Tag Archives: Human Development

Driving a New Leadership Paradigm

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Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox

Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox

I was intrigued to see a number of articles recently  in various media that all touched on some themes that I find are continually playing out in our new digital world.  The trends mirror what I’ve been seeing with my clients as well, but these seem so stunning.  What are they?  In our change from a physical world to a digital and social one, we are seeing some of our premier companies making that transition under the leadership of women.  Apparently there is no glass ceiling in the digital world, and as Martha would say…”that’s a good thing.”

Who are some of these leaders – the heads of IBM, Xerox, and HP.  Some of the bluest of the ‘blue chip’ companies and all facing great challenges, and most are doing well…extremely well!  I was taken by this trend because I started my career as a sales rep at Xerox in the early 70’s.  Xerox then had just recently started then to hire women in the sales force.  They were a novelty to most of the managers, all men, who wondered if they should treat them differently than men.  Xerox had a culture very similar environment to my old fraternity house.  Men got yelled at when they didn’t perform.  Could they do the same with women.  Could they take them into their offices and counsel then=m, with the door closed?  What if they started to cry? The good news is that everyone learned and adapted quickly and within a short period of time, a couple of years, half of all hires were female, and many of the new managers were also women.

At IBM  who we competed with in the copier marketplace we noticed a similar trend taking place and I knew a few of the early female sales managers, and they were great, and they prospered and grew quickly up the ranks as IBM was very interested an taking advantage of the new resource.

At HP, the course was a little different and men were still the dominant group and they intended to stay that way.  I knew a number of HP managers later on in the 80’s and they still acknowledged that it was still mainly a man’s world.  How the world has changed.

In these three organizations, leaders in their fields, are now headed by women, a fact a rarity in the corporate world of giant organizations.  All of these women, and many others, too numerous to list here, have changed the paradigm forever.  Now, a quick look at these three outstanding women.

At Xerox , Ursula Burns,  is now the CEO.  She started at Xerox as an intern, then an executive assistant and then succeeded Anne Mulchay in 2009.  Now that is amazing, for a woman to succeed another woman in a technology company.

“I took over a company that was solid, but every day was becoming significantly less important in the minds of people,” Ms. Burns said.

This transition happened all while Xerox was moving from selling copiers to selling services and providing backoff support.  A big change from 40 years of growth, but they are pulling it off. This is not something easy to pull off – “That transformation is earth-shattering for our company,” she said recently  To cement it, Ms. Burns led Xerox’s $6.4 billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services in 2010.

“What we do well, unlike these really sexy companies like Googles or Apples that have these great things you can see and touch and feel, we actually work in the back office of large companies,” she said. “So most clients don’t really know we’re there.”

IBM built the computer industry, and dominated the word processing field when it was all about typewriters, and later copiers.  Now computers are everywhere, but few are in the ‘clean rooms’ of old where IBM was the dominant player.  They now exist on desks, the cloud, your pocket – they really are everywhere, and IBM is leading that charge to conquer the world of ‘big data’.  This is now the third wave of computing they will discover and and learn on their own – just like “Watson” the supercomputer that conquered Jeopardy.  We are now in the age of cognitive computing!

Virgiani Rometty, CEO, Chairwoman of IBM

Leading the charge as CEO and Chairman of the Board is Virginia Rometty who has spent her entire career at IBM.  Under her watch IBM’s stock is now at its highest point in its history.  IBM is now a consulting company and sifting through all of the ‘big data’ that is spewing forth all over the world.  The key for IBM is constant reinvention.  A good metaphor for all of us to keep in mind.  Change is the new constant.

“Part of it is I get the honor of taking over a company that is a strong company,” she said.

But, she said, she knew she could not coast on their success, and instead charted a clear way forward, including work in cloud computing, analytics and growth markets.

“One of the great things I learned from Sam and Lou is no matter what, you always have to focus on reinvention,” Ms. Rometty said. “Never love something so much that you can’t let go of it.”

Meg Whitman, CEO of HP

Meg Whitman now CEO at Hewlett-Packard, is facing different challenges – survival.  After a great career in consulting and early leadership at EBay where she cemented her reputation. Meg Whitman is now heading HP in trying to turn around a company that has suffered over the last several years of a revolving management team and rapidly changing focuses.

HP is struggling to find its focus in software and hardware and to become relevant in a word this is now incresingly mobile focuses and led by Apple and other tablet makers.  After launching their own tablet in 2010 they quickly killed it…too soon many said.  The current forecast is grim for 2013, and Meg is looking for enough time to turn this around.

Though Meg attempted a run in politics in California, losing to Jerry Brown, she maintains close ties to Mitt Romney.  If HP doesn’t work out there could be something in Washington for Meg, if Mitt were to win.  She is a continual winner, and given enough time, she will find a way to win.

Why are these women import to this narrative?  We have entered a new era, and everything is different.  Business is different.  Old legacy businesses including all media is rapidly going digital.  Mobile communications has changed how we communicate, and when we communicate.  Barriers are being broken down that perpetuated the status quo.  Through all of this we have discovered whole new ways of living and working, whether we want to or not there is no going back.  Women are now fundamentally a part of business, and rightfully a part of management.  We are all the better for all of these changes.

Lomography – Analogs Having Fun in a Digital World

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“Lomography, an Analog Company Surviving in a Digital World” is a blog article by Jenna Wortham in the April 26 New York Times in the Technology section.  I was struck by the title of a subject area I live in – Analog people coping and growing the Digital World, but I was totally unfamiliar with Lomography.  As a consultant, I work with organizations to help integrate their people “Analogs” with their new digital surroundings and processes.  I also work on guiding companies to bridge to our old Analog world and their adoption of digital strategies.  Sometimes I feel like a luddite, but then I’m really a geeky nerd of the lower-high level order.  I like digital things, but I like people more.  Making them play well in both worlds is how I earn my living as a consultant now.

I am a child of two worlds, both the analog, now code for human side of things, and the digital, which is where the world is rapidly moving.  Often the two worlds don’t mix well together, especially for boomers like many of my friends and associates.  Having purchased one of the first iPhones (day 2) I am a card carrying geek, and that is how many of my friends, and family saw me.  The gadget king is at it again.  Now everyone in the family has iPhones, iPads and we Skype on the weekends with our family in Texas.  We’re bought in!

Though I have all the digital tools I earn my living by helping others integrate them into their lives, their businesses, and help them survive a  dark side of digital implementation…distraction, and a sense of loss of real human interaction.  The question of personal productivity and multi-tasking is also now open for discussion.  Not every gadget or digital process really makes us more productive research is recently finding.

That is why I loved this article by Jenna Wortham.  It captures the true sense of ‘surviving in a digital world by humans/analogs.  In 2008 my 20 year consulting practice branched in this arena and I became the Analog Sherpa.  My tagline was, and still is…”An Analog Sherpa for a Digital World.”  Now you can see why this article impacted me so much.

With the  bankruptcy of Kodak recently the challenge of surviving a digital onslaught is high, just ask daily newspapers – or the USPS whose volumes are about to send them down, at least for a re-tooling.

Where did Lomography come from? Lomography started 20 years ago in Austria, by a group of photographers and artists who stumbled across a cheap Russian camera called the Lomo that used 35-millimeter film. The Lomo camera produced unique and charming photographs that often contained artsy blurry streaks and were oversaturated with color due to the camera’s body design and construction.

Matthias Fiegl, one of the artists who went on to found the company started smuggling Lomo cameras back from Russia to Western Europe in the early 1990s and sell them among his friends and then host exhibitions to celebrate the art photographs.

In the age of skype, cheap digital video cameras Mr. Fiegl found something different – sharing actual prints with all of their unique flaws from the film and cheap cameras.  Retro was back, and suddenly it was different and cool.  People got hooked.  Now a large Facebook community is organizing Lomographer meet-ups around the world.  Instant is out, and unusal is in.  Waiting is a part of the attraction for the Lomographers.

They still use digital cameras and the iPhone – instant is not verboten, but the fun of seeing something later, and not perfect is even more cool.  The digital world and the analog world can co-exist side by side…and be cool at the same time.  There is hope for the Analog Sherpa in this digital world…and I’m still cool to boot.  Cool!

A Generational View of Social Media

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Having two sons who are digital natives who live and work in the digital and social world has helped me to bridge the gap in media worlds.  As someone who now works as a consultant in helping my legacy media peers understand the transition – this cartoon helps say it all.  For my sweetie on our 39th Anniversary – yousay it all for me!

Non Sequitor for February 24, 2012

A Tale of Two Texans

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Lance Armstrong- A Reputation RestoredAll is right with Texas, and all is thusly right with the World.  As a former Texan, circa 1980-1983 I am a living testament to the uniqueness of Texas, actually really it’s the Texans who are so ‘unique.’  I now enjoy having Son#1 living in Austin, the unique heart of Texas, with his native Texan wife and native Texan daughter.  I loved living in Texas, back then, and they love Texas of the 21st Century.  The last few months have been trying times for Texans as they cheered and mourned the fates of two favorite sons – Rick Perry and Lance Armstrong.  Now there is resolution for both.

Rick Perry is back in Texas, some are happy, and some are sad.  Texans love to cheer on favorite sons, but Rick didn’t come home with a victory, and Texans hate to lose.  Texas papers are reporting the polls are showing that Perry’s favorability ratings have fallen in the state.  They interpret this to mean that many Texans are not happy to have Rick back in the state after his run for the Presidency.  His poor showing on the stump reflects poorly on them they think.  Ouch!

Lance Armstrong is back in Texas, in fact he never left.  Not only is Lance a great cyclist, perhaps the greatest of all times based on his Tour de France record, but he is a great businessman.  Lance built an entertainment empire out of Austin, one that would be the envy of any rock impresario.  It helped to build Austin into a center of the earth for entertainment of all ilks with the SXSW each spring.  I’ve never been, but my son is there every year, and now each year he is a contributor in the digital field

Texas in a unique place with its own culture, actually cultures, since there is no single culture to embrace all Texans, except for Pride, and in Texas that is spelled with a capital ‘P’.  They love to win, and love it when they get to bring home the glory.  In the case of Perry and Armstrong, both favorite sons with unique stories, Texans regaled in their successes, and held fast to them when both got into ‘trouble.’

The Texas miracle is built on two factors – lots of cash, and a tight network of ‘good old boys.’  It was many of these good old boys who bank rolled the Perry run for President.  Texans don’t like to lose, that is in every area including both money and face.  Rick came up ‘short’ in both areas.

The money was bad enough for the donors; they can make it back, but losing ‘face’ with Rick’s poor performance in the debates and on the stump.  Not only did Rick come back to Texas diminished from his performance, he came back to a deflated Texas, where many are now questioning the ‘Texas Miracle’ he was touting on the stump.  That was embarrassing to all Texans, and Rick may find it hard to mount any future campaigns.  His network is still strong, and full of cash, but they are likely looking to the future with other names in mind.

One more opportunity for Lance came this week with the Susan B. Komen flap over cutting off funds to Planned Parenthood.  Stepping in to help offset the cut in funds were Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York and Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Fund who matched funds lost from the Komen actions.  Nothing like a lot of great publicity announced almost simultaneously with the announcement that there would be no further legal actions planned against Lance for the doping/steroid allegations.  Wow, what more can a man do to get his reputation back.

Texas, like California, has a very unique culture.  They love their favorite sons, but sometimes when those sons go astray there is a price to pay.  For both Rick Perry and Lance Armstrong, going ‘astray’ has had consequences on their reputation.  The press has been all over the both of them.  It appears that Lance has weathered the storm, and is back on top in Texas.  His reputation is being restored, or at least it has been expunged from the official records.  He will recover.

Rick Perry embarrassed Texans with his poor performance, his reputation is now down.  It remains to be seen if it will recover.  Time will tell, time will tell.  For Lance, all is good, and all is forgiven.  Perhaps Lance should consider a run for the Governor for the next term.  I know a few Texans who would vote for him now.

Disney & Apple – May the ‘Magic’ Live On

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I was lucky enough to have had the fun of working my way through college at Disneyland.  A long time ago, but the memories are still fresh.  Fresh enough to have endured my recent IRS audit, the first in 25 years, by talking with my auditor who had been a contemporary of mine working there at the same time.  The IRS and ‘magic’ don’t often go together, but the time passed with a number of mutual stories of Disney lore and the names of many shared contacts…and a small check at the end for a mistake on my return that meant I owed a wee bit more

In my first year at DLand I had the good fortune to see Walt Disney ride around the park in his small carriage, usually with a niece or nephew riding with him.  His vision had created something special, and some of that died with him later that year.  For a number of years, both as an undergrad and grad student, DLand funded my studies, and my first business experiences.  After returning from a few years in the Army I noticed the real change.  As DLand grew, and Walt Disney World became a reality, the company was guided by “WWWD” , What Would Walt Do!  The company had leaders, but everyone still looked to Walt’s vision in making key decisions.

After some time, the WWWD stopped working, and the drift was very noticeable until Michael Eisner came in.  His impact was immediate and very noticeable.  WWWD was soon abolished and Eisner set the direction for the company for the next several years.  Disney is still a magical place and a magical company, especially to its many ‘guests’.

In 1980 I bought my first computer, an Apple.  For many years I was a total Apple guy.  I found in Apple the same kinds of ‘magic’ that I had found earlier at Disney.  In Steve Jobs, the perfectionist with a vision, guided Apple’s early years, just as Walt had done in days at Disney.  This really comes out in the new Fortune article “Inside Apple.”  In the review article “Apple Employees Tell the Secrets Behind Jobs “Magic” I found the similarities between the two men to be extraordinary.

Both men had a vision that was distinct and unique, and one that was more counter intuitive than most of their peers.  They saw things others did not, and were willing to risk it all to make those visions real.  Disney is still a top brand, but today Apple is the most admired brand in the world.  To reach those lofty pinnacles it takes some luck, and more than a little “magic.

From the Fortune article it is apparent the working for Jobs is not easy, but it is good to see that they diligently work on investing and learning for their key staff with the Apple University, a very costly undertaking, that is preparing for the next generation of top leaders.  Steve, though still young, has had his major health issues.  I hope that Apple doesn’t need to create their own version of “WWSD” to guide them if he were to exit in the near future.  The training and transition to the next group of leaders at Apple is now moving smoothly…and that should ensure that the “magic” will continue for Apple and for us in this changing digital world.

“You’re Ugly and Your Mother Dresses You Funny” Ouch!

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After watching several debates over the last several days I found myself at wits end. I know that I had seen this somewhere before – scenes from the movie “Mean Girls”, or was it from my college days when the humor was vicious and you had to fend off the verbal abuse from your fraternity brothers.  Ouch, and there it was again.  I had better treatment in my early Army days.  That’s enough to make even a drill instructor blush.

I found a recent article that I had saved because it struck a responsive chord.  The article in Advertising Age by Meredith Vaughn, President of Vladimir Jones, a Colorado Springs, CO. agency.  Her article “You’re Ugly and Your Mother Dresses You Funny” really gets to the heart of the issue – we are all acting in an uncivil manner.  I’d swear I had just been accused of the most heinous crimes sometimes.  I saw it first in the political realm, but like Meredith I am seeing it more and more in the business arena as well.

Symptoms?  How about an endless stream of invectives when something goes wrong.  I’ve also been seeing it when working with various groups of industry suppliers who are quick to run down the competition in the most vile terms.  A lot of this comes back to me through our mutual clients, and they are getting pretty fed up with it as well.

I guess ‘fed up with it’ is now the key operative word.  The economy is not good for most, the political arena is just jammed with commercials that accuse their opponent of doing anything and everything wrong, twelve times over.  I think we are due a ‘time out’ while we come up with some new ways of dealing with our stress.

Meredith has a few solutions of her own – and I suggest you click here to see them.  Well worth you small investment there.  Meredith deals with this at her business Valdimir Jones where one of their favorite sayings is “A pretty fair way to judge someone is by how they treat people who can’t do them any good.”  I wish I’d said that.  Sounds like a good place to work – and perhaps a good company to work with.