People in the Key Seats

An island. All to yourself. That was the experience of New York Times columnist David Carr. He and his wife rented an uninhabited, mostly unpowered island for a week. (Read about it here.) Although he carried a bag full of electronic gadgets (Blackberry, iPad, iPod, and lots of batteries), he found that he not only went “off-gird,” but he forgot there even was a grid! After 6 days, his conclusion:

These are the things I needed: My wife.

To say that Mrs. Carr occupies a “key seat” (see below) in the author’s world would be a grand understatement.

We’re continuing a series about this year’s Leadercast event. In the last post, we talked about stage 1 of Jim Collins’ “5 Stages of Falling From Grace”: The Undiciplined Pursuit of More. Companies do not fail overnight. Collins’ list documents what he believes are the common, telltale stages all failing companies follow in their plunge to the bottom.

Stage 2 is Hubris Born of Success, overreaching, and going too far. Collins sights “Parker’s Law”:

If your growth exceeds your capacity for having the best people in your key seats, don’t settle.

Key seats are those positions in our organizations that are critical to our success. Parker’s Law tells us not to simply fill the openings. Instead, fill them with the right people, the best people for the organization. Collins put it this way:

Get the right people, then figure out the right path. It’s first who, not first what.

People are critical to our success. It’s better to not fill a key seat than to fill it with a person who doesn’t fit. We shouldn’t let the pressure of success push us to move too quickly.

As for a lesson learned, consider David Carr. Of course he thought his wife was valuable–he married her, after all! But it took living on an uninhabited island for a week to open his eyes to just how valuable she was to him. The other things that were competing for his attention grew dim. If we don’t have plans to visit an island in the near future (I wish!), let’s consider ways that we can go “off-grid” for just a day for some deep contemplation about the people around us. A few times I have taken a vacation day in the middle of the week and spent it hiking in a nearby state park. Open air–even if it’s not an island–has a way of helping with our perspective.

Let’s go off-grid. My money says we’ll be surprised by what we find.

The People You Meet

When my wife and I went to Hawaii for our 20th wedding anniversary more than a decade ago, my natural tendency as a “loner” was taxed to it’s limits. While she has never met a stranger, my default stance is to assume that other people would rather be left alone. My wife proved that I was wrong by developing friendships–albeit brief friendships–with other travelers. In doing this she made our vacation even more enjoyable. I was, quite frankly, surprised.

Old habits die hard. This week I found myself at a conference without my lovely wife. Without her influence, I lapsed into my old habit of just leaving other people alone. For the most part. In a few cases I invited myself to sit with others during conference meals. The results were interesting and entertaining. Most people seem genuinely pleased to engage in conversation. I was, once again, surprised.

It would seem that my wife is right: It pays to Speak Up!