Moore’s Law…

Moore’s law is widely accepted as technological truth. Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, described this phenomenon back in 1965. He predicted technology (specifically the number of transistors on integrated circuits) would double every freakin’ year. I can remember hearing Pablo and Sidgmore going all ape crazy back in the late 90’s as they compared notes on the respective networks they had built (CompuServe & UUnet). They both concured this Moore guy was some kinda genius. His prediction was on the money. Pablo and Sigi had the data from what they had built to prove it. Kinda cool, I guess. It was all Greek to me, eventhough I worked at both places.

Moore’s law explains why the ipad I’m typing on today is as powerful as one of the crazy Cray computers of old. Talk about cra 🙂 It appears to my finite mind, technological advances and the rapidity of change are entering an era of “doubling” where the numbers are mind boggling. Imagine 2020. What kinda device will I type on? Will you and I type at all? I have my doubts. Humans are the direct benefactors of Moore’s law. Comfort, convenience, and commerce keep coming at ever increasing ease. There seems nary a problem technology can’t overcome.

However, we still have a problem. Lets look at another law. This baby is more revealing even though it’s widely overlooked in our modern, fast paced world. And, coincidentally, it too starts with an “M.”

The Moral Law, as described by Websters dictionary is: a general rule for right living; such a rule or group of rules conceived as universal and unchanging and as having the sanction of God’s will, of conscience, of man’s moral nature, or of natural justice as revealed to human reason.

The Moral Law is really different from Moore’s, huh. The moral law isn’t doubling every year but one could argue our acceptance and application seems in a tailspin of decline. Hell, the vast majority of “emerging adults,” as chronicled in Christian Smith’s book, Lost in Transition, don’t even know if they’ve faced a moral dilemma – much less if there actually could be a right or wrong answer.

I suspect you and your team are more challenged by moral failures than you are from falling behind moore’s law. My belief is based on 21 years studying high performing systems in history and 12 years studying my clients systems. I’ve seen innovation and creativity explode in insurance, finance, real estate, retail, technology, automotive, and nearly every sector we’ve served. I’ve yet to see a client fail to keep pace with Moore’s law – the Moral law is a whole other story.

Does your system hold it’s associates to a standard of “right behavior?” Are the rules the same for everyone? Are your leaders consistent in their application or do high performers get a “hall pass?” Is justice your aim or does anything go at the end of the quarter?

I believe the greatest leadership challenge facing our country is not keeping up with technology; it’s simply our leaders and the exponential growth in their failures of nerve. What do you believe…