Socio Analytica

This article from Knowledge@Wharton: Leadership and Change talks about the need for 4-way integration of Work, Home, Community and Self. Stewart Friedman talking about his book, Total Change argues for this integration. I really believe that this is crucial — I have tended to argue that one should integrate their personal or home with their institution of greatest influence (work, church, politics, etc.) But the integration of these four areas resonates with me. Given my work in values, the personal is essentially implied here. And I have kind of merged Work and Community.

I think the key issue here is integration. While you may have some different “preferences” many of the common values will be the same just the order may change. The danger that I see people getting themselves is that they believe that the values and the institutions in which they interact are somehow separate. The priorities will can and often change but the core values stat the same.

First, it is very difficult to separate or compartmentalize like this. And if one is able to do it, it will likely create a high level of internal conflict. It creates a kind of institutionally enforced schizophrenia. Moving between these compartments can create tension and conflict. This frustration can, of course, come out in ways that do not create the best environment for those areas.

Tags: Analysis, Behavior, Community, Identity, Leadership, Values by mlwhall

Jonathan Schwartz (Sun) has pre-announced that Amazon and Sun are going to make some big announcements at JavaOne.

Tags: IT, Leadership, Tech, Technology by mlwhall

You would think that wineries that are as progressive in their treatment of grapes might also be progressive in other areas. The more stories that I hear and experiences that I have seems quite the contrary. Wineries, even the larger ones often do not have as many working for them as one might think.  You add in laws about how vineyards and wineries of certain sizes need to keep wine making and grape growing separated, and silos get created.  Silos such as vineyard, marketing admin and tasting rooms seem to keep everything separate.

It seems that management is the key. It is not about creating an environment for good management to occur (leadership), it is about managing situations. This makes for a very reactionary situation. I have not seen a ton of wineries’ leadership approach, but enough to know that it rare that they are proactive rather than reactive.

Tags: leadership, management, wineries

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Tags: Behavior, Leadership by mlwhall

I was thinking the other day about how there are so many approaches to leadership. I think the key is for the leader to get some type of meaning from their personal leadership environment. The next is how others get meaning from their interaction. A good leader helps others get more meaning from their experiences. If there is no direct personal connection, I think is done by creating an environment where people are most likely to be successful in the organization while at the same time finding the experience most meaningful. Just some thoughts … I need to ponder on this a little more. The notion here does not seem to be quite coming together.

Tags: meaning, leadership, values, personal, environment

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Tags: Behavior, Leadership, Meaning, Personal, Values by mlwhall

AOL seems to be having a couple of blogs / journals on Bill Clinton for their Citizen Journalism Daily Pulse Blog. The piece entitled, "Bill Clinton’s Second Act" is trying in part to figure out his post-presidential impact and if it is changing peoples’ minds. On the whole (so far) it seems that if you liked him before, you will like him now. And if you did not, you probably do not like him now. I think it might be a little while before we can know for sure.

On the whole, I think that Clinton was a good president. I think the positives out weigh the negatives overwhelmingly. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. Post-presidency he seems to have had better positive exposure than any president since Carter.  With some exceptions he seems to have been somewhat apolitical. Time will tell but after a relatively low profile he seems to be having some very positive impact. I think that he might be staying out of the political spotlight as to not overshadow any political ambitions that Hillary might have.

While he was a solid, progressive democrat he was also a consummate politician (and one hell of a campaigner). He would reach across the isle when needed. He wanted to build consensus and get things done. Now that he does not have a "personal" political agenda, it is much easier for him to partner with whomever makes the most sense. He still knows how to command the world stage. Recently, taking the stage with Laura Bush for "play pumps" in Africa (an initiative she is spearheading) at the kick-off for his Clinton Global Initiative roundtable. This is cause for which he is donating millions. He also partnered with President Bush, Sr. on post-Katrina clean up efforts. Let’s not kid ourselves, he likes the spotlight. But he also seems to take that light and point towards areas of need.

Tags: president, play pumps, bill clinton, clinton, global clinton initiative, laura bush, bush, water, africa, katrina

Tags: Behavior, Commentary, Culture, Current Affairs, Leadership, Politics, Random Thoughts by mlwhall

FREE Leadership Development Tips from The Leaders Institute
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Tags: Leadership, Random Thoughts by mlwhall

A pandemic’s second front - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune

The possibility of an avian flu pandemic is real. In America, President George W. Bush has sensibly proposed a substantial investment to detect, identify and contain the virus, when and where it begins human-to-human spread.
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Tags: Behavior, Commentary, Community, Culture, Leadership, Personal, Random Thoughts by mlwhall

This article in Businessweek by Peter Burrows, talk about how HP is now going to require that Board members to win a majority of shareholder votes. It is interesting almost ‘HP way’ approach to looking after shareholder interests. However, the board can refuse the resignation. In this post-Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley world it is nice to see this gesture.

It is not quite an earth-shattering move, but it does suggest that there are some leadership moves that are occurring and maybe this will catch to other organizations.

I do not think that this absolves HP of the Compaq merger, but it is at least a start.

Technorati Tags: leadership, governance, HP, Compaq, Sarbanes-Oxley, shareholder, board

Tags: Commentary, Culture, Ethics, Leadership by mlwhall

Tags: Leadership by mlwhall

I could definitely see something like this happening. We will know soon enough. I do not necessarily like her poltics but for some reason, I have always been emamored with her. Maybe part of it is that she is from this area (SF Bay Area — Stanford), or that she is smart as a whip. For that matter, both she and Hillary seem to be more intelligent than the average politico. She seems to have some leadership ability, however, if this plays out we will now for sure .

Tags: Commentary, Culture, Leadership by mlwhall