1.29.2009
Managing the Work Avoidance
Congress is in the middle of passing its latest bailout package. Watching their process is so hard. We are only a few days into President Obama's term and we are seeing quickly the limited reach he has to lead from the front. His mandate from the people doesn't have enough currency to effect congressional behavior. By many accounts, this 825 billion dollar package is not finally tuned to address the needs of the moment. Rather it represents an amalgamation of special local politcal projects that are more about paving the way for congressional re-elections then the good of the order today.
In effect Congress in passing this package, has effectively avoided the real work by reverting to the customs and practices of old. Today a reporter on NPR's Morning Edition said that after President Obama visited the congress to get both bi-partisian support and a more specific focus on the spending, he was over-heard to say "Old habits die hard."
I believe it is this work of changing old habits that will be President Obama's biggest challenge and his hardest work. And it looks like it starts just up the street with his former collegues in Congress. When a leader is unable to solve a problem on his or her own using proven strategies, it's a clear indication that the problem is wicked in nature. The common strategy that followers employ when facing a difficult situation is to avoid the issue and return to old work using old strategies.
Solving the financial crisis is a true wicked problem and it will require more and different approaches then have been used in the past. Most of these different approaches are unknown and have not yet been created. Mr. Obama's challenge is to wake congress up to the difficult reality they face now and do the hard work of inventing new solutions to a new kind of problem. If he is not able to do that, he will fall victim to the congressional strategy (which is implied and never spoken) of seducing the President with his own power-of-the-presidency and effectively give back to him the problem they were elected to solve.
As of today it looks as if Congress is leading this dance. Leadership in turbulant times is difficult.
In effect Congress in passing this package, has effectively avoided the real work by reverting to the customs and practices of old. Today a reporter on NPR's Morning Edition said that after President Obama visited the congress to get both bi-partisian support and a more specific focus on the spending, he was over-heard to say "Old habits die hard."
I believe it is this work of changing old habits that will be President Obama's biggest challenge and his hardest work. And it looks like it starts just up the street with his former collegues in Congress. When a leader is unable to solve a problem on his or her own using proven strategies, it's a clear indication that the problem is wicked in nature. The common strategy that followers employ when facing a difficult situation is to avoid the issue and return to old work using old strategies.
Solving the financial crisis is a true wicked problem and it will require more and different approaches then have been used in the past. Most of these different approaches are unknown and have not yet been created. Mr. Obama's challenge is to wake congress up to the difficult reality they face now and do the hard work of inventing new solutions to a new kind of problem. If he is not able to do that, he will fall victim to the congressional strategy (which is implied and never spoken) of seducing the President with his own power-of-the-presidency and effectively give back to him the problem they were elected to solve.
As of today it looks as if Congress is leading this dance. Leadership in turbulant times is difficult.
1.27.2009
John, Ted and Dad
Just heard that John Updike passed away. He was my dad's favorite writer. He wrote a wonderful essay on Ted Williams, when Williams passed away. Ted Williams was my father's favorite ballplayer. I lost my father a few years back.
This is for you dad.
This is for you dad.
Good Morning from John Thain
72,500 jobs were cut yesteday in the world economy according to the Financial Times. But John Thain, the resently "fired" CEO of Merrill Lynch found a way to top that news. He said it was a mistake to pay 1.2 million dollars to remodel his office last year.
A mistake?
A mistake usually involves an apology somewhere in the conversation. But not from John. For him it was just an issue of bad timing.
I wonder if his fall is waking him up. This situation is evidence that the Burning Platform of Change is a lousy change strategy. By the time you realize there is a fire, the only option left to you is survival. All other options are history.
A mistake?
A mistake usually involves an apology somewhere in the conversation. But not from John. For him it was just an issue of bad timing.
I wonder if his fall is waking him up. This situation is evidence that the Burning Platform of Change is a lousy change strategy. By the time you realize there is a fire, the only option left to you is survival. All other options are history.
1.23.2009
Go Places That Scare You
Buddhist advise: Go places that scare you.
Well that shouldn't be too hard these days. A sample from today's Financial Times includes word that Microsoft is laying off 5000 people, the banking sector is still in deep trouble, the stock market was off again and Spain estimates 100,000 jobs in its tourism industry are at risk. No, finding scary places is the easy part.
But as is usually the case, the Buddhist wisdom is not about lost jobs and poor performing banking sectors. It is about the inner workings of us humans. This advise is meant to encourage us to move towards those experiences, people and opportunities that scare us the most. Why would anyone do this? Because we are either growing or dying; there is no middle ground. And real growth always has an edge to it; some aspect that scares us.
For me, the edge is always about connecting to people. I tell myself that I hate to network. I tell myself I'm no good at small talk and not great at promoting myself and my work. Yet connecting to other people is an essential action to growing my business. I believe that to do my part to help revive our economy, our country and our sense of self, I need to visit those places that scare me.
I'll let you know how it works out.
Well that shouldn't be too hard these days. A sample from today's Financial Times includes word that Microsoft is laying off 5000 people, the banking sector is still in deep trouble, the stock market was off again and Spain estimates 100,000 jobs in its tourism industry are at risk. No, finding scary places is the easy part.
But as is usually the case, the Buddhist wisdom is not about lost jobs and poor performing banking sectors. It is about the inner workings of us humans. This advise is meant to encourage us to move towards those experiences, people and opportunities that scare us the most. Why would anyone do this? Because we are either growing or dying; there is no middle ground. And real growth always has an edge to it; some aspect that scares us.
For me, the edge is always about connecting to people. I tell myself that I hate to network. I tell myself I'm no good at small talk and not great at promoting myself and my work. Yet connecting to other people is an essential action to growing my business. I believe that to do my part to help revive our economy, our country and our sense of self, I need to visit those places that scare me.
I'll let you know how it works out.
1.19.2009
Mr. Obama Begins
This blog begins when Mr. Obama begins. The timing is a coincidence. I'm like so many who are wondering what this change will bring. I'm looking forward to the inauguration but I'm more looking forward to Wednesday, January 21, 2009. This is the day that the new president will come face to face with some of the most difficult challenges this country has ever confronted.
No matter what he thinks, no matter what we hope and not matter what the country and the world need, he is likely to have a difficult time in the coming weeks and months. Progress will be hard and the achievements will be slow. This is not because he is unqualified; I believe he is the most qualified man for this job at this time in our history. I believe he will struggle for a time because of the wickedness of the problems he faces. Wicked problems that are likely to get more complex and harder as he attempts to solve them.
It is the very nature of wicked problems that they get more difficult before the are resolved. President Obama will eventually make progress on these challenges and he will do it with our help but it will take time. More time then any of us would like and more time then some of us can afford.
How can we help? First we need to give him that time to do his job. Second, we will need to have patience. The third way we can help is to get out and help other people solve their problems. Sometimes we will be compensated for that help and other time we need not be. Getting into action, helping create impact and being of service will help our mood and our moral and it will generate momentum. We need to be the generators of good news and millions of acts of good work. We are in this together, we will need to stay together to get out and move forward.
Welcome President Obama. We are here to do our part.
Rick Torseth
No matter what he thinks, no matter what we hope and not matter what the country and the world need, he is likely to have a difficult time in the coming weeks and months. Progress will be hard and the achievements will be slow. This is not because he is unqualified; I believe he is the most qualified man for this job at this time in our history. I believe he will struggle for a time because of the wickedness of the problems he faces. Wicked problems that are likely to get more complex and harder as he attempts to solve them.
It is the very nature of wicked problems that they get more difficult before the are resolved. President Obama will eventually make progress on these challenges and he will do it with our help but it will take time. More time then any of us would like and more time then some of us can afford.
How can we help? First we need to give him that time to do his job. Second, we will need to have patience. The third way we can help is to get out and help other people solve their problems. Sometimes we will be compensated for that help and other time we need not be. Getting into action, helping create impact and being of service will help our mood and our moral and it will generate momentum. We need to be the generators of good news and millions of acts of good work. We are in this together, we will need to stay together to get out and move forward.
Welcome President Obama. We are here to do our part.
Rick Torseth
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