A635.5.3.RB - Video Debrief of Team MA
While watching the NeXT video I kept noticing three
categories from our Management Assessment in Jobs’ words: Achievement,
Innovation, and Tolerance for, And Ability to Assess Risk. When he talked, he
made a point of reiterating the company’s vision and he talked about his point
about an issue being his “deepest belief.” As the narrator mentioned, Jobs was assertive
but valued consensus. (Петренко, 2012) I have read a lot about Steve Jobs and know
that he wasn’t always the easiest person to work for or be around and his
personal life was a bit troubled. Who is the easiest person to be around?
Someone who agrees with everything we say? Someone who doesn’t challenge our
beliefs about what is and isn’t possible? Someone who thinks innovation belongs
on Star Trek and likes things the way they are? And who doesn’t have a troubled
personal life from time to time? Steve Jobs was a complex genius who I honestly
believe was absolutely passionate about computers and what they could do for
people – to improve their lives. I find no fault in that. His vision, while
sometimes intense, was always genuine and something he deeply believed. I think
he could be cruel and impatient, demanding and stubborn, but genius usually
includes the passion that takes many shapes. I’m going to look at the three categories
above and do a little compare and contrast and see how well I would have done
if I had been part of the NeXT startup team.
Achievement: According to the Next Steps Research Management
Assessment (NSRMA) report, Achievement is the ambitious goals that are actively
tracked with metrics that the individual strives to reach or exceed [these] are
the most important attribute[s] in a large, high growth venture. Some of the
attributes include: the ability to readily quote statistics on product launch
dates, sales and profit milestones, comparisons to competitors, key clients,
and use the milestones to validate their goals and the risk/reward of reaching
them. (NSRMA, 2017) Jobs’ ability to understand the competitor’s business
almost as intimately as he knew his own kept his products relevant. As for the
goals of the NeXT startup team, he kept reiterating their vision of producing
the epitome of scholastic software for college students. He understood the
financial limitations of students and professors when it came to expensive
equipment – but he also knew the importance of having those tools in the
classroom/lab environment. During the retreat, when there was dissent or an argument,
he kept refocusing the group back on the primary goals: Release by spring 1987,
and $3000 price tag. It seemed that while there was dissent, there were
like-minded individuals working to make sure their product was absolutely
unique and awesome. My personal achievement characteristics show that I want to
not only complete my goals but to sustain the gains. I need challenges or it
will lead to boredom (and shopping on Amazon.com.), however, I’m okay if not
every single task get completed every day, I understand that some ideas are
worth my time while others end up either taking longer than expected or are not
value added at all. Looking at those things, and even knowing that NeXT did not
turn out to be the legacy that Jobs would be ultimately known for, I would have
loved to have been part of that team, Based on my achievement assessment
characteristics I think I would have been able to work well with the NeXT team.
Innovation: A balanced mix of the three key innovation attributes:
problem solving, process creativity, and inventiveness are essential in the
leadership team of a large growth venture. (NSRMA, 2017). The NeXT team showed
great effort with all three of those characteristics. The retreat on the video
was all about brainstorming, process creativity, and inventiveness. They were
not only building a machine that would change computing in colleges but as the
narrator said, they were working toward a new corporate structure, architecting
a company. Jobs said in the video that the total was much more incredible than
the sum of its parts. (Петренко, 2012) My innovation assessment shows that I
enjoy finding problems, I not only desire the create/conceive new processes, I enjoy
the creative aspect of new processes and am motivated to create/invent services
and products. (NSRMA, 2017). This would have fit in well with this group. They
were working on an innovative product that had the potential to be so impactful
to the education system – to change the way students learn especially in higher
education environments. This had the ability to open up so many new ideas and young
minds in ways that could never have been realized before. That is incredibly
exciting to me, even now, thinking about the impact this team was preparing to
make – the responsibility and intensity behind that intent. Amazing.
Tolerance for and Ability to Assess Risk: The ability to
both assess the “risk vs. reward” of a decision or situation, and rapidly make
choices based on those assessments is a key to success in this environment. (NSRMA,
2017) In the video, two of the biggest issues at the first retreat were the
cost and the timeline. The team knew that the timeline would be critical to the
success of the product launch impact. The team also understood that the price
point needed to be considered “affordable” to the average college student. The
budget of this project was fairly tight seeing as Jobs had fronted $7M of his
own money to start. The NSRMA says that the individuals who thrive in this
environment often enjoy the challenge of assessing situations and have the
ability to confidently take action on their assessments. (2017) Jobs was not
lacking in confidence and the challenge of assessing risk was something he had
been doing from the very early days of Apple. [B]ut you can’t grow unless you
keep moving into new areas that pose new risks. (Champy & Nohria, 2000) My
risk characteristics show that I understand that some risk is okay. I have a
strong history of taking business risks and even a medium desire to take high
and/or uncalculated risks. When working on a project, I’m ready to push the launch
button even when an idea isn’t fully vetted – how else do you see if it will
even get off the ground? When you see something finally put into action is the
only time you will truly understand what problems you have yet to solve. This
may have made me a good candidate for the NeXT startup team because I
understand the risk assessment process but also know when it’s time to stop
theorizing and time for action.
Overall, I think I would have thrived in the NeXT startup
team. I would have probably been intimidated by Jobs and his personality – I still
have a little part of me that needs to please people and have them like me. Not
a big part, but I know myself well enough to know that a personality like Jobs,
a visionary who is passionate and who could lead a horse to water AND make him
drink is someone that I would want to have impressed and would have been devastated
if I failed him in any way. That being said, I think the most important thing belonging
in a group like the NeXT startup team is balance. I know that Steve Jobs
subscribed to meditation and a Zen-like mindfulness that created a sense of
calm to his otherwise passionate nature. Jobs is quoted by biographer Walter
Isaacson as saying:
"If you just sit
and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it
only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there's room
to hear more subtle things--that's when your intuition starts to blossom and
you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just
slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much
more than you could see before." (James, 2015)
It seems to me that being a relentless achiever, innovator,
and a risk taker demands that there be a side of calm to balance out the
reality of business. What ambition does need in order to save itself from
excess is a sense of balance. (Champy & Nohria, 2000)
References:
Brown, D. R.(2011). An experiential approach to
organizational development (Eighth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Champy J. & Nohria, N. (2000) The arc of ambition –
defining the leadership journey. New York. Basic Books.
James, G.(2015). How Steve Jobs trained his own brain.
Inc.com. https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-steve-jobs-trained-his-own-brain.html
Next Steps Research. (2017) Management assessment profile
prepared for Embry-Riddle. Candidate: Jody Unverrich. Alexandria, VA.
Петренко, C. (2012) Steve Jobs brainstorms with NeXT team. YouTube.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loQhufxiorM
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