Communication
How to present to executives (via SWLW)
This article has several useful patterns (and anti-patterns) for communicating with a very specific set of people. You need to understand how your audience consumes information and what they need from you. I also concur with the pyramid example (start with the answer first, then support it).
Spell. It. Out. (via SWLW)
- The title of each slide in your deck should be the key takeaway. Replace “Traction” with “6x growth in the last 8 months.” Instead of “Our Team,” use “Rare mix of Oil&Gas + Marketplace experience.” This is a good practice for deck, memos, blog posts, etc.
- For each slide, ask yourself what the worst possible interpretation would be. If your competitor had to make a damning presentation based on your materials, what would they say? How would you change your deck to ruin their attempted sabotage?
- Ask 5+ people to write down their takeaways and gut reactions to each of your slides. Identify anything that seems unclear and fix it. If some people think you’re trying to say X while others think you’re trying to say Y, then the slide is broken.
Innovation
Identifying Unmet Needs in a Digital Age (via HBR)
- Telescope — focus closely on users outside your core
- Microscope — focus closely on mainstream users
- Kaleidoscope — focus broadly on users outside your core
- Panorama — focus broadly on mainstream users
Leadership
When Hiring CEOs, Focus on Character (via HBR)
CEOs (and CFOs) that tend to get themselves or their companies into ethical or legal hot water have higher levels of materialism and are more likely to break rules (even small ones). It was interesting to see that corporate governance (like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) prevented lower-level issues from developing, but didn’t prevent them altogether. It would be interesting to see if materialism and rule-breaking could also address less desirable behavior in the US government given we’ve seen lots of (1) “rules for thee but not for me” and (2) a crime punishable by a fine means it’s legal for a price.
Coding Isn’t a Necessary Leadership Skill — But Digital Literacy Is (via HBR)
This article addressed a concern I had about my stepping away from hands-on tech being a liability. The author states that it’s not the best use of a leader’s time to understand all the nuances, but instead to partner with those that do (and know what the tech is capable of). I especially liked the tips of spending some time with technical teams to understand what they do, and not expecting digital products (e.g., an app) to be managed like traditional ones (e.g., a candy bar).
Process
The practical application of “Rocks, Pebbles, Sand” (via SWLW)
There are too many gems in this article to list here! The author outlines the three types of work, why they’re all important, and tips/gotchas for each type. The conclusion has a process for planning for all three, as well as common anti-patterns for when planning fails.