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The Power of Simplicity
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein
In the first part of my career, I didn’t care much for consultants. My experience was that they would come in, tell you what to do, and then leave victoriously while we were stuck trying to implement something that just wouldn’t work. They seemed to make everything seem so complex—often to justify their cost.
Then, I met an amazing consultant who shared something valuable with me. He explained what he believed differentiated a true consultant from a contractor (something I wrote about a decade later in a Tech Republic article). He then made me aware of the Einstein quote above. This was one of those pivotal moments in my career.
For many years, I have met many interesting people. Some seemed to try to intentionally obfuscate even the easiest things to make themselves seem brilliant. Others took such a circuitous route that you sometimes forgot what you were trying to understand and fix. And sometimes explanations were just so tangential that the main point was lost entirely. There are likely many reasons for these experiences – some intentional and many not. The real lesson learned is that it wasn’t just consultants who can be incomprehensible and that clear and comprehensible communication is critical to effectiveness.
Just think about the power of a well-crafted “elevator pitch” when you meet someone new or the ability to quickly explain how your company differentiates itself from the competition (making you the more interesting, better, or safer choice in your prospect’s mind). Or being able to articulate your business strategy in a way that people understand (and can explain to others), which also interests them enough to want to learn more and become part of making that happen.
The best consultants, as do the best employees, managers, executives, and business owners, have this ability to explain something simply. While this is only one attribute of success (likability, powers of persuasion, integrity, luck, etc. are others), it is something that can be taught, developed, and consistently applied.
The power to “explain it simply” is the power to make a difference through better understanding.
Teaching & Learning in a Business Environment
In the past, I had occasion to teach technical courses, often to groups of 20 or more people. It was always interesting. There were one or two people trying to prove how much smarter / better than you they were. There were one or two people who were there just so they didn’t have to work. But most of the people were there to learn. You figured out who was who pretty quickly. Even so, falling into the trap of labeling them and then only focusing on a subset can be problematic.
My teaching approach was to ask people about real issues (current or past) and use them as case studies for the class. This made the lessons more tangible for everyone. People were forced to develop an understanding of the problem with incomplete knowledge, ask clarifying questions, and then offer suggestions that may or may not work.
Sometimes someone would suggest a solution that just seemed completely off the wall. You wanted to understand their line of thinking to show them a better way. Occasionally you would find that their unorthodox approach was brilliantly simple and/or highly effective – and very different from what you expected.
Every time I taught a course, I would learn something. Different perspectives lead to a different understanding of the problems at hand, which can lead to creative and innovative solutions. The best ideas sometimes come from the places where you least expect them.
Even with the most seasoned teams, there are opportunities for teaching and learning. You may hear questions or statements that initially lead you to believe someone doesn’t understand the problem or goal. It becomes easy to dismiss when you don’t feel they are adding value.
But, if you take the extra effort to drill into their thinking, you could be very surprised. If nothing else, your team should feel more motivated and empowered with the process, leading to them taking ownership of the problem and finding a solution. Results improve when everyone is focused on a common goal and feels their contributions matter.
Everyone wins as long as you give them the chance.
The People who Move the Dial
Whether you are a business owner, a manager, or a parent, finding the right way to motivate your team is important to maximize performance and results. Each person is a little bit different and is looking for something a little different, and once you figure out what is important, you can get the most out of them. Not everyone wants to be a star – which is usually OK (as long as they have the right attitude, skills, and work ethic and add value).
Then there are those exceptional people who want to be the best, are willing to take risks, work hard, and “think differently” in order to succeed. These people are self-motivated and continue to raise the bar for the entire team as part of a high-performance culture. These are the people who move the dial.
I’ve had the pleasure of being taught by people like this, working with people like this, managing people like this, and helping a few become people like this. Occasionally, you have a few special people working together, which is when amazing things happen. These people are generally curious and wonder, “Why not?” They are confident (not arrogant), intelligent, and passionate about success.
Back when I was funding research projects, I had a trip scheduled to Philadelphia. I asked a friend at a local hospital to make an introduction to meet someone from “CHOP” (the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). They were always ranked as a top hospital and research facility, and I wanted to learn why. The introduction was made, and a lunch meeting was scheduled. I was looking forward to the meeting but had no real expectations (other than being asked for money).
To my surprise, a half-dozen people in a large conference room with a catered lunch greeted me. They presented on their various projects (which was unusual as they did not know me, and possibly worse, knew I was involved with research projects at other facilities). Everyone in the room was amazing, and the department head (Dr. Terri Finkel) was one of the most impressive people I had ever met.
After lunch, I told Dr. Finkel I appreciated the lunch, but wondered why she went to so much trouble when I never promised to do anything in return. She smiled and replied, “We love what we do and love having the opportunity to talk about our projects and passions to people with similar interests.” That made a huge impression on me, and within a few months, we were funding projects using a unique approach that Terri suggested. The approach was in response to my question about getting the most “bang for my research dollars” (thinking more like a businessperson than a researcher).
Over the next few years, this team did incredible things that had a tangible impact on Pediatric Rheumatology and the quality of life for children with Juvenile Arthritis. Many great researchers were involved, but two of them really stood out (Drs. Sandy Burnham and Randy Cron – both continue to do amazing things to this day). The results of this team were so much better than everyone else we supported. They provided a huge return on my investment, and I can take pride knowing that I made a difference through these efforts.
To me, it came back to the basics. Intelligent people who were passionate about making a difference, confident enough to be challenged, and led by a visionary person who saw an opportunity to motivate her team and help me achieve my goals. It’s the best type of win-win scenario possible.
These people moved the dial back then and continue to move it today. It is a thing of beauty to watch stars like this perform. These people shine twice as bright and guide others toward success. And you can find them in every industry and every walk of life.
Using Technology for the Greater Good
My company and my family funded a dozen or so medical research projects over several years. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with many brilliant MD/Ph.D. researchers. My goal was to fund $1 million in medical research and find a cure for Juvenile Arthritis. We didn’t reach that goal, but many good things came out of that research.
Something that amazed me was how research worked. Competition for funding is intense, so there was much less collaboration between institutions than I would have expected. At one point, we were funding similar projects at two institutions. The projects went in two very different directions, and it was clear that one would be much more successful than the other. It seemed almost wasteful, and I thought there must be a better, more efficient, and cost-effective way of managing research efforts.
So, in 2006 I had an idea. What if I could create a cloud-based (a very new concept at the time) research platform that would support global collaboration? It would need to support true analytical processing, statistical analysis, document management (something fairly new then), and desktop publishing. Publishing research findings is very important in this space, so my idea was to provide a workspace that supported end-to-end research efforts (inception to publication, including auditing and data collection) and fostered collaboration.
This platform would only work if there were a new way to allow interested parties to fund this research that was easy to use and could reach a large audience. Individuals could make contributions based on areas of interest, specific projects, specific individuals working on projects, or projects in a specific regional area. The idea was a lot like what Crowdtilt is today. This funding mechanism would support non-traditional collaboration and hopefully greatly impact the research community and their findings.
Additionally, this platform would support the collection of suggestions and ideas. Good ideas can come from anywhere – especially when you don’t know that something is not supposed to work.
During one funding review meeting at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), I made a naïve statement about using cortisone injections to treat TMJ arthritis. I was told why this would not work. A month or so later, I received a call explaining that my suggestion might work, with a request for another in-person meeting and additional funding. Conceptual Expansion at its best! That led to a new research project and positive results (see http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/art.21384/pdf).
You never know where the next good idea might come from, so why not make it easy for people to share those ideas.
By the end of 2007, I had designed an architecture based on SOA (service-oriented architecture) using open-source products that would do most of what I needed. Then, in 2008 Google announced the “Project 10^100” competition. I entered, confident that I would at least get an honorable mention (alas, nothing came from this).
Then, in early 2010 I spent an hour discussing my idea with the CTO of a popular Cloud company. This CTO had a medical background, liked my idea, offered a few suggestions, and even offered to help. It was the perfect opportunity. But, I had just started a new position at work, so this project fell by the wayside. That was a shame, and I only have myself to blame. It is something that has bothered me for years.
It’s 2013, and far more tools are available today to make this platform a reality, and something like this still does not exist. I’m writing this because the idea has merit, and I think there might be others who feel the same way and would like to work on making this dream a reality. It’s a chance to leverage technology to potentially make a huge impact on society. And it can create opportunities for people in regions that might otherwise be ignored to contribute to this greater good.
Idealistic? Maybe. Possible? Absolutely!
What’s so special about Spatial?
Two years ago, I was assigned some of the product management responsibilities and product marketing work for a new version of a database product we were releasing. To me, this was the trifecta of bad fortune. I didn’t mind product marketing, but I knew it took a lot of work to do well. I didn’t feel that product management was a real challenge (I was so wrong here), and even though we saw more demand for products supporting Esri’s ArcGIS, I wasn’t interested in working with maps.
I was so wrong in so many ways. I didn’t realize real product management was as much work as product marketing. And I learned that geospatial was far more than just maps. It was quite an eye-opening experience for me – one that also turned out to be very valuable.
First, let me start by saying that I now greatly appreciate Cartography. I never realized how complex mapmaking is and how there is just as much art as science (a lot like programming). Maps can be so much more than just simple drawings.
I had a great teacher when it came to geospatial – Tyler Mitchell (@spatialguru). He showed me the power of overlaying tabular business data with common spatial data (addresses, zip / postal codes, coordinates) and presenting the “conglomeration of data” in layers that made things easier to understand. I believe that “people buy easy,” which makes this a good thing in my book.
The more I thought about this technology – simple points, lines, and areas combined with powerful functions, the more I began to think about other uses. I realized that you could use it to correlate very different data sets and graphically show relationships that would otherwise be extremely difficult to make.
For example, think about having access to population data, demographic data, business and housing data, crime data, health/disease data, etc. Now, consider a simple, easy-to-use graphical dashboard that overlaps as many data sets as needed. Within seconds, you see very specific clusters of geographically correlated data, which may bring attention to other correlations.
Some data may only be granular to a zip code or city, but others will allow you to identify patterns in specific streets and neighborhoods. Just think of how something so simple can help you make decisions that are so much better. It’s interesting how few businesses take advantage of this cost-effective technology.
If that wasn’t enough, just think about location-aware applications and the proliferation of smart devices and IoT that completely lend themselves to many helpful and lucrative mobile applications. Even more than that, they make those devices more helpful and user-friendly. Just think about how easy it is to find the nearest Indian restaurant when the thought of curry for lunch hits you. And these things are just the tip of the iceberg.
What a lucky day for me when I was assigned this work that I did not want. Little did I know that it would change my thoughts about many things. That’s just the way things work out sometimes.
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