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. . . If you relish the idea of curling up with a book like the
Black Swan, or Blink, you may want to ask yourself
Would
You Rather Manage Ideas or People?
by
Francine R. Gaillour, MD, MBA, FACPE, Executive and Career Coach
for Physicians
About
eight
years ago I had the amazing good fortune to spend two days with
Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great." As a
member of the executive team of my former company, we made a pilgrimage
from Seattle to the Boulder, Colorado office where Collins
supervises his lean team of researchers. Our executive
team was there to visit the guru and have him enlighten us about
our company direction.
The
visit was indeed enlightening, and for more reasons than the
insights he shared about our company strategy.
What
I found fascinating about Collins was his own personal story and
career journey. After college and graduate school, he
spent a short time as a Stanford instructor. It was during
that time that HE received advice from his personal mentor. The
question his mentor asked him was stunning and when I heard
Collins relay the story, I immediately imprinted the question as
a "save this insight" post-it note in my brain.
Here
was the question posed to Collins by his mentor:
"Do you want to manage ideas, or
do you want to manage people?"
His
mentor asked him this question early in his career, when Collins was pondering
whether to enter the corporate world where he had numerous
offers, or create his own "business of ideas."
Collins recognized that his forte was the latter, and he went on
to make his name in in the realm of business research and ideas.
Managing
Ideas vs. Managing People: What's the Difference to You?
Here
is why this concept struck me as significant so many years
ago: It was a novel and potentially useful way to look at
those "major" forks in the road for those of us
physicians who have embarked on paths beyond clinical
practice.
When
it comes down to it, do I get my kicks out of coming up with
clever ideas, or do I get a thrill out of guiding others to
build big things?
Both
paths are noble, and choosing one does not forsake the
other. But it could be that your ultimate career
happiness will stem from devoting your efforts and cultivating
your personal career strategy around one "forte" and
not the other.
Where
Would You Rather Focus Your Energy?
Just
for fun, let's look at what life would be like if you devoted
100% of your effort to one side of the coin of the other:
| Managing
Ideas |
Managing
People |
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|
|
|
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- Preserving &
stabilizing for the future
|
|
|
|
- Ah-ha! moments of
brilliance
|
- Aaaaah moments of
completion
|
I
wouldn't dare to simplify career management so narrowly, but then,
why not? When you compare the simple question of managing
ideas or managing people, I think most of us would quickly point
to one camp and vote for their "comfort and kicks"
zone.
I'm
curious how YOU would answer the question. Do you gravitate
immediately to one column over the other? In what way does
your current role reinforce or conflict with your
preference? That may be the most important question of all.
PS
Send me an email telling me what your preference is. I'm curious.
Francine R. Gaillour, MD, MBA,
FACPE, is an Executive and Career Coach for Physicians. Dr. Gaillour
specializes in helping physicians who are venturing into new territory
as leaders, entrepreneurs, and career adventurers. She
can be reached at (206) 686-4205, francine@physicianleadership.com
or use the
Contact Form
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