Hot Topic Friday: Nov 22

Happy Friday! Here are my Nov. 22 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: Google’s Getting Gutless Not Googley?

Source: Inc.

What It’s About: When I was hanging around at Google, one of the cool things was being able to be there during TGIF (the weekly town hall for all Google employees, which ended up taking place on Thursdays as Google became global). It was a hallmark of their open , transparent culture. Well guess what? They’re dropping it from weekly to monthly. Why? According to the Inc. article, CEO Sundar Pichai explained: "TGIF has traditionally provided a place to come together, share progress, and ask questions, but it's not working in its current form.’ Pichai is pretty clear about what he means when he says it's ‘not working.’ In fact, he focuses on two specific problems. The first being that many people seem to attend not to hear about new initiatives within the company, but instead to ‘hear answers on other topics.’ Pichai also points to what he describes as ‘a coordinated effort to share our conversations outside of the company after every TGIF’ which has ‘affected our ability to use TGIF as a forum for candid conversations on important topics.’” The fact is that things have gotten a little hot, and leadership has walked away from one cultural icon of what it is to be Googley .

Why It’s Important: I agree with the Inc. article: “Here's the thing: separating leadership from the people they lead might eliminate the discomfort of hearing their complaints, but it doesn't actually eliminate those complaints. Instead, it communicates a lack of trust and respect.” It irritates me when leaders try and change the view, rather than confront the problem. It’s like pulling the window shades down to pretend the weather is better outside. In the end it will catch up. I think Pichai ought to Google “leadership.” He might look a little deeper. This is the time to embrace the stoic Marcus Aurelius maxim: “What’s in the way, is the way.”

One Millennial Response: It’s too late, Google knows the entire world depends on them to modernly exist on a daily basis. Now, it seems if your business is not friendly or completely playing ball with their algorithms, you can disappear from their searches. That’s a ton of power, and some argue they’ve just made the executive decision to wield it in a way to essentially make the entire Internet a Google dictatorship. Why share world domination? Just ask independent publishers. If you’re not in, you’re out. Sounds like this has expanded to internal Town Halls too. If you’re not “in” at Google, shut up or you’re out. In 2018, the company quietly removed their famous “Don’t Be Evil” motto from their code of conduct. These days, I’m a whole lot more wary of Google’s culture and true intentions.

Hot Topic 2: What Happens When Your CEO is a Narcissist?

Source: Insights by Stanford Business.

What It’s About: Charles A. O’Reilly III, an esteemed Professor of Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, conducted research on the impact of the narcissistic CEO. We’re talking about famous leaders like Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Tesla’s Elon Musk and even the late Steve Jobs at Apple, who have all been described as narcissists. Their immense success is often attributed to their bold vision, extreme self-confidence, and determination to win at all costs. Boards can become starry eyed looking for that personality type, and may not see the whole picture. Interesting stats from O’Reilly’s studies include: “We see the 10 percent of narcissists that succeeded and call them visionaries… We’re not looking at the 90 percent who flamed out and caused irreparable damage. By talking about narcissism as though it might be positive, we’re not paying attention to how dangerous these people can be.” By “dangerous,” studies have noted that narcissistic leaders increase the likelihood of cultures with low integrity, less collaboration, and have a higher chance of trouble with the law.

Why It’s Important: Organizations can become great without narcissism at the helm. One of my favorite organizations, The Unreasonable Group, has an explicit value. We > I. They state: “We believe in pathological collaboration. We strive to turn competitors into partners and stand on a belief that the world’s greatest challenges will never be solved by one person, one team, or one company. We must work together to move far and to move fast.” As O’Reilly points out: “That doesn’t mean boards need to start administering personality tests: ‘A more direct way is not to hire anyone unless you have lots of data from previous subordinates about how they were treated. If the person stole people’s ideas, abused people, or was impulsive, those are all earmarks of narcissists.’”

One Millennial Response: I totally understand the appeal to work for someone with a big ego, high aspirations, extreme confidence and strong conviction in the brand, product, and organization. I would despise working for someone meek, unable to make tough decisions, or too worried about everything others’ thought. That’s just as “dangerous” in my opinion, because the ship is probably going down. I said a big ego though, confidence not arrogance, and not narcissism. Sometimes people confuse these definitions, but there is a fine line. Hopefully good leaders know how to look in the mirror and keep on the correct side of it, and not just stare at themselves.

My Weekly Wine Recommendation (Thanks to Vivino):

Saintsbury Pinot Noir 2011.

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[Picture and ratings provided by Vivino].

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

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“The uber driver is in a fight with a self driving car” - Mike Isaac.

Bye for now!

— Lorne Rubis

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Happy Friday! Here are my Nov. 22 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: Google’s Getting Gutless Not Googley?

Hot Topic 2: What Happens When Your CEO is a Narcissist?

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

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