Friday Reflections

Time and Tide waits for no one.

“There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries.”
-William Shakespeare

Story Line:

In the early 80s, while visiting “The happiest place on earth,” a.k.a. Disneyland, two fellows ended up in The Bear County.

There they saw a show where different, large, and overstuffed toy bears and animals were singing country music songs. Seeing children and adults alike enjoying the show, these fellows got to talking after the show.

“What if we made a talking toy bear in a size that children can handle?” They saw an opportunity to put a singing bear in every home.

Even though the initial impression and many subsequent signs were pointing to an incredible opportunity, those fellows kept gathering more and more data to justify their case. I guess they wanted to do a thorough risk assessment and proper risk mitigation before the start.

Now, the only trouble with ideas is that others can get them too. And in many cases, they can be the same ideas as yours.

While those fellows were busy researching and talking, a company named Worlds of Wonder introduced Teddy Ruxpin™, a talking teddy bear who could tell stories and sing similar to the ones in Bear County.

Reflection:

Teddy Ruxpin™ was introduced in 1985 and became a great success in the market. Many people get ideas. Ideas have huge potential for success. But it is only those who act in a timely manner and do something about it (sell, license or make); that get the opportunity to enjoy the rewards.

"In life there are no guarantees, only opportunities."

Beware of fad dieting...

Hint: you can click on the cartoon to zoom in

Reflection: To bring about lasting change (like an improvement in business efficiency or in your life) you need to keep your focus and sustain your efforts over the long run. There's no quick fix "diet" (or program).

The most important competition is the one between you and your own imagination

"Somebody much smarter than me once said that pessimists are usually right, optimists are usually wrong, but all the great breakthroughs in history were done by optimists." - Thomas Friedman.

Storyline:

Thomas Friedman, the author of the famous book "The World Is Flat", is a real "out of the box thinking" (OBT) practitioner.  He provides excellent views about the world that should be read and pondered by any parent, teacher or manager. 

Here are some excerpts with links to the complete articles:

Friedman: I’ve added something I got from my friend Ramalinga Raju from Satyam, the Indian company. We decided that the greatest economic competition in the world going forward is not going to be between countries and countries. And it’s not going to be between companies and companies. The greatest economic competition going forward is going to be between you and your own imagination. Your ability to act on your imagination is going to be so decisive in driving your future and the standard of living in your country. So the school, the state, the country that empowers, nurtures, enables imagination among its students and citizens, that’s who’s going to be the winner.

Friedman: In the latest edition, I added a whole section on why liberal arts are more important than ever. It’s not that I don’t think math and science are important. They still are. But more than ever our secret sauce comes from our ability to integrate art, science, music and literature with the hard sciences. That’s what produces an iPod revolution or a Google.

Pink: It’s the combination of the left brain and the right brain. Left-brain thinking — rule-based, linear, SAT-style thinking — used to be enough. Now right-brain thinking — artistry, empathy, narrative, synthesis — is the big differentiator.

http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=9736&snItemNumber=950&tnItemNumber=

But where does imagination come from?  Ah, now we come back to the liberal arts.  My friend, Marc Tucker, who heads the National Center on Education and the Economy, answers the question this way: “One thing we know about creativity,” he says, “is that it typically occurs when people who have mastered two or more quite different fields use the framework in one to think afresh about the other.”  Intuitively you know this to be true.  Leonardo DaVinci, Tucker notes, was a great artist, scientist, and inventor and each of his specialties nourished the other.  He was a great lateral thinker but if you spend your whole life in one silo, you will never have either the knowledge or mental agility to do the synthesis, connect the dots, which is usually where the next great breakthrough can be found.

So I don’t know how many art, music, or literature courses you have been able to take while you have been here (in school) but I hope it was more than zero and I hope even more that after you leave here today you will expose yourself to the richness of liberal arts because the imagination that gives birth to great ideas, products, designs, and intellectual breakthroughs often happens when people who have mastered two or more quite different fields use the framework of one to think about the other.

http://www.rpi.edu/academics/commencement/address07.html

Reflection: For people who have taken "Out Of The Box Thinking" (OBT) classes or are involved in such practices will find Tom's message very familiar.  And as we all know, the best part of learning is doing, so ...........

 

Out of the Box Thinking, Part II

Watch the video above as we rotate a simple image, and let your creativity run free!  Let us know what you can see in the comments section.  The best idea (leaving an email address) will receive a free copy of Dare To Fail, by Billi Lim.

Please Note: this video includes music.

This competition is now closed.  The winner will be announced in this week's Friday Reflection.

Three Mistakes an Employee should avoid (Laughter is the best stress reliever)

Three mistakes an employee should avoid:

1. Dressing better than the Vice President of Sales
2. Driving a car better that the General Manager, and
3. On Friday afternoons, openly displaying that he/she had a great week at work.

- Advice from one General Manager two decades ago, who had a terrific sense of humor.

Storyline:

A few decades ago, a Silicon Valley start-up company I was working for got acquired by a rather large company from another region of the world. The people from the acquiring company were very formal in their dress and in their grooming habits. Noticing that I was not dressed to their standards, and because I was the person involved in customer and supplier relationships, they hinted that I was at liberty to consult one of their experts to help me with this problem.

The hint (i.e. that this seemed to be an unwritten condition for continued employment) was received loud and clear.  I told their expert to help me buy the best possible clothes, no hold for any reason. We walked away from one designer store with couple of very expensive suites, ties and shoes.

I reported into work the next day in my new attire, but being an engineer I never noticed that my clothes were drawing a lot of wide-eyed attention from the people in sales.

A few months later, I went out for lunch with one of my friends. On the way back to my office, he asked me to test drive his beautiful Mercedes Benz. I politely declined, saying I was not worthy of such a prestigious car, but I eventually gave in to his persistence.

Upon returning to my office, I parked the car in the visitors parking space, which happened to face the General Manager's office window. As soon as I entered the building, our receptionist told me that Mr. Walters, our General Manager (GM) wanted to see me immediately.

As I entered his office, and before I could station myself in a chair, Mr. Walters told me "Young man, there are three mistakes an employee should avoid. And you are making all three of them." Remembering that it was Friday afternoon, I started visualizing my last paycheck.

"The first mistake," Mr. Walters continued, "Don't dress better than VP of sales. All these guys in sales are wondering how a guy in the operations department could afford such a luxury." Nervous, I told him, "But it is you guys who wanted me to dress up. You can't get me for that!" Replied the GM, "Dress up right, but not that much. A lot more modest."

"The second mistake," said the GM, "Don't drive a car better than the General Manager." I replied, "But Mr. Walters, that was not my car. This friend of mine asked me to try out his car. On the way I was so careful driving that some teenagers got angry with my speed and flipped a finger at me. I have never been humiliated like that in the modest Toyota that I drive." Realizing that it had became a double jeopardy for me, the General Manager dropped that charge.

It was dawning on me that Mr. Walters could be in one of his humorous moods, so I dared to ask, "So what is my third mistake that will decide whether I am employed with you or not?"

He said, "You see, every Friday when you are heading home, you are whistling in the hallway, looking noticeably happy. And when people ask you how was your week, you say that it was great, very productive."  Totally confused, I asked, "What is wrong with that Mr. Walters? I serve you well, and I enjoy what I do.  The other day in the employee forum, you told us all to have fun."

"Well that is true, but don't make it that visible. Some people are wondering if you actually do any work. While they are stressed out with so many issues and looking forward to the weekend, you show that you had a great week and are looking forward to Mondays." Chastened, I replied, "But Sir, you hired me to tackle problems in the first place and you know that I give 111%. So how do I handle this Mr. Walters?"

"When people ask how was your week. just say: 'Oh, boy, it was hectic. So many issues, I couldn't get enough done.' Look a little miserable and your colleagues will feel assured that you are part of the team."

Reflection: By then I knew that Mr. Walters, who was one of the rare persons at that level with a terrific sense of humor, was in his lighter mood. I whistled and headed home.

Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down

Reflection: Unfortunately, some people are perfectly good at "sucking up" to prominent or influential people, but ignore or bully people they feel are "lower on the food chain".  More often than not, that kind of attitude will catch up with them, in ways they didn't expect.  There's no such thing as an unimportant person.

When you go to do one thing, come back with three more things

"The very first time you drink a coke, it is an experience. The next time you drink it, it is no longer an experience." (unless something is different with it's contents)
  - W.Edwards Deming, In his last or one of the last talks, San Jose California in the early 1990s.

Storyline: "When you go to do one thing, come back with three more things" - Pravin R. Shah 1927-1992.

In 1979, a young fellow in his mid 20s had bought some stocks in a company called Xerox. He requested an informal tour of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, an institute filled with some of the brightest scientists of the time. During the tour, he saw many interesting inventions: object oriented programming, networked computer systems, the Alto Computer, the Graphical User interface (GUI), the mouse etc...

In particular, he fell in love with the graphical user interface. Upon his return, he and his team designed a computer based on GUI technology. And thus began the one of the greatest success stories in the technology industry. Apple and its master, Steve Jobs.

Now, Steve Jobs probably never had any training or familiarity with modern day business programs like "LEAN", "Maximizing Return on Assets" or whatever else your company may be involved in. However, he definitely had a curious mind and open eyes. (Please don't get any ideas about starting yet another new  program with a name like this ... but if you still insist, let's call it "I go, I see, I learn.")

On a daily basis, we get various kinds of opportunities like this: travel for pleasure, going to make presentations, visiting suppliers, visiting customers, going to the store, watching a movie.  Let's say you are visiting one of your suppliers or customers. You could spend all your time downloading your requirements or the merits of your products, and then just return home. This is 1 x 1 - because you already knew your requirements before you went on the trip, so you made no net gain personally.

Now let us go with a different mindset, and try to "multiply" our personal net gain. This time, with an open mind, you look out for 3-5 things you can learn from suppliers, customers and your external environment.  It could be their practices, or from things you see in their lobbies.  It could even come from things you see on the way: some paintings, gardens, train stations, newspapers or billboards.  Not to mention all of the interesting people you will meet and keep in touch with later.

Very soon, it is 1 x Many. For the same time and $$$, you get a lot more for you and your business. WOW! Increase in Return on Assets done in a LEAN fashion. Field of Dreams for a business, Isn't it?

Reflection: The above concept is not just limited to the examples I have written about here, they apply  in any situation. During a recent trip to Hong Kong, two colleagues and I went on a three-hour-long "I go I see I learn spree." We learned over 20 useful new things.

Try it consciously for a month and see the world of possibilities and opportunities that open up. As my father told me in 1971 when I was leaving home, "When you go to do one thing, come back with three more things."

Happy Fathers Day to all readers around the world. (Third Sunday of June)

Out of the Box Thinking

This week we are trying something new and interactive - an Out of the Box Thinking game!   Watch the video above as we rotate a simple image, and let your creativity run free!  Let us know what you can see in the comments section.  The best idea (leaving an email address) will receive a free copy of Friday Reflections, Volume 1.

Please Note: this video includes music.

Our compeition is now closed; the winning entry this month came from "Micro CEO" - congratulations!