May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Alan Webber, co-founder of Fast Company magazine and author of “Rules of Thumb, 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self”, says a lifetime of meeting and listening to people helped him become a successful innovator and leader.
To make sure you remember what folks tell you, in his book he suggests carrying a stack of 3x5 cards so you can write it all down and create your own 52 rules for succeeding in business and, Webber says, life.
Weber, 60, is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and says he’s a “global detective” traveling, speaking and moderating conferences. The former editorial director of Harvard Business Review now serves on the board of several non-profits, including one helping indigenous groups in Tanzania, and is working on a new business to help solve social problems. Excerpts from the interview:
Levinson: Bookstore shelves are lined with these kinds of books. Do we really need another one?
Webber: I believe this is a different kind of book. Here’s what’s original about it. It’s a cross between a memoir and a how-to. I call it a mem-to. I didn’t set out to architect a new category. It’s kind of the way my brain works. It’s what I do, to see the cross-section of something. What this book does is to take 40 years of work experience, interesting human beings that I’ve worked for, with, 40 years of 3X5 cards that I carry with me and lessons that I’ve learned. I tell you how I learned it. It’s personal, it’s not abstract, it’s not theory, it’s grounded in real experience and from that I attempt to make the next leap which is ‘so if I were you, what would I make of it.’
Levinson: It seems that most of the rules are aimed at entrepreneurs?
Webber: I kind of believe in the notion that everybody today is an entrepreneur, whether they know it or not. I think the world of work is a world of entrepreneurship. You may not start your own company, but if you’re not creating value in your organization you probably won’t be there very long.
Levinson: In today’s economy, which we probably haven’t seen in more than 50 years, is the answer just working harder and longer?
Webber: For individuals, the issue today is not bringing mass to the effort, it’s bringing agility and speed and creativity to the effort. That’s also why it’s more entrepreneurial. This is a different game. In many ways this book is about my attention to serendipitous conversation and then extrapolating that that gave me an operating principle.
Levinson: Where should someone who’s mastered the “Rules of Thumb” put their energies now?
Webber: That’s not the way I think about it. We’re not going to tell you that you should or shouldn’t go into the software industry. We’re going to tell you how to go about being a better worker, leader, human being, colleague. I tend to think more in terms of structuring a framework for people to operate within and then they work it out for themselves.
Levinson: Many corporate executives are under assault these days. Any advice for them?
Webber: People who end up at the top of organizations in America don’t always get there for the best reasons. What does it mean to be a good leader today? The old model was toughness, playing the political game, and climbing over other people. I think it’s because of the way we view power, how we reward power as opposed to looking at other values. We’ll see how Mr. Obama does, because he exudes a very different notion of power, not so much toughness in the raw form, as resiliency, a capacity to be a great listener, to absorb blows without punching back.
Levinson: If you just got laid off from your job, what should you do?
Webber: I want you to think differently about your situation. One of the rules has to do with reframing. Rather than think about success-failure, think about opportunities that you couldn’t pursue, think about what your basic instincts tell you about what you want to do. What’s the definition of a good job or of success? I think the reset button that’s getting pushed right now is not just a financial one. There’s also an expectation reset button, there’s a self-evaluation reset button, there’s a sustainability of enterprise reset button. I would first ask folks if they’re going to read this book -- and feeling in harm’s way -- reframing what they’re going to look for.
Levinson: What types of ventures are on your radar now?
Webber: I’m excited by social enterprise. I think the biggest opportunity for innovation right now is social enterprise.
Levinson: Twitter?
Webber: No, twitter is social networking. Social enterprise is solving social problems in innovative ways. I think the fantastically interesting moment that we’re in is what are the fraying threads of society that are at risk here? I think social innovation is outpacing commercial innovation and is much more valuable. More and more, very bright young kids don’t want to work in a company, they want to work in making the world a better place which sounds all la-di-dah and all well and good but the fact is it is pretty damn well and good. They’re not keeping score with dollars and cents. I think it’s a global phenomenon.
Levinson: If someone didn’t have time to read the book, what’s the best rule to remember?
Webber: Rule number 52. Stay alert. There are teachers everywhere.
(“Rules of Thumb, 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self”, by Alan Webber is published by Harper Business. 270 pages, $24.99).
(Levinson writes for Bloomberg News. This interview was adapted from a fuller conversation.)
No comments:
Post a Comment