Tom Nixon

Money and happiness

Some good riffs on one my my favourite topics... the link between money and happiness from Alex.

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Best and worst decisions when starting a company

Some entrepreneurs share the best and worst decisions they made when they started their businesses.

No surprise that just about everyone talks about getting good people on board and the right sort of people for your culture. But of course to attract and retain the best people you have to be a great place to work in the first place.

I think the best decision I made when I started up Nixon McInnes was reading these two books and then working hard to actually bring the lessons in them to bear on the culture as the compay grew. We definitely haven't cracked the perfect formula for an amazing company culture (who has?) but I think we're a better place to work than most companies and I enjoy being different.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
The bible of being-a-nice-person.

Maverick by Ricardo Semler.
The ultimate example of democracy, freedom, trust and respect at work.

The other good decision was teaming up with my biz partner Will. As a pair of young upstarts/oiks who were pretty green when it came to running a business, having someone else to share the problems, good times and bad times with was a big help.

I could probably write a book on the mistakes and bad decisions but the biggest was probably not being aware of my own personal strengths and weaknesses. I was never an especially good programmer, and I was an even worse project manager. Things got so much better when I had people who were better than me doing these things and I could have avoided so much pain and 7-day working weeks if I had got this sorted out earlier. But I suppose that the experience of trying (and often failing) is what helped me to get to know myself better. And there's nothing like living through some really shit times to put day-to-day worries and problems in perspective.

Don't ask employees to be passionate about the company

Great post by Kathy Sierra.

Loved the analogy with software design:

...if you really want your employees to be passionate about the company, take lessons from UI and Usability: let people do what they want and need to do, and get the hell out of their way. Unfortunately, too many of our employers are like really bad software--frustrating us at every turn, behaving inconsistently, not giving us a way to learn new things and develop new, cool capabilities, etc.

Remember, when I say I have a passion for a particular piece of software, it's not really the software I'm passionate about. It's always about my passion for what the software lets me DO. Companies should work the same way. By acting like a good UI and letting employees express the passion they have for their work, you'll end up with employees who'd never consider going elsewhere.

Quality advert

Posted to the Brighton New Media list by Steve Esson.

Advert for new members of the Brighton Beamers Cricket Club (PDF).

Faults as virtues

David Maister shares this list of 20 bad workplace habits from a book by Marshall Goldsmith.

The first 19 look pretty sensible to me, but number 20 is curious:

An excessive need to be “me”: exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are

I think we should all celebebrate who we are as individuals, including our faults. The important thing is to recognise them and allow people whose strengths complement our weaknesses to give their input.

    1     The need to win each time
    2     The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion
    3     The need to pass judgment on others
    4     Needless sarcasm and cutting comments
    5     Starting with “no”, “But”, “However”
    6     Need to show how smart we are
    7     Speaking when angry
    8     Negativity: the need to share negative thoughts even when not asked
    9     Withholding Information
    10     Failing to Give Proper recognition
    11     Claiming credit we don’t deserve
    12     Making excuses
    13     Clinging to the past
    14     Playing favorites
    15     Refusing to express regret
    16     Not listening
    17     Failing to express gratitude
    18     Punishing the messenger
    19     Passing the buck
    20     An excessive need to be “me”: exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are

Leadership is overrated

Found this interview with my business hero Ricardo Semler.

I particularly like Semler's stance on leadership. The lesson? Forget trying to develop yourself as a great leader. Instead focus on creating a culture where people are free to organise themselves and innovate, then take a step back and let them get on with it. Not really the traditional view of a great leader, but it's the future, baby!

It’s striking that your books never mention the word “leader.”
"Leadership is way overrated. In fact I don’t call the courses I teach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology "leadership courses." I think the idea is outdated that leadership is only relegated to a few and that it can be planned, structured and developed.”

What’s wrong with cultivating leaders?
"The whole idea of leaders implies that only a few are capable of pointing us in the right direction. I’m more interested in the structures or the architecture of organizations that enable the company to survive in the future, independent of the leaders.
"An important facet of leadership is succession. Succession of managers is often arranged in a dramatic and hectic way. Take Louis Gerstner, who was taken on as an outsider at IBM, where there are thousands of people with management or business-economics degrees. Was there truly no one in the company capable of taking the lead? That’s pretty weak."

But an outsider could have a more objective view of the company?
"Maybe. But in saying that you’re actually implying that a company can’t innovate or change without hiring outsiders. That’s a scary thought. I would consider it disappointing if an organization can’t produce any leadership talent capable of looking at the company objectively. Take [former General Electric CEO] Jack Welch. When someone puts such a strong mark on a company, as Welch did, it’s often difficult for his successor. Many strong leaders have left weak organizations in their wake. There’s a good reason why many companies—including General Electric—need major reorganizations right after those strong leaders leave."

Link found via Alex Kjerulf.

Business fails by looking boring

This is the sad sight of Mojo's, just around the corner from where I live in Brighton's North Laine which seems to have gone out of business this week. No surprise there - it has been completely dead every time I've walked past it. It's sad because I think (and correct me if I'm wrrong) it was an independent venture so obviously someone's dream is now in tatters.

Today, another bar called Fountain Head is opening about 15 feet away from Mojo's. This one is part of the pub chain Zel and you just know it's going to be a success. I'm convinced it's all down to the design. Despite being independent and therefore having a big opportunity to be different and full of character, the Mojo branding made it look like a bland franchise. Ironically, Fountain Head which is part of a chain looks unique, quirky and bang up-to-date with its blend of modern and traditional styling.

Apparently the food at Mojo's was good and it's in a decent enough location. I'm certain that if they'd done a better job of, well, not looking boring it would have done really well.

(Note to self: get more involved in the ongoing brand development at Nixon McInnes!!)

Sheepwalking

Here's a great post from Seth Godin which sums up how I feel about freedom at work.

It's up to employers to create an environment where people are given the freedom to, and indeed are expected to think for themselves; organise themselves and do things their own way; take risks; make mistakes; start their own initiatives and innovate.

But to really give things a good shake-up, I hope that employees everywhere begin refusing to be another sheep at their company and either demand change; leave to work somewhere where they can be free; or start their own thing.

Enjoyment strategy is the new exit strategy

I got a few laughs at a staff meeting once when I said that I wanted to grow the team so my own role could evolve in a way such that I spend more time doing the things I enjoy. I suppose that it comes across as being a bit frivolous, or maybe they just thought I wanted to give all of the shitty jobs to them. But the truth is that we should all develop our careers towards doing what we enjoy most. That seems like common sense, so why are so many entrepreneurs and business owners obsessed with their exit strategy?

If you’re looking for an exit then by definition you want to get out of where you are now. Usually the destination means not having to work in that business any more, and having a big pile of cash. This is fine for the small minority of people who are genuinely motivated by money, but how many people start a business in the first place just to make money? I believe that most people in business are driven by a vision of seeing their product idea become a reality, or by providing a service better than anyone else, not just  cashing in and getting out.

So I propose an alternative strategy based on taking incremental steps to make the place you’re at right now more and more enjoyable. With an enjoyment strategy you’re not banking your future happiness on a big payday that may never come. What’s more exciting is that you don’t know where your enjoyment strategy will take you, and if you ever fail at anything along the way (and if you don’t you’re not trying hard enough!) then the failure will be so much easier to take if you can look back and say that you had fun trying.

The grass may look greener on the other side, but there’s nothing to stop you from nurturing the lawn that you’re already playing on.

[picture credit]