Michele Macready

I have been thinking about diamond mining recently. It seems the near-perfect analogy for the potential of people inside of large companies. Most managers operate as if the only way to find a diamond is to a jeweler (recruiting) or find one on the ground somewhere around where you are camping (most succession planning). It turns out that if you want to score the big diamond you have to dig for them.

Companies typically have more diamonds than they realize, but because of titles or corporate bureaucracy no one knows they are there.

I am reminded of this every time I think of my friend Michele Macready. Michele works in an IT job running a large implementation project. It's interesting work and she does a great job at it. But IT project work isn't very glamorous and doesn't get a lot of visibility, so Michele works in relative obscurity.

That's truly unfortunate, because it turns out that she is a diamond. Not just any diamond, but a really extraordinary one. Michele is so self-effacing and unassuming that I would have never known. But one day we were talking about the various problems with corporate strategy and Michele starts examining strategy through the lens of metaphor. The subject is really interesting and very complex, and so I ask her how she developed such a fascinating perspective. I knew she was smart, but the stuff she was discussing was at a whole other level.

That's when Michele casually mentions that she worked at the Sante Fe Institute with some of the greatest minds of our time. She actually ran the division that was responsible for monetizing these geniuses' deep thoughts. Then she went to the Boston Consulting Group and participated in their Advanced Strategy Group. Michele's husband (whom she met at the Institute) is a well known quantum physicist who is doing cutting edge work in developing quantum computers.

In other words, Michele is a diamond, and a spectacular one at that. She has participated in some of the most cutting-edge work around about how knowledge is created and valued. If she were still working as a consultant companies would pay good money to hear her opinions.

"Why?" you ask. "Why is Michele working as an IT project manager?" Because she wanted to live in a specific location and it was the best job she could find. She didn't want to live the travel-centric life of a consultant, and there were no companies in the area she wanted to live who were hiring "metaphorical thinkers." So she took an IT job.

You may think this story is remarkable. And certainly it is. Unfortunate then that it is not as fantastic as it sounds. The company where you work probably has some Micheles in its employ. Do you know who they are? Or are you just assuming that since they don't have the fancy title that they don't have a great story, a new and interesting way to add value  to you and your company?

Diamonds may be all around you if you are just willing to dig.

Welcome Michele!

Comments

[Sean Rehder]

Jeff actually introduced me to Michelle and her husband real briefly while we all were in Van Couver. He had told the story to me of these “diamonds” prior to meeting them….that they were “ordinary” type people, unassuming, nice, respectful, etc. It just happened to be that they were geniuses.

Jeff was right…no MIT diplomas hanging around the necks, no pocket protectors, no signs saying “asking me what I’ve done, I’m crazy smart.” I was hoping at least that Michelle’s husband would wear a T-shirt that said “got physics?” Didn’t even get that.

So what is a good way for a company to identify their diamonds and let other employees know about them. Or…keep it simple… how does a company identity who worked on what and how did it go... where the company employees as a whole can also “acquire” this knowledge. As a business systems analyst I’ve work on many legacy applications where the documentation is lacking in quality... if it even exists, to the point that I need to talk to someone. And so the wild goose chase begins. After quite a few “oh, you should talk to” responses I usually find the info I want. But that’s the process for too many things for too many people.

What I’ve always done is find diamonds on my own at an employer, but then that information usually stays with me. Simply, because I don’t have a place to put it. Its those people that I go to first with almost every question I have. At my last employer it was a developer named George Ott. I had my “ask George” policy. When ever I didn’t know something… “ask George.” You can too at http://www.georgeott.com :)

Anyways… if a company can track work (failures/successes) that their company does, associate it with key employees that were/are involved, and display it to other employees…well… I think you are ahead of the pack and one step closer to total talent management.