The ninth annual D: All Things Digital Conference took place last week, and it was refreshing to read about a world in which leaders are forward-thinking and visionary, where people are enthusiastic and optimistic, and where innovation and excitement about the future prevail.
We may not all be technologists, but we can certainly learn from some of the insights and observations made by leaders at the conference. We might even try applying some of their thoughts to our own situations.
Here are some of the gems that resonated with me:
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, talked about the “Gang of Four”, the most successful companies exploiting the Internet today: Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Their secret: They each have “a platform for creativity that people are building on top of”. My question to you is: What is your platform for creativity that people can build on top of? How are you developing that capacity in your career?
Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter, seemed sad to be left out of the “gang” but insisted that Twitter, too, is “a remarkably successful business” and highlighted the “amazing political, social and economic implications of this platform”. If Twitter is credited with playing a role in shifting the global geopolitical drama, what role can it play in your career or your organization?
Regina Dugan, leader of the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, had the following universally applicable insight: “It’s understood that for us to have those really big wins, we’re going to have failures as part of that. Failure isn’t the problem. It’s the fear of failure that’s the limiting factor.” To what extent does this fear of failure hamper you from trying, reaching and stretching in your career?
And, Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, commented on the transformation of Apple from near bankruptcy in 1997 to its current position of success. He believes what made the difference was the willingness and ability to come up with breakthrough, even radical, products. As an investor, what he looks for is “something where, when people look at it, at first they say ‘I don’t get it, I don’t understand it. I think it’s too weird, I think it’s too unusual.’ ” Are there opportunities for you to come up with radical, breakthrough ideas for your organization? Is there a way you can present yourself as a radical, breakthrough solution for problems?
And now, another technology-inspired metaphor for your career: the concept of “fragmentation”. According to Wikipedia, “fragmentation occurs when the operating system cannot or will not allocate enough contiguous space to store a complete file as a unit, but instead puts parts of it in gaps between other files (usually those gaps exist because they formerly held a file that the operating system has subsequently deleted or because the operating system allocated excess space for the file in the first place). Larger files and greater numbers of files also contribute to fragmentation and consequent performance loss. Defragmentation attempts to alleviate these problems.”
In many ways, the work of an executive coach or career counselor is akin to the process of defragmentation. Through the process of defragmentation, people learn how to better manage fragmenting conditions including: overwhelming information flow, chronic multi-tasking, a fragmented attention span, and low productivity due to a lack of prioritization and focus.
A simple, 5-step process can help people regain control and become more efficient and effective at getting things accomplished:
- Illuminate – through self-observation and asking for feedback, you can more objectively see your own situation or behaviors. Shedding light on what you normally do is the first step to making meaningful changes.
- Integrate – find ways to synthesize disparate ideas and activities, and make sure they resonate, make sense and are relevant to the goals you wish to accomplish.
- Ignite – any call to action, whether to yourself or to others, must inspire people and tap their inner motivation and desire for change.
- Implement – plan and organize the path to change, and ensure the resources are there to support you.
- Impact – measure and record the impact of any change on yourself, on those working with you, and on the organization. Communicate successes, and acknowledge failures and learnings so the impact becomes embedded in the culture.
Fredia Woolf, Founder of Woolf Consulting, writes about career and workplace issues. She coaches leaders on how to reach their people, their goals and their potential, and designs programs for organizations to enhance their effectiveness and the quality of their leadership. She can be contacted at fwoolf@woolfconsulting.com.
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Last updated on June 15th, 2011 at 06:27 pm
I found this blog courtesy of @AvidCareerist and am struck by the aptness of the defragging metaphor. As a bit of a techie, this is an excellent analogy.