How the Mighty Fall- Jim Collins
I enjoyed the book How the Mighty Fall – here are a few quotes I enjoyed…
“It turns out that a company can indeed look like the picture of health on the outside yet already be in decline, dangerously on the cusp of a huge fall.”
“I have concluded that there are more ways to fall than to become great.”
Some things that are markers that a company is on the verge of a fall
Stage 1
• They are neglecting their primary flywheel
• Arrogance and expecting success regardless of the quality of our investments and decisions
• Losing focus on continuous learning
Stage 2
• Unsustainable quest for growth- confusing big with great
• Undisciplined discontinuous leaps
• Declining proportion of the right people in the right seats
• Using cash just because we have it. Not investing wisely
• Too much bureaucracy
• Poor succession planning
Stage 3
• Amplify the positive- discount the negative
• Big bets and bold goals without empirical validation
• Incurring huge downside risk based on ambiguous data
• Erosion of health team dynamics
• Externalizing blame
• Obsessive reorganizations
Stage 4
• A series of silver bullets
• Searching for a leader-savior
• Panic and haste
• Radical “revolution” with fanfare
• Hype precedes results
• Initial upswing followed by disappointment
• Confusion and cynicism
• Erosion of financial strength
Stage 5
• The death spiral
“While no leader can single-handedly build an enduring great company, the wrong leader vested with power can almost single-handedly bring a company down”
The waterline principle- “If you blow a hole above the waterline, you can patch the hole, learn from the experience and sail on. But if you blow a hole below the waterline, you can find yourself facing gushers of water pouring in. pulling it toward the ocean floor. “
“There is no organizational utopia, all organizational structures have their trade-offs and every organization style has inefficiencies. We have no evidence from our research that any one structure is ideal in all situations, and no form of reorganization can make risk and peril melt away.”
“The right leaders feel a sense of urgency in good times and bad, whether facing threat or opportunity, no matter what. They’re obsessed, afflicted with a creative compulsion and inner drive for progress- the burning hot coals in the stomach- that remain constant whether facing threat or not. To manufacture a crisis when none exists, to shriek that we’re all standing on a “burning platform” soon to collapse in a spectacular conflagration, creates cynicism. The right people will drive improvement, whether standing on a burning platform or not, and they never take well to manipulation. “
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
The Lost Symbol
I picked up Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol in the SLC airport this last Friday. I liked his books Angels and Demons and the Davinci Code. They were both well researched and although it is hard to tell fact from fiction at times, I learned quite a bit about the derivation of languages and symbolism. I have enjoyed reading Brown’s new book- it actually coincides with some of the discussions we had a lake Powell. By observing a situation, or by changing the way we think about a situation not only changes our paradigm- it causes an actual physical change to occur. There is a new branch of science called Noetic Science http://www.noetic.org/about.cfm that deals with this topic and is discussed in Dan Brown’s book.
I find this topic fascinating. There are connections that happen in nature that we just do not currently understand. I like Einstein’s quote “That which is inpenetrable to us really exists. Behind the secrets of nature remains something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything we can comprehend is my religion.”
The fact that we can actually change a situation by thinking a certain way about it makes thinking constructive, positive, creative thoughts even more important than if we were only pure observers. One of my favorite books is by James Allen and is called As a Man Thinketh When I read it again this year, I will do it with new eyes. It is hard to know how far to take this- but the topic of proactivity and the responsibility we have for our relationships or our situations in life may be sculpted by our thoughts long before we put a shovel to the soil.
I picked up Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol in the SLC airport this last Friday. I liked his books Angels and Demons and the Davinci Code. They were both well researched and although it is hard to tell fact from fiction at times, I learned quite a bit about the derivation of languages and symbolism. I have enjoyed reading Brown’s new book- it actually coincides with some of the discussions we had a lake Powell. By observing a situation, or by changing the way we think about a situation not only changes our paradigm- it causes an actual physical change to occur. There is a new branch of science called Noetic Science http://www.noetic.org/about.cfm that deals with this topic and is discussed in Dan Brown’s book.
I find this topic fascinating. There are connections that happen in nature that we just do not currently understand. I like Einstein’s quote “That which is inpenetrable to us really exists. Behind the secrets of nature remains something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything we can comprehend is my religion.”
The fact that we can actually change a situation by thinking a certain way about it makes thinking constructive, positive, creative thoughts even more important than if we were only pure observers. One of my favorite books is by James Allen and is called As a Man Thinketh When I read it again this year, I will do it with new eyes. It is hard to know how far to take this- but the topic of proactivity and the responsibility we have for our relationships or our situations in life may be sculpted by our thoughts long before we put a shovel to the soil.
Monday, May 04, 2009
An interesting quote from Mere Christianity by CS. Lewis…
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German Army by fighting it- not by giving in. You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because he is the only man who has not yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means- the only complete realist.
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German Army by fighting it- not by giving in. You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because he is the only man who has not yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means- the only complete realist.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Mackson is Home!
There are events in everyone’s life that herald the change of one era to the next. Our family has spent two years trying to get our son home from Haiti. On Saturday we pulled into our driveway and closed one chapter and opened another. This visit to Haiti was much different than the last two we have taken. It seems we needed one last round of opposition. Our planes were late, our ride was not at the airport in Haiti, I just about got ran over on the streets of Port Au Prince but in the end, we are all home and are grateful to have Mackson with us.
More than any trip I have been on I saw what it looks like when the scarcity mentality is taken to an extreme. Haiti shows you what happens when the majority of the population is on the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy. Just getting off an airplane in Haiti is a new experience. In the USA people get off the plane one row at a time starting at the front of the plane. In Haiti we had 50 year old ladies in row 30 determined to be the first ones off the plane. People all over the plane were arguing about who was out in the isle first. We counted at least six arguments between people just getting off the airplane!
At one road intersection eight cars from four different directions all came out into the intersection at once and traffic was completely locked in. People were out of their cars arguing about who was in the intersection first before a UN peacekeeper arrived to get traffic moving again. When this was happening I got out of the truck to buy a painting to remember Haiti by. Cars were stopped because of traffic and I tried to walk between cars to get to the other side of the road. A couple times cars moved very close to the bumper of the car ahead of them just so that I could not walk in front of them! It was amazing to see how mean and self-centered people can get when in extreme poverty. It is like watching a pack of hyenas at a fresh kill- everyone making sure they get their share and willing to fight to ensure that fact. I do not blame the people, I don’t know what I would do in the face of such extreme poverty. It was sad to see and I wish there was more we could to help change the situation. 5% of Haitians have 95% of the nation’s wealth and they are committed to make sure that does not change. I see no change in sight and am grateful that Mackson will not need to deal with this failed nation for the rest of his life. We in America have our problems but if you want to have a renewed gratitude for all the USA has to offer, spend a week in Haiti…
Monday, January 05, 2009
Outliers- Malcom Gladwell & Fountainhead Review
The day after Christmas I picked up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It is by far Gladwell’s best book yet. The premise of the book is finding out what makes people successful. He debunks the idea that there is a group of “born genius” that are destined to be successful because of sheer intellect. He tells the story of Bill Gates and that he was getting up at 2:00 AM to sneak out of the house and walk to the University of Washington campus so that he and a friend could work on the mainframe computer from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM when no one else was using it. Computer time was hard to come by when there was no such thing as a personal computer. He had well over 10,000 hours of computer time before he had graduated from High School. He then got consulting jobs and eventually founded Microsoft. Gladwell talks about this 10,000 hour rule. Those who become really great at something have usually spent more than 10,000 hours doing that thing before they become great at it. It made me pause and think- have I spent 10,000 hours doing anything? I have probably spent 5,000 hours on several things- I think it is time to make a study of that one thing I want to be great at and give it some focus.
He also talked about how so much of our current culture and behavior is due to where our ancestors came from. Why Asian Students do better at math. They go to MANY more days per year of school than American students (180 days vs around 220 depending on the country). And also, their Asian ancestors grew rice. Rice farming takes much more time, focus and work than growing corn or other crops we grow in America. American children are not willing to work on a math problem as long as Asian kids. The key to our math problem is that we quit too soon, not that Asians have higher math IQ’s.
He also talks about the advantage children get from their parents style of parenting and why wealthy families usually end up having successful children. The bottom line seems to be how involved parents are in their child’s lives. Are they taking them to Orchestra or Science camp in the summer and requiring them to read book and learn the piano? Or are they just allowing them to “hang out” with friends and watch TV? During the summer is when the big differences occur. Wealthy and middle class children’s reading scores improve in the summer months giving them even more of an advantage and poorer children’s reading scores fall in the summer.
Gladwell also talked about IQ and that you really don’t get much of an advantage if you have an IQ above 120. If you have an IQ of 120, the difference then seems to be- have you put in your 10,000 hours? And those who are rockstar successful like the Bill Gates of the world, had an IQ of at least 120, put in their 10,000 hours and then a series of fortunate events occur to make the stars align. Some of success has to be attributed to being in the right place with the right opportunity at the right time. One thing seems certain, if we have not put in the hard work, it does not matter if the “stars align” or not. We will not be ready to benefit from the opportunity.
I enjoyed the book because it demystifies the difference between those who have become truly successful and those who have the potential to be successful but just have not figured it out yet.
Fountainhead Review
I have enjoyed revisiting the Fountain Head by Ayn Rand. As I have talked about this book with friends, it seems there are no fence sitters- people either love it or hate it. I have been a Rand fan for many years, but I intentionally wanted to look at this book more critically and try to see things from the point of view of my friends who hated the book…
First I have to say I really like Howard Roark (minus the rape thing- not sure why that had to be in the book.) He created greatness simply because he could and was not willing to compromise for the sake of popularity. If everyone had his motives we certainly would not be in the political/economic situation we are in today.
Some things about the Fountain Head I disagree with…
Humanism- The idea that the creation of man are the pinnacle of existence. Rand was an atheist and thus felt that there is no inspiration or ideals higher than the greatness created by man. Part of the point she was trying to make was that we sometimes say “what is man that thou art mindful of him” and degrade ourselves. We feel guilty for not being perfect and thus go to the other end of the spectrum and feel worthless. I think she was trying to make the point that human greatness should be celebrated instead of focusing on our weaknesses.
Superiority Complex- many people with gifted minds in Rand’s books don’t use their gifts to bless the world around them by creating better systems and things of beauty (Roark is an exception to this). Many like Dominique Francon, spend their time mocking those around them with inferior ability and less courage. There is a difference between being a light for others to see and being an intellectual snob that demean those less gifted.
I can excuse Peter Keating and those like him who are driven with the winds of public opinion and never have a on original idea or opinion of their own. I will never agree with them- but they didn’t have a spine to begin with and so I don’t expect anything of them. The characters I don’t understand are those that have a spine, have the ability, but choose to cruel instead of kind with their gifts. I can only take the virtue of selfishness so far. Our first obligation is for us to personally become what we are capable of becoming- BUT it is only the first obligation. According to Rand’s philosophy this is the only obligation we have. If everyone was anxiously engaged and equally capable I would agree- but this just is not reality. We don’t live in a vacuum and what we do affects those around us.
We have the ability to influence others for good and to the degree we can- we should.
It’s hard for me to be too critical because the beauty of great writing is that it makes you really think and question your own life. It makes you question your motives, your actions and the way you see the world. Rand’s books do all of these for me to a degree that few books do. Sometimes it seems we don’t like a book because it doesn’t support our current beliefs- I feel this is the wrong reason to dislike a book.
The day after Christmas I picked up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It is by far Gladwell’s best book yet. The premise of the book is finding out what makes people successful. He debunks the idea that there is a group of “born genius” that are destined to be successful because of sheer intellect. He tells the story of Bill Gates and that he was getting up at 2:00 AM to sneak out of the house and walk to the University of Washington campus so that he and a friend could work on the mainframe computer from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM when no one else was using it. Computer time was hard to come by when there was no such thing as a personal computer. He had well over 10,000 hours of computer time before he had graduated from High School. He then got consulting jobs and eventually founded Microsoft. Gladwell talks about this 10,000 hour rule. Those who become really great at something have usually spent more than 10,000 hours doing that thing before they become great at it. It made me pause and think- have I spent 10,000 hours doing anything? I have probably spent 5,000 hours on several things- I think it is time to make a study of that one thing I want to be great at and give it some focus.
He also talked about how so much of our current culture and behavior is due to where our ancestors came from. Why Asian Students do better at math. They go to MANY more days per year of school than American students (180 days vs around 220 depending on the country). And also, their Asian ancestors grew rice. Rice farming takes much more time, focus and work than growing corn or other crops we grow in America. American children are not willing to work on a math problem as long as Asian kids. The key to our math problem is that we quit too soon, not that Asians have higher math IQ’s.
He also talks about the advantage children get from their parents style of parenting and why wealthy families usually end up having successful children. The bottom line seems to be how involved parents are in their child’s lives. Are they taking them to Orchestra or Science camp in the summer and requiring them to read book and learn the piano? Or are they just allowing them to “hang out” with friends and watch TV? During the summer is when the big differences occur. Wealthy and middle class children’s reading scores improve in the summer months giving them even more of an advantage and poorer children’s reading scores fall in the summer.
Gladwell also talked about IQ and that you really don’t get much of an advantage if you have an IQ above 120. If you have an IQ of 120, the difference then seems to be- have you put in your 10,000 hours? And those who are rockstar successful like the Bill Gates of the world, had an IQ of at least 120, put in their 10,000 hours and then a series of fortunate events occur to make the stars align. Some of success has to be attributed to being in the right place with the right opportunity at the right time. One thing seems certain, if we have not put in the hard work, it does not matter if the “stars align” or not. We will not be ready to benefit from the opportunity.
I enjoyed the book because it demystifies the difference between those who have become truly successful and those who have the potential to be successful but just have not figured it out yet.
Fountainhead Review
I have enjoyed revisiting the Fountain Head by Ayn Rand. As I have talked about this book with friends, it seems there are no fence sitters- people either love it or hate it. I have been a Rand fan for many years, but I intentionally wanted to look at this book more critically and try to see things from the point of view of my friends who hated the book…
First I have to say I really like Howard Roark (minus the rape thing- not sure why that had to be in the book.) He created greatness simply because he could and was not willing to compromise for the sake of popularity. If everyone had his motives we certainly would not be in the political/economic situation we are in today.
Some things about the Fountain Head I disagree with…
Humanism- The idea that the creation of man are the pinnacle of existence. Rand was an atheist and thus felt that there is no inspiration or ideals higher than the greatness created by man. Part of the point she was trying to make was that we sometimes say “what is man that thou art mindful of him” and degrade ourselves. We feel guilty for not being perfect and thus go to the other end of the spectrum and feel worthless. I think she was trying to make the point that human greatness should be celebrated instead of focusing on our weaknesses.
Superiority Complex- many people with gifted minds in Rand’s books don’t use their gifts to bless the world around them by creating better systems and things of beauty (Roark is an exception to this). Many like Dominique Francon, spend their time mocking those around them with inferior ability and less courage. There is a difference between being a light for others to see and being an intellectual snob that demean those less gifted.
I can excuse Peter Keating and those like him who are driven with the winds of public opinion and never have a on original idea or opinion of their own. I will never agree with them- but they didn’t have a spine to begin with and so I don’t expect anything of them. The characters I don’t understand are those that have a spine, have the ability, but choose to cruel instead of kind with their gifts. I can only take the virtue of selfishness so far. Our first obligation is for us to personally become what we are capable of becoming- BUT it is only the first obligation. According to Rand’s philosophy this is the only obligation we have. If everyone was anxiously engaged and equally capable I would agree- but this just is not reality. We don’t live in a vacuum and what we do affects those around us.
We have the ability to influence others for good and to the degree we can- we should.
It’s hard for me to be too critical because the beauty of great writing is that it makes you really think and question your own life. It makes you question your motives, your actions and the way you see the world. Rand’s books do all of these for me to a degree that few books do. Sometimes it seems we don’t like a book because it doesn’t support our current beliefs- I feel this is the wrong reason to dislike a book.
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