Thursday, May 2, 2013

Leaders need time...to reflect

Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, has an interesting take on leaders scheduling...nothing:
At first, these buffers felt like indulgences. I could have been using the time to catch up on meetings I had pushed out or said "no" to. But over time I realized not only were these breaks important, they were absolutely necessary in order for me to do my job.
As an organization scales, the role of its leadership needs to evolve and scale along with it. I've seen this evolution take place along at least two continuum: from problem solving to coaching and from tactical execution to thinking strategically. What both of these transitions require is time, and lots of it. Endlessly scheduling meeting on top of meeting and your time to get these things right evaporates.
 
 
 

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130403215758-22330283-the-importance-of-scheduling-nothing?goback=%2Egde_2455029_member_229184143

Friday, April 26, 2013

What I learned: Do not go gentle into that good night

My exposure to the new open, social and participatory world has been eye-opening, thrilling and disconcerting.  This course, ILD 831, has exposed me to concepts, tools and means of communicating I wasn’t aware of or only heard about.  For example, I was introduced to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and free online initiatives such as Saylor.org.  I was very aware of MIT’s open logistics courses, which I found very useful in the past.  But had never known of these courses as part of MOOC.


As an aside with respect to MOOC, I analyzed the tens of online courses (I have taken) and assessed their positives and negatives.  While the positives mostly concerned ease of access, the negatives included: 

·         No instructor feedback except for grading
·         No online collaboration
·         Adequate to only average online collaboration
·         Multiple systems to learn

While I had read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat, I gained much insight into what the book got right and what it might have oversold (see Richard Florida and The World is Spiky).

I reviewed SnagIt for the class, finding:

What Snagit does, Snagit does very well.  My favorite use for Snagit is grabbing, copying and pasting graphics of any source, resolution and shape into PowerPoint presentations.  I prepare data driven spreadsheets, charts, and other graphics from MS Excel, MS Access, MS Word, among other applications.  What I use Snagit for is to grab a part of any digital document and paste the resulting high-resolution image directly onto PowerPoint slides, all in 3-5 clicks of a mouse.

We then analyzed Friedman’s Triple Convergence, the coming together of three transformations at the same time, from the 1990’s through the mid 2000’s:

·         Friedman’s ten “flatteners” that he described as enabling the world community to come together, including flatteners such as uploading, outsourcing, offshoring, insourcing, in-forming, etc.
·         The way people interacted and did business, e.g. Friedman’s discussion of Southwest Airlines’ availing of the check-in process online.
·         The addition of billions of people in China, India, Russia and elsewhere filling the vacuum created by the flatteners and new processes

 
Our next topic concerned the changing nature of work.  What resonated most was Husband’s Wirearchy, which he described as “a dynamic two-way flow of power and authority, based on knowledge, trust, credibility and a focus on results, enabled by interconnected people and technology.”  He said that leaders must be “deeply aware of and mindful about the scope and reach of interconnected markets and flows of information”, and “be prepared to listen deeply, be responsible, be accountable and be transparent.”  The article was a great read because it provided reasonable guidelines not only for leaders, but also for managers, employees, and citizens. 

Next, we looked closely at the opportunities and challenges of networked workers.  What was interesting to me was that it still was primarily cultural bias – not technology constraints – that inhibited greater embracing of teleworking.  John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said that companies that have widely adopted telecommuting are realizing significant savings in many areas but, most notably, real estate costs.  This is an obvious benefit.   But he warns:
Companies are embracing the latest portable tablets and laptops, social networking, video conferencing and many of the other technological advancements that make telecommuting increasingly viable. However, in many ways, companies are stuck in the old way of doing business, where people are expected to work from 9 to 5 and are judged more on the amount of ‘face time’ than on the quantity or quality of output.

I then researched and wrote on Cybercrimes.  What resonated with me is that even though cybercrimes are now taking front and center at news rooms across the country, many businesses still think they are immune to the problem and/or do not realize how much in jeopardy their digital business assets are (subject to threats such as viruses, worms, Trojan horses, logic bombs, etc.).


Finally, we then looked at Kevin Kelly’s keynote at Web Expo 2.0 (on March 29, 2011), Corning's A Day Made of Glass and Google's recent Google’s Glasses announcement.  I wrote a petulant diatribe against this bombardment of new means of passing and receiving data, but was quickly reminded that many whom experience change at first are resistant to it.  Amen.  I am still struck by Kelly’s mention of studies that concerned how small babies contort to interact with an Ipad.   For example, this from the Wall Street Journal:

"He's concentrating," says Sandra Calvert, a professor at Georgetown University. It's physiologically the same thing he does while deeply immersed in, say, Legos. Psychologists call it "flow experience."

There is a subtle difference: The child decides when a building is finished; an app determines when the task is completed correctly. Researchers say it's unclear whether this difference has any impact on a child.

My leadership will change for the better as I get more comfortable with the new always connected, always transmitting, always receiving world.  My innate resistance may have more to do with my lot in life whereby I still chase the brass ring, but not as quickly or engaged as I used to be and with much greater recovery time!

Reading my cohort’s blogs was very instructive.  I was amazed each week reading the different viewpoints and insights on the same topic.  I look forward to engaging with the cohort this week as we wrap the eight weeks.  Going forward, I should attack my inhibitions to this new technology and need for constant engagement and data … Excerpted from  Dylan Thomas:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light…

Speaking of Leadership: W

Grace.
 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/25/w-outclasses-barack-and-bill-without-even-trying/

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Boss v. Leader

I like the look and message of this graphic.  While it is sterotypical, it does send a good message about leading from the front when possible.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Speaking of Leadership: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss Head Football Coach

Watch this video and watch how you motivate a team the right way: Not to play out of hate for the other team (in this case, rival Mississippi State), but to play for each team member's love for one another.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Time as a metaphor

Yale computer scientist and futurist David Galernter has long been speaking of the future of the Internet as more related to time than space.  From his article:
Until now, the web has been space-based, like a magazine stand; we use spatial terms such as “second from the top on the far left” to identify a particular magazine. A diary, on the other hand, is time-based: One dimension of space has been borrowed to represent time, so we use temporal terms like “Thursday’s entry” or “everything from last spring” to identify entries.
Time as a metaphor may seem obvious now. Especially because it’s natural for us to see our lives as stories, organized by time.
Yet it took us more than 20 years in computing to get here. The field has finally moved from conserving resources ingeniously to squandering them creatively. In this new environment, we can focus on the best way — instead of the cheapest, most conservative way — for the internet to work.
 
 

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Emerging trends: May I recommend the "DUCK"!

Watching Kevin Kelly’s keynote at Web Expo 2.0 (on March 29, 2011), Corning's A Day Made of Glass and Google's recent Google’s Glasses announcement, several thoughts came to me about the future.  These thoughts had more to do with my applying a 1970-2010 understanding of technology and human nature.  In no particular curmudgeon order: 

·         All of the “future” things that Kelly spoke about – screening, interacting, sharing, flowing, accessing, generating, and “paying for attention” – would positively drive me to distraction.  What a cluttered world of unwanted “data” foisted on the “consumer” of this data.

·         The Corning presentation had a dazzling show of potential uses for glass - All-weather surface glass, Work surface display, Electronics-ready glass, Large-pane display glass, Flexible display glass & 3D TV glass.  But my immediate thought was: OMG, when somebody invents a medium less “made of sand” , Corning will enter buggy-whip land overnight.

·         I cannot say a single kind thing about the Google Glasses.  My kids are late 20’s.  They most enjoy things like hiking and a sip of wine.  Running through life with data hitting you everywhere you look?  I cannot imagine a product I would want less.

·         Millions of young people, I’m certain, find the above nuisances as cool and must-have, which means my take on these presentations is of very little value to those for whom these presentations are intended.  Or, said another way, these presentations were not made for my type.  They were made for your futurists with skin still left in the game (to realize these trends).

·         I was moved by the concept of streams of data, and tagging streams to grab what of the stream you wanted.  I have been saying for several years that the next big thing is going to be the development of a big “filter” used to opt out of much of what is being blasted at you (see Corning and Google above).

·         I think the ideas have merit, but not in the ways people will actually use these items.  Here’s why:  people don’t have a need for constant data.  The ads present a kid walking around interacting at every turn.  I believe this new technology will be valuable when people want it.  See Kelly’s Accessing and Generating concepts mentioned above.

·         Either did not get or understand Kelly’s last item, “paying for attention”.  I did not see how that item was on the level of the other six action verbs.

·         The presentations were made like fashion ads are made – for a New York based elite audience.

·         I was struck by Kelly’s mention of the study of baby use of the iPad.   This type study made perfect sense to me as it relates to how humans interact.  In my youth, we were given a cookie and told we could get five more if we waited…how times have changed.  

 

The implications for leadership are many as they relate to the onset of new technology.  Leaders should weight protecting what they have v. what they will lose in opportunity costs.  In global logistics, there is a concept called economic destruction, which naturally occurs when new trade partners are inserted into a fixed environment.  The weak must perish, the strong survive, and your business better be on the right side of that existential equation.

Similar in concept to economic destruction is technology convergence.  According to the Hay Group, “…four tech areas are converging fast, promising the sharpest technology shifts in history. Nano, bio, information and cognitive (NBIC) technologies are already transforming areas like medicine, energy and production.”    Meaning, ignore disruptive technologies at your peril.

Leaders must stay current.  Peter Barron Stark said that learning is an ongoing professional commitment.  From a 2009 blog:
Eartha Kit once said, “I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.” This quote says it all. Great leaders are great learners. The world and the economy are changing in ways that make most people say, “I have never seen times as challenging as these.” As we have said before, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The time is now for saying, “Whether it is perfect, not broke, completely broken, partially broken or completely broken, we need to change the way we do things to be even more innovative, efficient, and in tune with the needs of our customers.”

Stark went on to list six types of “futurist” leader he found during his consulting career (excerpted below):

Self-Directed Learners - Leaders intent on staying current with the latest technologies and organizational trends know that now, more than ever, they must be responsible for their own learning.

Receptive Learners - Great leaders have a fascination with people and display an openness to learning from anyone they encounter, whether the person be someone who shines shoes or heads up a company.

Great Listeners - Being open to learning from anyone requires another skill, the skill of listening.

Excited Learners - Leaders who are committed to continuous learning are great role models for those around them.

Good Teachers - Leaders committed to lifelong learning are good teachers.

Popular Learners - Finally, we have noted that when leaders display excitement about learning and a commitment to being a continuous learner, they may experience greater job security.