One of the great privileges of being in venture capital is the ability to observe many CEOs in action — not just at a distance, but close up. One of the lessons I have learned from that is that there are different ways to be effective as a CEO and that very different personalities can make for effective CEOs. I have observed effective CEOs who are technologists and others who are top sales people; CEOs who are methodical and others who are inspirational. You get the idea. But all the effective CEOs have one thing in common: they do what they do best and surround themselves with great people for everything else. That of course sounds a lot easier than it is. For starters, it requires knowing what you are good at (which does not have to be a function like engineering or marketing but could be cross-functional such as strategy or be a people skill). Even that is not easy because too often CEOs seem to think that they have to be good at something other than what they are actually good at because they have mistakenly convinced themselves that something is critical to being a CEO (or worse yet because they believe that their board or investors expect it of them). So to be effectiv... read more >>
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Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives. ~ Viktor E. Frankl  In lean management, a pull system is a natural flow of activities driven by the natural pace of the work that produces value. Today I stumbled across this quote from Viktor Frankl, whose book Man’s Search for Meaning is surely one of the top 10 influential books on my world view. In this quote, Frankl suggests that goals are a pull system.
Goals are indeed a pull system. Goals come from internal processes. We have individual and shared goals that motivate us to act. In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed. ~ Sid Caesar  Goals pull us, we ideally act based on goals. These individual actions are tasks. The tasks we take on are in service of the goals. However, if we don’t actually enjoy what we’re doing in service of these goals or, worse yet, act contrary to our goals – we are squandering our lives.
In a business context, if goals are clear amongst teams and the organization, the work involved in achieving those goals is more likely to be rewarding. We are happier in doing it. And this is a pull process. A beneficial by-p... read more >>
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 In it, he says “Research in social psychology consistently reveals the corrupting effects of power: disinhibition and a diminished focus on those with less power. Influence distances those with it from those with less influence. At the same time, the ability to understand another's point of view, and to put oneself in the other's place, is one of the most critical factors that affects ability to obtain influence and is a critical skill for everyone, including organizational leaders.”
He goes on to say “There is also evidence, including some wonderful studies by business school professor Don Hambrick at Penn State, that shows the corroding effects of ego. Leaders filled with hubris are more likely to overpay for acquisitions and engage in other risky strategies. Leaders ought to cultivate humility. They certainly need to build cultures in which people can and will disagree with them over substantive decisions. They ou... read more >>
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intensify:
v 1: increase in extent or intensity; 2: make more intense, stronger, or more marked; 3: heighten, deepen; 3: become more intense.
Tough times call for tough measures. Companies that have excelled in the past are struggling and others are emerging as leaders in their markets. Executive teams are adjusting strategies and expectations more frequently to consider trends in the marketplace, the national economy, and the world. It is the manager’s job to run the business based on the new and frequently changing demands. Managers have the opportunity, and responsibility, during difficult times to influence their businesses in a positive way. You probably recognize that your greatest potential for impact comes during business downturns or high growth periods, both of which can be very stressful situations. As John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural speech, “When written in Chinese the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” The most effective managers are the ones who are able to seize opportunities in the midst of difficult times...
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N  in a Simosko recently found time in her busy schedule at SAP to talk to us about a topic dea r to her heart: leadership. Nina has been with SAP for about five years. (Her current title -- careful, it’s a bit of a mouthful -- is “Head of Global Ecosystem Partnership Group - System Integrators and Go To Market Programs.") And during that time she has formed some strong views on leadership.
Nina created her blog Nina Nets It Out about a year ago expressly to tackle this subject. You may have read some of her recent posts here on MyVenturePad, including “ Smart Growth for Leaders” and “ Leadership Is About Skills, Not Gender.” In this interview, Nina explores the elusive art of leadership, noting, for example, that true leaders typically don’t talk about leading—“they just get on with it.” She also offers her thoughts on mentoring and women in business.
Listen now:
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Outstanding performance is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to do three things. 1) Become a lifelong learner. 2) Set and achieve high goals. 3) Get organized; manage your time, life and stress well. Kevin Eikenberry is a friend of mine. Through his great book, Remarkable Leadership, Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time, and his coaching, Kevin has helped hundreds of people become better leaders. I’m a subscriber to his ezine which I read religiously. Last week Kevin wrote an article in which he discussed the importance of lifelong learning. Check it out... read more >>
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Consider this eye-opener: "The greatest strategy in the world is useless - if you cannot execute it." Here are seven critical elements of strategy execution:- People. Strategy formulation often gathers the "smartest people in the room." However, it's not the senior leadership team that executes strategy - it's everyone in your workforce. Get the right people in the right positions.
- Communication. Strategy can only be executed if your employees know about it and really understands it. Most importantly, each person needs to understand how their daily activities fit with and support the strategy...
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Self confidence is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become self confident, you need to do three things: 1) become an optimist; 2) face your fears and act, and 3) surround yourself with positive people. I was watching the NBA All Star Game last night – no shortage of self confidence there. Did you see LeBron James’ dunk at the end of the game, or Shaq’s between the legs pass and give and go with Chris Paul? Wow!!! During half-time, the NBA did a piece on its community service program, NBA Cares, complete with a video message from President Obama – a huge basketball fan. Since it’s President’s Day in the USA, I’m going to devote this post to President Obama and self confidence; especially optimism. When he began his campaign for US President, few people gave Barack Obama a chance to win. Besides the fact that no black man had ever been elected president, he had a lot of things going against him. He has a funny name. Worse yet, his middle name is Hussein. Many people thought he was Muslim. He was young. He was a first term senator from Illinois. Most people thought that Hillary Clinton had the Democratic nomination locked up. Howeve... read more >>
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Two mornings a week, I go to Spanish class before work. The other students in my class come from a variety of backgrounds: they are filmmakers, law students, professors and translators from the United Nations. If no one oversleeps and everyone makes it to class, we’re a group of 8, a perfectly manageable number to [...] read more >>
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 With governments around the world developing economic stimulus packages and high level meetings of the world’s leading politicians (Davos) and thinkers (TED) – there is clearly a lot of activity and talk around growth, innovation and productivity. In amongst all this – how do we, as leaders, choose what and who to listen to? What is our filter for the torrent of information?
On the one hand we have TED, the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference, which brings together a raft of experts from across the broad spectrum of enterprises. And even if we cannot attend in person, the TED Talks series makes these fascinating and highly addictive discussions available to anyone with an internet connection. But how do we take this to another level? How do we move from ideas and talk to action? Umair Haque has given this some thought and has written a Smart Growth Manifesto. His manifesto suggests that we have to reboot capitalism. And he provides four pillars around which action can be built. I have attempted to take these four pillars and apply it to the business of leadership and the challenges and opportunities that these present, as follows: 1. Outcomes not income. There is no surpr... read more >>
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