Hiring and promotions in business works like this all the time. It might be political considerations in a University President’s office. It might be a stylistic or theoretical dislike on the part of one of the senior executives at the firm. The reasons can be valid and real, but they can also lead to a compromise candidate that isn’t as well qualified as the ‘best’ candidate.
Creativity
It happens all the time in art too. How? By the artist deciding they must bow to pressure from a gallery director, or a studio head, or the media marketplace. They want to create one thing but they are told it won’t sell so they compromise and create a Frankenstein instead. Part their vision but part other people’s visions as well. The result might sell but is probably not nearly as unique or authentic a creation as would have been created if the artist were left alone to create what they wish.
Is this a bad thing? not always. But it is something that often diminishes originality to the point that you end up with something bland and uninteresting. And that’s a shame in my book.
It’s constantly a struggle for many people to let go of not only the desire to be right, but the desire to be acknowledged as the originator of an idea. I just finished reading a book called ‘The Innovators’, about the history of the development of the computer and all that has come from it.
Blind
One of the most amazing aspects of this history is how many big companies dismissed and derided new ideas coming down the pike from their own developers and engineers. So much so that the smart people at the large corporations figured out they needed to isolate their innovators away from the corporate bureaucracy, even to the point of setting them up on the opposite coast.
And even then most of these large companies did not exploit what was discovered and invented right in their own labs. Why? Because they believed that their version of the future was correct, and it didn’t include outlandish ideas like transistor radios or personal computers.
Mindset Matters
This quote is by Akio Morita, the founder of Sony Electronics. As a result of his mindset, Sony has had an amazing run at the forefront of electronic product development. Their record isn’t perfect, they missed out on some things, but overall they have been able to grab hold of new ideas and run with them.
For me the application of the idea behind this quote, whether in business, science, religion, or life, is simple. Let my ego and greed diminish and let my open mindedness and love of others increase.
I just finished reading a book called ‘The Innovators’ by Walter Isaacson. I highly recommend it. It’s the history of the computer and digital revolution. It’s an amazing story of people trying something that people before them said couldn’t be done. It’s the story of people fiddling around in their garages and workbenches; experimenting, failing, experimenting again and again, sometimes not even really knowing specifically what it is they are reaching for. They knew it had never existed before and that is exciting. It’s the story of collaboration, trusting others on a team to be both rigorous in their work and open minded in their willingness to attempt things that have never been attempted. It’s the story of people respecting and understanding ideas and inventions already in existence but not being limited by those same ideas and inventions.
This Is How It’s Done
One of the hardest things for a person who has been at the same company a long time to do is let the new people make their own discoveries about what works and doesn’t work in the business. This is also true of parents with kids and of coaches with athletes. In these cases we think we can see the best way to do something, whether it’s how to close a sale, cook a roast or do an exercise. We know because we have done it so many times, right? It’s good to have training in place so new workers can know how something is done properly. It’s good to have your child in the kitchen with you so you can show them how to prepare the roast properly. It’s good to show the athlete how to lift the weights properly.
This Is the New Way It’s Done
But there comes a time when they have ideas of their own. Maybe they see a flaw in your method. Maybe they have figured out a shortcut. Maybe something about the process just doesn’t make sense to them. Or maybe they are bored and just want to try something new. What do you do then? You let them try the new ideas. Of course, we aren’t talking about allowing something dangerous. But something new and untried? Why not?
My father wasn’t good with money. He was raised without a lot of it so when he ended up getting enough to go around than then some he didn’t spend it or invest it all that wisely. Honestly, early on I was the beneficiary of those decisions. For example, when my grandmother on my mother’s side died, he used the inheritance to by a boat. It was our first boat ever. But it was not a sensible little boat we could learn on. It was a 47′ houseboat. It was big. As a result we hung with the big dogs at the various marinas we docked at and I was able to use the boat as my own personal playground for many summers. But in the end the boat blew up on us. I mean that literally. It did actually blow up and I was burned on 75% of my body as a result. Buying that boat was temptation over opportunity.
He once invested in a company simply because it happened to be located in the same office building as his. Of course, it could have turned out great, if the company had been Apple. But it was an obscure little company that found hard to find needles for record players. I still have the stock certificates, worthless now for many decades. Why did he do that? Because he liked the guys who ran the company. He wanted to help them out and that was how he could do it. But it probably wasn’t a wise investment. It was temptation over opportunity.
Questions
I am not immune from this. I am easily tempted as well. I haven’t had much money to throw around but there are other ways to be tempted. Temptation has more to do with where your attention is focused than anything else.
Ask yourself these questions:
Is your business attention focused on long term or short term goals?
Are you planning for something in your business’ future by saving or organizing? Or do you just deal with things as they pop up?
Are you able to keep your business focused in a certain direction even when the initial excitement of your choice has dwindled? Or do you change your direction based on your enthusiasm and excitement level?
Do you rely only on what you see and hear in your immediate business environment to decide what to do with your time and money? Or do you investigate by purposely exploring areas and industries you aren’t familiar with?
Are you able to imagine your business ideas being implemented by others? Or do you feel you need to do it all?
Are you able to adapt to new circumstances? Or are you rigid and firm in your direction, no matter what?
It’s in the Building
I just finished reading a great book called ‘The Innovators – How a group of hackers, geniuses and geeks created the digital revolution’. It is an amazing book that I highly recommend. One of the major takeaways I have from the book is how completely obscure their business future was to each and every one of these entrepreneurs. We look back on this history and we see it as inevitable that IBM, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Google, the internet, all would exist. But not one of the people building those businesses had any idea what they would eventually become.
They started with an idea and they had a vision, but they didn’t know about the technology’s future. Some predicted what would happen, even as far back as the mid-1800s. But those people didn’t build the machines. Those who built the machines and the software, they didn’t have the luxury of just prognosticating. They had to build something. It was in the building that the future was created, not the philosophizing.
And building takes place when focus is good, when opportunities are taken advantage of and temptations are minimized.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
My friends in business, some as high up as VP, but most in middle management, have often told me over the years how little their bosses realize how much work they have done and currently do. Those bosses may have come to power in the past few months, and know nothing of the many years this person saved, expanded, corrected, instilled, encouraged, adapted, innovated, created, built, adjusted, revamped, and competed to make the division or the company what it is today. These friends may have had someone above them recognize their efforts during a year end review that ends up in a file somewhere. But the new bosses will very likely not read those reviews, deeming them irrelevant. It can be very frustrating for them.
Now
On the other hand, as a running coach who leads four sessions a year, I can’t tell my runners that the last session was great and expect them to be satisfied with that. The current session has to be great otherwise my bragging about past achievements means nothing. Now is what matters.
Balance
It’s good to recognize other’s accomplishments. It tells them they are doing a good job and are appreciated. That is important. But, in another sense, it’s also good to not pay too much attention to those past accomplishments because they are not what will cause the business to succeed today and into the future. For that to happen you have to perform today. Of course, both can take place, and that is how it should be. Recognition of past efforts is what makes a person want to continue to put out effort in the present and into the future.
One might think that it is critical when you reach a certain point of success that you up your game and push your level of excellence, going beyond ‘good enough’. But the truth is you can’t wait until you reach any particular level of success to do that. If you don’t push for excellence and originality from the very beginning chances are you won’t ever reach a high level of success. If you do somehow reach that level of success, you will have a hard time sustaining it.
People often say they don’t want to argue, right? For example, they may say this, “Arguing has never changed anyone’s mind.”
However, the truth is that in business, politics, science, religion, even art, ideas move forward and action is taken based on arguments made, arguments replied to, arguments won or lost. Continued progress over any substantial amount of time isn’t made without argument.
Persuasion
Of course, there are many ways to argue. Yelling, screaming, ranting, raving, and bullying are some of the ways. And those who make the comment above about arguing never changing someone’s mind usually have that sort of arguing in mind when they say that.
But those are not the only forms of argument. Debate and Persuasion are two methods that usually are more effective. Debate is about logic and reason, persuasion is about self-interest. In debating you are trying to convince someone that your ideas are right. In persuading you are trying to convince someone it is in their best interests to believe and/or act on something.
Best For Business
In business all these types of argument are used. But from my experience inside and outside of business there is no comparison, the most effective method is persuasion. That is because it is the most long lasting. You have converted someone to your way of thinking because you have actually made it their way of thinking as well. And when that happens, a vision for a business can grow naturally within an organization.
