November 2007 Archives
And here it is. My first MLS character study.Primarily, this is the result of watching the gandhi movie (a 3 hour marathon) and reading about him on Wikipedia & other online resources.
The actual study is in the extended entry (click the link @ the bottom of this entry), but in case you can't be bothered to hear what I think about him, here's a really brief overview -
He was a really skinny and amazingly focused guy, and you should read about him!!
Right, now for the real report...
Continue reading Gandhi, A Character Study....
It appears that the answers to all our problems don't lie in technology - in fact, many of the problems a company face are only increased by investment in technology.It's so easy to fall into the trap of always trying to have the latest technology (websites, equipment, and generally things that make our lives a little easier), and I should know, I'm a total gadgeteer!! But what Collins suggests here is that great organisations don't invest in technology through fear of falling behind, or competition with rivals, but by listening to their little hedgehog and seeing how new ideas may fit with the basic company concepts.
Like the book says, great technology won't build a great company - it won't help you achieve any of the points I've mentioned from previous chapters - but knowing what your organisation is about, making small measured steps to move with technology when appropriate (if it fits) can make the difference between good and great.
And that applies to all the principles in this book - doing anything that doesn't fit totally with the shape of your little hedgehog is a BAD IDEA!!
Sounds good to me!!
So the question is... hows does the NYSFC website fit with our little hedgehog. And more to the point, what does our hedgehog even look like?
I guess I'll find out soon enough!!
Right, I'm off to PC World to look at speedier laptops!!
Chapter 6 is done and dusted, and a yet another great read...I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail about what it says, as you can read it for yourself if you're interested. These are just a few questions that it raised in my own little mind...
Wouldn't it be great if there was no hierarchy in a working environment? Well, actually I think "no", it wouldn't be great. I do however think that ruthlessly eliminating the need to flaunt status in front of work colleagues is and excellent idea. It'd be so good if all the team could be totally focussed on achieving for the organisation rather than looking good to get a better status!!
Also, I've discovered myself (usually the hard way) that working within a wide framework can actually free you to be far more creative (and therefore productive) than either having a really rigid work discipline or, on the contrary, an anything goes type approach. And yes, I know that we're all wired differently, but surely either extreme is a bad thing? The whole freedom within a framework idea works for me every time.
So, where does that leave us?
Well, it would appear that to create a GREAT organisation, you need to put loads of great people on a bus, be brutally honest about how bad things are (whilst remaining faithful that "you CAN do better"), work out what your hedgehog looks like, and even rinse your cheese if it'll make a difference to the quality of the hedghog.
Simple!!
Right, I finished Chapter 5. And here are my findings...Firstly, I find it funny that this whole principle is based on the characteristics of an animal that has to be explained to people as they aren't native to the USA (where the Author lives).
Secondly, I am excited by the "3 circles". I think that applying the whole idea of a council that asks the hard hedgehog questions could be a real life-changing thing.
The basic idea is that there are 3 circles (or questions) that you need to consider and then align to discover your own personal hedgehog. These are:
And that's it!! Simple huh?
- What could you be "best in the world" at?
- What drives your economic engine?
- What are you deeply passionate about?
Well, actually, no. But it's interesting to put that into my present situation - my work at NSYFC. What could we be best in the world (although surely thinking regionally would be more realistic) at? What one thing we do (or could do) produces the biggest results (kids saved/ financial support)? And what are we as a team most passionate about?
I don't have any definite answers to any of those questions, which apparently is no bad place to start from, so trying to link them together is almost impossible at this stage, but I can definately see how working through this process and coming back to it regularly for the long term could be really benificial.
Maybe I need to talk to Liz (my boss) about putting a "council" together to work through this stuff, or maybe there already is one, and I just don't know about it, or maybe she'll read this blog entry, think "hey that's a great idea" and then suggest it herself on Monday morning?
I'll let you know what happens.
Right, dinner and then to chapter 6 (at last)...
Knowing that the next MLS gathering is less than 2 weeks away, and I need to write a review of this book and a character study to be "marked" before that, I figured that I need to crack on with getting through "Good To Great". The trouble is, that there's so much in there, I'll forget most of it unless I write stuff down as I read it.So this weekend could well be a bit of a "blogathon" as I plough through the Good to Great concepts and jot down my random thoughts along the way.
And here's the first one...
I have, so far, loved this book - especially the bits about getting a great team around you. The thing is, as I read more into the "Strategy" type section I'm starting to ask some tougher questions of the book.
For example, I'm half way through the chapter on the "hedgehog" concept, which seems to make good sense - the idea that you need to not think about what you "are" good at, or what you are already doing, but to think about what you have the "potential" to be the best in the world at. Now that does make sense, but some of the concepts seem to be written cleverly yet somehow mis-aligned.
Here's what I mean.
The book compares 2 companies, one that thrives in building pharmacy stores, and one that plummets by investing in the (growing) home video market amongst other things. Collins suggests that the reason one failed whereas the other thrived was that the first company had a simple, single focus, while the other spread itself thinly by investing anywhere that could lead to growth. Great so far, but he also mentions that as part of the pharmacy chain, Walgreens made investments into photo processing in all stores and other "risky" investments. So surely, the only difference is that one company invested in a product that didn't work, whereas the other invested in one that did? Nothing really to do with the hedgehog principle, but just taking a chance on investing in a product range that either does or doesn't work.
Again, maybe I'm missing something, but I am slightly concerned that the comparison companies mentioned throughout this book (especially in chapters 4 & 5) are just better or worse at seeing potential in investments.
Anyway, back to the book...
So, it would seem that facing the "brutal facts" is really important in business and I would say also in any environment if it is to thrive. I was really excited to read about the paradox of being realistic rather than over-optimistic, whilst having un-wavering faith that you will succeed.Having thought about it for a while, doesn't this just mean that deadlines are a bad thing - i.e. "We will have acheived this by Christmas" vs "We will achieve this, no matter how long it takes". - It seems that this flies in the face of modern business thinking.
Is it that the whole thing about being over-optimistic is a bad thing only when it comes to circumstances that are beyond our control? It's almost like this amazing book about being totally focussed on success and building a great team has suddenly said, "but don't be in a hurry about it as setting deadlines will just de-motivate you". And I kinda see where Mr Collins is coming from, but it just isn't sitting comfortably with me yet.
Any thoughts would be really appreciated on this one.
And now I finally get to find out what the "hedgehog" thing is all about...
I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote an entry on this blog.
I'm not going to make crumby excuses, other than to say that work has been extremely busy with interesting Gap Year issues, and the NSYFC AGM to prepare for.
Also, I became very aware that the whole "leadership" thing was starting to take over my life, and I needed to break away from it and do some family stuff for a while. The issue now is trying to get back to it all without letting it take over again (I tend to get a bit excited when I read stuff that inspires me).
So what now?
Well, I'm gonna start reading & studying leaders lives again but try to pace myself. Whatever happens, I need to have my first book read and written about, and my first character study completed in good time for the next MLS meeting. So if you check back soon, I'm sure there'll be something more interesting to read.
In the mean time, thanks for all your helful comments, And Martin was right - Level 5 leaders (probably) shouldn't leave 3 weeks between blog entries!!
Ciao.
I'm not going to make crumby excuses, other than to say that work has been extremely busy with interesting Gap Year issues, and the NSYFC AGM to prepare for.
Also, I became very aware that the whole "leadership" thing was starting to take over my life, and I needed to break away from it and do some family stuff for a while. The issue now is trying to get back to it all without letting it take over again (I tend to get a bit excited when I read stuff that inspires me).
So what now?
Well, I'm gonna start reading & studying leaders lives again but try to pace myself. Whatever happens, I need to have my first book read and written about, and my first character study completed in good time for the next MLS meeting. So if you check back soon, I'm sure there'll be something more interesting to read.
In the mean time, thanks for all your helful comments, And Martin was right - Level 5 leaders (probably) shouldn't leave 3 weeks between blog entries!!
Ciao.
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