IBM's Centennial and Leadership

Leadership changes are frequently needed dependent on changes in technology, business climate, the environment of world events. We are all experiencing all of these issues on a continual basis and to a great degree at extremes if we are personally involved. The latest series of world catastrophes accentuates our emotional reactions, sometimes masking the realistic view of events, natural world events, occurring naturally. There are events with huge impacts which we have no control over. Hard to believe, but we cannot control everything. Nature’s forces can be unrelenting and nature’s forces have no emotion, no feeling, no compassion, no judgment, just impact.

So, why bring this up in an article about leadership? Quite frankly, leaders focus on issues and events which they can do something about. They channel their energies and resources to resolve complex issues, prevent those which they are able in the future, learn quickly from the experiences and put a strategy in place to avoid the problem in the future and grow from what they have learned. IBM will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Sam Palmisano will also turn 60, which is the age where IBM’s CEO’s have stepped down and passed on the gavel. I have had the opportunity to work in IBM during the tenure of Frank Cary, John Opel, John Akers, Louis Gerstner, and Sam Palmisano. Each of these CEO’s had unique styles which were needed during their era. IBM has been successful because of this and “took a revitalized IBM and made it the envy of the tech world and the darling of investors.” (FORTUNE, March 21, 2011 pg 115). Sam has taken “long term” to a new level. IBM is his life and he connects with clients throughout the world to grow the business, increase his span of relationships, and ensure the next CEO inherits a much improved company. Who will be next? Will it be Virginia Rometty or Michael Daniels. Or, perhaps Rod Adkins. All of these potential candidates are extremely bright, thoughtful leaders with an eye on the future and with IBM blue blood coursing through their veins. They are experienced individuals who will have an application of their needed style and leadership as they take the reins of IBM and lead it into the future.

As Tom Watson Sr. said, “All the problems of the world could be settled if people were only willing to think. The trouble is that people very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work.”

Has your organization taken the time to think about its future? Has it created a talent pool of future leaders? Do you have a program to nurture future leaders after identifying the required competencies and behaviors to meld all global cultures to thrive and excel? If you haven’t, you better escalate your efforts and get the people who can help you.

Image via WikipediaInterested in what IBM has done in 100 years and about IBMers?  Click on this link-> 100 years of IBM to see 100 years of IBM in 13 minutes.

Its time to TAKE THE LEAD!!!

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Over the past few weeks we have seen the tide and power of leadership shift back and forth from the leaders to the followers. I think we all were a bit amazed to see the controversy erupt in some of the Health Reform town meetings. Well, maybe some of us were not so surprised. Prostesting from senior citizens!!! How uncivilized and rude. But wait...isn't this the anniversary of the worlds largest gathering of a peaceful people called Woodstock. Isn't this the time of long ago when the New York State Thruway was closed because of the thousands of people that gathered at Yasgur's farm for three days of peace and music. http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/reinventing/articles/woodstock__40_years.html?CMP=KNC-360I-YAHOO-BULL&HBX_OU=51&HBX_PK=woodstock

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40 years ago a huge gathering of humanity created an historic event in a certain place and time which will forever be etched into history, and for some, mark a turning point in there own personal, private and public lives. The whole world shuttered as this gathering grew to emmense proportions and became the largest free music event with peace and love that ever existed or ever will exist. The fact of the matter is the world changed after this event. Stars became political leaders. Some by default. Some not wanting this awesome responsiblity. No concert after this on this scale in this type of location would ever happen again. No one was capable of leading that type of event again. Leading...interesting term. Woodstock led an army of hippies, dippies, weathermen, socialites, free lovers, peaceniks, warmongers and young adults into the future with, surprisingly, a new recipe for growth, prosperity, "can do" attitude and a bonus recipe for great brownies. So, what does this have to do with the new culture of the new world, new mellinium and this new era of protests by seniors. PLENTY!!! They are the woodstock era people and they have come to lead us again through their protests and leadership style which is not afraid to be candid, if not more honest in their opinions. And get this...Senator Specter has the nerve to say that this is not the voice of the people of America. I think its time for this Senator to practice his leadership skills and do come active listening because he will become a follower and follow all the other deposed politicians right out the back door. The tide has shifted and the rip currents can be treacherous. As Lee Iacocca said, "Its time to lead, follow, or get out of the way." Or even better, as Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM stated, "If you're in charge, take charge." Woodstock, who would ever have thought the impact it was going to have today.

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The shifting tides of Leadership

I recently read an article by Richard Stengel, Managing Editor of Time Magazine, about Sarah Palin's leadership style. He describes her style as, "she is the textbook example of Weber's charismatic leader, who uses personal appeal and magnetism and a disdain for traditional structures as a route to power. Hers is the opposite of the legal-bureaucratic style and seems based on intuition, emotion and frontier values." Richard also states that "we don't write about leadership in a theoretical way-every week we write about leadership in real time involving real events." Inspirational leadership is what most people remember. You only need to think about the leaders you would follow. It would be for your personal reasons of how they

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made you feel. Did you become angry and eager to make/force a change? Did you become more educated and ready to jump in and do some research to inspire others to take action. Did you feel safer? Did you feel less secure? What was that feeling stirring in you veins making your heart pound a bit harder and your senses become more attuned to your surroundings. It wasn't theory. It was and inspirational leader that you took the time to listen to. Someone with conviction, commitment, and a drive that, perhaps, instilled in you a sense of well being and of progress. Or maybe they made your blood boil and your sense of patriotism rise to heights you never thought you had. I can think of leaders that did that for me and I can think of the times of my life in which that happened. We all are at a point in time where the essence of leadership will dissected in the future and through hindsight we'll make course corrections. We all are at a point where we all will move forward. We all are at a point where there is

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no backward...never was, ever, at any time. So the real question is, what type of leader will you follow or even more importantly, what type of leader will you be. Will you reach out and grab the brass ring? Will you dedicate your life to taking steps to improve? Will you learn, mentor, coach, act and be accountable for your actions. What are your values? What will you do and how do you want to be envisioned? What do you want people to say about you? There are a plethora of questions to answer, personal blocks to overcome, steps to take, and opportunities to lead. I leave you with this thought...many leaders have come and gone, many have been taken apart by the press or their adversaries, but a very small number of the population can say they actually ran for the President of the United States of America, or for the Vice Presidency of this great country of ours. Think about it...what will your legacy be as a leader?

Innovation road blocks - security mentality

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I've been thinking about my colleagues back in my old job and have tried desperately to stay in touch to keep my pulse on the climate of the workplace. It seems it has changed even more and not always for the best. So, I figured I'd go out, network, gab, discuss, and get an overall view from other parts or other businesses. Not surprisingly I have the feeling that innovation is really being stifled, sharing of ideas is not happening, and everyone says they are really overworked and putting in an unbelievable number of hours to KEEP THEIR JOBS!!! Not so surprising I guess, but should the leadership of the organizations encourage sharing of thoughts, ideas, and innovation. Sure, there is lots of publicity at the very high levels and sure, there are the news articles of innovative green industries but, when you dig a bit you find fear. You have to ask yourself, how does that affect growth, inspiration, innovation, ideas, visioning, basically...the future. Well, I think when you are a worker bee you have now found yourself on the Maslow scale of survival and physiological level. Basically, what can I do in my job to protect me and my family and how do I keep anyone and everyone from infringing on my territory? Valid questions, I would say. And just think of the impact on the rest of the workforce. At a time when everyone should be pooling their creative juices and applying their freedom of thought, many line managers in many parts of many businesses are micro-managing their employees to death. Daily reports, busy work, mental masturbation of worthless work and exercising your power of management with the fear of the loss of employment for your people is not productive. So, what happens, people will stop sharing, caring and creating to give you...yes you...the so called leader, what you want because you need that to protect your job as well. Break the paradigm! Think differently, exponentially differently and be an inspirational leader and you will see results. You will have more inspired followers and happier dedicated and loyal employees. That's what its about, isn't it. This will result in a better bottom line and a more productive and competitive workforce. Just ask them....

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Diversity of Thought

With all the turmoil in today's job market, and unmarket, organizations are pressed to increase or even maintain moral so they remain productive and remain a viable entity. Its increasingly difficult to complete that task through the creation of an organizational environment that allows you to reach your goals. Lets face it, employees are constantly looking over their shoulders to see who is watching them and more often than not, over their shoulder to see who is going to replace them. It reminds me of the days I worked in the steel mill and watched the "old timers" stop working when a young apprentice would stop to watch what they were doing. I often admired welders who could weld so precisely it looked like the weld was painted on. It was a true art. I finally asked my father why they stopped when I watched. He said it was because they felt that if I learned their trade and skill I would eventually "steal" their job and replace them. I thought, if we worked together we could do it better, faster and increase our productivity. So what is the point? The point is, we need to know how people think. What do think about their jobs and the messages they receive from their leaders. The strategy, what about the strategy...do they get it. And why do they work well with some, and not with others. Fundamentally it seems like this would be, at best, a very difficult thing to do. If you are a leader in your organization, you must be constantly thinking, "How do I get my employees to work better together. Why do some get along, while others do not?" Ok, the point of this is to ensure you that I could help you find the answer and the real revelation is your employees discover for themselves what the obstacles are between them. I can do this through the use of a highly effective instrument that has the largest validated database as proof. And the really exciting thing is....its fun. When you go through this 4 hour session of self discovery you walk away with a realization that you have discovered many things about your self, your work place, your peers, and surprisingly...your spouse. So, don't hide the welds, share your skills and grow your team. Need proof? Ok, I'll end with a question to prove what I have you think about and discover... Have you ever taken a trip or vacation with someone who MUST have an agenda for every day? A schedule of events, meals and meeting places? Does it drive you crazy...it is calming for them. I know why.