To overcome challenges,
managers must be flexible
But speaker Moshe Rubinstein says
that rigid HR operations can hinder
creative problem-solving.
By
Jonathan Pont
 oshe Rubinstein has a simple message
for managers: Embrace chaos. Doing
so allows companies to find creative solutions
to existing problems and to the ones that
inevitably occur.
In a curious twist, human resources isn't
much of a catalyst in this process, Rubinstein
said in an interview.
Rubinstein, a professor in the school of engineering
and applied science at UCLA, delivered
a Masters Series lecture Monday at SHRM San
Diego. In an interview prior to his presentation,
he pointed out that companies in recent times
have shown resiliency in the face of continuous
challenges, whether or not they are posed by
such forces as downsizing or global expansion.
The latter will bring even more change, and
corporations, particularly larger ones that tend
to have more rigid structures and procedures in
place, will have to learn to adapt on the fly, he
said.
One example of a flexible strategy that Rubinstein
often cites is the rebuilding of the Santa
Monica (I-10) Freeway. In 1994, a freeway
bridge was shut down after being destroyed an
earthquake. The response by Caltrans, the
state's highway authority, and other agencies
was unorthodox, and resulted in the rebuilding
of the bridge in 66 days, rather than the two
years initially estimated.
The key difference, he said, is that everyone
with a vested interest in the project essentially
threw the rule book out the window. Rubinstein
recounted how every part of the project, from
the bidding process for contractors to working
with neighbors upset by the round-the-clock
noise, was improvised.
Stakeholders had different motivations for
the project's quick completion, such as monetary
incentives or a desire to quickly have their
neighborhood whole again.
This kind of flexibility, he said, "takes place
in small pockets." Structure, in the form of auditors,
controllers—and HR—can put "the
brakes on, limiting creativity." Rubinstein asserted
that companies plan too much.
So what does a prudent business do? First,
Rubinstein pointed out that most companies established
in the past decade grew quickly, with
little long-range planning. The way through
such chaos, he said, is effective leadership.
"The biggest role of a leader is try whenever
possible to unite opposites," he said. In the example
of the bridge over the Santa Monica
Freeway, the opposites were completing the
project quickly and doing so safely. But Rubinstein
said they were essential and complementary,
something its managers recognized at the
outset.
MOSHE RUBINSTEIN
Posts: Professor, School of Engineering and Applied
Science, UCLA. Also serves as a consultant to
major corporations on methods and tools for decision-
making and innovation.
Resides:
Los Angeles
Awards and recognition: Is a Fulbright Hays Fellow.
Has received numerous awards for outstanding
teaching, including the UCLA Academic Senate
Award, the UCLA Alumni Award and the
Anderson School Executive Education Teaching
Award. Recently named one of the top 20 professors
of the century at UCLA. |
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Gladwell is star attraction at signings
Conference attendees stock up on
the best-seller Blink as well as titles
by other authors.
By
Jonathan Pont
  n Monday afternoon, about 10 authors
sat patiently at a table in one of the
most trafficked areas of the San Diego Convention
Center: the SHRMStore. They mostly
chatted amiably amongst themselves and occasionally
entertained guests who asked them to
sign their books and offered compliments about
their work.
Only hours earlier, though, the trickle was a
torrent, and the crowd stretched around an entire
side of the store. They were there for just
one author, Malcolm Gladwell, who was set up
outside the store entrance. He took about four
seconds with each visitor, each of whom had
been told by a SHRM volunteer which page
they should have open before they reached him.
While length of lines and degrees of fame are
relative, book authors attract steady traffic to
the SHRMStore. Brian Weese, manager for
SHRMStore operations, says 1,110 items are
available for sale. He orders more copies of a title
if its author is speaking at the show, and
beefs up the stock when the author is a popular
draw, like Gladwell. A total of 32 authors were
scheduled to sign their books Monday.
Not everyone is there for the books, however.
The SHRMStore carries apparel, desk accessories
and even Band-Aids for blisters. Lomisa
Talbot, an HR generalist for Firstmark Credit
Union in San Antonio, said that her motivation
to shop had nothing to do with book signings or
aching feet. She was buying souvenirs for her
husband, who was unable to join her because
the San Antonio Spurs made the NBA Finals,
and he works for a news station there.
Deep selection is also a draw. Titles in the
store range from new works by Dave Ulrich and
Wayne Brockbank to Gladwell's best-seller
Blink. But most books naturally center on less
sexy titles such as The Complete Guide to HR
and the Law, which sells for $119.95. Michelle
Cox, HR director for a 100-person legal printing
business in San Diego, took advantage of
the SHRM conference to buy seven titles on
topics including leadership, hiring and career
development. She said having the show in town
made stocking up easier.
Buyers also stocked up on Blink. One woman
presented Gladwell with six copies of it, along
with his previous best-seller, The Tipping Point,
and a list of names. Giving the books, she said,
is "an opportunity for executives to rethink their
training."
Though the Gladwell signing lasted 40 minutes,
some have gone on for hours. Renee Sumby,
SHRM education coordinator, says Aliveauthor Nando Parrado signed for close to three
hours at the SHRM convention in 2001. Gladwell
had spoken to thousands of attendees
Monday, but a more manageable crowd of perhaps
200 people came to the SHRMStore,
some with multiple copies.
When the line outside came to an end, Gladwell
surprised shoppers in the store by coming
inside. People had scrambled to get copies, and
a line was building at the cash register. Gladwell
made his way down the line, signing books
for each buyer, and then departed.
Gladwell's book tour for Blink lasted two
months, and he says he can't remember the
number of appearances he made during that
time. "People like to meet the author and have
their book signed," he said. And as to the role
that signings play in increasing sales? Gladwell
said that he had "never thought about it in a
broader context."
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