Byron's Babbles

The Wright brothers invented the flying machine in a little more than four years, and spent less than one thousand dollars on the entire project. The brothers went about their discovery in a methodical, deliberate manor, and for the most part, they were confident that success was only a matter of time and effort.

As I stood at the marker for the second flight I thought about the others, such as Samual Langley, who was far more educated and well financed for the task of being first in flight. What the Wright Brothers lacked in education and financing, however, they made up for in determination, and a single-minded devotion to the task at hand.

Many people begin a new endeavor and don’t really give it the the determination needed for success. As Malcolm Gladwell said it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become great. Imagine if the Wright brothers “tried” flying for a couple of months and then gave up saying “we are just no good at flying.” It sounds humorous but many people do this when starting a new project. At the second marker pictured in this post I thought about the thousands of glider flights testing designs and the tenacity it took to drag the plane back on December 17th, 1903 for two more flights trying to go farther still and stay in the air longer.

The next time you are in the middle of that monster project think about the journey the Wright Brothers took to give us the gift of flight!

Today I walked the sandy ground where all of the Wright Brother’s extreme leadership, genius, and tenacity culminated in the first flight. To stand by the rail that the Wright Flyers slid down as a runway was breathtaking to say the least. I have been a student of their journey for many years and finally got to walk the testing grounds.

What really made me go “WOW” today was seeing and walking the length of the first flight. 12 seconds and 120 feet! I had to think, “Would I have called this success or written it off as – not enough?” Well, the Wright Brothers did both. They called it success and then said that’s not enough. In fact, they carried the plane back and made three more flights – I am going to do three more posts over the next three days using those flights. So, stay tuned!

Back to the first flight – 12 seconds and 120 feet. Why – why go again? Because of their LOVE for what they were doing. It wasn’t about them, it was about giving humans the ability to fly. It wasn’t about just going 12 seconds and 120 feet. It was about the fact it was now possible and they loved it. I can just imagine the brothers looking at each other and saying, “lets do it again, only farther.”

Wilbur Wright said, “…it is not really necessary to look too far into the future; we see enough already to be certain it will be magnificent. Only let us hurry and open the roads.” I for one am glad and inspired by the fact the the Wright brothers had the fortitude to come back to Kill Devil Hill year after year till they got it right.

In an age of instant gratification, I hope we all continue to look to these two great Americans and the many great leaders before and after them, who have achieved the unthinkable, and their achievements changed our lives.Think about it, with their game-changing feat, the Wright brothers became our exemplary innovators who helped bring about America’s rise as an economic superpower! It is their example that inspired the kind of businesses and industries that built and grew our nation, continue to solve the issues of today, and change the way we live our lives. As I stood on this hallowed ground today my prayer was and continues to be that I can carry their legacy forward by taking on new challenges with tenacity and meeting the hardships of my leadership roles with courage and confidence. If all leaders do this, our shared future is bright and our best days are still ahead.

I pray this will have have the same inspiration for you!

All of us have either seen or at least seen pictures of the famous sculpture done between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941 by Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers. They sculpted the colossal 60 foot (18 m) high carvings of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.

Although faced with different challenges and employing different styles, they all had certain values that they never compromised or lost sight of-such as integrity, trust and respect for followers. They exemplify values-based leadership.

Here’s why I believe they were great choices:

George Washington

Washington was a skillful visionary leader. This type of leader is an expert in designing and creating an organizational culture which will make possible the attainment of the leader’s vision and ideas.

As a visionary leader Washington had a vision into the far future, could develop an effective organization and attracted others to strive for the attainment of his vision so that it became a shared vision and they all worked together in an organization that sustained the vision, its beliefs and its values.

Thomas Jefferson

I believe Jefferson was chosen for his role in authoring the Declaration of Independence, which today some might call an “action statement:” In that declaration Jefferson set out the long-term aspirations of a new nation, and in asserting a natural right to happiness Jefferson meant that all individuals are entitled to make all they can of their lives.

Additionally, with his vision for public education, he understood that all individuals need to learn about democracy. As the father of public education, he set up the avenue by which all young people can become all they can be! As an educational leader I believe it is crucial to be a steward of what Jefferson started!

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt is recognized as a transformational leader. He defined numerous aspects of leadership that we now take for granted in the presidency as well as in private life. His inspirational vision about the economy, industry, environmental protection, and the National Parks system is still influencing our great country to this day. He had a remarkable ability to communicate his vision, not only through his well-crafted words, but even more through his indelible example. Roosevelt’s well-publicized, courageous exploits in Cuba in the brief but deadly Spanish-American War of 1898—the fateful days he viewed as the linchpin of his life—are perhaps the most apt symbol of his leadership. Roosevelt, mounted on horseback in front of his troops, showed the way—asking others to “come” rather than saying “go” in the words of his friend Henry Cabot Lodge—putting himself at risk, making himself accountable, giving more of himself than he would ask of others. I have always said that we must walk arm in arm with others, even pulling them along at times, instead of pushing!

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln created a true learning organization where those in his administration were free to disagree without fear of retaliation. At the same time, he knew when to stop the discussion and after listening to the various opinions, make a final decision.

When there was success, Lincoln shared the credit with all of those involved. Conversely, when there was failure, Lincoln took all the blame. Lincoln did not fear failure and created an environment where those around could take risks and make decisions without risk or worry of failure.

Finally, the most important thing we can learn from these Presidents is: you don’t have to become someone else or become like someone else to be a leader, you have to just become yourself. Go be the leader you are!

I have written many posts about collaboration, flattened hierarchy, and the learning organization, but I got to thinking this week about another component of my leadership style that fits in with these concepts. The ease of use of the Mac and integrated nature of the applications. When we developed the SWELL (Smart Worldwide Effective Learning Lab) at Lebanon High School we switched to an all Mac operating platform. We were able to get the Apple folks to let us demo a set of MacBook Pros to see if they were what we needed. My idea was to combine project-based learning with modern tools like the Mac to help students develop the high-level thinking and skills they would need in today’s world.

I remember when the Apple representative was setting up the demo machines he made a couple of comments that would forever change my view on technology and leadership. He said: “With a Mac what used to take three or four steps with a pc will only take a single step with the Mac!” And he asked: “Do you want to teach how to use the computer or be project-based?” Of course I did not want to teach computers and the thought of a single step process was incredible!

Since this post is not really about technology it will suffice for me just to say that he was right and I could concentrate on teaching content, not computer applications. I wanted to measure learning chiefly by the quality of work the students create.

Because the Mac is so easy to use, even students new to computers were able to create projects that demonstrated their learning. And because using the iLife and iWork suites is so intuitive — with skills transferring easily across applications — students were able to showcase their projects in professional Keynote, Pages, and iWeb presentations that integrated text, video, and sound; in sophisticated movies edited in iMovie and Final Cut Pro; and in engaging podcasts and soundtracks created using GarageBand. The fact that steps are eliminated because of the integration of programs made it all very easy for the students to learn.

It’s just like an environment where employees are empowered to create, collaborate, and do their jobs. They are able to showcase their abilities without the barriers of hierarchy. As a leader I prefer to organize the world in a lateral fashion, seeing people on an equal plane. This enables an integration of everyone just like that of the applications of the MacBook Pro. I believe in a lateral playing field where everyone leads from where they. This enables everyone to do their jobs effectively without added steps of approval, but with the collaboration of others. Just like when I drag a picture directly from iPhoto into Pages. Both are independent programs with different roles and responsibilities, but integrate easily when needed.

The flat organization supervises employees less while promoting their increased involvement in the decision-making process; Just like the MacBook Pro needs less computer application knowledge and allows the user to be creative. It also removes excess layers of managements improves the coordination and speed of communication between employees; Just like the Mac platform involves fewer steps, fewer levels of management encourage an easier decision-making process among employees.

So, next time you sit down to the computer think about your leadership style. Do you want your computer empowered to carry out many tasks in the least amount of steps or do you want lots of hoops to jump through. Use this lens to think about how to empower those you lead to be the most effective.