August 16, 2008 at 4:02 pm (history, productivity)
Several years ago Apple Computers began to use “think different” as an advertising slogan. Though grammatically awkward (“different” is being used as an adverb, and should therefore use the -ly ending), it is certainly a good motto for leaders. The phrase also describes one of George Washington’s key leadership principles. Besides his concern for posterity and his ability to accept and renounce executive power at-will, George Washington exhibited the ability to “think different.”
Washington’s refusal to play by the standard rules of European warfare helped his rag-tag army survive and eventually overcome the threat of the British Army. However his ability to “think different” predates the Revolutionary War. His entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated itself in how he managed his Virginia plantation. At the time, Virginia planters typically relied on tobacco, which was to be sold in English markets. Washington felt that he never received a good return from England on his tobacco crops, so in 1766 he ventured into other crops. These ventures included successfully growing wheat, milling it himself, and selling it locally. He also harvested fish from the Potomac and produced clothing for his workers.
Though traditional methods may seem safe, they are not always best for you or for those you lead. Those who truly want to lead others (and themselves) to new successes must “think different.” The first step in learning to “think different” is to consider the areas of your life that are bound by tradition. Tradition in itself is certainly not a bad thing, but an unreflective submission to tradition will keep individuals from discovering their full potential.
IDEA LEADER: In what ways are you bound by tradition? What are three particular ways you can “think different” this week?
Photo: Diego Medrano
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December 22, 2007 at 2:36 pm (attitude, perspective, productivity)
Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence asserts that IQ alone is not a predictor of success. While CEO’s may be hired for their combination of business sense and IQ, they get fired because of failures in their emotional intelligence.
His claim makes sense. Anecdotally, as a teacher I find that my personal stresses are not related to the intellectual content of my courses, but rather the relational demands of classroom management, parent interactions, etc. (I’d also like to point out that I am very fortunate to work at a school with mutually supportive staff and appreciative parents, so those stresses are much less than what other teaching peers experience). And as far as a correlation between IQ and marital success, well I won’t even go there.
So what is emotional intelligence? So far, Goleman’s definition includes “being able . . . to rein in emotional impulse; to read another’s innermost feelings; to handle relationships smoothly – as Aristotle put it, the rare skill ‘to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way’” (xxiii).
Goleman’s use of Aristotle reminds me of C. S. Lewis’s definition of temperance: “going the right length and no further” (Mere Christianity, 2001, p. 78). So emotions per se are not the problem (Goleman also discusses beneficial physiological responses to emotions), but rather emotions that are allowed to exceed proper limits.
IDEA LEADER: In what areas do you have a hard time allowing your emotions to go “the right distance and no further”? What steps could you take to correct this?
Photo: Julia Freeman-Woolpert
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December 3, 2007 at 3:07 am (communication, email, productivity)
Though email is supposed to make us more efficient, in reality it tends to consume a significant part of an already to-do-list-packed day. Like Frankenstein’s monster, what once seemed to be a good idea has now turned on us. So how do you tame this monster?
Take a look at this article from Harvard Business School. I especially like the suggestion about summarizing the content of your message in the subject line.
Though I am not an executive who can create email rules for my workplace, I am able to apply these ideas to how I handle both work and personal email. The result: not only will I handle email better, but I will become a better communicator – and communication is a critical skill for both leaders and followers.
IDEA LEADER: How can you use email to make yourself a better communicator?
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