Raymond Yeh interview
The mark of a great leader is when he or she recognizes that logic and intellect, though essential, are insufficient to effectively lead people. From Alexander The Great to Herb Kelleher, they have all learned that empathy and compassion are the backbone of leadership. That is exactly what Dr. Raymond Yeh, professor and author of The Art of Business: In The Footsteps Of Giants concluded based on his meticulous research of 30 organizations and on his own professional and business experiences.
Dr. Yeh taught computer science at Pennsylvania State University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Maryland at College Park. He was chairman of the Department of Computer Sciences at Texas and Maryland. He was the Control Data Corporation Distinguished professor at the University of Minnesota, and is an honorary professor at five leading universities in China and Taiwan.
He founded three successful software companies and served as a board member to several organizations. Dr. Yeh is founding editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. He has also served as a management consultant to many nations including the United Nations, US, Sweden, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Singapore as well as to world-class companies such as IBM, AT&T, Siemens, Fujitsu, NEC, and Hitachi.
He has written 12 books, including a four volume classic on Programming Methodology published by Prentice-Hall, and more than 120 scientific articles. The Art of Business is his second business book and is co-authored by his daughter and management consultant, Stephanie Yeh.
Below is our interview with Dr. Raymond Yeh. Enjoy!
Sonshi.com: When did you first learn about Sun Tzu's Art of War, and what about it did you find useful or interesting?
Yeh: I first learn about The Art of War in the early 1980s when I was consulting with Japanese companies. I found their executives all are well versed with this ancient classic and apply to their modern business work. As I learn more about it, I found the principles outlined by Sun Tzu actually apply to everything in our life not just in war. Basically, it teaches a person or an organization how to create purpose for each person or people within an organization through vision and values, and develop concrete strategy and tactics for fulfilling the vision.
Sonshi.com: You recently wrote a book called The Art of Business, based on The Art of War. Do you believe, then, that business is war?
Yeh: The essence of business, like war, is to reach certain goals -- victory, profit, etc. through the management of people, capital, cash flow, material such as transportation vehicles, food, etc., information, etc. In this sense, business is war.
Sonshi.com: In your book, you gave five strategic arts: possibility, timing, leverage, mastery, and leadership. Would you mind describe what these arts are for our readers?
Yeh: a. The Art of Possibility is a way for an organization to clarify their vision and values so as to develop a culture for helping an organization to reach for greatness;
b. The Art of Timing is a practical way of anticipating the future so that an organization, at its best, can be always in synchrony with its preferred future;
c. The Art of Leverage is the art of utilizing an organization's resources such as customers, partners, even competitors, etc. so as to maximize the effect of an organization's effort. More importantly, when an organization is able to put many of its key leverages together, it can create a tidal wave in the market to dominate the specific market they are in;
d. The Art of Mastery is an attitude for excellence as well as the practical way to achieve it. Any organization must constantly push for excellence, and it takes its efforts in all key dimensions that correspond to a person's physical, mental, and emotional/spiritual aspects. Any good organization must have this.
e. The Art of Leadership talks about seven key attributes of a great leader. Leadership is the art that coordinate all the other four arts.
These five arts, act in synchrony, keeps an organization always proactively ahead of the curve.
Sonshi.com: Are most US executives aware of Sun Tzu's concepts? If so, do you believe those concepts are effectively applied in business in the US?
Yeh: Many of the leaders I interviewed are aware of Sun Tzu's concepts and some are actively applying them. However, the most interesting thing is that even those who did not know about the book, great leaders actually are using these principles anyway. This is why I wrote the book in that wisdom, in my opinion, transcends time and culture. That's why Sun Tzu's book is so good.
Sonshi.com: How influential do you think Sun Tzu is in modern China and Taiwan in business and in government?
Yeh: The book, of course, is a household name in Taiwan and China. However, it is not clear that many business executive consciously apply Sun Tzu's principles wisely. On the other hand, the book is now more popular now both in business and in government as China enters 21st century with strong economic growth and must compete on a global basis.
Sonshi.com: You personally know some of the greatest business leaders of all time. For example, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Earl Bakken of Medtronics, Gordon Moore of Intel, and Michael Dell of Dell Computers. What trait(s) did you find they all have in common?
Yeh: Great leaders like Herb Kelleher have three distinctive traits, namely; a) Do the right thing, then b) Do things right, and also c) Prepare for change.
Sonshi.com: You stated great leaders have compassion. However, what if that compassion negatively affects the bottom line -- perhaps even the viability of the company? The leader would then have to choose between doing the right thing versus doing things right. How do you reconcile this seeming paradox?
Yeh: Great leaders have compassion because they want to make sure people -- their employees, customers, partners -- are treated well. When they do this, all of these people, especially the employees are highly motivated, and hence highly effective. Statistics show that the difference in productivity between a highly motivated employee and an unmotivated one may have a difference of 20 times. Thus, an organization, at least those that I studied, with a human purpose and well managed will always do well comparing with their competitors.
[End of interview]
Dr. Yeh taught computer science at Pennsylvania State University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Maryland at College Park. He was chairman of the Department of Computer Sciences at Texas and Maryland. He was the Control Data Corporation Distinguished professor at the University of Minnesota, and is an honorary professor at five leading universities in China and Taiwan.
He founded three successful software companies and served as a board member to several organizations. Dr. Yeh is founding editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. He has also served as a management consultant to many nations including the United Nations, US, Sweden, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Singapore as well as to world-class companies such as IBM, AT&T, Siemens, Fujitsu, NEC, and Hitachi.
He has written 12 books, including a four volume classic on Programming Methodology published by Prentice-Hall, and more than 120 scientific articles. The Art of Business is his second business book and is co-authored by his daughter and management consultant, Stephanie Yeh.
Below is our interview with Dr. Raymond Yeh. Enjoy!
Sonshi.com: When did you first learn about Sun Tzu's Art of War, and what about it did you find useful or interesting?
Yeh: I first learn about The Art of War in the early 1980s when I was consulting with Japanese companies. I found their executives all are well versed with this ancient classic and apply to their modern business work. As I learn more about it, I found the principles outlined by Sun Tzu actually apply to everything in our life not just in war. Basically, it teaches a person or an organization how to create purpose for each person or people within an organization through vision and values, and develop concrete strategy and tactics for fulfilling the vision.
Sonshi.com: You recently wrote a book called The Art of Business, based on The Art of War. Do you believe, then, that business is war?
Yeh: The essence of business, like war, is to reach certain goals -- victory, profit, etc. through the management of people, capital, cash flow, material such as transportation vehicles, food, etc., information, etc. In this sense, business is war.
Sonshi.com: In your book, you gave five strategic arts: possibility, timing, leverage, mastery, and leadership. Would you mind describe what these arts are for our readers?
Yeh: a. The Art of Possibility is a way for an organization to clarify their vision and values so as to develop a culture for helping an organization to reach for greatness;
b. The Art of Timing is a practical way of anticipating the future so that an organization, at its best, can be always in synchrony with its preferred future;
c. The Art of Leverage is the art of utilizing an organization's resources such as customers, partners, even competitors, etc. so as to maximize the effect of an organization's effort. More importantly, when an organization is able to put many of its key leverages together, it can create a tidal wave in the market to dominate the specific market they are in;
d. The Art of Mastery is an attitude for excellence as well as the practical way to achieve it. Any organization must constantly push for excellence, and it takes its efforts in all key dimensions that correspond to a person's physical, mental, and emotional/spiritual aspects. Any good organization must have this.
e. The Art of Leadership talks about seven key attributes of a great leader. Leadership is the art that coordinate all the other four arts.
These five arts, act in synchrony, keeps an organization always proactively ahead of the curve.
Sonshi.com: Are most US executives aware of Sun Tzu's concepts? If so, do you believe those concepts are effectively applied in business in the US?
Yeh: Many of the leaders I interviewed are aware of Sun Tzu's concepts and some are actively applying them. However, the most interesting thing is that even those who did not know about the book, great leaders actually are using these principles anyway. This is why I wrote the book in that wisdom, in my opinion, transcends time and culture. That's why Sun Tzu's book is so good.
Sonshi.com: How influential do you think Sun Tzu is in modern China and Taiwan in business and in government?
Yeh: The book, of course, is a household name in Taiwan and China. However, it is not clear that many business executive consciously apply Sun Tzu's principles wisely. On the other hand, the book is now more popular now both in business and in government as China enters 21st century with strong economic growth and must compete on a global basis.
Sonshi.com: You personally know some of the greatest business leaders of all time. For example, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Earl Bakken of Medtronics, Gordon Moore of Intel, and Michael Dell of Dell Computers. What trait(s) did you find they all have in common?
Yeh: Great leaders like Herb Kelleher have three distinctive traits, namely; a) Do the right thing, then b) Do things right, and also c) Prepare for change.
Sonshi.com: You stated great leaders have compassion. However, what if that compassion negatively affects the bottom line -- perhaps even the viability of the company? The leader would then have to choose between doing the right thing versus doing things right. How do you reconcile this seeming paradox?
Yeh: Great leaders have compassion because they want to make sure people -- their employees, customers, partners -- are treated well. When they do this, all of these people, especially the employees are highly motivated, and hence highly effective. Statistics show that the difference in productivity between a highly motivated employee and an unmotivated one may have a difference of 20 times. Thus, an organization, at least those that I studied, with a human purpose and well managed will always do well comparing with their competitors.
[End of interview]