Teamwork v. Collaboration per Patricia Martin
The book is called "RenGen," by
Patricia Martin. Her thesis is that we are in general, and the USA in particular, on the edge of a new Renaissance. That many of the social signs marking the onset of the first Renaissance are in place today. One of the highlights of a Renaissance is the emergence of droves of creative people.
Creative people demand collaboration rather than top-down management. Top-down management, known to some as "command and control," is an artifact of the Industrial Revolution, and was probably at the peak of its influence in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. I have talked before about war-monger managers, who read works like Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and draw management inferences from them. These guys are the ultimate top-down types. Please don't get me wrong, by the way: command and control management has its place, for instance in the military, where instructions tend to be simple and imperative, and many things must be learned through repetition until perfected. I'm just saying -- and I think Martin is saying it too -- that you can't run a whole business with that technique. At the very least, you won't draw creative people to work in that environment.
Creative people can lead as well as follow, which is different from the critical
"team-player" concept seen in many contemporary job ads. The concept of the team-player suggests someone who can only follow. There's a limit to how much mileage you can get from a company full of followers. Some managers don't like leaders, however, because they want to avoid discussion and confrontation over all tasks in the company. LOL But many creative people, as said above, can do both -- and if they can recognize (or be taught) when leadership is needed, and whom it's needed from, then you'll find very valuable employees who can switch roles to fulfill specific needs. Martin gives an example of an orchestra that doesn't have a conductor. How would that work?
Sociability matters in this context. People who get along with people, and who are creative, are the most valuable players of all in this new context. Martin gives numerous examples of highly creative companies who find these people and succeed as a result.
Finally, talent attracts talent. The leader/followers tend to have specialties that complement one another. And these people love to work in companies where other such people work. Even if they must work harder and for less.
Labels: history, recommendations
How do you become an "expert on computers?"
I once knew someone who referred to the IT staff in my workplace as being "experts on computers." Now, the qualifications of someone who is "expert on computers" include knowledge of the contents of enough books to fill my living room. LOL
For the person I mention here when one of us doesn't know instantly how to solve a (normally poorly-phrased) problem, we hear something like "and you're supposed to be an expert on computers." My own expertise includes knowledge of a pile of books that goes up about chest-high on me. And oh yeah, never mind that this person could at the time do little more than read the e-mail. I'd get called out in front of strangers over this, too.
Entrepreneurs, take note: your people are experts at what they're expert at. If you aren't sure what that is, then why did you hire them? How would you know when they're doing a good job? How would you even know what the job is that needs doing? If you don't know what needs doing, you ought to step aside and leave the hiring to someone who does. And if you want these people to be loyal and go the extra mile, then never, EVER try to embarrass them in front of others. EVER.
Labels: office space
How to ask a question!
Most people haven't thought about this, because we've asked questions all our lives. It's how we learn. But the fact is that we aren't very good at it, and because we're not very good at it, we don't usually get the answers we're really looking for. So now here we are in the age of blogging and social networking, and in these environments we ask questions the same way we ask our best friend when we're sitting at the bar.
Not me, man. If I'm going to go to the effort of typing up a question, I'm going to make sure I ask one that will get me some good answers and not make me look like a bloomin' idiot. This was a skill people had to master in the days when
Usenet filled the role that social networking plays now, and I (at least) have not forgotten it. So here's how to ask a question properly:
- Don't leave hints as to what you believe is the "correct" answer. Be neutral, or someone who might've helped you will leave off.
- Don't leave terms undefined. This of course includes jargon and acronyms, but also includes any term with multiple meanings. Be explicit.
- Ask one question at a time. Don't throw in extras with "oh by the way" or "let me also ask." Don't confuse the issue.
- Don't use the question as an ad for your services. You ANSWER questions for THAT.
- Do thank people who take the trouble to answer you. And be polite about it. Some people will give answers that have already been said by someone else; some will give trivial answers or will say something that reflects no knowledge at all. If you act like you're put out by that, others will see you as using people instead of valuing their opinions.
- Do summarize what you hear for the benefit of all. That's what Rhetoric for Engineers is all about: a collection of summaries. This satisfies the dozens of people out there who have the same questions you do, but for whatever reason have not asked them. It's OK for them to depend on you.
It may not be your primary goal to keep your name out there, if you're using your blog or membership in a social networking site to get your questions answered, but it can be a good secondary goal. If you do a good job of asking and answering questions, your name will get out there. You'll find some people will even want to know you for it.
Labels: internet, recommendations
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