Recruit "constructive" no-men

I recently reviewed an old note book (when I did this by pencil and paper pre-digital and social media!) and came across this great quote.  A wonderful reminder that 1. you should not surround yourself with "yes-men", but 2. a no-man who is just a no-man is a no-no!  (And a reminder that recruiting is perhaps the most important task you will undertake if your business is to be successful!)

"I do not wish to hire yes-men.  Yes-men come cheap . . .what we are looking for is what I call constructive no-men.  My own personal rule for very many years has been that anybody is free to criticise me, to criticise the company, to question or argue against anything that we are trying to do - provided they will satisfy the one criterion that they will tell us what I or the company should do differently."

Source: Harvey-Jones J (1988)  Making it happen.  Fontana, London.  P.89

(posted also to: http://www.youngstapreneur.net/blogs/item/recruit-constructive-no-men)

Places of Realised Potential

People with a commitment to potential see potential not merely as self-fulfillment but as expressing stewardship and servanthood. Is where you work a place where potential can be realised?

 

A place of realised potential:

• Opens itself to change, to contrary opinion, to the mystery of potential, to involvement, to unsettling ideas.
• Offers people the opportunity to learn and grow.
• Offers the gift of challenging work. 
•  Sheds its obsolete baggage.
•  Encourages people to decide what needs to be measured and then helps them to do the work.
• Heals people with trust and with caring and with forgiveness.
• Is a social environment – people in places of realised potential know that organisations are social environments.
•  Celebrates.

Source : Max De Pree (1997)  Leading without power. Finding hope in serving community.  Jossey-Bass  ISBN-13: 978-0787910631

UPDATE: The Green Revolution - get the Norman Borlaug biography for 99 US cents

The previous free offer has lapsed, but available on Kindle for 99 cents.

Today I received a notice from the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology that the Noel Vietmeyer, book Our Daily Bread: the Essential Norman Borlaug, is available free in digital form until midnight October 5th.  I can wholeheartedly endorse the book which tells the story of how a young farmer grew to change the world and save millions from starvation. He is known as a key contributor to the Green Revolution.

If you are interested in history, this is a great starting point.  If you are interested in a food secure world, it is also a good place to start thinking about solutions.  

And if you have children interested in farming or agriculture, or know of young people contemplating as career in agriculture, this is a story of an inspirational personal journey that they will find fascinating.

 

You can access the book, for free download from this link to Amazon

This is a great offer and we should thank Noel Vietmeyer for his generousity.

Talent Development, Star Performers and Bell Labs

The recently published The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation has received wide favourable comment.  Reading it reminded me of an earlier assessment that is relevant in a era where business is acutely conscious of the need to manage talent.

Here is a checklist of behaviours and attitudes encouraged in staff by Bell Labs in an effort to create star performers.

Going beyond the job

• I make the most of my present assignment.
• I do more than I am asked to do.
• I look for places where I might spot problems and fix them.
• I fix bugs that I notice (in programs) or at least tell someone about them.
• I look for opportunities to do extra work to help the project move along more quickly.

New ideas and follow-through

• I try to do some original work.
• I look for places where something that’s already done might be done better.
• I have ideas about new features and other technical projects that might be developed.
• When I have an idea, I try to make it work and let people know about it.
• I try to document what my idea is and why it’s a good idea.
• I think about and try to document how my idea could save the company money or bring in new business.
• I seek advice from people who have been successful in promoting ideas.
• I construct a plan for selling my idea to people in the company.

Dealing constructively with criticism.

• I tell colleagues about my ideas to get their reactions and criticisms.
• I use their comments and criticisms to make my ideas better.
• I consult the sources of criticism to help find solutions.
• I continue to revise my ideas to incorporate my colleagues’ concerns.

Planning for the future

• I spend time planning what I’d like to work on next.
• I look for other interesting projects to work on when my present work gets close to the finish line.
• I talk to people to find out what projects are coming up and will need people.

Source:  Kelley R and Caplan J (1993)  How Bell Labs creates star performers.  Harvard Business Review, July-August 1993 pp.128

Mood disorders may help people find leadership clarity

(Note - this post has been modifed since first published 24 hours ago to give additional contextual comment.)

Winston Churchill struggled with depression, and that may have made him a better leader.

Referring to Churchill, Nassir Ghaemi, professor of psychiatry in Tufts University School of Medicine, states: “The depressive leader saw the event of his day with a clarity and realism lacking in saner, more stable men.”  (Johansen, 2012, p.50)

This was one insight that hit me reading “Leaders Make the Future” by Bob Johansen.  Johansen is the former President and now Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for the Future (IFTF) - an independent non-profit think tank that has produced an annual ten-year forecast for over 40 years.  The 10 novel leadership skills he introduces in this book are worthy of deep consideration.

First, I should put a bit more context on the depression issue – Ghaemi’s work suggests that mood disorders may actually help people find leadership clarity in a world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA).  He considers that in good times, healthy people function effectively as leaders, but “...in times of crisis and tumult, those who are mentally abnormal, even ill, become the greatest leaders…..Mildly depressed people…tend to see the world more clearly, as it is” (my emphasis).

Johansen contends that “Being normal may be a disadvantage in abnormal times.”  And I am sure he is not advocating depression - rather the need for a mindset open enough to see reality as it is.

There is little normal in a world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), and Johansen argues that leaders operating in this world must learn new skills in order to make a better future including:

1)            Maker instinct (leaders approach their leadership with commitment of a job and energy of a passionate hobby)

2)            Clarity (leaders being clear about what they are making but flexible about how it gets made)

3)            Dilemma Flipping (turning problems that can't be solved into opportunities)

4)            Immersive Learning (learning by doing)

5)            Bio-empathy (understand, respect and learn from nature)

6)            Constructive depolarization (calming tense situations and bringing people from divergent cultures towards constructive engagement)

7)            Quiet transparency (ability to be open and authentic about what matters to you without self-promotion)

8)            Rapid Prototyping (ability to create early versions of innovations)

9)            Smart mob organizing (creating, engaging and nurturing social networks)

10)        Commons creating (stimulate, grow and nurture shared assets that can benefit other players)

The book is probably best suited to a seasoned leader with an experience on which to reflect and make sense of Johansen’s words.  He is effective in explaining the "what" and the "why" but not the "how”, and this is where an ability to draw on an extensive practice would be useful.  Getting through the book is not an easy task, but is one that will be highly rewarding.

My one major insight is that “Leaders make the Future” offers a novel approach to making sense of the present.  If you can do that, you are in a better position to shape the future.

I read many books on leadership.  Not often do I recommend one.  Johansen’s “Leaders make the future” is an exception.  You won’t find it easy, and you will need be prepared to take a time for some deep reflection.  If you care about the practice of leading then you will find Johansen’s ideas as very useful (along with anything written by Max De Pree!!)

Bob Johansen (2012) Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World.  Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco.  ISBN 978-1-60994-487-2

Love after Love

The time will come

when, with elation,

you will greet yourself arriving

at  your own door, in your own mirror;

and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here.  Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was yourself.

Give wine.  Give bread.  Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love-letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,

peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on you life.

Source:  “Love after love” from Sea grapes by Derek Walcott. (1976)

Seeking to be Creative? Listen with spirit

Wisdom, insight, change and action come not from better thinking, testing and strategising, but from letting go, receiving and listening.

Group creativity appears to exhibit a common spirit revealing itself. The vehicle for receiving this insight or connecting with spirit, is a quality of detached, selfless openness. It is like emptying oneself or creating a vessel for receiving and containing spirit.

Source:  Levine L (1994) Listening with spirit and the art of team dialogue. Journal of organisational change management. 7(1):61-73

Industry doesn't need applied research, nor does it need pure research

A recent conference conducted by the New Zealand Association of Scientists has drawn attention to the argument about whether funding should be provided for pure research, or for applied research. This is a common, ongoing dichotomy in many debates over research, particularly that funded from the public purse.

The reality, however, is that this debate is based on the erroneous assumption that industry benefits only from applied research, and that research directed at assisting industry must be applied.

This is an oversimplification, based on the definitions of research developed by Vannevar Bush in the post-World War II era of economic expansion.

Donald Stokes in his 1997 book Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation argues that there is a far stronger link between research of the more basic nature and innovation in industry than many appreciate.  In fact, the dominant form of research is use-inspired, regardless of whether it is at the discovery or the application part of the cycle.

Yet, industry (and a large body of policy-makers) is lead to believe that it needs applied research. Thus the attention has turned to wants, rather than needs.

What industry needs is research that is appropriate to solve the problem at hand, or exploit the opportunity recognised. (And this is best driven by better problem definition, not the meaningless classification of science).

Very often the real needs of industry cannot be met from available knowledge, which means that the research it needs must be of a more discovery nature. As Stokes eloquently puts it when he uses Louis Pasteur as his example, the more involved you become in the application of scientific knowledge in the market, the more you identify even more fundamental questions to be answered. These fundamental questions need to be answered to enable full exploitation in the market. 

Others explain the concept better than me, such as this contribution from Washington State University.   

The Lessons of Pasteur's Example can be summed up:

•         Pasteur was a chemist & microbiologist

•         Driven to solve the problems of industry - fermentation

•         Breakthroughs include vaccines (rabies & anthrax), germ theory & pasteurisation (of course)

•         While ‘use inspired’ he answered fundamental science questions, because he needed the answers in order to answer industry questions

•         Suggests that industry focused research includes both applied and pure/fundamental

•         Focus should be on outcomes, not type of research

What is the utility of all of this? 

Countless hours are wasted on trying to determine whether the public should be supporting applied research or basic research. Far less time is spent on identifying the priorities to be researched, or the questions and challenges to be answered.  More time spent on the latter will enable the scarce public resources to be better targeted at activities that make a difference.

Once the priorities are identified it is easier to determine how much effort is needed in discovery and how much in application – that choice depends on what we know about the field, how much information and knowledge has already been discovered, and what remain the unanswered questions.

Deciding what to do on the basis of whether it is pure or applied research does little more than distort the research agenda. Research is research, and the nature of the research depends on how much knowledge we have in relation to the problem or the opportunity we are examining.

Now, a debate about national priorities - that's an entirely different beast! As is how much is needed to be invested!  How do we best define the problems, or characterise the opportunities?

Leaders Learn

One question often asked is: are leaders born or is leadership taught?

Leaders learn!

Burt Nanus gives a few ideas about how leadership skills can be learned.

1.   Seek leadership responsibility early and often.

2.   Find a mentor or role model.

3.   Develop farsightedness.  Create a sense of vision.

4.   Master the skills of interdependence.  They're more important than the skills of competition.

5.   Become a world citizen, learning the languages and cultures of others.

6.   Develop personal character, integrity, and trust.

7.   Seek varied job assignments.

8.   Think like a researcher, develop a sense of curiosity and creativity.

9.   Design a leadership job carefully, knowing their goals.

10.Have fun at what you do.

Source:  Nanus B (1990) The Leaders Edge (US: Contemporary Books)

Six characteristics of a Good Leader

 

Leadership is a diverse topic, and there is an enormous literature that surrounds it.  Social media abounds with “insights”, to the extent that I have recently begun reflecting on what I have learnt about leading over the last 30 years in the work force. Not much seems to be new!!

 One dominant theme in the social media is an attempt to describe good leadership.  The following is an older contribution from Schmertz and Novak on the topic that seems to cover much of what is advocated in more contemporary contributions.

A good leader

• is always willing to do the dirty work.  He'll sweep out the store if that's what's required to make a project succeed.  If everyone on the team has to make a sacrifice, he'll set an example for others to follow.
• isn't afraid to hire people who are smarter or more creative than himself.  He knows that if he goes to the usual mediocre sources, he's going to end up with the usual mediocre results.  A real leader can harness the energy of creative people in a way that will enhance the entire enterprise.  Since most people "per se" are mediocre, the true leader can be recognised because, somehow or other, his people consistently turn in superior performances.
• is enthusiastic during tough times.  Leaders who constantly complain about a bad situation can rarely motivate the troops and help them to overcome adversity.  In a crisis, optimism and confidence are even more important than experience and intelligence.
• has vision.  In our experience there are two kinds of leader - the "lets-not" and the "why-not".  When times are tough, the lets-not prefer to retreat, to stay with the familiar, to avoid taking risks.  The why-nots, on the other hand, are open to fresh ideas and bold possibilities.  If the old answers don't work, they're willing to experiment with new and unconventional solutions.
• is tough - a quality that has less to do with personality than with character.  It's not that the tough leader is abrasive, or uncaring, or insensitive.  It's simply that he's willing and able to make the difficult and unpopular decisions - and live with their consequences.
• holds a set of philosophical principles that guide him when it comes to specific issues.  Rather than making decisions on an ad hoc basis, he has formed some conclusions about the basic objectives of the organisation and about how those objectives should be reached.  By the same token, he knows that the long-term health and survival of the organisation must take precedence always over short-term gains.

See:  Schmertz H and Novak W (1986)  Goodbye to the low profile.  The art of creative confrontation.  London: Mercury Books