Interrelativity

Category: Leadership

  • Fitting in vs. Belonging: The Costs and Benefits of Conformity

    A while back, I wrote about Brene Brown‘s inspiring TEDxHouston talk on Wholeheartedness as connection through courage, vulnerability and authenticity. I have since read her most recent book, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, and was so moved by her insights that…

  • The Power of Pull: Institutions as Platforms for Promoting Individual Passions

    There are a number of interesting and provocative ideas in The Power of Pull, by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison. I’ve already tweeted about a number of articles by the authors – based on their book – that highlight the importance of physical places, the ways we can shape serendipity and…

  • Contradictory ridges, self and Self

    Continuing with the themes of poetry, inspiration and great friends, another great friend, Dan Oestreich, bought me a book of William Stafford‘s poetry, “The Way It Is“, a few years ago – one of many ways he helped me navigate a dark time filled with shadows.The other night, I picked up the book – which…

  • Augurs of hope, past & present: MLK, Milk, Obama & all of us’s

    Last week, on Martin Luther King Day, Amy and I watched the film, Milk, about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California (back in 1978). When we got to the Egyptian Theatre, Amy asked for two tickets to see "M-I-L-K", spelling out Milk's name. We laughed about…

  • Revenge of the Community Organizers

    One of the low points of the recent U.S. presidential campaign for me – and there were many – was Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's contemptuous dismissal of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's earlier career chapter as a community organizer during her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention: I guess a small-town mayor…

  • Principal Instigator at MyStrands: A Prospective Perspective

    This is my first week as Principal Instigator at MyStrands. I wrote last week about leaving Nokia to join MyStrands, in which I focused primarily on the leaving part. I wanted to write a little more today about the joining part, and the excitement I feel about reprising and redefining my principal instigator role in…

  • Complimenting and Complementing: Great Management through Praising and Partnering

    I recently finished “First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently”, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, in which they emphasize the importance of discovering each individual’s unique constellation of talents – the things he/she cannot help but do (and do well) – and aligning those with appropriate roles – where…

  • Fino, Finis, Finnish: Jukka Soikkeli’s Farewell Party (and the Power of Passion)

    We celebrated Jukka Soikkeli’s 20+ years at Nokia Research Center at Cafe Fino in Palo Alto last night. Besides learning about Jukka’s penchant for Corvettes, and some of his tangible and intangible contributions to (and through) Nokia, it was noted that Jukka is a prototypical Finn: a man of few words, the wisdom of which…

  • John Shen: New Head of Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto

    John Shen, former DIrector of the Micro-architecture Lab at Intel, became the new head of Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto, on Friday.  John comes to NRCPA after 6.5 years at Intel, and 18 years before that as a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In his welcome welcoming remarks, John stressed his intention to cultivate a…

  • The Dance of Leadership

    A healthy community is like a dance, with different dancers stepping forward to take the lead at different times, and others following those leads.  Even followers are leaders, as we lead ourselves along paths or sequences illuminated by those who we consciously or unconsciously agree to allow lead us.  A leader creates a safe space…