What Your CEO Is Reading: Leaders Own Their Tears; Busting Big Tech; Old-School Gamer – Tech News(blog) | Tech News
Every week, CIO Journal offers a glimpse into the mind of the CEO, whose view of technology is shaped by stories in management journals, general interest magazines and, of course, in-flight publications.
For crying out loud. Napping and mindfulness have evolved into the signature practices of the enlightened organization. Could acceptance of public crying be next? “The message from the top needs to be that no one will lose credibility or be seen as less competent if they cry. Rather, they will be viewed as being authentic,” Jeneva Patterson, senior faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership in Brussels, Belgium, writes in Harvard Business Review. Caught crying by peers? Ms. Patterson suggests a pivot: “Say something like, ‘As you can see I have strong emotions about this topic because of how much I value our work.’” True leaders own their tears.
Time to stop big tech from getting bigger? Despite their market power, today’s internet giants “don’t fit the stereotype of rapacious monopolists that raise prices and squeeze investment,” Martin Giles writes in Technology Review. But with tech barons positioned to dominate artificial intelligence thanks to their “vast data reserves,” Mr. Giles suggests that now is the time to consider new measures. Among the ideas: A mandate that calls upon companies to share their data–”random and stripped of all personal identifiers”–when they pass a certain level of market share.
Old-school gaming. Nintendo Co., the Japanese gaming company that gave the world Mario and Zelda, is 130-years-old. And to the joy of some (gamers) and the frustration of others (analysts), the company retains an old school vibe when it comes to creating product, as Bloomberg Businessweek’s Felix Gillette explains: “The expectation is that new hires will learn the craft from senior producers and spend the rest of their careers at Nintendo, continuously honing their command.” This dedication to craft, a setup Businessweek compares to surrounding Kyoto’s “rich, artisanal culture,” has produced gameplay and devices that could come from no where else. Critics say the insularity has prevented the company from capitalizing on smartphone gaming. But don’t accuse Nintendo’s old school approach with being outdated. Says Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s most prominent creator: “What you need are fresh ideas. You need young people with interesting takes.”
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