“The truth is that a single individual makes a decision in a single moment. Contrary to some popular notions of leadership, groups do not make decisions” (Chris McGoff, The Primes). This idea continues to stick in my head... we're fooling ourselves if we think that groups can decide something together.
Decisions, Decisions
“Decisions are ‘irrevocable allocation of resources’” (Chris McGoff, The Primes). Currently, this is my favourite definition for decisions.
Luxury at Work
“Teams are groups in which the feeling is one-for-all-and-all-for-one…. Teams are a luxury" (Chris McGoff, The Primes). Never underestimate a group that feels like a team.
On vs. In
Working ON your business is about transforming the way of working - it's about finding new paths. Working IN your business is about operating the systems and solving the problems you already know about. Leaders should spend more time ON than IN (Chris McGoff, The Primes).
Looking Bad
I'm six pages into this book and I read, "Leading is ambiguous and offers terrific opportunity to look bad in front of others” (Chris McGoff, The Primes). I think I picked a good one.
L.M.O.
There is something so straightforward about these three buckets... if only it were that simple (Chris McGoff, The Primes).
The Primes
I picked this book up randomly at a bookstore in Cambridge, MA. It sat on my shelf for months before I really opened it. Some good stuff in here. Book subtitle: How Any Group Can Solve Any Problem.
Skills for hire
“Leaders of networked teams in agile organizations require skills such as negotiation, resilience, and systems thinking” (Deloitte's 2017 Global Human Capital Trends). Considering this one an important "note to self."
Form and Disband
“The organization of the future is a ‘network of teams’… to stay agile, teams must be formed and disbanded quickly" (Deloitte's 2017 Global Human Capital Trends). Great concept. Difficult execution.
Strong Experiences
“A strong employee experience also drives a strong customer experience” (Deloitte 2017 Global Human Capital Trends). We would do well to remember the employee experience.