Sunday, June 27, 2010

To connect or not to connect?

I was going to write this week on the fallacious concept of modern communications, on how it's actually severing our connectedness and reducing our productivity, but Sam Parker makes the same point - I defer to him:

http://justparker.com/blog/connecting/

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Agile

My current client, Citibank, is migrating to an Agile environment for the projects that I'm involved with.  This is great news because my management philosophy jibes quite well with Agile methodologies.  

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Teddy Roosevelt and action

Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was known as a man of action and not mere words.  He extolled the virtues of the "strenuous life", not only in writing, but in practice. -

"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."

"Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster."

"Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind."

"I don't pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who does not work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being."

"I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life."

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

"Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering."

"Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big."

Monday, June 7, 2010

John Wooden and success

John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach at UCLA who set the bar for success in any sport, recently passed away.  The pundits and historians will give him his rightful requiem, that's not my place, but his career is a lesson in leadership at all levels. 

Experience - John Wooden was a highly successful coach throughout his career; however, the legendary and unparalleled run of championships came at the end of his career (10 NCAA titles between 1964 and 1975, 4 unbeaten seasons during that string, and a run of 7 titles in a row).  Experience does count.

Execution - John Wooden's teams were about execution, teamwork, and simpatico.  The fundamentals and ruthless preparation were keys to his teams' success.  Wooden's teams concentrated on flawless execution by honing basic skills to near perfection.

Simplicity - There was nothing complex about Wooden's tactics and strategies; they were simple and elegant.  Great execution of a simple plan.

Flexibility -  John Wooden had a famous quote - "Flexibility is the key to stability."  Granted, John Wooden's teams had some amazing talent; however, John Wooden was able to win championships whether he had the star players or not.  He crafted simple game plans around the talent that he currently possessed and adjusted quickly to the evolution of game conditions.