Hō‘ike‘ike: Managing and Leading in 2005

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our Ho‘ohana Community Hō‘ike‘ike, the first ever Hawaiian blog carnival on Management and Leadership for Talking Story.

‘Ike is the Hawaiian word for knowledge, and traditionally, the word Hō‘ike‘ike has been used in Hawai‘i to describe a display of wonderful things one can learn about, such as in a museum or art show. Our Ho‘ohana Community has always been a learning community, and I could think of no better way than this to celebrate 2005 as it comes to a close.

In the invitation I posted notice of here earlier this month, I had asked the bloggers of our Ho‘ohana Community to choose just one post from the writing they have done in 2005 as their contribution, a post they feel represents their mana‘o (their thoughts and beliefs) on either management or leadership. The result is a magnificent representation of the wealth of knowledge to be found within our Talking Story community.

Since they have contributed their writing as a gift to all of you who read Talking Story, this Hō‘ike‘ike also represents the profound richness we share in our aloha for each other. As you read, it is that sharing of the aloha spirit you celebrate as you joyously learn.

Enjoy.

From Bren at Slacker Manager:

The Rock Climbing/Management Metaphor

“The beauty of rock climbing as a metaphor for management is that climbing strips away all the extra junk that often obscures our view of what management really does.”

From Adrian at The Coyote Within:

The Nelson Touch: Explain Your Doctrine and Trust Your Subordinates

“What’s most remarkable about Lord Horatio Nelson is not his military prowess, nor his passionate and very public love affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton; his leadership approach was way ahead of his time. People called it “The Nelson Touch” and it made him not only the best admiral Britain has ever had, but also the most loved.”

From Yvonne at Lip-Sticking:

Jane Shares Inspiration

“This is a relatively short post for Jane…but it encompasses the most powerful tools one has at one’s fingertips, to build and grow a successful business. I think the advice offered in this post, while mentioned in varying degrees in other posts I’ve written, is so clearcut that it should be daily reading for all of us. The more we live by these words, the more we will all see happiness and success surround us.”

From Jane at Jane Chin, Ph.D:

Blind Devotion to Role Models

“I believe blindly following a ‘person’ is very different from  emulating and admiring the positive traits that the person exhibits, which can lead one down a dangerous path.”

From David at Zinger On Strength Based Leadership:
The 12 days of strength-based leadership

“The post outlines 12 actions that the reader can take on strength-based leadership.
Strength-based leadership focuses on: strength, caring, and energy management.
I like that the post ties in with the old 12 days of Christmas even if there are no lords-a-leaping or turtle doves.”

From Dwayne at Genuine Curiosity:

Spheres of Influence

“To increase your enjoyment and sense of accomplishment in the world, think about how you use your discretionary time and try to make more choices that take you to a larger sphere of influence.”

From John at Sanderson Media:

Anglo Saxons Need Help to Communicate

John shares the first chapter of his forthcoming book The Talking Gene, illustrated with wonderful cartoons by his 13-year old son Peter.

From Adrian at Slow Leadership:
Benign Neglect

“I chose this, in part, as a tribute to my father, who died more than fifteen years ago, but whom I miss almost every day. It also encapsulates most of what Slow Leadership is about — letting things develop and come about in their own time, without constantly pushing and fussing to try to force them into our crazy notion of everything always going faster.”

From Skip at Be Excellent:

Small Business Advantage #2: Effective Communication

“As organizations grow, communication challenges grow as well. In fact, they grow dramatically faster (exponentially) than the organization headcount does.”

From George at The Practice of Leadership:

Ideas: The Foundation of Leadership

“Ideas are an extremely powerful force, ideas engage people’s minds and help them see new possibilities and new opportunities. Strong and evocative ideas energize people and incite action. As leaders, our ideas are important.”

From Kevin at Kevin’s Blog:

The Lesson of a New Journal

“The simple act of showing support in even small ways at just the right moment can have a huge impact on others – far more perhaps than we will ever realize.”

From Brad at Learning After Doing:

Coalition Forces

“Today was a HUGE day for us… we got the go-ahead on one major equipment purchase and the go-ahead to trial a new, innovative process that will add some edge to our product offering. I want to say it was a HUGE win for me, but I cannot. It would be too cheap. We got there together.”

From Felix at BrandSoul

The Alice effect

“The Mc Guffin is a trick classic movie Directors used to make their characters follow something very valuable. But that valuable thing was never shown to the spectators. It is what makes the action move, though it has no pressence, not even any materiality.
This ever changing treasure is the other axis of the soul, the dimension that defines the Alice effect.”

From Kris at Great Solutions to Team Challenges:

Banishing Negativity

“Nay-sayers bring negativity to group meetings, but teams and team leaders can learn to direct the meeting positively by insisting and understanding that *every* idea has value. Figuring out a way to say yes to all ideas – outlandish or not – will bring the group to a creative brainstorming session.”

From Floyd at Diversity Management:

There is no Diversity without Diversity!

“It’s really another take on diversity management, I wrote it because its
highly relevant to the diversity management community, as much as any howto
paper or article. Of course it’s frank….”

From EM at Win-Win Web:
Stop competing – the passionate vision statement

“A passionate vision sets in place a collaborative approach to work, not just within the organization, but also in the organization’s attitude toward the outside world. A passionate vision will never focus on the competition. Instead, it will define the company on its own terms.”

From Steve at Passion for the Good Customer Experience:

Business Lessons from the Metrowest Symphony

“Sometimes, it is easier to see a lesson that can be applied to business outside the normal world of business. Hence, a new effort on the same theme but with a twist.”

From Ken at Prosperity for You:

Good Character

“When it comes down to it, your character determines your outcome in life.  When you exhibit those qualities of good character such as truth, honesty and integrity, you place into action the Law of Attraction which states that ‘like attracts like.’  When you live by those good qualities of character, you attract others who live the by same principles.”

From Simon at Leadership:

The gulf between “not failing” and succeeding

“It’s easy to focus on not failing. After all, my wife works in insurance, which is all about risk reduction. But if that’s all life is about, that’s not much of a life.”

From Lisa at Management Craft:

Leadership is Just One Thing

“I don’t often write about leadership, but I have been thinking about how I would articulate leadership. When we say someone is a great leader, we often are saying he or she is a great leader, manager, and coach. When I peel away the management and coaching elements, I see what is pure leadership.”

From Skip at Random Thoughts of a CTO:

The Invisible Box

“Wouldn’t it be great in your personal life if you had unlimited resources – unlimited personal time, unlimited money, unlimited space to hold everything that you buy?  Don’t think about that too long, because unless your last name is Trump or Hilton, most of us have constraints.”

From Rebecca at Education Niche:

My brand of leadership

“The most important tool I have to is to acknowledge when I don’t know something. There is nothing shameful in saying "I don’t know," but I always follow it up by pointing the person asking to someone who has a better chance of knowing the answer.”

From Dick at Come Gather ‘Round:

Worthy Visions Pass a Simple Test

“I have a ‘Worthiness Test’ for an organizational vision: does it promise a valuable contribution to the human community? If it does, there is more than a good chance that it will turn people on and induce them to help make it real. If it does not, there is little chance of that happening.”

From Tim at Studentl.inc:

Paying the Price of Leadership

“When should you pay the leadership price? As often as you can, pay the price on the front end. ” It has been said that achievers choose what losers won’t and pay the price that others don’t.”

From Pearl at Humanyms:

There’s Leadership and then there’s Leadership

“To lead is to be more than an average exemplar human, you have to care because you care, not because you or someone else thinks you should. The burn is internal.”

From Wayne at Blog Business World:

Blogs and Public Relations

“This is a reprint of one of my most requested posts. I present it again for your reading (or re-reading) enjoyment. Because of the importance and value of blogs for public relations, it’s always a timely piece.”

From James at Cohesive Integrity:

Self-Management versus Personal Development

“Leadership is often thought of in terms of organizations, relationships or motivating others. However, the truth is that Leadership begins with self.”

From Dave at Rothacker Reviews:

Business Arrogance: The Customer Relationship

“The customer relationship equation can always be broken down to one factor:  Do the right thing.  Being arrogant is never the right thing to do.  It doesn’t matter if the customer is Wal-Mart or Joe’s Hardware store.”

Mahalo nui loa to everyone who has participated. In the flurry of this holiday season, I sincerely appreciate the time you took to review your writing over the past year and select your Hō‘ike‘ike contribution for us. This will certainly be a Lōkahi forum I return to over and over again as I continue my own study on the dynamics of management and leadership.