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Wed, 07 Jul 2004

Leaders: Born or Made?
posted by Chip Witt

When I was in B-school pursuing my MBA, one of my professors asked us all a haunting question. "Are leaders born, or are they made"? Before anyone could formulate a response to the question, the professor stated that, given our participation in the program, it was obvious we believed that leaders were made...not just born. Otherwise, most of us were wasting our time in the course of study to which we had dedicated a two-year chunk of our lives. I've carried this question with me for years now, and it is only now that I have come up with my own answer...partly because the professor's conclusion was somewhat vexing to me, but mostly because I needed to make certain of my beliefs prior to taking responsibility for a graduate-level business course this coming Fall.

To begin to formulate my own conclusion on the nature of leadership, I referred back to one of my favorite sayings, given to me by one of my former personal training clients, a retired Lt. Col. from the Army Rangers. He said, "Managers manage things, leaders lead people". Going back through my coverage of Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf's views on leadership in "Rule 13, and Rule 14: Leadership at its Core", published to this weblog on April 19, 2003, I found a similar viewpoint from another well-respected military leader. Management, as an art, or as a science is possible to teach. Things such as common or best practices can be documented, and followed as a procedural check-list, making it possible to train-up a manager. This, however, doesn't touch on the original question regarding the origin of leaders.

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Thu, 24 Jun 2004

Multitasking Requires the Ability to Multitask
posted by Chip Witt

Those that know me well will tell you, few things make me crazier than having to witness people attempt to do things they are fully incapable of doing. I'm not just being mean here...I'm an instructor, and I enjoy seeing people challenge their preconceived notions of who they are, and the things they are capable of doing. I do, however, draw a line in the sand watching someone nearly run me off the road while trying to smoke a cigarette, eat breakfast, talk on the phone...and DRIVE.

I was almost wrecked by someone talking on the phone getting on the freeway this morning. Seems the conversation she was having conveniently from her car was not only impairing her ability to signal to make a lane change, but was inhibiting the ability to make the decision to change lanes until almost too late...unfortunately, I was already where she was deciding to go. Thank goodness for competition brakes. :)

The second idiot, a guy in a big 4x4 truck (the kind that is really useful in suburban commute traffic), was talking a mile-a-minute to whoever was on the other end of the line. He was also eating something as he swerved in-and-out of his own lane. Much to my joy, shock, and horror, he flicked a cigarette out of his window after a bit, which then bounced off the hood of my car. To say nothing of "oooh", I couldn't figure out how he was holding the phone, his food, his cigarette, and the wheel. I guess he wasn't...thus the swerving.

Basic rule: If you're driving, please just drive. If (and only if) you're an exceptional driver, go ahead and talk on your phone (with a headset), or very carefully drink a cup of coffee. Don't try to do three or four things at once. Be safe...don't kill me!

Cheers,

CW

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Fri, 28 May 2004

Strategic Lessons from Chess
posted by Chip Witt

I learned how to play chess from a man named George Cinti. I had been exposed to the game as a young boy, but did not begin to understand the value of flexibility, forethought, and strategy in chess until meeting Mr. Cinti. In playing the first couple of games with me, he noted that, although I understood how each piece moved, I failed to grasp how their strengths and weaknesses could be used in tandem to realize the ultimate goal of winning. From that point on, my chess studies with Mr. Cinti were comprised mostly of "chess puzzles" in which I was set-up with a finite number of pieces, and was forced to formulate a strategy by assessing what I had to work with, and matching that up against my rival's position. Seldom being set up with a guaranteed win, I was forced to see the whole board, and make the best of the very worst of situations.

Quite recently I came across some writing I did for my MBA thesis, and was reminded of the importance of intelligently using your resources to their fullest potential in making business decisions. It is quite easy to organize tactical movements with an "a place for everyone, and everyone in their place", "blinders-on" approach to resource management, but in doing so one misses the richness of hidden skills employees and teams of employees have to offer the firm. In a recent conversation I had with an HR Director, she said, "You aren't just the IT Guy, are you"? In saying this, she realized that I could possibly provide greater value to the organization than I do by just keeping the computing systems up and functioning. Coupled with re-reading parts of my thesis, witnessing this epiphany brought back my fond memories of learning to really play chess.

Today's business landscape is not completely unlike the "chess puzzles" I learned to play. Often leaders find themselves dealing with seemingly impossible situations, from which they must bootstrap results. Managers contending with limited budgets, especially in small businesses and non-profits, must always be looking at the "chessboard", not only recognizing how each piece in their organization moves, but firmly grasping how those capabilities can play into one another to formulate a winning strategy.

Cheers,

CW

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Sat, 19 Apr 2003

Rule 13, and Rule 14: Leadership at its Core
posted by Chip Witt

I spent last week at a conference for the enterprise resource planning suite currently used by the company for which I work. Not particularly interesting to most, and thus, not the topic of this article. What was of interest is what I found during my investigation of the conference agenda. One of the opening session keynotes was being delivered by General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. This kernel of information did exactly what it was intended to do: it piqued my curiosity. For, nowhere in my mind could I reconcile a technical conference with a presentation by General Schwarzkopf. Although most would characterize him as a leader worthy of a place in the history books, General Schwarzkopf is not the first name that pops into your head when you think, "business".

Turned out that the keynote was about leadership. What is it? What are its key components? General Schwarzkopf stood in front of a crowd of thousands and openly admitted he did not have a clear answer for either of those questions. He related to his audience that in preparation for delivering his address, he started where many of us might: the dictionary.

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