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Elizabeth Cady Stanton (More or less) (31 March 2007)
Success = 72.1.5 =Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902), Lucretia Mott, Martha Wright, Mary Ann McClintock, Jane Hunt (07.13.1848/Seneca Falls, NY) (+909 Elections)72 years, 1 month, 5 days (08.18.1920/Nashville, TN)
“She had SURVIVEDher husband, OUTLIVED most of her enemies, and EXHAUSTEDher allies. Her mind remained alert, her mood OPTIMISTIC, and her manner COMBATIVE.”Source: “Self Sovereign 1889-1902,” In Her Own Right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Elisabeth Griffith
EXCELLENCE* *My 50 year project (from 9 August 1966)
“CAN DO”* (*Agile/1966)
In Search of Excellence/1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. A Bias for Action* 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties *Agile Manifesto/’82; WTTMSW/1 in 50 [WTTMSASTMSUTFW]
Why in the World did you go to Siberia?
ENTERPRISE* (*AT ITS BEST):An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum concerted human potential in the wholehearted pursuit of EXCELLENCE in service of others.****Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
CORPORATE MANDATE #1 2016:Your principal moral obligation as a leader is to develop the skillset, “soft” and “hard,” of every one of the people in your charge (temporary as well as semi-permanent) to the maximum extent of your abilities. The bonus: This is also the#1 mid- to long-term … profit maximization strategy!
“Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson
EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS A/THE GRAND HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT
Management/A Manager’s Life Your Call … MANAGING/PAIN IN THE BUTT: Somebody’s got to do it; punching bag for higher ups on one end, grouchy employees on the other; blame magnet if things go wrong, big bosses abscond with the credit if things go right. MANAGING/PINNACLE OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT:The greatest life opportunity one can have [literally]; mid- to long-term success is no more and no less than a function of one’s dedication to and effectiveness at helping team members grow and flourish as individuals and as contributing members to an energetic, self-renewing organization dedicated to the relentless pursuit of Excellence.* ** (*Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech: “The role of the Director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being.” ) (**If you accept this second path, you alone, or you and your mirror, will be the only judge/s of success.)
ORGANIZATIONS EXIST TO SERVE. PERIOD. LEADERS LIVE TO SERVE. PERIOD. SERVICE is a beautiful word. SERVICE is character, community, commitment. (And profit.) SERVICE is a beautiful word. SERVICE is not “Wow.” SERVICE is not “raving fans.” SERVICE is not “a great experience.” SERVICE is “just” that—SERVICE. “SERVICE” is in fact the highest human calling.
In Good Business, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [best known for his idea of “flow,” or “optimal experience”] argues persuasively that business has become the center of society. As such, an obligation to community is front & center. Business as societal bedrock, per Csikszentmihalyi, has the … “responsibility to increase the sum of human well-being.” Business is NOT “part of the community.” In terms of how adults collectively spend their waking hours: Business IS the community. And businesses and those in them should act accordingly. The (REALLY) good news: Community mindedness writ large is a great way (arguably the BEST way) to have spirited/committed/customer-centric work force—and, ultimately, increase (maximize?) innovation, growth and profitability.
EXCELLENCE: The Thing About Joe …
“In a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn’t. It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn’t, not really. The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. That’s what it really admires. That’s what we talk about in eulogies, because that’s what’s important. We don’t say, ‘The thing about Joe was he was rich!’ We say, if we can …
“ … We say, if we can … ‘The thing about Joe was he took good care of people.’” —Peggy Noonan, “A Life’s Lesson,” on the astounding response to the passing of journalist Tim Russert, The Wall Street Journal, June 21-22, 2008
EXCELLENCE is not a “long-term” "aspiration.” EXCELLENCE is the ultimate short-term strategy. EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT5MINUTES.* (*Or NOT.)
EXCELLENCE is not an "aspiration." EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES. EXCELLENCE is your next conversation. Or not. EXCELLENCE is your next meeting. Or not. EXCELLENCE is shutting up and listening—really listening. Or not. EXCELLENCE is your next customer contact. Or not. EXCELLENCE is saying “Thank you” for something “small.” Or not. EXCELLENCE is the next time you shoulder responsibility and apologize. Or not. EXCELLENCE is waaay over-reacting to a screw-up. Or not. EXCELLENCE is the flowers you brought to work today. Or not. EXCELLENCE is lending a hand to an “outsider” who’s fallen behind schedule. Or not. EXCELLENCE is bothering to learn the way folks in finance [or IS or HR] think. Or not. EXCELLENCE is waaay “over”-preparing for a 3-minute presentation. Or not. EXCELLENCE is turning “insignificant” tasks into models of … EXCELLENCE. Or not.
“Strive for Excellence. Ignore success.”—Bill Young, race car driver
“INSANELY GREAT”STEVE JOBS“RADICALLY THRILLING”BMW“ASTONISH ME”SERGEI DIAGHLEV, TO A LEAD DANCER“BUILD SOMETHING GREAT”HIROSHI YAMAUCHI, NINTENDO, TO A SENIOR GAME DESIGNER“MAKE IT IMMORTAL” DAVID OGILVY, TO A COPYWRITER.
Innovation Index: Move every project (definition) 2 notches up on the “WOW Scale”… THISWEEK.
*Basement Systems Inc. (Larry Janesky/Seymour CT)*Dry Basement Science (100,000++ copies!)*1990: $0; 2003: $13M; 2010:$80,000,000
Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America—by George Whalin
JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET, FAIRFIELD, OH: “An adventure in ‘shoppertainment,’ begins in the parking lot and goes on to 1,600 cheeses and 1,400 varieties of hot sauce—not to mention 12,000 wines priced from $8-$8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to you by 4,000 vendors. Customers from every corner of the globe.” BRONNER’S CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND, FRANKENMUTH, MI, POP 5,000:98,000-square-foot “shop” features 6,000 Christmas ornaments, 50,000trims, and anything else you can name pertaining to Christmas. …”
Jungle Jim’s … “America’s Best Restroom” *Sixth Annual competition sponsored by Cintas Corporation
“BE THE BEST. IT’S THE ONLY MARKET THAT’S NOT CROWDED.” From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America, George Whalin
Myth Busting: SPEED
“The central element of good decision-making is a person’s ability to manage delay.” —Frank Partnoy, Wait: The Art and Science of Delay
“ … computer programmer, investor, writer, painter Paul Graham wrote, ‘The most impressive people I know are all terrible procrastinators.’ ” —Frank Partnoy, Wait: The Art and Science of Delay
Last word [from me]:THE DAY PATIENCE DIES IS THE DAY THAT EXCELLENCE DISAPPEARS. ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE IS BY DEFINITION A PAINSTAKING PROCESS. WHILE THE TIMES REQUIRE RENEWED URGENCEY, PEERLESS QUALITY WILL ALWAYS DEMAND CARE—WHICH TO A SIGNIFICANT DEGREE CANNOT BE RUSHED.
“We live with a value system that I call the Extrovert Ideal—the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight. The archetypal extrovert prefers action to contemplation, risk-taking to heed-taking, certainty to doubt. … We think that we value individuality, but all too often we admire one type of individual … Introversion is now a second-class personality trait. …The Extrovert Ideal has been documented in many studies. Talkative people, for example, are rated as smarter, better looking, more interesting, and more desirable as friends. Velocity of speech counts as well as volume: We rank fast talkers as more competent and likeable than slow ones. But we make a grave mistake to embrace the Extrovert Ideal so unthinkingly.… As the science journalist Winifred Gallagher writes, ‘The glory of the disposition that stops to consider stimuli rather than rushing to engage with them is its long association with intellectual and artistic achievement. Neither E = mc squared or Paradise Lost was dashed off by a party animal.’ Even in less obviously introverted occupations, like finance, politics, and activism, some of the greatest leaps forward were made by introverts … figures like Eleanor Roosevelt, Warren Buffett and Gandhi achieved what they did not in spite of but because of their introversion.”—Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
Conversational pairings/experiment:“The introverts and extraverts participated about equally, giving the lie to the idea that introverts talk less. But the introvert pairs tended to focus on one or two serious subjects of conversation, while the extrovert pairs lighter-hearted and wider-ranging topics.” —Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
“The next time you see a person with a composed face and a soft voice, remember that inside her mind she might be solving an equation, composing a sonnet, designing a hat. She might, that is, be deploying the power of quiet.” —Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
“Most inventors and engineers I have met are like me—they’re shy and they live in their heads. They work best when they are alone , and can control an invention’s design. … I’m going to give you some advice that might be hard to take: WORK ALONE. You’re going to be best able to design revolutionary products and features. …” —from Steve Wozniak, in Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
“The results were unambiguous. The men in 23 of the 24 groups produced more ideas when they worked on their own than when they worked as a group. They also produced ideas of equal or higher quality when working individually. And the advertising executives were no better at group work than than the presumably introverted research scientists.”—Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
“Close Open Offices” —David Burkus, Title of chapter 10 in Under New Management (Burkus devotes an entire chapter to “questioning” [trashing, actually] open offices. I say; BRAVO. Open office for me would be … THE END OF THE WORLD AS I KNOW IT.)
LEADERSHIP: “SOME STUFF”
MBWA* 25/50 *Managing By Wandering Around
“I’m always stopping by our stores— at least 25a week. I’m also in other places: Home Depot, Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel. I try to be a sponge to pick up as much as I can.”—Howard SchultzSource: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness”
