Former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, was famous for displaying his emotions and energy at conferences. The video below from the early 2000s is typical for his exuberance
Ballmer is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association in the U.S. Here is on an American late-night talk show:
Germans think systematically. They formulate their understanding of a decision to be made in a very broad and interconnected context. Therefore Germans do not always consider it helpful to take complexity and, as Americans say, “break it down” into its component parts. They aim to do the opposite, to see particulars in their interrelationships. They look for patterns, strive to understand complexity as a whole, as a system.
Jeff Bezos. Founder of Amazon. About being bold: 0:00 to 2:45 minutes.
Lex Fridman interviews Jeff Bezos about making decisions:
YouTube comments:
“I think this is very liberating for perfectionists, most decisions are not permanent and you can pick another door if necessary, if they are one way door decisions then you can allow for some perfectionism.”
“I’m the same age as Bezos. Also studied engineering and moved into management. What he’s talking about is, basically, exactly what we were taught in our control systems engineering classes back at university. Almost all engineer managers of our age group say the same thing.”
“I think everyone fails to understand the message of this discussion. It’s not about decision-making mechanisms, it’s about truth-seeking and the idea that no matter what the debate is about the objective should always be to try to get as close as possible to the truth to make the decision that resembles closest to the truth. That’s the whole point of this conversation, to leave the ego aside and search for truth.”
Number 25. From 37signals, the company behind the project management software called Basecamp. Classiv American thinking: think, debate, persuade … decide, then commit and support. One of the founders, Jason Fried, is a very interesting person.
Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses the 25 year plan he developed while a student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and why you should veer away from such plans. Cook spoke as part of his class reunion at the school.
The journey was not predictable. The only thing you can really do is prepare. Ebb and flow. Lots of things change. Have a North Star. Find your journey.
November 2021. Reuters. More than half of German companies doing business abroad are suffering severe problems in their supply chains or logistics, pushing them to diversify suppliers, shorten delivery routes and even relocate their own production, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The German economy has boomed on the back of globalisation over the past decade. But pandemic-related disruptions in the worldwide network of supply chains that used to turbo-charge its growth engine are now proving a critical weakness.
Stephen Richards Covey (1932 – 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time.
A viewer of the video summarized: Three principles for effective weekly planning: 1. Review mission and roles (in work, community, home; don’t forget the “relationship” with yourself) 2. Choose big rocks i.e. the single most critical task that will move the needle. 3. Schedule the week i.e. dedicate time and plan the big rock activity into your schedule. Then plan other activities around it.
Watch the video. Then ask yourself the following: If this video was about the American approach to short- and long-term goals, what would be the maximum length of short-term and of long-term? Then answer the same question if the video was about the German approach to short- and long-term goals.
As an American Jeff Bezos is untypical in his long-term and customer-centric approach to business. The success of Amazon speaks for itself.