Just out and very current, this book by Ken Auletta should be on a lot of people's reading lists.
Within the first 4 pages I found myself putting down my reader, picking up a pen and making notes.
Do you have a sales force? Read this book.
Are you managing the same way you did 5 years ago? Read this book.
Have you never thought about the inefficiencies in your industry? Read this book.
Do you use Google? Read this book.
Do you work with engineers? Read this book.
Do you read a newspaper, listen to music, watch TV? Read this book.
Are you inventing the next Google? Read this book.
You get the point. Google and others gave Auletta amazing access to themselves and their organizations. As a result he's pieced together a unique perspective of Google and the waves it's created from inception right up to a few months ago.
The picture you get is of a company almost naively focused on engineering and inefficiency. Out to save the world while disrupting it in unforeseen and unrecoverable ways. Awkwardly managed by a couple of geeks and a smart but unremarkable CEO who somehow has managed to hold it all together without either getting fired or going postal.
You get a picture of competitors or those hit by the Google wave, like the large media companies who were both dismissive and scared. Caught between existing constituents and existing revenue streams while watching their entire worlds come crashing down around them.
Auletta spends lots of time discussing Google as the next Evil Empire - and the picture you get is that it sure could be - but hopefully, maybe, probably isn't (depending on what industry you're in) because the current leadership hopefully, maybe, probably still do believe in doing no evil. Given all the data Google's collecting, it does make you think what could happen if Google got into the wrong hands.
Overall a very interesting read. And if you're a leader/manager of anything you will find the Auletta's observations interesting and thought provoking.
Xmas is coming. You might want to put Put Googled: The End of the World as We Know It on your x-mas list!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Transformational Leadership - Google's Zeitgeist Europe 2009
via youtube.com
Here's a fascinating look at various forms of leadership through the eyes and experience of Itay Talgam, a renowned Isreali orchestra conductor.
I came across this piece reading Ken Auletta's new book 'Googled:The End of the World as We Know it' - a must read book for anyone wondering about Google, management, the future of mass media, the future of the world, engineers and inefficiency.
Having read about this presentation that Itay gave at Google's 2008 Zeitgeist conference in Auletta's book I naturally went to Google to find it on the internet. And of course it was there.(Update: actually it isn't there - the link to it has been disabled. This - as the title says - is from the 2009 conference).
Leadership, especially inspiring, effective leadership is something I've tried to observe, practice and coach through both my management assignments and my consulting assignments. This look at 5 (actually only 4 in this presentation) different conducting styles and the different outcomes they achieve is both fascinating - and hopefully - inspirational.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Golf Digest Magazine: 10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger??!!!
via golfdigest.com
You have to feel sorry for the Golf Digest people - putting Obama on the January cover with Tiger and a headline that reads '10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger'.
Oops.
Seriously, here are a couple of the tips - as headlined in the magazine, that Golf Digest suggests Tiger could pass on (seriously) to Obama: 1) The Quick Recovery (probably not) 4) The Trouble with Compromise (a million here a million there, soon you're talking some serious hush money) 6) Controlling the Message (message?) 7) The Swing Change (no comment) 9) You've Got to Deliver (otherwise flying to Australia is just a long trip) 10) The Danger of Looking Ridiculous (like Tiger and Golf Digest?).
As for Obama's advice for Tiger: 10) keep your day job (you're probably going to need it)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Should You Hold "Office Hours"? - Bill Taylor - HarvardBusiness.org
A case in point was a general partner at Flybridge Capital by the name of Chip Hazard. (Great name for a venture capitalist, by the way. If he was a commercial banker, he'd have to change his name to Moral Hazard, but that's a thought for another day.) Chip recently announced that on December 9, he'll be holding his first-ever office hours. "Thinking about starting a new technology focused company?" the invitation asked. "Already working on a tech company and interested in getting feedback from a VC? Facing a business challenge and looking for advice? Ready to get financing and want to review your pitch?" Sign up in advance and you get 20 minutes one-on-one with Chip.
This is either a pretty good idea or an incredibly dumb one. By scheduling people in do you get more attendance/input or less? I'm betting less. But it would be more organized.
Ever read the book 'Free'?. There's a logical discussion about how charging anything - even a penny - takes down the interest level. If the goal is to get more input or questions from customers or students or employees - why not just say 'my door is always open?' Is there something unique about calling it 'office hours'?
Sunday, November 29, 2009
You're Not a Leader
Fortune Magazine's latest issue on 'How to Build Great Leaders' is an anemic, less than insightful view what it takes to be a great leader (magazine woes and thinner issues are having an impact on Fortune's overall quality).
The cover picture though, seems quite insightful.
The picture of 1) a male 2) with an empty head 3) made of bricks 4) wearing a white shirt 5) and tie 6) dressed in a blue suit jacket is a depressing (and perhaps too realistic?) vision of leadership excellence.
And it's an interesting juxtaposition to Fortune's previous cover picture - of Steve Jobs - Fortune's CEO of the Decade.
Here's my ode to white-shirted, empty headers who will never be great leaders.
You’re not a leader if you don’t have any followers.
Do you get that?
They can give you every title in the book – CEO, COO, CFO, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer – it DOESN’T MATTER. If the people you’re supposed to be leading think you’re an ass – you’re not they’re leader.
You’re their whipping boy.
Because.
This isn’t about you.
This is about them.
This is about them trusting you. Them respecting you. Them looking up to you.
This is about them feeling like you listen. Them feeling like you care. Them feeling like you think they are capable. And smart.
Important.
And human.
This is about them thinking you are good at your job. Them seeing you take your role as seriously as they take theirs. Them knowing you care about the organization.
Not just about yourself.
So.
Dude!
You need to change.
Drop the ego and stop talking.
Stop being so f’ing smart.
Start learning. Start listening.
Start being nice.
Go for a beer. A lunch. Grab a coffee.
Ask about the kids. The gym. The vacation.
And start doing your job. Otherwise. You’ll never be their leader.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Umair Haque - Why Big Media's Anti-Google Counter-Revolution Will Fail - HarvardBusiness.org
Uh-oh: the Empire — industrial-era business as usual — is striking back. Will the rebels be crushed?
Not a chance. Blocking Google is about as smart as eating a pound of plutonium.
Umar's an interesting thinker. He pounds a couple of key themes - like thick vs. thin value, and constructive capitalism - but I like where his head's at. His theme's are almost impossible for many businesses to contemplate (given their current business models) - but I agree - keep turning out crap or creating anti-business models and there is only one outcome - value fail. Check out his various manifestos. They ring an interesting and consistent bell.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Great Reply to 'In Search of a Real Space Ship'
Maybe if there was a meaningful space mission, we could come up with the right rocket. Not to be too much of a downer about it, but space flight has commoditized. We've been to the moon. There's nothing there. We've sent robots to Mars. There's nothing there. These earth-like planets they are finding would take 100,000 years to reach, at the speed of light. Launching satellites is the only meaningful mission, and guess what? Its not sexy and owest cost wins!
via facebook.com
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