Let me say this simply. Complexity is the biggest villain in business. It is a kill or be killed proposition. Complexity is more Loki than Bane. It’s sneaky, shifty, and has different forms. It hides in the cracks of your business, growing more disruptive and indelible with every minute people fail to notice. Complexity kills…
Archive | Leadership
MadBum MVP but Giant Teamwork
Right after the SF Giants won the 2014 World Series, I tweeted the following: Tens of thousands of words will be written about this #WorldSeries. The only ones that matter: #MadBum MVP #SFGiants At the beginning of the post-season, very few people expected the Giants to win. Consider the situation at the time: The Giants…
18 Minutes to Higher Productivity
A few weeks ago I read “18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done” by Peter Bregman. 18 Minutes is a business self-help entertaining book based on his blog and weekly Harvard Business Review columns. The book suggests a process for prioritizing your day in 18 minutes over a nine-hour…
Gladwell vs Vonnegut on Change Specialists
You say you want a revolutionWell, you knowWe all want to change the world Many readers will recognize these lines as the opening to the Beatles’ 1968 song Revolution. More than just a catchy tune, the song is notable because it was the first time the Beatles expressed political views so publicly. We might all…
Great Leaders Think Simply
Those of us who are privileged to be leaders understand how difficult it is to lead people. Not assets, not resources. People. Early in my career, I spent a lot of time thinking about what it meant to be a leader. I talked to more seasoned leaders, I read books on management theory, and –…
The Unwritten Rules of Management
You can’t polish a sneaker I was 30 mins into an incredibly boring presentation when that phrase caught my attention. It’s catchy, I thought, but what the heck does it mean? A little Internet sleuthing unearthed that the line is from the Unwritten Rules of Management, by William Swanson, former Chairman and CEO of Raytheon. Apparently,…
Vision vs. Mission
“Your mission, should you choose to accept it.” It’s been nearly 25 years but I still vividly remember those words from the television show Mission Impossible. At the time, I didn’t realize it was a remake of the original show which aired 25 years before that. I also didn’t realize the two series might have…
Three Ways that Simplicity Pays
Remember ‘keep it simple, stupid‘? Even though it’s been a popular mantra since 1960, simplicity is a hot topic these days. In my previous blog, Is Complex Better than Complicated?, I wrote about two Zen of Python’s 20 design principles: Simple is better than complex. Complex is better than complicated. Ultimately, simple is what we are all…
McChrystal on Leadership
Seven years ago (!) I wrote a blog titled Management by Marching Around which suggested that traditional command and control leadership no longer worked in business – or in the military. Instead, I believe in management by influence (suggesting direction) more than by control (enforcing rules). I also recommend management by exception (tell me about…
Bring Your Gifts to Work: My Maverick Hangout Experience
Unlocking human potential. It’s a manager’s most important task, but also the hardest to measure and understand. How can leaders empower employees to be free of bureaucracy and top-down management, while maintaining consistency and efficiency across the organization? Gary Hamel, co-founder of the Management Innovation eXchange (MIX), and I discussed these issues and others during…