Podcasts about scaling up excellence

This is one of the interviews for my "Leadership Biz Cafe" podcast that I couldn't wait to share - my interview with Stanford professor and all-around great guy, Bob Sutton.Bob is an organizational psychologist, Stanford professor, and best-selling author of “The No Asshole Rule”, “Good Boss, Bad Boss”, and “Scaling Up Excellence”.My conversation with Bob revolved around his latest book, “The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder”, and this simple question - why are some organizations able to effortlessly adapt and transform to meeting changing market conditions, while others seem to be held back by the very processes that are meant to help get things done?Based on 7 years of research, Bob discovered that it all comes down to learning how to be a "friction fixer" who understands the difference between "good friction" and "bad friction".While I was (obviously) expecting Bob to be an incredibly insightful and well-informed guest on organizational culture – I hadn't expected to laugh as much as Bob and I did before, during, and after we went on the air.Listening to this episode, it's hard not to feel an undercurrent of warmth over the course of the episode, which gives this episode a lovely feel-good mood paired alongside fantastic insights and hilarious stories about how leaders can become “friction fixers” to improve the way their organization works.And at the end, Bob shares with me one of the best and kindest compliments I've ever received about my work. If only there was a way to hang an audio clip up on the refrigerator door....In other words, come for the laughs, stay for thought-provoking ideas you'll learn in this engaging conversation. Noteworthy links: Buy Bob's book “The Friction Project” on Amazon*Learn more about Bob's work: https://www.bobsutton.net/Read Tanveer's article mentioned during the episode: "Encouraging Your Employees To Reach For The Moon" https://tanveernaseer.com/encouraging-your-employees-to-reach-for-the-moon/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.    This week I have the honor and privilege of welcoming Bob Sutton to the show. We've been social media buddies for many, many years and I thought it was about time that Bob would join me on the podcast.    Bob is an organizational psychologist and professor of Management Science and Engineering at the Stanford Engineering School. He has written eight books, including his latest, The Friction Project, which is what we're going to talk about today. He also wrote other bestselling books, including The No Asshole Rule; Good Boss, Bad Boss, and Scaling Up Excellence.    THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… any leader or individual contributor who wants to become a friction fixer in their sphere of influence.   TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE… there's friction in every organization. Some friction is good and fosters creativity and innovation but bad friction can seriously impede progress. Often, areas of friction are unresolved for long periods of time and if they get attention, it's often by addition, which just piles on layers of complexity. Bob strips things back and describes how anybody at any level can make a difference in reducing inefficiencies.   WHAT I LOVE MOST… Bob's example of how the DMV has reduced friction through a single person, a greeter, who helps cut down the dreaded time that people spend waiting. As Bob says, “If the DMV can do it, so you can you!”.   Running Time: 27:27   Subscribe on iTunes   Find Tiffani Online: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn   Find Bob Online: Website    Bob's Book:  The Friction Project  

Why resistance isn't always a bad thing.Friction — that's Professor Huggy Rao's metaphor for the forces that hamper workplace efficiency. But as he says, some friction can be helpful — if you know how to use it.In his book, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, Rao and coauthor Robert I. Sutton explore how operational obstacles show up in the workplace and, more importantly, what we can do about them. Through what Rao calls “friction fixing,” leaders can “take out the bad friction to make the right things easy to do [and] put in good friction to make the wrong things harder [to do].”As Rao discusses with host Matt Abrahams on this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, leaders can eliminate bad friction through good communication. “Communication matters a lot,” he says. “The simple rule is, make sure a 10-year-old can understand it on the first try.”Episode Reference Links:Huggy Rao: Website Huggy's Books: The Friction Project, Scaling Up Excellence, & Market Rebels Huggy's Successful Communication Recipe - “Ah! Aha! Haha!” by Ramji Raghavan Ep.14: Be Better at Work: How to Communicate Better with Coworkers and Employees: Website / YouTubeConnect:Email Questions & Feedback >>> thinkfast@stanford.eduEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn Page, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedInStanford GSB >>> LinkedIn & TwitterChapters:(00:00:00) IntroductionHost Matt Abrahams introduces guest, Huggy Rao, and his latest book on the importance of focusing on friction to become our best selves.(00:01:24) Scaling Mindsets and CommunicationInsights on scaling excellence and the critical role of simple communication in fostering the right mindset.(00:04:28) AstraZeneca: Scaling SimplificationA case study on simplification efforts at AstraZeneca & the gift of time that they gave their employees.(00:08:49) Understanding Friction: Terrible and WonderfulThe dual nature of friction, highlighting its role as both a hindrance and a catalyst for decision-making. (00:11:05) Jargon MonoxideComplicated jargon's impact on organizations, and the need for simplicity in communication.(00:13:03) The Art of StorytellingThe benefits & goals of storytelling, creating moral elevation & emotional connection.(00:15:12) Job Titles and AccountabilityAn experiment on the impact of personalized job titles on team performance and accountability in tech startups and the introduction of “good friction”.(00:17:57) The Final Three QuestionsHuggy shares his strategy for reducing friction in his life, a story about the communicator he most admires, Saul Alinsky, and his three ingredients for a successful communication recipe, Aah! Aha! Ha-Ha!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robert Sutton: The Friction Project Robert Sutton is an organizational psychologist and professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School. He has given keynote speeches to more than 200 groups in 20 countries and served on numerous scholarly editorial boards. Bob's work has been featured in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Atlantic, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on various television and radio programs, and has written seven books and two edited volumes, including the bestsellers The No A-hole Rule, Good Boss, Bad Boss, and Scaling Up Excellence. He is the co-author with Huggy Rao of The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder*. We've all worked with someone who seemed just a bit oblivious. None of us want to be that kind of leader. In this conversation, Bob and I discuss key strategies for how to stop it and also prevent it. Key Points Privilege may spare you from hassles, but it doesn't come without cost. You risk being clueless about troubles in the organization. Power and prestige tend to influence leaders to focus more on themselves, less on others, and act like the rules don't apply to them. An antidote to oblivious leadership is less transmission and more reception. Measure two behaviors: (1) how much the leader talks vs. others in interactions and (2) the ratio of questions the leader asks vs. statements the leader makes. Either manage by walking out of the room or get in the details with ride alongs, direct help, and doing the work with folks. Be cautious about “managing by walking around” getting ritualistic. Hierarchy is inevitable and useful. The most effective leaders flex it and know when to be collaborative and when to be direct. Find people who will speak truth. Resources Mentioned The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder* by Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes Use Power for Good and Not Evil, with Dacher Keltner (episode 254) How to Ask Better Questions, with David Marquet (episode 454) How to Help People Speak Truth to Power, with Megan Reitz (episode 597) How to Prevent a Team From Repeating Mistakes, with Robert “Cujo” Teschner (episode 660) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

On this episode of the Live Greatly podcast Kristel Bauer sits down with organizational psychologist and Stanford professor, Robert Sutton, to discuss his new book, THE FRICTION PROJECT: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, which Robert wrote with Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao.  Kristel and Bob discuss what is bad friction at work, how leaders can create an optimal work environment, Bob's no asshole rule, how to better recieve feedback and more.  Tune in now! Key Takeaways from This Episode: A look into THE FRICTION PROJECT: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder A look into Bob's No Asshole Rule What is bad friction at work? Some keys for leaders to navigate friction at work The importance of savoring How to build self-awareness as a leader A look into addition sickness An example of a get rid of stupid stuff campaign Why having a thick skin is important as a leader Bob's take on some keys to Adam Grant's success What kind of feedback should you be looking for in the workplace? ABOUT ROBERT SUTTON: Robert I. Sutton is an organizational psychologist and professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School. He has given keynote speeches to more than 200 groups in 20 countries, and served on numerous scholarly editorial boards. Sutton's work has been featured in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on various television and radio programs, and has written eight books including The Friction Project, and two edited volumes, including the bestsellers The No Asshole Rule; Good Boss, Bad Boss; and Scaling Up Excellence. About the book THE FRICTION PROJECT: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder (St. Martin's Press; January 30, 2024), bestselling authors and Stanford professors Robert I. Sutton and Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao present a decade's worth of research on what ought to be easy and what ought to be hard in organizations, and how to change things for the better. Based on their research, case studies, and hundreds of engagements with top companies, the authors reveal just how widespread this affliction is, and provide a roadmap for readers to take up the mantle and blaze a path out of the muck. Sutton and Rao tease out the most common and destructive forms of friction, and share proven tactics, tools, and practices that can help us avert these traps and move forward. Ultimately, THE FRICTION PROJECT makes the case for a new philosophy that empowers us to build positive, productive, and humane organizations that make life better for their people and those they serve. Website:  https://www.bobsutton.net/  Order the book, THE FRICTION PROJECT - How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder: https://www.bobsutton.net/book/the-friction-project/  Social Media Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobsutton1/  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/work_matters   About the Host of the Live Greatly podcast, Kristel Bauer: Kristel Bauer is a corporate wellness expert, popular keynote and TEDx speaker, and the host of top-rated podcast, “Live Greatly,” a show frequently ranked in the top 1% for self-improvement. Kristel is an Integrative Medicine Fellow & Physician Assistant with clinical experience in Integrative Psychiatry, giving her a unique perspective into optimizing mental well-being and attaining a mindset for more happiness and success in the workplace and beyond. Kristel decided to leave clinical practice in 2019 when she founded her wellness platform “Live Greatly” to share her message around well-being and success on a larger scale.  With a mission to support companies and individuals on their journeys for more happiness, success, and well-being, Kristel taps into her unique background in healthcare, business, and media, to provide invaluable insights into high power habits, leadership development, mental well-being, peak performance, resilience, sales, success, wellness at work, and a modern approach to work/life balance. Kristel is a contributing writer for Entrepreneur and she is an influencer in the business and wellness space having been recognized as a Top 10 Social Media Influencer of 2021 in Forbes. A popular speaker on a variety of topics, Kristel has presented to groups at APMP, Bank of America, Commercial Metals Company, General Mills, Northwestern University, Santander Bank and many more. She has been featured in Forbes, Forest & Bluff Magazine, Authority Magazine & Podcast Magazine, has contributed to CEOWORLD Magazine & Real Leaders Magazine, and has appeared on ABC 7 Chicago, WGN Daytime Chicago, Fox 4's WDAF-TV's Great Day KC and Ticker News. Kristel lives in the Chicago area with her husband and their 2 children.  She can be booked for speaking engagements worldwide. You can learn more at https://www.livegreatly.co/  To Book Kristel Bauer as a speaker for your next event, click here. You can view Kristel Bauer's speaking reel here.  Website: www.livegreatly.co  Follow Kristel Bauer on: Instagram: @livegreatly_co  LinkedIn: Kristel Bauer Twitter: @livegreatly_co Facebook: @livegreatly.co Youtube: Live Greatly, Kristel Bauer To Watch Kristel Bauer's TEDx talk of Redefining Work/Life Balance in a COVID-19 World click here. Disclaimer: The contents of this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician for any recommendations specific to you or for any questions regarding your specific health, your sleep patterns changes to diet and exercise, or any medical conditions.  Always consult your physician before starting any supplements or new lifestyle programs. All information, views and statements shared on the Live Greatly podcast are purely the opinions of the authors, and are not medical advice or treatment recommendations.  They have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration.  Opinions of guests are their own and Kristel Bauer & this podcast does not endorse or accept responsibility for statements made by guests.  Neither Kristel Bauer nor this podcast takes responsibility for possible health consequences of a person or persons following the information in this educational content.  Always consult your physician for recommendations specific to you.

In this conversation we unpack workplace Friction with Hayagreeva 'Huggy' Rao. Friction can be both good and bad in a workplace, knowing how to use it and how to eliminate it when it's doing harm is critical.The Friction Project is the latest book by Huggy Rao and Bob Sutton and is The definitive guide to eliminating the forces that make it harder, more complicated, or downright impossible to get things done in organizations.THE FRICTION PROJECT: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder is written by bestselling authors and Stanford professors Robert I. Sutton and Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao. It presents a decade's worth of research on what ought to be easy and what ought to be hard in organizations, and how to change things for the better. Based on their research, case studies, and hundreds of engagements with top companies, the authors reveal just how widespread this affliction is, and provide a roadmap for readers to take up the mantle and blaze a path out of the muck. Our episode today with Huggy Rao unpacks this book and the incredible research conducted to help you discern between good and bad friction, and what to do about it.Huggy Rao is the Atholl McBean professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, the Sociological Research Association, and the Academy of Management. He has written for Harvard Business Review, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Market Rebels and coauthor of the bestselling Scaling Up Excellence.Praise for The Friction Project:“Sutton and Rao have given us a thousand gems, each an invaluable insight on its own, reinventing management as the art of ensuring that things get done as they should without unnecessary struggle. Marshalling the crucial insights from classic works, as well as from the very latest studies, they make a convincing case for friction as a vital focus and offer countless practical suggestions that you can apply in your work. I guarantee that their profoundly humane arguments will win your hearts, change your behavior, and transform your companies.”—Amy C. Edmondson, Professor, Harvard Business School, Author, Right kind of wrong: The science of failing well (Atria, 2023)“I have found every place I've been to be filled with people who REALLY CARE about doing the right thing for the company. Sutton and Rao show how leaders who pay attention to friction - which kinds arehelpful and which are not—can equip these people with the right tools, build their trust, and make incredible progress as a result.”— Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, former President of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, and author of Creativity INC: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two, Bob provides tangible strategies to prevent productivity-sucking meetings. Drawing from extensive research, he shares real-world examples of organizations that have smoothed operations and empowered teams. Bob recounts insightful anecdotes from his newest book, "The Friction Project," profiling leaders who have made desired behaviors easier and negative behaviors harder. Finally, he reminisces on the origins of his bestselling book "The No Asshole Rule" and the widespread impact it has had on workplaces seeking to limit abrasive conduct. Tune in to gain specific takeaways on streamlining processes, enhancing psychological safety, nudging better decisions, and establishing behavioral guardrails from this master of organizational psychology. About Bob: Robert I. Sutton is an organizational psychologist and professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School. He has given keynote speeches to more than 200 groups in 20 countries, and served on numerous scholarly editorial boards. Sutton's work has been featured in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on various television and radio programs, and has written seven books and two edited volumes, including the bestsellers The No Asshole Rule; Good Boss, Bad Boss; and Scaling Up Excellence.

Reduce workplace friction and empower your team. Bob Sutton joins Kathleen to discuss strategies from his new book "The Friction Project" on how smart leaders make desired behaviors easier and negative behaviors harder. Drawing on decades of organizational research, Bob provides a blueprint for creating smoother, more productive work cultures. Tune in to gain insights on fostering psychological safety, nudging better decisions, designing efficient processes, and more from this esteemed Stanford professor and bestselling author of "The No Asshole Rule" and "Good Boss, Bad Boss." You'll come away with tangible takeaways to remove energy-sapping friction and help your people thrive.About Bob: Robert I. Sutton is an organizational psychologist and professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School. He has given keynote speeches to more than 200 groups in 20 countries, and served on numerous scholarly editorial boards. Sutton's work has been featured in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on various television and radio programs, and has written seven books and two edited volumes, including the bestsellers The No Asshole Rule; Good Boss, Bad Boss; and Scaling Up Excellence.

“We don't want our time to be spread thin like peanut butter on a slice of toast. You will have greater impact when you concentrate your efforts on work that is closely tied to winning—however you define it.” Are you working in a frustration factory? If so, it's important to recognize that not all friction is created equal. Some is good, to slow down decision-making in crucial moments, and some is bad, getting in the way of progress. You'll need to tap into your inner “grease” and “gunk” sides to address both. In the introduction to their book, The Friction Project, coauthors Huggy Rao and Bob Sutton share a quote from Ed Catmull, former president of Pixar. He believes that if Pixar followed overreaching executives' advice to wring maximum efficiency and scale out of the organization, it would “kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.” "The goal isn't efficiency, it is to make something good or even great,” Catmull says. “We iterate seven to nine times, with friction in the process.” More About Huggy: Huggy Rao is the Atholl McBean professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, the Sociological Research Association, and the Academy of Management. He has written for Harvard Business Review, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Market Rebels and coauthor of the bestselling book Scaling Up Excellence. Today we're talking about his new book, also coauthored with Bob Sutton, The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder.

Welcome to Grit & Growth's masterclass on friction — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Robert Sutton, Stanford professor in the School of Engineering and best-selling author, has stories and strategies to help you identify the causes of friction, eliminate it, and even learn how to use friction intentionally to create more space for success. Friction, according to Bob Sutton, “ is simply putting obstacles in front of people that slow them down, that make their jobs more difficult and maybe a little bit more frustrating.” Sutton has written multiple New York Times bestsellers, including The No Asshole Rule, and Scaling Up Excellence with coauthor and Stanford colleague Huggy Rao. His upcoming book with Rao is all about the friction that typically arises after companies scale, and it is appropriately titled The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder.Sutton's research shows that friction often starts at the top. Luckily, he has lots of advice for how to become more aware of the power and influence leaders wield and tips for eliminating unwanted friction in your organization.Seven Masterclass TakeawaysAdopt a trustee mindset. According to Sutton, “Leaders should be trustees of other people's time.” This means not just trying to find ways of saving people's time, but also being aware of how you're imposing on their time. Don't be oblivious. “Leaders need to be aware of the power and influence they have,” says Sutton, because an offhand comment can send employees on a wild goose chase that costs time, energy, and money. “That's what happens when people in positions of power…are unaware of their cone of friction.” Leaders also need to acknowledge their blind spots. Many assume that because of their success, they know everything that matters about their organization; what Sutton calls the “fallacy of centrality.” Either way, what you don't know can certainly hurt you.Avoid power poisoning. “When people feel powerful or more powerful than others they tend to focus on their own needs over others and then they act like the rules don't apply to them,” Sutton says. Friction is almost always the result.Embrace inconvenience. Leaders often get the VIP treatment. They don't have to stand in line or wait on hold. But Sutton says that this “absence of inconvenience…is protecting you from the experience that your customers are facing.” If you don't feel the friction yourself, how can you address it?Play the subtraction game.Sutton suggests approaching problems with a subtraction mindset as an antidote to what he calls addition sickness. He says, “First, make a list of stuff that's getting in the way and driving you crazy. Okay, so now what are you going to do to get rid of it?”Fight friction as a team.“Friction is often an orphan problem that we point at other people, and we tell them it's their job to fix it,” Sutton says. Given the high-friction nature of friction fixing, he suggests a team effort.Remember that not all friction is bad.Sutton acknowledges that some things should be hard, like cheating, stealing, and making stupid decisions quickly. He says “Sometimes, being fast — all that does is get you killed off more quickly. The goal of getting rid of mindless, unwanted friction is to clear the way for the things in life that are hard and should be hard.”Listen to Bob Sutton's anecdotes and advice on how to recognize and remove friction in the workplace. The Friction Project will be released on January 30, and you can pre-order copies of the book now. (https://www.amazon.com/Friction-Project-Leaders-Things-Easier/dp/1250284414)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we are looking through the lenses of sociology and psychology to answer two questions: 1. How can organizational culture act as a shock absorber & help companies rebound from adversities? 2. What makes individuals resilient? Together with Huggy Rao, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford Graduate School of Business, we will: ✅ Discuss how "cultural protections" enable people and organizations respond to shocks ✅ Provide examples on how to activate the "best self" in each individual and how this will lead to increased resilience ✅ Emphasize the need to move from "a room called fear" to a "room called hope" for both individuals and organizations ✅ Moving away from Planning towards building the CARE-SHARE-DARE muscle in Organizations

Robert (Bob) Sutton is a Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He is the co-founder of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the D School).  Bob is currently working with Huggy Rao on The Friction Project, where they focus on why companies make the right things too complicated and the wrong things too easy and what to do about it. He's published over 200 articles in academic and popular outlets, and seven of Bob's books have gotten accolades, including being part of the Top 100 Business Books list, New York Times Bestseller, The Wall Street Journal bestseller, and more. His books include Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, And Total Nonsense; The Knowing-Doing Gap; Weird Ideas That Work, The No Asshole Rule, and Good, Bad Boss. He also wrote The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt and Scaling-Up Excellence. In this episode… Many companies are doing the opposite of what they need to do in order to scale their business. They make bad things easy and faster to do, while good things pose more challenges and are accomplished at a slower pace. Bob Sutton says that many companies make this mistake in a variety of ways, from creating friction-laden processes to spending a ton of money on billable hours while doing mundane and unproductive tasks. So what’s the alternative approach that is making unicorns like Facebook change their perspective? How are top CEOs like Patrick Collison of Stripe accomplishing massive things that would typically take months so quickly? Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz as he talks to Stanford professor, best selling author, and in-demand speaker, Bob Sutton, about some of the exciting things he discovered through The Friction Project. They’ll be discussing how top brands like Uber, Google, and Facebook get things done so quickly, how companies can uncomplicate the process for easy tasks, how to avoid making bad things an effortless endeavour, and more. Stay tuned.

In this episode of ApartmentHacker, we stay on the Scaling Up Excellence topic! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mike-brewer/message

In this episode of ApartmentHacker, we discuss how to Scale Up Excellence! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mike-brewer/message

Today's interview is with Huggy Rao, Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-author of a new book, with Robert Sutton, called: Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less. Huggy joins me today to talk about the book, the key scaling challenges that confront every organization and how you spread pockets of excellence across an organisation. This interview follows on from my recent interview: Transforming the internal customer service experience of your IT dept – Interview with Jason Andrew of BMC Software – and is number ninety-eight in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that are doing great things, helping businesses innovate, become more social and deliver better service.

Costco slips on earnings and a website glitch. GameStop tumbles on flagging same-store sales growth. Adobe hits an all-time high. And Stitch Fix surprises Wall Street. Motley Fool analysts Aaron Bush, Andy Cross, and Jason Moser discuss those stories, dig into the latest from Lululemon, and take stock in an aging opportunity. They also share why they’re keeping an eye on Bill.com, Monster Beverage, and Trimble. Plus, Stanford professor Bob Sutton shares insights from his best-selling book, Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less. Get the first $50 off at www.LinkedIn.com/Fool.  

12: Jake Maguire, Community Solutions – “From 100K Homes to Built for Zero” What happened after the 100K Homes Campaign? Becky reunites with Jake who was on the Community Solutions team to talk about what came after. Instead of counting up, it was time for some cities to count down. Now the Co-Director of “Built for Zero,” Community Solutions has partnered with 11 cities who have reached functional zero on chronic and veteran homelessness. This episode is full of wisdom about getting to the next aim, identifying leverage points, re-evaluating teams, and the importance of data and the right infrastructure, and the idea of compound protagonists. Becky and Jake reminisce about Jake’s path to joining the Community Solutions team while still in school and catch up on what has happened since What it takes to get people to join the movement on the shared aim, even when you don’t know how you’re going to get there Going smaller and more committed vs. going bigger to meet the next goal As the work evolves, recognizing that the innovation changes and defining what that innovation is to get to the next goal Defining the leverage point: Do we have a homelessness problem or an outflow or inflow problem? How to shift how you will solve the problem by making sure you have adequately identified the problem in real time Learning over time and creating goals in the right order Effective data and infrastructure and improvement science to make sense of the problem you are trying to solve The critical need to zoom all the way in and all the way out Sutton and Rao’s “Scaling Up Excellence” principle of not having a team bigger than two pizzas could feed Re-imaging during the evolution and innovation of what an effective team looks like The balance of being consistent and flexible, “not always being graceful, but gracious” The importance of distributing credit and recognition The idea of not having one hero but “Compound Protagonists” Belonging as a powerful leverage point https://www.joinbuiltforzero.org/ Are you a Zero Hero video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHkrLOyJ48k

In this episode, I will highlight some of the useful life tips I’ve picked up from various books over the years. Here are 11 quotes that capture the tips:  Demote the importance of email. Your inbox is other people’s priorities (Craig Jarrow, Time Management Ninja)   To make networking successful, follow up is everything (Jayson Gaignard, MastemindTalks). Scaling requires grinding it out and pressing each person, team, group, division or organization to make one small change after another (Robert Sutton, Hayagreeva Rao, “Scaling Up Excellence”) .  Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools do (Dale Carnegie, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”) Unless you give at least forty-five minutes to careful, fatiguing reflection (it is an awful bore at first) upon what you are reading, your ninety minutes a night [of reading] are chiefly wasted (Arnold Bennett, “How to Live on 24 Hours a Day”).  The acid test for creativity is simply stated: has the domain in which you operate been significantly altered by your contribution? (Howard Gardner, “Five Minds for the Future”)   Keeping things “just in case” indicates a lack of trust in the future…Good things cannot easily come into your life if you block the flow of energy by persistently clinging to outdated clutter (Karen Kingston, “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui”)  Judging is what the mind does, I discovered. But what you can begin to do is write your judgments down and question them. That will give you a sane and happy life (Byron Katie, “Who Would You Be Without Your Story”).  Great presenters have the ability to tell you something you already know, in a way that gives it new and more powerful meaning (Jon Steel, “Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business”). What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do (Timothy Ferriss, “The 4-Hour Work Week”). “Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think” (Patrick Lencioni, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”).  Hope you find this helpful. You can subscribe to my podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for “Deep See With Bilal”. Also make sure to rate and review this podcast and enjoy!  Bilal

Too much friction drives you crazy, but too little leaves you adrift. In this episode, Stanford Professor Bob Sutton and Hayagreeva Rao, professor in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and coauthor of Scaling Up Excellence, discuss their quest for the “just right” amount of friction. Sure, you can make structural changes, but you’ll never optimize friction if you don’t understand and deal with what people are feeling.

Doc Norton talks about the experimentation mindset. This episode is sponsored by Smartsheet. Show Notes: Slides from Doc’s presentation on the experimentation mindset XP = eXtreme Programming Other methodologies that fall into the "agile" category: Scrum, Lean Kent Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Ward Cunningham were all mentioned. They are all signers of the Agile Manifesto. Chris Argyris was mentioned in regards to single-loop and double-loop learning Book: Escape Velocity by Doc Norton - it has increased in price since the recording. It will now set you back at least 5 entire dollars. Supplemental links from Doc: CTO2 DocOnDev Collaboration Contracts Refactoring Code Smells Video: Experimentation Mindset Mob Programming Learning through experimentation PDF: How Organizations Learn From Harvard Business Review: Collective Genius Argyris: Teaching Smart People how to Learn (and PDF version) A/B Testing and the Experimentation Culture Enlightened Experimentation Smart Business Experiments Evidence Based Management link:http://www.edbatista.com/2008/05/double-loop.html[Ed Batista blog post on double-loop learning Lean Change Book: Scaling Up Excellence Experiential Learning Doc Norton is on Twitter. Want to be on the next episode? You can! All you need is the willingness to talk about something technical. Music is by Joe Ferg, check out more music on JoeFerg.com!

Two recent client exchanges are worth sharing. The first was a visit to Tesla’s Gigafactory site in Nevada, the second a series of conversations with a director at a major health care consortium. Both on the drive to the Gigafactory site with a client and as a passenger on numerous Uber trips in Reno, discussion about the local area centered on the tectonic transformation occurring in the Reno/Sparks area. Viewing the corporate infrastructure footprint of not just Tesla, but other companies such as Amazon, Apple and Switch makes one think of the vision leading to this transformation. On the other hand, my discussion with the health care director focused almost exclusively on the process of implementing a single Project Portfolio Management software tool. Interestingly, the director mentioned concerns about internal survey scores and how to compete for talent in the Silicon Valley area. Not a word about improved lives through healthcare or any mention of people. Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao’s book Scaling Up Excellence came to mind, especially chapter three which focuses on finding the “hot cause,” or overarching purpose that must be driven through an organization. Not just words on a poster in the lobby, but relentlessly demonstrated as the core mission and even better aligned with one’s Personal Leadership Philosophy. Think about that. How well and how frequently do you communicate the big picture rather than the immediate project at hand to your team? Leaders share vision and purpose.

In this episode, we’ll define and explore scaling up excellence, the most common mistakes organizations make in scaling and get an insider take on the Strategic Innovation Institute. Rao is Atholl McBean professor of organizational behavior and human resources, director of the managing talent for Strategic Advantage Executive Program and the co-director of the Customer-Focused Innovation Executive Program.

Managing Director of Research at Filene, Andrew Downin, speaks with me about the Institute's research strategy pivot to the 5 Centers of Excellence as well as our 5 Colloquia (NOT Colloquiums!) happening throughout this year. I've also included a mini-interview with Filene Fellow Huggy Rao who offers deeper explanation of his 7 mantras for scaling excellence. Pro tip: Email Andrew at AndrewD@Filene.org to get more info on participating in research or other activities with Filene AND to find out when the snow pile outside his office window finally melted (or has it not yet?? You won't know till you ask Andrew!) Check out resources mentioned in our discussions: Scaling Up Excellence research report: https://filene.org/research/report/scaling-up-excellence Research Colloquia: https://filene.org/join/calendar/category/research-colloquium Centers of Excellence: https://filene.org/research/centers-of-excellence

Bob Sutton’s new book, Scaling Up Excellence, explores the challenge of building a growing organization. In this conversation with Eric Ries, we’ll look at the particular issues of scaling up on distributed teams and a range of principles that leaders can adapt for successful growth.

變大不代表就會變好。當事業變大、員工變多，許多成功的企業仍舊煩惱：「我該如何提升企業卓越表現？」 史丹佛兩位教授經過 7 年的研究，發現解決這個問題的方法或許因個別公司有所差異，但是有 7 項根本原則是互通的。

變大不代表就會變好。當事業變大、員工變多，許多成功的企業仍舊煩惱：「我該如何提升企業卓越表現？」 史丹佛兩位教授經過 7 年的研究，發現解決這個問題的方法或許因個別公司有所差異，但是有 7 項根本原則是互通的。

A Conversation with Bob Sutton and Eric Ries Bob Sutton @work_matters STANFORD UNIVERSITY Eric Ries @ericries THE LEAN STARTUP Bob Sutton’s new book, Scaling Up Excellence, explores the challenge of building a growing organization. In this conversation with Eric Ries, we’ll look at the particular issues of scaling up on distributed teams and a range of principles that leaders can adapt for successful growth.

Many entrepreneurs dream of starting a business in their garage, scaling it, then selling it to Google for a billion dollars.  Such things rarely happen.But scaling happens every day, in our career, our business or our workplace. We are constantly trying to improve ourselves, share our ideas, and put in systems and infrastructure that will grow our organizations without destroying that which made them great. Stanford professors Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao describe in their exceptionally well-researched and readable new book, Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less that knowing how to scale is a critical skill for the 21st century workplace. And they have 7 years worth of research, analysis and case studies, consolidated into this great book. In my lively conversation with Bob Sutton, we discuss: Scaling excellence in your own career Scaling up competence as startups get past bootstrapping Looking for hot causes and cool solutions Why big teams suck Scaling excellence in large companies: Why change should happen in pockets of excellence, not be spread like peanut butter across an organization Bob has been my "adopted professor" and High Council of Jedi Knight member for the last 8 years. I respect his work so much, and hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! Read more about the book and order it here: http://scalingupexcellenceGive Bob a shout out on Twitter @work_matters

Stanford Professor Bob Sutton shares principles and colorful examples from his most recent book, Scaling Up Excellence, co-authored by Huggy Rao. Touching on concepts around emotion, complexity, and connecting people, Sutton explains why scaling is about spreading and sustaining a mindset, not just a footprint.

Stanford Professor Bob Sutton shares principles and colorful examples from his most recent book, Scaling Up Excellence, co-authored by Huggy Rao. Touching on concepts around emotion, complexity, and connecting people, Sutton explains why scaling is about spreading and sustaining a mindset, not just a footprint.

Stanford Professor Bob Sutton shares principles and colorful examples from his most recent book, Scaling Up Excellence, co-authored by Huggy Rao. Touching on concepts around emotion, complexity, and connecting people, Sutton explains why scaling is about spreading and sustaining a mindset, not just a footprint.

Bob Sutton has been interested in the dynamics of work since his first job at a pizza parlor. He has since written books on the subject including No Asshole Rule, Good Boss/Bad Boss, and his newest, Scaling Up Excellence. We have a lot of fun talking about his research, tax collectors and Israeli police interrogators.  Continue Reading→

Moe and Bob discuss a challenge that determines every organization's success: scaling up farther, faster, and more effectively as a program or an organization creates a larger footprint.