Rothacker Reviews

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: Synopsis

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood.

Are you doing something meaningful with your life?  Do you work for the Man?  Do you love books?  Do you love to read?  Do you love to learn?   Do you understand the value of education?  If so, walk down the path with us towards the lake.  One word of advice: watch out for the starshine...

Sit down next to our roaring campfire on the edge of a crystal blue mountain lake on a cool autumn evening with the smell of dampened leaves and smoke whispering about.  Would you like to hear a good story?  The story that is, of a guy who leaves corporate America for an adventure?  The corporation that is, Microsoft no less?  The adventure that is a cause.  A cause that is, of educating the children of the developing world.  John Wood leaves Microsoft that is, to change the world.

"Perhaps, sir, you will someday come back with books."

While visiting a remote mountainous area in Nepal, John, founder of Room to Read, came upon a school in horrific condition.  It did however, have a library.  The problem - it contained fewer than twenty books. 

John did go back...with books.  Leaving Microsoft to Change the World is a story that chronicles John's life-journey.   It is very well written, lubricated with succinct humor and sprinkled with lessons in business.

Note to future dave:  When you first began to read this book, you randomly pulled out a bookmarker to use.  It is a Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat character, sponsored by Kellogs.  The first words written on it say, "Reading is fun..."  Nothing is random davie, you know that...

The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: Synopsis

The Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni

How does one teach managers to become pied pipers?  Tell stories of course.  Stories trump bullet pointed slide shows.  Any day.  Any time.  Any how.

In classic Lencioni fashion, Patrick spins a tale involving ex CEO Brian Bailey who is trying to stay retired.  Brian doesn' t succeed.  He does succeed though, through a series of adventures, at revealing the three signs of a miserable job.  Boss.  Boss.  Boss.

Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' bout dave!

Well, not exactly.  But close.  The signs that Brian discovers do point towards the manager.  If the manager is on her game, understands these signs and works towards a positive outcome from them, it is most likely that her team will not describe their job as miserable.

Patrick builds this page turning story on one pied piper, rock-solid premise:  All managers should view their work as a ministry - a service to others.

You, and your masquerading and you,
Always contemplating what to do,
Encase happiness found you, can’t you see?
That it’s all around you,
So follow me...to Amazon and buy the book.

How Dave Got His Groove Back

Dave's life philosophy was Oz is the Yellow Brick Road.  But Dave wasn't living his life creed very well.  As he traveled the Road he continuously looked ahead.  Maybe once he got up around the next bend his ship would be there.  You see, at fifty-one years old, Dave didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Since 1977 with the exception of one year, Dave has had a manager title at work.  Early on, when his enthusiasm and energy was high, Dave was more busy trying to get work done than to get work done through his people.  The light bulb went off in 1988.  Dave threw himself into the study of business and management.  By 1997 he was ready to mount his steed and lead the troops.  The problem was his immediate boss who was also the company owner.  This gentleman's agenda stymied deployment of the personal development of anyone who worked for him.  Dave had an unbelievably talented and progressive staff.  For them to utilize their talents, he would have to provide cover.  Though rewarding, it was a massive drain on Dave's mind and body.  Eventually he left the company.

From that time on, Dave checked his spirit at the door as he punched the clock.  Personal satisfaction came from sharing knowledge with like-minded people online.  Author David Weinberger captured the essence of Dave's world with one simple sentence, "However much we long for the Web is how much we hate our job."  Dave yearned and longed for the Web all day long! 

Two years ago, Dave hooked on with a company that was different from any other he worked at.  This was an international company with around thirty state-side offices.  What really rocked Dave's world was that no matter what level the people were at, they were just plain nice people.  Perhaps he would be allowed to be a real manager and not one that was forced to strafe management's ignorance from five thousand feet so that his people could find true meaning in their work.

Warrior Skills

Why must it take the skills of a warrior to obtain and retain customers?

I had an opportunity five years ago to take over a consultant's business.  The target market in this industry was less than five percent of the entire industry.  The actual users of this gentleman's service and others like him totaled less than one tenth of one percent.  I had asked my friend how did he do what he did?  To be on the road over two-hundred fifty days a year and maybe score a couple of new customers.  But mostly, how did he deal with all of the ignorance and resistance?

He said, "David, you've got to get in the ring and knock them upside the head. You have to battle and pound sense into them."

My friend loved that part.  He lived for the battle.

I am sure that it helps to be passionate about what you are selling.  For me, I long to sell a service or product that folks take delight in, that folks love to buy, that doesn't involve big corporation, that doesn't involve me conforming, that doesn't involve me dressing up like a monkey - where I can just be myself.

Here is a little story that involved me years ago, working in the aforementioned industry.  We had a customer who for years experienced extremely uncomfortable areas in his home that no other company could remedy.  We proposed a solution that he said was the equivalent price of taking his family of four to Disney World.  Comfort or Disney World?  This customer and his family chose to remain uncomfortable.

I just don't have the strength, stamina or will power to battle prospective customers.

Here is proof that this goes beyond my industry and actually inspired these words.

A Fine Line

Terry Starbucker stops me dead in my tracks with two essays.

 

• One

• Two

On one hand:  "...but this is my job.  It's not my life.  I don't define myself by this."
On the other:  "That target of teammate job satisfaction has only increased in importance to me as my career has progressed, because I have seen time and time again what it produces - real business success.   This has been a great learning experience for me.  And this difference making is personally rewarding, because I simply love what I do and I would like nothing more to have all my teammates feel the same way."

Can a person separate the two?  Can a person feel so much passion at work and have it not carry over to the life outside?

For twelve years I've been crawling, scratching and inching across the desert in search of a tall, cold glass of iced tea...in search of being able to say, "I simply love what I do!!!"  A partial definition of that position would have me writing about it on my Web site.  Another part would have me encountering some other being within the course of a work day who I could talk to about Gen X & Yers', marketing, social networking, design, personal development, emotional intelligence, writing, etc.

So in my mind, success would seem to have me melding work more with life.  Presently, the twelve foot thick steel door shuts, closing work off from my life.  Except when it doesn't.  (Thanks Ted!)

I was so severely burned and scarred years ago when I made the mistake of talking about my online life at work (which was about work but not my company) that I vowed to never do it again.  The degree of severity can be understood when, if you were to combine how I write here with a finite focus to help individuals within my industry develop, learn and grow.  It was all good.  No line crossing, no giving away company information.  Heck I only mentioned the company's name once, on the last day of our site's existence.

But Terry has caused me to open that door a wee bit with his Smiles essay...

So, I've had the word manager in my title for nearly thirty years, twenty-three of those in my present industry.   Here is what causes each corner of my mouth to reach out and grab hold of my ears.

I work with technicians.  They work on complicated machinery and controls.  If this equipment is not working properly companies can lose millions of dollars, by the hour.  If this equipment is not working properly people's lives can be critically affected. 

The technician's work results in either keeping a piece of equipment in a fine tuned condition or restoring one to this condition.  In either case, the result is pure art. 

Although I have never been a technician, I have the ability to recognize and appreciate a finely tuned piece of equipment.  I also have the ability to appreciate and acknowledge the level of pride that a technician has in his work, in his art.  You wanna talk about seein' some big ole smiles!

So as a manager, that is what brings smiles to my face.  It is not the bottom line, not customer service (though there is great satisfaction in pleasing one), and it is not awards.

In no way does this change anything, but after reading what brings delight to Terry, it feels pretty good to tell you what brings delight to me.

 

Aesthetic Aspirations

I was preparing to write a book review of The Substance of Style by Virginia Postrel this morning when the switch of serendipity kicked in and railed my mind toward the open tracks.  A millisecond before reading in The Substance of Style,

"Aspiration is the tricky part of identity, the "world of make believe"...Often the identities we express with our aesthetic choices are not those we have but those we desire."

I thought to myself,

There are no human beings that I work with or acquaintances that I have in the physical world who share my love and appreciation for design, the written word in the world of business, the art of communicating messages, the need to move beyond status-quo, hamster-wheel, business as usual, the incredibly vibrant and stimulating work philosophies of younger generations and what they are contributing today and this aching need to move with fluidity in a world not constrained by judgment-by-looks, suits and ivory towers.

...okay, that last statement might perhaps, be a bit too liberal, but my God, the tie should have faded into history about the same time corsets disappeared from everyday attire.

Additional views on aesthetic aspirations from Ms. Postrel:

Aesthetic aspirations inevitably express some sort of dissatisfaction, a longing for a different sort of life, perhaps even a different self.  Discontent fuels every quest for improvement, regardless of form.

Virginia's definition of aesthetic aspirations is precisely what drove me to express myself on the Internet years ago and still keeps me coming back today.  No doubt that I am to blame for my work situation.  In the nineties I went through a three year stretch where I never disclosed my name on my site.  Today, even though I work for my industry's second largest corporation in the world, no one is even aware of my two sites here.  But that's okay.  I gave up looking for the above referenced aspirations in my industry a long time ago. 

It is most ironic that I am even having these thoughts today.  I have never been more comfortable with my work situation and its separation from my aspirations.  Still, I guess, it would be nice to physically encounter someone who has heard of The Cluetrain Manifesto or Change This or Fast Company or Dan Pink or Virginia Postrel or Thomas A. Stewart or Malcolm Gladwell or Patty Seybold or Seth Godin or Andrea Learned or Pamela Slim or Kathy Sierra or David Armano or Roger von Oech or Jackie Huba or Emanuel Rosen or Gerald Zaltman or Lisa Johnson or Tom Davenport or John Beck or Ted Levitt or Marcus Buckingham or Bruce Nussbaum or Polly LaBarre or Jory Des Jardins or Harvard Business Review or Print or How or I.D. or ...

...but then again, I'm not keeping track :-)

Brazen Careerist

Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.

Today's world of work is not the same as your father's was.  Thank God!  Penelope Trunk, columnist for the Boston Globe and Yahoo Finance in addition to her own Website has written a spot on, insightful book titled Brazen Careerist.  Penelope hopes to provide a roadmap for Gen X and Y'ers to follow in pursuit of their own life's work.  Drawing on real world experience, she stories upon such topics as:

• Grad School
• Adventures
• Resumes
• Interviews
• Managers
• Office Politics
• Sex Discrimination
• Promotions
• The New American Dream

Penelope's work has been referred to as the modern day version of What Color is Your Parachute?  While the Brazen Careerist is a manifesto and rallying wake-up cry for Gen X and Y'ers, I find that it talks frankly and honestly to a whole other generation of folks.  Mine.  The Boomers.

As a Boomer manager, I feel as if Brazen Careerist is my own personal undercover spy, infiltrating the Gen X and Y'ers' world.  Of course for me, there isn't a trace of spying or undercover that goes into dealing with folks from these generations.  It is all about collaboration.  And if one wishes to collaborate, they must understand the other collaboratoree.  Brazen Careerist introduces us, stays in the conversation and provides that much needed understanding.

For Boomers who do not recognize the workplace change today, there is no help.  But for those of us who relish in the new environment and who cherish the spirit and attitude of those who will one day be placing us in nursing homes*, I find the Brazen Careerist positively fascinating!!

*Our Gen Y daughter has for sometime reminded us of her role in this potential eventuality, helping to explain why we should see and support her point of view...or perhaps our nursing home will not have all of the amenities that we would expect.  She tried to explain the concept of an outhouse...

Why Should I Work For You?

I am one chapter short of smoking and signing Mavericks at Work by William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre.  Bill and Polly present insights and case studies on companies and people who are today, running the companies of tomorrow.

As I read about these present day mavericks who build on purpose and fuse character with innovation to make a difference for their employees and customers, I couldn't help but to think of a theme that the authors weave throughout their work:  Why should great people join your organization?

I work in an industry that is starved for technical people.  And I don't mean hungry, I mean Ethiopia.  As a manager who hires these folks, I myself need to be able to articulate this answer with crisp clearness (which I've never satisfactorily done).  In tune with some words I wrote the other day about working in transparency, I'd like to answer this question with a public statement about why folks should work with my team.  I probably will have to return and tweak this - which is the point.

Once we've established that a candidate fits our culture of:

• The need to develop personally
• Respect for each other and our customers
• Loyalty to each other
• The desire for excellence
• The desire to move forward

...then I can say with confidence:

You should work with my team because:  We are going to dial you into a world of learning, a world where we channel your strengths toward finding solutions for our customers...(in progress)

How to Succeed in Business Today

Carleen Hawn, Susanna Hamner and Erick Schonfeld write a How to Succeed in 2007 piece for Business 2.0.  (Might require subscription)  They query fifty of today's leading biz people with how they have become successful.  With the utmost of respect for Carleen, Susanna and Erick, along with photographer Marc Simon, and the diligent work they've completed in putting together this most interesting feature, I will glean and paraphrase the comments of those leaders who resonate with me.

The link out to each company that I list here will take you to its About page or Company information.

Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt of Google - Keep it simple.  Make it simple.  Focus on features not products.  I find Google's home page clean and refreshing.

Howard Schultz of Starbucks - Trust is the foundation of the emotional connection they seek with customers and employees.  Exceed the expectations of employees first. 

Michael Dell of Dell Computers - Transform economies and improve lives with increased digital access. 

Finding Your Tune

Please read this  Download SSRN-id229931.pdf and then come back.

Thank you!

This paper was written by Robert F. Bruner, Dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia.  Is the anecdote that Robert leads his paper with precious or what?  To those of you who are not teachers, I bet you couldn't help but to substitute your present position for that of teacher.  I couldn't. 

Here are a few words extracted from Robert's work:

That teaching should be the hidden dimension in a summary of professional work is curious.

Finding the tune in teaching should be a matter for both individual candidates and institutions. 

An excellent vehicle for this is the teaching portfolio...

It surveys teaching assignments, philosophy, style, accomplishments, innovations, and evidence of teaching effectiveness.

...and perhaps argues for better work to come.

So, what is your tune?  What is that internal tune, when deployed, makes you most effective?

Robert's blog
Robert's home page
Robert's teaching portfolio paper: Download SSRN-id230099.pdf
Robert's paper are logged with the:  Social Science Research Network  (more resource info than you can use)

Robert's home page is a blueprint (or most excellent idea) for personal branding.  If you have an opportunity, scope out the information contained in his Resource section.  And, if you are not a teacher, pretend that it is directed to you, a biz coach, a marketer, a manager, a designer.

I attempted with this post to move away from our biz-as-usual world. That Robert is Dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business, keeps us in the same solar system but offers an alternative perspective.