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Leaders Leverage Values in All Cultures

 

Picture this scene - an Asante tribal chief in pre-colonial Ghana, West Africa is sitting in all his glory in his thatched court, deep in negotiations with a member of his tribe concerning land and livestock. The chief wants to set a collaborative tone. Or perhaps he's negotiating with a leader of a competing tribe and wants to invoke a subtle message of warning in the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt's axiom, "speak softly and carry a big stick", long before Roosevelt said it.

So he instructs his adviser and spokesman to bring out a certain ceremonial staff with a gold inlaid carving on the top - one with a carving that conjures up images of a particular well known proverb, expertly chosen for the occasion. The stick in question is called a "linguist staff" and they were common in pre-literate tribes of western Africa. Linguist staffs are visual reminders of deeply shared values and morals that are well known and agreed upon to be true. Just the mention of the proverb says it all, and the linguist staff does the talking. It's part of the context of the conversation, and depending upon how directly the chief chooses talk, the staff says what the chief may choose not to put into words. The negotiations go in the direction the chief wanted because he has leveraged and communicated values in a way that created a context and tone. This is a core leadership competence, and he has shown that he knows and uses that fact.

This African tale is centuries old, and yet at the same time completely 21st century. When I first learned about linguist staffs, I was excited to learn about them. What excites me about this personal discovery is that the staffs physically represent a leadership and organizational development principle in a way that does not originate in western leadership pulp (of which there is a lot). One can learn about the importance of leveraging core values directly from Asante tribal chiefs, without reference to modern leadership chiefs like Kouzes and Posner (their work is definitely NOT pulp). I don't detract from western leadership material; I find it full of deep resource, especially when based in experience and research. But while some practitioners talk as though western leadership models are the pinnacle of human organizational development, there is in fact as much to learn about leadership from all the world's cultures that enrich the conversation about leadership. 

 

Learning from other cultures is essential when working among them, and even when not. Although Patrick Lencioni (another of my favorite authors) hasn't yet been translated or contextualized for every language, there are examples of leadership that can be drawn from the world's cultures that will help to teach leadership lessons in those places, and also in our own.

Most of the world has a mix of cultures now, because most societies have minority populations. Wise leaders recognize this and respond accordingly. The leader of a cross-cultural organization knows that since culture eats strategy for lunch, the organization needs to respect and include multiple cultures represented. It's a matter of strategic importance that in the midst all of the different cultural value systems represented in global organizations, leaders find those values upon which their people will agree, and define how those values will be articulated, exemplified, and lived out in the organization. Our diverse cultures are a goldmine of ideas to learn from in leading our organizations, and I go as far as to say that learning about leadership in other cultures is inherently worthwhile.

I would like to hear some day about the CEOs of western fortune 500 companies that work in Africa acquiring a trove of gold inlaid linguist staffs like our African predecessors, one for each company core value. This would speak deeply about their respect for the cultural heritage of their African constituencies. Many companies do well with representing their values in ways that are recognizable in the west, such as posters, wristbands and other artifacts to promote values. But artifacts by themselves are mere decoration, while artifacts used in concert with aligned action reinforces the lesson. Most of all, my point is that leaders in cultures all around the world have seized upon this truth - to lead people well they discover, define, model and leverage common values. The best leaders start with their own behavior, and live as examples of the values they want to see among their people.

I take this truth as a self-evident truth -- a global leadership truth.

Leaders in all cultures discover, define, model and leverage common values, using culturally appropriate ways to share their ideas and negotiate with others.

Written by

Brian Fulghum

10 Golden Lessons from Steve Jobs

I think we’re having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we’re always trying to do better.

- Steve Jobs

His accomplishments and character helped define a generation and change the world. He is co-founder of the fairytale company we now know as Apple Computers. And he is the visionary of the personal computers world that led the entire computer hardware and software industry to restructure itself.

This man with boundless energy and charisma is also a master of hype, hyperbole and the catchy phrase. And even when he’s trying to talk normally, brilliant verbiage comes tumbling out.

Here’s a selection of some of the most insanely great things he said, golden lessons to help you succeed in life, Jobs-style:

1. Steve Jobs said: Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Innovation has no limits. The only limit is your imagination. It’s time for you to begin thinking out of the box. If you are involved in a growing industry, think of ways to become more efficient; more customer friendly; and easier to do business with. If you are involved in a shrinking industry – get out of it quick and change before you become obsolete; out of work; or out of business. And remember that procrastination is not an option here. Start innovating now!

2. Steve Jobs said: Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

There is no shortcut to excellence. You will have to make the commitment to make excellence your priority. Use your talents, abilities, and skills in the best way possible and get ahead of others by giving that little extra. Live by a higher standard and pay attention to the details that really do make the difference. Excellence is not difficult – simply decide right now to give it your best shot – and you will be amazed with what life gives you back.

3. Steve Jobs said: “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.”

I’ve got it down to four words: “Do what you love.” Seek out an occupation that gives you a sense of meaning, direction and satisfaction in life. Having a sense of purpose and striving towards goals gives life meaning, direction and satisfaction. It not only contributes to health and longevity, but also makes you feel better in difficult times. Do you jump out of bed on Monday mornings and look forward to the work week? If the answer is ‘no’ keep looking, you’ll know when you find it.

4. Steve Jobs said: “You know, we don’t grow most of the food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we’re constantly taking things. It’s a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge.”

Live in a way that is ethically responsible. Try to make a difference in this world and contribute to the higher good. You’ll find it gives more meaning to your life and it’s a great antidote to boredom. There is always so much to be done. And talk to others about what you are doing. Don’t preach or be self-righteous, or fanatical about it, that just puts people off, but at the same time, don’t be shy about setting an example, and use opportunities that arise to let others know what you are doing.

5. Steve Jobs said: “There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.”

It is the kind of mind that can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything. Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement.

6. Steve Jobs said: “We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.”

Reams of academic studies over the decades have amply confirmed television’s pernicious mental and moral influences. And most TV watchers know that their habit is mind-numbing and wasteful, but still spend most of their time in front of that box. So turn your TV off and save some brain cells. But be cautious, you can turn your brain off by using a computer also. Try and have an intelligent conversation with someone who plays first person shooters for 8 hours a day. Or auto race games, or role-playing games.

7. Steve Jobs said: “I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”

Don’t equate making mistakes with being a mistake. There is no such thing as a successful person who has not failed or made mistakes, there are successful people who made mistakes and changed their lives or performance in response to them, and so got it right the next time. They viewed mistakes as warnings rather than signs of hopeless inadequacy. Never making a mistake means never living life to the full.

8. Steve Jobs said: “I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.”

Over the last decade, numerous books featuring lessons from historical figures have appeared on the shelves of bookstores around the world. And Socrates stands with Leonardo da Vinci, Nicholas Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein as a beacon of inspiration for independent thinkers. But he came first. Cicero said of Socrates that, “He called philosophy down from the skies and into the lives of men.” So use Socrates’ principles in your life, your work, your learning, and your relationships. It’s not about Socrates, it’s really about you, and how you can bring more truth, beauty and goodness into your life everyday.

9. Steve Jobs said: “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?”

Did you know that you have big things to accomplish in life? And did you know that those big things are getting rather dusty while you pour yourself another cup of coffee, and decide to mull things over rather than do them? We were all born with a gift to give in life, one which informs all of our desires, interests, passions and curiosities. This gift is, in fact, our purpose. And you don’t need permission to decide your own purpose. No boss, teacher, parent, priest or other authority can decide this for you. Just find that unique purpose.

10. Steve Jobs said: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Are you tired of living someone else’s dream? No doubt, its your life and you have every right to spend it in your own individual way without any hurdles or barriers from others. Give yourself a chance to nurture your creative qualities in a fear-free and pressure-free climate. Live a life that YOU choose and be your own boss.

Each lesson might be difficult to integrate into your life at first, but if you ease your way into each lesson, one at a time, you’ll notice an immediate improvement in your overall performance. So go ahead, give them a try.

Chiranjit Paul

The 10 New Trends in Corporate Innovation Management

Last year, we launched a program called the 1M/1M Incubator-in-a-Box. Part of its goal has been to stimulate corporate innovation and intrapreneurship. It has exposed us to a broad range of technology companies and their innovation goals, strategies, and processes. While most of what we have learned is confidential, I will synthesize some trends we're seeing in this domain.

1. Culture Change: Most major technology companies recognize the fact that they have a certain amount of disadvantage when it comes to innovation. Cultures, as companies become larger, become stodgy and uninspiring. The more innovative talent ends up leaving for smaller companies, or to become entrepreneurs. One of the primary goals of a formal corporate innovation program is to generate excitement and create energy around the concept of innovation such that innovative talent stays.
2. Adjacent Revenue Streams: Employees are the closest to the customers. They are the ones hearing about customer issues - whether it be requests for new functionality, complaints about pain-points, or visions of what more they would like to be able to do. New products that can create up-sell opportunities adjacent to existing ones are usually the easiest to identify by empowering employees throughout the organization to present what they are seeing in customer situations. A well-run intrapreneurship program can unlock billions of dollars of adjacent revenue opportunities.
3. New, Disruptive Ideas: The organizations at major technology companies are full of excellent, talented people. Some of them are inherently innovation oriented. They assume that the only way they can express their talents for innovation is by leaving the company and starting a new venture. Corporations are starting to realize that if they empower these folks to develop their ideas inside the company without having to leave, it would enable them to harness this talent pool much more effectively. Today, most corporations spend huge amounts of money acquiring startups at gigantic premiums. Intrapreneurship programs are being designed to manage innovation better internally.
4. Talent Development: A lot of technology innovation comes from hard core geeks. These types of people, however, generally do not have the training on how to bring a product to market, assess its viability, market size, etc. The question we are asking is what would happen if the technology talent pool at the corporations can be systematically trained with these skills? Some HR organizations are scared. They think people will leave. The more sophisticated folks believe that those who will leave, will leave anyway. But those who choose to stay and use the corporation's infrastructure and resources to unleash their innovative talents will create a tremendous competitive advantage. Of course, compensation structures need to be designed to incentivize them adequately.
5. Intellectual Property: All corporations running corporate incubation programs agree that IP emerging out of these programs belong to the company, not to the employee. They all also realize that the employees coming up with promising innovation need to be retained and compensated with adequate incentives.
6. Flexible Time: Google started the 20% flexible time policy, allowing employees to experiment on whatever they liked. This hasn't really worked. People waste time on nonsense. Even Google has now moved away from this strategy. Instead, the programs that work well take their employees through a process of coming up with an idea, getting both authorization and resources to develop it based on its merit, and working specifically on that project using the flexible time. Not random whatever. In our work, we tend to play a major role in incubating these projects using the 1M/1M framework.
7. Channel: Successful corporate innovintellectual propertyation programs tend to want to leverage the assets of the company, one of the most significant being its channel. A company with a primarily B-to-B channel would not want to encourage a mobile consumer app project even if that project is Snapchat. There are exceptions to this policy, however. Google's driverless car project, for instance, has no synergy with its search advertising business. Amazon introduced its cloud hosting service that had no synergy with the e-commerce business. Nonetheless, these are exceptions. You wouldn't see Apple deviating from its core very easily. We haven't seen Facebook making outlandish bets yet either.
8. Gamification: We're seeing some degree of gamification at enterprises whereby they are running contests to solicit new ideas, and then deciding which projects and people to nurture further. It's certainly effective in generating fun and excitement and changing culture. The process, however, needs to be designed as a multi-step game, so that incubation of the ideas is part of it. Otherwise, all fun, no results emerge.
9. Corporate Venture Capital: There is a tendency to tie corporate innovation programs to corporate venture capital. Some of it works well. Some of it doesn't. It depends on the charter and the structure of the VC arm. Does it have to make money the same way the rest of the VC industry does? Is that the main goal? What about exits? Does the corporation automatically acquire the venture based on milestones at a pre-determined price? Or is it a more open, market-oriented approach? Adjacent revenue stream in particular that leverage the channel, often, do not look like very attractive venture-style investments, but tend to be an important component of corporation innovation efforts. Cisco has very successfully taken important areas of disruptive innovation, funded them and staffed them with a very strong team with track-record, and done spin-outs followed by spin-ins. Most corporate venture capital efforts that do not have synergistic tie-ins with the company's channel tend to be failures, by the way. My take: Corporate VC is not sufficient to achieve all the goals of running a corporate incubation program.
10. Internal Champions: High level sponsorship is absolutely essential for a successful program. We tend to work with top executives, mid-level managers, as well HR to get solid participation across the organization. It is, however, important to recognize that large companies are not full of managers and executives who know how to incubate new ideas. Specialized skills have to be introduced.

We are very interested in connecting with innovation leaders at different organizations and learning what you are doing, as well as sharing our findings. Please feel free to send me a connection request, and we can set up a time to talk.
Photo: Tambako The Jaguar/Flickr.

Written by

Sramana Mitra

Never Give Up

Leading By Following (Sort Of)

I’ve always been fascinated by the Iditarod dog sled races. For a man or woman and a few dogs to trek hundreds of miles over the frozen arctic tundra of North America is truly remarkable. I admire anyone who has the guts to do it. There are truly some formidable obstacles to overcome. There’s the cold temperatures, the snowy and icy terrain, the gloomy skies, the limited rations, the threat of becoming lost, the danger of possible injury, and the list goes on and on. Only men and women of great personal courage and fortitude would even attempt such a venture.

The dog sled team is just that – a team. As with all teams, it has a leader, and that leader is the dog sled driver. But how does a leader actually lead a team that consists solely of member that are not even the same species as the driver?

We find this same problem in the corporate world. There are thousands of managers and supervisors out there that don’t have much in common with the technical employees that work for them. They are not the same species. What can the successes of dog sled racing teach us about how to manage employees that have far different functions than us?

1. The leader needs to address the needs of the led.
Dogs know that they need things. They know that they need to stay warm, they need food and water, they need companionship, and they need care. They are not interested in how these things come to them, only that they do. If left to their own wit, they may find ways to provide for their needs in ways that do not meet the approval of the sled driver. So, the sled driver becomes the one responsible for ensuring that the dogs have all their needs met.

A manager needs to ensure that if he or she tasks his or her employees to do something that he or she provides the proper resources to accomplish the task. Most workers don’t care about the process of acquiring the resource. That’s not their job. They only care about putting the resource to good use. When faced with a project or task deadline, an employee with a resource request that is unfulfilled by the manager may resort to ways of acquiring it that are against company policy, unethical, or even worse, illegal. If you’re in charge, gathering resources is your responsibility. You can delegate the authority to do it, but not the responsibility for it.

2. Everyone must know their responsibilities. If they don’t, the leader must train them.
Dogs simply don’t start the race when they don’t know what to do. It takes months and years to train good sled dogs. Sometimes they learn directly from one-on-one with the driver.

Other times, they learn by doing what the rest of the pack is doing. With a lot of positive encouragement and engagement from the team and the driver, dogs become valuable members of the team.

A new hire may know why he or she was hired, but may not be completely knowledgeable about duties, the industry, the company way, or any number of things. It takes some face time with the leader and a lot of peer following to really get the hang of things. In a positive and mutually encouraging work environment, employees develop rapidly into valuable, happy and energetic members of the team.

3. Know your team members and position them for success.
Some dogs perform well together. Some dogs don’t. There can be personal conflicts that cause dogs to not keep their focus. Other dogs would rather play with each other than do their work. Still, other pairs of dogs want nothing more than to win the race when paired. Stronger dogs work better in the front. It’s up to the sled driver to know where his dogs will work best when they are all harnessed up and ready to race.

Managers need to be aware of who their employees are. They must place their team members in the best position to succeed by resolving conflicts, avoiding placing lower-producing workers together, and allowing the leaders within the team itself to emerge and handle minor issues. The great thing about human employees is that they will probably tell you where they think they can work best, if you just ask them.

4. When the team is performing its function, get out of the way.
There’s a reason dogs are in front of the sled and not behind it. They are doing all the work to get the sled where it needs to be. They have been trained to run, and to work together.

They don’t need any help from the driver with this. The driver can do little to make them run faster or work better together when they are in the midst of the race. It’s best at this time for the driver to stand back and watch for obstacles.

The employees on a manager’s team were put there because they are highly skilled at what they do. Once a project has started, they only need to know what the tasks are. Once the task is identified, the team will know how to accomplish it. The manager only needs to ensure that he or she prevents or resolves any non-technical problems while the team is completing the tasks. This is where the leader begins to lead by following.

5. The leader must provide direction.
Dogs love to run. And many dogs love to please their masters. They light up when a satisfied owner pats them on the belly, offers them a treat or spends time playing with them as a result. They also have a sense of accomplishment. Any dog owner can tell you how their pets react when they have done something that they feel is a tremendous accomplishment. So when the dogs are running the race, they only need to know where to go. At one command, they will steer left, and at another, right. They will halt, they will bark, they will follow any command of the driver, because they trust that where the driver wants to go is where the dogs want to be.

Hopefully, employees are doing the job that they are doing because they love it. When they do, they only need the manager to tell them what the task to be accomplished is. When they do a good job, their pride in their work shows, and they feel appreciated when they are rewarded for it. A manager that shows appreciation for his employees and rewards their good work will have no problem ensuring that employees follow his or her directions throughout projects. What’s more is that they will expect to be given good direction, and they will trust that the manager is pointing them the right way. A good leader recognizes that he or she can only make a good course correction by standing behind the worker (as in, being knowledgeable about where they are in a task, not literally standing behind them) and seeing which direction they were first headed.

6. The leader can only take credit for leading.
Sure, the driver of the sled is given the trophy. No doubt, the driver rewards their dogs handsomely for their effort. He talks about how well his dogs held up through the cold, and how they pushed themselves. He also remembers to thank others that helped him prepare for the race. At the end of the day, all he can really take credit for is guiding the superb efforts of the team.

While managers help to organize the tasks of their employees, they can’t really take credit for the technical accomplishment of the team members. Managers need to remember to heap praise on the employees for their accomplishments, especially when noted by others outside the team. After every project, awards and rewards need to be presented, whether formal or informal, to thank the team for the effort. This is also NOT a zero-sum game.

Everyone on the team who contributed gets some kind of reward. The manager will no doubt be rewarded, but needs to share and spread the acknowledgements.

One thing I always noticed about the race is that the driver is never in front of the dogs. He simply follows them on his sled, even across the finish line. He is the last member of the team to cross it. This is because he knows that his responsibility is to make sure that every member of the team crosses the finish line together first. You really can follow your team members to lead them. They know what they are doing.

Written by

Edward Emerling

As business owners age, they need to ask themselves three questions

JACOLINE LOEWEN

Special to The Globe and Mail

Published Tuesday, Sep. 02 2014, 12:15 PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Sep. 02 2014, 12:15 PM EDT

Business owners make their wealth through concentrated efforts. The key to successful transitions involves focusing that same energy on planning the next stage of life and putting their wealth to work through investments outside their own companies.

The problem is, most owners avoid thinking about their next stage, their businesses don’t get sold properly, and they lose the wealth they spent their lives building.

“One business owner that we came across had no transition plan, no successor, a son in the business who did not have an interest in running it, and no estate plan at all,” says Maria Milanetti, a partner at MarchFifteen, a consulting practice specializing in business transitions. “The owner was 70 years old, running a highly successful business, and utterly oblivious to the risks for his family’s future wealth.”

This scenario is all too common in Canada.

Too often, the only part of a business that can be salvaged are its assets, but not a great deal more, leaving the family in a precarious position. The economy also loses a company that could have continued under new leadership.

Why is this lack of transition such a common scenario for too many privately owned businesses?

“It’s quite natural for founders and those running the business successfully to ‘want to keep a good thing going’ and to feel that they need to keep running the business themselves,” Milanetti says. “Often they want to ‘protect’ others from this responsibility.”

But their reluctance to share how they make decisions or influence stakeholders with their next generation leaders can have long-term negative effects. Milanetti acknowledges it can be difficult to start the conversation around transition or succession. She recommends asking the following three questions:

• Have you thought about the next chapter in your business, in the next five to seven years? This question should prod an owner to share the kind of company the next generation of leaders wants to build and retain in the longer term.
• How can we plan that future together? Suggest setting aside some time with a facilitator or business adviser and describe how critical conversations can be shared in a relaxed, reflective and safe situation. It makes it a safer process.
• What will the next chapter of your life look like? The emotional challenges of giving up control over a privately owned business and transitioning into a new role as “ex-entrepreneur” – whatever this new role may be – requires reflection about one’s identity and about other family members. This is not a natural state for most high-action owners. Dealing with this identity change can be very important to helping the transition to take place. However, this can be a tricky question as it starts to deal with the prickly topic of the business transition.

Many owners or founders are mindful that these transitions take time and that it isn’t as easy to make changes as they start to deal with the aging process and its challenges. It’s much easier to keep the Peter Pan complex of thinking that aging only happens to others rather than to plan the family’s future wealth.

Peter Pan whispers that planning for life after the business means retirement, and that’s for old people, not a dynamic business owner, no matter the biological age. That way of thinking can be disastrous for a family if the owner is forced to reduce his or her time at the business or stop altogether. It is better to address changes while everyone is healthy and has the time and energy.

“At every juncture, we recommend planning,” Milanetti says. “That is planning for the mentoring of next generation leaders, for the transition between current leadership and successors and, most importantly, planning for the owner to be clear what will make their lives meaningful in their next chapter. These are not people who are used to doing nothing.”

Planning is a bore compared with running a business but if owners want to fully benefit from their lives’ work, they need to grit their teeth and start tackling those three simple questions.

Jacoline Loewen is director of business development of UBS Bank (Canada). She is also author of Money Magnet: How to Attract Investors to Your Business.

Strategic Planning: Realize Your Company's Potential