Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; and an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
You can’t have opportunity without opposition, whether it is internal or external. Part of being successful in life is learning to pass the test of opposition. You’ve heard it said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But in reality, most just give up. The true test of a winner is how they handle the tough times.
Here are excerpts from a GALLUP Management Journal interview with Jim Clifton, Gallup's chairman and CEO, on the fading impact of “process improvement” and the need to move into a new state-of-mind driven approach to leadership. In Clifton’s opinion, the old ways of doing business won't work anymore. The men and women who will conquer this new world will be the ones who best understand their constituencies' state of mind. ( I underlined a few KEY points.)
Q: Before you talk about the next generation of leadership, what was the last generation of leadership?
A: Process improvement was the last big leadership evolution. General Electric's leadership is a good example -- they did Six Sigma perfectly. Jack Welch was the king of process innovation. But when Jeff Immelt took over, he had a problem -- there was nothing left for him to Six Sigma.
That's true for everybody. In America, Europe, Japan, most of the benefits have been squeezed out of process improvement and neoclassical economics. That's one of the problems Wall Street is facing -- investors have exactly the same data and methodology from neoclassical economics, but it no longer differentiates anything.
I'm not shortchanging neoclassical economics; that and process improvements worked really well for a while. Why did Japan rise up out of nowhere to dominate the world? Well, one big reason was the influence of quality guru Dr. Edwards Deming. He led with his next-generation leadership idea, and Japan seized on it first. It worked. Implementing that kind of thinking was very good for our company too. We immediately made more money; we immediately were more productive.
Now companies are structured to do a magnificent job with that kind of data. But it's absolutely not enough anymore. There hasn't been a big idea for leadership in 25 years, nothing that shows the huge sweet spots and pushes the big advancements. Now we need the next generation of leadership, because we've maxed out everything else. There aren't many competitive advantages left in process improvement. People have done everything they can do with neoclassical economics. You can lean-management, Six Sigma, and TQM your company to death.The next evolution of leadership requires a change.
The next evolution of leadership, the next big idea, will be leading with an in-depth understanding of states of mind rather than with an in-depth understanding of financial statements. That's where the low-hanging fruit is. Innovation, talent, and entrepreneurship are what matter most to leaders now. Those are the areas new leadership must master, because those are the areas that will drive growth in the new economy.
Q: So why will leaders who can quantify states of mind be the winners in this new world?
A: Because those leaders will be the ones with the information -- the data -- that's needed to solve the world's biggest problems. Here's an example: Many people think money is the solution to every problem. Problems like education, security, job creation, and well-being can be solved, but leaders are using the wrong tools to solve them. Mostly, they're just throwing money at them. Leaders can double productivity if they spend enough on it, but it's not sustainable. Eventually, they run out of things to spend money on -- or money to spend -- and improvement stops, then starts trending down.
In the world we're competing in now, solving problems isn't about spending money. It's about understanding and managing ideas and talent -- and states of mind. That's where the new leadership breakthroughs will be. Leaders who can quantify states of mind and make decisions about their constituencies based on that information are the ones who will lead the world.
Q: What's the business value of quantifying states of mind?
A: Remember, in the global marketplace, you can get anything from anywhere at the price you want -- or close to it. And that negates competition based on price or quality, and it makes states of mind much more important. It raises the bar on understanding how and why people behave the way they do.
Q: Such as workers and customers?
A: Exactly. When leaders have choices to make, they can't base them solely on price or quality. They now must make decisions based on their workers' and customers' states of mind. In the old days, a business leader could be really successful by mastering accounting. Nothing works without perfect accounting, of course, but accounting is not a leader's job anymore. Leaders have to push that function to their staff.
Now leaders need to calibrate their strategies not just against the old neoclassical economic data but also against a new institution of behavioral economic data that quantifies the role of human nature in their constituencies. This requires a whole new way to lead.
-- Interviewed by Jennifer Robison
“The courage of self-examination can lead to heightened self-awareness that results in leadership actions that benefit not only the leader but the entire organization. Courage is essential in looking inward, as is holding yourself accountable for what you see.” – John Baldoni
“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 peoples thinking. Don’t let the noise of others 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.” - Steve Jobs
What's thwarting American innovation? Too much science.
As dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Roger Martin is throwing down the gauntlet to companies who hope to analyze and strategize their way out of a recession by bringing in armies of standard management consultants. “You'll get what you pay for,” he warns, and it won't be innovation.
"The business world is tired of having armies of analysts descend on their companies," he says. "You can't send a 28-year-old with a calculator to solve your problems." The problem is that corporations have pushed analytical thinking so far that it's unproductive. "No idea in the world has been proved in advance with inductive or deductive reasoning," he says.
The answer? (Be warned: this sounds more than a little self serving!) Bring in the folks whose job it is to imagine the future, and who are experts in intuitive thinking. J
Studies show that fewer than one-in-five employees utilize their strengths at work. What might happen if you increased that percentage to 40% or 60% or even 100%! Imagine the possibilities!
Improving upon our weaknesses simply moves us to mediocrity, not strength. When we discover and build strengths, we awaken and engage the absolute best in people.
Building leaders, teams, and organizations that are truly strengths-based is a must for organization’s that desire to truly thrive – no matter their size or industry. Organizations that build a strengths-based culture, and create internal processes that drive strengths:
Stop concentrating on your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Start unleashing the power of your organization’s strengths today!
I’m taking a poll of organizational leaders. The question: “As an organizational leader, what are you most concerned about right now?”
Click here to give your input.
Bill Gates takes an annual sabbatical so he can think about the future, catch up on important reading, and return to work energized for another year. And you’ve probably thought, “It sure would be nice to be one of the world’s richest people who control their own schedules.”
I got that same feeling reading Gina Trapani’s post on Harvard Business Publishing about designer Stefan Sagmeister, who every seven years shuts down his studio for a year of “creative rejuvenation” or after talking with a consultant friend who gives every seventh year of her practice to professional rejuvenation AND gives tenth of her time and money away. Talk about a Sabbath principles in action!
Sabbaticals have long been an important tool in the work lives of prominent leaders and thinkers. In their broadest definition, sabbaticals are times intentionally set aside from our normal paces and places for the work of reflecting, researching, and thinking. They are times given to problems or thoughts that have no place in our day-today (hour-to-hour) world. It’s unrestricted time to, as the famous sign at IBM says, THINK.
But the thought of taking extra days/weeks/months for rest and reflection is just a fantasy for most of us. Vacations help a little, but it can be tough to be meditative while riding the spinning teacups at Disneyland. So, how do can average business leaders accomplish these same “rest and reflect” goals? How can they escape from the administrivia of daily business life to get a clear perspective on their organization and its future?
If your life or work situation won’t allow you to take extra weeks or months away, consider a few of these options for your own radical sabbatical:
1. Schedule your own private in-office sabbatical. Block off two hours each month and devote the time to thinking about the big picture, thinking creatively for the longer term, or just wrestling with a messy problem.
2. Get out of the office. A change of scenery always helps get the sabbatical juices flowing. If you have the flexibility, schedule time away from the office and in some place that you enjoy.
3. Treat yourself – buying a nice cup of coffee or treating yourself to an unusually nice lunch in a favorite spot can set-up a really productive session. Remember, rejuvenation is part of the sabbatical equation.
4. Don’t be shy – communicate exactly what you’re doing to those who ask. Beating around the bush will distract you and keep you from investing in the sabbatical time – even if it’s only for a few hours.
Make sure you have an agenda for the time – this will keep you on task and able to show the value of the time away to anyone who is curious. (Like your partner or boss.) And once you fall in love with it, here’s a best-case “sabbatical scenario” for a leader or team that wants to remain energetic and strategically focused while still remaining active in the workplace: two weekends a year, one business-day a quarter, one half-day a month.
And don’t worry about how you’ll get all your other work done. When you make big-picture choices, the little stuff has a way of finding its proper place.
In a recent post, branding consultant Joe Duffy encouraged creatives to stop going to work. I believe his thoughts apply to more people than just the creative types.
“What makes you happy? When do you feel most inspired? What is it that generates new ideas and fruitful energy in your life? Find those things. Nurture them. Respect them. Being someplace, like in the office, for appearances sake is futile.
“When I am happy, I am more creative and more productive.
“When I am productive, I feel accomplished and happy. When I'm happy, I am most creative. It's a good, not a vicious, cycle.
“Fresh ideas come from fresh minds. Fresh minds need constant and new stimulus.”
Leaders and thinkers of all stripes need to tend to and cultivate that side of their personhood. For too long we’ve bought into the idea that we can give our best on a few hours sleep and a slice or two of cold pizza to tide us over. But there is not a bit of research in existence that supports that. Getting our best requires attention to our minds and our souls.
Want to read the whole article? Click here.
Race car drivers accelerate coming out of a turn instead of waiting for the straightaway. The concept of “accelerating out of the turn” captures some important ideas for leaders at this time. Here are a few ways that you might be able to put the idea to work in your business, practice, or organization:
The economy is thawing – slowly, but it's thawing. Now is a great time to be looking at national trends to see where you can begin to cultivate opportunities. Some of the best opportunities for success will be as the economy comes first comes out of the turn. Make sure you’re not caught with your foot on the brake. Start accelerating now, and you’ll be in a great position to take the lead as soon as we hit the next “economic straightaway.”
