Download Value in Diversity

LEADERSHIP LEARNING OUTCOMES
• LO1. DEMONSTRATE THE USE OF TEAM BUILDING, COLLABORATION, COOPERATION, AND COORDINATION
TECHNIQUES WITHIN AN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING.
• LO2. EMPLOY KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION OF SOUND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES WITHIN THE
ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF PERSONNEL, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, AND
DECISION MAKING.
THE ANSWER
• THE ANSWER (ANY ANSWER) IS A NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 100
• YOU HAVE 100 PEOPLE AVAILABLE TO FIND THE SOLUTION
• HOW DO YOU GET THERE?
SELF-EVIDENT
• YOUR SOLUTIONS MAY SEEM SELF-EVIDENT
• MAYBE YOU SAID, “EVERYONE PICKS A DIFFERENT NUMBER BETWEEN 1
AND 100 UNTIL WE FIND THE RIGHT ONE”.
• MAYBE YOU ASKED, “ARE THERE ANY OTHER PARAMETERS SO WE CAN
NARROW THE NUMBER BEFORE ANYONE GUESSES?”
• MAYBE YOU HAD AN INSIDE TRACK ON THE RIGHT ANSWER.
73
JUST IN CASE, YOU WERE WONDERING, THE ANSWER IS 73.
WHY 73?
• SHELDON COOPER, FROM THE BIG BANG THEORY, WOULD TELL YOU “"73 IS
THE 21ST PRIME NUMBER… ITS MIRROR, 37, IS THE 12TH AND ITS MIRROR,
21, IS THE PRODUCT OF MULTIPLYING 7 AND 3 ... AND IN BINARY 73 IS A
PALINDROME, 1001001, WHICH BACKWARDS IS 1001001.“
NARROW THE FIELD?
• IF I HAD TOLD YOU THE NUMBER WOULD COME FROM A TELEVISION SHOW, WE COULD HAVE NARROWED
THE FIELD TEAM MEMBERS SEEKING THE ANSWER FROM OUR ORIGINAL 100 TO TELEVISION WATCHERS.
• IF I HAD TOLD YOU THE NUMBER WOULD COME FROM THE BIG BANG THEORY, WE COULD HAVE
NARROWED IT EVEN FURTHER.
• IF I HAD TOLD YOU THE NUMBER WOULD COME FROM THE EPISODE THE ALIEN PARASITE HYPOTHESIS , WE
MAY EVEN HAVE NARROWED THE FIELD TO THOSE HAVING NOTHING TO DO BUT WATCH THAT PROGRAM
ON THURSDAY, 9 DECEMBER 2010, OR EVEN WORSE, IN REPEATS.
EXPAND THE FIELD!
• IN THE CASE OF THE NUMBER 73, SOMEONE KNEW THE ANSWER (ME!)
• IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, HOWEVER, TECHNOLOGICAL DISCONTINUITY MEANS THE
ANSWER IS ALWAYS EVOLVING, CHANGING AND REQUIRING NEW THOUGHTS AND
CONCEPTS
• HOW DO YOU FIND AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF ANSWERS IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD?
• EXPAND THE FIELD
• GET AS MANY POSSIBLE ANSWERS AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN
DIVERSE TEAMS
• WHEN DOING THE FORMING, STORMING, NORMING, PERFORMING AND ADJOURNING IN A TEAM, THE TENDENCY
IS TO GET COMFORTABLE AND CHOOSE LIKE THINKERS.
• I AM A STEELERS FAN. THE RIGHT ANSWER FOR ME IN A SPORTS SITUATION WILL ALWAYS BE THE STEELERS.
• IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE BIG BANG, THE RIGHT ANSWER FOR A NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 100 MAY ALWAYS BE
73.
• USE MYERS-BRIGGS TRAIT INDICATOR; USE KINGDOMALITY, OR USE ANY OTHER TOOL TO DIFFERENTIATE TEAM
MEMBERS, BUT MAKE SURE YOUR TEAM HAS THE ABILITY AND LIKELIHOOD TO COME UP WITH AS MANY
ANSWERS AS POSSIBLE.
YOU NEVER KNOW, THE ANSWER MAY
CHANGE
• AS OUR ENVIRONMENTS CHANGE, THE ANSWER MAY CHANGE TOO.
• IF I AM THE PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR, MAYBE I WILL BECOME SO POPULAR THAT THE ANSWER WILL
BECOME MY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL JERSEY NUMBER, 72.
• I ENDED UP BECOMING THE FOOTBALL TEAM STATISTICIAN INSTEAD, SO THE ANSWER PROBABLY ISN’T
72.
• IF YOU DON’T REACH OUT TO GET DIFFERENT ANSWERS, BE ASSURED, YOU WON’T.