Tag Archives: managing

May 28, 2013 · 9:56 am

Dylan On Managing

I said a couple of weeks ago I was going to try to incorporate more music into the screed.  Today I thought I’d bring in one of my favorite artists who is also (apparently) a management guru to answer a question:  Is managing a business and other people an art or a science?

English: Bob Dylan performing in Rotterdam, Ju...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I suspect it’s some of both. There are data points and studies over time which point towards the scientific method: we tested a theory and this is what we found. There are scientific journals devoted to management which report on best practices and help managers to operate in a sound manner. Science at its best.

I happen to lean the other way, and it’s because of a quote from that great businessperson Bob Dylan:

“The highest purpose of art is to inspire. What else can you do? What else can you do for anyone but to inspire them?”

I believe that’s how one manages as well.  Businesses can be inspirational and I’ve worked for people who have been as well.  This notion is a lot more obvious when we’re talking about motivating and guiding a staff.  Sure, sometimes we have to use “scientific” methods to make that inspiration real, but I’ve found over the years that the best moments happen when we just stand at the head of the line and pull the folks behind you along via inspiration.  It’s art.

Many businesses are becoming involved in the Corporate Social Responsibility movement – giving back to the communities and people who support them and taking responsibility for the company’s effects on the environment and impact on social welfare.  That can be inspirational as well (assuming it’s not faked) and done well it’s art too.

Where do you come out on this?  Art or science?  While there is no “right” answer, do you think trying to inspire is part of a corporate credo?

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May 15, 2013 · 10:57 am

Playing In A Different Mode

We haven’t done music here on the screed in a while so how about we take on modal music? For those of you without the benefit of music theory classes, modes are types of musical scales that create very specific sounds. Not much of an explanation, but if you play a “C” major scale (all the white keys on a piano) while playing in the key of “D” rather than using a typical “D” scale, you’re playing modally.  If you know the Metallica song “Sandman” you’re hearing modal music.  Same thing with Led Zep‘s “Dancing Days.”  To your ear they’re not exactly in a major key or a minor key and they create a very specific sound, and no, it’s not just heavy metal bands that use it.

Interesting, but what’s it doing here on a business blog?

As I see it, we should all think about playing modally in our businesses.  Ask yourself what happens if you continue to play a certain way but do so in a different environment:   a “C” scale in the key of “D” has a business equivalent of transforming content cross-platform for example.  It can also involve how one creates a specific feeling that might not be as straightforward as, say, a major or minor scale.  In other words, maybe we need to spend less time thinking linearly and a lot more time thinking modally.

Modes aren’t just musical either.  There are modal verbs in English which we use when we want to express our intentions and attitudes, talk about necessity and possibility, or make offers, requests, or suggestions.  “Can, may, will, would” and others are all examples.  They’re “helper” words.  “Can you shut the door?” is a good example and points out that modals often bring confusion along with them.  I raise this because while we’re adjusting our musical modal thinking we can bring about the sort of confusing jumble that modal verbs can cause (in the previous example, you don’t know if the speaker is asking for someone to close the door of if they have the ability to do so).  When we start to do business in different ways, staying focused on clarity needs to go along with the effort.

You know it when a business is playing modally.  You take notice of their marketing because it sounds different and yet is very clear. The real question is how do we all get to that place?  Thoughts?

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May 1, 2013 · 8:51 am

The Big Mouth

I had the pleasure of being a mentor at Startup Weekend Stamford last weekend. If you haven’t heard about or been a part of one of these, the site gives a pretty good explanation about what the weekend is about:

Business Model Triangle

(Photo credit: Alex Osterwalder)

All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.

My job was to wander around and help the teams refine their thinking (without doing the thinking for them) and their products.  In the process, I saw a lot of interesting group dynamics at work and that’s what I want to blog about today.  Actually, it’s less about the group than it is about one very large mouth and the negative effect it can have on an enterprise.

Now as someone who has, over the years, been accused of owning exactly that sort of intrusive, large pie-hole, this might be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. However, one group in particular had a guy who brought his vision to the table and was extremely insistent that his was THE vision for the business.  When others would raise points that conflicted with or negated something in his mind, there was head-shaking and an insistence that if only they could understand HIS vision they would succumb to its brilliance.  It got to the point where one part of the group split off and under the guise of putting together a rough presentation managed to refine the product taking everyone’s input into account.

I’ve seen this a lot in business.  One person – the one with the big mouth and the even larger cache of certainty – can derail an entire group.  In this case, several of the quieter participants has a lot of good things to say yet until I asked them to speak out hadn’t been able to interject.  As a manager, you need to make sure all voices are heard – even those who might not have much to contribute.  As a team member, you need to listen to all points of view and consider them.  Ask fact-based questions until the wisdom of the point becomes clear or falls away.

Part of what ails us these days, both in and out of business, is the shouting.  We need big ears, not big mouths, if we’re to succeed.  You agree?

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