Musings 
No Comments Leadership & Management
“Vision without Action is a daydream.
Acton without Vision is a nightmare.”
– Japanese Proverb
“Leadership is a “can-do”, “get-it-done”,
“everyone-pull-together”, “whatever-it- takes” attitude.”
– Orville Schell
Giving homage to the thousands of books on management techniques, I still claim that Leadership and Management are more art than science, although techniques can be learned. Effective techniques must accommodate culture and environment. Measuring and monitoring what is actually occurring with management interventions must be ongoing. Timely decisiveness is crucial to effective management and leadership. We must learn to take advantage of current fortune and be alert not to relax or underinvest in developing future options.
Always have a back-up plan.
Always have an exit strategy.
Always have an alternative airfield.
Always start your Plan with 4W + H:
– What?
– Who?
– Where?
– Why?
– How?
Colin Powell advised that the probability of success for any endeavor requires obtaining 40 to 70 percent of the essential information and then “go with your gut”.
A good friend, who is a very senior executive of Chevron, advises the following,
“Good leaders are well grounded, introspective and humble. They never let power or ego blind them. Good leaders have passion and a bias for action. Leaders are not afraid to make mistakes but they are determined to learn from them. Responsible leaders don’t accept the status quo and always work to change the outcome. These leaders see the innate potential in people and unlock it. Through inspiration and role-modeling, these leaders win the hearts and minds of everyone around them and get more from their people than humanly possible.“
Management and Leadership must co-exist. Good observation skills coupled with people-skills are essential for effective Management / Leadership.
Successful Leadership / Management strategies and processes must emanate from the synergistic intersection where courage, action, and responsibility meet.
Six P’s of Effective Leadership / Management
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
My Operating Definition of Leadership:
Lead – to be out-in-front
Ship – a transport system
Therefore, for me, Leadership is a process that moves you forward, puts you out-in-front, that is synonymous with influence, authority, power, and the ability to get things done. This process is vital for personal and organizational effectiveness.
Responsible leadership is taking charge, even if only of oneself, to move toward a better place.
While researching principles for Leadership several concepts became apparent:
- The wisdom and advice for improved life experience through personal resolve apply to effective Responsible Leadership
- The corollary is also true: the principles for Responsible Leadership apply to strengthening personal resolve and enhancing an individual’s life experience.
The principles of Responsible Leadership, the attributes, and the contributions are goals and actions that anyone can use in any situation.
Leadership is a privilege. An appreciative public showers effective responsible leaders with acknowledgment and social and financial benefits.
My selection of Small Bites represents my primary life-bias. My comments in introducing Small Bites were not originally intended to editorialize as the categories and selections speak for themselves. The chapter headings are themselves a recommended pathway. Yet, I concur with recent criticisms about the loss of focus on the important things driving social and personal progress.
Since the 1980’s, in my opinion, too many of our brightest young people, those most likely harboring the promise of greatest social contributions, have chosen not to work in the fields related to STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Medicine). Many instead have opted to work in the Wall Street linked industries where, in my opinion, relatively less lasting social value is created or contributed. Many suggest that this imbalance of talent and power in the financial industries have exacerbated the dangers of debt-fueled economic growth and spirally debt crises with the social ills of growing inequality and money influence on politics.
Some of the major societal growth drivers, which need our near-term attention and improvement are: public education, physical health and fitness, renewable energy grids, land-based and digital infrastructures and accessibility. While the Liberal Arts can contribute great value in lifting the human spirit, the STEMM competencies are in short supply and are needed to address many of the major issues impacting our societies.
