Writing about Life in the digital age

Google is currently testing driverless cars in Arizona. The two of us had lunch one afternoon in Scottsdale and watched the noticeable cars (with their rooftop honing devices) pass by our restaurant. As the car passed we heard a gentleman at a nearby table say, “Not a chance I’d get in that car.”

As unnerving as driverless cars may seem, change can be hard for many people to accept. We often fear the worst — that music videos would be the end of radio, and tablets would eliminate traditional books. Just consider how many people find it concerning every time Apple changes its charging cord on the iPhone. Yes, it’s concerning. But, we adapt…because we have to.

Change, in all areas of life, can be daunting, and especially at work where our natural tendency is to find a groove that works for us. Still, the resistance to change can be dangerous — as the way we work, the when we work, and the things we work on are consistently in a state of flux.

There might still be some professionals and executives out there who long for the "good, old days" of workplace management. The days when you told your employees what to do and expected them to just get on with it. Assuming they didn’t want to suddenly find themselves unemployed.

But obviously that’s not you is it? You understand that leadership in the modern world is about engagement, about winning hearts and minds across your team. Above all, about being "authentic."

Authenticity has become a favorite buzz-word in management circles and research suggests it is an important characteristic for leaders to have. In these days of galloping cynicism about leaders of all types in organizations big and small, in business or politics, being seen as someone who actually aligns the values they propound with their actions seems to be highly motivating. And this, in turn leads to better staff retention, closer team cohesion and improved performance.

Want your kids to grow up to be successful? Make them do chores. When they balk (and trust me: they will probably balk), you can tell them that scientific research supports you.

It sounds great, and it's true--but there is a catch. (We'll get to that in a minute.) For now, the science.

In the Harvard Grant Study, the longest running longitudinal study in history, (spanning 75 years and counting--from 1938 to the present), researchers identified two things that people need in order to be happy and successful:

The first? Love.

The second? Work ethic.

And what's the best way to develop work ethic in young people? Based on the experiences of the 724 high-achievers who were part of the study (including people like future-President Kennedy and Ben Bradlee, the Watergate-era editor of The Washington Post) there's a consensus.