I was just introduced to “Breaking Smart”, as “one of the most insightful things I’ve read in quite a while”….and indeed it is so far for me, and thus I’m passing it along…….with emphasis. Some parts take me a while, i.e., re-reading, to understand. It does however resonate closely with my chosen focus for the next 15 years[ my current long range plan], and my intentions for this website.
Go there. <www.Breakingsmart.com> check if it fits anywhere near as well for you
The StrengthFinder profiling process is superb, one of the top two, in my opinion, of a dozen or so in wide use in corporate America. It focuses on 34 themes or talents, that are present, in various degrees in all of us, especially on your top set, usually five. We tend to use those, are most comfortable there…and are likely most personally successful, doing so. My top 6 are the same, both times I’ve done their full assessment. I’ve spent some time examining the remaining 28, picking 11 that I want engaged in my leadership process…..some listed lower, i.e., lessening my tendency to use them, and also raising some others’ ranking, in my perception, i.e., to more often be exhibited in my actions! Thus having settled on 17, one half of their set, I’ve now gone back to more fully understand my top 6, how they interact, and can be connected to the other 11 traits I’ve chosen to use to guide my thoughts/words/actions, and hopefully, results!
I’d be happy to share a learning dialogue with anyone else using Strengthfinder for their own growth and development
There’s an increasing amount of literature, including some very powerful books, covering this topical area. All reference /support or re-position the scenario, of A2I [Advanced Artificial Intelligence] possibly , in the not too distant future, surpassing general human capacities, enough to control or “rule’ us….like “HAL” in the old movie epic “2001- A Space Odyssey”. But with enough astonishing things already possible, and being done, in many professions, that the fundamental ?’s, or issues, already worked over, in literature and art, are very real. They require much more exposure, dialogue, and personal experience. I have been in technology, and people handling, all my life, but only have read sporadically of AI, now A2I .Will change that in this 7th phase of my life, the Legacy phase…….more to come…..
I am reading/hearing others say in support for driverless cars – 1.2 million people killed each year by cars driven by people -Such cars don’t drink – and like robots they are easy to train/instruct – and such cars could benefit the elderly or disabled – plus their actions are very predicable. In short they are likely better on the average, than very many humans are when those humans drive!!
Much the same set of arguments are made for robots replacing humans in some kinds of work – robots are less forgetful, pay attention to new changes, don’t disobey or underperform
Lots od literature lately about will that always be so, as they are made more sophisticated. It was not long ago, that just “science-fiction” writing/movies, that pushed such possibilities. It seems much closer @ hand,now, given the rate of advancement in exploration in both driverless cars, and robotics in general.
Are these possibilities legitimate concerns for Corporate Information Technology leaders?
I believe so and am engaging in that dialogue, integrating it into thoughtful anticipation of the near future in several industries.
On 11/7 @ Cantigny in a return presentation: GenM – A Deeper Dive, Truls Henriksen covered again his review of the literature, and we held a brainstorming exercise on how to respond to this deepening trend…how to “embrace it” rather than lament it! This was an assignment for all participants from two organizations “Commencing” their internal LLF there. We will follow up to capture as many of the ideas/comments as possible, to continue this exploration. It’s a major issue everywhere I am.
Your insights, & suggested tactics are welcome
In preparation for a 3rd cycle of my Leadership Learning Forum process, to be run internally in a client site, largely by themselves now, I unearthed three important books used in the process on some past occasions.
“Teach Your child to Think” Edward de bono 0-670-83013-5……..plus “Systems Thinking” J. Gharajedaghi 978-0-12-385915-0 ….plus “An Introduction to General Systems Thinking” Gerald M Weinberg 0-932633-49-8
All powerful. One difficult [ the 2nd ]but extremely rewarding, as some difficult books are. AND…all are in greater need today than ever, because of global commoditization of technical devices/access, and easily obtainable or creatable software. But perhaps only for a few of the deeply dedicated leaders in our field . Likely not useful for the convenient or occasional visitor to Information technology as it is evolving today. Maybe just a brief outline or summary??? We will try that!
Peruse all three. Use parts. Decide yourself, please. Let me know……
Heavy snow falling now, which usually paralyzes the Cape… & is particularly abrasive after a week with Loma Linda University Health in California, helping them commence their first Transformational Leadership Program [TLP 2013]. It was held symbolically, near the historical center of their huge Campus, with many of the senior LLUH leaders who spoke or facilitated, during the program, attending. The participants in TLP 2014 attended the last two days of the program, to capture and assimilate the proud energy/commitment/gratitude of the graduating class! Awesome to be part of this power, for everyone, but surely for me, experiencing it again so soon [referenced in the blog on 1/22/14 below]. So genuine leadership lives there, is being shared broadly & deeply!! And as seems the pressing case all over, in ways that is needed for today’s challenges.
In all my current Leadership Learning Forums [LLF’s], four capacities, or fully transportable skill sets, are increasingly more tightly integrated in the work of evolving high impact leaders! 1) Project Management, which nowadays, everyone needs to understand and be reasonably adept at. 2) Self-assessment, or deeply engaged in one of the better “profiling” techniques., which is less frequent but becoming essential in my opinion. 3) Leadership development which has been a focus all over for some time [not always achieved successfully]. 4) Business enabled counsel, or “internal consulting skills”, which is much less frequent, exists in individual cases, but has now become a crucial part of effective staff leadership. When all four are together and focused on the customer or marketplace the positive impact is huge……a very positive advantage that is easily identified and creates quite a competitive edge. Part of the LLF “Magic” is the combining, & the growth, of these capacities in forum participants. Look for it!!
Most, perhaps 99.9%, of those who have engaged completely, in the Leadership Learning Forum process, have had a deeply beneficial, both individual and group, “magical” experience. Some of us who have facilitated this over the years [ I began it in 1984], have communicated about how/when, & under what circumstances does the “magic” occur? And what might get in its way? There is already a body of thought resulting from this quest!
During the Nov.2013, 45th annual SIMposium, hosted by the Boston SIM Chapter [superbly done!!], I began pondering a revival of this research/dialogue, as part of this current 6th phase of life, my “legacy” phase. A quest revitalized, so to speak. That would be fun for me, very absorbing, and perhaps usful in coming years to those who wish to continue providing such powerful leadership development, as I am. I will reach out again to as many of you as I can.
This ” magic” surely happens in most Forums, but also in tons of other situations! All needed now, all over, and likely more so, in the world we are inheriting. It goes way beyond I.T., of course. Our past working of this quest already has shown that
Some past contributions/perspectives from my network, are posted under “Magic”, in this growing section of my website. hopefully you’ll find it useful. Please connect with me directly with you comments
Issues or challenges that confront “C” level leaders, wherever I am these days, often require more experience, education, or capacity than they, or their staff, has! I’ve listed 15 trends or processes [click here], which are usually co-mingled in some way, and also 5 responses, both of which help that frame such discussions, and may be relevant for your environment. It’s an overview that’s surprisingly daunting for many staff leaders today!!
Some version of the below 8 trends/focus points seems to be in every interaction I have today with clients or LLF graduates. Does this loose, macro view, resonate, in part, with your sense of things??
The Unique Potential [Overwhelming??] Impact of Eight, Current, tightly Integrating “Horizontal” Organizational Processes Four traditionally based or driven by I.T., or deeply impacted by I.T. Initiatives Two [#5 & 6] are often independently started there, and the last two [#7 & 8] are basically not indigenous, likely even “strange” to many I.T. groups
1. Overall Technical Architecture [OTA]- long standing quest, still elusive
2. Project Management Office – discipline/processes – a few are corporate wide
3. Enterprise Wide System[s] & business process redesign – primarily I.t. driven often owned or lead by a senior line executive
4. Mobile-handheld-APP based development-cloud residence- multiple function devices[ BYO]- Hardly well in hand anywhere –not seen as I.T.’s especially by the “younger generations”
5. Security- fullest sense- sometimes I.T. located
6. Leadership Development – needed desperately in I.T., then in concert corporately – My work has been with I.T. groups who wanted this as a priority, largely because of the whole 8!!
7. Ownership & Accountability Expectations –very uneven approaches
8. Organizational Culture and Change – Human Recourse “Should”, almost never “is”
Richard E. Dooley 5-29-12
Craig Allen, a Forum graduate, now with Total Wine, Inc., will speak of his work combining his passion which was & is a long standing hobby, and earning a living/following his career path. We can all learn from this perspective in today’s intense work environments. He will be joined by several others of the same persuasion,
And I’ll comment very briefly on the LLF just held @ Cantigny [ see the below post or the above tab]
