Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
Everyone admires firefighters.
Whether saving a cat from a high tree, or risking (and sometimes losing) lives battling a forest fire, firefighters universally evoke respect.
The same is true inside the business and organizational world; everybody applauds and cheers for the person or team who comes in to save the day, prevent the business for slipping into disaster or at least preserve what’s left of it, or prevent that favorite customer from leaving.… Read the rest
The trickle down process is in high gear.
Steve Jobs takes a second medical leave and everywhere business people are scurrying around to do or dust off CEO succession plans.
The fact of the matter is most people avoid contingency planning (Tornado? What tornado?) like Republicans and Democrats avoid candid, authentic dialogue about taxing and spending realities. Succession – particularly at the most senior levels like the CEO – invites thinking about the unthinkable; things like death, firing, or getting “your guy/gal” at the top swiped by another competitor.… Read the rest
A painting done by Joan Savo of her husband leaning back in a chair hangs in my home office. Part of the attraction is that the frame to the painting was made by her husband, part of the attraction is the care that I know must have gone into the work by Savo.
It’s a treat to see when I’m in the office, and a lesson in the waiting for many of us.… Read the rest
There are a number of formulas for success for building “can’t miss” start-up and founding teams.
Here’s one that actually works.
A disclaimer first; depending on your business you’ll need to have reasonable domain expertise. If you’re in the internet networking space, you need to have people on your founding team that have the technical chops to have the engineering aspects nailed, as well as somebody who understands the competitive market dynamics (who buys gear, who is the competition, who is a player, who is not, etc.).… Read the rest
Sweet post from Tristan Walker this morning on the subject of startups.
The link is here.
University of Michigan professor Scott Page’s interview in the New York Times – “In Professor’s Model, Diversity = Productivity” can be found here.
Page’s research has shown that diverse groups outperform non-diverse groups in mid-to long term performance; fire drills, no, start-ups and running an organization, yes.… Read the rest
People want to be successful, which is usually a combination of being effective (doing the right thing) and efficient (doing things well), putting folks down a path to achieving favorable results.
Sometimes – as counterintuitive as it seems – that means doing less, not more.
Optimal performance (think weight training, writing a dissertation, running a business) is a combination of intense work and intermittent breaks.… Read the rest