It's Not Enough

This winter I had all my flu shots. Somehow that didn't make a difference because I caught a bug that knocked me out for 3 days and had me operating at half speed for close to 4 weeks.

On the worst day of this affliction (a work day) I went to a local walk in clinic. I expected to have to wait but instead was in and out in less than 5 minutes with a prescription in hand. The piece of paper led me to believe that whatever I had would get knocked down. The drugs helped for a time but it was clear there was no change to my symptom after taking the last pill.

I should have hedged by enacting the age old remedy for colds and flus - drinking lots of liquids and getting rest. The truth is that I didn't rest. The prescription and flu vaccines gave me a feeling of invincibility so I doubled down on the workload.

I learned a valuable lesson from this experience. You must always do more. I'm not just talking about colds or flus. This applies to business or personal issues. You can't rely on a thing like a piece of paper as the only solution to a problem.

It's all you need

When I first started my career in sales and marketing in the 80's the one tool you absolutely needed was an American Express Card.

Often I was dispatched to open up a new geography for my company. In those situtations having the card was great, I could buy air tickets, book hotel rooms, hire translators, rent cars, entertain (I mean negotiate) with customers and local partners. I could get things rolling without having to see my banker for an increase in my credit limit before each trip or project.

Today with video conferencing, the Internet, netbooks and devices I don't know if the card is as important. There's much less travel and entertainment and more online connecting for rapid business development.

Today, the one thing I absolutely need to do business is....my Blackberry! But hey, I still pack my AMEX card...in case.

NYT Year in Ideas

My favourite edition of the Sunday New York Times was published today. This is the article called The Year in Ideas. The piece is full of very cool ideas related to Business, Technology, Design, etc...

The idea I like the most is - Random Promotions, here's a quote:

“…we wrongly assume that people who are good at their jobs will also be good at jobs that are one rung up on the corporate ladder — so we promote them. But often the new job is so different from the previous job that the employee can't handle it. Now performing incompetently, the employee stays in place, dragging the efficiency of the firm downward. Eventually the entire economy becomes like the paper company Dunder Mifflin in "The Office" — clogged with incompetence. Is there any way to avoid this trap? Yes, by promoting people at random.”

What's your favourite?

Click here to read the entire article.

Hey are you there?

David [10:45 AM]: Hey do you IM?

I'm sure you do but do you Instant Message at work?

I do and I find it to be a productive tool. It works particularly when when all I need is a simple answer. So instead of composing an email, sending it and waiting for an answer, I Instant Message for info, get my answer and move on to the next task.

Simple right? Not really! Much like with email there are subtleties. For example I've found that there are two styles to initiating IM chats.

The first style is when people type their query and hit send. This is done Twitter fashion...that is to say the message is brief one or two lines saying it all - for example:

David [10:45 AM]: Rick, can you send me the link to that article on the Chinese market?

Rick [10:50 AM]: Yup here it is http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-telecoms-get-glum-reviews-from-most-analysts-2009-10-21

The other style is a two step approach. This is when the initiator says hello first then makes the ask. Here's an example of how this style would work:

David [10:45 AM]: Hey

Rick [10:50 AM]: Hi whats new? Did you see that episode of Trauma last night?

David [10:59 AM]: Wow when the helicopter went down...intense! But I was working on a deliverable while it was on. Can't live without my Bell Aliant PVR! Can you send me the link to that article on China?

Rick [11:30AM]: Here it is

Can you tell which style is my preferred mode?

Its the first one - I prefer to get the ask out up front. It saves time - I get the info in 5 minutes not 45. I admit that sometimes I do the "Hey are you there?" when I see someone's status is away or when I think they are really there but cloaked. But its rare.

I believe IM should be approached the way email is sent - get the ask into the first three lines of the email and use the rest for additional info or back up.

Now imagine if you were to get the "Hey are you there?" in an email. I bet your mind would first try to establish if the subject is something important or is the sender just going to ask me about last night's episode of Trauma.

I'd think the latter and hit shift-delete right away. Wouldn't you?

Real leadership is....

Real leadership is...

...working 20 hour days for weeks to ensure that your staff and their charges are safe

...reacting to a crisis with confidence, even when you're in a never imagined scenario

...sacrificing of yourself so that a long time tradition can survive for the next generation

Congratulations (you know who you are), you made it through and I'm so very proud if you!

Where are you from?

Being relatively new to Atlantic Canada I'm asked where I'm from. I'm asked this since I'm hard to place, given my mix of Toronto and Montreal backgrounds.

I think you agree that our backgrounds impact our attitudes and responses in every day life. But what about at work? How does a past experience guide us?

The writing of this piece was prompted by reading an article in the Wall Street Journal called "A Class of Generals" The article is about West Point's Graduating Class of 1976. West Point is probably the foremost military academy in the world. The class of 1976 produced 33 generals now in senior leadership.

West Point is a leadership crucible where knowledge and experiences is solidified. We all can look back on our careers to find similar pivotal experiences that formed who we are and in a way where we're from.

Excluding my university years I can think of two "where I'm from" moments. Early in my career it was my first leadership role at ADP - more recently it was working at Microsoft. Both contributed greatly to how and why I get things done.

What are your leadership crucibles...where are you from???

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal article (subscription may be required after the end of July 2009)

Click here for other posts about leadership

Send the CEO to Summer Camp

I've lived in some of the largest cities in the world - Mumbai, Montreal and Toronto. As a result I'm used to noise, pollution and high population densities. Some city dwellers must escape from time to time. Not me. When on vacation I prefer to be in other big cities like NYC, Paris or LA. I'm a inner city type of person.

When I was a kid our family spent the summer in the city. Before I was old enough to get a summer job, my parents would send us to summer camp. Actually it was a day camp at the local Y. Our days would be spent playing baseball or swimming. But we were less than five blocks away and went home every evening.

A recent experience made me think of summer camp. My daughter is Director of a summer camp in rural Nova Scotia. It's a six week sleep away camp in the country by a lake. We visit frequently. But yesterday was the first time we were there on opening day. Opening day is the day that campers arrive and get settled into their cabins and bunks.

These campers are young kids, some of whom haven't been away from home before. Scary stuff for kids and their parents. The first day away is a real test. But fear not, from the minute the kids step off the bus they're immersed in tight community. Kids get over homesickness pretty quickly because there's so much to do.

It was an eyeopener for me. I always thought that summer camp was just about doing things you could only do away from the city. For example - learn how to paddle a canoe. But the true benefits to the camp experience are deeper.

Campers learn independence, social skills, problem solving...all without the 7x24 presence of a parent. This doesn't happen by accident. Camp staff work long hours to make the experience a memorable one. The team running the camp is qualified, well trained, compassionate and always engaged/connected to what's going on.

I was struck that this camp experience is similar to what you would get at five star hotel. The five star hotel attends to each detail, the staff knows your name, knows your preferences and makes your stay a memorable one. Minus the bunk beds of course.

I can't help but wonder how many hotel CEO's ever went to summer camp. I bet that some did. But if they haven't, perhaps they should arrange for a summer camper focus group to get the insight to reinvent their customer experience!

Tech Takes Over

Parts of the tech industry are in growth mode in the midst of the current economic downturn. Surprising but true!

A recent article in the National Post by Karen Mazurkewich asserts that while Automotive declines in Ontario, technology takes over...particularly in Waterloo. Ontario is the centre of Canada's manufacturing sector and automotive in particular. Waterloo is situated about 112 km east of Toronto.

Here's a quote from the Post:

"Situated in the heart of the auto parts manufacturing region, Waterloo is the new tech capital of the country. In this former agricultural heartland, still heavily populated with stoic Mennonite farmers, the story is upbeat. The tech sector here generates more than $15-billion per year, and the employment growth rate is 7%, significantly higher than Ottawa or Toronto."

Wait, it gets better: "Technology firms in the Waterloo region employ 28,000 people, and there are at least 2,000 more jobs looking to be filled. The community now boasts 550 technology companies, including the region's anchors: Research in Motion (RIM), Open Text, the largest software company in the country; and Christie Digital Systems Inc., make of a high-end projection system, to name a few."

I imagine that Waterloo is now the envy of every other North American city! Click here to read the entire article.