Stylistic DISCrepancy

This past Wednesday, the MobiTV Finance Department spent the morning taking an off-site DISC assessment. The goal of which was threefold: a) to gain a better understanding of our individual behavioral styles in the context of our current work environment b) to gain an appreciation for the corresponding behavioral tendencies of our colleagues and c) to work together more effectively as a unit.

Suffice to say,  it was a waste of three hours.

Not because the purpose of the exercise was unfounded (promoting a healthy dynamic is absolutely imperative to meeting and even surpassing organizational objectives) but because it presupposes that a group’s success is predicated on reinforcing the contextual style of each individual – even if that particular style is not optimal.

If you ask me, that is analogous to: a marriage counselor advising a couple at a crossroads to maintain status quo; a high school principal telling a divided student-body to emphasize existing social hierarchies; or a parent pushing a child to grow-up by repeatedly underlining his or her youth.

It just doesn’t make sense.

So after much deliberation and scientific research (ha!) I would like to propose an alternative methodology to building a high-performing team, one that maximizes the potential of every individual:

Step 1: Internalize Your Optimal Style – The best teams are comprised of individuals who have an acute awareness of the behavioral tendencies they exhibit when they are at their happiest and most productive.

Step 2: Evaluate Your Contextual Style – Contrary to what it may sound like above, I do think it’s important to understand how you and your coworkers function within the context of your current team dynamic. But only after you have a thorough grasp of how you each function when you’re at your best.

Step 3: Reconcile #1  and # 2  – Not everyone can be a manager, just like not everyone can be an analyst; to a certain extent, we all have to play our role. However, that does not mean you can’t approach your work in a manner that is consistent with your true value potential. For instance, if you’re at your best when you’re leading and/or inspiring others, think about (and ultimately articulate) ways to incorporate those tendencies into your day-to-day tasks regardless of how mundane they might be.

Step 4: Create a Behavioral Map of the Team – Once each member of the team has a sense of who they are, how they currently function, and where they’d like to be, the next step is to summarize the findings in the form of a behavioral map; so that going forward everyone has a concrete sense of how to leverage one another’s optimal styles.  

Step 5: Delegate Accordingly – Finally, it’s not enough to merely acknowledge one another’s “optimal style.” Employees and managers alike must learn to delegate tasks/projects in accordance with the above. For only then will a team be able to ensure its greatest chance of success – only then, will it be equipped to turn potential DISCord into harmony.

Thoughts?

Beauty in Structure

First of all, I would just like to apologize to all my fans (er Mom and Dad) for being MIA the past month and a half. Between moving, my computer crashing, starting a new job, and preparing for a board meeting, let’s just say that things got a tad bit hectic!  But now that the dust has settled I promise that I will do my best to follow-through on my original 3-4 post a month commitment.

So if it’s alright with you, let’s get started!

Last weekend, while catching up on the 300+ blog posts that I had missed since the move, I stumbled upon a provocative entry by one of my favorite bloggers, Eric Reis, that I just had to share.

Having been a part of 4 smallish companies/start-ups, I can tell you unequivocally that until I read “Cash is not king,” I had neither seen nor heard those four words together, in that order – ever. For, if there is one philosophy that professors, entrepreneurs,  executives, and VCs alike have repeatedly bludgeoned me with over the last 4-5 years, it is that aside from customer and employee satisfaction the only thing that matters to an emerging venture is cash on-hand.

It has been the one truism that all businessmen and women have subscribed to for decades – from the revered former CEO of GE, Jack Welsh to queen of financial literacy, Dr. Karen Berman.

Not Reis though. He takes a slightly different approach, opining that while cash is indeed a key component to the long-term sustainability of a business, the number of iterations a company has left is much more indicative of how successful it will be.

What matters most is the number of iterations the company has left. While some cost-cutting measures reduce that number, others increase it. In lean times, it’s most important to focus on cutting costs in ways that speed you up, not slow you down. Otherwise, cutting costs just leads to going out of business a little slower.

The full formula works like this:

runway = cash on hand / burn rate

# iterations = runway / speed of each iteration

Very few successful companies ended up in the same exact business that the founders thought they’d be in..successful startups [manage] to have enough tries to get it right.

If that is indeed the case, and I would argue that is, then the obvious question becomes: how do we (irrespective of our personal and/or professional aspirations) ensure that we give ourselves as many chances to succeed as possible?

If you ask me, though there are, as my old English professor used to say, “many ways to skin a cat” (i.e. many ways to execute), there is only one philosophical approach that  leads to results.

1) Internalize your strengths/passions: It took me years to understand this about myself, but I am just not good at faking it. I am without question, at my best when I pursue endeavors that are in line with my core competencies.

Consequently, if you are anything like me I highly suggest that you take a few moments at some point to reflect upon and jot down some of your professional, personal, and interpersonal strengths/passions; if you’re honest with yourself you should be able to list three to four for each, complete with concrete examples from your past.

2) Create a list of short-term objectives: Once you are acutely aware of your strengths, the next logical step is to come up with a prioritized list of short-term objectives that leverage as many as possible.

Even if you have yet to fully grasp your niche, the idea is that by immersing yourself in that which is consistent with who you are and what you’re good at, you will achieve self-realization and fulfillment sooner rather than later.

3) Create a list of long-term objectives: If possible,  think about where you want to be 10-15 years from now (be it in terms of your company, your career, or your personal life) next.

Though your answer may be vague (e.g. I want to make a social impact through business by motivating young people to take interest in issues that they’re passionate about), trust me when I say: the more you use that ultimate vision – whatever it may be – as a guide post, the more productive your life and business choices will be.

4) Assess your needs: Having come up with a prioritized list of objectives, the next step is to understand, “what it will take to get there.” The more honest you are about how much capital you’ll need, what sorts of skills you’ll need to acquire, the kind of resources you’ll need to have, and what types of people you’ll need to know, the more effectively you will be able bridge the gap between your desires and your reality.

5) Create a milestone plan: Once you have a keen sense of your “needs,” it follows that you should devise a milestone plan designed to address each in order of their significance.

Case in point, if you’re goal is to achieve something on a grand scale, your best bet will likely be to form an army of mentors who have a vested interest in what you’re trying to accomplish first. Everything else is tertiary.

6) Execute: Enough said.

7) Document: Finally, regardless of what path you decide to take, make sure that you document every step along the way. Simply put, when you know what you’ve done (i.e. what has worked and what hasn’t) you will know exactly what you must do.

Like it or not, freedom derives from constraint. The sooner we accept that fact, the closer we’ll be to meeting our vast potential.

Take Your Time

Long ago,  in a speech inspired by and dedicated to my graduating high school class,  I suggested that:

Everywhere we look, every person we meet, and every second of our life is glorious; however truth be told, only children truly realize that, feel it. For, on the train of actuality only the young look intently outside the window, only the young stare wide-eyed at the trees zipping by them in a blur of green, only the young giggle as birds fly freely alongside, and only the young smile from within as they drift into innocent sleep by their mother’s side… Childhood: it is the essence of our existence and the key to our survival.

Little did I know those words would take on renewed meaning years later, when just a few days ago, jelly-legged from a jog down to the beach, I collapsed on a park bench overlooking the Puget Sound. Panting, hunched over, and head sunk, my eyes glossed over a small bronze plaque resting calmly between my feet, that read simply, “Take your time…”

Too tired to object (and too lazy to argue), I leaned back against the weathered planks, slid down into a groove, stretched my arms out on either side of me, and just sat there taking it all in.

The waves. The breeze. The sun-drenched sky.

For the first time in months, the inescapable burden and suffocating urgency of post-college life (e.g. unemployment, family  obligations, life goals, etc) gave way to a larger, more profound truth: to rush forward is to fall short of one’s potential.

To succeed then, I realized we must invariably:

1) Take Interest – Taking interest, particularly when you yourself are trying desperately to get noticed, seems like a waste of time (and a surefire way to be left feeling vulnerable). However I assure you, it was only when I started focusing on select companies, reaching out to specific individuals, and offering my services for free that I began to forge the kind of lasting reciprocal relationships that are synonymous with long-term success.

2) Engage in Dialogue – Real (wo)men are not afraid to ask for directions! If only someone had told me that 5 months ago, I wouldn’t have spent countless hours applying to jobs that had little intrinsic value, and more time talking to and learning from individuals that I admired. But hey, better late than never right?

3) Act Consistently – A senior executive at Hewlett Packard, and a fellow Wharton alum, told me something I will not soon forget. He said, “[Akash] remember that you should manage yourself like you manage a brand. First identify your unique selling proposition (e.g. hard worker, attention to detail etc). Then ensure that everything you do reinforces that brand. Even if it gets frustrating  you [must] keep that energy up.”

Like it or not you see, there is only one certainty on the train of actuality: you cannot choose where we get off,  but you can always choose how you spend your time on board.

Beyond Full

If there is anything I’ve learned in the last few years it’s that when life drops a hint (or in this case ten) you listen.

Luckily for me, I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter yesterday. For, every time I was on the verge of succumbing to my frustrations (frustrations that had come to a head after yet another disheartening experience with a prospective employer) I was firmly and serendipitously reminded why I persist.

1) Family – “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life (Abraham Lincoln).” Fifteen years from now, if there is one thing I will undoubtedly remember about yesterday, it is that despite all of her work and all of her obligations, my Mom the OB/GYN decided to come home early just so that she, Dad, and I could walk down to the beach together before sunset.

2) Kindness – Kindness, particularly when unrequited, is one of our greatest and most generous gifts. Late last night Miranda Maney, a fellow Penn Grad and ad copywriter in the Bay Area wrote me a page long email  (though it could very well have been 3!) filled with support, wisdom, and perspective – all despite the fact that we’ve talked on the phone only once, have corresponded back and forth a total of maybe 10-15 times, and have never met in person. Wow.

3) Conviction – Our conviction in ourselves, our family, and in our creed (religious or otherwise) is the only thing that gives us courage to stand strong in the face of gathering clouds. Last night, for the first time (that I can remember) since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s I heard my Dad say, in no uncertain terms, “I will not be defined by a mere disability” – upon finishing an inspirational PBS Frontline special on the disease.

4) Humanity – The older we get the harder and more imperative it is for us to internalize the inherent beauty and humanity of each moment. Few I would argue understand this better than Meera Sinha, whose anecdotal post yesterday about a selfless rickshaw driver epitomizes what it is to be human.

5) Love – “The life and love we create is the life and love we live (Leo Buscaglia).” If ever there was a story that encapsulated the essence of those words, it is the one I came across early yesterday morning chronicling the life and death of Robert and Darlene Moser.

6) Friendship – “I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost-work, but the solidest thing we know (Ralph Waldo Emerson)…” To all my friends who listened, encouraged, and advised me in a moment of weakness (S.D, R.K, D.G, P.W, U.T, D.S, S.A etc): thank you sincerely.

7) Humility – “To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, and to inferiors nobleness (Benjamin Franklin).” Though it would take me an entire post to discuss the merits of serial entrepreneur/professor Rajesh Setty‘s latest book entitled, Beyond Code: 9 Simple Ways to Distinguish Yourself (which I finished mid-afternoon), I suspect all I (or anyone for that matter) needs to know of the man himself, is that in spite of the countless hours he put into the work, and in spite of the many priceless suggestions he bestows, he hasn’t asked for a cent.

8) Inspiration – Inspiration and ultimately self-fulfillment comes from within. Case in point, more than a month ago one of my contacts in the Bay Area, Chris Hutchins, fell victim to the current economic climate when he was unceremoniously laid off from work. However, rather than wallow in his own misery (as I embarrassingly did), I learned yesterday that he decided to take matters into his own hands and start the now wildly acclaimed “LaidoffCamp” for unemployed tech geeks.

9) Music – Life without music would indeed be a mistake (Friedrich Nietzsche). But before yesterday, I would have never imagined that listening to the greatest rags-to-riches song in hip-hop history (“Juicy” by Biggie) for three straight hours could do so much for a person’s psyche.

10) House – Seriously, is there a better show on television (or in my case, Hulu)? Not only was last week’s episode typically brilliant, but it was entitled, “Big Baby” (as if I needed another blatant reminder to remove my diaper and quit whining before going to bed!).

So there you have it: if this is the only life we live – and by all accounts that seems to be the case – then why be ordinary? Why not do the extraordinary? Why not smile?

What 3 things made you smile today?

Lemonade Anyone?

The other day I happened to come across a clip of Richard St. John’s well-known talk at the 2005 TED conference entitled: “Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes.” Needless to say (though I’ll say it anyways), I was thoroughly impressed after just 2 words, 1 minute.

In fact, I was so inspired by Richard’s life-lecture that I decided to examine my own experiences to see what eight words I might retrospectively come up with. However, as fate would have it (and in my case it usually does), something very peculiar happened when I unlocked the dilapidated filing cabinet otherwise known as my head, and opened the drawer labeled “Akash’s Kick-Ass Pearls of Wisdom.” Rather than pull out the two most obvious, relevant and comprehensive binders – the ones chronicling my recent experiences as both a business owner and a business controller – I was compelled,  for reasons unbeknownst to me, to reach all the way into the back and pick out a solitary, dusty, beaten folder from my youth.

Twelve years ago, you see, I decided to do what most kids do when they’re bored senseless in the middle of July and looking for an extra little cash: wake up every morning for four weeks straight, set up a little table, little chair, little sign, and little cooler on the corner of busiest intersection in my neighborhood, and holler until I no longer sounded like a prepubescent – all in an effort to sell lemonade.

Little did I know however, that over a decade later those dog days of summer would hold the keys to a lifetime’s worth of success:

1) Purpose – In order to succeed, you must first find a purpose. Back then of course, mine was to buy a pool table, but as I’ve gotten older those kind of things have become less and less consequential; and I’ve come to realize that nowadays more often than not I’m at my best when I “hitch my wagon to something greater than myself (Obama).”

2) Reputation – Reputation is everything. Even today, folks from the neighborhood still come up to me and tell me that the only reason they bought lemonade from me in the first place was because I shouted so loud (so consistently) they figured if they gave me money, I’d shut up! But hey, I must have done something right because they all kept coming back.

3) Flexibility – To succeed you must be open to and willing to change. Had I not constantly tweaked my signage, slogans, and offerings (e.g. I started selling popsicles and pink lemonade) to meet the demands of my target audience I’m not sure I would have achieved my goal as quickly as I ultimately did. 

4) Friendship – Success is not a solitary endeavor; on the contrary, the degree to which we succeed is directly proportional to the number and quality of people we connect with. Many of my customers for example, ended up being regulars not because I sold “the best lemonade ever” (even though that’s what I advertised), but because I developed genuine friendships with them – friendships that in many ways helped shape my views on life, love, and growing up.

5) Persistence – Success ain’t easy. I still wonder why, even when things didn’t go well (and trust me, there were more than a few occasions when they didn’t), I refused to quit. Part of me thinks it’s because I had nothing better to do with my time; part of me thinks it’s because I really wanted that pool table; but deep down I think it’s mostly because I was and always have been one determined S.O.B.

6) Joy – You must enjoy what you do. I can’t tell you how excited I was to jump out of bed every morning, scarf down my breakfast, gather my things, run outside, and set up shop; for in my mind, another day meant another chance to: inch one step closer to my goal, run my own establishment, feel like a “grown-up,” and chat with the regulars.

7) Journey – Oftentimes the journey is just as meaningful, if not more so, than the “result” itself. Case in point: even though I never got that pool table (um, thanks Dad!), the primary reason I am able to look back on those days fondly, is because they yielded something far more valuable: perspective.

8) Love – Finally, in order to succeed we need a little love. I’ll never forget my Mom coming out to give me words of encouragement, my Dad driving me to the grocery store specifically to buy lemonade and popsicles, or my best friend and neighbor helping me out for hours at a time even though I didn’t give him a dime; if that’s not love I don’t know what is.

Thoughts?

We Are the Ones

Though I don’t necessarily think a blog of this nature is an appropriate forum to discuss politics, I feel compelled and almost obligated to say a few words in light of today’s historic inauguration.

Like many of you, I am profoundly humbled to be alive and of an age that I can comprehend the magnitude of this extraordinary moment; and like you I suspect, I pray with every fiber in my body that the next 4-8 years live up to the hopeful and optimistic sentiment that surges through the veins of millions here and abroad.

However, celebration and promise aside, I believe deeply that this is a critical opportunity for us to reflect on the immense challenges ahead as well. For in spite of the kinship and unity we no doubt feel as Americans today, the world has in many ways never been more fragmented: In October of 2008, the global financial/sub-prime crisis and ensuing federal response poignantly underscored the widening discrepancy between rich and poor; in November, citizens the world over stood in stunned silence as 173 innocent men, women, and children fell victim to terrorist attacks in Mumbai, causing relations between India and Pakistan to fray even more; and in late December, Israel for right or for wrong (I will let you decide) launched an offensive that ultimately left 1300 people dead, a country’s GDP in shambles, and a region in disarray.

Thus, it stands to reason that if we are to truly live up to our considerable potential, if we are to truly form a “more perfect union” between people of all colors, creed, and beliefs then it is imperative we start to focus on something larger than ourselves each and every day. Be it making one more person smile, listening to someone just a few minutes longer, opening up to one more facet of the truth, or genuinely engaging someone we normally would not talk to. It doesn’t matter.

Today, whether we’re ready or not, the sun rises anew. But let there be no mistake: it is solely up to us to ensure that it rises even more gloriously tomorrow.