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Leadership: in a world of lies and uncertainty
published: 2012-01-30
The developed world is mired in debt. In 2008, it was on corporate balance sheets. Today it’s in the hands of governments. And that’s a critical shift. As Dan McCrum of the Financial Times points out*, businesses are “incentivised by laws and penalties to tell the truth” in their quarterly and other reporting. But, “politicians won’t”! For him, this makes the immediate future dangerous – and investors should prepare to “minimise losses in a variety of extreme events.” For me, this advice applies equally to leaders. So, here are seven actions for you to consider. ... read more
Leadership: what's your cool quotient?
published: 2011-08-22
London’s Financial Times commented as follows after Apple briefly overtook Exxon as the world’s most highly-capitalised business. “A cool company run by a cool executive (briefly) ruled the corporate world.” That it “ousted an unhip energy company only made it cooler.” An academic adds that cool comes in two sub-types - what I’ll call “together cool” and “far-out cool”. Perhaps, Rupert Murdoch and Warren Buffett exemplify the first - the older, quieter, more assured version. And, Richard Branson and Larry Ellison the second - more maverick and exhibitionist. The FT recommends* mixing both approaches - but gets sidetracked on style. So, let’s explore what leadership actions might give you “combo cool”. ... read more
Leadership: when the stakes are really high
published: 2011-06-06
Let’s think of some really big challenges. For a nation, it might be fighting a war. Putting citizens’ lives and the state itself at risk. For a business, it might be a takeover. Thus jeopardising the interests of all stakeholders. For an individual, it might be taking leadership of a failing project. Or, of something bigger than they’ve previously experienced. So, which was your notable challenge that succeeded – where you and others were at risk? And, which was the messy failure? Below are five factors needed for success in any project – whether national or personal. But, the last seems particularly critical when things get really tough. Particularly if you’re competing from a weak position. So, let me know what you think. ... read more
Leadership: avoiding nuclear disasters
published: 2011-03-28
The toll from Japan’s Fukushima disaster has lessons for us all. People are criticising the plant design, regulation, oversight and post-disaster response. For some, nuclear itself is the culprit. However, Japan has good scientists, competent engineers, meticulous planners and courageous workers. It has honest, industrious citizens – and our hearts go out to them at this appalling time. But, what (as leaders) do we need to learn? Here are seven suggestions. ... read more
Leadership: have you tested yours lately?
published: 2011-02-21
Phil Rozenzweig, a professor at IMD in Switzerland, swims against the current. When asked “What’s the next new thing in strategy”, he replied “That’s the wrong question. There’s always new stuff … and most of it’s not very good.” His advice … “Seek what’s true, not new!” This quote leads an article in a recent McKinsey Quarterly that offers ten tests for your company’s strategy. My list below is identical except I’ve inserted “leadership” instead of “strategy” in each test. Check them out and see how you rate. ... read more
LEADERSHIP: AVOIDING BLACK-SWAN DISEASE
published: 2010-07-26
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the best-selling economist and author of The Black Swan, is famous for his arresting insights. His recent postscript to The Black Swan is no exception: presenting ten lessons from the Global Financial Crisis. Above all, he recommends learning from “Mother Nature” – by making our global financial system more robust via a series of simple but dramatic changes to our thinking and policies. However, his lessons apply way beyond finance and I’m going to apply some of them to leadership. How do you think colleagues would rate you on the issues below? ... read more
LEADERSHIP: THAT ONE KEY LESSON
published: 2010-07-07
How do you rate yourself on the following five actions? Showing self-awareness?. Demonstrating authenticity, integrity and compassion? Understanding and engaging people as individuals? Showing self-leadership and adaptability? Communicating, particularly listening well – and widely? These are my phrases but, taken together, they encapsulate nearly 80% of the responses to a recent online survey that asked “if you could teach one thing to a young leader, what would it be?” From my decades of working with leaders (and being one), I can’t fault any of these suggestions. Even though, at times and to my cost, I’ve ignored some! But, notwithstanding their importance, they’re less than the full picture. Let me explain why – and suggest what else might be needed. ... read more
LEADERSHIP: THINK BIG BUT ALSO SMALL
published: 2010-05-24
Successful leaders offer both an uplifting goal and the steps to get there. The secret’s in the balance. If you’re only visionary, your legacy may well be just that: a high-potential but unrealised dream. People love it, but nothing happens. Equally, if you’re only focused on action and implementation, your people may be busy as hell but going nowhere. On long flights, I sometimes cook up an idea and enjoy the experience of what the outcome might look like – truly the view from 30,000 feet. But later, back at my desk, I have to think about how we’ll get there and my interest wanes. Too much hard work. Which would your people say you are: the dreamer or the detailer? Test yourself: which of the following two statements is more your home territory? ... read more
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? ... read more
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! ... read more
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? ... read more
LEADERSHIP: AVOID NEW YEAR'S IRRESOLUTION
published: 2009-01-19
Every year's different. But, 2009 looks like being really different. For many, the most challenging year ever. So, let's cut to the chase: as you return to work, which of your stakeholders is most frightened - in relation to their dealings with you and your business? Is it customers, employees, suppliers or, perhaps, your bankers? And, what are you going to do to ensure they don't abandon you?
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. ... read more
LEADERSHIP: THE BLACK SWAN STRATEGY
published: 2008-01-14
Black swans don’t exist; only white ones. Or, that was the belief until European explorers found some swimming happily in Australia, that land of strange animals and even stranger people! John Stuart Mill picked up the conceptual possibilities in such evidence: the non-existent actually existing. And, Nassim Nicholas Taleb is the latest to popularise the implications of an unknown unknown coming to be known. And, one hopes Donald Rumsfeld has bought a copy of his book, The Black Swan. It might have helped. ... read more
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