General George C Marshall

About 6 months ago I read a book about General Marshall. To be honest, I didn't realize the magnitude of the man and the role that he played in my freedom.

Someone on my team (yet to be identified) and I were talking, and it dawned on me today. We have a General Marshall. My General Marshall is one of the reasons I came to this division, and one of the reasons I'll never leave (unless he creates a new one).

Let me review some of my notes about General Marshall and quotes that he said to illustrate his qualities. I think they also apply to my version.

- A person of integrity. Here's some quotes:

○ Find the necessary moral courage to do the right thing

○ I want to go right straight down the road, to do what is best, and do it frankly and without evasion

○ I can't afford the luxury of sentiment

 

- A person of action. More quotes:

○ Man is made for action

○ Do as I say.  I will accept all responsibility.

○ The choice is between acting with energy or losing by default

○ I am not interested in the explanation…I am interested in the result

- A person of candor:

○ I am disappointed in all of you.  You haven't disagreed with a single thing I have done all week

○ I am not a diplomat.  I mean exactly what I say and there is no use trying to read between the lines because there is nothing to read there

- A person of fairness:

○ I am awfully tired of seeing mediocrity placed in high positions, with brilliance and talent damned by lack of rank to obscurity

○ Deliver me from the lazy thinker…give me someone who can and will think for himself

- A person of vision:

○ Avoid trivia

○ Face up to our vast responsibility

○ Go home and think about it

I have deep respect and loyalty to my General. It's another reason that I love my team.

Louis

I'm at PDC with a great team, in a nice place, at a great hotel (I love the beds at Westin).

 

I was watching Louis CK last night (shh - don't tell me wife. She wouldn't like him).

 

It dawned on me that I have "Louis". My "Louis" is just like the CK version. He is super bright, magnanimous, and serious yet funny in the same way.

 

He says what he thinks, which I love. If there's one thing that kills a team culture, it is ulterior motives or backdoor communications. If "Louis" has them, you either would not know, or agree that he's right.

 

That's one reason I love my team. We say what we think. No one is offended. Everyone wants to do the right thing. And we all just get along.

 

And that's "Louis". He's also able to inspire millions, mentor our team, and make a huge impact/influence on our technologies. Yet he (and us with him) have so much fun doing it. 

wonder twin powers activate

I'm a superhero fan. Not really into reading the comics, but definitely watching the Saturday morning cartoons :)

 

I keep gloating over my team. They are awesome. Well we have a couple of folks that I'll call the Wonder Twins, aka, Zan and Jayna (btw - I did not knew their name before today). Individually, each is an awesome person with great talents. Put them together, and BAM, watch out. They have an amazing multiplier greater than 1+1. I enjoy watching them work. I am often jealous.

 

Having wonder twins is wonder-ful. We have a hard problem, wonder twin powers activate. We need some new bits as soon as possible, wonder twin powers activate.

 

In all seriousness, Zan and Jayna are good friends, and great team members. Yet another reason I love my team!

"the brain"

If I'm pinky, then I'm sure everyone is asking, "where's the brain?"

Microsoft has lots of brains. They're all probably trying to take over the world. Or trying to explain the brain to us mere mortals.

But pure intelligence does not bring about revolution. Most of the time brain people are over confident, arrogant, and un-influential (except to threaten to hurt the Pinky).

My brain is different. "Brain" is very smart. He has answers to just about anything. And he's usually right... usually :). But the thing that differentiates my "Brain", and that makes my team so awesome, is that "Brain" is a nice person. "Brain" will listen intently on what you have to say, explain what you don't understand, and do it again if needed. "Brain" empathizes, cares about people, and helps everyone on the team. Brain is taking over the world 1 person at a time.

"Brain" is one of the reasons I love my team.