The Stockdale Paradox

My future father-in-law recently gave me the book "Good to Great,".  Because he and I often talk about business, I choose not to interpret the gift as a statement about my candidacy as his daughter's future husband... i.e. "you're good husband material, but not great."  I think it's a subject he thought I would find interesting.  He was right.

The most compelling passage in "Good to Great," which details conclusions derived from a study of the short list of companies that outperformed the market for 15 years or more, concerns the philosophy Collins and his team named, "the Stockdale Paradox."  

The name relates to Admiral James Stockdale, who you may remember was Ross Perot's Vice Presidential candidate in the 1992 Presidential election.  Unfortunately, most of the country never understood that Stockdale earned his bona fides in the Navy, and specifically as "the highest-ranking United States military officer in the 'Hanoi Hilton' prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War.  Tortured over twenty times during his eight-year imprisonment from 1965 to 1973, Stockdale lived out the war without any prisoner's rights, no set release date, and no certainty as to whether he would even survive to see his family again."  During imprisonment Stockdale assumed the yolk of command, created conditions to increase the number of US prisoners who survived imprisonment, and even beat himself with a chair to avoid being used in a propaganda video as an example of a well-treated prisoner.  Stockdale, who died in 2005, was made of granite.

In describing his ability to withstand the ordeal, Stockdale said the following: "This is a very important lesson.  You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."  The paradox: you know you will succeed no matter what, but you also confront the brutal truth about what stands in your way.

Who did Stockdale say died in the "Hanoi Hilton?"  "The optimists.  And they died of a broken heart."  What a profound lesson for life.  Dare to believe you can achieve something great, but don't believe it blindly.  You don't get big wins from simply wishing they will happen - the power of positive thinking, so to speak.  The way to realize the goal is to thoroughly believe that it can be achieved, no matter the odds, but also to recognize and devise strategies to navigate the myriad obstacles which may prevent success.

Why Instead of What - How Leaders and Innovators Inspire Action

According to Simon Sinek, ethnographer, marketer and author of "Start with Why," people don't follow what you do, they follow why you do it.  People purchase, experiment and follow because they find meaning in the act that coincides with their own beliefs or identity.  In his speech from the 2009 TED Puget Sound Conference, Sinek suggests that most of us have it backwards... we tend to lead with "what and how" while completely ignoring "why."  This oversight prevents us from winning enough customers or converts to achieve big results.

Why do you do what you do?  Watch his 18-minute talk and you'll be inspired to put your work, or your leadership efforts into a different context.

"Too Big To Fail" - 540 Pages of Non-Fiction That Reads Like A Crime Novel

I just finished reading Andrew Ross Sorkin's "Too Big To Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System---and Themselves."  I cannot remember the last time I found such a long (540 pages) and comprehensive historical depiction so compelling.

Sorkin's skill in explaining - in layman's terms - the esoteric financial instruments at the center of the 2008 crisis, and the intersecting political, macroeconomic and financial interests surrounding the exploitation and/or regulation thereof, turns a subject-matter morass into a "page turner."  

Sorkin's storytelling ability is matched by his seemingly unparalleled access to the top levels of finance and government.  Time and again after reading about some top-secret negotiation I wondered, "How the hell did he get that information?"

The books covers a great deal of territory outlining the events leading to the rescue of Bear Stearns, AIG and a few other institutions you might not realize were on the precipice.  It details the personalities and organizational cultures that influenced the actions taken, and does so with a critical detail.  Sorkin did not trade access for editorial kindness.  Some finance stalwarts are made to seem all too fallible by Sorkin's characterization of events.  It is to their and the story's credit that they allowed themselves to participate in an unabashed account of the events.

This is not a weekend read, but it is definitely worth working through.  If for no other reason, it provides  insight into the irrationality of the economic crucible that is the capital markets, and the extraordinary measures required to halt the next Great Depression which could stem from it.

It Takes A Village

This weekend I accompanied my fiancée Katie to the christening of her Godson, Declan Heil.  An afternoon I expected to be ripe for satire was actually a profound “religious” experience.  No, I’m not ready to convert, but the ceremony reminded me of the tenet of my former religious practice that I miss the most – community.

Strip away the doctrinal aspects of the christening, and you’re left with a moving testament to the bond between family and friends.  As Declan was held before the gathering of his parents, godparents, extended family and a collection of friends, each made a commitment before their God and each other to help raise the child.  This commitment served as not only an affirmation of their elation at Declan’s birth, but also of their commitment to one another.

In an age when people manage relationships via texts, facebook messages and the occasional IM chat, the christening was a nice reminder that a deeper connection still exists in the hearts of family and friends.