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LEADERSHIP: WHERE ARE WE GOING? AND, WHY?
published: 2008-09-08
Alexander the Great is one of history's great leaders. Two thousand years ago, at the head of his Macedonian army, he unified Greece. And, then led a combined army to conquer their ancient enemy, the Persians. The objectives were clear and it all made sense for his generals and troops. However, after four years, he was still dragging them eastward - arriving eventually in northern India. But, his army no longer cared. Alexander was forced to turn back.
LEADERSHIP: TWILIGHT OF THE GODS
published: 2009-03-09
Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle ends with Valhalla, the lofty abode of the gods, collapsing in flames into the rising tide of the River Rhine below. And the stolen gold, whose theft triggered the gods' downfall, sinks beneath the flood back into the hands of its rightful owners, the Rhine Maidens. It takes 15 hours (and four operas) to tell this story. And, it's all rather reminiscent of the recent boom and bust of the global financial system. Pride, dishonesty and rejection of basic good sense. So, how in our new and darker world of business leadership should we all behave?
LEADERSHIP: THE MIDAS TOUCH
published: 2008-10-20
The legendary King Midas had a special gift. Everything he touched turned to gold. Sounds great, but it wasn’t good for his diet - and he died. However today, having the "Midas touch" means the ability to make money. And, many business leaders have this special skill. They smell what's profitable and what's not.
LEADERSHIP: STAY AHEAD
published: 2008-11-10
If you can’t keep up, you're part of the problem not the solution. And, this is true for leaders, as for anyone else. If you don't understand how your business works today – the market trends, new technologies, economic drivers and so on – then, people won't want to follow you. As in a primitive tribe, they’ll leave you to die.
LEADERSHIP: FINDING YOUR "SILVER FOLLOWERS"
published: 2008-05-26
Think of the all-time favourite stories. Many describe a heroic journey: a man or woman leading colleagues in pursuit of an exciting goal. In comparison, being a leader in business is not usually heroic. You don’t have to fight dragons or dive to the bottom of the sea. However, as leader of any team, you share one thing in common with the legendary leaders. There’s no journey, if people won’t follow.
LEADERSHIP: BURN THOSE CENTREFOLDS
published: 2008-05-19
Jack Welch, Carly Fiorina, Warren Buffett! These are the centrefold players, big-ticket stars, the leadership fashion models. We read their names in leadership articles. Why? Big names sell subscriptions. But, the Fortune 500 companies employ just 500 chief executives. So, what about the rest of us, with names like yours and mine, that most people never hear?
LEADERSHIP: THE MISSING LINK IN BUSINESS PLANNING
published: 2008-06-02
Why do organisations fail? Or, succeed? Breakthrough technology may help. So can low-cost production. Or, superb marketing. But behind all this, one finds leadership. Whether it's Murdoch, Gates or Mittal driving growth and achievement; or, Wagoner, Lay or others causing their companies to stumble. But, their's are huge global businesses.
LEADERSHIP: IT'S ABOUT LEADING, NOT READING
published: 2008-03-31
Throw out all those books on leadership, and the pile of articles on your desk! Reading what other leaders do (or recommend) is like going to the movies or watching TV. It’s entertainment. Sometimes inspiring but mostly irrelevant - and soon forgotten. Most of us don’t need to be General Patton or Rupert Murdoch. We just need to lead that team we see, talk and do things with every day at work.
LEADERSHIP: WHAT THE HELL IS AUTHENTIC?
published: 2008-03-03
"Discovering Your Authentic Leadership" (Harvard Business Review, February 2007) is like a 20-minute, personal-growth workshop. All the feel-good, righteous stuff is there. You should be self-aware and authentic. Don't try to be like anyone else. Find your own life story and build on that. Ensure you've got life balance. Well, all that's fine so long as it finds you on parade and taking leadership actions others will esteem and follow. And, in this regard, my experience (from three decades of consulting and leading) says there are other factors as well. Like being passionate and driven, market savvy, technically proficient, tireless in the service of your team and, yes, at times even angry and unfair. Generals Patton, Napoleon and Wellington weren't heavily into self-awareness. Nor are many CEOs – including ones I've known and admired. Nice is certainly valuable, but not sufficient.
LEADERSHIP: THINKING IS OFTEN THE LEAST OF IT
published: 2008-03-10
"How Successful Leaders Think" is a classic HBR article: big-name leaders (yes, Jack Welch is there), a handful of anecdotes (passing for evidence), a strong metaphor (we can all understand) and a simple diagram. A revolutionary idea and leadership made easy. Except that the core "opposable" thinking (thesis/antithesis/synthesis) is as old as time, as is also the CEO’s unique integrative role across conflicting needs of individual business units, functions and market groups. But, above all, leadership is about much more than thinking.
LEADERSHIP: BEAT THE BUST
published: 2008-10-28
The Sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, says the downturn is going to be both deep and long. Global central banks have caught the falling knife of financial collapse. But, there's blood (and shredded reputations) on the floor. And now, the real economy is in for a bad time. Customers are already delaying purchases; banks are loathe to lend - even to good businesses; and, no-one knows what the next fright will be.
LEADERSHIP: AND, THE OBAMA CABINET
published: 2008-11-30
As President-elect, three of Barack Obama's earliest appointments have been: Treasury secretary (Timothy Geithner); Director, National Economic Council (Lawrence Summers); and Director, Council of Economic Advisers (Christina Romer) . Why these roles, and why so quickly?
LEADERSHIP: YOUR FISCAL STIMULUS
published: 2009-02-02
Whether you're President Obama or the leader of China, France or any other country, you’re currently struggling to craft or manage a stimulus package that’s both effective and efficient. Effective in creating growth and jobs; efficient in doing so without waste. There’s no point giving money that isn’t spent, gets into the wrong hands or takes years to impact. OK, but what about your personal stimulus package? In these times of retrenchments and cut-throat competition, what are you doing (and investing) to grow as a leader and keep your job?
LEADERSHIP: WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?
published: 2009-02-23
High (often unreasonable) expectations await newly appointed presidents - whether taking the helm of a company or a country. For President Obama, this is multiplied manyfold. His personal story, and the dreams it creates for others, breaks hugely with the past. And, he steps up in the face of challenges of hurricane proportions. How will he go? Sadly, if his current economic and financial initiatives fail, the dreams of many may end almost before they're born. So, let's take stock of your leadership (of your team, project or business): how difficult are things going forward? And, what the hell are you doing about them?
LEADERSHIP: HAS GEITHNER GAGGED?
published: 2009-03-16
The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, hasn't asked my advice. But, he looks as though he needs some. He's like a stalled driver on a railway crossing and the runaway financial express is already on top of him. His lack of resolve is worrying both Americans and investors across the world. Obama's land of "hope" and "yes, we can" is at risk of becoming a desert of "nope". Many CFOs (and their CEOs) face similar challenges - albeit smaller. So, how are you going? Perhaps this advice may be of help to you as well!
LEADERSHIP: NEITHER BORN NOR BRED
published: 2009-04-06
What do Kim Jong-il, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Dick Fuld, Lakshmi Mittal and Conrad Black have in common. Yes, fame (or infamy). But, not necessarily life stories. For me, the link is their role as potential exemplars in the debate about leadership being either the result of "nature" or of "nurture". "Nature" being about genes, family and early life; "nurture" about job experience and training. So, which is the dominant driver of your leadership approach?
LEADERSHIP: AVENGING ANGELS OR GADARENE SWINE
published: 2009-03-30
Dramatic economic downturns inflict pain both widely and deeply. People lose their jobs, homes and self-worth. No wonder they join in seeking scapegoats. Tearing into Bernard (Ponzi) Madoff in America or Fred (the Shred) Goodwin in Europe deflects our own pain. But, as a leader, how much time do you spend reviewing your own responsibility for what you've experienced recently - for your own organisational and systemic failures?
LEADERSHIP: G20, GEE PLENTY
published: 2009-04-08
Committees are often the worst way to get things done. Particularly in nervous times. And, the pre-G20 vibes were net nervous. There was positive energy (particularly from Barack Obama) about working together to restore financial and economic vitality. But, from others, finger-pointing - for example, at bankers and, more generally, those with "blue eyes". And, insistence (from Nicolas Sarkozy) that it would be his solution or none - with a walk-out threatened for good measure. And, as always, cries for legislation and regulation - noisily slamming stable doors after the credits have bolted. Sadly, it's often no different in business. When things go bad, there can be a rush to blaming - and backside covering. Also, pushing personal solutions. So, how have you and your people behaved in the downturn?
LEADERSHIP: A QUICK COVER-UP
published: 2009-04-20
Warren Buffett famously quipped that it's not until the tide goes out you find who's been swimming naked. He was referring to financial risk-takers. But, he might as well be talking about leaders. With the tide rising, we all look fine. But with the lake sucked dry, we may be caught. So, as you stand in front of your team today, do they see you clad - or threadbare? Are there holes where it's better to be covered?
LEADERSHIP: PROVIDING THE NECESSARY RESOURCES
published: 2009-05-04
Speaking of the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill immortalised the heroic few, whose bravery saved the lives of many. History is full of similar (but often less upbeat) stories. One that comes to mind is the WWI landing at ANZAC Cove in Turkey, where bungling by Churchill and other leaders left a small contingent of Commonwealth troops outnumbered and under-resourced. Many died in attempting the job they'd been given. In terms of your own leadership (particularly in the current downturn), what would your people say about your provisioning and support - in the context of what you've asked them to do?
LEADERSHIP: HOW SERIOUS ARE YOU?
published: 2009-06-29
In the years before his conversion to Christianity, St Augustine of Hippo is quoted as having prayed: please make me virtuous but not yet. Similarly, many of us want to be better leaders but won't invest the effort and energy necessary to shift how we operate. So, let's check other areas in which we've all changed in recent years - and contrast these with how (if at all) we've upgraded how we lead those we rely on for the success of our projects.
LEADERSHIP: WHEN GOOD-TO-GREAT IS ONLY LUCK
published: 2009-11-23
Business gurus and their books are full of magic formulae for achieving business and career success. It's alluring: we all want to succeed. And, they often clothe their advice in research across hundreds of companies or thousands of leaders. Very impressive on the surface. But, at bottom, it's all just another medieval philosopher's stone - promising to transmute stodgy lead into winner's gold. Lovely words but not for real. And, all too often, later review will indicate this "great" company has now slipped back, and that exemplary leader has fallen from grace - or, worse, is doing time. But is there something we can learn here?
LEADERSHIP: DITHERING IS DANGEROUS
published: 2009-11-30
Barack Obama is doing it tough. Few US presidents have faced so many parallel challenges. At home, the GFC has continuing work-out issues and healthcare remains unresolved. Offshore, there's Afghanistan, Copenhagen, Iran, China, Russia and Israel - and they're just the big ones. Sadly, there's rising concern about his capacity to decide and act with courage on a number of these. This is not just from rabid Republicans but also fair-minded commentators at home and abroad. While you and I face tiny leadership challenges by comparison, how would people say you're doing? Here are some thoughts to guide your thinking - and actions!
LEADERSHIP: YOUR KEY TO ORGANISATIONAL AGILITY
published: 2010-02-22
What would you give to achieve higher revenues, more satisfied customers and employees, improved operational efficiency and a faster time to market? That's what Donald Sull of McKinsey & Company offers if you achieve organisational agility. He defines it as identifying and capturing opportunities more quickly than your rivals. He quotes the heightened volatility of recent decades - and the acceleration during the GFC. But, what does this mean for you as a leader? Here are some thoughts.
LEADERSHIP: FUTURE-FIGHTING, NOT FIRE-FIGHTING
published: 2010-03-29
"Harmony has tremendous appeal. Yet a good leader still asks how the business can do better. And, a great leader fights for what he or she believes in." This edited quote from a recent HBR article* urges us all to strive for what's game-defining, not what's marginal. Where do you and your team spend time: on operational fights with few serious implications; or, strategic challenges that can transform the business? The authors offer three checks of fight-worthiness - outlined below.
LEADERSHIP: THE WISDOM OF CICERO
published: 2010-04-06
In Rome of the first century BC, most leading politicians were soldiers as well as statesmen. For example, Caesar, Mark Anthony and Brutus. But, one key contemporary was not: Cicero was primarily a thinker, orator and writer. He had huge influence during the final turbulent decades prior to the fall of the Roman Republic and appointment of the first Emperor, Augustus, in 27 BC. John Adams (the second US president) said of him that the world has not produced "a greater statesman and philosopher combined". As leaders, what can we learn from Cicero? Here are four must-haves I've taken from a biography* I read recently.
LEADERSHIP: OLD LESSONS, NEW SETTINGS
published: 2010-04-12
I wrote recently about the Roman statesman, Cicero, highlighting his focus on principles, communication, courage and succession*. I've reflected further and identified five leadership lessons from the political world in which he lived (106-43 BC). The first resonates strongly with more recent events in the Iraq. Importantly, each has implications for business leadership today. So, if I interviewed your peers and staff, how would they rate you on each of the lessons? High, medium or low? What do you need to do to improve on each one?
LEADERSHIP: THE LUSTIGER LEGACY
published: 2008-01-07
We all have something to learn from Cardinal Lustiger: above all, his courage. Courage to do what he believed in; and, to do it in a way he thought useful to the world. And, I’m not talking about action in some back corner or on insignificant issues. He was born a Jew and never rejected this. He converted to Catholicism as act of faith, but also as a continuation of his Jewish beliefs. Not everyone agreed. But, he set an example for us all as leaders.
LEADERSHIP: WHAT’S YOUR INNOVATION INDEX
published: 2008-02-18
The authors of an article in the December issue of Harvard Business Review assert that “five ‘discovery skills’ separate true innovators from the rest of us.” They list the usual suspects: Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Ratan Tata. And, as usual, it’s more about after-the-event generalisations than scientific deduction. But, that doesn’t stop us asking: what must I do to be more creative? Here are their five thoughts – and one I’ve added.
LEADERSHIP: GOING BACK TO GO FORWARD
published: 2010-06-07
Australia’s Prime Minister, Treasurer and hapless Government have locked themselves in a citadel of denial. They’re defending a resources super-profits tax, that’s been ill-conceived and badly introduced. The local media are full of it – as are key overseas financial reports. In Australia, not only mining people but also ex Labor Ministers, retired public servants, industry analysts and “friends” of Labor are trying to make the Government see sense. The tax, as proposed, is a national risk. Other countries are welcoming it as reducing Australia’s competitiveness in both attracting investment and exporting minerals. This same week, I’ve had a client CEO attempt a similar denial. Here are some thoughts on getting free.
LEADERSHIP: SPREZZATURA – DO YOU HAVE IT?
published: 2010-06-21
I quoted Seth Godin recently and would like to again. He’s a world-famous blogger and, as quite often, the following is quirky. “Sprezzatura … is Italian for being able to do your craft without a lot of visible effort. It’s a combination of élan and grace and class … the opposite of loud grunts while you play tennis or a lot of whining and fuss when you help out a customer*.” As a leader, do you have sprezzatura? Or do you draw attention to yourself?
LEADERSHIP: ARE YOU DRIVEN BY VISION OR VENGEANCE?
published: 2010-06-28
Kevin Rudd resigned his Prime Ministership rather than face being voted out by his own party colleagues. What transformed a resounding electoral win in December 2007 into this current humiliation? More importantly, as leaders, how can you or I avoid such outcomes? And, what are the warning signs? Here are half a dozen.
LEADERSHIP: FOR SUCCESS – AND HAPPINESS
published: 2010-07-19
Like Professor Clayton Christensen, I’ve faced a life threatening cancer and found it a crucible for clarifying my thinking about what’s important. The day after the operation, my wife asked me to step down from chairing a major fund-raising appeal for my daughter’s school. This seemed reasonable and I agreed. Overnight, however, I came to a different view: what was the point of being alive if I turned my back on this type of activity? We all face such decisions but, as Christensen points out in the July-August edition of the Harvard Business Review (2010), we must be proactive in formulating our life strategy. Are you clear about what you’re doing to ensure you are successful, have a happy family life and live by rules of which you can be proud? Below are Professor Christensen’s three strategic questions.