Tag: Robotics

Team building

I invited a new classmate to join our volleyball team. Thought I kill two birds with one stone: we could use a tall guy, and I couldn’t bear seeing him unfriended during recess. Turned out he couldn’t play well, but we got to be friends for life.

We pitched in to buy a professional ball. Took it out for a test-drive.

Before I even got my chance at that spanking new white ball, it bounced to the street, ran over by a car, and voila! Memory of shared disappointment.

But Team!

Then we went out and had some lunch. The neighborhood gangs there just walked up and started to punch each of us to the ground. Back then, one of our oldest classmates had a brother in the army. He went home and took out an M-16 to scare away the hoodlums. Team!

Later in life, I have always been a team player: my brother got married, OK.

I would take care of mom, heck with my broadcasting career! Team.

The Boat People died at seas? I stood up and joined two other graduates. Together, we rolled up our sleeves, and spent our summer in hot, crowded and often times, violent (due to cramp living) prison-turned-refugee camps.

Team!

When it was my turn to lead, a joint Chinese and Vietnamese team (historically at war as nations) I made sure we spent a lot of time around food,

sharing meals and sharing deals. Team.

Families broke down because they forgot that Team came first.

Great teams just don’t happen by accident.

It needs everyone to commit to a common goal, and yes, it needs to define clearly who it is competing against (Apple vs IBM, MCI vs ATT or Samsung vs Sony).

Team needs various personalities to achieve optimal results.

But personality conflicts cause headaches.

Team leaders should embrace diversity of opinion, temperament and  ( emotional and social) intelligence.

Let conflict boil to the surface. Team’s fiber could withstand some strains and be made stronger as a result.

You know your team is fully functional when it moves as a unit: each knows his/her SWOT. Team leaders are not always right. They just know how to draw out the best in each member.

Team has its learning curve and maturity as well.

Even the best team can’t stay together forever. When you get teary at goodbye, you know you had a good team experience.

I would trade a B teammate over a A lone wolf any day.

No wonder Southwest Airlines consistently outperform its nearest competitor.

People who work there seem to and do have fun. They sing to, they smile at and they serve you as if each flight were their last. Because of this, we have yet seen SW last flight since their opening day.

We did not choose our families. But team does pick you as much as you let yourself be changed by it. Nothing worthwhile is accomplished without great teams. And no rewards greater than that of a team bringing home the first prize. Esprit de corps. That’s what it is all about. The high-fives or the tap on your shoulder when you are down and out (World Cup Final).  Come on! Focus! Next play!

Ask my tall classmate whose first handshake ends up lasting a life time.

All things equal, take attitude

IT engineers are back in demand. A few years ago, it was the opposite.

Labor surplus creates serious contest on “Who wants to be an employee”.

All things being equal, I take attitude ( one executive told me, all things equal, he takes the one with the best communication skill –  who could express him/herself on global conference calls).

After all, you spend more time with this new employee than you would your loved ones at home.

Will he/she be a team player e.g. hold the door, refill the coffee when emptying its last cup, show up at people’s birthday party.

In “the Orange Revolution“, the author noted that workers who spend time with co-workers outside of work make great teams.

(the V formation in bird migration as an analogy e.g. each bird takes turn to lead, thus bear the full forward impact so the rest can conserve energy).

I was fortunate to have worked with great teams (one of which bleeds orange). We were trained with trust games etc.. but most importantly, we survived lay-offs and rehired, dot.com boom and burst.

I recognize a team player miles away: the self-assured way he/she carries him/herself, the smile, social intelligence quotient and most importantly culture-fit.

Before Google, there was (academic) records, references and referrals to determine a candidate’s suitability.

Now with Google, employees can research a company and vice  versus for free (without subscribing to Hoover etc…).

The paradox of Artificial Intelligence is that robots can do difficult task (computation) very easily, and easy tasks (folding a towel) with difficulty.

And I venture to add that Social Intelligence will be the last frontier for AI, since that’s what makes us human, sociable and sacrificial (no greater than one man who gives his life for another) e.g. Purple Heart medal earners.

(Incidentally, PBS was showing an experiment to have robots carry heavy armory walking through rough terrains). We will learn how to work intelligent machines into our lives (from the ground up, first with I-robot to vacuum the floor, then to accompany astronauts into space). But one thing we cannot outsource to machine is sense of caring, and empathy (studies conducted with infants confirms that babies needed human touch besides just mechanical feeding).

Back to human resource. Teams are formed and dissolved. But besides outward factors such as product life cycle, market adoption etc…we shouldn’t neglect team cycle (artificial, conflict, compromise and collaboration – per Scott Peck‘s studies on stages of community). Think of it as an indispensable hyphen, between product (factory) and consumer (market). The change machine can spit out coins, but cannot look you in the eyes and say “We appreciate your business. Come and see us again”. A business book, titled “HOW”, written by a liberal arts major explores this soft-skill set.

Pick not the best candidate (skill-wise) but with an attitude. Pick the one who adds to the overall success of the team. Ask around, and use your power of observation.

We are built to recognize greatness as well as great attitude. That’s what schema is all about. The social and emotional context that helps us “read” a person. In sales, we call this buying signals. Frankl puts it best ” you can take away my body, but not what resides in it”. Attitude is everything, when all things are equal. It set the tone and makes a difference in each touchpoint and each task. Tina Turner once said that each time she sings Proud Mary, she sings it differently. Or, like the actress who portrays “girl with the dragon tatoo” said on Charlie Rose, ” I researched, researched until one day, I feel the character living in me” .

We recognize great acting. And we will also recognize exceptional service by employees who go over and beyond their jobs (Ritz Carlton empowers their employees – at whatever level – to deal with customer service incidents).

A team deserves great team players, who  in turn, put a positive spin on work place atmosphere and  performance.

For me, every day is a gift, and could very well be my last. Do not take for granted the normality of every day life. Each interaction and passing moment is an opportunity and a touchpoint to be cherished.