Announcing Mad Young Thing

In 2007, I'm getting focussed and integrated. That means I'm writing around tighter topics of personal interest to myself. It means concentrating on work I can do well, and playing to my strengths.

It also means no more posts to Leadership Issues! I'm integrating my blogging activity into one, centralised blog: http://madyoungthing.blogspot.com/

Please join me, and enjoy a whole range of topics, ranging from the nature of reality, to the odd arty photo, to musings on storytelling, and of course the odd rant about leaders and what they do.

Although I won't be making any new posts, Leadership Issues will remain here on the web, so you can access the fascinating archives at any time.

Adios muchachos! See you at Mad Young Thing.

Update: see some posts on leadership, philosophy, world issues, management, economics, engagement and marketing.

Financial security vs. creativity

"Financial security is the greatest inhibitor of creativity that mankind has ever known"

Jeff Lipsky, co-founder of October Films and director of Flannel Pyjamas, interviewed on KCRW's The Business.

The best workplace - your home office?

An interesting observation on kiwi tech blogger Rod Drury's blog.

He quotes an article which says life inside Google may not be as cool as Google's image may suggest. The real fun - and wealth - may be to be had (is that grammatically correct??) in distributed workplaces.

He quotes Jason @ Loveplum saying:

The companies have put together [fewer than] 10 person teams that make products they love and so do their users. All while everyone involved makes a better than good living with a much higher overall quality of life (both at [home] and away from work)

...and then adds about NZ:

This is our sweet spot. We know how to do small teams well. We have lifestyle. We understand real business problems. Putting that model together with moderate funding is where our software industry should shine.

Not just software, but art, books, movies... just about anything. New Zealand - what an exciting place to live and work!

The best workplace - your home office?

An interesting observation on kiwi tech blogger Rod Drury's blog.

He quotes an article which says life inside Google may not be as cool as Google's image may suggest. The real fun - and wealth - may be to be had (is that grammatically correct??) in distributed workplaces.

He quotes Jason @ Loveplum saying:

The companies have put together <>...and then adds about NZ:

This is our sweet spot. We know how to do small teams well. We have lifestyle. We understand real business problems. Putting that model together with moderate funding is where our software industry should shine.

Not just software, but art, books, movies... just about anything. New Zealand - what an exciting place to live and work!

Worldview

Ever had a conversation that just wasn't right?

It's hard to put your finger on just what isn't right, but I think I've got it. Assumptions.

We all have a worldview, whether it's thought through or not. At the heart of each worldview are basic assumptions about life - assumptions which drive everything else further down our thought path.

So, when you're in a conversation talking about "things further down the thought path" it can be quite confusing if you're not aware of the other person's worldview assumptions. Or your own.

Lately I've been reading How Now Shall We Live, a fairly comprehensive introduction to the Christian world view. I've been a Christian for most of my life, but I often haven't thought deeply about the implications of that belief.

Obviously, I'm not relying on one book to tell me what I should believe because I'm a Christian. Instead, I'm using it as a thought starter, to really comb through my beliefs.

I believe it's a good exercise for everyone, whether you're an atheist, Muslim, kaballah-ist, or confirmed agnostic. It's not only good for you personally, it's a ticket to entry in a multicultural world.

If you're not now, you will be working with people of different world views. Instead of responding with fear or stereotypes, start by listening, and not assuming the assumptions of the other person.

It's a good place to start.

(end of useful bit, beginning of rant)

I find it ironic that in largely liberal New Zealand it's fashionable to characterise Christians - particularly American Christians - as intolerant bigots who can't handle diversity. The experience of a Christian in New Zealand is very different. If anything, Christians and other religious people have to examine their own beliefs, and adapt to the "real world" more carefully than do the majority of the population.

It bugs me when I hear people stereotype Christians while pretending to take the moral high ground by being - whatever they are. But I've realised the only way to deal with it is to ... hello, walk the talk, turn the other cheek, and get on with life!

(end of rant!)

Design

Design is becoming a key component of management and leadership. So it's interesting to read this debate in Fast Company between the well-informed, sensible Joe Duffy and the elitist, old-fashioned Andrew Keen.

(As you can tell, I've picked sides on this debate!)

Semi review: Flags of our Fathers

This is a semi-review because I'm only going to pick one tiny thing out of this story while ignoring the larger story.

In Flags of our Fathers the platoon sergeant Mike Strank is offered a promotion but turns it down because he promised that he personally would bring his men back home to their mothers. He knows it's a risky decision, and later pays for it with his life.

The stakes are a little lower in the corporate world today, but there still is the issue that promotion often involves taking someone out of what they do best, and into something they may not be best suited for.

It's an issue many people struggle with - are there answers to it? Does promotion always have to include moving further away from the front line? I don't know, but I'd be interested to find out.

What Great Managers Do

A quote from a podcast I recently listened to from HBR's Ideacast:

"Great managers seek the right fit for a person's talent; they work to see he is rewarded for his performance and they endeavour to ensure his talent is developed through progressively more challenging and meaningful assignments."

NZ not really that innovative after all

A study has come out that sort of shatters the myth about NZ being a world-leading innovator. Well, that's if the study is well done, which a leading academic doubts.

I wrote an article about it for Idealog magazine and you can read it here.