A631.9.2.RB_MedleyKim_Miles to Go to Stay Hungry

Mile to Go to Stay Hungry

            Imagine having the opportunity to brainstorm with Steve Jobs! One of my favorite video clips to this date is the commencement speech delivered by Jobs to Stanford University in 2005. Posted by Jed Joe (2012), it portrays an older, wiser Jobs recalling three life stories, connecting the dots, and encouraging the next generation to adhere to the quote appearing on the last publication of The Whole Earth Catalog, “stay hungry, stay foolish”. 

It wasn’t until today I realized Jobs was only five years my senior. As I listened to the speech, I caught his description of The Whole Earth Catalog and couldn’t help but think of his venture after Apple, NeXT, a company “idealistic, overflowing with neat tools and great notions” (Jed Joe, 2012). I wonder if Jobs connected that dot.

            Nathan (1989) captures many of the brainstorming sessions experienced by a young, start-up company. As espoused by Labrecque and Conroy (2012), when personality characteristics are identified through tools such as Myers-Briggs, and then paired with data gathered from hundreds of thousands of top business school alums, a correlation, with a 98% success rate, between personality and career path allows one to better understand how to seek and find the ideal business niche. In order to imagine how my characteristics would have contributed to the brainstorming sessions at NeXT, I thought I should have a better understanding of the characteristics of Jobs. An online blog, titled “The Book Addict’s Guide to MBTI”, authored by Arvid Walton (2015), provides not only the four letter code for Jobs, “INTJ”; but, an analysis of his characteristics follows.

            16 Personalities (2016) describes INTJ types as “imaginative yet decisive, ambitious yet private, amazingly curious, but they do not squander their energy”. They share knowledge, favor designing and executing, and “tend to believe… nothing is impossible”. As Jobs tells his stories to a crowd of young graduates, certainly the dots he connects demonstrate the INTJ personality. The opening scene of Nathan’s (1989) video depicts a young Jobs, alone, gardening, and pondering his NeXT step. Throughout the video, it is apparent Jobs struggles with the ouster from Apple; and, as Walton (2015) provides, finds it difficult to stay away from challenges left on the personal computer industry table. Walton (2015) states, “As soon as he (Jobs) finished one project… he started on a new, more complicated project”. Isn’t that the essence of NeXT in a nutshell, or more fitting, a Cube (Nathan, 1989)?

            NeXT is a start-up company that spent $100,000 on a logo design. It took retreats, every three months at Pebble Beach. Envied for his communication skills, the frustration from his team is both visible and palpable with each passing retreat (Nathan, 1989). As Walton (2015) provides, Jobs focused on the vision, often complex, and immersed himself with details. His primary concern was what the product was supposed to do and why it wasn’t doing it (Walton, 2015). His characteristics shields him from the emotions of others which is why the worker in the purple-plaid shirt and his body language tell the story of the utter vexation the NeXT team experienced (Nathan, 1989; Walton, 2015). To watch the team members and witness their facial expressions and see their concerns essentially disregarded was quite difficult for this INJF.

            NextSteps Research (2016) and Humanmetrics (2016) provided a management assessment profile (MAP) and personality typing, respectively, for this future leader who would have clashed with the INTJ, “the architect” (16 Personalities, 2016). During a personal interview with Rachael Lubarsky of NextSteps, occurring on May 5, 2016, one my strengths is an understanding of using resources. I know myself well enough I would have questioned spending $100,000 on a designer logo, that, quite honestly was not impressive. The team could have and should have been encouraged to develop the logo, thereby fostering a more cohesive environment. Instead, six months into a start-up company, complete with a complex vision; yet lacking the product, money is an issue and managers simply cannot identify enough areas to save (Nathan, 1989). According to my MAP, I prefer to work in a sub-unit of a larger, more structured environment (NextSteps, 2016). NeXT was a start-up organization. Although it would have certainly provided me with the challenge upon which I thrive; the much needed metrics of achievement were sorely lacking (NextSteps, 2016). Deadlines are pushed out. Priorities are questioned and reprioritized (Nathan, 1989). Numerous problems are voiced throughout the video; yet, few solutions are offered, other than get a product to marker in sixteen months or go broke (Nathan, 1989). This would not have married well with my ability to problem solve, find creative processes, or introduce a sense of “inventiveness” (NextSteps, 2016, p. 2). Further, Jobs’ leadership style would have clashed with mine.

            Jobs is defined by Walton (2015) as a what and why leader, a cross between a strategic and tactical leader, outlined as one who mobilizes, devises, systemizes, envisions and persuades, negotiates, troubleshoots, and appreciates (NextSteps, 2016, p. 6). The level of “who”, people, does not register on Jobs’ graph; however, I am a what and who, a logistical leader, driven by facts; yet, because of my INJF type, systems are built with “human beings and human values” (Humanmetrics, 2016; NextSteps, 2016). The idea of extended deadlines and long to-do lists, without realistic metrics to accomplish the goals needed to realize the vision would have driven this INJF nuts.

            In his speech before Stanford, Jobs opines one can only connect dots by looking backward; yet, through those connections, we come to trust our experiences so that steps into the future, along a path that charges us to stay hungry and foolish, can be trusted. I wonder if I would have the same conclusions had I been assigned this task at age thirty, Jobs’ age when he took his NeXT step. Would I have welcomed the unstructured setting and later reveled in the victory that led to the core technology of Apple? I am now 56, the age of Jobs when he passed. I know who I am; yet, I also know there are “miles to go before I sleep”.

References

Humanmetrics, Inc. (2016). Humanmetrics Jung Topology Test. Retrieved from

            http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx?EI=-16&SN=-19&TF=-19&JP=66

Jed Joe. (2012, May 29). Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005 high definition.flv.

            [Vide file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHWUCX6osgM

Labrecque, T., & Conroy, C. (2012, Nov. 30). Leading High Performance Teams – Assessment

            Tools. [Power Point slides]. In Modules A631.8.3. – GA – Lecture. Retrieved from

https://erau.instructure.com/courses/35269/pages/a631-dot-8-3-ga-lecture?module_item_id=1574228

Nathan, J. (1989, Mar 17). Entrepreneurs. Nathan/Tyler Productions. [Video file]. Retrieved

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loQhufxiorM&feature=related 

NextSteps Research. (2016, May 2). Management Assessment Profile Candidate: Kimble

            Medley. Alexandria, VA.

16 Personalities. (2016). INTJ Personality (“The Architect”). NERIS Analytics Limited.

            Retrieved from https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality

Walton, A. (2015, May 25). The Book Addict’s Guide to MBTI: Steve Jobs: INTJ. [Web log].

            Retrieved from https://mbtifiction.com/2015/02/06/steve-jobs-intj/

A631.8.4.RB_MedleyKim_To Thine Own Self Be True

           "To Thine Own Self Be True"

            As if from a scene from one of Shakespeare’s many plays, technology not only brings us one step closer that proverbial caution, “to thine own self be true”; it helps us learn more about who we are. According to the Myers & Briggs Foundation (2016), Jung’s theory about specific psychological types is “quite orderly and consistent” as opposed to randomly varied; and, when preference interactions are probed through questioning, sixteen distinct personality types can be identified. Brown’s (2011) closing arguments for organizational development warn of an “An awareness of the complex environment in which organizations exist”; the same could easily said of leaders and self-awareness (p. 427). Yukl (2013 observes the numerous definitions of leadership are almost as expansive as the many who study the same. Given the many distinctive nature of personalities, it stands to reason a more in-depth understanding of one’s personality would have a direct impact on one’s leadership style.

            Humanmetrics (2016) provides the ability to take the Myers-Briggs test in order to one’s self, reduced to a simple four letter code. INJF, which is my personality indicator, defines me as Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging. In a broad sense, “INJFs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents” (Humanmetrics, 2016). They appear to the world as extroverts; yet, are “emotionally intimate… with a chosen few” (Humanmetrics, 2016). “Closure and completion” are driving forces and are dreamers and doers, a “rare combination” (Humanmetrics, 2016). Personal and professional strains deplete inner resources such that personal down time, often exclusionary of those most close, is required as a method to escape and reboot. The ability to become quickly detached and yet stay involved is the most perplexing; yet, allows INJFs to see others, “for good and evil” (Humanmetrics, 2016). The combination of both I and J allows others like me the ability to express our feelings in writing; but, we stumble with verbal articulation of the same. Whereas those with an INTJ type build systems, INFJs build systems based on people and their values. Their “knack for fluency in language” facilitates their ability to communicate; however, nonverbal skills allow intimacy with others (Humanmetrics, 2016).

            This typing is not a surprise for me. I’ve always needed my own down time, even if it is nothing more than an hour watching a favorite show, uninterrupted, a practice that has been a part of my family for more than twenty-two years. The show, regardless of the content, allows me to escape; and, with that escape the ability to see issues and concerns with greater clarity. Often, I do take more responsibility than others, a trait I am definitely trying to improve. Of the percentages listed for the test, judging accounts for 66% of my overall score (Humanmetrics, 2016). It is the Judging that drives my need for “closure and completion” and also provides for less patience with those who are not so driven (Humanmetrics, 2016). While I am quite certain there is a lesson to be learned, in almost forty years of both professional and educational experiences, I have yet to understand the benefits of procrastination. So, how should I use this information?

            Leadership, for me, begins with self-awareness what I can and cannot do, along with others can and cannot do. I recognized early on, with each of my children, they had limits with scholastic achievement. They were not grade weenies. Yet, each was capable of reaching certain levels, and I did hold each of them to those levels, not lower levels set by the schools. I applied the same in professional situations. I recognize not all can process work as quickly as I can; yet, when challenged, they can process more. I do care about people; and, at times, it is a double-edged sword as some take advantage of that caring. I think that explains why INJFs project extroversion and remain introverts with a small circle of friends. We are less likely to get hurt. I think INJFs like me are the epitome of “never let them see you sweat”, a trait seen in most leaders, one which this leader treasures. As Yukl (2013) questions whether or not leadership “as a scientific construct” provides usefulness to a field with so many meanings to so many people, it is fair to consider if an understanding of so many personality types is helpful (p. 3). For me, the answer returns to Shakespeare. In order to remain true to “thine own self”, we need to know who we are and Myers-Briggs is just one more tool from which to gleam a better understanding as a person and a leader.

References

Brown, Donald R. An Experiential Approach to Organization Development. (8^th ed.). Upper

Saddle River: Pearson, 2011.

Humanmetrics, Inc. (2016). Humanmetrics Jung Topology Test. Retrieved from

            http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx?EI=-16&SN=-19&TF=-19&JP=66

The Myers & Briggs Foundation. (2016). MBTI Basics. Myersbriggs.org. Retrieved from

            http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations. (8^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

A631.6.3.RB_MedleyKim_Learning to Love What You Hate

Learning to Love What You Hate

            Two videos, two leaders, two very different industries; yet, a tale of learning to love what one hates emerges as each leader tells his story. Jim McIngvale is the owner of a now thirty-five-year-old Houston based furniture store. Stanley McChrystal is now a 51-year-old, former four-star Army General, tasked with leading forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Because of circumstances beyond their control, each leader reached a turning point with their leadership where those counting on them, needed their leaders on their feet; and, the leaders needed to learn the people they counted on would help (TED2011, 2011; VitalSmarts Video, 2012).

            In 2008, economic forces caused the Houston housing market to crash from 60,000 to 15,000 new houses per year (Vital Smarts Video, 2012). A 75% drop in business, followed by a $30 million fire the next year, is what McChrystal would characterize as a knock down, that hurts and leaves scars (TED2011, 2011; VitalSmarts Video, 2012). McChrystal faced his own changes on a clear, blue September morning that began with a simple routine paratrooper jump, while our nation was at peace, and ended with a landing that not once in thirty years had mirrored the five points of performance taught to generations of jumpers (TED2011, 2011). Long gone was the idea of traditional leaders who emulated traits of good leaders. Theory had turned to reality; and, in McChrystal’s own words, “Things had changed so much” (TED2011, 2011).

Brown (2011) provides an explanation, complete with visual graphics, regarding a strong versus a weak culture and how understanding the strategy for change relates to the organization’s culture. Based on the information provided by both McIngvale and McChrystal, it is easy to see the strong culture that existed at Gallery Furniture as well as the indomitable strong culture of the U.S. Army, and other branches of our military. For years, as McIngvale explains, his salespersons watched as customers left the store, without buying, and without any follow-up from the salesperson. Prospecting was a task everyone hated. Delivery inconveniences mattered not and company wellness; both fiscally and physically was a concept (VitalSmarts Video, 2012). Based on Brown’s (2011) graph, the degree of member commitment to values and the number of members sharing values is directly correlated to the existing culture. With his company literally in ashes, McIngvale was willing to learn and trust lessons outlined in a simple book. McChrystal did not have a book.

McChrystal faced leading a force of many who were sixth graders on September 11, 2001. He commanded a force that spanned twenty nations. When failure occurred, unlike his commander who had offered encouraging words in a face-to-face setting, he couldn’t put a hand on the shoulder of his young soldiers. His military, one that gave orders and expected execution without question, had transitioned to one of consensus building. He calls the change an “inversion of expertise” where what he and others grew up doing was no longer followed by today’s force (TED2011, 2011). A reverse order also took place, whereby commanders listen to those of lesser rank. As I listened to each tale and read Brown’s (2011) “four basic alternatives in determining strategy changes”, it became clear to me how each leader faced the hurt and lead their people to success (p. 406).

Both McIngvale and McChrystal proposed and followed changes easily described as “incompatible with the entrenched corporate culture” (p. 407). By changing its strategy, Gallery Furniture realized $3 to $4 hundred thousand in added sales each month because its sales force began to follow up with customers. They learned new technology, posted data, provided coaching and incentives, began prospecting, a task all hated, and rewarded the desired behavior by simply ringing a bell. By re-working a delivery system that presented as many as 30 issues per day to one or two, immeasurable, positive customer service has occurred. Finally, a company-wide wellness program helps to add to the internal and external friendly atmosphere because workers have a better sense and feeling of well-being and its shows (VitalSmarts Video, 2012). Would any of this have occurred absent the economic downturn and fire? McChrystal faced an entrenched culture characterized by his own jokes; the military is all about hurry up and wait and the Air Force teaches the Army how to wait. His recall of leaders like Robert E. Lee and Buford from Gettysburg paints a portrait of the commanders who rarely spoke to soldiers of lower rank, except to offer criticism. Today, McChrystal faces a world where a fellow commander watches a real-time firefight unfold on a television screen, knowing his son is in the battle (TED2011, 2011). Yet, with his own words, McChrystal knows “theory turned to reality” on September 11, 2001; and, he and others faced teaching many who did not have the sense of shared purpose many shared through decades of military service (TED, 2011, 2011). Each leader, McIngvale and McChrystal learned to do that which they hated, were willing to learn and trust, and were able to pass on this change to cultures that had been established for many years. The risk, losing a business, or losing the life of a young soldier, was not acceptable.    

References

Brown, D.R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development. (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

TED2011. (2011, Mar.). Listen, learn… then lead. [Video file]. Retrieved from

            http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal

VitalSmarts Video. (2012, Sept. 17). Influencer | Gallery Furniture Video Case Study. [Video

            File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E20RW75Fhu4

A631.7.3.RB_MedleyKim_Gangam Style or Memes

                                               Gangam Style or Memes

Brown (2011) observes many disagree as to whether or not organizational development (OD) “will become a long-term contribution to management and organization theory” or simple go the path of many fads and “fade away into the dusty archives” with countless other trends (p. 425). Being a child of the 60s and 70s, fads came and went so fast, head literally were left spinning. As I read the question posed by Brown (2011), “Fad or Discipline?”, the either/or element provided pause. Before developing an answer, I pondered as to the impact fads have had on recent generations.

Watchmojo.com (2014) compiled a video clip presentation of the ten Internet fads. Before launching into the countdown of the top ten, an explanation about fads caught my ear. Since the rise of the Internet, beginning in the 1990s, fads have been a way to connect with others around the globe and spread information about current events and trends in our respective social circles (Watchmojo.com, 2014). In that sense, organizational development could be seen as a fad. A relatively new approach to provide organizations with “innovation and renewal”, its sixty-year existence and the impact cannot yet be completely measured (Brown, 2011, p. 425). One of the to ten fads is that of “Chatroulette” that saw an increase in viewers from 500 to 50,000 within one month (Watchmojo.com, 2014). Some fads; however, bring about significant change. For example, KONY 2012 used social media to focus global media attention on the Ugandan Gorilla leader, Joseph Kony, and his abuse of children as both sex slaves and soldiers. Viral videos of the late 90s launched YouTube in 2005 (Watchmojo.com, 2014). How many of us find the latest “how to” video with just a few quick keystrokes?

Just as Yukl’s (2013) observation regarding the study of leadership, an interest that has been in existence “since the beginning of recorded history”, demonstrates the formal disciplines and theories began with the last century, OD parallels much of what the study of leadership has encountered (p. 422). Leadership began by believing a person’s traits determined leadership. Since then, we’ve seen participative, contingency theory, adaptive leadership, leader-member exchange, charismatic, transformational, and servant leadership theories presented (Yukl, 2013). “Every organization exists in a continuous state of adapting to change” (Brown, 2011, p. 420). Leaders and leadership must maintain a sense of flexibility and ability to change; so, it stands to reasons methods designed to provide leaders with that sense of renewal and innovation would change overtime, too.

Warren Bennis notes “every age adopts the organizational form” it needs, changing the climate is the only way to change the organization, and new social awareness is needed “by people in organizations” (as cited in Brown, 2011, p. 425). Isn’t that the very lesson of fads? People needed to know what was taking place in Uganda and the people of this generation took to social media and captured the attention of the media. Videos allowed us to connect in funny, playful ways. Now, YouTube relieves everyday tension such as how to change an ink cartridge. The number one fad is Memes, # this, # that, and photo puns; but, its roots began in 1976 with Richard Dawkins’ book, The Selfish Gene (Watchmojo.com, 2014). Brown (2011) notes leaders and managers may have a tendency to view OD solutions as “quick fixes” rather than an overall approach to bring about change (p. 425). Perhaps, in that sense some concepts like empowering employees, TQM, outdoor retreats like EcoSeagate, or flattened hierarchies may seem like a “quick fix” or the latest fad in bringing about change; but, if OD is viewed as a “contributing technology” that will need to change as quickly as organizations are changing, then the fad, a way to transmit ideas of contemporary organizational development relevance in real time, becomes yet another layer on the disciplines still being studied and pondered (Brown, 2011, p. 425; Watchmojo.com, 2014).

I rarely accept an either/or premise. The truth is generally somewhere between the two extremes. Like leadership and the many studies; changes in the types and styles of organizational development will occur and it will be interesting to note which ones provide much needed awareness and which ones go the way of “Gangam Style” (Watchmojo.com, 2014).

 References

Brown, D.R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development. (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Watchmojo.com. (2014, Nov. 14). Top 10 Internet Fads. [Video file]. Retrieved from

            https://youtu.be/taOzl_9ewAc

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations. (8^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.