success

Lessons in leadership

| Aditya Sehgal

10 rules final

One of the most effective leaders I know packaged a lifetime of outperformance in a 5 minute speech.
This post shares the essence of his leadership philosophy.

Lesson No 10 : You suck

Rule 10 - you suck
Constructively challenge your team – they can do better

Less No 9 : Bullshit

Rule 9 - bullshit
Authentic feedback and coaching. Honest. Direct. In your face.

Lesson No 8 : Mickey Mouse

Rule 7 - Mickey Mouse
The idea or proposal is too small. Encourage your team to think big

Lesson No 7 : Play hard and work hard

Rule 6 - work play hard
Every idiot can work hard, so play hard is much more important.
Play hard is important for two reasons. One is to have fun with your team, to inspire your team. Second is to live a balanced lifestyle to avoid insanity. Its important for your team to be effective, and its important for yourself to be effective, so play hard.

Lesson No 6 : Go back

Rule 8 - go back
Your team has not done its homework, the numbers are wrong, there is not enough attention to detail. Attention to detail is very important, especially in emerging markets.

Lesson No 5 : Be the lone nut

Rule 5 - the lone nut
Creating the right culture is your No 1 job. Do not fear to be the ‘lone nut’. Others will follow you.

Lesson No 4 : Strategy + People + Execution

Rule 4 - PEG
This is a very useful framework. Remember to spend 90% of your time on People, culture and execution and 10% on strategy. There are a lot of smart people who can figure out the strategy – you can always pay them.

Lesson No 3 : I trust you

Rule 3 - i trust U
Hire and surround yourself with the best people. Then show them your love. You leave them alone after the meeting to do a great job. Don’t pester them, annoy them, confuse them or reduce their motivation. If you trust them you will give them freedom. If you don’t trust them, ask them to move on. There are only two options.

Lesson No 2 : The fish stinks from the head

Rule 2 - fish head
Drive organisational change starting at the top of the organisation. If you have a problem with a company, or a function or a region, you don’t start with the little people – always start with the leadership of that unit and then make organisational changes top down.

Lesson No 1 : Bottom feeder

Rule 1 - bottom feeder
Have a clear performance rank and competition in place. The bottom 20% on a repeated basis will leave the organisation or retire. There is a very strong correlation between performance and growth in organisations and you must reward performance.
If you are yourself the bottom feeder for too long, think about whether you are holding the organisation back.

My seven lenses for solving problems

| Aditya Sehgal

Six years ago, as a newcomer to China, I struggled to understand the culture. Very often, I needed to find non obvious solutions to non obvious problems.

Over time, I was fortunate to work with many Chinese friends and colleagues who widened my perspective. They taught me there are many hidden helpers to help solve my problems. This led me to develop one of my problem solving systems – my seven lenses for solving problems.

Put simply, the lenses are a bit like Edward De Bono’s thinking hats.

When I have a difficult problem to solve, before applying the lenses the first step is to understand what the problem really is. Almost every time, this simple step results in changing the problem definition – solving a very different problem than what I started with.

Once I have identified what is the ‘non obvious problem’, its time to find the ‘non obvious solution’.

I close my eyes, and with my minds eye, I apply all seven lenses, first one by one, and then in combinations to the problem till I find possible solutions to further explore and polish.

My most productive Lenses are :

1. The Partnership Lens

Is there a partner who can help ? Whose interests can be served by solving this problem ? How can I partner with them and create a win-win situation.

2. The Technology Lens

Can I apply technology to solve this problem ? Can it be automated ? Can it be turned into a ‘machine solution’ by being outsourced to someone who can solve it better ? Can a computer solve it faster/better/cheaper/easier than I can ? Is there a way to program a solution so it becomes repeatable ?

3. The Mobile/Context Lens

Does the solution lie in context/location ? Is it about where I am or what else I am doing at the moment ? Can my smartphone help me solve it with any of its capabilities ?

4. The Question Lens

Very useful when I am trying to get/negotiate something from someone. If the answer to my question is ‘No’, how can I change my question so that the answer is ‘Yes’ ? Can it be a series of questions which lead to ‘Yes’ answers and eventually to a ‘Yes’ answer to my question ?

5. The Government Lens

How can the government help me ? Is what I am doing aligned with the aims of the country ? Is it furthering Civic interest ? If it is in line with where the Government wants to go, there is usually a massive tailwind. If it is not in line, can I nudge my problem so my solution coincides with a Government focus ?

6. The Future Lens

What will be the answer to my question 2 years from now ? 10 years ? 50 years ? 100 years ago ? Do any of these answers inspire me to think how I can a) accelerate a desirable future b) bring back a desirable past ?

7. The Speed Lens

How would the solution look like if I was to do it in half the time ? 10 times faster ? 100 times faster ? How could I do it in 1 second ? What would I add to the solution if I had a year to fix it ? What if I had a century ??

Combination lenses

What if I combined the lenses in various orders ? I could have 21 possible double lens combinations (eg. speed + govt, mobile + partnership), 15 triple lens combinations, 4 quadruple lens combinations, 3 5 lens combinations, 2 6 lens combinations and 1 7 lens combinations. [Though I struggle to conceptualise any more than 3-4 lens combinations at a time]

Of course, there can be many more lenses ! This is not a MECE list (Mutually Exclusive; Collectively Exhaustive). Feel free to add on what works for you.

I suspect that in different countries you may want to add or subtract lenses from your camera. In India, a Jugaad lens works great – ‘What is the Jugaad solution’.

Of course, a lens that often is very valuable is a ‘Google lens’ – sometimes its best to use this even before the other 7 lenses. When you have a problem to solve, just google it to begin – you may be surprised !

I would love to hear about the lenses you would like to add to the toolkit ? Is there a problem solving approach or lens that works well for you ? Please do share in comments below, by communicating with me or by connecting on my Linked in account cn.linkedin.com/pub/aditya-sehgal/3/88/3a8/

Photo credit : Photojojo.com who sell Holga lenses with the multiple lens selector –  for photography, not problem solving !

Chinese Trains and Indian Cars

| Aditya Sehgal

20140104-022814.jpg

As an Indian who has worked in China for over five years, I am often asked about similarities and differences in managing business in the two countries.

In-spite of it’s extremely talented managers, why is India unable to match China ?

I believe part of the answer is that Chinese teams function like trains and Indian teams work like cars.

The train :
1. The train needs an engine. One engine can pull a long line of wagons – once coupled, there is very low resistance.
2. The train runs on a track – it’s course is predetermined.
3. The train turns slowly but surely. Too fast a turn can derail a train.
4. A train wreck is normally very serious

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The car/truck :
1. The car works best alone. Attaching other cars is not a good idea.
2. The car can turn much faster and more often than a train.
3. The car’s direction is decided by the driver, not by the road.

20140104-022213.jpg

In general, the train is the more efficient system – while each wagon may not be as mobile as a car or truck, the system collectively is much faster, can carry much more load and is more energy efficient. For the same load, it requires fewer drivers. On the other hand, it needs a powerful engine, good infrastructure, a good signalling system and more discipline. It is more expensive to set up, but easier to maintain.

The car is much more flexible – but it lacks pulling power. To illustrate the point, just imagine using a car as a train engine ! Even fast cars generally reach their destination slower than trains – this is because of the other cars they have to share the road with, and the resultant chaos.

For a train, only the driver needs to be alert, and sometimes the system can be automated and driver-less. For an equivalent population travelling by cars, hundreds of drivers need to be awake !

While the chances of a train accident are much lower than a car accident, the consequences are generally much worse – so the quality of the driver is much more important in the train.

To succeed in China, it helps to follow the ‘train’ mentality – strong leadership, personal ownership from the leader, a defined path, consistency in direction and outlook, slow and steady changes, collective success, strong infrastructure, focus on setting up systems and simplifying business so tasks are few and clear for each person.

Managers need to know which they are driving – a car or a train. They need to adjust their leadership style accordingly, else the journey may not be fast, efficient and accident free.