I recently finished reading a few articles in Harvard Business Review on Leading Through Change.  In that series is an excellent article on Tipping Point Leadership.  Tipping Point, essentially, is an idea that Malcolm Gladwell popularized, but is a term that comes from epidemiology.  It is a business term that aims to study or explain social epidemics.  In the case of Tipping Point Leadership, it is an article that aims to explain how leaders can use the notion of "Tipping Point" to affect change in an organization.  In that article are many excellent case studies, one of which is of William J. Bratton and how he used Genchi Genbutsu to turn-around the New York Transit Police and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.

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This post is very different than what you would normally find on Shmula.

At present, my wife and I are trying to raise some funds for my Son’s birthmom.  You may or may not remember that we adopted the most wonderful and beautiful baby boy last November.  It has been almost a year since we adopted and it has been such a wonderful experience.  Since the adoption, we have gotten to know his birthmom, "S",  pretty well.  We didn’t know if she would keep in touch with us through letters, but we hoped that she would.  Well, we have recieved 3 letters from her and it has been neat to learn more about her and also receive some pictures that I know my son will especially appreciate one day. 

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I’ve been invited to speak at WCBF’s 2008 Lean Six Sigma Summit.  It should be a fun event.  The confirmed speakers include heavyweights from Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Medtronic, etc.  In the grand scheme of things — okay, fine, outside my immediate family, I’m really a nobody, but I was invited anyway — I’m not sure why, how, or if somebody is playing a practical joke on me.  In any event, I’ll be speaking.  Here are some details.

The confirmed speakers include the following:

• Rob Bryant, Vice President Process Improvement (GIS) Computer Sciences Corporation

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There is a phrase at Toyota, which goes like this: “Smooth Flow, Memory Simple, Motion Simple”.  We can learn much from Toyota’s relentless emphasis on economy of thought, economy of motion, and simplicity in its processes.

All three — flow, motion, and memory are related.  Simple processes prevent complexity (yes, a tautology) and simplicity prevents the resulting defects that can hide in complex processes; simple processes naturally enable economy of motion; and, simple processes typically do not cause undue mental burden, because it requires little memory or judgment on the part of the associate or operator.  The cumulative result of processes that follow these principles are satisfied customers, products or services that are both capable and timely, and lower operating costs. 

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Every Sunday, I engage in a lively conversation with a fellow Church-goer about his employment.  My friend works with troubled youth but he does it with horses, something he calls equine therapy.  I’m fascinated with horses and really enjoy speaking with my friend about his experiences with the youth, leadership, and what horses can teach us about how to lead others and affect change in an organization.

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I’m not really a person interested in politics, but I have to say that I like Barack Obama’ style.  I don’t know much about his political beliefs or, really, any of the presidential candidates beliefs, but Obama’s style is pretty cool.   He asked a question on Linkedin Answers and, so far, there are 1459 responses.  This got my mind thinking: here we have a great example of crowd psychology — sometimes the Wisdom of Crowds is actually not that wise. 

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I have been a long-time fan of General Colin Powell.  I find his approach to be honest, courageous, and humane.  He is very clear about his frailties and emphasizes the fact that leaders and decision makers need to make decisions in a world with less-than-perfect information and in a world where we will not have all the possible data.  I have gained much self-awareness and have learned from General Powell’s 18 Principles of Leadership, which you will find below.

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Later this week I’ll be traveling to Berlin, Germany and then to Dublin, Ireland.  I used to travel a lot, so that’s not the exciting part — in addition to being excited about meeting co-workers and being together to work as a team, I’m also looking forward to racking up points on my Marriott Card and also on my Delta Sky Miles — Yes, you’ve got it right: I’ve fallen for the most obvious marketing ploy — I’ve fallen for the Perceived Value versus the Actual Value Strategy.

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