<\/p>\n \u201cMy\u201d Burst Disk<\/p>\n The disk itself cost around $100. Porting and threading the hole in a coupling brought the cost of deployment to $1,000. It cost $16 million to fix the problem and get the well back on track.<\/p>\n $16,000,000. That\u2019s a lot of zeros.<\/p>\n When all was said and done, I sheepishly went into my supervisor\u2019s office. I mumbled something about not being able to pay back the money in several lifetimes and that I understood if he needed to fire me. \u201cFire you?! We just invested $16 million in you. Why would we fire you?\u201d<\/p>\n That was 2003. It was a defining moment that I have relived over and over. My supervisor gave me the coaching that would last a lifetime. He didn\u2019t need to solve my problem or tell me what to do.[2]<\/a> Without saying the words, he challenged me to learn and grow from the $16 million investment.<\/p>\n For the past 12 years, I have held a director-level role in the same company that invested so heavily in me. My technical work has repaid the organization 100-fold. I provide coaching and direction for the senior-level technical leaders of our organization. To my core, I am a geeky introvert, not a born leader. So how did this happen?<\/p>\n Leaders are Made<\/strong><\/p>\n Eve Poole removes all doubt. She says, \u201cleaders are made, not<\/em> born.\u201d[3]<\/a> Her book, Leadersmithing<\/em>, is an excellent compilation of 17 abilities required to lead an organization. Her point 6 is, \u201cAccepting when you get it wrong.\u201d[4]<\/a> In my case, I got it really wrong! Throughout my journey, I can recall personal examples of learning for most of her 17 Critical Incidents<\/em>. Poole supplements the list of what is needed with an insightful chapter on character, \u201cthe very thing that will save you when everything else is stripped away.\u201d[5]<\/a> Character is a litmus test for the people I develop. When something goes wrong, I want to see how they handle it. Is it a personal failure, someone else\u2019s fault, or an opportunity to get better?<\/p>\n Arriving at the end of Poole\u2019s Leadersmithing theory, my judgement of the book was, \u201cI agree.\u201d That doesn\u2019t make for a compelling blog post, so I pull Adler and van Doren off the shelf.[6]<\/a> Upon reflection, a better summation is that I mostly agree.<\/p>\n 10,000 Hours and a Dose of Panic<\/strong><\/p>\n Poole states that her research and the 17 Critical Incidents<\/em> are aimed at leaders headed for the C-suite.[7]<\/a> I doubt her intent is to exclude the rest of us. Her teaching is practical for me, and I\u2019m several levels away from the highest echelon of our $90 billion company. I appreciate that this is a book on general leadership rather than the technical leadership where my experience lies.<\/p>\n I was surprised to see Poole dismiss Malcolm Gladwell\u2019s characterization of 10,000 hours of practice to create mastery.[8]<\/a> 10,000 hours equates to five years of concentrated work. It took me six to seven years to become an industry-recognized expert in my discipline, and that was in a fast-paced consulting house where every engagement presented a new challenge. Furthermore, many business schools expect students to have ten years of work experience so that they can contribute to a collaborative learning environment. I already had 10,000 hours of technical mastery before working on my leadership gaps through an MBA program. Poole is neglecting the journey that her students made prior to enrolling at Ashridge Business School.<\/p>\n I am also skeptical that her simulations can replicate exposure to the Critical Incidents<\/em>.[9]<\/a> She says as much in the introduction, stating that, \u201cthe more emotionally charged the situation is in which these skills are acquired, the deeper the resulting memory and its retrievability under pressure in the future.\u201d[10]<\/a> I agree that the case study method used in many business schools contributes to a valuable learning environment. There is no comparison between preparing a classical case on the bubble-memory incident[11]<\/a> to the stress of being told how your disks have shut down a $750,000 per day operation. I can barely remember the particulars of the bubble-memory case.<\/p>\n These two minor points do not diminish the value of Poole\u2019s excellent work. I raise them to underscore the time and effort required to build leaders. Leadership doesn\u2019t just happen.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> M.L. Payne, P.D. Pattillo, U.B. Sathuvalli, R.A. Miller, and R. Livesay, “Advanced Topics for Critical Service Deepwater Well Design.” Paper presented at Deep Offshore Technology, Marseille, November 19-21, 2003.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Tom Camacho. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching<\/em>. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019, 63.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Eve Poole. Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/em>. London New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, 2017, 2.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Poole, 18.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Poole, 47.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. How to Read a Book<\/em>. Revised and Updated edition. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Poole, 10.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Poole, 3.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/disk.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n