Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Qualities you might like



Jeff Haden at the Owner's Manual on Inc.com has written about employee qualities

By Haden's telling, great employees have these qualities:
  • They ignore job descriptions. .
  • They’re eccentric...
  • But they know when to dial it back.
  • They publicly praise...
  • And they privately complain.
  • They speak when others won’t.
  • They like to prove others wrong.
  • They’re always fiddling.
I like the fiddling thing. This means curiosity. And, it could mean a propensity for innovation. If companies play into this, they'll give the fiddlers some space and time. Somewhat like Google's "20% of your time to do anything" policy.

I have managed units that had eccentric people. I'm careful to say I didn't manage people, and certainly not an eccentric. As oft said: "things are managed; people are led". In fact, eccentrics are to be tolerated at least, and nurtured at best. You never know what will turn up.

As a case in point, take a look at the famous Bell Labs where the transistor was invented and Claude Shannon discovered the limits of bandwidth. Talk about eccentrics! Like shooting fish in a barrel



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