Leadership Done Right

Brandon W. Jones

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Col. Joe Dowdy

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In the article about Col. Joe Dowdy, it showed that he was a strong leader of principle. Although he was pressed to change his principles, he was unwavering. His leaders pressed him to go faster than he was comfortable with to invade Baghdad which would put his soldiers’ lives at risk.

Col Joe Dowdy

Col. Joe Dowdy

He felt the lives of his soldiers were just as important as his mission. Because of this belief, he was forced to take a slower pace when invading Baghdad. His leaders were very against this approach. He was, however, not willing to lower his standards in order to meet their demands because he knew his soldiers would die. [Read more…] about Col. Joe Dowdy

For Lt. Withers, Act of Mercy Has Unexpected Sequel

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The article “For Lt. Withers, Act of Mercy Has Unexpected Sequel” is an amazing article. It was about an army lieutenant that made an impact during World War II. As an African American Army Lt., John Withers was a by the book leader that did everything by the rules. When he was in the army, there was strong segregation. Because of the segregation, the African Americans were watched very closely. John Withers was very diligent in doing everything right.

Act of Mercy Has Unexpected Sequel

Act of Mercy Has Unexpected Sequel

When two prisoners were released from one of the concentration camps, he made the decision to go against protocol and serve them. There are some important lessons that can be learned from Lt. John Withers.

  1. Stick to your values at all costs.
  2. Teach those you lead by your actions as well as words
  3. Learn from the past

Lt. Withers knew the rules for the army and he did everything he could to follow them. He did not, however, compromise his values when it came to the rules. When first approached about harboring refugees, he was not going to allow it so he would be upholding the rules, but when he saw the condition of the refugees, he decided to help them. To him it was more important to save a life than follow the rules, so that is what he did.

Lt Withers constantly led his soldiers by his example. He also led his family and children by example. Because his example was so powerful, he was able to teach by words as well. His words were able to change those he came in contact with.

Lt Withers was able to take the lessons from his WWII experiences and teach his children. He learned from the past and constantly worked to share those lessons with his children so that they too could learn.

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Diamonds in the Data Mine

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The approach that Gary Loveman used as the COO as explained in the case study, “Diamonds in the Data Mine” was very interesting. Rather than go off of feelings and emotions as many people tend to do, he was very analytical in every aspect of his decision making. As he ran Harrah’s, he constantly was using the data that they were receiving from slot players. He constantly mined the data to see trends that were occurring and how they could use that knowledge to better the company.

Diamonds in the Data Mine

Diamonds in the Data Mine

Performing data mines is one aspect that he used constantly which is overlooked by many companies. It seems like there are many companies out there that are looking for some special secret sauce from researchers that will solve all of their problems. When they take this approach they are completely discounting all of the data that the company is or could be gathering. By recording data on the customers on a regular basis, they could be seeing trends within their own company.

One of the most successful methods for progress within a company is to find out what you are doing wrong and fix it. Although that may seem very obvious, the only way to find out if a practice is correct in the sense that it draws in more customers is to review the data that you can receive about the customers.

Once a company or organization records data they mine the data to identify which methods work and which methods do not work. As a company looks closely at their processes, they will be able to see what they can do better or what they are doing wrong and they can then fix it. Progress is all about finding out and recognizing what you are doing wrong and then fixing it.

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Good to Great, or Just Good?

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The article, “Good to Great, Or Just Good?” is very insightful because it explains all of the flaws in the statistical research behind the book Good To Great by Jim Collins. He did not set out to prove a specific hypothesis; instead he just found similar characteristics between 11 successful companies.Good to Great - Jim Collins

Good To Great

This is very important because it is very easy to just read an article with new ideas and concepts and then accept them as the truth. It is very important to do a logical analysis of the methods used to derive the theory. If the theory is based on a solid statistical analysis it can be accepted, but if it is based on a flawed study it may be just commonalities of several test subjects. It is also very important to look at causality and not just associations. The two are very different and must treated as such.

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Evidence-Based Management

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The case study, “Evidence-Based Management,” was very interesting to me. In the case there were three points that stuck out to me. They were:

  1. Demand evidence.
  2. Examine logic.
  3. Treat the organization as an unfinished prototype.

Evidence-Based

When each of the points is followed, the organization will be on its way to progress towards becoming an evidence-based organization.

Evidence Based Management

When it spoke about demanding evidence it really made me think about how the organization can be bettered when changes are based in concrete evidence. It explained the importance of having relevant evidence. The evidence must come from data and experimentation from within the company. [Read more…] about Evidence-Based Management

Sins of Commission

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From the case study Sins of Commission, it is very evident that the correct compensation system is extremely important to the success of an organization. The case reviewed several instances where the compensation packages in use were set up to put a quick fix in place for a failed system.

Sins of Commission

Sins of Commission

The compensation system is extremely important because it is one of the main drivers for obtaining and keeping qualified employees. It cannot be the sole source of satisfaction for the employees, but it must function properly to serve the benefit of the system as a whole.

The compensation system will train the employees what is valued by the company. When a company drives for customer satisfaction, but compensates based on the number of sales of the individual employee, the employee will do whatever he or she can to obtain the sale.

He or she will not be encouraged to spend time with the customers that are just browsing. On the other hand, in order for the company to obtain customer satisfaction, they must create a system that values customer satisfaction. The system must reward the employees based on the customer satisfaction ratings.

Teamwork Systems

The companies must also set up a system that promotes teamwork within the organization. In the systems where the employees are rewarded based on their individual efforts and not as a team, the group loses unity and becomes several individuals with their own interests at stake.

In order for a company to reach its maximum level of success, all the individuals must work as a team. This must be promoted by team awards rather than individual awards.

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