a leader has relevant experience, the less chance of high impact.

No where is the talk of “leaders” greater than in the political arena, especially during a Presidential election. An opinion piece focused on whether being gregarious is a requirement of leadership.

Culturally, we tend to associate leadership with extroversion and attach less importance to judgment, vision and mettle. We prize leaders who are eager talkers over those who have something to say.

The commentary reminded me of an excellent article last year by Douglas R. Conant, retired Campbell Soup CEO, on why introverted (as defined by Meyers-Briggs) bosses are just as capable and actually may have an edge.

As an introvert, I enjoy being by myself. I sometimes feel drained if I have to be in front of large groups of people I don’t know. After I’ve been in a social situation — including a long day at work — I need quiet time to be alone with my thoughts and recharge.

One way so-called leaders, (I prefer the more neutral term ‘boss’) can make a difference is found in how they treat people; one trait they all have in common is their approachability and engagement with everybody, not just their senior staff.

68 year-old Mickey Drexler, CEO of J. Crew, is and a well known face in all aspects and locations of the company—with employees and customers.

He visits every office, store and distribution center, and makes an effort to meet every new employee, although he’s always Mickey, not Mr. Drexler. (…) He’s been known to personally respond to a letter from a shopper who has a problem or a suggestion.

That involvement and initiative encouragement isn’t age-related. Thirty-something Ben Lerer, co-founder and C.E.O. of the Thrillist Media Group, encourages the same kind of action from his people through the culture he built.

One thing that we preach at work all day long is “don’t hope.” What that means is don’t wait for somebody to do something for you. Don’t do something 90 percent well and hope that it’ll slide through. Don’t rely on luck. You have to make your own luck. The only thing you can do is try your absolute best to do the right thing.

Finally, for those of you who want more on leadership checkout the information and interviews available at McKinsey’s Leading in the 21st century (free registration required).

In today’s volatile environment, leaders of global organizations must master a slate of challenges unseen in business history. In this feature, McKinsey talks with seven leaders and Wharton professor Michael Useem about the new fundamentals of leading in the 21st century.

Flickr image credit: pedroelcarvalho

One of the most common complaints I hear about from workers, both new and those who have been around for a while, is the lack of respect from colleagues, subordinates and bosses.

One of the most common complaints I hear from bosses, and not just new ones, is about the lack of respect from colleagues, bosses and staff.

The common theme that runs through most of these conversations is that “they” should respect me (for being me), but “they” need to earn my respect.

At first glance this looks like one of those chicken/egg questions, but it’s not.

While I’m the first to say that people need to earn respect, I’d rather frame this discussion as one of initiative (or leadership, if you prefer).

Since most people tend to mirror those around them if you take initiative and show respect you will be shown respect in return.

If you show disrespect you should expect to receive the same.

If you show neither until you see what the other person does expect neither, which usually feels like disrespect.

And in case you’re assuming a Golden Rule mentality don’t; what I’m recommending is the application of Carl Sagan’s Tit-for-Tat Rule.

Flickr image credit: Dave Gough

Are you familiar with the saying “let the punishment fit the crime?”

It’s a valid approach, but it’s just as true that the reward should fit the action.

A friend of mine works for a Fortune 1000 company in a tech support role. He’s well respected lead tech in his group.

Last year he developed an idea on his own time and gave it to his company.

As a result, he was flown to annual dinner and presented with an award and a $5000 bonus.

Sound impressive?

His idea will save his company $5 million or more each year.

Still impressed?

My friend isn’t.

He has a friend who is very impressed, but that’s because his company doe nothing; no recognition whatsoever.

My friend feels that a $5K reward for saving the company $5M or more every year, while being better than nothing, is still just short of an insult.

Other than being disappointed what’s the fallout?

He likes his job and his boss, so he’s not planning on leaving, but…

He has another idea that he’s not going to bother developing.

He’s still one of the most productive people they have, but that extra edge is gone.

What do you think his employer should have done?

Join me tomorrow for another look at how, to quote another old saying, companies keep cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

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Guilt is a positive force or at least it can be as long as it is the right kind.

First, some background.

When people mess up they have one of two reactions, guilt or shame.

What is important to understand is that they neither the same nor is one the flip side of the other.

Whereas someone who feels guilty feels bad about a specific mistake and wants to make amends, a person who’s ashamed of a mistake feels bad about himself or herself and shrinks away from the error.

In other words, guilt embraces and focuses on fixing whatever, whereas shame runs away and hides.

This is important to you because in both controlled experiments and real-world feedback the guilt prone tend to have more initiative, AKA leadership.

In all the groups tested, the people who were most likely to be judged by others as the group’s leaders tended to be the same ones who had scored highest in guilt proneness. Not only that, but guilt proneness predicted emerging leadership even more than did extraversion,

As a manager, no matter your level, it is important to remember that everybody makes mistakes, causes errors or just plain screws up.

When interviewing, learning about mistakes, errors and screw-ups along with reactions and subsequent actions is often more important than knowing what candidates did correctly or their greatest strengths.

Initiative is one of the most valuable components of MAP and it’s difficult to evaluate when interviewing; after all, candidates are unlikely to say they don’t have any.

And that is why smart mangers hire MAP, not skills.

Flickr image credit: Murray Barnes

It’s raining where I live. It’s been raining for weeks (months?); not all day but on and off most days. In case your weather is similarly unappealing you can enjoy the day reading some very interesting stuff. And if the sun is shining you can still enjoy this week’s offerings with your morning coffee.

A couple of weeks ago I gave you a link to a story explaining how GE and other corporate titans not only pay little-to-no tax, but actually get money back. But even more fascinating is learning how the wealthy, the ones whose taxes Congress keeps cutting, avoid paying taxes, too.

Ten years, not much in the life of a person, but it’s forever in the online world. 2011 is Wikipedia’s 10^th birthday Business Week offers up a great in depth article on where it’s been, where it’s going and the woman leading it.

Creativity is on every manager’s mind and McKinsey offers up some good ideas on how to ignite it. Being McKinsey they aim the info at executives, but with minor tweaking any manager can use the ideas.

Creativity is not a trait reserved for the lucky few. By immersing your people in unexpected environments, confronting ingrained orthodoxies, using analogies, and challenging your organization to overcome difficult constraints, you can dramatically boost their creative output—and your own.

Speaking of creativity… Have you ever wondered how the dinosaurs had sex? Considering their size it must have taken a lot of ingenuity to go all the way; Slate offers up some answers.

That’s it for this Saturday; rain or shine have a wonderful weekend.

Image credit: MykReeve on flickr

Typically heroes are leaders; not because they hold a high level position or are well compensated, but because they take initiative, often to extremes.

But even “extreme initiative” pales to insignificance as a description of 63 year old Dr. Hawa Abdi, better known as Mama Hawa.

For 20 years Mama Hawa has run a hospital and in May faced down Somalia’s most fearsome militant Islamist group.

Hundreds of women from a sprawling refugee camp on her property to protest, adding to a flood of condemnation from Somalis abroad that forced the militants to back down.

Hundreds of women from the sprawling refugee camp on Dr. Abdi’s property dared to protest, adding to a flood of condemnation from Somalis abroad that forced the militants to back down. Dr. Abdi even insisted that the gunmen apologize — in writing — which they grudgingly agreed to do.

What unique combination of genes, MAP and circumstances produces a Mama Hawa? Why has she flourished, while others flamed out?

What can you learn from her regarding initiative, drive, determination, leadership, inspiration and communication?

Take the time to read her profile and analyze it for the multiple lessons it contains.

Then start applying them to your own life one by one.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uggboy/4881735073/

How about that. Finally some leadership advice with which I totally agree to share with you and it’s even Christmas themed. How cool is that?

It’s called Three Leadership Lessons from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the lessons apply to all, no matter what you do.

You could do a lot worse than make these your template for 2011 and beyond.

We all have natural gifts and abilities; embrace them.

We all face opposition; ignore it.

Your moment to shine will eventually come; welcome it.

Read the article, I think you will enjoy it.

But don’t just read it, absorb the lessons and practice them every day for the rest of your life.

Image credit: the Internet

There is much talk of corporate culture these days, but you don’t often hear about corporate traditions, yet traditions are a part of culture.

The primary definition of ‘tradition’ is “the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice,” which is pretty much the definition of culture.

But whereas culture looms large in people’s minds, traditions are more bite-sized—a special lunch, holiday treats, secret Santas—and lend themselves to more general input.

December is a month of traditions and I have questions about yours.

Who sets traditions for your team, department or company?

Are they generated spontaneously by the people or do they stem from the bosses at each level? Do they have current meaning or did they originate in the distant past? Are they set in stone, with little or no relevance to current employees or do people embrace, participate and enjoy them?

The best traditions are those that come from people at all levels and stay flexible, so they can grow and change as the people, culture, company and world grow and change.

This year take the initiative and start a tradition in your organization, a tradition that benefits/encourages/transcends and, most of all, brightens the future.

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

American education is trying everything in an effort to improve, but just how big a difference can one person make? Especially in Baltimore, which has the dubious distinction of having the worst school system and the highest murder rate in the country.

Humongous, if that person is smart enough to gather support to change the culture, not just try and “fix” schools or improve test grades.

“Andres Alonso took over the Baltimore city schools in 2007 and has brought deep changes in just three academic years. … Next he took on the culture of the schools, which relied heavily on suspensions for discipline, a practice Dr. [Andre] Alonso strongly opposed. “Kids come as is,” he likes to say, “and it’s our job to engage them.””

On the other side of the continent a group of ‘one persons’ in Compton are using a radical new California law to force the takeover of a failing school by a charter school operator.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Marion Orr, a professor of public policy at Brown University. “It really pushed to the edges of a strong democracy and could create real challenges for public officials who believe they know best how to run school districts.”

Sadly, most public officials seem more interested in keeping their jobs and pushing their ideology/agenda than they are in educating kids.

Just think what would happen if every ‘one person’ did just one thing to improve education (not support ideology).

I often get asked why, “at my age and with no kids of my own” I care so much about education; or why I’m so focused on urban problems when they aren’t likely to affect the small town in which I live.

The answer is simple.

I (and you, in case you haven’t realized it) are going to live in a world run by today’s children and populated by “those” kids.

We are each one person, alone and together we can each do a lot to encourage/force change.

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