Erik on Software

New Book Review: "Influence"

New book review for Influence: Science and Practice, by Robert B. Cialdini, Pearson Education, 2009, reposted here:

The quote by Tom Peters on the cover of the fifth edition is what helped compel me to purchase this text: "If everything were on the line in a negotiation, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have advising me than Bob Cialdini." A colleague of mine noted after the fact that this book recently appeared on a top-20 list of leadership books to read this year, but I have read my share of leadership texts, so what interested me was its apparent focus on negotiation. To some extent, this book is faintly reminiscent of an audio tape called "The Psychology of Selling" by Brian Tracy that a former colleague of mine recommended early in my career, because the focus here is looking at the factors that cause individuals to say "yes", and the techniques that most effectively use these factors to bring about such a decision.

This book is organized around the 6 psychological principles that direct human behavior and give these techniques their power: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Although this book may have been written to engage the popular reader, the conclusions that the author, a psychology professor at Arizona State University, reaches are based on controlled, psychological research. As Cialdini entertainingly walks the reader through what he learned during his 3-year period of participant observation that served as input to this book, in my opinion although he is both successful at instruction as well as keeping the reader engaged, as with many texts the reader will need to extrapolate in order to apply personally, especially if what is sought is application to the workplace.

Judging by the location of dog ears that were left behind after my reading of this text, the portions I especially appreciated are the first chapter, "Weapons of Influence", the last chapter, "Instant Influence: Primitive Consent for an Automatic Age", and the many sidebars throughout the body of what the author provides called "Reader's Reports". In fact, it turns out that the author has found that the "Readers's Reports" are one of the most popular aspects among readers, and in my opinion these are similar to the "Letters to the Editor" one might find in a newspaper or magazine: people writing in to the author to share how the principles and techniques that are presented in this text have been encountered in the real world. Fascinating lessons learned rooted in science. Recommended reading.

New Book Review: "Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture"

New book review for Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework (Third Edition), by Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn, Jossey-Bass, 2011, reposted here:

In the introduction to this book, the authors share the familiar Tom Peters quote, "If you're not confused, you're not paying attention", because the purpose here is "not to offer one more panacea for coping with our turbulent times or to introduce another management fad." In the words of the authors, this book "provides a framework, a sense-making tool, a set of systematic steps, and a methodology for helping managers and their organizations adapt to the demands of the environment. It focuses less on the right answers than it does on the methods and mechanisms available to help managers change the most fundamental elements of their organizations" at the cultural level.

While the authors also state that other proposed approaches to measuring organizational culture have been proposed, and that their intent is not to provide an extensive review of this literature, they also provide what I consider important background information to the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), which includes the facts that the OCAI (based on the Competing Values Framework) is probably the most frequently used instrument for assessing organizational culture in the world today, and that although some versions are longer, some including up to 24 items that together describe organizational culture, the 6 items that are used in this book provide a simpler synthesis that addresses fundamental manifestations of organizational culture.

After walking through the OCAI current profile worksheet, which addresses basic assumptions (dominant characteristics, organizational glue), interaction patterns (leadership, management of employees), and organizational direction (strategic emphasis, criteria of success) that typify the fundamentals of culture, the authors present the two major dimensions organized into four main clusters that define organizational effectiveness. The first dimension differentiates effectiveness criteria that emphasize flexibility, discretion, and dynamism from criteria that emphasize stability, order, and control. The second dimension differentiates effectiveness criteria that emphasize an internal orientation, integration, and unity from criteria that emphasize an external orientation, differentiation, and rivalry.

These four main clusters can be visualized as the Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchy, and Market quadrants of a graph. Because these quadrant names were derived from the scholarly literature, the authors also conveniently provide counterpart names to which they think business executives and other nonacademic audiences might better relate (Collaborate, Create, Control, Compete). The authors note that while designed to assess organizational culture, these clusters can also be used to assess leadership roles, organizational effectiveness, and management roles, and provide several examples that demonstrate applicability to these other areas. In chapter 6 and Appendix B, the authors even provide an extension to the Competing Values Framework based on the Management Skills Assessment Instrument (MSAI) to address the personal behavior change on which a change in organizational culture depends.

In my opinion, the nine managerial competencies addressed for management across the four quadrants are more tangible (Clan = managing teams, managing interpersonal relationships, managing the development of others, Adhocracy = managing innovation, managing the future, managing continuous improvement, Hierarchy = managing acculturation, managing the control system, managing coordination, Market = managing competitiveness, energizing employees, managing customer service), although while the authors present at length the fact that the four quadrants for organizational culture depend on a "Means-Does Not Mean" analysis to be completed by stakeholders in order to determine what chosen future state organizational culture actually means in a relative sense, this analysis is not provided in the context of managerial competencies directly since these are intended to lead to the desired future state organizational culture.

Overall, however, Cameron and Quinn present the process to diagnose organizational culture extremely well, and they do note repeatedly, as can be expected, that it is not possible to present a cookie-cutter approach because of the continuum nature of culture. From the perspective of a consultant, I especially appreciate the many examples that the authors provide that demonstrate example company profiles and shifts in company culture over time. The average culture profiles for various industry groups that the authors present are also well received, although it is important for potential readers of this book to realize that the categorizations for these groups are very broad.

For example, consulting services might technically fall under the "services" group, which obviously encompasses a wide spectrum of companies, although in such a case it might be beneficial to look at cultural profiles of client industry groups. As a consultant in the software industry, I could not help but notice that this book ties in well with a book I read several years ago entitled "Balancing Agility and Discipline: A Guide for the Perplexed", by Barry Boehm and Richard Turner. While that text is narrowly focused on choosing a software development methodology, a culture dimension of plots reminiscent of those seen in the book under review here can be seen as output from what Cameron and Quinn provide.

Interestingly enough, while the term "changing" sits alongside "diagnosing" in the title of this work, it is really not until Appendix C and Appendix D that the former is addressed with any substance. It is actually understandable why this is the case - change is multifaceted and covered by numerous other titles - but I would personally like to see the authors expand on these appendixes in another book, because the content provides hints for initiating organizational culture change and improving personal management competencies that specifically address the quadrants discussed in the book. Well written and focused business text recommended to anyone seeking understanding of organizational culture or personal management competencies as they relate to their own situations or to situations of customers and clients.

New Book Review: "The Servant"

New book review for The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership, by James C. Hunter, Prima, 1998, reposted here:

Recently recommended by the instructor of a University of Illinois leadership training course my colleagues and I attended, this book is one of the best leadership texts I have read during my career. Although readers may be initially drawn to this text for the lessons in leadership it provides for the business world, what Hunter presents here is intended to be holistic, covering relationships both inside and outside the workplace. In the words of the author, at the time of writing a general manager of a large manufacturing facility, his life was falling apart at home and work, and after discussions with his wife and reluctant talks with his pastor, ended up spending a week at a monastery in northwestern Michigan "to sort things out". While financially successful, his wife made it clear there were issues with the dynamics between he and his family, and his human resources manager suggested  that he take a look at his leadership style after employees campaigned for union representation.

In sharing his experience at the monastery, Hunter tells a good story and masterfully weaves in the principles he learns discussing leadership with several other individuals, including the former CEO of an airline turned monk who led the discussions, a drill sergeant, a public school principal, and a women's basketball coach. The teacher first discusses the differences between leadership and management, and power and authority, and then presents the pyramid style of management paradigm and how it came to be so popular in the United States, followed by Maslow's hierarchy of human needs with which many readers will already be familiar, and the servant leadership model which he discusses one element at a time and that serves as the focal point throughout the remainder of the book. The simple explanations of sometimes weighty topics, classroom dynamics between individuals of varied backgrounds, and author vulnerability are what makes this book work. The ninety other consistently positive reviews here that stretch over a ten-year period are a testament to the effectiveness of what Hunter, at the time of publication a consultant at a labor relations and training consulting firm, has to share with readers in this quick, but engaging text.

Past Book Review (November 16, 2008): "Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism"

Past book review (i.e. posted prior to starting this blog) for Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism, by John D. Banja, Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2005, reposted here:

 

Published almost four years ago at the time of this review, it is rather interesting that other readers have not yet shared their thoughts about this book. Quite simply, this is an extremely well written, well organized text, and the subject matter is relevant to a large segment of society. Health care touches almost everyone, and understanding the mind of the health care worker, especially the physician, is important when assessing medical errors. According to author Banja, Associate Professor in the Center for Ethics at Emory University, behavior that he refers to as "medical narcissism" can have a profound influence on how the physician reacts to occurrences of such errors. Before Banja discusses narcissism in health care, he first explains error and rationalization, and follows the discussion of narcissism with chapters on forgiveness, remedies, and empathic disclosure.

The author indicates that "it is important to note that the variance, departure, or straying from the standard of care that is presently being offered as a definition of error must be morally problematic, or uncomprehending, or unintended by the actor. Simply calling an error 'a failure to accommodate the standard of care' would imply that medicine could not have progressed since Hippocrates without its practitioners making 'errors', which seems intuitively wrong. The failure to follow the standard of care, then, must be unwarranted and, overwhelmingly, the errors discussed in this book are just so". And "it is grossly unfair to hold health professionals to a standard of competence that defines 'error' in a way that exceeds ordinary and reasonable levels of performance. Because imputing error can have onerous repercussions, health professionals and especially risk managers must insist on a coherent understanding of error and resist imprecise definitions that could confuse or compromise hospital policy on patient safety and managing adverse outcomes. Consequently, the definition of error that will be used throughout this book is: 'An error is an unwarranted failure of action or judgment to accommodate the standard of care'."

Following his discussion of medical errors, Banja then takes a look at how such errors are handled, providing many examples of such scenarios, which suggest "a temporally tight juxtaposition of immense anxiety and concern for the patient's welfare, followed closely or even simultaneously by the provider's intense anxiety about his or her own welfare. The lock-step nature of these dual anxieties is key". As the author continues with his presentation, he indicates that it is unfortunate that there is no national consensus (i.e. within the United States) that dictates how such errors need to be communicated to affected parties. According to cited studies, what is often the case is that information associated with such errors is withheld, and in one study where disclosure practices of over 200 hospitals were examined, the conclusion was that only 10% to 20% of serious, preventable, iatrogenic harms that occurred to patients were disclosed. What is often the case, according to surveys of physicians, is that harm-causing medical errors are often rationalized.

One of the most interesting portions of the text is the discussion on the origins of medical narcissist characteristics (emotional disengagement, ideological rigidity, and compulsiveness), which often start in childhood and are later reinforced during medical training. And the author's later secular discussion of forgiveness is superb. While Banja indicates that there is no consensual definition of forgiveness, a very compelling presentation is presented of what true forgiveness might look like from psychological and moral perspectives, beginning with a quote which reads as follows: "What is annulled in the act of forgiveness is not the crime itself but the distorting effect that this wrong has upon one's relations with the wrongdoer and perhaps with others". The cognitive-emotive-behavioral triad that the author presents is powerful. Forgiveness for the forgiver from each of these, respectively, might be: "I will stop thinking about the offense", "I will cease to feel anger and hatred toward the offender", and "I will not seek revenge"; forgiveness for the forgiven might be, respectively: "I will acknowledge and admit my wrongdoing", "I will feel and express sorrow for what I did", and "I will desist from committing that wrong again and make amends".

The stumbling block for the medical narcissist, however, is that forgiveness "requires a humbling of the self and a relinquishment (at least temporarily) of grandiosity". Considering the lengthy discussion on errors and how errors are handled, this book would not be complete without the chapter on remedies, which includes sections on tort reform, the blameless and nonpunitive environment, and mindfulness. And the following chapter discusses the empathic disclosure of medical error, how errors arguably should be handled. Within the closing pages, the author indicates that he "wrote this book with a particular kind of health professional in mind. He or she is one who believes it is immensely important to: (1) maintain a professional distance or guardedness with patients that largely precludes empathically reacting to their anxiety or suffering, (2) appear utterly competent always, (3) understand and ground that competence in scientific method and a densely clinical vocabulary, (4) never admit ignorance, hesitation, or error, (5) direct and control the conversation with patients always, and (6) use the power of his or her white coat to direct how the patient should behave and feel".

New Book Review: "Your Brain and Business"

New book review for Your Brain and Business: The Neuroscience of Great Leaders, by Srinivasan S. Pillay, FT Press, 2011, reposted here:

It is apparent that one has a controversial text on their hands when some reviewers assign the label "too scientific", and some reviewers assign the label "pseudoscientific". Reading through the other reviews here, if I had not recently read this book myself I might be hard-pressed to find any answers to what the author provides in his discussion, and rather than make a decision to read this book based on facts, give up trying due to lack of information.

According to Pillay, "at the end of this book, the coach or executive will have a good idea of several concepts in brain science that can be applied to his or her own coaching relationships and interventions so as to add to the available tools for coaching." The author later elaborates by noting that "these interventions are a reframing of conventional  coaching methodologies but they also add new insights. At a time when leaders are tiring of old concepts and are therefore not receptive to them, this reframing can be very helpful in informing the appropriate coaching, management, or leadership plan."

The author explains his view that there are 6 basic ways in which brain science can enhance understanding within the executive environment: repackaging advice with biological explanations rather than psychological jargon, decreasing threats by depersonalizing explanations of behavior, debunking myths when brain science provides a different explanation than personal or organizational psychology, providing further insights and evidence beyond what has been traditionally provided in the past, providing a system for targeted interventions, and developing coaching protocols and tools.

On several occasions throughout the text, the author mentions that since research is an ongoing effort, although the explanations he provides are based on current research, some of the brain science addressed here is bound to change. Many of the insights Pillay provides are based on functional brain imaging, which examines how the brain works when it is presented with a task or challenge as a given individual lies inside an MRI scanner. As the author explains, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures brain blood flow as a correlate of brain cell (neuronal) activity, is the technological focus.

In my opinion, "Your Brain and Business" is one of the most creative business texts I have read in quite some time, and there are a number of passages that I plan to revisit. However, the number and location of dog ears created while reading this text reminds me that some of my interest waned for the last two chapters. Some of the material presented in this latter section would have best been presented earlier in the text, since some of it would have been helpful as the author provided the groundwork of his presentation, and some of it unfortunately is a bit repetitive.

That said, several takeaways especially resonated with me as a consultant and an individual outside the workplace. The amygdala, which is found deep inside the brain and lights up when presented with something fearful, picks up fear signals unconsciously without the conscious brain knowing anything about it. The conscious brain requires at least 30 milliseconds to register images, for example, but the unconscious emotional processor can be actively engaged even if negative office chatter or radio talk shows are in the background and not being paid attention.

The second such aspect that especially resonated with me is the discussion on optimism that the author provides. As the author explains, "when people hear the word 'optimism', they roll their eyes. In this economy, with the difficulties of balancing home and work life and making ends meet, just the idea of optimism seems tiring to most. Many business leaders are practical, and they believe that optimism is for the birds." Current research, however, demonstrates that "optimism builds the brain's connections differently than realism and provides relief from a burning, red-hot amygdala."

The third, in chapter 5 ("The Challenge Prior to Change: How Brain Science Can Bring Managers and Leaders from Idea to Action Orientation"), is that regardless of the emphasis many business people place on removing feeling or emotion from decision making, the brain's accountant (the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) is missing vital information if these are left out. The accountant determines the level of action required for a situation by examining risk and reward value, but these are in turn assessed by short-term memory, long-term memory, as well as by emotion.

In my experience as a consultant, it is clear that if one is to use the material provided in this book in some manner within the workplace as discussed by the author, it will need to be tailored to the individual just like any other mechanism. While some may prefer biological explanations over the psychological, there are others who prefer the psychological, and some of course will not respond to either or prefer other alternate explanations when it comes to coaching.

However, if the reader does not get too distracted by the abundance of brain terminology, and they are looking for material on these topics, my expecation is that many will find something to add to their daily toolboxes, counterparts to tools such as those discussed in books like "More Secrets of Consulting: The Consultant's Tool Kit" by Gerald M. Weinberg (see my review). Well recommended to anyone looking for explanatory balance on these topics to aid them both in their careers and in their lives outside the workplace.

New Book Review: "Rules to Break & Laws to Follow"

New book review for Rules to Break & Laws to Follow: How Your Business Can Beat the Crisis of Short-Termism (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series), by Don Peppers & Martha Rogers, PhD, John Wiley & Sons, 2008, reposted here:

 

Purchase of this text by this reviewer followed on the tails of "The Strategy Paradox: Why Committing to Success Leads to Failure (and What to Do About It)" by Michael E. Raynor (see my review) and "Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management" by Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampel (see my review). While initial interest in this work by Peppers and Rogers was due to its seeming focus on the strategic versus the tactical, however, potential readers should note that the authors instead investigate and present general principles that any firm should follow.

At the outset, this text does not beat around the bush. For example, in the first chapter the authors respond to the following first three rules to break by writing "No, no, no. No to all the above. These Rules to Break are really just assumptions about how business works, at the most basic level. They probably aren't written down anywhere in your strategy document, but they have almost certainly backed up your thinking and your company's actions for as long as you remember.": (1) "the best measure of success for your business is current sales and profit, (2) "with the right sales and marketing effort, you can always get more customers", and (3) "company value is created by offering differentiated products and services".

The authors further this instruction by pointing out that all of these assumptions are wrong. "If you operate according to these false assumptions, not only will your business fail to create much value, but you'll also soon find yourself trapped in a Crisis of Short-Termism. Everything you do will be so furiously centered on making today's numbers that you will become increasingly blinded to everything else. Business swept up by this crisis find that even as they try to do the right thing for their shareholders, they end up destroying value rather than creating it. So while these Rules to Break may look no more dangerous than ordinary common sense, in truth they're deadly."

According to the authors, executives need to change their mental models of what it means to succeed. The new model that Peppers and Rogers is based on the understanding that long-term business success relies on customer success as a prerequisite, and that employee trust of their employer precedes employee drive to earn customer trust. Interestingly, even though new technologies are presented as making possible sophisticated analytics, subverting the power of hierarchies, connecting consumers electronically, and undermining the advantages of new products, the authors state that it is customer trust that will provide a guideline for action even if financial metrics are not yet at the needed level of sophistication.

In the opinion of this reviewer, the third chapter entitled "Customers Are a Scarce Resource" is one of the best in the book, and if the potential reader does not have enough time to read all the chapters, they need to read this one. In this chapter, the concept of customer lifetime value (LTV) is discussed. "New customer acquisition has always been the quintessential goal of traditional marketing and is something often trumpeted to shareholders. But raising your customers' lifetime values is just as important, because over and above whatever profit you are earning currently, increasing your customers' LTVs increases the value of your business."

The authors continue by stating that the philosophy of some businesses is "based on the belief that as long as its sales and marketing effort is effective, it can always acquire more customers from somewhere. But this is a false assumption - a Rule to Break. Instead, to make the right decisions as a business, you must always take into consideration the population of customers and prospective customers truly available to you. After considering the whole population of customers and prospects, your job is to employ that population to create the most possible value for your firm. Because customers are scarcer than other resources, using up customers is more costly than using up other resources."

The fifth chapter was also especially enjoyed by this reviewer, where in discussing how to increase the value of one's business the authors present the concepts of "customer equity" and "Return on Customer" (ROC) that follow a discussion of ROI. The examples and accompanying tables in the third and fifth chapters are very well done. The thoughts that the authors share on innovation in the tenth and eleventh chapters were also appreciated, where the production of new ideas is said to be more important than making money from every new idea, and where the need to differentiate between "wise failures" and "fiasco failures" is said to be an important distinction, reminding this reviewer of a quote by James Cameron, who was recently quoted as saying "If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success".

Global Leadership Summit 2010 Day 2:Jeff Manion

From the conference notes:

Known for his dynamic teaching skills and passion for communicating scripture in a clear and relevant way, Jeff Manion has served as teaching pastor of Ada Bible Church for over 25 years.

Under Jeff's leadership, the church has grown from 50 people to over 6,000 attenders. In 2009, Ada Bible was listed by Outreach Magazine as one of America's largest and fastest growing churches.

A vibrant and growing ministry in West Michigan, Ada Bible uses video venues and two offsite campuses to create a small church feeling within a large church setting.

---

From my personal notes:

• The phrase "for now" is the language of the "the land between" - like a recent college graduate experiencing the temporary phase that exists between school life and a career where they are living at home "for now" - but this "land between" applies to more than just recent college graduates.
• Manion pointed to a map of the Holy Land where "you are here" was marked in the wilderness between Egypt and what was to become Israel - a barren place between two areas of green.
• The Israelites were promised delivery from Egypt to Canaan, but they ended up in "the land beween".
• "The land between is fertile soil" for complaint.
• It might be easier to empathize if we were amongst the Israelites.
• "The land between is fertile ground for complaint - and meltdown."
• We are naive to think that we are immune from correction.
• "The land between is fertile soil for transformational growth."
• "Time does not heal all wounds."
• "The wilderness is also the place we go to die - we have to choose."
• "Complaint arrives as an uninvited guest."
• "Complaints resist eviction."
• "Inviting another guest in the house - trust - evicts complaint."

Global Leadership Summit 2010 Day 1:Andy Stanley

From the conference notes:

Under the leadership of Andy Stanley, North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, has become one of the largest and most influential churches in the United States.

Founded in 1995, the church has grown to three campuses and a weekly attendance of more than 28,000 people. North Point has also helped to plant more than 20 strategic partner churches across North America.

Stanley is a sought-after speaker and leadership mentor with a special passion for raising up the next generation of leaders. He has authored a number of best-selling books including The Principle of the Path, Visioneering, Next Generation Leader, Communicating for a Change, and the soon to be released, The Grace of God.

---

From my personal notes:

• It's a myth that great leaders will solve all their problems, and that reoccurring problems means that they lack leadership.
• Problems and tensions in your organization help as a growth engine.
• Every organization has problems that shouldn't be solved.
• We need to start thinking about the differences between solving problems and resolving tensions, and managing tensions.
• Resolving tensions will bring other tensions
• Resolving tensions create barriers to progress.
• "Problems" that reoccur are actually tensions to manage.
• Our role as leaders is to leverage these tensions.
• We need to (1) identify tensions, and (2) create the terminology around this dynamic.
• Key players should understand this twofold need.
• Value needs to be granted to both sides.
• Don't weigh-in to heavily based on personal biases.
• Don't allow strong personalities to win the day.
• Don't think in terms of balance - think in terms of rhythm.
• Don't think in terms of "balance" or "fairness", which technically do not exist.
• Understand the upside of the opposite side.
• Understand the downside of your side.
• Being able to argue both sides is important.
• You need 2 types of people as a leader: (1) passionate people, and (2) mature people.
• Remember that different things are needed over time during the life cycle of the organization.

New Book Review: "Amplifying Your Effectiveness"

New book review for Amplifying Your Effectiveness: Collected Essays, edited by Gerald M. Weinberg, James Bach, and Naomi Karten, Dorset House Publishing, 2000, reposted here:

This book is a collection of "pre-cedings" written by 17 software consultants for a conference of the same name. In the introduction, Weinberg explains the frequent ineffectiveness of proceedings typically distributed at the end of conferences. These essays (the entire text is less than 150 pages) present a preview of the hosts participating in the first "Amplifying Your Effectiveness" conference by demonstrating the diverse styles and interests of the authors. Weinberg explains that within any organization, improvements in effectiveness can occur at three levels - the individual ("the Self"), the team ("the Other"), and the organization as a whole ("the Context") - and that this collection attempts to address all three levels. In addition, there are three fundamental abilities that contribute to the effectiveness of a manager or any other technical leader: "the ability to observe what's happening and to understand the significance of your observations", "the ability to act congruently in difficult interpersonal situations, even though you may be confused, or angry, or so afraid you want to run away and hide", and "the ability to understand complex situations so you can plan a project and then observe and act so as to keep the project going according to plan, or modify the plan". These three abilities are also addressed in this collection because the least developed among them prevents one from amplifying effectiveness the most.

The essays are presented in four parts: "empowering the individual", "improving interpersonal interactions", "mastering projects", and "changing the organization". Based on the number of dog ears following the reading of this book, this reviewer especially enjoyed parts one and four, and essays "Do I Want to Take this Crunch Project?" by Sharon Marsh Roberts and Ken Roberts, and "Modeling Organizational Change" by Esther Derby. In the first, Roberts and Roberts draw a distinction between "crunch projects" and "pseudo-crunch projects" and how to navigate the circumstances surrounding each type of project. While  Edward Yourdon's "Death March" (see my review) discusses crunch projects at length, the authors here simplify the definition of crunch project by explaining that these types of project exhibit two requirements or constraints: (1) "there are major negative consequences if the project's deadline is not met", and (2) "given the constraints of the project, the allocated resources (time, money, or people) are significantly smaller than those required to fulfill the needs of the sponsor and the customers". The ability to distinguish between the crunch project and pseudo-crunch project is important because commensurate recognition is awarded to those who complete crunch projects, but few will acknowledge efforts of the team toward a pseudo-crunch project. Not only do pseudo-crunch projects typically exhibit "pseudo-deadlines" where internal management picks a date, but there are no significant impacts on profits or external relationships if the date is missed, pseudo-crunch projects bring by their very nature personal loss and no balancing gain.

In "Modeling Organizational Change", Derby explains that when a problem exists in the way a work group functions, confronting that problem necessitates organizational change, and "by taking a critical look at your process and using some theories from organizational design, you can fix that problem - and improve your organization's ability to deliver high-quality results". Because even small systems are very complex, any action in this regard can affect more than one variable in the system, so understanding the interplay of these factors and identifying the manner in which one desires to guide the system in a particular direction are important when designing organizational change. The relatively simple examples that Derby provides to explain circular causation and corrective action are written well, and the example and accompanying diagrams that she walks through are effective in explaining her points. Other essays that this reviewer especially enjoyed were (3) "Solving Other People's Problems" by Don Gray, where the author explains "The Pause Principle", "The Pay Attention Principle", "The Partnership Principle", "The Passion Principle", and "The Person Principle", (4) "The Perils of Parallel Projects" by Johanna Rothman, where the author discusses context switching alongside a table from Weinberg's "Quality Software Management, Volume 1" that exhibits data on how much time is truly available to an individual splitting their time across multiple projects, and (6) "Life as a Software Architect" by Bob King, where the author offers a discussion of the software architect role that explains what helps him avoid what he calls the "technical trap" - three metrics called "The Visibility Ratio", "The Conflict Metric", and "The Anxiety Metric".

Global Leadership Summit 2010 Day 2:Terri Kelly

From the conference notes:

President and CEO of W.L. Gore & Associates, a multi-billion dollar enterprise that is often profiled as an example of a unique leadership culture.

Employing 9,000 associates in 30 countries, Gore produces a diverse range of products, including GORE-TEX fabric, medical devices, filtration, and other advanced technology solutions.

A pioneer in adopting a non-hierarchical lattice-based management structure, Gore's "associates" become leaders based on their ability to gain the respect of their peers and to attract followers. Kelly earned the title of president and CEO in 2005 - one of the few titles within the company - following a peer-driven selection process.

W.L. Gore has appeared on all the U.S. "100 Best Companies to Work For" lists, and is included on many international lists of top workplaces.

---

From my personal notes:

• "Innovation requires an environment of collaboration."
• Gore evolved special task forces from his experience at DuPont into small teams across the company.
• Gore is a peer based organization - it's about helping other people's success, not just their own. It's about relationships.
• The "On-demand hierarchy" forms based on where the knowledge resides.
• Hierarchies assume that those above have more knowledge and are in the best place to make decisions.
• Gore is a "lattice organization" - we're all connected by a series of nodes.
• We don't tell people what to do or what projects on which they should work.
• Focus on specific areas is encouraged, but the ownership is theirs.
• Common formulation of rules is important: belief in the individual, small teams, we're all in the same boat, take a longer term view
• Success is not financially-driven alone.
• There is a lot of internal selling at Gore to get funding for ideas - a natural selection process comprised of passion and the ability to sell others.
• Associates want to work on projects where they can provide the greatest impact.
• Compensation is based on contribution - not title or role.
• Everyone at Gore has a "personal sponsor" to help them grow who is not their supervisor.
• Plants worldwide limited to 200-250 people each. It's an investment that brings a different level of engagement and gets people to reach out to other facilities - large facilities tend to discourage this from happening.
• This way of doing things is scalable at the global level. Founder Gore was challenged when going from 100 to 200 people, and the size of the company is now 9,000.
• The "waterline principle" says that if you're going to consider an investment, holes cannot be drilled below the waterline.
• Leadership at Gore is defined by "followership".
• Understanding and communicating the rationale behind decisions is important.
• "Distributed leadership roles" are encouraged at Gore as opposed to centralized roles concentrated in one person or a few people.