I’m reading Jim Collins new book, “Great by Choice”. As with his other work, this book offers tremendous insight into what 10Xers (companies that do 10 times better than their peers) do differently. In the chapter entitled “Leading Above the Death Line”, Collins writes about how great companies and their leaders lead in the face of extreme challenges. The death line is a reference to the high-risk zone of very high altitude in the ascent of Mt. Everest. This quote from the end of the chapter sums it up:
Not all time in life is equal. Life serves up some moments that count much more than other moments…10Xers prepare for those moments, recognize those moments, grab those moments, upend their lifes in those moments, and deliver their best in those moments. They respond to unequal times with unequal intensity, when it matters most.
Almost six years ago, I wrote a post predicting – Client/Server 2.0: The Next Big Thing. I then followed it up with some additional thinking in Client/Server 2.0 part deux back in January 2007. It occurred to me the other day, that I spend most of my time working in a Client/Server 2.0 environment – iOS applications that allow users to view back end server data. The iPhone, iPad, and android devices host the clients in the new Client/Server world in which we live and love our mobile apps. I was right.
Interestingly, HTML 5 is coming on strong. It will be interesting to see if the web browser pulls out a comeback and wrestles functionality away from the native apps again. How many times can the industry bounce back and forth between these models? And, will some new competing model make web browser AND native clients obsolete?
After fighting the urge to share this for over 24 hours, I am giving in. It’s just too good to keep to myself…
A couple days ago, I shared a link to an article from one of the Harvard Business Review blogs. The post, I Don’t Understand What Anyone is Saying Anymore, hit close to home for me. It highlights five common (and somewhat funny) dysfunctions of business communication. It’s a short read, entertaining, and moderately convicting. But, here’s the kicker. Yesterday, I received a business announcement, the likes of which I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. Here’s an excerpt from the announcement – the names have been changed to protect the innocent (and guilty).
Bob is responsible for driving incremental market share in the XYZ market segment, responsible for the XYZ offers, and is the ABC organization lead on a DEF organization initiative to support big feature X across the entire company portfolio. Bob will partner with members of the ABC and DEF organizations as well as services, sales, channels and other stakeholders on both of these initiatives.
Wow! Driving, leading, supporting, partnering, initiatives, stakeholders. What does this mean? Who talks that way?
Remember, the effectiveness of leadership is measured in terms of influence. When you see someone’s influence reflected so profoundly in the lives of other people, you have identified someone who is by definition a leader. -John MacArthur
