I may have a different take on leadership than other people.
I like ISO 9000's definition (as explained in the 8 QMS), which in my words would be:
1. to put forward a widely acceptable purpose (vision),
2. to establish specific goals (towards the vision), and
3. to foster an environment where people feel safe (i.e. they are expected to a) tell things as they see them and b) make mistakes, fix them and learn in the process).
I can do that from the back seat.
... driving the car is for the driver, not for the leader.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Action
I know a company where the CEO and the COO decided to stop acting on QA reports. I guess it seemed easier for them to sign-off waivers than to fix problems.
Quality went down and customer satisfaction went down with it.
At a certain point they decided they did not want to pay for reports that required them to act and fired the QA department.
Quality, they quoted, is everybody's job.
Quality went further down and customer satisfaction followed suit.
The last time I heard about them, the CEO and COO had been let go after a takeover and the company was hiring auditors.
Fungus
Quality went down and customer satisfaction went down with it.
At a certain point they decided they did not want to pay for reports that required them to act and fired the QA department.
Quality, they quoted, is everybody's job.
Quality went further down and customer satisfaction followed suit.
The last time I heard about them, the CEO and COO had been let go after a takeover and the company was hiring auditors.
Fungus
Friday, April 2, 2010
Learning
I focus more on learning than on teaching.
I believe it is my responsibility to learn.
The organizations I work for may help me:
a) by telling me what I need to learn to be more valuable.
b) by creating an environment that makes learning easier for me.
c) by allowing access to organizational knowledge (people and documents).
But at the end of the day, like I said ...
It is my responsibility to learn.
Fungus
I believe it is my responsibility to learn.
The organizations I work for may help me:
a) by telling me what I need to learn to be more valuable.
b) by creating an environment that makes learning easier for me.
c) by allowing access to organizational knowledge (people and documents).
But at the end of the day, like I said ...
It is my responsibility to learn.
Fungus
Sunday, March 28, 2010
360°
Mine is a sad experience ... I have never seen a 360° evaluation process that works as advertised.
To be more precise: I have never seen a 360° evaluation process that can be clearly tied to a lasting improvement in customer satisfaction.
The Emperor, they say, has new clothes.
Fungus
To be more precise: I have never seen a 360° evaluation process that can be clearly tied to a lasting improvement in customer satisfaction.
The Emperor, they say, has new clothes.
Fungus
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Feedback
If I could, I would stop performance reviews ...
To be more precise, I would stop their use to negotiate salary and bonuses.
Performance reviews are a source of fear, and contribute to skewed measures.
Would you dare to openly confess your errors under threat of stick and carrot.
Let me be very clear:
I fully support respectful non-manipulative feedback.
I am against manipulation.
Fungus
To be more precise, I would stop their use to negotiate salary and bonuses.
Performance reviews are a source of fear, and contribute to skewed measures.
Would you dare to openly confess your errors under threat of stick and carrot.
Let me be very clear:
I fully support respectful non-manipulative feedback.
I am against manipulation.
Fungus
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tears
To me, emotions are like little personal compasses that help us drive our lives by pointing at right and wrong.
If it feels right, then it is right, If it feels wrong, then it is wrong.
Reading and using those little compasses is much harder than using the North/South magnetic needle kind, because they are subjective and easily manipulated. You may recall that after a few conversations with the Emperor, Darth Vader's emotions moved him the wrong way.
Emotions are felt as physical sensations: your bowels ache, you lose your breath, your heart runs wild, and your throat goes dry. I will not bore you with the details, mainly because I don't understand them, but tears are one of the ways your conscience tells you things about you. You know ... things.
I could tell you about my tears, when they come, and what they mean, but I guess that is a little too personal to be shared and understood.
Fungus
If it feels right, then it is right, If it feels wrong, then it is wrong.
Reading and using those little compasses is much harder than using the North/South magnetic needle kind, because they are subjective and easily manipulated. You may recall that after a few conversations with the Emperor, Darth Vader's emotions moved him the wrong way.
Emotions are felt as physical sensations: your bowels ache, you lose your breath, your heart runs wild, and your throat goes dry. I will not bore you with the details, mainly because I don't understand them, but tears are one of the ways your conscience tells you things about you. You know ... things.
I could tell you about my tears, when they come, and what they mean, but I guess that is a little too personal to be shared and understood.
Fungus
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Defects
Preventing, finding and fixing defects is necessary to deliver a (reasonably) defect free product. There is an optimum cost (when cost of quality is at its minimum) for (reasonably) defect free products and services, and it depends on the right combination of prevention, detection and correction.
Reasonable for the specific customer needs, that is.
Customers accept these premises on any engineering project except for systems and software ... I guess we are not good at explaining why it is good to test, why it is in the best interest of our customer to test, why validation is necessary even if we have verification in place.
Finding and fixing defects at a cost that is smaller than preventing them is good business, adds value and must be done.
Using our customers resources to find and fix defects that could have been prevented (at a reasonable cost) is wrong, does not add value and must be eliminated.
Fungus
Reasonable for the specific customer needs, that is.
Customers accept these premises on any engineering project except for systems and software ... I guess we are not good at explaining why it is good to test, why it is in the best interest of our customer to test, why validation is necessary even if we have verification in place.
Finding and fixing defects at a cost that is smaller than preventing them is good business, adds value and must be done.
Using our customers resources to find and fix defects that could have been prevented (at a reasonable cost) is wrong, does not add value and must be eliminated.
Fungus
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Children
Someone told me that Ancient Romans were a great civilization until they stopped planting trees for their children.
I try to focus on what I can do.
I try to make sure that I am continuously learning and teaching ... not only Math and Sciences, but everything. And yes. I've planted a few trees for my children and for other children too.
Fungus
I try to focus on what I can do.
I try to make sure that I am continuously learning and teaching ... not only Math and Sciences, but everything. And yes. I've planted a few trees for my children and for other children too.
Fungus
Crime
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but crime is not the hallmark of our times.
There is some evidence that other eras and other economic structures have also been plagued with crime ... now, to the question: Is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of detection?
Detection will find the criminal and sometimes will put him in jail to be corrected, but considering how much we get for one pound in modern correctional facilities, it does not seem as a good investment.
Prevention, if it works, will stop criminals before they commit a crime, but does it work?
Let's review two cases.
Case one is prevention by fear: Detection may be so effective, and punishment so harsh, that crooks outside perceive that crime does not pay, and stop. You still have a lot of people getting a free lunch in jail, and a lot of detectives in the payroll. It may work, but it costs more than an ounce.
Case two is prevention by education and values.
Well ... I believe it can be done, and I like to think I am involved in it, but then, I am a romantic, and a dreamer.
Fungus
There is some evidence that other eras and other economic structures have also been plagued with crime ... now, to the question: Is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of detection?
Detection will find the criminal and sometimes will put him in jail to be corrected, but considering how much we get for one pound in modern correctional facilities, it does not seem as a good investment.
Prevention, if it works, will stop criminals before they commit a crime, but does it work?
Let's review two cases.
Case one is prevention by fear: Detection may be so effective, and punishment so harsh, that crooks outside perceive that crime does not pay, and stop. You still have a lot of people getting a free lunch in jail, and a lot of detectives in the payroll. It may work, but it costs more than an ounce.
Case two is prevention by education and values.
Well ... I believe it can be done, and I like to think I am involved in it, but then, I am a romantic, and a dreamer.
Fungus
Leadership
Leaders and other gifted individuals are confident.
That means that they know what they can do. To develop confidence you build an accurate and complete mental model of the world around you.
To be a leader, you need a few extras ... a clear and compelling vision is probably chief among them.
Fungus
Intent
Whether I want it or not, I guess at the intention of a speaker behind his words, but I try to remember that those are my guesses, and not the speaker's intentions.
Those guesses become part of my mental model, and I use them to predict behaviour.
The first sketches are very rough ... for people I've interacted with only a few times, I use quick and standard labels, and I slowly improve my labels with detail (new data and guesses) about relevant things that --in my mental model-- make each individual different.
I try to remember that those labels don't describe or determine the individual.
They are not reality, but my view of reality.
I see it as some sort of scientific theory that explains the known facts, and is helpful to predict results, but may be proved wrong at any time by new data.
Fungus
Those guesses become part of my mental model, and I use them to predict behaviour.
The first sketches are very rough ... for people I've interacted with only a few times, I use quick and standard labels, and I slowly improve my labels with detail (new data and guesses) about relevant things that --in my mental model-- make each individual different.
I try to remember that those labels don't describe or determine the individual.
They are not reality, but my view of reality.
I see it as some sort of scientific theory that explains the known facts, and is helpful to predict results, but may be proved wrong at any time by new data.
Fungus
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Mirror'd
In good things and in bad ones too, when you admire or despise another person, you are probably looking at your own image in the other person's face ... as in a mirror.
Fungus
Fungus
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Education
People with an education usually perform better than people without an education.
People who have gone through college usually understand the scientific method, which is the basis for all modern management.
This means they understand the basics of statistical process control and DOE, they have the analytical skills to find root causes for problems, and they can make creative intuitive leaps to understand what makes things (or people) tick, and make them tick better.
People who go through a Master's degree, usually learn how to establish objectives, how to do research for raw data, how to cook it into information, and how to turn it into knowledge. They should also learn how to speak their mind, and how to write it too.
Leaders need all of the above, and also the skill to turn knowledge into wisdom ... but I don't think you can get that in a school program.
Fungus
People who have gone through college usually understand the scientific method, which is the basis for all modern management.
This means they understand the basics of statistical process control and DOE, they have the analytical skills to find root causes for problems, and they can make creative intuitive leaps to understand what makes things (or people) tick, and make them tick better.
People who go through a Master's degree, usually learn how to establish objectives, how to do research for raw data, how to cook it into information, and how to turn it into knowledge. They should also learn how to speak their mind, and how to write it too.
Leaders need all of the above, and also the skill to turn knowledge into wisdom ... but I don't think you can get that in a school program.
Fungus
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Fault
Are there uncoachable subjects?
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?
Coaching, like love and friendship, is a two way relationship. We have to learn how to coach, and we have to learn how to be coached.
Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.
As with love and friendship; if it doesn't work, it's probably the other party's fault.
How convenient.
Fungus
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?
Coaching, like love and friendship, is a two way relationship. We have to learn how to coach, and we have to learn how to be coached.
Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.
As with love and friendship; if it doesn't work, it's probably the other party's fault.
How convenient.
Fungus
Love
Antonio Damasio has clearly shown that love is a series of chemical signals inside the body, and Tim Harford explained that love is only the reasonable choice between economic options.
No Cupid's arrows, they say.
I still believe it's magic.
Fungus
No Cupid's arrows, they say.
I still believe it's magic.
Fungus
Feedback
Acceptance and rejection are, in themselves, a form of feedback.
Both can be accompanied by a rationale that may (or may not) be useful.
In any case, we must do the best with the limited data we have.
Fungus
Both can be accompanied by a rationale that may (or may not) be useful.
In any case, we must do the best with the limited data we have.
Fungus
Sales
Some times I just feel I've been left outside.
I believe sales techniques should inform potential customers about the true characteristics of a product or service, so that the customer may take an informed decision to buy or not.
When the advertised quality is that the product is worth walking a mile, or that it will make me smell soo good that girls will fall for me, or that it's so delicious that a handsome teenager would kiss an ugly old lady to get Klondyke's double chocolate bar, I just don't get it.
I feel that I've been left outside looking in, and glad to feel so.
Fungus
I believe sales techniques should inform potential customers about the true characteristics of a product or service, so that the customer may take an informed decision to buy or not.
When the advertised quality is that the product is worth walking a mile, or that it will make me smell soo good that girls will fall for me, or that it's so delicious that a handsome teenager would kiss an ugly old lady to get Klondyke's double chocolate bar, I just don't get it.
I feel that I've been left outside looking in, and glad to feel so.
Fungus
Wisdom
When we were young we asked questions that could not be answered, like:
Tell me how many times can a man turn his head, Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.
And we warned each other to: Never trust anyone over thirty.
Some 40 years later, I'm starting to find some answers.
I believe that we can sit in peace and talk things over. We can share our answers and our questions, and even before the recession was felt, we were doing it every day in Linkedin and in other forums.
True enough: The times, they are a'changin.
Now that the recession has settled, we are talking more than before, and we are talking more about more important things than one year ago.
Trust people well over thirty ... Humans, Elephants and Gorillas distinguish themselves from other animals because they care for their elders. And doing so, they show how smart they are. Tribes led by Old Cows, Silverbacks and Elders are more successful than gangs led by juveniles.
Smart human institutions know that. Democratic Legislating bodies, successful armed forces, prestigious universities, innovative research centers and, of course, the Jedi Council accept and welcome older experienced members as a matter of fact.
I don't understand why is it that Industry does not acknowledge the benefit of wisdom over strength.
Fungus
Tell me how many times can a man turn his head, Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.
And we warned each other to: Never trust anyone over thirty.
Some 40 years later, I'm starting to find some answers.
I believe that we can sit in peace and talk things over. We can share our answers and our questions, and even before the recession was felt, we were doing it every day in Linkedin and in other forums.
True enough: The times, they are a'changin.
Now that the recession has settled, we are talking more than before, and we are talking more about more important things than one year ago.
Trust people well over thirty ... Humans, Elephants and Gorillas distinguish themselves from other animals because they care for their elders. And doing so, they show how smart they are. Tribes led by Old Cows, Silverbacks and Elders are more successful than gangs led by juveniles.
Smart human institutions know that. Democratic Legislating bodies, successful armed forces, prestigious universities, innovative research centers and, of course, the Jedi Council accept and welcome older experienced members as a matter of fact.
I don't understand why is it that Industry does not acknowledge the benefit of wisdom over strength.
Fungus
Friday, July 31, 2009
Cooperation
Cooperation is a two way road.
If you feel that they don't cooperate with you. They may also feel that you don't cooperate with them.
If you asked me, I'd tell you that you probably don't share a common purpose. Maybe you want to go North and they want to go East. Why would they cooperate? Why would you? I suggest you:
1. Find the common ground,
2. Agree on the common purpose,
3. Define a shared work approach,
4. Let it happen.
If you find that you have different destinations, you may still agree to collaborate with each other until you get to the station, get the tickets, and part like friends in the platform.
But please never trick, manipulate, mislead or force the other person to go your way.
Fungus
If you feel that they don't cooperate with you. They may also feel that you don't cooperate with them.
If you asked me, I'd tell you that you probably don't share a common purpose. Maybe you want to go North and they want to go East. Why would they cooperate? Why would you? I suggest you:
1. Find the common ground,
2. Agree on the common purpose,
3. Define a shared work approach,
4. Let it happen.
If you find that you have different destinations, you may still agree to collaborate with each other until you get to the station, get the tickets, and part like friends in the platform.
But please never trick, manipulate, mislead or force the other person to go your way.
Fungus
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Afterservice
Customer service means two different things.
One. When I offer a service and charge for it.
Two. When I deliver a product that does not work and promise to make it up to you with free fixes and repairs.
Customer service (two) has been dead for a long time.
Deader still, if it is paid in advance. "Musica pagada toca mal son" (Musicians paid in advance play bad music).
Smart people use the Cost of Quality model described by Crosby, Juran, Gryna and others. They know that it costs more to deliver a low quality (or incomplete) product, than to invest in solid processes and training, and deliver high quality on time within budget.
But this model is a well kept secret and only smart people use it. A small group, as we all know.
Fungus
One. When I offer a service and charge for it.
Two. When I deliver a product that does not work and promise to make it up to you with free fixes and repairs.
Customer service (two) has been dead for a long time.
Deader still, if it is paid in advance. "Musica pagada toca mal son" (Musicians paid in advance play bad music).
Smart people use the Cost of Quality model described by Crosby, Juran, Gryna and others. They know that it costs more to deliver a low quality (or incomplete) product, than to invest in solid processes and training, and deliver high quality on time within budget.
But this model is a well kept secret and only smart people use it. A small group, as we all know.
Fungus
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