Step Change - The Bob Beamon Effect

I recently had a very interesting conversation with a fellow HR professional about the necessity for organizations to embrace step change in order to remain competitive.  During the course of this discussion we talked about the Bob Beamon effect.

For those who are not familiar with Bob Beamon, he was responsible for a step change event within non-professional sports in Mexico at the 1968 Olympics.

By way of background, going into the 1968 Olympics, the world long jump record was 27 feet, 4¾ inches, shared by American Ralph Boston and Soviet Igor Ter-Ovanesyan. Over the years there were incremental improvements to previous records however, all of that changed in 1968 when in six seconds, Bob Beamon, a 22-year-old New Yorker took exactly 19 loping strides and hit the sand in the pit at 29 feet, 2½ inches!

Not only was he the the first long jumper in history to reach 28 feet, he also became the first to reach 29 feet, he shattered the world record by an unbelievable 21 ¾ inches which went unchallenged for almost 23 years.

Bob had barely qualified for the Olympic long jump finals after fouling in two of his qualifying runs and only through sch ere determination, perseverance and an unfettered desire to win, he set a new world record.

Some people would say "so what", I would suggest, it takes someone like a"Bob Beamon" to smash through the status quo, crush current records, paradigms, cultures and thinking in order to establish the new bench mark and standards for which all others will be measured.  If you lack the passion to win, you might as well surrender to the competition now because you have become redundant and will be left behind.

The Bob Beamon's of the world need to stand up and declare themselves and, smart organizations need to embrace them because, "you can't do today's job with yesterday's methods and expect to be in business tomorrow".

Leadership Development: Leading from the Middle -- Spare Tire or Protective Padding

Are the middle ranks in an organization a "spare tire" or are they "protective padding"?  (I define the middle ranks as Manager and Director level roles which have people management and budget responsibilities.)  In today's volatile economic times, headlines are dominated by stories of doom and gloom.  The story often involves the mass lay-off of middle management as a means to find savings and "trim the fat" in times when revenues fall short and profitability seems elusive.  This strategy is often carried out to drive short-term savings, have the appearance of a healthy balance sheet and deliver the optics that dramatic change is afoot.  While this strategy may achieve these short-term goals, I often wonder how well an organization will function in the long-term.  This begs the question: are the middle ranks simply a "spare tire" or are they essential "protective padding"?

In exploring this question, I happened upon an interesting article written by Vince Thompson appearing in the November 11, 2008 edition of CBS money watch titled, "10 Reasons Why You -- Managing in the Middle -- Are More Valuable Than Your Company's CEO", which is reproduced below:


"(MoneyWatch)  Yes, that's right. Peter Drucker said, "the purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer", and much of that work happens smack-dab in the middle of companies.

Sorry CEO's. We know the last few years have been tough with all of the scandals and talk about excessive pay. Now, just when you're starting to feel good again, we're throwing this at you. While it doesn't seem fair, stick with us for a minute and you'll see how we can all benefit. And don't worry--nobody is suggesting that you can't keep the town car or fly the corporate jet.

Now, ten solid reasons why You -- Managing in the Middle -- Are More Valuable than Your Company's CEO:

You know how stuff really gets done. Let's face it, process maps mean very little when you know that to get your PC up and running again, the fastest route is to buy a muffin for Oscar in IT.

You know what motivates individuals. You're with them every day. Sometimes it's cash, time off for a kid's event, or just some simple recognition. Whatever the case, you're in a position to help motivate both in- and extrinsically more than anyone else.

You know the customer well enough to get to the truth. You are them, they are you, and there's a symbiotic bond. More than anyone, the customer will tell you exactly what they need and how to sell to them.

You know the vendors as well as the competitive landscape. All that shooting the bull with Marvin, who supplies the whole industry, really pays off when he tells you that your biggest competitor is never going to get that new launch off the line. With some tweaks, your firm can make a killing!

You don't have to defend the original strategy. This is BIG! Since you didn't devise the strategy, you aren't obligated to defend it. Instead you can speak openly and tell it like it is. Do tell brothers and sisters--do tell!

You have the skills to get people of diverse backgrounds and in cross functional groups to work together. That's because you live with them every day. There's a big difference between telling people what to do and really working it out. You know how to work it out.

You know exactly what point your company is in the movie. You've been living it with the team, and more than anyone else you know if the team is ready to take the hill or go back and lick its wounds.

You know the believers. When the team needs to get motivated, you know who they turn to, and more importantly, you know what gets them fired up.

You can motivate with humor. You've got their trust; therefore you can joke a bit and have some fun. Fun is a great motivator, and you're the one best positioned to get them laughing.

You have the power to heal. When things go wrong you're best positioned to get people on the path to recovery with a vision for the future.

So why do we need you, Mr. CEO?  Well--you've done one heck of a job getting people and money in the right place. Hats off to you for that! When it comes down to it, dealing with regulations, reporting issues and testifying before congress doesn't seem like much fun either-- so thanks for that as well.

In a business world where everything is changing overnight and entire industries are being reshaped: from Manufacturing to Music, Transportation to Telecom, it's quite likely that the next great business model won't come from you but rather from us, the middle person.

So let's make a deal right now. You CEO's keep doing what you're doing and we'll be out of your hair, but when it comes to strategy, policy, employee recognition, and benefits we'd like to be in on that conversation. Deal?"

While this is not the definitive answer to the question I posed, Mr. Thompson does raise some very interesting points.  Although he pokes fun at CEO's, I think most smart CEO's do get it.  For those that don't, they too may one day find that some antsy shareholder views them as "dead weight".  


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Be "Insanely Great" - In Memory of Steve Jobs

As I settled in for the night in my hotel room while visiting a client in Western Canada, I turned on my treasured and indispensable companion - my MacBook Pro - and was deeply saddened when I clicked on Safari. (For those of you out there (if there are any) who don't own any Apple products, Safari is Apple's web browser). As would be expected, Safari defaults to Apple's website. I never bothered to change it.   The usual marketing-heavy (yet simplistic style of heading, image and movie elements set in geometric configuration against a white background) start page of the website had been replaced entirely by a simple tribute page. Steve Jobs, the brilliant, innovative, hard-driving, legendary, iconoclastic leader and visionary of all things Apple, had died.

While Steve's passing was not unexpected and I certainly did not know him or ever meet him, the world feels different without him in it.  By many accounts, Apple's success over the past decade has been attributed directly to Steve.  While I'm no expert in the area, the fact that he has more than 300 patents registered in his name, speaks volumes.  

It dawned on me that Steve was not just great, but in many ways was "insanely great" (a phrase often used by Steve).  That's why we are all the beneficiaries of such great products (some would even call "insanely great") and feel such a strong sense of loss by his passing.  That's the impact "insanely great" people have on others -- they are true visionaries, they move people to do great and even "insanely great" things, they inspire others, they innovate, they build on "insanely great" things and make them even better.  While we have all heard the stories that Steve wasn't perfect and may have not been the ideal people person, one of the things we can learn from Steve is to be "insanely great".   By being "insanely great", you will inspire others to be as well.

This is something all leaders should strive to be -- be insanely great.  Leaders don't have to emulate Steve Job's exact style, but they need to strive to be brilliant, to be innovative, to be hard-driving, to be legendary, to be iconoclastic and to be a visionary.  In doing so, they will lead others to follow in their footsteps.

In closing, I wanted to leave you with a few poignant words from Steve Job's commencement address to Standford University's 2005 graduating class:

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."
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