This is Dscofield's Typepad Profile.
Join Typepad and start following Dscofield's activity
Dscofield
Recent Activity
Per your BIF story and our discussions, I'm mapping out my 'trusted advisor' business model - :)
The Unmet Need for Trusted Talent Advisors
In a world that’s changing ever more rapidly, we all need trusted advisors. It’s a significant unmet need that creates a very attractive business opportunity. This has been a central part of my research and writing for almost 20 years since I published a book on the topic, Net Worth. Most recent...
I'm so in!
What Is To Be Done (Part 3)
It’s fitting that we reach this third installment of my “What Is To Be Done?” series on Martin Luther King day. He’s an icon of the power of narrative and its role in building movements that can fundamentally change how we live and work. Narratives are a third key component in our quest to mov...
John - I would argue that strategy should always have been trajectory but in the 20th C some had the 'luxury' of not thinking that way...and most of those either don't exist, were bought out, or are struggling today. The "core competency" movement has driven me nuts and I try to get my clients to consider if their core competencies are really core liabilities going forward - just as if their 'core assets' are now core detriments (e.g., if it's a sunk cost, it's sunk! move on!). I hope more people read this and understand the imperative of making one's future, of designing your future for your customers, employees, industry and communities.... he who experiments-learns-applies-iterates fastest has the greatest impact!
The Big Shift in Strategy - Part 1
In an exponential world, it stands to reason that our traditional, linear approaches to strategy will need to be re-thought from the ground up. One way to characterize the big shift in strategy is that we are moving from strategies shaped by terrain to strategies shaped by trajectory. What do I ...
Signed!!
A 21st Century Global Declaration of Independence
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for individuals to dissolve the institutional bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent ...
John - I echo Saul's words. There were several things that hit me about Lepore's article:
- Disruption is all around us - and it's not just technology as you say. The fact Lepore, a historian, didn't 'see' this is disheartening on many levels (including as a mom whose son is looking at colleges and wishes profs were more open-minded!). There are huge disruptions going on in government, societal structures, definitions of 'work', education, etc. Couldn't one see the Ukraine-Russia issues as the last gasps of an old empire desperately trying to hold on to something that's evaporating? The issues in Iraq highlight the folly of artificial national boundaries that are not sustainable and I could go on and on.
- The fact the New Yorker published the article actually made me think of Putin invading Crimea! Please please, don't take my deluded world view away from me! It was as if, through Lepore, the NYer was asking for the restoration of the 20th C. - perhaps so desperately that they would publish an article that was not really up to the 'old' NYer standards (e.g., walk across the street to talk to the guy before you lambast him in the press).
Thank you again for your sage words. This incident is so telling on so many levels. See you soon at #BIF10!
The Disruption Debate - What's Missing?
I admit that I’m mystified by Jill Lepore’s article in the New Yorker attacking Clayton Christensen and his theory of disruptive innovation. Not only does it have a meanness that isn’t warranted, but it leaves the reader with an unanswered question: if Clay's theories are not helpful (and I stil...
John - how prescient! this was a topic of so many of my skypes today - from afghanistan to providence to california - the need to learn how to ask great questions that would lead to impact - that by truly listening and understanding, by 'rushing to discover' instead of 'rushing to solve' we can hone our ability to become great at asking questions. Almost verbatim! And the more you 'practice' asking questions, and listen and learn from the responses, you learn how to ask good questions even more - thank you!!! as usual, serendipitous timing - deb
The Big Shift in Influence
Influence is becoming more and more challenging. It’s hard enough to attract attention, much less retain it or use that attention to shape the behavior of others. And yet, in a world of scarce resources and mounting pressure, the ability to influence others becomes more and more central to the ...
And this is why the rejuvenation of needing meaning and purpose is so timely and critical.... in such a fast changing world, where the line between black/white/good/evil is finer and finer and the grey so much bigger we need to be grounded in the virtues - and applying them to every day life - the ballast we'll need. Which is also why a liberal arts education matters - a whole lot!
The Dark Side of Technology
I’m going to disrupt the Silicon Valley script. You know the one. Every talk or article coming out of Silicon Valley follows the prescribed template: start with a dazzling description of awesome new digital technologies and then proceed to explore all the wonderful benefits and opportunities th...
John, perhaps people just haven't seen, at least 1st hand, the difference between the 'grand narrative' and the opportunity narrative - or even narrative and story. I've been blessed to have several clients who create opportunity narratives that all of their people co-create, from the plant floor to the front office....like Menasha Packaging (http://menashapackaging.com) and Thogus (http://thogus.com). But they are still way too rare
Not So Grand Narratives
Narrative is a powerful concept with enormous potential. But it’s also fraught with misunderstanding because of the many different meanings attached to the term. By unpacking those different meanings, leaders of institutions and movements can begin to better understand the power of narratives. R...
John - ever since I heard you make the distinction between stories and narratives at BIF-7 (was it that long ago?), it's been a powerful meme for me. Stories are classic; stories are wonderful and many are timeless and also, depending on the story, very comforting - providing hope, a path forward, lessons learned and applied...yet to me, stories are also finite. Narratives let people come in when they're ready or realize it's relevant...they let you be a part of it even if you weren't there at the beginning. I think that narratives let you come and go, let more diverse perspectives participate and be heard. It's not that stories aren't relevant and important. They are different and have different applications. We have and love stories. It's time we started to to create more narratives - to let people be a part of the 'doing.' Thank you!
Some Further Thoughts on Corporate Narratives
Last week, I posted a blog exploring the power of corporate narratives while challenging what most people view as a corporate narrative. This was only the latest installment in my continuing exploration of narratives that began with an earlier blog posting and a talk that I gave earlier this yea...
Here! Here! I'm signing "dms" - thank you john!
The Labor Day Manifesto Of the Passionate Creative Worker
[Three years ago today I posted A Labor Day Manifesto for a New World. In classic Hagelian fashion it was long and complicated. With the help of a few edge collaborators (Christopher Gong, Sarah Scharf and John Seely Brown), we've managed to simplify the Manifesto into some powerful imperatives...
Fabulous post -- and gets to one of my biggest ROI/Financial calculations of corporations - sunk costs! they are sunk! done, over. Getting the C-suite to look at "opportunity gains" in terms of what are you giving up because you're stuck in the past, because you want to fully utilize your 'sunk costs' what 'opportunity gains' are you losing?? They don't fully understand the cost of not innovating, only the capital/resource costs of innovating...
The Untethered, Hyperconnected Enterprise
A few weeks ago I attended the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. The theme of this year’s Symposium was Piloting the Untethered Enterprise: “In today's world of mobile, big data and the cloud, how does a CIO successfully pilot his organization towards its goals?” After listening to a number of talks a...
thank you so much for sharing your journey with us!!!
Building a Business Model Around a Book
In Clayton Christensen's book The Innovator’s Prescription he explains that business model innovation is one of the core elements of a successful market disruption. Meaning, that a simplifying technology may spark the disruption, but it is the business model that maximizes the reach of the tec...
Amelia & Whitney - 1 of the last few lines hit me - so many choices we don't make a choice. Sometimes I think we do have too many choices - it can be paralyzing. There are times I yearn for the simplicity of previous decades when it was all clear - but most of the time I relish the mess of choices. But the flip side is too much 'greatness' - I know a very very talented man in his 40's who is truly gifted in so many areas that it's paralyzed him - he's never been able to focus on 1 of the talents and also gives up if he can't be perfect at them all - he's paralyzed by an innate overload of choices.
Go dream - go try them - whatever you learn along the way you can use for the next one and next one - no matter how they turn out - just pursuing a dream is a tremendous accomplishment!
Amelia Hertzberg: Ballerina, Superspy, Oh My
Amelia Hertzberg grew up in Groveland, Massachusetts as the baby of three children. Currently she lives in Belmont, Massachusetts with her own three babies. Her interests include hiking, reading, creating, and having dance parties with her children. Now that her husband has finished his schoolin...
Thank you so much for writing about this - it's a process of creation, of invention and of innovation and from the heart - i'm anxious to read it (and get you to sign it!)
My Dream of Writing a Book
A young bride on the day of her marriage gushed to her father, "Oh, Daddy, I'm at the end of all my troubles." To which he replied. "You're absolutely right. But, "Which end?" That's a bit how I feel with Dare.Dream.Do. We just finished the last round of copy-edits. I've received the galleys. ...
We are so richly blessed to have options -- and nothing is irrevocable - Avni, with your attitude, perspective and passion, you, your husband, and your children will always be on a learning and growing adventure - making an impact!
Avni Patel Thompson: Repatriation
Avni Patel Thompson is currently the Sr. Strategy Manager for Reebok International. Her quest to find perceptive consumer insights and the next great product initiative has taken her from Procter & Gamble’s hallowed halls of brand management to The Boston Consulting Group’s Consumer and Retail ...
I think you're spot on in how we put our earthly parents personas & relationships to us onto G-d. Blessedly, I was given parents that were (almost) perfect for me so that quite positively impacted my relationship with G-d. However, even so, trust remains so hard. If I look back on my life I have NO reason NOT to trust Him - yet I always worry - if I don't nudge enough, maybe He'll think its not that important to me (like He doesn't already know!). For any other type of analysis, given the track record, I'd have a strong faith in future performance - tho of course it's not a given. Yet I don't apply that to my L-rd and Savior. Why? I have no clue - except perhaps that since I trust Him with the most important things/people in my life, the stakes are higher so my fear of 'failure' is higher.
The parable of the Talents is powerful. I often think of Salieri who was so jealous of Mozart's gifts, he neglected to use his own. I've also known people who are so gifted that they are paralyzed because instead of thinking they can use 1 or 2 at a time, they feel they must use all at all times. G-d has given us gifts, we are to use them - we are to trust Him that when He gives us the opportunities to use them, share them, we wont disappoint Him and will use them to His glory. And there's the kicker - I believe G-d gave us gifts and talents to be used to glorify Him, to cause Him joy - and as a byproduct, it makes a difference (positive) for others - but our audience is Him and Him only. If we try to please those around us, we are destined to fail.
So, the mantra of my life, learned/adopted/adapted from my parents and Judaism, is to Cause G-d Joy. I really try (and often don't' succeed) to be concerned about just Him - have I caused Him more joy today than not-joy? And you know, the wonderful gift He gives us is Grace & Mercy (hesed in Hebrew - combined, 1 word, not 2 words - interestingly enough). The L-rd delights in my just existing - in just being His - not in works - what a relief! what a gift....at Christmas and every day
Thank you for this wonderful, touching, honest post -
Christmas Devotional: What Shall We Give Him?
The following is a talk I gave in early December at our Community Wreathmaking Party at the Belmont Chapel. It is more personal than usual, informed by my faith. What shall we give to the babe in the manger, What shall we offer the child in the stall? Incense and spices and gold we've a-ple...
Great point Whitney! Sometimes it is easier to give than to receive. Made me stop and think - I am anxious to read your book.
In the Vicinity of Weakness
I would assert that I'm a pretty good mentor; I've written about the topic here, here, and most recently here. A recent interaction, however, has me wondering if I'm a good mentee. During the latest round of edits for Dare.Dream.Do, I had asked a professional acquaintance to read the manuscript...
What a beautiful post. There are times I walk into the house, with all the mess...book bags, soccer bags, papers, sweatshirts all over the place and I could scream and the I remember in a few short years everything can be nice and tidy and I will sorely miss the chaos. Being a mom is the hardest job, the most rewarding and one of the least really appreciated in our society. There is nothing like the smell, touch, sound of your child...heaven on earth.
Lee Chipman: I Can Do Anything
Lee Chipman is a busy mother of five girls. When she's not baking, cleaning or helping with homework, she enjoys decorating her home. I don’t remember the “aha” moment when I decided to be a stay-at-home mom. I do remember that my mom worked full-time when I was growing up. I never felt resentf...
In 1988, AT&T/Bell Labs graciously offered to move me to Oberlin, OH when I got married if I wouldn't quit. They set me up with a home office and I commuted to NJ or somewhere else in the world weekly. When our son was born in 1997, I went part time from home, no travel, working remotely. I gave up managing people (which was fine). That worked thru another child in 2000, til I quit in 2001 because the ability to do anything meaningful at AT&T, no matter where you were, was increasingly difficult. I went out on my own, using my "network" to start my own consulting practice and become a partner in an early-stage VC firm.
To say I've been blessed is an understatement. AT&T was ahead of its time in encouraging and enabling my situation. But it boils down to people. I had incredible management who realized my value and the power of the network, heck we were a networking company, we should have! To think that was 23 yrs ago is amazing. Unfortunately, we haven't come as far as we should have.
Thank you for your very important post and sharing your journey!
Deb
Elise Jones: To Work or Not Work? That Shouldn't Have to Be the Question
Elise Jones is a former Microsoft work/life champion and president and founder of E Jones Consulting. In line with her passion for supporting people across multiple life roles, she is also a wife, mother, Master’s student, ukulele-strumming public school volunteer, Sunday School teacher, and com...
This is so true and for me, highlights the distinction between "output" and "outcome". We focus on the "output" of appearing selfish, arrogant, "it's all about me" if we seek positive perception, visibility & influence instead of the outcome of those: the ability to make a bigger difference and have a positive impact for change on many levels. Thank you Whitney for highlighting the issues and the distinction.
Giveaway: Joel Garfinkle's Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level
Giveaway: When you leave a comment here or tweet (cc @johnsonwhitney so I can track), you'll be entered to win an autographed copy of Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take your Career to the Next Level. The contest will close on Tuesday, November 15 at midnight (EDT); I'll announce the winner on...
Paul Tillich was a very wise man in many ways - this quote is just one of them. Doubt is the way we grow, we learn, we explore, we discover - it is a powerful motivator to press on - something I try to teach my kids - if you doubt, go learn more, think it through, realize perhaps you don't have all the answers (and can't) - so leverage doubt and, as my father has told me over and over as well, don't just doubt what's before you, also doubt your doubts....
Robin Cangie: Doubting for Dreamers
Robin is a writer and thinker who loves to wonder about things. She helps companies create marketing that empowers, rather than interrupts, their customers, and writes about education, technology and the new economy on her personal blog, robinoula.com. You can find her on Twitter at @robinoula. ...
Whitney,
I think one of the hardest things for a parent is not to indulge their kids because you love them and want the best. And, let's face it, there are many times it's just easier to do it yourself than have them do it. Fortunately, my husband and I balance out our "indulging" areas and we've tried not to but it is hard. That said, I don't think you can I indulge with love, but you can with "stuff" and chores.
And yes, the federal Gov't feels incredibly entitled.....breaking that cycle is a necessary challenge...with huge societal effects!
Deb
Giveaway: The Entitlement Trap by Richard and Linda Eyre
Yesterday my daughter was taking a tennis lesson. Twenty minutes in, and trying to be helpful, I started to pick up the balls. Her instructor stopped me. "Parents," he said, "can mollycoddle their kids, but when they are with me, they clean up their own mess." This conversation came on the hee...
Terrific point!!
KidTunes
KidTunes No one needs to do a fancy gap analysis to realize that itunes Radio has no kids/toddler music category. If there is one and I am missing it then please let me know -and include a screen grab or something, afterall, I am from the "Show-Me" state originally! Inspiration problem: m...
Steve, another great post. I was chatting with a friend who was lamenting that his 8th grade son is "going out" with a girl but all they do is text. "How will he know what a relationship is? We used to talk on the phone!" So first I said that at that age, texting was "safer" (well depends I guess these days). Then, I asked him what kids would say on the phone when they talked for hours...not that different from what they text! Duh! As we kept talking about it, turned out it wasn't that different after all! And of course, neither type (text or voice) was deep.
Deb
Are social media killing real conversation? An antidote from John Hagel
I was at a conference last week and we were discussing the constraints on reinventing the workplace and shifting from a world of top-down “telling people what to do” to a world of conversation and interactive adult-to-adult conversations. One of the participants said that she saw as a constrai...
Steve, thank you for another great post. Since capitalism is dependent on people (until robots make, sell and buy :) ), the problem, and solution will always be people. Too much discussion, til now with you and others, has focused on the theory of capitalism vs the reality.
Is the problem with capitalism that people are trying to fix it?
Steve Brazell (@SteveBrazell) offered a provocative thought on Twitter, in response to my review of the Porter/Kramer article in HBR on “How to fix capitalism”: The problem with capitalism is that people try and fix it. The solution: leave it alone - laissez faire markets work. In one sense, I a...
More...
Subscribe to Dscofield’s Recent Activity