Seen.
Cross Patch
Last Chance U tells the story of the football coach at East Mississippi community college.
Often working with students from challenged backgrounds, the coach is tough on his players. Yet his programme is famously successful in securing wins on the field, and outstanding opportunities for the players.
After it was released, the coach was criticised for his cruelty on many social media platforms, and even occasionally in person.
On one such occasion he was approached by an older couple. Expecting the usual abuse, he prepared to swiftly avoid them.
However, the woman praised him. Commenting on his treatment, "Everyone likes to eat sausage" she said, "but no-one really wants to know how it's made."
This story prompted debate amongst us. When we're leading our businesses, do the ends justify the means when it comes to being demanding - and tough - with those around you?
Perhaps it's about authenticity? Showing your sharper edges maybe allows others to better see who you are? Is this more truthful that hiding your passion behind a gentle façade?
Perhaps it's best to ask those who know you? We wondered what the coach's players would say in ten or twenty years time about his impact of them.
Although perhaps the quote itself can mislead us. Over the past couple of decades, people care more and more about the origins of the products they consume.
So as a leader - what ends justify your means?
Read.
Crossed Wires
This article from the always creative Wait But Why covers some of the potential of our ever accelerating technological progress.
It starts though with a simple thought experiment.
Imagine yourself standing at the start point of exponential growth curve. What does it feel like?
Some would say exciting, some intimidating, as they look at the steep incline of growth ahead of them.
But of course in the real world, we cannot see into the future, only the past.
So what does the exponential growth curve look like when we look behind us?
It looks mundane. Unexciting and gentle.
But any one of us could be on the verge of exponential progress. What if your past performance was no guide to your future possibility? What new thinking might that unlock?
Learned.
Rewiring
Recombinant innovation is a phrase from the book, The Second Machine Age by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee.
When looking to create the new we often get stuck looking at a blank sheet of paper.
The truth is most inventors do not start with this.
Instead they look at combining what already exists in completely new ways.
For example, GPS, digital maps, the cellular system and social networking combine to create apps like Waze or Google Maps. None of these things were invented for this purpose, but combined existing inventions in new ways.
What would it be like to look at our businesses like this?
If you saw your business as a set of resources - people, relationships, processes, property and customers - how could you re-combine them to do something innovative in your market?
And finally.
We heard about a recruitment hack this week. We liked it so thought we'd share.
A founder used to ask applicants what browser they used.
He tended to hire people who used Chrome or Firefox, instead of Internet Explorer or Safari.
His logic was that people who used these browsers had always made a choice to do so. They were unsatisfied with the status quo and the default choice so did something about that.
Which was exactly the attitude he felt would drive his business forward.
Don’t forget to check out the accompanying podcast version of #founderhacks for a tantalising live experience of team atomex!
