It’s Summer!  A great time to sit down and reflect on some  “themes” that I have seen across organizations I have worked with over time.  I’ve been lucky enough to work in the area of Leadership Development for about 15 years now and one of the biggest thematic rifts that I have seen in companies is between the idea-driven, risk-taking, culture people (the artists) and the task-oriented rule-abiding, get-it-done people (the soldiers).  Instead of appreciating one another’s strengths and leveraging what each brings to the table, typically lines are drawn in the sand, and precious time and resources are wasted in either conflict or silence.

Case in point, a couple of months ago I was in Silicon Valley working with an organization at an all-day retreat.  This is a global company that I have been working with for over a year…many “mom and pop” smaller and very effective, companies have been acquired by the larger enterprise so there are many intricacies within the culture based on location, level, and responsibility.  Everyone in the room had flown in from all over the country because, for the most part as with many global companies, most of this group worked virtually and rarely got the face-time they longed for.   I knew it was going to be a fun group as soon as I walked in the door.  There were hugs and laughter as we kicked off the day.

We started the morning discussing “Brain Styles”.  Those individuals who have a preference for the left side of their brain are more logical and disciplined and those individuals that prefer the right side are more relationships oriented and visionary. Are you already seeing the link with the artists and soldiers here?   As the discussions progressed it became evident that there was a rift between Operations and Sales.  There was a battle between the two groups with a breakdown in communication, few meetings, little collaboration and no synergy or overlap with what each was trying to accomplish.  It was crystal clear to me that everything I had planned for the day needed to be thrown out and some work between the two areas needed to be the focus.  I pulled aside the two leaders “Ben” and “Jerry” (wink, wink) who wholeheartedly agreed with my new plan indicating that this issue had been ongoing for a couple of years.  By the end of the day, we had outlined some strategies to be implemented to value and leverage both the artists and the soldiers of the group.  I have had subsequent meetings with them and things seem to be going in the right direction – all because we chose to focus and fix the silos!

I have so many examples of this type of dynamic that plays out both in large organizations all the way down to smaller partnership groups.  Each side feels that they are working their tails off to attain goals, but neither feels that the other side understands or appreciates the work they do.  In his new book “Loonshots:  How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Disease, and Transform Industries” Safi Bahcall, a physicist turned biotech entrepreneur, explains why some ideas make it big while others never see the light of day.  Not surprisingly, some of “the magic” hinges on the artists and soldiers working together and NOT being stubborn in their own foxholes.  One of his tenets beautifully illustrates what I experienced that day in Silicon Valley.

Soldiers vs. Artists

As Safi tells it in his book, most leaders rise up through the ranks as either an artist or a soldier.  And unfortunately, we all tend to be biased in favor of our own kind.  Artists prefer artists and soldiers prefer soldiers – and that can lead to catastrophe if not managed.  The quote in this newsletter is by Steve Jobs.  It’s one of my favorites…and why do I love it?  Because I align with more of the artist rather than the soldier mindset – see my natural preference?  Being intentional and setting aside our own biases is crucial to success.

During his first stint at Apple, Steve Jobs saw himself as the ultimate artist.  After the initial success with the Apple II, he glorified artists like himself working on the next new thing – the Macintosh computer.  But he mocked those he called the “bozos” working on new iterations of previous projects in order to perfect them.  In fact, the hostility that Jobs created between the two groups got so bad the street between their two buildings came to be called the “demilitarized zone.”

Because the artists and the soldiers in Apple were not encouraged to share ideas and help each other succeed, the whole company began to fail.  The Macintosh didn’t sell, the company nearly went bankrupt, and Jobs was forced to resign.  Thankfully, Jobs learned from his mistakes and when he returned 12-years later, Jobs knew he needed to love his artists and his soldiers equally.  At that time, Jony Ive was the consummate creative mind and designer of Apple products, while Tim Cook was called the “Attila the Hun of Inventory” when he was at Compaq before he joined Apple.   And who was Job’s successor at Apple?  It was Tim Cook the soldier, not Jony Ive the artist, proving that Jobs finally set aside his personal biases and gave both artists and soldiers the respect they deserved.

So, as evidenced by this story and others, one of our charges as leaders is to value both the inventors and the implementers.  That means not only recognizing their individual contributions but also ensuring that the culture is conducive for both to thrive. However, another nuance to this is to also manage the transfer of data between these two groups.  The artists who are coming up with new products, marketing efforts or processes and technologies need to be clear about the value to the stakeholders.  Ensuring that there is a flawless transfer from artists to the field is paramount to the success of the organization.  Transfer in the other direction is equally important.  Being able to collaborate back and forth and have good ideological debate needs to be intentional.  No product or software or marketing campaign works perfectly the first time.  If feedback from the field is ignored by the creatives, initial enthusiasm can rapidly fail, and a promising product, process or program might be executed poorly or simply dropped.

Let’s get back to Steve Jobs and look at additional evidence of him valuing both lines of thinking…this time it was during his stint at Pixar. On the evening before Thanksgiving 1995, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, the lights dimmed, and the curtains rose on an animated toy astronaut named Buzz Lightyear and a toy cowboy named Woody.  Pixar’s Toy Story, the industry’s first fully computer-generated feature film, became the highest grossing movie in the country for three weeks in a row.  Reviews at the time described it as “visually astounding”, “the rebirth of an art form,” and “the dawn of a new era.”  Believe it or not, this film, not Apple, is what made Jobs a billionaire.  By this time in his career, he understood how melding the art with the details can pay off.

In the months leading up to the premiere, Jobs who was the design, marketing, and technology guru, worked with bankers, who were the soldiers, to prepare Pixar for an initial public offering of stock.  IPO preparations consist of drafting a prospectus to be distributed to investors to explain the company.  A nod to the art was the cover of Pixar’s prospectus which featured a smiling Buzz Lightyear leaping out of a computer monitor.  Way out of the ordinary and just one small example…but Jobs did own 80% of the company and after the Toy Story premiere, the company was worth $1.5 billion.  He had learned a different model for leading, for how to nurture artists and soldiers, while balancing the tension between the two.

Keeping the forces in balance is so difficult because each of these constituencies comes from a radically different perspective and follows such a different path.  Surviving and thriving in the journey requires passionate, intensely committed people – with very different skills and values.  Artists and Soldiers – forging together towards a common goal.  What experiences have you had in utilizing both sides to create magic?  We would love to hear from you!