Research, Technology, and Teamwork blog by Susie Wee : management

Top ten tips for doing business in Asia

susie.wee — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:22:00 GMT

The NY Times published an article about President Bill Clinton’s visit to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong-il about releasing the two imprisoned American reporters, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. The result was simple and surprising- they were released...(read more)

From Work-Life Balance to Work-Life Bursts and Work-Life Teams

susie.wee — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:20:00 GMT

From Work-Life Balance to Work-Life Bursts and Work-Life Teams I was reading a colleague’s post on work-life balance , where she was referencing Jack Welch’s statement that there is no such thing . Those who know me would certainly laugh if...(read more)

Following from in front and Leading from behind

susie.wee — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:29:00 GMT

I had an interesting experience when going out to lunch with my team. They took me to one of their regular lunch spots where I had never been. I kind of vaguely knew where it was, but I didn’t know exactly where it was.

I had to drive separately to get back for a meeting, so we split up in the parking lot to get into our cars. For some reason I ended up getting into my car and out of the parking lot first. Since I vaguely knew where the restaurant was, I started heading in the general direction of the restaurant. But, since I didn’t exactly know where the restaurant was, I had to follow them. But, I was in front of them. So, I had to follow from in front.

So there began my little adventure. I kept going towards the general direction of the restaurant. But, I kept looking in my rear view mirror to see where they were going. I looked in the rear view mirror to see which lanes they were getting in, and then I switched into those same lanes, but did this many cars in front of them. I actually followed them from in front for about three turns… all the way into the parking lot of the restaurant. It worked perfectly! And, it was actually pretty fun!

So, why am I writing all this? Well, I thought it was pretty funny to follow from in front. And then I thought about how it applies to work. Sure, as a manager I’m the official leader of my organization. But, in many ways, my team members “lead from behind” while I lead by “following from in front”. I mean that I lead by getting the best ideas from my team and others around me and I use these ideas to help guide all of us forward. Now, I think I have a good idea of my own every now and then, but I’m also perfectly happy to push forward the great ideas that my team members have. Hey, a great idea is a great idea no matter where it comes from. And actually I’m kind of proud of my ability to pick out great ideas from my team.

We’re all familiar with the concept of “Leading from behind”.

What do you think about the concept of “Following from in front”?

Have you followed from in front?

Bully friends

susie.wee — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 03:38:00 GMT

In a prior post I wrote about the deceitful group that was tricking me into running up hills for long distances. The status of that is that I continue to fall for their trickery and deceit every Saturday morning (which doesn't bode well for me). I guess you could call them trickster friends. But, this post is not about them. Rather, this post is about another personality type I call the bully friend. A bully friend is someone who bullies you into doing things you would not normally do, and makes you grow as a result. For example, a bully friend of mine somehow bullied me into running my first running race last weekend- the US Half marathon in San Francisco.

Warning: This post will meander a bit between a work post and a personal post.

My college freshman roommate, Julie Ask, registered me for the US Half marathon for my birthday. (Hint for identifying bullies: Is that really a birthday gift?!?) She's always been a bully that way, roping me into all sorts of things, so it's hard to tell if she's really a friend. Yet, we've remained "friends" for 21 years. Fortunately, she got me ready for the race. She sent me to the running store to get properly fitted for shoes, and I learned that my shoes were two sizes too small- ouch! She bought me some Gu to keep me energized throughout the race. She bought me some Glide to protect my skin. She got me some hair bands to tie up my hair. She bought me a race belt to hold my number. And, she had a carbo-loading pasta party the evening before the race so that I would eat properly and at the right time. Basically, she exhausted any excuse I could think of to get out of the half marathon. I guess that's what bully friends are for.

Julie wisely said that our goal was not to finish, but to finish healthy. Like the deceitful Saturday morning trail runners, I think she's trying to trick me into running another race some day. So, she set us a modest goal of finishing in 2:15-2:30. We ran with Julie's brother and another friend, and the four of us decided to stay together for the race.

On race day, she picked me up in a cab from my sister's apartment in SF. We got to the starting line early and stretched out. We had our first Gu 15 minutes before the race started. At 7:00, bang, we were off. Out of the gate, lots of people ran past us. Julie wisely said that our strategy was to let people pass us at the beginning, but then to pass them at the end. So, we were patient and kept a comfortable pace.

The sun was shining when the race started. The view of the Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz, and all of SF was beautiful in the morning sunlight and throughout the race. We started at Aquatic park and had the excitement of the race crowd. We ran across Chrissy field and had a beautiful view of Alcatraz and the Bay. We did a couple loopty loops in Golden Gate park. We ran across the Golden Gate bridge and had beautiful views all around. On the far end of the bridge, we ran down to the ocean and climbed back up the hill to get to the other side of the bridge. We ran back over the Golden Gate bridge and saw boats and their wakes in the water below. Thanks to Julie's experience of knowing where the camera men would be, we struck a hang-loose group pose for the camera man as we passed him on the bridge. We ran back along Chrissy field where Julie's brother's wife met us at mile 10 and handed us the most delicious Twizzlers you ever tasted! Then, we went over the baby hill at Fort Mason and crossed the finish line in Aquatic park. We finished comfortably at 2:19 according to plan. Since this is my first race, I was told I get to call this a personal record.

We walked every water station and we Gu'ed every 45 minutes, i.e., we did whatever Julie told us to. For some reason I kept floating forward and thank goodness Julie kept reeling me back. As a result, we were all pretty comfortable for all 13.1 miles. I usually get sore around mile 9. But, thanks to Julie's pacing, the trail running, and my new shoes, I was pretty comfortable until the last baby hill at Fort Mason. Julie's strategy worked… people passed us at the start but we mostly passed others in the 2nd half of the race. Our loved ones met us at the finish line. We achieved Julie's goal of finishing healthy.

Let me show off about my bully friend a bit more. By day, Julie is a vice president and research director at JupiterResearch. She is their analyst in charge of wireless and mobility and she has a great blog. In addition, she is a Toyota sponsored endurance athlete as part of their viral marketing campaign to push Toyota hybrids, think renewable energy -- environmental-friendly cars -- endurance athletes. She does all sorts of crazy events, like triathalons, half marathons, soccer, ice hockey, and swimming (I'm getting tired typing them!). When she does her races, she wears her Toyota sportswear to represent the brand and she posts a little story about the race. Her bullying certainly pre-dates the Toyota sponsorship, but as you can tell she's a great representative for them. I'm just lucky to have her as a bully friend.

So, why did I write this story on my work blog? Because it shows another example of how teamwork can be used to help individuals stretch and grow to achieve things that they never thought they could. Julie had a plan and I grew as a result. She pushed me hard enough to take me beyond where I would have gone on my own, but she pushed gently enough to make sure I finished healthy so that I'd do it again. Julie achieved her goal of delivering me back to my loved ones in a healthy state. I achieved her goal of completing my first half marathon with a healthy finish. At the end of the race, she gave me permission to run faster next time (actually, she said she would give me a longer leash).

Are you lucky enough to have a bully friend?
Are you a bully friend to someone else?
Have you used the bully method to help someone grow at work? (I also call it the tough love method.)

Please feel free to leave a URL with your comments.

Clashing leadership styles

susie.wee — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:48:00 GMT

I went to Leadership Boot Camp (my own name for an intensive HP Leadership Development program) earlier in the summer with a number of senior leaders from across the company. The class was mostly VPs with a few directors. As part of the program, they have assessments to help you understand yourself better so you can be more effective. In one exercise we answered questions and then were assessed according to four styles of leadership. We were each characterized as having some percentage mixture of the four styles. People ended up with one or two dominant leadership styles. Here are the four leadership styles:

Directive: Leadership style is driven by taking charge and getting things done. Directives are known for moving things forward competently and quickly.
Principled: Leadership style is driven by principles and perfection. They strive to develop thoughtful solutions based on principles.
Accommodating: Leadership style is driven by considering other people's needs and feelings. They are caretakers who work hard to make sure everyone feels good all the time.
Analytical: Leadership style is driven by data, facts, and analysis. They control their emotions and use numbers, data, and logic to make their decisions.

This is how our class did: Over 90% of the people were "directive". A couple people were "principled". Nobody was classified as primarily "accommodating", though many people had this as a secondary leadership style. A few people were "analytical".

The class was mostly VPs, so having so many "directive" people made sense. As you can guess, our classmates from finance, accounting, and IT were "analytical". It turned out that I was one of the two people assessed as "principled".

The assessment was followed by a discussion about what happens when people with different styles work together. Let me know if this situation sounds familiar to you... It certainly resonated with me!

Basically, the directive people are focussed on getting the task done, and they make decisions quickly to reach that goal. The principled people are focussed on creating the best solution, even if it takes a little extra thinking to come up with it. When working together, the directive people keep charging forward and making quick decisions while the principled people keep raising questions to make sure the solution matches the principles and reaches perfection. Tensions can arise when the project is under tight deadlines and the quick decisions don't match the principles. Basically, the principled people start getting frustrated at the "rash decisions" and the directive people start rolling their eyes at the "redundant discussions", thinking "why are we discussing this again?" Meanwhile, the analytical people roll their eyes saying "it's simple, we just need to follow the data. What's the problem?" And, the accommodating people are stressing out trying to find ways for everyone to get along. Uh-oh! The tight deadlines are causing a clash of leadership styles!

Does this situation sound familiar to you? Do you have any examples to add? How do you get out of this situation? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's have some fun with this one!

Please feel free to add a URL with your comments.

Accelerating ideas through a big company's machinery: HP's Innovation Program Office

susie.wee — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:01:00 GMT

In HP Labs, we're always looking for opportunities to get our technologies into our businesses and into our customers' hands. One goal of industrial research is to have business impact, and we are always looking for ways to achieve it. This requires you to understand your customers' needs, understand our businesses' needs, develop technologies that satisfies those needs, and do whatever it takes to get the technologies from the lab to the customer through the business.

Is this hard? Yes. Is it a lot of work? Yes. Is it hard to do it in a big company? Yes. Is it worth doing in a big company? Yes. Why? Because once you get an idea rolling in a big company, you get the big company's machinery working to amplify your idea in ways that you never imagined.

What does it mean to have a big company's machinery amplifying your idea? Imagine having a business unit R&D team developing your idea. Imagine having a world-wide sales team selling your idea. Imagine having a world-wide solutions team deploying your idea around the world. Imagine having Q&A, customer support, and services teams supporting your idea. Imagine having a CEO, vice presidents, business unit general managers, and CTOs pushing your idea. Pretty cool, eh?

If you do manage to get a big company's machinery rolling around your idea, your idea is no longer just your idea. All the people who have touched it along the way have added their ideas and helped grow it into something bigger. As a result, your little idea grows in ways you never imagined!

The vision is commendable, but how do you get a big company's machinery rolling around your idea?

There are many ways to kickstart an idea in a company, and I'll discuss them over time. But for now I want to talk about a new program that we have in HP. Alexei Oreskovic wrote the story Inside H-P's Idea Incubator on TheStreet.com.

HP has created the Innovation Program Office (IPO) for bringing new ideas to market. The IPO is designed and run by Phil McKinney, the CTO of our Personal Systems Group and the creator of the Killer Innovations podcast. As you can guess, the IPO embodies many of the ideas that Phil discusses in his podcasts.

Many companies have incubation programs, and these programs may be done well or done poorly. While the HP IPO program will continue to evolve as its first projects go through it, it has a number of very interesting properties that I believe will make it a success. Here they are:

It accepts ideas from anyone.
Each idea requires a business sponsor to be accepted.
Each idea requires a champion to drive it through.
It sets clear goals and milestones.
It provides sufficient resources. Not too little and not too much.
It moves FAST! Once a project idea gets accepted, it rips through at record speed, getting resources to develop it along with milestones and goals that it has to achieve at each stage.
It makes tough YES/NO decisions. Along with the resources come speedy checkpoints where a YES/NO decision can be made to progress to the next stage. And, no means NO.
It makes bets. The YES/NO decision allows it to make bets. The IPO can't peanut butter its resources around lots of little projects, rather, it has to make bets and provide enough resources to let the chosen projects fly.
It remains lean. It can't under-invest, as it needs to be able to make a few big-enough wins. It also can't over-invest to risk making upper management lose patience and cut it before it bears its fruit. The speed, clear goals and milestones, appropriate resource level, and tough YES/NO decisions also help it stay lean and resource projects appropriately.

So far, it is looking like the IPO will be a terrific outlet for HP Labs technologies! We have a few HP Labs projects going through the IPO right now. Our researchers are fired up and working hard with our business folks to do whatever it takes to make these projects a success. I'll keep you posted as we progress.

This is one way to get HP's machinery rolling around our ideas!

Phil- Thanks for creating the HP IPO!

Readers: What other properties are critical for success?

Tags: innovation, incubation, technology, management, innovation program office, Phil McKinney, big company machinery, HP

Feel free to include a URL in your comments.

Learning is personal

susie.wee — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:30:00 GMT

When I first started working after grad school, a coworker friend told me about a book that I just "had to get". It was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. My friend was a husband, a new father of two, and a researcher, and he was trying to buy a house in the Bay area on a single income. So, he had lots of pressure in his life. My life was pretty simple since I just finished my thesis, tripled my income, had grad student living expectations, and wasn't trying to buy a house.

Time had passed and I didn't get around to buying the book, but my friend thought it was very important that I read it. So, he sent me an email with a web link, and all I had to do was click on the link to buy the book. So, I ordered it.

The book arrived a couple days later. But every time I tried to read it, I fell asleep. I tried again and again, but I kept falling asleep. So, I finally gave up and put the book on my bookshelf to rest.

Over the next couple years, I became a manager and started grappling with issues that all managers face. One day I was perusing my bookshelves and came across the book. I flipped it open and I couldn't put it down! I stayed up all night and read it from cover to cover! It provided an interesting perspective on different problems I was facing and it provided lots of valuable insights.

How could a book that made me fall asleep turn into a book that made me stay up all night? How could a book be so important to my friend but not at all important to me?

I think it all boils down to one point: Learning is personal.

There is a time in life when you're ready to learn about something and there is a time when you're not. The timing depends on the experiences that you and those around you go through and the challenges you face. It depends on when you become sensitive to certain issues and when you decide you want to understand and solve them. It also depends on your interests at a particular point in time. Each person hits the point where a lesson becomes meaningful at a different time in their life. Learning is personal.

When I gave my Top 10 Career Tips and my Softer Side of Research talks, I began and ended with the point that: Learning is personal, so some tips may be meaningful to you now while others may become meaningful to you later.

Do you have an example of a life experience that made a learning become meaningful to you? Which tips are meaningful to you now? Which tips are not?

Tags: learning, personal, management, career tips, seven habits, HP

Absorbing laterals into a team: Who's the new guy?

susie.wee — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:52:00 GMT

Management guru David Maister has an interesting post on the effectiveness of the strategy of hiring "laterals" into an organization. David's premise is that hiring laterals can only work if they are properly integrated into the company. I agree.

This got me thinking about the relationship between the "new guy at work" who has to get integrated in the company and the "new guy on the ice" who has to get integrated in with a sports team, and about what does and doesn't work in these situations. More generally, the question is how does a new person get integrated with an established group, and what factors make this a success or failure? In other words, how does an "outsider" (the lateral) turn into an "insider" in an established organization?

Let's take the example of a "new guy" joining a weekly ice hockey pickup game with a bunch of "regulars". (Yes, I thought of this analogy on my way home from hockey practice over the weekend. And, yes, last night there was a "new guy" at my weekly Monday night skate.) When you're reading this, think about the analogy with work.

During warmups: When a new guy comes out to a regular weekly skate, the first thing that happens is you (the regular) consciously or subconsciously make a little mental note based on the superficials- what kind of equipment is he wearing and how does he skate during warmups?

During the game, between shifts: Then, the game starts and when you're on the bench between shifts you might lean over to another regular and ask: "Who's the new guy? Where's he from? Who brought him? What team does he play on?"

During the game, on the ice: Then, you start playing (with or against each other, depending on how the pickup teams are set) and different things happen during the game- a good play, a bad play, a pass, a goal, a little contact, a body check, a fight, and so on.

It certainly helps if the new guy can play his position well and if he can score some goals. Goals build credibility pretty fast. It also really helps if he is a playmaker and he gets some assists- setting up others to score goals goes a long way in building relationships with the regulars!

Note that the new guy actually gets many chances during a game, so even if he makes a bad play, he can make up for it with a good play later in the game. So, the new guy is allowed to make mistakes, but over the course of the game he has to make more contributions than mistakes.

During the game, between shifts: When you're on the bench together between shifts, if you're not shy (but most people are!) you may introduce yourself and ask "Are you playing on a team? Who do you play for? How did you find out about the skate?" Also, there may be little exchanges on the bench like "Nice shift" or "Nice play".

During the game, a fight! Let's say the new guy gets into a fight during his first skate! (No, this did not happen last night, but I have seen it happen a number of times.) In general, this is not a good thing to do on your first skate with the team. But even this may or may not be a show stopper. For example, if the new guy started a fight with a highly respected player, then it's pretty much Game Over... unless he makes an apology. An apology can go a long way. Also, if he got into a fight with a jerk, then he may end up a hero. An apology goes a long way here, too. (By the way, I don't recommend this approach to get integrated into a team.)

After the game, in the locker room: After the skate, everyone is in the locker room changing. If the new guy gets involved in a little locker room chat, then that can help him get integrated. (If he brings beer, he's IN!)

Then the question is does anyone say anything to him? In reality, he'll only get feedback if he was really awesome, if he was really terrible, if there is an unusually social regular, or if there is a really good team leader/manager. But in general, people don't give feedback. So, the new guy shouldn't be discouraged if he doesn't hear anything.

Getting integrated = Building credibility and relationships

All these things factor into how the new guy gets integrated with the team. The main thing is that from the first skate the new guy is building his credibility and relationships with the regulars.

Note that a little "nice skate" or "thanks for coming out" from a regular goes a long way with the new guy, since the new guy was a little nervous about his first time playing with the group and even the slightest bit of feedback is really appreciated. But, the new guy should note that in general people are shy and don't give feedback. So, even if noone says anything, he can still come back next week to continue to build his credibility and integrate himself with the team.

How does this relate to the new guy at work?

I'd say that warmups is analogous to when the new guy is meeting people in the company for the first time and making his first impressions. This may be through hallway introductions or at the first group events. The post-game locker room chat is similar to hanging out after meetings to continue discussions and socialize a bit.

The first game is analogous to the new guy's first project at work. What is important is what happens during project meetings (on the ice), and what happens between project meetings (between shifts). Note that over the course of the project, there will be successes and there will be mistakes, but the mistakes are surmountable. The key is having more successes than mistakes over the course of the project.

My recommendations for the new guy

During warmups and beyond

Be respectful of the regulars.
Build credibility.
Be respectful of the team culture.
Let others know who you are. Learn who others are. Have a decent answer when someone asks you about yourself.

On the ice / During a project

Be a playmaker. Make good passes.
Score some goals. Better yet, get some assists!
Don't worry about making a mistake. Instead, get fired up to follow up with a good play.
Skate hard. / Work hard.
Help out with the little tasks, e.g., Fill water bottles. / Take meeting notes and share them.
Try not to get into a fight. If you do to get into a fight, make sure its against a jerk. If you do get into a fight with a well-respected guy, then apologize! Actually, apologize to the jerk, too.
Follow the culture of the team. If the regulars don't check during the pickup, then don't check.
Don't play dirty.

After the game

Hang out in the locker room for a bit after the game. Chat, have a beer, and get to know people.

Questions

Do you think this analogy relates to the new guy at work and how he gets integrated into an organization?

Do we have any management lessons to learn from this?

Do you have any other group experiences that are analogous to "the new guy at work"?

Tags: David Maister, new guy, lateral hire, integration, management, teamwork, hockey, HP

Feel free to include a URL in your comments.

How Singapore manages research

susie.wee — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:51:00 GMT

I just finished a week in Singapore serving as an international panelist for A*STAR's Thematic Strategic Research Programme on mobile media. Every time I go to Singapore, I am impressed with how the country manages its research. Singapore has a very good understanding and appreciation of how research can benefit the country and its people, and it invests accordingly.

The government provides significant research funding to universities and research institutes and it has established organizations to manage this investment. It directs research by having calls for proposals on strategic themes such as mobile media. It also has nation-wide strategic initiatives such as Intelligent Nation 2015 and Interactive Digital Media.

The country takes a long term view on research. For example, the A*STAR Science & Engineering Research Council states its objectives as:

To develop a foundation of high quality research in key disciplines;
To nurture human capital for research; and
To promote information dissemination and technology transfer

Singapore continually evolves its approach as it sees what works and what doesn't. It solicits feedback by asking international reviewers to serve on boards and panels to evaluate their work and hold it to the highest quality standards.

Singapore views research as a way to develop technologies that can help the country stay competitive. It actively tries to find ways to transfer technology to industry, building linkages with the global industry. It also encourages and supports its researchers to participate in international standardization efforts.

Singapore very strongly views research as a way to train and develop its people. It explicitly states manpower training as a primary objective. It has established programs to identify its brightest early on and provide them with special development opportunities.

Singapore understands the importance of working globally. It allocates funds to bring international researchers into the country to help develop the in-Singapore researchers. It also has programs to send its researchers to other countries to give them international exposure. Singapore struggles with finding ways to keep researchers in the country, since many of the researchers value international work experience. But the country also has an understanding that it should develop researchers as best as it can and it maintains a goal of having a fraction of them to stay in the country.

It is very respectable how Singapore views and respects research, keeps the long-term benefits in mind, and invests in its research and researchers accordingly!

Singaporeans: Did I get this right? Do you have anything else to add?

All: How does this compare to how other countries manage research?

Working globally

susie.wee — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 00:04:00 GMT

I just spent a day in Tokyo with my research team in Japan. The researchers in Japan have very interesting perspectives, some of which are quite different from those of the researchers in the US and Europe. Whenever I visit the team, they give me updates and I learn something new about technology and the industry. Also, one of the managers has been on a mission to create a more expressive and collaborative culture in the lab, and he's been having some success. So, we've had some very interesting team discussions that are helping me learn more about the culture too.

One of the topics we discussed on this visit was how the broader lab could make contributions in Japan and how the in-Japan researchers could make contributions outside of Japan. Needless to say, both of these require collaboration between the inside-Japan researchers and the outside-Japan researchers and business partners.

If you worked with some Japanese people, you will know that their culture is such that many people are quiet and modest, so the idea of "working globally" can cause a tinge of excitement for some. Actually, the idea of "working globally" can cause a tinge of excitement for anyone doing it for the first time.

We discussed what could make this difficult for the people who hadn't done much of it to date. One of the researchers very carefully and articulately told me about "how difficult it is for Japanese people to express their thoughts". I smiled and pointed out that he just "expressed his own thought very well". He lit up said, "I know! I'm trying!" I was very pleased.

We went into more conversation about the benefits and difficulties. I assured them that I didn't want them to "turn into Americans"! Some of them were surprised and relieved. I also told them that many of the researchers in the US were very quiet and shy, too. To this, I got a lightbulb "Oh really?!".

Overall, the researchers in Japan found it both scary and exciting and were ready to give it a shot. They understand the importance of globalization and are willing to work towards it despite the cultural challenges! I'm excited about this, because I think their perspectives and insights will be immensely valuable to the rest of the world!

This raises the question about learning how to work with people with different backgrounds and cultures. A first step is to get to know the people and learn about the cultural differences, and there has been much work around this. But what next? Do you have to become the same as them or can you keep your own identity? I want our worldwide teams to collaborate, but it would be a real shame if we all became the same. In fact, if we did we wouldn't need to work together anymore!

What do you think about "working globally"? If you've never done it before, do you find it scary... or exciting...? If you have done it before, what were your a-ha's?

Managing research = Aligning passions

susie.wee — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:39:00 GMT

Managing research sounds like an oxymoron. How do you manage creativity? How do you manage the creativity of N researchers, where N=1,10,100,...? How do you manage people so that their total output is not just the sum of the individual contributions, but reaches the full potential of the team?

Managing research is not easy and it has many dimensions, so these are difficult questions to answer. But I find an important guiding principle for managing research is aligning passions. Specifically:

Align the passions of researchers with an important need... which in industrial research is an important business need.
Align the passions of researchers with their teammates... to get the full potential of the team.

How do you achieve this? First of all, you need to discover what your researchers' passions are. If you know your researchers' passions, then you can be on the lookout for opportunities that match.
Managers: Begin the dialogue. Ask them!
Researchers: Begin the dialogue. Express them! Please don't force your managers to guess, as we'll probably guess wrong.

I found that it's important to let people know that it's okay to bring their passions to work. I have seen employees who are hesitant about bringing their passions to work. They seem to feel guilty about it, thinking that somehow it's wrong.
Managers: Create an environment that encourages researchers to express and align their passions.

Passion may take on different forms, as some people are passionate about a specific topic but flexible about how to achieve it, while others may be flexible on the topic but passionate about how to achieve it. Also, some researchers may not know what his/her passion is, but will be energized by the passion of others. This flexibility and diversity is very good, as it takes many different roles to accomplish a big project so it is important to have people who are flexible on what topic to work on or what role to play. So, by understanding your team members' passions well you can align their work for bigger results.

Passion comes from exposure. So in order to align passion with important (business) needs, it is important for researchers learn what the needs are and the environment in which they can deliver a solution. I think this is best done by giving researchers direct exposure to the business. This allows researchers to creatively figure out how to solve the needs and how to apply their own passions in the solution. Researchers will be more passionate about a solution they helped create.

You can give researchers business exposure by bringing business people to the lab. You can invite them to give talks and have researchers show them their work to get feedback. You can also bring researchers to the business so they can see how the business operates and understand the business pressures and priorities. Then, they will be able to develop solutions that fit within the business' operating environment.

In order to get the benefit of the team, it's also important for researchers to align their passions with their teammates and business partners. This alignment happens by giving people exposure in groups. When researchers are exposed to things at the same time, they can hear each other's questions and gauge each other's interest in solving them. Then, they can help identify solutions that involve the broader team and in turn will lead to greater impact. Once again, researchers will be more passionate about the broader solution if they helped create it.

Closing thoughts: Passion is contagious. Passion aligned with a need is critical. Group passion aligned with an important need is immensely powerful.

So, what do you think about managing research by aligning passions?

More on Permission Based Innovation

susie.wee — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:22:00 GMT

Phil McKinney has a great post on Permission Based Innovation, so please take a minute to read it over. From my perspective as a manager, all I can say is that he is right on with all his points. I have a few additional points:

The creativity of a team far exceeds the individual creativity of the team leader.
An idea that comes from the passion of a team member is 10 times more powerful than an idea that comes from the team leader.
An idea that strikes the passion of both the team member and the team leader will go 10 times faster than an idea that strikes the passion of only one.
A great idea needs a champion to see it through.

I'll be the first to admit that the creativity of my team far exceeds my creativity as an individual, and I wouldn't want to have it any other way. I want my team members to share all their ideas with me, and if there is another manager between us then I want them to share their ideas with their direct manager, too. Managers need to hear new ideas from their team members, whether half-baked or fully-baked, and whether aligned or not aligned with current activities. In fact, since I run around the world talking to different customers, partners, and business units, I am often aware of new activities that my team members are not yet aware of; so many seemingly unaligned ideas often end up being much more aligned than originally thought!

I can say that an idea that comes from the passion of a team member is 10 times more powerful than one that comes from the team leader, because at the end of the day it is the team members that do the work to move the ideas forward, and an idea that hits the team member's true passion will move 10 times faster than one that does not. Why? Because if it strikes your passion, then you'll think about it all the time and you'll figure out any way to get it done. You won't even see obstacles, as you'll just push them aside as you work towards your goal. Also, you'll not only think about your idea while you're at work, but you'll think about it when you're brushing you teeth, and that's when you'll have the Eurekas that will move the project forward!

An idea that strikes the passion of both the team member and the team leader will go 10 times faster than an idea that strikes the passion of only one, because both need to work together to pave the road for moving forward and clearing the obstacles out the way. Again, the team members and the team leader travel in different circles, so if they are both aligned on the idea then they can work together to make it happen. This includes getting resources to move the idea forward, getting buy in from different parts of the organization, and forging relationships with outside organizations to make it happen. It also includes getting more people excited about the idea.

Now, for the next part on how to have the conversation with your manager. When you present a new idea, please be ready for a two-way conversation to further develop the idea. This way, you can work your idea into one that hits both your passion and your manager's passion and needs, and as discussed earlier this will make it move 10 times faster.

Also, make it clear to your manager what role you would like to play in moving this idea forward. Is it an idea that you think is important but are not able to work on or is it an idea that you want to champion and pursue? Both are important. Managers are usually looking over many projects, so we really need champions to drive ideas and projects forward at the level of detail needed for it to be successful. So, it's important for us to know if you are willing to be that champion. It is also important to share ideas that you think are important but can not pursue, as these are still good ideas to keep in mind. Just make this clear so your manager knows how to position your idea in his/her head.

Finally, let your manager know your level of passion behind your idea. If I know that someone's idea comes from a 20 year hobby that they've been spending their nights and weekends on or that it solves a long-time problem that they have been concerned about, then I'll actually consider that as experience and passion that will roll into the project and increase its chance of success. And again, if it crosses the right level of passion then I know I'll be getting those brain cycles as you're brushing your teeth- another key element to success!

Actually, one last comment. Don't be discouraged if your manager doesn't immediately jump up and down about your idea. Chances are it took you a little while to conceive and develop your idea, so they will need some time to fully understand it the way you do. So give your manager a bit of time and some extra information to help understand and appreciate your idea. If you keep bringing it up every so often, then he/she will see that you really are passionate about the idea and will take that into consideration too. Another advantage of time is that things may evolve in the business that might make your idea even more relevant and important over time. So, if you have a strong passion and idea, don't give up! Rather, have the two-way conversations to work the idea into your and your team leader's passions!

Team sports and work

susie.wee — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 20:22:00 GMT

Every so often someone asks me what I learned in grad school that helped me in the working world. I learned a lot about my research domain (video communications) and about how to do research. I learned a lot from my thesis advisor and from my grad student colleagues and friends. These learnings have helped me throughout my career and in my job today.

Going beyond these more predictable answers, I can say that many of my most important learnings from school came from playing team sports. My school had a women's club ice hockey team that I played on for 10 years (as an undergrad and grad student). Over these 10 years, my role on the team evolved from a benchwarmer... to a player... to a captain... back to a player... and to an assistant coach. Many of my everyday experiences with the team turned into learnings that stayed with me and help me at work.

For example, leadership is important in the working world because achieving big things -- beyond what you can do alone during your waking hours -- requires you to get people to work together towards a common goal. Being a team captain helps with that. Actually, more important than being a team captain is doing whatever it was you did that made your peers and coach choose you for that role.

Being a coach certainly helps with being a manager, since my preferred style of management is coaching people to develop their skills and ability to influence and to work effectively as individuals and as team players... while keeping them motivated.

The sports view of practicing regularly and learning new skills to be a more effective player for the team directly carry over to the working world, since you need to constantly develop your skills as a worker to improve how you contribute to your work team.

A perhaps more subtle learning comes from how you make yourself a part of the team when you are the "worst skilled" player or a bench warmer. You can still make important contributions by having a great attitude, by working hard to improve your skills, by filling water bottles and picking up the pucks, and by supporting and encouraging the star players during the game between shifts and during practices, since even the stars have good and bad moments themselves. In fact, I can tell you that the star players will be inspired by you when you do these things! And, if you keep at it, then you will become a star player yourself in your own right. This directly carries over to the working world, as no matter what your skill or experience level, you can always find a way to make an important contribution to your team.

My advice to people? Students- get involved in a team sport! Workers- treat your career like a team sport!

Well, those are some of my thoughts. What are yours?