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Leadership topic - Jazz

renewing Diversely

renewing Diversely

Feb 5, 2022 | , ,

My real job for this season was to design a memory card for the Display System of the Space Shuttle. Our funding was to prototype what a newer computer and color display could do to help automate the very manual ways the Space Shuttle actually worked. If you have ever used an HP calculator, their Reverse Polish Notation approach to math was very similar to what the astronauts did to command the vehicle to fly. It was very labor-intensive, and our mission was to renew that technology from a mid 60’s torpedo computer into the 80’s…

Diverse execution

Diverse execution

Feb 5, 2022 | , ,

So, no problem. I had to get the facility that thought they were the center of ALL radiation knowledge in our division to work with the other facility that manufactured ALL the equipment we could build. And both thought they were the pre-eminent facility in our Division… And did I mention by this point, I had executed repeated railings about how behind the times both organizations were? And not in small ways – in a couple of cases taking on older and wiser leaders with both memos and in-person indictments of the lackluster execution from both…

wonderful Diversity

wonderful Diversity

Feb 4, 2022 | , ,

The lack of cooperation and coordination in business shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. Today it was very clear as I was talking with the lead investigator of an experiment that had already flown in space. Sponsored by the part of NASA that was dedicated to non-manned flight, they literally hated those of us working on Manned Space. They had, in fact, put the first United States satellite in space, but since the Astronaut crew was announced, their budgets and centrality to the NASA mission was dwarfed. It was no wonder that he was very hesitant to even talk with me…

Diverse observation

Diverse observation

Feb 3, 2022 | , ,

From my days in Debate, I observed that you could follow links between documents. Remember this is LONG before hypertext and the web, but at the end of papers are the references. You start to see the same papers referenced many times, and you find there are typically only 10 real papers you need to understand. Here I found a couple on a model of what happens in space, a couple about measuring devices in a cyclotron, and a couple about an experiment that actually flew in space. And I observed that none of them had worked together…

partnering Diversely

partnering Diversely

Feb 2, 2022 | , ,

“You have learned how to learn. It is not about the topics or the subject matter. With these tools, anything can be understood”. This framing of Diversity is one that my parents had enforced with all of the IBM swag around the house. I thought it was sorta corny, and also sorta redundant – why do you need a sign that says “THINK”. Isn’t that the thing that differentiates us from the animals – another phrase that rang out often. As I started to work with new partners, it was clear this may actually be needed…

managing Diversely

managing Diversely

Feb 1, 2022 | , ,

As I was standing in the shower, where most of my clearest thinking comes from, suddenly it hit me. I yelled out to no one in particular – “DPAT – Data Processing Aptitude Test!!!” I had driven down to Clear Lake, Texas for an interview with IBM’s group that was working on the Space Shuttle. A lovely dinner with a person my age had managed to calm my nerves, but now, I realized the very first thing this morning was a test…

Diversity engaged

Diversity engaged

Jan 31, 2022 | , ,

This evening, as I was working my way through the records, I stumbled across a double album of Jazz. It was my daily visit to Peaches – a huge grocery store remodeled to house huge stacks of records, including those that had been sentenced to the trash heap of music. “Cutouts” were just that – albums that had the corner clipped, along with their price. To keep me engaged in my major goal of graduating in only 12 weeks, I would buy 5 records, come home, listen for 3 hours until they were finished, and hopefully, I had finished enough homework to repeat it the next day…

renewing your Values

renewing your Values

Mar 14, 2021 | , ,

Of all of the Values that most teams and leaders list, renewal is rarely on the list.  Particularly the leaders who really “care” and talk about “servant leadership” and are those people you want to follow. They find it very hard to carve out time for the most important resource – themselves.  As I start working with leaders, I realize that most of my real value is forcing them to spend an hour or so on… themselves.  Sure I can bring some Value with my clever questions, listening, some observations, even some much-requested “advice”… but realistically… just getting them to focus on themselves is what I am paid to do now…

The Value of execution

The Value of execution

Mar 13, 2021 | , ,

For as long as I can remember, I have been working – and not in a negative way.  I love doing things, solving problems, creating things, particularly when they are complicated.  As an executive I had to realize that making things EASY was actually WAY more important… and also, WAY more difficult.  The way I would explain this to you in-person would be to draw a Venn diagram – which most of you won’t even remember from Geometry or Algebra.  The idea is you have a circle, I have a circle.  Where they overlap, we share… objectives, deliverables, targets, mission, etc.  Easy with 2… but when organizations are large, the execution overlap becomes smaller and smaller… sometimes the Null Set… 

The no wonder Values..

The no wonder Values..

Mar 12, 2021 | , ,

Like most weeks, Friday’s wonder post is the easiest to figure out with both what I am going to say, and the musician that embodies that quality for the band.  It is a rare treat that the story also aligns with the song title.  And if you read these enough, you might guess the player I focus on the most is the Bass player – and this week you would be right.  But I am already ahead of myself – one of my Values that is less helpful is being “Restless” – racing ahead and never being happy with where I am.  It is what made me a great Youth worker at church, and an even better recruiter… 

Are partners Valuable?

Are partners Valuable?

Mar 10, 2021 | , ,

There is a point in every career where it is clear that alone, not only can the work not be accomplished, it will not be nearly as Valuable and rewarding.  For me, it was always that way.  In High School Debate I had a partner.  My first job at Texas Instruments was shared with a partner who handled “business” software while I handled the technical programs.  The remainder of my time there and well into IBM, I shared offices and roles with peers, some easier than others.  Not everyone makes that shift, and there are many singular leaders who give the impression that it is all about “them”, and occasionally their Values of “the cult of personality” can survive and persist… but at what cost? 

management Values

management Values

Mar 9, 2021 | , ,

I guess I actually DO have a nickel for every time I stood up in front of a new team, as the “New Guy” and said, “Hi, I am Mark House, and here is what I am about.”  Actually compounded over the years, it’s what allows me the freedom to do this crazy new career, helping others have THEIR speech ready for that opportunity when it comes.  And I actually stole most of mine from other great leaders along the way, who I suspect stole theirs from others.  Because managing with Values actually works… because people can normally tell what your Values are (or aren’t)… before you can.

The Value to engage

The Value to engage

Mar 8, 2021 | , ,

As the New Year is now entering the end of the 1st Quarter, the pace of work is picking up – both as the crisis appears to be receding, but also a normal part of each year.  Budget’s being finalized, and most of the year-end Performance Reviews completed, businesses and leaders are now making decisions on where to focus.  What projects need to be accelerated, those that may need to be slowed, and staffing that needs to shift.  Simultaneously, employees are engaged in the same decisions – is this really the place for them now… or?  And key to both is … Values.