Seven Habits of Highly Effective Hobbits

How can a geek not appreciate a headline like, Seven Habits of Highly Effective Hobbits? The author, Alex Knapp, was also the creative mind behind Leadership Lessons from Captain Kirk and Captain Picard.

"One of the reasons why Hobbits were so successful in the world beyond, to the point that, in the words of Elrond, they could “arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great” is because they have certain habits that predisposed them to success."

It should be noted that most Hobbits lived quiet, isolated, lives. The Hobbit Habits here (try saying that 5 times fast) belong to a small group of "highly effective" hobbits that changed the world. 

1. Be CleverBeing small, Hobbits rely on their wit to succeed and even the mighty are impressed by them.
2. Overcome Your FearsBe brave.
3. Be PreparedWhether a birthday part or a trip across the world, these Hobbits planned and managed resources effectively.
4. Support your Team"Loyalty is a central theme of The Lord of the Rings. ... It takes a team to accomplish great things, and teams require loyalty to survive."
5. Know when to Question the BossLoyalty is good but not blind loyalty. Sometimes those in charge are dangerously wrong.
6. Take a Chance on People"The entire saga of The Lord of the Rings hinges on two acts of mercy – by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins – in sparing the life of Gollum."
7. Stop and Smell the RosesIn the race to the top and success, don't forget to enjoy life along the way.  

Leadership Skills from Captain Kirk

As a long-time Star Trek fan, one of my favorite stops during a mid-west vacation last year was at the Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk in Riverside, Iowa. I love the time-travel irony - Future Birthplace indeed.

It's funny how often Star Trek pops up. The first space shuttle (experimental only alas) was called Enterprise.

At the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio you can take your photo alongside lifesize images of all the Star Trek captains (pictured above). 

In college a roommate wrote a paper comparing McCoy, Spock and  Kirk to the Id, Ego and Super Ego respectively.

Natuarally a blog entitled Five Leadership Lessons From James T. Kirk, in Forbes magazine no less, caught my attention:

1. Never Stop Learning
Kirk’s reputation at the Academy was that of a “walking stack of books”. (Before the reboot in the recent movie which made him more of a rebel.) He defeated a Gorn in personal combat becuase he recalled how to make gun powder and a primitive gun in an age of phasers. He out-thought the "unwinnable" Kobayashi Maru test and beat it.

2. Have Advisors With Different Worldviews
The original Star Trek had a dynamic with Kirk, Spock and McCoy that was never again matched. Three very different worldviews working together, not always peacefully.

3. Be Part of the Away Team
It was never very realistic that Kirk led the Away Teams into danger alongside the red shirts. But it was fun and is often a sign of great leadership when the leader rallies the men from the front lines. The next generation was more typical with Picard on the ship and Riker (his #1) leading the Away Teams.

4. Play Poker, Not Chess
Life is more like poker with bluffs then the rigid rules of chess. Kirk was a master of the bluff and outthinking his opponent.

5. Blow up the Enterpirse?
Kirk's first love of his life was the Enterprise. But in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock he destroys it in order to defeat the Klingons and take their ship. Good leaders are driven by passion but that passion can lead to a dead-end if blindly followed, never changing. Great leaders know when to curb their passion, setting aside past successes that have reached their peak, and begin something new.

Bottom Line

Just like James T Kirk,

"we need to keep exploring and learning. We need to ensure that we encourage creativity and innovation by listening to the advice of people with vastly different opinions. We need to occasionally get down in the trenches with the members of our teams so we understand their needs and earn their trust and loyalty. We need to understand the psychology of our competitors and also learn to radically change course when circumstances dictate. By following these lessons, we can lead our organizations into places where none have gone before."
- Alex Knapp

Deep Thought

"O Deep Thought computer," he said, "the task we have designed you to perform is this. We want you to tell us...." he paused, "The Answer."
"The Answer?" said Deep Thought. "The Answer to what?"
"Life!" urged Fook. "The Universe!" said Lunkwill. "Everything!" they said in chorus.
Deep Thought paused for a moment's reflection. "Tricky," he said finally.
"But can you do it?"
Again, a significant pause. "Yes," said Deep Thought, "I can do it. ... But, I'll have to think about it."
Ford glanced impatiently at his watch. "How long?" he said.
"Seven and a half million years."
- Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Over at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds has adopted (coined?) the phrase, "Credentialed, Not Educated" to describe our nation's Ivy League leaders that see themselves as uber-intelligent from the best schools but in reality are clueless on the real world. He points to an editorial in the Washington Post, Our superficial scholars, that makes a similar point about today's top students.

"For most of the past 20 years I have served on selection committees for the Rhodes Scholarship. ... We interview the best graduates of U.S. universities for one of the most prestigious honors that can be bestowed on young scholars. ... I have, however, become increasingly concerned in recent years ... high-achieving students seem less able to grapple with issues that require them to think across disciplines or reflect on difficult questions about what matters and why."

The editorial gives some examples of students with very narrow focus who have never considered alternative points of view or the consequences of their goals:

"An outstanding biochemistry major wants to be a doctor and supports the president's health-care bill but doesn't really know why. A student who started a chapter of Global Zero at his university hasn't really thought about whether a world in which great powers have divested themselves of nuclear weapons would be more stable or less so, or whether nuclear deterrence can ever be moral. A young service academy cadet who is likely to be serving in a war zone within the year believes there are things worth dying for but doesn't seem to have thought much about what is worth killing for. A student who wants to study comparative government doesn't seem to know much about the important features and limitations of America's Constitution."

Bottom Line

Again from the editorial,

"I wish I could say that this is a single, anomalous group of students, but the trend is unmistakable. Our great universities seem to have redefined what it means to be an exceptional student. They are producing top students who have given very little thought to matters beyond their impressive grasp of an intense area of study. This narrowing has resulted in a curiously unprepared and superficial pre-professionalism. ... [The students] seem so surprised when asked simple direct questions that they have never considered."

Although I belong to a church that is traditionally very conservative, locally we have several very liberal families in positions of leadership. One night after Cub Scouts in the church building, I enjoyed a conversion with several young teens from these families. They were discussing the evils of the world. "War and McDonalds should be outlawed," one said. [McDonalds?!!!, that caught my attention.] "Well then," I replied, what will you do to countries that break the law and start an illegal war? They had not thought of that.

Another replied, "If I were in charge of the universe, I'd make war impossible."  "How would you do that," I asked, "without destroying the agency of man?" The freedom to choose (right or wrong) is a keystone of our faith. It is very tempting (but wrong) to destroy personal agency for the greater good.

A third said, "I wish everyone were Intelligent. Intelligent people would not kill." To which I observed she had not yet read, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, in which a young man murders an "evil person" for the "good of society" just to prove how intelligent and superior he is.

I encouraged the youth to keep thinking. The topic of war and violence is deadly serious (pun intended) with no easy solutions. You can't just wish it away or or eliminate it with "proper education" or ban it with legislation. But is definitely worth Deep Thought.

Sadly, today's schools are not teaching and not requiring deep thought.

Leadership?

"It became clear that people have erroneously come to falsely mistake management for leadership." - James W Breckenridge

During hurricane Katrina the media and the public did a lot of finger pointing at FEMA and President Bush. What was overlooked and misunderstood was the role each had to play during the emergency. FEMA has a management role. It exists to organize, give advice, train, but not to lead.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” - Peter Drucker, management advisor

President Bush was criticized for not leading. Although we typically think of the president as the leader of our nation, we tend to forget that we are the United STATES of America and that state governors have a lot of local authority. In the case of hurricane Katrina, the first leaders responsible were the local Mayors. Sadly the mayor of New Orleans and his staff fled the city, did not implement the city's emergency plan, and yelled loudly for the Federal government to save everyone. However, mayors do not have the authority to request federal resources. This is the right and responsibility of the state governor and during Katrina the Louisiana governor delayed asking for help for many days. Technically Bush and FEMA were not legally allowed to help until officially asked to by the governor. This is known as state rights and as a former governor of Texas, George Bush understands state rights.

Bottom Line
During emergencies, both leaders and managers are needed. Managers must ensure good logistics by organizing the supplies, people and resources. Leaders are needed to inspire the people, to issue orders, and make major decisions.

"One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." - Arnold Glasgow

Great leaders will hire great managers to take care of the details. Great leaders will also understand the limits of their authority and how to work with and cooperate with other leaders.