Interlude - Index of

162 | Grown-Up Company
After becoming VP of engineering, I noticed that when I
whined about things, people would run off and try to fix them.
(It’s great being the boss.) At first my lesson was that I’d better
complain as accurately as possible. The better I could describe
what I didn’t like, the more likely my staff was to fix the right
problem. Finally I had an epiphany: Whining is the evil twin
to vision. Accurate whining is a careful description of how you
wish the world was not. Vision is a careful description of how
you wish the world would become. Whining is a sign that you
have an opportunity for vision. They may be closely related,
but vision is much more motivational.
Applying that lesson, I arranged a series of interviews to
ask Dan’s staff and others what they thought we could hope
to achieve, given our market share and competitive position.
What did we need to achieve?
Writing helps me clarify my thinking and make decisions,
both professional and personal, so I took the notes from my
interviews and turned them into a short paper. On a lark, I
The Brown-Nose Rule
At NetApp there’s a well-known saying: What interests my boss fasci-
nates me. On the one hand, it is a silly little observation. On the other
hand, it suggests a possible management technique. If you express
interest in an area, it is likely that folks further down in the organization
will become interested or even fascinated. Why not make a point of
identifying issues that you think deserve more attention and expressing
interest in them? Employees will likely focus on what you care about.
There is, of course, a potential downside. Especially at the topmost
levels, leaders have to be careful what they express interest in. I heard
a story about film mogul George Lucas. Walking around Skywalker