Paul's Stream - New Addition

My friends tell me I find some interesting things when I go on Twitter or to the posts I read or whatever I do. So I have decided to add another twist to this blog - Paul's stream. As I capture things that I think are interesting I will add the links here. I won't quit doing occasional summaries of articles I like or the occasional thought piece that is more than 140 characters, but I will share my eclectic stream of interest. If others find it intriguing to see what I latch onto - have fun. I'm sure sometimes links will break and items will loose interest over time but for what stays this will provide you a chance to sit by and dip in my "stream".

Here's the first set:

What can you learn from executives who use Twitter well? splash

I believe Robert Scoble has put a mash-up of various pros together. Here are rules to live by

Are you pompous? splash

Is bulldozing cities the way to save them? splash

Role of environment in behavior. splash

Not knowledge management - wisdom management. splash

Did you know about this NYT learning opportunity? splash

What happens when leadership passes generationally? splash

More later.

How David Beats Goliath

I highly recommend the New Yorker article on May 6, 2009 by Malcolm Gladwell, "How David Beats Goliath"

The sub-title is "When underdogs break the rules" but I think it is more appropriately "When underdogs break with existing conventions." Often people give these conventions the weight of rules, but they aren't breaking any rules by doing it. Gladwell talks about the basketball team that plays the full court press for the whole game and wins on legs instead of arms. They didn't break any rules they went against the convention.

We seem to want rules so bad that we create them in our minds to cover the way we want to approach situations. There's no rule that says a Walmart can't build stores in rural areas but that doesn't stop us from vilifying them. From the barber who opens on Sunday to the medical clinic that opens in a drug store...David beats Goliath by going against convention. Gladwell calls it being "socially horrifying".

What does that mean for you? Are you David or Goliath? If you're Goliath, what can you do to create the urgency that will keep you moving forward?

What C.K. Prahalad has Learned

There was a May 5, 2009 article on fastcompany.com about C.K. Prahalad. It ended with a sidebar: What the Teacher has Learned:

1. When the going is roughest, leadership matters. In times of trouble leaders must act like emotional and intellectual anchors. Authenticity is the most important trait.
2. Successful managers embrace discomfort. Discomfort can push you to a new level of achievement.
3. Great leaders stay on message. Nothing is more important than reminding people what the company stands for.
4. It's not one person. It's not the team. It's both. One unique person makes a difference, but you need teamwork to make things happen.
5. Think? Act? Balance the two. Sometimes not acting is smart. But if you get the feeling that everybody's becoming so thoughtful that nobody's doing anything, I wanna go light some fires somewhere.

Me: I could get along with Prahalad just fine!

Are You Micro-Managing Yourself?

Thanks to Steven DeMaio for putting this in the Harvard Business Review. It's a good tool for some self assessment. Here's what he says:

• Don't lose sight of the big picture, even when doing grunt work. The classic micro manager tends to zero in on details right away. Doing that in your own work will make it feel like drudgery. Don't lose sight of your tasks larger purpose.
• Avoid mid-stream self-correction, especially on the first run through. Your first session on a project should be your longest. Give yourself the chance to experience the full arc of the endeavor. Don't start tidying up a little corner before you've built the entire structure.
• When you can't delegate entire tasks, delegate micro decisions. Micro managers have trouble delegating. But there are times when a quick consult with a colleague can help you move forward on something that would otherwise bog you down. "Am I on the right track here?" is a good question.
• Recognize that micro work has its place. Not micromanaging doesn't give you permission to embed your work with small mistakes or imperfections. Continue to be fastidious about the details. The bad type of micromanagement is often the result of impatience, but the good type requires patience.

I find that the mid-stream self correction often leads to loosing focus on the goal. The project gets muddled and, without correction, often fails.

What Women Know

Rachel Happe, Principle in The Community Roundtable, wrote a recent piece on "What Women Know and How it Drives Profitability". She makes the case that businesses with more women in senior leadership positions are more profitable and innovative. Here what she says about how what a woman knows translates into business success.

Women know high risk comes with high potential upsides and high potential downsides. She says that means women focus less on what could be and more on what can be today.

Women know relationships and know that the more open and transparent we are the closer the relationships are that we can foster. Rachel claims this allows women to form more enduring relationships that aren't built on weak links, like money and rewards.

Women know how valuable communication is - at all levels. According to Rachel that means people around her are better informed and therefore more trusting and open.

Women know how to navigate emotional conflict better and have an easier time discussion deep rooted differences of opinion between colleagues in a friendly way. This allow for early conflict resolution.

Women know how to identify subtle social ques and can tell when someone is being open. This allow more accurate assessment of customers and others.

Women know that telling people what to do is not the most effective way to lead.

Women know complexity. We can never focus on just work, or just money, or just family. It is always about the best decision for everyone rather than the best decision for just one constituent.

For me, a man, I find these as better descriptions of those rare people who make good leaders than any unique set of skills that a person has due to their gender. I've worked with too many women who were none of these... women who went on for months with "strategic planning" processes but couldn't decide to approve my order for lunch for tomorrow's training...women who whisper and close doors and hide plans until implementation is far more difficult...women who hold grudges that impact their business decisions for years, and years, and...women who leave a trail of devastated employees in their path. In short, women who are bad leaders.

I, for one, cherish the opportunity to work in an environment with diversity of ideas, where people are respected and trusted to be part of the team and where they show their commitment through their focus and accomplishments and not through their hours. The situation needs to include men and women and, for me, I value both.

The Urgency Challenge

I've been thinking lately about what makes something urgent. Why do we prioritize? How do we pick what we work day and night to get done versus what we let slide on our to-do list? I've been thinking about it because there are so many things that I think should be urgent that others apparently don't. My conclusion so far - pleasure and pain. We either apply ourselves with urgency to something because that will result in us achieving greater rewards, or we do it because failing to do so will cause us some sort of pain. Urgency can be applied at the personal level and at the organizational level. An organization will have an expectation of urgency if those in charge believe that applying the resources of the company to its products with urgency will result in greater rewards or not will result in greater loss or pain. Urgency and power are interrelated.

Programs Need More FURI

I'm writing this blog as a way to capture my thoughts in an organized way. If you want to follow what I'm thinking about you are welcome. FURI stands for Focus, Urgency, Reach, and Impact. For years I have worked in the delivery of programs funded, either by generous donations from private citizens or by taxes. I believe that these are both appropriate ways for some programs to be funded. On the other hand I see much too much waste in the delivery of these programs. FURI came out of my experiences with the wasteful programs. They make me mad. I believe there is a solution and that is to be sure that all programs have Focus, Urgency, Reach, and Impact. This blog will explore my experiences in moving in that direction. It is not and will not be a straight and narrow journey. It is a worthy destination.