Dot Connector

Effective Leadership Training Series: Perseverance

May 7, 2008 · 1 Comment

Note from Regis: This is the first post in Dot Connector’s “Effective Leadership Training Series.” My goal is to bring you people who exemplify leadership styles and leadership skills needed for success.

Today’s interview is with Todd Albery, Creator of Webolutions at Quicken Loans. Todd is the guy who gets the huge, impossible projects — the ones that make you simply go “no way.” And, through his amazing perseverance, he finds a way to get them done.

In this interview, you’ll hear Todd’s thoughts on perseverance, and how you can use this essential leadership skill to launch memorable projects.

Regis: Can you give an example of a time when you had to exert a lot of perseverance?

Todd: For the past two years I’ve led a project at Quicken Loans called Quizzle. It has been an extremely exciting project – built to be a game-changer in our industry and on the web! However, like any good project, it had its share of challenges.

In the course of development…

  • We lost important pieces of our development team;
  • We changed the technology platform on which Quizzle was built;
  • We wrote way-too-extensive “specification documents”;
  • We tinkered with marketing stuff too much (Yep, I’m the marketing guy);
  • We encountered some ‘late-game’ business obstacles.

With this project, we were continuously breaking new ground. We were taking a road less traveled. Sometimes there was no road. Sometimes it was dirt. Rarely were the signs clearly marked. And more than a few times, the destination changed. The project took longer than we hoped. But in the end we persevered. We ended up in a great place. And we got there because we all laced up our boots and took the journey TOGETHER, AS A TEAM!

Regis: As a leader, how do you stay motivated when a project is taking a long time (i.e. when you personally have to really persevere)?

Todd: In a long-term project it’s important to break the project up into smaller pieces so you can focus on the “Little WINS.” It’s tough sometimes when there’s no immediate end in sight, but that’s why you’ve got to take the time to IDENTIFY milestones and CELEBRATE with the team each step of the way.

Personally and professionally, my motivation and energy come from relationships. I stay motivated by building a strong tight-knit TEAM aligned with a BELIEF in a VISION and armed with a POSITIVE (can-do) ATTITUDE. Truly aligned team member will motivate each other daily.

Regis: As a leader, how do you keep others around you motivated when a project is taking a long time (i.e. when your team really has to persevere)?

Todd: There are a few things that I believe are essential to keeping a team together and motivated during a long project:

1. Build relationships: You’ve got to get to know your project team like a family.

  • Get out of the office together and do things that are 100% NOT work-related. Get to know your teammates in a fun pressure-free environment. Build real relationships and memories that have nothing to do with your work project.
  • Once you develop those critical personal relationships, you’ll begin to understand what makes your team members tick. You’ll learn a person’s inner passion. Then you’ll know when and where to let someone take the ball and run and they’ll create things you never dreamed possible.
  • Relationships develop TRUST. Team trust is something that is critical throughout a long project. Then when tough and controversial decisions are made, you will benefit greatly from a team that trusts you and each other.

2. Create a true team: You need to create a team environment to persevere.

  • Create a team that works TOGETHER towards a common goal. Create a team that is focused on doing what’s best for the business. Create a team that believes in doing the right thing and making decisions becomes much easier.
  • Keep an eye out for team members who are “me focused.” If you’ve got a cancer in the “locker room,” you’ve got to deal with it. It’s best to confront a problem head-on and sooner is better than later.
  • Speaking “The TRUTH in love”: be honest and kind; most people appreciate honesty when it’s delivered in a constructive manner (”in love” - for the betterment of the team). Don’t fall into the trap of believing that confrontation is bad, because it’s not. Confrontation is not only critical to moving a project forward, but it will often lead to breakthrough moments for a team.

Note from Regis: I agree that confrontation is critical to resolving issues. To be blunt, I often tell my team that if you’re not pissing people off, you’re not doing work that matters.

3. Involve your team in the vision: You must COMMUNICATE the vision with your team on a regular basis. And it’s even more important (if you can do it) to INVOLVE your team in the creation of that vision.

  • Don’t be afraid to discuss business dilemmas, decisions, hurdles and challenges with your team.
  • First of all, it’s always good to get out of your own shoes and get other people’s thoughts and ideas; and secondly, you’ll begin creating team ownership in the project. A project should never be just one person’s project – it should be a team project.
  • Secondly, by involving the team, you automatically break down the natural blame barriers that too often plague a project and instead, you develop a truly SHARED VISION.

4. Laugh a lot: You’ve got to bring a sense of humor with you to work everyday.

  • The day you lose the laughter is the day you’ll lose the ability to motivate a team long-term.
  • Take your work seriously, but never take yourself too seriously.
  • The trick is to keep the team focused on the task at hand, but have fun while you do it! You’ll be surprised how far daily laughter will go in keeping spirits high and the team motivated. There’s a time to strap on the helmet and get stuff done, but it can’t be all day everyday. Life’s too short to be serious all the time.

Honest disclaimer: We had a couple of added motivational benefits on the Quizzle project.

  • We had the luxury of working closely with Dan Gilbert, a genius-minded business entrepreneur, who shared his vision with us throughout the project and allowed us to go BLUE SKY and DREAM BIG on this project.
  • We had a group of folks on the team who believed strongly that Quizzle had the potential to be a real game-changer someday on the Internet!

Unfortunately, we don’t get these benefits on every project, but a great leader can instill belief in a vision, tap into inner passions and allow a team to dream big.

Regis: How does someone learn to persevere?

Todd: For me perseverance was ingrained since I was a kid. My parents instilled the value of never quitting, and giving things my very best shot. I was taught to look on the positive side; find the good in situations rather than dwell on the bad. I was taught to view problems as challenges. I was taught to recognize challenges as opportunities. And opportunities will often times lead to success.

When challenges are the hardest, don’t be afraid. Instead, get excited, because you have the opportunity to find creative, game-changing solutions. There’s a quote from a marketing book called “Juicing the Orange” that went something like this: “Creativity is the most economical form of competitive advantage.” Creativity can be cheap; it can also pull you out of a commodity box and can differentiate you from the rest.

Personally, I love sports. I love playing games. So when a day at work provides a good challenge, it’s like a game, a competition, and my juices start flowing. And at the end of this challenge (just like a game) you either win or lose, right? That’s exciting. So go ahead, play games at work. Embrace your challenges. Play to WIN. And with this approach, more often than not, you will… persevere.

Regis: Do you have any great quotes, books, etc. about perseverance you’d recommend?

Todd: Read any book about a company that made it big and you’ll find that there were many roadblocks along the way, challenges to overcome, and days when the future looked bleak.

A couple of my favorites are “The Google Story” and “Pour Your Heart Into it: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time.” It wasn’t always easy, but in the end it was worth it. “The Experience Economy” is another one of my favorites. In this book you’ll also learn about the importance of creating a great experience for your clients. You’ll learn to be bold and try new things. You can’t be afraid to fail. Through failing and overcoming challenges you gain experience and wisdom.

I love A&E biographies. Listen to or read the biography of any great man or woman and you will find stories of hardship and perseverance that not only shaped their character but made them stronger.

I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
-Christopher Reeve


Note from Regis: We can all learn a lot from Todd, and the ideas he talks about in this interview. Stay tuned for more in our Leadership Training Boot Camp series!

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How to Never Forget Anything Again: 3 Ways to Boost Your Memory with Online Reminder Services

April 27, 2008 · 1 Comment

Have you ever missed someone’s birthday? Lost the location of a cool website you found? Maybe you were driving, had an idea, didn’t stop to write it down, and now it’s gone?

Today, that all ends!

If you leverage my 3 online reminder services below, you will remember more than you do today.

1. Never forget another birthday (or other event) using Backpack Reminders

I’ve written about the power of using Backpack, the online organization tool, to manage your to do lists. Did you know Backpack is also an online reminder service that will help you remember dates?

Here’s how you do it:

  • Simply enter what you want to remember into Backpack
  • Associate a date/time with it
  • Tell Backpack to email you or send a txt message to your cellphone.

That’s it! Imagine this: the morning of your friend Ben’s birthday, you get a txt message on your cellphone that says “Ben’s Birthday is Today” so you can give him a call. Pretty cool, huh?


2. Never forget another idea and boost your memory using Jott

Jott is a fantastic, free tool that seriously enhances what you can remember and accomplish. Here’s how Jott works:

  • You use your cell phone to call Jott, and the service asks you “Who you want to Jott?”
  • 98% of the time, I say “myself”
  • Then, I simply leave myself a Jott.

What the heck is a Jott? Well, it’s a voicemail that gets translated (via the Jott system) into an email and sent to me.

So, when I’m driving in the car, walking the dog, etc. and have a great idea, I just Jott myself. Bam! Idea is “saved” in my email, and I don’t have to think about it anymore. Later, when I check my email, I will see my voicemail as email text and I can act on it then.

Jott is also useful for sending an email to a person, or group of people by simply leaving a voice mail using your cell phone. Check out the Jott website for more examples on how to use their service.

3. Never forget another website using del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is a “social bookmarking website,” which is fancy tech-speak for: it remembers websites for you, and you can let other people see what you save in it. Del.icio.us is especially helpful because:

  • It’s web-based, so as long as you have a web browser, you can save bookmarks to it
  • It has an “Add-on” for the web browser Mozilla Firefox, so you can create and classify your bookmarks from within Firefox.
  • It uses “tags” (labels you create) to classify your bookmarks so you can easily find them later

Give del.icio.us a try. Once you have your bookmarks centralized there, you’ll easily be able to find websites whenever, and wherever, you need them!

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Inspirational Quote about Focus

April 26, 2008 · No Comments

If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.

-Jack Dixon

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Mental Focus - The Secret to Becoming Legendary at What You Do

April 26, 2008 · No Comments

How important is mental focus? It’s simply the number-one key to becoming legendary at what you do.

We have a saying at Quicken Loans: “what you focus on, you find.” Oprah and followers of the book The Secret - say that “like attracts like.”

However you choose to say it, the power of focus is what separates those who are good from those who are great.

However, your daily life can easily compromise your ability to focus. Let’s take a look at a recent day in my professional life as an example:

  • 623 emails across 4 email accounts
  • 23 social media requests, messages, etc.
  • 13 incoming phone calls, and 9 voicemail messages
  • 2 conference calls and 3 one-on-one meetings
  • 1 presentation to some of my Clients
  • 1 contract negotiation

How do I maintain focus when I have all of these things challenging it? Of course, I stay organized with to do lists, manage my voicemail, and keep my email management system in top shape. But, as I tell people all the time, you’ll always have 100 things on your plate, but are you doing the right things?

Patrick Rhone has written about his Today Card. The Today Card is a note card he keeps with 3 simple things he would like to accomplish that day. Patrick’s post inspired me to go back to a similar tradition I used to keep, specifically using a Top 3 list to help me focus.

I’ve re-adopted and improved on my old Top 3 list technique. It’s insanely simple, and has increased my ability to focus exponentially.

Here’s my secret to using a Top 3 list to achieve mental focus every day:

1. For 5 minutes right now, think about what you really need to focus on. This should be time where you focus only on important things that will move your project, career, etc. forward. Mentally ban thoughts about an email you have to respond to, a person you have to call, etc. Use this time to deliberately force yourself to mentally focus on what you need to do.

2. Write down the Top 3 things you need to focus on. I like to write this list down in my moleskine notebook, but you might prefer a sticky note, or a note card, like Patrick. Your goal is to use this Top 3 list to guide what you do tomorrow.

3. Tomorrow morning, do one thing from your Top 3 list before you open your email. I am TOTALLY SERIOUS about this. Email is a gigantic distractor and priority-changer. Do not let it prevent you from maintaining focus. By doing at least one thing on your list before opening your email, you set yourself up for a successful day.

4. At the end of the day, check your Top 3 list, cross off what you’ve accomplished, and write your list for tomorrow. It’s CRITICAL that you write your list for tomorrow at the end of the day today. At the end of the day, you still have the day fresh in your mind. Also, by doing this, you’re not spending time tomorrow morning figuring out what to do.

That’s it - the secret to mental focus is the Top 3 list! If you really use this technique (including #3 and #4 above), you’ll be amazed at the mental focus and clarity you have.

To quote another saying (from Dan Gilbert, Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans), “nothing clarifies like clarity!” Good luck!

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Creativity: 3 Ways to Seize the Opportunity to be Creative!

April 9, 2008 · No Comments

It happens to all of us…at different points in our careers, we feel our creativity is stifled.

It’s happened to me, and it’s happened to people on my team. In fact, I’ve had project managers seriously questioning their career choice, since they were so stifled creatively. When dealing with project issues, budgets, and deadlines, I totally understand how this can happen.

Here’s the bottom-line: You don’t need to be on the “creative” team, be a “creative director,” or be a “designer” to be a creative person. The opportunity to be creative is right “under your nose” every single day!

Here are my top 3 ways to seize the opportunity to be creative!

#1: Get Creative when Reporting Metrics

  • Many of us manage and launch projects to meet a company’s goal: more leads, more sales, more interactions with the brand, etc. Every single time you give an update on a project’s metrics, you have the opportunity to be creative.
  • Think about it:the people who are reading your update (probably an email) are senior leaders in your organization who care about such results. You have their attention! Use this to your advantage. As Avinash Kaushik says, “don’t puke data out.” Always intepret what you think is happening in the data you are providing. And go beyond that: propose new ideas based on what the numbers are telling you.
  • Your leaders want you to step up, they want you to “read between the lines,” they want your new ideas! Get creative and drive your new ideas to fruition!

#2: Get Creative with Your Communication

  • From Tip #1, and my previous post on telling your story, you already know you should be thinking about your “message” when giving project updates. But have you ever really pushed the boundaries of what you can do? As Picasso said: “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Be sure to check out The Positivity Blog for Picasso’s Top 7 Tips for Creating an Exciting Life.
  • Here are just a few real-world examples to spark your creativity for giving a project update (I’ve seen people do each of these, and yes, I know some of these are a bit crazy!):
  • Shoot a video: with video cameras and editing software within reach of everyone, use that to your advantage! Shoot a video telling your story and send it to your team, leaders, Clients, etc. Make it fun and engaging - people will remember it!
  • Create your own soapbox: literally take a box you can stand on into a meeting, group of people, etc. and deliver your update “town crier” style! Again, people will not forget it, or you!
  • Write a song or rap: Write your own song or rap about your project, and deliver your update that way. Some of the most memorable ones I have seen spoofed popular songs/raps people know. Combine this with video, post it on YouTube, and send the link to your entire team!

#3: Get Creative with Your Project Management

  • When you manage a project, are you being productive or active? Just because you’re active, it doesn’t mean your being productive.
  • Look critically at what you are doing: are you procrastinating and not dealing with an issue by staying active? Have you fallen into the “old ways” of doing things and not realized it? Challenge yourself to be better than that!
  • Are you defining the world around you in such a way that you either: have a negative view? can’t see ways to get things done? or disregard new ideas? Be very careful of this trap! By doing so, you not only limit what you can accomplish, you limit what your project team can do too. If you’ve fallen into this way of thinking, you probably cannot see new opportunities to get things done.

I hope these ideas help you get creative, think differently, and manage projects more successfully!

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6 Blackberry Tips for Reading Emails

March 22, 2008 · 1 Comment

RIM BlackBerry 8300 CurveIn my previous post, 5 Useful Blackberry Tips and Tricks to Boost Your Productivity, I covered some of my favorite overall tips. In this, and future posts, I will be going deeper into different Blackberry tips that can help you.

Did you know you can use the keyboard to read Blackberry email? Here are my favorite keyboard shortcuts:

#1 - “T” - pressing the letter T when reading an email, jumps to the top of the email.

  • Have you ever started reading an email, and then wondered who’s copied on the email? Just hit “T” to jump to the top of the email to see information like who is on the CC list, when it was sent, etc.

#2 - “B” - pressing the letter B when reading an email, jumps to the bottom of the email.

  • This is really helpful when you are reading a reply and want to see the earlier message. By jumping to the bottom of the email, you can read the previous emails first, and read from the bottom-up to read the entire email trail.

#3 - “Space” - pressing the Spacebar jumps down one screen in the email.

  • This is especially useful when you need to quickly scan emails you will read again later. By using this technique, you can scan email reports, long email chains, etc. quickly and effectively.

#4 - “Shift + Space” - pressing Shift and Space jumps up one screen in the email.

  • This is especially useful after you hit “B” (outlined above), since you can use it to scan up an email more quickly than with the wheel.

#5 - “N” - pressing the letter N jumps to the next email.

  • You can use this technique (combined with the others above) to quickly read Blackberry email with one hand. To use this technique, just hit the letter N when you are reading an email. You will jump to the next email in your inbox.

#6 - “P” - pressing the letter P jumps to previous email.

  • Similar to the N tip above, pressing P will jump you to the previous email in your inbox. Both N and P are a great way to scan your email quickly, instead of just looking at the inbox view.

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How to Build Rapport with Your Leaders - 4 Powerful Tips (Bonus: Build Rapport Like Terry Gross)

March 17, 2008 · No Comments

Some of the most important relationships you will develop in your career are with your leaders (i.e. your immediate team leader, popularly called a “boss,” and the other senior leaders of an oganization, i.e. the “higher ups” or “executives”).

All relationships you create are important - certainly, you just never know when you might run into someone again. However, to get things done effectively and constantly grow your career, you have to know how to work with your leaders. For the purposes of the 4 Tips below, I will focus on building rapport with your immediate team leader (i.e. your “boss”).

Building Rapport - Tip #1: Learn What Your Leader is Trying to Accomplish

  • You have to put your focus on your leader, not yourself, and ALWAYS start with her goals: What is she trying to accomplish? What are her goals? Why is she the team leader? Why are you on the team (i.e. what’s her vision for you)? Do your goals help or conflict with your leader’s goals? Understanding your leaders’ motivations is the first step to delivering on their expectations.
  • Treat your leaders like they are your Clients. Just like when a Client hires a firm to help them achieve a goal, you are that “company of one” for your leader. As Sales Coach and Consultant Brian Macias says, “LISTEN to what your Client says! Remember the old 80/20 rule: they talk 80% of the time and you only talk 20% of the time…the more they talk, the more they like you! Not the other way around.”

Building Rapport - Tip #2: Show Your Leaders They Can Trust You

  • Any relationship that works is based on trust. In order to build an effective relationship with your leader, they have to inherently trust you, your motivations, and your ideas.
  • To start to build trust, assume rapport - especially with new team leaders. As The Positivity Blog says: “instead of going into a conversation or meeting nervously and thinking “how will this go?” you take different approach. You assume that you and the person(s) will establish a good connection (rapport).” By looking at your interactions this way, you can create a great first impression and develop trust. This is especially critical when you and your leader have different beliefs, lifestyles, etc.
  • Then, develop a policy of “I want you to know what I know” with your leader. Ensure that both good and bad news, tips and insights, and observations your leader may not see are all shared quickly (See Tips #3 and #4 below for more on how to do this).

Building Rapport - Tip #3: Constantly bring news ideas to help your leaders brainstorm and solve problems

  • Focus on your business goals and the goals of your leader. Whenever you feel that you, your project team, or the company is drifting away from those goals, initiate a discussion with your leader. Don’t just bring issues, but also always bring solutions to the table.
  • Take the time to involve your leader in the brainstorming process. Resist the temptation to go off, find the solution, and present it to her. Instead, give your leader the opportunity to be a part of the brainstorming process. Not only will this help you build trust in each other, it will bring you new ideas you might not have thought of otherwise.
  • Stay up-to-date on trends, blogs, conferences, etc. that apply to your business’ goals and your leader’s goals. When you find ideas of interest, share them with your leader.

Building Rapport - Tip #4: Adapt to your leaders’ communication style

  • Find out how your leader likes to communicate, and follow it religiously. This does take some sacrifice, but isn’t it worth it? Does your leader like to check and respond to emails after 11PM? Maybe she likes to talk on the phone during her drive home? Maybe she prefers updates via voicemail before 8AM?
  • Whatever preferences your leader has, match them with your communications. This doesn’t mean you have to be “on email” at 11PM, or “on voicemail” before 8AM, but you should have emails and voicemails waiting for your leader at that time. Most email and voicemail programs also allow you to “schedule” messages. Take that into consideration when determining your communication approach.

Bonus: How to Build Rapport Like Terry Gross

Fresh Air” - hosted by Terry Gross - is one of the most popular programs on public radio. One of the most prolific interviewers in the media, Gross is known for her entertaining, informative, and provocative conversations with influential people in academia, entertainment, government, and more.

How to Overcome Differences, Build Rapport, and Communicate Effectively with AnyoneIn order to connect her audience to the person she is interviewing, Terry has mastered the techniques of building rapport over 30 years. Her techniques, outlined in “The Art of Connecting: How to Overcome Differences, Build Rapport, and Communicate Effectively with Anyone,” include:

  • Putting the focus on the other person (see Tip#1, above)
  • Listening (see Tip#1, above)
  • Accepting different beliefs, values, lifestyles (see Tip#2, above)
  • Staying up-to-date with people, events, trends (see Tip#3, above)
  • Respecting individuals (see Tip#4, above)
  • Creating an atmosphere for unhurried conversation (see Tip#4, above)

By learning Terry’s time-tested techniques, and applying the 4 Powerful Tips above in your daily interactions, you too can focus on building rapport with your leaders and finding new opportunities to grow.

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3 Leadership Development Lessons from Last Week

March 9, 2008 · 1 Comment

SeagullAs I’ve mentioned in my other posts on leadership, leadership is a choice - how you make decisions, trust your instincts, and allow yourself to learn from failure determines if and how you will become a leader.

My past week was filled with leadership development lessons to share with you. Some were lessons I learned myself, others were lessons I watched others learn around me.

Here are my top 3:

Leadership Development Lesson #1: Giving Feedback

  • By having an honest feedback session with each person you lead, you have the opportunity (and responsibility) to share the positives about their progress, as well as the areas for them to improve.
  • As Wally Bock says in his Three Star Leadership Blog, feedback is really the breakfast of champions. By not hesitating to give constructive criticism, you give people the opportunity to grow and learn faster than they would otherwise.

Leadership Development Lesson #2: Having the Right Attitude

  • Giving constructive criticism is always easier when a team member has the right attitude. If you have an open mind and a true desire to constantly get better, you will be open to feedback that can help you get there.
  • No one is right all the time. Everyone has times where they need to be redirected, coached, or talked “off the edge of a cliff.” Allowing yourself to accept feedback like this can only make you better.
  • Feeling down? Need some inspiration to boost your attitude? Check out Orrin Woodward’s favorite quotes on attitude.

Leadership Development Lesson #3: Prevent a Communication “Vacuum”

  • You always have to show people you are “driving the bus” on the projects you lead. It’s critical that whenever you are managing a high-profile project, you communicate early and often - even if you don’t have all the answers.
  • This is especially important with key executives. When asked a question through email, it’s best to reply immediately, letting the executive know you are looking into her question, and when you expect to have an answer.
  • Later, when you give your answer, make sure you completely answer the question, and give your own opinions. To most executives, giving your opinions is as important as answering the question.

Leadership lessons like these are around you every single day if you look for them! I’ll share more of my lessons as I come across them. If you have lessons to share, leave a comment or send me an email.

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Inspirational Quotes/Video About Experience

March 4, 2008 · No Comments

Here are my 3 favorite quotes from Dr. Randy Pausch’s presentation below:

  • “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want”
  • “When you’re doing a bad job and nobody points it out to you, that’s when they’ve given up on you.”
  • “Don’t complain, just work harder.”

Please take 10 minutes out of your day to watch this video. Let it sync in, and think about how you are living your life: are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

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Favorite Ideas from “Only the Paranoid Survive” by Andy Grove

February 26, 2008 · 2 Comments

Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy GroveOne of my all-time favorite business books, and a huge influence on my leadership philosophy is Andy Grove’s “Only the Paranoid Survive.”

Grove participated in the founding of Intel, and went on to become President, then CEO and Chairmen. Under his leadership, Intel became the 7th most profitable company among the Fortune 500, and he was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 1997.

In his book, Grove discusses strategic inflection points, how leaders must identify them, and lead their teams through them.

What is a “strategic inflection point?”

  • Grove defines a strategic inflection point as a time in the life of a business or project when its fundamentals are changing significantly. Often, “point” is really a misnomer, and it’s actually a long, sometimes painful, period of change.
  • To me, strategic inflection points are those times and decisions that make or break your business, your project, your Client relationship, your Executive’s view of you, etc.
  • You could also look at Strategic Inflection Points as Tipping Points as well (based on Malcolm Gladwell’s popular book The Tipping Point, another must-read).

Leadership Tips from This Book:

  1. Only those who constantly try to anticipate change will survive when change happens.
  2. Seek the opinions of all around you, as they are usually in touch with impending change sooner than you are.
  3. Encourage debate at all costs. The most important tool in identifying a strategic inflection point is broad and intensive debate.
  4. Don’t justify holding back because you don’t know the answers - seek them out as fast as you can.
  5. Give your most considered opinion, and give it clearly and forcefully.

3 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Themselves:

  1. Am I actively seeking opinions from everyone possible, regardless of their title?
  2. Is our key competitor about to change? (Note: if you can’t clearly answer who that key competitor is, something significant is definitely going on.)
  3. Do people seem to be “losing it” - or that they increasingly don’t “get it” - around you? (Note: if so, they are likely applying old solutions to a new problem, a sign that you are in a strategic inflection point.)

4 Favorite Quotes:

  1. In times of change, managers almost always know which direction they should go in, but usually act too late and do too little.
  2. Businesses fail either because they leave their customers - i.e. they change a strategy that worked for them in the past - or because their customers leave them.
  3. Strategic inflection points provide an opportunity to break out of a plateau and catapult to a higher level of achievement.
  4. No statues will be carved for leaders who charge off on the wrong side of a complex decision.

Other Bloggers talking about this book and Andy Grove:

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