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Executive Times |
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Volume
8, Issue 3 |
March 2006 |
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Note
re: links---certain hyperlinks assume that you are registered as a subscriber
to the site. If you are not a subscriber to certain sites, the links will
fail. If you register, the links should work. Also, certain hyperlinks expire
and may not be available when you try to go to the site. Olympian
Most issues of Executive Times avoid sports
metaphors. Perhaps since the wrap up of the Winter Olympic Games in Fifteen new
books are rated in this issue, beginning on page 5. One book is highly recommended
with a four-star rating; eight books merited three stars, five are mildly
recommended with two-star ratings, and one book earned a one-star rating.
Visit our 2006 bookshelf at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/2006books.html
and see the rating table explained as well as explore links to all 190 books
we’re reading or considering so far this year, including 38 that we added to
the list in February. If there’s something missing from the bookshelf that
you think we should be considering or if there’s a book lingering on the
Shelf of Possibility that you think we should read and review sooner rather
than later, let us know by sending a message to books@hopkinsandcompany.com. As
an added benefit to Executive Times readers, we’ve put all the
books we’ve ever listed on one web page at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/All
Books.html.
The parade of
athletes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the XXth Winter Olympic Games calls attention to the reality of how
many competitors there are, how one follows another, and how no one is
indispensable. In What tells you it’s time to make way
for a successor? Is your career capstone ahead of or behind you? Are you
prepared to succeed someone else? When you do, how quickly will you establish
your reputation and meet high expectations for your performance? In what ways
do you need to continue the legacy of your predecessor, and in what ways do
you need to establish your individuality?
Star-struck The all-show and no-go performance of Bode Miller at the Olympics recalled the high expectations of
superstar Carly Fiorina when she
became CEO of Hewlett-Packard. The
hype about Miller as a contender for five medals prior to the Games became
huge following his media disclosures about competing while drunk in past
events. Assuming he was sober during his five Olympic events, he failed at
each event. (To savor just part of the Miller over-hype, be sure to visit his
website at http://www.bodemillerusa.com.)
Fiorina’s super-star image exceeded her actual results and she was fired
after she failed to move the company forward. On February 15, when H-P
reported results (http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/investor/financials/quarters/2006/q1.html)
for the first full year under the leadership of her low-key successor, Mark Hurd, the story turned out to be
stellar. Revenues are higher, along with margins, and the stock was the best
performer of 2005 in the Dow Jones Industrials, up 37%. When it comes to
executive performance, perhaps the model is for all-go, and low-key show. Do you pay
more attention to hype than to results? Are you swayed by image? When you think
of your star performers, do you tend to overlook the low-key successful
contributors? Are you blinded by starlight? Are you using the right criteria
when scoring results? Are you self-promoting to the point of hype? Do your
achievements match the hype?
Speed skater How do you keep the players on your team focused on the
right issues? How clearly have you communicated expectations about individual
performance needed to produce team results? When cooperation is needed, what
do you do to encourage that? When individual players have expectations of
others, what do you do to reinforce those expectations, if appropriate, or
revise those expectations to clarify priorities and roles? What are you doing
to prevent the Inspiration Joey Cheek switched from inline skating to
speedskating after watching Norwegian Johann
Koss in the 1994 Olympics. Koss went on to start a humanitarian effort
called Right to Play, which seeks
to provide a bit of normal childhood to kids living in refugee camps. In a
press conference after winning the gold medal in the 500 meter speedskating competition,
Cheek announced, “I've always felt that if I ever did something big like this
I wanted to be prepared to give something back. So ... I'm going to be
donating the entire (Operation Gold) sum the USOC gives to me, which I think
is around $25,000, I'm not sure, to the organization that Johann Olaf Koss
either started or gave to in 1994. And I'm going to be asking all of the
Olympic sponsors that give hundreds of millions of dollars if they will also
maybe match my donation to a specific project. So, as you know, there's been
some media but not a ton, especially in the With the results you’ve achieved, what have you done to
help someone else? Are you aware of what you do to inspire others? Who has
inspired you, and what have you done as a result of that inspiration? Will
your best Olympian moment in 2006 be an inspiring one? Follow-up
Here are
selected updates on stories covered in prior issues of Executive Times: Ø The March 2005
issue of Executive
Times called attention to the provocative comments of Harvard
President Larry Summers that alienated segments of the Arts and
Sciences faculty. He resigned on February 21, and said in a resignation
letter to members of the Harvard community, (http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2006/0221_summers.html),
“…I have reluctantly concluded that the rifts between me and segments of the
Arts and Sciences faculty make it infeasible for me to advance the agenda of
renewal that I see as crucial to Harvard's future. I believe, therefore, that
it is best for the University to have new leadership. … I have sought for the
last five years to prod and challenge the University to reach for the most
ambitious goals in creative ways. There surely have been times when I could
have done this in wiser or more respectful ways. My sense of urgency has
stemmed from my conviction that Harvard has a special ability to make a real
difference in a world desperately in need of wisdom of all kinds. As I leave
the presidency, my greatest hope is that the University will build on the
important elements of renewal that we have begun over the last several years.
Much as I might have preferred to help, as President, to build more of the
magnificent structure that will be early 21st century Harvard, I take
satisfaction in having played a part in laying some of the foundations for
what may come. …” There are always consequences for leaders who alienate key
stakeholders. We look forward to seeing how his successor performs. Ø
Resume
lying last appeared in the April 2005
issue of Executive
Times, and has been a topic covered frequently. A consistent message:
tell the truth or face the consequences. Another executive faced consequences
when RadioShack accepted the
resignation of its CEO David J.
Edmondson on February 21 days after disclosure that he claimed he had two
college degrees, when in reality he had none. Legacy
Ebullient An executive
who always seemed to enjoy himself, in success or in failure, on something of
an Olympic scale, died in February at age 83. Sir Freddie Laker changed air-travel by creating the low-cost
niche in the 1970s. He broke the trans-Atlantic cartel by offering cheap
flights with no frills, changing the market from one of fixed, high prices
for the wealthy, to one of choices and opportunities for all. He played the
role of David taking on the Goliaths of state-sponsored airlines, and
winning, to the ongoing cheers of consumers. While customers flocked to his
planes, the company failed, but was followed by new and successful companies
who thrive in this niche. By the time his company failed, he had increased
passenger volume 30%, but made enemies. Some competitors conducted a “dirty
tricks” campaign against Laker, targeted at his bankers, and were later
convicted and forced to pay him compensation for their misdeeds. According to
the Associated
Press Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson, who named one of
the planes in his fleet “Spirit of Sir Freddie” in tribute, said the
ebullient Laker was one of Latest
Books Read and Reviewed: (Note: readers of the web version of Executive Times
can click on the book covers to order copies directly from amazon.com. When you order through these links, Hopkins
& Company receives a small payment from amazon.com. Click on the title to read the review or
visit our 2006 bookshelf at http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/2006books.html).
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ã
2006 Hopkins and Company, LLC. Executive
Times is published monthly by Hopkins and Company, LLC at the company’s
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Company, call Steve Hopkins at 708-466-4650 or visit www.hopkinsandcompany.com. |
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