Abraham Lincoln, assumed the 16th President of the United States on March 4, 1861.Lincoln had a simple origin and had to leave his studies to work in the farm with his father. But in his eagerness to learn, he became self-taught and had to study on his own.Thus, he became a lawyer, a Federal Deputy, took part in the founding of the Republican Party and was elected President.In early days as a politician, his tactic was simply to observe and understand how the dynamics of the assembly worked.However, he had his term finished early when he was assassinated in 1865 while watching a theater play.

Abraham Lincoln,
The Emancipation Proclamation and Transformational Leadership

Great leaders are shaped by crises and challenges. And Lincoln went through adversities from his poor childhood to episodes of deep depression.During the civil war, he needed to unite a divided country, because the South wanted the separation of the North. And allied to this, the issue of slavery was an emerging problem.That is why, it was up to Lincoln to lead the nation toward peace and unification and articulate in government how to secure the freedom of slaves by abolishing slavery. And such a transformation has brought learning as we shall see now.

The Challenges Faced

What allowed Lincoln to know that it was the right time to implement such a transformation?<ul><li>Know when to change direction: You must understand that if something is flawed and does not happen as it should, a new direction must be taken;</li><li>Gather information: Conducting research, getting as much information as possible, and asking the right questions is very important to reflect and strategize from there;</li><li>Prevent obstacles: As a leader focused on transformation, it is critical to predict the opposing viewpoints and how they can aggregate or disrupt your strategies.</li></ul>

Transforming Leadership

Born in New York in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt lived in an opposite reality to Lincoln. Son of a rich family, descendant of Dutch, Theodore studied at Harvard and had all the support of his family during his trajectory.
As a politician, he participated in the New York Assembly and was Director of the city's Police Department and also governor of the state, until in 1900 he was elected as Vice President alongside William McKinley.

Theodore Roosevelt, 
The Coal Strike and Crisis Leadership

However, the assassination of McKinley, in 1901, made Roosevelt assume the presidency and initiated his period of eight years as 26th President of the United States.Known for his progressive thinking, Theodore Roosevelt achieved several goals, including a Nobel Peace Prize for having brokered a conflict between Russia and Japan.In 1919, Theodore Roosevelt had a heart attack and died at the age of 60.

Theodore Roosevelt's first major challenge was a family tragedy when his wife got a serious illness, and his mother, who took care of her, was also infected. So Theodore had to deal with the loss of both of them, who died the same day.
The great crisis faced by Theodore, was the Coal Strike, where the association of miners went on strike in search of better wages and working conditions.
The biggest problem was that winter was approaching, and coal was the main material needed to heat the houses, which required a great ability of the President as crisis manager to solve this problem.

Challenges and The Great Crisis

Theodore Roosevelt's learning of management difficulties stand out in this matter, and from his behavior we can learn that:<ul><li>Calculate risks and understand the correct time to get involved: always pay attention to the scenario and how it is behaving, so that, when it is necessary to act, you already have the plans defined;</li><li>Have a crisis management team: During the coal strike, Roosevelt gathered 7 expert professionals to assist in resolving the situation. In critical moments, having a high performance team is key to finding the best solutions and achieving the best result.</li></ul>

Leadership in Crisis

Being a member of a wealthy family, he had a privileged education, graduating from Harvard and Columbia University. When he was 25, he outlined a 4-step plan so he could become President of the United States.This way, at just 31 years old, he had already completed the first two steps. He was Senator in New York and later Secretary of the Navy. Franklin still tried the election as Vice President, but was defeated.In 1928, he reached the third step: to be governor of New York. This achievement allowed him to reach the top of his planning in 1932, becoming the 32nd President of the United States.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 
The Great Depression and the Leadership of Recovery

Roosevelt served four mandates for 12 years and was the President who longer held office.During his lifetime, Franklin Roosevelt experienced many adversities, such as diagnosing poliomyelitis and being in the government during World War II, but he is considered one of the best presidents in US history.In 1945, before the end of World War II and three months before completing his 4th term, Franklin Roosevelt died as a result of his deteriorated health, but left an immense legacy.

At 39, Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio, limiting his movements and confining him to a wheelchair. This was a major blow to him, who needed years to recover and keep the political career.
As President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt faced two crucial moments in the country's history: the Great Depression and World War II.

Challenges and the Great Crisis

When he was elected and assumed his post, Roosevelt had to deal with the desperation that was set in the country. It was already the 4th year of the Great Depression and it was necessary to define the plans of action to get out of this "hole" in which the United States was and to resuscitate the country's economy.
Soon after the Great Depression came World War II, where the United States joined in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During this period, Roosevelt had to face all the consequences of a world-scale conflict.

<ul>
<li>Restore Trust: In the US crisis scenario, restoring everyone's trust was essential. That is why the first step was to speak the truth to the population, to stipulate the next steps and, thus, win the confidence of all;</li>
<li>Shared purpose: The next step was to create a shared sense of purpose with everyone. Then, Roosevelt defined that he, as leader, and the population were interdependent and would need to work together to rebuild the country;</li>
<li>Leading by Example: In moments of crisis and the search for recovery, it is up to the leader to be an example and lead the team towards success.</li>
</ul>

Recovery Leadership

Popularly known as LBJ, Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States, taking office after John Kennedy's death.
Born in 1908, with a simple family, LBJ graduated from Texas State University and Georgetown University, working independently while at school, where he developed several characteristics such as his ability to persuade.
Lyndon Johnson was a professor and entered politics in 1937 as a member of the House of Representatives. Later, he was chosen senator and in 1961 assumed the vice-presidency of the Kennedy's Government.

Lyndon B. Johnson, 
Civil Rights and Visionary Leadership

With Kennedy's death in 1963, LBJ assumed the presidency, a position that he occupied until 1969, leaving like greater accomplishment the approval of the Law of the Civil Rights.After the end of his term, Johnson retired to his ranch and dedicated himself to write his memoirs and, with his health weakened, passed away in 1973, victim of a heart attack.

One of Lyndon's big challenges was to pass the Civil Rights Act, which had been stagnating in Congress for a long time.
This law was very important because it defined the end of discrimination, be it by race, color, sex or national origin, in the United States and faced resistance from some people, while having the support of people like Martin Luther King.
Thus, with the signing of the law, Johnson achieved one of the most important milestones in the US rights struggle, where blacks were no longer forced to sit at the bottom of the bus and could vote for the first time.

From Lyndon Johnson's visionary leadership, we can mention some factors that stand out: 
<ul>
<li>Establish a Future Image and Master the Power of Narrative: When we speak of "visionary", we speak of establishing a vision for the future, having ideas. The vision must be passed on correctly, through stories and narratives that will facilitate the understanding of all;</li>
<li>Know When to Raise Everything: The Civil Rights Act had the purpose of making a radical change in the status quo of the United States, and the chance of failure was great. But Johnson knew this was the time to make that change.</li>
</ul>

Visionary Leadership

<ul>
<li>Be resilient, always seek to overcome adversity and move on;</li>
<li>A good leader can get the best ideas from the worst situations;</li>
<li>Have determination, because in times of crisis it takes strength to reach your goals;</li>
<li>Great leaders can arise from different realities;</li>
<li>Understand your strengths and weaknesses and get the best of them;</li>
<li>Be ambitious. Just like the leaders studied, you need to chart out a plan for big flights;</li>
<li>In crises, a great leader has the opportunity to retreat, reflect, rebuild and reappear even stronger.</li>
</ul>

Must knows to become a good leader

The four leaders in this book make an interesting quartet. Each assumed office in crisis — LBJ and Teddy upon the assassination of a president, Lincoln at the collapse of the Union, FDR at the collapse of the economy. None had a honeymoon period to get up to speed on the massive demands placed upon them. 

From Pulitzer Prize–winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, an invaluable guide to the development and exercise of leadership from Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The inspiration for the multipart HISTORY Channel series Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. “After five decades of magisterial output, Doris Kearns Goodwin leads the league of presidential historians” (USA TODAY). In her “inspiring” (The Christian Science Monitor) Leadership, Doris Kearns Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope. Leadership tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader? “If ever our nation needed a short course on presidential leadership, it is now” (The Seattle Times). This seminal work provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today’s polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency. “Goodwin’s volume deserves much praise—it is insightful, readable, compelling: Her book arrives just in time” (The Boston Globe).

philosophy

Philosophy

books

Books

politics

Politics

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Leadership

Have you ever found it impossible to get a new device working, like the remote control of a new TV set? If so, you’re not alone. Many people have difficulties using seemingly simple everyday products and often believe that they themselves are the problem. In actuality, the problem is bad design.
Bad design is the result of neglecting the relation between users and technology; good design brings technology and people together.

Complex Products Reflect Poor Design, Not User Error.

Most people would just say, “Read the manual!” However, user manuals are often too complex and abstract to understand.So what’s the solution?One way to help consumers learn how to use products is to give them clear signs or clues.Take the example of the simple door. We don’t usually have trouble using a door: we turn the handle, and push or pull it in the direction the hinges tell us to open the door.

A well-designed product teaches its users how to use it.

Yet sometimes even this simple task is beyond us.Without a sign on the door saying whether we should push or pull, even a door can be a challenge. Often, it’s not evident whether to push or pull. If the door is made of glass, has no handle, and the hinges aren’t easy to locate, we can find ourselves pushing a door in vain on the side of the hinges.

Imagine you’re a product designer designing a new washing machine. Although it’s a common household appliance, your washing machine will need new features so it stands out from the competition. But for your users to be able to understand these new, unfamiliar features, you’ll have to take their psychology into consideration.Users engage with a product on three different psychological levels.

The design process needs to consider human psychology.

First comes the visceral level, which corresponds to the unconscious behaviors we do without thinking, like breathing and digesting.Next comes the behavioral level. This level includes the quick reflexes we use when we play sports, like catching a ball, or short-timed responses to actions, like pulling our hand away from a fire. These are conscious responses, but don’t allow us a lot of time to think about them.Finally, the reflective level is the realm of conscious, higher cognitive functions where we perform complex planning and problem solving.

The different psychological levels of a user

In the old flight control model, the button to increase or decrease velocity looked the same as the button to increase or decrease the angle of descent or ascent. This led to many pilots getting confused; although it was the pilots who were making the mistakes by confusing the buttons, it was the design error of making the buttons confusing (the root cause) that led to the mistakes in the first place.By changing the flight controls’ appearance, designers were, paradoxically, able to decrease the chances of “human error.”

The key to fixing bad design is to find the “root cause” of the problem.

There are cultural constraints, which are the product of shared beliefs. An example of this is the international screw standard. We all know to turn screws one way to tighten them and another to loosen. We take it for granted, but it’s this community-wide knowledge which makes the screwdriver so easy to use!Constraints can also help remind people about important uses for the device that they may have forgotten. Imagine you’re working on a document on the computer. You work on it for many hours, but close it down without saving – big mistake!

Good design uses product constraints to help the user understand the product.

Good design provides answers to the user’s questions and clarifies confusions. To do so, the device needs to communicate with users to guide them through using the device. It’s this feedback – in the form of signs, sounds and vibrations – that help the users understand the device.

Well-designed products communicate with users by providing feedback.

Great, human-centered design isn’t enough to make a successful product on its own. For a product to be profitable, designers needs to work with other business departments.
This is the dilemma: for a product to succeed, both departments need to be in accord with one another. The product needs to be of high enough quality for the designer and profitable enough for the marketers.

Successful products require patience & cooperation between marketers & designers.

Good design uses human psychology to create products adapted to users’ needs and desires. Human-centered design focuses on creating products for the users, and helps users learn how to use a product, avoid dangerous errors and bring users and technology closer together.

Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious-even liberating-book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. In this entertaining and insightful analysis, cognitive scientist Don Norman hails excellence of design as the most important key to regaining the competitive edge in influencing consumer behavior. Now fully expanded and updated, with a new introduction by the author, The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how-and why-some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

business

Business

startup

Startups

Donald A. Norman

The Design of Everyday Things

What are structures?What holds an airplane together as it moves through the air or keeps a bridge from collapsing under the strain of cars? It’s all in the design of their structure.A structure is a collection of materials intended to sustain loads.

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down

The study of structures began in the seventeenth century, thanks largely to Galileo. Galileo had to switch disciplines after the Catholic Church threatened to persecute him for his work in the field of astronomy in 1633. He left astronomy behind and began studying the strength and character of different physical materials.

Galileo’s prestige brought greater academic attention to the subject. In the mid-1650s, scholars began researching the ways in which different materials and structures behave under heavy loads. That same century, Robert Hooke also discovered how matter behaves at an atomic level.

Stress isn’t just a psychological problem affecting humans – structures can suffer from stress as well.Stress tells us the degree to which atoms are being pushed apart. Strain, on the other hand, measures how far they’re being pushed apart

Stress and strain

Some structures, like ancient churches, castles or monuments, have managed to stay intact for centuries or even millennia. What makes it possible for them to stay standing for so long?Structures stay in place largely thanks to the compressive forces acting upon them. Unlike tensile forces, compressive forces push on a structure rather than pulling it.Ancient people implicitly understood the principles of structures and their forces well before they could perform calculations about them.

Structures built on compression

Structures can fall apart when they develop cracks or when new material is added onto them. C. E. Inglis wrote about this in 1913.Holes and cracks aren't the only agents of local stress, either. The addition of new material can also cause stress by increasing the structure's stiffness. So, if you put a patch on a torn piece of clothing, for example, it might just cause it to tear even more.

Cracks and Structure

When a person gets frustrated or stressed out, they will often dwell on their problems, which only serves to increase their stress levels. A similar phenomenon occurs in metal – and, appropriately enough, it's called fatigue.Fatigue occurs when the heavy load on a metal fluctuates and causes it to lose strength. People first noticed this phenomenon during the industrial revolution, when machinery would sometimes break when it was moved.

Fatigue in Structures

Structures are a fundamental part of both the man-made and natural worlds. And while a rooftop and a horse would seem to have little in common, they're affected by the same scientific concepts that keep structures intact. Stress, strain, force and strength are the keys to designing and maintaining the structures so important to our everyday lives, and researchers play a critical role in keeping us safe from their collapse.

Structures and Our Life

Structural engineering is important for societies around the world to ensure that the structures around us are safe and fit for purpose. This is a big responsibility for structural engineers who design structures to withstand the stresses and environmental impacts they are subjected to daily

In a book that Business Insider noted as one of the "14 Books that inspired Elon Musk," J.E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose. For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back-or give way under-thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper or a kangaroo, this book will ease your anxiety and answer your questions. J. E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.

Leadership

The Design of Everyday Things

Structures

Samuel Awoke