A friend emailed me the following (although as a brevity guy, I slightly edited it):
A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time.
Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new project, in which they would hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem, as their engineering department was already too stretched to take on any extra effort.
The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, third-parties selected, and six months (and $2 million) later they had a fantastic solution - on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time. They solved the problem by using high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box would weigh less than it should. The line would stop, and someone had to walk over and yank the defective box out of it, pressing another button when done to re-start the line.
A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the ROI of the project: amazing results! No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. Very few customer complaints, and they were gaining market share. "That's some money well spent!" - he says, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report.
It turns out, the number of defects picked up by the scales was 0 after three weeks of production use. It should've been picking up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report. He filed a bug against it, and after some investigation, the engineers come back saying the report was actually correct. The scales really weren't picking up any defects, because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.
Puzzled, the CEO travels down to the factory(Jim's comment - at least he goes down to the floor), and walks up to the part of the line where the precision scales were installed.
A few feet before the scale, there was a $20 desk fan, blowing the empty boxes out of the belt and into a bin.
"Oh, that," says one of the workers - "one of the guys put it there 'cause he was tired of walking over every time the bell rang".
We finally got a bit of snow. It is beautiful. And grandson Josh continues to flourish. He does quite an ab workout (I tried doing it). Lying on his back and kicking his feet and hands. It is tough.
I read a neat little book by Harvard Business Review that is just called Management Tips. It is divided into 3 sections - Managing Yourself, Managing Your Team and Managing Your Business. Each page is a short stand alone tip. There are about 200 tips. An example:
"Be Confident But Not Really Sure.
One of the keys to effective decision making is confidence. Even if you only have temporary convictions, act on them. If you doubt your decision while making it, trust in your leadership may erode. Strong opinions signal confidence and provide others with the guidance they need. But resist the urge to stick to your decision. Have the humility to realize that you might be wrong if better information comes along. And be prepared to change your mind and correct your course if this happens."
Like all things you read, it all needs to be filtered. My observation on this tip is:
1 - I agree with being definite and deciding and being fast. 2 - I also think there needs to be good research and preparation in advance to help the right decision up front. I see leaders who change their minds too often as ineffective. 3 -I believe in humility.
One of my most viral posts of all time was "How to Write and Article in 20 Minutes" which was read well over 1,000,000 times. I used to write more about writing so thought I would do another one on the topic.
Speaking of going viral, my second most viral post "60 Minutes to Clear Goals" was also plagiarized hundreds of times. Not sure why that one was and the other was not.
I have not blogged for a couple of weeks here so feel guilty and must have writers' block.
Some days I am so full of good ideas (at least in my own mind) that I worry I cannot capture them all. I even jot notes so not to miss them. Other times, I cannot even think of what to write. I know many writers (and that is not really what I am - it is just a part of me) have the same problem. So I thought I would do a short post on writers' block.
5 Ways to Get Over Writers Block
1 - Just start writing. Write about anything. In the worst cases, take any book off the shelf and turn to a page and then write about that. Basically this is garbage writing to get the mind and fingers working.
3 - Start research. Often the cause of writers' block is the lack of background information. The writing flows well when you feel well prepared.
4 - Keep a file of writing ideas. When the ideas flow too quickly or time doe not permit writing, capture them in the file. This can be a treasure trove of "starting" gems.
5 - Take a break from writing. I find that I only have so much good material in me and when I write too much, I can burn out. I think that may be why I have not posted here for a couple of weeks. I have split my posting among various sites (like the Canrock Blog, CMA Blog and I even have done some of the writing for sites that SEO Pledge (one of our investee companies) does like How do you live within your means. So I have written too much so taking a break from writing will help.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have been enjoying this crisp weather. Yesterday it was sunny but about -7C (20F) with a bit of wind when I started a 6 mile run in Sunken Meadow (a Beautiful long Island Park). When I got in the car, I noticed an icicle of sweat from my hat. I did not have my blackberry or would have taken a picture.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have a natural interest in SEO. The recent Google change certainly changes that landscape. By including results from other Google properties first, they are capturing much more of the search results. Ultimately they may end up keeping us on Google only. They will own all the information.
I have enjoyed a lazy few days (lazy even though there was lots of working out - although lots of food so it likely was a net zero). e-mails and calls have been few. My productivity is actually quite low. Or perhaps my important productivity is quite high.
Although I'm not caught my normal frantic pace, I have had some time to think.
Part of my thinking led me to my views on being long-term. I posted a blog post on the Canrock site with my views.
The book talks about the power of stories so of course it is filled with interesting stories.
What great salespeople do boils down to 5 things:
Vulnerable–sales people are willing to show their vulnerability. They do not need to be perfect.
Caring–great salespeople show their caring.
Authentic–great salespeople are authentic ( this ties into the caring, people know if caring is fake)
Listen–great salespeople are great listeners. I personally recall many meetings where I said very little and the customer was impressed. People like to be listened to.
Storyteller–people like to listen to stories. People remember stories. People retell stories.
The book goes on to elaborate on each of these 5 characteristics and includes examples of where they might be used. It also tells us how to improve in each one of those key areas.
One cute story used for illustration in the book (to show a lack of understanding and functioning on a purely intellectual level) comes from a movie I enjoyed - The Social Network. In the scene, Erica is trying to break up with her boyfriend Zuckerberg. Typed verbatim ( so mom excuse the language):
Erica–"Going out with you is like dating a stairmaster. I think we should just be friends." Zuckerberg - "I don't want to be friends" Erica– " I was just being polite I have no intention of being friends with you. Look you're probably going to be a very successful computer person. But if you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you are a nerd. I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that that won't be true it be because you are an a&*hole"
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Speaking of movies, I quite enjoyed the conspiracy theory movie " Who killed the electric car" on a recent flight. It is an excellent documentary worth watching. There was one line in the movie that struck me:" people want us(Americans) to live like Europeans" and it was said as if that was a bad thing. And I did take it out of context so you have to watch the movie.
I hope for the world in 2012 is that the environmental tide changes and people start thinking more about conservation and treating the world right.
I have had a busy couple of weeks. Lots of travel. Lots of family time in Canada. All good.
One habit that serves me well is the gratefulness habit. And I have a lot to be thankful for. Like the beauty of my son (uncle Dave) with my grandson Josh.
And the beauty of Canadian snow.
I like New Years. I always spend time thinking about my goals.
I like the process of setting goals. I like developing the action plans. I like devising my success habits that will help me.
I am also thinking of un-success habits. Things I do which take time but do not deliver results. Having a stop list is sometimes as important as a start list.
Goal setting starts with knowing what is important to me. The more I can clarify that, the better I can devise goals that align with it.
Now I am thinking about the self discipline to make them all happen.
I wrote a blog post on the Canrock Ventures blog about setting goals for companies and how leaders can use them to inspire. And while writing this, I am thinking if I need to focus on better writing in less places. I have lots of blogs I contribute to now.
I am thinking about writing a book called the 2 minute solution (or perhaps the 3 minute solution). Fill it with habits that take 2 minutes. Suggest people adopt only a few. So I am experimenting with some. For example, I never shower (and I like to shower daily) without doing 2 minutes of hard exercise first. This can be pushups (and I am sore after doing only 100 pushups for 3 days), lunges, squats, squat jumps(if I have no weights), or run 1/3 mile. I am not sure why but I am finding even that simple habit to be daunting.
Another 2 minute idea - write a list of what I am grateful for (and I know that would take way more than 2 minutes but ...).
Still thinking about it and for that matter I need to decide if writing a book is my best use of time. To a large extent, writing has been commodicized (and worse, some writers even make up words like commodicized). And I am too much of a business person to not look at where the value choke points are. I also do not want to contribute to the "noise" if I am not adding enough value.
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I am sure it will surprise everyone that I read a book.
The gist of the message is leaders need trust and there is a lack of trust in the world today. Horsager cites numerous examples of low trust and explains the damage that causes. He also describes the value of having high trust. He goes on to explain how to gain trust.
I know that with trust, leaders can do great things and with low trust, nothing happens.
He talks about the 8 pillars of Trust. One I particularly liked was 3 - Character - People notice those who do what is right over what is easy.
There are sections in the book that echo those found in most self help books (like my Time Management book). It even has a section on time management and how to handle email more efficiently. He includes what he calls magnetic traits with corresponding repellant traits. Things like Grateful vs Thankless, Good Listener vs Talker, Optimistic vs Pessimistic, Honest/real vs Exaggerating. I can identify with each trait. I do not see them as black and white, rather they are all on a continuum.
I loved the many quotes throughout. Gives me many more to tweet. There was even another quote for me about habits by Charles Noble "First we make our habits, then our habits make us.
The book is well researched with 13 pages of footnotes.
Today will be a great day. I am already feeling productive. Ran 5 miles. Read a book. Life is good.
Part of what added to my productivity this morning was planning ahead(said redundantly for emphasis). I planned last night what I was going to do today. I even had my running clothes set out. Makes it all happen seamlessly.
I worry a bit that I am a busyholic. I always seem to be swamped. I know that it is my choosng though so I must like it like this.
I loved the book. It starts with a chapter "Unclear Purpose". It is so obvious - the main cause of failure is not lack of clarity. "Vagueness leads to failure". The chapter goes on with concrete examples of how you can set your purpose. It even suggests setting a purpose for the week. For me, purpose comes before goals. The book tends to lump them together.
There is a good chapter on low productivity and what to do about it (perhaps a trick like planning ahead might work).
And one of my favourites - Daily Rituals (or habits). Something that I have blogged a lot about.
I guess if I have any beef with the book, it is the negativity of the title. It really is a success book.
I notice there is talk of a total cell phone ban while driving including handsfree and with a headset. I have mixed feelings. I am such a productivity person that it would make car time even less productive. Not sure how much safer it would make things (although I hate unsafe drivers too). I do think it will drive voice technology (voice dialing).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hatsize (one of my investments) is giving away a free Cloud Automation Guide.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Honestlynow (one of my investments) now has no password required. Will be interesting to see how that impacts the numbers.
Sometimes I like short books as they suit my short attention span.
I love the topic. One of my strengths and one of the things that I attribute my business success to is my high work ethic. I have often wondered why I am so driven. Interestingly, the people I seemed to attract in business also had tremendous work ethic. EMJ and SYNNEX were high work ethic companies.
For me, work ethic is about hours and time but equally importantly about focus and productivity with that time.
I was correctly "called out" for a previous post that implied that young people feel entitled and are not willing to do the work to get the reward. There is a perhaps a part of us that wants to think "when we were young, we worked all the time and walked uphill both ways to school - not like the young kids today".
I do know that work ethic is partly tied to energy. And as people age, their energy decreases. I wrote a guest post on "Ways to keep your work ethic".
I know my work ethic is less now than when I was in my 20s. I am wondering if I need to change my list of strengths and remove that one (by choice). I ask myself if I really want to be the hardest working. It has been a competitive advantage but...
Reviving work ethic talks about 4 quadrants of workers - the Idle, the Lucky, the Cheating and the Valued. (Sad that 3 of the 4 quadrants seem negative).
Chester then writes about how to move employees to the Valued quadrant by techniques like find your style, develop trust, value tact and timing, tell stories and cast a vision.
I have long known that email is a productivity tool but also a huge time suck. A multi billion dollar French company - Atos is doing away with email! Banning it. And they are a tech company. Will be an interesting experiment.
I love early mornings. There are so many things I like to do (work out, journal, occasionally blog) and I seem to be more productive then. The problem is I also like late nights and the two do not mix well.
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I believe in protecting intellectual property. I encourage all my companies to have good processes in place to keep things a trade secret or patent them. I also believe in having a brain though. Chick-fil-A is suing a tee shirt producer who is making tee shirts that say "Eat More Kale" saying it confuses people with their slogan "Eat Mor Chikin". I suspect they are losing tons of business. I know I always confuse kale with chicken.
I am wondering if there is a course they can take on common sense and perhaps spelling while they are at it.
Speaking of kale, the garden continues to produce even though it is almost December! Carrots, parsley, squash and leeks are all still great.
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I notice that Linkedin has gone viral (or perhaps I have reached the tipping point for me where the network effect has kicked in). I get 3-5 or even more invitations to connect daily. The interesting thing is I thought it already was viral.
I often try new technologies. Some I stick with and others I drop as "not for me". Foursquare is one I dropped. Perhaps I am not the right demographic. I thought it would not go. So much for predicting the future.
The Power of foursquare explains the success of foursquare - 0 to 10,000,000 users in 2 years.
Gallo creates an acroymn - CHECKIN to explain how companies should connect with with people where they are:
Connect your brand Harness new fans Engage your followers Create rewards Knock out the competitors Incentives your customers (seems a bit of repeat of create rewards) Never stop entertaining
Gallo explains each step with interesting case studies. I particularly liked the case study about a nonprofit that raised $50,000 using a "check-in" campaign. I have an interest in social media for fundraising since one of my investments - Karma411 does this.
My grandson, Josh, is doing great. No longer premature. Growing.
Photo of Joshua and his beautiful aunt Laura.
I do have some concern that he might be trying to hone in on my business deals though. Perhaps it is the way he dresses.
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My current pet peeve is technology that does not add value. My current frustration is logging into a wireless network in an airport lounge. Why should it take 3 minutes? Why is it locked - do people try to use it instead of the free service the airport provides?
And how about a motion sensor tap that almost never responds unless you wave your hands under it an stand on your head (which is likely a good yoga move - so perhaps they do it so people get more exercise).
Technology application should enhance - not detract. It is an embarrassment to the tech community when it is poorly applied.
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I really enjoyed Steve Job's autobiography. It is my pick of the best business book to buy. I suggest it should be required reading for anyone in business, technology, or just anybody. It is well written and captivating(reads like a good novel). And from what I know - mostly accurate.
I have thought about writing a long blog entry on my experiences with Jobs and Apple through the years.
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I posted an article on "Why companies should not do B rounds" on the Canrock blog. I am sure it is sufficiently controversial to stir some comment (or flaming).
I ran a half marathon(21.1 Km) in Philadelphia today. It was a good day.
The race started at 7. Sunrise was 6:50.
I used a new anti chafe cream that worked great. No chafing which is good.
I like the race culture and the people who race. Good camaraderie. I arrived at the starting corrals at about 6 - about a mile walk from the hotel. There was already quite a crowd.
It was in the low 50s (and a bit windy) so I was wearing a sweatshirt over my singlet and had a space blanket to wrap in. It was the one I used was the one I was given at the finish of Boston 2005 which I considered to be lucky. I left it at the start (but got a new Philly one at the end so am break even on the space blankets for the weekend).
There were 25,000 runners.
The race countdown started at 6:59:50. At 7, I started to walk/run. It took 6 minutes to get to the start line.
After less than half a mile, I was warm so shed my sweatshirt (they collect the clothes for charity). The runners were thick so running was tough. The crowded running continued for the full race.
It was an easy downhill for the first couple of miles but I was feeling heavy and not running fast.
It was feeling warm despite the temperature only raising to the mid 50s (13 degrees C). So dumped the water from the water stop on my head.
The course was supposed to be flat but trust me, it was hilly after the first 2 miles. Bridges are aggressive hills.
Mile 3 and 4 clicked by. Still not easy. I was thrilled to miss the 5 mile marker. Was thinking mile 5 was long but the mile marker was 6!
By mile 7, I was thrilled to be over half. And resigned to just finish. No personal records. Just plod.
I sometimes count steps but know when I reach that point that I have issues. I run about 500 steps per mile. By mile 10, I was counting.
In the end, my slowest half ever at 2:03:47. 9:28 pace which seems way slow. Still hit the top half for age but disappointing. Need to train harder.
My goal is always to be in good enough shape to run a half (and have to train for a full). I think I need to change this to run a half in a certain time.
I have run about a dozen half marathons and 6 marathons (so technically, 24 half marathons). Thinking about my future runs and racing.
The garden continues to be prolific (despite snow a couple of weeks ago). The carrots could not be sweeter. Leeks are great. Parsley has even come back strong.
The picture of an orange (I did not grow that), an Apple (also did not grow it) and a tiny but cute pumpkin(that I did grow).
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A friend recently suggested that we have a reading speed contest. Upon reflection, I am not sure I read that fast (although I am a big fan of Speed Reading). What I do well is filter. So if a book (or article)is well organized or if I can organize it, I can pull out the key points quickly.
Why don't I think I read particularly fast? I am reading Steve Job's biography which I find compelling and interesting (and largely accurate from what I know). But the reading is slow. The reason could be partly that I am savouring it but it is partly because of the nature of it. I am not trying to glean knowledge, mostly it is for interest. And as I read it, I am aware that I do not read as much for interest as I once did (although I still love my business books and find them interesting - just in a different way).
And in reality, it may not be about reading speed but reading well.
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My book is out. Ok - not my book but I did contribute a chapter to James Bowen's book - Entrepreneurial Effect- stories by entrepreneurs in the Waterloo region. I look forward to reading the full book.
The author is an actor turned communications strategist. Where these two roads of his life intersect, he's written a book in which he creatively applies techniques from the theater to communicating off stage. As one might expect from a communications strategist, Rob's writing is very well organized and clear. Every three chapters he includes a numbered list of “X Ways to do Y” or “Seven super-hidden secrets about using comedy that the comedians won't tell you (unless you ask),” for example.
Probably most valuable are the anecdotes he brings from his careers in acting and PR: they captivate your attention in while you’re reading them, they demonstrate his points (i.e. “Show—don’t tell”), and they’re memorable.
My favorite anecdote comes from a section titled: “Don’t Settle for Rock Breakers.” It demonstrates how better communication can inspire and drive your workforce.
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Back at the PR firm, we used to tell this story when talking about the employee communications practice:
A man walks pas a construction site and sees three people doing the same job. He asks each of them what they're doing.
"I'm breaking rocks," said the first.
"I'm earning a living," said the second.
The third one replied, "I'm helping build a cathedral."
That story has become a bit of chestnut (believe me, back in the day it was groundbreaking stuff), but more than anything else—more than diagrams and flow charts and bullet points—it captures the power of internal communications to transform organizations.
Cathedral builders are always going to be more engaged, more effective, more valuable than rock breakers.
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As leaders—and each of us are—we need to know our own passions and those of our audience (i.e. coworkers), so we can summon them to action for cathedral-like causes. Reading this book made me realize there are many things I don’t know about my coworkers that would help me be a better communicator. Some of the questions the author suggests the reader asks themselves and others are: Who are your heros and why? Where does your job fit in the big picture? What makes you proud?
The book is full of thought-provoking questions and useful advice that ranged from specific—such as a reference to a software program (Bullfighter) that identifies and removes useless corporate jargon from typed documents—to big picture—how to create a cathedral builder. After reading the book, I added at least 7 items to my to do list on ways to improve my companies websites and relationships within the firm. But back to the story—
Why are stories so effective in communicating? Rob cites an interesting scientific study by Kendall Haven as“evidence that our brains are hardwired for stories.”
"The steady diet of stories that children experience modifies the brain to render it more predisposed to think in story terms" (Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story)
This got me thinking…if I read my newest grandson Time Leadership every night for the next few years, will it modify his brain to think of time in 25-minute blocks?
L is for Listen. Observe and Understand – To obtain a deep understanding of the issue at hand, assumptions must be put aside and interaction with all relevant parties – including customers, suppliers, and employees – is critical. “You must get up close and personal and go to the source,” explains Chowdhury. That could be the factory floor, a call center, or a customer’s home. And listening is not only about asking questions, but about observing — whether that means watching a worker perform a task or a customer use a product.
E is for Engage. Explore (JE - I prefer to call this explore) and Discover – Once the real nature of the problem is uncovered, the next phase is about searching for the best solution. Chowdhury advocates a special type of brainstorming session that encourages people to relax and try to come up with numerous ideas, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. An informal environment where every idea receives a full and respectful hearing is key. “To get the most out of the Enrich process, you need to embrace change and the idea that what you have now, and what you have done up to this point, simply isn’t good enough,” the author writes.
O is for Optimize - Improve and Perfect – During this phase, participants review the solutions that have already been proposed. They look for flaws and find ways to improve the solutions, making them even more effective. This is a step that some organizations think they can skip. But it is essential, because good-enough no longer works, contends Chowdhury. Everyone needs to strive for the highest quality possible. “If you want to turn out the kind of products or services that will truly delight your customers and attract new ones, you need to keep raising the bar on quality,” he writes. Once the Optimize stage is complete, and only then, can the solutions be implemented."
The book is full of examples which as I noted in other reviews keeps things interesting.
I liked the final chapter that talks about continuous improvement in general and how it not only applies to companies - it applies to individuals. This is one concept that I totally buy in to. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So I was inspired to do my own acronym for Halloween Candy control - BEG.
Halloween - a time for discipline (and tricks). I tend to eat healthy food because that is what is in the house. But for Halloween the kids would not particularly like health food and the Health Bars I got were actually Heath Bars (the wonders of speed reading) and they are addictive.
B is for Brush. So the trick I do is to brush my teeth. When I have done that, I tend not to eat candy (at least for a while)
E is for Equivalents - I also calculate equivalents. 1 small bar (70 calories) is .7 miles or 5 minutes of hard running or 10 minutes of walking. Not a big deal - just need to schedule 2 hours of extra exercise to eat the number I am tempted to eat.
G is for Give Away. And then of course give all the surplus candy away fast.
Beautiful day here. It was snowing late last night when I was on a short run. And some of it stayed. Snow in New England and area made the news primarily because 2.3 million people are without power.
I was a bit surprised by the snow. It is still quite warm. Still have to harvest carrots, leeks and squash.
Today I did a longer run but inside on a treadmill. Thinking I am getting soft.
As you can deduce from the titles, Drotter feels that almost everyone in a company should be a leader.
The introduction "Dealing with pervasive uncertainty" talks about all the unknowns of the current situation. Although I feel these uncertainties, there is a part in everyone that wants to think that the current time has greater uncertainty than others. I have found we always feel that way though.
He talks about not only having good leadership skills but applying them properly for optimum performance.
Of course he also touches on succession planning. This is the key role for any board. Also key for any organization to have long term staying ability.
Performance Pipeline draws on decades of experience and research so has many interesting stories. The best learning is often gained through stories (and they keep it interesting).
This is an HR book of sorts. There is a great list of interview questions in the appendix. I always find it easiest to pick questions from such a list.
Good book - too much to summarize. Best to just read it.
There is starting to be a chill in the air but the beans continue to yield well. The growing season in Long Island is at least a month longer than Guelph.
I have been sore from added weight lifting. Good sore and self inflicted in any event so tough to complain. I am actually thankful that I am able work out.
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Wednesday night I attended a Cinemonde screening of "Something Ventured - Risk, Reward, and the Original Venture Capitalists" (not to be confused by the autobiography on CM Woodhouse called Something Ventured)
It is a great documentary film. Particularly captivating to me since I knew some of the players and knew of all of the companies.
It told of the early days of Kliener Perkins and the funding of Steve Jobs - including interviews with some people who turned him down because he was "arrogant, hippy and smelled bad". At one point, 33% of Apple could have been bought for $50,000.
It included stories of the founding of Cisco (and the firing of the founder by the VC), Atari, Genentech, Tandem, Intel and others.
I found the film inspirational since what I now do is early stage venture funding.
I was struck by the fairly long timeframes for success. Most "overnight successes" took 25 years.
I love Malcolm Gladwell and think he is one of the great thinkers of out time. I like his book "Blink". It talks about the power of the unconscious mind and how we make snap decisions and conclusions and usually they are right.
In the article he talks about the stock picker and fund managers and the people that manage them. How they are paid huge bonuses, thinking they are contributing when in reality, their results are actually random. This is a phenomenon I call "when you think you are brilliant in the stock market, then stop investing in the stock market".
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I read a great book by Darren Hardy called The Compound Effect.
Hardy is a motivational speaker in the Tony Robbins style of motivation (Robbins even wrote a special introduction for The Compound Effect). I sometimes find their motivational style to be off putting (too rah rah and too much "I grew up eating dirt and now own 100 ferraris and you can too"). But there is great validity in the simple underlying message.
Life and success happen over the long term. And small changes daily determine long term success. Small good things now create big good things later (and small bad things create large bad things later).
He talks about the microwave mentality of instant success. Clearly people want it instantly but this is just not the way success happens.
Like Aristotle said "We are what we repeatedly do".
I have often talked about success habits and the book inspired me to look again at my habits.
I have often called this compounding effect momentum. He even has a chapter titled "momentum". The more success you have, the easier it is to get things done and have more success. I have been fortunate to have had success early in life and that good fortune continues to follow me.
Beautiful weekend in Long Island this weekend. Cool and perfect for running.
Apparently the weather in Toronto was a bit nasty for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. People have a very small range that they are comfortable. But there is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.
I love CBC but they blew it on the live coverage that they promised. Just did not happen.
I was inspired by Fauja Singh who finished the marathon is 8 hours. He is 100. I best get training now if I am going to beat that. I smiled when I heard that he said "it was one of my lifetime goals".
And following from World Business Forum, Jill Hart posted an article on "Great hiring decisions" on her blog at Brain Logic.
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Occupy Wall Street is on my mind. I am glad it has been peaceful so far.
People are afraid. The problem with fear is it is not actionable. There is nothing you can do with. To harness it requires thought and energy that most people simply do not have since the fear itself saps energy and creativity.
It is a mature person who can sit back and formulate a plan for positively harnessing fear. For me, the first step would be to manage the stress that fear causes.
I am proud to have been a CEO (I even call this blog CEO blog) and now the world seems to be vilifying CEOs. I agree with some of the views put forward (many CEOs are outrageously overpaid). I do not think all CEOs are bad or have bad motives though.
It talks about the causes and damage that fear cause and what to do about it.
According to Rieger fear stems from bureaucracy:
Parochialism - The tendency to force others to view the world from only one view.
Territorialism - Hoarding and micromanaging. In short, not being a team player.
Empire Building - which is self evident.
And fear can be overcome by overcoming those 3 factors and:
Building Courage Enablers (and making sure there are not courage stoppers)
It then goes on to talk about the Leadership Imperative and the Fearless Company.
One great point he makes is "since fear is created internally, it can be extinguished internally".
I like to have a company that has a high tolerance for failure. I always say "fail often, fail fast, fail cheap". Companies that embrace this as a method for innovation and growth need to have people who are not living in fear.
How good are leaders at predicting their own overall leadership effectiveness? Are they more or less accurate than other raters? At Zenger Folkman, we calculated the overall rating for 27,000 leaders. We then determined how effective a leader’s manager, peers, direct reports, others, and the leader themselves were at predicting the leader’s overall effectiveness. Our measure was the amount of variance in the overall effectiveness rating that each person could predict. The Graph below shows the results.
The leaders themselves were only able to predict about 15% of the variability. The leader’s manager was the most accurate predicting 32% followed by Direct Reports 29%, Peers 28%, and others at 25%. This is a strange phenomenon because the person with the greatest amount of information is the leader themselves. After all, they were there the whole time, they saw ever interaction, they were in every meeting and discussion shouldn’t they be a better judge?
There are a lot of dynamics in our evaluation of our strengths and weaknesses. Psychologically, a person’s ego may need protection when others don’t think that they are very effective. When people feel valued and that they are making a contribution, a person might be far more humble about their capability.To understand the phenomenon, we compared the self-rating against the average ratings from others.As can be seen from the graph below, the worst leader (as perceive by others) tended to substantially overrate their ability, while the best leaders tended to underrate their ability.
This phenomenon has been noted in other research by Dunning and Kruger, who were awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Psychology for their report, "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments." Basically, these researchers found that people with poor skills consistently overrated their ability.
When we are lost, a GPS can guide us to our desired location. In order to provide an accurate prediction of our current location, GPS needs signals from multiple satellites—at minimum, four separate satellites. In order for an individual to get an accurate reading of their effectiveness as a leader it also requires feedback from four different kinds of raters.
1.Managers: Our managers are the best predictors of our promotion potential.
2.Peers: Our peers help us to understand how we interact with other groups across the organization
3.Direct Reports: Our direct reports know us well and see us in both good and bad situations. The direct reports provide the best prediction of how well we can lead and manager a team.
4.Others: Feedback from others is also very helpful to give us insight into our interactions with other group.
Great leaders are constantly looking for an accurate measure of their current location. Feedback from others is critical. Occasionally doing an anonymous evaluation of our leadership capabilities is needed to fine tune our true location.
Joe Folkman
Joe Folkman is the co-founder and President of Zenger Folkman, a leadership development firm focused on building strengths of individuals, teams, and organizations. Joe is a co-author of the recent Harvard Business Review article “Making Yourself Indispensable.” To learn more leadership tips from Joe, subscribe to his leadership blog or follow him on Twitter: @zengerfolkman.
Still reporting from #WBF11. The sessions are awesome and inspirational.
I had lunch with the people putting on C2-MTL, a creativity conference being held in Montreal in May of next year. Their program looks great. Cohosted with Circ du soleil so should be inspirational. Hopefully they will ask me to join them as either a blogger or presenter.
Listening to Gary Hamel - visiting professor of Strategic and International Management at London Business School. Wall St journal calls him "world's most influential business thinker". Some quotes:
"deep change takes a crisis" (Seems to me this often happens in personal health situations) "think like an engineer, feel like an artist" "less than 25% of the CEOs said they were happy with their innovation pipeline - and they are benchmarking against lackluster peers" "When you limit an individual's autonomy, you also limit their passion" (As a CEO, I tried very hard to give my people autonomy - perhaps that is why we were successful. And perhaps if you ask my people, they would say I should have tried harder to give them autonomy (I became better over time)) "it is not that work sucks it is that management blows" "Only 14% of the staff are highly engaged, 62% moderately and 24% disengaged" (Which confirms what I already knew. The key to business success is greater staff engagement)
Solution:
Rethink first principles. Answer the question "What is the ideology of management". We need to think more autonomy than control of staff.
"We have a hard time thinking of a world without bureaucracy"
He is an inspirational, energetic speaker. (I notice a theme. Great speakers are energetic)
Still live at #WBF11. The speaker now is Tamara Erickson who is speaking about what happens at different ages.
The 11-15 year old time period tends to influence the lifetime. We are influenced by the news, our parents, our national context, our religion etc. Because we share the same national/news context then people of the same age share a lot of commonality.
EG - people born from 1928-1945 saw the birthing of suburbs, increased availability of consumer goods, new technology. Exciting times (except for the start of the cold war) Their common characteristics is they are joiners, loyal to institutions and respect hierarchy and rules. They respect positional authority.
Next - the boomers. 1946-1960. They saw Vietnam, civil rights, womans lib, assassinations of Kennedy and King, protests. Watergate and Nixons' resignation. I am wondering if my Canadian experience differs much from the US experience she is speak of. They want to make a difference, they do not want to join. They worry that they will lose their spot if they slow down. Hard working/driven - staying on top of their game. Idealistic.
Gen X - 1961-1979 Troubled economy, layoffs, rising divorce rates, CNN and electronic games. The first Gulf war. Challenger blew up - a symbol of an institution that let people down. Less loyalty by companies - you are fired, not just laid off to be the first called back. Many women entering the workforce so latch key kids. Their conclusion was "look after yourself". They like to feel that they have options "I am doing this today but...". Parenting has everything to do with helping "my child".
Gen Y - 1980-1995. Terrorism, Columbine. They see the world as unpredictable. This has not scared them - they want to live in the now. Shaped by digital technology - unconsciously competent. More spiritual. Family centric - they love their parents. They trust authority. This can conflict with "Success from delayed gratification"
Understanding generational difference can help to understand other peoples' view.
I am saddened by the death of my friend Steve Jobs.
Perhaps not a friend but a business acquaintance. I met him several times and traded calls and emails over the years.
EMJ (My Canadian technology distribution company) and later SYNNEX sold hundreds of millions of dollars of Apple products. We first signed Apple in the early 1990s when "Apple was going bankrupt". It turned out to be a good decision.
It was before Apple had the iPhone and even before the iPod. I got involved with RIM after signing Apple. It was not until much later that the two companies started to overlap.
Jobs was an icon. He was a legend.
His innovation shaped the technology business.
We need more of his type of innovation and innovative thinking.
Benjamin Zander - The conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra did more than speak. He sang and played the piano. He is hugely high energy and hugely positive. It drives home to me that energy and positivity are part of success.
His topic was the Art of Possibility(the title of her book). I previously reviewed it. Had I heard him before I read it, I suspect I would have been more effusive.
He spoke of giving students an A at the first of their class then ask them to live up to it.
"The secret of life is it is all invented" referring to how we create our life in our mind. And we control our mind. It is not what happens to us, it is how we view it. He advocates having a perfect life.
It is tough to write how energetic and inspirational Zander is. He uses music (and I always say I am not musical - but I can always change my mind - what is the point of having a mind if you cannot change it). If you ever have the opportunity to hear him - go.
And remember rule #6 - Don't take yourself too seriously. (there are no other rules)
I attended a small lunch with Malcolm Gladwell. The focus was Canada.
What does Malcolm have in common with Einstein?
I bet you said the hair but no, it is the genius. He is truly genius. His simple clarity is inspiring.
He has been thinking of "what is the advantage of being marginal" (meaning not the number one player, or leader etc). There are many advantages:
1 - The ability or privilege to observe and learn. 2 - Being non-threatening (this is why there are disproportionately more Canadian comedians (or Jewish, gay, indian or some other minority) - they are just not threatening.
The converse of that is "Leader pressure" which comes with high obligation.
He spoke of the health of countries. This can be measured by the distance between the 80th percentile and the 20th. As the distance gets larger (as it has in Canada), society becomes unstable. There is less common ground. I am part of the privileged top 20 but strongly agree that this is a problem. The riots in London and the protests on Wall St are worrisome.
He also says it harms innovation. This may be true but I challenge him to think that perhaps the ability of people to change their wealth might be the driver of innovation. So the American dream (Start with nothing and end up rich) would drive innovation.
He explained the reason Canadians' tend to have a larger view of the world than Americans. "You simply cannot fill 30 minutes with Canadian news so they fill it with international news".
And the reason advertisements are quirkier in Canada is the population is smaller (and the ad budgets) so there can be more "in" jokes.
When asked about "Blackberry's demise" by one of the audience, he replied "it is not patriotic not to have a Blackberry. Blackberry is way more efficient for email and for many people, this is what they need." So true -I agree with him.
#WBF11 Gary Burnison - Korn Ferry and Angela Ahrendts - Burberry
The next speaker was Gary Burnison from Korn Ferry. I did not recognize the name although I certainly knew the company. Burnison was a great speaker. I guess that should not surprise me - most CEOs are. (One suggestion I have for any aspiring leader is to join Toastmasters)
I think part of the reason he is a good speaker is he uses stories.
"Ceo is in the what business and the how business...but now it is much more about the people business".
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Angela Ahrendts CEO of Burberry. Burberry is a leading UK consumer brand of clothing, handbags etc. $2.5B in revenue. It is the 4th fastest growing global brand (although I am sure that will increase when people read this blog entry)
She moved Burberry from a struggling company that was known for trench coats to a highly successful mid/highend brand.
She did that by pushing innovation. She hired a Chief Creative Officer to vision where the company should go.
The Chief Technology Officer has mission to get the word out. Of course they have done this through social media. "more people come to our internet site than to any of our stores". Burberry has more facebook fans than any other global brand. They have even launched products solely through social media.
She wants her people to "not do it for me, not do it for you - do it for the brand".
"Dreams are your most exciting thoughts, your future life in 3D, and by envisioning in your mind you are creating your life roadmap"
"Lead with intuition. Intuition fosters creativity"
Howard Shultz from Starbucks spoke. No one can deny that Starbucks has built a great company. I wonder if selling an addictive product helps?
"To exceed customer expectations starts with exceeding expectations of the staff first". People need believe in the leaders of their companies first.
He spoke about the truisms of social media. First establish relationships then you can sell to them - but only a bit. One of my views in social media - try to add value first. Good way to act in life. Add value.
I do not drink coffee so have less appreciation for Starbucks than many people. I do drink tea but find I can boil water about as well as anyone else (and for good tea, the water needs to be boiling). As a frugal guy, I only pay for tea when I feel a need from convenience (I am not near home) or I want the experience (meeting with someone or doing email).
I was impressed that Shultz was brave enough to get political. I do not do politics and in the US particularly, being political will alienate half of the populace. According to Shultz, he became overtly political after the debt ceiling crisis. "All political decisions today are made looking towards the election".
"We cannot build our own spirit without building that of others" Bill Clinton
"Learn from great people but do not emulate them. Be yourself. Be authentic." Bill George (author of Authentic Leadership)
From Malcom Gladwell, I learned that I am "profoundly happy". He spoke about entrepreneurs being "Profoundly happy, work harder and longer than most people and they take enormous social risk." "The do not care what people think of them" (JE but I still hope you like me). "We are hard wired to want to be liked." "Entrepreneurs tend to take no operational risks but huge social risks (not caring what people say about him". "Teen agers take large operational risks (do dangerous things) but take no social risks"
Tal Ben-Shahar spoke about the science of Well Being. Positive psychology suggest we focus on what is going well compared to much examination which focuses on what is going poorly.
The key is to ask the right questions. Traditional psychology asks "Why do people fail". Positive psychology suggests we should ask "What makes some people succeed despite unfavorable circumstances". This is because resilience is one of the great keys to success.
"Focus on your strengths for success". Focus on assets - not liabilities.
"Questions create reality." We see what we look for.
"People who write down 5 things you are grateful for each day, you are healthier and happier. When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates"
I saw a product - Goof Off - The Miracle Remover. It is interesting because goofing off can definitely remove miracles. I find the less I goof off, the more miracles happen.
And speaking of miracles, the garden (what is left from the hurricane) continues to do well. Tomatoes that were not damaged are almost done. Only problem is they attract fruit flies. Now I need to figure out how to get rid of fruit flies.
Time Leadership is my philosophies on Leadership and Time Management. I call it CEO Blog - Time Leadership because of my keen interest in time. I am CEO between positions.
I've authored a Time Leadership Audio CD, book and eBook; "How to use the Secrets of Leadership for Time Management".
email jimestill at gmail
Warning. Do not read this blog without first reading FTC notice - http://bit.ly/4nGUaB
About Me
Name: Jim Estill
Location: Long Island, NY
My views on leadership, time management, personal development and life.
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