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Luck versus Experience: Pushing Boundaries in “Extreme Business”

Posted by Constance Ward on April 17, 2012 | Comments Off

Jeb Corliss and Karina Hollekim are extreme athletes doing extreme sports. Jeb’s YouTube video is called “Grinding the Gap” and includes some amazing footage of the hang-glider’s maneuvering mountains and the narrow gaps between them. It takes experience – and luck – to survive such a glide.

Karina is a Norwegian base jumper or more accurately a B.A.S.E. jumper. B.A.S.E is an acronym the stands for Building, Antenna, Span (a bridge, arch or dome), and Earth (a cliff or other natural formation), which are the types of fixed objects these athletes parachute from – and often don’t live to tell the tale. Karina is still alive and a film about her called “20 Seconds of Joy” won the Best Documentary on Mountain Sports at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2007.

Karina is lucky – an extreme athlete who proclaims on her film’s website, “I don’t want to die – I want to live.” But she recognizes that she has to have both luck and experience to stay alive. It’s described as taking a piece of luck out of your “luck jar” and putting it in your “experience jar.”

In the world of “extreme business,” you as a thought leader also have a jar of experience and a jar of luck – are you using your experience to ride your luck? Are you pushing the boundaries inside your organization? Are you grinding the gap and “flying” close to danger but still succeeding? Ask, assess then act.

The Challenge of Clarifying Ideas – Part 2

Posted by Constance Ward on April 12, 2012 | Comments Off

Following up on the last blog on Franklin Roosevelt, I wanted to refer to a book about ideas that need clarification in the nation today. The book, Why Nations Fail, by M.I.T. economist Daron Acemoglu and the Harvard political scientist James A. Robinson, is getting a great deal of publicity right now. The authors wrestle with some ideas connected to political and economic institutions in the United States.

If you don’t have time to read the full book, Thomas Friedman recently wrote a compelling editorial piece that covered some of their key concepts. At the end of the article, he made the point that

“When one person can write a check to finance your whole campaign, how inclusive will you be as an elected official to listen to competing voices?”

Are you acting inclusively and allowing alternative voices inside your organization to be heard? Have you institutionalized the practice of considering points of view that differ from your own? Ask, assess, then act.

The Challenge of Clarifying Ideas – Part 1

Posted by Constance Ward on April 10, 2012 | 1 Comment

Franklin Roosevelt once said, “All our great presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified.”

If you substitute the word “company” for “nation” in Roosevelt’s quote, you’ll see how this concept applies to the world of business, not just politics.

Before you communicate your ideas, ask yourself whether you’re able to express your thoughts clearly and lucidly. Clearness of thought, particularly about fundamental issues inside your organization, is a prerequisite to communicating ideas in a compelling way.

Are you a great leader of thought at a time when ideas inside your firm need to be clarified? Ask, assess, then act.

Lean Forward, Lean Back

Posted by Constance Ward on April 7, 2012 | Comments Off

I recently heard an unusual comparison between two technologies: a computer and a television. A computer is a lean-forward technology, whereas a television is a lean-back technology. It made me think that management styles also could fall into those two different categories.

A lean-forward leader would tend to be engaged and actively listening, but a lean-back leader would be comfortably disengaged and relaxed. While the lean-forward leader would be ready to pounce on a new idea or trend, the lean-back leader would be contented to wait for the future to unfold and only then get on the bandwagon.

Picture the lean-forward leader driving a car while gripping the steering wheel and bearing down on the gas pedal. Now imagine a relaxed, lean-back leader steering the car confidently with one hand on the wheel. And then, as the car is rounding a curve, it hits a speed bump.

If you think of the car as a company, who would you prefer to have in the driver’s seat when the car hits the bump? Someone leaning forward or leaning back? What’s your leadership style? Ask, assess, then act.

The knowing/doing gap

Posted by Constance Ward on April 3, 2012 | Comments Off

One of the quotable quotes during World Water Forum 6 in Marseille, France, a few weeks ago came from the head of new Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Lennart Sorby (@lennartsorby on Twitter), who said,

“We know what to do, but now the challenge is to get it done.”

Being able to turn good ideas and strategies into action is a critical capability of today’s thought leader. The gap between knowing and doing can be difficult to bridge, but it’s worth the effort – the payback is that those inside – and outside – your organization will see you as a more credible authority figure.

Are you known as a leader who does what you say you’ll do? Do you have a reputation of being a “leader of action”? Ask, assess, then act.

Photo by limaoscarjuliet via Creative Commons on Flickr

A Culture of Learning and Unlearning

Posted by Constance Ward on March 21, 2012 | Comments Off

There’s a saying that goes something like this: “History is the best teacher, but we are the worst pupils.”

Have you ever found yourself repeating the mistakes of the past, even when you know what the outcome will be? It’s human nature to cling to old habits and thought patterns, and it’s not always easy to break such cycles of thinking.

But cultural change is more difficult when an organization has failed to learn from its past poor decisions and mistakes. That kind of blindness to the long-term impact of a lack of organizational learning can make a company resilient to change — even when it’s change for the better.

Guiding an organization through the usual rough waters of cultural change is a challenge for even the most determined leaders. These leaders have to help their teams learn the lessons that corporate history should have taught them…and they may have to help their organization “unlearn” some other lessons along the way before they launch a cultural change program.

As a thought leader inside your own organization, is it time to begin learning and unlearning before you sow the seeds of cultural change? Ask, assess, then act.

Tagged change, leadership

A Wave of Water Thought Leadership: 2012 World Water Forum at Marseille, France

Posted by Constance Ward on March 18, 2012 | Comments Off

Thought leadership in the water industry was on full display last week at the World Water Forum 6, held from 11-17 March in Marseille, France. Inspiring speeches, interesting reports and innovative exhibitions provided a showcase for some well-known and lesser-known water thought leaders.

About 20,000 people attended the event, which is held every three years; but the forum was not without its detractors, many of whom sponsored an “alternative event” nearby.

Also coinciding with the World Water Forum was the premiere of Last Call at the Oasis, the new water documentary by the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc. and Waiting for Superman, for example. It will debut in selected cities in the United States on 4 May, and the viral launch of the related water issue awareness campaign on www.TakePart.com/LastCall and Twitter feed #knowyourwater.

Making an appearance alongside luminaries like Erin Brockovich and Jack Black were key thought leaders in the water industry, such as Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Khoo Teng Chye of Singapore’s PUB and Professor Robert Glennon, the author of Unquenchable: America’s Thirst for Water and How to Deal with It, which has been featured on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show.

Highlights of some of the thought leaders’ ideas presented during the World Water Forum’s sessions can be found on the Twitter feed #waterforum6 and @theadiwas, including many of the Quotable Quotes that can be found here.

When you attend similar high-profile industry events, are you maximizing your exposure there as a thought leader? Are you getting the highest return on your investment at such conferences by ensuring your reputation as a thought leader is being reinforced there? Ask, assess, then act.

Tagged water, world water forum 6

Discussing Dystopia in Davos

Posted by Constance Ward on March 9, 2012 | Comments Off

What’s old is new again. One of my bright-young-whippersnapper colleagues was in Davos, Switzerland, during this year’s World Economic Forum and brought back with her the term “dystopia,” first used in the 16th Century to refer to an anti-utopian, pessimistic society.

This word was often used during the high-level WEF discussions in the context of how society is currently experiencing disruptive change. It describes a new world that is not a blissful, harmonious utopia but an unordered, unpredictable, pessimistic one.

In a world that is constantly changing, how do you prepare yourself and your company to adapt to the dystopia? Are you and your organization agile enough to make those changes with minimal disruption to your daily business of delivering what your clients need? Do you have the foresight as an industry thought leader to help your clients find new ways to thrive, even in a dystopia? Ask, assess, them act.

An “awesome” view?

Posted by Constance Ward on February 27, 2012 | Comments Off

The highest skyscraper in Switzerland (the blue-green building at right) is dwarfed by the Alps in the background.

Sitting in a restaurant atop the highest skyscraper in Switzerland, I’m reflecting on the use of language in the world of business. Here’s the connection.

I was looking forward to lunch in the Prime Tower, which does have a great view of Zurich’s lake and mountains in the distance, but I was disappointed to learn that the “highest skyscraper” is a mere 35 floors high.

The use of superlatives like “highest” or “best” or of diminutive words like “mere” or “only” can alter your meaning and your audience’s interpretation of your meaning. Among some of my colleagues, they cringe when they hear something described as being “awesome” – they label that over-the-top language as “typically American.”

In a recent article by Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times, she pointed out how much more effective CEO communication can be when it doesn’t stray into the superlative zone.

She cited a memo written by Stephen Hester, CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, who described his employees not as the “best” or “greatest” or “most awesome” but as “good.” His exact words were “RBS is full of good people, doing their best …” The point that Lucy Kellaway was trying to make was that instead of using superlatives, the CEO was straightforward and realistic in his language. “Why this little word is so effective – apart from being delightfully unfashionable – is that one is rather inclined to believe it. It makes me think: yes, maybe RBS does employ a lot of good people.”

A good thought leader expresses his ideas and opinions in the least “loaded” or exaggerated language as possible. Are you paying attention to your diction when communicating with internal or external audiences and always choosing the right “reality-based” words to convey your message clearly? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help.

Ruminations on Rodin

Posted by Constance Ward on February 17, 2012 | 1 Comment

Among those colleagues who reviewed my website before I launched it, one commented that the Rodin statue on the homepage seemed a bit too traditional an image for this progressive company. My instinct told me it was the right image so I kept it.

Auguste Rodin observing work on the Monument to Victor Hugo at the studio of his assistant Henri Lebossé in 1896

Then in a book I just finished, a reference to the 19th Century sculptor again made me question the use of photos of Auguste Rodin’s “Thinker” on the site. Michael Cunningham in By Nightfall wrote: “Now Rodin has been and gone and yes, of course, he’s a part of history, but new artists don’t revere him, no one makes a pilgrimage, you learn about him in school, you pass his sculptures on your way to see the Damien Hirst.”

So I’ve now given more thought to whether Rodin is an appropriate muse to have on a website about thought leadership, and I’ve decided it’s definitely staying. Here’s why:

Many of the concepts on this site are traditional, tried-and-true techniques for leadership. But added to those “Rodin” ideas are some trends and contemporary “Damien Hirst” techniques that you can tailor to build your own thought-leadership skills in this modern-day world.

Rodin may now be recognized the pre-eminent French sculptor of his time, but his ideas weren’t always accepted in a world unaccustomed to realism in sculptures. He was a trailblazer, but he had to establish his reputation as a leader in the art world over time. Eventually, however, “society”—including his clients and critics and even his competitors—appreciated his progressive point of view about sculpture.

Are your thought-leadership points of view being appreciated? Are you seen as a trailblazer in your industry? Are you tomorrow’s Auguste Rodin or Damien Hirst? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help.

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