PEOPLE
WHO LEAD PEOPLE Let's be clear about one thing from the outset: The technology industry is not run by philanthropists. All those perks and priveleges and playground goodies that have made the high-tech culture so famous were not introduced by indulgent grandparents or ersatz Santa Clauses. They were introduced by clear-sighted, forward-looking business leaders who knew that their employees were their only real assets and who understood that those assets would have to be treated like gold if their companies were going to compete successfully in the most volatile, talent-hungry industry in corporate history. And the lessons they have learned are valid for leaders in any industry. Leadership Lesson 1. It's all about people. David Morris, President and CEO, Protegrity: "The 'human side' is something any technology executive should be thinking about every day. I know I certainly do. Things change too quickly in this business. If you are not focusing on the people who create the great ideas, if you're not nurturing them and structuring an organization where they feel free to express themselves and take ownership and contribute--then that great product won't sustain you." Leadership Lesson 2. Give employees power by decentralizing decision-making, spreading responsibility, and listening to every voice. Carol Bartz, CEO, Autodesk: "Because decisions have to be made so quickly -- product cycles run from 12-to-18 months, internet stuff changes even faster -- you must decentralize authority. Command and control doesn't work in the high-tech world. There isn't time to bring things up to 'command center' for approval and then filter them back down into the organization. People at all levels have to feel they have the power and responsibility to make decisions." Leadership Lesson 3. Actively look for leadership potential throughout the organization. Stu Kazin, Senior VP at Lotus: "One important thing I've learned is that leadership can come from anywhere in the organization, not just the top. Anyone who has a vision of where the company's going and the will to help you get there is a leader. These people are extremely valuable. Don't think of them as rivals. Think of them as bonuses. They allow you to keep the organization flat, forward-thinking and nimble." Leadership Lesson 4. Examine your own attitudes and assumptions about what a leader really is today. Richard Taylor, Managing Partner, Taylor, Rodgers & Associates: "We're a boutique search firm specializing in finding and placing people in technology companies. And when an aspiring leader doesn't make it in a high-tech company, it's almost always because the people skills are missing -- the ability to embrace the soft issues as well as the hard ones, and to balance the two effectively. The truth is, you need it all. The hard business skills, but also the ability to create an environment where people are happy and confident, where leadership is strong and caring, and where technology is integrated organically as part of the whole." Leadership Lesson 5. Give everyone access to information, tools and training. Then get out of their way. Patricia (Tosh) Barron, retired Division President at Xerox Engineering Systems, now Executive in Residence at NYU's School of Business and a senior fellow at the Center for Research on Information Systems: "The most important thing for a high-tech leader to learn is that detailed information must be available at the lowest practical level of the organization. Why? Because in a very fast-paced, rapid-change environment, it is often the youngest folks who are the most able. Your youngest employees represent the leading edge, and once empowered they can contribute more than anyone else in the organization. So the question becomes: how do you unleash their potential to contribute and how do you create a culture that gives them the freedom to contribute?" Leadership Lesson 6. Build the environment, articulate the vision, set the goals, pick the right people, then walk the talk. Michael Brown, CEO, Quantum: "I put together a group of long-time Quantum employees to re-examine our culture, and what we discovered was that our value statements were all too generic. So we turned generic into concrete; related each of our values to a set of specific behaviors and presented these to our people as the principles that would make us all successful, employees and management alike. And it worked. We did come through those hard times, and in the process we also came out understanding our own basic aims more clearly." Leadership Lesson 7. The answer is communicate, communicate, communicate. What's the question? Douglass Given, MD, PhD, President and CEO, Progenitor, a biotechnology company in Menlo Park, California. "Every Friday morning, we hold an all-hands meeting for the entire company, and I stand up and give them a four-point 'stump speech' reminding everyone why we are here and why we deserve to be here. First, I reassert what a great company we are -- what a terrific job we are doing for our customers. Then I restate the company vision to remind everyone where we are going and why. Then I get more personal and talk about the kinds of people we need to fulfill that vision, using two or three specific examples of individuals or teams that have accomplished something noteworthy during the previous week. And finally I remind everyone of the benefits they are enjoying -- and will go on enjoying -- as part of Progenitor." Leadership Lesson #8. Be approachable! Susan Burnet, VP, Hewlett-Packard: "Years ago I joined Hewlett-Packard in an entry level position. My second day on the job, I called David Packard's office, hoping to speak to an assistant to find out if our CEO would address an employee meeting. Dave (no one called him Mr.Packard) answered his own phone, and when he found out that I was a new hire, he spent 20 minutes talking to me about the kind of contribution I wanted to make to the company. That's leadership!"
No matter what industry a company is in, it can learn from the world of high-tech, and will need those lessons in nurturing '"human capital" if it expects to survive in the fast-paced, rapidly-changing environment that has become business as usual. "The
Human Side of High-Tech focuses on the single most critical issue
for high-tech organizations today - that is, attracting and retaining
the talent that is at the core of a company's competitive advantage."
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