Bill Kling

I had no idea who Bill Kling was (it turns out he's the founder and president emeritus of the American Public Media Group), but this interview by Adam Bryant for the New York Times made me sit up and take notice.

You have to be willing to go into a room and say, “Why can’t this happen?” And then have someone look at you and say, “That’s the dumbest question anybody ever asked.”

Even though you are the C.E.O., you have to allow and encourage that kind of feedback. Because you can sink a company if you come in with a load of ideas and innovation and creativity that’s bigger than the company can carry. So you’ve got to have people coming back and saying, “We know that,” or “We understand where you’re going with it, but it’s not something we can do at this point.”

And:

A mentor of mine taught me that every perspective is additive, because every person sitting in a room is looking at things differently. Each of them has a different perspective. They come from a different way of thinking and different experiences. And their collective perspective gives you a better outcome. So you have to value the perspectives and try to organize those perspectives in some useful way that lets you go forward. Anybody who tells you that they can do it all themselves needs an ego adjustment.

Kling generally evinces a perceptiveness borne of a refreshing lack of egocentrism. This is the kind of guy for whom I'd be happy to work. Check out what he has to say: it'll be well worth your while. And if you run a company, think about incorporating his wisdom into your own management practice.