Linkage, the global organizational development company, just released a new e-learning program entitled “Fired Up Leadership.” The program features Jason Pankau and me in a 90 minute video format that concludes a Q&A with Linkage Senior Vice President Rich Rosier.
Category Archives: Connection Culture
A Test of Google’s Character
I hope Google is considering what I presented at it’s Mountain View, California headquarters last summer as it decides how to respond to the Chinese government’s apparent hacking of Google’s servers to access information on Chinese human rights protestors. If evidence becomes clear that the Chinese government is responsible for the attack, Google’s response will have an significant effect on the firm’s reputation, consumer brand, employer brand and employee engagement. This is a test of Google’s corporate character and whether or not it will live up to its aspiration “don’t be evil” and its belief in supporting a free marketplace of ideas. Human rights abuses and censorship in China are no secret. To be indifferent to China’s actions in this instance, however, is to provide silent assent. What company or leader would want such a legacy?
The Chinese Government-Google showdown reminds me of a line from Elie Wiesel’s profound speech entitled “The Perils of Indifference.” In it, Wiesel states:
“Why did some of America’s largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler’s Germany until 1942? It has been suggested, and it was documented, that the Wehrmacht could not have conducted its invasion of France without oil obtained from American sources. How is one to explain their indifference?”
It would be wise for Google’s leaders to read Wiesel’s speech and consider how history will eventually record their decision. Some decisions reflect inflection points for a firm and for history itself. As historian David McCullough reminds us in the preface to his book Brave Companions,
“…while there are indeed great, often unfathomable forces in history before which even the most exceptional of individuals seem insignificant, the wonder is how often events turn upon a single personality, or the quality we call character.”
This can be said for corporate character too.
—
Note: Above is a video of a presentation I gave on leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation at Google’s corporate headquarters, the Googleplex, last summer. On this rare occasion, I presented alone. Normally I present with my colleague Jason Pankau because better together. As Jason says, “Mike’s the serious one, I’m the fun one.”
The Indifferent Workplace
Recent research from the Corporate Advisory Board shows that 90 percent of employees are not engaged or their behavior is not aligned with organizational goals. Certainly, the recession and layoffs have contributed to this state of malaise in the workplace. It’s not the only cause, however. Jealousies, personal rivalries, silo behavior, and incivility have also harmed the spirits of people at work. The primary culprit, I believe, is indifference.
The Indifferent Workplace is one where people are so busy attending to tasks that they largely ignore one another. The predominant attitude in the Indifferent Workplace is that work is work and my real life is outside of work. Never shall the two meet. To adopt this mindset is to compartmentalize one’s life. Humanity is relegated to life outside of work. Work is all task. The problem is that life goes on at work too. We spend much of our waking hours at work. Recent neuroscience research shows that the environment we live in affects us down to the gene transcription level. For good or ill, we pass these changes on to our progeny. If our work environment doesn’t have meaning and healthy social interaction where we get to know the people we work with as human beings, rather than always interacting with them as human doings, it has a negative effect on our physical and mental health as well as our performance.
This year, I want you to join me in pushing back the forces of indifference at work. When you pass people in a hallway or see them in an elevator, make eye contact and say hello. Purchase a notebook and write down the names of the people you most frequently come in contact with at work. Periodically ask each person to go to lunch or meet you for coffee. Learn where they were born and grew up, what their interests are outside of work, who they admire and what movies, music and television shows they like and why? Also learn how you can help them. Write what you learn about them in your notebook and it will help you remember. If they are facing a difficult time in life, reach out to help or encourage them in some way. Send them a note or do something to delight them. One of my favorites is a gift card to Starbucks or something fun like a package of Ben and Jerry’s ice creams ordered through www.icecreamsource.com (they arrive in a box with dry ice).
As human beings the busyness of life can make us drift toward indifference. For that reason, we must be intentional about valuing people and fighting the creeping forces of indifference. Left unopposed, indifference breeds dehumanization, incivility and violence. Finally, I encourage you to read or listen to Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel’s speech “The Perils of Indifference.” It provides insight about indifference from one who has witnessed it at its extreme, felt it’s sting and thoughtfully reflected on its nature and dangers.
B-Schools Develop New Thinking Style
An interesting article appeared in today’s The New York Times about how business schools are changing to accommodate broader thinking. The article references the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and its dean Roger Martin. I encourage you to read Roger Martin’s books and articles to learn more about integrative thinking.
Peter Drucker was an excellent example of an integrative thinker. It’s why his ideas were typically decades ahead of the crowd. Although his work focused on leadership and organizations, the breakthrough insights he developed were frequently integrated from other domains including history, psychology and sociology. During Drucker’s life many in the academy criticized his approach. Rotman and Roger Martin, however, embraced Drucker. And Drucker recognized the importance of the thinking that was being developed at Rotman and said so in this presentation.
So often, management decisions are based on the myopic thinking of a few like-minded individuals in positions of power and influence rather than drawn from the thinking of individuals with diverse perspectives, experiences and thinking styles. The developing fields of integrative thinking and design thinking will hopefully broaden the managerial mindset and result in better thinking and decision making.
[In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve spoken at Rotman and at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Management, which is also referenced in the article. The Connection Culture I write and speak about draws upon aspects of design thinking and integrative thinking.]
Here’s to Positive Role Models
While growing up did you have role models in your life who had a profoundly positive effect on you? Perhaps it was a teacher who believed in you and pushed you to strive, a parent of one of your friends who consistently provided encouragement or a coach who modeled great leadership, teaching you to work hard and play fair. I’m fortunate to have had positive role models and mentors in my life who brought out the best in me and I’ve tried to play that role for younger people in my community.
I was reminded about positive role models recently while watching a remarkable television program called Friday Night Lights. I really want to encourage you to check out this award-winning and critically-acclaimed drama. This show is gritty and real. I don’t want to give away the story but suffice it to say the writing, acting and production of this show are extraordinary, a far cry from many of the vacuous programs on today. You can rent the first three seasons at your local video store and the fourth season will be broadcast soon on NBC (if you have DirecTV, you can watch the fourth season now on Wednesdays at 9:00 PM Eastern).
While I’m not an avid football fan (and you don’t have to be to enjoy this show), I love this drama for its inspiration, entertainment and the values it promotes. The primary examples of great role models on display are in the characters of coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami. Eric is the high school football coach in a football-crazy West Texas town that, incidentally, is based on Odessa, Texas, where I worked for Texas instruments in my first job after college. Tami is a guidance counselor who becomes the high school’s principal in later episodes. Eric and Tami are both leaders who inspire the kids to achieve excellence in their academic and athletic endeavors, and in their relationships and personal character. The show’s adult and teenage characters face the types of heart-wrenching trials and temptations that we all face in life, whether it’s the sickness or death of a loved one, a friend who needs us during a busy and demanding time in our life, or the lure of doing something we know is wrong for the sake of status or financial gain.
The above video clip includes images from Friday Night Lights set to Coldplay’s song “Fix You.” The images coupled with the song’s music and lyrics capture the spirit of Friday Night Lights. I hope you’ll check it out. You’ll be glad you did.
Connecting With Clients
What makes you indispensable to a client? So indispensable that she treats you as a valued partner and pays you well for a sustained period of time? The obvious answer is to have clearly demonstrable expertise in areas she values. This alone will open doors and close deals for you. It won’t ensure long-term loyalty, however.
Knowledge Traps Haunt U.S. Intelligence
In Fired Up or Burned Out I wrote about how Knowledge Traps have sabotaged the American intelligence community’s performance. A former intelligence professional sent me a link to recent discoveries by the press that makes it clear this continues to be a problem. Consider the following:
- According to CBS News, as early as August of 2009 the Central Intelligence Agency was picking up information on a person of interest dubbed “The Nigerian,” suspected of meeting with “terrorist elements” in Yemen.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, the father of Mr. Abdulmutallab warned the CIA of his son’s likely radicalization at the U.S. embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. That led to a broader gathering of agencies the next day, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department, in which the information was shared.
- According to CNN, information on Abdulmutallab, including his passport number and possible connection to extremists, had been sent to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, but it sat there for five weeks and was not disseminated.
- Also according to the Wall Street Journal, the National Security Agency who had been monitoring former Guantanamo detainees in Yemen had communications intercepts suggesting a Nigerian was being prepped for a terror strike by al Qaeda operatives in that country.
- And the Washington Post reports that not only did the British government reject an Abdulmutallab visa application this May, but that British Home Secretary Alan Johnson said that U.S. officials should have been told about the rejection and that he believes they were.
Unless the Director of National Intelligence (DCI) Admiral Dennis Blair is intentional about establishing a culture in the overall intelligence community that understands what Knowledge Traps are and how to create the Knowledge Flow necessary to remove them, it is likely that we will continue to experience less than optimal performance in intelligence. Several high-ranking individuals in the intelligence and defense communities have been advocates of our work in this area and we hope to spend more time helping them this coming year.
Knowledge Traps Sabotage Performance
A recent New York Times article entitled “For American Workers in China, a Culture Clash” described how American and Chinese cultural differences impact the workplace. Cultural misunderstandings can be one form of Knowledge Trap that impedes the flow of knowledge in an organization. Other Knowledge Traps include leaders/decision-makers who don’t seek diverse points of view, personal rivalries, departmental silos and isolationist organizations. When decision-makers don’t have access to the best knowledge, there is an increased probability that they will make suboptimal decisions. In addition, Knowledge Traps have a negative impact on the marketplace of ideas that fuels innovation.
To improve decision-making and innovation, leaders need to be intentional about removing Knowledge Traps. One of the best ways to do this is to educate people so they can be on guard against Knowledge Traps and understand how to avoid them. Rewarding people who contribute to Knowledge Flow and the marketplace of ideas with compensation and promotions also sends the right message.
Nations Need Inspiring Identities Too
I’ve written about the need for organizations to have inspiring identities as one means to unite, engage and align members. Identity is the narrative that describes mission, values and reputation. An identity become inspiring when it connects with the personal identities of the organization’s members. Nick, the door man at the 53rd Street location of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in NYC is fired up, in part, because of MSKCC’s inspiring identity. Nick believes in MSKCC’s mission to provide “The Best Cancer Care, Anywhere,” he embraces MSKCC’s values of caring about people and being the best in providing cancer treatment (i.e. the value of excellence), and he is proud of MSKCC’s reputation as one of the leading cancer centers in the world.
Nations need inspiring identities too. America has benefitted from its identity as the “land of the free and home of the brave,” with values of liberty, equality of opportunity and justice for all. According to historian Gordon Wood, by the early 1800’s, America’s reputation had been transformed from being viewed as on the fringe of the civilized world to being at the vanguard. An inspiring identity contributed to America’s success.
One region in today’s world that needs to find an inspiring identity is Central Asia.
Culture, Not Who Pays, Is Real Problem in Healthcare
The New York Times columnist David Brooks just came out with his Sidney Awards for the best magazine essays in 2009. I always read them because Brooks is among the very best writers/thinkers in journalism today. One of the award winners is “The Cost Conundrum” by Atul Gwande, the surgeon, author and MacArthur genius award recipient. Brooks describes Gwande’s essay as the most influential essay written this year. I highly recommend that you take the time to read it.
What I found especially interesting in Gwande’s essay is that he concludes that culture — or more specifically, the values of doctors — is at the heart of America’s heathcare cost crisis rather than who pays the costs. Gwande takes us to McAllen, Texas where in 2006, Medicare spent nearly $15,000 per enrollee, twice the national average, but achieved no better than average quality of care. Like a good investigative reporter he roots out the truth by conducting qualitative interviews and looking into quantitative data. He discovers that the average doctor in McAllen orders more procedures than the average doctor in America. Upon further investigation he learns that in towns like McAllen it’s a handful of doctors who drive up the cost per patient by ordering unnecessary procedures. He explains how these doctors benefit financially from ordering unnecessary procedures. The financial benefits come in the form kickbacks to admit patients to hospitals and revenue to partnerships of physicians who own diagnostic equipment such as MRI and CT-scans. He sums it up this way:
“When you look across the spectrum from Grand Junction to McAllen–and the almost threefold difference in the cost of care–you come to realize that we are witnessing a battle for the soul of American medicine. Somewhere in the United States at this moment, a patient with chest pain, or a tumor, or a cough is seeing a doctor. And the damning question we have to ask is whether the doctor is set up to meet the needs of the patient, first and foremost, or to maximize revenue.”
In some ways, this is a matter of identity.