Tip O’Neill taught me everything
I needed to learn about innovation in digital media. It’s true – I
learned a lifelong lesson in managing media disruption a generation ago from an
aging, overweight, red-nosed, fashion-challenged pol from the old Irish
neighborhoods of Boston. Right out of college I had the privilege to serve as
one of those ubiquitous young Capitol Hill aides (to then-Congressman and now Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts). Yes, I was
someone to whom we may sometimes imbue a little too much power given their lack
of experience.
And by happenstance I was taught
a vital life and business lesson almost literally at the knee of the
then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and one of the true giants of
American political history, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr.
So one day I’m on the House floor
with Markey and next to me is an empty seat on the aisle. Before I
realize it Tip sits down and immediately holds court. He was truly the
mountain and a string of “Mohammeds” came calling. Tip wasn’t speaking
much – mostly listening. And his time wasn’t being spent with the old
grey lions (the Committee chairmen) – they could get to Tip any time they
needed. No, Tip sat and listened to every junior Member of Congress that
came up to Tip to let him know of a particularly troublesome concern in their
district, a favor they needed in order to stay in an electorate’s good graces,
or a report back on something Tip had asked of them previously.
Innovation
often (maybe mostly) arises out of unexpected places. And certainly the
story of dynamic change in the media since at least the advent of the digital
age (and when it comes to content, maybe forever) includes a uniquely central
role for younger people. Their natural openness and lack of the same
rooted habits as their elders shows us all not only new ways of solving old
problems, but addressing problems we never knew existed (who realized they
needed a simple way to see what your old high school girlfriend is up to?! Well,
Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook solved that for you!). Tip
wasn’t around for the coining of this phenomenon as “reverse mentoring”, but
he put it into practice a generation ago.
And it’s not only
about connecting with young people – it’s about constantly tapping into (and
sometimes helping shape) fresh perspectives from outside of your immediate zone
of sight and comfort. I well remember how my boss at CNBC, the President
of the network, would tell us he just got a call from the “executive producer,”
which was his code for Jack Welch, checking in on something as big as the
network’s strategic plan or as small as a discussion of the last on-air
guest. Welch had layers between him and my boss, and plenty of ways of
gathering information through the powerful GE executives that surrounded him every
day. But I suspect ours wasn’t the only GE business in that global giant
that felt the direct interest and attention of the Chairman.
So how do you tap into your inner
Tip?
Take advantage of informal
opportunities to learn from young people. Some of us have our own personal millennial focus
group – it’s called children. But it’s hardly the only way to tap into
fresh perspectives. For me, teaching in the media field is another
important part of this. But even engaging in the simple art of conversation
(outside of the media business) with young people about politics, culture,
technology, and education are all means of gaining a better understanding of
how they are confronting challenges and what new ones concern them.
Whether you’re the boss or
bossed, broaden your conversations.
If you’re working for “the man” (or “the woman”), don’t focus myopically on
your conversations with big company C-suite executives. That may be a
short-term meal ticket, but not a long-term strategy for accessing the best
spheres of innovation. And if you’re the head honcho, make sure that
institutionally you and the people around you force yourselves to hear on a
regular basis from those voices that aren’t simply next door or down the hall.
Be unafraid…be very unafraid. Sometimes we have to be
willing to jump into things that seem weird and foreign, and learning from such
an environment is essential. I literally became the first person I knew
on Facebook when it expanded beyond Harvard’s campus but still required an
email with the “.edu” suffix (which I had by teaching in grad school).
There wasn’t much of a network effect yet (think of having a phone when no one
else does), but it was an invaluable insight at a very early stage.
Picasso once said “It
takes a long time to be young.” But it’s well worth the investment of
that time to get there.
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