Reply to All

Words of 'wisdom'

Last Friday I had the opportunity to speak to a handful of 1st year MBA students from UW's Foster School of Business.  I was one of several people who spent a bit of time with this great group and wanted to share what I shared with them as it relates to my key takeaways from business school:

• No one is going to hire you to be CEO even though that is what business school teaches you.  Set yourself apart by understanding the CEOs perspective while executing your job responsibilities.
• Learning how to manage and interact with people is critically important so don't dismiss those organizational dynamics classes.  You can't do it all yourself and knowing how to lead will set you apart.
  
• Learn how to sell and be comfortable doing so.  Whether you are selling an idea internally or selling a new product to the market, learning the patience and discipline of this process is essential.  
• Concentrate on analytical frameworks and quantitative approaches.  No one is going to ask you the R-squared of anything, but having a command and comfort with quantitative analysis is very important.
• Where you went to business school matters until you achieve something new - this is the beginning, not end of your achievements.  Avoid those that point exclusively to their MBA as proof of their value.
  
• You create your own opportunities.  Seek out others to learn from and cultivate leadership qualities in those you manage.
• Please, don't take yourself too seriously.

I think there were a few others but I seem to have misplaced the post it note where I had jotted down my thoughts during lunch.

People respond to what you inspect

I heard this in a presentation some time ago and believe it was credited to Louis Gerstner of IBM fame.  I think it is a great quote and one worthy of remembering. 

Regardless of your job or role, what you measure and how you hold those accountable to what you measure will influence their behavior.  The important thing to do is to make sure the metrics and measures you are using are the right ones.  Number of calls made, site traffic, expenses, time in the office, leads generated, proposals sent, amount of time to follow up on a lead, etc. will influence how people work and what they prioritize. 

Be sure to inspect but make sure you inspect the right things.

Steve Jobs on being laid off

I came across this some time ago (via Sramana Mitra) and thought it was a good read and great perspective.  This is taken from a 2005 Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford.  Here's a couple of quotes that I thought were share worthy given lots of news of layoffs these days:

"I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

And this one...

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle."

One of my favorite words

Tenacious.

This word has been used to describe me in the past and while it may be a euphemism for other less flattering adjectives, I'll gladly take the label. 

Merriam-Webster's definition of tenacious:  persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired

Will Price posted on tenacity today highlighting the ups and (mostly) downs of Abraham LIncoln's career. 

Look no further for inspiration and be comfortable knowing you must fail to ultimately succeed.

Transparency

I am a huge advocate of transparency both across functional areas as well as within my team and try to share everything I possibly can as soon as I can.  Sharing information vs. hoarding it is a key foundation of leadership and indicative of someone's comfort in their role and position.

I have read a handful of John Maxwell's books on leadership including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and agree that part of a leader's job is to replace themselves by providing those they lead with opportunity.  If you can do my job, then I am able to go and do another job.  This is not intuitive to most folks.

There are, of course, some things that must not be widely shared but calling out in advance that the goal is to share any and all information is key to effective leadership. 

It is, however, important to consider if all members of your team are ready for this type of transparency and can handle the information you are sharing.  Part of it is how it is packaged and presented although I have learned the hard way that this policy can cause angst and, in some cases, departures.  So be it as you want to surround yourself with those that are up for a challenge and will do whatever it takes to succeed.

A great conversation with Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase

This is a really great conversation between JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Charlie Rose.  In addition to the notion of keeping an owe you/owe me list on you at all times, here's a few quotes I like from the chat:

"history may not repeat but it rhymes"

"buying a house and buying a house on fire are two different things" (about Bear Stearns purchase)

The "owe list" is something he keeps in his pocket.  If he has a conversation and someone owes him something as a follow-up, he writes it down and same goes if he owes somebody something (a call, etc.).  Interesting approach and unique way to stay focused on getting things done and holding people accountable.

Below is a snippet from Youtube and a link to the entire discussion is here (via Paul Kedrosky).

Happy 4th of July & a guest post

Happy July 4th everyone.  I hope everyone is having a great day and enjoying some nice weather.  Kirkland had its annual July 4th parade downtown this morning and we are all pretty exhausted at this point.

To mark the holiday and to share a great story, we are having the first ever guest blogger on Reply to All.  My good friend Michael Barry wrote the post below after a recent trip.  If you have a comment, leave it here or drop him an email on rmichaelbarry at gmail dot com.  Enjoy!

US Troops – The Best Anywhere

I recently had the opportunity to visit Joshua Tree, California – one of a handful of places in the world where the Joshua Tree grows.

 

If you’ve never been to the high desert, I would highly recommend the visit. In particular, the Joshua Tree National Park has some of the most beautiful scenery in the west.  Stay at the Roughley Manor and enjoy the wonderful hospitality of Jan and Gary Peters. They have developed a real oasis in the desert.

While in Joshua Tree, I had the honor to visit Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base, in Twenty Nine Palms California.  Much is written about leadership, but regardless of your political views, you should be proud of the physical, technical, mental and emotional training that our men and women receive at Twenty Nine Palms – it is quite simply beyond compare and results in leaders that we would all be fortunate to work with and whom we should all be proud to serve our Country (we should also be proud that there were at least 3 other western countries training alongside our men and women).

Our U.S. Marines are trained to plan (and contingency plan) and execute on that plan (or modify as necessary), in a variety of scenarios.  From IED search and destroy, injury triage, clearing a room, to interacting with locals and press representatives, and other “lanes” of training, the base was realistic in every way that a civilian could find imaginable.  Lt. Col. “Dutch” Dietz was kind enough to spend a few hours with us and permit us to experience some of the in-depth training that our Marines receive.

The base itself is 600 square miles and, among other things, houses at least one full-size, mock town that is used for reality optimized training. 

Each of the men and women of the US Marine Corps that we met were respectful, well trained, confident in their training and proud to serve our Country. The degree of training, technology, responsiveness and pride of our men and women in uniform is rarely covered in the popular press, and it’s a shame.  Our troops provide our Country with the best service we could possibly expect and they deserve the best from us – all of us.   

The next time you are walking through an airport, or are seated next to one of our men or women in uniform, let them know you appreciate their service to our Country. A simple “thanks” will be meaningful to them. Remember that at places like Twenty Nine Palms, our men and women in uniform are prepared for days that make even our most demanding board / client interactions pale in comparison.

Mentors

One of the most important elements of professional development as well as one of the most elusive is meaningful and positive mentorship.  I had a great deal of structured mentorship back during my Andersen days but start-ups and early stage companies seem to miss this element of structure.  There are more than a few things to sort as you get a company up and running so formal programs easily fall by the wayside.

Beyond formal or assigned mentors are those people you meet who become informal mentors (whether they know it or not).   I have been fortunate enough to have a few of both types over the years although I certainly still yearn for more.  I always seek to learn from those around me and am always interested in meeting new people.

I had the chance to connect in person last week with a great friend and mentor.  He continues to be a positive influence on me and is in the middle of a true entrepreneurial experience of his own.  We hadn't seen each other in many years but picked right up without missing a beat. 

These types of interactions help level-set and bring perspective to our efforts and challenges.  If you know someone you consider a mentor or someone that could be one, take the time, reach out, and grab a coffee, beer, lunch, or dinner.  The rewards are very much worth the effort.

Recognition well deserved

A really great friend of mine, Michael Barry, has been recognized by the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business as the Outstanding Young Alumni for 2008.  Michael is a Partner with law firm Epstein, Becker, and Green in Atlanta and has earned three degrees from UGA (BBA, JD, & MBA). 

We met during fraternity rush in the fall of 1989 and have had no shortage of great memories together since that time including being my best man at my wedding.  Michael is a great lawyer, trusted adviser, and close friend.  If you know him, please reach out and congratulate him.  If you don't know him, you should.

Congratulations Michael.  I look forward to celebrating with you on May 3.

Aspire to lead

Great post by Kevin Merritt of Blist on the difference between "foxholes and potholders" in your organization.  I read this a couple days ago and can't get it out of my mind.

"I like to think of a team’s passion for and support of their leader as being measurable on an imaginary scale from foxhole to potholder. Foxhole leaders are the ones who jumped in the foxhole and fought the battle right alongside the soldiers. Potholders are the ones who seem to appear just as the pie is ready to come out of the oven. A potholder uses his position of authority to demand the potholders, with which he removes the pie from the oven and gleefully presents it as though he baked it."

I think we've all experienced more potholders than we care to remember.  Great stuff Kevin.