Have You De-Committed?

Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO of General Motors was interviewed recently by Charlie Rose. The whole interview was worth a quote near the end of the hour. When Charlie Rose pushed him to shed some insight on the critical error that GM has made over the years, Mr. Wagoner replied, "The day you de-commit to producing the best product, you are losing ground." He could have gone on to state the obvious which is that once you start losing ground, it is really hard to get back in the game.

How do we de-commit? Is it our attitudes? our actions? our inactions? I would say yes to all of these. Is it our commitment? I would say not so much. Is it our vision or lack of vision? Is it leadership? In my estimation and experience, there are many committed people in organizations that work diligently, but often toward the wrong goal. Maybe a better way to say it is that too often they work toward a goal and not a vision.

Rick Wagoner explained in many ways that GM lost touch with its customers. He says you can have the best product in the world but your company will fail if customers do not want to buy it. "If you don't have the best product, you will not be here in the long haul," he said. And, he added that today's best product will not be tomorrow's best product. You have to innovate and be thinking about your customer's needs and desires five years from now. In other words, you have to work at staying relevant and designing all things around that. And, you have to be timely. It will be interesting to watch along with the world to see if GMs liquidity will stretch to cover its innovation (product to market) cycle.

What do your customers want and expect from your organization?
What changes in the current marketplace must you consider and design into your ethos?
What is the value-added that you offer?
Are you relevant, giving your customer what they want and need in the way they want to receive it?
Would your customers recommend you to others?
Is innovation a part of your culture?

No business, regardless of the industry, is immune from this analytical framework.

In Tribute to the King

I am not embarrassed to admit that I love Elvis. But, I will say, I am able to keep that love in perspective. I am not like one of his adoring fans that travels to Memphis from places far away to pay homage and partake in The Vigil during what Memphians call "Death Week". But, then again, I don't have to travel far to appreciate Elvis because I live here and make my way to Graceland more than once a year to take out of town visitors. Signing the wall at Graceland is a must if you ever make it to Memphis.

In tribute this year, I offer an appreciation of Elvis' famous lip. Many have tried, but few can perfect it. Click this link and follow the photo stream to see the Baker best effort.

Some Good Einstein Quotes

My favorite:
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

A close second:
"I have no special gift. I am only passionately curious."

A reflection of how his mind works:
"My power, my particular ability, lies in visualizing the effects, consequences, and possibilities, and the bearings on present thought of the discoveries of others. I grasp things in a broad way easily. I cannot do mathematical calculations easily. I do them not willingly and not readily. Others perform these details better."

The importance of focus and humility:
"The only way to escape the personal corruption of praise is to go on working. One is tempted to stop and listen to it. The only thing is to turn away and go on working. Work. There is nothing else."

"It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer."

Regarding education:
"It is not enough to teach a man a specialty. Through it he may become a kind of useful machine but not a harmoniously developed personality. It is essential that the student acquire an understanding of and a lively feeling for values. He must acquire a vivid sense of the beautiful and of the morally good. Otherwise he -- with his specialized knowledge -- more closely resembles a well-trained dog than a harmoniously developed person."

"The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of special knowledge."

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

"Wisdom is not a product of school but of the lifeling attempt to acquire it."

Too Good to Ignore, (and something to think about for one's self):
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

A hint as to where to begin to comprehend and apply this quote:

• What are the unarticulated and unconscious assumptions that create my mental model?
• Am I practicing disciplined and open lifelong learning?
• Do I believe absolutes or am my beliefs adaptable and responsive to context and environment?
• Am I evolving in developing the layers of my understanding and conscious reflection as I age?

Recommended Read

I read a lot. I have not always been a reader and I don't read particularly fast. Anymore, I find that taking in information, as much as I can, the best quality that I can, is critical to being relevant in the 21st century. Besides, being informed gives meaning to my life, helps me make meaning of my life.

I recommend that everyone be informed, and I am not the most sympathetic person when it comes to excuses. The most common excuse people offer, and I hear it a lot, is I don't have time. I am married to a dyslexic man and have a dyslexic son who both read more than most people despite the effort it takes. They don't complain about the time it takes. Not to be flippant and in all sincerity, we all make time for the things we value. I would much rather hear someone say, I don't value reading/learning/taking in information, or I don't make time. Then, we would have something to talk about that began with honesty.

I just finished Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. This book is a balanced portrait of Einstein the man and Einstein the theorist. It was refreshing to see Einstein's humanity in the many struggles of his personal relationships and his disdain for the rhythms of daily life. It is humbling to see how his mind worked, especially in that it didn't work well for everything. Einstein struggled with basic math and was not a talented teacher. He lacked empathy and compassion and had few close relationships that were not bound by physics. It is inspiring to realize that Einstein's great discoveries were primarily made possible because of his conscious unwillingness to accept and conform to conventional thinking.

The most inspiring message for me from the book is the importance of developing and sustaining a compulsive sense of curiosity and marvel, a creative spirit, and a great independence of thought. Einstein believed that freedom was the basis for all of his thought work. "The development of science and of the creative activities of the spirit," he said, "requires a freedom that consists in the independence of thought from the restrictions of authoritarian and social prejudice." This nurturing of creativity and independence is what Einstein believed was the fundamental role of government and of education.

Asking in our educational systems how we instill the values of creativity and of independence of thought and of a driving, seeking curiosity instead of requiring allegiance to conventional doctrine is an important new question. We need to create a collective celebrated regard for thinking and problem solving instead of valuing and rewarding inert knowledge. Like President Eisenhower declared of Einstein, we need to become a society that highly values "thoughtful wonderers."

Einstein Archives Online -- Be curious!

An Inspirational Vision

Be the change you want to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi

My life is my message.
-Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi lived his life by these visions, both equally and individually powerful. To exemplify in our daily life, and to dedicate the whole of our life to what we believe is good for the world is noble. Taking the time to determine the change we want to see in the world and believe it enough to work toward it incessantly is a long process, in and of itself. But, who could argue that each of us making our lives as purposeful and focused as possible would make the world a better, more meaningful place for everyone.