MTI, Monica Thakrar Inc.
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Online Courses
    • Search Inside Yourself (SIY)
  • Leadership Development Program
    • Leadership Development Details
  • Art of Leadership Blog
    • Resources
  • Clients
  • Contact

Art of Leadership Blog

Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs

12/28/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Over the holidays I read “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. I was curious about the man who had left such a legacy, a man so many people were talking about especially with his recent death, and a man who had left behind such amazing products that I love like the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone. 

After reading this gripping account of Steve Job’s life I was struck by some of the leadership lessons one could gain by his incredible life:

1. Follow Your Passion - Steve Jobs’ career always followed a trajectory of bringing together technology and creativity. Everything he created that was incredibly genius always came back to those two core strengths and passions. As a leader it is important to focus on what you are truly passionate about as well as what you are the best at which is what Jobs did at this nexus of creativity and technology.

2. Surround Yourself with A Players - Although Steve Jobs was tough on his employees, he always strived to only have the A players on his team. When he was creating the first Mac he constantly was focused on bringing the best talent to the team in order to make the best product. He knew that A players wanted to work with A players and that it would draw more and more talented people to his company.

3.  Focus and Keep it Simple - When Steve Jobs returned to Apple the second time he turned around a company that was struggling. He recognized that a truly successful company has to focus on its top strengths and let everything else go. He cut down on product lines, service offerings, and got back to the simple basics - being best at bringing technology and creativity together. He knew what to say yes to and what to say no and that is a key strength of a leader.

4.  Think Outside the Box - Steve Jobs key strength as a leader was his innovation, ability to think differently, see possibilities that others could not, and encourage those who worked for him to also think outside the box. He would routinely criticize other leaders and companies who were not innovating and he really lived by the theory of living each day as if it were his last. It allowed him to take risks and innovate in a way that created lasting value for so many.

5. Think as an Integrated Whole - instead of structuring his organization into silos he focused on really integrating his divisions of the company to ensure speed, flexibility, and products that were thought through from end to end. This differentiated Apple’s products and services - for example being able to create the iPod and iTunes which worked together so seamlessly.

Steve Jobs left an enduring legacy behind. One that is innovative, creative, forward thinking, and tirelessly perfectionistic. He was a legend in so many ways and this biography does a good job of portraying the man and the legend.

0 Comments

Review of "Breaking Away"

10/26/2011

1 Comment

 
What is innovation and how does it relate to leadership? This is answered in the book “Breaking Away: How Great Leaders Create Innovation that Drives Sustainable Growth - And Why Others Fail” by Jane Stevenson and Bilal Kaafarani. The first section of the book focuses on defining types of innovation and the risk that is involved in each of those levels of innovation.

Breaking Away defines innovation as a product, service, or company that is “unique, valuable and worthy of exchange.” Steve Jobs left a legacy of innovation with his Apple products including the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad changing the markets and categories he worked in and adding much value to his shareholders along the way.

Apple is an example of one of the four types of innovation described in the book. The following section describes these types as well as the risk associated with each one:

Transformation Innovation - “a disruptive breakthrough that changes society.” Examples would include electricity, the internet, and mass produced cars. This of course takes the most risk and often needs an incubation period to create in order to allow for its longer term payback.

 Category Innovation - this is the new application of ideas, products or services rather than a creator of inventions. Examples include Apple’s products. The risk here is an equal mix risk and opportunity as it builds incrementally on current revenue streams.

 Marketplace Innovation - this is building or creating new markets by coming up with unique modifications for products, services, and delivery methods. Examples include environmentally friendly packaging introduced for Sun Chips as well as the social networking marketing program used for the launch of Ford Fiesta. The risk here is fairly controllable as you it’s broadening a customer base instead of creating one.

 Operational Innovation - this is innovation in the “how” of the business to stay efficient, productive, and evolving. Examples include Dell’s building computers to customer specifications and sending them directly to customers. This is the least risky as it is internal innovation, but still can have a big impact.

Overall innovation can be done in many different ways, but the impact is the same - something is created that is different, adds value, and people want to spend money on it.  It is also about progress and moving forward in your business or organization. I believe innovation is a key way to have your organization stand out from others and truly make a difference, just like Steve Jobs did.

Have you created anything valuable in your business or organization? How can you can be more innovative in your day to day work? Which type of innovation has the most opportunities for your business?

Next time I will discuss how leadership impacts innovation.
1 Comment

Review of “Linchpin” by Seth Godin

9/14/2011

1 Comment

 
This is the third book by Seth Godin that I have read and am reviewing. This blog post focuses on the first half of the book. I pick his books because I believe his ideas are thoughtful and take into account current day technology, trends, and ideas. 

Linchpin discusses how to be indispensable. Seth Godin says that to be a linchpin means that you are creating value. By focusing on creating “art” or thinking outside of the normal “shoulds” and “processes” that organizations typically stay within one can create value in a way that is outside the norm. 

This reminds me of the difference between a manager and a leader. A manager stays within the “box” of what currently is and makes it better and more efficient. A leader thinks creatively about what currently is and begins to see possibilities which have never been thought of before. The leaders not only see the possibilities, but actually acts on them. 

Godin says that a Linchpin does the work of “emotional labor” or creating a path when it is not laid out in front of them. He discusses making choices and creating a way when it is not created for you. I also believe this is a true hallmark of a leader as they are consistently taking risks and pushing the envelope by creating new visions and new processes that other people can then follow. It is inherently risky to create a new path than to follow the one that everyone else seems to be taking, but it is so much more fulfilling and worthy of an endeavor.  When you can look back and say I took the risk and it paid off or even when it fails for you then have some lessons learned for the next time that you take a risk!

The third thing that Linchpin discusses is the “resistance factor”. He says that people have the rational mind and the “lizard mind” or the emotional mind which feels fear and anxiety and constantly wants to bring you back to doing things that you are comfortable with. In my mind true leaders feel the resistance and do it anyway. They take the risk. They know that they will fail sometimes, and that not all of their ideas will be brilliant, but they still take chances. For not to do it and stay small takes so much more work. 

So are you willing to stand up and create your own vision and path? Are you willing to feel the resistance and do it regardless? Are you willing to be a linchpin? 

To be a leader can be learned, but it takes implementing some of these lessons step by step. The more you practice these steps the easier they get!
1 Comment

Managing Up

9/1/2011

0 Comments

 
Managing up is a skill set that is needed for anyone who wants to be an integral part of their organization. It is about building a strong relationship with your boss, building trust, and bringing up issues when needed. So how do you successfully manage up? Well there are four main components that allow you to build a strong relationship with your boss:

1.Understanding what is important to your boss - knowing what are the major priorities and goals of your leader is critical for you to be able to take initiative, show support, and get involved in those areas. By taking steps to further the goals of your leader you will show him/her that you are aligned with his/her vision and wanting to contribute to those goals.

2.Helping them to prioritize your work - by understanding what is important to your boss you will be able to strategically think through what are the highest priorities in your work. You will then be able to focus on those tasks earlier than others and raise questions to your boss about them as needed. This will show that you are proactive, have drive, and are able to think strategically.

3.Raising issues to your leader - as you are closer to the ground than your boss you will be able to determine if there are any barriers to success in the making sooner than they will. As a result a good way to manage up is to raise issues to your boss which could be potential problems so that he/she can can deal with them in a timely and appropriate fashion.

4.Taking initiative to raise ideas and opportunities to your boss - being proactive shows your boss your enthusiasm, commitment, and desire to progress in the organization. It will also show them that they can delegate more work onto you and that you can bring up new initiatives that support the organization as a whole. 

Is there anything from this list that you can add or improve upon in your day to day work?


0 Comments

    Monica Thakrar

    Monica Thakrar has over 18 years experience in business focused mainly on strategy, change management, leadership development, training and coaching resulting in successful implementations of large scale transformation programs.  

    MTI Newsletter Signup
    For Email Newsletters you can trust.

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    May 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    October 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010

    Categories

    All
    Accountability
    Assessment
    Change
    Change Management
    Character
    Clients
    Collaboration
    Commitment
    Communication
    Complexity
    Cost
    Courage
    Creativity
    Culture
    Discipline
    Diversity
    Economy
    Emotional Intelligence
    Emotional Labor
    Emotions
    Employees
    Entrepreneur
    Excellence
    Facilitation
    Failure
    Flexibility
    Focus
    Generosity
    Genius
    Goals
    Growth
    Habits
    Hiring
    Holidays
    Ideas
    Innovation
    Inspiration
    Integrity
    Introverts
    Invest In Employees
    John Maxwell
    Kindness
    Leader
    Leadership
    Linchpin
    Managers
    Marketing
    Meditation
    Myers Briggs
    Myths
    Opportunities
    Organization
    Planning
    Potential
    Prioritize
    Progress
    Relationships
    Resilience
    Resistance
    Rewards
    Risks
    Seth Godin
    Stephen Covey
    Steve Jobs
    Technology
    Time
    Transparency
    Tribes
    Trust
    Understanding
    Vision
    Vulnerability

    RSS Feed

​Contact Info
1435 Chapin St NW, #206, Washington DC 20009 703.282.3295
monica@monicathakrar.com    
MTI Inc. is a woman-owned small business founded in 2008 | Monica Thakrar, CEO | DUNS #004654409 | NAICS Codes 541611, 541612, 611430 | Classification WOSB 

Copyright © 2020 MTI Inc., Monica Thakrar All Rights Reserved | Aspire Beyond Expectations | 11435 Chapin St NW, #206, Washington DC 20009 | 703.282.3295 | 
Find us Online
Site design by Artotems Co. 
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Online Courses
    • Search Inside Yourself (SIY)
  • Leadership Development Program
    • Leadership Development Details
  • Art of Leadership Blog
    • Resources
  • Clients
  • Contact