Medical topics are not something I usually blog about, but I liked this one because what has happened here is exactly what has happened in so much of our – human – endeavors, and it stems from short term thinking.  In this case, short term thinking gave a solution that has lasted about say 80 years.

The European Union is presently spending about 1.5B euros per year “fighting” hyper-resistant bacteria, bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. (AFP, 18 Nov 2009)

Fighting is the wrong word. The word should be “feeding“:  The EU is Feeding hyper-resistant bacteria.

Overuse of “destroy-all-in-sight” antibiotics is weeding out the weak bacterial strains and strengthening the strong, and about 25,000 people in the EU with a similar number in the USA die each year due to this approach.

Bacteria resistant to antibiotics simply eat their hosts alive. Nothing kills them, except of course, running out of food!  :o(

And the seed was sown with the development of the first antibiotic – Penicillin – by  1928.

So what is going on?

Selective condition, Darwinism, survival of the fittest. I said it above: killing the weak strains of bacteria, leaving a few behind, creates stronger and stronger strains…

And we’re the ones doing the selecting! Not on purpose of course.  Just with a bit of short term thinking.

The method developed by Fleming in 1928 was amazing in it’s day, and it has saved countess millions of folk from all manner little bug and germ. But we stopped when we should have kept thinking about what it was we were doing…

We didn’t think harder about how we were breeding stronger bacteria.

It’s a method of approach destined to create one outcome, eventually: A SUPER BUG! Sometime in the future…

(Is that Future Now? 1.5B euros buys a lot of bug poison).

I wonder where else we could apply the same kind of longer term thinking to create such an elegant solution… ;o)

Watch Bonnie’s presentation and find out how…

In the mean time, minimize your use of antibiotics – don’t take them if your doctor prescribes them for you, or really, really question why you should be taking them. Your body needs to develop it’s own antibodies, T-cells. That’s what it’s designed to do.  Don’t do it for yourself.  Do it for everyone: your family, friends, neighbors, everyone.

(OK, ok, if you look like like the living dead, have blood and puss oozing from every orifice, thrush flowering from your nostrils, then I suppose a course could be beneficial…)

Jeremiah Josey

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1. Ensure everyone shares a vision for success
2. Ensure everyone knows the overall purpose and their individual purpose
3. Create the space for clear conversations amongst the team, giving everyone meaningful choices. The team will form itself
4. Allow the team to create their strategy, knowing the vision
5. Do what is important
6. Have fun, ensure the team has fun, giving the space for them to make choices that ensure this

A summary of democratic organization values:

1. Continuous feedback

2. Continuous development

3. Learn from past

4. Improve for future

5. Clear about purpose

6. Clear about goals

7. Transparent and open with everyone about everything

8. Have conversations for connection and meaning

9. Everyone is treated fairly and with dignity

10. Individual accountabilities are clear

11. Individual contributions are valued

12. Individuals are valued for contributions to collective goals

13. Everyone has meaningful choices

14. Integrity

15. Power is shared and distributed

“A leader is someone who helps improve the lives of other people or improve the system they live under.”
Sam Ervin

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude;
be kind, but not weak;
be bold, but not bully;
be thoughtful, but not lazy;
be humble, but not timid;
be proud, but not arrogant;
have humor, but without folly.”
Jim Rohn

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”
Kenneth Blanchard

“The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says “I”; The leader says “WE”. The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says, “GO”; the leader says lets, “GO!”
H. Gordon Selfridge

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”
Sam Walton

The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.”
Fred A. Manske, Jr.

“Make no mistake, as you change your leadership style to one of a coach you will face challenges. There will be times when you question why am I doing this. However, you must at all times keep the long term benefits of being a coach at the forefront of your mind.”
Byron & Catherine Pulsifer, from Challenges in Adopting a Coaching Style

“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.”
Ara Parasheghian

“A good coach passes on information quickly. They do not hold back information that affects my job.”
Byron & Catherine Pulsifer, from People’s Expectations of a Coach

“The test of a good coach is that when they leave, others will carry on successfully.”
Author Unknown

“You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within.”
Bob Nelson

“No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him.”
W. A. Nance

“With all the information available today, the manager can no longer have all the answers. Whereas, in a coaching role, you are not expected to have all the answers. In a coaching role, you ask the questions and rely on your staff, who become the experts, to provide the information.”
Byron & Catherine Pulsifer, from Why All This Talk of Coaching Rather Than Managing?

“The highest of distinctions is service to others.”
King George VI

“You cannot manage men into battle.
You manage things; you lead people.”
Grace Murray Hopper

“One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”
Arnold Glasow

“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.”
Ara Parasheghian

“The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack.”
Wayne Lukas

“The man who follows a crowd will never be followed by a crowd.”
R. S. Donnell

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”
Jim Valvano, Basketball Coach

“People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (US diplomat & reformer (1884 – 1962)

My wife and I wandered into the new 360 mall here in Kuwait today, as you do in Kuwait – visit malls.  The 360 mall is a very beautiful place, pleasant surroundings with lots of water features and plants and pretty shops with pretty people.  It’s a pretty place to be.  We wandered into the cinema area and found that Michael Moore had released a new film: Capitalism, A Love Story.  So we went in to see it.

Yet again Michael has done an excellent job pushing, poking and assembling a whole host of stories circulating the recent collapse of the western finance system (yes it was a collapse: the government bailouts just reset the counters, pushing repayment of the collapse onto future generations for decades to come).

A strong secondary theme running through the movie is that of the democratic workplace.  The juxtaposition is very nice.

I totally recommend a veiwing or three.

BTW, “Dead Peasants Insurance” : want to feel like a real commodity with your employer? Dig around at your work and if you find such a thing exists then send details to Mike Myers.

Jeremiah Josey

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Jeremiah Josey

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I’ve been following George Soro’s thoughts for a while and in the book I’m reading now, “The Ascent of Money”, Niall gives him a lot of air time.  So when George presented a week long lecture series at the Central European University I just couldn’t resist.  And in my usual explanative way: “brilliant“!

His theory of reflexivity is closely aligned with the great thinking that underpins a lot of the wonderful stuff that is going on now (Avatar is perhaps the best example I have experienced).  What the Bleep?  Heard of it.  Same stuff.

Here’s the blurb on the FT web site link below:

George Soros unveils his latest thinking on economics and politics during a lecture series hosted by the Central European University (CEU) from Oct 26-30, 2009. These lectures are the culmination of a lifetime of practical and philosophical reflection. Mr Soros discusses his general theory of reflexivity and its application to financial markets, providing insights into the recent financial crisis. The third and fourth lectures examine the concept of open society, which has guided Mr Soros’s global philanthropy, as well as the potential for conflict between capitalism and open society. The closing lecture focuses on the way ahead, closely examining the increasingly important economic and political role that China will play in the future.

George Soros Lectures 26 October 2009 to 30 October 2009

Excellent stuff.  Dry, but very good.  Imagine, almost 80 years of experience from one heck of a performer (he was born in 1930).  He’s worked out the rules of the game and plays it very well.

Jeremiah Josey

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Catchy title?  It’s sure to attract attention.

I’m just about finished a great book called the “Assent of Money” by Niall Ferguson.  An excellent read if you want to understand how the financial system works – including your credit card, your home mortgage and your pension – if you have one.

It’s a history of money, how it works, what it means and really what it is! He paints a very straight forward explanation for why the current shifting in economic power is from the west (in particular the USA) to the East (in particular China).

He also identifies key fractures in the current financial system (particularly credit default swaps – a notional USD 62 trillion worth presently in the market – that’s 78 times the size of the TARP bail out package released last year by the Obama government, and about the same as the entire World’s production, our GDP)

The origins of the financial system, in one place.  No such book exists previously to this book.

4,000 years of the What and Why and When and How and Where and Who on money.

Don’t miss it!

Watch the video (where did they get that music?!!  I remember that music from the games on the Commodore 64 from the early 80’s!!)

Here’s more of Niall speaking on the net: Niall Videos

Jeremiah Josey

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Samir puts out a weekly email to staff working at Amec – around 20,000 people work for this company.

He has 6 good pointers for success:

We all learn quickly that we each have different talents and strengths and need to work hard to overcome our weaknesses. Leadership does not always come as a natural ability to all of us and we must seek out mentors to help us create opportunities to fine tune our skills. Throughout my career I have learnt those elements that make a good leader and create success. Like a chemical reaction – if you know what elements you should mix and when different combinations are needed – success is inevitable. Through my experience, I strongly believe that the foundations of leadership are as follows:

Have a vision of success – without this you will lose your way and your direction. Without aspiring to success, there is no point in having a vision – we all want to be successful at what we aim for.

Know your purpose – define why it is that you are putting the effort in. In my role I continually ask – how are we creating jobs? Creating value to our customers? Improving returns to stakeholders? And most importantly are we doing this in a sustainable and meaningful way?

Build the best teams – your team is a reflection of your leadership. It cannot be taken for granted – you need to develop them, trust them and empower them. The more we practise these leadership qualities; which sound easy but take a lot of commitment and determination; the more we will develop the most effective teams in the world.

Develop a clear strategy – you need a roadmap that paves the way for you to achieve your vision. It is crucial that this is clear, action driven and honest. You need to embed milestones and measurement throughout and align your team to the strategy.

Stay focused – do not get distracted with non -priority issues. Plan your short-term, mid-term and long- term objectives. Be honest with yourself and stay committed to what you need to achieve today; tomorrow; in the week; in the quarter; and the year to achieve your vision and strategy.

Have fun – you need to feel excited and inspired every day. This involves recognising when you and your teams are fatigued, when it is time to rest and rotate your people.

This is a “top down” approach, not truly encompassing of a participation management style, however I like the concepts because they can be implemented quite easily across an participative organisation.

Like I telling people working with me (and often looking to me for an answer!), 10 brains working on a problem is much better than 1!

Jeremiah Josey

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