This was shot in late June 2010 from the edge of the Gardens of Augustus. This is one of the many, and maybe even the most, spectacular views from the island of Capri, Italy.
– Posted using MobyPicture.com
Today’s Leaders Are Open, Smart Enough to Temper Fear
Have I told you all how great you look today?
Long live brown nosing. It came in at #8 in this weeks Business Week article by Liz Ryan “Ten Signs of Fear-Based Workplace.”
Thankfully, number 8 is the only item that I see today in my immediate workplace. And when I really think about it, brown-nosing is healthy when we it goes both ways. When genuine, it can introduce a dose of humility that helps balance or temper our hubris, our drive to assert our will and get things moving in our desired direction.
In my team, the Global Communication Group at Intel, I believe for the most part we all lead AND we all help when and where needed. I’m workin’ it alongside great communicators who are also doers — not merely strategists or plan makers. Actions help build trust.
Lots of fear has been removed in the past decade since I joined Intel in 2000. I bet that can be said by others who worked at Intel in the 1990s, when a major mantra was Only the Paranoid Survive, coined and well explained by wiseman and former Intel CEO Andy Grove. Grove was not wrong, in fact his approach infuses much needed severity, concern and smart motivation, especially when you’re doing battle or fighting competition.
Fear-based decision making is effective, especially when you need to be in “survival mode.” “Survival mode” may be best run autocratically, but I don’t think autocracies scale and grow quickly enough for today’s creative, faster-paced, technology-driven, cross-cultural entwined world. Our government may be at war and our businesses may be in do-or-die competition, but leaders rise above this somehow. Like how Odysseus cleverly created the statue Horse to get his top worriers inside the walls of Troy in one of the most epic, storied battles.
Seems that in the past, mistakes were devastating. Today, honest mistakes can be inflection points for improvement and growth. In fact, I hear many leaders saying that if you aren’t making mistakes, you’re limiting yourself, you’re not experimenting or trying as hard as you can. You’re not tapping deeply enough into your skills, desires and potential.
Today I’m surrounded by stellar, inspiring people — veterans and new talent. In my 10 years, I’ve witnessed the rise of new, open and capable managers and veteran managers who are embracing change by involving the right people up and down our organization.
Over time, our work environment has evolved to be simpler yet more dynamic. Managers have empowered each individual more than I what I remember seeing 10, eight even five years ago. This is because of all around, top to bottom, side to side better communication, better understanding of what motivates each individual, and trust and appreciation.
When you’re not in survival mode, this is leadership: Here are our goals, tell me how you can help achieve them measurably, go do your thing your way, and let me know how I can help. Let me take that back…that’s the best approach to surviving and thriving, bu harnessing the most, best potential out of each individual.
This is a trend well explained in the book by Altimeter analyst Charlene Li titled “Open Leadership.”
In my workplace, we’ve embraced then moved beyond fear into an era where we are all managing an almost overwhelming amount of opportunities and possibilities, where it’s OK to make mistakes but vital that we make progress. Because we’re moving at Internet speed, we must make our mistakes and handle them smartly, make them count and don’t make the same ones twice. Do this by communicating and getting more comfortable with being wrong occassionally while being quick to respond with honesty, humility and a remedy. This is hard to do as an individual, as a spouse, parent and employee. But starting there and bringing this devoted integrity approach to the workplace can result in integrated, magnified, multiplied results and reward for the individual, team and company.
A team may have one or two stars, but each player performing to their potential is benefiting the team, the company as a whole, better than individuals making decisions driven by fear.
The hard, cold, real conclusion Liz Ryan gives in her Business Week article explains why open leadership is ahead of fear-based leadership:
Chief executives know in their hearts that smart people, set loose to solve big problems, are responsible for every success and innovation industry has ever seen. Fear-trampled employees don’t do a thing for your business. Still, management by fear is a hard habit to break, because fear-whipped underlings don’t squawk. Meanwhile, your competitors may be hiring your best talent away and stealing market share while you make it easy for them to do so. Those meek, submissive, broken-down employees might blossom in your rival’s trust-based culture. Do you really want to find out?
More than ever, I feel — and I hope more people are feeling — fortunate, smarter, more motivated, creative and able to confront and share criticism in real time at work…and everywhere.
Are You Past, Present of Future Focused?
RSA Animate – “The Secret Powers of Time” by The RSA on Monday, May 24th, 2010 (via comment.rsablogs.org.uk)
Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world. View the full video of Professor Philip Zimbardo’s talk at the RSA.
This video came my way through @cassondra in this Tweet:
RSA Animate –Zimbardo’s talk on The Secret Powers of Time this is the talk I mentioned @Kenekaplan. Enjoy!
I really like the past, present future perspective. I’m not sure we’re all one or the other. I’m a present and future person. My wife seems more a past and future person. The anecdote about Italy cutting itself in half — north and south — is very true, a living example of opposite perspectives/lifestyles create tension in close proximity — but can work together (hopefully)! And the fact that their is no future tense verb in Sicilian dialect is amazing — even the language focuses on past and present.
This got me thinking about other stories and themes of how technology is impacting human behavior for better or worse.
My team at Intel have been talking about the Hourglass Syndrome and how many of us want better performing computers because we hate to wait. A survey commissioned by our team revealed that many people lose 3 days a year “waiting” on their technology. Here are two tongue-in-cheek videos about Hourglass Syndrome:
Here are a few other related stories I’ve read recently that show that many people are more concerned about the impact of technology on our lives, and behaviors:
An Ugly Toll of Technology: Impatience and Forgetfulness in The New York Times (June 6, 2010)
Our Clutterned Minds, a New York Time Book Review on “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains” by Nicholas Carr (May 27, 2010)
Your Brain on Computers — Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price in The New York Times(June 6, 2010)
Computex 2010 Videos from Intel: Thin Laptops, Netbooks, Tablets, Handhelds
For two years now, I’ve helped my Intel communications team plan for and share what’s happening at Computex. And every year, my desire to BE THERE in Taipei grows. It looks like a blast — lots of gadget freaks going gaga over the latest devices and concept designs.
One of the concept designs Intel showed was a 14mm thin netbook with Intel Atom processor inside. I got to shoot some photos before the concept was shipped to Taipei — shared here.
As I’ve been reading stories and posts from people attending the show, I’ve been collected them on this Pearl Tree:
Here are a few videos, showing the latest technologies Intel was showing at the event, including some of the projects I got to work on over the past few months such as Intel Atom (codenames Moorestown and Canoe Lake) and the new ultra low volt Intel Core processors for super thin latpsops (on Twitter IntelThin).
Showing the very latest Intel-powered Tablets, handhelds and ultra thin laptops was how Intel celebrated the company’s 30th anniversary of participating at Computex in Taiwan. Intel Corporation is hosting a keynote and series of events to unveil and showcase its latest technology innovations, led by the Intel® Atom processor, and including PC client and smart, connected devices, ultra mobility and embedded, cloud computing, wireless broadband, as well as software and applications at Computex Taipei. Intels activities at Computex 2010 featured a keynote by David (Dadi) Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager, Intel Architecture Group (IAG) at the 3F Plenary Hall of Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) on June 1. Intel will exhibit its all-encompassing product platforms at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Nangang Exhibition Hall from June 1 -5.
Intel’s Mooly Eden was just named in Fast Company’s Top 25 Most Creative People in Business. Here he shows the very latest Intel-powered tablets, handhelds and ultra thin laptops was how Intel celebrated the company’s 30th anniversary of participating at Computex in Taiwan.
Ultra Thin Laptops Get All New 2010 Intel Core Processor
Living in California and working at Intel, I sometimes have the privilege of waking up early to get the latest insights about new technology. In this case, the timing was right because just this weekend my wife and I were exploring what type of laptop we should get for her work, studies, Skyping, photo management and well….management of our family digital life.
She has a three-year-old, sleek Sony laptop but the fan and hard drive are so loud and irritating. She uses a Classmate PC sometime while putting the kids to sleep, but it’s too small for her. She likes a bigger, bright screen and full keyboard vs. what most netbooks have.
I showed her the new line up of MacBooks at our local Apple store yesterday, but she doesn’t want a Mac. I showed her the Mac Air. I saw her get more interested when she felt how light it was. I think our next steps are to look for some of the new Ultra Thin laptops with an Intel Core i5, so we can check out the built-in Turbo Boost performance when processing and editing photos. And, it’d be light and easier to carry on our family trips…than the heavier, older laptop she’s been using.
Here is the Intel Webcast from this morning plus a few stories posted by some of my favorite tech blogs:
Here’s my PearlTree collection of stories on the new IntelThin mobile technology for laptops:
PearlTree of IntelThin 2010 Core Chips for Ultran Thin Laptops
Webcast introducing all new 2010 Intel Core processor — Intel Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 — available for ultra thin laptops.
“Consumers crave laptops that offer style and performance, and the new 2010 Intel® Core Ultra-Low Voltage processors for ultra-thin laptops delivers both, in one sleek design,” said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel. “Intel’s leadership in 32nm high-k metal gate process technology, combined with breakthrough architecture and design has enabled thinner, lighter and faster notebooks than previous models, with terrific battery life. Not only are laptops becoming ultraportable, but with the new processors inside, users will see faster response times and less waiting.”
Posterous Post Editor 2.0 Testing
I like Posterous, and was hoping for a few improvements. They may have all just arrived..
Creating a Social Media Plan: “Engage!” by Brian Solis
via om.ly
Very nice review by Marylene Delbourg-Delphis, who writes: The second half of the book comprises four parts that detail the new responsibilities that come up with the potential of social media, and focuses more specifically on what a “new marketing” approach may look like. One of the most remarkable sections is related to “defining the rules of engagement.” It unambiguously shows to the skeptics that the social media revolution is not a passing phenomenon spurred on or controlled by influencers, but the reality of today’s computing, one of the incarnations of the social Web, and that it is set to transform every single company from the inside. The examples of IBM’s and Intel’s guide-lines (and its digital IQ Program) do not only demonstrate the forward-thinking intelligence of people like Bryan Rhoads or Ken Kaplan (also see my post about him earlier last year), but also the proactive approach of highly regarded companies as they define new roles and responsibilities to adapt to a new world. Digital intelligence is not simply the prerogative of a handful of gurus appointed to task forces or advisory boards, it will also be part of the job description of most employees in the close future if they want to be up to par with educated customers. The scope of the book stops here, but it’s clear that the social media revolution will lead to the reassessment of corporate cultures, employee empowerment methodologies, and linguistic and artistic skills. “Unmarketing” just like any vibrant “marketing” starts from within. Corporate stonewalling doesn’t have too much future.
I just got my copy, courtesy of Intel Blogfather Bryan Rhoads. I’ll get crackin on it and look forward to our Intel Insider spotlight on Brian Solis in May 2010 — plans in the works.
Atom Gadget Going to SXSW 2010
via scoop.intel.com
I will miss this year’s SXSW Interactive, but I enjoyed getting to pull plans together and shoot a video of the Intel Atom Gadgets going to the event next week. If you’re going to SXSW, get your Gadgets on!
3-D Camera Coming from Panasonic — Cinequest 2010
via youtube.com
It’s fascinating to learn how digital video and 3-D technology are really intertwingin and creating real momentum in the movie making industry. Here is a snippet I captured during a panel at the Cinequest Film Festival in February 2010. Here we learn more about a 3-D off-the-shoulder cam that Panasonic is about to bring to market. Estimated price: $21,000. Two lens, two capture devices…. Capture/making 3-D quickly, on-the-go. Wow!
Movin' Ahead 