Hot Topic Friday: May 1

Happy Friday! Here are my May 1 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: Does Zoom Really Suck?

Source: NYT.

What It’s About: Are video communication platforms effective or not? Let’s face(time) it, most of us have had our fill of Zoom through this involuntary, work from home (WFA) period. “Zoomed out” has become a feeling many of us can relate to. This article presents a concern about video communication. Psychologists, computer scientists and neuroscientists say the distortions and delays inherent in video communication can end up making us feel even more isolated, anxious and disconnected. They suggest we might be better off just talking on the phone. Their explanation and argument is, “that the way the video images are digitally encoded and decoded, altered and adjusted, patched and synthesized, introduce all kinds of artifacts: blocking, freezing, blurring, jerkiness and out-of-sync audio… These disruptions, some below our conscious awareness, confound perception and scramble subtle social cues. Our brains strain to fill in the gaps and make sense of the disorder, which makes us feel vaguely disturbed, uneasy and tired without quite knowing why.”

So What? There may be some validity to these concerns, although I wonder if the science or research is very definitive. Here's what I do know from listening to CHROs and CEOs from a lot of major corporations. They are recognizing that Work From Anywhere ( WFA) will be a permanent part of future work. Why? Top knowledge work talent will demand this flexibility, and we all know that the benefits of self-accountable autonomy is more positive than negative for both companies and workers. This includes but is not limited to equal or better productivity, less sick time/absence, lower facility costs, etc.

Now What? Even though there may be some reasonable concerns about current technology, the video experience will continuously become better. It will and probably should never be considered better than in person meetings. However, the ultimate WFA benefits far outweigh the shortcomings. So let’s focus more on how to make the video, WFA process, a great experience. And I don’t agree that audio only will be better. I’ve been involved with enough video and voice based meetings to know that being able to see someone is far superior.

One Millennial View: The best part of a WFA culture is that it should be an option, not our only option. I’d argue that feeling “Zoomed Out” is more due to the fact that we HAVE to participate in Zoom meetings. Also, perhaps people are scheduling Zoom meetings for what could just be taken care of via email, text, etc? Bottom Line: Video conferencing reminds us of when we had more control. It’s a glitch in our routines that has people bothered, not a technical issue.

Hot Topic 2: Big, Bad, Billionaire, Bill!

Source: Inc.

What It’s About: Bill Gates has been very consistent and thoughtful about leadership in the face of crises, well before now. Note the following:

1. Great leaders don't deflect the bad news: According to this Inc article: “In Gates' book Business @ the Speed of Thought, written over two decades before any of us imagined the possibility of a microscopic invisible enemy affecting millions of lives globally, Gates explains that a company's ability to respond to unplanned events is a strong indicator of competitive advantage. Gates advises leaders to do something rare: look for bad news and empower people to respond to it. He says leaders must model safety and encourage employees to share bad news as much as good news.”

2. Great leaders empower others: During his Microsoft CEO days, Bill Gates stated the following: "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

So What?: Bill Gates is being maligned by some people as a pandemic opportunist relative to his leadership mantra, along with his health and wellness investments. That’s bologna in my opinion. Although I’ve never personally met Bill, I did get to know his late mom. We had a chance to talk about leadership (at Board dinners), quite a lot. That included her personally sharing Bill’s leadership and philosophy well before Bill’s published books etc. We have much to learn and emulate from Bill Gates. I genuinely believe we need to embrace his personal integrity, and leadership beliefs.

Now What?: Let's all be inspired and model the leadership and behavior/beliefs of Big, Bad, and yes, Billionaire Bill. He may be unbelievably rich. He’s also an exceptionally decent human being.

One Millennial View: I think Bill Gates is finding himself in the news lately because of his pandemic-focused TED Talk from 2015, where he spoke about the world’s unpreparedness for an outbreak. I guess some believe he should have wielded his billions more wisely if he had such forethought? I’m just not sure. His leadership advice is sound, and while it’s cool to get inspiration from billionaire leaders, how are the leaders that you personally know operating? That’s what interests me more.

My Weekly Wine Recommendation.

Farm Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016

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[Ed Note: Find it at your local wine shops.]

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

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“Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on Discipline… Discipline equals freedom.” - Jocko Willink.

Bye for now!

— Lorne Rubis

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Happy Friday! Here are my May 1 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: Does Zoom Really Suck?

Hot Topic 2: Big, Bad, Billionaire, Bill!

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