I was saddened to hear of the passing of Lou Gerstner who was CEO of IBM beginning in 1993. He was a powerful force and the first IBM CEO recruited from “outside.” Arguably he saved the company.
For those who didn’t live through it, it’s hard to convey just how close IBM came to disaster in those days – before Lou arrived. I was there. We knew we had a problem. The question was whether we were willing to face it.
I remember a meeting of Canadian sales managers – Toronto, circa 1990 – where a senior executive opened the event by reading a sombre ‘press release…’ IBM was being purchased by a Japanese company. Job loss was inevitable.
You could hear a pin drop.
After a few heavy minutes, the charade was exposed – it wasn’t real. “This could happen, and it will if we don’t change” we were told. It was a powerful lesson in creating a true burning platform.
I joined IBM Canada as a Sales Representative and Sales Manager in 1981, before Lou took the helm. A decade later I later became National Manager of Market Driven Quality. I was on the turnaround team. I remember organizing customer focus groups across Canada. Many were brutal. Customers were angry. We had stopped listening – and it showed.
The crisis wasn’t only cultural. We also failed to fully understand the rise of the PC and the importance of selling services. Big Blue sold big iron. But the market had already shifted. Lou Gerstner understood these forces. He knew that transformation requires a sense of crisis. He forced IBM to confront reality – and change.
IBM was my first real job, and an incredible one for which I am truly grateful. Great customers. Exceptional colleagues. Superior products. And a front-row seat to a remarkable turnaround.
Rest in peace, Lou.
Image Source: Globe and Mail and Kathy Willens/ Associated Press
There’s a grand geo-political redesign in the works or so it seems. The world has lots of moving parts and they’re moving faster and faster these days. Will the wheels fall off? Maybe. I’d like to think not. I’m open to any possibility. Are you?
I read with great interest Andrew Coyne’s opinion piece “The point is not to be different from the States. It’s to be better than them.” I respect the award winning journalist and I appreciate my subscription to his work, but today I struggle with what seems to be his fundamental assertion. Coyne’s piece insightfully analyzes the Canadian identity (crisis). He offers context about Alberta and Quebec (my home province) and their separatist tendencies. He describes Canadian culture and highlites some of the many features of our country including Medicare. Its a great article which I encourage every Canadian to read.
Its Coyne’s assertion that one country needs to be better than the other that I fundamentally question. Many people today are observing challenges to the status quo and digging in their heels to defend their current reality. They seem to be taking hard positions that bold new ideas are just plain wrong. Coyne does a great job of describing a range of possibilities for Canada’s future but seems closed to the idea that a new thing might be better.
There might be a new deal between Canada and the United States that, in the long run, could make the world, and my grandson’s life, better. I want to be open to that. We don’t need to be better than them. And they don’t need to be better than us. We just need to be better (off). All of us.
I’m tired of choking on my breakfast as I read newspapers and yelling at late night TV seeing politicians (and the journalists who help to keep them accountable) dig in their heels. I have a degree of hope that there is a better tomorrow out there and that it could be different from what we know today. We need to be open to that, and we need to listen to the possibilities without dismissing the people who offer them. I have reservations about Donald Trump as do most Canadians that I know. I also have reservations about our current and candidate Canadian political leaders. I’m trying to give them all the benefit of the doubt. And its not easy. I’m hoping that they can lead us all to a better tomorrow, including maybe one that is very different from today.
I experienced the euphoria of convocation again this season and I’m a better person because of it. I witnessed and shared in the feeling of pride among the graduates and the community. Its a beautiful thing – finishing. Accomplishments need to be celebrated together, as a community, especially after too many years apart. It was wonderful. And it seemed different this time compared to a few years ago, pre-covid and pre-ChatGpt. The human side of the experience was noticeably more powerful.
There’s a lot being said about artificial intelligence these days especially in education. There was nothing ‘bot ish’ about this convocation. Where ChatGPT seeks to predict, the behaviour I observed at convocation was quite unpredictable – at least less predictable than pre-covid, and pre-ChatGpt. I’ve seen it in business meetings too lately. People didn’t hold back at convocation and they don’t seme to be holding back in general. Fear and futility are the two most common reasons for people not speaking out in organizations. Could it be that people want to speak their mind and they are less afraid of the consequences? Could it be that they are bustin’ out? I think so, and its likely that they expect their feedback will be heard and acted upon.
Lets assume there is a shift underway towards people wanting to speak up and speak out more. What would organizations and leaders need to do differently to succeed in that new world? Well, they would probably need to get better at listening. And they seem to be trying. I have repeatedly observed increased effort among leaders to actively listen in large face-to-face settings. They are listening for what the future holds and how to get there first. They are listening with innovative tools like Design Thinking. They are listening for for what customers say, think, feel, and do. They are listening to find solutions. That’s what (good) leaders do.
The tools we may need now more than ever (i.e. more than ChatGPT) relate to human communication and relationships. Increasingly I apply the Haven Communications Model but alas I am a novice. Purposeful human centered interaction is as important as it is unpredictable now. Design Thinkingincluding applying related tools made available from IBM are very appropriate now as powerful listening frameworks. These real intelligence tools all require work. Artificial intelligence could not predict what I felt at convocation nor what I chose to share in large group problem solving meetings. AI can’t make judgements and have a sense of timing, or nuance, or fun. That’s where we humans come in. Hi, its me, I’m the problem its me. As machines get better with the easy stuff we humans need to get better at the tough stuff, the human stuff, the full catastrophe.
In a few years I’m confident that society (and my students) will have figured out how to get the most out of emerging AI tools like ChatGPT. I’m also confident that in a few short years the currently evident abundance of leadership listening will wind down. By then followers will expect that their leaders to take action – to change and improve. Better an OK strategy well executed than a perfect one not done. “We value your input and intend to take action based on your feedback.” These are important but dangerous words for leaders post-covid and post-ChaptGPT. They may be met with a follower’s response, “Thanks for asking, and for listening, now where’s the action and the payback?” If followers see no action or results after speaking up they will inevitably reach one of two conclusions. “I won’t waste my voice anymore,” or “I’m gone.” That’s not the kind of graduation leaders are typically looking for these days.
There’s a lot of labour unrest brewing in the western world these days and lots of general world unrest to go round. Wages and working conditions seem to be popular negotiating items in the free world. The post-covid employee love affair with remote work and the associated freedoms it brings remains strong. Many organizations are leaning in to the new reality with flexible policies and retention strategies to beat the band. Many people are negotiating their way through the changing world and coping, while many are struggling.
Differences are growing and in some ways gaps are widening on many measures where they are intended to narrow. Gaps in affordable housing, gaps in availability of healthcare, wage gaps, debt-to-income ratio gaps, social safety net gaps. Recent estimates of household income distribution reveal that wealth decreased for a broad range of households, but especially for the most vulnerable, including the least wealthy and households younger than 45 years (StatsCan, 2022). Since 1995 the global share of billionaire wealth tripled – the largest increase ever (UNESCO, 2022). Arguably there are gaps in the gaps.
I’ve been increasingly inspired by the great drummer and music legend Neil Pert lately and the iconic Canadian band Rush. Their song The Oaks and the Maples is amazing. While its generally reported that Pert did not write the song as a social statement, it does have a certain appropriateness for our present time and the unrest attributable to many social gaps. Even if Pert didn’t intend the double entendre its worth noting the song’s finale highlited below. Differences and gaps are often resolved with blunt tools. Mind the gap! I remember the days of wage and price controls.
There is unrest in the Forest There is trouble with the trees For the Maples want more sunlight And the Oaks ignore their pleas.
The trouble with the Maples (And they’re quite convinced they’re right) They say the Oaks are just too lofty And they grab up all the light But the Oaks can’t help their feelings If they like the way they’re made And they wonder why the Maples Can’t be happy in their shade?
There is trouble in the Forest And the creatures all have fled As the Maples scream ‘Oppression!’ And the Oaks, just shake their heads
So the Maples formed a Union And demanded equal rights ‘The Oaks are just too greedy We will make them give us light’ Now there’s no more Oak oppression For they passed a noble law And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, Axe, And saw…
A senior executive once described her career as “remarkably tougher than that of my male counterparts. All of them.” Science says she’s in the majority, at least when it comes to male dominated sectors of which there are far too many. Research says senior executive women in the technology sector feel career drag because of their gender (Fauteux, 2017). Progress has been made but the gap persists. Like many I look forward to the day when the reality of equity and diversity is here. Alas it’s not here yet. You don’t need to look far to find local examples of what is all too visible around the world. Its tough for women and girls.
We know that there is a gender gap in the tech sector, especially in the senior ranks, yet we seem powerless do do much about it. One reason we sometimes avoid the ‘dirty little secret’ relates to our fear of overcompensating. ‘If our affirmative action goes too far then we’d just tip the scales the other way and that’s not equity, yada yada.’ So we do less or little.
Today on International Women’s day lets try to “give a little push” to what seems to have been screwed up otherwise. Lets find small (and big) ways to tip the scales more towards equity for women and girls, and in general. Let’s say something or do something that might feel uncomfortable to us in the interest of advancing women. These suggestions are especially for men, today, but they apply to everyone always (at least a bit).
Try using pronouns in your stories of ‘she/ her’ instead of ‘he/him.’ When you tell a story about Steve Jobs, mirror it with a story about Ursula Burns. When you walk into a room of 90% women, notice that, and do something to make it better. If you have oversight of salaries take a closer look to ensure your organization has achieved pay equity and not just talked about it. And finally, offer opportunities and encouragement to women and girls. Sometimes just a little push in the right direction can make a big difference.
I can’t write a post to support women on International Women’s Day without acknowledging two especially amazing women – my wife Mary and my daughter Julia. I am blessed to have you in my life. We are all blessed to have you in this world. Thank you for being my inspiration and for being shining examples of hard work, dedication, and love.
A student once asked me if they ‘really’ needed to buy our course textbook, hoping to buy a pair of children’s birthday shoes instead. I loaned the text. About that time I met David Porter, Ed.D. and learned about Open Education Resources (OER’s i.e. good quality and freely accessible textbooks). Since then I have been an advocate for OER’s and the idea of students curating them.
We have made lots of OER progress in Nova Scotia including at Nova Scotia Community College – NSCC, of which I am very proud. Today, in the middle of Open Education Week, my appreciation goes to British Columbia and open.bccampus.ca. Thank you for leading the way!
Check out the BC story about their 10 year journey with OER’s and then check back here for NS news in a couple of years. Quality, free, and coast to coast!
If you believe what the media has been reporting about The White House lately (and it’s hard not to) there’s a lot of lying going on in Washington. And there may be a lot more to come. Isn’t it ironic that one of the greatest truth finders of our time will be watching it all from a bench too far? Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), ‘lying in state’ are words of sadness.
Whenever a new US Supreme Court Justice is confirmed s/he will no doubt quickly make a supreme impact on the world. In a time of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity policy makers are facing decisions which call for new ways of thinking in response to our new ways of being. S/he will have a difficult job to do.
Navigating in these times will continue to be tough for everyone and there will be many appeals to the supreme court – in search of truth.
These days while people go to their corners and get ready to disagree on what can be very important conversations, it might be wise for us to practice something RGB taught us. When asked about keys to success in life, she once said, “Every now and then it helps to be a little deaf.” She seemed to be speaking about more than just family relationships. She may have been foreshadowing the growing need for tolerance in society and the value of self reflection rather than instantly voicing dissent.
Together with her colleagues, RGB left the world a rule book for the bigger questions, the more important moments, the ones with right and wrong answers. Alas our world is full of smaller questions and many more casual moments with less definitive answers. And they sometimes seem to be full of lies. Many of society’s conversations these days could be de-escalated by each of us being more tolerant of other perspectives, by more turning of a cheek, and as Ruth suggested, by being a little deaf from time to time.
When presented with new challenges or opportunities people often say something like, “I’ll get to that when things settle down.” No, they won’t. That response generally means they’re more focused on the now and not embracing the future. They’re like still water. Successful organizations, teams, and individuals are in a constant state of change. They’re like rippling water.
There are lots of good reasons why organizations, teams, and individuals don’t change. Fear of the unknown is a common reason cited. People are often in a comfort zone where their desire to change is outweighed be whatever is holding them back. They’re stuck. They need a rippler.
Say, for example, there’s a new system being implemented at a workplace. The old system has been in place for many years, and a common lament from team members is, “it works just fine.” For them to leave their comfort zone and embrace the new unknown system something special needs to happen. Most importantly they need to see movement towards the new system by their leaders and their teammates. They need to see the ripples of change. That’s not an easy thing to create but it can be done. Its called change management.
There are many change management theories and methodologies. They are generally grounded in social science and are often both academically pure and commercially successful. Many PhD’s have been earned answering questions about change management and many consulting fees have been paid for helping to manage the people side of change. One common theme seems to be that someone needs to start the change wave which is sometimes referred to as change sponsorship. The higher up the organizational hierarchy, the better the impact of change sponsorship, but it needs to start somewhere. Someone needs to drop a pebble in the still water and make the water move for others to notice. That’s when their desire to participate in the change increases, and generally that’s when they begin to “get it and get with it.” There needs to be a rippler.
So, ask yourself, when it comes to change are you a rippler? If you think you might be, then consider learning more about change and change management. There are many great resources available to help you become a change manager. Dr. John Kotter developed a highly regarded change process as did Jeffrey Hiatt and Tim Creasy who founded a research and training organization dedicated to change management. Check out their stuff. Maybe you’ll become a (better) rippler!
Jules Fauteux 