You Don't Need A Thick Skin

I wish Phil Haack posted a bit more often, as he always has good things to say. His latest post is called You Don't Need A Thick Skin. His main point is that we usually respond to criticism in one of two ways - either we get defensive, or we ignore it (the titular "thick skin"). Sounds about right!

Phil suggest we need to go a third way, and "embrace" the criticism. If someone says your software sucks, try and put yourself in their shoes. And perhaps you will say, "You are right, that does suck. It's not good enough."

As a leader, I'm sure you relate to this. We've all had difficult staff who we've given constructive criticism too, and either they get aggressive or the criticism slides right off. We long for them to take ownership.

But forget your staff - what about you? Do you always have excuses when you fail (and if you never fail, you are not trying hard enough!) Do you grit your teeth when you are criticised, then forget it all once you walk out the door? When was the last time you said to someone, "You are right, this is not good enough. We will fix this and do better."

A world without managers?

Phil Haack feels good - very good - after a year at GitHub. He loves the fact that there are no managers, and wonders if this is the way of the future. He points to the super successful Steam as another IT example of no-managers, and also to Gore & Associates as an example of a large and established company doing the same.

Well, what are us manager types to think of this? Do our careers have a use-by date? Are our days numbered? Well, I wouldn't worry too much. For a start, these ideas are not new. Gore has been running things that way for over 30 years, and it hasn't really caught on. Why? Because it is really, really hard to do!

What about GitHub and Steam? How have they pulled it off? They are both high-margin, high-profile businesses. That is, they attract absolutely top-tier talent, and have the cash to compensate them. Obviously a group of super-smart, super-motivated, super-skilled people are able to get by with loose structures, and still achieve success.

But there is more to the story. Gore may not have "managers", but they still have leadership. Project teams form around "sponsors", who seem to combine project management with product management, though not traditional line management. Gore have also been forced to put in more structure at the upper levels as the company has expanded.

My point is not that GitHub/Steam/Gore are doing something wrong. On the contrary, I think it is very right - for their contexts. I also note that, though they may have abolished managers, they have not abolished leadership. Leadership has good currency, and is always in demand.

The First 100 Days of a New CIO

McKinsey Quarterly set out a plan for the first 100 days of a new CIO (free registration required). The key points are -

1. Start the first 100 days before your first day
2. Clarify and strengthen your mandate
3. Build relationships with business unit executives and agree upon priorities
4. Understand the upside and downside
5. Develop the plan
6. Build your team
7. Rally the IT organization
8. Demonstrate leadership through visible results and actions
9. Continue your personal journey

Leadership 101: Throw People in Over Their Heads and See What Happens

This is pretty straightforward, but true. Note, though - they must be *good* people for this to work. B players will struggle.

Strategy+Business - Best Books of 2012

Strategy+Business magazine have released a list of the Best Business Books of 2012. You need to register to see the reviews (it's free, and well worthwhile), but here is the list itself -

Biography

Eisenhower in War and Peace (Jean Edward Smith)
Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson)
Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man (Mark Kurlansk)

Innovation

The Wide Lens: A New Strategy for Innovation (Rod Adner)
 Reverse Innovation: Create Far from Home, Win Everywhere (Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble)
Cloud Surfing: A New Way to Think about Risk, Innovation, Scale, and Success (Thomas M. Koulopoulos)

Organisational Culture

Productive Workplaces: Dignity, Meaning, and Community in the 21st Century: 25th Anniversary Edition (Marvin R. Weisbord)
Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution (Lisa Bodell)
 Talk, Inc.: How Trusted Leaders Use Conversation to Power Their Organizations (Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind)

Strategy

The New Emerging Market Multinationals: Four Strategies for Disrupting Markets and Building Brands (Amitava Chattopadhyay and Rajeev Batra, with Aysegul Ozsomer)
Pragmatic Strategy: Eastern Wisdom, Global Success (Ikujiro Nonaka and Zhichang Zhu)
Competitive Strategy: Options and Games (Benoit Chevalier-Roignant and Lenos Trigeorgis)

Marketing

Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies (Jim Stengel)
Brand Real: How Smart Companies Live Their Brand Promise and Inspire Fierce Customer Loyalty (Laurence Vincent)
The Intention Economy: When Customers Take Charge (Doc Searls)

Why You’re Not Innovating and What To Do About It

This article from GK Strategic is definitely on to something. Unfortunately, the suggested remedy is not something that fits in easily with established corporates.

The Netflix Culture

This set of internal slides about the Netflix culture was recently leaked onto the net. It's very impressive...