Proper Sleep Under Girds Self-Management

In her TED Talk How to succeed? Get more sleep! Arianna Huffington relates how she collapsed and injured herself, all from overwork and insufficient sleep.  It's short and sweet, but chock full of wise advice for anyone with a hectic, demanding schedule.  Sleep is so fundamental, yet so under-appreciated, in American culture that people are more apt to get by with less of it than to give themselves what their body may desperately need.  Without it, any leadership program, management advice, or concerted effort in business or workplace begin to collapse.

Whether from Huffington, Entrepreneur, or any other speaker and magazine, heed the sleep suggestions that work best for you.  It may take time and effort, probably some research and conversation, to find out specifically what will work best for you.  But I want to emphasize that you are ultimately the judge of that.  It requires you to assess honestly and systematically how much sleep you need and to make sure you do what you need for proper sleep.

The foregoing screen shots are from:

Clarifying your Purpose for Becoming Smarter

I am most curious about they think about thinking (or meta-cognition).  This is the ability, willingness and commitment to step back regularly, look at the bigger picture, and see how we are doing in our own right and in relation to others.  The main thing about these habits, if you're inclined to adopt them in one form or another, is to clarify your purpose and aims for becoming smart.  What are you trying to accomplish, and why is it important to you?  This self-reflection can shed light on what you need to do, and not do, as far as raising your smarts is concerned.

These screen shots are from this Entrepreneur video:

Richard Branson on Leaders Listening

I love Richard Branson, especially his spirited, engaging persona and his informative, advisory efforts.  In the era of social media, he is tops in mine and anyone else's Timelines.  Google+, Twitter and Facebook are phenomenal forums for conversation among all sorts of people, so keeping a pulse on (i.e., listening to) such conversation is crucial for businessmen and women.

The foregoing are screen shots from recent this Entrepreneur interview:

Leadership Deep Dive

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In the past, in management, we've talked about the idea that strengths perform. But what about the idea that strengths do a lot more? That they TRANSFORM.

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Prepare [leaders], who may be experts in their industry, to really think outside that industry. To think about how their organization interfaces with society as a whole.

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80% of the characteristics that differentiate outstanding, from average, performing CEOs and leaders are these things we call emotional and social intelligence.

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When you think about a leader who needs to bring out the best in his people, or her organization, we talk about the idea of 'cooperative capacity'.

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What good is optimism, what good is hope, what good is inspiration? We're going to tie these new findings together with a positive leadership perspective, that I think is missing in so much of our education.

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It's hard work. It is not easy to change, or even to adapt, or even to maintain. You have to work with others.

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What is it about me as a leader that works and how can I use that to get the most out of the people that work with me?

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Leaders have to be open to possibilities. They have to recognize that the best ideas come from anyone, anywhere. They have to be able to channel those into a method and a practice that is inspiring to others.

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Leadership is about bringing out the best in people, energizing your workforce, energizing your team.

Reference: Immerse Yourself in `Leadership Deep Dive

CMO Roel De Vries on Nissan Marketing

[Nissan] chief marketer [Roel De Vries] on making sense of myriad marketing technologies, platforms and channels.

Positively bland in speech and demeanor, De Vries speaks thoughtfully and persuasively nonetheless about how Nissan approaches marketing.  It's quite a boon for a CMO that Nissan has a solid foundation across established and emerging markets.  He's been with the company at least 20 years, so I imagine he's had a hand in building that foundation.  While social media consultants and business people alike herald content as king, De Vries clarifies Nissan perspective on this matter: It's about putting out less content, but focusing that content on story lines that matter most to the brand.  So, in their case, the king is purpose and the queen is the brand, while content is the loyal subject that abides by whatever may be the royal decree.

It agency partnerships abide by a particular perspective, too.  De Vries understands the range of specialties that different agencies provide, but Nissan does not want dispersed relationships across all of them.  He wants what he calls agency agnostics that can pull it all together to serve Nissan purpose, which is to convey a consistent, integrated message to consumers.  So more than just a single point of contact, De Vries looks for agencies that can think laterally, work collaboratively, and deliver in concert.  He emphasizes that Nissan doesn't want to do everything (i.e., no 360°).  Instead, it's about cross-channel and cross-agency debate on what makes the most sense to focus on.  This is Nissan United.

The following screen shots speak to the clever, thoughtful way that the carmaker works at design, engineering and marketing:

There is definitely a lot to learn by studying schools of fish: The advent of the smart car, which puts more information and analytics at our disposal and ensures the safest, best possible driving experience.

Finally, we can buy the Versa Note on Amazon:

www.Amazon.com

I don't know if it actually arrives on our driveway in a traditional, but much bigger Amazon box, but how awesome is that?

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

SVP Bridget van Kraligen on IBM Transformation

Bridget van Kralingen [Senior Vice President, Global Business Services] of IBM discusses the company's transformation and also reveals a new chip that can power your phone for a week.

IBM is transforming, and is very confident about this transformation.  Part of the process is to speak clearly about it.  There are three very large forces:

1. Massive real-time data is the new oil (i.e., resource)
2. Cloud prompts new business models
3. Social and mobile engagement is making shifts for clients

Accordingly, IBM has invested $23 billion into Big Data, created a Watson Division, and driven very hard off the cloud by building new data centers around the world. They're making big bets on this portfolio, such as hiring 15,000 analytics consultants.  My question then is:  How is it all working out?  Eight consecutive quarters of declining revenues isn't exactly comforting.  Can CEO Ginni Rometty truly pull the new IBM through to where it needs to be, not just from a technical or innovative standpoint, but also from a business or commercial standpoint?

Artificial Intelligence, that is, for Watson, needs the right ecosystem, and Manhattan is the hub for it.  IBM is drawing on design thinking.  For now, Watson has high IQ but low EQ.  The way van Kralingen describes Emotional Intelligence is curious: It's about Watson responding and interacting in a way that is more helpful and customized to us (rf. IBM acquiring of Cognea).  Once IBM works this out, then Watson can truly adapt to our style and serve our purpose.  It can coach us as well as learn from us, and otherwise help us do what we need to do (e.g., following medical protocol).  Indeed we're in an era of humanizing technology, so that it is delights us and enriches our lives.  It isn't just about automation for the sake of efficiency and productivity.  All of this is how I conceive of algorithms à la Theory of Algorithms: that is, as smart and able to learn, and also as adaptable and personalized.

Commercially, Watson can advise people on insurance needs.  Depending on lifestyle, life changes, and home location, as I understand, it can recommend the right policies.  But, you see, consumers per se are not necessarily tapping Watson themselves.  Rather, it's the insurance companies doing so, and consequently working with consumers like us on what we need.  In addition, then, it sharpens the algorithms for marketing and selling to us.  Philanthropically, it's more than heartbreaking to hear that 25% of disease burden is in Sub-Saharan Africa, and that in particular 22% of cervical cancer cases from around the world are in that very region.  Watson offers the cognitive capability to help healthcare professionals and workers to tackle disease.  It does so by ingesting the body of knowledge on medicine that exists, and allowing itself to be queries via natural (i.e., non-technical) language.

IBM has invested $3 billion in creating the chip beyond silicon.  Going forward, silicon will no longer have the size and power to grapple with exponential data and complex analytics.  Enter: graphene.  van Kralingen showed us a chip the size of a postage stamp, and explained that it's coated with graphene that's one-atom thick.  Practically speaking, if we put this in our smartphone, we wouldn't need to charge it for a week.  In fact, if I heard her correctly, our smartphone wouldn't need a battery for a week.  It would also process much faster, but I wonder how much this speed would depend on bandwidth.  Add quantum devices and synaptic computing, and you can see why I believe IBM, along with Google and maybe Microsoft, will lead our technology future.

The foregoing positions IBM squarely as a consultancy.  van Kralingen points to the following trends among IBM clientele:

1. Clients have a deep desire to redo organization process and redo client interaction vis-a-vis data 
2. Analytics can be embedded in any organizational process
3. Information is available anywhere because of mobile devices

Clients must innovate at warp speed and innovate on an ongoing basis.  From practical-technical matters such as dealing with legacy data, to headier efforts such as integrating strategy and analytics, IBM is in a unique position to advise, solve and deliver.

van Kralingen talks at a brisk pace, and her transition from one point to another and from one subject to another is seamless.  Fortune magazine decided to title this interview as Is IBM in Trouble? and I think, at the end of the day, that decision is most unfortunate.  IBM may be in trouble if we continue to see declining revenues over the next two to three years.  But the essence and the thrust of the interview is the breathtaking concepts, research and initiatives that IBM is immersed in.  In brief, I feel more confident that indeed IBM is a prominent leader to our future and that its business will do quite well in the process.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

Listening to ZZ Ward on YouTube, not Pandora

In Cannes CMO Interview: Pandora's Heidi Browning, the Senior Vice President of Strategic Solutions referenced Toyota Sessions.  `Move Like U Stole It, from the featured artist didn't really suit me.  So I ambled instinctively to YouTube, the main place where I listened to music, and found songs by ZZ Ward.

I love this song.

You see, Pandora's main competition may not be Songza and others in the music streaming platform, but perhaps the likes of YouTube.  I am well in the post-Millennial generation, and I happen to gravitate toward YouTube.  

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD