If you’ve never read the work of Ed Marx or his book “Extraordinary Tales From a Rather Ordinary Guy” then you’re missing out. Ed’s been a CIO at multiple hospitals and has a great writing style that’s full of stories and experiences on how to be a great leader.
An example of this was in Ed Marx recent blog post about what he calls the “New Math.” In the post he shares a lot of stories and examples of “New Math”, but this part really caught my eye:
Right for the Organization
We are all proud of our domains and departments. We all love to show off our results. Super! You should be proud. But do not let pride harden your heart and cause you to stumble to the point you forget it’s about the organization’s mission and vision and not your trophy case.
Always keep the organization’s best interest first. The rest will follow. I learned over the years that the more control I give up, the more influence I gain. I once gave up my CMIO, CNIO, and BI and the IT influence did not suffer, but was multiplied many-fold. The organization prospered. It is backwards math, but it is what I refer to as new math.
The final section is particularly powerful. The more Ed gave up as a leader, the more influence he gained. Have you seen this in your career?
Are there other examples of “New Math” that you’ve experienced?
