Managing "Clevers"

Found this interview with Rob Goffee who's just written a new book Clever: Leading your Smartest, most creative people.

The thrust of the interview it is that managing "clevers" is about kinda staying off their radar, shielding them from internal politics, conducting and connecting. Worth a quick squiz I think.

How does it resonate with the clever people you manage?

Outside the Box - innovating

Roger Martin, who wrote the Opposable Mind, has a new book on design thinking in business, where he's again praising the logical leap. Read an interview with him in fast company.

He says the biggest enemy of innovation is "prove it"; that sometimes there's a need to do a pilot because it's new. Of course there are countless products, including the aero chair, the post-it note, to prove that theory right - where it's so new, the public doesn't even know they want it yet.

While getting the links for this posts, I've discovered a whole seam of ideas on design thinking. So who knows where that will take me? What's your new line of enquiry today?

Motivation and Money

So, Motivation and Money came up recently with one of my clients. Here's an interesting case put forward by Scott Underwood, quoting Dan Pink (Whole New Mind) and a marvellous set of stairs motivating people to exercise. Dan's comments that more money is only a motivator where the task is purely motor is an interesting one. And I'm interested (but not surprised) that what social science teaches us business is ignoring...

Dilbert gets it... or does he?

Love this Dilbert, and have forwarded it to a few friends who will get it.

And I'm kind of concerned that I find it so appealing. I do have some unease about Dilbert. I work with quite a few clients who feel their boss / client is stupid, and who cannot hide that in their interactions. It does them no favours.

Just read last week Leadership and Self-Deception - getting out of the box. When we are "in the box" we blame others, see them as inferior, treat them as objects. When we are "out of the box" we take responsibility for our own issues and treat people as people.

It's what NLPers call "going meta" where you put yourself in the other person's shoes and interact with them on their (positive) intentions rather than your projection of it.

It's written in the parable format, like the One Minute Manager series. I'm not a great fan of that style and I know some of my more sensate clients appreciate the more concrete way of explaining the theory. Plus they are always short!

So when Dilbert is taken as an observation, then it's OK. And when it's taken as and excuse to get into more blaming, as a depiction of how we find ourselves then maybe it could be keeping us "in the box".

I've lent the book to a current client who thinks quite differently than me for his opinion: maybe it will change minds and make us more aware of each other? Fingers crossed.

Neuro-marketing - not so guilty

If you're interested in the practical application of Neurology and particular fMRI research into brain responses, check out this quick article on NeuroMarketing in Fast Company.

Frito-Lay has discovered that it's better to talk about health than it is about "guilt-free" snacks; Google discovered the way they advertised on You Tube made a difference; and Microsoft is trying to work out what makes their users surprised, satisfied and frustrated. Of course we probably all know some of the answers to the last question!

The information explosion

The New Yorker suggested that we're installing ADHD in ourselves by constantly splitting our attention (texts, emails, half-read web pages, etc).

Watch this 4:55 minute video and marvel at the rate of change, the amount of information we're taking in, and marvel about how quickly things change.

Some of the interesting facts they cite are that there are more "smart" kids in India (top 25% of IQ ratings), than there are kids in America. That the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn't even exist in 2004. That 1 in 4 workers have been with their current employer less than a year. And 1 in 2 less than 5.

I recently celebrated 16 years in my own business, so I look at this stuff, and wonder where are the opportunities (for induction programs, for bringing ideas from other organisations into your new job, for getting smarter?).

Check it out!

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