Giving
Observer December 31st, 2007
More than a dozen years ago I worked for a company that had a foundation doing great, hands-on, in-the-field work in developing countries. At the time, the standing policy on publicizing this good work was essentially one of let’s not be so crass as to use it to curry favor. Meanwhile, the fields of both corporate responsibility and private philanthropy advanced enormously. And while much remains unseen and unsung, the demands for increased transparency and accountability in all forms of institutional life, including foundations and NGOs, has shed more light than ever on efforts seeking to rebalance inequities across a globalized world. For an inspiring read, chock-full of ideas on donating in all its forms (time, money, skills etc) take a dip into Bill Clinton’s newish book, Giving. Of the many moving and innovative examples, my personal favourite, “Chess in the Schools“. He also covers giving throughout the life cycle, from kids and students to midlife ‘made it’ generation, to octogenarians. The book got me checking on planned posthumous giving to children’s charities. Two questions for me: Is that enough, and what am I waiting for?!
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It’s the humans…
Observer December 1st, 2007
The wonderful in-his-own-words memoir of Alan Greenspan (yes, Alan Greenspan), former Chairman of the Federal Reserve brings to mind a parody of the lament “It’s the economy, stupid”. Noting the influence of Russian born philosopher Ayn Rand on his life, Greenspan reports “I was intellectually limited until I met her. All of my work had been empirical and numbers-based, never values-oriented.” …Rand persuaded Greenspan “to look at human beings, their values, how they work, what they do and why they do it…”. The turbulence of his book’s title, owes much, aside from fundamentals, to factors of “it’s the humans, stupid” and moreover the full range of their feelings, from fear on the one hand to exuberance on the other. Feelings, that drive thoughts, that drive behaviors. The book’s right up there with Katherine Graham’s Personal History as a compelling first person account of US public life, spanning several presidencies and not a few crises.
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The charisma thing
Observer November 18th, 2007
The ‘charisma thing’ seems to characterize as much of the chattering around what makes for good leadership as does ‘the vision thing’. As Jim Collins shows in Good to Great, the level 5 leaders have done extremely well for their companies often in the absence of this ‘magic’. But we know nevertheless that when we see it we tend to respond to it. History shows us that charisma can work for tremendous good, but also evil. It’s a mesmerizing quality that can drive followers to sometimes bond emotionally to the exclusion of rationality. Joseph Badaracco in his excellent Questions of Character illuminates, with the help of F Scott Fitzgerald, the notion of reverse causality around charisma. That’s to say that it comes with success, the role, its power and span of influence as much as due to any personality traits. A sobering thought, and something former high profile leaders may wryly concur with.
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Data and denial
Observer October 31st, 2007
For the numerically challenged, a grreat little book, The Tiger that Isn’t, by Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot. Fit-for-purpose in times when spin has so often gotten the better of substance. If you suspect “the data” that underpins “the story”, the former Director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies offers clear and accessible guidance through the thicket. The book deconstructs and demsytifies statistics in an engaging way that deepens understanding based on our experience in daily life. While it won’t turn out armies of Carol Vordermans it advocates, as it teaches, a reluctance to accept the drama of headlines at face value. And it shows well the knowledge-at-large about both politicians and press in terms of selective opportunism in disclosure. So as ever, buyer beware.
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Sharing the limelight
Observer April 15th, 2007
.. a priceless vignette in the new thumper on and for Andy Grove, named as such, by Richard Tedlow. It speaks to Grove’s resentment at not getting credit for his increasingly pivotal role in Intel’s early days. The public face remained co-founder Bob Noyce even while his day to day involvement decreased. This ‘got on Grove’s nerves’. The fix? His wife Eva calls Noyce to express as such, and lo and behold, things change. As often, behind every great man, a great woman (and it may be trending to the vice versa these days too). Or maybe the Groves together are just a crack team.
There’s no question of Grove’s managerial excellence, mastery, and natural leadership characteristics. But between the lines of this book, while Grove comes across as a force of nature, one cannot be convinced he was always a positive force for those working closely with him day in day out. For sure he stretched people to perform beyond themselves, and many became multimillionaires. But was Intel a good place for the soul? Was the culture an asset or a liability? What gets forgiven in the way of behavior when performance is strong? And what the forgone contribution of associates inhibited by fear?
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Compelling
Observer March 4th, 2007
.. Giants of Enterprise, by Richard S Tedlow. Rare so compelling a business book. But this is less a business book, more a swathe of industrial history. He takes Carnegie, Ford, Eastman, Watson (IBM), Revson (Revlon), Walton (Wal-Mart) and Noyce (Intel) and charts the life story of each from formative beginnings to outstanding business success. Interesting and sometime disturbing commentary here on behavior, power, and isolation. Who for dinner? Probably Noyce, though Eastman would have been intriguing too.
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