Finishing up a few thoughts from the Academy of Management meeting in Boston in early August. The session on Steve Jobs, which I talked about in an earlier blog, was excellent. Julia Richardson of York University and Michael Arthur of Suffolk, talked about career lessons in Steve Jobs's commencement address at Stanford in 2005. Here are the text and video of the address.  And here I summarize the lessons from the wisdom of Steve Jobs with a few of my thoughts.

Lesson One: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." Jobs described how a calligraphy class he just happened to take at Reed College, after he had dropped out, influenced the design of the Mac. You never know how your experiences and knowledge you learn today are going to shape events in your future. In my opinion this underscores the value of life long learning and an education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. It also underscores the importance of relationships and how one comes at the world. You never know whom you will meet again and under what circumstances. "It's a small world after all." Every experience holds within it the possibility for growth. 

Lesson Two: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." I think the key is the last sentence. True, pursue what you love, pursue what you enjoy, and let the rest follow. And it probably will -- but not always. Jobs talks about being fired from Apple but the real lesson is how he gave it meaning, embraced the "lightness of being a beginner." Jobs knew what it is like to be downsized but he continued to pursue things he loved and the rest is history. Even in positions that may not be the perfect person-job match we can find tasks, projects, activities that allow us to have moments of satisfaction, even great satisfaction. Celebrate those moments.

Lesson Three: "Live each day as if it were your last" -- because one day it will be. Jobs discussed death and the finality of time. Make each day count. As one who has already been within hours of his last breath, I can relate. Jobs said it so well:  

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. . . Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

I would add, hug those you love. You never know when it might be the last one. 

When my wife told me this afternoon that Neil Armstrong had died, I was deeply saddened. I admired Neil Armstrong. His coolness under intense, even life-threatening pressure (Gemini VIII). His brilliant engineering mind and second-to-none piloting skills. But most of all his humility. His unwillingness to cash in on well-earned fame. He knew, he understood that he and Buzz Aldrin were just the most visible members of the Apollo program (to put people on the Moon). That thousands of engineers and other workers, who would never receive fame, made Apollo 11 happen. He knew he was part of something far bigger than he -- and never failed to give credit to others. 

I only saw him once, at a college graduation at the College of Mount St. Joseph where I am on the faculty. He was the graduation speaker. I recall that from my seat I kept looking at his feet trying to remember which one was the first on the Moon, left or right? His talk to the graduating class was unassuming. No lasting memories of his words that day. But his presence I will never forget.

America, the world, is fortunate to have brave space pioneers. Today Curiosity is on Mars. In all likelihood somewhere on this planet on this day there is someone who walks, or crawls, whose name will be remembered like Neil Armstrong. She or he will be the first person to walk on Mars. It will be an incredible moment for our species, one reminiscent of July 20, 1969. 

The planet feels a little different to me tonight. I've lost a hero. I mourn his passing. How fortunate were those who could call him friend. How fortunate the rest of us for his gifts to humanity. One small step -- with his left foot. 

Image: Copyright 2011 John A. Ballard.  This is an image of the sculpture of Neil Armstrong on the campus of Purdue University. I have digitally altered the color. 

From my early years in the workplace, I recall a conversation. A senior leader, nearing the end of his distinguished career, told me, "There are leaders with great ideas who start things, make things happen, and then there are leaders who come in afterward and lead the day-to-day operations. It's good to know which type you are."

I was reminded of this by something I saw on-line at LDRLB, thought leaders vs. do leaders. David Burkus shared a graphic showing things "thought leaders" do and things "do leaders" do. David noted that it was not evidence based. Agree --  but it does provide "food for thought."   

Take a look at the graphic at Mindjet and see what you think -- or go on facebook and see what others think. For more on thought leaders, here is a Forbes article.

In our work lives we may be called on to engage in many of the activities on both sides of the graphic -- setting objectives, creatively solving problems, communicating concepts, articulating plans of action, etc. The workplace needs thought leaders and do leaders. But deep in our heart of hearts, are we one or the other?

Image: copyright Carsten Kruse, 2004, free to use and share, Advanced Google Image Search. 

The Academy of Management meeting in Boston was the first since the passing of Steve Jobs. A session was devoted to discussions of Jobs's life and entrepreneurship. Amy Elizabeth Hurley-Hanson of Chapman University wore a black turtleneck and jeans in homage. John Kimberly of the University of Pennsylvania, co-author of The Soul of the Corporation, talked about the stages of Jobs life. 

Kimberly suggested that a large part of Jobs's gift was his innate sense of his organization's identity. He grew Apple the first time with a clear vision of what kind of company he wanted it to become. In the early 1980s John Sculley took over, brought a more traditional business perspective, Jobs was out, and research and development decreased. 

When Jobs came back in the late 1990s, he still had that same strong sense of what Apple was. He could answer the question, "Who are we really?"  He made outsiders wonder "Who are they?" At its core Apple was about design and innovation. Jobs was a master of projecting the identity of Apple. In 2008 when he realized that his life might be shortened, he worked to insure that organizational identity continued as Apple transitioned to a future without Steve Jobs. He hired Joel Podolny from the Yale School of Management to head Apple University.  "Joel, you are designing the transition", said Jobs according to Kimberly. 

Do you know what your organization is really about? Can you state that identity is just a few words? Some organizations and their leaders lose their way because they forget who they are. Everyone in an organization should understand those core values. Steve Jobs understood this.

Attending professional conferences helps me stay current on management scholarship and fills in gaps in my knowledge. At a workshop on leadership development at the Academy of Management meeting in Boston, people were discussing the relationship between authentic leadership and eudaemonic (eudaimonic) well being, a term with which I was not familiar. 

I've researched a little since. While the definitions vary somewhat, most come down to a distinction between hedonic or pleasure based well being and eudaemonic or meaningful, purposive well being. Ilies, Morgeson, and Nahrgang in a 2005 Leadership Quarterly article stated that eudaemonic well being "reflects the Aristotelian concept of eudaemonia: Aristotle’s view of human happiness that assesses the goodness of life based on 'living in a manner that actively expresses excellence of character or virtue.' " Aristotle, like Maslow and other humanist psychologists, saw life as being about growth, realizing one's potential. Ilona Boniwell provides an easy to read overview of theories of eudaimonic well being. 

Ilies et al. argued that authentic leaders tend to have eudaemonic well being and nurture such in their followers. If you are short on time (and who isn't), just check out their model on p. 377 of their article. So how do we develop authentic leaders with eudaemonic well being? The presenters at the conference emphasized experiential learning, that people can become more authentic leaders through training and development. Louis Baron presented the results of a three year study that support this.  Training and development sessions were 20% theory and 80% activities. Baron also used peer coaching where people were teamed up across companies to help each other, be "sounding boards" for each other, especially during "trigger events," moments in organizational life that pose significant challenges to leaders.

In my opinion authenticity in leadership goes back to ideas discussed by Mary Follett almost a hundred years ago. 
To grow as a leader, as a person, one needs to reflect on one's own experiences and then try new approaches where needed. It is not enough to be self aware. As John Wenger blogged August 15, part of becoming more authentic is becoming more "self awake."

On Friday, August 3, I attended the first conference of the Organization Design Community. It was held in Aldrich Hall at the Harvard Business School. Aldrich is the main classroom for Harvard's MBA. It was my first time at HBS. It was a by-invitation conference and I felt fortunate to be invited (thanks to Chris Crawford). I think most leaders simply do not understand the importance of organization design or the fundamentals that can improve organizational performance. 

Most of the top leaders in thinking about organization design were there including: Mike Tushman, Jay Galbraith, Ray Miles, Carliss Baldwin, David Alberts, Chuck Snow, Ray Levitt, Rich Burton, and Mike Beer. Here are some highlights. (Any errors in attributions or interpretations are mine. Still learning to read my notes.)

Tushman. Important time in history of organization design. More organizations are needing strong centralization but low integration. Gave example of OK Go that could achieve more independently than within corporate structure because of power of youtube. Locus of innovation shifting from ad agencies to communities. Example: Doritos commercial contest. NASA solved an "insolvable" problem by posting challenge on the web. From 600 entries, found 11 solutions. Web communities are "competency destroying" processes of change. 

My thought: How can your business harness power of web communities to improve your organization's effectiveness?

Alberts. Not enough to be effective and efficient. Organizations must be agile. This is a proactive, not reactive term. Flexibility is more reactive. Organizations must develop structures that are nimble, work with other organizations, make sense. 

My thought: Need to read Alberts book on org agility. This is a good point for organizations and for individuals. Personal agility should lead to personal growth.

Baldwin: Brilliant analysis of Apple iphone vs Google organizational networks. Apple controls design and design components and largely outsources rest.

My take-away: Modularity in design is key to agility.

Galbraith. Importance of the law of requisite variety. Results in fragmentation in environment and in organizations. Dual reporting becoming more common. Example: P & G, heavily matrixed. Software is key to more integration. Peanut butter manifesto. More complex the structure, more important the processes. At heart of all networks is software integration. 

My thought: I think Henri Fayol got it right. One boss -- not two. Unity of command. VP of IT should be on senior executive team.

Levitt: Great examples of organizational simulations predicting organizational outcomes. Commented ERP systems (enterprise resource planning) can constrain organizations.

My thought: Studies suggest ERP systems usually do not achieve results intended. I think this is (1) structural and (2) the difficulty of managing cultural change.

Rich Burton: Some good quotations in summing up:
"The future ain't what it used to be", Yogi Berra
"The fundamental things apply / As time goes by", Herman Hupfeld

The Organization Design Community has launched the Journal of Organization Design, now in its second issue. The journal is intended for both academics and practitioners. It was a very good, and I think important conference - and I enjoyed seeing HBS.

"A classroom building at Harvard Business School." ©John Ballard, 2012