Market-Based Management®

Looking for Humility

I think great art is fraught with fantastic examples of lack of humility.  Tragedies brought on by hubris, relationships destroyed by pride, empires lost by arrogance....

I keep a running list of examples, but would love to hear your ideas!  What movies, novels, plays or favorite works of art come to your mind first that illustrate this Guiding Principle (either embodying it or pointing out the lack of it)?

History Repeats Itself?

I was putting together some clips for a friend of mine to share with her students. Trying to find something accessible to high school students, but still representative of economists I admire and find relevant, I came across the famous Milton Friedman Interview with Phil Donahue. I'm certain I've seen these before (but it's probably been 4-5 years), and listening to the first one, I was amazed at how this could be aired today and be relevant.

Here it is. Go here if you want access to the whole thing.

This was filmed in 1979. If the production quality (and fashion) was better, it could have been filmed a year ago. Anyway, this is a great interview. Did you find anything particularly striking? Are there other Friedman interviews you know of that are timely?

Friday Links

**Ann's note: Sorry for the late post. I accidently scheduled it for next Friday at first.**

The usually entertaining Bob Sutton has another interesting article entitled "Why Leadership Can Be a Dangerous Idea."

The Consumerist Reports that "48% of Those Planning to Quit Once The Economy Improves Say It's Because They No Longer Trust Their Bosses."

Here's a neat, short podcast that asks, "What's the price of a pelican?" when assessing the BP oil spill bill. (Hat Tip: Skyler Treat)

Ever wonder about the "History of Communication"? The link will take you to a cool little info graphic.

My glorious golf career ended with a huge losing streak throughout college, which is why I will never know what it takes to be a pro-golfer (statistically speaking or otherwise).

If you have any neat links to pass along, please leave them in the comments.

Five Dimensions in Action

Last Tuesday, we looked at a short cut to analyzing new projects and problems--the idea of shining our "five flashlights" onto murky projects.

Let's say you're the manager, and you saw the following situation--how would you analyze what's going on using the five Dimensions?

One of your team members is heading up the R&D on a joint-department project focused on developing a training program for internal customers.  You have an agreed-upon project plan, but this team member keeps missing deadlines for what seems like legitimate reasons.  She's getting frustrated working with members of the other department, but often grins-and-bears it or works harder.  Also, in your weekly meetings, she has more frequently asked questions about what the 'real' goal is with this project, and your answers don't seem to suffice. 

Things are going OK now, but a major deliverable is looming and you're concerned that these small cracks may fissure under great pressure.

What questions might you ask based off of the 5Ds?

Freedom of speech

The challenge process is all about the continual questioning and brainstorming to find a better way. Usually, we point to freedom of speech and standards as the societal concept that underlies the organizational concept.

So, I must admits that freedom speech as a concept is an area I have not studied at length. When putting together readings for the curriculums I work on, there didn't seem to be a single piece that screamed "put me on the list." I am certain that part of this is my ignorance, and I am hoping you can help me out in the comments.

This intern cycle we are using parts of John Mill's On Liberty. I've faced two major obstacles in finding good selections. The first is that my base knowledge in this is lacking. Second, I find that it is tough to talk about freedom of speech in a modern way without bringing up the extremely offensive, which I am not comfortable doing.

What things have helped you understand freedom of speech and standards? What texts or resources might help drive productive discussion around this topic?

Five Flashlights--the Five Dimensions and Problem Solving in the Dark

I had an MBM mentor that I would bring questions and issues to about once a month.  EVERY time, he would analyze the problem and give advice in the same format.  He'd write down "V, VT, KP, DR, I" on a piece of paper, and proceed to ask dimension-related questions about the problem at hand.  

Another mentor would call this "using the five flashlights of MBM" to shine light on murky situations.

It was always surprising to see how quickly this simple practice brought issues into focus, or highlighted holes in my thinking.  Of course, it was then up to his experienced advice and my flawed decisions to figure out what to do next, but this was often helpful.

For example, the questions would go something like:

Vision--what's the purpose of the project?  How does it uniquely create value?  Are there multiple people involved--do they have a shared understanding of the purpose?  Are there ways to experiment small vs. a full roll out?  What creates value for the customer?  Why should WE be the ones to do this project?  Does it fit with the vision of the organization?

Virtue & Talents--Who is involved--why?  What capabilities are needed for this project (then) does the team have those?  How do the Guiding Principles come to play here?  Is there a culture of openness to change/respect/etc.?  What compliance issues are most important here?

Knowledge Processes--What are your major outcomes, and how will you measure them?  What information is critical; who needs to know it?  What are the communication styles of key team members?  Is there a culture of challenge?  Is useful information being institutionalized?

Decision Rights--Who "owns" (i.e. is responsible for the outcomes of) this project?  What are the key drivers of the project, and who is responsible for them?  How do you hold one another accountable?  Whose buy in do you need to get resources or "the go ahead" (in your department or others)?  Is the "ownership" of each portion of the project clearly communicated and understood?  How does this fit into your RR&Es?

Incentives--What's your motivation here?  What motivates others working on the project with you?  If you have involved others, do they feel like they have a stake in success/failure, or are they a cog in your machine?  Map out the incentives of yourself, your team, others involved, your customer, etc.--any conflicts or opportunities there?

Though the next unexplored cave will never be the same as the last one you spelunked (not a word), you can consistently use these five flashlights to help find your way in any setting.

Equality, Value, and Merit

There is a fantastic chapter in Hayek's Constitution of Liberty called "Equality, Value, and Merit." Every time I read it, I am struck by something new. Here are some quotes:

"Not only has liberty nothing to do with any other sort of equality, but it is even bound to produce inequality in many respects. This is the necessary result and part of the justification of individual liberty: if the result of individual liberty did not demonstrate that some manners of living are more successful than others, much of the case for it would vanish" (page 85).

"If the differences are not very important, then freedom is not very important and the idea of individual worth is not very important" (page 86).

Then a professor recommended a movie (sorry, I can't remember who it was) that seemed to speak to the idea of individuals and liberty. So, I spent some time bopping around the internet trying to find it. Instead of the original movie, I found the trailer for the remake. It looks fantastic. Here it is:

What do you think of using this clip to motivate some of Hayek's work? Have you read this chapter before? What do you like about it?

Friday Links

Here's a neat post that uses the ball that A-rod sent out of the park for his 600th home run to explain how taxes work.

Yesterday was National Beer Day, so here's a post with some nerdy data about beer and politics.

We often teach that loss is a signal and an incentive. But have you ever wondered about how much loss a firm can have and still stay open? This post, called "Loss Making Firm," gives a tidy little explanation.

Here's a podcast about Stalin's Useful Idiots. I have only listened to the first ten minutes, but it's interesting so far (HT: Al Walling via Ben Pratt). 

And finally, some really nerdy data charts for you. First, there is "AP Economic Stress Map." Then you have a map that depicts "State Budget Deficits."

Zeiglanerfleck Effect

Ok, there's no such word as "zeiglanerfleck" but I can't pronounce the actual name of the phenomena described below, so--much like a child struggling to say 'spaghetti'--I've made up my own name for it.

As this article describes it, "the Zeigarnik Effect is the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that was once pursued and left incomplete (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, pg. 122). The automatic system signals the conscious mind, which may be focused on new goals, that a previous activity was left incomplete. It seems to be human nature to finish what we start and, if it is not finished, we experience dissonance."

This is--I believe--what David Allen would call "open loops" in his "Getting Things Done" time-management system.  [ht Logan M.]

The Value Creation and Principled Entrepreneurship Guiding Principles urge us to make the best use of our time, so I've been focusing on ways to use my time--and brainpower--more effectively.

I've just started experimenting with Allen's system.  Has anyone else used the GTD system?  What's your preferred system for managing time and priorities?

What would you say?

Recently, I was asked for some practical tips about idea generation, specifically around daily practices. Below is my advice. What would you tell someone?

• Know yourself. I am an extrovert and need to say things aloud to help sort through and generate ideas.

• Keep a list of ideas and where/when ideas hit you. Maybe you can find some patterns. During grad school, I kept a document with all the paper ideas or research questions that hit me. This gave me a nice little place to go if I needed a topic. My dissertation topic came out of that list. 
• Work hard not to censor yourself. It's hard, but writing down every idea, even if it wacky can help get the gears going.

I had some other, but I think these were the most practical. What practical advice would you give? What methods have worked for you?