Culture Code

When not reading the adventures of Jules Verne, or mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, my non-fiction reading list usually consists of biographies, or something historical. After a few urgings, I picked up, read, and thoroughly enjoyed "The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups" by Daniel Coyle. As the title suggests, it provides insight on how highly successful teams are formed. However, the conventions don't always follow the traditional pattern. It's not hiring the smartest people. It's not building a team with the most experience. Team dynamics is equally important. It's an engaging read where kindergartners can succeed where CEOs and MBAs fail. There are multiple stories where the team with the biggest budget, the most experience, and the most confidence wasn't the team to win the prize. Where great ideas are ruined by mediocre teams, yet mediocre ideas are turned into success by great teams. How leaders, real leaders, will create an environment that makes a great […]

Too many cooks, too many managers

Since we are still hiring and going through the interview process, a disappointing trend has emerged. When asked of their future plans, and where they see themselves, people with very little experience make the claim they want to be a "lead" or manager within a year. They don't speak of going deep and being proficient in the role they're interviewing for. There is no mention of being the go-to person for help and information. No mention of being a subject matter expert. Taking this job is merely a stepping stone. After checking off a couple boxes on their mental to-do list they will take on bigger and better. Never mind they only have two years of experience in this field. It's pretty clear their desire is to pretend to be in charge and tell other people what to do, not produce great results they can be proud of and others might emulate. I don't want to work with people like […]