Posted in Methods, People on April 29, 2007 | 1 Comment »
What comes to mind when you think “Stanford University”? Hewlett & Packard? Google & Yahoo? Chelsea Clinton? I think of my two blissful years waking to crowing roosters, cultivating a compost bin, and harvesting fresh vegetables from my own garden. Now when I’m feeling nostalgic, I can visit the virtual homestead of the folks at [...]
Posted in People on April 28, 2007 | No Comments »
I watched American Masters Lucille Ball piece last night. The voiceover said that Lucille Ball’s face has been seen by more people than any person’s who has ever lived.
Since I Love Lucy has been broadcast all over the world almost continuously for more than 50 years, I can’t imagine anyone who’s been seen more.
Not Hitler. [...]
Posted in People on April 25, 2007 | No Comments »
I learned from a manager I respect that one should always follow up on a list of problems and criticisms with a list of solutions. So, my proposed solutions to the people problems I described in my last post, none of them rocket science:
To counter the Peter Principle: Create independent contributor tracks. Those tracks need [...]
Posted in People on April 24, 2007 | No Comments »
I’ve become a reluctant fan of the writings of Jim Collins, who gained notoriety for writing about the habits of companies he says are “built to last.” He names a number of traits including having Big Hairy Audacious Goals and being a Hedgehog (good at one thing) rather than a Fox (clever at a lot [...]
Posted in Tools on April 20, 2007 | No Comments »
At work, I am considered a “technical person.” So, it confuses people a little when I give voice my favorite escape fantasy — moving someplace where I can mostly get around on horseback. My dream is to replicate aspects of my maternal grandparents’ childhoods, circa 1915. Both grew up on farms. I believe that [...]
Posted in Essays on April 17, 2007 | No Comments »
What distinguishes pioneers from more conventional leaders, creative artists, and ordinary nonconformists? I have a theory. Pioneers may also fall into any of the above categories, and tend to share some characteristic traits with people who fit those labels more accurately. Pioneers often find themselves advocating change, I believe, because they hold these traits in [...]
Posted in Introduction on April 17, 2007 | No Comments »
As a teenager introduced to the college admissions and career choice process, I came to believe that achieving success was like following the instructions in a manual: work hard, go to a “good” school, pay dues, and work my way “up.” I believed that every person and every workplace was as fired up about [...]
Posted in Introduction on April 15, 2007 | No Comments »
Maybe you were, or are, a contender. You had a successful academic career and have held jobs or practiced professions that others admire or envy. People sometimes call you “brilliant.” All of this isn’t enough. You want to change the world — or at least YOUR world. You may be motivated by altruism, by righteous [...]
