When Leaders Fail
I read a fascinating article in Wired recently about how Google has failed to respond appropriately to rise of Facebook and other social networking sites. Google chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt is taking full responsibility. Schmidt is quoted as saying, “I clearly knew I had to do something and I failed to do it.”
For me, this was the most intriguing line in the article. Sam Gustin, the writer of the article, explained Schmidt “was so focused on running Google’s day-to-day operations that he didn’t give the issue the necessary attention.”
That’s when leadership fails. It’s easy to fall into the trap. We get focused on doing what we do. We try to get better at. We do all we can to get the team focused on what we do. We want improvement. We want quality. We want to do what we do well.
The problem is that when we get so focused on doing what we do well, we run the risk of missing what’s happening in the bigger picture.
- What we do well and had success doing in the past, may not work now and in the future.
- Other opportunities may surface, but we’re so focused on what we have to do today that we miss them.
- New threats to our strategy continue to pop up. If we only work on the day-to-day, they go unnoticed.
- We may falsely assume that the people we’re trying to reach stay the same — we assume their needs never change.
Here’s what’s most challenging about all this — leading the day-to-day is the easy part of leadership. We know it. We’re comfortable with it. We feel good doing things we know how to do.
The challenge, of course, is that an organization concerned about impacting multiple generations will experience a brief existence and then die if it’s focused solely on the day-to-day…even if the quality of the execution is flawless.
It’s probably time we pause to notice and then act on what requires our necessary attention.
love it. have you read Management of the Absurd Tony? by Richard Farson.
I think you’d like it. http://www.amazon.com/Management-Absurd-Richard-Farson/dp/0684830442/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
I also read somewhere that Schmidt does not use social media. What I think is interesting is that Evan Williams, current CEO and co-founder of Twitter was a Google guy. And Dennis Crowley who founded Foursquare had a Google connection. Not only did Schmidt to fail get in the game but he game changers either working for him or closely tied to him through other ventures.
How incredibly true this is. Those last few paragraphs really hit me like a ton of bricks, the same thing my team has been fighting with for a while. Keeping up with the day to day, with the excellent execution…and just knowing deep down that we’re missing it.
Too much that is urgent, not enough that is important.
I feel like I’m constantly in this trap, but is it a cop-out to say it’s a matter of resources.
I don’t mind keeping my head up and seeing what’s going on else where, but when you’re a team of one with no one to delegate to, more than enough work on your plate, and already trying to include new things, what do you do?
This highlights a distinction between managers (keeping the engine running) and leaders (setting direction & vision). Schmidt was managing – and doing it well – but failed to *lead*.
Strong orgs have both types, and put people in positions their strongest at.
So, the Church/Business model. We are supposed to be organic, elevating disciples into servantleaders, or lowering them. What I want to see is a church that listens to the Holy Spirit and has developed gifting to the point of recognizing and encouraging their prophet(s) to press into what the Spirit is Saying to the Churches. Business models are useful if we are willing to find ourselves in the train of the Bridegroom with no oil. Get oil for your lamps church and come alive. It takes a total abandonment to the kingdom on the part of everyone. We are bottling up our resources by not building the intimate community that “calls nothing as its own”. So much more life could happen with more risk in relationship and more devotion to the King.
So much of what you said applies to our personal leadership, in my case as a dad and husband. If I am only leading our family through what worked yesterday, I will not build experiences, deepen relationships, or equip my children for the future. Thank you for focusing on the point – all leaders need to be aware of where things are going, not just where they have been.