Hugh Molotsi

One of the earliest lessons we learn when we enter the workforce is that feedback is a critical component of our development.  Feedback is a gift that helps us identify our strengths and opportunities to improve. Receiving feedback graciously is an important skill to develop.  If we don’t make the experience for the person giving us feedback a pleasant one, they are less likely to give us candid and direct feedback in the future which is only to our own detriment.   However, human nature works against us in developing this skill.  When we receive constructive feedback, we naturally feel attacked.  The pesky amygdala part of our brain takes over and we go into fight-or-flight mode.  We’re no longer listening and treat the feedback giver as our adversary. In addition, it’s particularly hard to listen to feedback when we disagree with it.  Let’s face it – you’re going to receive feedback that is based on misunderstanding, incomplete or incor...

My first Intuit badge. After 22 ½ years, my tenure as an Intuit employee comes to an end this week.   I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career there working with phenomenal colleagues to build revolutionary products to improve our customers’ financial lives. I’ve enjoyed what has felt like a front row seat watching technology dramatically change the world.   When I joined Intuit in January 1993, it was before web browsers, digital cameras, smartphones, cloud computing, the sharing economy and selfies.   And yes, it was back when high top fades were in style! Through all these changes, Intuit strived to take advantage of emerging technologies to “simplify the business of life” including things like running your small business, paying bills, or filing taxes.   My first job at Intuit was a developer on QuickBooks for DOS.   We’ve come a long way since then!   I’ve had the privilege of helping launch numerous new businesses at Intuit. ...

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Tewelde Stephanos at Xahn Restaurant in Mountain View today.  I hadn't seen Tewelde in 25 years!  We were colleagues at Hewlett-Packard.  Tewelde showed me the innovative solar lamp that his company Solar Smart Africa has developed.  It charges with sunlight in about five hours and can provide light for up to 40 hours.  The lamp can also charge a cell phone.  It was great to reconnect and discover we have a shared passion for electrifying Africa.

Perhaps you’ve read  this article  about Steven Sasson , an Eastman Kodak engineer who invented the digital camera in 1975.  Kodak, which at the time commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales, had no interest in developing digital cameras.  Of course digital photography eventually disrupted Kodak’s business and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Many will read this story and criticize the foolish Kodak executives for their short-term thinking.  The lesson learned on innovation is that if you’re going to be disrupted, isn’t it better to disrupt yourselves? Well I would argue that the state of innovation at Kodak in 1975 was much better than 99% of companies today.  At least they had a digital camera project!  Take a moment to think about it – how many companies can say they are incubating projects that have the potential in 15 or more years to completely replace their current businesses? Yes Kodak blew it by not placing a few ...

My article "What Makes You Special?" was first published on Intuit Labs . “What makes you think you’re special?” Have you ever been asked this rhetorical question? A question like this usually comes as a response to a request for an exception to the rules. The well-meaning intention is that fairness requires that all of us be treated the same. However, I want to make a case that  you are special!  The idealized form of the world is not one where every single one of us is treated the same.  In the ideal world, all of us get special treatment and that special treatment is unique to our individual special qualities and traits. Marcus Buckingham — author of “ Now Discover Your Strengths ” — makes the compelling case that we find fulfillment and success in work and life when we discover our special talents and spend most of our time playing to those strengths. The best managers are ones who recognize their employees’ strength...

My article " All Ideas Suck " was first published on Intuit Labs . The practice of judging ideas — specifically hosting panels made up of senior leaders — is not only unhelpful but it can be an impediment to innovation. Ideas are a dime a dozen and their value evolves through execution and learning.  Eric Ries , a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author recognized for pioneering the  Lean Startup movement , said “all ideas suck.” He explained that only through the discovery journey of lean experimentation can ideas have a chance of blossoming. Examples of success via lean experimentation are endless. Consider  Google  co-founders  Larry Page  and  Sergey Brin , who developed a better search algorithm for the web based on their insight from academic papers and citations. They discovered web pages could be ranked based on how many pages were linked to them. Google would eventually become the biggest advertising company of all time. And t...

My article Beating Bureaucracy Inspires Innovation  was first published on Intuit Labs . Perhaps the biggest enemy of innovation within large companies is bureaucracy — the concentration of decision making in a top-down management structure. In bureaucratic organizations, employees aren’t empowered to come up with new ideas and try them out. Instead, ideas must run up the flagpole. Senior leaders must be influenced. Several managers need to be bought in.  A single manager, who doesn’t like the idea, can derail the whole effort. It may take several meetings and many months to get an idea approved. The result? Employees don’t even bother trying. Innovation stops and productivity is disrupted. “The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline — a problem that largely goes away if you have the right people in the first place.”  —  Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Ot...

I had the pleasure of attending the Kwazulu-Natal Industrial Hubs Investment Forum in Durban, South Africa on March 19th and 20th.  The forum was an opportunity for investors to learn about the 11 industrial hubs that the KZN province is setting up to promote economic and job growth. My presentation to the forum was to apply lessons from Silicon Valley where entrepreneurship has driven dramatic growth and the rise of well known companies like Apple, Google, and Intuit from very humble beginnings.  While the Industrial Hubs look to attract investment from large global conglomerates, it's my hope that there will be investment to help educate and nurture entrepreneurs. Below are a few photos from the event. Yours truly and Lucky Masilela, Project Manager for the Electronics Hub. Yours truly and Alan Knott-Craig, CEO of Project Isizwe. Zeph Nhleko - Deputy Director-General of EDTEA, ..., yours truly, Professor William Gumede of Witwatersrand University, Pu...