My Year of Hopefulness - Lend a Hand with What You've Got

Corporate America is an unpleasant place to be lately. People are scared. They don't trust anyone. They're worried about their futures. And it's understandable.

Today, I began a group pro-bono project for a nonprofit that my company supports on a very large scale through our philanthropy department. I am thrilled that I can combine my business skills and my experience in nonprofit for this project. And I can meet some new people from my company from completely different business units.

What's most interesting is that the pro-bono project is about helping the national headquarters of the nonprofit more effectively communicate and develop marketing plans with the regional offices. It's the same issue that every large company struggles with - how do you break through the silos? How do you share best practices? How do you effectively collaborate, learn, and share across geographies and cultures?

While this nonprofit is thrilled to have us work on this project, my co-workers are all grateful for the opportunity to take what we learn on this project and apply it to our own company. Our company needs to up the morale of the staff and provide networking opportunities; the nonprofit needs assistance that they can't afford to pay consultants for. We're all lending what we've got to help one another. It's a win all the way around. Can you imagine how many more of these amazing opportunities are out there, just waiting to be discovered, to creatively collaborate in ways that make a difference in the world?

My Year of Hopefulness - LegalZoom

I've been doing some research on starting a company as I seriously begin to explore the world of entrepreneurship. What I'm finding is that it's easier than ever to get your own business up and running. The paperwork, legalities, and payment systems used to be such a hassle that it would deter many interested in getting their own business going. Services like PayPal have made the payment conundrum a near non-issue. But those pesky legal issues persisted, until now.

Today, I saw a television ad for a company called LegalZoom. It is an internet-based company that claims to make filing legal paperwork such as LLC, 501(3)(c), trademarks, patents, copyright, etc. easy as filling out a simple questionnaire. I was skeptical but curious because the prices quoted on the commercial were so affordable. 

Well-organized and straight-forward, LegalZoom has everything a new entrepreneur needs to get going and keep going from a legal perspective. (They also have personal legal services as well such as will and trust set-up.) They also have an education center on-line and there are customer service reps on-hand as well, real live people you can call without worrying about billable hours. If I was a lawyer, I'd be worried. 

There will always be attorneys for complicated legal issues that require personal attention from an expert. If we're just talking about moving paper, mostly of the boiler plate variety, the days of $500 an hour attorneys may be over.   

My Year of Hopefulness - Don't Be Less

Just when I thought life at work couldn't get much worse for my friend, John. Goodness....I couldn't make this up. I don't think the best fiction writer on the planet could make up the following story. My thanks to John for allowing me to share his experience with this blog's readers:

On Thursday morning, John woke up at an ungodly hour to catch a flight for an all-day business meeting. He arrived back to the airport later that evening with his boss and found that their flight was delayed 3 hours. His boss thought she'd take the time to provide him with some feedback on his performance. Here's the abbreviated laundry list that she expounded upon for 1.5 hours:

Too motivated

Communicates too well too often (Her quote to him, "Jesus, I'm not your texting buddy." My advice to her - then stop replying for one thing, and don't complain when you're in the dark on details, which is true just about every day.)

Has too good a relationship with senior management (a.k.a., "I feel threatened that people like you so be less likable)

Too ambitious

Takes too much responsibility and ownership for work

Too collaborative with people outside of department

Ouch - I don't even know where to begin on how pathetic and foolish this feedback is. Essentially John is supposed to be less of a person than he is because it makes others uncomfortable to be in the presence of someone who is talented and hardworking. This is gross - I'm so furious by these comments that I can barely speak. 

Being a pro, or numb from exhaustion, John took the entire conversation in stride and stood his ground, politely. His only response: "This is so odd. No other company that I have ever worked for, or even heard of,  tells its people to be less collaborative and less motivated." And that's it. He let it lie. Didn't agree, didn't really say much of anything. He was too shocked and confused. 

Here is my advice to John and anyone else in this situation: you are NOT to compromise your integrity. Ever. For any reason. You are not to be less of a person to make others feel better about themselves. Their laziness and lack of motivation is their problem, not yours, so don't take it on, politics and "business as usual" be damned. Your job is to shine as brightly as you can and add value to the people and the environment around you. That is your only obligation, ever. Smile, hold your head up and be proud of yourself. And write down all the things you are and are not. Keep the list handy and refer to it often. 

If President Obama has taught us anything it is that the time for change has come. Throw off the yolk of being what to do when by people who want you feel less empowered so they can feel more powerful. The feudal system died out centuries ago and there is no chance of resurrection. This is the time of the individual, and don't let anyone tell you differently. 

The Idea Guy

Some stories would be really funny if they weren't so true. My friend, John, has successfully gotten his hefty graphic design projects out the door for the holiday season. He was right on-time and under-budget. We had coffee yesterday now that he's successfully dug himself out from that pile of work. He was re-counting some of the sad and hilarious moments of the season and one of them really caught my attention. Well, actually one of the characters really caught my attention - his boss, Tom.

John largely does graphic design work for print. However, many of their clients are looking to them for web design work as well, specifically for social media. John doesn't know much about this field so he had to dig in, learn the details, and then reconfigure his skills to get the job done. They had some big budget and time constraint decisions to make on some of his projects. He assembled the details in a clear presentation and then gave the decision options that were possible with the constraints they were under. After a 15-minute presentation, Tom cut in with some SWAG (Super Wild A*s Guess) ideas. Apparently, his company is fond of this SWAG idea to develop things like budgets, business cases, colorful PowerPoint presentations with smiley faces on them, etc. Poor John....

Professionally and tactfully, John explained why they really needed to choose from the options that he had presented. Tom stands up, and raising both of his hands to point at himself, says, "Tom, you're not getting it. I'm the idea guy." And gesturing to the rest of the team in the room says, "You guys need to make the ideas happen. I don't care about the details." Ouch. One of the team members actually rolled his eyes and plunked his forehead on the table. I feel another comedy sketch coming to me. And this would be a funny story, if it weren't true. All we could was laugh as John was telling me this story. Otherwise, we'd have to cry. 

I love ideas; I can't stand "idea people". I'm not talking about people with ideas, innovators, product developers, etc. I'm talking about people who are full of hot air - lots of ideas with nothing to back them up. They have no ability to execute or even think about how it could be executed. And as a result, nothing gets done, the "make it happen" people leave, and innovation stalls. It's a sad state of affairs. 

I have a simple piece of advice for companies that have people who refer to themselves as "idea people". Get rid of them! Seriously. We all have ideas. All of us. The companies and people who win are also the ones who are movers and shakers, meaning they have ideas and they actually do something with them rather than just verbalizing them for their "minions" to do. These "idea people" are dangerous because they degrade others, as happened to my friend, John, and his team. By proclaiming themselves Lord of Ideas, they make everyone else feel small. If companies are going to get through these rocky times, teammates need to band together with a will to win. "Idea people" destroy the team dynamic, and that team dynamic is an asset that companies cannot afford to lose.  

Is this the end of hierarchy?

With the current economy, the only case for hierarchy might be in the military. Have you ever wondered what a Senior Vice President General Manager Grand Pooba Chief of Everyone does? Me too. Who is making up titles this long and complicated? Companies too large to get out of their own way. 

The more I talk to my friends about their jobs, the more I hear the exact same frustrations continuously. "Not able to get anyone "of power" to listen to my ideas." "Tired of feeling like I don't count because I'm not a high enough rank." "Why do 18 people need to approve every small decision we make?" "Why is everything SO SLOW here?"

There are many reasons for this commonality in their frustrations. It could be because many of my friends are on that cusp of being young though with enough years of experience under their belt to make bigger decisions than their titles "allow". It could be that my friends are much smarter and more worldly than their bosses. It could that they're all having a bad day - at the same time. 

The real reason I think they're getting irritated is because the rules of the corporate game have changed and no one told their bosses, or their company CEOs for that matter. Seth Godin talks about industries as ecosystems, meaning they are dynamic. The rules change all the time, meaning corporate cultures need to change all the time. Adjustment, constant adjustment, is the name of the game. What worked for companies 10, 15, 20 years ago won't work today. This is a brand new world. And it requires an intense curiosity and desire for growth that will keep today's established companies relevant; without curiosity and growth they will be obsolete in the blink of an eye.

So what can big corporations do? Are they doomed? No - they just need to flatten out, especially at the top. A friend of mine recently attended a corporate training session and the trainer said that whenever they encounter a senior leader they need to look at their feet and let that leader run the whole conversation. I almost got sick. Who wants to work for an organization that not only doesn't value youth, but does its best to make its young people feel insignificant? If corporations want to hang on to young people, they better learn to how to utilize their energy and ideas, quickly. Flatten out and give everyone at every level a chance to participate!

And for my friends who are frustrated with corporate rigidity? A few suggestions: think about branching out to try a new venture, maybe not for pay, but for peace of mind - for hope of what may pan out down the line. Offer your services to a start-up, or try something new like a language class that could have professional value in the future. It's also powerful to gather the experience you can from where you are for however long you're there. We all always have something to learn from whatever situation we're in. Make sure to capture those learnings and take them with you when it's time to give yourself a fresh start.      

We're going the wrong way! Who's driving?

My friend, Jamie, was was telling me about a his sister's job in retail. It's an industry I'm passionate about and may return to someday. It's the heart and soul of the 70% of our GDP created by consumer spending. They're hurting, like so many industries, and in times of trouble companies need the most able navigator at the helm. The trouble, at least with Jamie's sister's company, is that everyone is playing a game of Pass-the-buck instead of Survivor. The answers to questions like "Who is our core customer?", "How are they hurting right now?", and "With our competencies how can we ease that hurt for them?" are critically important for companies that wish to come out the other side of this latest economic slide, or any economic slide for that matter. 

Jamie drew a metaphor that is so clear in my mind and it perfectly captured the situation with his sister. It's as if everyone is in the back of the bus, facing the wrong way, and asking where we're going. No one, no one is actually willing to grab the steering wheel and drive. That driver's seat is a very dangerous place to be for sure, though sitting in the back, eyes covered, knowing no driver is up there steering is far worse. It's a choice of the lesser of two evils, with advantages and disadvantages for each action. 

Let's look at hat's actually happening for Jamie's sister - no one's driving. A crash is practically unavoidable. A runaway car with no driver can only stay on the road for so long. The people in the back may feel that they have a better chance of survival if they hang out and wait for someone else to step up. That's possible. Though the greater likelihood is that the whole operation goes down while everyone is wringing their hands. And the lead up to the crash is painful and anxiety-inducing. 

An alternative is that someone does take the helm, and the crash happens anyway. It would be a near certainty that the blame and guilt will fall to the driver, and that driver couldn't hope to survive. But what if that driver can pull it off? At this point, it's hard to imagine any industry coming out of this recession unscathed. With the right leadership, the wounds could be bumps and bruises instead of lost limbs and massive internal bleeding.

It's a gamble - there are clear choices that need to be made now by every company. What's not clear is the best way forward that causes the least number of casualties. Strong leadership that focuses on stakeholder needs now is best able to find a way up, over, or through. At this point, we have to ask ourselves a key question about that bus situation: If we had no intention or desire to drive, or at least take a shift at the wheel, then why did we get on the bus in the first place? It's foolish and downright dangerous to leave an entire journey up to everyone else. 

The photo above can be found at http://www.businesstravellogue.com/files/2006/10/bus_cartoon.gif

A victory for generalists

Change at a fast pace can be disconcerting. 2 years ago, I was in the middle of my second (and last) year of graduate school. I knew I'd be doing an off-grounds job search, and my only criteria for my next employer was that I be treated with respect and be in New York City. Beyond that, the options were endless. I was grateful for a (seemingly) strong economy that allowed me to take my time to find the right match.

I was exploring a myriad of options, networking with alum in all stages of their careers and in different industries. I was explaining to one of my career counselors that I really enjoyed having a job where I wore a number of different hats. He looked at me quizzically. He is one of those people who really prefers to file people into neat little boxes. Needless-to-say, I cannot be confined to a neat little box of any kind when it comes to my career. (Mind you, this career counselor convinced the majority of my classmates to become investment bankers and management consultants and we see how that story's gone in the last few months...) After I explained my varied work experience to him and employment possibilities I was considering he said to me, "Well, Christa, eventually we all have to decide what we want to be when we grow up. We can't stay generalists forever." Little did he, or I, know that being a generalist is just about the best thing I could be in the job market that would exist 2 years later. 

I walked away feeling a little badly about myself and my life. Maybe I was aimless; maybe I was like one of those little kids raiding her mother's closet and wearing grown-up clothes that are 5 sizes too big. I was masquerading as a grown-up, with no intention of actually ever growing up. I am happy with my own special brand of optimistic realism. Fittingly, I went to work for a toy company right after graduation whose motto is, "I don't want a grow up. I'm a ...." You get the idea. I found my place in the world being exactly who I am.

Surprisingly to that career counselor of mine, though no to me, being a generalist is what is savings me (furiously knocking on wood) right now in this economy. My broad-based experience is allowing me to play many different roles on one stage - I can do whatever task needs to be done at the time it needs to be done. And that's true of many people I work with. It also happens to be true of President-elect Obama - his broad-based experience allowed him to speak genuinely to people from many different walks of life. His honesty, humility, and ability to emotionally connect with so many people and bring them together played a large part in his victory. It also helps that he's brilliant, confident, and capable. He is a generalist at heart. 

This week, my Penn alumni magazine ran an article by President Amy Guttman entitled "A Pitch for the Uncharted Path" that described her speech at this year's convocation. Like me, she meandered across a whole host of disciplines as an undergraduate, stopping to inspect anything and everything that interested her. And now she is Penn's President, a job that could only be filled by a infinitely-curious generalist. She encouraged the newly matriculated class to be open to the possibilities that will be set before them in the coming four years. Being a person who has wanted to be everything from a champion dog breeder to an astronaut, I whole-heartedly agree. 

Our world is complex, and to get into the thick of it and make a positive impact, we have to appreciate every shred of that complexity. The best way to gain that appreciation is to live our lives in many different directions, on many different planes. Yes, this is a time that "a genius wants to live." And it wouldn't hurt if that genius also moonlighted as a generalist. 

Rise up and reach down

Last week I heard Ursula Burns, President of Xerox, speak. Like President Obama, she calls herself an unlikely candidate to the President of a company like Xerox. She was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, went to school at Brooklyn Poly, and has never accomplished a single thing on the life to-do list she created as a young student. What she has done is become a shining example of achievement and the use of adversity as a tool for advancement rather than an excuse for set-backs.

Of all the topics she discussed with us this week, there is one quote that stands out in my mind. Like me, she is a fan of author Anna Quindlen. She heard Quindlen speak a few years ago and reminds herself of Quindlen's favorite quote that she uses to close every talk. When asked about her motto in life, Quindlen says, "Rise up and reach down." Strive to get ahead, and take others with you.

In these times when so many people are concerned about their jobs, their financial stability, and their future prospects for success, it can be tough to imagine rising up. At the moment, they're just trying to tread water. But rising up can mean something more than just advancing our careers. Rising up is what we did on Tuesday - regardless of the candidates we voted for, simply going out to vote is a form of rising up. Going to the leadership at our companies with innovative ideas to save on costs, delight and support customers, or diversify our offerings - that's rising up, too. Speaking out, getting involved, lending our time, funding, and support in our communities - that is rising up.

There is something to be said for being part of a rising tide that lifts all boats. If I am successful, that is a win for every demographic that I belong to: women, Generation X, people who put themselves through school, my alma maters (Penn and UVA). Ursula Burns calls it "winning because of everything I am, not in spite of it. My race, my gender, my demographics are certainly involved in how successful I am because they make me who I am."

Barack Obama's victory on Tuesday was a victory for community organizers, Democrats, blacks, those of mixed races, youth, social media users, those who value and exhibit eloquence, people who seek to educate themselves to improve their lots in life. Everything that he is, "a mutt" as he called himself yesterday in his first press conference since his win on Tuesday, made his victory possible. And with his signature humility and ability to unite people from every walk of life, he took us with him. He exemplifies Quindlen's and Burns's ideal of rising up and reaching down. We would all do well to live by this example.

The photo above can be found at: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/get%2Dout%2Dthe%2Dvote?pageNum=6

The value of and quest for alignment

I walked around all day today with a smile from ear to ear because this morning I woke up more hopeful about our future than ever before. The afterglow of the election was shining brightly on people's faces everywhere I went - at work, on the subway, in the grocery store. Construction workers at ground zero, my co-workers, doormen of apartment buildings in my neighborhood. I'm getting emails from friends telling me how excited they are about our future. And that excitement is infectious. Obama will be the greatest President this nation has ever had. I believe. As Thomas Friedman said in his column today, "The Civil War is over. Let Reconstruction begin."

The critical activity that lies before Obama, and us, now is one of alignment. I thought a lot about the difficulty of achieving this state, especially among parties, factions, and classes that are sometimes so disparate with competing interests and values. I'm working on a project at work that is nearly at completion and just when I think I have alignment, something threatens to derail us and I have to gently and firmly coax that detail back into line. It is amazing how much daily effort and time alignment costs; it is an endless pursuit. 

So how will Obama get to alignment and how will we help him get us there? I've found that focusing on the finish line and getting others to place their focus there is most helpful. Playing pool helps.

An old boyfriend of mine was a very good pool player, and he taught me how to play. When I first met him, I wasn't very good. I always focused on my cue ball, not on the ball I was trying to hit. And without fail, I would miss my shot. What I needed to do was get my eyes in line with exactly where I needed to hit that prized ball to sink it, not on the ball right in front of me that I would hit with my cue stick. I needed to keep my eye on the prize in the distance- that ball that I couldn't quite get to directly. My game dramatically improved. 

The same strategy that works for pool can work for alignment. Get everyone looking toward the same goal, the same prize. And then you will find that they are less concerned that their desired road must be taken to reach that destination. As the leader, you choose the road that's leading the group to the common goal, and cast the players according to their strengths and curiosities. Alignment is possible, even in the most fragmented of circumstances, if we as leaders are committed to making that alignment priority number one, every day.     

The image above can be found at http://static-p4.fotolia.com/jpg/00/06/11/21/400_F_6112144_t94UJu9HPCAKP3oR0IyxXWddBYWXkdwU.jpg  

Opinion as fact not accepted here

My friend, Kelly, always had a saying in graduate school that she'd repeat whenever someone in class decided to spout off their belief system to chew up class time and to hear themselves talk. She'd say something like, "why do people think it's okay to state opinion as fact?" Today at work I was reminded of that saying during my team meeting.

We were discussing some of the alignment issues our department has, not on our specific team but elsewhere in the organization. I think we might have all been getting a little too down on the structure of the business as a whole. 

One of the many things I love about my boss is that she has a great way of recognizing a negative attribute and then in the next breathe providing a unique positive that we hadn't considered. She's been at the company for a number of years in several different roles and one thing that she loves about the company is hearing the CEO speak. To quote her directly, "there is no CEO better to get you inspired about your business. In the world of CEOs, he is as good as it gets." Immediately I thought, "oh, he must be very good at keeping people's spirits up and encouraging them." My boss followed up her statement with, "it is fascinating to hear him speak because he speaks only about facts. He never gives a speech based on opinions. Ever."  

Now, I've heard a lot of speeches from leaders but my boss really got me thinking back to all the speeches I've ever heard. Some people throw a bunch of positive quotes and pretty pictures onto powerpoint slides and call that a motivational speech. They put up lists of books and websites they follow and reference and call themselves a resource. A lot of leaders do that. Many of them pace back and forth on the stage and say how much better they are than the competition, akin to cheerleaders. Most leaders do not base every speech in fact. Heck, some never base their speeches on fact. Now I find my new CEO even more remarkable, especially because our company, being in financial services, is under the microscope of every industry analyst, reporter, and rival. A tough climate to state just the facts, making my CEO's continued honesty all the more worthy of admiration.

For the last three weeks I've been standing tall when I tell people the company I work for. Now I know I can stand even taller, up on my tippy toes if necessary, because all of this pride I have in the company is not based on opinion or belief or a "feeling". It's based in fact, and that feels great.

Care in the workplace

If care were a stock being offered on the market, it would be a wise commodity to invest in at this time on the planet. Care will soon be on the rise because everything else has been tried. --Doc Childre

While caring is a characteristic noted in philanthropic work or purely service businesses like health care, there are broader implications where care is not as prevalent a topic and should be. The care of employees, of customers, of communities around the world that are impacted by our businesses. I would go so far as to say if business leaders are not empathic, compassionate, and caring, then their success going forward will be compromised. 

This week I'm going to lunch with the VP of my division. A busy man, traveling all the time, sent me an invite on his first day back from vacation. And then came to my desk to make sure I received the invitation and to make sure I understood that he invited me to lunch to get my perspective on what the company is doing that makes sense and what's "just stupid". (His words not mine.) "You were hired for your opinions as well as your talents." In other words, I count. A rare straight-forward statement that opened a whole new world of caring in the workplace for me.

This new job is making me a kinder person. Our Division President gave his monthly town hall two weeks ago and he was emphatic about listening to the voice of the customer (VOC), so much so that he is including VOC metrics in every business and employee review. Because I'm new to the role as well as the company, I am spending a lot of time talking with people who are experts in areas I know nothing about, and they are patiently helping me up my very steep learning curve. I imagine their advice as a helping hand that's reaching down as I trudge up this mountain of vocabulary, processes, and requirements. The internal politics are virtually zero, and despite the strong structure and culture, they have maintained a feeling of a flat organization where ideas, opinions, and questions from everyone of every level are encouraged, valued, and vetted. It is nothing short of remarkable for a company that is so old and so large. And it's driven by the care and concern of individuals. 

Business leaders are famous for spouting trite cliches like "it's business, not personal." On this one, I'm with Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail: it's ALWAYS personal. Everything in life, anything that involves people, is personal. We cannot continue to disconnect the business aspects from personal aspects of doing business. The line is blurring to a point where it's barely even distinguishable. The sooner we embrace the fact that management and leadership are personal, service-oriented endeavors, the healthier our world economy will be.      

Images above can be found here. 

A By-product of a Tough Economy: Enemies as Friends, or at Least as Willing Partners

I don't know anyone who says, "Thank God the economy is tanking!" That doesn't mean there aren't some positive, and unexpected, side effects of our latest economic decline. With dollars scarce, investors leery, and earnings expectations scrutinized like never before, companies previously considered bitter enemies are sharing marketing dollars, cross-promoting one another, and sharing best practices.

And we're not just talking about retailers like Bed, Bath, and Beyond and The Container Store who have a very small amount of overlap in product. This week in The Economist there is an article detailing that even bitter rivals like the New York Post and the Daily News are discussing ways to share distribution; car companies are considering the co-production of common parts. 

These kinds of previously unheard of collaborations beg the question about competition: Is the competition level to the extent that we have it in the U.S. necessary, or even sustainable? Is it good for us? I don't doubt that healthy competition is the basis of a stable free economy; it is the corner stone of a capitalistic society. But is too much competition, well, too much?

I think about all the choices that we have in grocery stores, big box retailers, car lots, and the endless supply of different brands of products available on-line that do essentially the same thing. Look at all our choices of social networks and on-line communities. My friend, Jon, and I were discussing the likelihood that at some point some of them have to die out or merge. Maybe the same is true for companies like newspapers, retailers, and car manufacturers. Tough times can make strange, though perhaps necessary, bedfellows. And maybe they'll even persist once we come out the other side of this latest downturn. In difficult times, maybe we learn to mend fences and see their value even when we don't have our backs against the wall.             

Survive and Thrive

I woke up this morning wholly unemployed. Sort of. I'm being paid through Thursday, which I greatly appreciate, though I'm not actually going to work. Yesterday was my last day in the office. My suspicion is that my access to information because of who I worked for is too much for some peoples' comfort. And that's okay; I get it. I'm very grateful to have a few free days before my new job begins on Monday, particularly because I'm being paid, so we all came out ahead by me leaving before my time was scheduled to be up. A win-win all around.   

The day was anti-climactic. I've cried every single time I've left a job. If not at my good-bye party, then certainly afterwards by myself or with friends at the after-party. This time - no party, no fanfare, no tears. Maybe I'm growing up. Or maybe there are times when a change occurs that is so obviously a good move that there isn't any way for sadness to be a part of the shift. I wished them well, they wished me well, and off I went. It was a departure entirely free of drama. 

There are two main lessons that I received in this experience and that I fully realized as I was driving that long, slow drive home for the last time. No matter what kind of business, the products or services that are sold, big or small company, the single defining determinant of success is leadership at the very top. Without it, truly nothing else matters. Nothing. As if CEOs needed any more pressure on them. Sorry CEOs - that's why you get paid the big bucks.     

I realized the other insight as I crossed over the border to NY, looking out along the skyline sparkling in the cool, unseasonal sunshine. A few hours earlier, there was a storm that seemed almost apocalyptic in nature. The sky was practically black at 11am. My friend, Richard, said it was Heaven's way of washing away this experience in favor of the new adventure I am about to take. I agree with him. I also think the weather today, its vascillation between storm and sun, was very much a reflection of two pivotal professional experiences I've had - one in 2000 and one now, 8 years later. 

The storm: In 2000 I worked for a woman named Charlotte Wilcox, a crusty broad who didn't let anyone push her around, ever. If she was involved in a show, there was no question who was the top dog. She was hard on herself and hard on her staff, especially me. She taught me how to survive in business - it wasn't a pleasant experience, in the same way that a root canal isn't pleasant, but the lessons she taught me about follow-through and work ethic, your own and that of your boss, have been absolutely critical to my success. She told me that the great problem with my generation is that we have no follow-through and that I should never, ever, under any circumstance, work harder than the person signing my paycheck. And if I ever get the opportunity to sign paychecks, I better remember that I need to work harder than anyone I pay. As a result, I am conscious to ask more of myself than I ever ask of anyone else and I follow-through, always. 

The sun: Bob, my most recent boss, taught me a very different lesson. He was what I think of as the anti-Charlotte. I spent a mostly joyful year, a bit more, working for him. I learned and read and reasoned and tried my best to offer insight, advice, and counsel. And 99% of the time I was greeted with gratitude to an embarrassing degree by everyone I came into contact with on a variety of projects. I worked very hard to be valuable and helpful whenever and wherever I could. In short, Bob taught me how to thrive - how to use my very best strengths to make a difference, and for that lesson I am most grateful. 

In the end, I think all of life, and most particularly our professional lives, comes down to those two basic blocks: surviving and thriving. The rest is all decoration.   

Image above can be found at https://middleloup.unl.edu/zen/images/SST%20Cover.jpg

What bird are you?

My friend, Alex, recently had a company off-site where they evaluated their personality types in an effort to work better as a team. They took a relationship assessment that I had never heard of. Tony Alessandra developed an assessment related to birds that describes four common personality types:   

The Dove: Relationship-Oriented

The Owl: Detail-Oriented

The Eagle: Results-Oriented

The Peacock: Socially-Oriented

I may have a predisposition to these type of exams because my father was a clinical psychologist and used to administer them. Alessandra's main point is that communication type, and knowing which one you are, can make all the difference in your career progression. Of course there are always hybrids - my friend, Alex, is a pea-gle - a combo peacock and eagle. My conundrum is always that I think I have elements of each type. I strive to be relationship, detail, results, and and socially-oriented. So what do I do? How can I learn how best to work with people if I am very honestly a complete chameleon?  

On the one hand, I could be the perfect partner - able to work with anyone. And conversely, I could be in a tough situation because I may never be quite certain that I am being true to myself, mostly because I have the ability to adapt almost to a fault. My challenge will be identifying which of these relationship types is the one which plays most to my strengths, and perhaps which one leaves me the most energized and effective. I envy those who easily fall into one bucket or another. My path is more a long and winding road.    

Spinning the web: Making the most of the final two weeks at a job

I never expected that anyone would much care that I was leaving my current job for a new opportunity. I figured people would pat me on the shoulder, wish me luck on my new adventure, and send me on my way. Just the opposite. People have gone out of their way to connect, to learn about my new job, and to make sure that they have my personal contact info correct so we can stay in touch. And these aren't just my friends from work, but senior people whom I greatly respect and admire. It is nothing short of flattering. Of course, there are a few odd responses - people who have written me off before I'm out the door and those who have even chosen to ignore me altogether - but those are the very small minority and are people I never hoped to stay in touch with going forward.

While I have sometimes dreaded winding down my time at a job, and know many others who have had similar experiences, this time around I am glad to have over a week remaining. Closing these loops and ensuring their long-term stability are important. I now understand how professional networks and webs are built, and absolutely see that they are at least as valuable, if not more so, than the actual experience from a job. These days, everything seems to be about relationships.

The dawning of the age of social networking tools also eases the sting of leaving a job. I am a self-admitted sap. I think I've cried every time I've left a job. Though this time with these new tools at my disposal, it is easy to see that the many wonderful people I have worked alongside of will be in my life for years to come. It's not a "good-bye", but a "see you around the bend". All the more reason to make sure those bridges remain whole and intact.

Now I really love those folks at Apple

I received a survey from Apple today about my experience at the Genius Bar. They wanted me to rate my experience and give them feedback. Perfect -- I had called the store and tried to find an email address but to no avail. So I filled out the survey and one hour later, a Genius called me to follow-up, capture the info from my survey, and then is going to get the info to the stores so they can better service the next customer that comes along that has the same issue with iWeb that I had. How incredible is that?

It's this kind of customer service that keeps people converting to Macs, iPhones, iPods. While a lot of companies are trying to copy the design and slick details of the devices themselves, what's winning people over is the friendly, helpful service - a much more difficult business to copy. I like that I'm treated humanely with a sympathetic ear, that they go out of their way to help me, see if I'm satisfied once I've left the building, and if it turns out I'm in any way disappointed, they want to mend their ways.

Imagine if every business, big or small, regardless of industry, was striving to be the Apple among their competitors? Apple would be well within its right to set up a consulting arm to teach companies how to do business the Apple-way. And we'd all live in a better world thanks to their efforts.

What's the difference between being preachy and passionate?

I understand that there can be a thin line between preaching and speaking passionately. Barack Obama is a brilliant example of someone who has mastered the art of speaking passionately without becoming preachy. A friend of mine was just telling me about a meeting he was recently asked to join because of his expertise on humanitarian relief work. Mind you, this topic was the topic of discussion. He is marvelously articulate and speaks with such authority and passion that it is fully understandable how people will walk to the ends of the Earth for him. 

After he finished his two minute discussion on the role of humanitarian relief work in several hot-button areas of the world right now, there was dead silence from his boss. I should interject here that he is far more educated and personally vested in this cause than she is, despite the fact that she has seniority. He makes her look good without fail, on every project, and she has often publicly taken credit for work he has done. 

At this meeting, rather than thanking him for his point of view, she responded by addressing the group with, "well, not that that information has anything to do with the issue at hand..." Actually, it had everything to do with the issue at hand. His boss was irritated that he had a more articulate, and opposing view, than the surface comments she was making. What's more my friend is far more genuine than his boss, she knows this, and is unable to level the playing field with him. She closed the conversation saying, "well, I think we've had enough preaching for one day." So ludicrous, it's laughable...

And that started me thinking about the difference between preaching, which often has a negative connotation, and articulately addressing an issue with passion. It comes down to whether the person speaking is talking to hear himself talk and or if he is educating and sharing his point-of-view with his audience. Preaching has a lot of shallow dazzle and speaking with passion has dazzle plus substance. With all of my friend's energy and enthusiasm, my advice to him was to move on to someplace that appreciates and rewards him for everything he has to offer. 

Winning by Jack Welch

Today, my boss showed an interview of Jack Welch when he was on his book tour for his then-new book, Winning. The interview contained all of the Welch-like outlooks that anyone in business has come to know well; f nothing else, he is remarkably persistent and consistent. Though I disagree with some fundamental beliefs he has about managing a company, I do think he provides excellent food for thought for today's business leaders.

Off the bat, I have to admit that I have experienced Welch-style management first hand. I interned at The Home Depot for my summer between my years of business school. And though Welch never worked there himself, one of his proteges, Bob Nardelli, was the CEO for over 6 years. We all know how that played out, and there are numerous articles that have been written about the damaging culture of that place.

Many of the troubles that The Home Depot is facing now have nothing to do with the housing market. They have everything to do with the fact that in 6 years Nardelli decimated the culture that made that company great. People were afraid of him. He had dirty stores with low service levels and focused on the large professional contractor, a customer who was never all that interested in The Home Depot. They consequently sold the business after Nardelli's termination. While Nardelli tried very hard to play hardball the way Mr. Welch taught him to, he forgot the lessons of shedding what is not essential, focusing on others when you are in a leadership position (as opposed to oneself), and realizing that a great company never believes they are best so they continually seek to learn and improve.

Where I strongly disagree with Welch is in his philosophy that is the namesake of his book: winning. He says a company's job, its only job, is to win. He goes on to say that from winning, all good things come. My question to him would be, "Do you win at all costs, by any means necessary?" There are a lot of companies that got very large, fantastically wealthy, by completely disregarding the environment, by squeezing every last drop of margin out of their suppliers, and treating their people with less than respect. Wal-Mart is a great example of all of these operating principles. Now they're working hard to reverse their ways. They certainly won by Welch's definition. But was it worth it?

I would amend the mission statement of a company by saying that it's job is to win with integrity. And by integrity I mean that it must consider that the communities in which its employees, suppliers, and customers live and do business are also stakeholders in their business decisions, as much as its stockholders. If a company wins and puts the health and well-being of its communities at risk, then in the long-run we all lose.

How to Be Smarter

The definition of intelligence, its measurement, and the belief that it relies more heavily on nature or nurture are all up for debate. In discussions on intelligence, there does seem to be general agreement that there are steps any person can take to make the most of the intelligence they have. 

The New York Times ran an article this week detailing some of the methods of maximizing intelligence: exercise, a pursuit of lifelong learning, sufficient sleep, and challenging ourselves with riddles, puzzles, and mind-bending games. Though my favorite piece of the article involves its reference to the list Conde Nast released of the 73 top brains in business. And you'd think that list would be chocked full of Ivy-educated, fabulously wealthy finance types. And there are some of the those, though their number is surprisingly, and pleasantly, few.

The majority of Conde Nast's list is dominated by people who go out of their way to think different, be individuals, people who recognize that differentiation, not assimilation, is the way forward in the world of business. The list includes a collection of people who don't make headline news, but quietly, in their own way are simultaneously changing the world and building wildly successful companies. 

This list gives us some profound food for thought: our education focuses on test achievement, elite school acceptances, and hitting numerical thresholds. Do we need to have a metric in place in our education system that captures a sense of confidence, an ability to look at challenges with new eyes, and have the courage to forge ahead against adversity, naysayers, and others who wish we'd just "be like everyone else"? Current business successes would suggest that the idea is worthy of consideration. 

The goal of all designers: create conversations

Tim Lebrecht at frogDesign wrote a post earlier this week about the earliest stage of ideation. In this age of user-generated design, he questions whether designers are really going about their work in the correct way. He challenges designers of all levels to consider that whatever the end product of their design, they should seek to create conversation.

I was a bit confused by this for a time until I considered an art exhibit I saw a few years ago at the Phillips Collection in DC. The exhibit featured works by Joan Miro and Alexander Calder. The created their art as a conversation; this is largely because they did not have a common fluent language. Miro would create a piece; Calder would answer it, and then add another idea for Miro to comment on. And so it went, for many, many years. Across decades, across oceans. They transcended language with design.

So what if companies like Coca Cola or Target took the design POV that they were creating conversations with their customers, rather than creating products? How much richer and more relevant could their designs be? How much loyalty to their brands could they generate?

Pictured above is Joan Miro's "Garden"