YETMO

”It’s Time to Get All ‘Googley’" (Week of October 23 – 27, 2006)

I’m looking forward to writing this week’s article. It’s all about effective leadership – and common sense.

Often the biggest successes can be traced to the simplest ideas and concepts.

An article appeared in The Washington Post (October 20, 2006) describing the culture at Google, the new, biggest and best company on the planet. Talk about a success story? Google is it.

In fact, it’s so successful, and its market capitalization has risen so high that the dot.com excesses of the early 2000’s comes to mind. Let’s not obsess over Google’s fiscal health at the moment. The financial markets will take care of the company’s fortunes one way or the other.

You’ll enjoy Sara Kehaulani Goo‘s article. It will likely confirm in your mind what’s right – or wrong – about your organization.

At how many offices have I worked? Under how many leaders and administrations have I served? Hypernumerous, maybe more.

And what have I learned?

I wish I could be witty and original, but the recent popular utterances of keeping things simple really say it all.

What is Google’s simple, common sense approach? It is this: show employees respect and consideration. Sure, Google may be unique and innovative in its own way by installing volleyball courts and heated toilet seats, and by providing motor bikes to shuttle folks between campus buildings, but that doesn’t make for a well-run, successful organization. All these trappings are window dressings, mere accoutrements.

By respect and consideration I mean that workers are assumed to add something of value to their operation, and management and co-workers willingly and carefully listen to what all employees and managers have to say. No people are marginalized, alienated, or ignored.

Perhaps I can best describe this phenomenon by using an analogy. Suppose I were the Head of a large organization and I set a goal to remove all the liquid from the Potomac River and replace it with healthy, clean water. I could initially supply my staff with pint-size glasses to fulfill the mission. Over time I may realize that gallon containers or even buckets would be better suited. However, no matter how hard or fast or long my staff would work, they could never drain the river.

How many offices are organized and managed as if they are trying to drain the river?

Successful organizations have simple, sensible missions and are managed accordingly.

What lies at the foundation of any human enterprise drives its success, or delivers its destruction. Employees can quickly identify the company’s underpinnings as either self-affirming or senseless.

Some organizations focus more on activity than on meaningful, tangible, results-oriented action. These groups display more churn and charm than achievement and attainment.

One woman’s whimsy may be another man’s madness. Some outlandish ideas actually work. Organizational culture can cure most ills, transforming the impossible into the probable. It’s more art than science to be able to foster the positive atmosphere and environment that cultivates a healthy organization and workforce to produce extraordinary results.

In the end, it probably boils down to “I’ll know it when I see it or feel it.” Workers quickly discern whether the ship of state is sinking or steaming to a desired destination.

Management, despite the “science” that many experts ascribe to its execution, is often personality-driven. However, some principles are time-tested and worth considering. You may wish to read a piece I wrote over a decade ago about the prescription for effective management.

After all, it’s just common sense, which too often is all too uncommon.