8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses
Great article on the Core Beliefs of Great Bosses on Inc.’s site. Below are the Extraordinary Boss traits:
Extraordinary bosses…
- see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers … and even competitors.
- see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.
- set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.
- treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.
- inspire people to see a better future and how they’ll be a part of it. As a result, employees work harder because they believe in the organization’s goals, truly enjoy what they’re doing and (of course) know they’ll share in the rewards.
- see change as an inevitable part of life. While they don’t value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if employees and organization embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.
- see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smartphones and tablets, that people actually want to use.
- see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable–and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy.
Renovation: week 15 & 16
Week 15 and 16 moved along. The outside saw the siding and trim installed and painted, the rear parking gate installed, the sidewalk and front curbs prepped for new pour, planter boxes installed at the front of the house and gas and hydro re-connected. Inside moved along as well with the new counters installed, the drywall work completed, painting started, finishing carpentry started, and tiling done in the basement bathroom.
April 30 brings Week 17 and our expected end of the project on Friday. The appraiser comes Monday to evaluate the construction progress.
There’s still lots to complete, especially a major cleaning task as the house is a mess from all the construction and the char removal. We’re hoping things will wrap up and be completed on-time. It’s a busy week though with carpet and flooring being installed, painting being finished, the electrical and plumbing finishing work, the tiling installed in the kitchen plus a few items outside like the parking pad, front yard, front porch membrane repair and other tweaks still remaining. Fingers crossed.
Renovation: week 14
Another short week, thanks to Easter Monday, but things are progressing. Insulation and the insulation inspection were completed, duct work was cleaned, drywall started (and got as far as sheeting and taping), and the hardiboard siding starting to go up on the house.
The hardest part right now is wishing that things could go quicker as we’re so close to the finish line. I was hoping at the start of the project that we might get in by April 22 (the 2-year anniversary of the house purchase), but we’ll likely now be early May.
Next week we’re expecting to cross the 80% mark. All that is left to finish is the drywall, exterior cladding and tile. Then we’ll be onto the last 3 weeks of work which is most finishing.
Renovation: weeks 12 and 13
“When the cat’s away, the mice will play…”
That about sums up the week 12. With Dave, the boss away on vacation last week, work slowed and we’re now a bit behind schedule. Some stuff did get done, but not as much as we had expected. The site was cleaned up a bit and some minor tasks wrapped, but things slowed.
Week 13, the boss returned and things moved along for a couple days. The Framing, plumbing and electrical inspections passed without any problems. The City asked for some changes to our deck, so we had to remove the clothesline (much to Daria’s disappointment) because of the proximity to the hydro wires. So we now have a very fancy divider addition between us and the neighbours next door.
Insulation is going in next and there will be an insulation inspection early next week. The house is now fully wrapped and the fencing and tarps all removed. The crew also finally got a real door installed at the back entrance and the old countertops removed.
Then things really get going with drywall, ductwork cleaning, fencing, siding and gas being installed. That should have us to 80% by April 13 (about 2 weeks behind schedule), 97% (aka “substantial completion” by May 4) and hopefully moving back in shortly after that.
The five secrets of innovation
An interesting article about a recently completed six-year study of more than 3,000 executives and 500 innovative entrepreneurs that uncovered the five skills that drive innovation. The five skills are:
Associating: The ability to connect seemingly unrelated questions, problems or ideas from different fields.
Questioning: Innovators constantly ask questions that challenge the common wisdom. They ask “why?”, “why not?” and “what if?”
Observing: Discovery-driven executives scrutinize common phenomena, particularly the behavior of potential customers.
Experimenting: Innovative entrepreneurs actively try out new ideas by creating prototypes and launching pilots.
Networking: innovators go out of their way to meet people with different ideas and perspectives.
The interesting thing about these skills is that they are also common in the design and UX field.
When working with clients I have to connect unrelated concepts and ideas, question common thinking, observe (especially potential customers and users of systems), experiment (always trying new approaches and ideas) and network with others in the UX space.
What do you think — a reasonable set of skills?
