Work(s) in Progress

S&M in the office

One of my favorite things about Amazon is that books are recommended based on your browsing history or prior purchases. I read a lot of business books - generally themed toward entrepreneurship & innovation or management. Recently I've been reading more books targeted to women in management positions in male dominated organizations. And speaking of books, I really want a Kindle.

The two I've read most recently The Corporate Dominatrix: Six Roles to Play to Get your Way at Work and Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactices from a Woman at the Top have both had an S & M Theme.

Now granted, in Seducing the Boys Club, the S & M is defined as "Seduce and Manipulate" and is an autobiographical history of one woman's rise to the top of her company. This book is entertaining and filled with advice and suggestions. Some of it the advice is so over the top I found myself laughing, often. Here's an example:

"One of the great tools, or weapons, we have as women is flirting, and men always respond well to positive attention. If you know you are going to a contentious meeting with a man, you can defuse his anger before he even opens his mouth. Unless he is morbidly obese, there is no man on earth who won't puff up at this sentence:

"Wow, you look great. Been working out?"

Or if you "accidentally" touch a man's arm while you are talking about something serious, you can interrupt yourself with a quick show of admiration:

"Wow, your arm is like steel. Been working out?"

I know, I know, it's obvious and underhanded, but is always works."

Um, you've got to be kidding me.

My favorite parts of this book are where the author shares her missteps - what the situation was and how she handled it badly. Almost always, she will share how she turned it around - a process that might have taken weeks, months or years. These are truly illuminating case studies, almost all written in the humorous tone above.

The corporate dominatrix is written in a more traditional way, and is built around the more common definition of S & M. The goal is to not become either sadistic or masochistic but to use the lessons of S&M to become an effective corporate dominatrix.

What are the characteristics of a Corporate Dominatrix you might ask?

• Has clear boundaries; does not allow others to restrict or violate boundaries
• Conveys thoughts and opinions directly & clearly
• Expresses gratitude and appreciation graciously
• Uses direct eye contact, sturdy posture, assured gestures.

Who doesn't want to be her!

The author defines six common fantasy archetypes to discuss when each management style (and what type of power to use) would be most appropriate so that one can become a "Corporate Dominatrix".

These are:

• The Goddess - personal power
• The Queen - positional power
• The Governess - expert power
• The Amazon - coercive power
• The Nurse - healing power
• The Schoolgirl - borrowed power (referent power)

This framework is interesting and useful. Most of us have a preferred archetype or three with which we are most comfortable with the others underdeveloped. I definitely have a few I need to work on. I called a mentor a few weeks ago for advice. I was getting ready for a meeting and knew my inner Amazon was ready to do battle but I also knew she was absolutely NOT the archetype who was needed for the meeting. I had not yet read this book, but I can now see that my mentor was trying to persuade my inner Amazon to become a Queen for the meeting. Interesting.

Transparency

I moved from a private university to a public one on January 1. In the private world, compensation was sometimes whispered about but few really knew how their peers, subordinates or supervisors were compensated. Oh speculation abounded, but having been in a position to know some real numbers, the speculators were often very wrong.

I have discovered that my new university opens everything up not only internally but externally as well. I've been typing in names of friends, colleagues and acquaintances all evening. The data have been fascinating. It pays to be hired now. So many newly recruited assistant professors out earn their long tenured colleagues. If you are job hunting, I strongly encourage you to plow through the data batch by batch so that you negotiate well.

University salaries not your cup of tea, well one of our local papers, the Denver Post, has made all sorts of data freely available in their Data Center.Crime, compensation, foreclosure maps, sex assaults by graphical map, truly whatever interests you. I really did not need to know that my teenage neighbor is listed as a sex offender (yes really) in one of these databases.

I have mixed feelings about all of this transparency. I got a memo in my work email today. There is a now released "sexual predator" who has moved near one of our campuses. This memo had a summary of his record, his name, his address, his photo - with this description "Fondled 8 yoa female at work site, and had her perform oral sex." Do you feel safer now? How long before this man, with his photo and name given to thousands of us, is lynched? Should I feel better that I'm decades older than his alleged target? That I have no kids? Can this guy move forward on better behavior without paying for this every day, even now that he's served his time? How can he possibly get work with a memo of this type following him wherever he moves? This does not mean I don't feel his crime was heinous. I do. But I wonder whether and how all of this transparency is serving us.

Do you feel better knowing that your colleague is earning $750 more or less than you per year? That a released felon is in your neighborhood? That your new neighbors bought your old neighbor's house for cheap in a foreclosure auction?

Me? I like data. Data comforts me. Or perhaps I should say, the analysis of data comforts me. But some of these random facts...oh those I could really live without.

400

This is my 400th post since I started this blog. I did not anticipate having so much to say these last few years. Who knew? If only public speaking were as comfortable for me as blogging. 

Tomorrow we host our 7th Annual Business Plan competition. While the focus will not be on me, I am the one with the responsibility of moving the agenda along - introducing our judges and each company that will be presenting; showering our finalists with over $30,000 in cash prizes; and, remembering to point out and honor all of our eminent guests. For the past six years, the event was hosted by the prior executive director, a tall, graceful and elegant man. He could likely do this sort of thing in his sleep. He will be there tomorrow and I do not want to disappoint. I asked him whether he wanted to be the host one last time, but the baton has been passed on to me.

I am not tall, or elegant. I do not have a natural grace with words. And so, innate charm will be replaced by my earnestness and passion for our program. To me, this is the one day each year where the public can see our entrepreneurs' dreams made real. I love this.

67 Myths of Entrepreneurship

I just finished The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By by Scott A. Shane a Professor of Economics and the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University (my undergraduate alma mater). The book received great publicity in Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere.

It's a terrific scholarly work that shattered some of my illusions of entrepreneurship. Scott crushes 67 myths or shares 67 truths depending on your perspective.

 Let's start with #1: America is NOT becoming more entrepreneurial. The rate of start-up creation has been declining over the last 20 years. This ties to #2 - there are many countries that are much more entrepreneurial than the USA.

A few things surprised (and depressed) me:

• immigrants are not more likely to start their own businesses (#18)
• networking skill does not matter (#19)
• venture capitalists fund less than one-tenth of one percent of all start-ups and account for less than two percent of all small business financing (#35)
• the typical entrepreneur earns less money than he would have earned had he worked for someone else (#39)
• compared to start-ups led by men, new businesses led by women have lower sales, fewer employees, less productivity, lower profits, and worse survival rates (#54)
• blacks create new businesses at only one-third the rate of whites and this pattern has persisted for decades (#56)
• encouraging start-ups is lousy public policy because ... we have a lot of evidence that these policies lead people to start marginal businesses that are likely to fail, have little economic impact, and generate little employment (#62)

All this painted a pretty bleak picture of entrepreneurship in America for me. Unless you are a job hopping, now unemployed, 40 year old white male who is sick of working for others (yep that stereotype is true) you might as well give up your dream. Sigh.

But the book smartly ended with some recommendations. What businesses are likely to succeed and drive economic growth? More importantly, what should we do? Scott's advice is somewhat like Castor oil - good for you but hard to swallow. Here is a snippet:

A strategy that revolves around increasing the number of new businesses created every year is flawed. Increasing the number of people founding construction firms and hair salons and taxi services that don't do anything innovative isn't going to do us much good. In fact, it might hinder our economic growth because new businesses are, on average, less productive than existing ones.

Instead of believing naively that all entrepreneurship is good, we need to recognize that only a select entrepreneurs will create the businesses that will take people out of poverty, encourage innovation, create jobs, reduce unemployment, make markets more competitive, and enhance economic growth. Therefore, as unfair as it may sound, we need to "stop spreading the peanut butter so thin." We need to recognize that all entrepreneurs are not created equal. We need to think like venture capitalists and concentrate our time and money on extraordinary entrepreneurs and worry less about the typical ones.

There is more, much more. Importantly, all of these recommendations tie to decades of data. Get your own copy: The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By

7th Annual Business Plan Competition

Three years ago, I was a competitor in the Bard Center Business Plan Competition. The first place winner for my year now teaches two courses in Social Entrepreneurship at the Bard Center. I am now the host of this amazing event. I am amazed at just how quickly things can change, how rapidly dreams can come true.

We are quickly approaching the May 1 deadline to submit a Business Plan. It’s also time to reserve your seats for this fun and exciting event.

Event Facts

The Award: This event will present awards to six aspiring entrepreneurs and their teams. The Bard Center Business Plan Competition seeks to promote the development of high caliber business plans, recognize the most outstanding plans with cash and in-kind awards from area businesses, and encourage the creation of new businesses. The specific objectives of the Business Plan Competition include:

• Encourage the commercialization of promising ideas and the creation of new ventures
• Be a catalyst for economic development and new business growth in Colorado

Cash Awards

• 1st Place $10,000
• 2nd Place $5,000
• 3rd Place $2,500
• 4-6th Place $1,000

Special Cash & In-kind Awards

• Best Bioscience $5,000
• Best Nonprofit $5,000
• In-kind over $80,000

When: Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Where: Grand Hyatt-Downtown Denver (1750 Welton Street)

• 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Six Finalists Present - 15 minutes followed by 10 minutes of Q & A
• 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.  Luncheon Keynote:  Bradley Feld, Managing Director, Foundry Group
• 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.  Awards Ceremony Winner acceptance

Cost:

• Presentations: Free and open to the public
• Luncheon: $50 (PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED - please register by June 5.)

Sponsorship Opportunities:

• Platinum Sponsor $10,000
• Gold Sponsor $ 5,000
• Silver Sponsor $ 3,000
• Table (10 seats) $ 500 (no sponsorship benefits)
• Individual Ticket $ 50 (no sponsorship benefits)
• In-kind $ 5,000 (services available to finalists)

For more information or to reserve your seat contact the Bard Center at (303) 620-4050 or Bard.Center@cudenver.edu

The Bard Center for Entrepreneurship is a privately funded Center of Excellence that supports new business growth in Colorado. Celebrating our 10th year, more than 1900 students have participated in Bard Center programs, and annually over 20 companies are formed and supported by the Bard Center. The Center resides on the third floor of the historic Masonic Building in downtown Denver.

The Richard H. and Pamela S. Bard Center for Entrepreneurship was established in 1996 as a vehicle to foster economic opportunities in the Denver metropolitan area. Richard and Pamela Bard's generous endowment turned their dream into the reality of creating a program that would prepare future entrepreneurs for successful ventures, as well as to promote entrepreneurial spirit in the corporate environment.   

As part of the Business School at the University of Colorado Denver, the Bard Center fosters and promotes new business opportunities by advancing the teaching, study and practice of entrepreneurship and new venture creation.   The Center provides students with education, experience, incubation, funding, networking, and results!

Notes from the back of the classroom

One of the best perks of my job is the ability to sit in on a variety of classes, especially when guest lecturers or students present. As a student I was one of those people who was always early and always in the front row. Now, I generally sneak in and grab a seat in the back just as class is starting. My office is conveniently located about 20 feet from the classroom. Sitting the back helps me to remember that I am a guest and not a participant.

Last week, David Laube, who serves on the advisory board for the Business School and who literally wrote the Text Book for one of my classes (IT Management), gave a lecture in our Business Plans and Seed Financing course. This was one of the few classes I did not take as a student, so it was fun to sit in. Dave spoke on two major topics with the first leading into the second.

Apparently there are four key attributes that are desirable to companies recruiting business school graduates. None of these were surprising but the rank order was somewhat remarkable.

1. Communication and Interpersonal Skills
2. Ability to work well within a Team
3. Personal Ethics and Integrity
4. Analytical and Problem Solving Skills (note: while these may be critical, they are also considered implicit)

The real key here is that communication and presentation skills can make or break your career. Dave told several stories of colleagues whose careers plateaued or crashed and burned due to their inadequate presentation and communication skills. Don't let this be you.

While I'm not going to reiterate his specific presentation advice here (come take his class!), I will share a model he uses to think about communication and presentation. He shared a theory on social styles that I had not seen before. It's similar to Myers Briggs and Insights, both of which I've written about before. Apparently all of us develop a preferred style in adolescence. This is innate and cannot be changed. These four types (Analytical, Driver, Amiable, and Expressive) are equally prevalent in the population, with about 25% of us in each quadrant. If you're interested, Dave is a Driver. He leads, and when frustrated becomes autocratic. Most of the scientists I've interacted with are analytical, with a tendency to avoid interaction if pressured.

Interestingly, none of these social styles are correlated to business success.

The important skill is one's ability to be versatile and utilize other styles when needed. If your boss is a Driver, you must start with the summary; get to the point first. Let her ask for facts and data if she wants it. Most importantly, let that person lead your presentation. If your boss is an analytic, you must have FACTS and DATA to back up your presentation.  The ability to be versatile and adapt your style depending on your audience is strongly correlated with career success.

Final bit of advice from Dave, tailor your presentation to the most important person in the room. You might need to do your homework to learn his or her preferred communication style but your success will be worth the effort.

Lost and Found

Something that I thought was lost has now been found.

I can finally write about it as it is now official.

On January 1, I begin a new professional journey. My escape the rut post was entirely  auto-biographical. Those were the steps I took to leave the well trodden path that was laid before me. I am so very excited (and utterly terrified).

Pondering Oprah

I've been thinking a lot about Oprah Winfrey over the last few weeks. I've never seen her TV show but know that it is popular. She  routinely makes the top 50 lists of the most powerful women in the world hosted by Forbes or Fortune. I am always interested in how people in such positions decide to use their power.

Oprah made headlines last month for some alleged abuses by a head mistress at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls she opened in South Africa in January of 2007 (wikipedia link).

Back in July of 2006, I shared my dream of boarding schools, such as that built by Oprah, being safe havens for any who need them. This idea, for me, started back at least a year prior in an international entrepreneurship class where we were asked to come up with international franchise opportunities. I presented a scaled down version of a non-profit boarding school that grew during my visionary leadership class as described here.

My thought on hearing about the scandals at Oprah's school was not "oh the horror" but "oh my gosh she built my dream!" Oprah started this dream back in 2000 after a meeting with Nelson Mandela. She almost gave up when people could not see her vision for this school. She built a magnificent learning center for young women in South Africa. The mission of her school is simple.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa supports the development of a new generation of women leaders who, by virtue of their education and leadership, will lead the charge to positively transform themselves, their communities and the larger world around them. To accomplish this goal, the Academy provides a rigorous and supportive educational environment for academically talented girls who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Academy strives to equip its learners with the intellectual and social skills necessary to assume positions of leadership in South African society and beyond.

I can already envision the impact these young women will have on the future of our world.

You can learn a lot about a person by observing how they react in a crisis. When Oprah learned of the alleged abuses at her school, she literally dropped everything and went to South Africa. The headmistress accused of the assaults was fired. Oprah apologized to the students and their families. Each student was provided a cell phone and Oprah's direct number. The girls were told to call her with any problems or concerns. It is so uncommon these days to see leaders taking responsibility. Oprah completely owned this problem, claimed it, and empowered all in her care, even if really they are only in her care in name only, to contact her directly.

I think that all of our educational leaders could learn from Oprah's response to this crisis. The next time you see a bomb threat or shooting on a college or high school campus, could you imagine the principal or president responding in this way? You might think that these people could not possibly have the time to answer so many phone calls, to personally talk to each person who is concerned or affected. I used to think so myself. But if Oprah has time to do this, how could they not? In the face of this extraordinary example, how can any of our educational leaders do less.

When did I become we instead of me?

As I am putting together the materials I need to apply for my dream job, I realized that sometime in the past year or so I have lost the ability to call successes "mine." When I updated my CV to outline my duties, tasks, responsibilities and achievements, I  realized that I do nothing alone. Indeed, I had a friend and colleague look it over and he reworded many of the items to make the achievements sound more singular. Yes this makes for a stronger document and is how people in my position word things but I did none of them alone. None of these were my independent accomplishments. Even this application will be reviewed and revised based on the comments of people I respect and trust.

I was not always this way. For as long as I can remember, I preferred to do things by myself. Me. Alone. One of the hardest challenges I faced in business school was all of the forced team projects. Initially I was not certain whether I would survive the experience.

As a scientist, I do use the "we" pronoun in writing and talking about work being done in my lab. But like most scientists I know that if time were not an issue I could have done it all alone and the ideas were generally mine alone.  Thus, there is the retention of ownership for the success. They may have done the work but it was my idea. Mine.

For the last two years I have been heavily involved in two distinct group projects. Both stemmed from my going to business school in the first place. One is my involvement with a local biotechnology start-up company, Beacon Biotechnology, which was born from my efforts in a local business plan competition. The second is my role as the interim director of my research institute. In both of these organizations I literally do nothing alone. I may do a large percentage of the task at hand but some aspect will always have contributions from others. For almost all major decisions and tasks I do these days, I invariably start and end with a meeting. At times my life feels like a meeting. And yet, with many of these projects it would be next to impossible for a single individual to do it alone. No one person has all of the needed expertise or time to do everything. And thus the end product is better than any of us could have done alone. Ours.

I spent this morning watching the 7th annual Bard Center business plan competition presentations.  I remembered being one of the contestants two years ago. As a past winner of one of the awards, I often get invited to events like these. I love to go. It's so much fun sitting in the audience seeing these new business ideas be articulated. Today I spent a lot of the time thinking about how the business school experience changed me. The keynote speakers discussed the practicalities of teaching entrepreneurship and innovation. But to me the impact was so much greater: How I think; how I interact with others; how I approach solving problems; and how I consider the group impact and not just my own. Somewhere along the way I became we.

Resisting Change

Dave Cheong, who is writing again after taking break when his  child was born, wrote a wonderful article entitled Embrace Change, Your Life Depends on It. Wow.

There are very few people who naturally adapt to and embrace change. It is in our very nature to resist and fight. To keep the status quo. Change is scary. For those of us who like stability, all changes, even good changes, can be incredibly frightening. I fight this fear every day.

My own organization and I have been in a constant state of change since 2003. Acquisition by a local university. Changes in job expectations and duties. Change of Director. Death of Founder. Layoffs. Planned move to campus. More Layoffs. Search for a new Dean to oversee us all. I think it is fair to say that even those of us who are driving some of these changes feel a bit overwhelmed by the chaos of this process. Thus, Dave's article was incredibly timely. He introduced me to the Satir Change Model (link to an article by Steven M. Smith describing the model that is outstanding).

I found this specific image of the model (also Copyright by Steven M Smith) here.

My own organization is muddled in resistance and chaos (also known as the pit of despair). There are many transforming ideas, but they have yet to take hold to to be integrated. I strongly support all of the changes that have been happening as I can see how they will lead to the new status quo, which will be better, but it is hard to keep that in mind when one struggles with the chaos.

Let me end with a quote from Dave:

To change your life for the better, you have to introduce a Foreign Element, trigger or change agent. Shake things up. Do things differently. Adopt an improved mindset. Be a different person.

Your life depends on it.