On Leadership

Here's another snippet from "The Big Moo" on the philosophies of leadership that promotes my own value system:

Philosophies on Leadership

• Be impatient, don't tolerate mediocrity.
• Be confident in your ability - you CAN make a difference in the world.
• Have extreme passion for your work and those your are working with.
• Never compromise your integrity.
• Risk is the only reward - without risk, there is no benefit.
• Expect isolation, separation, and intolerance.
• Take the time to know and connect with worlds that are vastly different from yours - your greatest discoveries reside there.
• Dare to be different.

Extracted from chapter "The student becomes the teacher".

What, exactly are you afraid of?

Here's another snippet from the Big Moo that resonated strongly with me...

What, exactly are you afraid of?

Here's a list. You pick:

• getting yelled at by the boss
• getting fired
• having your company close down for lack of business
• your company gets acquired and you get fired
• not getting promoted
• making promises you can't keep
• doing the wrong thing
  
• getting caught using the copy machine after hours
• not knowing the right answer

Here's the big news: If your strategy is to lie low, do your job, follow instructions, and hope that nobody notices you, (a) nobody WILL ever notice you, and (b) you're actually increasing the chances of something bad happening.

If, on the other hand, you develop a reputation as the person who is always pushing the envelope, challenging the organisation to go to the next level, and using your influence to get good stuff done, you've got the world's best job security. If you never pretend to know all the answers, nobody will hate you when you say, "I don't know." And if you surround yourself with a team that depends on you to lead them to the next big thing, you all benefit.

You can't shrink your way to greatness. 

-- Extracted from the Big Moo, Seth Godin

They say I'm Extreme

Here's another snippet from the Big Moo that was written just for me :-), and sums up pretty much of my own life & work experience thus far:

They say I'm Extreme

They say I'm extreme.

I say I'm a realist.

They say I demand too much.

I say they accept mediocrity and continuous improvement too readily.

They say, "We can't handle this much change."

I say, "Your job and career are in jeopardy; what other options do you have?"

They say, "What's wrong with a 'good product'?"

I say, "Wal-Mart or China or noth are about to eat your lunch. Why can't you provide instead a fabulous experience?"

They say, "Take a deep breath. Be calm."

I say, "Tell it to Wal-Mart. Tell it to China. Tell it to India. Tell it to Dell. Tell it to Microsoft."

They say the Web is a useful tool.

I say the Web changes everything. Now.

They say, "We need an initiative."

I say, "We need a dream. And dreamers."

They say great design is "nice".

I say great design is necessary.

They say, "Effective governance is important."

I say bold, brash boards that are representative of the market served - more than a token woman or two and an empty seat for the "forthcoming Hispanic" - are an imperative. Now.

The say, "Plan it."

I say, "Do it."

They say, "We need more steady, loyal employees."

I say, "We need more 'freaks' who routinely tell those in charge to take a flying leap...before it's too late."

They say, "We need Good People."

I say, "We need Quirky Talent."

They say, "We like people who, with steely determination, say, 'I can make it better.'"

I say, "I love people who, with a certain maniacal gleam in their eye, perhaps even a giggle, say, 'I can turn the world upside down. Watch me!'"

They say, "Sure, we need change."

I say we nee revolution now.

They say, "Fast follower."

I say, "Battered and bruised leader."

They say, "Conglomerate and imitate!"

I say, "Create and innovate!"

They say, "Market share."

I say, "Market creation."

They say, "Improve and maintain."

I say, "Destroy and reimagine."

They say, "Normal."

I say, "Weird."

They say, "Happy balance."

I say, "Creative tension."

The say a favor a "team that works and lives in harmony."

I say, "Give me a raucous brawl among the most creative people imaginable."

They say, "Peace, brother."

I say, "Bruise my feelings. Flatten my ego. Save my job."

They say, "Basic black."

I say, "Technicolor rules!"

They say, "We need happy customers."

I say, "Give me pushy, needy, nasty, provocative customers."

They say, "We seek Harvard M.B.A.s"

I say, "I seek certificate-free 'Ph.D.s' from the School of Hard Knocks."

They say the want recruits with "spotless records."

I say, "The spots are what matter most."

They say, "Integrity is important."

I say, "Tell the unvarnished truth, all the time... or take a hike."

They say diversity is a "good thing."

I say diversity is a breath of fresh, creative air - absolutely necessary for economic salvation in perilous times.

They say it's "daunting."

I say it's "a hoot."

They say, "Zero defects."

I say, "A day without a screwup or two is a day pissed away."

They say, "Think about it."

I say, "Try it."

They say, "Plan it."

I say, "Test it."

They say, "Radical change takes a decade."

I say, "Radical change takes a minute."

They say, "Times are changing."

I say, "Everything has already changed. Tomorrow is the first day of your revolution... or you're toast."

They say, "We can't all be revolutionaries."

I say, "Why not?"

They say this is just a rant.

I say this is just reality.

How to be a failure

I'm a huge follower of Seth Godin, been dipping into and out of this book called "The Big Moo", bookmarking the blurbs that standout and resonate with me...and to true Godin-style, he encourages

his readers to share the experience. So I'll start sharing some of these blurbs, that I find personally relevant to me as I've come to experience both work-and-life, on this blog, starting with...

How to be a Failure

1. Keep secrets.
2. Be certain you're right and ignore those who disagree with you.
3. Set aggressive deadlines for others to get buy in - then change them when they aren't met.
4. Resist testing your theories.
5. Focus more on what other people think and less on whether your idea is as good as it could be.
6. Assume that a critical mass must embrace your idea for it to work.
7. Choose an idea where number 6 is a requirement.
8. Realise that people who don't instantly get your idea are bull-headed, shortsighted, or even stupid.
9. Don't bother to dramatically increase the quality of your presentation style.
10. Insist that you've got to go straight to the president of the organisation to get something done.
11. Always go for the big win.

[...thought-provoking, isn't it? ...]

[...have you found yourself nodding in agreement through at least one? ....]

On Initiative

Initiative is doing the Right Thing without being told

Here's another one of Hubbard's short essay that struck a chord with me, on Initiative:

The world bestows its big prizes, both in money and honors, for but one thing. And that is Initiative.

What is Initiative? 

I'll tell you: It is doing the right thing without being told. But next to doing the right thing without being told is to do it when you are told once. That is to say, carry the Message to Garcia! 

There are those who never do a thing until they are told twice: such get no honors and small pay. Next, there are those who do the right thing only when necessity kicks them from behind, and these get indifference instead of honors, and a pittance for pay. This kind spends most of its time polishing a bench with a hard-luck story. Then, still lower down in the scale than this, we find the fellow who will not do the right thing even when some one goes along to show him how, and stays to see that he does it; he is always out of a job, and receives the contempt he deserves, unless he has a rich Pa, in which case Destiny awaits near by with a stuff club.

To which class do you belong?

Wow, how's that for telling it like it is?? Keep in mind Hubbard's time was at a great stage of industrialisation (and capitalism) - still, take a look at your workplace, your organisation or project team that you're in, and look around - can you spot people that falls into the rough categories that Hubbard proposes?

Of course, times have changed - and in the workplace, we have to be supportive and nurturing, we have to coach, mentor and lead people, if initiative is not present, then we lead by example, inspire and instill confidence, sometimes acting as a protective shepherd would to his flock. Still, this is no easy task, it takes special patience and a level of integrity & leadership to grow people, transforming them from being reactive or bystanders to taking charge, not being afraid of stepping forward to take the initiative.

This is an example of where Leadership defers from Management. One could argue that Hubbard was a classic, no-nonsense manager, who was quite frank, and direct about his expectations. If you can't deliver the message to Garcia, then there's probably no place for you on his team.

Personally, I find myself caught in between these two styles of "Leadership Management". Depending on the engagement, projects that I work on with really hard delivery deadlines and sometimes unreasonable sense of urgency, one wishes to have more people with Initiative as Hubbard expects. And there are some gigs where it's okay to lead and allow the team to develop along the way.

My natural tendency is to take initiative, as they say "Better to do a thing and ask forgiveness later" - but it doesn't always work out like that. Recently I got my knuckles rapped because I took initiative, acting on cue assuming my client expected me to take his suggestion & run with it...only to be told later that actually, I had to place in executing that activity...So lesson learnt, depending on the stakeholder, in this particular context, the unwritten rule is wait until you're told twice (just in case)...

On the projects I run though, I value people taking initiative, letting me know their intent, and even if they didn't give me the heads up, I look forward to being pleasantly surprised by the team's / person's commitment to solving the problem without being told to do so...