Monthly Archives: October 2008

(Career) Management Tips And The 1-3-6 Exercise

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I recently discovered the “management wisdom” work of Nick McCormick and am looking forward to reading his book, “Lead Well and Prosper”.

In the meantime I checked out Nick’s interesting 6 minute management tips podcast with Dan Coughlin, intriguingly titled “The 1-3-6-Exercise“.

And although the focus of Nick’s site is on management, after listening I was struck by how relevant this 1-3-6 exercise is to almost any personal or career growth plan.

The kicker to Dan’s exercise is that the “6″ component took me beyond the (often valid) “let’s roll” approach to goal setting and action taking. Much as I love to do that (and encourage my coaching clients in similar endeavours) we remain mortal and timebound creatures of creativity and habit ;-)

I’m going to apply this exercise in a specific business category of my life over at least the next month – and I’ll write a future post on what happens. I also encourage you to test it out and let me know how you get on.

(And I will definitely be adding this one to my coaching toolkit – kudos to Dan, and to Nick for bringing it to my attention).

- Mark McClure

PS – For those who prefer the written word check out an article on “The 1-3-6 Exercise” linked from management consultant Dan Coughlin’s site (see “Use the 1-3-6 Exercise, Association of Home-Based Women Entrepreneurs”)

I Forbid You To Read This Post

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But you’re reading it anyway, aren’t you?!

Now what if word came down on high from layer 8 land (“the senior management”) that you were to stop reading this post immediately and get on with your allocated work.

Ah Ha! Now there’s a risk – reward decision to make and most likely your choice will depend on how you measure that risk and its pros and cons.

Well, with that in mind, consider what arose from the innovative thinking of computer science “research geek”, Greg Linden, who from 1997 to 2002, was at Amazon.com where he wrote the recommendation engine used by Amazon.com and later led the software team that developed Amazon’s personalization systems.

You’ll need to have read Greg’s post before continuing with the rest of mine.
And that’s a career limiting order, dammit! ;-)

So, if you were in Greg’s shoes, would you have done the same thing?

Many SVPs would probably be “pulling rank” in their haste to assert marketing turf responsibilities, assimiliate an idea for themselves or look after what they see as the best interests of the business and its customers.

(Usually it’s a fluid combination of all three with doses of personality and randomness added for good measure!)

OK, let’s look at your options from the perspective of a well-worn senior IT management mantra that goes something like this:

“Run the business. Change the business. Grow the business.”

OK, so far? Those are lofty and inspiring goals – just don’t get me started on how all three occur at the same time with declining headcount and slashed budgets lol. Being but a mere digital peon in the grand scheme of things, I would say that ‘grow’ may not be the optimal word for all parts of the business cycle, especially the dumpster phase we are diving into now…

Anyway, from the perspective of “run the business” it’s clear to see that keeping the lights on is one of IT’s core functions – and anything that potentially jeopardizes that needs to be assessed and measured.

Perhaps that’s what the SVP was all hot under the collar about although Greg’s assessment of worst case risk and the limited nature of the test seems to counter any production risk.

What is most encouraging about Greg’s approach is that he took all 3 elements of the mantra into account and it paid off in spades.
Not every idea will hit a home run like that but my point is that if senior IT management are serious about “innovation and empowering their staff la-di-da-di-da” then the appropriate rewards and control systems must be in place to encourage and guide this behavior.

Otherwise what tends to happen is that innovation withers because too many people are playing the blame game. And the business folks, removed from the internal IT political culture, see only stagnation, costs (always costs!) and excuses.

I’d like to finish with 2 highlights lifted from Greg Linden’s post:

“In my experience, innovation can only come from the bottom. Those closest to the problem are in the best position to solve it. I believe any organization that depends on innovation must embrace chaos. Loyalty and obedience are not your tools; you must use measurement and objective debate to separate the good from the bad.”

And this on creativity:

“Creativity must flow from everywhere. Whether you are a summer intern or the CTO, any good idea must be able to seek an objective test, preferably a test that exposes the idea to real customers.”

Is your company (or even department) like that?

And most importantly, are you like that?

- Mark McClure
PS- I’d like to acknowledge Jon for bringing Greg’s article to my attention via Tweeter. Check out Jon’s Ninja Blog setup service – how you can get a professional blog installed for free. (Really! He has a neat twist to a business idea used by Internet Hosting companies looking for business whereby you, he and the hosting company all gain. Very innovative, Jon!)

True Happiness And Peace of Mind

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As I chalk up 48 not out on ye olde terra firma today, my mind flickers through a panorama of images, emotions, people and places from this particular earth experience.

Nobu Choco Bento

One of these timeless scenes has my mother saying “Seems just like yesterday” as we sit on the back door step drinking tea and eating digestive biscuits – she’s taking a short break from housework and I’m recharging my batteries after returning from school.

Although clearly hearing what she said I was still deaf to the bittersweet meaning implied by her sigh and the peacefulness of the moment.

That was 30 plus years ago.. and it seems just like yesterday ;-)

Wow! Such moments are when life’s deeper meanings presents themselves for inspection – rather like Nobu’s Chocolate Bento Box dessert shown above. (But don’t delay – peak enjoyment’s tasting the ice cream in a hot chocolate sauce embrace. Yummy!)

Of course not all memories are happy ones in many peoples lives. But still I am struck by how much happiness is a truly evervescent emotion – by that I mean it is impervious to failure and resentment and will ‘happily’ (!) enliven whatever and whomever it has the good fortune to encounter.

In fact the more I think about happiness in my own life the more I tend to agree with the US self development author, Brian Tracy, when he said in his wonderful book, “Maximum Achievement”:

“Set Peace of Mind As Your Highest Goal.”

Setting Wealth, Health, Relationship and Financial goals may be all well and good but without a mind at peace I doubt that they will amount to much over a lifetime.

Fortunately, an increasing number of psychologists (particularly Dr. Martin Seligman and others) have  persevered long enough to bring the field of “Positive Psychology” to our attention.

And so I will end this birthday post with a little present for you all – a blog from the Happiness Institute, a Down Under organization making a real difference in peoples lives under the ever smiling face of Dr. Happy, aka psychologist, Dr. Tim Sharp. The site’s titled “The Happiness Institute.”

Check out Tim’s positive psychology blog – there are some great posts on happiness at work too.

- Mark McClure

The Leadership Development Carnival by Dan McCarthy

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There are some great posts in Dan McCarthy’s Leadership Development Carnival this month – and I’m grateful to be included as one of the newcomers.

My favourite from those I read is by Michael Moore (no, not the Hollywood director) and features leadership lessons to be learned from one of the roles played by the late great Paul Newman:

Paul Newman – A Lesson In Leadership From Butch Cassidy

Watch the short YouTube movie clip that accompanies the post – absolutely hilarious as long as it relates to a bunch of outlaws and their absentee leader’s foibles – well summarized by Michael’s amusing observations.

Do any of your managers fit Butch’s profile?

(If affirmative, maybe keep that info to yourself! There are anyway the C-level equivalents of knife fights, shootouts and holdups galore to amuse and horrify anyone still chained to the corporate hole in the wall gang ;-)

Wow! Now the memories are streaming back of my father taking my brother and I to see this movie in the summer of 1969, just as civil unrest (aka “The Troubles”) was breaking out in N.Ireland.

I had a 9 year old’s crush on Katharine Ross after watching that bicycle scene with the wonderful “Raindrops keep falling in my head” song.

If a post impressed, inspired or shocked you (even all 3!) from Dan’s Carnival then go ahead and leave a comment on their blog or Dan’s. Most bloggers really welcome on topic feedback!

- Mark McClure

PS – If you’re curious what a Blog Carnival is all about go here or here.

How List Writing Can Make You Happier

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List writing sometimes gets a bad press – perhaps because of the ‘endless hassle’ that To-Do lists create in some people’s minds.

But it doesn’t have to be that way and in fact I use lists as a very powerful process of reinforcing behaviors and feelings that ordinarily would escape my attention – or be soon forgotten. This process has also worked well with some of my coaching clients.

The idea is simplicity itself:

1- Get a small notebook or diary that you can easily carry around without others noticing it.

2- Write down at least one thing each day that made you feel happy. Something you heard, read, felt, touched or smelt. No matter how big or small, write it down and (optionally) any attendant thoughts or feelings.

3- Do this for at least a month and read over your list once a week (or at least once a month). Then, if you feel so inclined, do it again the next month.

It’s easy to be skeptical about activities like this but I find it interesting to note how much some people rely almost unconsciously for their daily dose of wordsmithing from the mass media and advertising industries.

And after observing this ‘data feed’ for a while I noticed how little of it made me happy. All the more reason to begin paying closer attention to what I (little ole me) found attractive and interesting in this world on a regular basis.

From a career coaching perspective this simple list making tool can also be applied in ways that help you notice more of the following:

  • What makes you angry at work?
  • Which work tasks are you good at?
  • Which work tasks are you not good at?
  • What could you improve?
  • What ‘success’ do you want to achieve at work (and in life)?

Over time I’ve noticed that these types of lists are most effective when used with a coach (or a trusting and non judgmental partner / friend), as they become focal points for assessing current realities against desired outcomes.

Because although our dreams and imaginations are important allies in creating a welcoming future they have to be rooted in an understanding of what is practical and possible in the PRESENT moment. From there does change spring.

YOUR HAPPINESS CHALLENGE:

Start your very own happiness list and see how it goes for the next couple of weeks. It should only take about 5 minutes each day.

BTW – I treat my list as private and confidential and therefore sometimes use abbreviations and acronyms to disguise identities and locations.
Bear this in mind if you choose to take your list to your workplace – some discretion is advised.

- Mark McClure

PS – I started my current “Happiness list” on Monday 29 Sept and made a reminder to post about this again sometime in November.