The Cranky Middle Manager #105 Nuclear Leadership- Rod Adams
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #105 (MP3 14.5MB 31:33 Min)
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Hello everyone. Today we take a small step into controversy with our guest, Rod Adams. Rod hosts The Atomic Show on the Podcast Network. That’s right, he’s promoting nuclear power and he doesn’t care who knows it. That’s not the point, he’s also a former submarine officer, executive and start-up entrepreneur. He’s another one of those managers who’s just out there getting it done. Enjoy.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to show 105. Today I’m using Callburner for the first time, I hope you notice an increased quality in the interview sound. It’s a shameless plug but I like the software…sue me. Today’s show is dedicated to Diogenes…. a man on an unpopular mission but not dissuaded. Sounds a bit like Rod. If you Click the Wikipedia description here you’ll find a great rationalization for masturbation but I won’t offend your ears with it……
3:44 The quote of the week is from Charles Haddon Spurgeon…. perseverance is the only way anything gets done…. messy as it can be.
4:33 Welcome Rod Adams of The Atomic Podcast… the man is out there talking about nuclear power and politics. The word quixotic is destined to appear at least once…. We start with his career as an officer on nuclear submarines…. how does a kid straight out of the Academy manage people twice his age???
9:05 Rod tackles a question we get a lot here… what do you do when you’re not an expert in whatever your team is? Dive in and learn, darn it.
10:05 What are the challenges that tight quarters of a submarine pose? Beats the heck out of your cube farm, you whiners….
15:15 What are some of the differences between managing (or leading) in the Military of any country and in the civilian world? Consistency of training and the importance of interchangeability is a mainstay of any military….
19:20 How do you lead in an idea that most of the world is terrified by? How do you manage in that environment?
23:37 We talk about measuring performance in civilian life…. and in the military. How do you set KPIs when the mission is top secret???
27:18 Real leaders recognize something has to be done, even if it’s not necessarily popular or even widely acknowledged as a need.
29:20 Besides The Atomic Show,
Check out Rod’s book recommendation, The Rickover Effect; How One Man Made a Difference
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
[...] He invited me on to his show for an interview the other day - you can find the resulting discussion at The Cranky Middle Manager #105 Nuclear Leadership- Rod Adams. (Truth be told, I have been begging Wayne for months to get me on the show and he finally relented. Perhaps he was just tired of my persistence.) [...]