#92-7/27/10-Jethro Tull and the Engineer’s Mind
Jethro Tull and the Engineer’s Mind
“Emotions of Music versus Work”
Posted by Steven Cerri on Wednesday, July 27, 2010
Hello everyone!
Recently I rented a DVD of Jethro Tull in concert live at Montreux, Switzerland in 2003.
For those of you who lived through the rock and roll era of the 1970s the name Jethro Tull probably brings back a flood of memories as it does for me.
While watching the DVD of Jethro Tull and hearing the music produced and performed by the band a whole flood of emotions came racing back. Memories of what I was living through at the time I listened to the music the first time. I still remember where I was the first time I heard Aqua Lung and Locomotive Breath. I remember who I was at that time in my life. I remember what I valued and what I thought was important. I was a graduate student in geophysics at the University of Southern California, teaching, going to school, doing research; probably a typical graduate student in the mid 70s.
And as they say, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. I am definitely not the same person, nor do I have the same values and beliefs. Sure some remain but not all. Yet, the emotions brought up by that music are strong and clear and pleasing as if I were back there on campus.
Jethro Tull or the Beatles
Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. If it’s not Jethro Tull it may be the Beatles; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Credence Clearwater Revival; or Cream, just to name a few. We acknowledge that these emotions are real, and in most cases, valued and even cherished. We accept this flood of emotions because they do not seem to get in our way. In fact, they seem to enhance our life, taking us back to a time we appreciate; even giving our current life some type of meaning and “juice”. When we hear the music maybe we get a smile on our faces, maybe a spring in our step, maybe a racing of the heartbeat, a little more energy, a little more excitement for whatever we are doing just then.
The interesting thing is that most people accept these emotions and assume they are, in some fashion, exceptions in our everyday lives. Actually, they are not. We are generally influenced and even ruled by emotions of old just like those of our favorite songs. Not just emotions tied to past music. But most people are powerfully tied to emotions connected to their past experiences. These old emotions often run us. Most people don’t really choose how they behave. They do not truly have choice in their lives.
Are You Really Logical?
Oh, I know. As engineers, scientists, technical professionals, technical managers, and executives, you all think that your logical brain allows you to choose your behavior. Those of us who traveled through the engineering curriculum ... we are the logical ones on the planet. We make our decisions through clear reason. Well, I can guarantee you, you don’t.
I am constantly coaching engineers and technical managers and executives who are attempting to get to the next level of their careers and are stumbling over some block, some behavior that just isn’t working for them and they are not quite sure what is causing it. The answer; in most cases, it is their old emotions; the old patterns that hold them back. Old patterns that seem to be logically grounded. But they are nothing but old patterns tied to the emotions of “old songs”. Old ways of moving through the world. Old ways of dealing with situations that worked at one time but don’t now. Old bands, old concerts, old songs that no longer exist or no longer play well or sound so great in the present.
Old ideas, values, beliefs, and emotions that produce patterns of behavior that keep you from advancing your career in ways you would like. Old emotions about leading and managing. Old emotions about conflict avoidance. Old emotions about whose ideas are more important, yours or the merging of the best ideas of the team. Old ideas about how independently you want to work and old ideas about management oversight, whether you are a direct report or the manager. And these old ideas may initiate behaviors in you that are more suited to your past than to your present.
The behaviors that keep your career from advancing may not be triggered by the music of Jethro Tull or the Beatles. But they may indeed be triggered by present situations that resemble past circumstances. They may be triggered by words spoken that remind you of words spoken years ago. You may be aware of the triggers or you may not. But the triggers are there none-the-less.
Waltz versus Rock-n-Roll
The first step in advancing your career as an engineer or manager, or moving into management for the first time, or influencing without having specific authority, is understanding what “old songs” are getting in your way and keeping you from making the adjustments that will make you successful going forward. Just as the forms of music change over time, the idea that what got you where you are now will get you to where you want to go next is like believing that the waltz is the only music around. The waltz is not rock-and-roll. Music evolves. You must too.
Until you understand that you “run” most of the time on automatic, you’re stuck… in automatic. Until you understand what “old songs” or “old programs” run you, you are stuck. Only when you can go beyond those programs, only when you can start over with new programs of your choosing can you stop running on automatic and choose your actions. Only then can you change your way of moving through the world so you can get unstuck and advance your career as you want to.
Advancing Your Engineering Career
It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the old music you liked in the past if you really want to… when you choose to. It just means that you add new songs to your list and you are not always driven to choose Jethro Tull; The Beatles; Blood, Sweat, and Tears; or Cream as the only music to listen to. Only at this point do you really have choice. Only at this point and in this way do you really have the choice to “create the career you want”. Even Santana evolves.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. By the way. If you’d like to leave a comment, and I’d sure be interested if you did, I’ve changed the comments software. Only your comment and your name will show up at the end of the comment. I have modified the software so that your email address will not show up anywhere.
“What would it be like to be as successful with people as you are with your technology?” Steven trains, coaches, and facilitates engineers and technical managers to BE the answer to that question. More information can be found at the:http://stevencerri.com/index.php/Home/index/
Copyright©2010 STCerri International and Steven Cerri. You are free to pass this information on to others and to reproduce it. If you reproduce it in whole or part please give attribution to Steven Cerri. Thank you.
Posted by Steven Cerri on 07/28 at 06:43 AM (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
#91-7/22/10-Descent Into Leadership
Descent Into Leadership
“Management versus Leadership”
Posted by Steven Cerri on Thursday, July 22, 2010
Hello everyone!
I know, everyone wants to be a leader. No one wants to be a manager… right? Management has no glory but leaders are the heroes.
I’ve heard it all before. Business magazines tout the virtues of leadership and praise the leaders and say little about the managers who toil at their craft.
I even coach clients who do not want to be managers but rather want to be leaders when there is no one to lead and nothing to lead them toward (if there were people to lead).
Leadership has a great connotation… and management… well management is for managers.
Those of you who have taken my classes and/or been mentored/coached by me know that I think most people have this leadership/management thing all backwards and upside down. Most people don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to management and leadership including that great leader AND manager Jack Welch. He mixes the words up when he ought to know better.
Much of the time in my classes and in my mentoring/coaching I give you clear examples of the differences between management and leadership by giving you my own experience and my own perception. I have looked for some time for a “worldly” example of the differences and alas I have found an example that you can all sink your teeth into and clearly get my drift. It has nothing to do with business, engineering, or technical management and leadership.
It’s a book about caves.
That’s right. It’s not a book on management and leadership exactly; remember they’ve got it all backwards. No, while this book is not specifically about leadership or management it is actually one of the best books out there on the subjects.
It’s a book about “supercave” exploring. The book is titled “Blind Descent” by James M. Tabor..... and it is a recently released.
Whether you are a spelunker or a supercave explorer (and they are very different), an engineer, a technical manager, a leader, a supervisor, a CIO, CTO, vice president, or CEO, this book is about leadership and management and is worth reading.
It is a true story. It is well documented, well written, interesting, factual, and recent. It’s about two major protagonists, Bill Stone, an American and Alexander Klimchouk, the Russian.
The Leader: Bill Stone
Bill Stone, by all accounts is a leader. Especially in the American “definition” of the word. By all that is praise-worthy in the US business world, Stone is a leader on a par with anyone in Silicon Valley and anyone in the best known American corporations. And he is a terrible manager.
And it shows in his processes and in his results. He and his team explore what just might be the deepest cave in the world, the vast Cheve Cave in southern Mexico, on a quest to be the first to find the deepest cave in the world. It is a race to find the officially documented deepest cave in the world… a race against other supercave explorers. And his leadership is unquestionably top notch but his management is not, and it leads to mutinies, desertions, and worse for his team. He doesn’t find the deepest cave in the world; but he doesn’t find the deepest cave in the world… his way.
The Executive: Alexander Klimchouk
On the other side of the globe, in Abkhazia in the south-eastern Republic of Georgia, north of the Black Sea is another cave, known as Krubera. Here the Russian Alexander Klimchouk and his team look for the deepest point in Krubera in the hope of claiming it as the deepest cave in the world… first. Klimchouk is both a good leader and a good manager, something I call an “executive”. Like clock work he shifts from leading to managing and back in a smooth process of finding the deepest point in the cave. His teams are energized, motivated, committed, safe, and successful.
The Executive versus the Leader versus the Manager
I believe that management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. A successful leader cannot be so without being a good manager and a good manager ultimately cannot prevail without being a leader.
The manager in you must be developed first, however. A manager can manage for a reasonably long time, in most situations, without being a leader, but a leader cannot successfully lead for very long without being a manager. That is, most situations in life that require management and leadership require more management than leadership. And many situations can do just fine with management and no leadership at all.
For example, in supercave exploration, much of what is required for success is logistics and planning and execution, all management functions. The leadership portion is necessary but minimal as in most projects, programs, or situations in life. To be sure, leadership is necessary, but it is not the sole parameter for success and it does not “live” by itself.
In my world, the term executive, whether the CEO or the manufacturing floor supervisor, means that regardless of your title, if you are accomplishing tasks through the application of people, then there are six functions that you must preform. They are called functions because all executives must perform them, but the tasks within each function vary depending upon your level in the organization; the functions apply to all regardless of your level in the organization.
The Six Functions of the Executive
The Six Functions of the Executive are as follows:
1. Create or Aim the Team at a Target
2. Create an Environment Where People Want to Participate
3. Secure Resources and Remove Obstacles
4. Manage the Interfaces
5. Get Results
6. Control Your Emotional State
As you read “Blind Decent” you will notice that Bill Stone and Alexander Klimchouk perform each of the functions of the executive to differing degrees of competence. In fact, I grade them as follows:
Bill Stone
1. Target............................Good
2. Environment...................Poor
3. Resources/Obstacles........Fair
4. Interfaces.......................Poor
5. Results...........................Good
6. Emotional State...............Fair
Alexander Klimchouk
1. Target............................Good
2. Environment...................Good
3. Resources/Obstacles........Good
4. Interfaces.......................Good
5. Results...........................Good
6. Emotional State...............Good
Whether you are a manager or a leader you must perform these six functions successfully. Whether you are the CEO or the floor supervisor determines which of these functions you emphasize and what tasks you perform in their achievement but they all must be “covered”.
Read this book and learn something you may not have known about supercave exploration, and notice the differences between Bill Stone and Alexander Klimchouk. The behaviors displayed by Klimchouk are what I teach regarding management and leadership. Management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other and sometimes you want the coin to turn up “heads” and sometimes “tails”, but unlike a coin, successful executives do not leave it to chance.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. By the way. If you’d like to leave a comment, and I’d sure be interested if you did, I’ve changed the comments software. Only your comment and your name will show up at the end of the comment. I have modified the software so that your email address will not show up anywhere.
“What would it be like to be as successful with people as you are with your technology?” Steven trains, coaches, and facilitates engineers and technical managers to BE the answer to that question. More information can be found at the:http://stevencerri.com/index.php/Home/index/
Copyright©2009 STCerri International and Steven Cerri. You are free to pass this information on to others and to reproduce it. If you reproduce it in whole or part please give attribution to Steven Cerri. Thank you.
Posted by Steven Cerri on 07/22 at 07:05 AM (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
#90-9/10/09-How Do You Manage?
How Do You Manage?
“Do you manage for the sprint or the marathon?”
Posted by Steven Cerri on Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hello everyone!
Do you manage for the sprint?...or ....
Do you manage for the marathon?… or ...
Do you manage for the race?
What is a sprint?
Imagine a Summer Olympics bicycle sprint race around a track. The racers are poised on their bikes. Their leg muscles are tense. Their hearts are pounding. Their muscles are ready to consume incredible amounts of energy and oxygen. Their heads are up and their eyes are looking forward. They are full of concentration, of tension. They are thinking about leading at the beginning, leading in the middle, and leading at the end.
The gun goes off and away they go.
They are full out until they cross the finish line. They have either won or lost and that’s the race.
Now consider the Tour de France.
The racers are poised at the starting line. Their legs are relaxed. Their heads are up and their eyes are looking forward. All their support personnel and vehicles are standing by. The racers are thinking about pacing themselves. They are thinking about the early part of the race as well as the middle and the end portions of the race.
The gun goes off. They begin the race. The support cars and motorcycles follow along. The support people communicate important information to the racers. The racers grab nourishing liquids along the route. They stop at various locations for rest and food.
This then is the “marathon” race. It goes on for days, even weeks.
How do most managers and leaders do their jobs?
Most managers and leaders do not know how to manage or lead for a race that is a combination of sprint and marathon. Who runs a race that is a combination of sprint and marathon, anyway?
Most managers and leaders I have met, worked with, or coached, tend to manage or lead… for the sprint. More rarely, I have found managers and leaders who manage and lead for the marathon. But seldom have I met managers and leaders who manage and lead “for the actual race”.
Most manage and lead as if their job is to put their direct report(s) on the bike, fire the starting gun, and sit back and watch the employee race, full out, around the track until they cross the finish line; until the task is done. They expect their job to be done after the starting gun goes off. If the direct report(s) fail it is “their fault”.
When you hear leaders talking about their job being to “inspire” you know they think their job is just to fire the starting gun. They think their job is to make the employee “excited” and “fired-up” to do the job and then they are supposed to get out of the way. Their goal is to let the race run it’s course. They sit back in order to let the employee feel “empowered”.
You should at least manage and lead for the marathon
The better managers and leaders manage and lead for the marathon. They not only inspire and excite their employees, they also work with, monitor, and help their employees succeed during the entire project. Like the pace cars in the Tour de France, like the people who provide nourishing drink to the racers, the marathon manager and leader is there to help and advise their direct reports along the way. Why is it that we assume that Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France seven times still needs and deserves pace cars, nourishment, and advice along the route, while on the other hand, we think we should “empower” and “cut loose” our employees to do their work alone and on their own?
Ideally you should manage and lead for the sprint AND the marathon.
The best way to manage and lead is to manage and lead for the “race being run”. That is, it is important to understand that every task has both a sprint portion and a marathon portion and maybe several portions of each. The sprint portion can vary from an hour to a month and the marathon portion can vary from a month to several years.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
P.S. By the way. If you’d like to leave a comment, and I’d sure be interested if you did, I’ve changed the comments software. Only your comment and your name will show up at the end of the comment. I have modified the software so that your email address will not show up anywhere.
“What would it be like to be as successful with people as you are with your technology?” Steven trains, coaches, and facilitates engineers and technical managers to BE the answer to that question. More information can be found at the:http://stevencerri.com/index.php/Home/index/
Copyright©2009 STCerri International and Steven Cerri. You are free to pass this information on to others and to reproduce it. If you reproduce it in whole or part please give attribution to Steven Cerri. Thank you.
Posted by Steven Cerri on 09/10 at 06:21 AM (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
