Many companies seem perfect on paper, only to find yourself discouraged, disengaged, and ready to leave once you work. Culture and experience shape our work more than job titles or company names ever could. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll look into what truly makes or breaks the employee experience. I break down the Employee Experience Equation: culture, technology, and physical space—three elements any organization can control to build an environment where employees thrive. We’ll cover how these elements impact your work and personal growth. Listen in to learn how to identify (and create!) a workplace where you want to be, not just where you have to be. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Every business leader is faced with the challenge of adapting to change in today’s fast-moving world, but creating a solid, long-term strategy is often easier said than done. In today’s episode, Seth Godin, an influential entrepreneur, author of 22 books, and one of the world’s most popular bloggers, breaks down what most leaders get wrong about strategy—confusing it with tactics. He explains why strategy is a long-term philosophy, not a step-by-step plan, and how major change agents like AI, the fading influence of Boomers,  are reshaping the business landscape. Seth shares why these shifts are inevitable and how leaders need to respond if they want to stay relevant. We also tackle deep insights on how companies like Netflix successfully disrupted themselves to stay ahead and emphasizes the importance of foresight in navigating these changes.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What’s the ROI of vulnerability at work? It’s big—personally and professionally. In today’s Leadership Spark, I explore why being a vulnerable leader pays off. We’ll break down the concept of Mismatch Theory—why the “tough boss” style of the past doesn’t cut it today and why leaders who don’t evolve may get left behind. Vulnerability—when done right—not only boosts your team’s trust and engagement but also directly contributes to business success. Yet, less than 11% of employees view vulnerability as a strength in their leaders, which leaves a lot of untapped potential.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

During times of rapid growth and disruption, aligning teams and sustaining a strong culture can be daunting, but Diego Barreto, CEO of iFood, has successfully led his company to unicorn status by focusing on these essentials. In this episode, we dive into his leadership strategies, exploring why team mobilization is central to a CEO’s role and how effective communication fosters alignment. Diego reveals how iFood’s non-negotiable culture supports an entrepreneurial mindset, values radical candor, and encourages big thinking. He shares insights into how iFood adapted during the pandemic, balancing employee comfort with high performance by instilling grit. We also discuss how iFood’s six-month cultural sprints inspire innovation and resilience and examine the role of the “pendulum effect” in guiding flexible leadership strategies.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

How does vulnerability fit into leadership? Being vulnerable as a leader is tricky, but there’s a clear difference between being vulnerable and leading with vulnerability. In today’s Leadership Spark, I share how my own journey with panic attacks reshaped my understanding of vulnerability. Through interviews with executives, I found that while vulnerability in personal life is crucial, in the workplace it’s a different story. Many executives ask if they should project unwavering confidence, or share their struggles? The answer is both! The key is not just exposing your weaknesses but demonstrating how you’re closing the gaps—combining vulnerability with action, as shown by examples from leaders like Fleetwood Grobler and Hollis Harris. Vulnerability alone can be risky, but combine it with action, and you’ve got leadership gold. I also share stories from top executives that illustrate how leading with vulnerability makes all the difference in building trust and resilience.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Did you know that those most eager to lead might actually be the worst at it? Have you ever worked with a leader who’s always eager to step up, but when they get the role, things fall apart? We often think that leadership is about willingness and eagerness, but recent research shows the opposite—leaders chosen for their desire to lead often perform worse than those randomly selected. In this episode, we break down these surprising insights with Professor David Deming at Harvard Kennedy School. David shares why effective leadership is about having the right skills, not just wanting the role. We dive into key traits like overconfidence, emotional intelligence (EQ), and economic decision-making, and how they play critical roles in leadership success. You’ll learn why overconfidence can backfire and prevent leaders from truly understanding their team. Plus, we discuss how randomly selected managers often outperform eager volunteers and why organizations need to rethink how they develop and choose strong leaders—it’s not just about who raises their hand.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

Can you be strong by showing your weakness at work? Leadership isn’t just about being strong and visionary, nor is it simply about being vulnerable. It’s about balancing both. In today’s workplace, leaders are faced with a unique dilemma—should they lead with authority or with authenticity? You need to do both. In today’s Leadership Spark, I unpack the critical difference between being vulnerable and leading with vulnerability with insights from 140 CEOs I interviewed. We'll explore how the best leaders aren’t afraid to show their gaps, but they take action to close them. From stories like Hollis Harris at Continental Airlines to Fleetwood Grobler at Sasol, you’ll learn why sharing challenges without a plan can cost you the job, but leading with vulnerability can rebuild entire companies. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

People leaders are moving beyond traditional HR to shape the future of work and employee experience, and this community provides the resources and connections to do that effectively. Existing communities fall short: they’re expensive, focus on superficial discussions, and constantly upsell products. Future of Work Leaders fixes that. As a member, you shape the community, decide on topics, provide feedback, and interact directly with me, (Jacob Morgan) for insights... and it’s budget friendly! Join CHROs and CPOs from Northrop Grumman, Johnson & Johnson, Lego, and Tractor Supply who are already part of this elite group.  If you’re CHRO or CPOI you can request an invite at FutureOfWorkLeaders.com and lead your organization into the future.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Every leader wants to make an impact in their organization, but running a giant like Sam’s Club requires next-level leadership. How do great leaders like Chris Nicholas balance the demands of leading an $84 billion business with a focus on people? As President and CEO of Sam’s Club, Chris’ approach to leadership is all about impact and purpose. Growing up in Hull, England, Chris learned the value of hard work early, and it’s shaped how he runs one of the largest retailers in the world today. In this episode, we dive into Chris’ purpose-driven approach to leadership and explore the strategies that make him so effective in empowering his teams. We discuss why leading with purpose is not just a buzzword but essential in creating a loyal and motivated workforce, and how trust serves as the foundation for building high-performance teams. Chris breaks down his unique Trust Equation and shares how he uses it to inspire and empower employees at every level of the organization. We also explore Sam’s Club’s innovative club model, where membership fees and a focus on curated, high-quality products allow the company to offer exceptional value to its members. Chris explains how leveraging Walmart’s technology and supply chain capabilities gives Sam’s Club a competitive edge in both convenience and pricing. You’ll learn how Chris fosters an environment where frontline employees are empowered to make decisions and why this approach is key to driving innovation and customer satisfaction.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is leadership changing or staying the same? Leadership today is harder than ever, with rising pressure from all angles—public scrutiny, polarized workplaces, and a workforce that's losing interest in climbing the leadership ladder. If leadership is this tough, why should anyone step up? We need MORE leaders, NOT FEWER. In today's Leadership Spark, we dive deep into the challenges and evolving expectations of leadership in the modern world. Leaders often believe they’re performing well, but there’s a massive disconnect—employees disagree. It's no longer just about setting vision and hitting targets. Leaders must redefine their roles, spend more time with their teams, and guide others like lighthouses leading ships through rough waters. Leadership today requires self-awareness, continuous growth, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the talk of recessions, inflation, and economic chaos, you’re not alone—but you don’t have to navigate it blind. Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Managing Director, Partner, and Global Chief Economist at Boston Consulting Group, and co-author of "Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms," is here to help leaders cut through the noise. In this episode, Philipp explains why leaders should avoid the Master Model Mentality, which is the mistake of relying too heavily on one-size-fits-all economic models. He shares tips for recognizing false alarms or overblown predictions about economic disasters that often never come true—and how to avoid getting caught up in doom mongering or the constant focus on worst-case scenarios. We’ll also explore his concept of Economic Eclecticism, a practical approach for leaders to draw on insights from various fields to make better decisions. Philipp sheds light on the perpetual tightness in the labor market, which means demand for workers is likely to stay high even in uncertain times, and the deflationary effect of technology, showing how advancements like AI can reduce costs and increase purchasing power. Plus, we’ll tackle whether the American Dream is really dead or just in need of a new perspective. Learn how to stay calm, curious, and confident, even when the headlines are screaming disaster.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Why do some companies consistently outshine their rivals, attract top talent, and spark innovation while others struggle? Many treat employee relationships like a simple transaction—initial excitement fades, and so does satisfaction. This leaves companies with disengaged teams and high turnover. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll explore how top companies have figured out the key to shifting from a transactional approach to one that treats employment as an enriching experience. Based on prominent psychologist Thomas Gilovich’s research, it’s clear: investing in experiences, not just tools, boosts satisfaction over time. We dive into the evolution from productivity-driven workplaces to purpose-led organizations that emphasize mutual value exchange, fostering a culture of growth, learning, and leadership. Discover how the employee experience era is redefining the way we think about work. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What’s it like to lead at the top of some of the world’s most iconic brands? Jeff Kindler, former CEO of Pfizer, has been there, done that. From handling high-pressure situations at GE under the legendary Jack Welch to leading massive change at Pfizer, Jeff has seen all the intense scrutiny and stress and was in the room when decisions were made that shaped entire industries. In this episode, he shares what he learned from handling public pressure, how he managed the clash of corporate cultures, and why being a CEO isn’t for the faint of heart. He shares major challenges he faced during his tenure at Pfizer, such as expiring patents, product recalls, R&D setbacks, and regulatory scrutiny. Jeff reflects on his leadership journey at Pfizer on the pressures of being a CEO, including mistakes made, stress management, and the impact on personal life and relationships. He also discusses the need for resilience and balancing professional and personal life. We look into why leaders might be getting a little “too soft” in today’s corporate world, what it’s really like when everyone is gunning for your job, and how to keep your head up when the stakes are sky-high.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

The corner office, big bonuses, and calling the shots can’t sugarcoat what being a CEO is like. The reality is far more complex—and often more challenging—than it looks from the outside. What do you think is the hardest part about being at the top? In today’s Leadership Spark, I dive into the untold challenges CEOs face that nobody talks about. From the crushing loneliness of having fewer peers as you climb higher, to the overwhelming decision fatigue from making countless high-stakes choices, being a CEO isn’t for the faint of heart. And let’s not forget: every word you say carries immense weight—one casual comment can snowball into unexpected changes across the company. Staying grounded amidst all this is easier said than done. So, why does no one tell you about these challenges before you get the job? And more importantly, how can you prepare yourself to handle them? Tune in to the full episode to find out. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

It’s one thing to talk about being open and authentic, but how do you actually do it without losing your team’s respect and trust? This is a conversation I had with with Robert Glazer on his Elevate Podcast. In this episode, I explain the difference between just being vulnerable and leading with vulnerability. We explore why so many leaders today are struggling with decision-making and accountability, and how the post-pandemic era has challenged many leaders to redefine their roles. We’ll get into why having too much psychological safety can actually backfire, why flexible work policies need clear boundaries and standards to succeed, and how you can balance being empathetic with holding people accountable in your organization. I also share insights from the 100 CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading with Vulnerability, on how to handle that fine line between showing your human side and maintaining confidence and authority. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Why do leaders neglect self-compassion? We often talk about leadership in terms of driving results, motivating teams, and making an impact. But one crucial aspect is often overlooked: self-compassion. Leaders are constantly focused on their external impact, yet managing their internal world is equally important. Without self-compassion, leaders risk burnout, poor decision-making, and strained relationships. How can you inspire and lead others when you're constantly battling your own inner critic? In today's Leadership Spark, we'll talk about how to embrace self-compassion to lead more effectively. Self-compassion is not about letting yourself off the hook—it's about recognizing your challenges, learning from them, and treating yourself with the same kindness you’d offer a friend.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

The leadership landscape is shifting under our feet, and it’s leaving many leaders scrambling to keep up. I recently sat down with Professor Joe Fuller on the Harvard Business School Managing the Future of Work Podcast to dig into some of the biggest issues leaders face today. We covered everything from the ongoing debate over hybrid work to the rapid rise of AI, and how it’s changing the way we hire and lead, and the shifting expectations of employees in 2024. In our chat, we got into why getting people back to the office is so tricky, why AI might not take your job but someone who knows how to use it better could, and why leading with vulnerability is more crucial than ever. Plus, we didn’t shy away from the hard truths, like why some companies are seeing productivity declines with hybrid work while others aren't, and whether employee well-being programs are actually hitting the mark or just missing their intended goals. If you’re looking for some real talk on how to lead in 2024 and beyond, this episode is for you.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

The old thinking of being a strong leader means never showing weakness is getting way too old. Too many leaders are so busy trying to be “perfect” that they end up stuck in the old version of themselves, while the world zooms past them. Refusing to acknowledge your gaps actually makes you a worse version of yourself over time. You might think you’re already doing great, but if you’re not constantly updating and improving yourself—what Aart de Geus, founder and chair of Synopsys, calls moving from version N to version N+1—you’re actually falling behind. In today's Leadership Spark, I dive into one of the most misunderstood yet essential aspects of leadership—leading with vulnerability. I’ll share insights on why acknowledging your gaps and actively working to close them is the key to unlocking your potential and driving real business performance. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What does it take to be a successful leader today? In this episode, Kurt Strovink, Head of Global CEO Services at McKinsey, explores the evolving challenges of leadership. We’ll discover why leadership has become more complex in recent years and how leaders can stay ahead by embracing human-centric leadership and vulnerability. Kurt delves into balancing purpose with business demands, offering strategies like integrating sustainability and innovation and asking the “Four W” questions to create a meaningful workplace. He also discusses the shift from transactional to holistic learning through peer coaching and reflective spaces, the power of role modeling, and the impact of storytelling. Listeners will learn about the importance of empowered networks, managing leadership loneliness, and why energy maintenance is crucial.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is your organization struggling to drive innovation? It may be because your employees are hesitant to take risks. Simply telling them to “take more risks” isn’t enough; they need the right environment and support. They may avoid risk-taking because of fear of failure or lack of recognition, leading to stagnation and missed opportunities. In today’s Leadership Spark, I outline three strategies to encourage risk-taking and drive innovation: creating psychological safety, rewarding desired behaviors, and providing resources and support. You’ll learn how to create a culture that promotes innovation through calculated risk-taking by implementing these strategies. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

What does it take to build a century-old company that has never laid off a single employee? In this episode, we’ll explore how CEO Melanie Dulbecco grew Torani into a $500 million powerhouse with a people-first leadership approach. Melanie shares the secrets behind the company’s remarkable history and its unwavering commitment to giving employees agency, control, and choice in their work. She mentions why they replaced old-school performance reviews with a system focused on growth and development, known as “Contribution Management,” and how they’ve created a culture of internal mobility, or “Career Mixology,” where employees can explore different roles within the company. We also dig into their unique compensation strategy, featuring above-market pay and employee ownership, which kept their employees engaged and loyal. Plus, Melanie shares her take on Gen Z’s work ethic and how Torani used futurist thinking and scenario planning to foresee a potential 20% market drop during COVID-19, ensuring stability and a commitment to 100% employment.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Imagine running a marathon only to find that the person who strolled in hours later gets the same prize as you. This is exactly the problem with metaphorical participation trophies in the workplace. What happens when high performers see no difference in recognition between their hard work and others’ minimal efforts? Equalizing rewards creates a false reality, diminishes motivation for top performers, fosters a culture of entitlement, and stifles improvement. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll discuss the importance of performance-based recognition, understand why real rewards should reflect real performance, and emphasize that true achievements come from hard work and results. Let’s advocate for a workplace where effort and excellence are genuinely rewarded to create an environment that encourages continuous growth and dedication. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

Is your company still stuck in the same old top-down management approach? It’s time to ditch that old playbook. In this episode, Frederic Laloux, Author of “Reinventing Organizations” and Co-founder of The Week, discusses why organizations need to reinvent traditional management approaches in today’s fast-paced world. He breaks down why outdated hierarchical structures often fail to engage employees and the flawed mentality of working solely for a paycheck. We also dig into the evolution of management models and how we’ve moved from rigid structures to more dynamic, people-first approaches. Frederic also discusses real-world examples of self-managing companies where teams thrive without the usual layers of management. He also shares stories from companies like Bayer and Zappos about the challenges and successes in adopting new management styles like “holacracy.” ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

We often hear the famous words "age doesn't matter,” but it’s not really an easy thing to accept in the context of leadership. In today's Leadership Spark, we’ll tackle this common concern: the unease of working under a leader who's younger than you. It's a frequent issue because we often equate age with experience. The situation becomes particularly challenging if the younger leader lacks the necessary skills. A younger leader who is adept, knowledgeable, and capable of motivating and challenging their team should be respected regardless of their age. Leadership effectiveness is about skill, vision, and interpersonal abilities, not the number of years one has lived. I explain why we should focus on these qualities rather than age. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Culture is not a finite element but something we shape daily through our interactions. But how can we create a thriving culture if no one takes ownership of their role in shaping it? In this episode, Michael Weening, CEO of Calix, discusses how leaders can foster a culture of accountability and emphasize our individual responsibility for shaping culture. He also addresses the damaging effects of victimhood in leadership and the workplace, highlighting the importance of taking charge of one's career and how leaders should guide team members in setting realistic goals. Michael shares why the CEO’s job can be tough and how the servant leadership mindset is often lost. We also touch on the necessity and extremity of change, and dig into the trends of “quiet vacationing” and the benefits and challenges of a fully remote setup. ________________ This episode is sponsored by Calix, which helps broadband providers of all sizes simplify their operations, innovate for their subscribers, and grow value for their business and the communities they serve. Learn more at calix.com. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

As we head into 2024, leaders are facing a landscape that’s changing faster than ever, and new challenges are on the rise. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll explore the eight leadership trends that every leader needs to watch out for this year along with some practical tips on how to handle the challenges that come with these trends. We’ll discuss embracing vulnerability, enhancing work ethic, prioritizing employee experience, focusing on skills rather than job titles, adapting to hybrid work environments, integrating AI and technology to humanize workplace interactions, addressing political, economic, and geopolitical issues, and thinking like a futurist. This episode will help prepare leaders to adapt to rapid changes in the workplace and global business environment.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What does the future hold for hiring practices in the age of artificial intelligence and evolving skill demands? In this episode, Joe Fuller, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, discusses the all-in economics of skill-based hiring, the current progress, challenges, and the importance of this hiring approach in the future, and real-world examples of this approach from companies like IBM. We also discuss the role of AI in HR, highlighting how combining tech with human intuition can lead to smarter decisions. We explore the potential of AI to transform hiring and internal talent mobility, while also addressing concerns about data accuracy and bias. We also tackle some big workforce trends like the declining workforce participation rate among prime working-age males, the rise of helicopter parenting, and parent accompaniment with Gen Z job applicants. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Have you heard the saying, “leadership isn’t about you?” That’s complete NONSENSE! Leaders like Satya Nadella and Tim Cook have dramatically transformed their companies, highlighting how leadership is very much about the individual at the helm. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll look into the personal role and impact of leaders, covering how their unique styles influence six key areas: setting vision, making decisions, shaping culture, managing change, inspiring others, and developing team members. These leaders prove that more than just facilitators, they are also crucial influencers whose visions significantly shape their organizations. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Every leader is talking about implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), but making it work in the real world is a whole different challenge. In today’s episode, we look at the evolution and controversies surrounding DEI with Dr. Frank Dobbin, Sociology Department Chair at Harvard University and Author of “Getting to Diversity.” We explore starting with JFK’s 1961 order for affirmative action and moving through the impact of the George Floyd protests. We also discuss why corporate DEI programs get both support and backlash, touching on Elon Musk’s call to end DEI and the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action. Dr. Dobbin explains how DEI efforts democratize access to scarce resources like mentoring, and why it’s tough to balance the need for diverse teams with the goal of top performance. He critiques current DEI practices, highlighting why many traditional training programs fail and the importance of structural changes and inclusive recruitment.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

How should you address your team after a promotion? While acknowledging your inexperience or newness to the role can create a sense of authenticity and approachability, it is crucial to also demonstrate your commitment to growth and competence. In today’s Leadership Spark, I’ll show you how you can achieve this by outlining specific actions you are taking to improve your leadership skills, such as seeking mentorship, working with an executive coach, reading leadership books, and being open to feedback. You’ll learn how to build trust and psychological safety within the team and reassure team members of your capability and dedication to being an effective leader.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Tommy Mello is the founder of A1 Garage Doors, a $200 million home service business that is growing rapidly. In today’s episode he shares some of his early leadership mistakes and how building a strong team and getting the right mentors transformed his company. Tommy highlights how leaders can inspire hard work by aligning employee goals with the company’s vision. He shares his tough-love leadership approach while explaining the importance of caring about employees’ lives outside of work.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Are you aware of the bad habits holding back your leadership? Many leaders focus on what they should start or keep doing to lead better, but they often overlook the bad habits they need to stop. Marshall Goldsmith, the world’s #1 Executive and CEO Coach, has pinpointed harmful behaviors that can sabotage your leadership’s effectiveness and your overall success. These habits can damage relationships and hold your team back, and many leaders don’t even realize the harm they’re causing. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll dive into the 10 things leaders should stop doing and why these behaviors are so damaging. You’ll also learn practical tips on how to break these bad habits. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

You’ve probably heard of the adage that too much of a good thing can actually be bad. It turns out, even something as beneficial as psychological safety in the workplace might have its drawbacks. In this episode, Dr. Peter Cappelli, Management Professor and Director of the Center for Human Resources at the Wharton School of Business, reveals surprising research findings about the potential downsides of positive psychology, like how it can hurt performance, especially in non-creative jobs. We also discuss how to balance fostering creativity with maintaining accountability, tools to measure psychological safety, and historical insights like Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. You’ll learn how to improve your team’s performance while keeping them engaged and accountable.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In gaming, some characters are just there for show, but the main character has the adventure. Turns out, most employees are like those non-playable characters (NPCs) blending into the background, unnoticed and unengaged. How can you stand out and truly make an impact? In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll explore how you can take charge of your career. Show up, lead with vulnerability, build relationships, and speak up — these strategies will help you shift from being an unnoticed background player into a main character who actively shapes and influences their workplace. Tune in now and step into a role that lets you lead, grow, and make a real difference.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Transforming a traditional organization into a digital powerhouse isn't easy, but Forbes CEO Mike Federle has done just that. In this episode, we explore how he transformed Forbes from a print magazine into a global digital giant with 140 million users. You'll learn how Mike led Forbes through the tech evolution, revamping their newsroom model, building a contributor network, and embracing native advertising. Mike shares what allowed them to thrive while many competitors disappeared. We also tackle the challenges of balancing politics with media objectivity and how legacy media is surviving the modern competition against content creators. Mike compares how leadership changed through the years, and how the US remains a beacon of opportunity and leadership globally. We also discuss why leaders need to communicate capitalism's value to younger generations, and Mike shares his Word of the Year for 2024.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Ever been told leaders should never apologize or show emotion? Or perhaps that they must always be the smartest in the room? Well, it’s time to challenge these norms. In today’s Leadership Spark, I’m dissecting the seven outdated leadership stereotypes that might be silently sabotaging your career. You’ll discover why saying sorry could be your leadership superpower, the benefits of showing your human side at work, and how stepping back can push your team forward. We’ll explore why embracing vulnerability and admitting mistakes can actually strengthen your leadership and enhance your team’s trust and performance.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Chess Grandmasters are like master strategists, meticulously planning every move. In this episode, Maurice Ashley, the first African-American Chess Grandmaster, shares how the principles of elite-level chess can transform your business and leadership strategies. Learn how to cultivate the mental endurance and focus necessary for success, and why embracing the mindset of an “advanced beginner” can lead to continuous improvement. Maurice also discusses the dangers of overconfidence, the importance of humility, and how strategic risk-taking can pay off. Tune in to uncover the secrets of thinking like a Grandmaster and applying these insights to achieve success in your professional life. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

You’ve been handed an important project at work, but something goes wrong, and now you have to face your boss to explain what happened. This scenario happens too often at work, leaving many wondering how to handle it without damaging their reputation. In this episode, we explore the right way to talk about mistakes at work, a crucial skill for career growth. You will learn how to effectively communicate errors, gain their leader’s respect, and turn mistakes into opportunities for professional development. By understanding the importance of leading with vulnerability and demonstrating accountability, you’ll be better equipped to handle setbacks and advance in your career. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

The pandemic has accelerated the shift from lifelong employment to demands for purpose, safety, and inclusion, creating new challenges for organizations. In this episode, Rachel Cooke, former HR Director at American Express and host of the Modern Mentor podcast, highlights significant workforce trends and evolving employee expectations. She tells personal stories, like her friend who commutes an hour each way only to sit in a phone booth for Zoom calls, illustrating the absurdities of some hybrid work policies. Rachel critiques California’s Assembly Bill 2751, arguing it tackles the wrong issues of burnout and emphasizes the need for genuine DEI practices beyond quotas. She also explores why many leadership development programs fail, pointing to organizational dysfunction and lack of practical application, and shares strategies for creating more effective training. This episode is packed with insights for leaders looking to boost team performance and adapt to modern workforce demands. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Did you know a little fear in leadership can be beneficial? In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll explore the controversial yet intriguing role of fear in effective leadership. We’ll also talk about the distinctions between healthy and unhealthy fear, how it ensures accountability and helps maintain high performance standards, and practical examples from daily life and notable leaders like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, whose success may partly involve being slightly feared. This discussion will help you understand how a balanced approach to fear can enhance authority, motivate high-quality work, and drive continuous self-improvement.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Randy Parker is the CEO of Hyundai Motor America and in today’s episode we go over what it takes to get into a senior leadership role and dispel some of the myths of leadership without sugarcoating! We'll talk about how to get your people to follow you as a leader, the importance of coaching and mentoring as well as hard work and determination, and some key performance indicators (KPIs) that can help leaders evaluate their effectiveness. We will also explore how leaders should be thinking about the future to stay ahead in a rapidly changing world.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do you want to know what separates the most successful leaders from the rest? In today’s Leadership Spark, I unpack the secret sauce behind the world’s most successful leaders drawing on my interviews with best-selling authors and distinguished leadership experts. We will explore the top mindsets and skills leaders must have to need to have that mark a truly effective leader, with a peek into how big players at companies like Oracle, Unilever, and MasterCard handle the blend of global mindset, servant leadership, and technology in their roles. After listening to this episode, you’ll learn how to tweak your leadership style and make a bigger impact on your team and organization. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Leadership isn’t just about giving orders or having the most persuasive ideas. Fostering an environment where every voice is heard and valued is just as important in their role. Cass Sunstein, Harvard Law School Professor and former senior advisor in the Obama administration, points out why leaders who talk less often lead more effectively. In this engaging episode, Cass shares transformative experiences from the White House, where silent observation led to breakthrough decisions. He explains how leaders can stifle innovation and decision-making by speaking too soon and why embracing a listening-first approach can unlock a team’s full potential. Tune in to learn how stepping back as a leader can propel your team forward and why sometimes, the best action you can take is to simply listen.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Ever had to navigate a tough talk at work? Whether it’s about performance issues or current events, we all face challenging conversations. It turns out that mishandling these conversations can lead to more workplace stress and unresolved problems. But what if there’s a smarter way to handle them? In today’s Leadership Spark episode, we’ll break down the FLIPS method so you can start tackling tough talks with confidence. This strategy can turn dreaded discussions into opportunities for improvement and connection. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Known for bestsellers like Profit First and The Pumpkin Plan, Mike Michalowicz is now transforming teams from good to great. In this episode, he dives into why rethinking money as a motivator can change your team’s focus from just getting paid to truly engaging and excelling. Mike also unpacks the dynamics between A, B, and C players and shows how tapping into this can supercharge team performance. He highlights the power of building trust and community at work, where shared experiences and the right kind of conflict can make team bonds stronger. Plus, he breaks down the FAST Model—Fit, Ability, Safety, and Ownership—sharing practical tips on how to use these elements to shake up your leadership style.Tune in to discover how these innovative approaches can help you create a team that’s truly unstoppable. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Most of us have been taught to think of our careers as a ladder, moving from one job to the next. However, this traditional mindset is setting us up for failure. Nowadays, relying solely on job titles and roles is risky, as companies now prioritize skills like adaptability, communication, tech-savviness, and emotional intelligence. In today’s Leadership Spark, I explain why you need to reframe your career and share practical advice on identifying and leveraging your skills for career success. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Think one-on-one meetings are just routine check-ins? When done right, meetings can be a game-changer for leaders and their teams driving employee engagement and retention. Steven Rogelberg, Professor of Organizational Science, Management, and Psychology at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and author of “Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings” shares his insights on transforming leadership through one-on-one meetings. In today’s episode, Steve dives into the impact of one-on-one meetings on employee engagement and turnover. Steven explains the need for regular, predictable meetings and creating a psychologically safe environment. He also shares strategies like balancing short-term and long-term goals, avoiding micromanagement, asking probing questions, and setting a clear but flexible agenda. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What does leadership mean to you? In my journey interviewing 140 CEOs and surveying 14,000 employees for my best-selling book, "The Future Leader," I discovered that everyone has a slightly different view of what leadership entails. This diversity in understanding can lead to confusion and inconsistency in leadership styles within the same organization, sometimes causing conflict and dissatisfaction. What if we could all start from a common definition and customize from there? In today’s leadership spark, I offer a definition of leadership developed from patterns observed across numerous top executives. I discuss how adopting a clear definition of leadership can align your team's efforts and enhance overall performance.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

AI has reshaped the business world in the last 24 months, compelling industries to rethink how they operate. Dartmouth professor Vijay Govindarajan dives into this topic, discussing how to use AI and real-time data strategically. In this episode, he introduces "Fusion Strategy," which integrates digital technology with traditional business processes. We explore the role of data graphs, used by giants like Google and Amazon, to track and leverage consumer data and how companies must evolve to stay competitive in this digital landscape. Vijay specifically focused on innovation in 4 key innovation areas: Brilliant Machines, Remarkable Results, Smart Systems, and Custom Solutions. If you’re looking to grasp the future of business and the necessary leadership skills to navigate it, this is an episode you wouldn’t want to miss.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Why does throwing perks at employees not create lasting engagement? In today’s workplace, many companies try to woo and retain top talent with attractive perks like free food, unlimited vacation, and even on-site massages. However, the core problem is that perks do not address the fundamental aspects of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. What should companies focus on instead to foster a genuinely engaged workforce? In today’s leadership spark, I talk about why perks are not a sustainable strategy and explore the deeper, more effective approach of focusing on employee experience.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Ali Abdaal is a former doctor turned productivity expert after he started posting videos online about how to study for medical exams. Today his Youtube channel has around 5.5 million subscribers and people from around the world tune in to hear his productivity tips. Today Ali is going to share how to identify productivity bottlenecks and ways to solve them, why intrinsic motivators are more powerful than extrinsic ones, the importance of NICE goals, and how to make work more enjoyable so that you can stay productive.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Most people want to get into a leadership role, yet few are actually able to do it. What’s the secret to success? I’ve interviewed and worked with thousands of leaders over the years and there 5 simple yet effective strategies that the world’s top leaders use to get ahead. In today’s leadership spark, I’ll break down what these strategies are including: taking initiative by tackling tough jobs, showing vulnerability to build trust, excelling at your current duties, shifting your focus on tasks to supporting your team, and being mindful of your self-image. Mastering these tips will help you stand out as a leader and move up in your career. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Every leader aims to maximize their potential and that of their teams, but mastering the complexities of human psychology is a formidable challenge. Dr. Michael Gervais is considered by many to be the world’s #1 performance psychologist focused on unlocking potential during high-pressure environments. From working with three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh and daredevil spaceman Felix Baumgartner who jumped from 120,000 feet, his techniques have proven effective across a spectrum of disciplines. In today’s episode we talk about why fearing others’ opinions can keep you from reaching your full potential, the dangers of tying your self-worth to performance metrics, and I’ll also share the things that make leaders feel most vulnerable at work and why.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s fast-paced work environment, the question of where to work from—home or office—can significantly impact your career trajectory. While remote work offers comfort and flexibility, spending time in the office could be your secret weapon for career advancement. In this episode of Leadership Spark, let’s talk about why office presence is crucial for those aiming for leadership roles and substantial career growth.  Based on insights from my recent conversations with business leaders and polls I conducted on LinkedIn, we explore the differences between mere productivity and true innovation and how being physically present in the office can enhance your visibility, foster meaningful connections, and open up leadership opportunities. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

It’s one thing to talk about turning around a company, a team, or a person, but how do you actually do it? Oscar Munoz is the former CEO and Chairman of United Airlines and is responsible for one of the greatest turnarounds in airline history! In this episode he gets into the details and strategies he used to achieve success during his tenure. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

When Oscar Munoz took over as the CEO of United Airlines, the company was in complete chaos. There were issues with unions, the financials weren’t looking good, customer complaints were damaging the brand reputation, and the company had gone through 8 CEOs in 10 years! During his time as CEO he managed to turn things around, securing employee and customer loyalty and putting the airline back on track. In this episode we talk about what he did to make that turnaround  happen including: going on a company-wide listening tour, involving employees in the decision-making process and getting rid of leaders who didn’t align with company values. He’ll also share the terrifying story of his heart attack and how a flight attendant’s breakdown made him realize that things weren’t working.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Believe it or not you can have TOO MUCH EMPATHY. I know, it sounds strange to think about but after listening to today’s podcast you’ll see why. Even though your empathy is well-intentioned, doing it excessively can blur personal and professional boundaries. This can only make tough decisions harder and lead to personal burnout. It begins by differentiating between empathy and sympathy and then dives into the dangers of over-empathizing. I’ll also tackle the solution: practicing empathetic concern without absorbing others’ emotions and distributing empathy across your team to create a healthier, more sustainable work culture. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Every leader is trying to driving innovation inside of their organizations, but that’s easier said than done. Uri Levine is the co-founder of Waze, which sold to Google for $1.1 billion. He’s also the first board member and investor of Moovit (Waze but public transportation) which Intel acquired for $4 billion! It’s safe to say that Uri knows a thing or two about innovation and building great products and companies. In today’s episode we will explore why it took Waze 4 years to reach “good enough” product market fit, why it’s more important to fall in love with a problem instead of a solution, how to manage the impact of fear on corporate innovation, how to apply an entrepreneur mindset inside of your company, and why firing is so crucial to business success.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

You’ve heard of IBM, but did you know that it was once on the verge of bankruptcy? One man, a cookie salesman, was able to turn the company around and keep it from collapsing. In today’s leadership spark, we’ll explore the remarkable turnaround of IBM in the 1990s under the leadership of Lou Gerstner, Former CEO of IBM. Lou, an outsider with a background in consumer goods and financial services, took the helm and transformed the company. He restructured IBM, shifting its focus from hardware to services and software, and revitalized its corporate culture, steering it from near bankruptcy to becoming a global leader in technology services. This story is a powerful example of how visionary leadership and strategic decision-making can navigate a company through trying times and lead it to success.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do you feel like people don’t want to work anymore? In today’s episode Jason and I have a friendly spar on what’s going on with today’s workforce and if the our work ethic is in collective decline. We also explore how social media trends are shaping the workforce, the importance of focusing on career growth, and four phases of change that we all go through: panic, adaptation, accepting a new normal, and a reluctance to go back to the status quo. Jason is the Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine and author of “Build for Tomorrow: An Action Plan for Embracing Change, Adapting Fast, and Future-Proofing Your Career.”   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Have you ever wondered why good employees leave, even when they’re well-paid? It’s a puzzle many leaders face. In today’s leadership spark, we’ll dive into the three key factors that drive employees away, beyond salary: lack of growth opportunities, poor relationships with their leaders, and inadequate work-life integration. It’s important to address these issues within our organizations, and leaders should provide clear paths for growth, foster positive relationships with their teams, and establish guidelines for work-life balance. At the same time, it’s also the employees’ responsibility to seek growth opportunities and set boundaries for work-life integration.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What’s the secret behind the communication strategies of successful leaders? Unlocking your ability to recognize different conversation styles, will leave you best equipped to face challenges ahead. Today I am joined by Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and bestselling author of “The Power of Habit” and “Smarter Faster Better,” who dives into the intricate world of effective communication through his latest work, “Super Communicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.” In this episode, Charles will reveal how leaders can become super communicators through understanding the different types of conversations—practical, emotional, and social—and the dynamic interplay between them. You will learn to navigate these conversational types with agility, enabling you to foster deeper connections, enhance your decision-making, and cultivate a culture of empathy and understanding within your teams. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Are you struggling to build trust within your team? Trust is crucial for effective teamwork. In today’s leadership spark, I explore four key strategies to enhance trust, drawing insights from expert CEOs, researchers, and psychologists. I’ll explore the power of vulnerability in trust, sharing your own challenges, acknowledging emotions, and the importance of demonstrating competence.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Why did Blockbuster really go bankrupt and what did Google have to do with it? Today I'm joined by James Keyes who is the visionary CEO behind three mega successful companies: 7-Eleven, Blockbuster, and Wild Oats. He's also the author of "Education Is Freedom: The Future Is In Your Hands." Today we're exploring how Jim increased the shareholder value at 7-Eleven by 10x, the challenges of navigating Blockbuster through the 2008 financial crisis and the rise of streaming platforms, and why Jim's philosophy of "Change Equals Opportunity" has yielded so much success. Discover the critical role of effective communication, how to genuinely engage with your team, and the secrets to cultivating a culture of relentless positivity and innovation. James Keyes lays bare the foundational pillars of leadership that not only build empires but also foster the growth of those who make them.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do you ever question your own abilities and feel like a fraud, despite your achievements? You're in the company of many, including top executives, who grapple with imposter syndrome. In today's leadership spark, we delve into four effective strategies to conquer this challenge: bolster your confidence by supporting actions with data and stories, use the syndrome as a motivator to enhance interpersonal skills, leverage the Dunning-Kruger effect to acknowledge your true capabilities, and engage in positive self-talk and self-compassion to reshape your internal dialogue. These techniques are pivotal in recognizing your worth and transforming impostor syndrome into a powerful tool for personal growth and empowerment.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is your leadership journey marked by ongoing growth and self-improvement? Embracing continuous learning signifies your path towards becoming an even more impactful leader than you were the day before. Today I am joined by Guy Kawasaki, the Chief Evangelist at Canva and former evangelist at Apple where he worked with Steve Jobs to market the Macintosh. He’s also the author of “Think Remarkable” where he reveals the three foundational pillars of successful leadership: Growth, Grit, and Grace. Discover how these concepts can revolutionize your leadership style, helping you to face challenges with resilience, pursue continuous self-improvement, and extend your success to elevate those around you. Leaders will gain practical strategies for anyone looking to make a lasting impact in their field.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

How do you make sure your voice stands out in any setting? Being a great communicator is a core leadership skill yet it’s also one that many people struggle with. In today’s episode I’m going to go over 8 strategies you can use to make sure that your message gets across regardless of who you are speaking with. I’ll go over everything from mastering the pace of your speech to engaging your audience with compelling stories. Whether you’re addressing a large audience or a small group, these strategies will help you speak confidently and persuasively and help you excel in your leadership career.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today’s episode is actually courtesy of the Stanford Graduate School of Business that just released a new podcast called If/Then. This is an episode from that program and it features professor Jonathan Levav exploring hybrid work vs in-person work and what approach generates the best ideas. Leaders will learn about the tradeoffs managers must consider when determining workplace modalities and what the best practices are for adapting processes and connections to a distributed environment. Tune in to learn strategies for maximizing innovation and engagement as you navigate the future of work.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Overwhelmed by work stress and unsure how to tackle it? You’re not alone. This common challenge can lead to anxiety and panic attacks, with unchecked stress wreaking havoc on both our mental and physical health. It can diminish our productivity and overall happiness. Today’s leadership spark is here to help, offering 5 powerful strategies to fight back: meditation for mental clarity, healthy habits for physical strength, self-compassion for stress management, and hobbies for relaxation. Identifying whether stress stems from a temporary challenge or a toxic environment is crucial—and sometimes, the healthiest choice is to walk away. Let’s dive in and transform how we handle work stress.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

How can the strategic principles of chess be applied in a professional environment? By developing similar critical thinking skills, leaders will be prepared to address challenges with nuanced and anticipatory responses, strategizing five steps ahead in true chess fashion. Today I am joined by Danny Rensch, Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com and international chess master, as we explore how the game’s principles can be translated into effective business strategies. Listeners will gain tips on innovation, team building, and the importance of self-reflection, drawing parallels between mastering chess and excelling in leadership roles.   Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Feeling stuck in your quest for career advancement despite your ambition and hard work? It’s a common challenge in today’s fast-paced workplace. Simply putting in extra hours and taking on more tasks often doesn’t lead to the desired recognition or progression. The key lies in adopting smart, strategic approaches. After having hundreds of conversations with CEOs, I’ve distilled powerful strategies that go beyond ordinary advice. These tested and proven methods are designed to make a tangible difference in your career trajectory. In today’s leadership spark, I’ll be sharing the guide to navigating the complexities of the modern workplace with confidence and achieving the success you’ve been striving for.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do you know how to handle toxic influences in your workplace? Conflict can oftentimes be resolved with compassion rather than defensiveness. Today I am joined by John Miles, best-selling author of “Passion Struck” and host of the Passion Struck Podcast. In this episode John will be sharing frameworks and strategies for cultivating purpose and potential in yourself and your teams through mindful shifts in mindsets and leadership approaches. You will learn how to harness purpose-driven living, applied to your career development. The model centers around four pillars - mindset shifts, behavior shifts, deliberate action, and intrinsic motivation.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Leadership isn’t just about success; it’s about impact. Jack Welch’s financial-driven approach and Elon Musk’s struggles with interpersonal relations showcase the pitfalls of traditional leadership. Tom Peters, best-selling author Thinkers50 inductee into the hall of fame, argues for a shift towards nurturing growth and fostering a positive work culture. In this leadership spark, Tom talks about the difference between being remembered for what you did at work and who you were as a person.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Failure is a powerful teacher, and nobody knows this better than Dr. Amy Edmondson, our guest in today’s discussion. A Harvard Professor and the author behind influential works like “The Fearless Organization” and “Right Kind of Wrong” Dr. Edmondson discusses how to create a culture that not only tolerates failure but learns from it. She outlines the critical distinctions between basic, complex, and intelligent failures, stressing that the real learning comes from the latter. This episode offers leaders a roadmap to build trust among their teams, encourage the sharing of missteps, and adopt a mindset of psychological safety and intelligent risk-taking.   ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In a cancel culture world, how do you speak up and share what you’re thinking? Leaders are often scared to share their opinions, worried about losing their job, status, or credibility. In today’s leadership spark, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, addresses these challenges. He talks about the importance of being true to yourself and making hard choices, even when it’s difficult. Ray shares his own story of starting from little and working his way up, showing that facing challenges is key to growing personally and professionally. Today’s episode is all about getting rid of the victimhood mentality and taking ownership over your own path. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

No matter the organization, friction is inevitable...but the key is knowing how to navigate and harness it for better leadership. In today’s discussion I sit down with Bob Sutton, Stanford professor, organizational psychologist and best selling author of books including “The No A$$hole Rule” and “The Friction Project” as he dives into the world of ‘friction-fixer’ leadership. Drawing from his extensive research, Sutton shares how to distinguish between beneficial and detrimental friction, explore the tools of ‘friction forensics,’ and implement strategies that can streamline processes, enhance performance, and reduce burnout. Join us for a captivating discussion that equips leaders with actionable tactics to conquer challenges and embrace positive change. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In high-stakes environments like NASA, the margin for error is incredibly slim. Even minor mistakes can lead to substantial setbacks and costs, which is why Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s Former Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator, emphasizes the critical need for precision and careful management in space exploration. In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Thomas to discuss how NASA approaches making critical decisions, having a culture of open communication, and learning from mistakes. These have all been vital elements of leadership during projects like the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. ________________ This episode is sponsored by Workleap Workleap Officevibe is a set of simple engagement, recognition and performance management tools. A game-changing product that enable businesses to team up HR leaders with their managers to instantly act on engagement insights, fuel meaningful peer recognition, and even drive continuous performance management. Visit Workleap.com/Officevibe to know more. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Running a fully remote company while making sure you can deliver on short-term goals and long-term innovation is not an easy thing to do! In today’s discussion I sit down with Workleap Co-founder and CEO Simon De Baene who shares hard-earned lessons in leadership from 18 years of building a successful company. He dives into frameworks for maintaining innovation as the company grows, and the importance of delegating without losing control. Simon also offers a candid look at both his strengths and weaknesses as a leader. You will learn the value of authenticity and humility at the top, as well as how to improve at having difficult conversations around accountability. ________________ This episode is sponsored by Workleap Workleap Officevibe is a set of simple engagement, recognition and performance management tools. A game-changing product that enable businesses to team up HR leaders with their managers to instantly act on engagement insights, fuel meaningful peer recognition, and even drive continuous performance management. Visit Workleap.com/Officevibe to know more. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Have you ever felt like you don’t deserve to be where you are or that you aren’t good enough? Imposter syndrome is something that most people in the world will experience at some point in their lives and, believe it or not, many aspiring leaders often doubt their abilities and suitability for higher roles, especially when they come from backgrounds that don’t typically align with those positions. In today’s Leadership Spark, Chano Fernandez, Former Co-CEO at Workday, shares the importance of overcoming self-doubt and embracing opportunities, even when they seem out of reach. Chano also touches on leadership challenges, including the loneliness that can accompany senior executive roles, the significance of maintaining a positive attitude, and the value of connecting with employees through shared experiences. His story serves as a testament to overcoming self-doubt and reaching your maximum potential. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Are you lucky or are you good? The smallest and seemingly most random decisions you make in your life can have a profound impact on your career success. Does this mean that we shouldn’t try to be the best at what we do? In today’s discussion I speak with Dr. Brian Klaas, a professor at the University of College London and best-selling author of “Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters.” In this episode, Klaas offers counterintuitive advice for embracing uncertainty and experimentation over excessive optimism and control. You’ll learn how chaos theory impacts your life, if you can create your own luck, if change is driven by trends or leaders, and how meritocracy battles with luck for making the greatest impact in what you do. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Imagine if you could feel calm and in control even during your most stressful moments at work. What if small shifts in how you process emotions allowed you to make better decisions and strengthen important relationships? NYT Best selling author and Psychologist Rick Hanson reveals how understanding your feelings through vulnerability is the overlooked key to resilience. Discover the science behind stress and anxiety, and learn why emotional awareness enhances well-being and performance under pressure. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is AI going to take your job? Yes! But is that really a bad thing and what does it mean for the future of work? Sweetgreen is an American fast-casual food chain with more than 220 locations and 6,000 employees. They are actively implementing technology in their restaurants to make the food, but are they losing people as a result? Jonathan Neman is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sweetgreen and in today’s episode we’re talking about balancing humanity with technology and people with profits. After today’s episode, you’ll walk away with strategies for thoughtfully integrating new technologies, prioritizing employee well-being and finding “win-win” solutions that benefit all parties. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Before Netflix, Facebook or Google even existed, a small group of entrepreneurs took a huge risk launching what would become the first major internet service.  In today’s Leadership Spark, Steve Case, Co-Founder of AOL and CEO of Revolution LLC, shares his journey of what it took to get America Online off the ground before people even heard of the Internet. While most people would think investing in internet companies in the 80’s was CRAZY RISKY, Steve had a vision that this new technology could change the world if they could just get it into people’s hands. In this interview, he shares never-before-told stories of the challenges they faced connecting users at dial-up speeds and convincing skeptical investors to back their idea. Steve also touches on how Revolution now does its part in funding and investing in companies of the future. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do you practice having gratitude everyday? Positivity can powerfully alter your ability to connect with your team and slingshot your leadership to new bounds of resilience and success. In this episode, we’re joined by Jon Gordon 15x best-selling author, most popularly known for “The Power of Positive Leadership” with over 1,700 reviews on Amazon. Learn how to unite your organization in the face of adversity, build a strong company culture, and develop a connected and committed team. Tune into today’s episode to better establish positivity in your leadership approach and learn to view every challenge as an opportunity to grow. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

There’s a difference between getting feedback vs getting CANDID feedback, and that’s what leaders need more of. Not only that, but leaders need to make sure that ALL employees are able to provide that feedback and to challenge their leaders. This creates a culture where every voice, from every background, is not just heard but valued. In today’s leadership spark, I talk with Peyman Kargar, the Global Chairman and CEO of INFINITI. He shares valuable insights on leadership that inspires and motivates employees. We explore his commitment to open communication, regularly seeking feedback from his team helps him make informed decisions and respect their expertise. He also stresses the importance of personal hobbies in maintaining work-life balance. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is working in the office dead? With the rise of remote work it appears that home offices becoming the new corporate hubs. But what does the data actually say? Dr. Nicholas Bloom from Stanford University has been studying the work from home trend from over 20 years and he has hard data that shows what has been going on and why. In today’s episode we are tackling the big questions around the rise of WFH: How does it affect productivity and innovation? What does it mean for the balance of power in organizations? Is in office work really dead? What does the future of working from home look like? What are the pros and cons of working from home? What are some of the top companies actually doing? Get ready for an in-depth discussion on the future of work. The bonus episode with Dr. Bloom will explore some practical tips and strategies for leading a hybrid workforce effectively. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Are 360 reviews effective? If you’re skeptical, then you won’t want to miss this story from Frank Blake, the former CEO of The Home Depot. We’ll explore leadership lessons he learned, his approach to feedback, and his unconventional rise to CEO. Blake shared compelling tales, such as how he unexpectedly took the reins of one of the largest companies in the world after a last-minute call from the board. We also get his take on learning from the intense Jack Welch at GE early in his career. But it's Blake's strong opinions on 360 reviews that provide truly valuable insight. Frank Blake says they are complete waste of time, do you agree? ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Leadership+ EXCLUSIVE: Emotional Intelligence is a crucial aspect of great leadership, but how do you actually practice it? A lack of proper tools can impede your ability to navigate through complex team dynamics and maintain a positive organizational climate. Dr. Travis Bradberry, Author of "Emotional Intelligence. 2.0" shares four vital tools to enhance emotional management, effectively respond to unforeseen challenges, resolve conflicts, and strengthen personal connections in your workplace. This episode is only available to Leadership+ Subscribers on Apple Podcasts. _______________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What’s more important for leadership, emotional intelligence or IQ? The right use of EQ can revolutionize your approach to decision-making, relationship building, leadership, and communication. In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Travis Bradberry, best-selling author of "Emotional Intelligence. 2.0," as he reveals how emotional intelligence can be consciously developed and refined. We’ll explore why so many leaders struggle with EQ, what EQ is and why it’s important, and the four core EQ skills. You won't want to miss this episode! ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Should you really be hiring for “culture fit?” It turns out that doing this could actually keep you from finding your best people! My guest on today’s show explains why that’s the case and what leaders should really be looking for. On this Leadership Spark, I sit down with former Navy SEAL Mike Sarraille to get his perspective on attracting top performers. We discuss why solely assessing culture fit can cause you to miss great candidates, the importance of regularly reviewing your talent pool, tactical advice on hiring for qualities that can’t be taught, and the nine key characteristics that special operations look for in high performers. We also cover the importance of vulnerability in leadership and why asking for help shows strength, not weakness. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Leadership+ EXCLUSIVE: How often do you exercise your mind to stay at the top of your leadership game? Overlooking your mental fitness can impact your team’s ability to face future challenges with resilience and creativity. Michael Watkins, Author of “The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking” shares key daily habits that will elevate your strategic thinking, enhance problem-solving skills, and prime your team for success. This episode is only available to Leadership+ Subscribers on Apple Podcasts. _______________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is leadership like a game of chess? Imagine navigating the complex world of leadership with the precision and foresight of a chess grandmaster. In this episode, we’re joined by Michael Watkins, author of ‘The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking,’ who draws parallels between the two realms. Learn how to sharpen your pattern recognition skills, boost mental agility, and develop visionary thinking to guide your team effectively. Tune into today’s episode to better understand the 6 disciplines of strategic thinking, refine your decision-making skills and better prepare to lead future-ready teams. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Is hybrid work here to stay or are we all going to be working back in offices? The whole concept of hybrid work means that you spend some time in the office and some time working out of the office. But what’s the ideal mix? Why does hybrid work help employees? And what are some strategies that companies can use to make hybrid work a reality? Mark Dixon is the founder of the International Workplace Group and he joins me today to explore all things hybrid work related. Throughout our conversation, Mark talks about how work has changed, focusing on “hybrid work,” and he shares tips on how to make this work well in companies, based on his experience with businesses worldwide. He also mentions how hybrid work is reshaping how organizations operate, emphasizing flexibility and a balance between technology and human skills. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Look around you right now. Every piece of technology is powered by a microchip, but what happens if we lost access to those chips? Chris Miller, an expert in international history and “Chip War” author, joins us to discuss the strategic significance of semiconductor technology in shaping your world. Miller reveals how this critical yet often underestimated technology influences global economics, power structures, and policy-making. For leaders eager to leverage technology for their success, Chris underscores the importance of understanding semiconductor technology for effective, forward-thinking leadership, while equipping yourself with the knowledge to lead confidently in a tech-centric world and shape future trends. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today, we seem to be living and working in a perpetual state of crisis which is a huge challenge for leaders. How should leaders lead during times of crisis and chaos? In today’s fast-changing world, the way leaders guide their teams is more important than ever. Lorenzo Simonelli is the CEO of Baker Hughes, a 55,000 person energy company with offices in 120 counties. In today’s spark Lorenzo shares his insights and strategies for making tough decisions during crises like the 2008 financial downturn and the pandemic, underscoring the need for transparency and decisiveness, and focusing on agility and adaptability. He highlights his approach to managing uncertainty and how his leadership style evolved from micromanagement to fostering team development and delegation, with an emphasis on listening and vulnerability. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Why do so many people struggle to reach their full potential? Hal Elrod, the best-selling author of ‘The Miracle Morning,’ unveils the secrets to leading with a positive mindset in the face of adversity. Drawing from his own remarkable experiences of overcoming life-threatening challenges, Hal inspires you as a leader to stay committed to your goals while remaining empathetic and accountable. He provides you with essential strategies to effectively handle challenging scenarios and leaders, while emphasizing the importance of a morning routine in fostering growth and success as a leader. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

How are you cultivating resilience within yourself and your team, especially in times of uncertainty and change? In a world where life can throw unexpected challenges our way, being adaptable and making thoughtful life decisions are like essential tools in our toolkit. In my chat with Ania Smith, the CEO of TaskRabbit, she shows us how these tools can help us create a remarkable path in our personal and professional lives. Her story, growing up as an immigrant, valuing education, and finding her passion in platforms like TaskRabbit, teaches us the importance of being open to new opportunities and actively pursuing what we’re good at and what we love. This story highlights how adaptability and making smart choices can transform our lives and offers valuable lessons for anyone looking to navigate life’s twists and turns. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What separates good leaders from great ones? Jim Barr is the CEO of Bowflex Inc. and in today’s podcast he shares the importance of choosing the right mentors and teams over brand names and salaries, offering a new perspective on career advancement. Jim also shares the importance of adapting to consumer expectations and business trends to focus on long-term growth. This includes investing in digital transformation and dealing with potential headwinds that might come your way. Don't miss out on learning about the importance of nurturing relationships, embracing learning opportunities, and the transformative power of effective teamwork in today's episode. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

People are turning down leadership roles, how come and are you one of them? In today’s Leadership Spark, I chat with Scott DeRue, the former Dean of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and current President of Equinox Fitness. We’re diving into Scott’s research, digging into the real-world challenges that CEOs are facing these days. It turns out that almost 40% to 50% of capable leaders are holding back because they’re wary of the risks that come with leadership. However, our discussion isn’t just about identifying these problems – we’re also exploring solutions. Scott and I tackle why capable individuals might be hesitating to step into leadership roles, share advice on talent retention for leaders, discuss how to spot leadership potential, and highlight key skills and mindsets crucial for emerging leaders. Plus, we’re shedding light on common leadership pitfalls. It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss! __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do people still want to work hard? John Peyton is the CEO of Dine Brands, which is the parent company behind IHOP, Applebee’s, & Fuzzy’s Taco Shop which collectively has over 100,000 team members across a variety of generations. Each generation has their own way of working and their own expectations of what work should be like. How can we find common ground in the workplace and do different generations work more or harder than others? John shares his insights on how to lead a multi-generational workforce successfully. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

What kind of a leader are you? There are 8 types of leaders and each one makes decisions and impacts their organization in a different way. Understanding these archetypes helps us create more effective teams and make better decisions. Today’s discussion is with Manfred Kets de Vries, Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change at INSEAD. In our conversation, Manfred, talks about how his early life during the Second World War in Holland led him to study leadership and how people behave in organizations. He uses ideas from both economics and psychiatry to explore different leadership styles and explain why it’s important for leaders to focus on their people. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

This EXCLUSIVE episode is only available to Great Leadership+ Subscribers. Dr. Andy McAfee is the best-selling author of “The Geek Way" and research scientist at MIT. Today, he explains how to implement the “geek way” inside of your organization which is based on: science, ownership, speed, and openness. But how do you make these things actually come to life and what’s an example of a company that has done this well? __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Are you a geek? A curious person, one who's not afraid to tackle hard problems and embrace unconventional solutions? Geeks in business have created a new culture based around four norms: science, ownership, speed, and openness. Today I sit down with Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Andrew McAffee, who defines what it means to lead with a geek mindset and the unconventional approach it takes towards success. By following Andrew’s ‘Geek Way’ you will find yourself equipped with a willingness to be unconventional in order to push the boundaries towards success!   __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Do you ever struggle with shutting down and setting professional boundaries? Greg McKeown is the New York Times Bestselling Author of Effortless and Essentialism. In today’s spark he challenges the culture of overwork and advocates for a balanced approach to achieving goals. Greg emphasizes the importance of transforming work and relaxation into enjoyable rituals, rather than chores, to prevent burnout. He also discusses the necessity of setting boundaries, such as a "done for the day" list and a fixed end to the workday, to maintain a healthy work-life balance, especially in a remote working environment. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

Do you struggle with imposter syndrome? Understand why you belong where you are, simply because YOU are there. Today we hear from Shark Tank Judge & CEO, Matt Higgins, who shares how to overcome the effects of imposter syndrome & how to harness your anxiety as motivation. Follow Matt’s research-backed strategies to demonstrate growth in your leadership by dropping the victim mentality, changing the perspective on your anxiety, and ditching self-doubt in the workplace! __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Horst Schulze, Former CEO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. We delved into his journey in the hotel industry, from a 14-year-old busboy to a pivotal figure at Ritz Carlton. Schulze reflects on the industry's evolution, transitioning from intuition-driven decisions to a structured approach. He critiques the modern overdependence on technology in hiring, suggesting it often overlooks the best candidates.  Emphasizing leadership over mere management, Horst underscores the need for genuine human connection, purpose, and clear communication in businesses. He touches on corporate social responsibility, noting that while it's more vocalized today, its essence isn't new. Our conversation highlights the scarcity of true leaders in today's corporate landscape. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Why is it so crucial for you to think like an OWNER if you want to see career success? It’s easy to point out problems but very few people are actually able to develop solutions and that’s what we need more of in the business world. In today’s discussion I sit down with Liz Etling, Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Woman to unpack what having an owner mindset is all about and how to develop it. We’ll explore how you as an employee can create the most impact, how to focus on innovation, the difference between skills and attitude, and how to disagree in the right way. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I had an awesome chat with Gorick Ng, Author of "The Unspoken Rules." Gorick shared his story from helping his mom after she lost her job to going to Harvard. He emphasized the importance of understanding the "unspoken rules" in the corporate world, which aren't taught in school but are crucial for success. These rules revolve around three main pillars: competence, commitment, and compatibility. These rules are about being good at your job, showing you're dedicated, and fitting in with your team. Gorick mentioned that it's not just about doing your job but also showing you can do more. While competence and skills are essential, understanding and navigating the unspoken rules of the corporate world can play a significant role in one's career trajectory. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Kyndryl⁠⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠Kyndryl.com⁠⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

Most mentor and mentee relationships fail! Not because of bad intentions but because the wrong questions are being asked. Amy Salcido is the president of Kyndryl US, one of the world's leading IT infrastructure service providers with over 90,000 employees. During the course of her career she has mentored countered team members and has also experienced good and bad mentorship as she was ascending the ranks of her career. In today's episode Amy shares the most important questions that both mentees and mentors can ask in order to create an impactful relationship for both parties.  __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Kyndryl⁠⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠Kyndryl.com⁠⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, we have the privilege of speaking with Artie Starrs, the CEO of Topgolf, a global sports entertainment company with 22,000 employees, known for its innovative golf driving ranges. Topgolf made waves in 2022, achieving $4 billion in sales and consistent annual growth. Artie's leadership style centers on authenticity, striking a balance between being genuine and considering your audience's boundaries. Tune in to learn how to avoid oversharing or self-indulgence when it comes to vulnerability in leadership. Artie also shares his approach to addressing mistakes, navigating discomfort and vulnerability when relating to others' experiences, and handling challenges arising from a lack of shared experiences in leadership. Don't miss out on this episode! Artie Starrs is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability. Grab your copy now: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Cameron Herald, Founder of the COO Alliance. He is known as the CEO Whisperer. In our conversation, we delved into the paramount importance of self-awareness and introspection in both our personal and professional lives. We tackled the role of innovative companies like Kindle in shaping the future of work and emphasized the value of tools like "mind maps" for planning and visualization.  For individuals, allocating time for self-reflection is crucial, with even small changes, like watching less TV, making a significant difference. According to Cameron, effective leadership is characterized by a commitment to nurturing team skills and confidence, while avoiding pitfalls like silos and politics. The best leaders prioritize the broader organizational goals over departmental interests. They understand that true professional fulfillment and effective leadership arise from aligning personal values with the right work environment and emphasizing collective achievements over individual ambitions. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠Kyndryl⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠Kyndryl.com.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I chat with Panera Bread's founder, Ron Shaich, about his 36-year leadership journey. From starting as a small cookie store in Boston to becoming a top fast-casual chain with over 120,000 employees, Shaich delves into how he approached those tough choices along the way. Prioritizing core values over just data, our discussion uncovers the importance of resilience and perseverance in leadership. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Kyndryl⁠⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠Kyndryl.com⁠⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I spoke with Jerry Norcia, Chairman and CEO of DTE Energy, a company with over 10,000 employees. We had an in-depth discussion of times he felt vulnerable, how he approaches vulnerability with his team, and the impact vulnerability has had on his leadership journey. Norcia believes vulnerability involves authenticity, openness and building trust and respect. He aims to treat everyone equally and share more personal stories over time and he stressed the importance of accountability, integrity, empathy and confidence in leadership. Norcia also discussed the value of admitting when you don't have the answers and listening more as a leader. Overall, Norcia shared thoughtful perspectives on utilizing vulnerability to create inclusive decision-making, energize teams and build loyalty. Jerry Norcia is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability. Grab your copy now: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Colin Bryar, Co-founder of Working Backwards. We talked about the impact of focused leadership and team management, particularly in the realm of product development and problem-solving within a company. Colin highlights Amazon's "single-threaded leaders/teams" concept, which prioritizes undivided attention to a single project or problem by a leader or team, enhancing the quality and innovation of solutions developed.  Colin also details the "bar raiser process" in hiring, ensuring candidates align with Amazon’s leadership principles through a thorough, unbiased review by a panel of interviewers. While high performers at Amazon are strategically placed on significant opportunities and may experience expedited promotions, the company maintains a balanced approach to traditional practices like annual reviews, willing to innovate while retaining effective, established methods. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠Kyndryl⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠Kyndryl.com.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, Michael Bungay Stanier, best-selling author of the Coaching Habit, reveals the 5 must-ask questions for having successful keystone conversations and building great relationships. This will allow you to unlock hidden potential in yourself and those around you. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Kyndryl⁠⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠Kyndryl.com⁠⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

True leadership is not about showing strength, but embracing vulnerability. George Oliver, Chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls, believes that being a good leader is all about being genuine and open. It's important to treat everyone fairly and share personal stories to connect with the team.  George recalls about the times he felt unsure, especially during COVID. But he feels that being honest and admitting when you don't know something is a strength, not a weakness.  Real leadership is about being responsible, truthful, and understanding towards others.  For George, a great leader is one who listens, is honest about their feelings, and always tries to do right by their team. George Oliver leads a company with over 100,000 employees.  He's one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Kevin Murphy, CEO of Ferguson Enterprises. Kevin emphasizes a leadership style rooted in empathy, collective effort, and a commitment to developing others within the organization. He values transparent communication, sharing company data with all team members, and believes in earning loyalty daily while also addressing underperformance.  Kevin also highlights the importance of challenging the status quo, even in successful organizations. He shares insights from his journey of transitioning from a family business to leading a major company, underscoring the significance of mentorship and continuous learning in leadership development. __________________ This episode is sponsored by Kyndryl. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at Kyndryl.com. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I sit down with the esteemed psychotherapist and writer, Amy Morin, to discuss the motivation behind her acclaimed book, "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do". As we explore these 13 points, Amy sheds light on a leader's role in accessing their mental strength and the symbiotic connection of emotional balance in the workplace. Together, we unpack pivotal insights from her work, underscoring that true mental strength stems from genuine self-awareness and growth, not merely toughness. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Kyndryl⁠⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠Kyndryl.com⁠⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Join us for an insightful episode featuring John Williams, the CEO and President of Domtar, a $3.8 billion pulp and paper giant with 6,500 employees. John shares his leadership journey and the transformative power of vulnerability at the workplace. Discover how authenticity, self-awareness, empathy, and openness shape John's leadership style. He highlights the significance of trusted advisors, tailored communication, and professional boundaries. John also emphasizes the role of competence in building confidence and the need for a culture where every employee feels valued. With over 40 years of leadership experience, John's stories and insights offer a unique perspective on leading with vulnerability. Tune in to gain valuable wisdom from a seasoned CEO who understands the importance of authenticity and openness in corporate leadership. John Williams is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability. Grab your copy now⁠: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/⁠⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune Media. Alan and I delve into the evolution of business and leadership. According to him, nowadays, businesses value ideas and people more than just physical stuff, like buildings and machines. He noticed that some people seem not to want to work as much, but he believes many are still hardworking and dedicated.  Alan thinks being a good leader today means inspiring and motivating people and showing realness and understanding, pointing out how the late Arne Sorenson of Marriott led by example during tough times. Throughout our conversation, we’ve highlighted the significant generational shifts and the increasing importance of adaptability and a people-centric approach in leadership. __________________ This episode is sponsored by Kyndryl. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at Kyndryl.com. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today I take you behind the scenes to share some of the key concepts and ideas from my brand new book, “Leading With Vulnerability,” which is out today! Vulnerability at work can hurt you far more than it can help you and in today’s podcast I’ll explain why that’s the case and what you can do about it. The key is not to use vulnerability on its own but to combine vulnerability with leadership, what I call, The Vulnerable Leader Equation. Tune in to learn more or head to ⁠LeadWithVulnerability.com⁠ to grab a copy of my brand new book. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I spoke with Matt Abrahams, a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and author of the new book Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques. We discussed strategies and mindsets for improving spontaneous speaking and becoming a better communicator. Matt shared insights from his extensive research and experience coaching business leaders on critical skills like managing anxiety, listening intently, structuring responses, and focusing your message. __________________ This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Kyndryl⁠⁠. Kyndryl makes the future of work possible by designing, building and managing systems that the world depends on. Make sure to check them out at ⁠⁠Kyndryl.com⁠⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Jacques van den Broek, the former CEO of Randstad, about fostering a work culture that encourages innovation and risk-taking. Jacques notes that employees often hold back due to unfounded fears. But he emphasizes the need for leaders to encourage employees to speak up and take initiative, even if it goes against the grain.  Jacques believes that employer-earned loyalty is vital, especially with the rise of remote work. Jacques also advises employees to think about their long-term career goals, stating that if your employer is not supportive of your growth and openness, perhaps you're working for the wrong company. He urges employees to take responsibility for remaining attractive in the job market and not to stay stuck in unfulfilling roles. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Jacques van den Broek, former CEO of Randstad, and I delve into the pillars of modern leadership: optimism, vulnerability, authenticity, and risk-taking. Jacques highlights the transformative power of optimistic thinking, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. He also emphasizes the significance of vulnerability in fostering open, honest work environments. Jacques candidly discusses his mistakes, including a failed $150 million business venture, to underscore the importance of resilience and learning from setbacks. He advises leaders to embrace transparency in both their successes and failures and encourages a culture of courage where teams feel empowered to innovate without waiting for permission. This impactful conversation offers you the mindset and strategies needed to be an effective, relatable leader in today's rapidly evolving workforce. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Jacques van den Broek, former CEO of Randstad, about the various facets of modern leadership and workforce trends. Jacques outlines his rise from trainee to CEO and shares his hands-on, data-focused leadership style. We also discussed the shift from a client-centered to talent-centered job market and Jacques introduced "tech and touch," a strategy for long-term talent engagement.  Jacques highlights the importance of individual career responsibility, contrasting it with a survey revealing that only 25% feel responsible for their own career growth. Moreover, our conversation touched on the "great resignation," which Jacques had anticipated, and explored automation's impact, particularly on white-collar jobs. Jacques advises leaders to communicate openly about job security to benefit both employees and the company. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today's episode, I speak with David Rogier, the mastermind behind MasterClass. Drawing inspiration from his grandmother's resilient journey as a Jewish refugee in NYC, David embarked on a mission: democratizing access to world-class experts. From securing heavyweights like Serena Williams to James Patterson, he shares the nuanced strategy and the importance of selective mentorship. We also touch upon the meticulous approach to prototyping at MasterClass, ensuring each course resonates with learners. Beyond the mechanics, David emphasizes the role of empathy in shaping the platform, striving for genuine connections in a digital age. Join us for an insightful exploration into the ethos and evolution of MasterClass. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I spoke with bestselling author and Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, Chip Heath, about the power of numbers in instigating change. The conversation revolves around the importance of providing comparative context to data for clearer understanding, rather than presenting standalone figures.  Chip emphasizes the pivotal role emotion plays in data interpretation. For immediate practical application, Chip suggests starting with the simplification and contextualization of a single data point in presentations. He illustrates this with the striking revenue comparison between the video game industry and Hollywood. The core takeaway is the ability of relatable and emotionally resonant numbers to drive change and inspire action. Chip Heath is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with bestselling author and Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, Chip Heath, about the challenges and nuances of communicating with numbers and data. Chip underscores the difficulty people often face with fractions and percentages, as seen with A&W's marketing misstep against McDonald's.  Chip also mentions the "curse of knowledge", where expertise can cloud one's understanding of a novice's perspective. Throughout our conversation, we delved into the significance of making data relatable and meaningful. By converting abstract numbers into tangible concepts, like likening the number of preventable sepsis deaths to annual cancer diagnoses, data becomes not only more understandable but also emotionally resonant, effectively engaging and motivating audiences Chip Heath is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Chip Heath, Professor at Stanford University and New York Times Best Selling Author. Chip discusses his motivations behind his latest book, "Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers."  He emphasizes the challenge most people face in understanding and communicating numbers effectively, as our brains naturally struggle with large numbers. By comparing unfamiliar figures to relatable concepts, people can better grasp and remember data. This skill of translating numbers into digestible information is crucial for both personal and professional decision-making and change initiatives. Chip Heath is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, Nick Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Ezra, shares unconventional leadership wisdom for uncertain times. We discuss the critical skill of resilience, regulating emotions, and practicing self-awareness. Goldberg provides insights on adapting to constant change, learning from failures, and prioritizing a thriving culture. Tune in to this episode to unlock the unconventional leadership insights that will empower you to lead effectively in uncertain times. __________________ This episode of Great Leadership is sponsored by EZRAx, the digital-age executive coaching platform. As an HR leader, elevate your executives with EZRA’s science-backed coaching, provided by experienced and accredited coaches. Enhance your leadership with real-time, impactful support from EZRAx, available anytime, anywhere. Discover the potential at helloezra.com. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I speak with Lara Abrash, Chair of the Board at Deloitte US. Lara, who's at the helm of this powerhouse, doesn't just focus on the nuts and bolts of the business; she's deeply involved in shaping its culture, innovation, and growth. She opens up about the unexpected strength she finds in vulnerability, suggesting that it's not just a personal trait but a game-changer in the world of leadership. For Lara, the trifecta of effective leadership boils down to vulnerability, empathy, and compassion. These aren't just buzzwords for her; they're values she lives by. As we chat further, Lara gives us a peek into the trends that have her excited and the shifts she's noticing in the business landscape. The conversation takes a personal turn as she reflects on the rollercoaster that was the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing the lessons it taught her and how it reshaped her perspective as a leader. And if there's one topic that truly ignites Lara's passion, it's diversity and inclusion. For her, it's more than just a corporate buzz phrase; it's a deeply personal mission. She emphasizes its significance, not just in boardrooms but in everyday interactions, painting a picture of the kind of inclusive world she's striving to create. Lara Abrash is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠⁠⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Glenn Fogel, President and CEO of Booking Holdings, and I delve into topics ranging from personal and professional mistakes to the importance of gaining global perspectives. Recounting past errors like sending confidential emails to the wrong person and IT mishaps, Glenn emphasizes transparency, urging individuals to accept and rectify mistakes rather than hide them. Glenn advocates for understanding global cultures, especially in leadership positions, and stresses that ensuring a broad perspective is crucial. Moreover, Glenn believes in the blend of hard work and luck for success and stresses being ready for opportunities. On personal fears, Glenn's major concerns center on health and family well-being. As our conversation concludes, we reflect on the need to maintain perspective, considering the challenges faced by previous generations. Glenn Fogel is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Glenn Fogel, President and CEO of Booking Holdings, reflects on the inevitability of facing challenges in life and the importance of maintaining discipline and hard work to overcome them. Drawing from personal experiences, including his early years at university, he emphasizes the value of time management, particularly reducing unnecessary social media use.  Despite not considering himself as the smartest, he credits his success to his endurance and disciplined work ethic, which have been his pillars of strength throughout his career. Glenn illustrates his daily routine, highlighting a strict regimen that includes early morning workouts and a balanced time allocation for work and family. Glenn Fogel is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Glenn Fogel, President and CEO of Booking Holdings. He shares his journey from IT to leading a company that includes brands like Kayak and Priceline. Discussing the challenges posed by the pandemic, he also talks about the emotional toll of laying off a significant part of their workforce and how crucial it is to handle such decisions with empathy.  Glenn further highlights the change in layoff processes over the years and stresses the importance of adaptable leadership, learning from both positive and negative experiences. He also dives into the challenges of risk management for companies, highlighting that while companies can anticipate many adverse scenarios, it's not always feasible to prepare for every possible negative outcome. Leadership involves making tough decisions by weighing risks against benefits. Glenn Fogel is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Vulnerability-Superpower-Transform-Organization/dp/1119895243/  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, we speak with David Gelles, a business journalist and author of the new book "The Man Who Broke Capitalism." Gelles examines how former GE CEO Jack Welch fundamentally altered capitalism with his ruthless focus on short-term profits over people. We discuss the lasting influence Welch had on business education and management philosophies. Gelles shares examples of alternative leadership models that balance profit and purpose, caring for employees and communities. He advises listeners to question assumptions and lead with more empathy. Though brilliantly effective, Welch's "shareholders over stakeholders" approach set a destructive precedent that still permeates business. Gelles hopes to inspire more conscious capitalism that serves society. This thought-provoking episode examines the complicated legacy of Jack Welch and the profit-first approach that has permeated leadership. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's episode is with Mark Hoplamazian, the CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Today's conversation revolved around the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry, the strategies adopted by Hyatt to navigate through these challenging times, and the future of the industry. Mark emphasized the importance of adaptability and resilience, highlighting how Hyatt has leveraged technology to enhance customer experience and ensure safety. He also touched upon the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion, and how it has been instrumental in fostering a positive work culture. We also discuss the role of sustainability in the hospitality sector. Mark shared his vision of a more sustainable and responsible industry, underlining Hyatt's initiatives towards reducing carbon footprint and promoting sustainable practices. Mark also touches on the importance of mental health and well-being, both for employees and guests. Today's conversation with Mark gives insight into the workings of the hospitality industry, the challenges it faces, and the opportunities that lie ahead. It's a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of the industry and learning from the experiences of a seasoned leader. Mark Hoplamazian is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠⁠⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email:⁠ ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Professor Sydney Finkelstein of Tuck School at Dartmouth, delves deep into the intricacies of modern leadership. Sydney highlights the need for innovation in talent management, pointing out HR's slower evolution compared to other business functions. He describes 'Super Bosses' as leaders who actively engage with their teams, foster both collaboration and competition, and recognize the value of employee growth beyond just retention.  The conversation pivots to actionable advice, suggesting questions potential hires might ask to identify super bosses, such as inquiring about their vision, delegation habits, and relationships with former employees. Finkelstein also discusses millennials' unique workplace needs, suggesting that the super boss approach can enhance engagement by making work more meaningful for all. The goal is a workplace where employees are more fulfilled and leaders inspire greater achievements. Sydney Finkelstein is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Professor Sydney Finkelstein of Tuck School at Dartmouth. We discuss the "super bosses," leaders who deeply mentor their team and value direct communication. These leaders might be tough, but they genuinely care about the professional growth of their team. Moreover, the concept of being a super boss isn't confined to large corporations but can be seen in small startups, freelancers, and even in educational settings. Sydney notes that anyone can be a super boss. Blending good management with real care for the team's growth are key. These leadership qualities are teachable and aren't tied to age or rank. Sydney Finkelstein is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Professor Sydney Finkelstein of Tuck School at Dartmouth, and he delves into the characteristics and types of "super bosses" that he studied for his book. Sydney identifies 18 notable super bosses, and‌ not all super bosses are easy to work with. Some can be quite challenging. Finkelstein categorizes the super bosses into three types: "glorious bastards" driven by winning, "nurturers" focused on mentoring, and "iconoclasts" who are inherently creative. While different in their motivations, they all have the same endgame: nurturing others to greatness. Sydney clarifies that not every successful executive is a super boss; his research focused on those who not only achieved success but also elevated those around them. Sydney Finkelstein is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I spoke with Charles Conn, CEO of Monograph Capital and board chair of Patagonia, about his new book "The Imperfectionist: Strategic Mindsets for Uncertain Times." Conn discusses how the traditional approaches to long-term corporate strategy no longer work in today's rapidly changing world. He advocates for more dynamic, experimental problem-solving focused on learning and reversibility. Charles outlines 6 key mindsets leaders need to embrace: curiosity, dragonfly perspective, seeking current behaviors vs just data, collective wisdom, imperfectionism, and “show and tell” storytelling. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Navi Radjou, Best-Selling Author and Inspirational Keynote Speaker, talks about leadership principles from his book. We delve into the importance of acting authentically and the struggle leaders often face in balancing their work and personal personas. We also explore the integration of emotions, logic, and intuition in decision-making and the need for emotional connection alongside rationality.  Moreover, we also tackle the principle of leading from any position, highlighting the shift from traditional hierarchical leadership models to more adaptable and inclusive approaches. Navi explains the concept of flexible fortitude, knowing when to persist and when to adapt, and the value of enlightened self-interest. These principles collectively shape the evolving role of effective leadership. Navi Radjou is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Navi Radjou, Best-Selling Author and Inspirational Keynote Speaker, delves into the concept of flexible leadership and its relevance in today's dynamic world. Navi discusses the principles of innovation and how they can be applied to leadership.  He emphasizes the importance of thinking and acting flexibly, particularly in the face of challenges. The conversation also covers the significance of simplicity in product design, the need to include marginalized communities in business strategies, and the role of intuition in decision-making. Navi Radjou is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Navi Radjou, Best-Selling Author and Inspirational Keynote Speaker. We talk about the value of innovation, and being resourceful and creative in business. He points out that young folks are keen to work for companies that care about the planet and society. Navi also introduces the idea of "Jugaad Innovation", which is all about making the most of what you have. But he says there's a balance: challenge your team, but don't overload them. Navi also explains how balanced constraints can drive innovation. Navi Radjou is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

Today’s episode is with Thibaut Meurisse. Known for his best-selling book "Master Your Emotions: A Practical Guide to Overcome Negativity and Better Manage Your Feelings," Meurisse has made a significant impact on many lives. With nearly 10,000 reviews on Amazon, his book has resonated with a vast audience, demonstrating the universal need for emotional intelligence and management. In our discussion, we discuss the realm of emotions and their impact on our daily lives. We explore Thibaut's journey as a writer and entrepreneur, his struggles with managing emotions, and his strategies for maintaining positivity and optimism. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, John Bacon, bestselling author of "Let Them Lead," discusses leadership principles and insights from John's book "Let Them Lead." Recounting his experience as a coach for the River Rats, John emphasizes the importance of finding the right roles for team members based on their behaviors and strengths. He highlights how crucial setting meaningful goals collaboratively with the team is, allowing them to take ownership.  John also emphasizes the importance of genuine human connection as a leader, stating that caring about team members is the key, rather than using fear or faking connection. He shares examples from his coaching experience and stresses that leaders should care enough to guide their team members toward achieving their goals while maintaining high standards. John Bacon is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In this leadership spark, John Bacon, bestselling author of "Let Them Lead," shares his coaching experience with the struggling high school hockey team called the River Rats. He talks about the team's challenges like low morale and commitment issues due to constant losses and lack of training. John stresses the importance of maintaining high standards and the tough love approach to leadership, encouraging positive attitudes and strong work ethics among the players. While acknowledging the diversity in individual performance levels, John believes that uniform behavioral expectations must be upheld for everyone. He also highlights building trust and fostering leadership within the team. He mentions how individuals can shine in different roles. The interview wraps up by noting that like coaches, leaders should be open, growing, and guiding their teams toward success. John Bacon is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with John Bacon, bestselling author of "Let Them Lead". John shares his experience coaching America's worst high school hockey team, the River Rats and how he turned around the team's fortunes through a tough love approach, emphasizing a strong mission and raising the bar for performance.  John reflects on the significance of making the mission challenging to make it special, drawing comparisons to the Navy SEALs and Peace Corps, where challenging missions attract the right people. The conversation touches on the importance of not compromising the mission by lowering expectations and the surprising positive results he achieved with the team's transformation. John Bacon is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's episode is with Scott Jeffrey Miller, an accomplished executive with Franklin Covey, a seven-time bestselling author, and the host of the 'On Leadership' podcast. We discuss the world of mentorship, and the 13 roles a mentor can play as outlined in Scott's recent book, "The Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship." Scott shares his insights on the differences between leadership and mentorship, emphasizing that not all great leaders make great mentors. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's episode is with Paul Markovich, the president and CEO of Blue Shield of California. We explored the theme of vulnerability in leadership, discussing its importance and challenges. Paul shared his personal experiences, including the intense workload during the pandemic, which led to burnout and emotional stress. He opened up about the difficulty of maintaining a balance between personal life and professional responsibilities, and how that affected his interactions with his team. We also discuss the loneliness of leadership, particularly when faced with the painful task of letting go of a friend within the organization. Paul emphasized the importance of vulnerability in building deep connections, making leaders more relatable, and fostering trust within the team. He also highlighted the balance that must be struck, as sharing too much or too little can have negative impacts. Today's conversation underscored the human aspect of leadership and the complex dynamics that come with being at the helm of an organization. Paul Markovich is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now⁠. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Liz Wiseman, Bestselling Author of "Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter”, and I explore the shifting landscape of leadership challenges over the past decade. We discuss about how the role of a leader has transformed from leading to a predetermined better place to leading through uncertainty. We also delve into the crucial skills of thinking like a futurist and being open to various scenarios and possibilities. Liz emphasizes that anyone, not just those in positions of authority, can embrace the multiplier mindset. She offers practical insights for remote team leadership, such as providing clarity through the "three what's" – what good looks like, what done looks like, and what's in scope. Liz Wiseman is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Liz Wiseman, Bestselling Author of "Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter”, and I dive deeper into a leadership discussion. Liz introduces her book on leadership and explores the characteristics and differences between "diminishers" and "multipliers" – two types of leaders. Diminishers unintentionally stifle creativity and productivity, while multipliers amplify the capabilities of their team members. Moreover, Liz discusses how accidental diminisher tendencies can arise and she provides strategies to avoid them. Multipliers focus on leveraging others' talents, giving space for independent thinking, asking questions instead of telling, and involving junior team members in decision-making. Liz Wiseman is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Liz Wiseman, Bestselling Author of "Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter”. Our conversation touches on the themes of leadership and optimism, and the two types of leaders, which are "diminishers" and "multipliers."  Moreover, we explore the concept of the multiplier effect, where leaders unlock the full potential of their team's intelligence, resulting in a culture of growth and high performance. In order to identify whether an employee is under a diminishing leader or a multiplier, Liz also mentions the research methodology she used, where professionals were asked to describe situations where they thrived under a leader and situations where they held back. Liz Wiseman is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, we dive into the fast-paced world of drag racing with none other than John Force, an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner, and owner of John Force Racing. From humble beginnings in logging camps and trailer parks, John's journey to the pinnacle of his sport is a testament to hard work, resilience, and an unwavering never-give-up attitude. We discuss the intricacies of drag racing, exploring everything from team dynamics to the technological aspects that go into making a car race-ready. John's passion for racing is palpable as he shares the thrill of the sport, the camaraderie of his team, and his constant pursuit of innovation and improvement. Even at the age of 74, John's dedication to his sport remains unwavering, with no plans of retiring and a continued commitment to competing professionally. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's episode is with Roel Vestjens, Former CEO of Belden. We explored a wide range of topics, focusing on leadership, vulnerability, and personal growth. Roel shared his experiences and insights into the company's global operations and his time in Asia, where he learned valuable lessons about cultural sensitivity. We discussed the importance of vulnerability in leadership, with Roel emphasizing humility, openness, and the balance between vulnerability and strength. We also discuss Roel's personal journey, including his early aspirations to become a CEO and how he navigated his career to achieve this goal. Throughout our conversation, Roel's emphasis on being human, approachable, and willing to learn from others resonated with me. His insights into embracing vulnerability and the qualities that have shaped him as a leader provided a compelling perspective on leadership and success at Belden. It was an enlightening conversation that offered valuable lessons for leaders at all levels. Roel Vestjens is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Lt. Colonel Dan Rooney discusses vulnerability and its role within high-functioning teams, such as fighter pilots and special operators. He emphasizes the importance of trust and openness, where vulnerability is embraced to improve performance and learn from mistakes.  Dan shares personal experiences, including a near-fatal mistake during a flight and the financial struggles he faced while building a golf course. He highlights the significance of overcoming challenges and finding intentionality in daily actions, even during difficult times. The advice he gives to leaders is to create environments where failure is accepted and to focus on working hard and being nice as a simple yet effective leadership approach. Dan Rooney is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Lt. Colonel Dan Rooney, a fighter pilot and Founder of Folds of Honor Foundation, discusses the dangers of complacency in leadership and life. He shares a personal story from a combat mission, highlighting the empowering feeling of being solely responsible for others' lives.  Dan emphasizes the importance of discipline over motivation and outlines his daily code, "Kaboo," which helps him stay focused and intentional. While acknowledging that failure happens during missions, he stresses the significance of learning from mistakes to continually improve performance and achieve excellence. Dan Rooney is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Lt. Colonel Dan Rooney, Founder of Folds of Honor Foundation. Dan shares remarkable life lessons learned from being a fighter pilot and how he applies it to his leadership and personal growth.  Dan shares three transformative lessons he learned during his training: starting every day with gratitude, staying ready so you don't have to get ready, and going before you're ready. Dan also shares a personal story about overcoming complacency and the dangers of tying identity solely to achievements. He highlights the power of vulnerability and humility in leadership, acknowledging that struggles and setbacks are part of the human experience. Dan Rooney is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In this episode, I speak with Caryl Stern, a remarkable leader and philanthropist. Caryl's background includes serving as the Executive Director of the Walton Family Foundation, being on the Board of Directors at The Container Store, and leading UNICEF USA. She shares the importance of doing good, influenced by her immigrant mentality and the serendipity of life. Caryl emphasizes being open to new opportunities and embracing roles that scare us. We discuss her pivotal moment in choosing philanthropy and the profound experiences she's encountered. Caryl highlights how helping others releases feel-good chemicals and the significance of humility. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today's episode, I speak with Stephen Smith, CEO of Amsted Industries. Stephen shares his belief that vulnerability is about acknowledging that you can be wrong and being willing to expose yourself as a human being. He emphasized that showing vulnerability helps to level the playing field and eliminates defensiveness, which can hinder effective decision-making. Stephen recounted instances where he openly admitted his ignorance during meetings, which he believes fosters a culture of learning and growth. He also highlighted the importance of sharing personal experiences, such as his joy of becoming a grandparent, to help others see him as a human being with similar joys and emotions. We discussed the importance of balancing vulnerability with strength, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. Stephen believes that being vulnerable can convey strength and security, and it's crucial to communicate both effectively. He also shared that he's been vulnerable in his personal life, such as taking piano lessons at 65 and performing in a recital alongside a five-year-old prodigy. Stephen believes that living a life where you're not always the powerful person but sometimes the vulnerable one is important, especially as a leader. Stephen Smith is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. ⁠Check it out here and pre-order your copy now.⁠ __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In this leadership spark, Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, discusses the essence of authentic leadership. He stresses the importance of finding one's True North – understanding personal beliefs, passions, motivations, and sources of fulfillment – by reflecting on past experiences and crucibles.  Bill emphasizes staying aligned with your True North and resisting compromising values for short-term gains or external validation. He advocates for emotional intelligence and vulnerability, encouraging leaders to seek feedback, learn from experiences, and make principled decisions. Ultimately, he inspires aspiring leaders to lead authentically, empowering others and making a positive difference. Bill George is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, dives deep into the most critical aspect of any company: its people. He highlights the importance of frontline employees and their role in driving the success of the organization.  Bill mentions the importance of creating an environment where innovation can thrive. He encourages leaders to have a high tolerance for failure and to learn from setbacks. Bill also finds personal development crucial as a leader and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness. He suggests regularly seeking 360-degree feedback for growth and reflecting and taking time to evaluate one's actions and impact on others. Bill George is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I chat with Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, about his leadership journey and experiences. Bill shares how his father's advice, to be the leader he never became, shaped his career. He also discusses his early struggles with leadership, and he emphasizes the importance of caring about people and building deep connections as a leader.  Bill recalls his early leadership role at Litton Industries and how a crisis there taught him invaluable lessons in leading through tough times. He also talks about his time at Medtronic, the growth of the company, and the significance of innovation and developing inspired leaders. Overall, the discussion revolves around the evolution of leadership, the impact of relationships, and the changing expectations of leaders in modern times. Bill George is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Scott Boatwright, the Chief Restaurant Officer at Chipotle. Known for his operational strategies and his ability to drive change, Boatwright has been instrumental in reshaping the food safety measures and employee management at Chipotle. He brings a wealth of experience from his role at Chipotle, and his insights are sure to inspire. In our conversation today, we delve into the heart of operational systems, food safety measures, and employee benefits. From the importance of maintaining the quality and freshness of their ingredients, to the food safety measures and operational systems Scott implemented at Chipotle, we cover several important topics. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's conversation is with Joel Quadracci, CEO of Quad Graphics. Quad is a commercial printing company which offers marketing strategy and management services, based in Sussex, Wisconsin and has approximately 16,000 employees'. Joel shares the importance of authenticity and "being real" in leadership, arguing that vulnerability should not be seen as a weakness but rather as a sign of genuine human connection. He also shares his journey of leading a company that grew from a printing business to a multifaceted agency, and the challenges he faced along the way, including the sudden passing of his father. Joel underscores the significance of inclusive decision-making and the emotional toll that comes with making tough decisions. He also discusses his personal approach to vulnerability, which involves being open to criticism and maintaining a sense of humor. Today's episodes teaches us by embracing vulnerability, leaders can foster a culture of trust, openness, and inclusivity, which can ultimately lead to more resilient and successful organizations. Quadracci's journey shows the importance of being true to oneself, even in the face of adversity, and the power of a genuine human connection in the realm of leadership. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s Leadership Spark, Julia Boorstin, Senior Media & Technology Correspondent at CNBC, discusses the importance of adaptability, vulnerability, and contextual thinking in organizations. Julia emphasizes the significance of gathering data and listening to the people on the ground to make informed decisions when planning for worst-case scenarios.  Julia also highlights the value of vulnerability in leadership, encouraging leaders to acknowledge their weaknesses and create psychological safety within their organizations. Moreover, she explains the concept of contextual thinking, which involves solving root problems and preventing issues rather than simply reacting to them. By taking a broader perspective and asking tangential questions, leaders can find more effective solutions. Julia Boorstin is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s Leadership Spark, Julia Boorstin, Senior Media & Technology Correspondent at CNBC, discusses various qualities and characteristics of effective leaders, focusing on vulnerability and adaptability. She emphasizes that no one is born a leader and that leadership skills are developed through practice. She also highlights that vulnerability is a superpower, allowing leaders to connect with others, inspire trust, and foster learning.  Julia further discusses the importance of adaptability and the willingness to change one's mind in order to solve problems and embrace new opportunities. She also explores the differences in confidence between men and women and how confidence levels change over time. Finally, Julia highlights the significance of asking questions and seeking clarity in meetings, as it encourages open dialogue and collective learning. Julia Boorstin is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s Leadership Spark, I chat with Julia Boorstin, Senior Media & Technology Correspondent at CNBC. We delve into the challenges women face in leadership roles and accessing venture capital funding. She highlights the issue of pattern matching in the investment landscape, where investors tend to favor founders who fit established success patterns, leading to a lack of diversity in funding.  Julia emphasizes the need to address unconscious bias and promote skill-based hiring and promotion processes to create equal opportunities for advancement. Our conversation also addresses resilience, self-perception as leaders, and the importance of moving beyond categorizing female CEOs separately. Julia Boorstin is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability, which is coming out in October.  Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today’s episode is with none other than Robert Irvine, a celebrity chef, entrepreneur, author, and host of Food Network's hit show "Restaurant Impossible". Known for his dynamic leadership style and his ability to transform failing restaurants, Irvine has been instrumental in reshaping the culinary landscape. He brings a wealth of experience from his time in the military and his insights are sure to inspire. In our conversation today, we discussed the heart of leadership and the role it plays in creating successful teams and businesses. From the importance of self-belief and understanding what motivates others, as highlighted in his leadership philosophy, to the shift in mindset required for an individual to emerge as a leader, we cover several important topics. We also explore the role of middle management in organizations, drawing parallels with the military where non-commissioned officers are trained to control and utilize people to the best of their ability, and the importance of empathetic leadership in fostering a culture that enables growth and success. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's episode is with Tina Freese Decker, the President and CEO of Corewell Health, with 60,000+ employees and based in New York. Corewell Health was formerly known as Beaumont Health. Today, Tina shares the importance of vulnerability in leadership. She believes that being authentic and vulnerable are not choices but necessities for effective leadership. Tina also emphasizes the significance of knowing oneself, one's values, and one's purpose to build confidence, which in turn enables vulnerability and authenticity. Tina shares several instances from her career where she had to display vulnerability, such as reconsidering a board decision based on new information and openly discussing the possibility of making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for her organization. She also highlights the importance of balancing sharing personal information with the purpose of the conversation and the need to maintain psychological safety, respect, trust, and dignity. She also discusses the impact of vulnerability on her team. She believes that being authentic and vulnerable helps engage the team more effectively, fostering a sense of togetherness and grit that drives success. She asserts that vulnerability is a key aspect of creating real followership and connection to the organization's purpose. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Eric Miles, CEO of Moss Adams, reflects on his biggest mistakes and failures in business. He acknowledges the pivotal role of a partner who made him realize the importance of influencing and engaging with others. Eric emphasizes the value of self-awareness, vulnerability, and self-compassion, which have allowed him to grow as a leader.  Eric also highlights the freedom and confidence that comes with accepting imperfection and being comfortable in one's own skin. He acknowledges that vulnerability can be challenging, especially when making tough decisions that may hurt others. However, he finds it freeing and believes it protects him from criticism. Eric Miles is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Eric Miles, CEO of Moss Adams, discusses the growing importance of well-being at work and the need to balance work and life stress in the hybrid work environment. He emphasizes the value of creating an environment where people can thrive and highlights the significance of relationships and personal health. Eric's agile mindset and future-focused thinking have played a role in his career progression. He believes in asking questions, staying curious, and utilizing frameworks like the "Five Whys" and Ishikawa diagrams for decision-making. Eric Miles is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In this leadership spark, I chat with Eric Miles, the CEO of Moss Adams, about his unique perspective on growth. Eric emphasizes the significance of coaching and creating a supportive environment for team satisfaction, development, and well-being. He believes that by focusing on the growth and development of people, revenue and profit naturally follow.  Eric also shares his thoughts on hybrid work, viewing the office as a tool for connection and purpose rather than a mere physical space. He underscores the value of a strong culture and the importance of internal equity in attracting and retaining talent, emphasizing a value proposition that prioritizes connection, growth, and work-life balance. Eric Miles is one of the 100+ CEOs I interviewed for my new book, Leading With Vulnerability which is coming out in October. Check it out here and pre-order your copy now. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s episode, I speak with Dan Helfrich, the Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting. He has been with the company for over 20 years and he currently leads a team of over 85,000 people. We discussed the difference between leading with influence versus command and control. Dan likened these styles to a captain versus a coach. Dan emphasized that command and control leadership is necessary in crisis situations, such as a pandemic. However, in times of uncertainty that aren't time-sensitive, leading with influence can be more effective, as it brings more voices into the conversation. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today's episode is with Lard Friese, both the CEO and Chairman of Aegon, a multinational life insurance, pensions, and asset management company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It has businesses in over 20 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In today's episode, we discussed key topics such as leadership, vulnerability, and personal maturity in professional roles. Friese emphasized the importance of leaders being aware of their environment and showing their personality. He also shared a personal story about a significant failure early in his career, highlighting the importance of listening to his team and owning up to mistakes. Lard also discussed the power of authenticity in leadership roles and how it can build trust and improve team dynamics. Today's episode offers a valuable perspective on leadership and personal growth in professional success based on Lard's insights. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Alexa von Tobel, CEO of LearnVest and Founder of Inspired Capital, shares insights on structured learning, self-awareness, and inclusive decision-making. She emphasizes the value of a learning mindset, setting goals, and seeking feedback.  Alexa also highlights the importance of bringing people along, fostering transparency, and valuing input for effective decision-making. She emphasizes the importance of transparency, shared norms, and input from team members to create a sense of ownership and collaboration. Alexa's approach focuses on empowering individuals, valuing their perspectives, and making decisions that benefit the collective team. ___________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Alexa von Tobel, CEO of LearnVest and Founder of Inspired Capital, emphasizes the importance of work-life balance and shares her own experiences of overworking and its negative consequences. She also discusses the value of working with a coach to foster personal growth and highlights the role of vulnerability in leadership. Moreover, Alexa also emphasizes the significance of hiring talent that aligns with the company's mission and values, as well as the importance of continuous learning and self-awareness. She highlights the value of assessments and tools that provide insights into strengths and weaknesses, enabling leaders to make informed decisions and build effective teams. ___________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Alexa von Tobel, CEO of LearnVest and Founder of Inspired Capital. Alexa shares her journey and insights on building successful businesses, emphasizing the importance of learning from failures and seeking guidance through coaching and mentorship.  Alexa highlights the need for balance in leadership, including managing workloads, prioritizing sleep and exercise, and seeking perspective outside of work. She also emphasizes the value of surrounding oneself with trusted advisors who are willing to provide honest feedback. Through her experiences, Alexa demonstrates the growth and personal development that comes from embracing challenges and learning from others. ___________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today, I have the pleasure of conversing with Kate Johnson, the CEO of Lumen Technologies. Known for her transformative leadership and her ability to drive change, Johnson has been instrumental in reshaping the corporate culture at Lumen. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous role as the president of Microsoft in the United States, and her insights are sure to inspire. In our conversation today, we delve into the heart of corporate culture transformation and the role of leadership in this process. While we have previously discussed her journey at Microsoft, today our focus is on extracting key insights from Johnson's profound understanding of the business landscape and her analysis of the latest happenings at Lumen. From the importance of a clear mission and assembling the right leadership team, as highlighted in her transformation strategy at Lumen, to the shift in mindset required for a company to succeed, we cover several important topics. You can subscribe to Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening, weekly bonus episodes, and early access to new episodes. __________________ This episode is sponsored by: AvePoint Rapidly reduce costs, improve productivity and make more informed business decisions with AvePoint. With the most advanced platform to optimize SaaS operations and secure collaboration, AvePoint helps you transform your digital workplace and collaborate with confidence. To get started, go to www.avepoint.com and learn how you can advance your digital workplace today. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Loran Nordgren, Professor at Kellogg School of Management,  explores the concept of inertia as a barrier to innovation and change. Inertia refers to the human tendency to favor the familiar over the unfamiliar. Loran discusses how big transformations can face resistance due to the unfamiliarity of the idea. It would take reframing the change, taking incremental steps, and making the unfamiliar feel familiar to overcome this resistance.  Further into our conversation, Loran emphasizes the importance of understanding the human element and finding ways to bring people along on the change journey by addressing their emotions, minimizing effort, and involving them in the process. ___________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Loran Nordgren, Professor at Kellogg School of Management, talks about the concept of frictions in innovation and change, and the meaning of inertia, effort, and reactance. Loran mentions the four specific frictions that stand in the way of embracing new ideas. We also dived deep into the importance of addressing these frictions and involving the audience in the change process is emphasized, as their reactions and feelings greatly impact the success of innovation and transformation. ___________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Loran Nordgren, Professor at Kellogg School of Management. We dive deep into the concept of friction theory and the importance of focusing on barriers rather than just appeal in driving change and selling ideas. He emphasizes that while many people believe that elevating appeal and adding more value is the key to success, it is often the barriers or frictions that hold ideas back. Drawing an analogy to a bullet's flight, Loran explains that simply adding more gunpowder (fuel) does not help if the bullet lacks aerodynamics to reduce resistance.  Similarly, in organizations, the key is to identify and address the frictions that hold ideas back. By making ideas more aerodynamic and removing barriers, real progress and growth can be achieved. ___________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

Today we'll be diving into the world of author and entrepreneur Seth Godin. Seth has recently released a new book titled "The Song of Significance," which explores the concept of significance in the world and questions whether we are in a new era of leadership. In our conversation, we'll discuss the negative effects of automation, the balance of power shift within organizations, and the importance of leading with vulnerability. We'll also touch on the distinction between management and leadership, and the companies that Seth admires. Throughout our discussion, we'll be focusing on the idea of significance and how to create it in your life and work. Seth will share his insights on where to start and how to crack the egg to make a real impact. __________________ This episode is sponsored by: AvePoint Rapidly reduce costs, improve productivity and make more informed business decisions with AvePoint. With the most advanced platform to optimize SaaS operations and secure collaboration, AvePoint helps you transform your digital workplace and collaborate with confidence. To get started, go to www.avepoint.com and learn how you can advance your digital workplace today. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO of Genpact, and I dive deeper into the importance of addressing issues such as diversity and inclusion in leadership roles, the potential impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, and personal experiences that have influenced Tiger’s approach to leadership. Tiger also highlights the need for continuous learning, humility, and embracing curiosity. _________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO of Genpact, and I discussed the post-COVID work landscape and the nuanced shift in the way work is conducted. We also explore the potential benefits of distributed workforces, reduced commute times, and the ability to tap into new talent from diverse locations.  Our discussion also touched on the accelerated digital transformation during the pandemic and the reasons why organizations often resist change. At the leadership level, increased virtual communication and empathy play key roles in motivating and engaging remote teams, as well as checking in on employees' well-being and safety. _________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO of Genpact. We delved into his personal journey and the importance of making tough choices and the key factors in navigating them, such as data-driven decision-making, collaboration, and transparency.  He also emphasized the significance of having clear objectives and aligning them with the company's purpose, values, and culture. It’s important to stick to the organization's North Star and making decisions that prioritize client satisfaction and long-term relationships. Our conversation also touched on Genpact's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing their ability to adapt quickly and redeploy employees to meet changing demands. _________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

My interview today is with Dr. James Downing, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a leading authority in solving the world's toughest problems. With his visionary leadership, Dr. Downing has spearheaded groundbreaking advancements and transformed the landscape of healthcare. In our conversation, we delve into the essence of problem-solving and explore the methodologies that drive progress. We uncover Dr. Downing's unique approach to breaking down complex challenges and determining their worthiness. Join us as we unravel the secrets of "blue sky" thinking, from assembling brilliant minds to generating and testing innovative ideas. Discover the key metrics for measuring success and learn how failures can be invaluable teachers. __________________ This episode is sponsored by: AvePoint Rapidly reduce costs, improve productivity and make more informed business decisions with AvePoint. With the most advanced platform to optimize SaaS operations and secure collaboration, AvePoint helps you transform your digital workplace and collaborate with confidence. To get started, go to www.avepoint.com and learn how you can advance your digital workplace today. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Executive Coach Tom Henschel and I talk about how to make your executive presence unique and stand out, emphasizing the importance of confidence and self-awareness. We also explore the three components of executive presence: gravitas, communication, and appearance.  Tom highlights the significance of negative automatic thoughts and how managing them is crucial for building confidence and gravitas. As we wrapped up the discussion, Tom leaves us with an action item for improving executive presence: recording a short video and seeking feedback from others to gain insights and make adjustments. _________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. _________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Executive Coach Tom Henschel and I discuss the importance of communications and presence in leadership. Tom discusses the importance of concise communication, the art of answering questions effectively, and the tendency to drift off-topic in conversations. Tom also shares coaching insights and techniques to help leaders develop these skills and enhance their executive presence. Tom and I dived deeper into how to determine if one has an executive presence, the importance of feedback and recognition over time, and the challenges and strategies for developing an executive presence in a virtual world. He also addressed the impact of technology on virtual executive presence, such as lighting, microphone quality, and camera positioning. Our conversation also covered whether executive presence is exclusive to extroverts or if introverts can also cultivate it with a game day attitude and conscious effort. ________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s leadership spark, Executive Coach Tom Henschel discusses the concept of executive presence and its crucial role in leadership and how it influences how others perceive and trust leaders. The nature of executive presence is diverse, as it varies across industries and organizational contexts. According to Tom, executive presence encompasses both behavioral aspects and attitude, including confidence, the ability to command a room, and great speaking skills. Leaders often find it challenging to develop executive presence. While executive presence may not directly secure a promotion or job, its absence can hinder progress. _________________ This episode is sponsored by AvePoint. Take control of your SaaS environment and ensure secure collaboration with AvePoint. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

My guest today us David MacLennan, the Executive Chair and former CEO of Cargill, a global food and agribusiness corporation that employs over 160,000 employees in 70 countries. David shares his journey, from his early days in the company to his rise to the top, and the challenges he faced along the way. In this conversation, David discusses the importance of followership in leadership. He emphasizes that a title alone does not command respect or followership; it must be earned through credibility, sincerity, and reliability. He also shares his philosophy on leadership, which involves creating a personal connection with those he leads through authenticity and transparency. David believes that trust is the cornerstone of effective leadership, and he strives to earn this trust from his team and the wider organization.  ___________________ This episode is sponsored by: AvePoint Rapidly reduce costs, improve productivity and make more informed business decisions with AvePoint. With the most advanced platform to optimize SaaS operations and secure collaboration, AvePoint helps you transform your digital workplace and collaborate with confidence. To get started, go to www.avepoint.com and learn how you can advance your digital workplace today. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, renowned Author Brian Christian and I delve into the creation and challenges of algorithms, emphasizing the distinction between traditional algorithms and machine learning models. We explore how machine learning models are trained using examples and objective functions, highlighting their potential for accuracy and generalization. Brian also mentions the complexities of AI in fields like aerospace safety and hiring processes. We explore the challenges of balancing automation with human intuition and the risks of biases embedded in algorithms. While cautioning against overreliance on AI, Brian highlights the need for ongoing research, transparency, and ethical considerations in the development and deployment of these technologies. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s episode spark, I engage in a thought-provoking conversation with renowned Author Brian Christian. In our conversation, we explore the creation of algorithms, from traditional step-by-step code to modern machine learning models. Brian emphasizes the importance of understanding these systems, even for non-technical individuals, as they increasingly shape our lives and decisions.  Further into our discussion, we dived deeper into real-world examples of AI and machine learning in action, such as medical diagnostics, social media algorithms, and even judicial decision-making. The episode sheds light on the implications and challenges presented by these technologies, urging listeners to be informed citizens in the algorithm-driven world we live in. ___________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/  

In today’s episode spark, I had the pleasure of chatting with renowned Author Brian Christian. We discussed his latest book, "The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values," and why he wrote it. Brian shared how the public conversation around AI shifted in 2014, leading him to explore the intersection of AI and human values. He highlighted the emergence of technical AI safety as a research field and discussed incidents that underscored the ethical challenges AI presents. Brian also touched on the history of AI and its breakthrough in 2012, along with the power and potential dangers of AI. _________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

My interview today is with Bruce Avolio, the Director of the Gallup Leadership Institute and a renowned expert in the field of leadership. Bruce has dedicated his career to studying leadership and developing strategies for effective leadership in today's rapidly changing world. In our conversation, we explore the topic of leadership and how to become a successful leader. Bruce shares his insights on the debate of whether leaders are born or made, and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and innovation for leaders. He also highlights the growing emphasis on psychological safety in the workplace and the value of authenticity in leadership. We also discuss the different types of leadership, including transactional and transformational leadership, and how each approach can impact employee satisfaction and retention. Bruce shares his research on the impact of CEO approval on board retention decisions and the importance of having a strong core value as a leader. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In this leadership spark, BJ Fogg, Adjunct Professor at Stanford & Author of Tiny Habits, and I delve into the power of tiny habits, the concept of golden behaviors, and debunk the myth that repetition alone creates lasting habits. BJ shares practical examples and expert guidance on how to design habits that align with your aspirations and motivations. In our conversation, BJ also shares how to recognize and nurture golden behaviors that have a significant impact on your personal and professional life and the significance of consistency and evolving habits over time.  __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, BJ Fogg, Adjunct Professor at Stanford & Author of Tiny Habits, explains how the Tiny Habits methods can be applied to various aspects of life, including health, productivity, relationships, and even leadership.  BJ shares insights into the framework of the five-day program, where participants spend just 35 minutes exploring and practicing tiny habits. Moreover, he shares success stories and research insights, highlighting the effectiveness of small steps in creating lasting behavior change. Discover how these small steps can lead to significant growth and expansion, opening doors to personal improvement and achievement. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/    

In today’s leadership spark, BJ Fogg, Adjunct Professor at Stanford & Author of Tiny Habits, shares his journey from aspiring to be a surgeon to pursuing a doctorate at Stanford, where his focus shifted to habits and behavior change. BJ discusses his research on the pro-social aspects of habits and highlights the significance of finding a balance between achievement and personal fulfillment. We dived deeper into BJ's book, "Tiny Habits," which emphasizes the power of making small changes in behavior. He shares his own experience of hacking habits and discovering that simplicity and integration into existing routines can lead to lasting change. We discussed how BJ's method has helped many individuals significantly, which led him to teach and coaching others. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

My guest today is Todd B. Kashdan, a professor of psychology at George Mason University, and a leading authority on well-being, curiosity, courage, and resilience. He has published more than 220 scientific articles, his work has been cited more than 40,000 times, and he received the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. He has written 5 books including his latest one called The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively. Todd also founded the Well-Being Lab at George Mason University which has produced over 210 peer-reviewed journal articles on well-being and resilience, psychological flexibility, meaning and purpose in life, curiosity, and managing social anxiety. The conversation today is fast paced, energetic, and touches on a lot of topics impacting organizations and individuals around the world. We look at how and why people are struggling with well-being, having a voice at work and if that’s even possible in today’s cancel culture climate, if you can really control technology or if technology controls you, and the woke movement and the impact that is having on organizations and individuals including what Todd calls the speed to intolerance. __________________ Start your day with the world’s top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email https://greatleadership.substack.com/

In today’s leadership spark, Molly Fletcher, CEO of The Molly Fletcher Company, and I delve into the art of building relationships and mastering the skill of negotiation. Molly shares valuable insights and strategies for identifying potential in individuals, recognizing red flags, and aligning expectations for successful partnerships. Molly also mentions how to develop a resilient mindset to overcome setbacks and turn defeat into triumph. She also shares practical tips for effective negotiation, including the importance of preparation, curiosity, and practice. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Molly Fletcher, CEO of The Molly Fletcher Company. Molly shares valuable insights on handling rejection, building strong relationships, and going above and beyond to add value. As a former sports agent representing top athletes and coaches, Molly brings a unique perspective to leadership and business. Further into our conversation, Molly shares how she navigated the world of sports, learned from rejection, and applied those lessons to the business world. This conversation will inspire you to up your game and approach relationships and negotiations with a new mindset. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In this leadership spark, Molly Fletcher, CEO at The Molly Fletcher Company and Sports Agent turned Keynote Speaker and Author, shares her remarkable journey and insights into building successful relationships in sports.  From her humble beginnings at a small agency to representing top athletes and coaches, Molly's story is one of perseverance and strategic relationship building.  Molly shares her unique technique of asking without asking, a skill that helped her connect with athletes and understand their needs on a deeper level. Lastly, we discussed about why patience and consistency are key in the business of sports agency, and how Molly's approach to adding value and building trust paved the way for long-term success.  _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

Get ready to be inspired by Niren Chaudhary, CEO at Panera Brands, as he shares insights on business, philosophy, and career strategy in this life-changing discussion. With over 130,000 team members across Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Caribou Coffee, Niren has the experience and expertise to guide you towards a better life, both personally and professionally. During our conversation, Niren shares the tragic story of his daughters and the valuable lessons he learned from them, along with the importance of not seeing yourself as a victim. Discover the ultimate measure of leadership success and how former Yum! Brands CEO, David Novak, changed Niren's approach to leadership. Trust us, this is not a conversation you want to miss! Tune in to one of our most unforgettable podcast discussions to date. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!  

In this episode, Patrick Lencioni discusses how understanding individual geniuses within a team can drastically improve efficiency and morale. He shares a story of a technology company that revamped its executive suite by harnessing individual genius, leading to marked advancements in their market standing. In our conversation, Partick also mentions how minor adjustments in roles based on individual geniuses can greatly benefit productivity and morale, without necessitating drastic career changes. The conversation concludes with the importance of vulnerability and self-awareness in realizing one's strengths and weaknesses, and how it plays a crucial role in team dynamics and productivity. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In today’s leadership spark, I had a fascinating conversation with Patrick Lencioni, Founder & President at The Table Group, about his model called "The 6 Types of Working Genius." Patrick describes these types as: "Wonder," "Invention," "Discernment," "Galvanizing," "Enablement," and "Tenacity." On a more personal note, Patrick revealed how this model has improved his marriage. He and his wife learned they both lack the genius of "Tenacity," which has helped them understand each other better and outsource certain tasks. Lastly, we discussed the importance of the "Enablement" and "Tenacity" types in getting ideas off the ground and ensuring they are finished. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In today’s leadership spark, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick Lencioni, Founder & President at The Table Group and Author of The Six Types of 'Working Genius'. Patrick shared his concerns about the modern workforce becoming more transactional and less passion-driven. He noted a rising cynicism among younger workers and even a decreased desire to work. However, he saw these challenges as opportunities for leaders to inspire their teams.  We also discussed the potential drawbacks of widespread remote work, especially for roles requiring creativity and innovation. Patrick shares valuable insights and advice to leaders when hiring, and highlights the need for focused, thoughtful leadership in these changing times. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

Today, I speak with none other than the brilliant Gary Hamel. Renowned as one of the world's foremost business thinkers and a best-selling author, Hamel has captivated audiences with his groundbreaking books like "Competing for the Future," "What Matters Now," and his latest masterpiece, "Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them." In today's conversation, we embark on a riveting journey with Hamel as we delve into the realm of current events and news. While we explored his book in depth during our previous encounter, this time our focus is on extracting key insights from Hamel's profound understanding of the business landscape and his analysis of the latest happenings. From the mind-boggling impact of digital overload on workplace productivity, as revealed in a compelling Wall Street Journal article, to the evolving dynamics of the job market in the wake of the Great Resignation phenomenon, as highlighted by Business Insider—we leave no stone unturned. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In this Leadership Spark, Jeffrey Katz, founder and CEO of Journera, shares about how his leadership style evolved from command and control to being more open and emotionally engaged with his employees. He explains the importance of having a clear strategy and building a great team with honesty, integrity, and communication skills.  Jeffrey reflects on the lessons he learned from tragedy and the value of having experience to gain wisdom. He also mentions his transformation as a leader and how he brought his new approach to Orbitz.  _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In today’s Leadership Spark, Jeffrey Katz, founder and CEO of Journera, discusses his experiences leading through crises, including the tragic crash of Swissair Flight 111 and the impact of 9/11 on the travel industry. Jeffrey emphasizes the importance of compassion, honesty, and generosity in times of crisis and reflects on how the experiences changed him as a leader. The conversation also delves into the challenges of building a company in a competitive industry and the role of technology in shaping the future of travel. Overall, the discussion highlights the importance of adaptability and agility in leadership. ______________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In today’s Leadership Spark, I speak with Jeffrey Katz, founder and CEO of Journera. Jeffrey talks about his leadership roles in various companies, and his experience as a command-and-control leader. He talks about the performance-centric nature of the airline industry and the mission to grow Sabre around the world, as well as the challenges faced by management in a command-and-control environment.  Jeffrey also talks about the evolution of management styles and how the idea of employee engagement surveys, flexible work, and work-life balance were just starting during his time in the industry. The conversation sheds light on the need for companies to adapt to changing times and expectations of employees.  ____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

My interview today is with John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco Systems and author of "Connecting the Dots: Lessons for Leadership in a Startup World." Chambers started off his career as a sales representative and rose through the ranks to become the CEO of Cisco Systems, growing the company from $70 million to $47 billion. In our conversation, we discuss what's going on in the world today, including the high-performance versus low-performance dichotomy and the power shift into the hands of employees. We also talk about Chambers' key moments in his leadership career, including his diagnosis with dyslexia and transitioning out of the CEO role. We explore the importance of discussing politics at work, the changing stereotype of leadership, and the role of AI and cybersecurity. Chambers shares his secret to growing Cisco and provides tips for individuals, teams, and organizations. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In today’s Leadership Spark, Marshall Goldsmith, renowned executive coach and author, discusses the evolving stereotype of leaders and the issue with traditional employee engagement surveys. He suggests using active questions to encourage personal responsibility for engagement and meaning at work.  Marshall emphasizes the importance of balance and accountability, where everyone plays a role. He also shares a story of two flight attendants demonstrating the power of internal mindset in creating positivity. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In this Leadership Spark, Marshall Goldsmith, renowned executive coach and author, discusses the dangers of ego in leadership and the importance of making a positive difference in life. Marshall explains that a healthy ego is necessary for promoting oneself and making a positive impact, but too much ego can be detrimental to one's career.  He also shares his experience in coaching CEOs and the importance of choosing the right clients. His coaching philosophy is based on Buddhist principles, particularly the idea of accepting what is and making positive changes in life. ____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee! 

In today’s Leadership Spark, I interview executive coach Marshall Goldsmith. Marshall shares his insights on leadership coaching and how he helps CEOs and prospective CEOs improve their leadership skills through confidential feedback based on interviews. Marshall notes that the most common issues CEOs or prospective CEOs face are winning too much, adding too much value, and trying to be right all the time. He emphasizes that coaching isn’t about the coach but about working with great people.  _______________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes, and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. It’s only available on Apple Podcasts for $4.99/month or $49.99/year--less than a cup of coffee!

In this episode of The Great Leadership Podcast with Jacob Morgan, I spoke with Stewart Friedman - a well-known leadership expert who spent time at Ford Motor Company leading a 50-person team focused on leadership development, transforming the culture, and training 2,500 managers per year. In today’s episode, Friedman emphasizes the importance of finding mutual value in four domains: work, home, community, and self, and argues that leadership impacts all of them, requiring change in all areas. He also stresses the importance of vulnerability in leadership. According to his research, there is no such thing as work-life balance, instead, integration is the key. He has explored the impact of the pandemic on this integration and found that holistic career values have an indirect effect on work engagement. Stewart encourages people to make tough choices under pressure, integrate work and life, pay attention to signs, and make the best career decisions. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

Hey everyone! After years of creating content on leadership, employee experience, and the future of work, I’ve come to realize that having a following is great, but building a true community is even better. That’s why I’ve decided to launch the Great Leadership Community on Substack. Substack will allow me to organize all of my free and premium content in a more easily accessible way, and foster discussions and interaction on specific pieces of content. Plus, I’ll be able to create exclusive premium content for those who want to dive deep into leadership. For only $9.99/month, subscribers will receive weekly 5-minute leadership hack videos, unique insights from leaders, and exclusive interviews with CEOs and thinkers. And as the community grows, I’ll be rolling out even more exciting features. So if you’re looking to become a better leader, join me on this new adventure and subscribe to the Great Leadership Community on Substack. Let’s build an amazing community and change the business world for the better! ______________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Stephen M.R. Covey. We discuss the concept of leadership and management, and how both are necessary for a company's success. Covey explains that while leadership and management are often used interchangeably, they are two distinct roles that require different skills. He also emphasizes the importance of inspiration in leadership and how it can lead to increased productivity and employee well-being. Covey believes that everyone can inspire, and it is a learnable skill. _____________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In today’s leadership spark, I speak with Stephen M.R. Covey. We discuss the importance of trust in leadership; dive into the impact of trust on relationships, teams, and organizations; and provide practical tips for leaders to build and maintain trust with their teams. Stephen also shares personal stories about his family, including their weekly family meetings and the powerful leadership lesson he learned as a young boy from his father. Gain valuable insights into the role of trust in leadership and how to create a culture of trust in your organizations in this episode. _________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

My interview today is with Deb Cupp, the President of Microsoft North America and board member of Ralph Lauren and Avanade, leading a $67 billion dollar business. Deb started her career in technology, working her way up the ranks to become a leader in the industry. As a leader, she has learned the importance of having a coach mindset and how it can transform the way we lead. In our conversation, we explore the topic of coaching and how it can benefit both employees and organizations. Deb shares her insights on the coaching process, highlighting key frameworks and strategies for coaching employees, and what to do when employees are not coachable. She also emphasizes the importance of coaching the coach and focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In today's leadership spark, I had the pleasure of speaking with Martin Moore, former CEO of CS Energy, about a common issue in the workplace: office politics and backstabbing.  Martin's advice was simple yet powerful: maintain a zero-tolerance policy for office politics and take a tough-love approach to dealing with employees who engage in it. He also emphasized the importance of staying informed by talking to people at all levels of the organization and referring employees back to their immediate manager when they have complaints about their boss. Martin shared a personal story about his personal experience dealing with office politics when someone tried to sabotage him in the workplace. I believe this is a valuable lesson for all leaders to keep in mind, as office politics can be a major distraction from achieving our goals and can negatively impact team morale. ________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In today’s leadership spark, I spoke with Martin Moore, former CEO of CS Energy and author of No Bullsh*t Leadership. We discussed the frustration behind the lack of practical guidance for desirable leadership attributes, and the detrimental effects of leaders who attend training programs but do nothing different. We also touched on the difficulty of transitioning from individual contributor to leader, and the need for more mentoring and role models.  Martin emphasized the importance of pushing through the discomfort of developing good leadership habits, and the impact it can have on yourself, your team, and the company. Ultimately, we agreed that leadership is about taking action and making the choice to step into difficult situations with a willingness to learn and improve. ___________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode of The Great Leadership Podcast with Jacob Morgan, Lisa Osborne Ross, CEO at Edelman, shares insights on staying centered, dealing with failure, and leading with empathy. Lisa highlights the importance of recognizing that good and bad situations are not as extreme as they seem, and how she learned to respect others' points of view and become a better decision maker after a controversial decision she made. In our conversation, Lisa shares how she stays centered by engaging in activities that prioritize her well-being. Lisa also highlights the importance of perspective and exposure to different people and ideas, believing that pain is relative and that releasing herself to the universe of luck frees her from unnecessary challenges. __________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode of the Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan podcast, I talk with Lisa Osborne Ross, Chief Executive Officer (U.S.) at Edelman. We discuss her personal and professional journey, including the impact of her upbringing on her world view. Lisa shares her first formal leadership roles and the valuable lessons learned throughout her career. Our conversation dives into the differences between management and leadership, highlighting the importance of providing support, guidance, and inspiration. With management focusing on getting people to do more, leadership is about helping people become more. ________________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode, I speak with Lisa Lewin - the dynamic CEO of General Assembly, a leading platform offering courses in coding, design, data, and business. With over a third of Fortune 100 companies utilizing its services, General Assembly's goal is to upskill and re-skill talent needed in today's rapidly changing world. But Lisa's accomplishments don't stop there. She also serves on the boards of the Wikimedia Foundation, Bank Street College of Education, and the Leadership Now Project. With a BS from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School, she's a true force to be reckoned with in the education and business world. I wanted to speak with Lisa because how we used to think about jobs and careers in terms of long-term employment has been forever changed. We're seeing the emergence of a new world where skills are more important and valuable than the job you hold. In today's discussion, we delve into the future of education, compare the value of skills versus pedigree, and explore how to balance diversity and competence in hiring. Plus, we uncover the most in-demand skills for the near future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee. 

In today's episode, I am joined by Michael Watkins, the author of The First 90 Days. We discuss leadership transitions, how to make them successful, and what happens if they don't go well.  Michael emphasizes the importance of understanding the challenges, planning the process of engaging with key stakeholders early on, and being thoughtful about how you arrive in the new organization. He also highlights the balance between learning and connecting, and deciding and acting. If a transition does not go well, recovery is possible, but it depends on how much damage has been done. ________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this segment of our conversation, Michael Watkins and I dive into the crucial role of leadership development programs, and how astonishingly, many individuals don't receive adequate leadership training until well into their careers.  We touch upon the challenges faced by organizations and employees in today's rapidly changing business environment, as well as the responsibility of individuals to take charge of their own onboarding and learning. We also explore the concept of relearning how to learn and the importance of being intentional and proactive in one's own career development. _______________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Michael Watkins, best-selling author of The First 90 Days and Professor at IMD Business School, as we delved into the crucial importance of the first 90 days in leadership transitions. Michael's research indicates that by adopting a rigorous approach, leaders can reduce the time it takes to reach the breakeven point by approximately 50%, benefiting both themselves and their organizations. Additionally, we explored the significance of recognizing and navigating various types of transitions, including the often overlooked hidden transitions, which can greatly influence career development and overall success. _______________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

My interview today is with Kate Duchene, the CEO of RGP, a global consulting firm with over 4,500 team members. Kate originally started off her career as a litigator where part of her job was to know everything. As a leader, she had to shift from knowing everything to knowing who to go to when she needed help, this is something a lot of leaders struggle with today. In our conversation we look at what is going on in the world of work today, specifically if people even want to work anymore and if we have lost our respect and drive for working. We also look at the role that vulnerability plays at work, the changing stereotype of leadership, and the big trends that Kate is paying attention to. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee. 

In the second part of my conversation with Hubert Joly, the former CEO of Best Buy and  author of "The Heart of Business, we delved into Hubert's transformation from a young executive into a visionary leader, the crucial role vulnerability plays in leadership, and the life-changing moment that shifted his perspective on both life and work. Hubert imparts valuable advice for future leaders, emphasizing that "the best leaders don't climb to the top, they are carried to the top." Uncover the essence of heart-centered leadership and the significance of finding meaning and purpose in our professional and personal lives. Make sure to listen to this insightful interview today!  _______________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  

In this episode of the show, I talk to Hubert Joly, the man who turned around the fortunes of Best Buy. Learn how he defied conventional business wisdom by prioritizing people and customers, ultimately revitalizing the company. Hubert shares his four levers of a successful turnaround and explains why he considers cost reduction a last resort. You'll walk away inspired by Hubert's unique approach to leadership and tackling business challenges. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation – listen to the full interview now!  _______________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In the concluding segment of my chat with Kate Johnson, former president of Microsoft US, she emphasizes the value of maintaining informal advisors from diverse teams and departments to offer sincere feedback.  Kate shares some memorable experiences, such as witnessing 1,000 individuals applauding a speaker discussing racism, which inspired her to foster more conversations about inclusion. She also delves into her biggest business failure, her most embarrassing moment, and her proudest accomplishments.  Additionally, she mentions her favorite books, her most influential mentor, and a possible alternative career path. Join us in this thought-provoking conversation to gain insights from Kate's experiences and reflections on leadership and personal development. ______________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode, Kate Johnson, former president of Microsoft in the United States talks about her journey as a female leader in the corporate world. We delve into the significance of family support, striking the right balance between personal and professional roles, and embracing your true self. Kate shares her invaluable advice for female leaders to navigate the business landscape with patience and determination. Tune in to gain insights into the unique challenges faced by women in leadership positions and how to surmount them.  __________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode, I have a fascinating conversation with Ozan Varol, an accomplished author, and professor who was once a rocket scientist. Ozan's previous book "Think Like a Rocket Scientist" was highly acclaimed, and his latest book "Awaken Your Genius: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary," explores the importance of carving out your own path and understanding your identity.  We discuss the reasons behind Ozan's latest book, and the hindrance of creativity in students by educators. Ozan shares his thoughts on separating identity from beliefs and the importance of understanding oneself to create their own path. We also discuss the different approaches to pursuing one's passion, and the significance of curiosity.  ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee. 

In today’s episode, we are continuing our conversation that I had with David Novak, the former CEO of Yum Brands. In this part of my conversation with David, we delve into the significance of connecting with people and being open about one's personal experiences and struggles.  David shares that he openly discusses his family struggles and personal challenges at work. He emphasizes the importance of revealing your personal side to others, which helps them see you as a human being, not just a company leader. David also talks about the necessity of being competent in your job and earning the right to lead. He believes that empowerment isn't simply given to people, but rather earned through demonstrating functional expertise and the ability to handle the responsibilities that come with a position. ______________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In today’s episode, we are revisiting a conversation that I had with David Novak, the former CEO of Yum Brands. David and I talked about a variety of topics related to leadership, culture, and the future of work. One key theme that emerged was the importance of recognition in creating a positive workplace culture. David shared how he implemented a recognition program at Yum! Brands that encouraged employees to recognize and celebrate their colleagues' achievements. This program not only boosted morale and engagement but also contributed to the company's bottom line.  We also talked about the future of work and how technology is changing the way we work. David highlighted the importance of embracing new technologies and using them to drive innovation and growth.  ________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

This episode is the last part of my interview with Erin Meyer, a professor at INSEAD and the author of the book "No Rules Rules" which is all about the innovative culture at Netflix.  One of the most interesting aspects of this culture is the emphasis on candor and feedback. Erin explained how the company values honest feedback and encourages employees to be candid with each other, even if it means pointing out weaknesses or areas for improvement.  Erin also shared some insights into the company's other unique policies, such as no KPIs and no management by objectives. While these may seem counterintuitive to traditional business practices, they actually help create a more flexible and agile organization that can quickly pivot and adapt to new challenges. ___________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

This is the second part of my interview with Erin Meyer, a professor at INSEAD and the author of the book "No Rules Rules" which is all about the innovative culture at Netflix.  Erin shares her insights into the three pillars that make up Netflix's culture: talent density, candor, and freedom. She explains how Netflix hires rockstars and pays them more to increase talent density, encourages candid feedback among employees to improve communication and decision-making, and removes traditional management controls like vacation and travel policies to give employees more freedom.  We also discuss the challenges of balancing transparency with confidentiality and maintaining a sense of teamwork without job security. Erin shares examples of how other companies can adopt these principles and make them work for their own organizational culture.  ________________________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode, I have the privilege of interviewing Julie Godin, the Co-Chair of the Board and Executive Vice-President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development at CGI - a renowned global IT and business consulting services firm with a workforce of over 90,000 team members. As a key leader in the company, Julie is responsible for ensuring the needs of CGI's three stakeholders - employees, clients, and shareholders - are met through her leadership in strategic planning, marketing, communications, and M&A functions. During our conversation, we dive into Julie's approach to strategic planning and the factors she considers to create effective plans that balance short-term and long-term thinking. We also explore how to address failures in strategic planning and the trends Julie is closely watching in her role. Tune in to gain insights from a seasoned executive who has driven growth and innovation at one of the world's leading technology consulting firms. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee. 

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Erin Meyer, a professor at INSEAD and the author of the book "No Rules Rules" which is all about the innovative culture at Netflix.  In our conversation, Erin and I talked about the three pillars that make up Netflix's culture: talent density, candor, and freedom. We discussed how the company hires rockstars and pays them more to increase talent density, encourages candid feedback among employees to improve communication and decision-making, and removes traditional management controls like vacation and travel policies to give employees more freedom.  We also talked about the challenges that come with creating such a culture, including how to balance transparency with confidentiality and how to maintain a sense of teamwork without job security. __________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode of The Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan, we'll explore the three crucial components of the employee experience: physical space, technology, and corporate culture. Learn how to create a great experience for employees who aren't in the office, how to use technology to make your organization more human, and why leaders should embrace the corporate culture.  __________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this second part of the interview with Jay Papasan, the New York Times bestselling author of The One Thing, we   dive into a topic that's been on my mind lately - the importance of accountability and the danger of falling into a victim mentality.  Jay shares his insights on how to avoid victim thinking and take ownership of your life and career. He emphasizes the importance of acknowledging our starting points and looking for areas where we still have control. This mindset shift can empower us to create our own future, rather than feeling helpless and at the mercy of our circumstances.  __________ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

In this episode, I chat with Jay Papasan, co-author of "The One Thing", about productivity, time management, and personal development. We discuss how to identify your "one thing" and its importance for individuals and organizations. Here are some highlights: What I found really interesting about our conversation was the idea that passion can be a little bit deceptive. Jay argued that passion is fleeting and that what really matters is purpose. He suggested that if we pay attention to the decisions that make us happy, we can start to identify the things that truly matter to us and move towards achieving our self-actualization. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.

My guest today is Emily Fletcher the founder of Ziva Meditation and best-selling author of Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance which has around 1,300 reviews on Amazon. Emily used to be an actor on Broadway but the stress and intensity of the job caught up to her. She wasn’t sleeping, her hair was turning gray, and she was getting sick all of the time and she was only in her 20’s! For over the past 15 years Emily has been teaching over 50,000 people around the world how to meditate so that they can reach their full potential and live happy lives. In our discussion you will learn the science behind meditation and what it actually does to the brain and body, the difference between mindfulness and meditation, where stress and anxiety come from and the impact they have on your well-being, and the tangible results that meditation can have on your life, both at work and at home. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.   

Imagine working in an organization where employee experience is prioritized. A workplace with a thriving culture, advanced technology, and an inspiring physical space designed for your comfort and productivity. Isn’t that great? Organizations can create environments where people genuinely want to work by focusing on three key areas. Don’t miss this insightful episode that dives into these essential components for a successful workplace. Listen now and start making a positive impact within your organization. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee. 

Today’s guest is Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Nasty Gal and best-selling author of Girl Boss, who is known for her resilience in the face of adversity. From her challenging background and struggles, to the launch of Nasty Gal, Sophia's journey has been marked by setbacks and comebacks. In today’s episode, we discuss how she emphasizes the importance of well-being, vulnerability, and team alignment, and reminds us that KPI’s don't matter on our deathbed. Sophia's story serves as an inspiration to be resilient and persevere through challenges.  ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee. 

Do you practice the powers of ten as a leader? A few years ago, I interviewed the CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown, and asked him about the characteristics and qualities leaders need to possess. He told me that one of the things he believes is most valuable for a leader is the idea of practicing the powers of 10. As a leader, you need to be able to both zoom in and zoom out. You need to be able to get involved in the micro when needed, but at the same time, you also need to be able to zoom out and see the big picture. Often, leaders are good at one or the other, or they're not good at either. But as a leader, you need to be good at both. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  --------------------- To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Today’s discussion is with Jeff Raider who’s the co-founder and co-CEO Harry's and also the co-founder of Warby Parker. Harry’s is a 1,000 person CPG company which offers everything from razors to face care, body care, and hair care for men and women. One of the things I found fascinating about Jeff is that he helped start not one, but two very successful companies over the past decade and I wanted to understand why and how he did it. In today’s discussion we talk about balancing short term success with long-term growth, how to earn the trust of your customers, what it takes to turn an idea into something real, and why it’s so crucial for employees to have a connection to what the company does. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

It's no secret that mental health is crucial right now. But it's also a difficult resource for a lot of people to access. Even after you call your healthcare provider, it can take weeks before an appointment is available. The same thing is true inside of our organizations. If an employee is struggling with something and goes to their leader, the first thing a leader often does is try to deflect and push that employee to talk to somebody else. But the reality is that leaders are the frontline. They need to be the frontline when it comes to mental health. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of the Remarkable People podcast. He is an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), and adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple where he worked directly with Steve Jobs and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation and he’s the author of 15 books including his most recent one called Wise Guy. In today’s episode Guy shares why he always seems happy, what it was like to work Steve Jobs and what he learned from him, the importance of serendipitous events and why you should take advantage of them, and if today’s workforce is just getting lazy and soft. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What is the impact of a great leader inside of your company? When you work for a great leader, you feel like you can do anything. In fact, a study ‌by Zenger Folkman found that great leaders can double company profits. Not only does this help the employees, but it also helps your organization as a whole from a financial perspective. When you work for a great leader, their behaviors, attitudes, and values will spread inside your organization. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

My guest today is Sally Helgesen, leadership coach and author of the best-selling book, How Women Rise which was written with Marshall Goldsmith. She has a new book in February called Rising Together. In today’s discussion we look at some of the unique challenges that women face when it comes to career success. These are self-imposed challenges which oftentimes don’t have anything to do with corporate culture or structure. Some of these challenges include the disease to please, minimizing, and being reluctant to claim achievements. The interesting thing is that Sally discovered that many of these challenges also apply to men. We explore these challenges in more detail, talk about hard skill versus soft skills, and the role that competence plays in career success. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________

Have you ever thought about what a toxic leader does to your organization? Toxic leaders literally kill the people who work for them! A study by the University of Manchester looked at 1200 participants to explore the impact of bad leaders. They found people who worked for a toxic boss had lower satisfaction, and those who worked for a narcissistic or psychopathic boss were more likely to experience clinical depression. The scariest part is that toxic bosses’ behaviors, attitudes, and values spread inside of organizations like wildfire! Meaning, everybody around those leaders starts to behave the same way. And suddenly, you wake up one day and realize your entire organization is disengaged, nobody wants to be there, your productivity goes down, and one day your business might even cease to exist altogether. These leaders have low self-awareness and empathy. There should be no place in the corporate world for toxic people, especially toxic leaders. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Today’s guest  is Carolyn Dewar is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company where she founded and coleads their CEO excellence work. She’s also the author of a book called CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. In today’s episode you will learn what separates great leaders from everyone else, the 6 mindsets that the world’s best leaders practice, and why leadership can be lonely and what to do about it. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Everybody needs leadership training. Most people become leaders in their mid to late 20s or early 30s. However, most people don't get any kind of formal leadership training until their late 30s and perhaps early 40s. They have to figure out how to become leaders because nobody taught them how to. This is one of the biggest things we need to fix. Give everyone in your company access to leadership training and development programs. You are arming these individuals with tools and resources that can positively impact your business, customers, and team members. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Today’s discussion is with Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Ray is also the author of several books including his mega best-seller Principles: Life and Work which has sold well over 5 million copies.  Our conversation today goes into some areas which I haven’t explored much in the previous episodes because I was a bit nervous to touch on them. These include how to balance telling the truth in a cancel culture world, how to own your own path and outcome in an environment where everyone says they are a victim, the blending of work life and government and issues around things like the Woke movement, the importance of meritocracy, and the difference between focusing on equal opportunity versus equal outcome. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

As a leader, giving your team the answers is tempting. Everybody comes to you for guidance and feedback. But the best results come from not giving your team the answer, even if you know it. If you keep giving them answers and finding the solutions for your team, you’ll become a decision-making bottleneck. When that happens, your impact as a leader gets diminished considerably. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Today’s guest is Tom Peters, author of many best-selling books including In Search of Excellence, Extreme Humanism, and his newest book, Tom Peters’ Compact Guide to Excellence. Tom was also on the first list of “100 most powerful people in Silicon Valley” from 1965 to 2000 and in 2017, he received the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award. He also served in the Navy, worked at The White House, and has a Ph.D. from the Stanford School of Business. But most importantly, Tom Peters has a Ph.D in “putting people first.” In today’s episode Tom talks about the two people who most influenced who he is and why, his thoughts on Jack Welch and Elon Musk in terms of leadership, why shareholder value is the wrong way of thinking about business, and if leaders today are giving more of themselves to their people than they did years ago. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ To help you define and build your company’s culture, I put together a totally free eight-part video training series. Sign up at helpmyculture.com to get access today. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

There's an old saying: Good fences make for great neighbors. If you didn't have fences, there would be no boundaries, and your neighbors could come over whenever they wanted. You need to set up those similar types of fences in your organization. Setting up fences is healthy both at work and in your personal life. It allows you to protect your time and figure out the things you should be working on. One strategy for setting boundaries is to ponder and write down the answers to these questions: 1. What are your goals? 2. What projects and tasks do you enjoy doing? 3. What projects or tasks really drain you? 4. What times during the day do you feel most productive? 5. What do you need to do during the day to feel most fulfilled? 6. What are your biggest distractions? 7. What do you want your day to look like? ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Dave Gilboa is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker. An online retailer of glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses which was founded in 2010. Today Warby Parker is a publicized traded company with a market cap of almost $2 billion and over 3,000 employees.  In today’s discussion we look at the importance of values and vision in growing and running a business, how to turn an idea into a product or service, and how Dave sets personal and professional goals. Subscribers to Leading the Future of Work + will also get a bonus episode where Dave talks about how to create trust, the importance of vulnerability, and the one hack he uses to stimulate creative ideas. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

I don’t like every part of my job. I don’t like if I'm working with a difficult client, don't get a speaking gig that I was excited for, or am working on a project I don’t like. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love my job. It’s ok to not like some parts of your job. You don’t need to love every minute of your job. It’s ok to have bad days where you're frustrated, feel a little bit disengaged, or are tired. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Rita McGrath  is a best-selling author and long-time professor at Columbia Business School. She received the #1 award in strategy from Thinkers50 and is one of the top 10 management thinkers in the world. When it comes to strategy and innovation you won’t find anyone smarter than Rita. In today’s discussion we look at what Elon Musk is doing with Twitter and if it’s a good idea, the current strategy for Meta and if they are on the wrong track, what really happened to Kodak, and how to identify and act on personal inflection points. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Have you ever noticed that when we have a problem with technology, we often turn to our kids? In today's world, every company is a technology company. That means that every leader needs to be a technology-driven leader. This doesn’t mean you should learn how to create your own AI or be able to build your own blockchain. But you need to understand the different technologies, how they might impact your business, team, and career, and where the potential opportunities might be. You need to master the skill of the technology teenager. You need to embrace technology. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Himanshu Palsule is the CEO of Cornerstone, a 4,000 person talent experience platform with thousands of business customers and millions of users around the world. Himanshu and his wife came to the U.S. from Bombay in the 80’s for a one year project at IBM that they both worked on, and they never left. In today’s discussion we take a look at some pretty tough topics, including cancel culture, if workers today have a sense of loyalty, pride, and work ethic, if it’s crazy that we have to entice people to go back to work, and how leadership and the workplace as a whole are both changing. We also explore some of the big trends Himanshu is paying attention to and why he is so fascinated with quantum physics. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

If you were to write down your corporate values on a piece of paper and walk around your space, would you see these values come to life? In the eyes of your employees, your physical space acts as a symbol that represents what your organization stands for. If your employees are on the frontlines, the customer experience starts to mimic the employee experience because that is where employees are working. The physical space is 30% of the overall employee experience and should reflect the values of the organization. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen who is the Associate Administrator at NASA Science. He actually just stepped down from his role after leading NASA science for over 6 years. He’s behind many of the space initiatives over the past few years including the Mars Lander InSight and the James Webb Telescope.  Today’s episode we discuss how old the universe is and if there is intelligent life somewhere in space, if we are living in a computer simulation or parallel universe, and how big our universe really is. It’s not all space talk though, Thomas also shares how he makes decisions and deals with failure,  and the difference between making a mistake versus almost making a mistake and why it’s so crucial to talk about both of these things. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

The skill of Yoda is one of the most important things to have for future leaders. This means having empathy and self-awareness. Empathy is about being able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and understanding their perspective and where they're coming from. Self-awareness is about how you view yourself internally and how other people view you externally This is a crucial skill for leaders to master, especially in this virtual world where we're trying to connect with each other. The ability to connect on a human level is all about emotional intelligence, which comes down to empathy and self-awareness. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Chano Fernandez, Former Co-CEO of Workday, a software solution provider with 17,000 employees that supports 50% of the fortune 500 companies.  He grew up in one of the poorest regions of Spain, and has now lived in London for over 10 years. Chano is responsible for Workdays customer acquisition, and is also one of the companies board directors.  In today’s episode Chano shares his experiences and the importance of having a strong work culture and values, difficult moments he has experienced in his career, the roles of and ethics between different work titles, and how he balances his time. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Throughout history, we’ve created jobs that were perfect for AI. They were repetitive jobs that anybody could do. But we didn't have AI before. We didn't have bots and robots that could do these things. So what did we do? We put humans in those jobs. Now, we're at the point where we actually have the AI technology that can do the jobs that were designed for them. And that poses a very important question for us as humans. What does that mean for humans? What does that mean for work? --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Today’s discussion is with Rick Hanson who is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author of seven books including his recent one, Making Great Relationships: Simple Practices for Solving Conflicts, Building Connection, and Fostering Love.  Today’s conversation is fascinating and wide ranging. We look at the role that vulnerability plays in professional relationships, the causes of stress and anxiety and what actually happens in your body when you experience these things, how to control negative feelings when they arise, and recognizing and challenging the assumptions that we have of others and of ourselves. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Curiosity is a key ingredient for innovation. According to research ‌by Dr. Todd Kashdan, there are four characteristics that highly curious people with the greatest ability to innovate possess. 1. Joyous exploration. It's the fun and excitement of trying to discover something new. 2. Deprivation sensitivity. There’s a gap between what you know and what you want to know, and you have to try to close that gap. 3. Openness to other people's ideas. It's not just about getting feedback from other people, it's about actively seeking diverse opinions. 4. Stress tolerance. The ability to deal with stress. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Sebastian Mallaby who has written several books including The Man Who Knew, More Money Than God, and his most recent book called The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future. He is also a senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. In today’s episode Sebastian shares how he’s spent a lot of time exploring the world of venture capital, start-ups, and entrepreneurship, and it turns out that there’s a lot of lessons and ideas we can bring from that world into the more traditional environment. These include how to think about and approach risk, developing innovation ecosystems, dealing with failure, and when creating an entrepreneurial culture can be a bad thing. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Boundaries are crucial in a hybrid world As flexible work becomes a reality, one of the most important things we need to do is to set boundaries with our leaders, letting them know what's acceptable and what is not. Connectivity does not imply availability. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Frank Blake, the former chairman and CEO of The Home Depot. Prior to this he worked for the U.S. Department of Energy and General Electric. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Delta Air Lines. Frank also spent several years working for the Bush White House administration. In today’s episode Frank shares his experiences with being vulnerable, how he managed his role as CEO of Home Depot, a better approach to 360 interviews, and his view of the world of work in today’s world. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What exactly does it mean to possess the skill of the translator? Listening and communication has never been more important than it is now. Today, there are so many distractions around us like our phones, computers, social media, and more. You need to make sure you’re listening intently and not distracted. Also, you need to make sure your message is getting across, regardless of the platform or channel you're using. This is what the skill of the translator is all about: listening and communication. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Peyman Kargar, President and Chairman of INFINITI Motor Company. With more than 23 years of experience in the automotive industry, Peyman was born in Iran and has spent the majority of his career with Nissan, and has served in a wide variety of leadership roles. The past two decades, he has also been an engineer and a project manager, and holds an engineering degree from the London Business School In today’s episode Peyman shares the importance of experiencing different cultures, how leadership roles have changed over the years, his approaches and practices to being a leader, and his key principles of discipline, dedication and quality time help keep balance in his life. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Cornerstone. Cornerstone combines best-in-class learning with growth-centric talent capabilities and the power of AI to make talent leaders champions of engagement, growth, and transformation. Learn more about how Cornerstone TXP can help you build your future ready workforce at https://bit.ly/FOWCornerstone ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

If you want to be a great leader, you have to master the mindset of the chef. When it comes to cooking, you always have to balance ingredients. If you put too much of one thing, it becomes too sweet, too much of something else, it becomes too salty or too much of another ingredient, it becomes unhealthy or too sweet. As a leader in this new world of work that we're all a part of, there are only two ingredients that you have to balance, which are humanity and technology. Humanity is this aspect of making sure that your organization stays human, that you focus on purpose and meaning and undoing good. And the second aspect that you need to balance is technology, which is this idea of investing so that you can be productive and efficient and scale. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Marshall Goldsmith, an expert on leadership and employee engagement He is one of the most well known coaches and on the top 10 list of business thinkers in the world. Goldsmith is the author of 35 books, and has sold a record amount of 3 million copies worldwide. Besides being a keynote speaker and an author, he is also a professor of Management Practice at Dartmouth Tuck School of Business. Today on the podcast, Marshall shares what an executive coach does, what common behaviors he coaches on, how the standards on being transparent and vulnerable have changed over the years, and his advice for leaders on approaching difficult situations. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

One of the most important skills leaders should have is thinking like a futurist. Being a futurist doesn’t mean you can predict the future. Futurists help make sure their company isn’t surprised by what the future might bring. Especially now that the world is changing at a rapid pace, being able to think like a futurist has never been more important. Here are some questions that could help you think like a futurist: 1. Why might something happen? 2. What else might happen? 3. What are some of the factors that will influence or impact why something will or will not happen? 4. What do you want to actually happen? Thinking like a futurist is a tremendous asset during your leadership journey. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Steve is one of the world’s most known entrepreneurs and business leaders and is responsible for helping make communication via the internet possible. AOL rose to being one of the largest and most successful internet companies reaching over 4.5 million subscribers by 1995. In 2000 AOL merged with Time Warner in what was described as "the biggest train wreck in the history of corporate America.” In today’s episode Steve shares how AOL came to be and what he learned as the CEO. We also cover how Steve thinks about the future including the variables he looks at, how he identifies potential in others, why diversity is important, and how to change your mindset from focusing on a challenge to seeing an opportunity. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What will the future workplace look like? After two years of the pandemic, most employees are demanding flexibility. A lot of the top organizations around the world are giving their employees multiple workspaces so they can perform different types of activities in different types of environments. Because the reality is, there is still a place for in-person work. Even though employees can be productive and get stuff done at home, it stalled creativity and innovation. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Lisa Osborne Ross, the US CEO of Edelman, the world's largest PR firm, and leads the largest region with 13 offices and more than 2,000 employees, In addition to this, Lisa is also a counselor to senior executives, corporate and public affairs and DE&I initiatives. Lisa has also been featured on Forbes 50 over 50. Prior to being the CEO of Edelman, she was the director of APCO Worldwide’s Flagship office. She has also had a 15 year career at Ogilvy, holding multiple different titles including Founder of multicultural practice, Head of Public Advocacy Group, and head of Public Affairs Division. Today on the podcast, Lisa shares her thoughts on what can contribute to your success, her approach to leadership, the difference between different leading styles, and her personal purpose and what balance means to her. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

A lot of organizations have a factory mentality that is process-centric and does the same thing all the time. You have to think of yourself as a laboratory. You test, experiment, and innovate. You will make mistakes along the way, and that’s ok. That is what the laboratory mentality is all about. It starts with the concept of challenging why things are done the way they are. Next, you create a team. Volunteer to lead an effort to find a better way to get something done. Then define what that future of work looks like for the organization and communicate it to others. Experiment and empower your employees to take action. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Ronni Zehavi, the CEO and Co-founder of HiBob, an HR platform that simplifies people management and modernizes the work experience. Before being the CEO of HiBob, he was an entrepreneur in Residence at the Silicon Valley-based Bessemer Venture Partners. Growing up in Israel, Ronni joined the army at the age of 18, where he became an intelligence officer. After graduating, he got his BA in History and Educational Management from Tel Aviv and a MA in organizational Sociology from Bar-ilan University. Previously, Ronni was the co-founder and CEO of Contendo, which was later acquired by Akamai for $300 million.  In today’s episode Ronni shares his thoughts on quiet quitting, the importance of putting his employees first, and the elements of the three T’s, trust, transparency and teamwork. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

One of the most crucial mindsets you need as a leader is the mindset of the explorer. One of my favorite stories that perfectly sums it up is of Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. He was the captain of a ship with 12 men that sailed to explore the Arctic region. Disasters struck one after the other: their ship sank, they had to live on a giant ice floe, and they went over a year without stepping on solid ground. But for every disaster, Shackleton did not lose hope and kept finding ways to survive. He had this aura of optimism and knew that all the obstacles and challenges he faced were things he had to overcome. This is the mindset of the explorer. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Hibob. From creating great employee experiences to bridging the gap with multi-national companies, look to HiBob to help create the future of work in your company. Check out their free guide at  www.hibob.com/fow. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Dan Rooney, a PGA Golf professional, F-16 fighter pilot, founder of Folders of Honor, and best selling author of flying to the wind, how to harness faith and fearlessness on your ascent to greatness.  In today’s episode Dan shares his incredible story of being a fighter pilot, what purpose means to him, his perspective on prioritizing and making important decisions, the difference between being trusted and reliable, and the craziest thing he’s ever experienced as a fighter pilot. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Leaders have to be masters of communication. There is this great episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David talks about who you should put in the middle of a dining table during a conversation. Now imagine a table with twenty people. This type of person should be able to keep the conversation going no matter what. As a leader, this is a skill that you need to master. You have to master communicating with all types of people on different kinds of platforms. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

John Bacon is the former coach and player of the Ann Arbor Huron High School hockey team in Michigan known as the ‘River Rats’. John is also the author of Let them Lead: Unexpected Lessons in Leadership from America’s Worst High School Hockey Team.  In today’s episode John shares the history and how he transformed one of the worst hockey teams in America to one of the best by setting high expectations, accountability through one another, and inspiring the team to lead themselves.  --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

How we attract and retain talent is wrong. Traditionally, we convince people to work for us by telling stories about our organization and our employee engagement programs. But the problem is, we treat employee engagement like adrenaline shots. We try to distract employees from what it's actually like to work at our organizations by giving them perks and shiny things we keep throwing in their faces. Now, there are a few organizations that have figured out how to attract and retain the best talent. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Alan Murray is the CEO of Fortune Media, former head at Pew Research, journalist and author of the book Tomorrow's Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business.  In today’s episode Alan shares the history and how he became the CEO of Fortune Media, how businesses have shifted over the years, and about his take on how corporate CEOs are taking on issues including climate, diversity & inclusion, inequality, and workforce opportunity. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Should you focus on profits or people? The truth is that these two are not mutually exclusive. To get to profits, you need to start by focusing on your people. Think about where your profits come from. Profits come from your employees who are building relationships with customers and selling more products. So remember that people and profits are not two opposing forces that are meant to battle each other. They are almost one and the same to get to higher growth. Invest in your people and their experience because they are the ones who will go above and beyond to create opportunities. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Michael Abrashoff is a former U. S. Navy captain and Author of his book, “It’s Your Ship”.  In today’s episode Mike shares how he transformed the ship and the crew from being one of the worst performing in the fleet to the best. We explore the counter-intuitive practices he implemented, mistakes he made during his leadership journey, the importance of culture, and why putting people first is always the best solution for success. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Who you surround yourself with matters. If you surround yourself with negative people, you will adopt that mindset and become a negative person. If you surround yourself with positive people, they can push you to be the best version of yourself. So you need to ask yourself three basic questions to get a sense of who you’re surrounded with: Does this person help make you a better version of yourself? Does this person build you up? Or does this person tear you down? Does this person help you see things from a different perspective? Or does this person just help you see things from a negative perspective? --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Jennifer Moss has worked as a workplace culture strategist and speaker with companies of all sizes. Her book The Burnout Epidemic was recently nominated for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature Award and selected as one of Thinkers50's 10 Best New Management Books for 2022. Jennifer is heard all over the country as a Freelance writer and radio columnist. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications. How does Jennifer feel about workplace wellness? What does it mean for leaders to be human beings? Listen here as Jennifer and I talk about burnouts, being happy, engaged, and pleased at work, and creating a better, healthier, and more productive professional and personal life! --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What makes leaders successful in life and in business? They always do 10% more of what is asked. They don’t just deliver what is expected. They exceed the expectations. So if you want to succeed faster, go above and beyond what is expected of you. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Jeffrey Brown is the CEO of Ally Financial, the largest all-digital bank in the United States. They are reporting around $134 billion of retail deposits on hand today, raised and gathered without one single branch. They were also the largest auto lender in the US. In today’s episode, we will talk about how Jeffrey became the CEO of Ally Financial, his past career's good and bad culture, and how important mental focus is. Jeffrey also discusses the significance of building a strong foundation to create more trust inside the company. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Do you recognize your employees? A lot of times, organizations fail to recognize their people and the amazing work employees do for the company. But everyone wants to be recognized and appreciated. David Novak, former CEO of Yum Brands, is a pioneer of recognizing his people, but he had to learn it the hard way.  --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Wendy Smith received her Ph.D. from Harvard Business School and is now a Professor of Leadership at the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics, as well as the co-founder of the Women's Leadership Initiative. She is interested in how leaders and organizations deal with continuing strategic contradictions such as those between today and tomorrow, global integration and local adaptation, social mission, and financial performance. What are Wendy’s thoughts on “either/or” and “both/and” thinking? What does it mean for leaders to embrace paradoxes? Listen in as Wendy, and I discuss attitude shifts, leadership insights, and why paradoxes exist to help leaders be better leaders! --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Leadership is oftentimes equated with transformation. But transformation isn't something that happens overnight. Transformation is something that takes a long time. It’s the small things that you do over time that will lead to great impact. Here are small things that you can do to be a better leader: 1. Recognize your team members - it can be as simple as saying thank you. 2. Put together diverse teams. 3. Practice self care - you need to take care of yourself so that you can in turn, take care of others. 4. Practice empathy - putting yourself in somebody else's shoes and perspectives and then responding based on that. 5. Take time to be curious. 6. Be sure you are listening instead of just hearing your people. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Steve Youngwood, Chief Executive Officer at Sesame Workshop. In today’s episode, we will talk about Steve’s background information, the sesame workshop, the learnings that influence his leading or thinking style, and his fun stories at Viacom. Steve also talks about what you do if you as a leader put a lot of trust and fail and his unique hack, tip, and strategy to be a successful leader. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

The servant mindset is one of the four most crucial mindsets that current and aspiring leaders need to master. It's all about serving four groups: Your leaders - serving your leaders means having a good relationship with them. Do whatever you can to make their lives easier. Your customers - it's about making life a little bit harder on yourself so that it's easier on your customers. Go above and beyond to surprise and delight your customers so they would love to come back and even become your own brand evangelists Your team - whether it's recognizing them, whether it's removing obstacles from their path, whatever it is, ask yourself, what can you do on an ongoing basis to help make those around you more successful, even if they become more successful than you. Yourself - this is what most of us forget about. Practicing self-care will enable you to show up to work every day, at your best, ready to serve others. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Kevin Murphy was appointed CEO in August 2017, and in 2019 he assumed the CEO role for Ferguson plc. Murphy joined Ferguson in 1999 as an operations manager by acquiring his family's Midwest Pipe and Supply business. Ferguson is North America's leading value-added distributor across residential, non-residential, new construction and repair, maintenance, and improvement (RMI) end markets. What are Kevin's ideas on running a successful business? Does having strong leadership influence a company's success? Join Kevin and me as we discuss one of the most heated issues in the field of human resources, leadership lessons, and the need to maintain a positive outlook in a world where things are constantly shifting. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

The world is rapidly changing to become more global and more dynamic. Because of that, the global citizen mindset is one of the most important mindsets that business leaders need to have. So what does it actually mean? It's composed of two things: 1.   Looking at the big picture. 2.   Surrounding yourself with people who are not like you. Listen to this episode to learn more. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Hubert Joly is a Harvard Business School senior lecturer and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy. He is also a director of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren Corporation, an HEC Paris' International Advisory Board member, and a trustee of the New York Public Library and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. What are Hubert's thoughts on the difference in leadership throughout time? Are leaders of today much better than the way it was? Tune in and listen as Hubert and I dive into one of the biggest debates in human resources, leadership insights, and why optimism is crucial in this ever-changing world! --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely, the all in-one HR solution that makes life easier for your employees, your boss and you! Get a Free Month of unlimited access at Namely.com/FOW today! ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

The pandemic has forced a lot of organizations to shift into remote work. Some people were skeptical about it, but there’s no doubt remote work allowed things to still get done. Microsoft recently did a study on 61,000 of their employees. They found that during the pandemic, employees were still able to get things done and be productive. However, long-term creativity actually went down. So the question is, do we just want to get things done? Or do we want more? This is why in-person work still has a place in our society. That is where a lot of great leadership comes from. That's where psychological safety comes from. That's where training and development and growth comes from. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Eric Miles serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the public accounting firm Moss Adams, based in the Western US. Its primary goal is to assist businesses in the middle market by providing various accounting services and financial consulting. What are the traits and practices needed to become an effective leader? How would you make sure your employees take care of them? How did Eric become the CEO? Tune in and listen as Eric and I discuss becoming an effective leader. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking and working with some of the world's top leaders. Here are 15 of the best leadership lessons that I learned from the CEOs of organizations like Netflix, Honeywell, Volvo, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others. I hope they inspire you and give you things you can try in your work and life. Get the PDF here. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Asking for forgiveness is better than asking for permission. If you ask for forgiveness, it means you’re proactively trying new things and can get things done quicker. If you do things right, you probably won’t have to ask for forgiveness that often. Instead of waiting for people’s decisions and asking for permission, take initiative and just ask for forgiveness. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ------------------ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

In today’s episode, we will talk about René Redzepi’s journey to becoming a chef by accident, his three-star Michelin restaurant, and his past days as a chef. René will also talk about how he handles his team as a leader, how he deals with high pressures and burnout, and his advice to people in running a business and managing a team. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Communication is one of the most important skills a leader could have. If you don’t know how to communicate, then your message might not be received well by your people. But there is one thing that you have to remember - Communication isn’t just about what you say. It’s also about how you say it. Your demeanor, tone, or body language is just as important as the message itself. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ------------------ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Braden Wallake is the CEO and founder of HyperSocial and the CEO of HyperSphere. HyperSocial is a Business-to-Business agency that aims to promote an effective and fun way of doing Business-to-Business marketing and sales. As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many people, including businesses. Businesses were forced to change and adapt due to the current situation, and some were forced to let go of their employees to adapt to this change. What happened when Braden had to lay off some of his employees? What impact did it bring when he showed vulnerability publicly? Tune in as we talk about expressing vulnerability in different areas and how we should deal with misinterpreting what you wanted to show. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

How can leaders truly make their organization a great place to work? It starts by making a huge mental shift which is moving away from creating a place where you assume people NEED to be there, to creating a place where people WANT to be there. This shift from NEED → WANT is what employee experience is all about. Three tips for you as a leader: 👍Help make other people more successful THAN YOU 👍Get to know your people as human beings not just as workers 👍Think of yourself as a lighthouse, guide others! --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ------------------ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Gorick Ng is a top-selling author and a career consultant at Hartford College, where he works with first-generation students with low-income backgrounds to get them on the right track. He wrote the book “The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right,” which discusses the unspoken rules in the workplace that could help you achieve your goals. What are the unspoken rules that Gorick is talking about? How does it help you be better at work? What is the current situation in the corporate world? Tune in and listen as Gorick discusses all about career, workplace, and its unspoken rules. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Do you believe in work-life balance? This topic is getting a lot of attention these days. But work-life balance doesn’t exist. There’s no such thing as a perfect ratio between work and life. Life doesn’t work that way. So instead of talking about work-life balance, the conversation should be more about work-life integration. We need both of those things to thrive and survive. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ------------------ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Alexa von Tobel is the founder and managing partner at Inspired Capital and former founder and CEO of Learn vest. In today’s episode, we will discuss Alexa's journey to create Learn Vest and Inspired Capital. Her mistakes and failures along her way and how she deals with them where she grows to be a successful entrepreneur and leader. Alex will also share the actions she’d take to create more balance for herself, her strategy to convey purpose, meaning, and impact to people, leadership tips, hack, and strategies that helped make her more successful. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What is the great resignation? Millions of people around the world are quitting their jobs because they want more from their organizations. It’s a shift in mentality, and employees are no longer just working for the money. They want to be a part of something meaningful. And I think this is a good thing. Listen to this episode to know why. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ------------------ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Patrick Lencioni is the best-selling author of 11 books, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and his brand-new book is coming out on September 22. It is called The Six Types of Working Genius. In today’s episode, we will discuss his upcoming book, The Six Types of Working Genius. About his driving force in writing this book, assessment of each of them, and how it impacts his personal life. Patrick will also share his thoughts regarding how he feels about things in the world of work and leadership and the rising problem of employees that don’t want to work anymore, three stages of work, what happens if your actions don't align and how this relates to a growth mindset. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

If you want to keep improving, you have to get feedback from others. Creating a culture where feedback is encouraged is one of the best things you can do in your organization. But how do you deliver feedback? Are you brutally honest? Or do you give soft feedback? That’s not the problem. The problem lies in how we receive feedback. Oftentimes, we take it personally and get very emotional. But that’s not how we should receive feedback. Listen in this episode and learn the best way to receive feedback. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Have you ever wondered why seemingly good ideas don’t get implemented even though people know they are good ideas? As a leader who wants to introduce a new idea or innovation, it can be challenging to convince people to get on board.  Loran Norgren, Professor at the Kellogg School of Management and co-author of the book The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas.  In this episode, we are going to explore the psychological frictions that oppose change. Where so many leaders are obsessed with focusing on value and features, Loran argues that it’s actually four frictions that stop new ideas from being implemented. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. ------------------ Get ad-free listening, early access to new episodes and bonus episodes with the subscription version of the show The Future of Work Plus. To start it will only be available on Apple Podcasts and it will cost $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which is the equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.  ________________ Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

A few months ago, Simon Sinek made a video where he said the title of CEO needs to go and be replaced by the title of Chief Vision Officer. Simon's argument was that for every other role inside of the organization, whether it be the CTO, CHRO, or the CMO, their title basically explains what they do. But when it comes to a CEO, most people have no clue what that person does and what that role even means. To be honest, I think most people are actually more confused by a title like CHRO than they are by the title of CEO. I find that people rarely say they have no idea what a CEO does. I don't think the issue is so much that we don't know what a CEO does. The issue is more that we don't keep the CEO accountable for doing what we know they should be doing. We know the role of a CEO is to set the vision, guide the organization, put people first, and create a better world and a better organization. But do we actually hold CEOs responsible and accountable for doing that? That is where I think the bigger problem is. Just changing the title isn't going to make much of a difference. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Bill George is the former CEO of Medtronic, a medical device company with around 100,000 employees around the world. He’s also a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School and author of the new book, True North: Leading Authentically in Today's Workplace, Emerging Leader Edition which comes out in August. He first became a leader in 1970 at the age of 27 and he’s been on a mission to transform organizations and leaders ever since! In today’s episode Bill shares some of the greatest lessons and mistakes he learned during his career, what he looks for in other leaders, the importance of values and how to develop them, and what to do if you work for a terrible boss. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Workplace is a business communication tool from Meta. Think Facebook, but for your company. It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected and productive. Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What’s the most important part of being a successful leader? According to Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy, it’s all about being purposeful. Purposeful leaders understand the purpose of the people around them and know what drives them. Instead of just chasing money and power, purposeful leaders look beyond themselves to serve people and create a better world. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Julia Boorstin is CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech Correspondent based at the network’s Los Angeles bureau. She covers media with a special focus on the intersection of media and technology. She also wrote the book When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them, released later this year in October. What were Julia’s motivations for writing her new book? What are her thoughts about women’s representation and leadership? Tune in as Julia, and I discuss her new book and her inspirations in writing it and talk about factors such as vulnerability, adaptability, and contextual thinking and her recommendations. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Everywhere we go, we see rules. Rules are there for a reason. They keep order and prevent mistakes from happening. But sometimes, rules can be broken. In fact, the best leaders break rules. Great leaders are the ones who go above and beyond to make employees, customers, and clients happier. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Will Ahmed, Founder and CEO of WHOOP. WHOOP has created wearable technologies for enhancing the human performance and wellness of the next generation. WHOOP members range from elite athletes and Fortune 500 CEOs to fitness fanatics and executives, as well as military people and healthcare professionals. Ahmed has garnered over $400 million from prominent investors and has an active advisory board composed of some of the world's most renowned cardiologists, technologists, marketers, and designers. Ahmed published "The Feedback Tool: Measuring Fitness, Intensity, and Recovery," which inspired his current work's underlying physiology and engineering. He was selected to the Fortune 40 Under 40 Healthcare list for 2020, having previously been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and the Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40. WHOOP was deemed the most innovative wellness company by Fast Company in 2020.   --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

There are 5 things I wish I knew earlier in my career. 1. Be a taste tester. When you're younger, you likely won’t know what you want to do. It’s ok to try different things and see what you like and don’t like. Think like a taste tester. 2. Build your own ladder. You don't need to climb anybody else's ladder, especially in this new world of work. Make your own ladder. 3. Make your own decisions. It's okay to listen to the advice of others, but you need to make your own choices. Don't let anybody else make choices for you. 4. Life is too short to be miserable at work. If you are miserable at your job, do something about it. 5. Be self-aware. Understand your strengths and weaknesses to be able to get help from others early on. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Liz Wiseman is the CEO of Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. She has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and in 2019 was recognized as the top leadership thinker in the world. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. Liz talks about her book and shares her ideas about the two types of leaders: diminishers and multipliers. She explains why organizations need more multipliers and what you should do to deal with diminishers. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

There are four ways to elevate yourself, according to Robert Glazer, CEO of Acceleration Partners and author of the book Elevate. 1. Spiritually. You have to know yourself and have a level of self-awareness about who you are as a person, what you stand for, and what your values are. 2. Intellectually. Know where you're going, what your goals are, what you want to accomplish, and the direction you want to go in. 3. Physically. Take care of your body, otherwise it becomes very hard to take care of all of these other things as well. 4. Emotionally. This is about your relationships and how you respond to difficult situations and challenges. The emotional level makes all the day-to-day efforts come to life. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Sydney Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he teaches courses on Leadership and Strategy. He also has experience working with executives at Dartmouth and other prestigious universities around the world. He holds degrees from Concordia University and the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in strategic management. What is a Super Boss? Do you need to be on the level of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to become a Super Boss? Stay tuned as Professor Finkelstein shares the key to becoming a super boss and building a successful organization! --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Making decisions in familiar circumstances is easy. All you have to do is remember what you did successfully in the past, and then do it again. But what do you do when you're faced with an unfamiliar situation? The answer lies in chess--a virtually limitless game. There are a lot of possible moves in a game of chess, but there are certain things that Grandmasters do all the time: 1. Pattern recognition 2. Follow their intuition 3. Calculate 4. Not afraid of making mistakes --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and the director and chair of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative. She has authored and co-authored around 20 books, with her latest work being “Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time”. Professor Kanter shares her current undertakings at Harvard University and her thoughts about the subject of leadership while looking at examples such as today’s world and business leaders. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

We keep hearing about this concept of passion and whether or not you should follow your passion. It reminds me of a story about a man who visits a construction site. As he's going around the construction site, he sees a bunch of people working. He asks the first person what they do there. And the man responds that he lays bricks. He asks the second person, who says he is building a wall. He asks the third person, who says he is building a cathedral. I love this story because it's an example of three people who are doing the exact same thing with totally different mindsets. It's not that the person building a cathedral is passionate about what he's doing, it's the fact that he's bringing his passion with him to whatever he does. And that I think, is a far more scalable and realistic approach. Don’t follow your passion. Instead, bring your passion with you. --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli public intellectual, historian and professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of the popular science bestsellers Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. His writings examine free will, consciousness, intelligence, happiness and suffering. What will be the future course of humanity? Will Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality take over? Join us as we uncover these questions with Yuval!  --------------------- Companies with better employee experiences have more engaged and productive workers, higher profits, and the ability to attract and retain talent. In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies can’t afford not to invest in employee experience. Download your copy and start creating better experiences for your employees and customers today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

How to win the war for talent by focusing on employee experience. Employee experience is the process of redesigning your workplace practices around your people by focusing on three environments: 💓Culture: how people feel working for you 🪟Technology: the tools and resources employees use 📠Space: the spaces in which employees work Lots of people are talking about the Great Resignation, but I see it as the Great Opportunity! That is... if your organization is willing to step up and make change happen. I talk about that more in this episode. Tune in and let me know what you think. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Working in HR isn't for the faint of heart. But whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely is the HR solution that supports you and your employees. With onboarding, performance management, payroll, and intuitive benefits enrollment – all in one connected modern platform. Grow with Namely, and get one free month when you make the switch! Learn more by going to Namely.com/fow today. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Molly Fletcher is the author of four books, one of the world's only female sports agents, and is acknowledged as the female “Jerry Maguire” by CNN. Over 300 athletes, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, PGA TOUR golfer Matt Kuchar, broadcaster Erin Andrews, and basketball championship coaches Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers, have signed contracts with Molly worth over $500 million. In today’s episode, we will discuss how you can succeed in business, build relationships, accept rejections, be authentic, and so much more. Tune in and learn a lot from Molly!  --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Working in HR isn't for the faint of heart. But whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely is the HR solution that supports you and your employees. With onboarding, performance management, payroll, and intuitive benefits enrollment – all in one connected modern platform. Grow with Namely, and get one free month when you make the switch! Learn more by going to Namely.com/fow today. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Are you a current or aspiring leader who feels stuck in your career? If so, you’re not alone. But thankfully, there are six strategies you can implement to unstick yourself from your career and find a way to move forward. 1. Ask why. It's easy to feel stuck. But ask yourself why you feel stuck in your current role or your current environment and get to the root of the problem. 2. Focus more on who you work with and less on the dollar figure and the brand name. 3. Be open to the possibility of making a lateral or even a backwards move so that you can then make a forward move. 4. Have an honest conversation with your leader. If you feel stuck, talk with your leader and explain your feelings. Maybe you can both do something that makes you feel unstuck. 5. Take a step back and really define where you want to go. 6. When all else fails, consider quitting. The worst thing you can do is be complacent and simply feel like you're stuck without taking any kind of action. But the best thing you can do is act. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Working in HR isn't for the faint of heart. But whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely is the HR solution that supports you and your employees. With onboarding, performance management, payroll, and intuitive benefits enrollment – all in one connected modern platform. Grow with Namely, and get one free month when you make the switch! Learn more by going to Namely.com/fow today. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Tom Gilovich is an American psychologist who is the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. He has conducted research in social psychology, decision making, behavioral economics. He is also the author of the book, The Wisest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology’s Most Powerful Insights. What you will learn in this episode:  The difference between wisdom and intelligence Why we misevaluate certain things Strategies and techniques to use to be the wisest person in the room How experiences have a different effect on us than purchasing material things --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Working in HR isn't for the faint of heart. But whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely is the HR solution that supports you and your employees. With onboarding, performance management, payroll, and intuitive benefits enrollment – all in one connected modern platform. Grow with Namely, and get one free month when you make the switch! Learn more by going to Namely.com/fow today. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

For many years, there has been the assumption that anything related to people inside of an organization is only the responsibility of HR. HR does the recruiting, hiring, firing, benefits, compensation, policies, and all the people-related tasks. I'm not saying that as a leader you need to do all of these things. But as a leader, you are ultimately responsible for your people. And that is very much an HR responsibility. Sometimes we forget the power and responsibility a leader truly has. You have the power to make or break someone's day. As a leader, you need to know your employees as human beings, not just as workers. You need to know what your people care about and what they value. You need to know their strengths and weaknesses and how you can help them shine. You need to unlock their potential and make sure they succeed. People don't leave companies, they leave leaders. So as a leader, you are arguably the most important part of the HR department. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Navi Radjou is an Indian-born scholar and an innovation and leadership advisor based in Silicon Valley. He is a Fellow of Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and has spoken and written widely on the theme of frugal innovation. He has also co-authored the global bestseller Jugaad Innovation and From Smart To Wise. His TED talk on frugal innovation has garnered nearly 2 million video views. Is innovation just about adapting to climate change and sustainability and scarcity of resources from a broader perspective? As leaders, how can we lead intuitively from the heart? Tune in to learn more about what Navi says about Leadership, Innovation, Intuition, and Integration. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Do you know how to increase your productivity? According to Dan Pink, author of When, you have to understand the three stages of your day. We all go through these stages at different times, but the stages themselves are consistent: Peak, Trough, and Recovery. The peak is when you have energy, when you're ready to go and you can accomplish anything. This is the time to work on your tough tasks. The trough is when you're mentally checked out, sluggish, and not really present. This is the stage where you want to focus on the administrative tasks and things that don't require a lot of cognitive energy and effort. The recovery happens much later in your day. This is where your mood is usually up, and it’s the best time to focus on tasks that are good for insight, such as creating tasks or brainstorming. The key is to identify when is your peak, when is your trough, and when is your recovery. After you identify those things, you'll know which tasks you should be doing at certain times in the day. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Daniel Coyle is a New York Times best-selling author. He wrote various books: The Talent Code and The Little Book of Talent, which focuses on a person’s potential for greatness, and The Culture Code, which is all about Culture. He has recently released a new book entitled The Culture Playbook, a supplementary book to The Culture Code. Daniel wondered how culture was made, and he thought it might be due to great leaders showing great signals. He discovered three patterns that make it a culture. Tune in as the episode discusses the concepts, importance, and impact of culture in people's lives. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Christopher "Chris" Voss is an American businessman, author, and academic. Chris is a former FBI hostage negotiator, The Black Swan Group Ltd CEO in East Grinsted, England, and co-author of Never Split the Difference. He is an adjunct professor at Harvard Law School, the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and a lecturer at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. What does Chris take on ways to make negotiations smooth and error-free? Are there any critical points one should remember when negotiating in sales or in real life to win in their favor? Is it essential to be more active in listening rather than just hearing surface-level reasoning? Should you show vulnerability when dealing with hostage negotiations? --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

I never liked the phrase soft skills. To me, it implies that things like communication, empathy, self awareness, and emotional intelligence are less valuable and less tangible than things like reading, math, and science. Many leaders and HR professionals actually agree that soft skills are more important now than these traditional hard skills. It's these human soft skills that ultimately distinguish us from machines. AI is already augmenting human decision making. It's out thinking, out maneuvering, out strategizing and outperforming us in many capacities. But not when it comes to the skills that make us who we are as human beings. It's because of these “soft skills” that we were still able to bring in new customers and close deals. We were still able to support and help each other. And create customer and employee experiences that matter. So let's call them what they really are, not soft skills, but skills. Let's recognize how crucial and invaluable they truly are for our personal and professional success. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Carlos Gutierrez is the Chairman, and CEO at EmPath. EmPath uses machine learning to solve a problem that the corporate world has been trying to solve for at least 20 years, and that is to identify the skills of every employee. Identify the skills required for every job in the company. Once you have that database of information, the things you can do are endless, and the kind of environment you can create for people. He is also the former US Secretary of Commerce and former Kellogg's Chairman and CEO. In today’s episode, we will talk about how Carlos got into the business of helping people grow and what motivated him to upskill himself. He also shares what things they do to help businesses know their employee’s skills better, which will help them create a good environment for the employees,  is experience still important and how should leaders look at proficiency. --------------------- This episode is brought to you by EmPath. Empower your employees, raise engagement, and boost retention. The workforce of tomorrow. Today. Visit www.empath.net to request a demo. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What is the most dangerous quality a leader can have? Ego. Having an ego in itself isn't bad. But what hurts a lot of leaders is having an ego that goes unchecked. As you grow and excel in your career, you're going to get more power, authority, responsibility, and money. And as that happens, it's only natural that your ego is going to grow. As a result, you start to think that your ideas are better than everybody else's and that you shouldn't be questioned or challenged. This is when the downward spiral typically begins. In addition to creating a toxic work culture, you start to miss out on opportunities to create new products and services, and you start to make bad decisions. But the good news is there are a few things that you can do to avoid having this happen to you: 1. Practice empathy 2. Embrace and develop self awareness 3. Surround yourself with diverse people who are smarter and more talented than you 4. Get out of the ivory tower and spend time with people across different seniority levels and different functions in the organization 5. Practice saying I don't know Keep your ego in check as you grow and develop as a leader. Don't let ego kill your career and your leadership potential. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Daniel Pink is the author of several books about work, creativity, and the human condition. His books include the long-running New York Times bestsellers When and A Whole New Mind and the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. His books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 42 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world How does learning to address our regrets affect our way of life? Is the phrase “No Regrets” a good way of living our lives? Stay tuned as Daniel and I talk about the widely-held assumptions about emotions and behavior and the most fundamental part of our lives – Regrets. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by SAP Concur. Integrate travel, expense, and invoice processes into one seamless, connected platform, for complete visibility into employee spend. Learn more at www.concur.com. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Across all my years of research and hundreds of CEO interviews, the need to provide purpose and meaning keeps coming up, but these two things aren’t the same!  Today’s employees want to have meaning behind their jobs and work for purpose-driven leaders. They’ll even take a lower-paying job that delivers purpose and meaning. I put together all of my best research and takeaways into an interactive worksheet that can transform your organization to deliver more purpose and meaning for you and your teams.  This must-have resource will help you create a stronger employee experience for current and future employees. Tune in to this episode If you want to get it for free. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Stephen Richards Covey was a well-known nonfiction author in the United States. He was a multi talented individual known for his accomplishments as a successful businessman, educator, and public speaker. He is credited with writing The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, one of the most important business books of the twentieth century. What are Stephen’s current opinions on managing and leading employees? Is it still possible to accomplish things the old way, such as managing people? Tune in as Stephen discusses the significance of trust and Inspiration vs. command and control and how to manage and contain people at work properly. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

When researching organizations for my book, The Employee Experience Advantage, my goal was to explore what employee experience is, what the world’s top companies are doing, how to create frameworks that others can follow, and what the ROI of investing in employee experience is. After all of my research, I found the ROI of investing in employee experience is significant and translates into higher productivity, profit and revenue per employee, stock price performance, and much more. The organizations that invest in Employee Experience CRUSH the competition! You can learn what the world's leading organizations like Airbnb, Cisco, and Facebook are doing to create these employee experiences with my free employee experience training series here: http://bit.ly/2GcvaxF --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Kim Scott, the New York Bestselling Author of Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity and Co-Founder of Candor, Inc. She’s giving her take on why there are so many bad bosses, or at least the perception of so many bad bosses, today.  Today we are talking about Kim’s new book and how Radical Candor can make you a better leader at work and in life. During our conversation Kim shares  a pivotal moment in her career where she felt she had failed an employee by not giving them honest feedback. From that point on she promised herself she would never make that mistake again and that she would help others practice radical candor. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Boundaries are only as good as your ability to communicate them. It's great for you to know what your boundaries are, but if other people don't know about them, they're kind of useless. It’s important to have boundaries and communicate them in a clear way. When communicating, one of the most important things to have is empathy. You don’t want to sound rude by saying NO to people. Keep in mind that you’re saying no to the request, not the person. When your leader starts giving you a lot of work, you can say, “Can you help me prioritize my current projects so I know what I should be working on first and what I can do later?” Another technique is to have an open and honest conversation with your leader. Let them know that you have a lot going on and are feeling stressed and that you're working on being more productive. Letting people know what you're facing and how you're trying to come up with potential solutions can be a healthy thing to do. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Mike Sarraille is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer and a former enlisted Recon Marine and Scout-Sniper. He is also the founder and CEO of Talent War Group, a specialized executive search firm, and talent advisory that finds high-performing business leaders for senior, executive, or other critical leadership positions. What is the application of Military Leadership Development in the business setting? What does it feel like to own up to your mistakes and take responsibility for your own decisions? Tune in to this episode to find out more information! --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Technology is changing all of the time, so it’s best to conduct technology audits in your organization on a yearly basis. Take a step back and look at the ways in which you're working and where technology might be able to play a role. Identify the bottlenecks and challenges you see. If you start using new technologies inside your company, it's important to collect data on the progress. Are employees satisfied with those technologies? Don't assume that just because you give people a piece of technology, they will automatically start using it. You need an ongoing feedback process so you can keep improving and making changes to your organization. Technology has a 30% impact on an employee's overall experience. That's because if an employee doesn't feel they have access to the tools and resources to get their job done, they start to become disengaged and frustrated and eventually will want to leave your organization and work elsewhere. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Since 2016, Dashun Wang has been an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and McCormick School of Engineering. He has been the Founding Director of the Center for Science of Science and Innovation at Kellogg since 2019. What are Dashun’s thoughts about Hot Streak? Does everyone ever experience this phenomenon? What are the factors that lead to it? How does his new Al help distinguish Hot Streak in art and work settings? Tune in to learn more! --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Every employee inside of your organization has something to offer regardless of the generation they're from or the stage of life they are in. This is why mentoring can flow both ways, with younger employees mentoring older employees or with older employees mentoring younger employees. In the old days, we always had the older and more experienced people mentor younger people. But in this new world of work, we're starting to see that mentoring can go both ways. When mentoring goes the other way, meaning a younger employee is mentoring an older employee, we refer to this as reverse mentoring. Reverse mentoring is not only a great way to build trust and collaboration, but it's a wonderful way to share ideas inside of organizations. Reverse mentoring can help break through generational stereotypes that might exist inside your company. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Steve Murphy is the CEO of Epicor Software Corporation. It focuses on selling supply chains. Growing up, he was good at fixing, so he ended up liking building, fixing, and repairing things. Aside from that, it is also why he was influenced into taking Mechanical Engineering as a degree. Like many others, Steve didn’t begin as a CEO immediately, and he has worked his way up to who he is today. This leads us to the question of how he became a successful CEO? How did his personal and professional background contribute to his success? How did he become a great leader? Tune in to find out! --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Complaining and speaking up are not the same thing! Everyone should be comfortable with speaking up at work. The first reason to speak up at work is to share an opinion about something. Chances are, you were hired because they like what you bring to the table--your opinion, unique perspective, and the things you care about. Have an opinion and share it, but do so in a tactful way that doesn't put other people down or hurt their feelings. The second type of speaking up we need to practice is about driving actual change. When you speak up inside of your organization to drive change, the most important thing you can do is have a solution. A lot of employees are good at complaining. But if asked what to do to change it, they don’t know what to say. That's not an effective way to drive change inside of your organization. It’s crucial for you to speak the language of the business and have some sort of a proposed solution that you want to see happen if you truly want to drive change. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Jeffrey Katz is the former CEO of Swissair and a former president of SABRE. He is also the founding CEO of Orbitz. Before rising to the top, Jeff went into various industries in American Airlines. He worked his way to the top from being in management, finance, marketing, sales, and even customer service. He started from the bottom, and now, he has achieved so much more. How did Jeff handle the challenges he encountered throughout his journey? How did he survive and become successful to who he is today? Tune in and see how Jeff made his journey as a leader and discover the lessons he learned in life. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Most of the time, we’re focused on what is right in front of us, especially with our careers. But we need to pay attention to the tangentials. That means opening up a bit to notice the things on the sides related to our main focus. For example, let’s say you are in finance. If you’re someone who is paying attention to the tangentials, you would probably notice that there are a lot of conversations happening around the impact AI and technology might have on your job. Because of this, you could ask yourself, where else can my skills and abilities be used besides just finance? Then you would realize that your skills are also very much in demand in areas like HR data science and people analytics. You can now quickly pivot and bring your skills to another area. If you had your blinders on, you would be very much stuck in finance and not have as many options to grow and expand. This is why it’s very important to pay attention to the tangentials. --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

David Novak is the former CEO and founder of Yum! Brands, the company behind Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, & KFC. When David was CEO he took the company from $4 billion to $32 billion. Harvard Business Review calls him one of the 100 best performing CEOs in the world. In today’s episode, we will talk about David’s leadership journey and some of the things he learned along the way, why vulnerability is crucial to leadership, the one moment in David’s career that most impacted him as a leader, how David invented cool ranch Doritos, and how you can start being your own best leadership coach. Tune in and listen as we dive into the journey of leadership and rising above the ranks in the corporate world! --------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Do you need to be an executive at a company to be a leader? No, you don't. Leading others is a choice. It's not about your title. There are plenty of people who have senior executive titles but are terrible leaders. And similarly, there are lots of other people who don't have executive titles but are amazing leaders. Being a leader is about influencing change. It's about motivating, engaging, empowering, and inspiring others. If you want to be a better leader, then start leading. ----------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Ori Brafman is a teaching fellow at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and a New York Times best-selling author. He has written a total of 5 books, namely the following: ‘Radical Inclusion,’ ‘The Starfish and the Spider,’ ‘Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior,’ ‘Click: The Power of Instant Connections,’ and ‘The Chaos Imperative.’ Ori would be sharing with us all about two of his books, The Starfish and the Spider and Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. Aside from that, he would also be sharing all about Fully Charged Institute and his work with Tom Rath. ------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

We’ve never invested more time, more money, or more resources into employee engagement programs. We spend billions of dollars every year, but around the world, employee engagement scores aren’t improving. Why? Because it’s the employee experience that creates an engaged workforce. And an engaged workforce impacts ROI. If you want to have an engaged workforce, start by investing in the experience of your people. This is based on a concept created by a psychologist named Thomas Gilovich. He realized that if you invest in a physical good, your satisfaction goes down over time. However, if you invest in an experience, over time, your satisfaction goes up. Learn how the world’s top CEOs create amazing employee experiences within their organizations. ----------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Joe Fuller is a Professor of Management Practice and co-leader of the Managing the Future of Work Initiative at Harvard Business School. He founded the global consulting firm Monitor Group, now Monitor-Deloitte. He has deep experience in industries with heavy reliance on technology such as life, sciences, ICT, defense, and aerospace. Joe believes that the overall workforce lacks skills, which is why companies are opting to shift to robotics and AI. Listen in today’s episode as we explore workforce trends and what’s on the horizon, the impact of the pandemic on digital transformation, why low wage jobs are so hard to fill, and what organizations should be doing if they want to be able to attract and retain top talent. ------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

The world of work is constantly changing. Skills and mindsets that were long considered to be in the future are gaining steam now. To stay relevant, future employees need to cover these seven principles: ✈Has a flexible work environment. Employees of the future will have the freedom to work when and where they want. ✈Can customize their own work. Future employees will be able to shape their career paths and choose their next projects and positions. ✈Shares information. Future employees share ideas and information and freely collaborate with their colleagues. ✈Uses new ways to communicate and collaborate. Instead of only relying on emails and phone calls, future employees will embrace new technology to communicate and collaborate in the most efficient ways possible. ✈Can become a leader. Future leaders have the unique opportunity to become leaders within their organizations by sharing their ideas and feedback in public ways with their peers and managers. ✈Shifts from knowledge worker to learning worker. Instead of relying on what they learned in school, future employees will always be learning. ✈Learns and teaches at will. Future leaders help develop others. -------------------- The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Sinan Aral is a professor at MIT who focuses on Management, Marketing, and Data Science. He is also the director of the MIT initiative on digital technology. According to him, the best way to describe him is a Data Nerd Scientist with experience building businesses. In today’s episode, Sinan Aral discusses his journey to reach what he has now and discusses his book “The Hype Machine.” Tune in and listen as he discusses various topics, all about data, social media, and a lot more! ------------------ The #1 challenge for organizations right now is how to attract and retain talent. Organizations are stuck in old ways of thinking about work and they are struggling! In my new PDF, I outline 7 ways the workforce is changing and what you and your organization need to do to adapt. The Great Resignation is The Great Opportunity if you are willing to take action! Click here to download the PDF. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, passed away in 1992, but the company he created is still one of the world's largest employers today. In many ways, the impact of his leadership is still felt today. Sam's leadership lessons can guide us today in 2021 as much as they did many many decades ago. Here are three things Sam did that you as a leader should do as well: 1. Ask questions. Sam was considered a master questionnaire. He was constantly talking to people at all levels of the company. He showed that he valued other people's perspectives, opinions, and ideas by truly trying to ask thoughtful questions. 2. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. A leader's job isn't to be the smartest person in the room. A leader's job is to assemble a team and to create an organization where people are smarter than the leader is. 3. Hold on to what's working and change what isn’t. It's easy to get wrapped up in new things. But don't get rid of a successful practice or method simply to chase something shiny and new. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely helps you easily adapt to the ever-changing workplace. Make sure to check them out. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Glenn Fogel is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Booking Holdings and Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com, which he has held since January 2017 and June 2019, respectively. Before his current roles, Glenn served as Booking Holdings' Head of Worldwide Strategy and Planning, where he led major strategic initiatives, including the critical acquisitions of Booking.com, KAYAK, OpenTable, RentalCars.com, and Agoda. He also served as the Executive Vice President of the Corporate Development division, responsible for worldwide mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances. What does it truly mean to be a leader? Are discipline and hard work the same? Please tune in to learn more about Glenn's insights as he and I dive into his leadership style. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely helps you easily adapt to the ever-changing workplace. Make sure to check them out. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

We live in a connected world where everybody's trying to stand out and make their voice heard. This can make it feel like you are just a drop in an ocean. So how can you possibly get noticed? If you want to learn and grow and have your voice get heard, here are five things you can do: 1. Speak up in meetings. Be confident that you were invited there for a reason to contribute something and not just to be a body. 2. Join a committee or an employee resource group. Find something that matches your talents and interests and go all in. 3. Participate in your company's internal collaboration platforms. Pretty much every organization uses some sort of technology for employees to communicate and collaborate. Take advantage of those platforms. 4. Ask questions. If you struggle to share your own ideas, start by asking questions of others. 5. Offer a solution. Stop pointing out what’s wrong and offer a solution. Don't be afraid to make your voice heard. It will help you develop and be more successful in your career and in life. --------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely helps you easily adapt to the ever-changing workplace. Make sure to check them out. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Lara Abrash oversees all aspects of the organization as the US Audit & Assurance business leader, including the execution of quality, innovation, growth, and talent strategies. She is committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization that empowers our professionals to act boldly, embrace an entrepreneurial mindset, share knowledge, tackle complex issues creatively, and drive disruption through innovation - all while providing high-quality audits. Lara believes in passing it on to professionals, colleagues, and clients to continue developing and growing in our personal and professional endeavors. Lara had the opportunity to work with some of Deloitte’s largest and most complex multinational clients as an Audit & Assurance partner with more than 25 years of experience - most recently as Deputy CEO for the US Audit & Assurance business. It has provided her with a wealth of experience and in-depth knowledge of complex accounting and auditing issues, allowing her to serve clients better. ------------------- This episode is sponsored by Namely. Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely helps you easily adapt to the ever-changing workplace. Make sure to check them out. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Around a thousand years ago, a mathematician and inventor named Sissa created chess. He showed it to the ruler of the land, who was so impressed that he offered Sissa any reward he wanted. Sissa said, “I would like you to put one grain of rice on this chessboard and then keep double the amount of grain for each subsequent square.” The ruler quickly agreed and told his advisors to figure out how much rice they would need to pay off Sissa. As it turns out, we don’t even have enough rice in the world today to meet the amount required. Sissa then became the new ruler of the land. At first glance, doubling a grain of rice on a chessboard seems like it will lead to very gradual and small growth. However, when you get to the second half of the chessboard, the doubling accelerates at a hockey stick growth pattern, meaning it’s no longer gradual growth but a massive increase from each square to the next. When we talk about the rapid pace of change, this is where most leaders, technologists, and futurists believe we are today… at the second half of the chess board. We must all embrace that this is the new normal. To succeed in this kind of a world, we need to change our mindset because today “late adopter” means “out of business” --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Chip Heath is a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and New York Times best selling author of the Switch and Made to Stick. He has a new book out called Making Numbers Count; The art and science of communicating numbers. Chip has worked with various clients, including Google, Gap, The Nature Conservancy, and the American Heart Association. Today, we are talking about his new book Making Numbers Count, how he got involved with some of the work he’s doing, how he got to be a professor, why Chip turned to write books, and how his life led him to where he is now. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Magnus Carlsen is the current world chess champion. He is considered the greatest chess champion to ever live. What makes Magnus Carlsen great is his ability to think outside of chess principles and conventional ideas. He challenges traditional chess wisdom. When in positions where it looks like he's lost, he somehow finds a way to save the game. He does this because he can see things other people struggle to see. When we think about the future of work, we need this same mentality. To challenge convention and to come up with new ideas. We must accept that the game has changed. We have to challenge our outdated notions of what it means to be an employee, what it means to be a leader inside of an organization, and even what it means to work. Now is the time for us to think beyond what we're used to. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Jacques van den Broek is the global CEO of the internationally acclaimed Dutch multinational human resources consulting firm Randstad. Randstad has been known globally for helping people secure jobs even in this ever-changing world. With the rapid rise of technological advancements, jobs have become less available for people as it is now slowly being replaced with Artificial Intelligence. What are Jacques’s thoughts on “technology slowly replacing humans?” Will there be a time when humans will no longer have a place in companies? Tune in and listen as Jacques and I dive into one of the biggest debates in human resources, leadership insights, and why optimism is crucial in this ever-changing world! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Today, there's noise and distractions all over the place. Being able to stand out and clearly share our ideas, points of view, and perspectives has never been more important. Without strong communication skills, a great proposal might get lost in the shuffle, an amazing candidate might not get hired for an organization, or a brilliant idea might never be heard. Think about how much information and data you are competing against every day. There is a lot of stuff out there that pulls our attention in many different directions. That is why communication is a crucial skill to have in order to be successful in the new world of work. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Sheryl Palmer is the CEO of Taylor Morrison, a National Homebuilder and Land Developer who dares to challenge the status quo. Taylor Morrison’s reputation is something one should never underestimate. From holding the title of America’s Most Trusted Home Builder by Lifestory Research for six years running, recognized by Fortune Magazine as World’s Most Admired Companies and Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work, their dedication, passion, and work ethics speak for itself. Sheryl Palmer is also featured in my book, The Future Leader, as someone who inspires me a lot and the figure who exhibits what a great leader should look like. Today, we will be talking about the corporate world and what made Sheryl who she is today. We uncover her leadership and business insights, what changed in Cheryl as a leader, and her tips on keeping things in perspective. Tune in to this exciting and inspiring episode with Sheryl Palmer! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

It's very easy for us to become burned out in this new world we live in. We're surrounded by technology at our fingertips, and it’s easy to get exhausted because we’re constantly multitasking. Studies show that multitasking actually takes you 25% longer to complete both tasks. Multitasking isn't your friend. It does come down to being able to prioritize and figuring out what you should be working on and what can wait. Everyone wants things from you all the time--your friends, your boss, your coworkers, your spouse. These requests come in digitally and in person. Learning to say no and taking more control over our lives is crucial to success. A lot of us have a hard time saying no because we’re conditioned from an early age to say yes. It feels awkward to say no to people. But saying no is one of the best ways to prevent burnout. Learn to value your time. Saying no also allows you to build self-esteem and confidence. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Sondre Rasch is the co-founder and CEO of SafetyWing which offers health insurance for remote teams and nomads. They have people all over the world where you can have a dashboard, you can add employees, or contractors anywhere and any country. Also, Sondre was previously the founder of SuperSlide (YC W16) and policy advisor for the Government of Norway. He worked in the government for a while, enhancing the social safety net and now working to deliver the ideal social safety net to the rest of the world. Today, we're talking about his company, SafetyWing, and how remote work is helping a lot of companies save money while also increasing productivity. We look at why companies choose freelancers, how to construct a successful virtual team, how to lead effectively, and much more. -------------------- This episode is sponsored by SafetyWing. SafetyWing is your home country online. They are building a global social safety net for remote workers worldwide: from health insurance and remote retirement to a truly borderless world. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Having a growth mindset is crucial to succeed in the future of work. There are a few things you can do to embrace this mindset: ✅View challenges as opportunities. Most people view challenges as opportunities to fail and as things they can't overcome. Instead, you should view any challenge you face as an opportunity to grow. You can do this by taking on more challenging tasks. Don't just play it safe. You can also find a creative path around your obstacles. Try to explore new ways of overcoming your challenges. ✅ Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be scared to bring in other people to help you accomplish your tasks. ✅ Set short-term and long-term goals for yourself. Setting goals allows you to work backwards to make sure you're taking the right steps to get where you want to be. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Krister Ungerböck is a #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of the book, 22 Talk SHIFTs: Tools to Transform Leadership in Business, in Partnership, and in Life.  Krister Ungerböck is a leadership communication expert, keynote speaker, and former CEO of a global tech company. His work has appeared in NPR, Forbes, Inc., HR.com, Chief Executive, Recruiter.com and Entrepreneur. Prior to exiting corporate life at age 42, Krister was CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. In today’s podcast we are talking about language.  More specifically Talk Shifts.  A powerful book reveals tools that people can use to communicate more authentically and improve listening skills. It explains how emotional intelligence can drive connection, growth and performance. Additionally, his lessons are equally applicable in the workplace and in the home. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

It’s time to start setting boundaries for yourself, the same way you set boundaries for other people. I have set 7 rules for myself that help me become more productive every day: 1.❌Don’t check email or social media until 4:00 p.m. every day. 2.❌Don't take meetings with people who just want to pick my brain. I get a lot of these requests every week, and if I start saying yes, it will snowball. 3.❌No television in the bedroom, and no technology during mealtimes. 4.✅Be healthy. I try to eat healthy and make time to exercise. 5.❌No calls or meetings before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. 6.✅Always make time for family. 7.❌NO meetings or calls on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. How about you? What are your boundaries? --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

David Allen is widely recognized as the world’s leading expert on personal and organizational productivity. The Getting Things Done Method rests on the idea of moving items of interest, relevant information, issues, tasks and projects out of the mind, by recording them externally, and then breaking them into actionable work items. And this allows attention to be focused on taking action on tasks instead of recalling them. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

It doesn't matter what industry you're in. Chances are, there will always be people around you who are used to doing things the old way. So what can you do to battle that entrenched way of thinking? Jim Heppelmann, CEO of PTC, gave me some really useful advice for how you can fight rooted thinking: The first thing that Jim did was make change a part of the company’s brand. In other words, he would create slogans, like Take a Fresh Look that became part of the organization's core values. The second piece of advice Jim gave me is that if you want to battle entrenched thinking, you need to lead by example. If you want to unlock creative ways of solving problems, it's got to start with you. As a leader, you should be taking a fresh look and asking questions. The third piece of advice Jim gave me is to celebrate change, even if change led to failure. If you have somebody in your organization who's trying to do something new, reward the behavior, don't just focus on the result. You can't innovate unless you make mistakes and are prepared to fail at some point. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

For years, I’ve been interviewing leaders and experts on this podcast, The Future of Work with Jacob Morgan. But for some reason, everything felt different in 2021. These experts’ advice and insights became more real and critical to success as organizations and leaders faced unprecedented challenges and change every day. The future of work is here, and we need to do everything we can to adapt and prepare.  Clearly, you have the same mindset as you listened to the podcast. Here are the top 10 podcast interviews of the year with incredible leaders from around the world. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

I've had the opportunity to talk to a lot of great leaders around the world. And I noticed that there are three things that a lot of these great leaders typically do. ✅Take time for themselves Successful business leaders spend time exercising, journaling, meditating, or enjoying quiet time. Whatever it is they do, they always take time for themselves. This is when they get a chance to think big picture and create the vision where they want to go. ✅Have goals Every leader I’ve interviewed has goals. These can be daily goals or big-picture goals for themselves and where they want the organization as a whole to go. ✅Spend time with other people Leaders don’t just spend time with peers and executives. They spend time with people on the front line and with customers. If you want to be a successful leader, make sure you're spending time with people, learning from them, getting feedback from them, and listening to their insights. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Katy Milkman is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, host of Charles Schwab's popular behavioral economics podcast Choiceology, and president of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making. In addition, she is the co-founder and co-director of the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, a research center to advance the science of lasting behavior change. She's also the author of a top-rated book called How to change the science of getting from where you are to where you want to be. Today we are talking about her research and exploring insights from economics and psychology that can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good enhancing leadership skills to unleash employee potential.  Learning techniques to change behavior around financial decision making, health decision making and around educational outcomes. --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Mike Ettling, the CEO of Unit4, a software company with around 2700 employees in 26 countries that designs and delivers enterprise software and ERP applications including finance management, accounting, talent management, and student management modules. Today we are focusing on how leaders can create a sense of purpose and meaning for their employees. __________________ This episode is brought to you by my friends at Unit4 a cloud based enterprise software company which is built around a single premise. Give your people the means to focus on what matters, and the people they serve will benefit. If you want to free your people so that they can focus on the things that matter check out Unit4.com or better yet take a list to the speech their CEO Mike Ettling gave by visiting www.unit4.com/experience4u --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

My dad taught me an important lesson: we should all enjoy our mistakes. It can be hard to have this positive outlook on life, but everyone should learn how to enjoy their mistakes. Here are some tips on how to start doing it: Realize mistakes are common. A lot of people forget that nobody is perfect. When you realize that mistakes are common and everybody makes them, it removes some of that pressure from you. Remember failure is just a state of mind. Failure is ultimately how you think about the mistake that you made. Realize that it happened and that you should move on and progress and go on to the next thing. Focus on what you learn. Instead of viewing something as a failure, why don't you ask yourself what you learned. Enjoy, laugh, share, and move on. ------------------ This episode is sponsored by Namely. Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely HR helps you maintain a great experience for the entire employee lifecycle. They offer onboarding, performance management, intuitive benefits enrollment, and much more - all on one connected platform. Learn more about making the switch to Namely by going to Namely.com today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Erica Dhawan, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and the best-selling author of a very timely book called Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance. She is best known as the leading authority on 21st-century collaboration and teamwork in a digital-first workplace. Today we are focusing on how digital body language is all the new cues and signals that have replaced traditional body language. Humans rely on body language to connect and build trust, but with most of our communication happening from behind a screen, traditional body language signals are no longer visible. ------------------ This episode is sponsored by Namely. Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely HR helps you maintain a great experience for the entire employee lifecycle. They offer onboarding, performance management, intuitive benefits enrollment, and much more - all on one connected platform. Learn more about making the switch to Namely by going to Namely.com today! --------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Be a perpetual learner if you want to future-proof your career. Being a perpetual learner means understanding and acknowledging that you can’t rely on educational institutions or organizations to teach you everything you need to know to be successful. A perpetual learner is somebody who takes learning into their own hands. They take their growth and development into their own hands, and they learn how to learn. They acknowledge that what they learned in the past is not necessarily going to carry them forward in the future. Here are three daily practices of perpetual learners: They ask questions Why is something being done like this? Is there a better way for us to do this? Can we be more efficient with this? Can we save money without having to do this? They make time to figure out the answer to questions. They apply the things they learn in their lives and their organization. Do you do these practices yourself? --------------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Nathan Rawlins is the Chief Marketing Officer of Lucid, a software company with around 1000 employees that designs online visual collaboration applications. Its products are utilized in over 180 countries by more than 30 million users worldwide.  Lucid's online applications bring people together over the web from anywhere in the world to work together on a shared canvas.  Nathan joined Lucid in 2017 as the CMO to show the world the benefits of working visually. Prior to joining Lucid, Nathan led worldwide marketing activities for Puppet and helped scale Jive through an IPO as he directed product marketing and brand. Lucid was named Best Led Companies in 2021 by Inc. Magazine and was named Best Workplace in Technology by Fortune for a second consecutive year.  I have known Nathan for many years. We were reminiscing about how software has changed communication and collaboration for people over the years.  The shift has been to social ways of communication more so than collaboration. Communication has evolved pretty dramatically over the course of the last decade. What is Lucid's leadership philosophy Every company has core values and its own culture. One of the exciting things about Lucid is that early employees codified the importance of the company and said, we need what we are doing to work, we like working together, we like doing what we are doing. Let's figure out the essence of that success. And that turned into the values created at Lucid.   Teamwork over ego is one of our core values. And I would imagine, if you were to talk to people at Lucid, you would hear it from virtually everyone because it's this core idea that we need to win as a company.  Another value at Lucid is innovation. But the way that we apply innovation is vital. After I joined Lucent several years ago, I noticed this early on, a highly experimental culture with an acceptance for learning as we go along.   Interviewing at Lucid we look for those core values. People can come from very different backgrounds; they can have different approaches, they need to, we want that level of diversity. But it's essential that the people we hire adhere to the core values, value teamwork over ego, and value innovation and creativity. So the second area Lucid focuses on is creating a structured leadership training course.  We have a 100, 200 and 300 level series of training  every people manager completes to ensure that we understand everything from managing effectively and how to motivate teams.  Trends that are top of mind for Nathan The type of collaboration, the way that we collaborate needs to shift to allow for a high level of complexity, dialogue and interconnection. Another trend we are seeing is more companies are shifting to agile ways of working not just within software development. Companies are pushing for more self directed smaller teams where they can work with more autonomy. And that's fantastic. It does present an interesting challenge.  We've talked about silos for decades. But for most of that time, we've talked about it as if there are a handful of silos in a company. When teams become more agile, you can actually create 1000s of mini silos. The need for a system of record for what you're trying to build becomes vital  so that as teams work together, they have the common blueprint for what they're trying to accomplish. As work is handed off from team to team, it can be more effective. So you bring those two things together, the fact that we're building very complex projects, and doing it in a way where we have very nimble agile teams, and it makes it so that we need to rethink the way we go about having these conversations around collaboration. The future of work look We certainly have talked to many companies that are shifting to completely virtual collaboration, in particular, because of the current environment. What we found is that many of them are saying, even if we get back together at some point at scale, what we have learned over the course of the last year and a half will cause us to collaborate differently when we're all in the same room.  The other shift is in the preference for the way that we work. Bringing a team together on a virtual board, where they can brainstorm what needs to be built.  Developing software that has capabilities where you can break into virtual rooms, and  have a sticky note exercise and come up with the ideas. One idea may be to build a mobile application.  So instead of having an email chain about what needs to change, a team can jump into a diagramming application  together and build out the flow for that customer support process. All the way through you have this new place where people gather on this virtual board, and they can work side by side, even if they aren't face to face. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Here are my 5 best pieces of career advice for young people. 🥂Taste test When you are young in your career, most of the time you have no idea what you want to do. So try out different jobs before you commit. It’s important that you enjoy what you are doing. 💪Build your own ladder You don't have to follow the template that everybody tells you to follow. You can build your own career. The first step in doing this is to build your own personal brand. ✋Life is too short to be miserable Why would you want to spend any of your time being miserable? If you don’t like your job, do something about it. 🧭Make your own decisions There will be a lot of people who will tell you what they think you should do. You can take feedback of course, but the important thing is to make your own decisions. Ultimately, you have to do what makes sense for you. Nobody is going to look out for you. 👥Be self-aware You need to know your strengths and weaknesses. The more self-aware you become, the more growth and opportunities you’ll see. --------------------------- Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Bob Chapman is the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a global supplier of manufacturing technology and services with over 12,000 employees. Bob was named the #3 CEO in the world by Inc. Magazine and Barry-Wehmiller is studied by business schools and organizations around the world because of their unique culture and Bob’s truly human leadership style.  I have had the pleasure of speaking with Bob on many occasions. I had him on the podcast back in 2015, I interviewed him for my book, The Future Leader, and I interviewed him for my online leadership course. Bob truly cares about his people and he feels personally responsible for every single one of them.  He is passionate about truly human leadership, but that hasn’t always been the case. When he first started his career, he led in a more traditional way and stuck to what he learned throughout his MBA journey. But Bob says he had three revelations back in 1997 that “awakened his senses to a higher calling in business”.  --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- Three revelations that changed Bob’s leadership style Starting back in 1997 Bob experienced three events that caused him to shift his view on leadership and led him to think about how business could be the most powerful force of good in the world if leaders simply cared about the people they have the privilege of leading. The first event occurred when Bob traveled to a company in South Carolina that Barry-Wehmiller had acquired. He arrived at the office very early and he was grabbing a cup of coffee as the employees arrived. They had no idea who he was so he was able to observe them, and as they were coming in they were talking about March Madness, who won the most money, what teams had won, etc… and people were happy and casual. But the closer the clock got to 8:00am, the more and more serious they got. Bob said he could literally see the fun draining out of their faces. And over time as Bob kept thinking about that moment he tried to figure out why work couldn’t be fun. Why do we go through our work week thinking “I can’t wait until Friday so I can get out of this place”.  Since then he has worked to find things that aligned value creation with fun inside his own organization. The second event happened one Sunday as he was leaving his church and he realized the pastor only had the congregation in front of them for one hour a week, but as business leaders we have employees in front of us 40 hours a week. And Bob realized what an impact business leaders could have if they took time to care about their people and impact their communities.  The third event was when Bob was attending a wedding and he saw the father walking his daughter down the aisle to her future husband. And the father smiled and said “I give my daughter to be married to this man” and he looked at his daughter proudly and hugged her and then went to sit by his wife. But Bob, who has walked his own daughters down the aisle, realized that’s not what the father really wanted to say. He really wanted to tell the man “this is my beloved daughter and you better take care of her and never hurt her”. He realized that every father and mother loves their precious children and they want what’s best for them. And at that moment it hit him that every one of his 12,000 employees is someone's precious child. Their parents want them to lead lives of meaning and purpose and joy, and that is the responsibility of leaders inside of organizations.  What to do if upper management doesn’t lead in a truly human way Barry-Wehmiller is doing a lot of unique things because of Bob’s truly human leadership style. They don’t do headcounts, they do heart counts, they have training on empathetic listening, employees feel safe because they know their leader cares about them.  But what if you are a mid-level or entry-level leader inside of an organization and upper management doesn’t hold these same views? Bob has been asked this question before and he likes to think of it as a scene from the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, the tin man, the lion, and the scarecrow are all in search of something they need and so they go to see the wizard to get what they need. It turns out the wizard is just a wise old man, but he tells them they already have what they need, they just need to use the gifts they have. You don’t need permission from upper management to be a better leader and put your people first. You just need to embrace these philosophies and live them out. And it’s possible that as you start to lead this way others around you will take notice and make changes themselves. But you can definitely start with yourself.  --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- Two pieces of advice from Bob’s long career as a leader Bob has been a leader for several decades and over the course of his career he has learned a lot. Two of the biggest things he has learned along the way are: There is no relationship between what something costs and what it’s worth Everybody that works for you is someone’s precious child that has been placed in your care He also believes that leaders need to be grounded optimists that provide their people with hope. Your people need to be able to put their faith in you and know you won’t let them down.    --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

You need to view working at your company just like being in a relationship. Whenever you're in a relationship, you're inevitably presented with a choice. Do you keep the relationship going? Is it something that you turn into a long-term relationship? If you decide you want to fight for that relationship, then you have to fight like hell to make it work. Are you going to overcome the obstacles and work on the problems you're faced with? Then you have to do everything you can. Working for an organization is the exact same thing. Are you going to try to make things work? Or are you going to jump ship? Whether you are in a personal or a professional relationship, it is the same thing. You need to decide if it's a relationship worth fighting for. And if it is, fight like hell to make it work. --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

I recently shared an image on LinkedIn on the evolution of the employee, and it went bonkers; like it went completely viral. It became the most popular thing that I have ever shared on LinkedIn. It's fascinating because this is something I wrote about in 2014 and the whole concept was looking at how employees are changing and how the idea of employees is changing. And even though I wrote about it in 2014, it was manifesting slower--than Covid hit, and suddenly, this became a reality. It’s important to go through this evolution so that you can understand what you need to do as a leader, what you need to do as an organization, or even what you need to be doing and thinking about it as an individual contributor. In the past, employees were working nine to five and we’ve had an evolution towards working anytime. The idea of working nine to five and setting 32 or 40 hours a week is a concept that is probably almost 100 years old. And why are the hours after five o'clock designated for personal time? I think technology has been the great equalizer here. Because technology allows us to stay connected to work anytime, anywhere, on any device. So, we're moving away from this concept of work-life balance to work-life integration. The whole concept here is that work-life integration is about you, as an employee, deciding how you should be working, what makes the most sense for you. If you want to work nine to five, and that's how you choose to spend your time, hey, more power to you. So, it's my choice. It's my freedom. It's my flexibility. This is what work-life integration is all about. The challenge is you need to set boundaries, working anytime efficiently. But it would help if you also were more accountable and responsible for shutting off. This means having self-awareness and paying attention to if you're getting burned out. --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- The next one that goes very much in parallel with this is this concept of the past. The past is working in the corporate office and the future is working anywhere. But for organizations that want more, they want to grow, they want to scale, they want to identify complex problems, they want to identify unique opportunities, they want to move beyond just getting stuff done. In that kind of environment, there is still a lot of room for improvement. We're not just talking about productivity; we're not just talking about getting things done. We're talking about going beyond that. Tackling complex challenges, identifying new opportunities, creating trust, and psychological safety, being influential leaders, if we want to take it one step further. And you know what, there is still very much a place for in-person work. I do believe that, and guess what? All the executives that I've been interviewing think that now that role for in-person work doesn't mean that you're going to be in an office nine to five. It might mean you show up for a couple of hours a day or it might mean you show up once or twice a week--it might mean any number of things. That's what workplace flexibility is all about.  Work is no longer a place that you go to work, it is something that you carry with you; You can pretty much get anything done on your smartphone or on a laptop that you can take with you. So, technology is pushing this forward. So that's another significant evolution that we're seeing. The third way is moving away from using company equipment towards using the device. We're very much moving towards a world where people are using their own devices to get work done. And not only their own devices, but they're finding their software. Suppose your organization offers software that employees believe is tedious and time-consuming, ineffective, and inefficient, and it's not beautiful, helpful, and valuable. Why aren't you going to use it? We're moving away from having to use company-sanctioned hardware towards the employees using their laptops, their phones, using their cameras, their microphone, and anything else they need. Give employees access to tools and platforms that emulate the things you're using for personalized use like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google and all these other easy-to-use platforms; it should be just as easy to get stuff done inside of our organizations as it is to do things in our personal lives.  The next one is the past is focused on inputs. Does your manager see you at your desk doing work, completing tasks? We're moving away from that and concentrating now on the outputs. What have you done? Would you instead that employee be working somewhere else, let's say working from home, if they are able to put four hours in,  but the work that they're doing is impressive. It's high-quality work; they're used to their job, they're coming to work each day with new ideas and opportunities, they are doing a fantastic job. That's the mentality that we need to have. And that's the visual that I want you to have. It's not the time that matters, it's the quality of work. So, this is a significant shift that we're seeing, moving from inputs to focusing more on outputs, The next one is moving away from climbing the corporate ladder to building your ladder. The exciting thing with creating your ladder is that technology, again, has made this the great equalizer. Because what I mean by creating your ladder, I suggest that you can shape your career path and your trajectory in the size of your organization.  One of the ways you can do that is through technology, by participating in relevant conversations, joining employee resource groups that are relevant to you seeking out opportunities pertinent to your organization that are tangential to what you're currently working on. But if you want to be able to create your ladder, part of what that means is that you need to step up, you need to let your voice be heard, you need to use these technologies that are out there, to speak up, you need to participate in the employee resource groups that are out there, all of this is going to be essential for you if you want to create that corporate ladder.  We're starting to see that a lot of leaders wish to do this. They want you to speak up, they want you to give them feedback, they want you to let them know what you care about and what you value, you can very much start to shape your ladder. Now employees have more power than they ever did before. An organization does not want to lose people; it would much rather keep you in transition into another role that you would find more suitable for the work that you're doing. So take advantage of the opportunity. Speak up if you're in a position and don't want to keep climbing that corporate ladder. The next one that we have here is predefined work to customize work. When I say customized work, this is a lot based on the technologies that we're using, the resource groups, your ability to speak up inside of your organization, your ability to let people know what you're interested in and what you care about. And now, what I think we're starting to see, especially with this concept of employee experience, it's the organization acknowledging and saying, we're not going to tell you what to do. We're not going to create the work for you, we're going to design it with you. So, you tell us, what do you care about? What are your values? What do you get out of it? What's your purpose? And so we're starting to see a lot of customization on work based on employees speaking up and based on employees using the different technologies that are out there. The next one after this is moving away from hoarding information to sharing information. Today, we're seeing this massive shift, where the employees help others get recognized and rewarded. If the people share their ideas, identify new opportunities, or tackle complex challenges, they get rewarded. Technology, again, has been an essential factor in this because it's easy for us to share information across anytime, anywhere, and on any device. That will make you more successful inside of your organization. We're starting to see a move away from this idea of not having a voice inside of your organization and a move towards the idea that anybody can become a leader inside your company. So now you have a tremendous voice. You have immense power and responsibility, and we're moving towards creating a place where anybody can become a leader. A leader is not a title that is bestowed upon you. A leader is a mindset. It's a skill set. The future Leader is about helping make other people more successful than you. It's about thinking like a futurist having a growth mindset. You don't need permission from other people to do these things. You can do these things yourself. Anybody now can become a leader inside of an organization, you have that voice, use that voice. Don't ask for permission; ask for forgiveness. The next one is moving away from relying on email to relying on collaboration technologies. Now, I'm not saying that email will completely disappear or vanish because I don't think it will. But email used to be the primary form of communicating and collaborating inside of an organization. Look at the number of tools and resources we have at our disposal to communicate and collaborate. We have Zoom meetings and so many different platforms and channels at our disposal. The next one is moving away from focusing on knowledge to adaptive learning. And really what this means is not being a knowledge worker but being a learning worker. You need to learn how to learn; you must become a learning machine. Now, the good news is today you have access to YouTube, Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy and so many different tools and resources are out there, there is no excuse for why you cannot learn anything that you need to know to be personally or professionally successful. It would help if you learned how to learn, take things into your own hands, don't wait for anybody else to tell you what you need to know. Organizations will say, look, we're going to help you as best as we can. But ultimately, you are going to be responsible for your growth, your trajectory, and your future. And the last one is about corporate learning and training. In the past, anything that you wanted to know you'd have to sign up for a seminar or a training program and you would have to wait a few weeks or months. So corporate education and training are seeing a significant evolution. Part of what we're starting to see is that anybody is a teacher, and anybody can be a student. In other words, as a company, you can't assume that you are responsible for all education and training; you need to do a better job of connecting your people. Let them educate and train each other. This is the evolution of the employee. And this is what I think we're starting to see much more of in organizations around the world. --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Are you an implementer or an owner? According to Kate Johnson, president of Microsoft U.S., an implementer is somebody who takes somebody else's vision and actions and implements it. Implementers typically give the accountability and responsibility to somebody else. An owner is somebody who sets the vision and course of action. They provide clarity on the outcome and how a team or organization can achieve that outcome. Owners also take on the accountability and their responsibility without passing it off to someone else. If you want to become an owner at your organization, you need to be more accountable for driving change. Volunteer for the tough projects that nobody else wants to take on. Be more humble and vulnerable when it comes to making mistakes and learning from them. And think of where you can create value inside of your organization and as a part of your team. Implementers keep the ship running. But owners change the world. We need both, which one are you?   --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

As 2021 ends, I wanted to look back at some of the best leadership advice we heard from our guests over the last year and a half. I interview around 50 guests every year, and I've had the privilege of speaking with many great leaders around the world; these are some of my favorite conversations.  I have picked out some short clips from my interviews with five past guests. These leaders have brought their companies & their people through the pandemic and all the changes that came with it, and they have continued to thrive despite all the challenges they faced. I hope you enjoy looking back at parts of these conversations and the lessons we can learn from these leaders.  Mark Lashier is the CEO of CPChem, a company that produces petrochemicals and plastics with 5,000 employees worldwide. Chevron owns 50% of the company, and Phillips owns 50%. Mark has served in leadership roles at Chevron Phillips Chemical and Phillips Petroleum for three decades.  Mark explains that being an effective leader entails building trust, showing transparency, and simplifying your employee's workload. It is critically important that all our leaders demonstrate the behaviors of trust, transparency, and simplicity every day; we talk a lot about that as leaders.   "People are incredibly perceptive. If they smell something inconsistent, they're not going to buy it, and they're going to say, okay, you say you want trust, but you're not exhibiting trust," he says.   --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- Shellye Archambeau is the former CEO of MetricStream, a Silicon Valley-based governance, risk, and compliance software company, and the author of the new book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Terms. She also serves on the boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta. In our conversation Shellye explained that creating your luck is positioning yourself so that when an opportunity shows up, you can take advantage of it, and it is just as vital that you make sure you let people know what you're doing.  Tell them your job title and explain what you are responsible for in your job.   David Cote is the former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell and author of the bestselling book, Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term. During his time at Honeywell, David fixed a toxic work culture and grew the company's market capitalization from around 20 billion to 120 billion, delivering returns of 800%. Currently, David is Executive Chairman of Vertiv Holdings Co, a global data center products and services provider. He is a member of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group on Foreign Relations and the Conference of Montreal. David explains how he defines leadership and his advice on how to lead in tough times.  If we do the right things in the middle of a tough time, that will cause us to come out of a much stronger company than our competitors. And the advice that I give to people is don't panic and make sure that you keep thinking independently. Never forget to put your customer first, don't let customer service suffer in any way. Lastly, start thinking about the recovery, even while you're in the middle of the recession. A good leader finds a way to take at least a couple hours a week to put their head above the fray and look around and say, okay, all these short-term actions, I'm assuming, is it going to make a difference for where I'm trying to go for the long term? Is it consistent with what I'm trying to do, and if It's not, what do I do differently so that it will be? Those are the people who will do well going into the recovery and truly establish themselves. --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- Rita McGrath is a professor at Columbia Business School and bestselling author of the book, Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen. In 2020, she was ranked #5 on the Thinkers50 list for her work in strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship and for being a champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage. She is widely recognized as a leading expert on leading innovation and growth during times of uncertainty. Seeing Around Corners opens your mind to possibilities that are now made real because of a strategic inflection point. It's more about expanding the range of options that you're considering and then really being prepared to challenge your assumptions. And I think that's really where the seeing around corners part is so valuable. If you think about it, any business grows up with a set of assumptions about what's possible and what's not. And what an inflection point does is it changes the nature of those assumptions. Chris McCann is the CEO of 1-800-Flowers, a floral and gourmet food gift retailer, and distribution company with over 3000 employees. The company was started back in 1976 when Chris' older brother opened his first flower shop. In the 1980s, Chris joined his brother in the business, and they have been working together ever since. In our discussion, Chris talked about what he learned from other leaders he came to know, including CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, and the former CEO of AXA Financial, Ed Miller. He also talked about the crucial things he has learned about leading in turbulent times. Chris explains two of the most critical leadership skills in communication and visibility. The need to step up communication so that the people in your company know that you're on top of things and you're looking out for their best interest is critical. Also, a key component to leading in turbulent times is re-emphasizing the vision of your company, your values, your mission. By focusing and constantly reminding people of our job and our vision to inspire human expression, connection, and celebration. And tying everything we do back to the company vision gives employees a sense of normalcy. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE    How to lead with Trust, Transparency, and Simplicity How you can own your luck and create your own success How to Lead in Tough Times Leading Innovation and Growth during times of uncertainty --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

I was able to witness first-hand the difference between empathy and sympathy. Before COVID, I spoke at a lot of events. I had the opportunity to speak at two financial institutions several months apart. When I went to the first company, I saw one of the executives get approached by a new employee. She introduced herself and told the executive that she was really nervous. She was given big responsibilities and didn’t know if she could handle it. The senior leader said, “I’m sorry you feel that way, but don’t worry about it, I’m sure you will be fine.” A couple of months later, I went to the second financial institution and the same thing happened. A new employee approached a senior leader and told him that she was nervous and not sure she could do the job. The senior leader said, “I remember feeling the same way when I first started working here.” Then he told her all the things he did to overcome those fears and ended the conversation with, “If you ever need any help, please come to me directly.” This is what empathy looks like. This is exactly what leaders need to practice inside of their company every day. --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. Her TEDx talk has over 26 million views. Her books include Do Nothing: How to Break Away From Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving and Speaking of Race: Why Everyone Needs to Talk About Race--And How To Do It.  Celeste is a 25-year veteran of public broadcasting. She was a host on NPR and she has also been on PBS and PRI. And during this time in her career she really started researching and figuring out how to have better conversations and how to interview well, that’s when she realized most people are not good at informal conversations--especially difficult ones on topics such as race and politics.  She gave a TED Talk on that topic and it went viral so she wrote a book on the same theme titled, We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter. The TED Talk really changed her life and led her down the career path she is on today. Why we struggle to truly rest There is a quote from Bertand Russell that Celeste included in her book, Do Nothing and it is such a great quote. “It will be said that while a little leisure is pleasant, men would not know how to fill their days if they had only four hours of work out of twenty four. In so far as this is true in the modern world it is a condemnation of our civilization; it would not have been true at any earlier period. There was formerly a capacity for lightheartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency. The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake.” So many of us, myself included, have a hard time taking time away from work, resting, and not thinking about what else we have to get done. Celeste says for the longest time she felt the same way too. The to-do list in her head was never complete and she would justify working until 10 o’clock at night so that she could “get ahead”. But the problem was she never got ahead, the list kept getting longer and never emptied. So what was the point of working so late? We tend to think that people going back through history have always worked hard, and they did, but they also knew how to have balance. Something that we struggle with. Celeste says this all changed with the Industrial Revolution. Before the Industrial Revolution people worked half the year, or maybe less. Even the lowest ranking people had time off. They spent a week celebrating a wedding. After the harvest was done, they took a week or more to reward themselves for the hard work they accomplished with a festival. People, even serfs, had some land, they made their own tools, they were capable of taking care of themselves. During the Industrial Revolution people moved to the cities to work in the factories and for the first time in history time equaled money. That is when the obsession with efficiency and productivity started. And this is something we still focus on today---it’s all about the hustle culture--the more you work supposedly the more successful you are.  But the truth is people who work around 50 hours a week only make between 6-9% more than someone working 40 hours or less. So there really isn’t a huge financial gain to working excessively.  Celeste shares that actually people who take all of their vacation time every year are more likely to get promoted and have a higher salary than those who don’t take their vacation time. So, as she states, long hours are literally counterproductive.  When you work more hours you are more apt to make mistakes, you're much more likely to be irritable and tired, and it often leads to an unhealthy lifestyle that leads to heart attacks, strokes, etc… --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- How to stop overworking For those of you reading this and thinking that you would like to work less and take care of yourself more, Celeste has a few tips on how to start. The first thing you have to do is track your time. Most of the time your perception of the time you are using to do a certain task or job is not reality. When you track your time you will see how much time you are actually losing on certain things. Once you figure out where you are losing time, work on fixing it. Maybe you don’t realize you spend 3 hours a day checking social media. Or maybe you spend a lot of free time shopping online for things you don’t end up buying. Celeste came to the realization that her grandmother was far more productive, engaged, and active than she is without all of the modern tools we have to cut down the time it takes to do things. We have vacuums that can run on their own, we have dishwashers, clothing washers & dryers, we have microwaves, etc…And yet without those things Celeste’s grandmother was a member of social clubs, she worked in her garden, she wrote books, she hosted backyard bbq’s with neighbors---she had a ton of hobbies on top of the work she did everyday. We really have no excuse.  Once you have tracked your time and find out where the lost time is going you have to figure out what it is you want to do in an average week and on an average weekend. And understand that no one in the world is able to focus for eight hours straight. We have maybe three or four hours to focus on something in a day. So focus on what is really important and keep going until you get really distracted. And make note of when throughout the day you are most focused--are you better in the morning or the evening--when is your brain at it’s best. And work around that. How to have tough conversations at work These days there are so many hot topics that people shy away from in the workplace to avoid confrontation. But Celeste says we should talk about things like politics and race--but we have to find a way to do so in a respectful, level-headed way. Celeste’s advice for how to talk about these tough topics at work are: Stop going into conversations with the intention of changing someone’s mind. Don’t worry about what you’re going to say, think about what you want to hear from the other person to understand their side more Connect with the other person emotionally and show them empathy instead of trying to logically win a fight with statistics and facts Make sure you are in the right frame of mind to have this type of conversation --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Do you have rules that you abide by? Not long ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Mark Randolph, co-founder and first CEO of Netflix. According to Mark, there are eight rules for success that his dad created, which he follows every day: Do at least 10% more than you’re asked. There's no substitute for hard work. ✅Never present your opinions as facts. ✅Be courteous to people both up and down. ✅Don't knock others, don't complain, don't whine about stuff. ✅Don't be afraid to make decisions when you have the facts on which you can make those decisions. ✅Quantify whenever and wherever possible. You can't improve something if you don't measure it. ✅Be open-minded, but also be skeptical. ✅Be prompt. Never show up late. --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and a science journalist, he is, in fact, known as the father of emotional intelligence. He’s also the bestselling author of several books including Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ and Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence was named one of the 25 Most Influential Business Management Books by Time Magazine and Daniel has been listed among the most influential business thinkers by The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. What is emotional intelligence? Daniel says it is a competence, a workplace ability, that makes you stand out from others and there’s a set of around a dozen competencies within the domain of emotional intelligence including empathy, adaptability, being able to stay positive, being able to inspire others, and keeping your eye on a goal without getting distracted. Why is EQ critical for leaders and can it be learned As Daniel shares, “everything is a combination of nature and nurture, you get your genetic makeup, but that doesn't limit you. That's what you start with.” And he says that emotional intelligence is definitely learnable. But you need life experience, feedback, and practice to get better at it. Daniel shares why EQ is so important for leaders: “Here's what emotional intelligence tells you. If you're in a negative emotional state, because of the way the brain is wired, you're narrowing the bandwidth of your other capabilities, your cognitive abilities, whatever talents you may have. Because emotions, the way the brain is designed and wired, take up a huge amount of space. In fact, emotional distractions, that thing she said to me that got me so upset, are far stronger than external distractions, it's gonna cap your intelligence, your attention, continually. So emotional intelligence helps you manage disturbing emotions.” Leaders need to be able to lead themselves first, Daniel says, they have to have control of their emotions. The emotional state of the leader is contagious, so if the leader is negative all of the time, that drives the performance of employees, and production and morale go down. Whereas if the leader is emotionally intelligent and has a positive outlook on life and knows how to manage negativity, employees are more productive and happier too. It’s not to say leaders won’t ever experience anger, frustration, sadness, etc...All humans experience the full range of emotions. Emotionally intelligent people just know how to manage those emotions and they don’t let the emotions control them. --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- IQ alone is not enough A majority of the time people are promoted to leadership positions because they are good at a certain task they perform in their current role. They are smart, capable people, but that doesn’t mean they have what it takes to lead people. We are currently seeing what people are calling the great resignation, people are leaving their jobs right and left and a lot of it has to do with leaders. People don’t want to work for horrible bosses who aren’t empathetic, positive, caring, self aware, etc… “So you may be good at a job in terms of the objective measures of the job, such as--I’m really good at programming. But it turns out that it's all done with people. And if you're the leader of people, you need emotional intelligence to work well with the people you're leading. It's just a fact.” A certain level of IQ is needed for specific roles like being a lawyer or an accountant, but usually in those types of roles everyone around you has around the same IQ--so the thing that sets you apart is EQ. For people who only have IQ, but no EQ they may be better suited to a job in coding or something with numbers that doesn’t require them to work with people too much. They are not good for leadership roles because it is crucial for leaders to be good communicators. For people with high EQ but not high IQ they may be best suited for a role in sales or a position where they are building relationships with customers and clients. Three methods you can use to control your emotions at work We can all use some techniques that can be utilized when we feel angry, frustrated, sad, etc...Daniel has three main methods that he suggests: Sympathetic nervous system arousal. It sounds complicated, but actually it’s a breathing technique that helps you recover quickly from being upset. You start out by inhaling as long as you can (at least a count of four), hold it as long as you can (at least a count of four), and then exhale as long as you can. Repeat this six to nine times and it actually shifts your physiology. Name what you are feeling. It can help to say out loud what you are feeling either to yourself or to someone else. Just saying “I’m getting angry now” is shown to shift the energy from the part of the brain that feels it to the part of the brain that manages it.  Practice mindfulness. Bring your focus to your breath and keep it there. Keep your attention on the rise and fall of your belly, and the breath in and out. If your mind starts to wander, notice it, and bring it back to your breathing. And do that for 10-20 minutes a day. The action of catching your mind wandering and bringing it back strengthens your mind to stay focused and avoid distractions.  It’s also important, when you have negative emotions, to take a step back and think twice about your negative thoughts. There are many times when we go to the extreme in our head. You make a mistake at work and your mind starts thinking about how you are going to be fired. When those thoughts pour in, realize that you are being extreme and refocus. --------------------------- This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta. Whatever you bring to work to help you be you, Workplace celebrates it. Our familiar features help everyone work together in new ways. To make your place of work a great place to work, visit workplace.com/human Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Are you a good listener? There are 6 levels of being a great listener according to Zenger Folkman. The first level of being a listener is being able to create a safe environment where people feel like they can talk to you. The second level is being able to avoid distractions like your phone or computer when you are talking to someone. The third level is seeking to genuinely understand what the other person is saying. The fourth level is paying attention to the non-verbal cues and body language of the person you are talking to. The fifth level is being able to show empathy. That means understanding the emotional component of the conversation and putting yourself in the other person's shoes. And the sixth level is the ability to make the conversation feel collaborative by asking questions to learn more about the topic. If you really want to be a great listener, you need to practice these levels of listening. --------------------------- Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely HR helps you maintain a great experience for the entire employee lifecycle. They offer onboarding, performance management, intuitive benefits enrollment, and much more - all on one connected platform. Learn more about making the switch to Namely by going to Namely.com today! _________________________ Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Walter Robb is the former co-CEO of Whole Foods. Back in 1978, Walter started a store called Mountain Marketplace, and in 1991 it was bought by John Mackey and it became store number 12 for Whole Foods. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Union Square Hospitality Group, The Container Store, FoodMaven, and HeatGenie. He’s also an investor, mentor, and advisor.  Walter found his passion when reading Adelle Davis and books from other early nutritionists and that’s when he started making his own bread. He knew he wanted to contribute to the world and he believed that this could be the way he would do it. And that’s when he started his store.  As Walter shares, finding your passion is an individual journey that every person has to take. And it can be tough because it is easy to feel outside pressure from parents, family, or friends around what they think you should be doing with your life, but you will never be able to be satisfied until you are doing something that you love and care about.  Finding what you want to do in life isn’t a cut and dry thing, and it may change over time, but there is joy that comes from doing what you’re supposed to be doing in life. To start you have to take the time to ask yourself what is the purpose of your life and how do you want to spend your time. What are your gifts, what are you good at, what tools do you have? If you are doing something that you are not excited about, you may not be able to change your circumstance immediately, but you should be thinking about how you can move to something you can get excited about.  The new era of business Walter believes that we are in a new era of what he calls “transparency, accountability, and responsibility.” Customers today expect the businesses they buy from to be accountable for their behavior, responsible for their presence, and a contributory towards the greater good in some way, shape, or form.  A lot of companies are trying to pretend to be what customers want or they think they know what customers want when they don’t and therefore they stretch awkwardly in directions that make no sense or look inauthentic. But there are also a lot of companies doing it right.  “I do think that the customer of today, these generations have a much higher expectation of how a company will show up before they will reward them with their business. And I think that's great, because, you know, it is going to take business-- and all of business--to really create the changes we need to create a more sustainable future.” Businesses can be a powerful force of good for their employees, their communities, and the planet. We need the business community to lead and set examples and put these things into practice. And embracing Walter’s three main points of transparency, accountability, and responsibility is critical to getting to the point where businesses can have an impact.  Balancing purpose and profit inside a company As Walter shares, being the CEO of a public company there were times when there was tension between being a company with a purpose and appeasing shareholders. But he says that while shareholders do deserve their fair return, they don’t deserve to dominate the purpose of the company. They are only one of the stakeholders in the success of the company.  The purpose of your company is your Northstar that you always have to keep in your mind. Yes, you have to make a profit otherwise the company wouldn’t survive and the purpose you have would be meaningless--but you have to hold both purpose and profit together and find that balance between the two. Profit and passion are not inconsistent with each other, it’s all about the way that you hold them together that makes the difference.  Profit is something you always have to be thinking about, but it shouldn’t be the dominant reason the company exists.  --------------------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------------------- Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely HR helps you maintain a great experience for the entire employee lifecycle. They offer onboarding, performance management, intuitive benefits enrollment, and much more - all on one connected platform. Learn more about making the switch to Namely by going to Namely.com today! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Diversity and inclusion are not the same thing. But although they are very different, both are crucial to the success of any organization. Diversity is simply having a mix of people from different backgrounds, genders, religions, cultures, and ethnicities inside your organization. On the other hand, inclusion is making those people feel like they belong. Research shows that diversity and inclusion lead to more ideas, better products and services for customers, and improved innovation and productivity. Diversity and inclusion is something every organization around the world needs, and it's going to start with you demanding it inside your company. --------------------------- Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely HR helps you maintain a great experience for the entire employee lifecycle. They offer onboarding, performance management, intuitive benefits enrollment, and much more - all on one connected platform. Learn more about making the switch to Namely by going to Namely.com today! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Colin Bryar is the co-author of the bestselling book Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets From Inside Amazon. He’s also the co-founder of Working Backwards LLC and he is the former VP of Amazon. He started working at Amazon four years after the company started and he was there for 12 years, working very closely with Jeff Bezos. Colin says it was a fantastic experience working at Amazon and during his time there they were inventing and creating a lot of the products we know today like Amazon Prime, Kindle, and Fulfillment by Amazon. The management team that Colin was a part of was also working on building processes within Amazon so that the company could scale 10 and 100x. He says, “I learned a ton about not only what it what it's like to take an idea on a whiteboard and turn it into a household name, but also how to create simple processes that work across a number of different types of organizations to build in your company and grow fast while we're remaining nimble and true to your roots.” What was Amazon like in the early days When Colin was working at Amazon there were only around 500 people working at the company and 100 people in the corporate area. They had two fulfillment centers in customer service. The company now has over 1.3 million employees.  Colin says in the early days it was a very intense environment and their mantra was get big fast. They very quickly went from a single category retailer, selling books, to multiple categories. They expanded into the UK, Germany, Japan and France very quickly. And because they were growing so rapidly in such a short period of time the company relied a lot on individual heroic efforts to save the day. There would be days where so many orders would come in that everyone would have to pitch in to get them out in time.  “We quickly had to figure out we were facing the same growing pains that any fast growing company has, and we're trying to figure out how and when to layer in process, because we knew that doesn't scale, you know, there are only 168 hours in the week. And you can't work any more than that. You also have to sleep and eat and go home and spend time with your family. So we knew that we'd have to change the way we operated in order to continue to grow as fast as we were.” What does working backwards mean and how is the process used inside Amazon Amazon has a lot of processes that are unique and quite a few of them were created back when Colin was working there. These processes are all part of something that Amazon calls working backwards, which is where Colin got the title of his book. Working backwards is how they vet ideas and see if they are worth moving forward with. It’s really about starting from the customer experience and then working backwards from that.  One of these processes is called PRFAQ, which stands for press release frequently asked questions. So when any employee inside of Amazon has a new idea they have to create one of these, and it is a six page paper. You start with a one page press release that clearly defines the customer problem you are trying to solve and it lays out exactly what your solution is. And then the paper is convincing the customer why they should adopt and use this solution and how it will make their life easier. Once someone creates a PRFAQ they present it to a team of senior leaders who will look over the document, maybe all in the same room together or maybe in different locations virtually, and after taking 20 minutes to look it over in silence they make comments on the idea and ask questions.  The reason behind adopting this method was, as Colin shares, “A SWOT analysis--strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats--is a typical type of tool. That's a skills forward approach. We did that up until about 2003-2004. And we realized that we were not, we were forgetting the customer, too often. So the customer is not with us on that journey. And so Jeff said, we want to make sure the customer from the very beginning of an idea is with us on that journey to see if we could turn that idea into a product or feature that we're building.” And a lot of ideas go through this process and don’t make it to the light of day. Some ideas can be tweaked or reworked and become reality, but some just don’t work out.  What happens if an idea fails at Amazon No matter what company you work for there are always going to be failures that happen. But how leaders deal with failure is different. Colin says there are two types of failures. One type is when you have a well thought out, well executed idea but it didn’t resonate with customers after it went to market. The other type of failure is in the execution of the product. The product was built, but there were a lot of defects or it was a sloppy execution before it even got out to the customer.  But Jeff Bezos has created a culture where failures are not only acceptable, they are celebrated. He understands that the bigger the company gets, the bigger the failures may be since they are thinking bigger and experimenting with new things.  When failure happens inside of Amazon they do take time to look back at what happened to figure out what they could have done differently. What things can they change that can ensure that doesn’t happen again. They use their failures to get better and improve for the future.  --------------------------- Whether you have 50 or 1,000 employees, Namely HR helps you maintain a great experience for the entire employee lifecycle. They offer onboarding, performance management, intuitive benefits enrollment, and much more - all on one connected platform. Learn more about making the switch to Namely by going to Namely.com today! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Leaders are constantly worried about taking a side. They are always afraid that they might upset their customers or employees. They don't want other people to disagree with them. But that's not the big fear we should have. We should be more afraid of people not knowing what we believe in to begin with. Especially now with what we're seeing in this new world of work, you can't afford to not take a stance. You need to step up and take a stand, because that's what employees care about. That's what they value. There's nothing worse as a leader than for your people to not know what you stand for and not know what you care about. There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Ravi Saligram is the President & CEO of Newell Brands a global manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of consumer and commercial products. The company has 30,000 employees and it’s brands include a lot of household names such as Sharpie, Rubbermaid, Paper-Mate, Crock-Pot, and Coleman. Ravi has been the CEO at Newell Brands for 2 years now, and looking back at when he first arrived he says the company was in the throes of a turnaround and in the middle of a merger. So he had a huge undertaking from day one. He shares that there were a fair number of integration issues, employee turmoil, and bringing two cultures together was challenging.  After the merger the company had around 110,000 skews,49 ERP systems, thousands of apps, 400 websites, and thousands of legal entities. And all of these had to be chipped away at, as it was just way too complex and unnecessary.  It was a lot of work, but Ravi says it has been an amazing journey. As a new CEO coming into a company with so many things happening where do you even start? Ravi’s first 100 days as CEO of Newell Brands When he first came to the company Ravi knew that it was his job to stabilize the company and get employees aligned on a new purpose and excited to move forward. This situation could seem very intimidating to a lot of leaders.   Ravi took his experience as CEO of two other companies, Ritchie Brothers and OfficeMax, into his time at Newell Brands and he began his time at each company in the same way. He shares he always starts with a listening tour, and at Newell his listening tour lasted 100 days. He went around to employees up and down the company in different parts of the world and asked them questions.  He would ask things like, what’s going well, what’s not going well, if you were me and you had this position what would you change in the company, etc...And then he would just listen. He would take notes and look for themes and patterns in the responses he was getting.  But he didn’t stop there. He also spoke with customers, he looked at what people were saying about the company on social media, he looked at Glassdoor and the reasons why employees had left before he became CEO, and he spoke with stakeholders and shareholders to get their take on things. “So even though we had a turnaround plan, I needed to do the listening tour to validate is this the right direction. And I felt it was, but I also felt what needed most was to uplift our people to really give them hope, to give them a direction, give them a noble purpose, and say, what are we all about? Because I think you want to bring out the best in your people.  And the power of what I would say is, if you're 10 employees, you want one plus one plus one, not to equal 10, but to equal 100. How do you take 30,000 employees and make the power exponentially rise to 300,000? So that is what I think leaders have to really bring out. It's not about their being the best. It is about bringing out the best in their people and taking it up to an exponential basis.” And now, 2 years after he started at the company, things have really improved. Even with the pandemic they grew their organic sales by 6% in the first year and in the first half of this year it’s gone up 23%. They also were able to take the 110,000+ skews and get them down to 47,000 and they are working to get that down to 30,000 by 2022. They have also reduced 85% of the apps and they went from 49 ERP systems to 2 ERP systems for 90% of their sales. Ravi also has a 92% approval rating on Glassdoor, so clearly his listening tour really worked. “I think a lot of it has been really getting a culture which is focusing on the people, looking at people as our solution, not our problem. And galvanizing them to help solve these problems and pointing them and aligning them.” Ravi’s “no jerk” philosophy Starting back at one of his first jobs Ravi felt it was important to create a world where good people finish first, as opposed to last. And that has definitely impacted his leadership style. His “no jerk” philosophy to him means you treat your people with compassion and care. You don’t write nasty emails, you don’t respond to people without intentionally thinking about how you are coming across, and you try to interact with everyone using empathy and kindness. Ravi says, “Over time, as I've gotten older, I really feel it's important that people want to work with people that they like, and that they respect. And because we spend so much time at work, those relationships are very important. And when you look at attrition and people leaving companies, usually they leave the boss rather than the company. And now I think it's really important, whether you're a manager or a supervisor, or an executive, that we're constantly reinforcing this message.” If Ravi becomes aware of a leader or an employee at the organization who is not treating others kindly and with respect he says the first step is to try to coach them to do better. A lot of times they don’t realize how they are coming across to others. It’s also crucial, he says, to give constant feedback and to do 360s. But if the person chooses not to change or improve, then they need to find somewhere else where they are better suited. “In our company, at Newell, we talk about truth, transparency, teamwork. And for me that teamwork is so critical. I am very big on people who are all about the company as a whole and their team as a whole, and not about just themselves. If they're all about themselves, I get a little impatient. So at some point, you may have to take them out and I have done that many times.” How to create a safe space for all employees to voice their point of view These days it can be challenging to balance being open, honest, and transparent when some people are so quick to come after you if they don’t agree. But finding that balance is important.  Ravi says it is important to talk to your employees and know what they care about, so you can take that into account. As a leader you need to be open and honest, but you also don’t want to create polarization within the company.  He says, “As a leader our jobs, leaders need to unite, harmonize, align, because at the end of the day, you're in the business of serving consumers, rather than having politics. So you do want people to be able to express themselves. But there's also express themselves in the context of the culture you have in your company, because different companies have different cultures, and what may be acceptable in one company may not be acceptable in another.” It is up to leaders to unify everyone inside the organization, no matter what their beliefs are. And if they witness someone trying to cancel someone else because of a belief, it is up to leaders to intervene and get both sides to listen to each other. People need to be able to listen to each other, they don’t have to agree with each other, but they have to at least listen. Ravi wants diverse opinions, ideas, and thoughts inside of his organization. So instead of silencing issues, he thinks it is important to debate them, get all sides out in the open and have everyone reasonably listen to each other's thoughts. At the end of the day it’s about what is best for the company as a whole.  He is also a big believer in employee resource groups or affinity groups. Inside of Newell they have groups for LGTBQ, women, veterans, black employees, etc...And you don’t have to directly identify with the group in order to be a part of it, each group welcomes anyone because it creates allies for the people in that group. These groups are safe spaces where people can come together and discuss topics and inform people who may not know what other people may be going through.  “I spend a lot of time on, rather than talking about the divisions, how do you unite people on a common purpose, a noble purpose for the company?  So that the purpose is far bigger than any individual, even bigger than the CEO, or the board, or the shareholders--that's everlasting.” How to bring the best out of your people In Ravi’s experience in leadership across many industries, he says the key to unlocking your people’s potential is humility and suppressing your own ego. It’s also about balancing the long-term and short-term goals of the company and, as he shares, “Over communicate and be transparent, be truthful. Don't treat employees like babies, make employees part of the solution and don't treat them like they're the problem. And then I always say, use the word we, don't say I, we, because you can never do anything by yourself.” --------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

You can be a 37 times better leader than you are now, and it won’t require a crazy massive transformation. All you have to do is improve yourself 1% a day. By the end of the year, you will be 37 times better. And this doesn't just apply to leadership, this can apply to anything. It means taking 10 to 15 minutes a day to watch or listen to something new to learn a new skill. It means recognizing an employee for the hard work they’ve been doing. It means spending time with someone who doesn't look like you, act like you, think like you, behave like you, or even believe in the same things you believe. It means saying “I don't know” during a team meeting to embrace humility and vulnerability. It means having a conversation with somebody and truly listening to them, not just hearing them. That's what 1% a day looks like. Being a better leader doesn't have to be hard. Improving anything doesn't have to be hard. --------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! ------------ Are you prepared for the Great Resignation? With the candidate-driven market heating up, you don't want to lose your top talent from a lack of meaningful recognition. Learn how meaningful employee recognition improves employee retention with this free guide! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Taylor Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Blueboard, the world’s leading experiential rewards and recognition platform that helps companies celebrate their employees. The company was founded in 2014 and they currently have 150 employees around the world.  Employee experience and recognition has been at the forefront of conversations in the business world for a while now, but it’s never been more important than this past year and a half. And one company that is helping leaders around the world find better ways to recognize, celebrate, and reward employees is Blueboard.  A different way to recognize and reward employees For many companies the way that they show appreciation to employees is through company-wide awards, swag like mugs and shirts, and gift cards. And while all of these things are good, it may not be what employees most want or need.  As Taylor shares, “People show up to work every day and what do they do? They're spending all their time and their energy, and they're giving it to their company, right. And a lot of us, you know, we'll work on long projects, we'll throw our lives into our work, because we're proud of it. But that often isn't reciprocated from our company.” Taylor and the Blueboard co-founder, Kevin, actually came up with the idea because of something that happened to Taylor while working for Accenture. At one point while working for the company Taylor was given a high visibility role working with the CFO of a large company. And during this project he really drove himself into the ground--he was working 80-90 hours a week, flying to Dallas every week for three months, he ate all his meals at the company cafeteria, and he wasn’t sleeping much. He put everything he had into that project. And at the end of the project, Taylor’s manager called Taylor into his office and told him he had done an amazing job on the project and he wanted to recognize the work he put in and he handed Taylor a $500 gift card. It was a very well-intentioned gift and it was not a trivial amount of money, but in the moment it didn’t feel good to Taylor. Just considering all of the time and effort he put into the work and all of the time he spent away from home and his girlfriend, analytically thinking about it, it kind of made it feel that his time was worth $1.12 an hour to his employer.  Talking the whole situation over with Kevin when it happened Kevin asked Taylor what would have made him feel rewarded, what would have made him feel appreciated. After thinking about it Taylor said it would have been nice had his manager said, you have been spending a lot of time away from home and away from your girlfriend, here are some vouchers for you both to go for a couples massage this weekend to relax and recharge. And that is when the idea for Blueboard was born.  They realized that it made sense to use actual experiences and gifts of time to reward employees, but that in order to do that a leader would have to spend a lot of time figuring out the best thing to give, and then searching for local businesses who provide that service, and then purchase it, etc..And most leaders don’t have extra time to do all of that. So they wanted to provide a service to leaders so that the process would be easy for them and rewarding for employees.  --------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------- The biggest trend Taylor is paying attention to  One of the biggest things that Taylor and his team have noticed over the past year and a half is something that was already getting attention, but it increased during the pandemic and that is employee wellbeing. With most people working virtually, we have more people bringing their whole selves to work than ever before. We used to have a clear separation between work and personal life, that is no longer possible.  Companies are wrestling with how to support their people’s well-being not just at work, but outside of work because they are so connected. We have to see all of the different facets of our people--they are not just employees, they are parents, spouses, significant others, and family members. They have hobbies and interests, they have hopes and dreams.  It dramatically changes your people programs when you start looking at your people as individuals who want and need different things.  Will we go back to the office? There has been a lot of discussion over the last several months about whether or not people will return to work in the office, or if most companies will continue to work remotely. Taylor is very interested to see how long it takes people to go back to work and what the whole transition period will look like. He believes that most companies will go with a hybrid form of work--some in-person and some remote--instead of going with one extreme or the other.  And while working remotely comes with convenience and flexibility, there is also value in connecting face to face with coworkers. “We could and should be more connected people than ever, but we feel more alone and isolated than ever. And to me going to a fully remote workforce is going to lead us further down that path, and I just don't think people realize that right now.” At Blueboard, even before the pandemic they had four day work days in the office and work from home Wednesdays. Employees were able to go to appointments or run errands or do housework on Wednesdays to break up their work day and accomplish things they wouldn’t be able to in the office.  Why rewarding employees with experiences is so meaningful Blueboard has a lot of options for employees to choose from when they are rewarded by a leader--some are big, kind of crazy ideas like sandboarding in Morocco or chasing the northern lights in Iceland and some are small, but impactful like taking a course in a language you want to learn or training to become a yoga teacher or a one-hour surfing class.  There are so many things in life that a person might be interested in, but they just don’t have the time or the resources to take the first step. So being able to start that journey because you are being recognized for your hard work is powerful. “We see hundreds of people a week doing things that represent one step towards something they've always wanted to do, whether that's taking a cooking class because they've always wanted to learn how to make pasta or they're taking a boxing class because that's the first step towards them getting in shape. Blueboard can represent just a small nudge and step in someone's life, that is then taking a big step in terms of who they are as a person. And at the end of the day, their company is the one that made that happen, how powerful and awesome is that? So that's why I love what we're doing.” ------------ Are you prepared for the Great Resignation? With the candidate-driven market heating up, you don't want to lose your top talent from a lack of meaningful recognition. Learn how meaningful employee recognition improves employee retention with this free guide! Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

What defines an entrepreneur is what they do when they are told “NO”. Entrepreneurs get more competitive when they get rejected. They don’t shrivel away or cower in the corner and quit. They want to know what they did wrong and why they were told no. They learn from the experience, improve on their failures, and move forward. To them, failure is never the end of the journey. This mindset is what separates entrepreneurs from everyone else. ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Cameron Herald is the bestselling author of several books including Meetings Suck and Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool for Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future. He is the former COO of 1-800-Got-Junk and in the six years he was in that position he brought the company from $2 million to $106 million in annual revenue and the company was named the #2 company in Canada people wanted to work for. Cameron is also known as the CEO Whisperer and he has coached a lot of leaders around the world. When it comes to looking for a coach, Cameron says leaders have to know what they are looking for because, “the world's littered with coaches right now. And you have to be very careful and understand what it is you're selecting.” Cameron focuses on the entrepreneurial operations, execution, and culture space. He teaches CEOs how to build world-class company cultures in order to propel growth. He compares business coaches with sports coaches and says just as you would have different coaches for strength, conditioning, mindset, health, etc...there are also different coaches for business-related skills and techniques. So make sure you know what you want to work on and seek out someone specifically coaching in that area. What is vivid vision and why is it so important for every leader When Cameron is working with a leader, he always starts with a concept called vivid vision. He has the leader lean out three years into the future and has them describe all aspects of their company as if they had traveled in a time machine and were walking around their company three years in the future--the culture, the technology, the operations, the marketing, etc… “I'm trying to get the CEO to visualize the company in its finished state. And then we can reverse engineer every sentence to figure out what to do to make each sentence come true. And then, much like building a home where you build the foundation, and you put up the walls, and then you put in the electrical and the plumbing, and then you put in the drywall, there's a formula for building out a business, in the same way you start with the foundational building blocks, and you grow from there. Many entrepreneurs get distracted by the big shiny object, right? Some, they just read something in a book, they want to do it now. But they forget about building the core basis of the business first.” Why three years? Just looking one year out, there wouldn’t be enough change, it would be pretty similar to the present moment. And more than three years can be too far out to really wrap your head around, and too far out to really take seriously and get excited about.  The vivid vision is the CEOs responsibility to create, roll it out, and get other people to buy into it. “If the CEO is very clear on where we're going, other people can figure out the plan to help make that come true.” Or for those people who don’t buy into the vision, they can see that the company is not a good fit for them and they can find someplace that works better for them. What is the relationship between CEO and COO Cameron uses an analogy of building a home when talking about the relationship between the CEO and COO. The CEO is the homeowner who wants to build the home and the COO is the general contractor that is hired to take the homeowner’s ideas and make the vision come true.  “So the COO’s job is to take the vivid vision from the entrepreneur, the CEO, and start crafting the plan and the team and the operational bench to then execute on that vision and make that happen. The COO’s job is to reverse engineer the dream or the goals of the CEO.” As Cameron points out a good COO is trying to get more done with less people, faster. They try to make the business run more efficiently, they try to increase revenue per employee, and optimize processes. Whereas a CEO doesn’t spend so much time thinking about those types of things. --------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------- What is a Mind Map and how can leaders use them A Mind Map is a tool that people use to visualize tasks, words, concepts or items that relate to a central concept or subject. When it comes to creating a vivid vision you can use a Mind Map by writing vivid vision in the middle of the page and then draw off a few branches. Each branch will represent something like family, fitness, friends, fun, faith/spirituality, and travel, then you jot down ideas for each branch. For example, for the travel branch you might want to write that you want to live in different cities or live abroad or you want to learn a new language. For your family branch you might want to travel with them or make sure they get out of the house each day or learn a new skill together. And as you keep jotting down ideas it becomes a spider web of ideas. “That's the way I like planning things. It's the way I like visualizing a company or a business. Whenever I have a new project or a new idea, I tend to start with a mind map and then I take all of those ideas and I build them out into lists of bullet points. And then I just prioritize the bullet points and I just start executing off those. You know, if you were doing a mind map of your home, and we're going to build a home, well what might it look like? How much should it cost? What types of rooms are we going to have? How will the rooms be laid out? So you start describing it and then it gives you some basis for thinking through things.” What happens if there are people who don’t agree with your vivid vision? Cameron gave an example of a CEO he worked with in Vancouver who went through Cameron’s program and had created his vivid vision. He had an offsite day for all 100 employees at the company and at the end of the day he read his vision off to the employees. After reading out his entire vision he told them there are probably 15% of you who hate what you just heard, and that’s okay. But now you know that this is the right time for you to quit and look for another company that you are excited about because this is where we are going in the future. About six weeks later 12% of his company had quit. A year and a half later that leader’s company was ranked as the #2 company in British Columbia to work for. So not everyone will buy into your vision, but that just means that the company is not a good fit for them and it is their choice to buy into it or leave. It is better to be open and honest about where the company is going and have some people quit then to make it a mystery and have all employees confused about where the company is going. “There's people at Microsoft that would hate working at Google, I've been to both their head offices, they're extraordinarily different. They're as different as like a raspberry and a banana. You know, both are fruits. I happen to hate bananas, I happen to like raspberries. Now, you can't say I don't like fruit, I just don't like bananas. So you need to decide: do I like what they're offering? And if you're not clear on what they're offering, you really want to find out. You also really want to be clear on the vision of the organization. Right? Where are they going? Do I want to be a part of that journey? Or would I rather be a part of a different journey?” ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Empathy is one of the cornerstones of leadership. The first thing that you need to do to practice empathy is take a step back and learn to listen. Don’t respond too quickly, take time to digest and process the information. The next step is to be aware of your emotions. Research shows that to practice empathy, you either need to be in a neutral state or the same state as the person who is coming to you. The last technique is taking the opposite perspective. Try to take the other person's perspective and argue against yourself a little bit. Try to challenge your initial assumptions. Practicing empathy will greatly improve your leadership and the employee experience in your organization. ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Jason Redman is a Retired Navy SEAL Lieutenant, motivational speaker, and the bestselling author of Overcome: Crush Adversity With The Leadership Techniques Of America’s Toughest Warriors. Jason grew up in a family that was very patriotic and enjoyed serving their country, so he heard about the military early on and from about the age of 12 he knew he wanted to do special operations. There was something about the Navy SEALs and the fact that it is the hardest training in the entire U.S. military that piqued Jason’s interest. People told him he would never make it, but that just pushed him even more to reach that goal. After he graduated high school he headed to Boot Camp. “SEAL training is legendary and it's difficult. And it's been that way from the very beginning all the way back in World War II. And interestingly enough, it's pretty much maintained the core of what that training was back then. And even today, SEAL training has a 75%- 80% failure rate. So attrition rate, almost 80% of the people that start SEAL training, don't make it through the majority of it, you know, don't make it because obviously, they quit. But then there's a large amount that don't make it for medical reasons. And then performance reasons, academic reasons. All these things play into a guy's ability to make it through training. And it is legendary in its difficulty.” How Jason’s near-death experience led him to his current career Back in September 2007 Jason was part of a SEAL Assault Group in Iraq. It was a pretty volatile time in the war and they were conducting missions almost every night. On September 12 they got word that a senior Al-Qaeda leader was going to be in a specific location at a specific time and Jason’s team launched a mission to go after that individual. But what they didn’t know was they were walking into a very well executed Al-Qaeda ambush and Jason and his team were shot by multiple machine guns. Jason was shot eight times in his elbow and his face. His jaw was shattered, all the bones above one of his eyes were broken, he was severely injured and knocked out. His teammates continued to fight and got him out of there and he was sent to a hospital in the U.S. Jason remembers that in the beginning he was so overwhelmed. Doctors were giving him a ton of information about his injuries and treatment, at one point they thought they might need to amputate his arm, he was being fed by a stomach tube. He thought for sure his career was over and didn’t know where he would go next. People would come visit him and they would talk about other people they saw throughout the hospital and what a shame it was, what a pity that we send them off to war and they come back broken and they’ll never be the same. And Jason had a realization hearing those comments. He didn’t want to be a victim and feel sorry for himself--he had been through tough times before and overcame them and he knew he had a choice. We all have a choice when faced with hard times--whether you are a salesperson, a doctor, a police officer, etc...humans are humans and we have a choice in how we react to situations in our lives. So he put a sign up on his door that said, “Attention to all who enter here, if you're coming in this room to feel sadness or sorrow, don't bother. The wounds I received, I got in a job that I love, doing it for people that I love, defending the freedom of a country that I deeply love. I will make a full recovery. What is full? That's the absolute utmost, physically. I have the ability to recover, and then I'm going to push that about 20% further through sheer mental tenacity. This room you're about to enter is a room of fun, optimism, and intense rapid regrowth. And if you're not prepared for that, go elsewhere.” He wrote that sign for himself, he knew in his time of darkness he needed to have a mission statement that he could focus on when he wanted to quit or was feeling down. It wasn’t an easy journey, just because he made that statement doesn’t mean everything was better from that moment forward. He had surgery setbacks, days of intense pain, infections, etc… But he always thought back to those words and pushed forward. In life, Jason says, you have to understand what your values are and what your mission is. That’s what has to drive you forward. Jason’s three rules of leadership While we can’t control everything, we do have choices in life, no matter what role we are in. Jason teaches three rules of leadership when he gives his talks. He says it starts with rule number one, which is 70% of leadership is how you lead yourself. It's about your self-discipline, how you build structure in your life, how you build repetition and processes to get things done, how you are balanced as a leader. Leading others usually happens before you ever open your mouth. Rule number two is to lead others. After you are leading yourself and you know what your mission & values are, you can start leading others. It is important that you build trust, communicate clearly, and always stay on course. Rule number three is lead always. No matter what you are facing in life, as a leader you have to realize that you are leading. People are going to look to you as their example, so you have to step up and lead regardless of what you go through in life. --------------- There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work! --------------- Can resilience and overcoming adversity be taught? Jason has gone through a lot in his life and no matter what he keeps pushing forward and maintains a positive attitude. Leaders inside of organizations today need to have this type of mindset in order to overcome all of the challenges and hurdles that come along with this fast-paced, new world of work. But can this mindset be taught? While some people do have a higher level of resilience within themselves than others, Jason says it is something that can be taught and improved. It’s taught through doing hard things. You have to get out of your comfort zone on a regular basis. If you are afraid of speaking in public, join Toastmasters. If you are afraid of heights, jump out of a plane. “Why? Because it forces you out of your comfort zone. And that's what builds your resiliency and your overcome muscles. I'll tell you what I try and tell people all the time, you cannot just click a switch and turn on an overcome mindset in a crisis. If you've never built one, it just won't happen. I don't care how much you read. I don't care how much you think you know about it. If you have not done some hard things in your life and built your overcome resiliency muscles, it won't happen.” The three Ps--how Jason stays focused on his goals One important part of leading yourself is having goals and building a structure that helps you stay focused on them. Jason has created the three Ps that help him stay on track and focused on his long-term goals. Narrowing it down to these three areas helps him move the needle forward a bit day by day instead of having huge lofty goals that seem way out of reach. His three Ps are: One physical goal--For Jason this is always about getting at least one workout in a day. But this could be any kind of physical goal. Maybe you want to do Yoga, or go for a walk outside, or play a team sport. One personal goal--To make sure he still takes time out to do something for himself Jason sets one personal goal a day. This could be having dinner with his family or calling his mom or balancing his personal finances. One professional goal--Every day he sets a professional goal to help him move his business forward. As a leader working on these things daily helps you lead yourself which in turn helps you lead others better. Jason says as a leader you should be an example of a good communicator, a good family member, an example of taking care of yourself physically and mentally, etc… “All these things are critical components of leadership, that if you're not doing them, if you are telling your people they need to have balance with their family, but you're not showing that, then they're going to slide out of that also, because that's how we learn. We emulate our leaders. And we value what our leaders feel is important.” ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Ever wonder why I tell stories in the talks I give? When someone asks me how I got involved with the future of work, I could give statistics and say, “13% of employees around the world are engaged and I had bad jobs working for other people, and now I'm doing what I'm doing.” Or… I can tell my coffee story where my excitement for being called to the corner office of a CEO was crushed by a cup of Starbucks … Which one do you think has more impact? When you think about great communicators, one thing they all have in common is storytelling. People have been telling stories since the dawn of time. It's why when you were a kid, you wanted your parents to read you a story before bed. It's why your kids now want you to read them a story before a bed. We all love stories. It’s just part of being human. ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Simon Mainwaring is the bestselling author of We First and Lead With We: The Business Revolution That Will Save Our Future, which comes out in November. He is the founder & CEO of We First, Inc. and he was a finalist for Global Australian of the Year in 2015. Simon’s first book came about after the global economic meltdown when he heard a speech from Bill Gates from the World Economic Forum. Bill Gates talked about how the private sector needed to play a bigger role in social change and that really hit home with Simon. He wrote his first book, We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World, to help companies rethink their strategies and practice capitalism in a way that produces profit but also benefits the planet and communities around the world. What is the future of work As Simon shares, prior to covid we had defined separation between work and life, but since the pandemic that line has dissolved. Work has infused our life and life has infused our work. We are now seeing people bring more of their whole selves to work. We have Zoom calls and we see people’s children, pets, and house decor. Simon believes that as we go forward we will see even more blending between work and personal life so they are more seamless. Even though work-life balance has been a phrase used in the past, Simon believes there is no work-life balance, the balance has to be within yourself. You have to know what works for you and what gives you balance. Do you work better at night or in the morning? Do you work better in a coffee shop or in an office setting? “I think, you know, that balance is something that we all need to strive for in a sort of the inner state level. And once you do that, I think, you can show up meaningfully, when you're just hanging out and being social, and also you can really contribute on the work front. So I think the focus of the balance has to be within you, rather than sort of this false separation between work and life.” Simon has also learned from working in countries around the world. He says he has learned to work more lightly and not suspend his happiness until he reaches a certain level. “I used to be so anxious, and you're striving to get ahead and you think you can't be happy or successful until you've done X, Y, and Z. And I think it's a much smarter strategy just to realize that you're gonna put that effort in, but not suspend your happiness until you get there to just travel more lightly, take things a little less seriously. And, you know, have a little bit more fun on the way because I can't even remember things that I was worried about three or four years ago.” Trends Simon is paying attention to The world of work is changing a lot and there are a few trends that Simon is watching and paying attention to. The first one is the heightened and growing awareness of all of the challenges we are facing these days. You can’t look at your phone, or your social media, or a newspaper without seeing what’s happening around the world--floods, fires, species lost, political unrest, etc.... “I think we're all going through really tough times-- anxiety, stress, pressure, family, professional, whatever. And I think one of the challenges of COVID is I don't think any of us had carved out the time or the pressure hasn't stopped for us to actually process what's happening. And so we're carrying it forward into our work lives.” People are exhausted, burned out, anxious. One of the best ways that Simon has found to deal with this is to get out into nature. Go for a walk or a swim. Connect with something outside of a screen. Take time away from the news or do a full digital detox. Another trend that he is paying attention to is a positive one. We have seen stakeholders showing up for change more than in the past. Suppliers, CEOs, employees, and customers are all calling for a different way of doing business in a way that makes the world a better place. Everyone has a place at the table, which is different from what it was before. And the third trend he is watching is the connection between companies who make a great impact on the world around them and the profits they make. “These new market forces where, you know, the more a CEO or a company or its culture or its products, or its impact does good, the more people are buying its products, the more investors are putting money behind that company, the more they're getting listed on the stock exchange. And the nature of business itself is changing. And I'm actually very optimistic about that.” Three ways in which leadership is changing Leadership is changing in a massive way and Simon says there are three main ways that he is seeing it change. Leaders are allowed to be more human now--Over this past year and a half we have all gone through tough times, we are all just doing the best we can, including leaders. Leaders are now able to be completely human--open, honest, and real. We have much more inclusive cultures--The traditional hierarchy is disappearing and we are moving away from command and control. We also have more focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Leadership is much more collaborative--Leaders and companies are working together to tackle the big problems of the world. Our problems are bigger than one leader or one company can solve on their own. Why Simon is doing a digital detox and the impact it’s had on his life This past year and a half has been difficult for everyone. Not only have we had to be worried about the pandemic but we’ve been separated from loved ones, we haven’t had holidays or celebrations, we haven’t been able to have a social life. And so going through these tough times is hard enough without having to read the news and scroll through negative social media posts. Simon found that stepping away from news and social media, spending more time outside, spending more time with family, and focusing on his health made a positive impact on his mood and his outlook on life. “I think the digital detox is all really about protecting yourself against the assault of all the negative things out there, reminding yourself what's really important and good for your health and well being. And then committing to a course of action that will allow you not just to feel okay today, but sustain it over the long term because we're 18 months into this now, and who knows how long this is going to go on for. So it's been what’s been working.” ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Jobs aren’t like keys--You don’t just lose them, they get taken away from you. Some people are worried about losing their jobs to technology, but what really happens is that their jobs get taken away because of technology. There are two ways this can happen. The first way is if the company consciously decides it wants to replace humans with robots and that it no longer wants humans running the organization. Thankfully, what we’ve been seeing is the opposite. We see organizations like Accenture that automated 10,000 jobs but didn't lose a single person. They upskilled all of their employees. The second way is if you let AI take your job. This happens if you just watch the world change and do nothing. You have to become a perpetual learner. You have to learn how to learn. You need to be able to apply those things frequently and do it quickly. You need to future-proof yourself. You can't rely on companies and educational institutions to teach you everything you need to know to be successful. ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Keith Ferrazzi is the bestselling author of multiple books including Leading Without Authority, Never Eat Alone, and his newest book, Competing in the New World of Work. He is also the Chairman of Ferrazzi Greenlight and it’s Research Institute. Keith and the co-authors of Competing in the New World of Work conducted a huge research project to find out how organizations around the world were reacting to changes happening because of the pandemic. He says, “What we were looking to capture was a methodology and a roadmap on how the best and brightest leaders and organizations were reinventing their companies, reinventing their leadership style, reinventing their workplace, during the pandemic, in a way that would be sustainable, to allow us to meet the incredibly new volatile world that we live in.” This research resulted in the book and a methodology, called radical adaptability, that looks at four elements of leadership that are crucial for this new world of work. The radical adaptability framework There are four attributes that make up the radical adaptability framework that Keith lays out in his book, they are: Foresight: You have to get everyone in your organization to see around corners and to see risks and opportunities. It’s one thing for an organization to have risk management and strategic planning, but you have to be able to turn those ideas and information into action. You have to make risk and opportunity identification part of your everyday work process so that everyone inside the organization knows how to foresee and adapt. Agility: During the pandemic we saw a lot of organizations do things they couldn’t have done in normal times. Things that normally take months or years had to be done in weeks. The formal process of agility that is used for software development, project management, program management is very seldom used across the entire organization, but that’s what we should be doing. You come up with what your next week’s sprint will be, you go do it, and then at the end you assess it candidly and repeat. Companies need to find a way to sustain that method for the long term. Inclusion: It is critical that everyone inside your organization has a voice as getting people involved leads to innovation. The key is to figure out how to include people without slowing the decision making process down. Keith says the solution is synchronous collaboration so that everyone has a shot at getting their idea to the table, no matter how big the group is. And technology has given us the tools to be able to do this. Resilience: Leaders inside of organizations have to radically redefine mental well being in the workplace. It is important to help your people out when things happen and times get tough, but it’s also critical to have a system in place to support your people at all times. If everyone is at full mental strength and capacity you have a more productive and engaged workforce. How to lead without authority Anyone inside of an organization can be a leader, even if you don’t have an official title or people reporting to you. When Keith was in his 20s he was working at Deloitte, he didn’t have authority or a leadership title, but through hard work and a passion for the CEOs vision for the company, Keith made a huge impression on the CEO and ended up getting moved to a CMO position. The CEO of the company wanted the company to be one of the best brands in the world. Keith went out on his own and did a huge research project. He went out and interviewed the head of marketing at multiple companies and then turned his analysis into a white paper. He turned the paper over to the CEO of Deloitte and he was shocked. And because of that initiative he was given a leadership position. Keith also shares that he ended up messing up at his next job because he went in with the wrong mindset. Instead of having the same humility, curiosity, passion that he had at Deloitte before he got a leadership role, he let the role go to his head and he went into the job with pride and overconfidence. He says, “I look at that, and it was shameful. And I see it happening all the time. I see executives leaning on authority to get things done and not co-creating the future of the business with their peers.” Leaders can’t just come up with a vision and steamroll everyone to get them to buy into the idea. They have to show up with humility and share their vision with people, a vision that’s not fully cooked up, and say to them, “let’s go co-create something extraordinary together”. Lessons Keith learned on the golf course as a 10-year old At the age of 10 Keith had to go out and get a job to help out his parents and he ended up working at a golf course at the local country club as a caddy. His father advised him to show up a half hour early, and while Keith thought it was a crazy idea at the time, it ended up being a huge advantage for him. Because he was at work early he was there walking around and he would see how the greens were cut, which allowed him to read putts better. It helped him give his golfers a unique vantage point and he was able to make suggestions using this inside knowledge. One of the top golfers at the club had Keith as a caddy one day and because he helped her improve her score, she started asking for him every time she golfed. She started asking Keith questions about his own life and wanted to know what he wanted to do in life. After trying to avoid the question for a while, he finally gave her an answer. He told her that her dad immigrated to the US and had told Keith that being in America meant Keith could do anything, he could even be President someday. The next time she came to golf she had a local congressman with her who coached Keith, gave him suggestions on what to work on, and suggested that he join speech and debate. Through that mentorship Keith ended up winning the national speech and debate tournament, which was his ticket into Yale University. And all of that came about because of the advice he got from his dad to show up early. Keith says, “I did things other caddies didn't do, because I showed up at the golf course a half of an hour early. And the simple principle, which is true of leading without authority, if you're a leader in an organization, you've got to show up a half an hour early for your people, and then define who your people are not by org structure, but by who you need to work with.” ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com  ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Self-serving employees are those who are typically just in it for themselves. They don't care who they have to step on or what they need to do to climb the corporate ladder. There are a few ways to figure out who amongst your employees are self-serving: They are always blaming other people. A self-serving person will always try to make other people look bad to make themselves look good. They always take control of meetings. There's always one person who wants their voice to be heard, "My opinion is right, your opinion is wrong.” They are too competitive. Competition is great, but if you’ll do anything to win, like lying or cheating, then it’s taking it too far. If you have someone like this, no one will want to be a part of your team or organization. This episode is sponsored by Perceptyx. Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization.  Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Lorenzo Simonelli is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Baker Hughes, a $20 billion energy technology company with 60,000 employees in 120 countries around the world. Prior to Baker Hughes Lorenzo served as President and CEO of GE Transportation, CFO of the Americas for GE Consumer & Industrial, and General Manager, Product Management for GE Appliances, Lighting, Electrical Distribution, and Motors. It is a very different experience for leaders today than it was decades ago. With the advent of social media, sites like Glassdoor, Smartphones, etc...everything they do and say is out there for the world to see and they are constantly scrutinized and analyzed. As Lorenzo shares, unlike in the past, the role of a leader now is 24/7. He is aware of the constant feedback and analysis and says he is a humble person and he tries to do the right thing on an ongoing basis. He treats people with respect and leads in a genuine way. And so when people critique him it doesn’t get to him as much, because he is comfortable in his own skin and he knows he is doing his best. He believes that as long as leaders are leading in a respectful and authentic way and as long as they are driving the company forward, keeping all stakeholders at the forefront, then after that you need to be comfortable and confident in yourself. Don’t take criticism too much to heart. “I've always felt it was important to have a balance, and I will work hard. And I will always try and do the best thing at the same time. Like all other humans, you've got only so much you can do. And that's what I put into perspective as well. I don't have all the right answers. I don't know everything. But I'll always do the best for the company.” What it was like working with Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt at GE Lorenzo worked at GE in various roles for around 20 years and he had the opportunity to work with both Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. He says working with both of them was a great learning experience and they had a huge influence on who he is as a leader today. He was able to see both of them in action and learned different skills from them. He shared a story of a time when he was conducting his first project for Jack and he had to give a presentation. At the time Lorenzo was around 20 years old and being that this was his first major interaction with Jack he was very nervous. He walked into the conference room and he was surrounded by Jack and other corporate staff and he began to sweat, he was so uncomfortable. When Lorenzo started to present Jack could sense his nervousness and immediately he said “Stop, stop.” This startled Lorenzo and he was confused. He had just started presenting, there’s no way he could have screwed up already. But Jack wasn’t upset, he said “With a name like Lorenzo and an English accent, you’ve got to explain your story before you start.” And that was the ice breaker that Lorenzo needed to be able to breath and calm down before continuing with his presentation. This is something Lorenzo has taken with him as a leader. It’s an important skill to be able to read how people are feeling and to help them get to a place where they can shine. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis Lorenzo was leading a GE transportation business and because of the tough times he had to call Jeff and tell him that they had lost all of their volume. Lorenzo recalls Jeff being very understanding and telling him take what you can control and do what’s right, at the end of the day that’s all I can ask of you. I can’t ask you to control externalities that you don’t have a bearing on. Jeff was supportive and kind as a leader in a really difficult time, and that’s something that Lorenzo has taken from him. Leading in tough times Making difficult decisions as a leader is never pleasant, but as Lorenzo shares, you have to be honest, drive the company forward, and make sure the company is going to be there when things get better. Lorenzo recalls something a mentor once told him and that is, “The worst thing you can do in a crisis is hide in your own office, because everybody is confused and the leader needs to be out there, and actually giving a direction and giving clarity.” Lorenzo has always approached a crisis as an opportunity to engage in a dialogue and build camaraderie. Your people have to understand the reasons behind the decisions you are making as a leader. You will not always be popular for the decisions you make, but people will trust you and respect you for keeping them informed and involved in the process. As a leader you also have to be comfortable with managing ambiguity, you can’t look flustered. Lorenzo says, “People don't necessarily expect you to know all the answers. Clearly, the pandemic was something many of us were facing for the first time. And we had to be agile and navigate the pandemic. But if you provide a sense of ease, and a sense of just communication, and comfort, people will come along, and you will solve it as you go along.” He says the worst thing you can do is get flustered, because people will see that and they won’t trust you to make the right decision. You may not know what to do in a given moment, but you have to stay calm, come up with a rational response, and communicate with employees. Get all the information you can, and then make the best decision possible. You may not always get it right, but you will be making progress and moving forward. Lorenzo’s evolution as a leader There was a time in Lorenzo’s career when he admits he was more of a command and control type leader. He thought he could do it all himself and he micromanaged people. But over time his leadership style has changed. The change has come about because he listened to the feedback coming from employees and peers and really taking it to heart. Listening is such an important skill to have as a leader. In order to truly take feedback and make changes you also have to be vulnerable and self aware. It’s also critical to let people know you appreciate feedback so that they continue to give it in an open and honest way. Lorenzo’s advice for leaders Now more than ever it is important for leaders to stand for something and to stand for what the company believes in. As a leader at an energy technology company, Lorenzo believes that Baker Hughes can really help reduce the carbon footprint and provide safe, reliable energy for people around the world. And that is something he speaks up about and something that he takes a stand for. Every decision he makes is based on that belief. He says, “I'll also say I think leaders need to be a voice for the underrepresented and also for the way in which the globe needs to continue to evolve. And that's why diversity and inclusion is so important. Because if we don't say it as leaders, then how will it evolve? And that's the best decisions we know, are made when you actually have variation and diversity of thought. And that comes through the D&I as well.” The speed at which things are changing in the world has sped up, and so leaders also need to be agile. You have to be able to move fast and pivot when needed. “We know the end goals, but how you're going to get there can vary day in and day out, and also different roads that you take. And we look at the external world, we look at what's happening, and we pivot accordingly. And so instead of it being one big marathon, it's actually short sprints that get you along that way. And that's the way in which we've been through this journey.” ------------ This episode is sponsored by my friends over at Perceptyx Perceptyx helps enterprises get a clear picture of their employee experience with a continuous listening and people analytics platform aligned to key business goals. With the industry’s largest portfolio of survey types – including engagement, DE&I, lifecycle, 360 feedback, pulse, and more – now you can see not only what’s going on today, but how to move forward tomorrow with insights and prescriptive actions for every level of the organization. Given our unique blend of technology, domain expertise, and ‘above and beyond’ customer service, only Perceptyx makes all this possible. It’s why 30% of the Fortune 100 already rely on Perceptyx and why 95% of the organizations stay with us year after year. Learn more or request a personal demo today at www.perceptyx.com ---------- Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience through my daily newsletter at futureofworknewsletter.com  Let's connect on social!Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Does your leader have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset? There are a few ways you can find out. Leaders who have a fixed mindset place a very high priority on looking smart. They believe people can't change. If you work for a manager or a leader who doesn't believe in embracing vulnerability or admitting that they don't know something, your boss has a fixed mindset. On the other hand, if you work for a manager or a leader who believes in getting feedback and encourages learning, experimenting, and curiosity, your boss has a growth mindset. Imagine being under constant pressure at work every day and feeling that every word that comes out of your mouth has to be correct. That's a horrible kind of culture to be in. This is why leaders need a growth mindset. Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership, and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Mike Capone is the CEO of Qlik, a business intelligence company that provides end-to-end cloud data integration and data analytics solutions for organizations around the world. Mike leads a team of over 2,600 people around the world.  Mike’s experience as a leader started at the age of 24 when he was working in IT and he says he was totally unprepared for it. At the time he had no training, no experience, and he found it very intimidating at first. But with time, advice, and on the job learning he figured things out.  He says that his progression from an entry level leader to being the CEO leading over 2,600 people came about because of hard work, a willingness to volunteer for the hard jobs, and the ability to help others be successful.  The things that made a difference in Mike’s career Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is a leader that Mike really respects and someone that he has watched for a long time. In an interview Jamie shared that when it comes to success, there is no substitute for hard work. And Mike agrees with that completely, people who work hard get rewarded. But while that is a huge part of achieving your goals, there are other important things to focus on. Mike says you also have to be unafraid to volunteer for tough jobs. In Mike’s own career there was a time when he was working for Oracle Financials when the company was rolling out a global financial system and they had already gone through two separate leaders who had been placed in the roll and then let go.  One day Mike was selected to be the next leader of the project, and everyone around him told him not to take it--it’s where people’s careers go to die. But Mike saw it as an opportunity to get noticed and advance his career. So he took the job and sure enough it was a huge stepping stone for him. As Mike shares, it is a combination of things that get you to the level of CEO, but if no one notices you and if no one knows who you are, then it doesn’t matter, you won’t get ahead. You have to have people believe that you are a key to their success. Mike’s leadership style One thing that is very important to Mike as a leader is listening twice as much as he talks. As a leader it is so important to let other people talk, even if you already know the answer. It’s also important to have diverse opinions and backgrounds around you.  But it’s equally important to be decisive as a leader. You have to listen, listen, listen, then decide and move on. “You always want to control the future and not let the future control you. But that said, like, that is the biggest failure I've seen of leaders is this kind of paralysis, this inability to decide. And you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who would accuse me of that, they'll accuse me of ready, fire aim sometimes, right. But they'll never accuse me of, you know, not deciding something quickly.” There are going to be tough decisions that you have to make as a leader, but time is not going to make it go away. Some leaders also struggle with trying to build consensus around a decision, they want to be popular and liked, and while it is normal to want to be liked, you’re not always going to be and that shouldn’t stop you from making a decision.  “I always tell leaders, look, you have to do the listening and let people know they're heard, then you’ve got to use your best judgment and the data at hand and decide, and then your team has to get behind you. Time for discussing and then time for deciding and time for action.” And if he makes a bad decision, Mike says he admits it and fixes it fast. He doesn’t dwell on it or let it eat at him.  What to do if you feel stuck in your job Most of us have had a moment or moments in our career when we feel like we are stagnant and there is no way to move inside a company. It can be frustrating and disengaging. So what should you do in this situation?  Mike says before you make a decision, take a look at yourself. How much do you market yourself? How much are you trying to get noticed? Are you working on gaining new skills and improving the ones you have?  There are a lot of ways you can change your situation. Mike says, “If you're not fulfilled coming to work every single day, you’ve got to do something about that. You can't just complain about it. And I know economically, people sometimes say, well, I need this job. That’s great, like, you need the job, but you know, then skill yourself up. So your life isn't dependent on that particular job and then go find something else. But don't stay in a situation you're not happy in.” Two things that hold leaders back There are two main things that Mike says hold leaders back from their full potential. The first one is that leaders tend to think that the thing that got them where they are today is the thing to get them there tomorrow. They think that because they have a playbook that has worked before that they can just keep running the same one.  There’s a reason why most CEOs don’t last more than 5 years, because after that time they have to reinvent the thing that they invented, and it’s really hard to admit that what you did before isn’t lasting. But the pace of change is fast, and the world is changing so quickly. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over.  The other thing that Mike says holds leaders back is thinking their time is more important than anyone else’s. This mindset manifests itself in canceling meetings, showing up late to meetings, being on your phone when someone is talking to you, etc...When you are in a meeting or talking with someone, be present completely. Multitasking doesn’t work, it’s just a productivity killer. If you need to respond to emails or text messages, set aside time for that.  What sets great leaders apart from good ones There are a lot of leaders who can get things done through command and control, but the great leaders inspire the people around them. People are jumping in the boat because they want to follow that leader. It’s all about inspiration.  And this is something you can work on. Find people around you that model great leadership and watch them. Find someone who can mentor you. Practice things like empathy, listening, caring for others every single day. Catch people doing good things and let them know with an email, a call or a letter. It takes hard work and practice, but it’s worth it in the long run and it will ensure your success as a leader.  Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

There used to be a time where graduating from school was enough for you to be successful in life and in work. And when you worked for a company, it too, would teach you everything you needed to know. But today, that’s no longer the case. Today, you can't rely on educational institutions and companies to teach you everything you need to know to be successful. You need to be more accountable over your personal and professional development. You need to learn how to learn. Especially in this rapidly changing world of work, you’ll likely need to reinvent yourself multiple times during the course of your career. What do you do to keep learning? Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership, and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Martin Moore is the author of the upcoming book, No Bullsh!t Leadership, and the host of the podcast with the same name which has been downloaded more than 1.4 million times and has listeners in over 70 countries. He is also the former CEO of CS Energy and he currently runs Your CEO Mentor with his daughter, Emma. Martin wrote his book because there are so many books out on the market that teach desirable attributes that leaders should have, but he didn’t find anything out there that shows leaders how to actually implement these ideas. He wanted to create a practical guide that would help leaders figure out how to be more transparent, how to be expert communicators, how to deal with conflict, etc… As Martin has witnessed personally there are a lot of leaders out there who attend training programs and they come back motivated and inspired by all of the things they have learned, but when they get back to work nothing has actually changed. So they think they are doing better because of the new knowledge they have, but actually they don’t know how to carry it out so it doesn’t help anyone. Business acumen vs leadership skills One thing Martin discusses in his book is the difference between business acumen and leadership skills. A lot of leaders aren’t good in both of these areas, they are good at one or the other. Business acumen is about knowing what to do in the context of business--so this includes understanding strategy, being a good negotiator, knowing about finance, economics, marketing, operations, etc… A lot of times people who have business acumen get promoted to leadership roles, and they are very smart people, but they don’t have the leadership skills needed to be effective. People who only have business acumen can be absolutely terrible leaders. Leadership skills include being able to deal with conflict, being able to motivate and inspire people, being an excellent communicator, being able to clearly share the vision of the company, etc… Ideally people in leadership roles have both business acumen and leadership skills, however if forced to choose between the two Martin says it’s better to have the leadership skills and surround yourself with people who have the business acumen then it would be for a leader to have business acumen alone. Martin says, “A leader’s job is to actually lift the people, to understand them, to get the most out of them, to achieve the results they have to achieve for the organization. And for me, the number one mandate for a leader is to deliver value, period. That's it. Now, before your listeners rail against the fact that I am a heartless capitalist bastard, value comes in many different forms, right? Value can come as much from providing a safer environment for our people, as it can from generating financial value. Someone who's running a surgical practice value might come from better postoperative outcomes for patients. So value comes in many different forms. It's just a matter of understanding what form that is for you.” The leadership problem When it comes to promoting people, the transition between individual contributor and being a leader is something we are not paying enough attention to, Martin says. Just because someone is great in a certain role does not mean they will automatically be a great leader. We need more training and mentoring for people going into their first leadership role. And because a lot of people in leadership positions today have not had the proper training, a lot of times the people just now moving into these roles don’t have any real role models to look up to. “You look up the line, and you look sideways, and you can't see too many people where you go, Oh, I get it, I see what leadership is, I want to be more like that person. And so you develop all the bad habits right at the start, that you shouldn't. And of course, every time you get promoted above that, it becomes more difficult. Just the simple fact that you have to let go of the details more and more and more, the higher up you go in an organization. Many people never master that. That's why the workloads are 100-120 hours a week.” So why do we still have a leadership problem when there are so many books, podcasts, courses, etc...on the topic of great leadership? Martin says a lot of it comes down to the fact that a lot of people don’t want to put in the work of leadership. A lot of the things that you need to be a great leader go against the grain and against the programming that’s in our DNA. For example, a lot of people have a hard time stepping into conflict situations and finding a solution. Most of us tend to avoid conflict if we can. But as a leader you are going to have to deal with conflict, it’s a huge part of the role. So you have to learn to keep practicing that skill until it becomes more comfortable. “It's a lot easier to develop bad habits than it is to develop good habits. And leadership, to a large extent, is about pushing yourself to do the things that help you to develop those good habits.” The seven principles needed to be an exceptional leader In his book, Martin lays out the seven principles that all leaders need to focus on to improve and be an exceptional leader. They are: Deliver value--You have to understand what value means to you and to your organization. Once you’ve done that you have to stop everything else. You should be picking out the top 2-4 things that drive value for your organization and absolutely nail those things. It’s all about real focus and simplicity. Handle conflict--Conflict is a part of almost everything you do as a leader, so you have to get comfortable with it. You have to be able to stay rational and composed when you are in a conflict situation. And it’s always about respect before popularity. If you’re trying to be popular, it’s not going to end well because there will always be people who don’t like you. Build resilience--Being able to function as a strong leader under severe circumstances is critical. How do you handle pressure? You have to be able to function calmly, rationally when in a crisis. You can’t blame other people and you can’t avoid the problems. Work at level--This is a common problem throughout organizations. You are paid to do a certain job and that is what you have to focus on. Don’t do other people’s work for them. If someone isn’t doing their job as the leader you can’t just jump in and do it for them. First of all it’s robbing that person of the opportunity to improve, but you are also wasting time that you should be spending on your own work. That’s why a lot of leaders end up working 80+ hour weeks. It’s because they are working on the wrong things. Master ambiguity--As a CEO pretty much everything you deal with is in shades of gray, it’s not black and white. But you have to be able to translate from extreme uncertainty at the top to extreme clarity at the bottom. Your people have to understand what is required of them, how they add value to the business, how they fit into the mission of the company, etc... Make great decisions--A great decision will be timely, you can’t act slowly. A decision that is 80% right today is infinitely better than a decision that is 90% right next month. Most of the time we hesitate on decisions because we are afraid to get it wrong. You have to know who to consult,how long to consult, you need a strong line of accountability to make sure all available inputs are there, etc.. Drive accountability--Having someone who is singularly accountable for delivering something is critical. Single point accountability has a completely different energy to it then when things are shifting around multiple people and teams. But to really have accountability you have to empower people correctly. Accountability without empowerment is just cruel. Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Business is very much like the game of chess. We need to prepare for a lot of different scenarios. We do this in our personal lives all the time. When we think about buying a house or having a kid, we think through everything--what's going to happen to the property value? What should my child study when they grow up? I wonder who they're going to marry? We like to think about different scenarios. But for some reason in business, we don't think about different scenarios, we only think about one scenario. We need to do a better job of thinking of multiple business scenarios and preparing for all of them. (This is a clip of my conversation with Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico) Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on the Future of Work, Leadership, and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Oisin Hanrahan is the CEO of Angi, the parent company of Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor, and Handy. He is actually the co-founder and former CEO of Handy before it was acquired by Angi, and now he leads the $8 billion company with around 5,000 employees. When he was just 19 years old he founded a real estate company in Budapest and ran that for 6 years. Later on he came to the US and attended Harvard Business School, but he and his Handy co-founder both dropped out to launch the business in 2012. Oisin truly enjoys the CEO role. As he shares, “I relish the opportunity to set the culture, to set the values, to really think about how we're recruiting people, how we're rewarding them, how we're recognizing them. And I think that that's something that I really enjoy, you know, it's something that I really like to get into.” And he wants everyone on his team to love their job as much as he loves his. Oisin has a bi-weekly meeting with new team members and during the meeting he sits down with them and he talks about the mission of the company and gives some updates as to what’s going on, but in the meeting he also makes it a point to ask everyone a question--do you like what you’re doing? Oisin himself answers the question, to lead by example, and he is open and transparent with his team. And he shares with them that of course, not every minute of every day is going to be perfect or make you smile, but the important thing is that the vast majority of your time you are doing something that you enjoy and that you look forward to. Oisin truly believes that one of the biggest responsibilities of the CEO role is to create an organization and a place to work where people are excited to come in and do their job. It’s so important to find the right people for the right roles so that everyone is in the best position to truly love their job. Oisin’s view of the overall state of employee engagement Of course it is important for people to want to come to work and to get joy from what they do, but the truth is there are a lot of employees around the world who are unhappy with work, they don’t feel engaged, they dread going into the office. When asked his opinion on the overall state of employee engagement, Oisin shared three areas where organizations tend to fall short and how focusing on these three areas can drastically improve employee engagement. First of all organizations have to be mission driven. Employees today want to know that the work they are doing is meaningful, and it’s hard for organizations that are not mission driven to be successful in the current recruiting environment. People have to believe that they are coming in every day and doing something broadly good--whether it’s something that is helping the environment or something that is helping people in impoverished areas around the world or something that is helping their own community thrive--they want to know the meaning behind what they are doing. The second area that organizations tend to fail at is recognizing, rewarding, and respecting people. Your people want to receive credit and praise for the great work they are doing. They want to feel that they are adequately paid for their role and that they are able to provide for their family. They want to know they are respected, that they are seen, and that they are not just a number. And third, employees want to know they are surrounded by a great group of coworkers that they enjoy working with and who they get along with well. And this will be different for every person. Some individuals want to be pushed hard, they have incredible ambitions that they want to achieve, they don’t want to settle for average. These types of people enjoy being surrounded by coworkers who will challenge them every single day. They want to be around people who are striving for the best at all times and who will be a bit competitive. While other individuals want a less challenging atmosphere and a place where people get along well and work harmoniously with each other. It’s important for leaders inside of organizations to look at all three of these areas separately and see what areas they are failing in and what areas they are excelling in. All three areas matter, and you have to figure out the best way to address each one if you want to attract and retain the best people and keep them engaged. What should you do if you don’t like your job? For individuals who just aren’t fulfilled at work and who feel like they hate their job, Oisin has advice. Before you turn in your resignation, think about the reason why you want to quit your job. Is it because the mission of the company doesn’t line up with your beliefs? Do you feel like the organization as a whole treats you and all other employees as just a number? If it is something that you don’t have control over and something that is a company wide issue, then yes it’s probably best to walk away. But if it is because you are not being recognized or you aren’t being paid well, or you don’t like the people you are working with, take a step back and ask yourself if the issue is company wide or is it something that is only an issue within your immediate team. Is your immediate boss not doing a good job as a leader or are all the leaders from the top down acting in the same way? If it is something within your team it may be best to talk with someone within the company to see if you can move to another team. Or maybe your boss’s boss can address the issues with them directly to see if they can change. Oisin had a situation like this within his company fairly recently. An employee came to Oisin and said he wanted to leave. He was upset and basically told Oisin “this place sucks, I hate everything, I just want to go”. Oisin could have just let the employee go on his way, assuming he really didn’t like the work, and just moved on. But he decided to dig deeper to figure out where the real issue stemmed from. After a few conversations with the employee, and allowing the employee to take some time to take a walk and get a breath, he found out the truth. The employee was actually happy with the company as a whole, he believed in the mission, he was happy with his pay, and he was happy with the overall culture. The problem was that the culture within his smaller team was not good and his manager was not doing a great job leading his team. After learning this Oisin had some tough conversations with the manager and the manager was able to adjust the way he led his team. In the end both the manager and this employee are both still at the company a year and a half later and they are both happy. A situation that could have ended with the employee leaving angrily, a manager leading a team in-effectively, and potentially other fed up people leaving, ended up having a happy result because Oisin took the time to dig deep and find out the root of the problem. How Oisin learned to be a leader Oisin became a leader at a very young age. He started his first company at the age of 19 and even now in his second CEO role he is only 37. So how did he learn to be a great leader? He says it was a combination of learning from great people around him and trial and error. Learning through trial and error, Oisin shares, is expensive, but it’s also very effective. When you try something and fail, you don’t soon forget the experience and what you learned from it. He has also learned from coaches at times throughout his career. There is no substitute for what you learn in the hard moments, the difficult decisions, and the things that take you by surprise. When something bad happens you see the pattern recognition and the next time a similar situation comes up you see the signs and diffuse the situation before it becomes a problem. So while an MBA is great, learning from the people around you is important, and leaning on coaches at times can be beneficial, there is nothing like real world experience and trial by fire. How to know if you should work with a coach Would all leaders benefit from hiring a coach to help them with their leadership approach? Oisin says it can be extremely beneficial, but there are a few questions to ask yourself before you hire someone. Are you coachable?-- Some leaders are stuck in their ways and aren’t ready to give up the way they do things. If that is you, a coach isn’t worth it. You have to be willing to make changes. Can you find someone you trust enough?-- When hiring a coach it is important to find someone that you’ve got good chemistry with, someone who you trust to tell you the truth, and someone that knows what they are doing. Are you willing to do the work?--It’s one thing to have someone come alongside you and tell you what you can work on, but if you’re not willing to actually do the work, it’s pointless. If you hire a tennis coach to teach you how to play but you only practice once every three months, you’re not going to get better. Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Great leaders are amazing communicators. But with all the technology out there, how do you know what platform to use for each message, and how to effectively use that medium? Here are a series of questions to think about when you are trying to decide how to communicate effectively. 1-What is the message you are trying to convey? Consider what you want other people to take away and how they should feel after receiving your message. 2-Who is receiving the message? Communicating with one person is different than communicating with an entire team, just like talking to new employees is different than talking to employees who have been at the company for years. 3-Do you need feedback? If you want some kind of feedback, a personal meeting might be your way to go. Urgent concerns or clarifications might require speaking up in a meeting and asking your question. 4-What is the culture of your audience? Different tools, technologies, or customs that work in your part of the world might not work somewhere else. Understand your audience and be empathetic. Ask yourself these questions to help guide you and make sure that you're using the right medium effectively.   Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Erin Meyer is the co-author of No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, which she co-authored with Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix. She is also the author of The Culture Map and a professor at INSEAD. For the book, No Rules Rules, Erin spent a lot of time observing the corporate culture inside of Netflix, she interviewed employees, and got first hand stories of how the company values started from Reed himself. Netflix definitely has a unique culture and an interesting way to give employees freedom. While not every company can use their method of autonomy, there are lessons we can all learn from how they operate. What led Erin to write No Rules Rules Erin’s first book, The Culture Map, came out in 2014 and it dove into the topic of how people of different backgrounds and cultures can work together harmoniously and effectively. The book really took off over the next few years and in 2016 Erin received an email from a fellow Peace Corps volunteer who was interested in learning more about her book and how to implement the method in his own company. That person was Reed Hastings, the co-founder and co-CEO at Netflix. So Erin went in to help Netflix get ready for their international expansion and while she was there she became fascinated with the company’s culture because it was so strange and unique. “I conducted a big research project, I interviewed about 200 employees at Netflix, and I spent a lot of time with Reed himself, trying to understand what it was about this organizational culture that was breeding so much innovation and flexibility in the company. And then what it was that other business leaders around the world or even just team leaders could learn from this company about how to be more innovative and flexible themselves. And that's what we wrote the book [No Rules Rules] about.” Why the culture at Netflix is so different When asked what her first impressions were of the Netflix culture when she first started, Erin admits she was a bit “startled” by it and there were some things that initially concerned her. One example of something that concerned her was one of the slides in the Netflix culture deck which said, “adequate performance gets a generous severance”. Erin says, “It concerned me because at INSEAD where I teach, there had been, there was so much talk, and still today, of course, about the idea of focusing exclusively on psychological safety in a workplace. I just didn't understand how an organization today could be running around, not make your employees feel safe, but tell your employees if they're not excellent, they're out.” But even though it initially concerned Erin, it also was intriguing and a bit refreshing to see a company be so blunt about what it was going to be like to work there. So many companies tell potential new hires wonderful stories about what it’s like to work at the company, things they think people want to hear. It’s a great work environment, you’ll love everyone you work with, the work is exciting and engaging, and you won’t ever get burned out. That’s what they’ll say when the person is interviewing for the job, but then once they start they find out that people are backstabbing each other, it’s a toxic work environment, they are expected to work 60+ hours a week, and they are doing boring, monotonous tasks. To see a company really be blunt and open about what the culture is actually like is extremely rare. So even though the wording may sound harsh, anyone who applies for Netflix knows up front it’s going to be hard work and you will have to bring your best self every day, and that may not be for everyone. “I was so tired, just so sick of looking at corporate cultures or people who worked at companies who said what their corporate cultures were and then say, Oh, it's about integrity and respect and excellence. You know, there's nothing wrong with saying that your organization values respect, it's just that there's no good credible option to respect right? No company would run around saying they value disrespect, or that they value corruption. And I think that was actually one of my really overarching learnings to this research, was that if you really want to articulate a corporate culture that means something, that takes a root and impacts the way your employees are behaving, that you really want to avoid speaking in absolute positives, like integrity or respect, that have no good opposite option. And instead, focus on the tensions or the dilemmas that your employees are facing on a day to day basis.” We are a team, not a family Another way Netflix goes against the grain is in the methodology behind their corporate culture. Their mindset is, we are a team, not a family. And we’re not just a regular team, we are an Olympic team. We work together, we have cohesion and teamwork, but there’s no job security. When you get hired for a certain position you are there for as long as you are the best person for that job, but when you are no longer the best person for the job you will be replaced by someone else who is. As Erin shares, in the Industrial Era most of the time employment was for life, so you really were a family. But now, with the increasing pace of change and uncertainties that is no longer the case, we can’t have teams where we can’t easily move people on and off. This may seem harsh, and it’s definitely not for everyone, but employees who work for Netflix opt into that work environment. They know up front what it will be like and what is expected of them. And if they accept the job they know they will get paid well, they will get to work on some amazing projects, they will have exceptional co-workers, etc… How Reed came up with the Netflix culture foundation There are three main pillars that make up the Netflix culture and allow the leaders there to give employees freedom. And these three things came from the experience Reed had at the first company he opened, Pure Software. Because Pure Software was a small entrepreneurial startup they operated without formal processes and policies. Everyone was expected to use their best judgement and make good decisions for the company, which worked when they first started with a small team. People enjoyed working there, they had freedom, there was a lot of creativity and innovation. But then the company began to grow quite quickly. And as the company grew--from a handful of people to 1,000--people started to do stupid things and took advantage of the freedom they were given. There was no policy against having dogs at work, so one woman started bringing her dog in every day and he would chew through the carpets. Another employee who had to travel for work decided because there wasn’t a policy about travel he would start flying first class all the time. Because this was still a fairly new company, they didn’t have a lot of extra money, so these things people kept doing really hurt the company and frustrated Reed. So he sat down with HR and wrote an employee handbook to address all these issues. But as they implemented these rules and policies something else happened--the creative people started leaving and innovation slowed down. Erin says it got so bad Reed had to sell the company. So when Reed opened up Netflix he went in with two guiding principles--employee freedom breeds innovation and process kills organizational flexibility. But he was also worried that if he didn’t have some policies in place the organization would descend into chaos. So he had to figure out how to give freedom without processes and policies. The three pillars of Netflix culture As Reed was figuring out what to do with the culture at Netflix he realized that in most organizations most of the procedures and policies are put into place to deal with medium to poor employees. So if you could get a culture that was made up of only top employees then you could give them a lot more freedom. And then you also have a culture with a lot of candid feedback so that employees could feel secure speaking up if and when someone did take advantage of the freedom. So Reed came up with three pillars that are still used inside of Netflix to create a culture of freedom, creativity, and innovation. They are: Talent Density--In order to give freedom without limits and policies you need a high performing team and you can’t let middle performers hang around. Leaders perform regular “keeper test” exercises with employees. If that employee came to you today and said they were leaving, how hard would you fight to keep them? If you wouldn’t fight or if you would feel a bit relieved, then they aren’t the right person for the role. Candor--The leaders inside Netflix encourage a lot of candid feedback. The key is having some guidelines to the feedback and Erin shared the four A’s--Aim to assist, it has to be actionable, show appreciation, accept or decline. Everyone provides feedback--employees to leaders, leaders to employees, and employees to coworkers. Freedom--Once you have talent density and candor, then you are in a position to give freedom. If you want to go on vacation--go, if you need to make a purchase--do it, if you need to make a decision--make it. You are expected to act like an adult and act in the best interest of the company. Instead of using a hierarchical pyramid, Netflix uses a decision making tree with the leaders at the bottom down in the dirt, watering the roots of the company. Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Are you struggling to see change inside your organization? Just like brushing your teeth or working out in the gym, seeing change doesn’t happen overnight. It is a very slow process and has to start somewhere. So be the change you want to see inside your company. Lead by example so that other people can see you and start imitating you. Show the people in your organization that the changes you want to see are attainable.

Kate Johnson is President of Microsoft US, a $45 billion division including all of Microsoft’s solutions, services, and support revenues across public and private sectors in the United States. Kate is responsible for a team of 10,000 people and she has been very involved in Microsoft’s culture journey led by CEO Satya Nadella. Prior to Microsoft Kate served as the Chief Commercial Officer for GE Digital. She has held several key senior leadership roles at GE, Oracle, Red Hat, and Deloitte Consulting. Kate believes that leadership is a state of mind, it’s not about how many people you lead or your seniority level, it’s about the characteristics and skills you demonstrate on a day-to-day basis. You can be a leader if you are an individual worker without anyone reporting to you directly just as much as someone can be a leader with thousands of employees reporting to them. Important experiences for anyone aspiring to be a senior leader Kate has a very diverse background when it comes to her career. She got her degree in engineering and worked in that field for a while before going back to get her MBA. After she finished her MBA she spent several years in management consulting, then moved into banking, and then she moved to the IT side of things. She has worked in inward-facing roles and outward-facing roles. And she has also worked in several different countries around the world. Not everyone will have the same path, but the important thing about her diverse experiences is that she was always learning and growing--she didn’t just stay where she was comfortable. She shares that it is also important, especially if you want to lead a global company, to learn about different cultures and immerse yourself in them to build relationships with people from all parts of the world. In order to truly understand different cultures proximity is crucial, you have to go there and immerse yourself in it, even if it’s for a short time. Although Kate has had a lot of work experiences, she also brings up the importance of implementing changes and watching them develop--which takes time, in her opinion at least three years. So while the days of staying at one company for your whole career are gone, it also doesn’t mean you should continuously move every 1-2 years. And when it comes to the debate between being a generalist or a specialist, Kate says, “I always tell people I'm working with, you've got to pick--are you going to be that generalist or are you going to be somebody who goes deep in one thing, whether it's a function like finance and you want to be a CFO and you've always known that, or, is it something horizontal that you're picking, like change? And I don't think there's a right answer, I think the world is going to continue to be hybrid. Because we need both, we need the deep experts and then we need, you know, the people who can kind of be a utility player and pinch-hit. I think it's getting harder to get the big jobs as a utility player that hasn't at least gone deep in certain things and owned the implementation of the changes that they've dreamed up.” The lessons Covid taught us about leadership There is no doubt that the pandemic and the past year and a half have changed the way we lead our organizations. Kate shares that one of the big lessons we learned is around crisis management. What we have gone through has reminded us that this is a core capability that every leader needs to have. Leaders need to be able to handle a crisis with optimism and calm. They have to be able to assure everyone in the organization that they are all in it together and they have to bring comfort to employees through these tough times. Another thing Kate says that we have learned is the importance of the agility of your portfolio and your go-to-market. “The world just changed overnight. For Microsoft, you know, how do we take our existing technology capabilities, which so many companies were slow to adopt, and make it easier for them to adopt so that they can do years of digital transformation in hours and days, just so they could stay in business. And that was a whole different sort of crisis management, you know, and response that we needed to do.” It has taught us all to be agile and flexible, we have to be able to pivot at a moment’s notice with the current pace of change and extraordinary circumstances out of our control. Going through this past year and a half has caused a lot of stress, fear, and exhaustion for leaders and individuals alike. Employee experience and employee wellness should always be top of mind, but it has definitely become even more critical during this time. What Kate looks for in leaders When she is looking to promote someone or hire someone into a leadership position Kate says the principles of leadership at Microsoft have been her main guide. The fundamentals of leadership are: Clarity: A leader is someone who generates clarity so that everyone knows where it is we are headed Generating energy: Once we know where we are going, leaders need to motivate and excite people to go chase whatever that goal is Knowing how to deliver success: Leaders have to be able to define success in a way that resonates with every single person on the ground These are the main qualities she looks for in potential leaders. And you don’t have to be a leader of many to demonstrate these three things. The difference between senior level leaders and those who just aren’t there yet If you are an entry-level or mid-level manager looking to work your way up, you may be wondering what it takes to move up. One of the key differences between someone who is ready to lead at a higher level, Kate shares, comes down to how leaders drive change. As humans, we all tend to pivot towards what makes us comfortable and when an organization goes through a time of change there is something called the frozen middle. Leaders in the mid-level range play a huge role in how the transformation goes. There are two ways leaders address change, and Kate says she can now spot the difference within 3 minutes of a conversation with someone. When it comes to change there is implementation vs. ownership. One type of person reads about the changes that need to take place and when they meet with their team they attribute accountability to a more senior leader--”Kate wants us to drive culture change so we have to do X, Y, Z to get to that end result”. For this type of person, it’s all about checking off boxes and following instructions. This is implementation and this type of person usually ends up falling back to what is comfortable for them. Then there is ownership. This person personally takes accountability for the change process. They explain to their team members what it is that we as a company are trying to do, why it’s important, and how they will individually play a role in how the company gets there. They bring passion, clarity, and excitement to their team and they explain why the outcome is so important. Kate says that is the difference between someone who can run the place and someone who can’t. Kate’s advice for aspiring and seasoned leaders For anyone who aspires to be a leader someday, Kate’s advice is to demonstrate it now. Don’t wait until you get promoted, do it now no matter how many people report to you. Create clarity, generate energy, and deliver success. These are the muscles needed to lead, so just like working out, if you want to build those muscles you have to practice, practice, practice. For seasoned leaders Kate says don’t get comfortable and settled in your ways. There is always more to learn. Listen to podcasts, read books, talk to people--make sure you keep yourself open to grow and develop, no matter what level you are at. Also, hubris is kryptonite to leadership. Going around thinking you have all the answers and trying to prove yourself right all of the time instead of listening to others will be your downfall. Stay humble, keep learning, and surround yourself with great people of diverse backgrounds. There’s no way one person can know it all. Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, man business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/ Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Your attitude and approach towards feedback says a lot about the type of mindset you have. As a leader and a manager inside of your organization, having a growth mindset means that you give feedback in a way that allows your employees to grow and learn new things. You're not insulting them, bashing them, or putting them down because that doesn't allow room for growth or learning. The first step in doing this is making sure that we actually give feedback on a regular basis. Most organizations give annual performance reviews, which no longer makes sense. Your company should have regular check-ins and regular conversations to provide feedback. As a leader, you also want to make sure you encourage your employees to practice self-reflection. If you know the answer to something, don’t just give it to others. Let your people figure things out on their own--that's where the learning and growth happens.

Mark Dixon is the founder & CEO of International Workplace Group (IWG), formerly known as Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace solutions. They have over 3,300 locations and 15,000 team members in 120 countries around the world. Mark has a unique and diverse background leading up to his current role. He actually dropped out of school at the age of 16 to start a business delivering sandwiches by bicycle. He has been a logger, a miner, a barman, an investor, and a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman--all before founding IWG in 1989. He always knew he wanted to go into business, but he also realized early on that he needed experience and training and that’s definitely what he got throughout every job he had. He learned other languages, he tried multiple different roles, he soaked up what he could from the people he worked with--and all of it led him to his current position. As Mark shares, “I've worked with some fantastic people, either within the companies or advisors or people I know. And, you know, in those days--and still today--I'm still learning today, you’re sort of like a sponge. You just got to be whoever you're speaking to, whatever you're doing, you try, you know, you're learning lessons. And COVID, you know, this whole crisis, I've been through many, many crises over the period of time that I've been in business, this is a huge one. And you've had to reinvent very quickly, and sort of apply, you know, all those 45 years of experiences to what you know now. And it's very hard to learn all that, you know, you're not going to get a lot of it with an MBA, it's gonna come with experience.” Is there still a place for in-person work? This past year with the pandemic really showed most businesses that they could continue to get things done even during shutdowns, thanks to technology. They realized that not only could the business keep going, but a lot of employees were happier because they weren’t commuting every day, they could work in comfortable clothing, and they could spend more time with family. Now that we’ve all experienced this for over a year, a lot of companies are exploring how they can allow employees to have more flexible work options. A big topic of conversation lately is will the office go away completely. Will most companies continue with remote only working? Mark and I agree that while companies will give employees more flexibility, the office is not going away anytime soon and there is still value in having people come to work in-person. But most likely it will be more of a hybrid format, where people can work from home at times and come into the office at times as well. While it is possible to keep everyone remote and get work done, as Mark points out bringing people together, at least some of the time is key, otherwise you just create a bunch of digital nomads. This can be dangerous because it makes it easy to lose the company culture. The key is having a convenient physical office (or offices) that people want to come to, at least from time to time. This is where collaboration, social interactions, networking, etc… can happen. It is also important to have an agenda to accomplish while people are there so you don’t have people sitting around staring at their screen by themselves. “You're going in there to do creative stuff, you're going in there for your boss to thank you and hand you a, you know, a bottle of wine or something for doing a great job in front of everyone else. So you can't do that over the internet. So you've got to try and have a sense of belonging, and a feeling of purpose. And you can do a lot of it when people are decentralized, but you can't do all of it. It's a really important factor. So the companies of the future will have a number of hubs around the country, they'll bring people together.” The benefits of hybrid work Hybrid work is about making work convenient for employees and allowing them to work from wherever is the most productive for them each day. Some people may not have space to work from home and working from a Starbucks or Panera can be difficult with all of the noise and distractions. Some people live 3 hours away from work and hate their commute. Others may not have the discipline to work at home efficiently. So it’s all about providing different options for all of the different needs. Giving people options helps the morale of the employees, they feel like they have control over how and when they work, they are happier because they are less stressed, and they are more productive. This way of work also helps companies have less fixed costs. Mark says he has seen a number of companies take the money they have saved from having people work from home and they have re-invested that money into HR programs that help them get to know employees better. Sometimes leaders feel like they know their people because they all sit in the same building and they see each other every day, but that’s not necessarily the case. “You know, it wasn't the office that was the magic ingredient here. It was the people themselves. And it's about companies focusing on people as people. They had brilliant talents that you didn't know about because you hired them, you asked them but you didn't ask them again and again.” Mark’s advice for leaders who want to make hybrid work a reality for their employees The first thing Mark believes leaders should do is take time to research--there are so many materials and resources out there for companies that want to start hybrid work. Look into what other companies are doing and what has worked and what hasn’t. After you’ve done your research it is crucial that you talk to your people to find out what they want. Survey your people to see how many of them want to be able to work from home at times, and how much time they want to work from home. How do they feel about working from a local office part of the time and working from home the rest of the time? Their feedback can help you develop a strategy. For most companies, leaders who don’t give employees the option to work from home at times will most likely lose a lot of good people. Can you fail at hybrid work? Some leaders might worry about failing at implementing hybrid work, but don’t worry Mark says while you may not get the right productivity out of it, you can’t really fail. If you get it wrong, he says, it’s because you haven’t thought enough about your people. Staying connected with your people is so important, especially when you are working in a hybrid setting. It’s easy for employees to feel lost or disconnected, so it’s up to the leaders to make sure that doesn’t happen. Call people on their birthday, start meetings off with a casual conversation, send out a weekly or monthly update email. Think about the things you do in your office right now to stay connected and then just figure out how to do that when you are all more spread out. Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn’t easy to do. In fact, man business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world’s top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/ Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Pick up any leadership book that's out there, including mine, and you'll find a list of things leaders do. But have you ever wondered about the things great leaders DON’T do? 1. They don't ignore criticism. Successful leaders are willing to take that criticism and feedback and use it as an opportunity to learn and grow. 2. They don't let their emotions take control of them. Great leaders don't make rash decisions or blow up when something goes wrong. 3. They don't avoid responsibility for their choices. A great leader is able to stand by their actions. Even if they make a mistake, they acknowledge it and take responsibility. 4. They don’t break their commitments. Great leaders stand by their word. If they say they’ll do something or be somewhere, then they do it, and they show up when they need to be there. 5. They never say never. Great leaders look forward and constantly consider the big picture. They don't limit their thinking by saying, we're never going to try that, that will never work.

I remember when I first got asked to give a talk on my new book The Future Leader. The book wasn't even done yet but the company that brought me in was really excited to be the first one in the world to hear the research, the ideas, and the concepts that I spent the past 18 months working on. To say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement. I never shared this stuff with anyone before! But, it ended up being one of my favorite presentations I've given and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it.     What does it take to lead in the future of work? For my new book, The Future Leader, I interviewed over 140 of the world's top CEOs and surveyed nearly 14,000 employees in partnership with LinkedIn to identify 4 crucial mindsets and 5 essential skills to lead in a post-covid world. "Whether you're a current or future leader, this book is one that you should read and keep near you." Ajay Banga, CEO, Mastercard. Click here to grab a copy for yourself and your teams, you'll be glad you did! Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/ Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

I have written four books, and The Future Leader was the hardest book to write. The research and logistics that went on for this book were very long and thorough. People have asked me a couple of things with regards to the book. In this video, I share why I wrote the book, the reason behind using the lighthouse as a book cover and a symbol for leadership, and what leaders of today must do to prepare for the future. If you have any questions about the book, drop them in the comments below or send me a personal message. You can order your copy here: http://getfutureleaderbook.com/

Most business leaders around the world are not good leaders... They aren't bad people, but their approaches to leadership are simply put...obsolete. We can especially see this quite clearly with what has been going on with Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, and the ongoing fight against racism and social injustice. To give you an analogy, it's a bit like trying to fly a modern-day passenger plane while being trained on an original Wright Brothers plane. There's a chance you might get the plane in the air, but you won't go far. Leadership around the world is failing us. Consider some of these sobering statistics take from my book, The Future Leader: 80% of employees say they can do their jobs without their managers and say their managers are not even necessary (Ultimate Software and Center for Generational Kinetics). Almost half of 2,257 survey respondents said they could do their jobs better than their boss (Randstad). 60% of employees have left or are considering leaving their jobs because they don't like their direct supervisors (Randstad). 50% of Americans have left a job at some point in their career to get away from their managers (Gallup). In the UK, nearly half of British workers believe they could do a better job than their boss and 13% actually said their bosses are dangerously incompetent at their jobs (Independent). Only 15% of employees around the world are even engaged in their jobs (Gallup). According to a survey of 25,000 leaders around the world done by DDI, only 42% of organizations said that the overall quality of leadership inside of their organizations was high. Only 14% of organizations have a "strong bench," which is ready-now leaders who can step to replace those who retire or move on (DDI). Half of the organizations surveyed by DDI say their leaders are not skilled to lead effectively today and 71% say their leaders are not ready to lead their organizations in the future. CLEARLY something is wrong with leadership around the world otherwise these statistics wouldn't be as terrible as they are.  All of the human indicators are telling us that we have a problem yet most organizations and leaders are doing nothing to correct the problem. Imagine for a moment that you are driving a car and in the middle of your trip as your speeding down the highway, the "check engine" light comes on, followed by the tire pressure warning, the low fuel light, and the battery light, all while your car temperature indicator is in the red. Now imagine your whole family is sitting in the car with you. Are you really just going to keep driving along? I hope not! Yet here we are, and the business world is on cruise control but the scary part is that we are all sitting in the same car! In the United States alone there are around 25 million supervisors and managers today, these are people who are responsible for others. I estimate that by 2030 we are going to have around 220 million leaders around the world. That's a lot of leaders! We have lots of people in leadership roles but unfortunately, many of them are bad leaders, there's just no other way around it. But, their days are numbered because the way that we think about leadership is changing...Leaders Must Change. Leadership is not about making the most money Leadership is not about a rank or title Leadership is not about playing office politics to get the top. Leadership is not about being friends with other leaders who will promote you. Leadership is not just about staying at the company for a long time until you get promoted. Leadership IS ABOUT putting people first Leadership IS ABOUT being able to influence change Leadership IS ABOUT making other people more successful than you Leadership IS ABOUT rallying people to build a better world Leadership IS ABOUT YOU! Being a leader is the hardest job in the world but it's also the most rewarding. Everyone in the world has the potential to become a leader, even if you're a leader of self. The first step towards becoming that leader is making the conscientious choice that you are willing to get out of your comfort zone and do whatever it takes to positively impact your community, your organization, your people, and yourself. Are you ready to take that first step? What does it take to lead in the future of work? For my new book, The Future Leader, I interviewed over 140 of the world's top CEOs and surveyed nearly 14,000 employees in partnership with LinkedIn to identify 4 crucial mindsets and 5 essential skills to lead in a post-covid world. "Whether you're a current or future leader, this book is one that you should read and keep near you." Ajay Banga, CEO, Mastercard. Click here to grab a copy for yourself and your teams, you'll be glad you did! Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/ Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob  

Oftentimes inside of our companies, we've been doing things for decades just because we've been doing them for decades. It's important for us to break away from that cycle and start thinking about creative new ways of doing things. One thing you can do is write down all of your ideas, like a brain dump. Put all your ideas on paper and just see what comes out of your head. The reason this is crucial is because when you can write down your idea and conceptualize it, you really think through a lot of stuff. And you spend less time worrying about pretty pictures or making things look nice. After your brain dump, you can look for common patterns. And once you clump these things together, turn it into a six-page document, flesh out all your ideas, and let other people take a look at it and give their feedback.

After graduating from college with honors and a dual Bachelors degree in economics and psychology, I was excited to join the corporate world. I had dreams of one day becoming the CMO of a large organization. At my first job out of college I was promised that I would be working on amazing projects and traveling the country meeting with executives and entrepreneurs. Instead, I was stuck doing data entry, cold calling, and PowerPoint presentations. One day the CEO of the company asked me to go buy him a cup of coffee, that was the last job I ever had. Since then I have been passionate about the future of work and designing great employee experiences. This happened to me, but I’m not special. There are millions of people who feel this same way about their managers and their organizations every single day. We have built our organizations on outdated processes, procedures, and ways of thinking about work for the past 100+ years. It’s no wonder that so many people around the world don’t like their jobs.  Why we need to take control and shape our work (and how we can do that) On average we will spend one-third of our lives at work, our lives and our work are integrated, and we cannot separate the two. So when we are miserable at work, chances are you’re feeling miserable about life in general.  Over the past 10+ years, I have discovered three strategies that allowed me to shape my work.  Be a perpetual learner We cannot rely on educational institutions or organizations to teach us all we need to know. You have to learn how to learn and you have to constantly find ways to grow, develop, and expand your skills. And you need to be aware of how your skills and abilities can be applied, not just in your current role, but in other unique ways.  You have to fake it ‘til you make it What you believe and what you tell yourself matters. Because it will guide your behaviors, your actions, and how you feel about yourself. Most of us at some point in our lives will have imposter syndrome--where we feel inadequate, or we feel we don’t have the experience necessary, or we don’t feel qualified to make a decision. Whether you are dealing with imaginary voices in your head or real voices of people telling you you’re no good--you have to stay optimistic and you have to build yourself up.  Don’t follow your passion This may be controversial, but the saying “follow your passion” is wrong. We shouldn’t follow our passion, we should bring our passion with us. Your passion is not something outside of you that you have to go and chase and it’s not one static thing that you have to achieve or you will never be happy.  As you grow and as you experience different things, your passions will change. And most of us have a hard time even figuring out what our passion actually is before we have to choose what career we want to pursue.  With these three strategies we can take more control over our work lives, and as result, we will build a life for ourselves that we truly want to live.  Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/ Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob    

I've talked to a lot of executives and CEOs of companies around the world, and consistently the top trend they tell me that's going to impact and change the future of work is technology. The reality is, technology is unavoidable. It’s all around us: in our home, in our office, in our cars, and even in our pocket. Which is why it's so important for us to be able to be friends with technology and not be scared of it. As a leader, you shouldn’t shy away from technology. You have to learn the new technologies that can greatly impact your organization. You don’t have to be an expert in technology, you just have to recognize its potential. You can even hire people knowledgeable in technology. But the important thing is to embrace it and don’t ignore it.

Sébastien Bazin is the Chairman and CEO of Accor, the largest hospitality company in Europe and the 6th largest worldwide with 5,100 locations in 110 countries. Sébastien leads a huge team of over 280,000 people, and they add around 80,000 new employees each year. Sébastien says he never dreamed of being a CEO, it definitely wasn’t his original plan. All he knew was he didn’t want to go into the family business, which was a real estate company his family had owned for five generations. He wanted to do his own thing and carve his own path. He spent some time studying in Paris and then he moved to New York to work on Wall Street as a financial analyst. He tried his hand at stock trading and investment banking in New York as well. He spent some time working in San Francisco until the market crash in 1991, then he moved to London. Eventually, he became a board member of Accor, and as Sébastien describes himself at that time he was, “very vocal and long shareholder, probably nasty guy. I was, I hope I'm no longer, but I was rough. I was harsh…” And in the time he was a board member three CEOs were dismissed from the company. After the third one was let go, the board had to decide on a new CEO and Sébastien was on the nomination committee. Leading a team of 280,000+ Most people would shy away from taking on a CEO role of a company as large as Accor. But Sébastien says he never includes comfort in his life decisions. He says, it doesn’t matter if you lead a team of 30,000, 100,000, or 280,000, “in the end you are just talking to individuals, you want to gain a small group next to you, and you trust that that small group will be able to replicate what they've been hearing from you. You just have to-- the one thing that I've learned through that exercise, to tell the truth.” The most important part of leading any group of people, Sébastien says, is to remember that everything you do is critical--your words, your face, your presence, your body language. It is very important to always be truthful, don’t try to deceive people, it won’t work. And while the decisions he made in his time as an investment banker and a private equity investor had no real human impact when he made a mistake, he realized that as a CEO every decision you make impacts your employees, their families, and the community as a whole. And that’s something that Sébastien takes seriously. How Sébastien’s career path has taken shape Sébastien has never been one to try to figure out where his career will be in 10-15 years. In fact, he says, “anybody who is a hostage of his own field, or where he wants to be 20 years from today is likely to be very disappointed, frustrated, and then in some kind of depression.” So how has he moved in his own career? He says it’s always been based on people. He has moved jobs and towns throughout his life because of interesting, exceptional people he has met and liked and thought he could learn from. “If you don't believe your boss, wherever you are in any organization, does not teach you or you don't respect him, or you don't accept his leadership, don't stay another minute. Life is too short to be under somebody for which you have either no respect, no admiration, or no learning from. And that's what I've actually conducted myself.” How Sébastien deals with pressure and scrutiny Leaders today are under a lot more pressure and scrutiny than ever before. Everything they do can be publicized in online articles, people can talk about them on social media, employees can rate them on Glassdoor. It’s definitely a tough time to lead an organization. But Sébastien’s response to how he handles the pressure was surprising. He candidly told me he does not stress out about things he cannot control. Whenever something happens to him he asks himself a few questions, which are--Is it my fault? Could I have, should I have done something differently? Was I able to do something to prevent it?--If the answer to those things is no, then he lets it go and moves on. Sébastien shares that his family played a huge role in how he handles the role of CEO. He was always taught that he doesn’t need to live according to how other people view him. What other people think of him is irrelevant. He knows what he is doing, whether it is good or bad, and that is what he needs to focus on, and not worry about other people judging him. He also admits that he is not on social media at all, which protects him from seeing comments and stories posted there. Arne Sorenson & Sébastien Bazin: How two fierce rivals became friends Before he passed away earlier this year, Arne Sorenson was the CEO of Marriott, a competitor to Accor. You would think that the competition between these two leaders would cause them to dislike each other or try to tear each other down, but as Sébastien shares that is far from the truth. Sébastien says Arne had a strong personality, but he was generous, helpful, and caring. And they stayed in close contact for several years. The skills and qualities that have helped Sébastien get to this point in his career Sébastien has obviously had a very successful career and there are probably a lot of people out there who would like to know what skills have allowed Sébastien to come this far. He says that one of the main words that comes to mind is authenticity. He doesn’t lie, he doesn’t come up with excuses, he doesn’t try to be defensive--reality is reality. Be clear and truthful as a leader. Sébastien also believes that leaders should admit they don’t know things more often. He says it doesn’t make you a weak leader to say you don’t know, it actually shows your strength. Three words that he used when he first started at Accor were--agility, clarity, and accountability. He wanted people to have the agility to be empowered to be autonomous and make decisions. Because they were making those decisions, people needed to be held accountable. And he wanted clarity, or transparency so that people would understand the context around the decisions they were making.

Consider some of the technologies you use in your personal life. Think about how easy it is for you to do things like communicating with people, share information, and stay on top of what's going on. Now think about what it would be like if you had similar technologies that you could use inside of your organization. How much easier would it be for you to get stuff done? This is why many organizations that have strong technology initiatives involve employees in the process of figuring out the best technologies to use. Teams need the right technology to succeed. You can achieve this by getting feedback and perspectives of the employees inside your organization around the technologies that will benefit them the most.

BJ Fogg is the bestselling author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything and the founder and director of The Stanford Design Lab, where he has directed research for over 20 years. Back in 2002, BJ wrote a book called Persuasive Technology about how computers can be designed to influence attitudes and behaviors, which is still relevant nearly 20 years later. He was also named a “New Guru You Should Know” by Fortune Magazine. A lot of times we resist change, especially when it comes to leadership because we believe it will take huge steps, big commitment, and a lot of willpower. But BJ’s Tiny Habits method proves that’s not true. A different way to think about habits Growing up BJ recalls how he was taught to make a change or improve in some way. It was all about setting a really high goal and using willpower and a lot of discipline to reach that goal. But as an adult, he found that it wasn’t working that way. And, as hacking things was something he had done since he was young--like hooking a string to his lightswitch so he could turn it off from his bed--he decided to hack the way he changed his habits. He found that by scaling big goals back to smaller goals, adding it into his existing routine, and reinforcing it with positive emotion, he was able to quickly create habits that would have ripple effects in his life. This formula works for anything health-related--nutrition, physical activities, mental well-being, it also works for productivity, creative activities, relationships, etc… The only area where BJ admits he doesn’t have expertise in and where his claims stop is with addictions. This formula may work for addictions, but BJ encourages people to get medical and professional help in that area. As BJ shares, behavior change is a skill, and just like any other set of skills you can get better at it with practice and experience. But you wouldn’t put a brand new driver onto a highway and tell them to go 100 mph, and in the same way, we shouldn’t try to change our habits and behaviors in huge ways overnight. Start with the small things and as you succeed in those things and gain confidence then you can move up to bigger and more difficult things. The Tiny Habits Method There are three main elements of the Tiny Habits method, and it’s as easy as A-B-C. A--Anchor your habit to something you do already. For example, if you want to start flossing your teeth, anchor it to brushing your teeth, something you already do every day. B--This is the new behavior or the new habit you want to start. Remember to start small. If you want to floss your teeth, this can start with flossing one tooth a day. C-Celebrate the behavior after you’ve done it. You want to associate the behavior with a positive emotion that will help you reinforce this behavior. Another example of a behavior you may want to start is reading more. Using the formula you choose your behavior, which is to read more, and you keep it small. So to start out with you might want to begin by reading one paragraph each day. Then you anchor it to something you already do, maybe you drink coffee every morning and you choose to anchor it to that. So keep your book right next to your coffee machine and when you pour your cup, pick up your book and read your paragraph. And once you are done you will feel good about yourself and accomplished and you can close the book and put it back for the next day. And you may even find that on some days you want to read more than a paragraph--if that’s the case do it. Read as much as you want. But if the next day you only want to read your one paragraph don’t force more, just do your daily goal and close the book. “You will tend to read more and more, not just the paragraph. And you will also find other opportunities to read more. It’s like that habit will crop up in other parts of your life. And the key seems to be just to plant a seed somewhere and nurture it. And then that grows. But it also spawns other little habits like it elsewhere in your life, for that kind of thing like reading.” How to know which habits to pursue Just like with the reading example, when you start any new habit you should eventually find yourself spending more and more time working on it. Even though you start small--with reading one paragraph, or playing one scale with a new instrument, or playing one game of chess, or flossing one tooth--it should eventually get bigger and you should spend more time on it. Because you are not going to get better at playing an instrument if you only play one scale per day. And you’re not going to read very many books if you only read one paragraph a day. That is a fine place to start, and it is important to start small, but you should feel so positive about the result of your new behavior that you should want to do more of it. Think of the tiny habit as the gateway to greater improvement and growth in an area of your life. There may be days now and then that you don’t feel like spending 40 minutes playing your instrument or you don’t feel like spending an hour on chess lessons, and that’s okay. But if you notice that you are not enjoying a behavior and it feels like drudgery, then it’s probably not the behavior for you, and it’s okay to walk away from it and try something else. As BJ says, “Now, let me just be really clear. If you are doing a habit and it feels like drudgery, Step back and question that and think is this a habit I really want? And if the answer's no, let it go and develop the habit you actually want.” What are golden behaviors? When it comes to tiny habits there are golden behaviors that meet three criteria, and those are the ones you want to focus on. The criteria are: The behavior is impactful. It is something you want to do. It is something you are able to do. If you want to be healthier and you’re trying to figure out which type of exercise to implement, don’t try to walk on the treadmill every day if it’s not something you enjoy doing. Eventually, you’re going to stop doing it. If you decide you want to run with your dog every morning, but your dog can’t or won’t run, it’s not something that’s feasible, so don’t force it. There are two main principles when it comes to tiny habits. The main one is to help yourself do what you already want to do. And the second is to help yourself feel successful. Keeping those two things in mind, BJ says, will keep you on the right path. Why our perception of creating habits is wrong One of the main perceptions that people tend to have about building habits is that we can create them with repetition. If you do just do something over and over and over again it will stick and you will have a habit. BJ says that is not at all correct, and not only is it very misleading it’s also unethical to push that idea. There are some things that we can do for a very short period of time and they very quickly become a habit. While there are other things we may repeat over and over and they never become a true habit. When working on tiny habits it is important to be consistent, but that’s not the same as repeating something and thinking it will stick just because you do it over and over. There is much more that goes into creating a long-term habit.

The idea of a growth mindset was created by a professor named Carol Dweck. She defines it as a belief that there is always room for improvement. Unlike the fixed mindset where you think that your talent and intelligence are fixed and can’t be further improved. If you're able to embrace the concepts of having a growth mindset, you’ll be much farther ahead than your peers and even than some of the people you work for. With things changing so quickly, it's important for us to be able to grow, to learn new things, to become better at certain things, and to not maintain that fixed mindset mentality.

Dr. Margaret Heffernan is the author of six books including Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious At Our Peril and Uncharted: How to Map the Future and Professor of Practice at the University of Bath. Margaret also has a TED Talk called The Human Skills We Need in an Unpredictable World which has been viewed over 3.6 million times. Before getting involved in business Margaret produced programs for the BBC for 13 years. She is currently Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and she also mentors CEOs and senior executives at major global organizations around the world. While Margaret was writing Willful Blindness and a short book for TED called Beyond Measure she noticed that she kept having weird conversations with people who were asking her a lot of questions about the future. What’s going to happen with Brexit? What’s going to happen with Trump? Will there be another banking crisis? And it was during this time that Margaret realized that most people do not know how to think about the future. People tend to think that a select few lucky people are able to see into the future and give us all updates on what will happen next. But in reality, the future is unknowable, there aren’t any special keys to use or doors to look behind to find out what’s next. And in thinking about this she came across Philip Tetlock’s research on forecasting, which showed that if you are consistent with your study of the future if you read a very broad cross-section of impeccable sources, and if you keep up with each forecast perfectly the farthest out you can see accurately is 400 days. But since most of us are not as consistent or rigorous as that, most of us can accurately forecast 150 days in the future. Which means the way most organizations plan with 3-year plans, 5-year plans, and even sometimes 30-year plans, is a very inaccurate and ludicrous way to go about it. “This is madness, the way we've been--everything about the way we've been teaching, management does not work. If the first part of forecasts, plan, execute, doesn't work. And we're going around using a 20th century, maybe even 19th-century mindset in the 21st century, and no wonder things are going horribly wrong.” And that is why she wrote her book Uncharted. Should we forget about forecasting altogether? Since the way we are forecasting is completely wrong, should we still do it? Should we continue thinking about the future? Margaret believes that absolutely, we should be thinking about the future and forecasting, but we have to be humble about how accurate we are likely to be. And she says we have to start asking different questions. We also have to realize that there is a difference between complicated and complex. Complicated things are things that can repeat and can be predicted. Complex things are unpredictable--even if they seem simple. That’s because there are a lot of different forces acting on these things which then causes constant change. In complex environments, Margaret says you have to do two things. First, you have to forget about efficiency, because that will strip you of the capacity to respond. You have to think about preparation instead of planning. And second, you have to think about what high-impact events have a high likelihood of happening. What are some things that you can’t predict, but you can prepare for because there is a good chance it will happen. Think about what things could really undo your business and do what you can to cushion yourself against that as best as you can. What role does data play in decision-making? Data is very useful to have, but only if you know how to use it and if you know the best questions to ask. Data in the hands of someone who doesn’t understand it can be dangerous. Margaret says that data is a powerful tool in scenario planning. It can help you to see all of the possible stories that could occur and it can help you plan for each one. “The difficulty comes, I think, with a lot of executives who want certainty. And so they think they get to choose a narrative, right? But you don't get to choose, you only get the option of thinking about it ahead of time. So that they find it difficult, and many of them simply find it too hard to conjure up different narratives. So it's partly that their biases overwhelm them. But it's also that you can take any data set, and we have quite an optimistic and quite a pessimistic story. And so surprise, you know, they generally find the optimistic one. And they find all kinds of reasons why the really truly bad one couldn't possibly happen.” One thing that Margaret truly believes executives need to work on is their lack of imagination. Leaders cannot look at the world in a two-dimensional way, we have to be able to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in order to properly navigate the future. Leaders could have been planning for a big event like the pandemic, but a lot of them didn’t, and a lot of them, even now, are not preparing for other extreme possibilities. Leaders need imagination in order to think ahead to what kind of future they want to create. “It dismays me that we have this fantastic opportunity now to reimagine work. And that makes most so-called leaders so anxious that they would rather cut, pop, go right past the creative part of that exercise and start thinking about how much square footage do we need? How many desks, how many chairs? But if you do that, and then later you decide I want this kind of future. You may not, you know, you've got the wrong furniture in the wrong offices, you know, you’ve really got to be able to lift your head out from the weeds and think long term about what is going to make our organization meaningful to the world long term. What kind of people are up for that? And how do they want to work? And when you've done that really well, then the desks and chairs will be the easy part.” How can leaders think more creatively about the future? As Margaret shares, most leaders have been trained in a 20th-century mindset, which is about cause and effect and it’s about complicated versus complex. Most leaders spend too much time looking at spreadsheets and figuring out 2%-3% adjustments when true foresight and planning takes a lot more creativity than that. Planning for the future isn’t about sitting in your chair and looking at data. It’s about argument, debate, and discussions. It’s not something that can be done quickly, it takes a lot of time and effort. In her book, Margaret uses the example of Cathedral projects, which is a phrase of Stephen Hawking’s. All of the cathedrals of the Western World were started by people who knew they would not live to see them finished. These buildings have evolved over generations and have constantly incorporated new technologies, materials, and aesthetics. The people working on them stop and ask themselves what does the world need from us right now. And a lot of leaders can learn from that type of mindset. “There's a bank in the UK whose purpose statement is ‘To help Britain flourish’. Now, I don't know what that means. I mean, you could say they could be a gardening center. They could be a health care center. They could be pet breeders, they could be any darn thing. So this is, I mean, sadly, corporate comms just got the idea of purpose between its teeth and ran away with it. But I think this need to have a genuine soul-searching debate about what makes us meaningful to the world, what earns us our license to operate, is sorely needed in most organizations.” What can leaders learn from artists? Margaret has always been fascinated with how artists work because so many of them seem ahead of their time. So how do they seem to look into the future and create such relevant pieces? One of the biggest reasons they are so ahead of their time is because they take time to observe and take notice of things around them. They ask questions, they take things in, and they take risks. They also tend to change before anyone asks them to. Leaders can learn a lot from artists. Take time to look around you. Ask things like what am I seeing and what does it mean to me? What patterns am I starting to see? What’s going on in the world right now? As Margaret says, generally we see what we’re looking for, and we miss everything else. We have to give ourselves time to let our minds wander, we have to be curious, we have to go in new directions, and allow ourselves to sit in silence and think.

Everyone must learn how to serve their leaders. Service to leaders essentially means helping make your boss look good. This doesn't mean sucking up--the goal is to help make your boss's job easier so you can progress together. Serving your leaders starts with having a good relationship with them. If you don't have a good relationship with your leaders, it's difficult to serve them. A lot of companies around the world are shifting in this direction, but you can also help initiate some of these things yourself as an employee who isn’t in a leadership position. You can ask your leaders to have regular check-ins, frequent discussions to share updates, and to help make sure that you are both progressing. Having a good relationship with your leader means you also understand their perspective.

Self-sabotage is how we hurt ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, and keep ourselves from achieving our plans, goals, and dreams. Many, if not all of us, have sabotaged ourselves in one way or another. But the good news is, we can overcome sabotaging behaviors, it just takes self-awareness and effort. There are five common self-sabotaging behaviors that we need to be on the lookout for. Negative self talk When you make a mistake or fail at something, what does your self-talk sound like in your head? Do you build yourself up or do you tear yourself down. A lot of us struggle with negative self-talk, the voice in your head that says “you’re dumb, how could you do that” or “you will never be able to figure this out”. It is easy to default to this kind of talk, but if you don’t work to overcome this it can hold you back and keep you from success. No one is going to be your #1 cheerleader in life but you. If you struggle with this it is important to be aware of it and every time you realize you are thinking something negative, change it and be positive. It’s also important to surround yourself with the right people. What are the people around you saying about you? Do they encourage you and support you and build you up? Or are they always negative and pessimistic? Another thing to be aware of is how you spend your free time. If you are spending hours on social media comparing yourself to others, you may want to redirect your focus to something like reading a book or meditating or going for a walk. You have to be as loving to yourself as you are to the people in your life that you love and care about. How do you talk to your kids, or your spouse, or your best friend? Now, this doesn’t mean you have to be positive, happy, and full of joy 100% of the time. There are times when we all feel down or upset about something, but it is crucial that we pay attention to how we are talking to ourselves. Procrastination Another big self-sabotaging behavior is procrastination. You cannot produce great work if you always wait until the last minute to get things done. Waiting until the last minute also causes you to have unnecessary stress and anxiety. A lot of times we tend to start our days getting the easiest things done first and we put off the more difficult projects. But actually it should be the other way around. Use the beginning of your day to attack the hard things so that in the afternoon, when most of us tend to crash, you only have easy things left to accomplish. It’s always difficult to get started on something, and a lot of times we let anxiety paralyze us. But if you feel stuck the best thing to do is just take action. Take the first step in completing the task. Lashing Out There are times at work or in your personal life when you feel overwhelmed, stressed out, anxious, tired, etc...and as a result, we lash out at the people around us. I’m sure many of us have experienced this at one point or another over this past year as we have had to work and live at home with our immediate family 24/7 throughout the pandemic. But reacting to people out of anger, whether it’s a co-worker, a boss, or a family member, usually does not end well. And both sides end up hurt and feeling bad. So it is important that we all figure out how to overcome this self-sabotaging behavior. In order to conquer this behavior, it is crucial for us to be in a good place emotionally, mentally, and physically. That means that we need to be getting enough sleep, taking care of our bodies, eating properly and that we have methods to turn to when we get overwhelmed. What works best for you when you are stressed out? Maybe you like to take a walk, or meditate, or talk to a friend, or have some alone time. Whatever it is you need to do to feel more in control, make sure you do that when you feel yourself getting to your breaking point. Perfectionism Some people may view perfectionism as a good thing, but for most people trying to have everything perfect all the time can be debilitating. It can stop you from taking action and it can really hold you back from moving up in your career. It is not possible to have things perfect 100% of the time, we are all human and we have faults. If you don’t allow your work to be submitted until it’s perfect it may never see the light of day. It could cause you to miss deadlines, it can frustrate the rest of your team, and it can take up time that you could be spending on other things. We all want to strive for excellence, but we can’t become obsessed with being perfect. Not only is it impossible, but it makes you less likeable to the people around you. People want to know you are human, that you’re real and down to earth. Mistakes are a part of life, so don’t be terrified of them. Not Standing Up For Yourself There are going to be times in your career when you will need to stand up for yourself. This doesn’t mean you need to get up in people’s faces and cause a big scene. But if someone is criticizing you and making it personal, or if a client is trying to get your rate down to something unreasonable, or you help a coworker out once and then they try to take advantage of your kindness--in these moments you need to stand up for yourself. Business is about relationships, it's about human beings. Most people at your organization are not purposefully trying to hurt you or take advantage of you, but it’s okay to speak up and let them know how what they are doing is making you feel. You also shouldn’t feel bad setting boundaries at work. Whether you can’t attend meetings before 9am or you need to pick up your kids at 4pm--whatever it is speak up and let people know. The key to standing up for yourself is doing it in an artful way and not making it a big argument. Make sure you are being empathetic and you understand where the other person is coming from. And always approach people in a kind, yet firm way. Strategies you can use to overcome self sabotaging behaviors Dr. Alice Boyes, the author of The Healthy Mind Toolkit, wrote an article for The Greater Good Magazine on seven strategies and tips for how you can overcome self-sabotaging behaviors. They are: Know your typical thinking patterns and factor that into your judgment-- For example, if you default to a negative mindset when things happen, take a step back and realize that your default may not be reality Prioritize one-time behaviors that reduce your stress over time--Be consistent in the tactics you use to reduce stress. Don’t just eat healthy for 24 hours or workout once a month. Use heuristics--Have shortcuts in place to help you make decisions quickly Learn to Love Incremental Improvements--You don’t have to completely change overnight, appreciate small gains and improvements. Strategize to Overcome Procrastination--Create processes for yourself so that you don’t avoid things or hide from them. Understanding Seemingly Irrelevant Decisions--Pay attention to the decisions you make, even if they seem small and unimportant. Every decision has an impact on you and the people around you. Practice Acceptance and Self Care--It is important to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Find things that help you in each area, and don’t feel bad about taking time for yourself

One way to practice self-awareness is with meditation. It slows down your breathing and thinking and allows you to be more in tune with how you're thinking, how you're feeling, what's going on around you, and it really helps make you more self-aware. Meditation can also help you take breaks. This can serve as your rest when you are stressed or tired from work. The goal is to be able to meditate for 20 minutes straight. Personally, I find it hard to meditate for 20 minutes, so I started with shorter meditations and try to increase my focus and time. Have you tried meditating?

Jeff Immelt is the former CEO of General Electric and author of the new book: Hot Seat: What I Learned From Leading A Great American Company. Jeff has had a lot of critics over the years and stepping into a role after the legendary Jack Welch was not an easy task. In his 16 years leading GE as the CEO he had to lead the company through 9/11, the financial crisis, and the 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima’s nuclear reactors--which were designed by GE. He definitely knows what it’s like to lead under pressure. Why Jeff wrote his book (he almost didn’t) Jeff admits that his career didn’t end the way he wanted it to. As he shares, “I was just unhappy, I felt like the whole narrative around GE had been lost. And that, you know, truth equals really facts plus context. And I felt like the context had been lost. So one of the reasons why I wrote it is, I wanted to tell a more complete story. I didn't want it to be defensive, I wanted it to be complete.” Jeff, who is also a Lecturer in Management at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, says that his students don’t want to learn from a perfect leader who has everything figured out. These students have lived through financial crisis, Covid, and turbulent times---they want to know how to survive through volatility and what to do when things don’t work out. Because of this he felt like there was also an audience for his book that wouldn’t necessarily care about GE. Those are the two main reasons he wrote his book. If there is one message that Jeff would like his critics to take from the book it would be that there were people in the company that tried their best and did perform well. “If you look at cumulative earnings, market share, you know, if you go back to 2016, this was a top 20 market cap company. It was number seven on Fortune most admired, it was number one on companies to hire leaders. We were leaders in digitization and globalization, you know, but the stock didn't work. succession planning didn't work, there were things that didn't work.” He says it would be one thing if the criticism was just about him, but there are thousands of people that have been hurt through this process, and this book sets out to correct that. What was it like working with Jack Welch Jack Welch, who passed away in 2020, is still considered one of the most famous CEOs of the century. Jeff was actually the CEO that took over after Jack left. So what was it like working for Jack? Jeff says Jack was challenging, giving, and creative. He was someone who liked to portray himself as “tough as nails” but Jeff says that’s not the person he saw. He was one of the best leaders to run something at scale and he was a great communicator. Jeff says this about taking over for Jack, “But by the end of the 90s, it was a company where perception didn't equal reality. We were 50% financial 50%, kind of an old industrial company. We traded like Amazon at a 50 P/E. And so kind of following him, you know, the trick was to drive the appropriate kind of change, while never looking backwards and never casting blame. And that's challenging. Look, it's easier to follow a jerk than it is to follow, you know, the best leader of the previous century. Right. But I never wanted to be him. I never wanted to act like him. And I felt like the company needed change.” While there were elements of his leadership style that were timeless, like his focus on people and metrics, there were also some elements that wouldn’t work well in an organization today. Jeff says that Jack didn’t really respect technology and he had an element of short-termism, that with the pace of change, would be a problem. Jack also believed you shouldn’t do anything as a leader unless you can control it, but as Jeff shares there are a lot of things that as a CEO of a public company you just can’t control. “I think, you know, the trick with every generation of leadership is to pick the things that travel that work, and pick the new things that have to be part of, you know, making a company vibrant and competitive in the next generation. And so I think that's the way I would assess how much would work and how much wouldn't work in this generation.” What was it like leading a company during 9/11 Jeff was on a business trip to Seattle when the attack happened and he saw it on the TV in the gym at the hotel he was staying at. He ended up getting stuck in Seattle until planes started flying again a week later. But immediately after it happened he started crisis call sessions with his team. One thing he says he learned from that experience was that leaders should be shock absorbers of fear, not accelerants of fear. “You learn to hold two truths at the same time--that things can always get worse, but that things can also have a future and you need to focus on that. You have to communicate like, hourly, daily, and we did a lot of that.” And in times of crisis leaders have to be able to take action, some decisions will work well and some won’t, but there are things that have to be confronted right away. During 9/11, the financial crisis, and Covid leaders had to find a way to lead without a playbook. How do you do that? Jeff says it starts with surrounding yourself with people you can trust and talk to. After that it is important to have a sense of timing and an idea of what tasks need to be prioritized and what things can be left for later. And the last thing that leaders in tough times have to be able to do is deal with criticism. “When you don't have a playbook you have to be willing, when people say wrong things about you, you have to be very contemporary with it with the respect of owning the narrative and controlling the communication, and things like that. Because they can set you back so good leader's flexible point of view. Learn every minute of every day, and be willing to push back when people get it wrong.” How Jeff deals with imposter syndrome Over his career Jeff says there have been many times when he has doubted himself or questioned his decisions. When it comes to imposter syndrome Jeff says it is important for leaders to have reservoirs of self confidence, self reflection, and self renewal. You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and believe you can do it. You have to keep showing up and always do your best. It is also important to have friends around you who will encourage you, cheer you up, coach you, and pick you up when you’re down. And you can only build these friendships in normal times, you can’t wait until times of crisis to build these friendships--at that point it’s too late. A strategy Jeff has used to be a more effective leader One of the things that has set him apart from other leaders over the years is what Jeff calls his external focus. He traveled a lot for business, and wherever he was he would take time to connect with the people there in their own setting to see what they were working on and things they were thinking about. He made it a point to connect with customers, other leaders, scientists, experts and that really allowed him to stay ahead of the game. Because of this skill GE was an early player in globalization, digitalization, environmental investing and much more. Jeff’s advice for current and future leaders If there is one thing that Jeff has learned over his career that he would like to pass on to others, it’s this--study how people work. You should be able to envision how everyone in your organization does their job. You don’t have to necessarily be able to do the job yourself, but you should know what kind of tools they use, how the teams work together, what metrics move them, etc… “Frequently I go to a CEOs office, and I'm always looking at their wall to see what connects them to the frontline worker. And if I walk in an office, and it's just artwork, and statues and crap like that, then I don't believe what the value statement says. I'm looking for, like, a picture where they were walking the floor with a nurse, or a picture of a jet engine or something like that.” Advice that Jeff received early on in his career was to make sure, no matter how big of a company he worked for, that he connected with the people there and knew how they got their work done.  

In our rapidly changing world of work, it's important for us to be able to use technology to collaborate quickly and efficiently so that we can make better decisions. There are a lot of benefits that come from using collaboration tools, and if your organization isn’t using them yet, you should start now. There are a few things that you can start doing: 1. Make collaboration tools part of your daily routine. Use the right tool for the job--make sure you aren’t always using video calls when you can just post a message in a group chat. 2. Set ground rules or standards for how your team is going to use the different types of technologies. Everyone has to be on the same page. 3. Teach your people how the tools will help them be more efficient and productive. It's important for employees to understand the benefits of using collaboration tools. All these things make a dramatic impact on your organization.

Ania Smith is the CEO of TaskRabbit, an online and mobile marketplace that matches freelance labor with local demand. She became CEO back in August of 2020, prior to that she held roles such as Director, Head of Courier Operations at Uber, Head of Operations, Host Services for Airbnb, and Director of Strategic Partnerships & Merchandising Strategy at Walmart--just to name a few. One of the things that Ania says has helped her get to where she is now is her broad experiences living and working in four different continents. She has been able to work across many countries, cities, companies, and roles and that diverse background has taught her a lot. She has been able to meet new people, experience different cultures, and pick up new skills over the years. Another way her unique background has helped is with figuring out what she wants to do in life. Ania says, “A lot of times, they'll say, you know, follow your passion. But that's really hard because oftentimes, we don't know what our passion is. So I'd like to think more about finding my passion. And really, the only way to do that, for those of us who are not lucky enough to know from when we're three what we want to be, is to try out many new things and see what really energizes you and motivates you and helps you think about the impact that you're having. And that has really helped me.” The path to success doesn’t always have to be linear As Ania shares, the path to her current role as CEO was not linear, it was very much a zig-zag. A lot of times we get stuck thinking that our next step has to be up the ladder to the next logical role--but oftentimes important steps in our career are side steps. As Ania shares, it is important to stay open to new opportunities to keep learning and growing and don’t limit yourself on where you have to go next. There were definitely times in Ania’s career where she didn’t get the promotion she wanted right away, but there was always another opportunity waiting that allowed her to meet new people and learn new skills that she could take with her to the next role. Ania shared an analogy her friend uses when thinking about the course of a career. She says, “A good friend of mine once used the analogy of a Google map. So she talks about how, you know, sometimes we're just like speeding down the highway towards our career and we know exactly what we're doing. Other times, we're on a slow country road. Other times we take the wrong turn. Other times, we actually are stuck in a traffic jam and really feel stuck in our careers. Other times, we may even have an accident and really have to pedal back. And I think that that's a sort of a great analogy to think about my career.” Ania’s gap year A couple of years after leaving Airbnb, Ania, her husband, and their kids took a gap year to go and live in Argentina. For a whole year, Ania and her husband stopped working and really took that time to be together as a family, explore a new culture, and talk about the future. She says it was an amazing experience to really step back from everything and to get away from the day-to-day race to really think about what she wanted her next step to be in her career. When talking about the experience she says, “ I absolutely feel that if you can at all swing it, it is life-changing, it's transformative. And it really shows you that sometimes you kind of feel like oh my god, if I'm not at work, like the whole world is going to fall apart. And it's just unfortunately not true, for most of us. We're all capable of doing something else. We all change jobs very often. And this is this changing a job to something else before you change it into a new job. And to be able to take a breather and really reevaluate where you are and what you want to do and who you want to be when you grow up-- I ask that question to myself all the time, still today--and to have that space to think that through. It's amazing.” While some people would be worried about leaving their career for a full year and getting left behind, Ania wasn’t too concerned. She knew she had been working for 20+ years and while she may be a little behind when getting back, she felt that she would still be relevant and would be able to catch up quickly. And sure enough, one week after returning to the U.S. she had a role at Uber. How Ania sets the vision for TaskRabbit When she first started as CEO of TaskRabbit Ania made it a point to meet with every single employee inside of the company--she went on a listening tour, as she puts it. Instead of walking into a new company and laying out her vision for things, she knew it was important to find out what employees felt the current vision was as well as how things were going, what things were working, and what wasn’t. Since then she has worked very hard with her leadership team to take everyone’s input in order to come up with a plan for where they want to be in 3-4 years and to define what the vision of the company is. “And it's a pretty clear path for, not how we're gonna get there, but essentially what we will be in three to four years. And I think it's been inspiring for me as a leader, but also from my team and their teams to understand what we're trying to get to. And it helps, therefore, for us to help our strategy or sort of shorter term strategies forward, because we know where we're trying to get to, we just need to break it down and work backwards. It helps that process every year, as long as we have this sort of Northstar of what we're trying to get to.” What does putting people first mean to Ania One thing that Ania is very passionate about is putting people first. But what does that actually mean to her? One of the key things for her is talking to people and truly listening to their feedback. She understands that it is crucial to learn what’s important to people, what do they value--and it’s different for everyone. Over the course of the pandemic one thing Ania has discovered is important to her people is workplace flexibility and giving people options for where and when to work. And she’s really taken that feedback to heart. She and her team are offering flexibility now and they are also figuring out how to best address this need in the future. “Feedback is a gift. So if anyone is willing to provide feedback, having the strength to accept the feedback--you may not agree with it--but having the strength to accept it, to think it through, to see how that may or may not help you, is really a big skill.” How Ania makes tough choices When she was younger Ania admits that when she had to make a decision she could not have enough data, she wanted to know everything before deciding. But over the years her approach has changed. The truth is data can be used and manipulated in any way we want it to be. So relying solely on data is not the best option. Now Ania focuses more on her experience and gut feeling when making a decision, and if she makes a mistake she quickly fixes it and moves on. “Over time, I realized that data has played lesser and lesser role in almost every decision that I make. And so much of it really just comes from, I don't know, that inner feeling that I guess people call it wisdom or experience or something where I feel like it's okay to go in direction A and I may be wrong, and often I am wrong. But it's better to make the decision quicker and to learn if I'm wrong than to continue to ask for more data and more analysis, and just kind of get stuck, and be unable to make a decision.” You have to give yourself the freedom to make decisions, and you have to accept that you’re going to be wrong, but that’s okay. This is the way you learn and grow as a leader.

There are three main barriers to collaboration: 👉HIERARCHY If your organization is built like a pyramid where information has to flow bottom-up or top-down, it won’t do well with collaboration. 👉FEAR Part of collaboration means speaking up and having confidence in yourself. Sometimes employees are scared, which keeps them from really collaborating or communicating effectively. 👉 OVER-COLLABORATION This occurs when you need to get someone else's input for every idea and every small thing you're trying to do. Over-collaboration is just as harmful as not collaborating. We often see these common barriers inside organizations when it comes to collaboration. But if you know what the barriers are, you'll have a good sense of how to deal with them if they come up and can handle them quickly.

Greg McKeown is the bestselling author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and his new book Effortless: Make It Easier To Do What Matters Most. He is also the host of the popular podcast, What’s Essential, which has featured guests like Matthew McConaughey, Ariana Huffington, Jay Shetty, and Maria Shriver. We all know life is hard, in multiple ways. We’ve all experienced challenging times, especially over the past year. But, as Greg points out, we tend to make things even more complicated for ourselves than we need to, and it can ultimately lead to burnout. In his book, Effortless, Greg shares why achieving results doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it, whether in our personal lives or at work. Why we need to get rid of the phrase “work hard, play hard” This phrase, Greg says, gives us the idea that important work can’t be fun, easy, or enjoyable. It suggests that you have to be exhausted, self-sacrificing, and overworked in order for you to be doing something important. And on the other side, if you are having fun with something it’s not really work. Rest, relaxation, and fun is only something you do when you’re burned-out and need a break. But what Greg believes is that there doesn’t need to be a separation between playing and working. And he is all about making the essential things enjoyable and easier to do. How? By turning the essential things into rituals that allows you to appreciate them and enjoy them. A lot of times we confuse rituals with habits, but they are two different things. A habit is something that we make part of our routine on the basis that there will be a benefit later on. For example, maybe you’ve incorporated working out into your routine so that you feel better and live longer. A ritual is something that you truly enjoy, it’s not about a benefit later on, it’s about enjoying the actual thing you are doing in the moment. It’s something that you look forward to. Greg says, “Take something from a chore and turn it into a ritual, then you have something magical to help you produce great results, but again, without burning out.” What does it mean to be in an effortless state One of the three main sections of Greg’s book is about what he calls an effortless state. Most people have experienced this sort of state, but not very often. Greg defines an effortless state as this, “when you're in flow, it's when you're physically rested, you're mentally at ease, you're able to be at ease in focusing on what is essential to you. What's important to note about this is that when you get into that state, it produces things. When you're in the effortless state, you tend to take effortless action, you're able to act without strain, without forcing things without breaking yourself or the people around you.” That sounds great, so how do we get into an effortless state and make sure we stay there for a long time? Well first of all, you have to be able to realize when you are burned out. Research shows that the closer we get to burnout, the less likely we are to realize it. Greg says, “The exhausted state tends to produce more exhausted action, and more exhausted results. And so people as they approach burnout start to try to power through it. So of course, that's not a recipe for success. That's a recipe for, you know, continuing this downward spiral.” So it is up to us to realize that there are two states, two options. After we realize we are in an exhausted state, this is where your rituals come in. One ritual Greg does to make sure he stays in an effortless state, is to practice gratitude. Every time he complains about something, he then says something he is thankful for. It is hard to stay in a state of anger, frustration, or fear when you are in a state of gratitude. How to shut your brain off and be content with having free time A lot of us have trouble taking time to rest, relax, and just have some free time. This is especially hard for entrepreneurs who tend to always create more work for themselves. But it’s true for people inside of organizations as well. If this is true for you, Greg has some advice. First of all, he says, create a done for the day list. This is not a typical to-do list, although it is okay to have one of those as well. But typically those tend to be something we constantly add on-to and update, which means we could work with no end. But a done for the day list is a list of the things that if you accomplish them today you would feel satisfied with the day and you could walk away from work feeling good. Another thing Greg does is he sets a time when he will be done for the day. His time is 5:00pm, so at that time every day, not only does he stop working, but he makes it a ritual that he walks out of his home office and calls out to his family “It’s five o’clock”, in order to hold himself accountable. Now there are times when he has something special like a book launch or something like that when he has to work past his set time, but he doesn’t let that become the normal thing. It is so important to set boundaries like the done for the day list and the set stopping time, especially during this past year. For a long time people have talked about work-life balance, but as Greg mentions, that’s a bit of a misnomer because it is never life overtaking work, it’s always work overtaking life. But it will take time to train your brain to shut off at a certain point, in the beginning your brain will continue to think about work even after you walk away from it, but the more you practice your boundaries and get out of your old habits the easier it will be. What to do if you don’t enjoy downtime So now that you have set up some boundaries for yourself, what happens if you just don’t enjoy resting or free time? For over-achievers it can feel uncomfortable to not have anything specific to do. Greg shares something that sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s so true. He says, “Relaxing is a responsibility. Resting is a competency. And it turns out to be as important as the competency of work in the first place.” These types of people who don’t like to relax need to practice self-awareness and realize that is a problem they have. Once you accept that you aren’t good at it, Greg suggests making a list of things that when you do them you are relaxed, rejuvenated, chilled out, and having fun. Greg and his wife both actually have a list of 20 things they recognize helps them relax. And you can have anything you want on this list, there are no other rules. You may include going on a walk, reading a book, sitting in a hot tub, playing chess, drinking your favorite beverage out on your deck, going to your favorite restaurant--anything you want. And then these items become your building blocks for a time of rest. For example, if you have 3-hours of downtime, use this list to build your perfect 3-hours of relaxing. You could spend 30 minutes out on your deck with some coffee, spend 30 minutes playing chess with a friend, then go for a walk, and go out to your favorite restaurant--and you’ve filled those 3 hours, but with things that recharge you and give you rest.

As the future is rapidly changing, leaders must be able to adapt the growth mindset instead of having a fixed mindset. Leaders must be able to learn and adapt to any changes and challenges that come their way. Remember, everyone faces challenges. Everybody has bad days, but the difference is how you overcome these challenges. You don't know everything, but you can learn everything. What would have happened if some of the world's greatest innovators and inventors had given up simply because they felt that they couldn't do something or couldn't overcome something? What if a scientist just stopped because they ran into an obstacle and didn't try to find a cure for a particular disease? We would be living in a very different world if everybody gave up at the first sign of a challenge. A challenge isn't the end of the road, it's just an opportunity to grow.

Fareed Zakaria is the host of the CNN show, Fareed Zakaria GPS. He is also a columnist for The Washington Post, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, and he is the bestselling author of several books including his newest one, Ten Lessons For A Post-Pandemic World. The pandemic has had an impact on every one of our lives, and the effects will be felt for a long time to come. Early on in the pandemic, Fareed knew we were going through something big, something the world hadn’t gone through for over 100 years, and he wanted to figure things out for himself. He also wanted to help others make sense of everything, which is what pushed him to write his newest book. Every part of our lives has been affected--health, politics, economics, and education. Thankfully we live in a time when we have the technology and resources needed to be able to still carry on for the most part. While office buildings, schools, and restaurants shut down people got creative and found a way to keep going with online learning, home deliveries, online work meetings, etc… But while there are many good things about technology, there are also a lot of cons that come with an all virtual world. The limitations of technology The place we see the limitations of technology the most, according to Fareed, is in our education systems. Education is not simply about children and young adults soaking up information, it is also a very social and emotional experience as well. As Fareed shared with me, “you have to create an atmosphere of social trust, you have to create an atmosphere in which people feel like they're having fun, you have to create an atmosphere where people feel a little bit of competition, you know, with peers and all that together creates the kind of opening in our minds that allows the knowledge to go in. And so if you just think of it, and say I'm just going to put you in front of a computer screen, and you will get information, and you will imbibe that information. No, you won't. You won't. You know, the mind just switches off.” There are definitely some things that just aren’t the same virtually as they are when we are face-to-face. Fareed says that one of the challenges we will face after the pandemic will be to figure out the power and the advantages of this online world we’ve been in. But we also need to look at the disadvantages of what we experienced and figure out how we can fix it. And he believes that we will end up in a hybrid model of some kind where we have a mixture of in-person and online. We can use technology for good things, but there are also ways in which we use it that can be harmful. But it is up to us how it is used. We can choose to text and drive which is dangerous, we can choose to multitask and always be available online which can cause burnout, we can use it to spread lies and misinformation. But it can also be used in ways that keep us safe, productive, and less stressed. As Fareed says, we should be optimistic about the future, but we also need to be realistic in order to see the problems and challenges that come with technology. It’s not about being a blind optimist, it’s about being aware of all the problems that exist, because that's the only way you fix them. How leadership has been impacted by the pandemic Over the past year leaders around the world have had to pivot to lead in a completely virtual setting, and that is not easy. Fareed shared an example of something that happened to him personally as a leader during this time that really made him stop and think. His team from his current CNN show has been all virtual, everyone on the team is working from their own homes. And at one point in the pandemic, he noticed that the morale was not as high as it usually was and people were getting burned out, which he found odd since his team is so close-knit and they have always worked so well together. So in order to get to the bottom of the problem, he called a team meeting and he asked his team to be open and honest with him to figure out what was going on. And one team member was very blunt and told him “Look, you sometimes send these cryptic emails that are really hard for us to take”. And so the conversation started around why they felt that his communication was different now than before. And what they came to discover was the loss of casual conversation and in person engagement was really at the root of the problem. Before the pandemic, they would see each other throughout the day and joke, ask each other about their families, talk about their weekend plans, etc...So in that context, after you hand some light banter throughout the day to get an email simply saying “we need to re-write this” doesn’t sound so bad. But now in a completely virtual setting, they were going days without talking or interacting and then to suddenly get that same short email of “we need to re-write this” seemed harsh and rude. And it was ruining the morale of the team. Fareed shares, “It made me realize that what I was doing there was I was spending social capital, rather than building social capital. And that what I had to do was to be very conscious of the fact that in this virtual environment, you've got to build social capital before you can spend it. And you've got to put in the time and the energy.” What does that look like? Instead of writing one sentence, maybe you should write a full paragraph. Instead of jumping into the agenda for an online meeting, you should ask people how they’re doing, or joke around a bit. Instead of going a few weeks without checking in with an employee or a co-worker, reach out even if it’s just to say “hi, how was your weekend”. “You need to realize you cannot just, you know, kind of issue commands and expect people to follow them or issue directives, that doesn't work. Where it might have in a different context, where there was a lot of soft stuff going on, and then you had this one email that came through.” What’s going to happen to the cities? Throughout the pandemic, and even a little before that, people have speculated that cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago are going to disappear. And while the option to have work flexibility is more possible now, which means people don’t have to report to a central office, it doesn’t mean cities are a thing of the past. Fareed looks to history to figure out the future, and when we do that we see that people moved to cities because there was more work and because they could earn more money there. When you have a highly dense population, there are more people to sell your product to. There are more people to invest in your business. There are more people around to network with. “That density is what produces economic activity, which is why, you know, there's a couple of very good calculations that suggest that people who live in particularly large cities tend to be about 50% more productive than other people. I'd say it's not that we're smarter, it’s that you're more likely to meet people, you're more likely to do more deals, you're more likely to see more stuff. I don’t think that’s going to change” And while people no longer have to live in a city center to be close to their organization’s headquarters, you will probably see a large amount of people living on the outskirts and commuting into the city--if not everyday, then at least from time to time. One thing Fareed thinks will change about cities is that you won’t be seeing as many big office buildings, since most people can work from home or from co-working spaces or even smaller more localized offices. So these big office buildings may be used for something else like affordable housing or performance space or something else. Fareed’s advice for individuals and leaders in the post-pandemic world When I asked Fareed what his advice would be for individuals looking for opportunity as things start to open up and also for leaders, he said he would offer everyone the same advice--whether you are a leader or not. He said, “One thing that I think we don't talk enough about is what are the personal lessons and opportunities that the pandemic has produced? We spend a lot of time talking about all the external stuff we have to fix. How do we get better government policies in place? How do we get corporations to change the way they run? How do we get cities to be transformed? What are all the external things we need to do? But we should also be thinking to ourselves, what are the internal supports that have mattered the most during this pandemic? What have we learned about ourselves as human beings, what do we need to be fulfilled, to be happy, to be productive--and productive in every sense of the word, right. Not just as workers, but as partners, as parents, as children.” No matter where you are in life we all have a chance to learn something from what we have been through. We can all ask ourselves--what makes me happy? What gives me joy? What makes me productive? And we can maximize that in a way we have not done before. We only get one life, so use it well. He also believes we should all ask ourselves this question-- How can I be a better version of myself--given what we have gone through and the ability we’ve had to get to know ourselves without all of the distractions we had before the pandemic. It’s been a difficult time for all of us in different ways, but what can we take from this experience, what can we use from this to propel us forward and to make us better human beings?

Constantly serving other people and neglecting yourself is probably the best way to get exhausted, burned out, drained, and to become disengaged from work and even disengaged in your personal life. So even though you are serving your leaders, your customers, and your team members, you also need to make sure that you serve yourself, because if you don't, you're not going to be able to serve anybody else effectively.

Jay Papasan is the bestselling author of multiple books including The ONE Thing, which he co-authored with Gary Keller. The book has sold more than 2 million copies, it has been translated into 35 languages, and it has appeared on more than 500 national bestseller lists. The main focus of The ONE Thing is to help readers find the one thing that they can do that will make everything else easier or unnecessary. In other words, once you come up with a goal for yourself it is important for you to ask yourself every day what is the one thing I can do today to take me closer to that goal. Every day you are looking for your number one priority. But does that mean you can only focus on one goal or one thing at a time? No way! Jay says that is actually the biggest mistake readers make when going through the book. He says, “We never said that--who gets to do one thing? Nobody, right? We have kids, we have aging parents, we have hobbies, we have jobs, our jobs have all kinds of busy work that is absolutely necessary and can't be ignored. But if we start and give disproportionate focus and energy to the true priority, everything else does get easier. And sometimes it just goes away. You don't even have to do it. That's a big idea.” Finding your ONE Thing Jay suggests that when you first start to try to find your one thing, it is important to think strategically about something that will be a long-term goal. Aim big, and long-term, instead of focusing on something you can achieve in the short term. As Jay shares, when you are young and just starting out it is important to try to figure out what your unique gifts are. What are some areas where you excel that maybe others have a hard time with? He says, “The reason ultimately people get accelerated through the business world is that in some area they can provide disproportionate returns on their investment of time, right. They can sell more than the next person, they can close more than the next person, they can write better copy, or better code than the next person. So part of the young person's journey is discovering where their passion and their gifts align.” How can you become invaluable? In what areas can you show up and provide extra value? What are you passionate about or what are you skilled at? If there is something that you are very skilled at and that same thing brings you joy and a sense of purpose--you should lean into that. And remember that every job is going to have things about it that you don’t enjoy, it’s pretty rare for someone to find a job that they enjoy 100% of the time. But if the majority of the role is exciting, challenging, and enjoyable for you--start your focus there. How Jay helps his employees find their one thing Jay is in charge of 44 employees with Keller Williams and one thing he practices on a regular basis with his team is something they call GPS. Each year Jay and his team come together to figure out what their number one goal as a company is. And once they have that goal they come up with three to five priorities that they will need to focus on throughout the year to reach that goal, and each of those priorities has up to five strategies behind it. That is how they get everyone on the team on the same page and working towards the same goal. So that happens on a yearly basis. And then every week Jay meets with the people who report to him to review their own one page of set goals. This is called the 4-1-1, because it is that person’s priorities for 4 weeks, one month, and one year all on one page. Every week the individual employee looks at their annual goals based on the company priorities and from that they come up with monthly goals that support those overarching goals. Jay says, “Every week they put their weekly goals that line up to their monthly goals that line up to their annual goals that line up to the divisional company goals. So it's a cascading set of priorities. So that every week, I spend 30 minutes or so with the key people who work with me, and we review their weekly priorities. And once a month, I will look at their monthly priorities and just ask the question, how does this help us achieve our goals? And at the beginning of the year is the most work, right? We ask what's our one thing and then based on that we create the cascade.” This process allows employees to break large company-wide goals into bite-sized, achievable priorities that they know they can accomplish. Is hustle culture a good thing? A lot of people, especially entrepreneurs, believe that success is connected to a nonstop hustle to try to get ahead. They think that by outworking their competition they can win. But Jay doesn’t agree with this concept at all. He says, “One of my fundamental beliefs is that to be a successful husband and a father and a successful business person, that those are not mutually exclusive endeavors. I refuse to believe otherwise. And the challenge I have with the hustle culture that you have to outwork and work longer than your competitors, is that they're just ignoring the fact that like, I get to work every day with a self made billionaire. I do the math, what is his dollars per hour, it's incalculable. But he doesn't work any more hours than I do on an average week. So it's not how many hours you work. It's what you put into the hours. And it sounds so trite, but it's incredibly true.” It’s not that you can’t work long hours from time to time or put in time at the office on a weekend on occasion. As Jay shares, he has done that when they are on a deadline or if he’s preparing to speak at a big conference. But it’s not the norm. There are moments in life when you have to work harder than others, but to hustle nonstop all the time is not sustainable. “I've seen it be a recipe for divorce and disease. And I do not want the people I love to be caught into the culture of hustle first, think second. So I think this is business as a thinking person's game. And when we are strategic in our investment of time, we win.” The four pitfalls people experience when living The ONE Thing Once people have found their ONE thing and they start living that out, there are a few pitfalls they can fall into that Jay warns about. They are: They lack clarity about what they want. They’re clear on what they want, but they’re unfocused in their approach. They’re focused, but they actually don’t have time to execute. The time that they DO commit, they leave unprotected. So as you are navigating your priorities and goals, be sure to look out for these traps and make sure you don’t fall into any of them. What can you do to start practicing your ONE thing today For those of you who are ready to start putting this into practice today, Jay’s advice is to set up 30 minutes a week--whether it's on a Sunday before the week starts or on Friday before you leave work--and come up with your one goal for the coming week. Look at your schedule and tasks for the upcoming week and ask yourself “of all the things I could do, what is the number one thing I can achieve next week?” Figure out your number one goal for that week and then manage your time to make sure that one thing happens. And if you have more than one thing you have to get done, use that 30 minutes a week to help you narrow down your to-do list to your top 5 things that actually matter. And then number those 5 things in order of importance, so you remember what that #1 most important thing is. Putting this exercise into practice will help you stay laser focused on what really matters to you and it will help you achieve your goals faster.

Should we get rid of managers? This is the topic of a trending article floating around LinkedIn recently. I absolutely believe we need get rid of the terms manager and #management​ BUT it’s not just about a name change. Nobody even wants to be called a manager anymore and people certainly don’t want to be managed. These concepts were created decades ago and the synonyms for manager actually include: slavedriver, boss, and zookeeper! Moving from #manager​ to #leader​ is about a #mindset​ and skill set change as opposed to just changing a title. I interviewed over 140 CEO’s for my new book The Future Leader and got 140 different definitions of #leadership​. The CEO of Verizon told me he defines leadership as “achieving the missions of the business, all else is footnotes.” The CEO of Audi told me leadership is about “walking the extra mile and solving problems that others cannot solve. Foremost, leadership is about caring for people and not only for numbers.” Every organization and every leader needs to first start with defining “leadership” and “leader” before worrying about a name change. Which definition resonates more with you and why? Do you have your own?

Brian Christian is the author of The Most Human Human, which was named a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and a New Yorker favorite book of the year. He is the author, with Tom Griffiths, of Algorithms to Live By, a #1 Audible bestseller, Amazon best science book of the year and MIT Technology Review best book of the year. And his newest book is The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values. AI has been a very hot topic of discussion among business leaders over the past few decades, and there are varying degrees of worry. Today Brian is sharing his view on AI and machine learning and whether we should be worried or not. He also explains why everyone should get to know more about AI, even if you aren’t in a technical role. In this episode of the podcast we explore: The history of AI and machine learning How questions from Elon Musk pushed Brian to write his book, The Alignment Problem What is supervised learning vs. reinforcement learning in regards to AI Potential problems we should look out for when it comes to AI What is an algorithm and what goes into creating one Advice for people who want to be more aware of this realm

Empathy and sympathy are not the same things. Sympathy is the idea of feeling sorry for someone. In other words, when somebody comes to you with a problem or a situation, sympathy is saying, "Oh, I'm sorry." Empathy, on the other hand, is about being able to take that person's perspective and to put yourself in their shoes to feel what they feel. Being a master of empathy will allow you to create better products for your customers, better deal with people, resolve conflicts more effectively, and foster collaboration because you'll be able to build connections with other people since you'll be able to understand them and take their perspectives. Is your organization empathetic or sympathetic?

Whether you lead a team of thousands, a team of hundreds, or a team of five, you should have executive presence. While executive presence alone most likely won’t get you promoted or keep you in your current role, it is something that will set you apart. It is also a huge part of motivating and inspiring your team. So what is executive presence? That is exactly what we are talking about today. Tom Henschel is the host of The Look & Sound of Leadership, which has been airing since 2008. Tom is also a communications coach for executives at companies like Warner Bros, Toyota, Mattel, and Sony Pictures. Tom is president of the executive development firm Essential Communications. He was also classically trained at The Juilliard School, Drama Division. Tom was a professional actor for more than 20 years and has appeared in over 100 plays, films and TV episodes. In this episode of the podcast we explore: How Steve went from acting to coaching executives What is executive presence and why is it so important Do you need executive presence in order to be a leader? The aspect of executive presence that leaders struggle with How to have executive presence in a virtual world Action items leaders can implement today to create executive presence

Building the right team is very important and can increase your chances of success as a business leader. When it comes to building a team, one of the first things to consider is diversity. But diversity doesn’t mean different types of looks, it's about bringing together different types of intelligence, beliefs, and views on the world. Another crucial component when it comes to thinking about teams is team size. I love the “two pizza rule” Amazon uses. If two pizzas aren’t enough to feed an entire team, then the team is too big. The last piece for creating effective teams comes down to metrics and measurement. Organizations use OKRs, objectives, and key results. Objectives are the big picture things that you're trying to accomplish, and the key results are the milestones that lead you to that objective. Keep those things in mind as you build an effective team or are part of an effective team.

Fear is something that we all deal with both inside and outside of work. What is fear stopping you from doing today? Are you not speaking up in meetings because you might say something dumb? Have you avoided asking for a raise or a promotion because you might be told ‘no’? Do you shy away from challenging your manager’s ideas because you might get reprimanded? My guest this week is Luvvie Ajayi Jones, bestselling author of I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual and the brand new book, Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual. For years Luvvie let fear stand in her way, but she’s definitely not anymore. While we can’t get rid of fear completely, we can live out our lives boldly in spite of it. Today Luvvie shares her personal story of how she overcame fear and became a professional troublemaker--and she gives advice on how we can do the same. In this episode of the podcast we explore: How Luvvie started writing and what most shaped her outlook on life Why she argues that being a troublemaker is a good thing How to get comfortable with being uncomfortable The importance of setting boundaries at work and in your personal life How Luvvie deals with trolls and toxic people Why leaders can encourage everyone around them to be troublemakers “Our comfort zones are not the place where big things are waiting for us.They're not the place where the best life that we want to live is waiting for us. Because the reason why it's comfortable is because you've learned all you had to learn. There is nothing in there that challenges you. And there's no way you're going to grow.”-- Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Self-awareness is all about understanding your feelings, emotions, mental state, and how you're doing. Another big part of self-awareness is being aware of your strengths and weaknesses, such as what you're good at, what you're capable of doing, and where you might need some help. Self-awareness is crucial for leadership because it helps us understand who we are and what we need and expect from other people. Also, it’ll help us identify the areas we shine and the areas we can potentially improve. It also helps control how we come across to other people.

One of the biggest challenges CEOs today say they are facing is lack of leadership talent to carry the organization forward. But it is not a lack of talent that is at the root of this problem. My guest this week is Scott DeRue, the Edward J. Frey Dean of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Based on his award-winning research, this challenge CEOs are facing is caused by the fact that 40%-50% of capable leaders are not stepping up because of the risks involved in leadership roles. Today Scott shares the research behind his article titled, Why Capable People Are Reluctant To Lead, as well as what we can do to change that. In this episode of the podcast we explore: The three kinds of risks that deter people from leadership positions How we can overcome all three risks What separates great leaders from average ones The biggest mistakes Scott sees leaders making The most important thing for leadership development “One thing that we can all do to maximize our own potential is lean into those risks--Whether it's outcome risk, whether it's image risk, whether it's interpersonal risk-- let's not let that risk hold us back. But let's lean into it. Let's embrace that risk. And in doing so, by stepping up and assuming these leadership roles, we're able to have a bigger impact in the world.”--Scott DeRue

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to interview hundreds of executives with different roles within organizations. One of the things I find consistently across the board is an emphasis on servant leadership, this change in leadership mentality that the role of a leader is actually to help others. Being service-oriented simply means that you think about others before you think about yourself. You put other people ahead of yourself, and it can be extremely powerful. It makes you a more effective leader, a more valuable employee, and a better teammate. Being service-oriented also helps create happy, loyal, and engaged customers, which is huge for company growth.

With new modern technologies and the knowledge that we have in order to lead more healthy lives, we are living longer than ever. So what does that mean for the way we live and work? For decades we have lived out our lives in three main stages-- full time education, full time work, and full time retirement. But in a 100-year life, that structure is no longer effective. In this week’s episode Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School and bestselling author of The New Long Life, shares her advice on how our current practices need to change in order to make the most out of our longer lives. As Lynda shared with me: "At any point in time, you could follow a number of different paths. And I think that's a mindset shift, really. The idea that at any point in time you could plan to be something different. That's the first action. So let your imagination go in terms of thinking about “what could I be?" In this episode of the podcast Lynda shares: Why Lynda wrote her book, The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World If life stages are no longer in a linear path, what does it look like? A look at the three fundamental principles Lynda uses in her MBA class to help students understand and navigate the challenges ahead Why we all need more personal agency and responsibility over our careers. Lynda’s advice on how we can prepare for the new world of work today

The worst thing that you can do as an organization is to have a fixed mindset. In a fixed mindset, you don't believe that people can change. You don't believe that people can learn new things or that they can adapt and improve. This kind of culture will kill innovation inside your organization. Instead, you must have a growth mindset. Always believe that there is room for further improvement, and always learn new things. Encourage your employees to think outside the box and constantly innovate in this rapidly changing world of work. This is a really fantastic way to future-proof yourself, your career, and even your organization.

For several years in a row, Aron has been on the Glassdoor top 100 CEO list and in 2012 he won the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. UKG was rated the #2 best large employer in America by Forbes, it received a 100% on the Corporate Equality Index, and prior to the merger both Kronos and Ultimate Software were separately named a Best Workplace for Parents by Great Place to Work. How do you build an organization where people love to come to work? Aron Ain, CEO of Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), believes it is all about trust, transparency, and collaboration. Contrary to past fads, creating an engaged workforce is not about free food, free gym memberships, and frequent parties. As Aron says, “I believe people join organizations because of the organization. I believe they leave because of who they work for.” In this episode of the podcast Aron shares: How to keep consistency among leaders in an organization. What it means to be an “un-leader”. How to deal with failure. Why showing true gratitude for employees is so important and what that looks like. The importance of humility and vulnerability How to keep leaders accountable for being the best they can be And much more! The leaders that employees deal with on a daily basis make or break the experience that employee has. You can work for the best organization in the world, but if your direct manager is a horrible leader, you are going to hate your job. Because of that fact, leaders inside of UKG, known internally as people managers, are held accountable to be great. People managers are not just evaluated and rated by their direct reports, they are also evaluated by the employees who work for them. Twice a year employees inside of UKG are given a survey with 19 questions with straight forward questions that measure the effectiveness of their manager. These are separate from engagement surveys as those only measure the relationship between the employee and the organization, not the relationship between the employee and the manager. How to keep consistency among leaders in an organization Inside of any organization there could be anywhere from 10 to thousands of leaders who are in charge of teams. So how do you make sure that your leaders are consistent and living up to the company values? This is part of why UKG has the employee surveys in place. Leaders are evaluated by employees twice a year, and if they aren’t either at a 90% or higher, or at least improving each time, there are steps in place that are taken. Depending on the situation the first step if a leader is struggling is to have a conversation and see if improvements can be made. The next step may be to move the person out of a leadership role, while still remaining at the company. And if all else fails, they may be asked to leave the company if they aren’t a good fit with the company values. Having these ratings from employees is a huge game-changer as leaders typically look at employee engagement surveys to get a feel for how they are doing, but that’s not an accurate picture of the employee-manager relationship. Aron shares a story about when UKG first started implementing these manager effectiveness surveys. There was a manager who asked Aron for a sit down meeting. When they were talking the manager asked Aron, “Are you going to train me to be a better manager?”. Aron told him that of course he would, but wondered why the manager was coming to him at that moment asking for help. The manager told Aron that he had always seen himself as a great leader because his team always gave high scores on engagement surveys. But when it came time for these new surveys he received a 59 out of 100 and he was shocked. He had never had the right data that would help him measure his true performance. Well after realizing it he worked hard to improve and two years later he had a score in the 90s. It is so important for leaders to get an accurate view of how employees see them. How can you expect them to change if they don’t realize they are doing anything wrong. As Aron shares, “Our homegrown training program for our managers is called Courage to Lead. And I tell them the action word isn't lead. The action word in it is the courage, because it takes unbelievable courage to be a great leader. It's hard...it’s hard.” What does it mean to be an un-leader In Aron’s book, Work Inspired, he talks about the concept of the un-leader. What is an un-leader? Well Aron believes CEOs get too much credit when things go well and they get too much blame when things don’t go well. But this shouldn’t be the case. The reason organizations do well or don’t do well does not rely solely on what the CEO does, and CEOs need to have more humility and humbleness. They need to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around them. To be an un-leader means you realize the value of the people around you and as a leader you understand that you are not more important than anyone else in the organization. Un-leaders show respect, they offer dignity, and they are thoughtful to the people they work with. They realize that they play by the same rules as everyone else. When un-leaders don’t know something, they don’t act like they do. They admit that they are not sure. Aron says, “I don't expect everyone to care about people in the full spectrum of how I care about people. But I do expect everyone to be respectful. I do expect everyone to tell the truth. You want to ask people who work with-- you want to get on my bad side quickly, don't tell the truth. It's like, I just have no patience for that. Look, I'm a sore loser. I'll admit that, I play to win. But it doesn't mean I do it in a way that doesn't exhibit good sportsmanship and being thoughtful about it.” How to deal with failures when you give employees autonomy to experiment One of the key components of the UKG values is trust, it is something that Aron emphasizes. He doesn’t ask employees to gain his trust, they start with full trust in the very beginning, the trust is theirs to lose. So as a leader if you give full autonomy and trust to employees how do you deal with failures when they happen? Aron says for him it comes down to not keeping score. He says, “I try really, really hard to not keep score. And the reason I try really hard to not keep score, if you came and sold me on an idea to do something, and six months later, it's not going well-- and you know it better than anyone that it's not going well-- what do I want you to do? I want you to stop it, stop the project, stop throwing good money at a bad idea. But if every time I'm keeping score, and I'm going to put you in the penalty box, then you're going to spend another six months absolutely, positively proving it was a stupid idea. And wasted another six months of time and money. So that's how I deal with failure. Now, if the same people keep bringing ideas, and we say, okay, go do it. And it keeps being a dumb idea. And at some point, I say, well, I'm not sure that this person has great judgment on ideas like this, but I certainly start with the way I described it.” Action items for leaders who want to start improving When asked what advice he has for leaders who are looking to better themselves, Aron says the biggest thing is to understand the world doesn’t revolve around you. Work hard to trust your people, communicate with them, be transparent, and show them respect. You should also respect that people have lives outside of the organization and that their families are the most important thing and they should come first. Take time and think about what it looks like to trust your people. If you trust them to get their work done, how does that exhibit itself? You can’t just say the words, you have to make trust a living breathing part of your organization. “If we want to be great leaders, if we want to create organizations where everybody loves to work, if you want to have these places that have these great people work for us, then you better find ways to engage them and you better do these key components around this that we've been talking about. You may be able to trick the people to come work for you. But you're not going to keep them.”

What should you do if you work for a #leader​ that you don't like or don't get along with? If you're in this situation you typically have a few options. 1) Do nothing and suffer. 2) Have a conversation with your leader. 3) Try to switch teams. 4) Quit. 5) Focus on doing great quality work. Regardless of the path you take, I think the worst option here is the first one. If you do nothing and just complain about your situation then I'm sorry, but you deserve what you get. You have to take charge over your own personal and professional success. I talk about this more in the video. Let me know what you think. Have you ever been a situation where you had to take one of these paths? I sure have!

Manfred Kets de Vries is The Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools. He has received INSEAD’s distinguished teacher award five times. Manfred is also the author of 52 books including The CEO Whisperer, Mindful Leadership Coaching, and Down the Rabbit Hole of Leadership. And he is a consultant on organizational design, transformation, and strategic human resource management to leading companies all over the world. From a young age Manfred was interested in psychology and human behavior, he was intrigued with trying to figure out why people act in certain ways. In college he studied economics and organizational behavior. Throughout his career he has focused on the intersection of these two areas and eventually he was appointed as the Global Leadership Director at INSEAD and he started a program specifically for leaders where 21 executives come together and Manfred creates what he calls tipping points for them to teach them how to make decisions in more humane and effective ways. There is a Gallup poll that shows that 85% of employees worldwide don’t feel engaged at work. And as Manfred says, we only have one life to live so we should be making the best out of it. So he enjoys working with leaders because they have such a profound effect on the lives of their employees. The 8 Archetypes Of Leadership Back in 2013 Manfred wrote an article for HBR on what he calls the 8 archetypes of leadership. These are recurring patterns of behavior that Manfred says influence a leader’s effectiveness inside of an organization. As Manfred says in his article “I think of these patterns as leadership “archetypes,” reflecting the various roles executives can play in organizations and it is a lack of fit between a leader’s archetype and the context in which he or she operates is a main cause of team and organizational dysfunctionality and executive failure.” The eight most common archetypes are: The strategist: Leadership as a game of chess. These people are good at dealing with developments in the organization’s environment. They provide vision, strategic direction and outside-the-box thinking to create new organizational forms and generate future growth. The change-catalyst: Leadership as a turnaround activity. These leaders like messy situations that they can come in and fix. They are good at implementing organizational change. But when things are good they tend to get bored. The transactor. Leadership as deal making. These leaders thrive on negotiations. They are skilled at identifying and tackling new opportunities. They are great dealmakers. The builder. Leadership as an entrepreneurial activity. Leaders in this category dream of creating something and they have the talent and determination to make their dream come true. The innovator. Leadership as creative idea generation. Leaders in this category focus on the new. They possess a great capacity to solve extremely difficult problems. The processor. Leadership as an exercise in efficiency. These executives like organizations to be smoothly running, well-oiled machines. They are very effective at setting up the structures and systems needed to support an organization’s objectives. The coach: Leadership as a form of people development. These executives know how to get the best out of people, thus creating high performance cultures. The communicator: Leadership as stage management. These executives are great influencers, and have a considerable impact on their surroundings. It is important to know which type of leader you are, as well as what archetypes your peers and team members fall into in order to create the most effective and cohesive teams. Can you change your archetype? Over the course of your career as a leader you may be interested in changing your archetype. Manfred says it is possible, but it’s not easy. Instead of trying to change yourself, you may consider surrounding yourself with people who fall into the archetypes that you need for what you are currently facing. Embrace the traits you have, and allow other people to fill in the gaps where you are lacking. And there may come a time, Manfred believes, when it may be time to resign from that position and go elsewhere. Maybe it is time for you to do something different. Years ago Manfred was speaking to a group of around 200 executives and he asked them how long is the productive life of a CEO and they said seven years, plus or minus two years. After that it’s time to move onto something else. What should you do if you are placed in a position that doesn’t match your archetype? There may be times when you feel you are being put in positions that don’t match up with your archetype and at that point Manfred says you have a decision to make. We are no longer living in times when you stick at a specific job at one company for decades. So you have to figure out what gives you energy and what brings you joy. Manfred suggests keeping a diary for a few weeks to keep track of the periods of time that you feel positive energy and joy as well as situations that impact you negatively. That way you can look back and see what things are important to you, what things you should seek out and what situations you want to avoid. Looking back on that log of activity you can make a decision as to whether it is worth it to stay in that position or not. Keeping archetypes in mind when you build your team It may not be possible to have each of the eight archetypes represented on every team you work with, but it is good to keep these archetypes in mind as each one has a role to play in an effective team. Manfred gave an example of an investment bank that he worked with in the past. They had a group of seven people who covered almost every archetype except they didn’t have anyone who was good at coaching. As Manfred shares, “they were not good in coaching, they were too busy with strategy, deal making and also having the things on time, all those kinds of things. So because of that, they decided we have to do something about it. And we have to hire someone who takes that role, because it will be growing very fast, and we don't pay any attention to that kind of thing. And we're not very good at it either, given our personality.” It is important to know which category you fall into and to be able to identify what’s missing. It’s not an exact science, and what combination of archetypes you need depends on the industry that you are in, but it is definitely something you should be aware of.

A lot of people are very uncomfortable asking for feedback. And rightfully so! Early in my career, I was one of those people who was weirded out by asking for feedback. But I realized that when you phrase feedback in a different way, it makes the conversation a lot easier and more directed towards your growth and development. Here’s how you can rephrase the feedback you want to get. 1. Can I get your advice? If you've created a solution to something and you want to get feedback on what that solution is. 2. What can I do better? If you want to improve yourself on a certain thing. 3. What can I focus on now to prepare for a future role? If you want to focus on your growth for future learning and development. I found these questions very effective to get the feedback I’m looking for. Try it out!

Deanna Mulligan is the former President, CEO, and Board Chair of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a 160 year old Fortune 250 company with around 9,500 employees. She is also the author of a new book called Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap. Deanna was named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune in 2019 and she was named one of “The 50 Most Powerful Women in New York” five times by Crain’s New York Business. Prior to Guardian Life Insurance, Deanna held senior positions at AXA Financial and New York Life Insurance and she was a principal at McKinsey & Company. ______________________________________________________________________ In the financial crisis of 2008 nearly 9 million people lost their jobs. For four years unemployment was at an all time high, and people were having a hard time finding new jobs. It was at this time that Deanna started thinking about the concept for her book, Hire Purpose. She knew it was important to find a way to make sure that this type of situation would never happen again. The focus of the book was, as Deanna shares, “How can we make sure that people are constantly being re-trained, thinking ahead, upgrading their skills, so they don't have long periods of unemployment in the middle of their career--when they might have children and they might have elderly parents to take care of, when it's the most difficult, when they're saving for retirement-- to be unemployed.” From the very beginning of her time at Guardian she made learning a priority in the culture of the organization so that people could constantly upgrade their skills and their talents. What is the skills gap and why is it a problem? Technology is rapidly changing and customer expectations are changing along with it. As consumers we expect products and services to be faster, better, cheaper, and more customized. Because of that organizations are having to adapt and implement newer, better technologies to keep up with demand. As a result of these changes, employees who were trained for a specific job with one set of technologies, now have to be able to do something completely different, and if those employees are not consistently growing, learning, and developing new skills, they are going to get left behind. The consulting firm, McKinsey & Company estimates that in the next 10 years 350 million jobs globally will be changed significantly. They also estimate that 75 million of those jobs will go unfilled because there will not be enough trained people to do the work. Deanna believes that it is up to leaders to make sure that their people are ready for this new world of work. Many companies today are looking to hire people with certain skills and abilities for new roles, but they are having a hard time finding anyone that is qualified. That is our current skills gap problem, and it’s only going to get worse, unless we all take action. What can CEOs do to close the skills gap? As a leader of Guardian Deanna knew that she had to make learning a priority. But she realized that while initiatives are good, having one or two in place wouldn’t solve the problem. She knew she had to build a culture of learning that would become integral to the day to day operations of the organization. One example of what Deanna implemented inside of Guardian was the start of leader learning day. On that day 900 of the Guardian leaders from around the country came together to figure out what they as leaders needed to learn and what ways they could help their employees learn. It was so successful that the following year the learning day was opened up to everyone inside the organization and it was extended to a full month instead of one day. Employees, no matter what level they were in the organization, could attend seminars, lectures, and courses online or in person. They came together to figure out things like--what am I going to do next? How do my skills and passions apply to what the company sees as new jobs coming up? Where can I go inside or outside the company to get the training I need? People at Guardian understand that they are accountable for their careers and that the company wants them to be successful and therefore is behind them every step of the way to make sure employees have the resources and tools they need. Who is responsible for learning--the individual or the organization? For many decades there has been an assumption in place that what we learn in school will get us to where we need to be in our careers, and if anything new comes up our company will just teach it to us. But with the fast pace of change this is no longer sufficient. We have to realize that we need to be lifetime learners in order to keep up. Deanna believes that education is a team effort. As she shares, “From my perspective companies that can afford it should help their employees to learn new skills and to do everything they can to be of assistance, but the company can't know what you love or what you're passionate about, or what makes you tick. And it really has to be a combination of the skills that the company is looking for and what you like to do and are passionate about, because learning takes energy. It's hard to learn without passion, and I don't think that anybody can force you to learn. You have to have initiative and want to learn.” One thing we have all realized during the pandemic is that when we have to, we can learn new things. We all had to learn how to work from home, how to use Zoom or platforms like it, how to juggle family life while simultaneously working, etc...As humans we have the ability to learn new things and adapt. We have to stop getting stuck in a fixed mindset, where we believe that we have a limit on things that we can learn--and we have to move to a growth mindset, where we understand that we can gain new talents and skills through hard work, advice, education, curiosity, etc… Advice for individuals who want to become perpetual learners For any individual employee out there who wants to be prepared for the future of work and who wants to become a perpetual learner Deanna has a few pieces of advice. Start small--look at a problem that you have at work or even at home and figure out if there is a different skill, ability, or technology that you could use to solve it. How could you take a different method than you’ve used before to take on a current problem. Don’t be afraid to fail--When babies first learn to walk they fall down a lot. But they get back up and try again. And as adults we don’t even remember falling down, but if we gave up after one or two falls we would still be crawling. The same goes with learning new skills. You will probably fail a few times, but after you succeed even once you will have the confidence to keep going. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Develop a learning culture--Once you solve a problem at work it will get easier to go find another one to work on. And it can encourage other people around you to think about problems they can solve as well. There could be a problem that will take multiple people, so think about putting together a group to solve it. It doesn’t matter what your seniority level is at work, you can inspire a learning culture around you at any level. Advice for leaders who want to build a culture of learning If you are a leader inside of an organization who wants to ensure that your people are prepared for the future of work and any employment changes in the future Deanna also has some advice for you. Celebrate success--When an employee changes the way they do something or they learn something new--even if it is something small--it is up to you as the leader to elevate that. Make sure everyone knows about it and get everyone excited about it. Maybe you can get a cake, or put up a sign that says thank you to that employee, or call them out in a group meeting. Give people room to fail--It is completely unrealistic to think that your employees are going to feel free to learn new things without making mistakes. Learning is about experimenting, struggling a little bit, and figuring things out. Failure is a part of that process. You have to let employees know that failure is okay and it is normal.

Now, more than ever, we need to make sure every leader in our organization is practicing empathy. Empathy is all about putting yourself in somebody else's shoes to understand their perspective and where they're coming from. According to Dr. Brene Brown, there are 4 steps to practicing empathy: Put yourself into somebody else's shoes. Imagine you are in their situation and try to think of a time when you had a similar experience. Never judge too quickly when a person tells you something. You have to understand the whole story of what’s happening. Recognize the emotion that the person is experiencing. Communicate that you understand that emotion.

Joann Lublin is the author of Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life, which came out this month. She is also the author of Earning It: Hard-Won Lessons From Trailblazing Women at the Top of the Business World. Joann is the former Management News Editor of The Wall Street Journal where she created its first career advice column which she wrote up until May 2020. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 and she won the Gerald Loeb Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest accolade in business journalism, in 2018. ______________________________________________________________________ Over the past few decades we have made greater strides in workplace gender equality and we have seen more and more women step into leadership roles, but we still have a ways to go. There are still stereotypes and mindsets set in the past that give the notion that women have to choose between a career and having a family, they can’t have both. But as Joann has found in her conversations with female senior level executives, not only can women have both, they can thrive and succeed at both at the same time. While interviewing one executive and mother for the book, Joann found out that the woman had felt it necessary to not put up photos of her children on her desk at work until they were of high school age and she had proved herself at the company. She knew that having pictures up of small children some people might question her conflicting priorities. Another woman shared that when she returned to work after a couple of years at home with her kids she was asked by male and female coworkers “how do you do it all?” and she said she was very offended by that. Because people wouldn’t have questioned her husband’s ability to do it all even though they are equal partners in parenting. People have these set mindsets that women are the ones doing 100% of the parenting while the men are 100% focused on work, but that is not the case. What is the motherhood penalty Joann has a section in her book called The Motherhood Penalty, which reflects decades of research that highlights the bias against women with children. Research suggests that when hiring managers are going through resumes and it is clear from what they can see which people have kids and which ones do not have kids, the managers are more likely to give the interviews and the jobs to the women without kids. The other aspect of the motherhood penalty has to do with pay. Either because of the breaks women have after having children or the fact that they choose to go back to work at reduced schedules the earning power of moms suffers. Yet this issue does not happen with men. Joann does add a bit about how men can suffer when it comes to parenting biases. She says, “Men have other problems being effective parents and effective members of the workplace, but the fatherhood penalty is more of if they want to be involved. Fathers, they feel like they're penalized, that their career is going to suffer, that they're not going to be a guy's guy. And so they're reluctant to take the parental leave, even if it's generous and paid, that their employer is offering because somehow they won't look like they themselves are committed to their career. So we need to change our image of what makes for a good parent and what makes for a good worker. From a gender and parenting standpoint.” The good thing that we are seeing now is Millennials and Gen Xers have more employment choices now. Where past generations may have learned to live with companies that had cultures that penalized parents, nowadays there are so many employment options that people can vote with their feet and move to a company that will treat them equally. The work/life balance myth Joann believes we need to give up on the notion of work/life balance. As she shares it is an ideal that can never be realized. In her book she compares balance to maintaining a yoga pose for 24 hours, you can’t do it. The concept that she talks about in her book is work/life sway. “The idea of work life sway is that you accept the belief that there is no such thing as balance. And you recognize that there are going to be moments in your day and in your life when you have to be 110% there for your job, for your company, for your work. But family needs may intrude without warning, and you have to be prepared and willing and able--thanks to technology-- you can sway the other way.” One example of work/life sway Joann gives from an executive that was interviewed for her book is from a woman who had returned to work after having a child and one day she got a live video call while she was in her office. The call was from her nanny who knew that the mother wanted to see her child take his first steps. The executive obviously stopped what she was doing and watched her son take his first steps. Instead of having to partition her life off into personal life and work life, they sway together, happening simultaneously. Our current situation with the pandemic is further proof that we don’t have to be locked in an office away from family for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in order to get things done. Most of us have been forced into living work and life simultaneously at home. And we’ve made it work. Flexibility can’t just be a policy, it has to be a way of life One important piece to being able to live in a work/life sway is the organization you work for and the managers you have. It is important to find a place to work where flexibility and maternity/paternity leave is not only a policy, but it is also something that is lived out in the culture. It is so critical for leaders inside of organizations to live out these types of core values. If you want your people to believe that it is okay to take 3 or 4 months of parental leave after having a new child, you have to be willing to set the example. People are going to look to senior level executives to see that they practice what they preach. Employees want to know they won’t be reprimanded or looked down on for taking time off, or for leaving early to watch their child’s soccer game, or to go home to take care of a sick kid. Joann has a story about a woman who was the head of HR at a tech company who decided to make an example of what the company viewed as flexibility and leaving work early. She had a son who was in his last year of high school and she knew he would be leaving home the following year to go to college. So she decided that every Thursday she was going to leave by 5pm--no matter what was happening at work--so that she could take her son out to dinner for bonding time. Not only did she leave at 5pm every single Thursday for the full year of his senior year, she posted about it on the company’s internal website so that employees worldwide saw her example. She showed that the company policies weren’t just lip service or words on a page, they were meant to be lived out by everyone. When it comes to finding a place to work, this is something to really consider. Is the senior level leadership living out the values and the professed culture of the company? Women can’t be afraid to set expectations and ask for what they want at work One of the senior leaders I interviewed for the podcast awhile back spoke of having two phones, a smartphone and a flip phone in order to disconnect from work. While at work she would have her smartphone with her and people could call, text, or email and she would respond. But once she went home the smartphone was put away and she only had her flip phone with her. Only a select few people had the number to the flip phone so that she would know if it rang, it was an emergency or something very important. Aside from that she wouldn’t check emails, social media, text messages, etc...while she was at home with family. The same was true when she went to work, her family knew that if there was an emergency or something important they could call that flip phone and she would answer, but otherwise they would wait until she got home. And her coworkers and her boss knew if that phone rang she was leaving the room, no matter what was happening. She set those expectations up from the beginning so that everybody was on the same page and knew what was happening. Joann says women are not as good at setting up expectations as men are. They tend to be more afraid to ask for what they need. But putting up boundaries and letting people know what it is you want is a critical part of having a successful work/life sway. When it comes to asking for what you want Joann suggests not doing it as a solo act. Connect with other working moms in your company, figure out the main issues you are all dealing with and come up with some solutions together that you can take to your leaders. Joann’s advice for working dads When it comes to “power dads” Joann says her biggest advice is not to just try to be supportive of their wives or life partners, but to be an equal partner. What women who want to be successful in their careers and have children want is co-parenting. And this is something to talk about early in relationships. Joann says, “Frankly, the time to talk about that is not when you've gone 24 hours straight, with not much sleep, because you're at each other's throat. And Gosh, darn it, I changed the diaper the last time the newborn woke up. You need to kind of come to some meeting of the minds, frankly, at the start of your commitment to a long term relationship. If you want to have children, you should talk about that. We should also talk about who's going to stay home when the kid is born, who's going to stay home when the kid is sick, whose career is going to take priority, as these kids are growing up is one of us willing to be a stay at home parent for a couple of years, is the other one willing to be the stay at home parent the next couple years.”

Can you really work with multiple generations of employees? A lot of people are worried about the new generation that is coming into the workforce. Here are three ways you can ensure that employees can work with multiple generations: ✅Avoid stereotypes Don’t assume that if somebody is older, they don't know how to use technology and if somebody is younger, they are great with technology. Let's not assume that every generation and every person from that generation acts or behaves a certain way. ✅Focus on the life stage We have to focus on the stage each person is at in life. They might be a younger employee who has a lot of responsibilities or an older employee with few responsibilities. ✅Practice empathy This is extremely important to any organization, especially when we think about working with different generations. We need to remember that different generations went through different things. These three tips will help create more cohesive teams, especially if those teams are composed of people from different generations.

Jeff Schwartz is the U.S. Leader for the Future of Work at Deloitte and author of the new book Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work. Jeff is also the global editor of the Deloitte “Global Human Capital Trends” report series, which he started in 2011. ______________________________________________________________________ Business leaders are always looking ahead to see what is coming in the future of work. The trends that we have seen coming in the next 5-10 years have been accelerated due to the pandemic in 2020. Things that we thought would happen in 5-10 years have happened in weeks and months. When it comes to the future of work Jeff believes that we are in the end of the beginning, and we are beginning the next chapter. We now have the technologies in place, in this new chapter we are going to see the implementation and scaling of these technologies and the new ways of working. “One of the one of my favorite quotes is a quote from Albert Einstein who said that you can't use an old map to explore a new world. And I think that's part of what we learned in 2020...But a lot of people are using old maps for new problems. And this is a big shift we're going through now.” Jeff believes that Covid-19 may be an event that changes work forever. One of the things we are challenged with in 2021 is to figure out if we now return to what we did before, or if we use the events of 2020 as an on-ramp to something new. Jeff’s view is that we will use it as an on-ramp to something new. What does the future of work actually mean We hear the phrase “the future of work” so often these days. It is at the forefront of so many discussion. But what does it actually mean? Jeff said it can mean a lot of different things, but for him there are three main things that make up the future of work: how work is changing, how workforces are changing, how workplaces are changing. Jeff says, “I think we spent the last 20 years setting the table for the future of work discussion. Identifying what the work, workforce, workplace options are, what the implications are for communities, regulation, education. 2020 was a bit of a fast forward button or a forced experiment button. And as I was mentioning earlier, you know, I think we are at the end of the beginning of the future of work. And we are at the beginning of the next chapter, which is taking these changes to work, workforces, and workplaces, and just implementing them at scale. Not on the side, but in the heart of what we're doing.” Top trends in 2021 Jeff and his team at Deloitte have been releasing trend reports since 2011 and they recently released their report for 2021. Some of the top trends they focused on were: The integration of wellbeing into work, not as a set of side benefits, but in a deliberate way that is integrated into work Super teams, which is how we put AI and robots on the team in a way that supports people and allows them to do more human work such as deep care, deep teaching, deep design, etc… Beyond re-skilling and looking at developing enduring human capabilities, giving workers what they need so they can shift and work up to their potential even when they have to do something outside of what they were hired to do The real challenges around workforce governance, we found out in 2020 we don’t have the data and information needed The elevation of the HR role in the first few months of the pandemic and looking at how HR can lead into this reimagination and re-architecture of the work era. What Jeff worries about for the future When it comes to the future of work Jeff is mostly optimistic and he doesn’t have many fears. But he does have a specific worry about the future. As he shares, “My concern is that we aren't taking advantage of the opportunities that we have in front of us, as both businesses and as communities in society. We're at a very interesting point, where we have the opportunity to do some pretty amazing things in terms of the way we live our lives, we organize our work, the way we organize education, the way we organize our businesses. And I worry that we're not really as focused on the opportunity as we can.” He is concerned that some of us are not prepared for the unpredictable part of life. As the world changes some of the institutions we have--such as schools, communities, and businesses--will have to be able to stretch and flex to be more relevant. We have to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that we have in front of us. With the innovation and technology we have today we have the opportunity to do some pretty amazing things in the way we live, work, learn, and organize. What do business leaders need to do to take advantage of the future of work When it comes to taking advantage of things coming in the future of work Jeff has some advice for business leaders. They are: Leaders need to recognize that the role of business leaders is to deliver value, not just cost savings. Big changes in the economy comes not just from cost savings and productivity, but from innovation, new value, and creating new sources of meaning. Leaders must wrap their minds around the idea that they are leading workforce ecosystems today, not just individual employees. It is not the same as 30 years ago where you just focus on who to attract, develop, and retain. It’s now about accessing, curating, and engaging. You can access talent in the form of a human or a machine. You can look inside of your organization or by using talent marketplaces. You really have to look at all of the ways you can access and curate talent. Leaders must think of themselves as co-creators. We have to move from a supervisor mentality to a player-coach mentality. Jeff’s advice for individual leaders looking to navigate this new world of work Individuals have a lot of responsibility in preparing themselves for the future of work. But we are highly adaptable and there’s a lot we can do. Jeff’s advice for individuals is: Adopt the growth mindset, don’t have a fixed mindset. Growth mindset is the belief that you can improve your abilities through hard work, exploration, curiosity, and learning. Your capabilities are not stagnant, you can do something to better yourself. Understand the importance of being a team player. There is nothing wrong with individual work, but in this new world of work individuals must be able to work well with a team, no matter what their role on that team is. We have to understand the different roles of teams, what a high performing team is, and understand that you may play different roles in different teams that you are on--whether you are a participant or a facilitator, an expert, or even the leader of the team Embrace the 100-year life span and the 50-60 year career. As we live longer lives we have to recognize that our careers no longer mean working for one company in one department. You will have multiple reinventions in your career, so it is important to recognize that and prepare for it. “If you think that your journey is going over one mountain, and you find out that the journey is going over six mountains, it really helps to know that it's a six mountain journey versus a one mountain journey, right? You're mentally prepared, you're physically prepared. And you know, we're telling people, it's a one mountain journey, you go to school, you pick a career, you go to work for somebody, maybe it's a two mountain journey, or maybe there's another mountain behind this one, but if we know that it is a portfolio of reinvention that the journey is much more varied than we thought. We think that will help us to be prepared.”

What’s the worst career choice you ever made? I remember when I was younger, everybody told me not to move to San Francisco. They said I couldn’t afford to live there, that I didn’t know anything about speaking, and that I was a terrible writer and couldn’t write a book. People would say that I should be a lawyer or a doctor, that I should do this or that. And I spent a lot of my life listening to other people and trying to fit into somebody else's mold. When I wanted to start a business, everybody told me that I didn’t know anything about starting a business and that I should get an MBA instead. Listening to other people was the worst career mistake I ever made. It took me several years to understand that I shouldn't be listening to other people--I should be listening to myself. It's ok to take advice from other people and to hear what others are saying. But ultimately, you have to take it with a grain of salt, because nobody knows you better than you.

Steve Preston is the President & CEO of Goodwill Industries International, the world’s leading workforce provider. He leads a team of around 140,000 employees across the United States. Prior to his current role Steve served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. He orchestrated successful turnarounds as the CEO of two private corporations, Oakleaf Global Holdings and Livingston International and he was the CFO of two Fortune 500 companies — Waste Management and ServiceMaster. ______________________________________________________________________ The world looks very different today than it did just over a year ago. The pandemic and other world events have had long lasting effects on the way we live and work. Steve’s role at Goodwill has put him in the unique position of not only having to address these issues inside of his own organization, but because one of Goodwill’s main operations is workforce development and job placement, he has had to pay attention to how things are changing in all industries. Goodwill has 650 job centers around the country where people can go to get trading development, coaching, and job placement services. One major trend Steve has been focused on is the acceleration of job displacement due to Covid-19. As he shares, “Before the pandemic, we were very focused on what everybody's calling the future of work. And that is a significant migration in labor demands by employers that are more focused on technology skills, and other cognitive and relational skills that surround the product development and service delivery. And so many of the forecasters or economists were forecasting that 30 or 35 million jobs would be lost over the next decade. Well, what happened when COVID hit is not only did we see unemployment spike, there were two other phenomena within that, number one, that people who lost their jobs were people with lower levels of education, lower income levels, and disproportionately people of racial and ethnic minorities. And then in addition to that, employers accelerated their adoption of digital technologies, customer interactions, supply chain support, and other kinds of internal management processes.” Because of both of these situations happening quickly--1. That the people who were most likely going to lose jobs over the course of the next decade lost their jobs in 2020 and 2. Companies accelerated their digital transformations--we are now in a situation where people urgently need digital skills to be able to compete for jobs. We have employers who are looking to upgrade the level of skills for all roles and the people who need jobs right now don’t have those skills. The future of the office One thing that we have come to realize over the past year is it is possible to get work done at home. In fact a lot of people are finding they are more productive at home. Organizations are realizing that even though people aren’t physically in the office or always working the traditional 9-5, work is getting done. So does this realization mean that physical office spaces will disappear in the future? Steve doesn’t think so. While we can work from home, as humans we thrive on interaction, relationship, and connectedness that just isn’t the same when we talk virtually. Most likely what will happen is a hybrid model that allows people to work from home part of the time while still coming into the office on a regular basis. Whether they are in the office more will depend on the role they have. Steve says, “I'm definitely thinking about a hybrid model, because I do not want to throw out the human interaction side, I think that's critical. And I think, you know, especially when you are dealing with complex business issues, and making tough decisions-- having trust, having those deep personal relationships, is just, I mean, that's how leadership functions well, is being having that joint accountability and trust, and being able to move forward together with those situations in place. And pure remote doesn't do that.” Steve’s advice for people looking for jobs now Trying to find work in the middle of a pandemic is hard, it is stressful, and some may feel like it is impossible. But Steve has some great advice for anyone who is looking for a job right now. First of all, he says it is so important to take care of yourself mentall and emotionally. Don’t let the stress of finding a job or being turned down for a job affect your mood. Spend time with friends, stay engaged, and take care of yourself. It’s also important to take advantage of the time that you have without a job to build your skills. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on getting a degree, there are so many places to learn these days. Develop skills, specifically digital skills like coding or data. Utilize this time to better yourself so that when the right job opens up you are ready for it. Bettering yourself can also look good in an interview. When talking with a potential employer when they ask you what you have been doing during your unemployment you will have a great response. You’ll let them know what you’ve been doing to build skills whether it is from online courses, reading books, listening to podcasts, etc… “Time is precious, you know, and most of us in our lives are always looking for time. And when you've got it, the challenge with having time, like unemployment is it's filled with all sorts of anxiety and urgency. But you have to find space to make it a good time, to come out at the other end in a better position when you entered it.” Steve also says to look around at the network around you. We all have networks, whether we realize it or not. A conversation with someone you know may lead you to a job. So talk to the people you know, let them know what you are looking for, and who knows it could lead you to something. The best skills and mindsets for the future In this new world of work there are certain skills and mindsets we should focus on. And it is important to have a balance between technology skills and human skills. Being able to walk into a new job and feeling comfortable around their technology whether you have used it or not is beneficial. Specific digital technology skills such as coding, data analytics, Python, Tableau, etc...are good as well. Basic workplace effectiveness skills are crucial as well. Knowing how to effectively communicate, how to negotiate, how to present yourself, how to listen to others are all key skills if you want to have a successful career. When it comes to certain industries looking to hire people, Steve says the retail industry is starting to come back. Logistics has stayed strong and IT jobs are always in demand. Hospitality on the other hand--hotels, restaurants, airlines--have not bounced back yet and it could be awhile. Purpose in business One thing that Steve is very passionate about is purpose in business. As he shares organizations are large ecosystems with tons of employees who are impacted by the actions of the leaders. So it is crucial for leaders to bring wholeness to organizations and to create cultures that allow people to thrive and grow. “When you don't have principled leadership, you see terrible things happen. I was CFO of a large company during the Sarbanes Oxley meltdown in the early 2000s, you saw all kinds of moral issues across the world. I was the HUD Secretary during the housing crisis. And there were all kinds of moral failures across businesses, you know mortgage institutions and in any number of, you know, lenders and people who are in the securitization industry, we need principled leadership and people who have a sense of true north, because in so many ways, great leadership brings flourishing to their organizations and to our communities. And bad leadership causes terrible things, which can result in a systemic breakdown.” Steve is no stranger to leading in tough times. His advice to leaders right now is to know what the mission of your company is and what you’re hoping to achieve. You have to use that mission and lean into it as a rallying cry for your people. Because, as Steve shares, what happens in a crisis is people are scared, they are confused, and the last thing they need is lack of direction. It is up to you as the leader to provide that direction for them. Know what your problems are, what are you facing as an organization. Then using your mission and your goals figure out a solution for that problem. And it is so important to keep your employees engaged in the process along the way. Employees want to see what is happening and know what their role is. “In a crisis can actually be a great time to infuse purpose into the organization and see your employees rise up to to go after that mission.” Leaders have to be open and transparent. People want to know what the truth is and they can tell when you are not being honest. Be decisive, be clear, make a decision, and move forward. Your people want to trust you, and they want to trust that they can follow you as their leader. Skills in a post-Covid-19 world Historically many people have been excluded from jobs because they didn’t have a certain degree or a specific amount of experience to even be considered for the role. But this practice is starting to change. Companies are starting to realize that it is better to focus on skills in recruiting and promotions instead of education, degrees, and specific experience. Steve says at Goodwill the first thing they do when a candidate walks through the door is they do a skills assessment. Then when working with that person for a desired future role they can help pinpoint what skills the person already has and what skills they will need to work on in order to successfully take on that role. A lot of times we have a hard time translating our skills into specific roles, we may not even realize that we have a set of skills. One group of people who have a hard time with this are veterans. They don’t usually have college degrees or formal education, but they have phenomenal training, discipline, they have great communication and even leadership skills. “I am optimistic, because I think we're reaching more people through what's kind of opened up over the last nine months, I think, and I'm hopeful that employers will continue to open their minds about how best to fill those roles. And I'm very hopeful that people like Goodwill, and other people in this industry will continue to expand the relevant opportunities for people to get relevant skills for relevant roles.”

Leaders need to serve themselves. This is the leadership hack of Barbara Humpton, CEO of Siemens in the United States. While leaders need to serve their leaders, their customers, their partners, and their teams, they also need to serve themselves. Self-care can manifest in a lot of different ways, but for Barbara, it's about sleep. Oftentimes, sleeping on a problem can greatly increase your potential for better ideas instead of trying to solve the problem at the moment. Self-care is different for each person, as each of us is dealing with different kinds of stress. But the most important thing is that you take care of yourself so that you can then take care of others.

Ryan Hawk is the host of one of the most popular management and leadership podcasts in the world called, The Learning Leader Show. The show was chosen by Apple Podcasts as an “all time bestseller” in 2020 and it has received acclaim from Forbes and Inc. Magazine. He is also the author of Welcome to Management: How to Grow From Top Performer to Excellent Leader. It was named one of the 100 Best Management books of all time by Book Authority and it was named the best leadership book of 2020 by Forbes. ________________________________________________________________ Contrary to popular belief, top performers do not always make the best leaders. At the beginning of his career Ryan was in sales making cold calls for LexisNexis, and he was very successful at it. Because he was a top performer he was promoted several times and ultimately he moved to a sister company and became the VP of North America. Over his time as a leader he learned a lot and was able to gain the skills needed to lead, but thinking back to his first management role, Ryan says he wasn’t prepared for it. Being a top performer does not mean that you are a great leader. But so many companies still rely on this benchmark alone when promoting people to leadership roles. As Ryan shares, “the funny part about it is there's very little of what you did as an individual contributor that actually translates to you being a good coach or manager of a team of others doing that. The skill sets are just completely different. And I understand why you look towards the top performer because basically the thought process is well, they were really good, so they probably have earned some respect from their peers. Let's elevate them and then tell them okay, tell everybody else exactly what you did so that you can create a bunch of clones essentially. So I get that that's why it happens. However, there are a lot of superstar performers that are horrible coaches.” Ryan was able to learn from hands on experience and ultimately he decided to create his own sort of leadership PhD in the form of one on one conversations with leaders from all walks of life. This turned into his podcast, The Learning Leader, which he still hosts today. He interviews CEOs, athletes, authors, professors, and many others who have experience in leadership in order to help listeners continuously learn, grow, and improve. The difference between a top performer and a leader Most of us have had a teacher at some point in our lives who was extremely smart and knew their subject very well, but had a hard time teaching it to others. They make what they do look easy, but as soon as someone has a question they struggle to help that person truly understand. As Ryan shares this happens in sports too. Superstar players like Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan are put in coaching roles and while they are amazing players, they are not great coaches. “I think the same happens in the sales world. The same happens in all the business world where you're just grabbing the top performer, without actually fully checking, can they coach others who aren't as talented as them? Can they help other people who aren't naturally as good as them? And that's the problem, is sometimes we elevate and promote people who are just not good teachers, not good coaches, and a big element of management, of leading a team is teaching and coaching other people to levels that they didn't even realize they were capable of reaching.” Organizations need to look at other qualities for potential leaders aside from generating the most money or bringing in the most clients. They also need to invest more in training future leaders to make sure any individual who is being promoted has the skills necessary to lead. Based on surveys I conducted for my recent book, The Future Leader, on average people are moving into their first leadership role in their mid to late 20s, but leaders say that on average the first time they receive formal leadership training is somewhere in their late 30s or early 40s. That’s a huge gap of time that people are leading without any kind of formal training. How to solve the leadership problem As Ryan shares, it is important that we realize that attaining a leadership role is not the only sign of success in someone’s career. Not everyone wants to be a leader, and not everyone is cut out to be a leader. There are other paths people can take in their career that will allow them to be successful without leading others. It is up to organizations to create multiple career paths for employees. People need to feel like they can continue to be an individual contributor while also being able to grow and thrive in that role. Management roles should not be the only way to move up and grow inside an organization. “I think it's good to have both sets of people or a wide variety of people. I love having people on my team that I know, they're never going to be a manager and that's completely fine. They're going to crush it here. Let's just do everything we can to support them to make sure they're feeling growth to take care of them. As well as there's the other group that maybe they really want to be a manager and they have some of that innate skill and talent that let's let's work with them to get better and better, so when it comes time for them to run a team, they're in a better position than I was when I got promoted cold.” What Ryan looks for in a great leader Ryan believes great leaders are fulfilled by teaching and coaching other people. They genuinely enjoy helping others grow and improve. They are selfless people who put others before themselves. People who get focused on an end goal and set out to achieve it no matter what with the mindset of “nobody’s going to get in my way”, aren’t in a place to be a successful leader. Leaders care more about people than the end goal. Great leaders value diverse thinking and differing points of view and they are able to put themselves in other people’s shoes. They have patience and a willingness to learn. They embrace curiosity and they are comfortable admitting they don’t know everything--they’re not afraid to ask for help. They are both respected and liked. Why you must start by leading yourself In Ryan’s book, Welcome to Management, he points out that before you can lead a team, you must learn how to lead yourself. We’ve all heard the phrase that is used on airplanes when they say you must secure your oxygen mask before assisting others, and that is the same concept here. It is important to look inward first and figure out what you need to do to put yourself in the best position to lead a team who actually wants to follow you. In Ryan’s case he wanted to become a learning machine so that his team would see him as someone who was constantly striving to get better. So he built a four part framework for himself to figure out what it actually means to be a learning machine and how to actively live it out on a daily basis. His four part framework consists of: 1. Learn: He is constantly reading articles and books, interviewing different leaders, listening to podcasts and finding new information and great ideas. 2. Test: When he finds a great idea he then tests it out to see if actually works 3. Reflect: After he tests an idea out he looks back on the process and the results to see how it went and to decide if he should keep going with it or let it go. 4. Teach: Teaching is a great way to reinforce new things. Ryan shares his experience with others in order to solidify what he has taken in and tested out. To give a picture of what this process looks like in real life Ryan shares an example of how this could be used for something learned in an article. Perhaps you find an HBR article on how to run better meetings. So you’ve read the article and you’ve thought about how you could use this with your own team. And you’ve brought the idea to a mentor or someone who has led teams before to run the idea past them for their feedback. Instead of just soaking in the information and thinking about it, you need to test it. So in your next meeting you try out the ideas from the article and you invite your mentor to sit in on the meeting to see how it goes. After the meeting is done you meet with your mentor or with people who were in the meeting that you trust and who will be honest with you to get their feedback on how it went. You all reflect on how it went, what worked and what didn’t. Should you keep using it or scrap it? Then you teach the idea to someone. It could be someone you are mentoring or someone in your company who is thinking of moving into a leadership role. You sit down with that person and explain the idea you learned, how you used it in your meeting, and what worked well and what didn’t. “Before you know it, you've been in all four quadrants in one day, or maybe a few days, whatever it may be of saying this is how to….and you do that for basically everything within your career, or everything in your life, of always striving to fuel the intake engine, run experiments based on what you learned, reflect on how it went--what to keep doing what to stop-- and then sharing with other people. And it just goes on and on and on and never stops. And then once you pause at the end of the year, if you're regularly behaving on it, wow look at everything we've done over the course of the year, we've changed a lot. Because you're in this constant state of being a learning machine. And that's how I think you can regularly figure out new and better ways to do things.”

Leaders need to become lighthouses. Why? A lighthouse is something that shines light into a sea of uncertainty. It guides other people so they don’t hit rocks and can find their way back home. But as a lighthouse, you need to remember that without ships in the water, you're not very valuable. It means you should always guide other people. You have to take other people along on this journey with you. If you only focus on yourself and become a wonderful lighthouse but don't have any ships in the water, then what’s the point? This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.

Laurent Therivel is the CEO of UScellular, the fourth largest wireless carrier in the United States with 5,000 employees across 23 states. Previously he spent 12 years at AT&T where he most recently served as CEO of AT&T Mexico leading 18,000 people. Becoming the CEO of a company during a pandemic comes with a unique set of problems. A role that usually requires a lot of face to face interaction with employees, customers, and vendors has been mostly limited to phone calls and online meetings. Laurent joined UScellular as their CEO in July of 2020. He says he’s had to heavily rely on data and analytics to see how their services are working for customers across the country, and that’s been difficult. Usually he would prefer to interact more to get a better feel for how things are going. This past year there has been a fundamental shift in the way we live and work and Laurent believes that this shift has allowed us to take trends that would have taken 10 years or so and accelerated them to be accomplished in a couple of months. Laurent shares that he feels he has been able to be more efficient in his role due to technology. Now instead of having to travel across the country to visit with his team he can do it all from his computer at home. He has also been able to meet with smaller groups inside the company for Q&As and discussions, which is much easier than meeting with a huge group every time he shows up at a location. So while this move was challenging for Laurent, he also has seen the silver linings and the positive impacts as well. What to do if you aren’t happy with your job or your company Most of us have had a time in our careers where we just aren’t sure if the role we have or the company we work for is the right fit. A time when you just don’t know what you really want to do in life. For people going through this right now Laurent gives two pieces of advice. First of all, he says, you have to do your homework. It is important to carefully distinguish the difference between a company and a role. What about your current situation do you not like? Do you and your boss not have a good working relationship? Does your skill set not match up with the work you are doing? What is it that is making you feel unhappy? Figuring this out can help you decide what to do. If it is a problem with your boss, maybe you can sit down and have a discussion with them to fix that relationship. If you don’t like the actual work you are doing or it doesn’t match up to your skillset, maybe there is another role for you inside the organization that could be better. Laurent believes people are too quick to say the company itself is not a good fit, but usually it is their role or a relationship with a boss or coworker. Really look deep at why you are feeling unhappy. He also says that people need to figure out what their worth is externally. There are two problems that come along with not accurately evaluating your external worth. A lot of times people feel stuck in a role because they limit themselves. Laurent says, “They remain stuck, when they could be doing something much more exciting and much more interesting and a much better fit with their skills. But because they don't believe in themselves and because they haven't taken the time to find their worth externally, they don't take the leap.” Other people over value their external worth. They may think they are doing exceptional work, and that they are really making an impact, but that may not be the case. So they come into work and complain, and they feel underpaid and undervalued, but really they are the ones not rising to their full potential. You really have to do your homework and be honest with yourself to figure out your external work and what your performance really looks like. Laurent’s advice for leaders who feel they are not progressing in a company For mid-level leaders who feel that there aren’t any opportunities inside of their organization to progress or rise up through the ranks Laurent shares his advice. He says this is a common scenario, there are a lot of leaders going through this. For this situation he says leaders have to be willing to develop their skill set laterally. He says, “Too often people say I feel stuck, I feel stagnant. And then you say, Okay, well, are you willing to move geographically? No, no, no, my family's here, you know, I can't move. Okay. Do you want to try a different role? Do you want to move laterally in the organization and try and build your skill set somewhere else? Well, no, I don't really want to do that. I think I'm good at accounting, or I'm good at logistics, or whatever it is, they're good at sales. Okay, so if that's the case, really what you're doing is you're waiting for your boss to retire or die, right? If that doesn't happen, then you don't know where to go.” You have to be open to lateral moves if moving up the rank isn’t a possibility at the moment. Don’t be the one to limit yourself. Laurent also stresses the importance of having open and honest conversations with your loved ones so you know the right decisions to make in your career. Don’t assume the reaction your spouse, significant other, or kids will have to a career choice. You never know until you talk with them. Advice for senior leaders who are burned out or bored People at any level of leadership tend to place limits on themselves. It is fairly common to hear senior leaders talk about how they feel burned out or bored with their role, but Laurent says a lot of times this is because they have limited themselves for one reason or another. Feeling bored or burned out may signal that it is time to try something else, but it can be hard to leave a role for various reasons. Sometimes senior leaders may have become used to living a certain way financially, so they stop themselves from pursuing their passions because it may not provide the same level of financial security. As Laurent says, “I find that that a lot of times, senior leaders in their career aren't willing to really make the difficult move, because they've convinced themselves that they have a lot less flexibility, a lot less optionality than they really do. Which is sad, because if you think about all of the hard work that you've put in, it should be to go create optionality later in your life, right? You should have the ability to go teach classes or be a mezcal importer, by the way, is what I want to do when I retire. So I think some of it has to do with, again, going back and having those conversations to make sure you know how much optionality that you really do have.” Figure out how much risk you are willing to take as well as what you truly value in life to decide where to go when you feel this way. How Laurent makes difficult decisions When it comes to making tough decisions Laurent says he uses a combination of analytics and advice. He doesn’t just go with a gut feeling. It’s all about taking a step back and looking at the issue impartially. Emotions do play a part in making decisions, but in this first step Laurent tries to separate emotions. It is also important, Laurent shares, to have a healthy dose of humility. “Everybody thinks that the problem that they're facing is unique and has never before occurred in this universe. And chances are, it's occurred hundreds of times. And so if you can develop a trusted set of friends, a trusted set of advisors, trusted set of mentors, that helps. And if nothing else, you know, there's one thing that people like talking more about than anything, which is themselves. And so we find people that have faced a problem like this and just reach out to them and say, hey, how did you think through this, and I think having the humility to do that, is, is critical to making an informed decision.” Leaders also need to be able to admit when they may not be the best person to make the decision. Laurent says there are times when he is not the best person to make decisions. He only wants to be involved in decisions if, and only if, he can add value. “Most people, I think, would have an image that a CEO is making 10 decisions a day. And I think if that's the case, you're probably a little bit out of whack, and probably your team doesn't feel very empowered, either.” This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.

Whether you are a leader or an employee, self-awareness is extremely important. One of the best ways to be externally self-aware is to be open to feedback. There are 3 ways you can get better feedback: Ask for it. Have a conversation with your leader or manager about what the feedback process looks like. Have open communication and set up the parameters around what the feedback will look like. Internalize the feedback you get. A lot of times when we get feedback, we take it personally and get defensive. Instead, internalize the feedback, absorb the information, and use it as an opportunity to learn and grow and apply the things you’re given. Focus on the effort, not just the end result. Don't discard the journey. Reward yourself for what it took to become self-aware instead of focusing only on the end result.   This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.  

Mark Lashier is the CEO of CPChem, a company that produces petrochemicals and plastics with 5,000 employees around the world. 50% of the company is owned by Chevron and 50% is owned by Phillips Petroleum. Mark has served in leadership roles at Chevron Phillips Chemical and Phillips Petroleum for three decades. With the challenges that we have all had to face over this past year, we have seen organizations and leaders make changes to adapt to our new way of work and life. Mark Lashier, CEO of CPChem, says that all of the events of 2020 reinforced some of the basic principles he has always believed in. Ever since Mark first became CEO in 2017 he has focused on trust, transparency, and simplicity. And while those values are important at any point in time, they were even more crucial throughout 2020. In order to carry on with business Mark knew that his employees and his customers had to trust him and each other, he knew he had to be open and transparent with everyone to keep them up to date, and he had to remove red tape and bureaucracy so people could do their jobs. Bringing trust, transparency, and simplicity to life  Any company can have great values or mission statements in place, but if they aren’t brought to life inside of the company the words don’t matter. Mark shares how trust, transparency, and simplicity live and breath inside of CPChem. He says that first of all it is important that all leaders inside of CPChem demonstrate these behaviors. So these become guidelines for hiring and promoting people to leadership positions. The other crucial component of bringing these values to life is giving employees permission to hold the leaders accountable for these behaviors. Mark says, “When you've got employees that maybe in the past were afraid to speak up for whatever reason, now they're not afraid to hold top leadership accountable for the things that we're saying. And I think that's an incredibly beautiful thing. And that is just self reinforcing. It makes us so much more effective in getting out messaging, we're trying to continue to move our culture to a better and better place.” The most important lesson Mark has learned from others Over the years Mark has received a lot of advice from leaders around him. Some of the key advice he has been given has been around leading with integrity and doing what you say you’re going to do. Also it has been around humility and leading in a way that puts the interests of others above your own. Mark shares that the most important lesson he has learned from others is “The more you advance in your career, the less it's about what you do. And it's more about what other people do, what you can help them do and the barriers you can remove to help them be successful and engaged.” The shift we are seeing in the CEO role In the past the way we viewed CEOs was almost as a celebrity--someone who is unapproachable, who sits up in an ivory tower and makes decisions. They usually spent most of their time traveling or in their office, so most employees didn’t see their CEO face to face even after working for the company for years. Now we are seeing a move away from this type of CEO and we are seeing CEOs spending a lot more time in front of employees, they are more approachable, some have open door policies, they are open and transparent about their lives and struggles. So why is this change happening? Mark believes it is largely due to technology and communication. He says there is so much more opportunity these days for CEOs to be visible than in the past. It is now possible for CEOs to create short videos to share with employees or to write monthly newsletters or to do virtual town hall meetings. That wasn’t possible in the past. As Mark shares, “there just was a lot more bureaucracy around in leadership in those days. And so it could behave more like a cult of personality, than anything else. And it just created an atmosphere where I think CEOs were more revered than respected. And they just didn't have the ability to reach out through all of that all those layers of protection to connect with people. And I don't think I would have thrived as a CEO, or perhaps even had the opportunity to be a CEO in that environment. But I certainly enjoy this environment much more.” The importance of leaders thinking beyond dollars and cents There used to be a mentality that the main purpose of a business and all of the leaders in it was to make as much money as possible. But now there is a realization that it’s not just about making a profit, it’s about positively impacting employees, customers, and communities. Mark says, “We like to think about ourselves as being sustainably profitable and sustainably growing. And there's a lot of dimensions to that you can't be sustainably profitable, or sustainably grow if you're in a community and you're abusing that community, either environmentally or through bad employment practices. Or if you're not taking care of employees providing a great work environment or career opportunities, they're going to go elsewhere, which will impair your ability to be sustainably profitable over time.” Yes, as an organization you have to be profitable, that is important. But if you want to be sustainably profitable, as Mark talks about, you have to make sure that you are not only taking care of your employees and customers, but also the community around you, the environment, and the world as a whole. Organizations have a huge responsibility and they can change the world, if they want to. “If we're not providing solutions for humanity, we're not going to be sustainably profitable, or grow sustainably over a long period of time.” This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.

I love the way my wife Blake Morgan talks about customer experience. She says that we need to figure out how we can make our customers’ lives easier, even if that means our lives get a little bit harder. But what happens in most organizations is the exact opposite. We are willing to make the lives of our customers harder so that we can make our lives a little bit easier. We need to flip that around. The fact is that customers are willing to pay more for a great experience. Psychologist Thomas Gilovich looked at how our satisfaction changes depending on if we invest in physical goods or in an experience. What he found is that over time, if we buy a physical good, our satisfaction levels go down, but if we invest in an experience, over time our satisfaction levels go up. Clearly, this idea of creating experiences and serving customers has a significant impact, not just for our customers, but for the bottom line for our organizations. This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.

If there is one thing that’s true about being an entrepreneur, it’s that you have to get used to rejection and failure. These things are a part of the game when you have your own business. Entrepreneurship is all about innovation and curiosity and you can’t have those things without failure. The important thing is knowing how to deal with this reality and not letting it stop you from moving forward. We have both encountered failure over the course of our careers. The reason we have successful businesses now is because we learned to deal with that failure and we’ve used it to propel us forward instead of letting it hold us back. Here are some of the lessons we have learned over the years on how to deal with failure and rejection as entrepreneurs. Let yourself process the failure When you experience failure in your business, whether it’s a small error or a huge mistake, it is important to deal with the feelings and emotions that come with it. Don’t go into denial or try to cover your feelings with food, drinks, or anything else. You may feel a range of emotions from anger to depression or even embarrassment. That is completely normal, but you have to let those out. Talk to a friend or a loved one. Write out your feelings in a journal. Seek professional help if you need to. Don’t let these emotions eat away at your or cause you to lash out at people around you. Take the time and space you need to process the failure and how it made you feel. Failure will get easier the more you experience it. Just know that you will overcome it and you can use it to help you succeed in the future. Focus on what you learn, not so much on the failure itself It is easy to get obsessed with failure. Most likely your mind will start to analyze everything about the failure--why it happened, what you could have done differently, how stupid the mistake was. But you need to focus on the lessons you can take from what happened. What can you take from that experience to help in the future? Use this as a learning experience and a way to propel you forward. Don’t let it hold you back. Have somebody to talk to When the two of us fail, we talk to each other and it really helps. It is so important to have someone you can talk to when you fail. This can be a friend, a spouse, a family member--any one you trust. Talking about things out loud with an objective third party may even shed some light on the situation that will make you realize it wasn’t as big of a mistake as you thought. They will probably have a different perspective on the situation that can help you learn from what happened. Sweat it out It can definitely help to get out and exercise. You can go for a walk or a run. You can go to the gym. You can do yoga. Do whatever you can to get moving and refocus your mind. It can also help with chemical imbalances that may also play a role in negative thoughts. This goes along with eating healthy and taking care of your body. If you aren’t taking good care of your body and you don’t feel good physically or mentally, rejection and failure will be a lot harder to work through. Put failure in context Sometimes we are harder on ourselves than we need to be. So you failed, is it something you are new at? Is it something that is out of your comfort zone? Is it something that is extremely challenging that you are still trying to master? Realize that you are doing your best and that failure is natural. Don’t be too hard on yourself or make a failure out to be worse than it actually is.  Be resilient, but take a break if you need to You can’t let failure keep you down. It is important as an entrepreneur to learn to live with failure and not get to you too much. Get back up on your feet and do better, work harder, and take what you’ve learned moving forward. With that being said, you can also take a break if you need to before getting back up. It doesn’t have to be an instant jump up. As mentioned previously, find ways to process the failure and your feelings, but once you’ve done that it’s time to move on. If you need to take a day, two days or a week off, do it. Find ways to laugh, be with family and friends, enjoy nature, etc.. But don’t let yourself stay down too long. Fail fast and fail smart Failure is going to happen, but you have to fail smart. For example, if you have three kids and a house with a mortgage, it’s probably not the best time to put every penny of your kids’ college fund into one idea. If you have an idea you want to explore, give yourself a budget and a timeframe to test it out and if it fails, let it go. Use failure as fuel As an entrepreneur it is crucial that you take your failures and use them as motivation to do better and be more prepared. Don’t think of it as something that ends your path as an entrepreneur, think of it as a launching pad to your next opportunity. Be aware of self-talk After a failure it is easy to default to negative self-talk such as, I’m never going to be able to do this, I’m so stupid, or I’ll never succeed. But everytime you recognize negative thoughts, you need to shift your mind to positive self-talk. You have to be your own cheerleader. Focus on what you’ve done well and the good things you have in your life. Stay optimistic No matter what you fail at or how bad you think things are, it is important as an entrepreneur to stay optimistic and to have hope. Talk out loud about the future  you want for yourself. Be proud of your failure and what it has taught you. Don’t let it be a roadblock. Stay positive. It is okay to feel negative at times, but don’t let that become your default mindset. Don’t let your life become mostly about the negative. If you feel sad or down after failure, that’s fine to feel that for a time. But be careful, negativity can spiral out of control if you stay there too long. Remember and accept that failure is going to be a part of entrepreneurship. There is no running or hiding from it. There is nothing wrong with failure, think of it as something that is pointing you in the direction that you’re supposed to be in. Acknowledge it, talk about it, take a break if you need to, and then jump up and get back to work. This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.

Today, leaders need to be servants. We used to have this traditional idea of the pyramid where the leader sits at the very top and tells everybody else what to do. But we're starting to see this kind of inversion of the pyramid where the leader is at the bottom propping everybody else up. This is called servant leadership. When you show up to work every day, your job is to help make other people more successful than you. Here are some tips on how you can practice servant leadership: Remove stressors from the lives of your employees. Show appreciation and recognition to your employees. Understand your employees as individuals, not just as workers. Understand the moments that matter in the lives of your employees. Remove obstacles from the paths of your employees. Thanks to my friends at ServiceNow for sponsoring this episode. Make sure to check them out at http://bit.ly/servicenow21

I’ve had the privilege of speaking with around 500 leaders over the years on The Future of Work Podcast and I have really learned a lot from each one. On the show, they share tips, advice, lessons they’ve learned, as well as an inside look at what it’s like to lead their organization.  This past year really brought a lot of challenges for every single leader around the world. We had to learn how to adjust to a pandemic, how to address social injustices, how to lead virtually and much more. My guests really shared a lot of inspiration, motivation, as well as realistic advice for listeners.  Even though all of the interviews were great and informative, I have a few favorites that I really enjoyed. And from those episodes I have compiled 15 leadership lessons that are crucial for leaders to learn in order to succeed in the future.  Leading by example: Arthur Blank, co-founder The Home Depot Arthur Blank is the co-founder of the Home Depot, which today has a market cap of over $300 billion and they have over 400,000 employees.  Arthur is a leader that lives out the value of leading by example. He understands the importance of showing employees that what they do day to day is not beneath you as the leader. When you lead by example and let people know that you are not just sitting up in your office looking down on the employees who allow the business to succeed it makes people actually want to show up and work hard.  Creating your own luck: Shellye Archambeau, former CEO of MetricStream Shellye Archambeaur is the former CEO of MetricStream, a Silicon Valley based governance risk and compliance software company and the author of a new book called Unapologetically Ambitious. She's also on the board of Verizon and Nordstrom.  In this world you have to create your own luck, especially when it comes to your career. Shellye explains that creating luck means positioning yourself so that when an opportunity shows up you actually have the ability to take advantage of it.  What culture is and what it isn’t: Marc Randolph, co-founder and first CEO of Netflix Marc Randolph is the co-founder and founding CEO of Netflix, he also served on the board of Netflix up until 2003.  As Marc shares, culture is not just what you say, it’s not something that you put up on posters around the office, or some catch phrases that you come up with in a meeting. He says, “Culture is how you act. It's how you are, it's the things you do. And even more importantly, culture springs from how the founders and the early employees act with each other, with their employees, with their customers. And so, huge amounts of the Netflix culture arised organically, from the way that Reed (Hastings) and I behaved, the way that I treat people, the way I worked with people before.” It doesn’t have to be crazy at work: Jason Fried, co-founder and CEO of Basecamp Jason Fried is the co-founder and CEO of Basecamp, and best selling author of Rework, It Doesn't Have To Be Crazy at Work.  With the blurring of work in life, it can be quite challenging to make sure that work just doesn't take everything over. Jason is a big believer in capping a workweek at 40 hours, he says, “We don’t want people working more than 40 hours. You don’t need to. And if we’re doing that, then we’re doing something wrong, actually. I know a lot of companies, long hours is seen as doing something right, like, “Let’s stay late, and let’s work on the weekends and let’s pull all-nighters.” I think that’s completely wrong. And so, we’re very careful about not encouraging our employees to work that way.” What to do if you feel stuck at work: David Cote, former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell David Cote is the former chairman and CEO of Honeywell, and author of the best selling book, Winning Now Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed In The Short Term While Investing For The Long Term. During his time at Honeywell, David fixed a toxic work culture and grew the company's market capitalization from around $20 billion to $120 billion, delivering returns of 800%.  If you have a boss who doesn’t feel that you are performing as well as you think you are, this is where you have to be self aware and figure out is there something you can fix or do you just have a bad boss, which David says happens less often than people think. So learn to be self aware and realize when there is something you need to fix. We all have issues, and it’s important to know what they are.  How to lead with empathy and courage: Kate Johnson, President of Microsoft US Kate Johnson is the president of Microsoft US, a $45 billion division. She is currently very involved in Microsoft's culture journey led by CEO Satya Nadella.  Kate is a huge believer and practitioner of leading with courage and empathy. But what does that mean and how does it come to life? Here is what Kate had to say.  She says, “One of the things that we've been learning is the connection between courage and vulnerability. So everybody thinks if you're courageous, that you have no weakness. You are strong, they picture warriors, you know, with lots of armor and heading off. That's not what courageous leadership is. Courageous leadership is the willingness to activate the troops and own the outcome, but also to do so bringing all of your strengths and weaknesses to the table with total transparency and clarity, and kind of owning work with that and figuring out how to assemble the team to bolster wherever there are weaknesses. And that's a different kind of leadership that I think is essential today.” How Covid-19 has changed leadership forever: Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO of Genpact Tiger Tyagarajan is the CEO of Genpact, a global professional services firm with 100,000 employees that drives digital led innovation in digitally-enabled intelligent operations for organizations around the world. Prior to Genpact. Tiger worked for several well-known companies such as Unilever, Citibank, and GE.  One thing that a lot of people are speculating about is that the office will be a thing of the past and that everyone will be working from home. Tiger doesn’t agree. While he does agree that some things will never go back to what it was before, he believes that offices will come back, at least in some form.  How leaders can serve their employees: Carrie Birkhofer, President & CEO of Bay Federal Credit Union Carrie Birkhofer is president and CEO of Bay Federal Credit Union, a non profit financial cooperative with 225 employees. She's been the CEO there for 25 years and under her leadership, the Credit Union has grown from $70 million to $1.4 billion in assets.  What does it look like to serve your employees? Carrie makes sure she meets new employees on their first day at work.  In good times, pre-COVID that meant four or five current employees and Carrie getting together in person with the new employees. The current employees would share who they are, what their path has been at Bay Federal, and something interesting that they want to share. Then they would have the new employees do the same thing, except they would share their paths getting to Bay Federal.  Creating a mission that resonates with employees: Steve Bilt, CEO of Smile Brands Steve Bilt is the CEO of Smile Brands, a company with 5000 employees that provides business support services to Over 425 dental offices. Smile Brands has been on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list three times and Steve is one of the top CEOs on Glassdoor.  Anyone can come up with a mission statement or a company purpose that sounds good. But it can’t be something that just lives on a wall or in the company handbook. It has to be something that is infused into every aspect of the business.  Steve believes it needs to be something short and catchy that people can remember. It needs to be something that you can evaluate and check in on to see how well the company is living up to it. It has to be something that is living and breathing inside your company. People are the solution, not the problem: Hubert Joly, former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy Hubert Joly is the former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy. Currently, He is a professor at Harvard Business School, and he's on the board of two companies, Johnson and Johnson and Ralph Lauren.    A lot of leaders first starting at a struggling organization probably would have thought about cutting back on the headcount first to save money. But Hubert not only didn’t take that route, he actually put more money into training, incentives, wellness, etc… Hubert truly believes that leaders should treat humans as a solution to the problem, not as a source of the problem. And we should use headcount reduction only as a last resort. Why leaders need a short attention span: Jim Heppelmann, CEO of PTC Jim Heppelmann is the CEO of PTC, a technology software company with 6500 employees in 30 countries.  There's always been this traditional mentality that leaders need to have a long term plan and stick to it. But Jim's lesson is that leaders actually need to have short attention spans if they want to thrive in today's rapidly changing world.  Jim is always looking for the next round of changes that make PTC better, or that protect them from a new threat headed their way. This is a quality that he believes all CEOs should have. Always looking to the next thing, don’t just ride current success.  The best leadership lessons can come from those around you: Chris McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers Chris McCann is the CEO of 1-800-Flowers, a floral and gourmet food gift retailer and distribution company with over 3000 employees.  Chris didn't learn leadership skills by attending a top tier University, he learned how to lead by those he surrounded himself with. Sometimes the best leadership lessons can come from those around you.  Why everyone should think like an entrepreneur: Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square and the author of a new book called Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time.  Lots of people are going through a time of reinvention. And having the mindset of an entrepreneur can be an invaluable asset.  Jim says true entrepreneurs solve problems that haven’t been solved before, they don’t just start a business, they do something that has never been done before. And that is what he and Jack Dorsey did, they solved a problem in a way that no one else had ever thought of before. They even were able to beat out Amazon when the company tried to copy the setup Square had. Putting people ahead of profits: Pehr Gyllenhammar, former CEO of Volvo Pehr Gyllenhammar is the former CEO of Volvo, and has been voted Sweden's most admired man nine times. Pehr had to lead his company through lots of tough times, like recessions, and an oil crisis. While all the other companies were sacrificing their people to save their profits Pehr didn't let go of a single employee.  In fact, he told me he would rather let go of a white-collar worker in a management role than a blue-collar worker working on the manufacturing floor. Pehr’s lesson is really all about appreciating all of the people who work with him for you. And remembering that it's oftentimes the people on the front lines who make your business successful.  Creating and scaling amazing culture for a remote workforce: Robert Glazer, CEO of Acceleration Partners Robert Glazer is the best selling author of Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others. He's also the CEO of Acceleration Partners, a 13-year-old company that manages affiliate and partner marketing programs for a lot of well-known brands like Adidas, LinkedIn, Target, and others. He leads a team of hundreds of employees but they are all remote. The lesson from Robert is how he manages to create and scale an amazing culture for a workforce that actually doesn't work together in person. Robert shares that the key to having a successful remote team is by starting with the core values of the organization. Once you know your core values you can intentionally attract and hire the right people. Contrary to what happens in most organizations, Robert and his team understand that not every person will feel like the company is right for them.   This episode is brought to you by my friends at ServiceNow, a software company that makes the world of work, work better for people by delivering digital workflows that create great employee experiences, and unlock productivity. If you or your company is looking to transform old, manual ways of working into digital workflows, then you need ServiceNow. They are trusted by over 6,200 enterprises customers, Check them out here.

Culture is usually the hardest thing for organizations to figure out. It’s something you can’t see or touch. Culture is how employees feel working for the organization. I’ll never forget the story of when President Kennedy visited NASA Space Center. In the middle of his tour, he saw a man walking down the hall with a mop and a bucket. President Kennedy stopped the tour and went over to the man and said, “Hi, I'm President Kennedy. What do you do here?” And the man said: “I helped put a man on the moon.” This is the type of culture they had in NASA, and it’s something every company should have. The type of culture you have in your organization greatly impacts the employee experience.

Kathy Mazzarella is the Chairman, President, and CEO at Graybar, a wholesale distribution company that’s been around for 151 years. The company has around 8,700 employees and $7.5 billion in revenue. She has been with the company for 41 years and has been president for 9 of those years. Kathy Mazzarella has a great story of how she first started at the company she now leads as Chairman, President, and CEO. When she was 19 years old she decided she didn’t want to go into medicine anymore so she dropped out of college, where she had a full scholarship, and moved back home with her parents. It only took about three days before both she and her parents came to the mutual conclusion that Kathy needed to get a job and move out. So she set up an interview with a company called Genentech where she was applying to do some research work. But on the day of the interview she got lost and had to ask for directions. She just happened to walk into Graybar to ask someone at the front desk for directions and the woman asked Kathy if she was looking for a job. Kathy said she was and the woman let her know they were hiring and asked if Kathy wanted to take the test. Kathy agreed to do the test, she was hired, and that was the start of her 41 year career at Graybar. Over the past few decades she has worked her way up from an entry level employee to leading the company. And she believes that day she got lost was a blessing because it led her to an amazing career. Why you should take the jobs that make you the most uncomfortable Even though Kathy has worked at the same company for 41 years, she has worked in around 15 different positions within the company. It was actually her time in HR that really shaped her current leadership approach, because she was truly able to see the people side of the business. Prior to working in HR Kathy was a very number focused type of person. It really changed her perspective and made her focus more on the people she worked with. Kathy believes the best leaders have the broadest experience. Because experiencing different roles inside of a company or in a few different companies helps leaders gain an appreciation of how interconnected the business actually is. It helps them see the different roles, elements, and responsibilities that make up the business. A lot of roles can look easy from the outside looking in. But when you truly experience the role for yourself, most likely it isn’t as easy as it seems. Kathy also advises leaders to take jobs that make them uncomfortable. She says, “When you're the expert, you tend to get into autopilot mode. You're very comfortable in your lane, you stay in your lane, and it's really fun to be the expert that everybody comes to you to ask your opinion on a particular topic. It's very uncomfortable to go into a position where you have no grounding. But you also really challenge yourself. I've told people in the past, take the job that you're least qualified for. Because you're going to learn the most, you're going to work harder than you've ever worked, you're going to challenge yourself, and you're going to have to lean and depend on your team more if you don't know the topic.” You definitely open yourself up to a lot more opportunities when you have a wide variety of experience and skills. What it’s like being a female CEO When asked what it is like being a female CEO Kathy says she doesn’t think of herself as a female CEO. She just always knew she had to do a good job and work hard. As Kathy shares, “when I said I was going to do something, I would make sure I did it. And I never really thought about the fact that being a woman, I couldn't be president. Some of that could have been because I was raised that way to my father was a very big influence on my life. And he taught me that the only limitations I had in life were those that were self imposed and that I should never let anybody in my life put me in a box.” When she first started as CEO there were 18 women who were leading Fortune 500 companies and now there are 37, so progress is slowly being made even though there is still a long way to go. But as Kathy mentions women didn’t really become influential in the workplace until the 80s and 90s, so the start of the progress didn’t start until fairly recently. So Kathy believes that as time goes on we will see more and more women leaders. The truth about balancing everything as a CEO Early in her career Kathy was traveling a lot, she was working long hours to prove herself at work, she was going to school at night, plus she was raising young children with her husband who was also in school getting his PhD. She remembers it being very difficult and stressful, but they made it work. A lesson that she learned during this time was that not everything is going to be balanced all the time, and that’s okay. She says, “Keeping the balls in the air, some of the balls fell, you know, I mean, you can't be perfect. That was a lesson that I learned in my mid 30s. I remember coming in from traveling in the house was a mess. And because my husband was doing the best he could, I had two little kids running all over the place. And I remember falling just to the floor in the hallway and I said I can't do this anymore. I can't be perfect. I can't have the perfect house. I can't have straight A's. I can't be number one at work. I can't have my kids being perfect, I just can't.” And she says finally giving herself permission to not have to be perfect was a life changing moment. She realized that trying to be perfect was actually selfish, because being perfect is not about helping other people, it's about caring too much about what people may think about you. It is a never ending quest to be an artificial character. Giving yourself permission to be human releases a lot of stress and pressure that comes along with perfection. In life you are not always going to have things balanced, it is about making choices. At different points in your life you will need to focus more on work and in others you will need to focus more on family and your personal life. And that’s okay. What keeps Kathy motivated Kathy has a very rigorous schedule with a lot going on, especially now that she is leading a company through a pandemic. She also wakes up at 4am everyday so she can go through her morning routine before starting work around 7am. In normal times she travels a lot, although this year has been different. But with her busy schedule and the pressure of work what keeps her motivated? She says being the CEO of one of the largest and oldest companies in the United States comes with a lot of responsibility. A lot of people are depending on her to run the company in the best way possible. How she leads impacts how her employees feel and how they interact with their customers and their communities. They count on her to make the big decisions so that they can do their best. Kathy feels she has to work harder than they do. She says, “I need to work harder than them. Because they depend on me to take care of the big stuff. So they don't have to worry about it. And I can't let these people down. I just can't let these people down. The people that work for Graybar, and our customers are amazing human beings. That became even more evident during this pandemic. And the way they gave back to the communities the way they took care of each other. And even the way they took care of me. That's the reason I get up. And anytime I feel sorry for myself or get tired or get exhausted, or get frustrated or burned out, I think about that person that's counting on me. And the fact that these people care so much, that they even care about me, I can't let them down.” The moment that had the biggest impact on Kathy’s leadership approach When asked what moment most shaped her as a person and her leadership approach, Kathy shared a story of a time when she was passed up for a big promotion. At the time she was a vice president and there was a senior position open that she applied for. She worked really hard, she and her family had sacrificed a lot in order to work hard. She worked on the weekends, she worked overtime, she traveled a lot. So when she didn’t get the job she was devastated. She thought about giving up on growing her career or about possibly moving companies. But she called her dad and he gave her great advice. He told her, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Everybody's going to watch how you recover. This will determine your future and leadership. So make that call now and step up.” He told her to call the person who got the role to congratulate him and to offer her support. He reminded her that not everyone gets the job they want, it’s all about how you recover. Her dad went on to say that one of the biggest regrets he had in his career was moving companies when he didn’t get a promotion he wanted. And he advised Kathy to not make the same mistake. So Kathy took her dad’s advice. She called the guy who got the job, congratulated him and told him she wanted to do anything she could to make him successful in his new role. And it ended up having a big impact on her career. When the time came for Graybar to get a new CEO one of the people voting on who to put in place recalled the time when Kathy lost the job and how she handled herself. He said it really showed that she put the company first and that really changed his perspective of her. Now the man who got that original promotion reports to Kathy. And he is one of her strongest partners. Leadership lessons Kathy has learned Kathy has learned a lot during her 41 year career at Graybar. One thing she shares is never settle for the status quo. Whatever it is you want to do in life, do it in the best way you can, aim high and don’t just settle. She says we all have special gifts to offer our communities, our families, and our organizations and in order to reach our full potential we have to work hard and keep reaching. It is also important to be true to who you are and to stand up for what you believe in. She says, “I tell our young leaders all the time, if it doesn't feel right, and you walk from a business transaction, you will never lose your job. I have your back. But if it doesn't feel right, and you take that contract, or whatever it may be, and it's bad, you will lose your job. Because you got to stand up for it. There's a level of integrity and you know what's right, and you know what's wrong, never, never sacrifice it. Once you lose your integrity, you lose everything, you lose everything. And no career and no business environment, or whatever it is you're trying to do is worth losing your soul. It's not.” Another lesson she thinks is important is to use your setbacks to build strength and resilience. Don’t give up and run away from hard things. And make sure as leaders you leave things better than when you took over. You should always aim to leave in a way that allows the next generation to come in and continue building where you left off.

The world of work has changed a lot.  We live in a world of uncertainty where employee tenure is no longer a thing. The best way to navigate this world is to be a super perpetual learner.  That means constantly learning new things at a rapid pace and applying those things on a regular basis.  You need to keep up with the pace of change or you will be left behind.

Aaron Cooper is the Interim CEO at Groupon, an online marketplace with around 4,000 employees globally. Prior to that he had worked in several other roles at Groupon including president of North America, Chief Marketing Officer, head of Global Travel, Head of North America Services and Head of North America Goods. Before Groupon Aaron held a lot of marketing and leadership positions at Orbitz and optionsXpress and he held consulting roles at AOL and PwC. Aaron Cooper, who recently moved into the role of interim CEO at Groupon, says his recipe for success has been working across many different industries and in very diverse roles. These experiences have given him the skills and mindsets he needs to be the best leader he can be. He says it has been incredibly important for his career that he’s been able to work in finance, marketing, brand marketing, and general management across industries such as travel, retail, finance, and internet. He has worked with companies who were very successful and growing and he’s worked for companies that were in distress. All of these experiences have shaped his leadership approach and have led him to his current role. In fact, Aaron says most of the biggest career moves he made were jobs he didn’t even know were available. He got into a role and did exceptionally well and then management would grab him and tell him he’s moving to a new role. He said he learned quickly to just say yes to these opportunities and it has proved to be an effective way for him to climb up the ladder. What to do when you work for a bad boss  Aaron says he’s worked for a few tough bosses that have bordered on being too tough. There are always going to be people we work for who aren’t the best leaders. But Aaron says he always uses these opportunities to learn something and grow. He says, “At those times I was focused on what I can learn out of this situation. It's a mind shift, you have to decide that you want to be in that situation and you're up for learning from this person. I also find that when you adopt that mindset, the tougher boss changes their attitude towards you. Which is something that I realized as well, hey, I'm a student, so please teach, has been a productive relationship for me to get the most out of those. And because of that there are tools that I have in my toolkit now.” The best bosses on the other hand make employees want to show up every single day for them. Aaron says he had a great boss who with very little effort could get the very best out of Aaron. He knew the boss had his back and believed in him, so Aaron wanted to do his best and live up to the reputation the boss believed in. Aaron gives an example of this great boss. Aaron had moved into a role leading online marketing and his team did a deal, but it ended up being a bad deal that cost a lot of money. Instead of just firing him or demoting him, the boss called Aaron out and said it was his to solve. He was counting on Aaron to fix it. But the way he called Aaron out was in such a positive way that Aaron was able to come back from the failure. He motivated his team and they all went after it and fixed the problem. He actually looks back at this experience in a favorable way, which is all because of how the boss handled the situation. Aaron says being a good leader comes down to how you leave people feeling. When you leave the room is everyone wanting to crush it, and do a great job for you? Or does everyone want to leave the company? How Aaron carves out downtime and why every CEO should do the same Aaron is very busy with his role as CEO, leading his company through the pandemic, as well as his personal life with his wife and kids. He has found that it is so important to carve out time every day for downtime, time to think through issues, focus on one specific problem, or just think of the next big move for the company. He actually says his ideal amount of downtime each day is three hours. Which seems like a lot in a normal workday, but he says it’s important to have a good chunk of time so you can actually dive deep into the problems and issues you’re trying to solve. Aaron says, “if you actually get a chance to think there's such important things that you can always solve for your team. And sometimes during that time, I may call somebody and think a problem through with them. Absolutely. But it's time for me to just make sure to take a step back and make sure that in the relative challenges of COVID and people working from home, and everything that comes with that for running a company where local businesses around the world have been shut down and their business has been impaired. And we're looking for our strategies that we're working on right now to be successful to help our broad community of Groupon. There's so much in there for me, just to make sure that as things change day to day everyone's coming along the same way.” And even though downtime sounds like someone is just sitting around and pondering things, that is far from the truth. Aaron is very structured with his downtime. He always has a list of priorities he has to think through and he is very active and engaged during the entire time. During this time he only focuses on the top priorities, you can’t let priority 6 or 7 sneak into your thought process at this time. It has to be about critical issues only. How to give employees the autonomy to make decisions on their own In the past companies have tended to be bogged down with bureaucracy and hierarchy that made the decision process long and tedious. Just to get permission to buy a new piece of equipment or streamline a process it may take weeks or months to run it up the ladder and back down. Now, with our current pace of change companies can no longer afford to make decisions this way. Employees have to be able to have the autonomy to make decisions for themselves. So how does Groupon make this possible for employees? Aaron says it comes down a couple things they have done internally. The first big thing is transparency. Every employee, whether they have been at the company for 10 years or 4 months, knows what the company priorities are and they know what the current strategy is. In fact when they launched a new strategy during Covid-19 they not only announced it company wide, but they went team by team, person by person to make sure they fully understood what the new strategy meant. But Aaron knows that people can’t just understand the strategy, they have to believe in it. But you can’t force people to believe in something, it has to be a back and forth conversation until everyone is on board. This process takes consistency, discipline, and commitment. So you have to have transparency and alignment in order to successfully hand over control to your employees. As Aaron says, “Within that empowerment giving someone the task, the resources and trusting them and their judgment becomes so much easier, because trying to goal something so specifically for the uncertainties going on right now is that much harder. So I'm really proud of our team across the board for the way that everyone has come along on this.” How Aaron works on being a better leader One thing Aaron has found very helpful in his journey as a leader is reflection. He takes time to reflect on the week to think back to when he wasn’t the leader he wanted to be so he can address those issues. He also recently attended a class on authentic leadership which really impacted him and the way he approaches leadership. You have to figure out what kind of leader you are and you have to authentically lead in that way. Don’t try to be someone you are not. You can’t just read about another leader and try to copy and paste that into your way of leading. When asked what kind of leader he is, Aaron said “An energetic leader, I'm a structured thinking leader. I like to make sure that we have the strategy and goals set out clearly. And people have embraced those. Because for me it's grounded in getting the absolute best out of the team. And having them show up in ways where the energy that they're both getting and giving to Groupon makes them feel better about themselves outside of Groupon, especially in a pandemic.” And so he shows up everyday with that purpose and mission in mind and he leads as authentically as he can. How Aaron keeps up with the constant pace of change One thing a lot of leaders struggle with today is trying to keep up with things when the pace of change is so constant and so fast. This year has really shown how fast things can completely change. So how does Aaron keep up? He says constant learning is a crucial key. He is always reading and is a part of a few book clubs, he listens to podcasts, he meets with other leaders, etc...He also finds it important to pay attention to his employees and what they are saying. They bring different perspectives and ideas that drive him forward. What should leaders stop doing to become better leaders For any leaders who want to better themselves Aaron’s advice is to stop playing it safe. You are going to have tough decisions to make and you are going to have to keep the company moving forward, playing it safe will not help you. You have to be bold. Especially with the things we are facing this year. He says, “One of the things I learned in my turnaround management days is you've got to make the hard decisions, because time does not help when you're running out of cash. We were in that situation here. But I learned that earlier in my career, and that's something that now in leading through a year like now, it shows up, and it shows up in important ways. So stop playing it safe, is I think, really, really big.” What should leaders start doing to become better leaders Aaron says it is crucial for leaders to have a mission, a passion, an obsession and they have to be able to name it so that they know what they are doing when they get out of bed in the morning. This really goes back to the importance of reflection and understanding what kind of leader you are. As Aaron shares, “Here, we're helping local businesses, we're helping local businesses through a challenging time, we're helping our customers do more. There's more ways that we can help. But we are redesigning Groupon into a recovery so we can help grow local commerce. And for us, that's energizing, it shows up in multiple ways from our strategy, just to the way we were working throughout the team to develop more empathy and more listening on the front end with customers and merchants. But I would say you gotta you got to start with that passion. But again, I think the ingredient for that is you have to do the reflection. So you can really be genuine and honest with yourself about what your passion is all about.”

You can start being an intrapreneur now! When most people think of an entrepreneur, they think of an individual who went off on their own to start a successful business. But being an entrepreneur can also be applicable inside of your organization--it’s called being an intrapreneur. One of the things that make entrepreneurs unique is their ability to push through obstacles and challenges that come their way. Entrepreneurs are also big dreamers. They understand failures and move on to the next obstacle. Entrepreneurs also have vision. They have a very clear picture in their minds of what they want to do and the problem they want to solve. Entrepreneurs are also extremely self-driven, they have an internal fire that's always pushing them, and they don't need somebody to tell them what to do. You can have all of these qualities even if you work inside an organization. Thinking like an entrepreneur will have a significant impact on your career and on your life.

Shellye Archambeau is the former CEO of MetricStream, a Silicon Valley based governance, risk, and compliance software company, and the author of the new book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms. She also serves on the boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta. Under her leadership MetricStream was recognized for growth and innovation over the years and was named in the top 10 of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50. Shellye was named the second most influential African American in IT by Business Insider. She was ranked one of the “100 Most Influential Business Leaders in America” by Newsmax and she received the NCWIT Symons Innovator Award from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Shellye Archambeau is no stranger to roadblocks and barriers. All throughout her career she has encountered them. But one thing she learned early on was that life is not fair, you’re not always going to have an easy time. The good news is, you can do something about it. Shellye realized she had to be intentional about everything that she did and every decision she made in order to improve her odds of being successful and reaching her goals. She knew that if she just did what everybody else did, she probably wasn’t going to get much out of life. In her new book, Unapologetically Ambitious, she shares some of the biggest lessons she has learned throughout her career and what she had to do to reach the goal she set in place as a 16 year old. Why you need to set goals At the age of 16 Shellye decided she wanted to be a CEO. With that goal in place she worked hard and she always knew which direction to go. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do at a young age, but you do have to be able to set goals for yourself. Even if it means just looking forward to a goal next year or in 6 months. If you don’t set goals, you don’t know where you are trying to go, you don’t have anything specific you are trying to achieve. If you don’t have a goal in mind then it doesn’t matter what you do next or how you make decisions. You have to know what you are aiming for to know what actions to take. As Shellye shares, “Setting goals is really all about picking that objective in the future. And honestly, if you can only think two years ahead, then that's better than nothing, right? I don't care how far ahead, however far ahead you can pick, just pick that goal. Ask yourself, what has to be true for you to achieve that goal? And then ask yourself, how do you make that true? Which is basically the plan. What has to be true? And then how do I make it true? That's how I think about everything. And that's how to make the plan.” When setting goals it is also important to let others around you know what your goal is. Tell your boss, your mentor, your spouse, your coworkers. People can’t help you if they don’t know what you are aiming for. And while it can be easy to give up goals at the first sign of hardship, don’t give in. Figure out a different path, but don’t change your goals. Make sure you stay focused on them and keep working to get there. Few people make consistent daily decisions that get them to their goal. That is the key to success. Shellye says that’s where the real power lies. Make every decision and every action count in your journey to your goal. How to create your own luck In this world you have to create your own luck, especially when it comes to your career. Shellye explains that creating luck means positioning yourself so that when an opportunity shows up you actually have the ability to take advantage of it. Planning can improve your odds for good things to happen. After you set your goal, that’s when you get to work. Figure out what skills, experiences, and knowledge you will need in order to reach your goal and go after it. When you set a plan Shellye says you have to assume it’s going to happen and get ready for it. If that means you have to take a course or read some books or learn a new skill get to it. Don’t let yourself get to the point where the opportunity arrives but you miss out because you aren’t prepared. Do your homework, always keep learning. Don’t go into a meeting to learn something, learn what you need to before the meeting so you can contribute. You have to be proactive every step of the way. Shellye also advises people to take the time to let people know what it is you actually do. Don’t just give them your job title, titles are useless. What that job title means inside your company could be completely different inside of another. Explain what it is you do so that when somebody is looking for a person with a specific set of skills they will remember you. Dealing with imposter syndrome So many leaders deal with imposter syndrome, that voice in your head that says--what makes you think you can do this? Wait until they find out you don’t have the skills to do the job. You may never fully get rid of it, but you can deal with it in order to make sure it doesn’t stop you from succeeding. Shellye says the first thing is to realize that almost everyone (if not everyone) deals with this at some point in their life. It’s not just you. Understand that although the voice sounds real, it’s not. Also realize that you would not be in your current position if the people around you felt like you didn’t belong. So if you can’t believe yourself when you try to quiet the doubts, believe the people around you. And Shellye says, worst case scenario, just fake it until you make it. Act like you are comfortable and confident, even if you aren’t. Because eventually you will figure it out and realize you belong. Fostering self determination Self determination means you believe you are in control of yourself. You have confidence in yourself that you can go get things. But you also need relatedness, a feeling that you belong. So fostering self determination is really about creating an environment in which you feel you belong and that others care about you. So how can you do this? Shellye suggests joining groups, starting a club, getting people together around a hobby you are passionate about. Create that community for yourself where you belong. Forget about work life balance The phrase work-life balance has become very popular over the past few years. It is a very hot topic, but Shellye actually hates the term. She believes it just sets us up for failure and disappointment. Because in a true work-life balance both sides should be equally balanced at the same time, and life is too tumultuous for that. It is almost impossible to balance both, one side will suffer or the other side will. And trying to pretend we can have it all while staying sane is not healthy. Shellye likes work-life integration instead. You have to prioritize and deal with what needs to be dealt with no matter what side it is on. Especially these days in the pandemic when we are all wearing so many different hats. Life and work are blurring while we work from home with our kids and families. Don’t worry about being balanced, just get done what needs to get done on all fronts. Embrace your limits Most of us have gone through our strengths and weaknesses at some point in our career. We are usually pretty aware of what we are good at and what we struggle with. But what usually happens is people tend to focus on their weaknesses and they try to work on getting better. If you already know what you are good at, wouldn’t your time be better spent making your strengths even better? If you take an hour to work on a weakness you have you might improve a tiny bit, but if you could work for an hour on something you are already great at, think of how much more you could achieve. You are known for your strengths, so strengthen your strengths. Focus on those areas and really push yourself. And then lean on others around you to fill in the gaps where you have weaknesses. Learning to swerve So many people are having to swerve in their careers now with Covid-19. With all of the shutdowns and restrictions businesses and individuals have had to figure out how to continue to grow and thrive. Being able to swerve in your career means you can move around the roadblocks you can’t move. All of us are going to face roadblocks from time to time. Some that you can easily get around and some that seem impossible. You have to learn to go over, under, around, whatever you have to do to get past them. Roadblocks can be a boss who doesn’t see your potential, or a coworker who tries to push you down, or an organization with no new opportunities. Whatever it is figure out what you can do to swerve. As Shellye says, “The only difference between a roadblock and a stepping stone, is how high you lift your leg. So don't let anything stop you.” Never say die One of the values that was added to the MetricStream culture back in 2008 was never say die, which meant never give up. It’s all about resilience. They had to figure out how to fight to keep the company going when the economy crashed and they did. Shellye says it is so important that you don’t stop just because life gets hard, keep going, keep pushing. The most important thing they did in the middle of this storm was to focus. As Shellye explains in hard times everyone in the company has to be pulling in the same direction. Communication is critical so that everyone is on the same page and knows what is important. And the whole company focuses on what really matters and all the extra stuff falls away. During these times leaders also have to have a vision and they have to share that with the company, because when you are going through dark times it’s easy for people to want to jump ship. Leaders have to have a vision and they have to inspire everyone to keep moving forward. Life is hard for everyone, the key is to not let those circumstances affect your drive and motivation. Keep pushing forward and never give up. How Shellye takes risks In order to grow and move up in your career you are going to have to take risks. As Shellye says, you can’t get opportunity without taking risks. But risks can be daunting. What if you fail or fall on your face? Shellye has been taking risks her whole life and what she does is she asks herself a few questions before making a move. What is the likely outcome? If I do this, what is the upside?  What’s the worst that could happen and can I live with it? Most of the time people walk away from risks without even considering them because they are afraid. But if you take the time to understand what it is you are afraid of, you may find it’s not that scary after all. There are some risks where an outcome could be a long term negative impact on your health or it could mean your family ends up on the street. But usually if you think about the worst that could happen it’s not that dramatic. There are a lot of outcomes that you can live with. So when you are faced with a risk really look into it and what could potentially happen. You never know, it could result in the best decision you have ever made.

People are always reluctant to change. It’s human nature. But if you want your team to adapt to new technologies, there is something you can do. To get your team to embrace new technology, you have to educate them. It's not just about giving them the tools or training them how to use it--it’s about helping them understand why and how these technologies will improve how they work. Change is hard. There will be a learning curve. But I promise you, if you get through that learning curve, you’ll absolutely see the benefits.

Melissa Smith is the CEO of Wex Inc. a provider of payment processing and information management services in the US, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. They have around 5,000 employees and under Melissa’s leadership the company has gone from $50 million to $1.7 billion in revenue. Melissa began at Wex Inc. in 1997 as a senior financial analyst and she worked her way up to being CFO and then President of the Americas before becoming CEO.  A lot of things in the world have been changed by Covid-19. The way organizations operate, the way employees connect with one another, and even the way leaders have to lead. Melissa Smith, the CEO of Wex Inc., who is responsible for around 5,000 employees around the world says connecting with her people is more important now than ever before. And one important way she does that is through recognizing her people for what they do. She takes time to send handwritten notes to employees who have been promoted, or who have gone above and beyond in a project, or who have volunteered for events in the community. She believes that people need to be recognized with little things like handwritten notes and big things like stock grants. She says it is so important for people to know that their work is recognized and valued. This recognition can actually go both ways. Melissa has been grateful for letters that her employees have been sending her during the pandemic to let her know they appreciate what she does. In fact, she has one employee who sends her a note every single month, and it really means a lot to Melissa. Overcoming internal and external doubt A lot of leaders deal with imposter syndrome at some point or another. In fact, a majority of the leaders I speak with on the Future of Work podcast admit that they have faced internal and external doubt throughout their careers. It just comes with the territory. Leaders are going to have times when they feel they are not right for the job or that they don’t have the skills to complete a task. So how can you overcome those feelings? Melissa says that when it comes to internal doubt it’s all about toning it down. Most likely those thoughts and feelings will never go away completely, but you have to learn to switch that inside voice off. When it comes to external doubt, it is a balancing act. You have to be able to listen to feedback from others and learn to accept constructive criticism. But you also have to be able to recognize if people are just naysayers who question your abilities without reason. For the naysayers you just have to learn how to move on and prove them wrong.  Melissa’s experience as a female leader While Melissa doesn’t really think of herself as a female leader, she does recognize that some people will be surprised when they meet her, especially because of the industry she is in, which tends to be male dominant. In fact when she recalls a time when she was the CFO at Wex Inc. and she and the head of investor relations were on a call with an investor and a portfolio manager that Melissa had not yet met. When both sides went to hang up, the other side of the call thought they had hung up but hadn’t. So she heard a part of their conversation. The portfolio manager was saying “The CFO is a chick”. And the investor that Melissa knew responded and said “Yes, but she’s a geek chick”. And then they went on to talk about the answers to questions they had. What she took away from that experience is that people recognize that she is different and they stop to acknowledge that, but at the end of the day what they really care about is the content of what she has to say. They care about performance and results. When asked if she has to work harder or be tougher as a female leader, Melissa says, “It is different, yeah. Clearly it's different. I think the important part, though, is those things happen. But if you allow that to be kind of the central part of your thinking, so if I start with the fact that it's unfair, then you're almost putting your own baggage on top of what's already going to be a little bit more difficult.  And so what I think of that is, I would rather not have that in the back of my mind, not have your own mind questioning what you're capable of, on top of what's going to be other people who do perceive that they just can't relate or understand sometimes or how you're capable of doing what you're doing. But that's not for me to own. You know, I think that's for me to a certain extent, to put blinders on and focus on what needs to get done.” The importance of saying yes to opportunities  Melissa has given a talk for TEDx and in it she talks about the importance of saying yes to opportunities at work. Career progression, Melissa believes, is in part our own responsibility. It is part your capability, part sponsorship, and part timing. When you say yes to something outside of your normal responsibilities it allows you to get exposure to people you wouldn’t normally have and it shows a set of skills that are different then what you normally use. As Melissa shares, “Often what I was given for assignments that would be outside of my job were things that weren't fun, or, you know, something was broken, or something was happening across some other parts of the planet. And I was being asked to step in and be involved. And I really think that doing that was part of a big part of my career progression, because it again, allowed people to see me in a different light than they would have if I was just, you know, the CFO or the controller or some of the things that I've done in my past.” So if you get the opportunity to do something outside of your job title, or something even a bit outside of your comfort zone, you should definitely consider saying yes. Dealing with failures and mistakes Every single leader deals with failures or mistakes at some point in their career. Melissa says she views these as learning opportunities. We are all constantly learning and evolving, so using these situations to grow and get better is important. Melissa says it is crucial for leaders to create an environment that accepts failures. If people feel like they can’t fail, they are going to be too safe. One thing she has learned is not to put difficult things off for later.  As she says, “bad news doesn’t age well”. If there is a hard decision you have to make, or a hard announcement you have to give, do it sooner rather than later. Advice Melissa would give to her younger self If she could go back in time and give herself some advice Melissa says she would tell herself you have the power to impact the way others think and feel by your actions. She says, “When you get older, you realize that everything you do affects the people around you when you know, like it or not. And so you have to be, you know, you have to just be thoughtful about that...you might meet with somebody and for you, that meeting, you know, maybe the last thing that's on your mind, but it may be the most important meeting of the day for that other person. And so kind of taking a deep breath, and being the person you want to be in that moment, is, I think, really important. And something particularly in this pandemic environment. Like, you know, you might be running 100 miles an hour and really thinking about a lot of things. But if you can just take a deep breath and reframe yourself for what you're about to go into it. I think that's really important.”

Being self-aware is one of the most important skills to have as a leader. It will help you identify your weaknesses and work on them. How do you know if you’re self-aware? There are a couple of signs. 👆 The first sign that you are NOT self-aware is if you are constantly defensive. You're always having to defend yourself and defend your position to anyone who critiques you. Also, if you have a reputation of being overpowering or a bully, it might be a good indicator that self-awareness is an important skill you need to practice. 👆 Another sign you’re not self-aware is if you're constantly having to make excuses for why things aren't getting done, for why the quality of work isn't always there, or why things are done late. The most important thing is to be honest with yourself. That way, you can practice self-awareness, work on your weaknesses, and become a better leader.

Kate Johnson is President of Microsoft US, a $45 billion division  including all of Microsoft’s solutions, services, and support revenues across public and private sectors in the United States. Kate is responsible for a team of 10,000 people and she is currently very involved in Microsoft’s culture journey led by CEO Satya Nadella. Prior to Microsoft Kate served as the Chief Commercial Officer for GE Digital. She has held several key senior leadership roles at GE, Oracle, Red Hat, and Deloitte Consulting. With the chaotic state of the world right now we need leaders who are courageous and empathetic. One leader who truly understands how to lead with both courage and empathy in these challenging times is Kate Johnson, the President of Microsoft US. Leaders can’t just stay where they are comfortable anymore, they have to be willing to take a risk and own all the consequences. They have to be open, transparent, and vulnerable. They have a deep understanding of their people and their customers. When the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, first approached Kate she was working for GE and felt very loyal to the company. She had no intentions of leaving the company. But she couldn’t turn down a meeting with Satya. And the reason she ended up making the move was because of something he said. When Kate had asked Satya about his philosophy around culture he said that Carol Dweck was one of his personal coaches and he spoke of how a growth mindset has the ability to unlock the purpose of a company and the potential of the people. Hearing that Kate knew there was alignment from the top to the bottom of Microsoft and she jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it. How to lead with courage  Most people probably think about courageous leadership as guns blazing in the heat of the battle or a leader who is invincible and strong. But Kate’s definition is a bit different than that. She says, “One of the things that we've been learning is the connection between courage and vulnerability. So everybody thinks if you're courageous, that you have no weakness. You are strong, they picture warriors, you know, with lots of armor and heading off. That's not what courageous leadership is. Courageous leadership is the willingness to activate the troops and own the outcome, but also to do so bringing all of your strengths and weaknesses to the table with total transparency and clarity, and kind of owning work with that and figuring out how to assemble the team to bolster wherever there are weaknesses. And that's a different kind of leadership that I think is essential today. One example Kate shared of how she is living out courageous leadership has to do with the training she has been going through with her team. Kate asked Brene Brown to help 140 leaders in her division. During this learning journey the whole group went to Alabama to spend time with the famed Harvard attorney Bryan Stevenson to talk about race in America. The group read his book and then spent a few hours talking with him. They were so shocked and moved by what he said they decided they needed to learn more. Kate asked Bryan to speak at the Microsoft Sales Kickoff, which was a great success. Not only did he receive two standing ovations from the entire US team but it opened up some great conversations about race. Kate and her team decided to go together--7,000 people across 42 movie theaters to see the movie Just Mercy. Throughout this year she has reached out to her team to ask what she can do to address racial inequalities and racial tensions. She has opened up some tough conversations and pushed the organization to do better. This is what courageous leadership is. When asked what courageous leadership looks like Kate said, “There's a million different examples that I could give to you. But the one that resonates most frequently, is when you see a person trying to get it right, instead of trying to be right. She mentioned how Microsoft used to be a company of “know it alls” but now, under Satya’s leadership it has become a company of “learn it alls”. “And a learn it all is somebody who has no preconceived notion of what the answer is, and is all about creating an inclusive process to go get that answer. Courageous leaders show up like that every single day, versus one that isn't so courageous as one that walks into the room, thinking they know the answer, and thinking that their job is to convince everybody else what the answer is. And it's that get it right versus think you're right.” Balancing family and work A lot of leaders struggle with balancing work and personal life. There is sometimes a struggle for female leaders specifically who may be pressured by society or a boss to pick between an executive role and a family life, thinking both can’t be possible. But as Kate shows, it is definitely possible to be a successful leader and a great parent and spouse. But it takes work and intentionality. Kate says it all comes down to making sacrifices. And she has a practice in place that really helps her put up boundaries. She gives her kids her calendar at the beginning of the year and they get to block out important dates, whether it is a school recital or a sports tournament or graduation. And then her team knows that those dates are spoken for. There are also certain work black out dates which she knows she has to be present at work for. And it’s when some of the dates overlap that all parties have to come together to find a solution. But it all works out. Kate says, “I've always balanced it. And I've always enjoyed both roles. And the more that I can be the same person, as I play both roles, you know, mom to Owen and Jake and leader of MSUS, being the same authentic person with same quality, same sense of humor, same flaws, same pros and cons that's when I know I'm doing it right.” Kate’s advice for female leaders Kate admits that when she first started as a leader she said no to her family more than she did to work, because she felt like she had something to prove and she had to show she was willing to work hard. She didn’t have confidence that her boss would understand if she said no to work. But she had a wake up call from a boss one time. Kate’s boss asked her one day, “if you didn’t show up to work tomorrow, do you know what would happen?” and Kate said, “I don’t know, what?” and her boss replied “nothing”. The sun will still come up tomorrow whether or not you are here. She learned that it is okay to say no to work. People will understand. As long as when you are at work you work hard and you have a good reputation, no one is going to think you are lazy if you say no from time to time. It’s okay to say no. In fact, Kate says saying no to some things will probably help you raise the quality of your game and the places where you do say yes. And this is not something she just practices herself, she coaches her people to say no too. She actually sent a note out this past month to remind her team to say no more often, especially to things like internal meetings where it doesn’t really bring any value to customers. The key to saying no is providing an alternative. If you have to say no to a meeting maybe someone else at your level can attend, or maybe the meeting can be moved, or perhaps they could tape the meeting for you so you can keep up to date. How Microsoft is focusing on empathy The purpose and mission of Microsoft is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. In order to do that they understand they have to prioritize empathy. Kate says empathy is just deep understanding. In order to serve their customers employees need to know how to be empathetic and how to immerse themselves in the needs of their clients. Kate truly believes that, “our empathic muscle is directly tied to how much share we can grab in the cloud market.” So they practice empathy every single day. Microsoft leaders teach employees how to be empathetic. When interacting with customers employees should listen before they talk. Instead of just talking about the products and services, employees should first get to know the clients unique problems and needs. Satya Nadella models this for the rest of the company. Kate says Satya is one of the most empathic leaders she has ever worked for. Kate went with Satya one time to see a customer in Nebraska. In order to understand the technology inside of a combine used in the customer’s fields Satya actually got into the combine and drove it. As Kate shares, “You can't be empathic without having that proximity, that closeness, to deeply understand something. And so, I hope we're doing it every single day. Now, it's a little bit more difficult in the virtual world to practice empathy. But, you know, I think we're starting to get the hang of moving from this notion of physical proximity to emotional and intellectual proximity, where asking the right questions is how you unlock the next level of learning, as opposed to just getting physical proximity and having great observation skills.”   This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out here.

Self-awareness is one of the most important things to have as a leader. An effective way to practice self-awareness is to know what others think of you. Other people's opinions of you are often very different from your opinion of yourself. You need to encourage people to give you constructive feedback. But you can’t just call people up and ask what they think of you. Once you collect this information, you can compare it to your list of how you think about yourself. This will help you assess yourself and improve on the areas you are struggling with. This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out here.  

Carrie Birkhofer is President and CEO of Bay Federal Credit Union, a non profit financial cooperative with 225 employees. She’s been the CEO there for 25 years and under her leadership the credit union has grown from $70 million to $1.4 billion in assets. This year has brought on a lot of challenges for leaders in every industry. Some leaders have struggled and even failed. Others have really embraced change in order to help their people get through these tough times. One CEO that has really used the current challenges to make her organization even better is Carrie Birkhofer, President and CEO of Bay Federal Credit Union. Even before the pandemic she knew the importance of putting people first. Carrie was one of the CEOs I interviewed for my book, The Future Leader and during the interview she said the following, “I meet employees the first hour on the first day they start at the Credit Union. New employees are welcomed as a group and when new hires start together, I’m there. I greet them, I welcome them, and I answer any questions they may have. All new employees, regardless of their position are seen, heard, respected, and listened to by the leader and they know that I’m there to serve them, not the other way around.” This is a great example of what leaders should be every single day, but especially now as we all go through the historic crazy times 2020 has brought. Leaders should serve their people, their people should not be there just to serve them. What does servant leadership look like What does it look like to serve your employees? Carrie has some great real life examples of what it looks like. First of all, Carrie makes sure she meets new employees on their first day at work. In good times, pre-COVID that meant four or five current employees and Carrie getting together in person with the new employees. The current employees would share who they are, what their path has been at Bay Federal, and something interesting that they want to share. Then they would have the new employees do the same thing, except they would share their paths getting to Bay Federal. And then Carrie would go last, because she doesn’t want to influence the process. Most people don’t even know who she is until she shares. She also gives the new employees a chance to ask any questions they want. But because she realizes they may be too nervous to think of anything, Carrie and two executive vice presidents take that same group out for lunch so they can ask their questions once they are more comfortable. Obviously this process looks a bit different with COVID. But this is still a priority for Carrie, so the initial meeting is done either via Zoom or in a large room where everyone is socially distanced. And instead of physically taking the group out to lunch she orders everyone lunch from Door Dash and they get to eat at their home while on a Zoom with Carrie and her team. She also started writing a Friday morning email to all employees when things got crazy earlier this year. She wanted to make sure everyone was up to date and had all the information they needed. She got such great feedback from it, that she continues it to this day. And even though she says it is a lot of work on her part, it is worth it because it has allowed her to be even more connected with her team. This year has also brought a lot of attention to racial inequalities. Carrie wanted to make sure she addressed this in the right way. So she called up all of the employees in the company who identify as black and she checked in on them. She asked how they were doing, she asked what she could do to help, and she made herself available to them. She genuinely cares about her people and she wants to make sure that every single one of them is heard and respected. The day to day of a CEO before and during COVID  As a CEO Carrie’s day to day looks a little different now. Pre-COVID Carrie would be out of the office a lot more. She attended community events, went out to build business relationships, took part in conferences. But now she is primarily working from home. And she has been spending a lot more time communicating with her employees, the board of directors, and the senior leadership team. Nowadays she wakes up quite early with her new puppy. She starts her day off by going for a walk to the Monterey Bay where she does a gratitude mantra. This has really helped her to stay grounded during all of the craziness of 2020. During her walk when she gets to a certain spot she takes time to ask for wisdom and guidance from family members who have passed on. She says a prayer of thanks. She gets perspective and reflects. And she takes in the view of nature around her. She does this every single day without fail, rain or shine. Then when she gets back she has some coffee and goes into her office (which right now is in her bedroom). She takes a look at her calendar to see what her day looks like, every day is very different, but generally she has Zoom meetings and activities from 8:30am to 4:30pm. And she ends her day with the same walk she does in the morning. She is very involved in her Rotary Club, she has the new employee orientations on the first Monday of every month, she meets daily with her executive assistant, and daily with her two vice presidents. She also meets twice a week with her senior leadership team. And while the amount of communication needed these days can be exhausting, she enjoys feeling more connected to her team now than ever before. Making the shift at first seemed daunting but as Carrie shares, “Well, on March 13, the governor kinda hinted that we were shutting down and on March 17 everyone went home. And we adapted that day, it took about a week for the technology team to get 100 employees situated at home and I know companies much larger than us did as well.  It was kind of a miracle in the business world, that we all did it. But it happened really quickly. It happened overnight. And if you had told me six months ago that this is something that we will have to do, and this is how we're going to operate, and you're gonna do it in less than a week, my team would have laughed at me. But we did it. And we just, I think it shows the power of having a clear mandate. That's an important thing. If you have clear crystal clear direction, I think teams can do amazing work. And it also shows me the power of a team that is very synergized and works collaboratively together.” Keeping culture alive while working remotely Bay Federal has a lot of unique activities in place to keep the company culture alive when so many team members are working from home. One tradition they have had for a long time is around Halloween. Before the pandemic they had every department pick a theme and the employees decorated their area over the top with props and everything. Then the senior leadership team would go around to every location throughout the day. It was a very big production. But knowing this year they had to do it a bit differently they made the whole week of Halloween spirit week where everyone could dress up for a different theme every day whether they were physically in the office or working from home. Everyone got to upload a picture of themselves in their costume and prizes were given out to the best ones. Carrie also makes sure to start each meeting with a different fun question, like what is your favorite rock band? What is your favorite meal that you are Door Dashing right now? This practice really helps with Zoom meetings so that they don’t just jump into things without doing something fun first. Carrie has also used this question time to ask people what their favorite cake is, and she keeps track of all the responses so she can send people their favorite cake on their birthday. The leadership team was able to have a socially distanced barbeque where they got to play trivia games, good food, and they could reconnect since they hadn’t been together in quite a long time. The importance of putting people first has been talked about for many years. But this year has really shown us that leaders actually need to be human, they have to get to know their people, and they have to put people first in order to thrive and grow. Any leader who doesn’t do this will get left behind.  Carrie’s advice for future female leaders We have a long way to go to bring equality to leadership. We need more women leaders. Carrie has been a CEO for 25 years so she knows the challenges and the benefits of being a female leader. Her advice to any women who want to be leaders is, “Show up. When you're in the office, when you have an opportunity to be seen and heard, show up with confidence, and professionalism. Be prepared. You know, don't apologize. Be bold. And listen and ask others what their opinions are, but don't be afraid to share your own. And I think the world is ready for you. There's a lot of acceptance being recognized for diversity. And so it's finding that right audience that's listening to you. Don't carry a chip on your shoulder, be inquisitive, be curious. Be kind. And at the same time be bold.” This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out here.

Improving your strengths and working on your weaknesses is not as hard as people think. When I was younger and was trying to make decisions in my life, whether it was who I wanted to date, where I wanted to live, or even the company I wanted to apply for, my dad would always say, "Jacob, take out a piece of paper, fold it in half and write down the pros and cons on each side of the paper." What you can also do with this exercise is to replace the pros and cons column with strengths and weaknesses. This is a great way to assess yourself and find out what areas you need to work on. Of course, this only works if you are completely honest with yourself. As you learn new things and try to work on your weaknesses, these things are going to change. If you do this exercise on a regular basis, you’ll become very self-aware of what your strengths and weaknesses actually are. It's a very simple practice that can make a big difference. This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out at here.

Michael Watkins is the Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at the IMD Business School and the co-founder of Genesis Advisors, a global leadership development consultancy based in Boston where he coaches C-level executives of global organizations. He is also the author of 11 books including the international bestseller, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter. Michael was recently ranked among the top 50 management thinkers globally by Thinkers50. Previously he was an adjunct professor at INSEAD and an associate professor at the Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. We all go through periods of transition. Whether it is a change in a role at work or moving to a different company or even going through a new season in your personal life, transitions are a part of life. For leaders transitions are critical, and if they are not handled correctly the results can be disastrous. Michael’s book, The First 90 Days, looks at how leaders can make the most out of their first three months of a transition as well as some common traps that leaders fall into during that critical time. The breakeven point Michael uses a financial analogy to explain why mastering transitions is so important. A financial break even point looks at how long it takes an investment to get to a point where it pays for itself. With leaders the break even point is looking at the point where you as a leader are creating value for the company. The longer it takes you to get up to speed in a new role the longer it’s going to be before you stop consuming value and start producing value. As a leader you need to figure out how you can get to the point of true value creation as fast as you can, but in a smart way. In a study that was conducted by Michael and his team a few years ago they found that unaided the process for leaders to reach the breakeven point can take up to six months. So if that timeframe can be reduced it not only helps the organization it also helps set the leader up for success very early on. And of course, the time it takes to start creating value also depends on the type of transition you are going through. Staying in the same company but moving to a different role may take less time than moving to a different company and starting in a role that didn’t exist before. Common traps leaders fall into during transitions There are several traps people can fall into when they are going through transitions in life and at work. It is important for leaders to be aware of these traps so they can be careful to avoid them.  One of the biggest traps Michael points out is when leaders stay in their comfort zone and continue to define their role through the lens of what they are good at. Michael says, “When I coach people one of the questions I ask them fairly early on is what are you really good at and love doing that you need to do less of here? And what are you perhaps not so good at or not enjoying doing that you need to do more of? So as you enter a new role, you need to think about what do I need to let go of and what do I need to embrace? And that kind of helps get you through the comfort zone trap.” When you are making a transition, don’t just assume that what has worked in the past will work in your current situation. This is especially important if you are not only transitioning in a role, but also in a different organization. A lot of times the job description that’s given to you in the interview may not give you the full scope of what needs to be done, so it is important to check and recheck what you’re really there to do. Go one level deeper than the job description to find out why you are there. Figure out how you can add unique value to the organization and then use that as your North star. Another trap leaders can fall into during a transition is not reaching out to peers and stakeholders early enough. A lot of emphasis is put on leaders to connect with their team and their boss, but most leaders neglect to connect with their peers and stakeholders and that can be harmful later on. Michael says you shouldn’t wait until you have a problem and need their help before you reach out to them. A third trap to watch out for is what Michael calls the action imperative. When you are put into a new role most likely you are going to feel pressure to do something or make a decision right away. Most of the time that pressure is coming from within yourself, and not something that people expect. Of course there are exceptions, but in general try to fight this feeling. As Michael shares, “It's that sense, maybe it comes a little out of the imposter syndrome kind of idea, or that sense of I need to prove myself, show that they made the right decision in hiring or promoting you. And you can have that pressure, and that can lead you to do things that you're perhaps not fully ready to do or that are not as informed enough or not socialized enough. And that can create a vicious cycle if you're not if you're not careful.” When you start to feel pressure to do something right away, ask yourself where is this pressure coming from? Is it coming from within yourself or is there a legitimate reason for you to act on something immediately. The lack of leadership training inside organizations One thing I found while writing my latest book, The Future Leader, is that most people spend 10-15 years in leadership positions before getting any formal leadership training from their organization. There are quite a few people who are promoted to leadership roles in their 20s and 30s but on average people are in their late 30s or early 40s before going through training. So how are you as a leader supposed to get up to speed and have a successful transition into a position of leadership if you have never had any formal training? Michael says it means it leaves responsibility for leadership development on the individual. This can seem daunting, but the good news is there are so many resources out there these days you can turn to. There are online courses, books, videos, etc… on leadership and the skills related to being a great leader. So if your organization is not providing you with the skills you need, there really isn’t an excuse. And while leaving training up to the individual isn’t the best way of operating for an organization, it is happening more often now because of the unraveling of the social contract between organizations and individuals. It is no longer common for a person to stay at one company for their entire career. Gone are the days where the company provides a safety net for employees, and so employees no longer feel loyalty to the company. Leaders have to be proactive and intentional in onboarding and integrating themselves into a new role. As Michael says, “If you don't own your transition, your transition will own you.” How to have a successful transition For leaders going through a transition process Michael says it is important to understand the challenges up front and be clear about how you are going to create value in what you are there to do. Be sure to plan your learning process, engage with peers and stakeholders early on, and be really thoughtful about how you are going to arrive in the new organization and the messaging you want to send. Michael says, “a lot of what you do early on, is about signaling and symbolism. So be really thoughtful about that because those early actions can send very powerful messages whether you intend them to or not.” This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out at here.  

To be successful in the future of work, leaders must have a growth mindset. One way to identify if a person has a fixed mindset or a growth mindset is by how they tackle problems. For example, if you have a fixed mindset, when you run into a challenge or are faced with a roadblock, you try to tackle it the same way over and over. When those attempts don't work, you get frustrated and quit. But when you have a growth mindset, you find a way to get better to solve the problem. You understand that what you were doing didn’t work and that you need to learn a new skill to overcome the obstacle. If you're able to embrace this concept of a growth mindset, you’ll become much more valuable as a leader inside your organization. This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out at here.

The way we work is changing.  It’s not going to stop changing anytime soon, in fact the change is only going to speed up.  Organizations have made progress in adapting for the future of work, but we still have a long way to go.  In my book, The Future of Work, I laid out 14 principles of the future organization. And while that book was released back in 2014, these principles are still very relevant for organizations today and we have a lot of work to do in each one of these areas in order to succeed in the next decade and beyond. So let’s take a deeper look at each one of these 14 principles. Globally distributed with smaller teams We have been seeing organizations move away from having all of their employees located in a few corporate offices to having employees spread out all over the world. This allows teams to be smaller and more agile.  It also opens up a wider pool of talent for organizations then we have seen in the past. Proximity to the corporate headquarters is no longer an issue. This is an exciting change because it means organizations can utilize the best talent and individuals can work for their dream company no matter where they are in the world. We were already seeing this change back in 2014, but now with COVID-19 we are seeing this become even more common.  Connected workforce While it is great to have a global team around the world, it is not possible to work effectively from all over without being able to stay connected. Your team needs to be able to connect to the right information and to each other anywhere, anytime, and from any device. Which means your organization has to have the right technology in place to make that happen.  Technology is the central nervous system of any organization. With the current pandemic companies have been pushed to achieve in 3 months what they had been trying to do over 10 years. But with or without the pandemic, companies have to continue to create and invest in the technologies that connect their workforce.  Intrapreneurial  There are several traits that come to mind when you think of an entrepreneur. Passion, drive, innovation, creativity, forward thinking, etc… Wouldn’t you love to have people inside of your organization with these traits? You should. Intrapreneurs are entrepreneurs that work inside of an organization instead of off on their own.  You can foster the intrapreneurial spirit inside of your organization by letting employees test their ideas out, experiment, pitch new projects, and run with the ideas that have potential. There are several organizations that are allowing employees to be intrapreneurial such as LinkedIn, Adobe, and AT&T.  For individuals this means that you have to have entrepreneurial skills in order to succeed and get ahead. You have to be scrappy, resourceful, and curious. Don’t just wait for your manager to tell you what to do next, don’t just think inside the box, don’t get pigeon-holed into a certain job description. Don’t be afraid to take an idea and run with it.  Operates like a small company Organizations can no longer afford to be bogged down by bureaucracy, not in this fast paced world we are living in. No matter how many employees you have you have to operate like a small company.  Small companies are agile and adaptable. They are able to make quick decisions and pivot at a moment's notice. Again, with the pandemic I think companies have been forced to do this for now. We all had to act quickly at the beginning of 2020. But if you want to succeed in the future you have to be able to continue to act small and agile. You will not win if you operate at the speed of sludge.  Are your employees empowered to make their own decisions or do they have to go through multiple levels of hierarchy to get an answer? Do you have small enough teams or do you have 40+ people in meetings? Do you allow employees to run with ideas or do they have to sit in back to back meetings all day?  Don’t tell me it’s not possible to make quick decisions, we’ve all had to do it this year. And if you can do it for COVID-19, you can do it anytime.  Focuses on “want” instead of “need” In the past when there was a position to be filled inside of an organization the leaders would post a job ad and qualified candidates would apply. There would be an interview and the candidate had to convince the interviewer why they would be the best fit for the position. It was always assumed that the candidate needed a job and they were at the mercy of the organization to hire them. It was about what the candidate could bring to the organization.  Now with globalization and the fact that individuals can work pretty much anywhere around the world as well as the fact that it is a lot easier to be an entrepreneur and do your own thing now it is no longer the individual who has to do the selling. Individuals have so many choices, they don’t have to settle for anything. It is up to the organization to prove it is a place where the individual would want to work.  In order to attract the best talent you have to create an organization where people want to come work, you cannot assume that they need the job anymore.  Adapts to change faster The world is moving at such a fast pace. Organizations can no longer afford to take a “wait and see” approach. They cannot sit back and follow in the path of what others are doing. In order to succeed organizations have to look forward, act fast, and move more swiftly. Things will never be as slow as they are right now. This goes for technology, workplace trends and also reacting to current events.  Innovation everywhere Does your organization allow anyone to come forward with a new idea? Or do all of your innovations come from a certain department or level of hierarchy? In order to succeed in this rapidly changing world of work, innovation has to come from anywhere and everywhere inside your organization.  And ideas and innovation are two different things. Ideas happen all of the time. We all have hundreds of ideas every single week. But it’s the process of taking an idea and actually turning it into something that leads to innovation.  Does your organization allow anyone to come forward with an idea? If an employee has a suggestion, feedback, or an idea do they have the potential to do something with it?  Runs in the cloud On-premise technologies have a shelf life, and their days are surely numbered. If your organization is purely operating with on site servers and technologies it won’t be long before you fall behind your competition. The future is cloud based technology. It allows organizations to scale up or down very quickly.  More women in senior management roles This is a big one. We have made some progress here, but not enough. Less than 8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. We need much more diversity in our leadership roles. Without diversity in leadership, companies are missing out on a huge talent pool that brings with it a new set of skills, mindsets, and perspectives.  How can you properly serve your customers and create new products and services if everyone on your leadership team is exactly the same, without any diversity? We definitely need more women leaders.    Flatter structure  The stereotypical hierarchical structure that we have seen in most of our organizations is the pyramid with the CEO at the top and multiple layers in between them and the frontline workers. We can agree that while some structure inside of organizations is good, we need to have a more balanced system.  Information, communication, and ideas should not all come from the top down. It should move from side to side, from the bottom to the top as well as the top down. It doesn’t need to be flat, but it needs to be flatter. We need less layers between frontline workers and the CEO.  This principle helps with agility and nimbleness as well as creating purpose and meaning for employees. When the organization is flatter and communication is flowing freely, employees have a better sense of what is happening inside the organization and why. Tells stories We like to tell stories to our customers through our websites, social media, TV ads, etc...So why don’t we take time to create stories for our employees? Stories help us to connect emotionally with an idea or a brand. They paint a picture and make values and purpose come to life.  Employees want to work for an organization that they believe in. They want to find value and purpose in the work they do everyday and what better way to explain the organization’s mission then through stories. When they know what they are working for employees are more likely to go above and beyond. We all want to know that what we do every day impacts our community and our world. Take the time to tell your company’s story to every single employee.  Democratizes learning Just as learning in our schools is outdated, learning inside of our organizations is outdated. It is too structured and formal. If you sign up for a learning opportunity at work most likely you are going to watch a video from the 80s or you will attend a scripted lecture with someone going through a PowerPoint.    Learning should reflect the year we live in. If it is so easy for me to learn something on my own through YouTube or Khan Academy or Coursera why can’t it be the same way inside our organizations. Learning has to be democratized. It must be put into the hands of every employee because every employee has something to teach and every employee has something to learn.   Shifts from profits to prosperity  Profit is the financial gain that an organization receives and it is the primary measure of success inside of most organizations. But prosperity looks at much more than money. It looks at employee health & wellness, community involvement, diversity & inclusion, sustainability, etc… The purpose of a business can no longer be just about making money, it’s about impacting all stakeholders. Not shareholders, stakeholders. Our communities, partners, suppliers, vendors, customers, and employees all have a stake in the success of the business.  We have to move away from just the dollars and cents and focus on the greater impact our organizations make on the world around us.  Adapts to the future employee and the future manager Organizations that want to succeed in the future of work have to be able to adapt to the future employee and the future leader. Leadership is changing in a big way, for more information on how it is changing you can check out my new book, The Future Leader. But organizations need to know what the future of leadership looks like and make sure they are promoting the right people to those positions. Organizations also have to stay on top of what employees want and need. We cannot just continue on and assume that we can succeed while continuing in the old ways of working.  Right now, we're seeing such an amazing time and exciting evolution around how we work, how we lead, and even how we structure our companies. Don’t get stuck in the old way of doing things. We must continue to adapt, learn, explore, and grow if we want to avoid getting left behind. This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out at here.

People analytics is crucial to creating great experiences.  I was once speaking overseas to a large organization that was very interested in investing in employee experiences.  The Chief HR Officer said that the average tenure in the organization was eight to ten years. I told him that was great and asked him why that was, but he said he didn't know.  He also said, “When people do leave the company, they always leave at the two-year mark.” But when I asked what happened at the two-year mark, he said he didn’t know.   Without people analytics, you don’t have data. And data is what helps you truly know your people.  Look at the data you already have about your people--engagement data, salary data, geographic data, demographic and background data, performance review data, etc. You have a lot of ways to find data and learn about your employees.  This episode is sponsored by Teamistry, a podcast by Atlassian. Check them out at http://bit.ly/fowatlassian  

We are facing a leadership crisis today. The world of work is changing, which means we need a different type of leader to guide our people and organizations to success.  The old ways won’t work anymore.  In my newest book, The Future Leader, I interviewed over 140 CEOs from around the world to get their view of how leadership is changing, what it’s going to look like in the future, and what we need to do now to be future-ready leaders.  One thing was clear in all of their responses, what has worked in the past will not work in the future. We need a new kind of leader. Leadership can no longer be based solely on confidence, seniority, the ability to make money for the company, acting like you know it all, etc... Another thing that I found in my research for the book was the lack of leadership training inside of organizations. Most people become leaders in their mid to late 20s, but most leaders have admitted that they didn’t receive formal training until they were in their late 30s and early 40s. That means there is a period of 15-20 years where leaders inside of our organizations are leading, but they haven’t been taught how to do it effectively. No wonder we have such a lack of strong leadership. But just because you don’t receive formal training inside of your organization doesn’t give you a free pass to be an ineffective leader. You can take training into your own hands. You have the ability to learn what you need to know to be the best leader you can be.  The first step is answering a tough question If you are ready to be a future-ready leader, the first step you need to take is to define leader and leadership for yourself. What does it really mean to be a leader? It may seem like a simple question, but it is actually the hardest question for the 140+ CEOs I interviewed to answer.  We see leaders in action every single day, whether they are good or bad. It is something so common, that we don’t tend to spend time defining leadership because we assume everyone knows what it is. It’s like water. You wouldn’t explain water to someone, because we all just know what water is.  But defining leader and leadership is such an important step. Without a definition we get inconsistency inside of our organizations. Most organizations have some great leaders that people love and some horrible leaders that people can’t stand. That wouldn’t happen if we had a clear definition of leadership. It would help put filters in place that help the right people get promoted to leadership positions.  If you want great leaders, start by defining what a great leader is. And use that definition to promote people inside of your organization. The Notable Nine From the interviews that I did with the 140+ CEOs I ended up with four mindsets and five skills that leaders need to adopt in order to succeed in the future of work. They are:  Mindsets: Explorer: Become a perpetual learner, be curious and focus on agility and adaptability Chef: Learn how to balance humanity and technology Servant: Serve your leaders, your team, your customers and yourself by being humble and vulnerable Global Citizen: Surround yourself with different people and look at the big picture Skills: Futurist: Look towards the future and think through different scenarios Yoda: Practice emotional intelligence and empathy Translator: Develop listening and communication skills Coach: Motivate and engage others and create effective teams across geographies and generations Technology Teenager: Embrace new technology and be tech-savvy Leaders must be like lighthouses On the cover of my book is the image of a lighthouse. And I think it is such a great visualization of what a leader should be. A lighthouse is designed to help mariners and explorers reach their destinations, but in a safe way. It helps travelers keep out of shallow waters, off of the rocks, and away from danger. And I think of leaders in very much the same way. The whole purpose of a leader is to guide their people and organizations to success, but in a safe way. With the nine skills and mindsets leaders can build themselves up to be a lighthouse so that they can shine a bright light onto the sea of uncertainty that we’re all a part of.  But one thing a lot of leaders forget is that if there are no ships in the water, then a lighthouse is useless. Without great people to lead, a leader is pointless. Leaders can’t just focus on building themselves up, they must also focus on the success of their people.   This episode of Future of Work is supported by Teamistry, a podcast that tells the stories of teams who work together in new and unexpected ways… to beat the odds. Each episode tells a unique story and provides practical lessons for your team and your business. I got a sneak peek of season 2 and was immediately sucked in with its documentary-style narration, details about stories I thought I knew but didn’t, and practical lessons that I was able to apply to my business. Check it out at this page

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit a lot of organizations hard in a way that they might never recover. Some of these organizations have chosen to let thousands of employees go just to make their numbers better. And it got me thinking, what if organizations couldn’t fire people when the company didn’t meet its numbers? Would they be able to come up with creative solutions to keep those people employed? Would they do things differently? Cutting employees should always be the company’s last resort. Employees are the greatest asset of organizations around the world.

Jim Heppelmann is the CEO of PTC, a technology software company with 6,500 employees in 30 countries. Jim was named one of “7 IoT leaders to Watch in 2017” by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, he was recognized as “IoT CEO of the Year” by PostScapes, “Technology CEO of the Year” by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, and he received the CAD Society Leadership Award for his work with the Internet of Things. Together with Harvard Professor, Michael Porter, Jim has co-authored three highly influential articles on the transformational impact of the Internet of Things on business.  David Cote is the former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell and author of the bestselling book, Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term. During his time at Honeywell David fixed a toxic work culture and grew the company’s market capitalization from around 20 billion to 120 billion, delivering returns of 800%. Currently David is Executive Chairman of Vertiv Holdings Co, a global data center products and services provider. He is a member of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group on Foreign Relations and the Conference  of Montreal.  Both Jim and David have had unlikely paths to being the CEOs of two well-established, global companies. Jim grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota as one of eight children. In college he studied mechanical engineering with an emphasis on computer-aided design.  It was actually one of his older sisters who inspired him to attend college and study to become an engineer in the first place. After she graduated from college and got her first job she was already making as much as their parents, and Jim was amazed by that. So engineering brought him to college, but once he got there he fell in love with computer science.  He studied at the intersection of where software meets engineering. David nearly quit high school, because although he was good at school, he hated it. He ended up sticking with it and became the first one in his family to graduate high school. David was accepted to the University of New Hampshire, but decided he didn’t want to pursue college so he went to work as a mechanic with his dad in a small garage. After that job didn’t pan out he went to Michigan to work as a carpenter with his uncle, but learned he wasn’t good at that either. So he enlisted in the Navy for six years on a nuclear submarine. The day before he was supposed to swear in he called the chief petty officer and asked what would happen if he didn’t show up. And although the chief petty officer made it sound almost impossible to get out of, when David realized cops wouldn’t just show up at his door and arrest him, he made the decision not to go. After that David decided to go to college, but after two years there the Assistant Dean of Students told him he could no longer live on campus because he was too much of a troublemaker. So, needing some money, David decided to get a job working second shift while going to school, which he did for 6 months, when a buddy of his invited David to come work with him on a fishing boat in Maine.  Because he was spending so much time on the boat he ended up doing very poorly in school, so he decided to quit. He ended up getting married and one month later his wife was pregnant with their first child. David says this is the moment he realized he had to do something, he had to get direction and stay focused. He was scared he wouldn’t have enough money to raise their child. And from that moment on he had a purpose and a focus that has brought him to where he is now.  David’s advice on how to lead in tough times  Leaders today are definitely leading through difficult times, and David has led through his share of challenging times as well. He says one of the toughest times was the great recession of 2008-2009. And he knows how it feels to be in the middle of a crisis and feel like it is the worst one ever. But it is important to realize that while these recessions are unique, there are certain actions that we can take regardless of the situation that can help organizations to survive it.  David’s advice for anyone leading in tough times is: Don’t panic Make sure that you keep thinking independently  Never forget to put the customer first Be thinking about the recovery even while you’re in the middle of the recession What to do if you feel stuck in your job Some people may read or hear David’s background story of what he went through before he became CEO of Honeywell and they may feel like they are in a similar situation where they feel stuck in a job. Maybe you feel like there is not a clear progression forward in your career. David gives his advice to people in this situation, some things that helped him get to where he is now.  And he breaks this advice up into a few different points. First of all, you have to have performance, and your performance can’t just be okay. You’ve got to be like the top 10%. Where you went to school makes a difference for your first job, after that it is up to how you perform. Be a standout in all you do.  You also need visibility. If you are performing very well, but the person who can do something about your career can’t see it, nothing will happen. So make sure you have visibility. But you have to be careful with this one because you don’t want to go around tooting your own horn or wearing your ambition on your sleeve. It is a delicate balance. If you have a boss who doesn’t feel that you are performing as well as you think you are, this is where you have to be self aware and figure out is there something you can fix or do you just have a bad boss, which David says happens less often than people think. So learn to be self aware and realize when there is something you need to fix. We all have issues, and it’s important to know what they are.  Achieving work-life balance as a CEO  As the CEO of 6,500+ employees, Jim seems very relaxed and happy. He doesn’t seem stressed out at all. One thing that has helped him with this a lot is having a work-life balance. He not only leads the organization, but he also makes time to spend time with his family, take care of the animals on his farm, and cook. But that wasn’t always the case. Jim says when he first became a CEO he burned the candle at both ends, he tried to do everything on his own. And overtime he learned that was not sustainable. When sharing what he learned he says, “what I should do is focus my energy where I really bring a lot of value to the table, again, which tends to be around product strategies, marketing strategies, marketing messages, competitive strategies, and so forth. And let somebody else manage the financial plan, let somebody else manage the professional services margins, and things like that because I don't need to do that and I don't bring a tremendous quality to it, you know, nothing super unique or special. And at the end of the day, you’ve got to pick your battles, there's just not enough time for a CEO to be in charge of everything. So I got a lot happier after I realized I should roll with the punches and just really add value where I think I have the most value to add.” This is such great advice for all CEOs, don’t try to have your hand in all the cookie jars. Don’t take everything upon yourself and don’t think you have to have all the answers. You will get burnt out that way. Surround yourself with people who are good at what you are not good at and rely on them.  Three ways to battle entrenched thinking  No matter what industry you work in, you may find that people around you are entrenched in old ways of thinking, especially if they have been in a certain role for a long time. People don’t like change, it’s just a fact of life. So how do you change that? Jim has three ways that he battled entrenched thinking inside of PTC when he first joined.  Make change part of your company branding--Create a company culture that likes change. Part of what Jim did to change the culture was he adopted some slogans like Take a Fresh Look. Everything about the company should embrace change and discourage getting complacent.  Lead by example--Live out the values you want to see inside your organization. If you want employees to embrace change, you must first be the one to embrace change. Make sure people know it is not about making one change and then staying there, it is about constant change. The point is to try to be that company who changes all the time, you can't pin them down, because they're too busy changing.  Celebrate change--Recognize individuals who step out and do something different, even if what they tried didn’t work.  Jim and David may not have thought about being CEOs growing up and in their early careers, but it goes to show that no matter what your past looks like, you can achieve greatness. Every leader has their own unique path to greatness, every individual has their own unique path, to unlock the potential of who they are. We all deal with our own challenges and obstacles, but it is important to remember that your past does not dictate where you can go and what you can achieve.  If you have a growth mindset, meaning you believe you can continue to grow and develop throughout your life through dedication and hard work, then you can achieve great things.  So what is your story going to look like? I hope these two stories from David and Jim motivate you, inspire you, push you and get you to realize that you can build and shape a future that you want to have for yourself.

What are you doing to push yourself out of your comfort zone? Pushing yourself is important because growth only happens when we venture into the uncomfortable. We can’t be scared to go there. The stress, anxiety, awkwardness, and frustration is all temporary. These things exist as a way to challenge you, so you must overcome them. Nothing worth doing is meant to be easy. What are you doing to push yourself out of your comfort zone either personally or professionally?

Steve Bilt is the CEO of Smile Brands, a company with 5,000 employees that provides business support services to over 425 dental offices. Smile Brands has been on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list three times and Steve is one of the top CEOs on Glassdoor. Steve was recognized as People Focused CEO of the Year and Healthcare CEO of the Year by American Business Awards. He is also a top rated US Large Company CEO on Glassdoor, Comparably and CEOWORLD Magazine.  Steve was on the founding management team of Smile Brands in 1998. He started as the company’s CFO before becoming the CEO a year and a half later. As the CEO he worked hard to build close relationships with the dentists so that he knew what kind of support they really needed. That is what has set Smile Brands apart from other companies, because it allowed Steve to tailor the business model in a way that works at scale with a lot of dentists.  Several other companies who were trying to provide similar services ended up failing, and Smile Brands was able to acquire a few of those companies. From 2003 to 2004 Smile Brands went from 45 locations to over 300 locations.  Smiles for everyone The mission of Smile Brands is really built on three words--Smiles for Everyone. It is the purpose behind everything they do. Steve really wanted to make sure that every party involved in Smile Brands got a fair deal and was happy with the result. So everyone at Smile Brands is focused on making sure patients, employees, vendors, the community, and the investors all get a fair deal, it is always a win-win for everyone.  Giving an example of this mission Steve says, “I was just on the phone today with someone saying, you know, I'm sensing by your body language, that you feel like this isn’t a good deal for you. It's a good deal for us, but if you don't, you shouldn't do this. That's Smiles for Everyone. The guy was like, wow, that is great to hear. And let me clear that up. And as we had a great conversation with that basis, we think that way with all of our employees, our patients and everyone that becomes part of your DNA as a culture.” At one point Steve left the company. He had been the CEO for a while and it was suggested to him that he retire. At the time he took the hint and left. After he left the company the leadership decided to try to move to a more execution oriented model, which was very different from Steve’s purpose driven style with focus on direct interaction with the dentists.  The mission statement went from Smiles for Everyone to Give providers and their dental teams the freedom to put patients first so that they can become the most preferred dental office in their community. And while it’s not a bad statement, it really did not resonate with the Smile Brands team. Moving from focusing on purpose to focusing on metrics really caused the company to lose its soul and its art.  Steve was actually away for 2 ½ years and he missed the business a lot. But in 2016 he was given back the role of CEO. And as he went around to different locations to meet with employees he realized how much they had been waiting to go back to Smiles for Everyone. In fact he had originally had bracelets made with the phrase on it for everyone to wear. And when he returned he found people pulling the bracelets out of their drawers saying they had been saving them for the day he returned.  Creating a mission that resonates with employees Anyone can come up with a mission statement or a company purpose that sounds good. But it can’t be something that just lives on a wall or in the company handbook. It has to be something that is infused into every aspect of the business.  Steve believes it needs to be something short and catchy that people can remember. It needs to be something that you can evaluate and check in on to see how well the company is living up to it. It has to be something that is living and breathing inside your company. For example, with the mission Smiles for Everyone, Steve says he uses the phrase in every meeting and he tries to use it in every interaction to show people what it actually looks like to live out the mission.  Steve says, “As soon as you start to lengthen it, to create more explanation for it, you're doing two things, you're making it harder to use. And you're also telling people what the standard of success is. When the point of the mission statement that we have is only you can say what makes you smile in this situation. So I can't put criterion around it to say, well, as long as my lighting is good enough, you're gonna be happy with this interview. As long as my, you know, shirts the right color, I can't put the standards on it. Only you get to judge that. And so that's why I kept it very short, so it was highly subjective. But you as the constituent and me as the constituent would evaluate it qualitatively. That's another thing, which means I have to ask you, if it's working for you, not just hand you statistics and say it is working for you, which is what most businesses do.” Leading through a pandemic This year has been difficult on so many businesses around the world. And Smile Brands has definitely been impacted by current events. Their business dropped by around 93% in three days when the pandemic first started. Steve and his leadership team knew they had to act fast.  One thing they implemented right away was daily calls for the leadership team. For the first full month of the pandemic the leadership team met every single day Monday to Sunday. And after the first month they eliminated their Saturday and Sunday meetings, but they still meet every Monday through Friday even now, six months into the pandemic.  He also told his leadership team early on, “his is my first pandemic. So I'm probably not going to do it that well. I'll make you guys a promise, my second pandemic, I'm gonna be really good at this.” He says it was tongue in cheek, but it also was his way of letting leadership know that they have the freedom to figure out things together as they go. He was telling them none of us have been through this before, so mistakes will be made, and that’s okay. None of us should be afraid to fail.  They also did have to furlough 85% of their workforce, which was a really hard decision for Steve and his team to make. But he explained to employees that while it is painful to go through this now, it would be even more painful to go through this and come out the other side and not have a job to come back to.  One of the biggest things they have done to help employees through this tough time is constantly communicating with them. Employees have been kept up to date throughout the entire pandemic so they know what is going on, what to expect, and how to plan for the future.  They also provided webinars and assistance with common issues employees were dealing with, such as how to sign up for unemployment in their area.  Steve says, “We also set in mind a canyon metaphor, not a mountain metaphor, but a canyon metaphor. And the reason the canyon was so important, as we sort of started here, we slid down to the bottom, which could still be a mountain metaphor. But what I wanted people to think about is surviving on that canyon floor during COVID. And then building back to a new place, not climbing back to the old place. So we really reinvented every aspect of our business, while we're on the canyon floor.” The good news is they have started emerging from the canyon floor. They’ve got 100% of their revenue back and they are starting to hire back their employees. Steve’s advice for leaders looking to be more effective  One of the biggest pieces of advice Steve offers to others looking to be more effective leaders is to find a mechanism as a leader to be wrong. Leadership is not about knowing everything and having all the answers.  He says, “It's not reality, especially today, when things are happening so fast, and short cycle. And oh, by the way, we're in the middle of pandemic and social unrest and everything else. So you know, you're doing a lot more to help people understand how to explore their way to making decisions or to commit to a decision than you are necessarily knowing the answer. So I think that's number one. And so, you know, that thing about that being my first pandemic was a freeing trick, if you will. All of us as a leadership team need to say, hey, don't sweat it. We don't have to be right. We just have to be moving.” Steve believes that one of the most powerful things leaders can do is to say “I don’t know the answer to that. Let’s figure it out”. Growth comes when everyone is questioning things and exploring things together instead of having answers given to them. 

I have someone I work with who helps me with content. She assists me with writing course descriptions, research, worksheets for courses, etc. A year or so ago, I threw a lot of work her way and her response to me was, "How would you prioritize these different projects?". It was her way of saying, "No, I can't do all of this, you need to pick and choose." It took me a while to realize that what she was really doing was saying no to me, but in a way that didn't cause any tension or friction. This is much better than saying something like, "Sorry I can't do all of this," or "Sure, I can do it", but then not being able to deliver. It made me realize that I was indeed throwing too much work at her, and it forced me to think about what projects were important and what could wait. She still uses this every time we speak--it's an amazing technique that anyone can use. Give it a shot and see what happens!

Doug DeVos is the co-Chairman and former CEO of Amway, the world’s largest direct selling company that provides health, beauty, and home care products. The company was actually founded over 60 years ago by Doug’s father and his father’s best friend. The company now has around 15,000 employees.  Doug has been inducted into the U.S. Direct Selling Association Hall of Fame and he received the Direct Selling Education Foundation’s Circle of Honor award. He currently chairs the Executive Committee for the National Constitution Center and he is a chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. The world has been going through some challenging times over the past year with the pandemic, political unrest, extreme weather, and social injustice. Businesses are having to learn how to adapt quickly.  The founders of Amway, Doug’s father, Rich, and his father’s best friend, Jay, were no strangers to tough times. Growing up Rich’s family went through the Great Depression, they didn’t even have a dime to their name. Rich’s father lost his job, they lost their house, they had to move in with Rich’s grandparents. But they didn’t give up.  Before Rich and Jay started Amway they were in World War II together and when they came back to the US they wanted to start a business. So they started a flight school, even though neither one of them knew how to fly. After that endeavor failed they bought a boat and decided to sail to South America. They made it to the coast of Cuba when their boat sank. But that didn’t stop them.  Doug shares, “It was these stories of determination and persistence that seemed to turn out well in the end. And that's been my experience, not that life is without challenge, of course, there's challenges. Of course, there's tragedy. I know you've dealt with it, everybody deals with it. You lose a loved one unexpectedly. Something happens that you didn't plan on, it's crushing. But you just have to keep moving forward. And in my experience, I've seen people move forward from really, really tough circumstances, and find a better future. And it's a lot better to keep that pursuit alive than to just stop and feel stuck.” How Amway is navigating through challenging times  Just like every other business around the world, Amway is finding ways to continue providing great products and services in the midst of tough times. And Doug shares that the key to successfully getting through times like this is knowing who you are as a company. As a company you have to understand who you are and why you do what you do. That is the foundation that you can go back to in times like these. Doug says, “When you talk about injustice in the world, we go back and say we have provided an opportunity for everybody, anybody from the very beginning. So we can express our values through how we operate. You know, because we've been doing it ever since we began. So we don't have to make something up or try to catch up or adjust. But what we do have to do is look at ourselves honestly and say, can we do it better? Can we provide a better opportunity for more people, that becomes more real, and can we give them better products to sell and better support with technology and operations? Those are the things that we have to challenge ourselves and be honest to say, you know, in some aspects of the business, we could be better, we should be better, and we will be better.” Inside of Amway they have also had to reinvent themselves in three main ways to keep working effectively in this new world of work.  Technology: They have heavily invested in new technologies to allow them to keep working while everyone is at home. They are coming up with creative ways to allow employees to communicate with each other, with leadership, and with customers while working remotely from home.   Workplace practices: They have changed the way they receive feedback from employees. Instead of doing a survey every two years they are now getting feedback every 30 days. The leaders at Amway have put attendance and vacation policies on hold and they are focused on making sure all of their employees are set up well at home, that they are safe, that they are supported, and that they are rewarded.  Communication and collaboration: In order to keep moving the company forward in these times the leadership at Amway knows they have to express the company vision to everyone. They have to be able to communicate and collaborate while working remotely. They have found that they are communicating more often now, with technology, than they did when everything was done in person.  Doug says Amway is continuing to be successful because, “We believe that people given an opportunity can have a business of their own and be successful, we feel the same way with our employees, they want to work, they want to be productive, they want to do well. And so when we allow that to happen, we can follow their lead.” The center of Amway’s culture  Culture is a critical part of any company. When asked how Amway looks at culture Doug says they start with the heart. When it comes to fostering culture he believes that you have to have a heart for the business and for other people.   Doug gave an example of a time when Amway had put a program in place to foster communication within their manufacturing team. And after going through the program an employee described how much of an impact it had on him. The employee said he had a coworker who he couldn’t stand working with. The coworker was hard to get along with and they just didn’t work well together. But after going through this program and communicating with each other he learned that his coworker was going through some really tough things at home and he brought a lot of huge burdens in with him to work. And after understanding that they were able to communicate better and ended up enjoying working together.  Leading with your heart is a big part of the Amway culture. The other two major components are having a growth mindset and always being creative, and thinking of new ways to move forward. The concept of leading with your heart is so needed inside of organizations right now. As we go through tough times leaders need to be able to be empathetic and understanding of what employees are going through. Even when tough decisions need to be made, like letting people go or huge layoffs, leaders can make those decisions while showing they care. For example, at one point when Amway had a downturn and had to lay off quite a few people they reached out to other local businesses to see if they were hiring. They worked very hard to match outgoing employees with local jobs based on their skills and abilities. So being empathetic doesn’t mean you will never have to make a hard decision, but it means you won’t make that decision easily and you will do whatever you possibly can to try to help your people.  Some people may feel that leading from the heart is too soft or doesn’t make sense for making money. But as Doug shares, “leading from the heart doesn't mean you don't hold people accountable. It doesn't mean you don't set targets and goals for yourself or for others. It just means that when you're working with people, you work with them differently, that you're not a boss with a subordinate, you're a leader with a team. And so your role, you begin to think of your role differently of bringing people in.” The biggest challenge for businesses right now  This year has been difficult for business leaders, and while we will get through this pandemic eventually there will always be challenges for leaders to overcome. One major issue Doug believes that businesses are facing now and that they will continue to face for a while is division. And the worst thing we can do, Doug says, is blame other people instead of working together to overcome challenges. He says, “I'm blessed to have had a chance to continue to serve on the National Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. And you find that through the US Constitution, you know, there's a lot of things there. But what it is, is it's an idea, and a document that helps bring people together, not that we have all the answers, we want to be a more perfect union.  But it's a place if we'll work together, even if we disagree. And there's been a lot of disagreement since the founding of our country. But people found a way to work together, even the formation of the Constitution took a whole bunch of people all summer long arguing until they found something. But they didn't give up on the conversation. They didn't give up on their future. And I think I think the biggest challenge for business is to continue to apply that faith, that belief in the future, and really challenge ourselves to work through whatever the challenges are, but to do it together, don't blame other people, but figure out how to connect with other people. Say, let’s focus on the problem or the challenge and see what we can do to address it.” There are always going to be changes in the marketplace and challenges that come our way, but the most important thing is to face these challenges together in collaboration. Overcoming things together will always be more effective than dividing and turning on each other.  Another challenge that business leaders of the future will have to deal with is the pace at which things are changing. Leaders in the past had the luxury of being able to be able to know the general direction that they needed to go, but the variations today are so dramatic and things are so uncertain it is hard to know which way to go.  So what can leaders do? Doug says, “You lead then from the inside out, you know, you start with your values and your belief systems, what do you believe in? And then you figure out how to apply it to those changing conditions. You know, we would have to do that on a regular basis to say what do we believe in? Because your belief system, whatever it is for you, it is going to drive a set of behaviors, in my opinion. So when you believe something, you're going to go in a direction and then you're going to make adjustments, you know, to the uncertainty Wow, I didn't see that one coming. But here's how we can turn this challenge into an opportunity. You know, and here's how we can move, and minimize the bad or maximize the good in whatever change is happening.” And ultimately you have to believe in your people and the teams around you to try to come together and find solutions.  How to reinvent yourself  A lot of people these days are having to figure out how to reinvent themselves, whether it is because they are being laid off or because they foresee disruptions coming in their industry, etc… Doug himself has recently gone through a reinvention after moving from CEO of Amway to co-Chairman. And he has some advice for others trying to make a transition. First of all, he says that just because your job or your position or something around you has changed, it doesn’t mean that your value as a person has changed. You still have the same talents, the same skills, and the same values as you have always had.  He also says it is important to look at the bigger picture, don’t pigeonhole yourself into a certain industry or job title. Consider alternatives that would be a fit for your skills. It might be something outside of your comfort zone or something you hadn’t considered before. Be open minded and curious.  And finally he says, don’t let yourself get stuck. This is something he learned from his father and his grandfather. No matter what setbacks you face, just keep moving forward.  He says, “You'll probably have a few failures, a few things won't work out, you won't get the next opportunity to come your way that you were hoping for. But if you keep at it, and you keep that attitude strong, and you keep working at it, I think people put their money on people who are trying to find a way forward even in tough situations.”

When was the last time you did something to recognize your people? I'm amazed at how easy it is to show appreciation, yet how few of us (especially #leaders) actually do it! Here are some super simple ideas for you: 🙌Go up to someone and thank them for the hard work they are doing. 📧Send an email to the team or company recognizing someone for their hard work. 🍕Take a coworker out for lunch. ☕Bring a coworker coffee or tea. 💬Post a comment thanking someone on your internal collaboration tool. 📣Shout out an employee during an all-hands meeting. ❤️Give an employee a gift card. 📜Write a personal note to a coworker. There are literally hundreds of things you can do, so why aren't you doing them? One of the best ways you can serve those around you is by recognizing them. It feels terrible to work hard on something and not be appreciated!

Marc Randolph is the co-founder and founding CEO of Netflix. He also served on the board of Netflix up until 2003. And Netflix wasn’t his only startup, he’s founded or co-founded 6 other successful startups. He is also the author of the bestselling book, That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea.  From very early on Marc was entrepreneurial. As a kid he was always trying to find problems and unique ways to solve them. He sold seeds door to door, did candy arbitrage, he even carried a notebook around with him to write down invention ideas he had. He was always starting clubs and groups and coming up with products throughout high school and college. And as Marc shares, one of the keys to being an entrepreneur is practice, practice, practice.  In his early career Marc had a small startup that he was helping run. After the company was sold he had to find something else to do so he went to work at another startup company which just happened to be led by a man named Reed Hastings.  How Netflix came to be Marc and Reed ended up carpooling to work each day so they got to know each other pretty well. One day they found out that the startup they were working for was being acquired and they both would be losing their jobs in the merger. So they had to figure out their next move. Marc had several more ideas for products and companies so he wanted to continue his successful journey with startups (he had done 5 previously). But Reed wasn’t as eager to start another company, he had other plans. But they came to an agreement that if Marc came up with a great idea Reed would be the angel investor and he would share the board.  So Marc got to work to come up with the next winning idea. And as they carpooled into work Marc would pitch Reed his ideas. And after many not so great ideas such as personalized dog food and customizable shampoo, Marc pitched an idea that at the time didn’t make sense, but that later on would become Netflix. They both agreed that in theory the idea was a great one. The only problem was that at the time he came up with the idea of video rental by mail the only video format was the VHS cassette which was heavy and expensive to ship. So that idea at the time was discarded with the dog food and the shampoo.  It just so happened that at a later date Reed found an article about a new technology called the DVD and realized this could be the missing piece to an otherwise great business idea. So they went and got a used music CD and a small envelope and they mailed it to themselves to see what would happen. And in less than 24 hours they had the small envelope with an unbroken CD in their mailbox and they knew they had something.  How to scale culture  As Marc shares culture is not just what you say, it’s not something that you put up on posters around the office, or some catch phrases that you come up with in a meeting. He says, “Culture is how you act. It's how you are, it's the things you do. And even more importantly, culture springs from how the founders and the early employees act with each other, with their employees, with their customers. And so, huge amounts of the Netflix culture arised organically, from the way that Reed and I behaved, the way that I treat people, the way I worked with people before.” When Netflix first started as a company they had a very small staff of around 20 or so people and most of them had worked together before in other companies. So it made it easier to maintain a culture at that point. Marc says he knew that he could ask an employee to take ownership of a project due in two weeks and then know that in two weeks they would show up with the results no matter what. The small team worked really well together and had a culture of mutual respect, trust, and ownership. But that gets hard to maintain when your company grows and you have 100, 500, or 1,000+ employees.  “When you get bigger, something happens where someone shows up late, or they show up but don't have everything done. And a lot of managers would say, Oh, this isn't good. Okay, we can't have that happen. Everybody, I want status reports. I need to know if there's gonna be a problem in advance. So everyone needs to send status reports. And everyone goes, Oh, status reports. And then someone else shows up and they're there on time with it all done, but they spent too much. And  many managers will go, Oh, I can't let that happen. Okay, I need to pre-approve anything over $100 to make sure you don't make a spending mistake. I need everyone to send expense reports. And then everyone goes, oh, god expense reports.” And as Marc goes on to share what happens over time is you build the company in a way that protects you from people with bad judgment, but along the way with these added rules, steps, and processes you are simultaneously driving the people with good judgment crazy. And that is how you lose good employees.  So what the team at Netflix decided early on was that they would build a company just for people with good judgment. People that they knew they could count on, people that weren’t afraid to work hard and take ownership of things and in exchange the leadership team could give employees freedom and the ability to make their own decisions. And while Marc admits there was a time when they almost lost the culture as they grew, ultimately they have been able to keep it with intentionality, even now with almost 9,000 employees.  How Netflix overcame a 40% decrease in workforce Up until the spring of 2000 Netflix was doing great. They had been offering monthly subscriptions, they had no due dates and no late fees and people were loving it. But then the dot com bubble burst and they were in trouble. They were on the brink of going broke and they needed help fast. Marc and his team were actually exploring selling Netflix at that point.  But they also had another idea that they felt could save the company from ruin and that was to pitch an idea to Blockbuster. And while it may seem odd now because Blockbuster isn’t even around anymore, back in 2000 business was booming for them. They had 9000 locations and Netflix saw an opportunity to make a partnership. Basically they were hoping that Blockbuster would agree to a blended model, which would mean they would continue their current in-store business, but they would also give customers the option of ordering a movie online, having it delivered to their house, and then dropping it back off to a Blockbuster location in person or vice versa, picking a movie up in person and then mailing it back in.  But Blockbuster wasn’t interested. They said no to Netflix, and they decided to use that model but to do it on their own. So not only did Netflix not get the rescue they were hoping for, but now they had another competitor. But that didn’t stop them. They realized there would be no one to save them, they would have to save themselves and that just pushed them to work harder.  But even though they were working hard to figure out a solution, they were still bleeding cash. Marc and his team knew they had a tough decision to make. They were going to have to say goodbye to some people on the team. They had to lose 40% of the employees. And as Marc shares it was the most painful decision he has ever had to make, especially because a lot of these people were hired by Marc himself.  After reducing the workforce the Netflix team went into survival mode. They got back to the nitty gritty of the business to figure out ways to bring costs down, turn visitors into subscriptions more quickly, and how to run things more effectively. Marc says they had some big breakthroughs, but they also had a lot of luck involved in bringing them out of this tough time.  The greatest lesson Marc has learned  Marc has started six successful businesses, he has mentored hundreds of early stage entrepreneurs, he has been a CEO, a board member, and an investor. Along the way he has learned a lot, but his biggest piece of advice for leaders looking to create great companies where people want to work is to empower people to make mistakes.  He says, “The thing that I've learned over and over and over again, is that there's no such thing as a good idea. That too many companies believe that there are good ideas and the people who have them, that the proportion of good ideas commensurate with how high you are in the company. And I learned that's just ridiculous, and that the only way to find out whether ideas are good or bad is to try them. And so the trick is not building an organization just good at coming up with ideas, but building an organization which is tremendously good at trying thousands of bad ideas.” In order to do that leaders not only need to allow their people to make mistakes, but they also have to give people the power to make decisions. This is incredibly hard to do, but as Marc shares just because it is hard doesn’t change the importance of doing it. Marc believes that the most effective way to build a culture of innovation and risk taking is to demonstrate it at the top. Also, when it comes to entrepreneurship Marc believes that while anyone can have a good idea, “The singular difference between an entrepreneur and someone else is a predisposition to action. Everyone thinks of ideas, a small number of people say let's do something about it.” Randolph’s Rules for success  Marc’s dad imparted eight rules for success to him as a young adult, and he still looks at this list everyday, in fact it’s hanging up above the sink in his bathroom. So I asked Marc to share what these eight rules are. They are: Do at least 10% more than you are asked Never, ever, to anybody present as fact opinions on things you don’t know. Take great care and discipline. Be courteous and considerate always--up and down Don’t knock, don’t complain--stick to constructive, serious criticism Don’t be afraid to make decisions when you have the facts on which to make them Quantify where possible Be open-minded but skeptical Be prompt

One aspect of the servant mindset is practicing self-care. This is something we often forget, especially in times of crisis. You won’t be able to serve others if you are not your best self. So make sure you’re taking care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Even with the pandemic, I still make time to exercise each day, eat healthy, and spend time working on #chess because these things make me happy! What are you doing to look after yourself during these tough times?

Hubert Joly is the former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy. Currently he is a professor at Harvard Business School, he is on the board of two companies--Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren. He is coaching and mentoring a number of CEOs and senior leaders and he is writing a new book which is set to come out next May titled: The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism.  Hubert was elected a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. He was honored as one of the 25 most influential executives of the business travel industry in 2006 and 2009 by Business Travel News Magazine. He was voted one of the top 100 CEOs on Glassdoor in 2017 and 2018. And he was named one of the best CEOs in the world by the CEOWorld Magazine.  He didn’t always dream of being a leader. In fact, when he was 10 years old he wanted to be a vet and then in high school, he felt his career would be in economics. After college, he spent 12 years at McKinsey & Company as a consultant before ultimately realizing he wanted to lead a business. And he has led quite a few companies through turnarounds and major digital transformations.  How Hubert Transformed Best Buy  When Hubert was first approached about the position of CEO at Best Buy the company was struggling. It was on the brink of closing. Most people would have run away as fast as they could, not wanting to be attached to a failing company. But Hubert did his due diligence, he visited several locations, spoke with employees, and thought about what could be done to turn the company around. And he ultimately took the job.  He realized early on that while everyone gets excited about technology and gadgets and love using them, a lot of times we need help figuring out how to use them. So Hubert knew Best Buy had to be able to help people solve technology issues and answer questions.  Hubert also saw the need for displaying actual working products on the shelves instead of boxes with products inside. Looking at shelves of boxes is not inspiring, people need to be able to see and experience the products for themselves.  So he saw a lot of opportunities to improve Best Buy. He says, “I felt that there was an opportunity. That we have enough assets and that because the problems were self inflicted, we could effectuate a turnaround. So I told the recruiting committee of the board, look, I want the job and here's my eight page memo on what I'm going to do if you guys recruit me and I never looked back.” Hubert says there are four levers in a turnaround. They are to grow the revenue line, cut costs, optimize benefits, and then if the first three are not enough, as a last resort you go after the headcount or redeploy people.  The three ways to cut costs before cutting your headcount  A lot of leaders first starting at a struggling organization probably would have thought about cutting back on the headcount first to save money. But Hubert not only didn’t take that route, he actually put more money into training, incentives, wellness, etc… As he shares, “I'm not the cut, cut cut guy. I'm a big believer that in business you have three imperatives in business. One is the people imperative, you need to have good people well trained, well equipped. Then you have the customer or business imperative, you need to have happy customers to whom you sell, you know, compelling services. And then you, of course, have a financial imperative, which is you need money. But the financial performance is an outcome of excellence on the customer imperative, which itself is an outcome of excellence on the people imperative. So it's people, business, finance, and you treat profit as an outcome, not as your singular focus.” Hubert truly believes that leaders should treat humans as a solution to the problem, not as a source of the problem. And we should use headcount reduction only as a last resort. How to balance profit and purpose  Hubert is a big believer in being focused on purpose and humanity in business and killing the idea of shareholder primacy. The sole purpose of a company can not be just to make money. He still understands that companies need to take care of shareholders, but taking care of them should be an outcome, not the first priority.  People should be at the heart of the business. They are the engine that allows the business to work. So how did Hubert convince the board members and shareholders at Best Buy that purpose and people mattered just as much as profit and revenue?    He shares that part of the issue with past management is that they would tell shareholders a lot of exciting stories about what could be done, but they never delivered actual results. When he laid out his plan for the shareholders and board members at Best Buy he focused on what he calls the say-do ratio--the ratio between what they said they were going to do and what they actually did.  There were plenty of opportunities, but the shareholders needed to see that they could actually be executed. So every quarter Hubert would give them progress reports with tangible results. Leaders need to keep shareholders in the journey. Give them hope and confidence that things are going to work, but be honest and open with them and keep them in the loop.  As long as you are delivering and focusing on that say-do ratio you should keep your eye on the prize. Don’t let shareholders sway you too much. Hubert says, “I think management teams that use the short term focus of the investors as an excuse to not do the right thing, I think are completely misled. I have found that if you go to the investors, and share with them, what you're doing, the investments you're making, the return you're expecting, they'll believe you and follow you. And then in the end, during our second phase, I actually told our investors our purpose is not to make money.” When leading Best Buy Hubert believed the purpose of the company was not to make money, it was to enrich lives through technology by addressing key human needs. He made it clear that they were not in the business of selling TVs, they were in the business of understanding what it is people are trying to do in their life and being there to advise and support them. But when you run your business with that mindset, the money will be the outcome.  The danger that leaders need to avoid  In the past people looking to become leaders were taught that being smart was really important. It was believed that if you wanted to be a great leader you had to know it all, have all the answers, you had to be able to solve any problem, and show others that you are intelligent.  Hubert sees that as a danger for leaders. Having this mindset makes it easy to fall into the trap of power, fame, money and glory. While these things on their own are not necessarily bad, they are easy to get wrapped up in. Leaders who make decisions based solely on gaining more power, fame, money or glory usually end up in scandals and disasters.  Instead leaders should lead with humility, integrity, transparency and empathy. Leaders no longer have to know everything, they can look to the people around them for ideas, solutions, and results.  The five Bs of purposeful leadership In order to avoid the traps of power, fame, money, and glory Hubert says leaders need to reset. And he gives 5 Bs that leaders should focus on in order to truly be purpose driven and centered on their people. Be clear about your purpose as a human being--What drives you in life? How do you want to be remembered? What do you want to contribute? Make sure you lead with those things in mind and make sure the company you work for aligns with your purpose. And this also means you understand the purpose of others around you and what drives them.  Be clear about who you serve as a leader--Your focus should be on the people around you, not yourself. If you are serving yourself or your boss, that’s a problem.  Be clear about your role as a leader--Your role as a leader is to create an environment in which others can be successful. It’s not to be the smartest person in the room or to know it all.  Be a value driven leader--Having integrity is fundamental Be an authentic leader--You have to be able to be vulnerable and genuinely connect with people around you. 

I have witnessed first hand the difference between sympathy and empathy when I worked with two different companies. In the first company, there was a relatively new employee being introduced to a senior leader. The new employee was talking about how nervous she was, how she wanted to make an impact, and how she wasn’t sure she was doing a good job. The senior leader said, “That’s pretty tough, I'm sorry that you feel that way. But don't worry, I’m sure you'll be able to get through it. ” A couple of months later, the same thing happened at another company. The senior leader sat down with the employee and asked her to share more about her fears and struggles within the company. The senior leader also shared his experience when he was new and told her that he’s always there to help her. That is the difference of sympathy and empathy. The first leader just showed sympathy by saying “I’m sorry”. The second leader showed empathy by putting himself in the employee’s shoes and matching his emotions by relieving his past.

Jim Heppelmann is the CEO of PTC, a technology software company with 6,500 employees in 30 countries. Jim was named one of “7 IoT leaders to Watch in 2017” by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, he was recognized as “IoT CEO of the Year” by PostScapes, “Technology CEO of the Year” by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, and he received the CAD Society Leadership Award for his work with the Internet of Things.  Together with Harvard Professor, Michael Porter, Jim has co-authored three highly influential articles on the transformational impact of the Internet of Things on business.  Jim grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota as one of eight children. It was during his upbringing on the farm that he really learned the value of hard work as well as the ability to take things apart and put them back together, which is in part why he was successful as a mechanical engineer.  It was actually one of his older sisters who inspired him to attend college and study to become an engineer in the first place. After she graduated from college and got her first job she was already making as much as their parents, and Jim was amazed by that. So engineering brought him to college, but once he got there he fell in love with computer science.  He studied at the intersection of where software meets engineering, which turned out to work great as he is now the CEO of a company that produces software for engineers. An inside look at the role of CEO A lot of people may think they have an idea of what CEOs do throughout the day, and of course it differs a bit for each CEO depending on the organization. But Jim shares what it is like for him day to day as a CEO.  He says, “I don't want this to sound derogatory in any way, but maybe I'm responsible for herding cats, because there's a lot of people that are part of a lot of initiatives, a lot of programs, a big organization. And I'm trying to keep all of that moving in the right direction generally. So I'm not doing the precise tweaks, but try to keep everybody understanding where we're going. And make sure they're moving in that direction, and they're moving at the right pace. So that, you know, it all comes together each quarter when we're delivering products or projects or trying to make the quarter quarterly results happen.” He also shares that a large part of his day is made up of meeting with his people to check in to see how things are going, what projects they are working on, how they are solving problems, etc...He doesn’t try to tell people what to do, but he makes suggestions and tries to guide people in the right direction.  One part of the job that gives him a lot of energy is interacting with customers. He really enjoys figuring out what it is they are trying to do, how PTC can help them, and getting feedback on the good and bad aspects of their products. All in all Jim sees himself as the vision guy. While he realizes the need for internal meetings and keeping the organization on track, he really loves working with the engineers on the next generation approach they are building and working with the customers on where the company is going and the vision for the future of PTC.  Why CEOs should have a short attention span Jim often wakes up in the middle of the night with new ideas or ways to solve a problem. And the joke at PTC is that about the time Jim gets bored with something that is when it really starts to work. That’s because as long as he is focused on solving something he is going to come in to work with those middle of the night ideas to keep tweaking and fixing certain things.  But Jim believes that CEOs should be a little impatient and have a short attention span. Why? Because Jim says the biggest problem with CEOs at his level of tenure is they have become entrenched in old thinking.  About some CEOs, he says, “They made a decision five years ago. Maybe even eight years ago, and for a couple years, they improved it a little bit. And then they've just spent the last five years tell everybody why it works. And saying we're not going to change it. And I'm a little bit of a different cut. I say, hey, we did this, we improved it, it's working. But we’ve got to think about what's next. And then let's not wait until it's not working to think about what's next. Let's some of us start thinking about what we're going to do next, even while this is still working pretty well.” Jim is always looking for the next round of changes that make PTC better, or that protect them from a new threat headed their way. This is a quality that he believes all CEOs should have. Always looking to the next thing, don’t just ride current success.  Achieving work-life balance as a CEO  As the CEO of 6,500+ employees, Jim seems very relaxed and happy. He doesn’t seem stressed out at all. One thing that has helped him with this a lot is having a work-life balance. He not only leads the organization, but he also makes time to spend time with his family, take care of the animals on his farm, and cook. But that wasn’t always the case. Jim says when he first became a CEO he burned the candle at both ends, he tried to do everything on his own. And overtime he learned that was not sustainable. When sharing what he learned he says, “what I should do is focus my energy where I really bring a lot of value to the table, again, which tends to be around product strategies, marketing strategies, marketing messages, competitive strategies, and so forth. And let somebody else manage the financial plan, let somebody else manage the professional services margins, and things like that because I don't need to do that and I don't bring a tremendous quality to it, you know, nothing super unique or special. And at the end of the day, you’ve got to pick your battles, there's just not enough time for a CEO to be in charge of everything. So I got a lot happier after I realized I should roll with the punches and just really add value where I think I have the most value to add.” This is such great advice for all CEOs, don’t try to have your hand in all the cookie jars. Don’t take everything upon yourself and don’t think you have to have all the answers. You will get burnt out that way. Surround yourself with people who are good at what you are not good at and rely on them.  Three ways to battle entrenched thinking  No matter what industry you work in, you may find that people around you are entrenched in old ways of thinking, especially if they have been in a certain role for a long time. People don’t like change, it’s just a fact of life. So how do you change that? Jim has three ways that he battled entrenched thinking inside of PTC when he first joined.  Make change part of your company branding--Create a company culture that likes change. Part of what Jim did to change the culture was he adopted some slogans like Take a Fresh Look. Everything about the company should embrace change and discourage getting complacent.  Lead by example--Live out the values you want to see inside your organization. If you want employees to embrace change, you must first be the one to embrace change. Make sure people know it is not about making one change and then staying there, it is about constant change. The point is to try to be that company who changes all the time, you can't pin them down, because they're too busy changing.  Celebrate change--Recognize individuals who step out and do something different, even if what they tried didn’t work.  The impact of augmented reality on the future of work  One of the major trends Jim is paying attention to at the moment is augmented reality and the impact it is having on the future of work. There are so many applications for this technology. And one way it could help has been magnified by Covid. One quarter of the world works behind a computer screen and digitalization has done amazing things for knowledge workers who are in these positions especially in these times when they can easily work remotely from their homes. But for the other three quarters of the world the front line workers don’t have any other option but to go to work physically at a specific location or they can be laid off or fired.  Augmented reality (AR) could really solve this problem for frontline workers. It can also help people make fewer mistakes, do their jobs more efficiently, and it can even help with the current skills gap problem. In the US the demographics have changed, and we no longer have new generations of workers going into factories and industrial work, for a variety of reasons. People felt like this work was moving overseas, this type of work is no longer seen as desirable, etc...So what we now have is a majority of people in this industry reaching retirement age with no one younger coming in to take their places. This is the skills gap problem.  How could AR help solve this problem? It could record the knowledge of the current workers to be used for training in the future and it could also be used to show potential workers what the work is really like to convince them to go into that field of work.  As Jim shares, “AR can play a huge role. Because for example, we can capture the expertise of the retiring worker, that kind of AR YouTube idea. We can capture that expertise, store it, and when a new worker shows up through a Hololens, or phone or tablet actually redeploy that coaching that's been digitized into the physical environment for the benefit of the new worker. So the new worker can be coached in the actual environment by somebody who retired two years ago. It's just a very powerful idea.”

Leadership is a lot like working out. When you work out and really push yourself, you're actually tearing down your muscles. When you recover and rest, your muscles heal and become stronger. In other words, before you become bigger and stronger, you first have to go through a process of tearing down and rebuilding. And a lot is the same for leadership. If you want to become a better, future-ready leader, you first have to go through a process of tearing down and getting rid of your outdated ways of thinking about work and leadership. You have to push yourself and be uncomfortable in order to see results later, just like working out.

Dan Pink is the bestselling author of six books including Drive, To Sell is Human, and his newest book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. In 2019 London based Thinkers 50 named Dan the 6th most influential management thinker in the world.  He has contributed to Fast Company, Wired, The New York Times, Slate and others. And prior to working on his own, he worked in several political positions, including chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore from 1995-1997. Dan has been writing for around 20 years and a lot has changed in the world of work since he first began. But his first book was actually ahead of the game back in 2001 when he wrote Free Agent Nation: How America’s New Independent Workers Are Transforming the Way We Live. He recognized the trend before the iPhone came out and just a few years after broadband internet.  Now the numbers have risen quite a bit and we are seeing a lot more people go off to work for themselves, thanks to advances in technology and the changing relationship between organizations and individuals. And now with the pandemic and we are seeing a lot of people make career transitions and try to do their own thing.  As Dan shares, one of the interesting things that has come about from Covid-19 is the quick move to remote work for so many people. Companies who pushed back on work from home situations for so long because they thought it would never work were forced overnight to set employees up to work remotely. And Dan believes that is a potentially significant, lasting change that will make remote working much more normalized.   The science of time Dan’s newest book, When, came about while he was trying to figure out the best way to work from home and be productive. He wanted to know when to do work, when to do certain tasks, when to start a project and when to abandon a project, etc… And while he was researching the topic of perfect timing he realized there was a lot of information available, but it was all over the place. And he found that contrary to common belief timing is not an art, it is really a science.   He says, “It wasn't simply, you know, in one domain, it wasn't simply saying in economics. It was in economics, it was in social psychology, but it was also in anthropology, it was in linguistics, it was in molecular biology, it was--there's a whole field called pronto biology. It was in epidemiology. It was in anesthesiology. I mean, there's like, you know, all these different fields and so it took me two years to go through the research.” But what he found over the course of the two years of research has helped him find the best timing for different tasks and allowed him to find his optimal schedule for productivity.  How to optimize productivity (32:52) Through his research Dan found that spread over the various fields that have studies on time was the conclusion that our performance changes throughout the day. The day turns out to be pretty fundamental and our brain power does not remain constant during the course of a day. We all have daily high points and daily low points that we need to pay attention to. Understanding these basics can help us make better decisions about when to do certain tasks during the day.  One example of this change in performance comes from a study of students in Denmark who took a standardized test. They all had to take the test on computers, but the school didn’t have enough for everyone to take the test at the same time. So some students took the test in the morning and others took it in the afternoon. And the test results showed that the students who took the test in the afternoon scored systematically lower than the students who took it in the morning. Their scores looked as if the students had missed two weeks of lessons.  There are also studies in hospitals that show that handwashing in hospitals deteriorates significantly in the afternoon. And anesthesia errors are four times more likely at 3pm then they are at 9am.  As Dan shares, “I mean, over and over again, just about every dimension of performance, you see systematic differences in performance based on time of day. And so while you might not always be able to control your schedule, most of us don't have full control over our schedule. It isn't simply the case that these differences are meaningless or that a cup of coffee can cure it. You actually want to take a much more thoughtful, intentional, systematic approach to when you do things in the course of the day.” How should we structure our day? Based on the findings from Dan’s research it appears there are three types of people. Those who rise naturally early (larks), those who naturally sleep late and wake up late (owls), and people who are in the middle (third birds). Most people are in the middle. And there are multiple tests you can take and instruments to help figure out where you are on the scale, but Dan gives one simple way to figure out which one you are.  First, think about when you would ideally go to sleep, if you had a free day and you didn’t have anything that would require you to sleep at a certain time. Naturally when would you like to fall asleep. Then think about when you would ideally like to wake up in the morning, again if nothing was causing you to wake up (kids, work, noise, etc..). When would you ideally wake up?  Then using those two times find the midpoint of sleep. For example, maybe you would ideally like to go to sleep at midnight and wake up at 8am. Your midpoint of sleep would be 4am. Now if your midpoint of sleep is before 3:30am you are probably a lark. If the midpoint of sleep is after 5:30am you’re probably an owl and if your midpoint is between 3:30am and 5:30am you are probably a third bird in the middle. People in the middle tend to be larkey, but not a full fledged lark.  So taking that information you can find out how to start experimenting to get to your ideal productivity. We all move through the day and experience three periods of time: Peak--the time when we are most vigilant and productive. We are best able to avoid distractions during this time. This is when you should focus on analytic work that requires heads down focus and attention. For larks and third birds this is early in the day. For owls this is late afternoon.  Trough--This is a terrible time of day when we see drops in performance. This is when you want to do basic administrative work or work that doesn’t require massive brain power or creativity.   Recovery--For 80% of us we hit this point in late afternoon/early evening. This is when our vigilance is down, but our mood is up. This gives us a mental looseness that is good for insight tasks. During this time focus on creative problem solving or things that require divergent thinking.  Even though we can loosely map out the periods of time, not everyone’s daily schedule will be the same. There is no magic routine that works for everyone. There are some out there who say things like you need to wake up at 5:30am to start your morning routine for a successful day. Don’t try to copy and paste what someone else is doing. Experiment with your daily schedule and see where your peak, trough, and recovery happen and work your day around what works best for you.  What to do if you don’t control your own schedule  For those of us who make our own schedules, this can be easy to experiment with and discover. But for a majority of people their schedule is created by the manager or other leaders inside the organization. So what can you do if you don’t control your schedule? Dan suggests that in this situation you talk openly and honestly with your manager. Let them know these are the hours I am most productive in so I would like to save that time for the most intensive projects.  He gave an example of a guy in Philadelphia who realized he did his best work right away in the morning, but every day the manager had him scheduled in back to back meetings from 9am to 11am. So he talked with the manager and wanting to allow the employee to be productive, they changed things up to make it work.  Also, make the most of the margins you can. Maybe you don’t have full control of your schedule, but maybe there is a half hour during your peak time that you can get good work done. Don’t squander that time using social media, answering routine emails, or talking to a coworker, use it when you can.  How to get over a slump  Another aspect of timing that has an affect on us is beginnings, middles, and ends. And the peculiar thing about midpoints that Dan found in his research is that they can have dual effects. Sometimes they can drag us down and sometimes it fires us up.  Dan gave an example he found from Jonah Berger and Devin Pope based on a study done with the NBA. What they did was they looked at the score of games during halftime and how it worked at predicting the end score of the game. And what they found was teams who were leading at halftime were more likely to win.  But there was an exception. Teams that were trailing by one point at halftime were more likely to win than teams who were ahead by one point at halftime. Being just slightly behind gave players more motivation while being slightly ahead allowed players to feel complacent. This is the same way in our work.  So what we should do is acknowledge the midpoints, imagine you’re a little behind and let it fuel your motivation, let it wake you up rather than let you rollover and become complacent.  Advice for leaders who want to be more mindful of employees’ time  So what can leaders do with this information to help employees get the most of their peak time? First of all, Dan says leaders need to recognize that their team’s brainpower doesn’t remain constant over the course of the day. And that when people do certain tasks has a material effect on their performance so you have to be intentional about it.  He says, “These leaders are intentional about what to do, they all have to do lists and strategic plans and all that. They're intentional about how they do stuff because they have, you know, they have coaches, they have learning and development and training departments. They're intentional about who does stuff because they have an HR department that hires people. But when it comes to when they do stuff as leaders or when their team does stuff, they think it doesn't matter. And it matters. Evidence is overwhelming that it matters. So my best advice is to give the “when” a seat at the table.” Also, be aware that every project has a beginning, a middle, and an end and all of these points have an effect on us. Picking the right date for a project to start gives you a better chance. And pay attention to the midpoint and let it motivate your team instead of letting it discourage them.  Be intentional about timing and the effect of time. Because whether or not you pay attention to it you make a choice. We either make choices intentionally or our timing decisions happen by default. 

How crazy is this? Most people don't enter #leadershipdevelopment programs until they are in their 40s, yet they actually become leaders in their 20s and 30s! This means that most #leaders spend 10-15 years leading others before they are actually taught how to lead. It's no wonder so many employees around the world aren’t engaged in their jobs--we simply don't have enough leaders who are taught how to lead effectively. This is because of the outdated "climb the corporate ladder" mentality that has been around for decades. The idea is you can only be taught how to lead after you spend years working for a company, which we all know is now no longer the case.

Arthur Blank is the co-founder of The Home Depot, a home improvement retail chain which today has a market capitalization of over 300 billion and over 400,000 employees. Arthur is also the author of the new book, Good Company, which comes out on September 15. Arthur has been named one of the world’s 100 greatest living business minds by Forbes in 2017, Executive of the Year 2018 by Sports Business Journal, and one of the 50 most influential people in Sports 2016, 2017, and 2018 by Sports Business Journal. Arthur owns the Atlanta Falcons NFL team and the Atlanta United Soccer team. His family businesses also include the nationwide PGA Tour Superstore, three ranches in Montana, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium which hosted the 2019 Super Bowl. Under his leadership The Home Depot was voted America’s most socially responsible company in 2001. How Home Depot Came to Be Back in the 1970s Arthur and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus were working together as employees of Handy Dan, one of the first home improvement retail chains. They were both fired in 1978, but they both knew they wanted to stay in the business of home improvement and so they decided to create their own store that could compete with Handy Dan, which was very successful at that time. In 1979 Arthur and Bernie started their first four stores in Atlanta, Georgia. As Arthur puts it, it was “a large warehouse, no frills, downmarket store, low prices, great service, great services, etc”. With those four initial stores they tested to see if their model would work. They really listened to their customers to find out what they wanted more of or less of, how the service was, how the hours were, etc...And they kept the things that were good and tweaked the things that needed work. In 1981 they went public and opened up four more stores in Florida. A lot of people, including the executive VP of Goldman Sachs at the time, thought there was no way they could make their model scale across different states and so many stores. Fortunately, they were wrong. Arthur and Bernie had not only found a way to create a great culture, but they also found out how to keep it consistent across multiple stores and locations. The secret to success Arthur and Bernie had found a way to not just have a successful business, but they were able to compete, and eventually surpass, companies that had been around for decades. Why? Arthur says, “I will tell you the conclusion I've come to is the only way we can do this, because I basically agree the culture is really the reason-- it wasn't really so much the products, or the pricing, or the assortment-- all of that was terribly important, but the underpinnings all of what we did was this culture that was unique. That we only can do that if we begin promoting people based on culture first, not could they literally just write it down and make a list, etc, etc. But do they live it? Are they ambassadors for it? Do they represent our values day in, day out? And if the answer was yes to those questions, they were ready to be promoted as a store manager, district manager, district manager or whatever it may be”. They knew that culture was the most important thing. That if the employees were happy at work, engaged, and well trained they would provide top notch service to the customers. They also knew they had to actively listen to customers and employees to continue to adapt. While other chains that had been around for 20, 30, 50 or more years continued to operate in the same ways without innovating or changing. From the time they started Arthur and Bernie knew they had to have core values in place. Those values were: put people first, listen and respond, include everyone, innovate on a continuous basis, lead by example, and give back to others. And those values weren’t just words that were written in the employee handbook or on the walls. They were values that everyone inside the company had to live and breath every day. And they were the guiding factors in who got hired and who got promoted. That is what has set them apart. What most leaders get wrong today Arthur shares that successful leaders are ones that have a set of values and stick to them. They consistently lead based on those values--they are able to live those values out and articulate them to others. The problem, Arthur says, is that a lot of leaders today just want to send out a memo every other day reminding employees about the company values, yet they themselves don’t live them out. In order to be a great leader you have to not just talk the talk, you have to walk the talk as well. They have to lead by example, roll their sleeves up and set the pace for the organization. He also says leaders need to walk in the footsteps of your frontline employees. Don’t just read about how things are going, go down once and a while and experience yourself. That’s when ideas will come and things can adapt and change. Don’t just sit in your office passing down commands and reading reports. Get out and interact with everyone. The marriage of purpose and profit It seems that a lot of leaders feel that purpose and profit are mutually exclusive. You can focus on one of them or the other, but you can’t put both first. Yet, Home Depot seems to have mastered how to focus on both. Arthur says that it is more important now than ever to focus on both, because people are demanding it. Especially younger people, they want to be associated with companies who are sustainable that will be around for a long time, but they also want to be a part of something that is doing good. They want to be a part of organizations that are profitable, but also ones that give meaning and purpose to the work individuals are doing. Arthur believes the companies that want to win the best talent must find a way to focus on both profit and purpose. Leading by example Arthur is a leader that lives out the value of leading by example. And he has a lot of great stories of how he and other leaders have lived this value out. One story that shows how Arthur has led by example goes back to the early days of Home Depot. In order to fill their shelves they had a lot of products coming in which arrived in boxes with packing materials and so they ended up with a lot of corrugated materials. They were supposed to have compactors to break the boxes and other materials down to keep the space clear, but the delivery of the compactors was delayed and they didn’t get them until 2 or 3 weeks after they opened. At one point there was so much material that there wasn’t any room to receive any more merchandise and everyone was working to get it cleared out. Instead of staying in his office and letting others clean it all up, Arthur rolled up his sleeves and started working on clearing it all up. In fact he ended up staying for 24 hours in the store cleaning up so they could have more room to accept more boxes. Another employee saw Arthur working nonstop and went to the store manager and said “You know, there's this nut in the back. He's been here for 24 hours, hasn't left, he's compacting all this stuff so we can get more merchandise up on the shelves. I mean, I don't know who he is, but you ought to consider him for a promotion sometime”. And the manager had to let the employee know that Arthur was one of the founders. No one expected someone that high up to be down there working that hard. Arthur gave another story of how to lead by example. And this one is about the CEO of the stadiums Arthur and his family own, Steve Cannon. And Steve makes it a regular practice to go and do the work of the frontline associates. In fact he has a program in place called, you walk in my shoes. And one day he was working at a concession stand and while working there he noticed that the french fries were packaged in a way that caused one third of the fries to fall out. As a result of working in the shoes of frontline associates he was able to pinpoint a major problem and fix it to create a better customer service. That’s something that probably wouldn’t have been noticed unless he was able to experience it himself. Arthur also shared a time when he was at his guest ranch and was having a drink at the bar there and he overheard a customer talking about how a toilet was clogged up in the bathroom. Arthur went into the bathroom and fixed not just one but two toilets. And by the way, he didn’t tell anyone about it. He did it quietly and without complaint. But employees noticed and they were shocked that the owner would be fixing toilets. Why did Arthur do it? He says, “to me it wasn't a big deal I just you know, I didn't tell our guests because it's not important but you know it's important for the associates to feel there was no job beneath me. No job beneath that leader wherever it may be. That I'm there with them. I'm side by side with them.”

Leadership starts from within. It’s not just about leading others, you should also lead yourself. Leading yourself means that you set your own goals, learn new skills and mindsets, push yourself out of your comfort zone, and are the director of your career and life. You can't always rely on others to tell you what to do or what to learn. Ultimately, nobody is going to look out for you but YOU!

David Cote is the former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell and author of the bestselling book, Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term.  During his time at Honeywell David fixed a toxic work culture and grew the company’s market capitalization from around 20 billion to 120 billion, delivering returns of 800%. Currently David is Executive Chairman of Vertiv Holdings Co, a global data center products and services provider. He is a member of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group on Foreign Relations and the Conference  of Montreal.  David’s journey to being CEO is anything but ordinary. He nearly quit high school, because although he was good at school, he hated it. He ended up sticking with it and became the first one in his family to graduate high school. David was accepted to the University of New Hampshire, but decided he didn’t want to pursue college so he went to work as a mechanic with his dad in a small garage. After that job didn’t pan out he went to Michigan to work as a carpenter with his uncle, but learned he wasn’t good at that either. So he enlisted in the Navy for six years on a nuclear submarine. The day before he was supposed to swear in he called the chief petty officer and asked what would happen if he didn’t show up. And although the chief petty officer made it sound almost impossible to get out of, when David realized cops wouldn’t just show up at his door and arrest him, he made the decision not to go. After that David decided to go to college, but after two years there the Assistant Dean of Students told him he could no longer live on campus because he was too much of a troublemaker. So, needing some money, David decided to get a job working second shift while going to school, which he did for 6 months, when a buddy of his invited David to come work with him on a fishing boat in Maine.  Because he was spending so much time on the boat he ended up doing very poorly in school, so he decided to quit. He ended up getting married and one month later his wife was pregnant with their first child. David says this is the moment he realized he had to do something, he had to get direction and stay focused. He was scared he wouldn’t have enough money to raise their child. And from that moment on he had a purpose and a focus that has brought him to where he is now.  Becoming the leader of an organization with a toxic culture  David remembers the first days as CEO of Honeywell very vividly, and they were not very pleasant. He says there were some things that were fairly straightforward at first--introductions to employees, doing a lot with the press, etc.. But there was another part of those first days that really took David by surprise.  He was instructed by the board early on to not focus on any numbers or the financials until he became Chairman four and a half months later. He would be in meetings and he would ask a finance guy, “so how’s the quarter going?” and they would respond with, “Dave, I’ve been instructed not to answer any of those questions from you”. He said it got very weird.  Then when he became chairman he realized why they were keeping it all from him. David says, “The aggressive bookkeeping was, I'd say unhealthy to be conservative. You look at it over a previous decade, we only generated 69 cents of cash for every dollar of income we ever generated, which gives you a sense for the bookkeeping. We have a severely underfunded pension plan. That also had aggressive accounting. We had environmental liabilities that 100 years old, chemical company has that had never been addressed, nor recorded. And we had exposure to asbestos in two areas, none of which had been recorded or addressed”.  Things looked bad. And on top of all of the financial and legal issues they also had three warring cultures inside the organization. David knew he had to bring all of the cultures together under one new culture. In a few days David and his team developed a new culture, which they ended up calling the 12 behaviors. He knew that he had to have a culture where people work together and actually act on strategic decisions before any strategies could be put into place to fix the accounting and legal issues.  There were people who were thankful for the new way of doing things, but there were others who pushed against it because they were used to doing things a certain way. David knew that in order to make the new culture stick, he had to be firm and not give way to anyone trying to push back.  He says, “That's when you're in the crucible at that point. Because writing all the values down writing all the behaviors down, that's the easy part. The tough part is when you get to walk the talk, do you stick with the investment in the seed planting that you talked about? Do you not allow them to do the accounting transaction or the distributor load? And those are the ones where I can say, to a fault, maybe, I never succumbed on any of them. And I would tell them, I want you to make it. You still have to figure out how you either sell more or cut costs, but I'm not going to do this and if you miss it, you miss it, but it's on you. And I made sure I put in audit practices to make sure that none of this stuff happened. But it's easy to know whether the accounting happened, distributed loadings a little tougher, you got to do a little more work to find out, was that happening. But once the employees start to see you walk the talk, that's what starts to change the culture. You can have all kinds of posters and all that, but posters don't do it. People need to actually see that it's working that way.” How David defines leadership  When defining leadership David breaks it down into three crucial elements. Good leaders must: Have the ability to motivate a large group of people--this is the most visible part of the job, but it’s only about 5% of the job They can pick the right direction--too many leaders can sound great, but do they make the right decisions to put the organization on the right path, in the right direction? You may be able to motivate people, but if you spend years wandering around with them instead of having a specific direction to lead them in, your not good for the organization You have to mobilize everyone--So you’ve motivated people, you’ve picked the right direction, now you have to get the whole organization to move there step by step How to lead in tough times  Leaders today are definitely leading through difficult times, and David has led through his share of challenging times as well. He says one of the toughest times was the great recession of 2008-2009. And he knows how it feels to be in the middle of a crisis and feel like it is the worst one ever. But it is important to realize that while these recessions are unique, there are certain actions that we can take regardless of the situation that can help organizations to survive it.  David’s advice for anyone leading in tough times is: Don’t panic Make sure that you keep thinking independently  Never forget to put the customer first Be thinking about the recovery even while you’re in the middle of the recession Why leaders must focus on short term and long term goals, not just one or the other  One of the main reasons David wrote his book, Winning Now, Winning Later is because he saw that most leaders feel that they have to choose between focusing on the long term or focusing on the short term. Leaders tend to see them as two conflicting things.  But David argues both have to be done at the same time. Because if you are not investing in the long term, eventually the long term becomes the short term and you’re out of gas, you’ve got nothing. Performance in the short term is also a validation of whether your long term plan is any good.  As David shares, “I think it's a mistake if you pick one or the other. And I oftentimes said, one of the most deadly questions to respond to, is when an employee says something like, Hey, boss, which one do you want me to do? And the answer always has to be I expect you to do both. I want things right. And I want them fast. So I don't want it to be--I have to choose between the two, I want you to always find a way to accomplish both.” Advice for people who feel stuck in their job  Some people may read or hear David’s background story of what he went through before he became CEO of Honeywell and they may feel like they are in a similar situation where they feel stuck in a job. Maybe you feel like there is not a clear progression forward in your career. David gives his advice to people in this situation, some things that helped him get to where he is now.  And he breaks this advice up into a few different points. First of all, you have to have performance, and your performance can’t just be okay. You’ve got to be like the top 10%. Where you went to school makes a difference for your first job, after that it is up to how you perform. Be a standout in all you do.  You also need visibility. If you are performing very well, but the person who can do something about your career can’t see it, nothing will happen. So make sure you have visibility. But you have to be careful with this one because you don’t want to go around tooting your own horn or wearing your ambition on your sleeve. It is a delicate balance. If you have a boss who doesn’t feel that you are performing as well as you think you are, this is where you have to be self aware and figure out is there something you can fix or do you just have a bad boss, which David says happens less often than people think. So learn to be self aware and realize when there is something you need to fix. We all have issues, and it’s important to know what they are.

Javed Khan is SVP and GM at Cisco Collaboration, a multi-billion dollar division inside of Cisco, a worldwide leader in IT, networking, and cybersecurity solutions. Prior to his current role, Javed ran Cisco’s Cloud Calling business as the VP and General Manager and before that he led the Webex Meetings business unit.  Just like many organizations around the world, when Covid first started becoming a global issue Cisco had to take action in order to keep business going while also enabling employees to work from home. Because of the products they build, they had some advantages over other companies as they already had communication and collaboration tools everyone was familiar with.  But one challenge they had to overcome was an overnight need for their products from existing and new customers. The demand for their products was suddenly three times bigger in a very short period of time. So as a company they had to hurry to scale very quickly in a time when they also needed to move their workforce out of the offices. It required the team to come together, work a lot of long hours, and support their customers.  How to create and foster casual interaction with a remote team  Javed and other leaders at Cisco also understood that they needed to support employees in a new way. This new way of working made collaboration and casual interactions with coworkers very different, but leaders at Cisco knew they had to find a way to keep both collaboration and social interaction going, because they are so important. Especially in the times we are facing now when people are anxious, worried, scared, etc… At Cisco, they have done a few things to keep employees informed, involved, and engaged. First of all the leadership team leads frequent check in calls, this is different from their quarterly all hands meetings where they talk business and give updates. These check in calls are where people can casually hangout, sometimes they talk about social topics relevant at the time, sometimes they have entertainment, and sometimes they bring in external speakers.  They also have small groups that will get together to talk, without an agenda, about anything they want. These are usually on Friday evenings and employees are allowed to include their family in the calls if they want, but they are just casual conversations to allow small groups of employees to catch up and have fun.  The future of the office With our current events there has been a lot of debate around whether or not employees will go back to working in offices once this is all over. Will everything go back to the way it was, or will office buildings disappear?  Javed believes we will see a hybrid setup post Covid. There will be an increasing acceptance of people working from home and we will have more technological advances that make it possible. But there will still be roles and situations that require working from an office. Some people will be able to work from home 100% of the time, some will have to be in the office 100% of the time, but a lot of people will probably do some kind of hybrid of working from home and occasionally going into the office.  Also, while we have technology to connect with each other and it will only get better, there is no substitute for in-person, face to face interaction.  Digital transformation during Covid One thing Covid has done for businesses is it has made leaders realize the need for digital transformation. And it has forced companies to go through this transformation very quickly. Where leaders in the past have asked will this technology make us more productive, will it make our lives easier, will it improve our bottom line, etc..Now when thinking about digital transformation they are thinking about it in terms of, will this help me to stay in business.  As Javed shares, “People immediately went into a survive mode, where suddenly these technologies got deployed and tested overnight, and there were some learning pains. But I feel like companies fell into two categories. There were companies who had already started on this journey of enabling remote work. And they had a baseline of the stack already enabled. for them. It was a matter of, Oh, I have 10,000 employees. You know, I have 100 employees who had worked effectively using this, how do we scale it out to the entire corporation, but I already have this baseline technology in place. And there were others who had not started on this journey. And in those cases it took a little bit more work, you know, retraining your employees. But once you got through that initial phase--raise technology and develop product and some of the devices we have, once you go through that initial learning, we were able to get most of the companies up and running pretty quickly. But nothing forced that digitization more than the last few months. We've been trying to get people to use video for a long, long time and I think now, video you know, if your video is not on you get reminded--I can't see you on video.” How to evaluate how employees are doing without an annual review One thing that Cisco is known for is their unique culture and getting rid of their annual performance reviews. So how do leaders know if employees are engaged and being productive if they don’t have an annual review?  As Javed shares, it is about having ongoing, honest conversations with employees. It is important to check in regularly and let employees know about the good things they are doing, and the things they need to improve on throughout the year, not just on one specific date.  Keeping conversations to once a year makes issues a surprise to employees, and it is hard to remember something that you did 5-6 months ago. Meeting one time a year is not effective and it can damage the manager/employee relationship.  Cisco also understands that keeping company culture consistent is key. Whatever culture you are trying to create, make sure you stick with it through good times and bad. If employees see a change in culture during bad times like we are going through now, they will see right through it and know they can’t trust their leaders.  Advice for people early in their careers Javed is the leader of a multi-billion dollar division inside Cisco, but he has learned a lot on his way to the top and he has a lot of experience and advice to share with others. When asked his advice for people early on in their career who want to advance, Javed says, be curious and be willing to learn.  He says, “I did not set out to be a manager as an example, I started my career as an engineer and thought I was just going to be coding for most of my life. But as I got in, you know, got into trying out, leading a small team, or learning to lead. I think just being curious and trying those things out has helped me out a lot. The other thing is just learning from other people who do that better. Right. So a big part of me transitioning from an engineer to becoming a leader was watching other leaders motivate and speak and inspire. And while I might have thought that that might be something that I wouldn't be doing, I think watching them learning from them, then being curious about the techniques and how leaders lead, I think has been a big part of my success. So be thirsty.” Advice for leaders today Javed also shared his advice for leaders who want to adapt, stay relevant, and better themselves. And he says his biggest piece of advice is to stay connected with your employees personally. Especially in the difficult times we are in, it is important to know how they are doing, what are they excited about, what are they scared about, how do they feel about work, what do they care about...etc… “Because the rest of it, I think we've got a system and processes in place. You're able to measure, you're able to be effective, But in today's world, I think spending more time with your  employees making sure you're understanding what else is going on, and what else they need beyond just the tools that work, I think is a big part of leadership today. And the biggest learning I've had in the last few months, you'd be surprised at how much else is going on in typical person's lives and how it might be impacting their ability to be productive.”

Collaboration has never been more important than it is now. We are living in a globalized world where boundaries don't seem to exist anymore. And because of this, we’re now seeing more diversity in the workforce. We are also seeing more and more remote workers. According to a study by Upwork, 63% of employers have remote teams. That is why collaboration is crucial in the future of work. Organizations need to focus more on collaboration tools that will enable them to connect their people seamlessly.

Blair Sheppard is Head of Global Strategy and Leadership for PwC, a global network of firms delivering world-class assurance, tax, and consulting services for businesses. He is also the author of the new book, Ten Years to Midnight: Four Urgent Global Crises and Their Strategic Solutions, which came out on August 4th.    Prior to PwC, Blair spent the majority of his career as a professor at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. During his time there he also served as Founding CEO and Chairman of Duke Corporate Education and as Dean of the school. As Dean, Blair was the primary architect of Duke Kunshan University which opened in 2014.    Blair was the first recipient of faculty of the year at Fuqua, he received the Business Person of the Year award for Education in 2011 by Triangle Business Journal, and the Eminent Scholar Award from the Institute of Finance at Frankfurt University in 2007.    The concept behind Blair’s book, Ten Years to Midnight, started with a conversation he had with his boss at the time at PwC. They were discussing the fact that a lot of things in the world were looking dark and gray and they wanted to figure out what the major issues were and what causes were behind them. So they set out to interview people in around 60 countries around the world. They interviewed people from all walks of life--government leaders, heads of business, cab drivers, individuals in coffee shops, etc... And what they found was the whole world was worried about the exact same things.    So Blair and his team started to research these major issues and what they found was that there are four major crises the world as a whole is facing right now and we have about 10 years to fix them before it is too late.    The crisis of prosperity As Blair and his team were researching for the book, one thing they found is that due to economic disparity in the world and people put at a disadvantage because of that, a lot of parents feel that their children will be worse off than they are.    Blair says, “Think about 50% of the retirees in the United States are going to retire with basically no savings, kids graduating from college with a trillion and a half in debt, with a huge tax obligation we just created for them, right. And then people have a job and a mortgage and the kid in school who are likely to lose that job right and have to transition. That group is now collectively saying I'm really worried about the future. And when people stop believing in the future, they stopped dreaming, creating, developing, so we call that sort of a crisis of prosperity.”   The crisis of technology Another key element we are facing right now is disruption from technology. There are great things that come with advances in technology--medical advances, improved quality of life, availability of valuable information, etc… But there are also negative impacts as well.    One example Blair points out is social media. While the creators of social media intended their platforms for good, there are negative things that come from it, like increasing suicide rates. Technology also allowed us to create the Industrial Revolution which has brought about an improved quality of life in some aspects, but it has also harmed our environment.    Aside from these examples there are other growing unintended consequences of ubiquitous technology that we have to fix.    The crisis of institutional legitimacy As it is growing clearer by the day, people around the world have lost trust in our institutions. We don’t trust the police force, we don’t trust the tax systems, we don’t trust our education systems, we don’t trust our governments.    Blair says, “this is the one that worries me the most, by the way, because as soon as you stop trusting the institutions that make our life work, it's sort of like a fish not trusting water. It just doesn't work.”   The crisis of leadership The three previous crises combine to produce this fourth crisis, which is mainly caused by polarization. A lot of times when people lose hope and feel that things are getting worse they blame the people in power. There is just a sheer inability to lead when the world is so fractured and polarized. In order to lead effectively leaders need people to trust them.      About all four of the crises, Blair says, “The worry we have is that they're all pretty serious right now. But if we don't get our arms around them in a decade, they become really ugly, all four of them, all a sudden become really ugly.” So what can we do to start addressing these problems?   Conquering the four crises In his book, Blair says that what we really need in order to address these issues is new types of leaders to rework our institutions, culture, and our way of thinking. We need leaders who have ingenuity, vision, innovation, energy, focus, and empathy.    With the prosperity crisis we need to step back and figure out how to get everyone on a level playing field. Lack of access to technology shouldn’t hinder people around the world. But right now there are a lot of people being left behind in the world. And globalization stops working when you have enough places and people in the world that fall behind.    As Blair shares, “While we're focusing on being global competitors, we also have to help create thriving local communities. While we're measuring GDP, we have to look at economic dispersion, how well the whole economy is doing, how well everyone's doing, and other measures of social well-being, not just financial. And while we're driving technology, we've got to say, have we thought about the unintended consequences of the thing we're building? It's sort of like the way we do drug development, right, which is-- does it really do what it says, and what are the side effects?”   In regards to the technology crisis, Blair says one thing we have to be mindful of is how technology is impacting work. Will there be more jobs or less jobs in the future? Just like in the Industrial Revolution, the transition will be hard, but what problems can we think through ahead of time?    There is also a lot to figure out around AI. It can violate privacy and put control in too few hands as well as make decisions that we can’t understand. How can we make sure that we keep it in check? Jobs, AI at scale, and technology making us dumber are all serious negative side effects of technology that we have to navigate as we continue advancing forward.    When thinking about the technology crisis as individuals it is important to be aware of disruptions that are happening in your industry and be prepared to move if you see signs your job could be eliminated. Be curious and keep on learning new skills and surround yourself with people who are different than you are. Don’t just associate with people who work in your department, branch out and spend time with people in different roles, industries, and parts of the world.    When addressing the leadership crisis it is important for leaders to understand the main underlying causes of this crisis, which are polarization and distrust in leaders. So they need to find ways to help people come together, to find solutions or compromises and they need to rebuild trust with employees, customers, and communities. It is also crucial that leaders know what the purpose of the company is. Because if you want to innovate inside of your organization you have to know what matters at the core of your business, otherwise it is easy to get lost.    Blair’s advice for leaders who want to build trust is to be consistent, know what your values are and stay true to them. And in every decision you make, be transparent about what you are doing and explain what you are doing and why. Be very self reflective and self aware and know the impact you are having on people.    Climate change and small business creation Along with the four major crises, there are also other issues that are so urgent we can’t wait for them to be fixed. Two of those issues that Blair points out are climate change and creating small business at scale really fast.    So why should leaders and organizations care about these two issues? With climate change it will impact everyone eventually, including your organization. But if we wait to be personally affected by it, it may be too late. It is also most likely that organizations will be forced to go net zero soon with new policies. So why wait to be forced into it.    But this will impact your business eventually. Blair says, “There are physical risks associated with climate. So let's imagine you hold real estate in downtown Miami and the first floor is underwater. You kind of care about it now. Right? Let's imagine you're in California and your property sits in front of a mudslide, let's imagine you own timber, and it's under fire. And so every business in the world has physical risks associated with climate, and every year they're going to get worse.”   As for small business creation, a lot of small businesses have been impacted by current events. And every organization, whether they realize it or not, depends on small businesses to thrive. Small business, for a lot of companies, is the first step in the supply chain. So you depend on it. But the owners of these small businesses are also customers of larger companies and if they don’t come back, your revenue stream is going to go down. Small business is a crucial part of our economy. So every leader should be concerned about these two more urgent issues.    What can leaders do now? Blair gives a few tips that any leader out there can implement now to start making change. Part one: Look at the direct implications of climate risk on your company and figure out what you can do to get to net zero Take a look at your organization and assess your ability to compete in a platform based world Figure out if you are prepared for the pressures toward localization that we’re going to see Part two: Look at yourself and your leadership team. Are you ready for the three points above and have you invested in those things?  Make sure you have a diverse team with people who are different than you are Part three: Pick a place (a city, a town, a village, etc...) you care about and make it better   “If you are working on making something in the world that's physical geography better. It will force you to think about all the things you're not thinking about today that are important for your business. And then when someone comes back and says you're the bad guy, you're not. Because you're actually working the issue. And so it has two positive benefits you actually are helping. And so if I go back to your question, you know, one of our leaders who said, I'm going to worry about Black Lives Matters and diversity. And they did it before it was a big issue. And I think that taught a lot to us as a firm. And it actually puts us in a position where we're kind of on the right side of the balance sheet when people start judging how you're doing. And everyone should do that. But really make it better. Don't fake it. Right? Go after it.”

There was one question top CEOs had a hard time answer… But first, some context. Over the past 18 months, I had the privilege to interview some of the world's top CEOs for my book, The Future Leader. I spoke with CEOs from companies like Best Buy, Audi, KPMG, Oracle, SAP, Verizon, MasterCard, Royal Caribbean, InterContinental Hotels Group, and dozens of others. I was trying to understand how leadership is changing what leaders need to do in order to adapt and be successful in the new world of work. I asked these CEOs about trends, skills, mindsets, challenges, and everything and anything in between. All the leaders gave me fantastic answers, wonderful stories, and profound insights, everything flowed very easily...until we got to THE QUESTION. "If I came from another planet and had no concept of 'leader' or 'leadership,' how would you explain it to me?" This is where the awkward pauses started… The problem is we don't spend enough time thinking about this because we all assume we know what good and bad leadership is and what it looks like.  For many, trying to explain leadership is like trying to explain water to someone. We don't do it because we all know what water is and we all know what leadership is...right? All of the CEOs I interviewed defined "leader" and "leadership" differently. Sure, there are some common themes, but the definitions themselves are unique.  The worst thing you and your organization can do is NOT have a clear definition of what leadership is and what it means to be a leader. The first and most crucial step for anyone embarking on their leadership journey is to define what this means to begin with.  Your definition and concept of leadership will change over time.That's ok, but you have to start somewhere! What's your definition of "leader" and "leadership?"  For those of you want to be a future-ready leader… The Leadership Mastery Framework is the only leadership course in the world based on expertise from more than 140 hands-on-in-the-field CEOs (from companies like Best Buy, Audi, MasterCard, Unilever, Verizon, and more). It’s built for striving leaders in every level of their companies and anyone who knows they have more to give to make a genuine impact.  This course is the fast track to leadership mastery for the future. I want you to reach every inch of your full potential and make the supersonic impact you’ve been itching for, and this course will show you how it’s not only possible but vital that you take action. Enrollment CLOSES ON MIDNIGHT TODAY AUGUST 14TH.

Leadership isn't just about what you know how to do, it's also about how you think...your mindset. What mindsets do you as a leader need to possess? There are 4 of them that over 140 of the world's top CEOs from companies like Audi, KPMG, Best Buy, Oracle, Unilever, MasterCard, SAP, and dozens of others identified as being most crucial for current and future leaders. Global Citizen Leaders who embody the global citizen mindset think globally and embrace diversity. Not only do leaders need to consider how to enter new markets but they must also understand how to spread ideas and messages and how to find the best talent regardless of where in the world they might be. As a new or existing leader you will also have to work with, communicate, collaborate, and lead individuals who don’t think like you, look like you, act like you, or believe in the same things that you believe in. Servant Being a leader doesn’t mean that you get to sit at the top of the pyramid and tell everyone else what to do. It means that you stand at the bottom of the pyramid and help prop everyone else up. This is in stark contrast to what the business world is used to.  Chef Chefs are masters at balancing ingredients, just like leaders must balance the two most important ingredients of any business: humans and technology. The human side of work is where things like ideas, relationships, loyal customers, leaders, and social impact comes from. The technology side of work is where things like efficiency, productivity, and speed take place. Future leaders must embrace technology; being hesitant about it will get you nowhere. Explorer Explorers are seekers who traverse the unknown and embrace and practice curiosity. This is the mindset that will force the pursuit of new ideas, products, services, and methods of doing things. Explorer leaders are super perpetual learners. They are open to new ideas from the people around them and encourage time for experimentation. They embody the growth mindset and realize that where they are now isn’t where they will always be. These four mindsets are the foundation for current and future leaders. This is how leaders need to think each and every single day. For those of you want to be a future-ready leader and master these 4 mindsets... The Leadership Mastery Framework is the only leadership course in the world based on expertise from more than 140 hands-on-in-the-field CEOs (from companies like Best Buy, Audi, MasterCard, Unilever, Verizon, and more). It’s built for striving leaders in every level of their companies and anyone who knows they have more to give to make a genuine impact.  This course is the fast track to leadership mastery for the future. I want you to reach every inch of your full potential and make the supersonic impact you’ve been itching for, and this course will show you how it’s not only possible but vital that you take action. Enrollment CLOSES ON AUGUST 14th, I hope to see you inside!

Do you regularly find your employees competing against each other? This competitive type of culture is disappearing as people start to realize that team success is more important than individual success. If your organization doesn't have this definition of teamwork, it’s time for you to change it. Start by understanding your employees, team members, and leaders as human beings, not just as cogs or worker bees who show up to work every day. Once you understand your peers as individuals, you'll really get a strong sense of where you might be able to step up and do something small to make their lives easier.

Leadership is changing...you as a leader MUST change, and perhaps more importantly, we should all DEMAND that our leaders change. It's necessary for the very survival of our organizations.   Things like globalization, the changing nature of talent, AI, and technology, the emphasis on purpose and meaning, and the demand for more transparency mean that our organizations are going to look fundamentally different than they did in the past. As a result, we need a new breed of leaders.   Research by DDI found that only 14% of organizations have a "strong bench," which is ready-now leaders who can step to replace those who retire or move on (DDI). Half of the organizations surveyed by DDI say their leaders are not skilled to lead effectively today and 71% say their leaders are not ready to lead their organizations in the future.   If you want to be an effective leader (now and in the future), someone who positively impacts your organization, your people, and your community, then these are the 5 skills that you need to master...and soon. Coach No matter if they are on the basketball court or in the office, great coaches don’t just tell people what to do, they make people want to actually do it. Coaches help people become better versions of themselves. As a great coach, your job is to understand the similarities and commonalities between yourself and your team. Don’t fear the differences, respect them. Coaches create effective teams by connecting with people and truly understanding them as human beings, not just as workers. Futurist This was the most important skill across all the CEOs I interviewed. Futurists consider different possibilities and must be able to identify patterns, stay connected to relevant trends, and scan for signals of what the future might bring. For leaders, this means that you have to be more connected than ever to your network.  Technology Teenager Today’s teenagers are technology savvy and digitally fluent. Leaders of the future must be the same way. Leaders don’t need to understand the details of how technologies are deployed, but they do need to understand what impact a particular technology might have on their business.  That broad understanding helps you determine which tools might have the greatest impact on your business and which ones can wait.  Translator Translation is the bridge that connects things or people together. Leaders of the future must be translators, or great listeners and communicators. Listening and communication have always been crucial, but they will become even more important in coming years. Future leaders need to cut through the noise to deliver and listen to important messages.  Yoda Leaders of the future must learn to channel their internal Yoda and be emotionally intelligent. For leaders, empathy comes into play when trying to resolve a conflict by understanding everyone’s perspectives, developing products or services for customers, or improving collaboration. At the heart of being Yoda is creating an emotional human connection with other people. Doing so makes us vulnerable, but it also makes us human.   Unfortunately, most organizations around the world and most MBA programs don't teach these skills. For those of you want to be future-ready leaders and master these 5 skills... The Leadership Mastery Framework is the only leadership course in the world based on expertise from more than 140 hands-on-in-the-field CEOs (from companies like Best Buy, Audi, MasterCard, Unilever, Verizon, and more). It’s built for striving leaders in every level of their companies and anyone who knows they have more to give to make a genuine impact.  This course is the fast track to leadership mastery for the future. I want you to reach every inch of your full potential and make the supersonic impact you’ve been itching for, and this course will show you how it’s not only possible but vital that you take action. Enrollment CLOSES ON AUGUST 14th, I hope to see you inside!

Most business leaders around the world are not good leaders. They aren't bad people, but their approaches to leadership are simply put...obsolete. We can especially see this quite clearly with what has been going on with Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, and the ongoing fight against racism and social injustice. To give you an analogy, it's a bit like trying to fly a modern-day passenger plane while being trained on an original Wright Brothers plane. There's a chance you might get the plane in the air, but you won't go far. Leadership around the world is failing us. In the United States alone there are around 25 million supervisors and managers today, these are people who are responsible for others. I estimate that by 2030 we are going to have around 220 million leaders around the world. That's a lot of leaders! We have lots of people in leadership roles but unfortunately, many of them are bad leaders, there's just no other way around it. But, their days are numbered because the way that we think about leadership is changing...Leaders Must Change. Being a leader is the hardest job in the world but it's also the most rewarding. Everyone in the world has the potential to become a leader, even if you're a leader of self. The first step towards becoming that leader is making the conscientious choice that you are willing to get out of your comfort zone and do whatever it takes to positively impact your community, your organization, your people, and yourself. Are you ready to take that first step? Introducing... The Leadership Mastery Framework. The only leadership course in the world based on expertise from more than 140 hands-on-in-the-field CEOs. It’s built for striving leaders in every level of their companies and anyone who knows they have more to give to make a genuine impact. This course is the fast track to leadership mastery for the future. I want you to reach every inch of your full potential and make the supersonic impact you’ve been itching for, and this course will show you how it’s not only possible but vital that you take action. Enrollment closes on August 14th, I hope to see you inside!

Julie Zhuo is the bestselling author of The Making of a Manager: What to do When Everyone Looks to You. She was also the first intern at Facebook when they had 100 employees and were just starting out as a company. She worked there for a total of 14 years and during her time there she became a manager and then ultimately the VP of Product Design.  Actually, it was because of her experience at Facebook and first becoming a manager very early on in her career that caused her to write her book. Her internship at Facebook was something she did while in college and then right after she graduated she took a full time job with the company. When she was asked to become a manager at the age of 25, she had had no prior training or management experience and she wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to do. But as the culture at Facebook was at that time, as a startup, employees all had to try new things and say yes to some things that took them out of their comfort zone. So Julie said yes to the position. Then she went to a bookstore to read up on the skills that managers need, how to lead people more experienced than she was, how to delegate, etc… But what she found was books directed at CEOs and senior level executives on very advanced concepts, when what she needed was the basics to start out with like how to lead a one on one meeting and how to motivate employees. So she wrote her own book on the subject later on in her career to help others in similar situations. The definition of a manager Julie shares that when she first started out as a manager she didn’t have a very clear definition of what a manager was. The only thing she had was a general idea of what her past managers and bosses had done in the past, which was mostly give feedback and tell her if she would be promoted or if there was something she could do better. And that is the picture she had in her mind for years until she became a leader herself and learned over the years that a manager shouldn’t just be a series of actions, but they should be someone who is focused on getting results from a group of people and doing whatever necessary to help them succeed.    Julie also believes there is a difference between a leader and a manager. She says, “Sometimes people use them interchangeably, but to me, they're quite different. To me, leadership is a quality or a trait. And I think all of us are, you know, can be leaders in certain contexts or can exhibit leadership traits. Being a leader just means that you are somebody that other people will listen to, and will follow. And you have that ability to influence and help organize a group of people towards doing something together. I think of a manager as a specific role, like it's a specific job function with a set of responsibilities and the major responsibility of a manager is you are trying to get a group of people to work together and to achieve some certain outcome, right? There's a reason why teams are formed. There's a reason why companies are formed, they're trying to aspire to, hit their mission or they're trying to hit a business goal or they're trying to do this and that and your job as a manager is to help this group of people hit that goal.” The word manager is descriptive of the role inside of the company, whereas leadership refers to qualities and traits people can have. Anyone can learn leadership qualities, but not everyone who has leadership qualities should necessarily be a manager. Everyone who is a manager should definitely have leadership qualities, though.  Common mistakes that new managers make Over her career Julie has not only experienced being a first time manager, but she has witnessed others experience it for the first time as well. And there are certain mistakes and pitfalls that a majority of managers make when first starting out.  The first one is feeling that as a manager you have to have all the answers. A lot of people have this feeling that if they are unsure about something, it’s a signal that they are not cut out for the role of a manager. But that’s not true. As Julie shares, as a manager you are going to feel uncomfortable or unprepared at times, and that’s okay. You are having those feelings because you are managing for the first time, things are new. A lot of the confidence and know-how will come with time and practice. Every manager goes through this when they first start out.  And even as you get experience, those feelings may be there when you have to address something new later on in your career, the difference is you will be better equipped to deal with new situations as you progress and you will develop the tools you need to deal with uncertainty.  The second mistake that new managers make is feeling like they need to know how to do the roles of their employees as well or better than they do. For example, when Julie moved to the manager role she realized she had to lead a team of designers who were more skilled at designing than she was. Because of that she felt like she had nothing to contribute and she felt inadequate at her job. But now she realizes that was incorrect.  Your job as a manager is not to be the best at the roles of your employees. If you are very skilled in one specific area, then maybe you should be in that role as an individual contributor. But as a manager it actually benefits you to have a group of people who are more talented than you are. Your job is to elevate those talents so that everyone on the team can be working at their best.  The third pitfall that new managers can encounter is a feeling of superiority, or getting a big head from a promotion. Julie says that at Facebook they had a way of making sure that didn’t happen. When people moved to a role of management it wasn’t called a promotion. Instead they used the word transition, to recognize that management was on a parallel path with any other role. Because there are multiple ways to move up in your career. Just because you don’t become a manager doesn’t mean you haven’t improved and succeeded. It’s just a different path.  How to overcome imposter syndrome Most of us have experienced imposter syndrome at some point, the feeling that happens when you don’t believe you are equipped to do something you are doing. When you doubt your ability and feel inadequate. Julie says she definitely felt this when she first became a manager and, in fact, she has felt it at times throughout her career even after gaining experience.  So how can we overcome imposter syndrome? Julie shares the following tips:  Recognize that you can ask for help. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who have more experience in the area you feel doubt in. Learn from their expertise.  Don’t be afraid to admit that you are nervous or that you don’t know something. Everyone goes through this at times, and it doesn’t mean you’re an idiot. It means you’re human.  Turn to things that bring you energy and peace in those moments of anxiety and doubt. Go for a run, meditate, go out and see some friends, spend some time doing a hobby you enjoy, etc..This will help build your confidence back up before facing the issue head on.  The biggest difference between an average manager and a great manager Whether you are a brand new manager or you have been managing for 20+ years, there are certain traits and qualities that make a great manager stand out from average managers. First of all, Julie says great managers are able to get great outcomes from their teams over and over.  But there are three other things that Julie uses to judge if someone is a great manager. They are people, process, and purpose. The first is, how does the individual deal with people? How do they nurture their talent. Do they play to people’s strengths and are they making sure that they have the right people on the right problems. Great managers need to know how to let their people shine and excel.  The second thing that a great manager has is the ability to figure out the processes. That is how people work together in the context of a team. And the third thing is a manager has to know how to convey a company’s purpose to employees. Because as Julie says, you can have the best talent, but if they don’t know what they are working towards, you are not going to get their best work.  Your people need to know what they should be aspiring towards, what you are trying to achieve together, what success looks like for them as a team, etc... The first year of a manager Julie walked us through the first year of a manager in increments of the first day, the first week, the first month, and then the first year to help us to understand her recommendations for people just starting out in that role.  First, on day one of being a manager you should talk with your manager and make sure you understand what success looks like for your role. Have them help you plot out benchmarks that you should be hitting throughout your first year as a manager. It is critical that you know on day one what you're expected to do. Knowing the expectations ahead of time ensures you will do a great job versus a mediocre job.  For the first week in that new role, Julie suggests you focus on listening to your people. You need to get started on developing trust relationships with the people on your team. Talk to every single person on your team, get to know them as an individual. What are their hopes and dreams? Where do they want to go in their career? What do they think about the team? Do they have problems or friction with anyone on the team? What could the team do better?  This not only helps you to get to know people, but it helps employees feel like they have contributed, they feel like they have a bit of ownership in the team.  Moving on to month one, this should be an extension of what you are doing in week one. You have to continue to invest in the relationships with your people. By the end of month one you should have a good sense of how the team operates. Julie says that before you change anything, it is important to know what the situation is now, to begin with. Don’t just try to change things up as soon as you move into the role. Really, it’s going to be 3-6 months before you get a great sense of the people and the business.  At the end of year one what you should be looking for is, as a team, have we set clear goals? And of the goals you have set as a team, are you starting to see the fruits of those goals? You should be asking for constant feedback from day one, so that you know what is working and what needs to be adjusted. You should get feedback from your manager, your peers, and members of your team. You should also sit down with your manager at the end of the year and see if the expectations that were laid out were fulfilled. If not, figure out together what needs to be adjusted to do better in the next year.

Every employee inside of your organization has something to offer regardless of their generation or current life stage. This is why mentoring can flow both ways. When a younger employee mentors an older employee, we refer to it as reverse mentoring. The purpose of these types of mentoring programs is to share information, skills, and knowledge. Especially in this technology-driven era, older employees often find it difficult to adapt, and the younger employees who are already familiar with the new technologies can teach them. It's really all about connecting your employees and bringing people together from different generations, backgrounds, cultures, attitudes, values, and beliefs to work together to collaborate and communicate.

Tiger Tyagarajan is the CEO of Genpact, a global professional services firm with 100,000 employees that drives digital-led innovation and digitally-enabled intelligent operations for organizations around the world.   Prior to Genpact, Tiger worked for several well-known companies such as Unilever, Citibank, and GE. He was actually one of the industry leaders who pioneered a new global business model and transformed a division of GE into Genpact back in 2005.  Tiger serves on the Board of Catalyst, a global non-profit organization working with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs to help build workplaces that work for women. He also was one of the founding supporters of the U.S. chapter of the 30% Club, which is committed to gender balance on boards of directors and in senior management. He is an active member of the Fortune CEO Initiative, a forum for corporate leaders committed to addressing major social problems as part of their core business strategies. Just like organizations all over the world, Genpact has had to adjust to the new normal that we are facing with Covid-19. And with a team of 100,000 people all around the world, it is not a simple thing to do. As Tiger shares, when they first learned of Covid-19 there wasn’t a playbook that they could just look at and act on. Tiger and his team knew they had to do something and that time was of the essence, so perfection was not what they were aiming for. They knew they had to build something quickly, start using it, and then allow the team to improve it over time.  While the experience was stressful, there are a couple things that Tiger shares, that made a difference in the way Genpact reacted.  Leaders need to have North Stars  A practice that Tiger has put in place for himself, and one that he highly suggests for all leaders, is having a few North Stars in place that help guide you as a leader when making tough decisions. These are the values and the culture of your organization that you need to base all decisions on. And it is important for everyone in the organization to know what those values are, know what those North Stars are, so that everyone is on the same page.   Tiger says, “As long as you are clear about that, as long as everyone is clear about that, you have first of all an alignment, where everyone says-- that's the North Star, those are our values, that's our culture. And that therefore makes decision making easier and with speed. And second, you do your best to deliver whatever North Star you defined. So for us, the North Star for us was, we always pride ourselves on incredibly great service to our customers. And we think that's what makes us different. And that's what gets us new business and growth. And we also pride ourselves on being a great place to work for our employees. So therefore, right out of the gate, we said, we want to achieve two design principles in every decision. Number one, do the right thing for our employees-- protect their safety, and wellness-- and two make sure that we continue to find a way to deliver service to our clients because we quickly realized that a lot of the services we deliver, if you stopped delivering, our clients would suffer significantly, and the economy would suffer significantly. Whichever economy it serves. So we had to balance, in every decision, these two things, but it allowed us to take decisions that basically said, these are the two important things, everything else doesn't matter.” So what are your North Stars? What are the values inside your organization, what is the purpose or the mission of your company, and what culture are you trying to create? Figure these out and making decisions will be a lot easier.  What will work look like post Covid-19? Right now the way we work looks a lot different than it did even just 6 months ago. The question is, once we get past this, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later, but once we get past Covid-19 what will work look like? Will it be changed forever or will some things go back to normal.  One thing that a lot of people are speculating about is that the office will be a thing of the past and that everyone will be working from home. Tiger doesn’t agree. While he does agree that some things will never go back to what it was before, he believes that offices will come back, at least in some form.  Tiger says that assuming that 50% or more of the work going forward will be done from home is too simple, it is more nuanced than that. There may be some roles that make more sense to do from home, for example inside of Genpact there are some employees who at certain times of the year have to work for five days straight without a break, sometimes into the midnight hours. For that type of work it would make sense to be in the comfort of your own home while working long hours.  But there are a lot of roles where it would not make sense to work from home long term and there are a lot of people who are excited and just itching to go back into the office. Some people thrive on that person to person interaction and collaboration, which is missing right now.  Tiger believes that post Covid there will be more flexibility in the way we work, maybe at certain times of the year or certain days of the week people will be able to work from home, but there will be times when the office is necessary. He also suggested the idea of companies possibly acquiring more office space than they have now. Instead of having one office building with 10,000 people, maybe it makes more sense to have 10 offices with 1,000 people in each one. This could bring offices closer to people, bring down commute times, and potentially cut down on air pollution.  The current situation is also impacting the speed at which organizations go through digital transformation. Some companies who have just talked about digital transformation for years, have been forced into acting on it quickly. Companies who were resisting change in the past, can no longer wait, even if they wanted to.  Tiger says, “What COVID-19 has done is created a couple of constraints that have forced innovation and experimentation. It's the single biggest experiment, people are calling it as the biggest experiment that humans have done considering the time frame. And, and I wonder whether other intractable problems in the world are actually solvable, by actually deliberately putting constraints on.”  Could problems like climate change be solved if we put our own constraints on it and forced ourselves to solve the problem now? Tiger thinks it is possible, but just like Covid is affecting everyone in the world, in order to solve climate change it would require everyone coming together. It couldn’t just be a small group of people.  Two things leaders must focus on in the new normal Our current events have shaped the way our leaders need to lead. Not only have they had to make tough decisions about layoffs, closing offices, and trying to figure out how to keep business coming in, they also have had to assist employees in moving from working in the office to working from home in a very short period of time.  There are two things that Tiger and his team have pinpointed as changes they had to make to adjust to these times. One was the frequency of communication with employees. In the past, during normal times, Genpact leaders held town hall meetings once a quarter. Now they are holding town hall meetings once a month and they are sending out video blogs once a week.  When they would hold town hall meetings once a quarter around 5,000 to 7,000 people would show up, but now that they are virtual and held more frequently there are around 20,000 people joining.  The other important aspect that Tiger and his team have focused on is empathy, which is important in all times, but it is much harder when everything is virtual. Leaders have to understand the difference in leading an in-person meeting and leading a virtual one. With virtual, you can’t read body language as well. It also is easier in a virtual meeting to have everyone sign in and just start the meeting, skipping the usual banter and check-ins that happen when you meet in person. This is something that Tiger is really focused on fixing, because it is important to keep that casual conversation, to let employees know that you care about their well being and to judge how people are feeling. Are they stressed, are they depressed, are they excited? These are important things for leaders to know about their people.  In our new virtual world leaders have to go above and beyond the old ways to make sure they stay in touch with employees and empathize with them.  How Genpact is addressing diversity and inclusion More than 15 years ago Tiger and his team at Genpact set out to address gender diversity inside of their organization. They realized not enough women were represented in leadership, and they knew that had to change. Over the past 15 years they have made significant progress, going from one woman on the leadership team to five and from zero women on the board to four women on the board now. He admits there is still a long way to go, but in a short amount of time they have made good strides forward.  In light of the current events around the world that are shedding light on racial inequality, Tiger and his team knew they again had to make some changes. But they knew time was of the essence and they didn’t want to talk about actions to take for months and months. They wanted to act immediately. They had a meeting on a Monday morning at 9am and by 10am a decision was taken and by that evening they announced their decision publicly. They added racial equality as a pillar of their D&I strategy. And they announced that they were putting Hope Cooper, one of the rising African American leaders in the company, in charge of the initiative.  Tiger released an open letter addressing the situation and how the company would react. The company also hosted six open listening sessions across the US so people in the African American, Black American population could share their experiences, their fears, and their ideas. Tiger and Genpact took those thoughts and created an agenda with defined metrics and initiatives with impact.  Since then Genpact has also partnered with organizations such as the NAACP to start a dialogue on how the company can bring its unique skills and support to the table to form a meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship.  Tiger and his team are definitely not just about talking about change, when they see a problem that needs to be addressed, they are all in. They take the steps needed to immediately start the process of change. And that is so important for leaders to remember. You can’t just talk about changing for the better or impacting your community, you have to take action. That is the only way our organizations and our leaders are going to positively impact employees, communities, and the world.

One of the aspects of being a servant leader is practicing self-care. During times of crisis, we often forget to look after ourselves, which is a mistake. If you want to show up and be your best self for your family and employees, then you need to remember to take care of your emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical health. Even with coronavirus, I still make time to exercise each day, eat healthy, and spend time working on chess because these things make me happy! What are you doing to look after yourself during these tough times?

Alex Osterwalder is the bestselling author of Business Model Generation, Value Proposition Design, and Testing Business Ideas. He also released a new book back in April called The Invincible Company: How to Constantly Reinvent Your Organization with Inspiration from the World’s Best Business Models.  Alex is ranked #4 on the Thinkers50 list of the top 50 management thinkers in the world. Along with Yves Pigneur, Alex invented several practical business tools, including the Business Model Canvas, that are used by millions of business leaders today. For this invention they won the Thinkers50 Strategy Award in 2015.   He is also the founder of Strategyzer, a company that provides organizations with corporate innovation strategy, training, tools, and software.  This episode is brought to you by Cisco. Nearly overnight, the entire world has found itself adapting to a new way of working. The future of work requires a modern approach to collaboration – helping people securely connect wherever they work, while staying safe and being productive. Cisco is shaping this path forward. Check out their new page devoted to the future of work to learn more and check out their resources including articles, videos, and a workplace maturity assessment.. In the midst of the pandemic organizations are facing challenging times and over the last few months we have seen positive and negative decisions occur in response to what is happening. There have been some companies who have handled tough decisions while still keeping their people first--showing employees respect, empathy, and transparency. And there are other companies who have made, what seem to be, harsh and unfair decisions in a way that create anger and chaos. The question is, is there a way for organizations to prepare for uncertainties and challenging times in advance, so we don’t have to get to a point where these tough decisions have to be made?  Creating resilient organizations There are situations where leaders will have to make tough decisions, regardless of how much advanced planning is done. But, as Alex’s book examines, there are ways to make our organizations more agile and fluid, so that when a crisis comes, they are able to not just survive, but thrive through it.  Alex gives a great example of two companies who faced the same crisis and their different outcomes. There were two large photography/film companies, Kodak and Fujifilm. Both were extremely successful at one time, but when the industry was disrupted Kodak kept using the same business model, which no longer worked. As a result Kodak went bankrupt and completely went away.  Fujifilm on the other hand had a CEO who had been obsessed with the thought of the company dying for awhile and had put a plan in place before it was too late. The company aggressively reallocated resources into a whole new way of business, which was cosmetics. It turns out the chemical process and the intellectual property related to aging film can be used in cosmetics for aging skin. So instead of staying on the same logical path of film, they saw the industry coming to an end and went an entirely different direction. They are still around today.  The key is they planned for this extreme disruption before it happened. If you wait until a crisis happens to react, you are never going to have a resilient company. You can’t make a change that big overnight, which is what a lot of companies are trying to do right now. You have to do the work upfront and be a bit of a futurist so that you can see multiple possibilities ahead.   So really, the responsibility for creating resilient organizations starts with the leaders. But the traditional way of leading organizations is not the right model for this type of change. We need a different style of leadership.  Moving away from the stereotypical leadership style In the past a lot of people have viewed a leader as someone who is the smartest one in the room, the one who makes all of the decisions and picks the right ideas. As Alex shares, if you as the leader are the smartest one in the room, you have failed in your hiring.   Being a leader is not about being knowledgeable in every aspect of business and it is not about making every decision, it is about creating the environment for great ideas to emerge and succeed. It is the job of the leader to create the culture that embraces creativity and innovation, and to give authority to individual employees to make decisions.  Alex gives a great example from the German company, Bosch. They decided they were going to invest in 200 projects inside the organization. So they gave those 200 projects a budget of 120,000 Euros and they gave them three months. After the three months were up the company looked at the results from all 200 projects and they killed off 70% of the projects and re-invested a bit more into the remaining 30% based on the results they saw. The remaining projects got to continue on for a bit more time and then after that time was done they all got reevaluated. And based on the findings from the evaluation, they discontinued 75% of those projects. So at the end of the process they got down to 15 projects (out of the 200) to continue on with.  The important part, as Alex explains, is, “It wasn't the leadership that decided on the ideas, per se, it was the evidence that showed if they would get follow up investment. So what's the leader's role? It's about creating the right environment where these teams can explore, fail a lot, and learn the environment where the teams that didn't get follow up investments are not kind of stigmatized as losers because they couldn't get the project, right? No, that's a normal ratio from early stage venture capital. We actually know that one out of 250 ideas is an outsized winner. So, it's that kind of culture you need to put in place. So we don't start to stigmatize those who didn't succeed, because they're contributing to the portfolio. So as a leader, again, you shouldn't be the expert, because then you hired wrong. That obviously depends on the kind of domain you're in. And your main job is to create the conditions for success to emerge. So,you know, that is one of the messages that I found really, really intriguing from Alan Mulally, he likes to say, sometimes, as a leader, you can create too much value.” How to create a culture of innovation Leaders can’t just let culture happen, culture has to be designed and managed. If you want to create a culture of innovation, it has to be done intentionally. A lot of organizations have failed at innovation because the CEO is not spending a lot of time focused on it. And if people inside the company see that the leaders don’t care about innovation, or worse, that leaders are punishing creativity and new ideas, then people are going to stop trying. CEOs do have to spend time focusing on executing and managing the existing, but if innovation doesn’t have enough power, it’s always going to play second fiddle.    As Alex shares, “At Logitech, the CEO Bracken Darrell spends 40 to 60% of his time on innovation. That gives innovation power because it's symbolic if the CEO spends a lot of time on innovation. Then the next question is oh, so the CEO picks the winning ideas? No, the CEO creates the culture and metrics and spaces where innovation can emerge. And that is a partnership between innovation and execution. Those are two different domains and they need to live in harmony, not kind of entrenched in a kind of Warzone. So, sometimes innovators like to call themselves pirates or rebels. I think that's silly because pirates and rebels get killed. Like why would you want to be a pirate or rebel? It’s not about breaking the rules. It's about the leadership creating the right rules so we can do both. World class execution and world class innovation.” If a leader feels like they just don’t have an innovative team, most likely there is a cultural problem. Either that leader or a previous leader in the company has punished people for actually exploring ideas or there is no incentive to innovate. The first thing that needs to happen to create an innovation culture is to tear down all of the blockers that are preventing people from innovating.  One of the biggest blockers to innovation that Alex mentions is business plans. He says business plans are the enemy of innovation because it is an execution document where you describe a dream in detail and you execute it. Innovation is about picking an idea, adapting it, and then changing it until you create value. There are other blockers like focusing on the wrong metrics and leaders thinking they can do everything on their own. You have to get rid of all of the blockers to innovation before you can put innovation into place. Alex suggests leaders read the shareholder letters from Jeff Bezos, which are publicly available.  How start building an invincible team If you are a mid-level manager, or a leader who is responsible for a team, but maybe you are not the CEO of the company, what can you do to start building an invincible team? Using a method from Rita McGrath, Alex says the first step is to take a look at your CEOs agenda and see how much time is carved out for innovation. Or look at the company’s last four important meetings and see how much time was spent talking about innovation. In either of those instances if the answer is not over 40%, you actually need to consider if it is worthwhile to spend your time on innovation, because as he says you will be “fighting against windmills”.  This is an important first step because you have to know what your company’s innovation readiness is. Is your environment ready for innovation to happen? If it is not, take a look at the top levels of the organization and ask yourself who can you get on board as a sponsor to support innovation. Is there someone at the top level who is willing to push for innovation and offer top level protection for people to explore?  Alex says, “You need that top level protection, I'd say, because otherwise all you're going to do, and unfortunately we still see this in quite a few companies, all you're going to do is innovation theater. No company is lacking innovation activities. There's incubators, there's all that kind of stuff. I'm not even talking about ping pong tables, I'm talking about real innovation activity. But as long as it's not connected to strategy, it's really a little bit of a suicide mission. I know a lot of innovation leads are up for that suicide mission. That's why they call themselves rebels and pirates. But I think we need to be a little bit more pragmatic. And, you know, first understand, how ready is the company. And then based on that assessment, either change the job or say, Okay, here's the strategy.”

During this COVID-19 pandemic, we hear a lot of stories about all the good things that companies are doing for their people. But why does it take a pandemic for companies to start being more human? We should be human all the time and shouldn’t wait for a tragedy to start doing the right thing. During these hard times, we’re seeing more conversations around the importance of being more human; connections, relationships, and how to stay together. To beat this pandemic, people have to help each other. Humanity is, and will always be, the most important skill that leaders and organizations need to have in order to succeed.

Gary Hamel is the author of five books including bestsellers What Matters Now and The Future of Management. His upcoming book is called Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them, which comes out in August.  Gary has been on the faculty of the London Business School for more than 30 years and he is the director of the Management Lab. He has been named “The World’s leading expert on business strategy” by Fortune magazine, “the management innovator without peer” by the Financial Times, and he has been ranked by The Wall Street Journal as the world’s most influential business thinker. He is also a fellow of The Strategic Management Society and the World Economic Forum.   This episode is brought to you by Cisco. Nearly overnight, the entire world has found itself adapting to a new way of working. The future of work requires a modern approach to collaboration – helping people securely connect wherever they work, while staying safe and being productive. Cisco is shaping this path forward. Check out their new page devoted to the future of work to learn more and check out their resources including articles, videos, and a workplace maturity assessment. There are some companies that seem to dominate at strategy and innovation--like Google, Airbnb, and YouTube. These companies found a way to create rule breaking strategies that have pushed them into the forefront in their industries. But why is it that some companies can figure out how to do that, while others (the majority) have such a difficult time innovating? That is what Gary has been trying to figure out over his career and what he found was that most organizations are alike--they are all using the same bureaucratic model that stifles creativity, innovation, and adaptability. As organizations we need to move away from this old way of leading, but how?  Why we haven’t moved away from bureaucracy One of the major reasons why organizations have not been able to move away from this outdated model is because leaders do not trust their people. But because of that lack of trust, it ends up being a self fulfilling prophecy. If leaders feel that they have to treat their people like children because they can’t be trusted, the people will feel that and they will stop making decisions on their own. If leaders try to control every aspect of the work, then what motivation does the employee have to do something new and innovative?  Gary says, “I make the point in the book that there's a great irony in the fact that most of us, you know, at some point in our life, we're going to buy a car or two or three as we go through life, many of us will ultimately buy a dwelling of some sort. And yet those same human beings go to work and can't requisition a $300 office chair without somebody's permission. And we know from a kind of academic research that when you shrink somebody's autonomy, you also shrink their creativity, you shrink their courage and people just kind of give up. And so, where they may be very engaged in other parts of their life, they're not very engaged at work.” The reason why Gary wrote his book was because he became frustrated looking around at a majority of companies that aren’t focusing on innovation. They are only changing when they face a crisis and have to change. And while 87% of CEOs think innovation is the top three priority, 94% will tell you their organizations are not very good at it. So Gary wanted to help organizations to see that you cannot become more capable of innovation if you don’t change the structures and principles that have kept organizations in a stand still up until now. He also saw that organizations are not utilizing their people to the fullest. Not only that, they are actually holding the people back.  We have been using the wrong definition of leadership There are many definitions of leadership, if you ask a room full of 20 people to define the word you will probably get 20 different answers. But Gary says we have been defining it all wrong. Over the last few decades the words leader and manager have been used interchangeably. And usually when we think of leaders we think of the top 20 people inside a company who make all the decisions.  How does Gary think we should define leadership? He says “Ask yourself, if you had no budget at work, if you had no title after your name, what can you get done? And so people who need the stick of bureaucratic authority to get something done, I don't think most of those people are leaders, maybe very good administrators, they're not leaders. Leaders are people who know how to mobilize the people around them, know how to get folks to move forward together, and can be catalysts in making that happen. But they're not necessarily defined by a particular place in the organization. So probably, since Drucker was writing, we really know how to train managers, I don't think then or now we really know how to train leaders. But we kind of gave everybody a battlefield promotion when we started referring to managers and leaders. My argument is there are not a lot of managers who are leaders, anybody can be a leader. It has nothing to do with credentials. It has nothing to do with hierarchy, whether you have the courage, the compassion, the sense of community to step up and make something happen, even when you lack that positional authority.” So should we get rid of the concept of management altogether? Gary says, we may need to change our language when it comes to management, as it does not refer to a layer of the company or a certain elite group of people. Management is really anything that helps us combine our efforts, do something consistently with purpose effectively multiplying our individual work. Gary believes most people and most teams today are capable of managing themselves. So we need systems and processes of managing together, but we don’t need multiple ranks of managers who see their primary role as control and oversight.  How Adidas got rid of bureaucracy Gary worked with Adidas and they brought him in to help them get rid of bureaucracy and to build a more innovative culture. They were lagging behind Nike and Under Armour in North America and they wanted to fix that. Gary says that in this instance he was able to train a couple thousand employees on how to think like business innovators. These employees were frontline, retail people who were now trained in innovating and then the company opened up the conversation to get ideas from these employees. Thousands of ideas were created in these open meetings and it got the employees excited and inspired for the first time in their careers. This was so successful they had a second round, but this time they focused on their manager model. They opened up the conversation about the business and the manager model to thousands of employees, which took a lot of courage on the part of the CEO. But that courage paid off big time.  A lot of times it is the CEO standing in front of the organization giving their perspective on problems and issues. They are the ones giving the roadmap for how to move forward. But what if any individual inside the company could give an opinion, could have their voice heard, could help solve problems.  Gary says, “ If you look back at all the people who changed our world, that's what they do, they're not waiting to be asked. They do not assume they're helpless because they don't have a title after their name. They see a problem. They build a community. They go, they build. They try something and they go from there. So these are the hackers. These are the activists who've changed things. And it's kind of amazing to me that, you know, I hear all these CEOs that say, “Gary, our organization needs to change faster”. So I ask them a question, “have you trained every employee to think like an activist? Do they know how to build a prototype? They know how to build a community around them to go try something.” “No,we've never done that.” So how can you complain that your organization can't change fast enough? Well, you haven't taught every single person how to be an agent of change in your organization.” The 7 Principles of Humanocracy In his book, Gary shares seven principles of humanocracy that define the DNA of a Human-Centric organization. They are:    The Power of Ownership--Companies have a wealth of talented employees, but they aren’t given ownership of their work. Which means their ideas never see the light of day. Employees want to be passionate, engaged, and inspired. So give them the power to do so.  The Power of Markets--While markets can’t function in the absence of appropriate regulatory structures, they are unmatched in their capacity to harness human wisdom and initiative.  The Power of Meritocracy--If you want a human-centric organization you can’t have rigid hierarchies that make executives king-like and employees like underlings. Hierarchies should be natural and dynamic, based on an individual’s performance, not title or tenure.  The Power of Community--As human beings we are programmed for community. We need to feel like we belong and that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Leaders need to strengthen the bonds of community within the organization.  The Power of Openness--It is important for everyone in the organization to feel that they can voice their opinions. And people should be encouraged to voice different opinions and not feel they have to agree with the boss. Diversity of thought, background, culture, etc…is extremely important to the success of an organization.  The Power of Experimentation--The pace at which any organization evolves is determined in large part by how many experiments it runs. You shouldn’t let your organization sit still and wait for a crisis to change. In good times and in bad, you must go try something new.  The Power of Paradox--Conundrums are what make life interesting. You have to help your organization become a master of paradox. When you can master it, work will become more interesting and the organization will be more capable If we want to see change inside our organizations, we can’t keep defaulting to the old way of work. As Gary shares in his book, “We need to embed new human-centric principles in every structure, system, process, and practice. If we’re serious about creating organizations that are fit for human beings and fit for the future, nothing less will do”

It's SO important for you to stay #positive and #optimistic during these crazy times with the #coronavirus. Here are 10 things you can do to stay positive and optimistic during tough times: 1. Understand that you control your actions and emotions 2. Avoid staring at your bank/retirement accounts 3. Don't keep the news on 24/7, set specific times to watch and focus on reputable sources 4. Stay away from negative and pessimistic people 5. Make sure you have a good POSITIVE support network 6. Remember that this is temporary, just like airplane turbulence 7. Take time for yourself and practice self-care 8. Remind yourself each day of what you have to be grateful for. 9. Focus your time and energy on something constructive whether it be work, starting a new business, playing chess, writing a screenplay, etc. 10. Use technology to your benefit to stay connected with friends and family

Martin Lindstrom is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books including Buyology, Small Data, and his upcoming book--The Ministry of Common Sense: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS (Jan 2021). Martin is the founder and Chairman of Lindstrom Company, a global branding and culture transformation firm working with Fortune 100 companies in more than 30 countries. He has advised companies such as Mattel, Pepsi, Burger King and Google. Martin has been ranked on the Thinkers50 list for 3 years in a row and TIME Magazine named him one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential people”. This episode is brought to you by Cisco. Nearly overnight, the entire world has found itself adapting to a new way of working. The future of work requires a modern approach to collaboration – helping people securely connect wherever they work, while staying safe and being productive. Cisco is shaping this path forward. Visit https://bit.ly/webexfow  to learn more. Have you ever had to deal with rules or guidelines at work that don’t really make sense? Have you ever had a great idea for your organization that would save time or money only to have the idea killed as it went up the corporate command chain? I’m sure we’ve all experienced this bureaucratic red tape in our careers and this is exactly what Martin is trying to combat. He is trying to bring common sense back into the workplace.  How innovation is killed For the past 20 years, Martin has been working with companies to transform their brand and corporate culture. And what he found was that every company has an immune system that works as a defense mechanism for change.  He says, “Companies have it (the immune system) because as soon as they migrate from being a small startup company to become a real serious bureaucracy, what happens is that people are protecting what they already have. And through that, they create processes and compliance and rules and guidelines. And all that becomes almost an invisible straight jacket, which is almost sucking the oxygen out of the room in terms of innovation and transformation.” He gave an example of something he experienced while working with McDonald’s many years ago. The company had come to Martin to help reinvent the happy meal. Martin and his team came up with a great concept of redesigning the meal to be healthy, but fun. They realized that in order for kids to eat healthy there had to be a narrative that made the food cool, fun and exciting. They came up with a story where the broccoli was the bushes in the forest, and the tomatoes and the cucumbers were tools and weapons in the story along with all of the other food. They tested this on kids and they loved it. Parents loved it. The McDonald’s franchisees loved it. So McDonald’s gave the green light to pilot the idea across Europe. After two years the company went to launch the new happy meal and guess what it was? The old happy meal food with an apple added.  After that experience Martin realized he needed to understand the “immune system” and actually address the lack of common sense that happens with bureaucratic red tape and corporate command chains. Since then they have actually hired psychologists to join the team at the Lindstrom Company.  Why companies need to think like entrepreneurs So what can companies do to start removing the red tape and stop killing innovation? Martin says they need to go back to the concept of entrepreneurship. One key trait entrepreneurs have is they see the world through the eyes of a customer or a consumer, they don’t see things through the eyes of a business person. Usually the reason an entrepreneur is starting a new business or service is to fill a gap they experienced so they are the consumer. They have felt the pain or frustration on the consumer side, so they know how to make the experience great for others. But what happens over time is the company grows and the entrepreneur starts getting nervous about others stealing their idea or that some of their 3000+ employees will mess up the company brand or philosophy. That’s when the safety net comes in, in the form of rules, regulations, policies, etc...And slowly the company starts seeing the world from the inside out instead of the outside in. This is when the common sense starts fading away.  As Martin shares, “When you lose a sense of common sense it is quite often because you lose contact with the consumer, the customer. Really the people who are paying your salary, and you need to reconnect with the real world. And most companies today believe that they’re doing that through data, they believe that the spreadsheets and all these statistics and research studies are telling them the truth. But the reality is, there's one little thing missing. And that thing is empathy. The ability to put yourself in the shoes of another person and feel what that person is feeling. And as soon as that happens, it's almost like you're resetting the whole mindset. And that's where common sense is coming back.” The six roadblocks to common sense In Martin’s new book he lays out six of the most common roadblocks to common sense. They are: Bad customer experience--The company is not feeling the pain the customer feels so no one inside the company acts on behalf of customers to fix problems. The way to fix this is through empathy--finding ways to put yourself in your customer’s shoes.   Politics--There are two issues in this roadblock. First not knowing what other people in other departments or divisions are feeling and not caring. And the second issue is the KPIs that are not aligned.  Technology--Technology is a wonderful thing, but there are always multiple issues with it throughout the day that can be a time waster and it can build frustration. We spend around 15% of our day fixing tech issues. It can be a tool or a weapon Meetings and PowerPoints--Not only do we have too many meetings, but almost everyone is multitasking in them and the culture most companies have created around meetings is toxic. They run over, everyone has their own agenda, people are trying to show off instead of be productive. We cannot be productive if we spend all our time responding to emails and sitting in meetings.  Rules, regulations, and policies--There are a lot of rules, regulations and policies inside of organizations that just don’t make sense. We have to be able to question rules and eliminate them if they are not reasonable.  Compliance and Legal--A lot of times people in this function of the company say no just for the sake of saying no. When this function has too much power, it can destroy your company and how it evolves. You have to have the right balance between keeping the company safe and secure, but also they have to be service minded and remember that any rules put in place should be sensible and be for the best of everyone involved.  How do we get back to common sense? We have all probably experienced at least one of the six roadblocks, if not all six. So how do we start moving our organizations back to common sense? Martin’s advice is, “First of all, acknowledge there is an issue. Number two, map down what the issues are. And the best way you can do that is to look around in your office everyday, take photos and map this down. Then the third thing is then to categorize it. The fourth thing is to create a whole new business model around it. So you actually are both earning money while you're fixing the problem at the same time. And the fifth issue I would suggest, is really to celebrate this whole thing internally.” Why should we celebrate internally? A lot of times we want to change, but we don’t dare to. He gives an example of a group of chickens he had that were kept in individual cages for 6 months and then the cage doors were opened for them one day. They all went out the door of their cage for 30 seconds and then went straight back to the cages. So in order to get them to come out he had to put corn in front of their individual cages and each time he would put the corn further and further outside the cage.  Martin says, “That little piece of corn just outside the chicken case, I call a 90 day intervention. These are short lived, very quick changes you make in the organization. And what you do is whenever you succeed, you're celebrating that throughout the organization. And the celebration is really important, because if you celebrate when picking up the first corn, all the other chickens are looking around, and they feel Wow, I want to feel that too. And it kind of justifies or verifies, or at least it somehow tells the world this is the right thing. And it changes the culture as a consequence of that. And if you continue having these small wins, time after time, certainly it's solidified the fact that we are on the right path. And that's where you have a transformation of a culture happening. So really what I'm saying here is it's super important for you not to just have these long term goals and talk about what's happening five years from now is the goal still fine. But you have to break it down to small bite sized things and celebrate it every time. And I think the key problem in organizations today is that companies are setting those small goals sometimes, but they're not celebrating the success of them, the victories, and that's just as important as fulfilling them.”

Money is no longer the number one tool organizations have to retain and attract top talent. Just because you created a sustainable company doesn’t mean that every employee wants to work with you and customers want to transact with you. Employees and customers around the world want to be part of an organization that positively impacts the environment, society, and communities around the world. What you need to be asking yourself is what can you do to create an environment where your employees actually want to show up to work? What can you do to create an environment where customers genuinely want to transact with you?

Chris McCann is the CEO of 1-800-Flowers, a floral and gourmet food gift retailer and distribution company with over 3000 employees. The company was started back in 1976 when Chris’ older brother opened his first flower shop. In the 1980s Chris joined his brother in the business and they have been working together ever since.    Chris was named to the National Retail Federation's "The List of People Shaping Retail's Future 2018." And under his leadership, 1-800-Flowers was named one of 2017's most innovative e-retailers on the Internet Retailer 'Hot 100' list. This episode is brought to you by Cisco. Nearly overnight, the entire world has found itself adapting to a new way of working. The future of work requires a modern approach to collaboration – helping people securely connect wherever they work, while staying safe and being productive. Cisco is shaping this path forward. Visit https://futureofwork.webex.com/ to learn more. Chris actually studied political science in college with the hopes of being a lawyer. When he was back home for holidays and weekends he helped out with the family businesses which included his father’s painting business and his brother’s floral business. When the time came for him to decide whether or not to continue on to law school, his brother convinced him that there was great opportunity in the floral business, but no other company was filling that role at the moment. No one had taken the opportunity to become what Jim described as the McDonald’s or the Holiday Inn of the florist world.  When Chris realized there could be a great future in his brother’s business, he decided to jump in and try it. The brothers agreed to a six month contract and they have been renewing that contract 6 months at a time to this day. Chris is currently on his 72nd six month contract right now.  Learning to lead  Chris had worked other roles inside his brother’s business throughout the years, including delivering flowers to customers, but once he decided to go full time with his brother he soon took on a leadership role. He talks about the process and how he really learned along the way. Later on he did take some leadership courses at Cornell University, but in the early part of his career he had no formal training. Mostly he learned from other leaders he came to know, including the CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon and the former CEO of AXA Financial, Ed Miller.  Chris gave an example of a time when he had turned to Ed for advice when having to let a person go. “As we were growing our company, we had people that were with us for a long time. And sometimes you run into a situation where the job outgrows the person, but yet the person was very loyal to you and very important in growing the business early on. And letting that person go would be very, very difficult to do. And I remember having conversations with Ed about this. He said, “You're not being loyal to that person”. I said, “Well, I sure am, I'm keeping them in a job”. He said “no loyalty is making sure that every person on your team is in a position to succeed, whether inside your company or outside your company. So if the job has outgrown someone and you don't have a position in your company. It's your responsibility to do everything you can to get them the right job outside of your company”. And that really transformed the way I thought about people.”   Chris also learned a lot from his brother, who not only started the floral company, but he also worked full time as a social worker who helped troubled boys. Jim brought a mantra into 1-800-Flowers that he learned from his time as a social worker. When working with kids in difficult situations, Jim said, in order to connect with them and be able to help them he realized he first needed to build a relationship with them. So he brought that mantra into the business, you build a relationship first, you do business second. And that really shaped Chris as a leader.  How to lead in turbulent times Chris has had to lead his team through some very challenging times. He led the company during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, during the recession, and he is leading them now through the pandemic. When leading in times like this Chris says the most important things for leaders to focus on are communication and visibility.  He says that as leaders we need to communicate a lot more than usual during tough times to let people in the company know that you are on top of things and that you are looking out for their best interest. As leaders you also need to make sure you are visible to people during these times too. Even in normal times you shouldn’t be sitting in your office all day, but especially in times of turbulence people need to see you and they need to feel like you are accessible. People today are fearful and they have had their lives disrupted, they need to know that the mission of the company hasn’t changed, that they are still impacting the lives of their customers, and that the leaders of the company acknowledge times are hard.  As Chris shares, “There are some things that will not change, and that's our commitment to our vision, any company's commitment to their vision and their values is very important to be communicated to people. I think that at the same time, you have to be flexible, because you have to as a company respond to the changes being thrown at you. You don't have to change as a company, but you have to change the challenges being thrown out.  And then also, I think, the most important thing that we've done in this situation, which is different than the financial crisis, it's certainly different than the 9/11 attacks. The fact that people needed to know that every decision we made would be made with the safety and health of our associates, our customers, our vendors, first and foremost.” Dealing with tough decisions When it comes to making tough choices Chris has learned that the first thing leaders must do is make the decision very diligently, you can’t just react. It is important to take a step back, look at whatever data you have, and analyze all the impacts of your decision. In almost every decision there are positive impacts and there are negative impacts. Know what the positive impacts are and figure out how to manage the negative impacts appropriately.  “For example, if you close a facility, it may be the right decision for the business, it may be the right decision for the profitability of a company, but there's negative impacts on the people that are in that facility. What do you do for them? How do you help manage that process? It goes back to our earlier conversation about loyalty. So I think, as we look at this, you need to really understand the information, assess the possible outcomes. And then most importantly, I think, take responsibility. Once you make that decision, you can't pass that responsibility on to someone else. It's your responsibility to make sure it's successful.” You may have to involve other people in your decision, but regardless as the leader, the responsibility always falls back on you. So it is important to think decisions through carefully.  Dealing with imposter syndrome  It is very common for leaders to struggle with self doubt or a lack of confidence, especially when they don’t get formal training. Chris admits he feels imposter syndrome from time to time. When asked how he deals with it, Chris says it takes time and experience. Each time you face a tough decision or a problem within the company it will take you to the next level. And the more experience you have the more comfortable you will be to the point where you can feel like you know what you are doing and it doesn’t matter what others are doing because you are measuring your success based on the inputs and successes of the people around you. Chris shares a few theories he and his brother used in their business. He says, “I remember as we were growing our business early on, we said there are two management theories that we will follow. One we call the Nike theory. And it was just do it because there's nobody else here to do it. So figure it out and get it done. And then the other was the Reebok management theory. And Reebok at the time was all about cross training. And we made sure we did that, made sure we'd rotate people throughout the company. And as you do that, and you get experience in each of these different areas, you really build your own self confidence.”

A few years ago, I was asked to give a talk to a few thousand people. A week or so after the talk, the client sent me feedback from the attendees and it was...terrible! I scored below a 3 out of 5 and was shocked! I was confused and asked the client to send me the actual responses so I could see why I scored so low. As I read through the feedback it all made sense--context! For starters, from the thousands of people in attendance, only 60 filled out the form. As I read the comments I saw people complaining that there was no restroom break, they didn't like the food, it was too dark, it was too loud, etc. In other words, 95% of the feedback had absolutely nothing to do with me at all! Context matters a great deal in business and in life.

Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. She is also the bestselling co-author of two books, Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You.   In 2017 she joined Uber’s team as the first SVP of Leadership and Strategy to help the company navigate its public crisis in leadership and culture. She has a popular TED Talk titled How to Build (and Rebuild) Trust which has over 4 million views.  Frances has always been interested in operations--how things work and how to make things work better. But being interested in operations has led her work to focus on leadership. As she shares, “I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that if it weren't for the pesky humans, operations would work beautifully. And then I got super intrigued by the humans, and then realized that the humans were led. So then that took me to leadership aspects, but the technology and the operations have stayed strong. So most of the companies I've worked with have some, they're either being disrupted by technology or they're digitally native. But everything I do is around how to make people and organizations better.” Leadership is about making other people better In her book, Unleashed, Frances talks about one of the big assumptions that people have about leadership that is actually incorrect. For the last few decades the focus has been on building leaders up and getting them to inspect themselves. When actually leaders should be focused outside of themselves--it should be about making other people better first. Leadership isn’t about you, it is about other people.  Leaders should walk into a room and not want everyone to be thinking about them as a leader, but the leader should be the one thinking of everyone else and how to set those people up for success.  The problem with Uber and how they fixed it While teaching at Harvard Business School (HBS), one of Frances’ students approached her to convince Frances to have a conversation with Uber’s then CEO, Travis Kalanick. Due to several scandals and bad decisions the company was going through a very public crisis at the time in leadership and culture. After Frances and Travis talked for three days, Travis asked for her help and she officially joined the team in June of 2017.  She was prepared to stay until the job was done, and as she shares, they were able to turn things around much quicker than she had expected. At the core of what they did was a massive amount of executive education.  Frances shares the major underlying problem, “Of all the problems that were surfaced, well over 90% had to do with a person and their manager. There were 3000 managers at Uber. So there were either 3000 bad people, or Uber was doing something systematically to not set managers up for success. We very quickly found out that it was the latter. And here's what was going on, I get hired as an individual contributor, and then the company was growing so fast that like, five minutes later, you got promoted to a manager. You didn't have any training. And then five minutes after that, by the way, you became a manager of managers. Turns out that management is a skill, a skill that can be taught, but no one was teaching folks. So we had to teach people how to manage, like, how to give effective feedback, how to set goals, all of the basics, including then how to be inclusive. How to set people up for success. So that was one part, is that it was clear that managers were at the tip of the spear where the problems were, but it wasn't their fault and education would solve it.” From there Frances was able to get Uber and HBS to partner to create a training platform that was accessible to all 3000 managers across the world. Through this platform they gathered top experts in teams, globalization, leadership, etc...who then taught classes on things like how to build trust, how to set a team of people up for success, and how to design and shepherd a culture. This training continues on inside the company even to this day. And it has had a huge impact on how the company operates.  What to do when company values are weaponized Frances works with other companies, as she did with Uber, to help fix broken cultures. When asked if there has been anything she has tried that failed, she brought up the topic of weaponized company values. What is a weaponized value, you may ask. Frances explains it as taking an internal value, which may sound like a wonderful thing, and using it in a negative way for your own personal benefit. She gives the example of a value inside of Uber when she first arrived, which was Default to Trust. Now that sounds like a beautiful cultural value, basically saying let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt. But what was happening was senior leaders were taking that value and throwing it in the face of junior people who started questioning them. They used Default to Trust as, stop questioning and just do what you are told for their own selfish reasons.  The part that failed was that she thought the answer was to re-educate people and change the thought process behind the value that was twisted. But in those kinds of situations, Frances says, the only thing to do is get rid of the value altogether. Once a value has been weaponized there is no amount of re-education that can bring it back to the original intent. Let it go and come up with a new value.  The three elements needed for successful change In light of all of the challenging times we are facing around the world--including the global pandemic and the protests in America, Frances shared her advice to leaders on what to do in difficult times like these. There are a lot of CEOs and leaders around the world who are stepping forward and taking action for the better, but in order to make those changes sustainable there are three elements, Frances says, that have to be present. The three elements needed for successful change are:  Honor the past--Talking about the past in a sincere and detailed way is important in any change whether inside of an organization or a society. You need to say, some of you will remember we did this before, here’s what happened. Here are some good things that came from that, and here are some lessons we learned. Don’t assign blame to individuals, share the good and the bad and the lessons learned. Then explain the changes being made and why they will make things better.   A clear and compelling change mandate--This is the answer to the question “why now”? This is normally the hardest thing for a company to come up with, because if things are going well, it’s hard to get people to want to change. You have to be able, in a short and concise way show a super compelling reason why change is needed. You have to get people’s pulse up to get their entire heart and soul into the change.  Have an optimistic way forward--The way forward has to give hope, but it also has to be extremely thorough and detailed. What specific steps need to be taken to get us to a better future?

How is it that in an organization there are leaders who everyone hates, are scared of, and don’t want to work with, and in that same organization there are leaders who everyone admires, respects, and wants to work with?    In this mini-podcast episode, I talk about the two types of leaders and why we have these in our organizations.

Robert Glazer is the bestselling author of Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others. He is also the CEO of Acceleration Partners, a 13 year old company that manages affiliate and partner marketing programs for a lot of well known brands such as Adidas, LinkedIn, Target, Instacart, and Hotwire.  Robert has around 260,000 LinkedIn newsletter subscribers, he has a 100% approval rating as a CEO on Glassdoor, he is ranked #2 on Glassdoor's list of Top CEO of Small & Medium Companies in the US, his company has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating as a place to work, and 99% of employees would recommend the company to a friend. He frequently contributes to Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and Thrive Global and he is the host of the popular Elevate Podcast.    The team of 170 people at Acceleration Partners is 100% remote, and they have been since day one. So Robert knows the ins and outs of successfully leading a team that he doesn’t see in person every day. This is something that a lot of CEOs are having to learn on the fly now, as a large portion of organizations are moving to virtual during the pandemic.  How to create a culture for a remote workforce Robert shares that the key to having a successful remote team is by starting with the core values of the organization. Once you know your core values you can intentionally attract and hire the right people. Contrary to what happens in most organizations, Robert and his team understand that not every person will feel like the company is right for them.   A lot of organizations try to be the best place to work for everyone. But just as not everyone will like the same food, or the same music--not everyone is going to be a good fit for your company, and that is okay. As organizations we need to learn to embrace that fact. We need to be open and honest with potential hires about what it is really like to work inside the organization. It is not effective to sugar coat what their experience might be.  Robert says staying consistent in your core values is very important for building that culture. Inside of Acceleration Partners they reward and punish based on the company values, which are Own It, Embrace Relationships, and Excel & Improve. Those are the values that they consistently talk about and support. There is no question about what the company stands for and what they look for in their employees.  For people who feel that it is a good fit, the company has a lot of tools and resources that they utilize to help everyone feel connected. Employees use Slack to communicate, they have frequent video calls, they have regional in person meetups, and they have a company wide in person AP Summit at the end of each year.  But ultimately it is the people who create the culture. So having those core values set up from the beginning and using those for attracting and hiring is critical.  Four ways to elevate yourself In his book, Robert lays out four elements that go into bettering yourself. They are: Spiritual-- this is not religious, it is about knowing who you are and what you stand for. What do you want the most and what are the standards you live by each day. You need to know where you are going.  Intellectual-- This is how you get to where you are going. You need to have long term and short term goals. You have to establish routines and healthy habits.  Physical--If you don’t take care of yourself physically you will be too tired and unfocused to get things done. Eat healthy, exercise, take care of your body.  Emotional-- This is how you react to challenging situations and it affects the quality of your relationships  All of the individual elements impact each other. If you don’t take care of yourself physically you feel tired and sick. If you feel sick and tired you are more likely to be impatient with people around you, you can’t focus on your goals, you don’t stick to morning routines, etc...You have to have all of these elements balanced in order to effectively elevate yourself.  Robert has used these four elements to build the training for employees inside his company. He says, “We've always believed in investing in people holistically, like what are the things that we can train them on-- about health productivity, time management, leadership-- where they get better at work, but they also get better outside of work? They're better parents, they're better spouses, they're better children, brothers and sisters. Now is sort of the real breakthrough, what we’re seeing is 80% of our people, in leadership, have really grown up from within. We were able to get our people to keep growing with us because we were investing and building their capacity. So a lot of our training actually even revolves around this as part of that thing I mentioned before I take a bunch of leaders off and I work with them on their personal core values, I don't think you can be a good leader if you aren't clear what you value and you can communicate that, f you don't know how to set goals, if you don't know all these other things like these affect your performance overall.” How leaders can encourage others to build these capacities for themselves Leaders need to support their team holistically. As Robert shared, when employees are happy, healthy, engaged, and thriving outside of work they are going to show up to work ready to go.   Encourage employees to start book clubs or workout challenges. Provide access to learning platforms. Offer training on how to set goals or create healthy habits. Be sure to lead by example and work on these four elements in your own life as well.

The world is changing quickly. What do you need to know and do in order to be successful now and in the future? Hi, my name is Jacob Morgan, I’m a 4x best-selling author, speaker, and futurist and this show is all about you…helping you become more successful at work and in life. Each week you will get access to several episodes which range from longer interviews with with the world’s top business leaders. Educators, or authors to shorter episodes where I will share a specific hack, tip, or strategy that you can use to become more successful. From leadership, to the future of work, to employee experience this show will live you the insights and the tools you need to succeed and thrive both professionally and personally. If you want to future proof your career and your organization then this is the show for you! Make sure to follow me on Spotify on subscribe to the show on your favorite platform. You can do so easily by going to futureofworkpodcast.com 

How we think about hiring talent has been around for decades. We make them jump through hoops with evaluation tests, interviews, and more. One business leader even told me he asked the people interviewing him why they did things a certain way, to which they replied, “I don’t know. We’ve always done it like this.” Are we spending too much focusing on the process of finding top talent instead of on the talent itself? In this midweek podcast episode, I share stories about talented people not getting jobs because of the unnecessary process that companies use and why it shouldn't take months to hire a single person.

Liz Wiseman is a New York Times bestselling author of three books, including Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. She has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and in 2019 she was recognized as the top leadership thinker in the world. She is a researcher, an executive advisor, and the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm. Some of her recent clients include Apple, Disney, Tesla, Facebook, and Twitter.  Previously, she was the Vice President of Oracle University and the global leader for Human Resource Development at Oracle Corporation. She frequently guest lectures at BYU and Stanford University. In Liz’s book, Multipliers, she describes two types of leaders that we have all encountered--diminishers and multipliers. As Liz says, organizations cannot afford to have leaders who are diminishers. The good news is multiplier leadership can be learned and developed.  Diminishing leaders vs. multiplier leaders Liz gives a great metaphor for these two types of leaders. Diminishers tend to keep people on choke chains while multipliers let people off the leash, but they still hold on. It’s as though the employees are kites allowed to soar while the leader is still hanging on to the kite strings.  It’s not that diminishers are necessarily horrible people trying to control everything. As Liz shares, “Some of it comes from that micromanaging bully, narcissistic boss who, you know, gives you a little task to do rather than challenges and opportunities. But most of it's coming from what I call the accidental diminisher. And these are leaders who care about their people, want to be good leaders trying to do the right thing. Like in my case with Ben, I was just excited to be collaborating with him. Where I needed to say, this is yours let me back away. Hold the strings of the kite rather than suffocate you because of my enthusiasm.” The multiplier effect As Liz researched for her book she interviewed well-respected professionals and after asking them to identify some multiplier leaders they had worked for she asked them what percentage of their capability those leaders had been able to get from them. On average it was 95%, however she found that a lot of people gave answers of over 100%.  At first she challenged that, saying your intelligence and capability is always capped at 100%, it’s not possible to be over that. But these individuals said that the leaders were able to not only get 100% of their ability, but they stretched them and caused them to become smarter over time.  Liz says, “We know this, that intelligence. It languishes. It shrinks essentially when it's not used. And when intelligence is challenged and used and applied, it grows. We literally get smarter and more capable around certain kinds of leaders and people and colleagues and roommates and family members. And that is really the multiplier effect. It's getting all of people's capability plus a growth dividend. And then the dynamic that happens across an organization where people come to work knowing that not only are they going to be fully utilized, they're going to be challenged. That you need to show up, game ready. That's the multiplier effect.” The five disciplines of multipliers For the book, Liz analyzed data on over 150 leaders and she found several areas where multipliers and diminishers act similarly including customer service and market insight. But she found five active ingredients unique to multipliers. They are:   The Talent Magnet: They attract and optimize talent to its fullest. They get the best out of everyone, regardless of if the people report directly to them or not The Liberator: They require people’s best thinking. They create an atmosphere that is both comfortable and intense.  The Challenger: They extend challenges. They lay down challenges that stretch, but they also generate the belief that it can be done The Debate Maker: They debate decisions. By allowing people to debate decisions early on they help people understand the change and be a part of the execution.  The Investor: They instill accountability. They have high expectations, but they also provide necessary resources needed to deliver and sustain results.  Diminishing behaviors to watch out for There are several diminishing behaviors that leaders can look out for, and to do this you have to practice self-awareness. As a leader most likely you won’t have employees coming to you to point out your flaws, you have to be aware of them yourself.  One of the first behaviors Liz points out is being idea rich. If you as the leader provide all of the answers, all of the ideas, people around you tend to either get lazy or they are so busy running around trying to bring your ideas to fruition that they don’t have time to think of anything on their own. She suggests leaders keep a notepad or sticky notes around to write down ideas as they come up, and keep them to yourself until the next group meeting to discuss with your team.  Another behavior to watch out for is being optimistic all the time. Optimism in itself is not a bad thing, but there are times when individuals or the organization as a whole is going through a tough time. It is important to acknowledge the struggle sometimes. Especially as we look at the times we are going through now, try to understand what your people are going through and let them know you acknowledge this is a tough time.  A third one to be aware of is being a rapid responder. Liz says, “If the manager is so quick to respond. Then nobody else gets to do their job. Nobody else gets to take accountability because that manager has just taken it from them. So the little rule I use, I've had some rapid responder tendencies in the past is I use a 24 hour hands off rule, which means if an email comes in and one just came in on Friday, it was sent to me and one other person on my team who is actually the one responsible for this project. Well, I knew he was out for a bit. In a meeting and he wasn't going to get to this and my fingers on the keyboard. About to reply because I'm like, oh, this is important. And this person is going to want to hear from us. And I just take my fingers off the keyboard and I'm like 24 hours. Hands off. Which gives him a chance to come back from his meeting, come back from his son's Little League game, whatever it is, and take ownership and responsibility. But people can't take ownership for something unless the manager lets go of it.” By being aware of these behaviors, and other problem ones, and embracing the traits of multipliers we can get the absolute best from our team. Imagine what our organizations could do if we allowed our people to operate at 95% and greater.   

How do you get to inbox zero? Simple! Give those around you more autonomy and decision making power. One of the reasons why so many people have trouble reading all their email is because they are CC'd on everything. Chances are if you can't get to inbox zero it's because you are bad at time management, you don't delegate, you don't give autonomy and decision making power to others, and you are a micromanager. Want to clear your inbox? It has nothing to do with you! Empower your people!

HP has over 55,000 employees and like many other companies around the world they had to pivot to working virtually during COVID-19. HP was able to adapt very quickly and they have a lot of unique programs and tools in place to support their employees. Leading the way is Tracy Keogh, their Chief HR Officer and co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s global task force for Future of Work. Tracy and I talked at length in a recent episode of "The Future of Work With Jacob Morgan."  How to maintain a culture in a virtual setting Many leaders may be trying to figure out how to maintain corporate culture when all of the employees who are used to coming into the office every day now find themselves working from home. Tracy says, “I actually think you can maintain your culture. It's with every action and every program that you do even if you're not in the same office. I don't think I've ever seen our culture more alive or evident than during this pandemic. People are very attentive during these times. So I feel like you need to put culture first, as you're thinking about any activities or decisions that you're making.” A few examples of the things they put into place to help employees working from home include: Homework clubs--When employees moved to work from home Tracy interviewed 4 teachers so employees could listen in and learn from them. Then they broke up into homework clubs led by teachers to assist parents trying to navigate home education Themed days-- Motivational Mondays, Training Tuesdays, Wellness Wednesdays, Thoughtful Thursdays, and Family & Friends Fridays. Weekly call with medical director who answers questions from employees about issues related to health, wellness, & COVID-19. Online cooking classes A global dance party-- They hired a DJ and had a 12 hour dance party starting in one timezone and working its way across the world for all employees. Another crucial component here is leaders who are practicing empathy and emotional intelligence. As Tracy and I talked about, now is an important time for leaders to be human beings first and business leaders second. For example, one of the leaders at HP held a meeting where the employees all had their kids on their lap. The idea here is to take as much of the in-person aspect as you can and move it to the virtual world, but then organizations must build on top of those things with intentionally designed activities and programs. Digitization and re-skilling One of the biggest trends Tracy is currently paying attention to is digitization and re-skilling. Realizing this is important, HP has been focused on evolving the knowledge base of their employees. Tracy believes talent development in general looks very different now than it has in the past. She says, “I think we're moving more towards skills-focused versus role focus people, because people move in and out of different roles, but it's those skills that we need moving forward so that we really want athletes who can apply their different skills to solve problems in different ways, depending on the environment and the business challenge.” HP has also changed the way employees learn. While training is important, they realize that experience and projects play an important role in how employees learn new skills. The company works with employees to map out their career path to figure out what experiences and projects are best suited to where they want to go.  During COVID-19 HP actually took their merchandisers (who work in retail stores showing customers equipment and helping them make product and software decisions) and had them help with their customer service and support teams. HP wanted to find a way to keep these employees paid and on-staff so they focused on the skills that these employees and found other roles where those skills could easily be translated to. HP did the same thing with interns, moving them to a virtual setting (and keeping them paid). Overcoming difficult times There’s no doubt we are facing uncertain times, but it is up to us as individuals to decide how we are going to come out on the other side. Tracy says, “Try to look at the positive of the situation. This is an incredible learning opportunity. This is unprecedented in the world's history, that the whole world has had this kind of issue happen at the same time. And so taking some time and stepping back and thinking about what you've learned, how you've grown, what you've done well, what you wish you were better equipped to do and then figuring out, 'Okay, well, this is what I've learned about myself during this time. Then how do I look moving forward, to make myself smarter, stronger, more resilient, better, and what can I do in the future?' I think it's an amazing learning time. One of the things that I've given as gifts to most of my friends' children is a journal. Just to take time to write, it'll be something historic later on. When you look back that you were there in the pandemic of 2020, and what your thoughts and feelings were. I think taking that inventory and understanding that for people is important, and then looking back and seeing what you've learned and then how it propelled you forward, I think it will be really kind of the best thing to do about this. Take advantage of the opportunity." For leaders trying to navigate these times, Tracy’s advice is to connect with your people and show your leadership. Communication and listening to employees is key. HP has been taking frequent poll surveys to ensure all employees are supported and feel engaged. She says it is critical, especially in these times, to be transparent and open with employees. Even if you have tough messages to share. Empathy is also very important for leaders to show in this time.

According to the more than 140 #CEOs I interviewed, one of the most important #mindsets for future #leaders is that of the Chef which is all about balancing #humanity and #technology. Chefs usually have to balance many ingredients to create a beautiful and tasty dish. As a leader, you just need to balance the two and you need both of them. In this midweek podcast episode, I will be talking about the best way to balance technology and humanity in your company.  This episode is brought to you by Mitel. Don't compromise on business continuity. Mitel can meet all your business communications needs while working from home with all-in-one cloud calling, conferencing, collaboration, and contact center tools – free until 2021. Visit Mitel's https://bit.ly/mitelsponsors to learn more.

Most of us have had our lives disrupted by the current pandemic in some way. We have had to find new ways to connect with friends and family, we aren’t traveling as much (or at all), and we’re having to adapt to new ways of working and learning. Whitney Johnson is one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world and bestselling author of 3 books and as she told me during our discussion “if we’re going to manage the disruption, we need to disrupt ourselves.”   How to disrupt yourself and why it matters Clayton Christensen of the Harvard Business School was Whitney’s mentor and she co-founded The Disruptive Innovation Fund with him. It was Clayton who coined the term disruptive innovation, which he talked about in his book, Innovator’s Dilemma. The idea behind the term was that a small sometimes silly idea can take over the world, for example how the telephone disrupted the telegraph or how the automobile disrupted the horse and buggy. In more modern examples, we can see how Netflix disrupted Blockbuster and how Uber disrupted cabs. Whitney took that idea and instead of applying it to a product or a company she applied it to individuals--personal disruption. But she says there is one big difference between personal disruption and what Clayton was talking about. With personal disruption, you are both the small silly idea and the idea taking over the world. You are both Netflix and Blockbuster. You are both Uber and the cab company. As you can imagine this can pose a bit of a mental challenge.  Why should we disrupt ourselves? Whitney says, “the question you have to ask yourself is, do I wanna jump or do I want to get pushed? When you jump, you're acting. When you get pushed, you're going to feel pushed, and it will feel like a failure. And it's a very different equation around resilience and rebounding than if you've chosen to jump.” Disruption is going to happen, whether we want it to or not. We control whether we disrupt ourselves or let disruption happen to us.  The seven steps to managing the S-Curve of learning and mastery In Whitney’s book, Disrupt Yourself, she gives seven accelerants that can help you speed up your learning and mastery.  She says “The idea is, the base of the S the growth is slow until you reach a tipping point or you near the curve and you move into hyper growth. And then you get to saturation, the growth tapers off. That insight could help us understand how we learn. It could help us understand how we grow, how we develop. So, whenever you start something new, you are at the base of an S. Whether it's a new project, a new job, whether it's dealing with COVID-19, you're at the base of the S and growth is happening, but it can feel very slow. It can look like a slog. But knowing that helps you avoid discouragement. And then you put in the effort, and you accelerate competence and confidence and engagement. The idea of personal disruption is, you move up that S-curve, you learn and then you leave and then you repeat. You do that over and over again, and the faster you're able to do it, the higher-growth individual you can become.” The seven steps are: Take on market risk - The idea of playing where no one else is playing. We are much more likely to be successful if we can be the one to create instead of waiting to compete with others who have already created.  Play to your distinctive strengths - lean into what you do well, and mitigate the weaknesses that derail you. Embrace your constraints--Your constraints could be time, money, supporters, etc. Whatever they are, embrace them and use them to your advantage. Tension positively impacts innovation. Don't look at what you don't have, focus on what you do have. Battle your sense of entitlement - Don’t sit back and wait for things to come to you. You are no more or less important than anyone else. Put yourself out there and make it happen because as I always say, nobody is going to look out for you...but you. Step back to grow - Your journey to success isn’t a straight line. Sometimes in order to disrupt yourself you may have to take a few steps back to ultimately move forward. It's analogous to trying to summit a mountain. Sometimes you may climb up high only to realize you need to go back down a bit to take an alternate path to the top. Give failure its due - The more you are willing to fail, the faster you will get better. We have to separate the act of failing with the emotional response of shame. We all fail, it's a part of life. What matters is how you respond to failure and how you talk to yourself about failure. Be driven by discovery - Take a step forward, gather feedback, and adapt. One of the most crucial mindsets that leaders need to possess is that of The Explorer.   When working to become a high-growth individual, it’s all about patience It’s so easy for us as humans to want fast results. But when it comes to disrupting ourselves, Whitney says patience is key. “I started running January of last year and I said I'm going do five minutes a day. Up until that time, I would get really impatient, thinking 'I've gotta get good at running fast.' Impatient me would have been like, 'I need to run a 5K by April,' so now we're in May of 2020. I have not run a 5K but yesterday, when I ran, I was at 39 minutes. I've gone from five minutes to 39 minutes because I've been patient. So I think for anybody who wants to be a high-growth individual, it's that idea of interest and compounding effect is just put in the time, day after day after day, and you will suddenly become that high-growth individual you wanna be.” This episode is sponsored by Mitel. Don't compromise on business continuity. Mitel can meet all your business communications needs while working from home with all-in-one cloud calling, conferencing, collaboration, and contact center tools – free until 2021. Visit mitel.com/jacob to learn more.  

As we grow older and learn new things, regrets are pretty normal. Regrets are not always about life-changing decisions, they can also mean things that could have made your life easier if you knew them earlier. In this mini-podcast episode, I share two pieces of advice that I would give my younger self. How about you? What would you say to your younger self?    This episode is sponsored by Cisco Webex. They are launching ‘The Future of Work’ to help you understand the trends transforming the workplace and navigate the new normal. Filled with insights and expertise dedicated to the future of work, you’ll find all you need to transform your workplace. Check it out at  https://bit.ly/fowwebex 

Companies are going through difficult times right now with the current pandemic, and while Pehr is not currently the CEO of a company, he is no stranger to leading during challenging circumstances, including recessions. When asked how current leaders are handling organizations during this tough time, Pehr says there is one critical thing that leaders are not doing a good enough job with.    Putting people ahead of profits There are very few leaders today who are actively putting the well-being of their people ahead of profits. Pehr says, “I put people before profits in the sense that if I don't have good people, we could not have productivity, we could not go to have our aspirations come true unless we have good people. So I have people before profits and it's not declining profits. I think that profits are very important for any shareholder company and that the shareholder should have their part of course, but that the people will create it.” He says companies today are not only laying people off, but they are doing it brutally. And that’s not the way to lead. During the recessions Pehr went through as a CEO he made it a priority to take care of his people and to protect the most vulnerable. Because of that his employees trusted him, they were more motivated, and they felt safe.  Creating meaning and purpose for employees The backbone of any organization is it’s people, if you want to succeed your people have to be happy, motivated, engaged, etc… Pehr did a lot at Volvo to prioritize the well-being and purpose of his employees. He actually got rid of the whole assembly line in order to keep employees from getting injured.  Instead of having employees work on a small piece of a part that was moving down the line they were able to work on a whole part of the car while it was stationary. “That made them save, first of all, their hands and their body, so they were never injured, they didn't have to run after a product or walk with a product. And they could also do a whole part of a car, which is something that is satisfaction, that if you do the whole body, if you do the interior, if you do the mounting of the engine and the transmission, that is a full cycle of work, and it's meaningful, compared to having a simple tool and just mounting something that you know what it would become, but it was meaningless.” Pehr understood that employees completing a mundane, partial job would cause frustration and boredom. And when people are bored quality declines.  Another thing Pehr made sure to do as a CEO was to have a presence with his employees. He didn’t hide away in a corner office, he walked through the factory and talked with individuals. And he says this is important not only for factory settings, but for a CEO in any industry. Take the time to get to know your people.  Advice for leaders of the future In his upcoming book, Pehr reflects on what he learned as CEO of Volvo. He says, “In reflecting on what has been formative in my own life, I consider the consequential parts, not to be things or titles, but people. When a company or an organization has been the most rewarding, it has always been due to the people that the company or organization brought into my sphere, people I had the privilege of getting to know.” This quote really speaks volumes to who Pehr is as a leader and his belief in putting people first.  When asked for advice on how to implement this way of leading, Pehr said he thinks a lot of it has to do with a person’s upbringing and attitude about life. It’s not something that can easily be taught, but more so something you have to have from within.  He says leaders have to have sympathy with their whole team, regardless of what role they have. You can’t play favorites. He also believes it is a mistake to hire only people who think and act like you do, even if you get along with them best. “If you don't have people that are unlike you and that bring something to you, then it won't work well. To have pals around you is not the way to run a business and the people who are underneath the top management, they will see it very quickly.”

One of the most important skills future leaders should have is self-awareness. Being aware of your own flaws so that you can improve on them is a sign of great leadership.    In this week’s mini-podcast episode, I explore self-awareness in-depth and share stories and examples of how to practice it.   This episode is sponsored by Cisco / Webex. They are launching ‘The Future of Work’ to help you understand the trends transforming the workplace and navigate the new normal. Filled with insights and expertise dedicated to the future of work, you’ll find all you need to transform your workplace. Check it out at https://bit.ly/fowwebex

This episode is brought to you by Cisco Webex. To help navigate our new reality and its impact on workplace transformation, Cisco Webex is launching The Future of Work; a destination to help you understand the trends transforming the workplace; highlighting remote work as well as workstyles, innovative workspaces and integrated workflows for teams. To learn more visit futureofwork.webex.com   Joy and happiness are two very important aspects of life, and they are just what we need now as we face difficult times around the world. What is happiness and joy to you? We all have times that we struggle to find one or both. In her book, Ingrid shares a moment of awareness that changed her life. She shares, “Joy isn’t hard to find. In fact, it’s all around us”. Before we are able to create more joy and happiness at work and at home, we first need to define them separately, because a lot of times they get grouped together.     The important distinction between joy and happiness In our quest to live fulfilled lives, it is important to understand the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is a long-term, ongoing evaluation of how we feel about our relationships, health, work, purpose, etc...Usually we evaluate this based on a certain period of days, weeks or months.    Joy, on the other hand, is an intense momentary experience. Things that make you laugh, smile, make you feel alive. It may be spending time with family, enjoying time working on a hobby you’re passionate about, a celebration, great conversation with friends, etc... In other words, joy is the little moments that build up to happiness.    As Ingrid shares, we may not notice it but we tend to put off joy in our pursuit of happiness. She says, “When we focus on happiness, when we are asking ourselves this question, "Am I happy, am I happy?" Often what we focus on are the big things. So we focus on, "I gotta get that promotion, I gotta buy that house, I gotta find my partner." And a lot of those things are not in our control fully, and a lot of them are things that to get them we put off joy. So we say, "Okay, I gotta get that promotion, so I'm not gonna go see my parents this weekend. I'm not gonna go hang out with friends. I'm not gonna do that hobby that I've been dying to take up. I'm gonna put that off until after I get the promotion." And then what happens, we get the promotion, and then we need more. We settle in and we're looking toward the next milestone, and so joy falls by the wayside.” Why you should stop thinking about happiness entirely A lot of our struggle with “finding” happiness and knowing if we are living a happy life is the vagueness of the word. We tend to treat happiness as a future state, something to achieve, a destination. Once we get to our destination of happiness, everything will be great. The problem is, we never truly arrive at an end.    We think we will be happy once we get that promotion, or the new house, or have our first child, or have enough money to go on that trip. But once that milestone is over, we don’t stop and say “that’s it, I’ve achieved life”, we go on to the next milestone. It is never ending, so having that mindset will only lead to disappointment.    So what should we do? Ingrid says we should stop thinking about happiness altogether. Instead we need to focus on adding moments of joy into our lives. She says, “If you know that adding little moments of joy to your day adds up to not just to happiness overall but to... That it reduces stress, that it increases our resilience by lowering those physiological responses to stress and also facilitating more adaptive coping mechanisms. We're more likely to grow from a crisis, for example, or from a difficult time at work if we invite little moments of joy into our struggle. So, it impacts our health. It impacts our connections. We have greater trust and intimacy when we have little moments of joy that we share with our partner. It impacts I talked about productivity and cognition. So if we know that these little moments of joy are helping us in all these different ways, I focus on that. I'm like, "Okay, how can I create a few more moments of joy today, this week, in my marriage, in my work? How do I create those things? How do I share them with others?" And the happiness takes care of itself”.   The 10 aesthetics of joy In her book Ingrid shars 10 aesthetics of joy, which are ways in which we can create these little moments of joy in our lives. They are energy, abundance, freedom, harmony, play, surprise, transcendence, magic, celebration, and renewal. She shared a few of them with me in depth.    Play is one of our most direct roots to joy. Play is how we find new ideas, adapt to change, explore the world, break out of our comfort zones. Ingrid says “It’s one of the most mysterious but most essential tools for survival.” One example of how to bring play to a work context is keeping a game on your desk as a reminder of the need for play at work.    In order to feel a sense of joy, we have to feel physically free. But Ingrid’s research also found that while we like to be free, we also don’t like to be fully exposed. We need prospect--we need a view of our surroundings and an idea of what’s happening around us. And we need refuge--a protected space to hide out. In an office setting this translates into having a workspace with both open space and closed off areas for employees to use. This gives employees a feeling of freedom.     Celebration is what happens in a moment of intense joy when our joy feels so contagious that it draws other people in. Celebration can be spontaneous or planned. It can be shown through singing, dancing, food, etc...In the workplace this is one thing we can definitely improve upon. We tend to celebrate birthdays in a plain, boring break room with a cake, and maybe a banner. It’s not very joyful. Ingrid suggests that instead of celebrating birthdays, organizations should celebrate more work-relevant events. Join dates, promotions, successes, and even failures.    Bringing joy to work Even if you don’t love your job, you can find moments of joy anywhere you work. Some things that you can start doing today to create more joy at work include being more curious, thinking back to what you liked to do as a child, make space and time for joy, keep items that spark joy on your desk, and give yourself permission to find joy. Plan time on your calendar to focus on joy if you need to. For leaders, lead by example and show your employees how to bring joy to the office.    To leaders, Ingrid says, “Joy starts at the top. If you don't model the behavior of demonstrating that joy is important within your organization, it won't carry any weight because people are so used to the mentality that joy is extraneous, it's not important, I'm not supposed to bring that to work, that it needs to be modeled at the top. And I've seen this in working at IDEO, you see it very, very clearly that leaders at IDEO are joyful. David Kelley, founder of IDEO, is a joyful guy, and he brings that to his work. And he's playful and he tells his funny stories, and sometimes they're stories of failure and they're... But it's a maybe a vulnerable thing. I think recognizing that it may take some vulnerability on your part to feel safe to express joy and exhibit joy in that way.”

Have you fallen into the trap of constantly working and feeling the need to keep pushing, no matter how exhausted and worn down you feel? We’ve all been there. In fact, many companies and people have the mentality that in order to succeed, you have to constantly hustle and work non-stop, even when you’re tired. But that’s not true. To set yourself up for success, you need to take breaks. When you’ve been working hard for a long time, things start to catch up with you. If you’re physically exhausted or mentally spent, you can’t do your best work. Your brain and body need to rest and re-energize. Pushing hard can work for a short-term goal or project, but it isn’t sustainable in the long term. A break doesn’t have to be a long hiatus. Even taking a day or half a day to focus on the things you need to do to get yourself back into the physical, mental, and emotional state to perform your best can make a difference. Spend time with family and friends, exercise and get outdoors, or spend time on a non-work hobby. Work on tasks that don’t require a lot of brainpower or creative energy, such as responding to emails, getting organized, or reaching out to people. Acknowledge that you’re tired, physically or mentally, and give yourself the time to step back and recharge. No one can go full speed all the time. Remember that your life and career is a marathon, not a sprint. There are times where you’ll need to push harder, but there’s also times when you need to allow yourself to take a break. If you want to be at your peak performance levels, you’ve got to relax your brain and body and allow yourself time to recharge. Push past any guilt you may feel about taking a break and think of how it will help you in the long run. Rest, recharge, re-energize. Your body and mind will thank you for the break.  

Mark is a business advisor with over 20 years of experience helping Global 1000 and start-up companies to create new growth strategies, navigate disruptive innovation, and manage corporate transformation. He is the co-founder and Senior Partner of Innosight, a strategic innovation consulting and investing company. Prior to that Mark was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and a nuclear power trained surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy.    This episode is brought to you by Cisco Webex. To help navigate our new reality and its impact on workplace transformation, Cisco Webex is launching The Future of Work; a destination to help you understand the trends transforming the workplace; highlighting remote work as well as workstyles, innovative workspaces and integrated workflows for teams. To learn more visit futureofwork.webex.com   Every company wants to be more innovative in order to stay relevant, to be successful, to bring in the best talent, and to help the world. But innovation takes planning, effort, focus, and intentionality. So what is keeping companies from being innovative? Mark shares three barriers to breakthrough innovation and how we can overcome them.    Barriers to Breakthrough Innovation Mark has been an advisor and consultant to many Global 1000 and start-up companies and one thing that companies keep coming to him to figure out is how they can foster disruptive breakthrough innovation.    Mark says, “You'll hear companies talk about, we've gotta be more innovative. And what they really mean is, a specific kind of innovation, they mean, how do we get beyond our core? How do we get out from underneath ourselves and do something that really gets us into the new and different? And so, they're looking for that more disruptive breakthrough kind of innovation. And what we find is, most breakthrough innovation efforts stall or breakdown or fail, either because there's; one, not enough resources invested upfront to really give it the kind of wherewithal it needs to succeed. Two, when there's challenges in the core, or there's just general difficulties and priorities to do other things that resources will get pulled from breakthrough innovation efforts. And then finally, leadership tends to get impatient with sometimes the incubation and development period that these growth efforts take. So those are the familiar kinds of problems that happen with breakthrough growth specific to the efforts, but we also find leadership teams themselves just suffer from, as we know all the time, just being very short-sighted and short-term-ism, the importance of profitability over sustainability. So there are all these incentives and biases that crop up in the way that further break these things down.” In response to these challenges Mark formalized a way of thinking that can help leaders overcome these barriers and stay relevant. We need to move away from how we traditionally think about vision statements, strategy and long term planning and start leading from the future.    How Companies Normally Think About the Future and Why it Needs to Change Traditionally when trying to plan for the future companies have used what has been termed as a present forward mindset. What does that mindset look like? Mark says, “basically you take the existing structure and processes and rules and norms of today and you put that within a business, and you try to continue to extend that forward by both incremental and breakthrough innovations that are tied towards improvement of the core. And there's nothing wrong with that, in fact, organizations do need to operate and execute, they need to continue to do product development, they need to drive marketing and R&D for the sake of continuing to serve the current set of customers or consumers, that is something that needs to move forward. But the challenge is, if that's all that you do, you're making this huge assumption that businesses can be extended out indefinitely over time, and as we know, if you take the horizon far enough, there's likely to be severe commoditization to a business or real disruption, things that create discontinuities just like in the crisis today.”   So what mindset does Mark suggest we move to? He termed it future back, where you look out to the future (about 5-10 years) to develop your vision and you work your way back to present day to see what strategy you need to put in place to get there. How far you look into the future will vary from company to company, so it is important that you and your team work together to come up with the appropriate time horizon for your type of business.    No matter how far you look out, one important thing to note, you cannot come up with a future picture and a long term plan and think that’s it. Companies who either come up with this plan once and never revisit it, or who think they can come up with one plan and keep their heads down for several years getting there are not going to succeed.    Use this long term goal as a north star that gives hope and inspiration, but you have to bring that narrative to life by revisiting it often, be in the mode for learning, experiment with different things. It has to be able to be adjusted as time goes on as the rest of the world changes.    How to Implement Future Back Thinking in Three Phases  In his book, Mark shares the three phases we go through to implement future back thinking. They are:   Develop an inspiring vision--this is not your typical 1-2 sentence vision statement. It’s about developing a clear-eyed view about what the next 5-10 years look like for the world and then for your specific company Translate it into a clear strategy--If vision is about being a storyteller, then strategy is about becoming an engineer. After creating inspiration, hope, and purpose behind what the organization wants to achieve you have to translate that into something tangible that you can act on Prepare for and manage its implementation--This step is about implementation and milestones, but a huge piece of this is also about setting the organization up for success. You have to have the right leaders in place and you have to carve out the resources (and keep them carved out) needed.   What Non-Leaders Can Do to Move Their Company to Future Back Thinking If you are not a leader inside of your organization is there a way you can help push your team to start using future back thinking? Mark says, “I think we all have an opportunity to spread language and a way of thinking, and hopefully, leadership will pick up on that. I think reinforcing the importance based on case examples of visionary organizations that are able to... Be able to inspire the organization and then practically think of ways to anticipate alternative paths in the short-term, like what we do in the COVID crisis. And then do not think of anything as one and done, but remain agile and willing to pivot and that think in the sense of humility as being behind learning and learning being behind innovation. All of this, I think, by language alone and principles can turn an organization, and it's not just leadership that can do that, people everywhere can influence by what they say and what they talk about.”

With the current pandemic, millions of people around the world are working from home. This will likely continue over the coming months, and everyone should adjust to this new normal way of working. In this week’s mini-episode of The Future of Work Podcast, I’m sharing tips on how you can effectively lead a virtual team from the comfort of your own home. This episode is sponsored by Cisco Webex. To help companies navigate the new reality of #remotework, they are hosting a future of work marathon series with customers and industry experts. Make sure to check it out at https://bit.ly/webex0504

Leaders especially are constantly running around trying to "put out fires." But, what if there was a way to stop the fires from happening to begin with? That is the premise of Dan Heath's new book: Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen. Dan is the best-selling author of six books five of which he wrote with his brother Chip Heath (who I had on my podcast a little while ago). These books include classics such as: Made to Stick, Switch, and The Power of Moments.   How do we stop chasing fires and start preventing them? It's all about Upstream thinking. You can listen to the full in-depth conversation with Dan below   This episode is brought to you by Cisco Webex. To help companies navigate the new reality of remote work, join us for a live future of work marathon series with customers and industry experts: #RemoteWork - The Future of Work is Now. The Upstream Parable Back in 2009 Dan heard a parable that is well known in public health and it really resonated with him. It is what inspired him to write the book. He tells it like this, “You and a friend are having a picnic on the bank of a river. And you've just laid down your picnic blankets, you're about to have your meal when you hear a shout from the direction of the river. You look back and there's a child thrashing around in the water, apparently drowning. So you both dive in, you fish the child out, you bring them to shore. Just as you're starting to calm down you hear another shout. You look back, there's a second child splashing around again, apparently drowning and so back in you go. You fish them out, then there are two more children who come along right behind and so begins this kind of revolving door of rescue, where you're in and out, and fishing kids out and it's exhausting work. And right about that time, you notice your friend is swimming to the shore, steps out, starts to walk away as though to leave you alone, and you cry out, "Hey, where are you going? I need your help. All these kids are drowning" and your friend says, "I'm going upstream to figure out who's throwing all these kids in the river." And that is the problem with most organizations. We are too focused on our own work and trying to quickly solve any issues that come up in order to just keep moving forward - we reward busy work. The result is an endless cycle of putting out fires as they come, when instead we should be able to recognize recurrent problems so we can get to the root cause. If we can find out how to fix the systems that cause the problems in the first place, we would save so much time and energy.  How to move from downstream thinking to upstream thinking Inside of most companies employees are divided into separate functions--marketing stays in the marketing department, sales in sales, HR in HR and so on. This setup is not conducive for upstream thinking as it keeps everyone secluded and not working together to address problems. As Dan told me: "Focus in organizations is both an enemy and an ally. It's an ally in the sense that when we get people focused on particular measures or a particular area of responsibility, it makes them more efficient. But, focus is also an enemy in the sense that it blinds you to things that are just slightly outside of your box." Dan gives a great real life example from the travel website, Expedia. One employee working in the customer experience group was looking through some data from their call center and he found that for every 100 people who booked a flight through their site, 58 of them were calling for help. This employee saw something wrong with that picture, since the company’s whole business model is self service travel planning. Call center agents are focused on things like reducing call time and the number of issues, they don't ever ask "hey, how can I keep Jaco from calling to begin with?" What this employee discovered was the number one reason people were calling was to get a copy of their itinerary, which should be an easy task. So this employee and his boss went to the CEO with the data and convinced the CEO to create a task force to address the issue. The task force met together and found multiple ways to address this problem and they saved the company 100 million dollars.  This is such a great story, because this employee could have easily ignored the data, no one was complaining. Everyone answering phones in the call center was just taking these calls and quickly assisting people over and over again. But had they ignored it they would have wasted countless hours and resources. Here's another example from Linkedin who was actually a research sponsor for new book, The Future Leader. Dan Shapero is the Chief Business Officer at Linkedin and as many of you know, Linkedin has a recruiting tool you can subscribe to. It's an annual subscription and the general process was that around month 11, Dan and his team would see which accounts haven't been that active and then they would try to swoop in and try to get these people to renew for the following year. But then Dan started to wonder if there was a way to get earlier warning of who would churn. It turns out that Linkedin has tons of data but they never really used it. They could actually get a good sense of who is going to churn by around week 4! So instead of investing a ton of resources towards the end of the process, they decided to invest more in the on-boarding of new subscribers. This change resulted in tens of millions of dollars in profit. This all happened because of the shift from Downstream thinking (how do we get as many people to renew) to Upstream thinking (how do we keep people from NOT wanting to renew in the first place?). Three main barriers to upstream thinking In the book Dan lays out three main barriers to upstream thinking. They are: Problem blindness--We cannot solve a problem when we don’t perceive it as a problem. Lack of ownership--It is easy for us to lay blame on others instead of owning it. We all have influence in situations, we just don’t always use it. Tunneling-- We adopt tunnel vision because we want to keep moving forward. If we hit an obstacle we want to get it behind us as quickly as possible and continue on. It is so easy to stay in our rut. As Dan shares, “our schedules are so overloaded that we're so locked in, head down, that we forget that there's even another mode to be in. And yet, if we want our work to improve, it has to be at that level, it has to be at the level of stamping out problems rather than just reacting to them again and again.” We adapt to irritants, when we don’t have to Humans are extremely adaptable creatures, we can block out what we don’t want to pay attention to, but that’s not always a good thing. One example Dan gave was this, “I came across this woman who told me she had just been moved physically within her office so she had just taken over a new desk, and her desk was right by a stairwell door. And they're often reinforced so they're heavy doors, and this thing just creaked like crazy and it drove her nuts, and of course a lot of the people around had kind of adapted to it. And a couple of days of this thing just distracting her, she finally just brought in a can of WD-40 from home and generously lubed up the hinges on the door. All the sudden it was quiet, just perfectly quiet and she said her office mates treated her like she had come down from on high. They were just in awe that she had solved this problem. And I think that's a great example of where our capacity to adapt as human beings is actually maybe a little bit too powerful. That we adapt to things in our lives and in our work, and even in our country that we needn't have adapted to that we could have solved with just a little bit of forethought.” To hear more real-life examples of upstream thinking and get more of Dan's insights listen to the full interview by clicking the play button.

Change is a natural part of life, but it’s also naturally difficult for most people. But in order to make progress in our careers, businesses, and lives, we’ve got to be willing to make changes and be open to new ways of doing things.   There are two types of change: linear and exponential. When most of us think about change, we tend to think about linear change. That means moving forward one step at a time for consistent but small progress. But the pace of change is increasingly so quickly, we really need to be thinking about exponential change.    I love the thought experiment created by futurist Ray Kurzweil. He puts it this way: if you were to take 30 linear steps, where would you end up? Not far from where you first started. In fact, you could likely look back and easily see where you began. But if you took 30 steps exponentially, you would make tremendous progress. After 30 exponential steps, you would end up traveling around the earth 26 times. That’s a massive distance and so far from where you originally started. The difference is simply changing from thinking about linear progress to exponential progress.   We live in an exponential world. Things are changing rapidly, especially with the development and application of new technology. We can’t afford to think about linear change when everything around us is changing exponentially. To be successful, we have to adjust our thinking and take linear and assumptions and adjust them for an exponential world.   The potential for growth is huge by simply changing your thinking. When you consider exponential thinking, you can uncover new opportunities and move yourself forward much faster. It’s time to leave linear change behind and focus on exponential change.    Before Covid-19 sent most of us home to work, the workplace was already rapidly transforming. To help companies navigate this new reality, join Cisco Webex for a live future of work marathon series with customers and industry experts: Remote Work - The Future of Work is Now. Visit https://bit.ly/webex0504 to learn more.

Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, a former public company CEO, and bestselling author of Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries. He was also on President Obama’s Council of Science Advisors and it was during that time that he started down the path that would lead him to write Loonshots.    What Safi realized was that there is a better way to change the culture of an organization. When giving his explanation he uses the example of a glass of water. When the water is room temperature you can swirl the water with your finger and it will slosh around. But when the temperature is lowered and the water freezes it becomes rigid and you cannot insert your finger anymore.    He says, “You can think of culture as that pattern of behavior that you see on the surface. You have a wildly political culture or a very innovative culture. You have molecules that are totally rigid or they're sloshing around. You can think of structure as what's underneath that drives those patterns of behavior. So in a glass of water, a small change in temperature can transform you between those two behaviors. So the reason it matters so much is that no amount of yelling at your employees to, "Hey, everybody, let's innovate more," or, "Let's watch two-hour movies about brotherhood or sing Kumbaya." All of that stuff won't make much difference, just like yelling at a block of ice, "Hey, molecules, could you all loosen up a little bit?" It's not gonna melt that block of ice. But a small change in temperature can get the job done. A small change in temperature can melt steel. And so that's what the core idea is. It's what are those equivalents of the small change in temperature or sprinkling salt in a glass of water, that can have a big impact on the patterns of behavior that you see on the difference between a political culture versus an innovative culture.”   How do you change your organization’s “temperature”? Essentially it is about what the leaders reward and what they celebrate. If you reward rank only, then your organization is going to have a very political culture because everyone is fighting against each other to get a higher rank. On the other hand, if you reward and celebrate intelligent risk taking and results, then Safi says you “naturally create environments where people are pulled to innovate rather than pushed or yelled at from the top to innovate.”    Leaders also need to get to know their individual employees in order to personalize incentives. Not everyone is motivated by money. Some people are motivated by new opportunities, some by having a choice in what projects they work on, some want to get public recognition. The more you can personalize rewards, the better.    Of course, CEOs of large companies don’t usually have the time to figure out what every employee is motivated by, and that is why Safi believes every organization should have a person or a team in place to create and maintain these personalized incentive packages. Just like organizations have a Chief Revenue Officer and a Chief Technology Officer, they should also have a Chief Incentives Officer.    “If you're running a company, which would you rather have? A workforce that's got the best gadgets of anybody in your industry or the most motivated workforce in your industry? Personally, I'd rather have the most motivated workforce. Yet, what companies have as they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Chief Technology Officers. And then, you know HR is sort of a back-office afterthought. But imagine if you thought of it strategically. You have a budget. How do you think just as strategically about using that budget to incentivize your people? Like you do with a Chief Revenue Officer to use your marketing budget or a Chief Technology Officer to get the best product. What if you could make that a weapon?” What you will learn: How small changes can have a big impact on the culture of an organization The best way to approach incentives Safi’s unique advice for entrepreneurs Whether or not we should get rid of hierarchy The two forces working in every organization and how to manage them What is intelligent risk-taking and why leaders should encourage it

When I travel to speak or attend conferences, people are often surprised that I work so closely with my wife. We each run our own business, but we spend most of our day working within just a few feet of each other in our home office. To some people, working in such close quarters with your spouse sounds difficult, but we’ve been able to create a positive environment where we encourage each other and play major roles in each other’s success. It isn’t always easy, but it’s definitely a great situation overall. Here are my top three tips for working with your spouse: Take time and space  I won’t pretend that every minute of every day is great. At times, we both need to step away and take a break from each other. It can be as simple as putting in headphones, going on a walk, or taking our work to a coffee shop for a few hours. Don’t feel bad about needing to take time or space for yourself — it’s natural to need a break. The important thing is being open with your spouse and having the agreement that you can take a break when you need so that the other person doesn’t get upset or offended. Respect boundaries Just because you’re working in close proximity to your spouse doesn’t mean you need to be in their business all day. It can be tempting to want to chat with them or ask for their feedback on projects all day, but doing that can be annoying and seriously limit how productive you both are. Set boundaries and respect them. Understand when the other person is working and needs to focus. Just like you wouldn’t bug a co-worker in an office with a question every five minutes, don’t do it to your spouse. Help each other One of the best parts of working with my wife is being able to pick her brain and get her help on projects. We ask each other questions and give each other advice regularly throughout the day at times that work for both of us. We support each other to be as successful as we each can be, which is beneficial for our businesses and our marriage. Working with your spouse can be incredibly rewarding. It’s been a great experience for my wife and I to build each other up as we build our businesses. But it definitely comes with a learning curve. These tips can turn working with your spouse into a pleasant experience that preserves your marriage.   This episode is sponsored by Linkedin Learning, they help employees achieve their goals with insights-driven course recommendations and relevant, high-quality content. If you want a free demo, just visit this page.

Dr. Steven Rogelberg is the Chancellor’s Professor at UNC Charlotte. He is a professor of Organizational Science, Management, and Psychology as well as the Director of Organizational Science. He has over 100 publications addressing issues such as team effectiveness, leadership, employee well-being, and meetings at work.    Steven is also the author of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance, which is based on his 20 years+ of research on the topic of meetings.    Most of us have to deal with meetings on a regular basis, whether they are in person meetings or virtual, and they can feel like a waste of time. But Steven says, the solution to bad meetings is not to get rid of all meetings, he says that would be a dangerous approach. “Meetings are really an evolution in the world of work. It's a recognition that organizations can be better with and through people. As organizations basically recognized that employee voices would be helpful and meaningful, they wanted to develop systems and approaches to capture those voices. And that's really where meetings come in. So a world without meetings is actually much more problematic. We need meetings for communication, cooperation, consensus decision-making, and in many regards, organizational democracy takes place in meetings.”   So, if we shouldn’t just get rid of meetings, what is the solution? Steven has found that there are many problems with meetings that we need to address in order to make horrible meetings into great ones. He says, “There's no magic formula for an ideal meeting. The research doesn't suggest that you can do A, then B, then C, and bam, that's the ingredients for an ideal meeting. What the research suggests is that the best meeting leaders have something in common. And what they have in common is a similar mindset and it's the mindset of being a good steward of others' time. And when you have that mindset, you start to become intentional. You start to think about various decision points that exist when you're running a meeting. You just don't dial it in. So you start to ask yourself, "Why are we meeting? What do we truly need to accomplish? Who really needs to be there? What's the best way of getting this work done?" I'm sure we'll talk later about the fact that there are some alternative techniques such as leveraging silence in meetings, that can be very, very powerful. So the key characteristic of an excellent meeting is a meeting that's designed in an intentional way and a way that truly honors the time of those that are attending.”   A few things you can start to implement right now include: Intentionally picking a time length for the meeting --don’t just default to 30 or 60 minutes Only invite people who are essential to the meeting. If others are interested you can tape the meeting and share it with them later Utilize silence in the meeting--this allows ideas to freely flow without interrupting each other and it helps introverts to participate The leader should facilitate the conversation, but they should not be the only voice heard, it is important to get everyone to participate.    “When you have a bad meeting, you just don't leave it at the door. It actually sticks with you. You ruminate and you co-ruminate, you have to tell someone else about your bad meeting. So, the consequences of bad meetings for individuals and for teams, and then as a result for organizations is really well-established. But there is a flip side. What we have found is that when leaders are more careful in the calling of meetings, really making sure that they are relevant, when leaders carefully manage time in meetings, and when leaders create freedom of speech in meetings, that employees report feeling more engaged with the jobs overall. While we often think about meetings as being places of drain, meetings done right can actually be places of gain.” What you will learn: A look at the evolution of meetings The biggest challenges that meetings bring Aspects that the best meetings have in common How to leverage silence in meetings What steps you can take to have a great meeting What to do if you have so many meetings you can’t get work done Advice for meeting leaders and participants

Success at work has a lot to do with how you work, but it also relates to how you think. I’ve interviewed more than 300 top business executives and CEOs for my podcast and books and love to pick their brains about how they think and the habits they follow. I’ve learned that success at work requires everyday effort and constant evaluation. It’s not something you can dedicate yourself to once, but something to be constantly tweaked and updated.   To be successful, follow the example of top business leaders. Ask yourself these three questions at work every day: What did I learn today? It’s no secret that the business world is changing rapidly. The things you learned in school or even at a conference a few years ago are likely largely outdated today. To be successful, you must become a perpetual learner. It requires conscious thought and energy to learn something new every day, whether it’s from a conversation with someone, a book, a podcast, or another source. If you start to notice multiple days in a row when you haven’t learned anything, it’s time to re-commit to regular and consistent learning. What is the best thing I did today? It’s easy to get hung up on what you didn’t accomplish in a day or the things that could have gone better. Instead, reflect on what you did well. What made you feel good, proud, or accomplished? Practice positivity and gratitude and you’ll be amazed by the positive changes in your life. What can I do better tomorrow? Some of the most successful people I’ve talked to are constantly evaluating themselves and tweaking their approach to work and relationships. Even small updates and changes can lead to big progress over time. Taking time to be self-aware and look for ways to improve sets you on a path for continual progress and development.    As a bonus question, ask yourself who you can help the next day. No matter if you’re a manager or an entry-level employee, there are always people you can help. It doesn’t have to be huge, but reaching out to someone and offering a helping hand shows humility and builds relationships.   Asking yourself these questions at the end of every day only takes a few minutes, but the practice of self-evaluation leads to strong self-discipline and continual improvement. If you want to be a business leader, you’ve got to think like one. And it starts by asking yourself these questions every day. 

Jonah Berger is a Professor at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a world-renowned expert on change, word of mouth, influence, consumer behavior, and how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. He is also the bestselling author of numerous books including a brand new one titled, The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind.    How many times have you tried and failed to change someone’s mind about something, whether it was a family member, a coworker, a friend, or a boss? Jonah says it is because we are going about trying to change their mind in the wrong way. He says, “If you look at a chair in a room you are sitting in and you wanna move the chair, pushing that chair is often a pretty good approach, right? If you push that chair in the direction you want it to go, it often moves in that direction. But there's one problem, when we apply that same notion to people which is that people aren't chair. When we push physical objects, they tend to go, when we push people they tend to push back. Rather than changing, they often do the exact opposite of what we want. And so what the book is really about is, is there a better way? Could there be a different approach? And if you look to chemistry there actually is. There's a special set of substances in chemistry that make change happen faster and easier. They don't do it by adding more pressure or pushing harder. They do it by removing the barriers to change and those substances which you can probably guess are called catalysts.” Changing minds is about removing barriers that are preventing the change. In his book Jonah lists 5 key barriers to change.  Reactance--people resisting change because they feel like they don’t have control  Endowment--We tend to feel attached to the way we already do things, and that makes it extremely hard to change our ways Distance--When we are faced with ideas too far from our current way of thinking they tend to get ignored or we even potentially do the exact opposite Uncertainty--It is easier to convince someone to make a change if you can find a way to help them experience the differences the change will bring. That way they can see the benefit for themselves Corroborating evidence--Sometimes one person saying change is needed is not enough, you may need multiple sources to provide enough evidence for the change to take place.  So how can you start removing barriers to change in your life and work? Jonah says, “I think the first thing is just to start by finding those barriers, identify those roadblocks, those parking breaks. We tend to have barrier blindness, we tend to ignore them, but in case we don't know what they are, we can't solve them. And so, really start by being more aware of what they are and discovering them. And only then, once we've discovered them, then can we solve them. I talked about five ones in the book. I think those are the five ones that come up again and again and again, but there are others, in different situations, people may experience others and so I would start by understanding those five and then look for others in your own situation.” What you will learn: Five key barriers that prevent change from happening and how to overcome them How employees should approach leaders regarding change How to move from making decisions based on fear to being more logical How we can change our own minds

The global coronavirus pandemic has brought tragedy in sickness, death, and loss of work. It has undoubtedly changed how billions of people around the world live. But at the same time, it has also changed how we work and potentially sped up the future of work.   From a business context, this global tragedy is forcing organizations to evolve their workplace practices quickly. Companies that perhaps didn’t believe in flexible work options or didn’t have remote work programs in place are now telling their employees they must work from home. And in order to stay productive and keep the business running, these organizations are being forced to quickly adopt workplace flexibility policies. That also means they are upgrading their technology to give employees the tools and resources to work remotely, such as internal collaboration tools, web conferencing capabilities, and security measures to share and protect information.    The mass movement to remote work to protect employees is also forcing organizations to rethink their approach to leadership. Managers and leaders still need to lead employees, even if they can’t see them or now oversee dispersed teams. In many cases, that means evolving how leaders engage with and motivate their teams.    In many ways, this horrible event is a wake-up call for organizational practices and policies that companies need to think of in terms of leadership, technology, workplace flexibility, security, and more. Although it has come out of a terrible situation, this could propel organizations to continue with their flexible work options and have the tools in place for the long term.    After we make it through these trying pandemic times, organizations will have the tools in place for flexible working and know that it works. That doesn’t mean every company with keep their flexible work arrangements, but they will know how to work and lead in a remote environment. If an employee or a team wants or needs to work remotely, the organization will already know how to make that happen, which opens so many doors for both employees and organizations.    Our world is facing difficult times, but changes to how we work could actually propel positive change in the form of better adoption of flexible working and more power to the employee. 

Laura Vanderkam is the author of several books on productivity and time management, including Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done and 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.    These days most of us have been forced to step away from our normal routines, and that can feel stressful and chaotic at times. But as Laura shares, it is all about our internal dialogue and how we shape the way we handle the current situation. “It can be easy to tell ourselves stories about the chaos and how crazy it is and how you can get nothing done. But once you have a story in your mind, you start looking for evidence to support that. And so if your story is, Everything's crazy, I can't get anything done, this is horrible, this is terrible, well certainly you can find a couple of stressful moments in any given day, and then now you've got points of evidence supporting your story. But if you start from the story of, Well, this is challenging, but I am a resilient and productive individual, I will get through it, well you can also find evidence of that. You can celebrate little moments like, Wow, I just pitched a huge project over Zoom and it worked, they said yes.That's wow, great. Or, I managed to have lunch with my family. When does that happen on a weekday? So you can celebrate things like that.”   In her book, Off the Clock, Laura shares seven strategies we can use to avoid stress and feel better about the hours we have. They are:  Tending your garden--we need to cultivate our time the same way we tend to a garden, and the work is never done Make life memorable--People feel time is more abundant when they do things out of the ordinary  Don’t fill time--we are very good at filling time, a lot of times with unimportant things, but it is up to us to be mindful and choose what to do with our time  Linger--it is important to slow down and notice things. We need to learn to savor our time Invest in your happiness--It is important to use our resources to spend more time on things we enjoy vs. things that make us wish time away Let it go--Unhappiness stems from a mismatch between expectations and reality. If we can’t change reality, we have to learn to change our expectations People are a good use of time--Interacting with others and spending time with people is never a waste of time   Putting these strategies into practice can help us take charge of our time. The fact is time is going to continue moving on whether we pay attention to it or not. It is so important to be aware of how we use our time because then we can pinpoint areas we need to work on in order to make every second count.    Laura’s advice to leaders of organizations is, “People who feel a sense of autonomy are generally far more happy and more productive. So as much as possible, if you can give people some control over their work, over when they do it, over how they work. I'm a big fan of, now we're all working remotely, but I'm a big fan of allowing people to do that from time to time, if that would make them feel better about it. Of letting people set their own hours, if that is remotely possible. And even people who do have to be scheduled for shift, maybe there could be a lot of input into when those shifts are, that people can work with each other to come up with shifts that they are all happy with, that it's not just decreed from above, that it's things people have a say in. And that can go a long way toward making people feel like they matter.” What you will learn: Seven strategies to avoid stress and feel better about the hours we have Laura’s thoughts on work-life integration and the hustle culture How to change our view of the challenges we face How to savor life’s best moments no matter how busy you are How to make life memorable How to invest in your happiness

3 Ways to Build A High-Performing Team   People everywhere want to unlock the secret to building a high-performing team. After all, your team often makes or breaks the success of your company. When your team works together well, great things can happen. But often teams are slowed down by inefficiencies and difficulties.    From my experience working in a variety of teams and now assembling and leading my own team of 10 people around the world, here are three things you can implement today to build a high-performing team. Know strengths and weaknesses. This applies to yourself and the people on your team. Practice self-awareness and know what you’re good at and where you need help, and then find team members to help with your weaknesses. If you’re good at big-picture strategic planning but have a weakness in organization, find someone on your team who has organization as a strength. Optimize the roles people play on the team by keeping each person in their area of strength.  Set clear and transparent goals. For a team to be high-performing, they have to know what they are working towards. Without clear goals, it’s hard to make progress. Make sure everyone on the team is on the same page with the goals, and be transparent about how and why the goals were created. Give and receive constant feedback. Feedback measures if you truly have a high-performing team. Instead of checking in with employees once a year for an annual review, keep an ongoing dialogue of information going back and forth. Let employees know what they are doing well and where they can improve, and let the feedback go both ways so you can continually improve, as well.   These three high-level strategies can have a huge impact on building and developing high-performing teams. By playing to each person’s strengths, setting common goals, and creating feedback loops, you can turn nearly any team into a high-performing team that works together to make great progress.     

Jeremy Gutsche is the founder and CEO of Trend Hunter, a website where people from around the world can share business ideas and trends. It’s basically like a giant innovation focus group. He is also the author of two books, Exploiting Chaos: 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change and Create the Future: Tactics for Disruptive Thinking.    As Jeremy points out in his books, it is still possible to innovate in times of uncertainty, which is encouraging with what we have going on in the world right now. He says, “Chaos creates opportunity always. And what happens is that we get intimidated by the doom and gloom of bad times. But actually, if you look in history, what happens is that we get caught in a groove. Successful people get caught in a groove. Successful people are the ones that miss out and get disrupted because we get caught on a path of repeating past decisions. And chaos changes that. So if you look historically, you will see an astounding list of companies that were founded during periods actually of economic recession. Disney, HP, Apple, Burger King, Fortune Magazine, the list goes on and on, I've got about 50 in the book, but these are all companies that were actually started in a period of recession. And of course, this is a difficult time that we're in with Coronavirus. It is going to spark different opportunities, people are trying new things, like more of these virtual seminars, ideas, we're starting to rethink about what's important and why.”   So during this time are there specific mindsets and skills individuals should be focused on in order to deal with these crazy times? Jeremy says it is important to embrace what is happening around us instead of trying to fight against it. We are all going through the same difficult time so everyone will be more understanding of failures or mistakes, but it won’t work to fight against what we are going through, so just embrace it.   He also says we have to be willing to destroy the old way of doing things. “It's a simple note that right now the rules of the game have changed. And if you're willing to just embrace looking into what those new rules could be, combined with your curiosity and insatiability, then you're really well prepared for the future.”   Jeremy has always focused on trends, for his books and for his website. So how can you go about spotting trends? Jeremy says “The trend is your friend and your best guess at where the future is headed is to better understand trends. And I'd say just increasing your knowledge of how trends work could actually have a pretty big impact. And I'll give you two example lessons on that. The first lesson would be, that we tend to use the word "trend" to represent a pretty wide range of things. On one end, there's this super mega trend like the rise of female purchasing power or eco, and those are interesting but they're just so big and everybody knows them that they're not necessarily going to change your mind too much. You're gonna follow them anyways and that's life. On the other end, we use this word "trend" almost incorrectly to describe what's trending on Twitter, and the new little product that's interesting. But actually that's so little and a flash in the pan that you might not be able to do anything with it. So what you're actually looking for would be something in the middle which we would probably call cluster or consumer insight, which would be when you can find grouplings of multiple examples that all show you something that's new and interesting.” Things you will learn: Long term implications of something like Covid-19 How to innovate in chaotic times Why success can be a double edged sword What skills and mindsets individuals need right now Real life examples of companies who found a way to thrive in difficult times How to spot trends What leaders can do to support people on the front lines of the virus right now

You’ve decided it’s time for a change and is ready to switch jobs. What should you do now? Switching jobs isn’t something that should be taken lightly, but if you find yourself in a toxic work environment where you can’t advance, it may be time to move on. After you’ve made the decision to look for a new job, here are three things to consider: Understand why you want to leave People leave their jobs for a huge variety of reasons. Before you leave your job, make sure you’re leaving for the right reason, not a superficial reason like there not being enough perks or your desk not being in the right spot. A good reason to leave your current job is if you feel stuck or if you and your manager don’t get along, even after trying to improve the relationship. Changing jobs is exhausting, so before you get in too deep, make sure you are leaving for the right reasons. Develop skills In our modern work environment, your skillset is often more important than your job title. Organizations value employees who have the right set of skills. Take the time before you leave your current job to develop skills that will make you desirable and valuable to future employers. Take advantage of programs or trainings your current employer might offer and build a skill portfolio. Leave on good terms No matter how rocky the time at your current job has been, don’t burn any bridges on your way out. References and resumes still matter, so try to make things right before you leave. The last thing you want is a disgruntled former boss or co-worker making it difficult for you to move on to a new opportunity with a bad reference or a black spot on your resume. Remember, you are in control of your career path. If you’re in a situation that isn’t getting better no matter how much effort you put forth, it could be time to switch jobs. Don’t take the decision lightly, and once you’ve decided to go, follow these three tips to ensure your job search and transition goes as smoothly as possible.

Toby Ord is a philosopher and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute. He focuses on the big picture questions facing humanity such as global poverty, health, the long term future of humanity and the risks which threaten to destroy our entire potential. Toby is also the author of a new book called, The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity.    How does he research and think about future risks and possibilities? Toby says, “I have looked into a lot of the astrophysics of questions about the earth's lifespan and things like that. And when it comes to particularly the risks that we might face over the next 100 years. Yeah, I've had to read a lot about science and technology and really talk to a lot of experts. That's been a real focus with the book. It looks at a lot of issues in cutting edge science and I really... This is a real area where it's easy to screw it up when you're writing a book like this if you have a great idea about something closer to your own discipline, but then you have to say a lot of things about other disciplines for it to make sense. It's easy to just kind of make it up. So I wanted to really make sure I didn't do that. And I talked to really the cutting edge experts in all of these different risks and I also have them look over the book before it went to print to make sure that I hadn't made any errors and that I was faithfully conveying the cutting edge information about these things.”   In his book Toby breaks up the future risks into three categories: Natural Risks such as asteroids, super volcanoes, and stellar explosions  Anthropogenic Risks such as nuclear weapons and climate change Future Risks such as pandemics and unaligned AI   Toby also spends a lot of time advising governments and leaders at organizations around the world. When it comes to the things they are most concerned about Toby says, “So some of this was on my earlier work about global poverty. So trying to understand how we can most effectively help people in poor countries. And some of it has been... Yeah on future trends and technologies and ideas for example, about interest in AI and work. I would like them to always be asking me these other questions about existential risks. These are risks to the entire future of humanity and what they could be doing to protect us. They don't tend to ask me about that. Hopefully, after this book comes out, they will... But my experience when talking to them about those existential questions is that... And they say, "Wow that's really interesting, but it's above my pay grade." And everyone seems to react like this at least up all way through the national level of government. That it's something where it just feels a bit too big for them to deal with. And they're used to thinking about the new cycle the next week or so or about the election cycle. But something that's, that you're talking about, what do we need to put in place such that we can be protected from engineered pandemics in 20 or 30 years time? How do we need to start working now in order to avoid that? It's so far beyond their normal horizons and it's at such a level thinking about not just a country and not even just global level, but the entire future of humanity that they're not really used to thinking about those questions at all. And I'm hoping to make them better at thinking about these things.”   But despite all these risks Toby is not pessimistic. He shares, “We have the potential to have a really great future. It's not a pessimistic book. And I think that we want to with clear eyes see the types of risks see how high they are and then act appropriately and defend our future, so that we can have a great future going forwards.” What you will learn: How Toby goes about determining what the future risks for humanity will be A look at some of the most immediate risks we face Toby’s view of the future of AI and automation How we can think about the big picture without getting overwhelmed How we are currently doing when it comes to climate change How much technological progress have we experienced

Are you prepared for the future? What about your organization or the people around you? Futurists don’t predict the future, but they do make sure their organizations aren’t surprised by what the future will bring. More people are becoming futurists, especially as the pace of change increases and many organizations look towards the future with uncertainty. But futurists don’t just take a shot in the dark to guess what will happen — their projections are rooted in thinking through multiple scenarios to make sure they and their organizations are as best prepared as possible. Here are three ways to think like a futurist: Look for signals Every day, futurists scan the horizon for things that are coming in the future. These things may seem small now but can turn into major events and developments for the future. Signals could be geopolitical events, technology developments, demographic changes, or a number of other things. Signals come from reading reports, listening to podcasts and talks, researching, and talking to people with a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise. Think of implications From there, futurists consider what the signals could mean. Thinking of implications means taking things one step further, looking at how new developments could manifest in different areas, and considering the potential impact. Things in the future are connected, and futurists work to connect those dots to make sure they understand and are prepared. Explore scenarios There isn’t just one way the future will work out. Organizations and people who only consider one way of doing things won’t succeed in the future. Futurists look at multiple different possibilities and are open to new ideas. They ask lots of questions and run through a variety of scenarios by asking themselves what would happen if they went down a certain path. They follow that path to the end for a long-term view instead of stopping short of letting it fully play out. Thinking like a futurist takes practice and involves paying attention, having an open mind, and running through numerous possibilities to find potential outcomes and which is the most likely. Getting in the habit with these three steps to thinking like a futurist can put you in the mindset to better understand the future and help those around you prepare for what’s to come.

Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square and the author of a brand new book, The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time. Square was founded in response to a problem Jim had in his glassblowing business. He ended up losing a big sale because he couldn’t take an American Express card. So he set out to solve that problem along with his former intern, Jack Dorsey.    Jim says true entrepreneurs solve problems that haven’t been solved before, they don’t just start a business, they do something that has never been done before. And that is what he and Jack did, they solved a problem in a way that no one else had ever thought of before. They even were able to beat out Amazon when the company tried to copy the setup Square had.    The reason behind how they beat Amazon, Jim says, “In Square's case, I outlined about 14 things that we were doing absolutely differently from everybody else, 14 separate things and we were probably doing some more subtle stuff on top of that and each of those 14 things influenced each of the other 14 things so it was very complicated but imagine the difficulty of trying to copy 14 things at once and what I do is I just... You need to just fall back to math, you say "Well what are the odds of copying one thing successful?" Well, let's say it's 8 out of 10. Four out of five times you're gonna get it right. You're gonna try to copy something that's been done before, you're a company like Amazon, you got a lot of smart people, a lot of money, you got an 80% chance of nailing it. Okay, great, so that's one thing. Do two things, that's 80 squared or 80% squared so now you've got a 64% chance and you keep adding and adding. Now you're down to the point where the odds of actually going in and successfully copying all of these things which are necessary for the company to succeed is very slim and even a company like Amazon couldn't do it.”   When it comes to true entrepreneurship Jim doesn’t believe is starting with a product or a service. He says it all starts with a problem that needs to be solved. “So if you say somebody has an idea for a thing, I'm not particularly interested but I am very interested in a problem that somebody tries to solve. If somebody says to me, "Hey, I have invented this widget." I don't care. If somebody says to me "Jim, I've got this problem and I am annoyed by this thing and here's how I plan to eliminate that problem." That's fascinating because the elimination of problems, the solution to an existing problem is super fascinating because that's what moves the world forward.” And Jim shares that innovation cannot happen without failure. So we shouldn’t be afraid to fail. He says, “I see people who I know are capable of doing great things disqualifying themselves. It's not even that they're failing, it's that they're not trying because they sit there and their whole life, they've been conditioned to get this guarantee before they do anything and then you come to the situation where by definition, there are no guarantees. It is impossible to have a guarantee that something that has never been tried before will work. Then the answer is, "Well, don't ever try" but that's insane, right? But we've become so conditioned for this that I figured we needed a way to, first of all, discuss it in a way that allowed people to argue with me. So read the book, use my definitions and then get in my face.” What you will learn: How to get your team to innovate Why we’ve been defining the word entrepreneur the wrong way How Square was created and how they took on and beat Amazon Whether or not you should follow your passion How to deal with failure Jim’s view on whether or not you can buy happiness

  Here are three ways to upgrade your technology and improve the employee experience:One of the most important aspects of employee experience is technology. Think of how much your employees use technology every day — it’s a crucial part of every business, and if your company doesn’t have the right technology resources, it can be a drain on the employee experience. Consumer-grade technology  We’re surrounded by great technology in our everyday personal lives, but many employees face the struggle of having to set aside those programs and devices to use slow and outdated programs at work. Consumer-grade technology is tools that are so useful and intuitive that you would use them in your personal life if possible. An outdated computer or a clunky intranet system can be frustrating to employees, lower their productivity, and cause burnout. Employees should have tools at work that match what they use at home and reflect the year we live in. Video communication and collaboration More employees are working flexible schedules or connecting with remote teams, so they need technology that can help them work effectively. The best video and collaboration tools allow employees to communicate anywhere on any device. No matter if it’s Slack or an internal chat system, employees should have a way to collaborate beyond just email. Flexible work Although it’s not an actual technology itself, flexible work is powered by technology. Modern employees crave a flexible schedule, but an organization can’t offer flexible work without the right technology in place. Things like collaboration tools, video, and task management systems make it possible for employees to work remotely, which can greatly improve their experience. All companies need technology, no matter what industry they are in. Technology plays a huge role in the employee experience. Focus on these three improvements to create a technology-powered experience for all employees.

Victor Hoskins is the President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. Prior to that, he was Deputy Mayor of Economic Development for the District of Columbia. In his current role, he works hard with his team to attract companies and jobs to the area. Most recently he led the team responsible for winning the Amazon HQ2, which will be bringing anywhere from 25,000 to 37,000 jobs to Northern Virginia. What was it like to compete for the Amazon HQ2? Fairfax county was one of 238 jurisdictions in the running and their initial proposal was 250 pages long. A few months later Amazon responded with over 100 questions which took 1100 pages to respond to. It was definitely not an easy feat!  When looking at the big picture Victor has been paying attention to two main trends when it comes to talent. The first one is the need for regions to find ways to keep college students in the area after they graduate. In Victor’s region there are 60 universities and he says, “there's a real retention effort that we're launching focused on the kids that are in school right now and connecting them directly to companies, whether that company is Leidos or that company is Booz Allen, whether it is North Broman or Boeing we're trying to connect them directly to the companies as they're going through their undergraduate education because what we find and what I think all of us found is, when you work at a place while you're in school you may be going back to that place or a similar company when you get out of school so really bridging that, making that connection or may not just doing this at the undergraduate level but we also want to look at this at the high school level, trying to get these kids into internships, just to get to understand what companies do and develop their interest early on.” The second thing he is paying attention to is the need for companies to retrain the talent they already have instead of hiring new people. It makes a lot more sense to utilize the people already inside of your organization who know the company culture, then to hire a new person who has to learn everything from square one.    When it comes to AI and technology, Victor is not worried. We have had many shifts in the way we work in the past, for example there was a day when milk and ice was delivered by horse and carriage, but we have always adapted and created new jobs. He believes we will continue to adapt, create, and learn.    Victor’s advice to students in high school or college is do your best every single day. He says, “I feel like I'm at a job interview every day. Every day, I'm at a job interview, which means that I have a chance to make a good impression or bad impression. Me, I choose every day to make an extraordinary impression. I throw my body and my mind into everything that I do. Listen, I was at that brown bag talking about a book. It was the last thing on earth to discuss before I go six feet under. I mean, to me that was a moment to explain something to them that I do wanted to talk to them about since I got there. And this is, this moment right here, this is the greatest moment in my life right now, you know why? Because you only have these moments so do them in an extraordinary way. Do not be average.” What you will learn:  What it was like to compete with 238 jurisdictions to win the Amazon HQ2 What companies like Amazon and Nestle are looking for in talent Workplace and talent trends Victor is paying attention to  How Victor inspires his team How companies are attracting and retaining talent

With the growth of AI, machine learning, and automation, many people are worried about their jobs and think everything will soon be run by robots. But no matter how advanced technology gets, there are some things it will never be able to do as well as humans. These uniquely human abilities and characteristics, including practicing empathy, innovation, creativity, communication, collaboration, vulnerability, mentoring, and so much more can only be done by humans. It’s important for humans to embrace their natural abilities and showcase them at work.   Over the past few decades, we’ve been conditioned to leave our natural human abilities outside of the office. But to succeed in the future, we have to embrace these qualities. That means doing things like taking a stand to be vulnerable at work, fighting for something you believe in, and taking the time to coach and mentor someone. A lot of technology now is developed to take over mundane and repetitive tasks. Don’t run away from technology. Instead, leverage it so that you have time to work on more human qualities. Be intentional in how you tackle this. If you can automate a task that usually takes you three hours a week, spend those three hours developing a human quality and encouraging your teammates to do the same. Even if those abilities are hidden deep within us, they can come out and shine with practice.    Technology may be a driving feature in future organizations, but humans also need to be involved. Employees who can tap into these human qualities will be more valuable and in-demand at work. People who are good at communicating, collaborating, and innovating will have more opportunities for growth because people will want to work with them and work for them.   Technology is always changing, but the need to remain human stays the same. To create more value and be successful in the future of work, practice being human at work and encourage others to do the same. 

Jason Fried is the co-Founder and CEO of Basecamp and bestselling author of Rework and It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work. He has also given a TED Talk titled Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work.  Jason is a big believer in capping a workweek at 40 hours, he says, “We don't want people working more than 40 hours. You don't need to. And if we're doing that, then we're doing something wrong, actually. I know a lot of companies, long hours is seen as doing something right, like, "Let's stay late, and let's work on the weekends and let's pull all-nighters." I think that's completely wrong. And so, we're very careful about not encouraging our employees to work that way.” Anything that cannot get done in 40 hours can wait until the next day or the next week. The reason is 50, 60, 80 hour weeks are not sustainable. In an emergency, they can be done once in a great while, but to keep it up consistently, it doesn’t produce the best results.  Jason says, “I'm sorry, 80-hour weeks if you wanna be in business for a long time. Sometimes you're gonna burn out, or you're gonna burn people out, and it's gonna be very difficult. Okay, maybe you can do it, but it's not gonna be pleasurable, it's not gonna be enjoyable. You're not gonna keep a good team together with you for a long period of time. And you're gonna lose a lot of great people along the way. And I don't wanna lose great people. It's hard enough to find great people. So I wanna keep them happy with the reasonable work hours, challenging work, great people, great environments, and those kinds of things.” Just because you put in a lot of hours doesn’t mean you are producing good work, you can spend extra hours on bad work. Most of the time the best ideas and new innovations come after people come back to a problem refreshed. Working until you are beyond exhausted and stressed doesn’t usually lead to breakthroughs. “It's just kind of unusual in the United States, with our work hustle culture that's just I think really damaging and really destroying people over the long term. And I know that, hey, sometimes when you're in your early 20s you wanna put all the hours in, and you want bust your ass and the whole thing, I get it. But the thing is that it's not sustainable. And when you have companies that encourage that kind of behavior when those companies themselves know it's not sustainable, that's almost fraudulent, and I just don't wanna be that kind of company.” There may be people reading this who are feeling stuck in a situation at work where leadership encourages people to work 60+ hours and rewards those who come in early and stay late. For those people, Jason says you should assess the situation and figure out what you have control over. Can you talk to leaders to get them to change? Can you set an example and change the mindset? If you have some control, figure out how to make it better. If you don’t have control, it may be time to look for another job. “Most people who profess the craziness and are all in on these long, long, long hustle things, they keep doing it until they can't. They don't choose all of a sudden, like when they're 35, to go, Oh, I don't have to do that anymore. I'm gonna go back to a normal day's work. Because the habits they've built are all built around busy, and packed schedules, and hustling, and the whole thing. So it's very hard to break habits. If that's what you're used to doing, you're gonna keep doing that, and at some point it's going to collide with reality and life. Or it's going to keep you from reality and life. And I think that's really unfortunate too. Work is not that important to keep everything else out of your life.”    What you will learn: The problem with the hustle culture Why Jason feels work should be capped at 40 hours per week What to do if you feel trapped by work Advice for leaders who want to give employees more autonomy What it is like to work at Basecamp

Is college worth the time and cost? It’s a constant debate, and everyone seems to have a strong opinion on the matter. I regularly see posts on social media about the pros and cons of attending college. While there isn’t a definite answer that applies to everyone, I believe college is still definitely worth the investment.    No matter your career goals, here are three reasons why college is still worth it:   Networking and Job Skills   Aside from what you actually learn in college, perhaps the greatest benefits are the job and life skills you gain. College teaches life skills like collaboration, accountability, and meeting deadlines, plus valuable skills for any profession, like writing and analytical thinking. College is also a great place to build your network. The people you meet and work with in college can provide valuable connections throughout your entire life. Many people end up starting companies or working with people they met in college.    Most Jobs Require a Degree   Even though some people believe college isn’t worth the cost, the majority of jobs in the U.S. still require a college degree. A growing number of companies are using AI to sort through job applications and search for keywords, meaning a resume without a college degree could likely be automatically eliminated, no matter how strong the other experience or qualifications. Employers want people who hold degrees because it shows they can stick with something for four years and have skills in the right areas.    Great Insurance Policy   Even if your eventual plan is to become an entrepreneur and work for yourself, college is a strong insurance policy. The vast majority of small businesses fail, and you’ll want something to fall back on. Just because you get a degree and have a full-time job doesn’t mean you can’t still be an entrepreneur. Starting a business as a side hustle and then transitioning to being a full-time entrepreneur is a safer option and only available if you have a college degree.   The education system isn’t perfect, but the benefits of going to college still far outweigh the costs. A college degree is incredibly valuable, no matter if your plan is to climb the corporate ladder or make it as an entrepreneur.  ______________________________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by my friends at Conga, the company that’s helping people spend less time on manual work and more time on the projects they love. If you’re tired of endless paperwork and manual processes, make sure to check them out at http://bit.ly/congaddxg

Michael Bungay Stanier is a bestselling author of The Coaching Habit and the upcoming book, The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever, which comes out on February 29. He is also the founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations transform from advice-driven to curiosity-led.  If you’ve had the chance to read The Coaching Habit you know the seven essential coaching questions, but Michael’s newest book builds on top of that and helps readers figure out how to take steps to stay curious and change behaviors.  Michael shares that the biggest hurdle we have to overcome is the advice monster. What is the advice monster? He says, “the advice monster is that thing that keeps looming up going, "No. No. No. I know you think you're curious but let me just pull you back onto the dark side, and have you lurking into telling advice and offering solutions and being the person with the answer." And everybody listening in right now knows this experience, somebody starts talking and you don't really know what's going on. You don't really know the people involved. You don't really have the context, you certainly don't have the technical specifications required and after about 10 seconds, you're like, "Oh, oh no, no. I've got something to say here. No, no, no, stop talking." And if you recognize that at all in yourself, and you do, you know you do. This is your advice monster. It's the pattern of behavior that has you going, "The way I add value is I jump in and I provide solutions.” And while human nature is to think our advice is good, that’s not usually the case. And Michael shares three main reasons why giving advice isn’t the best course of action.  We try to solve the problem Your advice isn’t as good as you think Sometimes it is better to let people solve their own problems The answer is to be curious a little bit longer and take a more coachlike approach. “It is not a bad idea to just as a philosophy to go, "Look, even if I have good advice, what if I just shut up? Not forever, not for days, not for months, but just a little bit longer." That's how we define coaching, or being more coach-like. Can you stay curious a little bit longer? Can you rush to action and advice-giving a little bit more slowly? That's it. It's like coming back to this idea, that there's a time and a place for advice, it's not just as fast as you think it is.” What you will learn: What is the advice monster and how do we become aware of it How to develop the coaching habit How the role of leadership is changing Some myths about coaching that we need to overcome How leaders can become more effective coaches

    No matter if you work for yourself or in an organization, time management is one of the most essential skills you can master. Managing your time makes you more productive and opens the door to new personal and professional opportunities.    Here are three proven strategies to manage your time effectively:     Understand Where Your Time Goes   You can’t manage your time if you don’t know how you currently use it. When I first started working for myself, I would get to the end of the day and realize I hadn’t accomplished anything substantial. My time had been spent doing smaller things that pulled at my attention. But I had to come to that realization before I could make changes and have a frame of reference of how to manage my time. Spend a week keeping a journal of where your time goes. Track what you’re doing throughout the day and what is happening. You may be surprised at certain patterns or distractions that can lead to major time management changes.    Batch Tasks   Some people claim that multi-tasking is the most efficient way to get things done, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every time we switch tasks, our brain needs time to refocus, which makes us less productive overall when we’re pulled in different directions. Batching tasks is grouping things together and doing them back to back. You might batch your writing or brainstorming tasks and do them in the same block of time. I batch checking my email and social media to certain times of the day to avoid distractions.   Prioritize The Most Important Tasks   Start each day by prioritizing the three most important things you want to get done that day. There is always more work we can do, which can feel overwhelming and pull you in multiple directions. Prioritizing your top tasks sets the direction for the day. When you’ve accomplished those things, no matter how long it takes, you know you’ve been successful. As you master this strategy, you can extend it to the top four or five things for the day.    Time management comes with practice. Try these strategies to find what fits your work environment. When you can control your time, you’ll find you get more done, have more energy, and can enjoy more time doing things you enjoy.   

Dr. Denise Trauth is the President of Texas State University. She is currently in her 18th year leading the university. Prior to that Dr. Trauth was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.    Under Dr. Trauth’s leadership, Texas State has experienced its largest construction program since being founded in 1899, became a federal Hispanic-Serving Institution, was designated a Texas Emerging Research University, has been reclassified as an “R2: Doctoral University – Higher Research Activity” under the Carnegie Classification system, and moved up to NCAA Division I.   Dr. Trauth and her team at Texas State make sure they are staying in touch with industries in the area in order to provide the most relevant and up to date education for students. She has noticed two big trends currently impacting the business world. She says, “What we see in particular is that business is being impacted by two factors in particular: One is technology, and the other is globalization. And those two factors have a big impact on everything we do. It might not be terribly apparent in every single one of our academic programs, all 200 of them, but it does infuse the way we think about curriculum, the way we approach curriculum, and particularly, how we think about adding degree programs or getting rid of existing degree programs.”   Technology impacts every aspect of our lives, so it’s not surprising that it is changing the way students learn. And while Dr. Trauth doesn’t believe that face-to-face learning will be going away anytime soon, it is important to utilize technology in education.    “We have configured the classrooms differently. That's one thing. All of these classrooms obviously are capable of having lots and lots of technology, whether you're talking about the individual devices, or you're talking about the devices the instructor is using. What that means is, all of our new buildings and a lot of our older buildings have been converted. So there's lots of places to plug in and recharge, that makes a big difference. The other big difference is what we're calling, Makerspaces. We have about five or six Makerspaces across our campus here in San Marcus and also our campus in Round Rock, where students can do everything from 3D printing to manufacturing some kinds of prototypes for classes. A lot of opportunities; lasers, laser printers, lots of opportunities for students to make things.”   Globalization is also impacting the future, for the good and the bad. As Dr Trauth shares, “What's happening on the other side of the world has great implications for us and the implications are widespread. Starting with the cultural implications. Our students, more and more, are working with... When they graduate and they go to work, and we try to replicate this on our campuses, that they're going into a very diverse environment, where people don't all think alike. Where people certainly don't all look alike, and it's important that we educate our students to go into that kind of a world where there's just a lot of different ethnicities, races, religions, philosophical backgrounds, political parties. That's all now a part of a college education. So that's kind of where it starts for us, is educating our students for this cultural diversity that if they haven't experienced it in the university, they're gonna experience it when they go to work”.    Dr. Trauth’s advice for leaders who want to stay relevant is two-fold. First, she says it is important for employers to reach out to universities to get involved, especially by joining advisory boards. Secondly, employers should be tolerant of educational differences. Students may be different than the employer, but that is a good thing.  What you will learn: What the future of education looks like Big trends Dr. Trauth is paying attention to in the world of education How education leaders are planning for the future of learning What skills and mindsets employers are looking for in prospective hires How technology is impacting education  How to teach students to be lifelong learners Advice for employers, leaders, and individuals looking to stay relevant 

Chances are, at some point over the course of your life and career, someone will shoot down a project or idea that you’re passionate about. Hearing No is a part of life and something everyone faces. The difference between success and failure often comes in how we react to hearing No. I recently had the chance to interview former GE executive Beth Comstock. She told a story about an idea she had for a project early in her career. She did her research and presented it, only to be told No. But Beth didn’t give up there. She re-worked her project and presented it again. Again, she was told No. This happened over and over — Beth made adjustments to her idea, listened to feedback, and then went back to present. Over and over she was told No. Finally, a top executive told her Yes. When she asked why he said it was because she had made it impossible to say No. Her persistence had paid off and her idea finally came to fruition. In the business world, No really means Not Yet. Don’t let one person’s opinion of your ideas get you down. It simply might not be the right timing for your idea. The most successful leaders encompass the growth mindset and look at challenges as opportunities instead of roadblocks. Hearing negative feedback about your idea can be difficult, but it can also be powerful inspiration to prove the doubters wrong and deliver amazing results. That comes from not giving up and continuing to push, even when you hear No. Not Yet is very different from No. Follow Beth’s example and re-work your proposal and make adjustments. Don’t give up. Eventually that No can turn into a Yes. This episode is sponsored by my friends at Conga, the company that’s helping people spend less time on manual work and more time on the projects they love. If you’re tired of endless paperwork and manual processes, make sure to check them out at http://bit.ly/congaddxc

My new book, The Future Leader, comes out on February 26th and it is based on interviews I had with over 140 CEOs around the world. In the book the two questions that I wanted to answer were: Is the leader of 2030 going to look that different than today? And if so, how is that leader actually going to look different?    To find out the answers to my questions, I interviewed CEOs around the world from organizations like Mastercard, Unilever, Audi, Best Buy, Oracle, Kaiser, SAP, Koc Holding, Enel, Carnival Cruise Lines, Dominos, Dunkin’ Brands, National Grid and many others. I also teamed up with LinkedIn and we surveyed 14,000 employees around the world. And this gave me a very good picture around what the future leader is gonna look like.   And what I found out from these interviews was that most of the top CEOs around the world believe that while there are going to be some attributes that remain the same for leaders of the future-- things like being able to create a vision and execute on strategy-- they also believe that business leaders are going to need to arm themselves with a new set of skills and mindsets in order to stay relevant.    Why do they need a new set of skills and mindsets? It's because our organizations are going to look fundamentally different over the next 10 years than they do now because of technology and artificial intelligence, because of things like purpose and meaning that employees care about, globalization, the changing nature of talent, etc... And because our organizations are going to look different, it makes sense that we are going to need a new type of leader to guide and lead these organizations over the next 10 years and beyond.    So what I created after interviewing all these CEOs is something that I call The Notable Nine, a collection of four mindsets and five skills that leaders of the future will need to succeed.  The four mindsets are:   The Explorer: This includes practicing curiosity, being a perpetual or lifelong learner, having agility and nimbleness in your way of thinking, having a growth mindset, and being open-minded. The Chef: As a future leader, in 2030 and beyond, you are going to have to balance ingredients, and there are two ingredients that you as a future leader are going to have to balance. The first ingredient is technology and the second ingredient is being purpose-driven and caring.  The Global Citizen: As a leader you must think globally and embrace diversity The Servant: Leaders need to know how to serve their team, serve their customers, serve their leaders, and serve themselves. There is more to being a servant leader than we usually talk about   The five skills are:   The Futurist: Making sure that you can think in terms of possibilities and scenarios.  Yoda: This one is all about emotional intelligence--specifically empathy and self-awareness The Translator: Listening and communicating with all of the channels that you have access to--email, video chats, text messaging, Slack, Facebook at Work, etc…. The Coach: You need to believe that your job as a leader is to help make other people more successful than you are The Technology Teenager: Leaders must be tech savvy and digitally fluent just as today’s teenagers are   These are the four mindsets and five skills I want you to teach your team, to everybody in your organization. That's it. Four mindsets, five skills. If you can do this and teach others these things, I'm very confident that you will become a future ready leader and you will be successful. And by the way, success doesn't just mean making money. It means having a positive impact on society, on the world, on communities in which you serve.   To order the book or learn more about it, go to getfutureleaderbook.com.  What you will learn: What it will take to be a successful leader in 2030 and beyond A look at the global leadership gap (leaders around the world think they are doing much better than they really are!) A look at the insights found from Jacob’s interviews with over 140 CEOs around the world The trends shaping the future of leadership The greatest challenges future leaders will have to face

It’s a pattern that has been around for decades. Once a year, employees gather their accomplishments and projects for the past 12 months and talk with their managers and HR representatives to plead their case of why they’re a valuable asset to the company. At the end, they may get a few suggestions for improvements and maybe even a raise. Then it’s back to work until the same time rolls around next year and it all starts again. Annual performance reviews are standard in many organizations, but the way they’ve always been done can be incredibly detrimental to the overall morale, productivity, and engagement at a company. There’s no absolute answer to if your organization should have annual performance reviews, but here are three things to improve the process: Ask your employees. Many organizations are quick to kill traditional annual performance reviews without asking their employees. Take a survey and hold focus groups to find out what employees are looking for and the format they prefer to receive feedback. You may be surprised with the results. Provide regular feedback. The main downside of traditional annual performance reviews is that they only happen once a year. Waiting to give feedback until months after a project is inefficient for everyone. Instead, provide employees with regular feedback. That can happen with daily check-ins or with more formal meetings between employees and managers on a weekly or monthly basis. Regular feedback addresses issues in real time and helps keep things moving forward. With a feedback schedule, the annual performance review becomes more of a meeting to provide a raise and plan steps for the future. Build relationships. In organizations with engaged employees, annual performance reviews are a collaborative meeting instead of a scary situation where employees have to prove their value at the company. Managers and employees should work to strengthen their relationships for more open communication. A trusting and transparent relationship can remove the fear from the annual review and create a more positive work environment. Every organization needs to consider their own employee review process. What works for one company might not work for another. Follow these three tips to improve the process and find the right solution for your organization.  

David Marquet is the bestselling author of the 2013 book, Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders and the new book, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don’t, which comes out on February 4th.  David was in the Navy for 28 years and he was ultimately selected to be captain of a nuclear submarine. And it was during his time as a captain of the USS Santa Fe that he changed his leadership style and that change led to him writing his first book.  What does David mean by “leadership is language’? He explains that while there are a lot of professions that require a person to work mainly with their hands, in leadership, because it is always about other people, leaders interact through words--face to face, emails, company statements, annual reports, etc...As he says, “the magic of leadership is that by changing your words you will change the world around you because if you ask a question a different way, you'll get a different answer.”  In his book David gives six plays that all leaders should use to improve how their teams operate. He says a big problem with leaders today is that they are trapped in an industrial-age playbook. In the industrial age leaders gave commands and employees followed, and that was it. But that way of leading is no longer effective, it is outdated.  The six plays are:  Control the clock, don’t obey the clock--Pre-plan decision points and give your people the tools they need to hit pause on a plan of action if they notice something wrong. Collaborate, don’t coerce--As the leader, you should be the last one to offer your opinion. Commit, don’t comply--Rather than expect your team to comply with specific directions, explain your overall goals, and get their commitment to achieving it one piece at a time. Complete, not continue--If every day feels like a repetition of the last, you’re doing something wrong.  Improve, don’t prove--Ask your people to improve on plans and processes, rather than prove that they can meet fixed goals or deadlines.  Connect, don’t conform--Flatten hierarchies in your organization and connect with your people to encourage them to contribute to decision-making David also explains the uneven “share of voice” that happens inside of so many organizations. Inside of meetings leaders tend to talk the most, which is not good. It is something that leaders need to be aware of. He says, “As a leader, you don't need to say a lot because you already know what you think and when you start talking, you're anchoring the group. Basically, the idea is you're bringing them to your way of thinking, which is what you think you wanna do but it's actually not. What you want to do is understand how they think and what they think, and at the end, you can decide what to do, whether you could do what they wanna do or what you wanna do, that's fine. But it's after uncovering what everybody thinks.” What you will learn: The real life example of how David changed his leadership style while captaining a nuclear submarine Why employees should talk more than leaders 6 plays for all leaders to implement to improve how their team operates How to embrace variability, instead of reducing it How to foster a culture of collaborative experimentation    

Motivation is key to your success at work. Your boss can try to motivate you, but in most cases, you can’t rely on anyone else and have to find your own internal motivation. No matter if you work in an office or remotely for yourself, everyone needs help from time to time finding motivation to push through and be productive.  Here are three effective ways to motivate yourself at work: Set Goals Start every day with an idea of what you want to get done that day. Setting goals gives your purpose and direction instead of just wandering around trying to find something to do. Goals can be big or small. I like to set large goals, smaller daily goals, and mini goals. For example, my large goal could be to write a book, so I set a daily goal to write for an hour. As I’m working on that goal, I can set a mini goal to write 500 more words. Setting goals pushes you in new directions. Find Meaning You’re more likely to be motivated and productive if you feel the work you’re doing is useful. It can sometimes be a struggle to find meaning, especially in routine tasks, but connecting the work you’re doing to a bigger purpose can be incredibly motivating. Tell yourself stories about how your work impacts people and the world. You can also find opportunities to do things you like by volunteering for new projects and groups. Take time to talk to people and build relationships because we often find meaning from the people around us.  Reward Yourself Find something to motivate yourself and work towards as a future reward. The most important reward is to simply acknowledge the great work you’ve accomplished. Use positive self-talk to celebrate what you’ve accomplished instead of getting stuck on all the things you have yet to do. Rewards can also take other forms like eating something, taking a break, or buying yourself something.  Staying motivated can be the difference between a fruitful, productive career and merely skating along and counting the hours until the day is done. Take control of your own motivation with these three tips to keep you engaged and productive all day long. 

Bruce Daisley is a former Twitter VP and bestselling author of the forthcoming book, Eat Sleep Work Repeat: 30 Hacks for Bringing Joy to Your Job, which comes out February 25th. Bruce also has experience working for Google and YouTube.    There are some statistics that show that only 13% of employees are engaged in their jobs. Why is that? Bruce says it is because, “If you have a look at status, higher power is dis-inhibiting. What I mean by that is if you watch people who are bosses, people who are presidents, people who are high status individuals, they generally are unencumbered by this sort of self-consciousness that the rest of us fail. And the correlate of that, the flip side of that is that lack of status is inhibiting, meaning that when we have no position in the hierarchy, when we are junior, when our opinions are told that they don't matter, it means that we repress how we feel. And you observe this more and more, countries that have strong hierarchy generally find that their workers are less engaged, because when they've got less input into decisions, when they've got less contribution to make, they generally think, "I can't get anything done here." So they're gonna repress their emotions. And so you observe this, one of the most hierarchical countries in the world is France, and worker engagement is one of the lowest, 3% of French workers describe themselves as job. I mean, it's a number so low that it makes you go back and check the methodology. But it's the same methodology they use around the world, and yeah workplace engagement is really low, we feel like we're bowing to our bosses.”   So how do we fix the problem? When it comes to fixing workplace culture there is the big picture, which means changing the policies the company has in place such as flexible working arrangements. But there is also the little picture--simple changes that individuals can make to improve day to day work.    Bruce gave some examples of some of the simpler things that we can implement right away to make work better. One thing is walking meetings, where instead of sitting down in a one on one meeting people can take a walk around the building inside or outside while meeting. This can break up the routine, allow people to get up and move around, and it may even produce more creative ideas.    Another example he talked about was moving the coffee machine or the water cooler because of the research that shows face-to-face conversation empowers workplace productivity. If there are teams who don’t normally interact moving the coffee or water can spark those conversations to start.    “I think the reason why the book has ended up being the best selling business book of the year in the UK, is because these changes are so simple, that anyone can stage their own intervention. They can say, Actually, we could do two of these things next week.”   What you will learn: What it's like to work at Twitter Why are so many people not happy with their jobs Who is responsible for your happiness at work?  Simple things that can be implemented to improve productivity and happiness What happens if your managers just shut all your ideas down?  What is a monk mode morning Bruce’s thoughts on the hustle culture that we're seeing   

For decades, most people believed there was just one path to career success: climbing the corporate ladder. Everyone was expected to start in an entry-level role, pay their dues, and get promoted as they worked their way up the organization. That was the only way it was done, and no one questioned it. Thankfully, today we have many more options and fewer people spend their entire careers working their way up the corporate ladder. With new technology and opportunities, each person can build their own career ladder to chart their own path to success. For some people, that could be staying with the same organization, but for other people, the career ladder they create could involve becoming an entrepreneur or working for multiple companies. Building your own career ladder comes with countless possibilities, but it also requires work and vision. Here are five way to build your own career ladder: Keep learning Knowledge has never been more plentiful than it is today. We have access to tools and resources to learn almost anything we want, and we can do it inexpensively. If you want to make a career change or learn a new skill, you no longer have to go back to school and invest tons of money and time. If you want to learn how to code, write a book, lead a team, or practice yoga, there’s a way to do that. Keep learning and developing your skills. Find things that interest you and skills that will make you a valuable asset. The more you know, the more directions your career ladder can take you. Become a subject matter expert  Social media makes it possible to share messages and information with the masses. Use these resources to become a subject matter expert. Find a topic you’re passionate about or an area that is often overlooked and make it yours. You can post articles and thoughts on your own social media platforms and especially on the internal platforms within your company to showcase your knowledge. When people in your organization see your expertise in a certain area, it builds credibility and can open doors. Build your personal brand What do you want to stand for? A personal brand is what people think of when they think of you. It can range from being a great public speaker to being the go-to person for organization or personal finance. Decide your brand and build it by learning, sharing, and participating in conferences and conversations. A strong personal brand adds power to your career ladder. Start a side hustle A career ladder doesn’t have to stay within an organization. You can become an entrepreneur or at least test the waters with a side hustle. If you have a great idea, go for it. Take advantage of the resources available to you and branch out into something new. You might find your side hustle becomes a full-time startup and makes you a full-fledged entrepreneur. Find a mentor You’re in charge of your career ladder, but you don’t have to do it on your own. Find a mentor you trust who can give advice and act as a sounding board. They can provide connections to build your network and strengthen your ladder. Climbing the corporate ladder isn’t the only way to career success. You have the power to build your own ladder and create your own path — but it requires work and dedication. What are you doing to build your own career ladder?

Marissa Andrada is the Chief People Officer at Chipotle, a very popular restaurant chain with 2,500 restaurants and 80,000 employees. Prior to Chipotle Marissa had led HR for companies such as Starbucks, Kate Spade, GameStop, Red Bull, and Universal Studios.  Marissa has seen quite a few changes in HR over the past 10-20 years. One of the biggest changes she mentioned is a shift in leadership. Purpose, vision, and values have been around in theory for awhile, but it wasn’t until recently that companies took these words from something on a poster in the hallway to something that companies actually live out through leadership. And employees can tell when leaders are actually living out what they talk about in company meetings or if it is all just talk.   When it comes to tenure in restaurants, a lot of times employees are coming and going frequently. Although Marissa shares that tenure at Chipotle has increased, she also says they understand that not everyone will stay at the company long term, and that’s OK.  Marissa says, “We've introduced so many new things that I believe are just leading edge for restaurant and retail, and we believe that, for example, debt-free degrees, we believe that first and foremost, that we are investing in and creating future leaders for Chipotle and for our restaurants, and ultimately the company. And if not, we're creating future leaders for the world. I think there's a responsibility that companies have especially one as large as ours is not only to do well, but also to do good in the world. And so that's how I answer that question like that's why we do it.” Chipotle has also moved away from the traditional annual performance review. They now have what they call a 4x4 conversation, which is a meeting that happens four times a year (at least) where managers ask employees four questions. The four questions are: What are your most significant accomplishments since we last met?   What are the most important things you will focus on before we meet next? What obstacles are you encountering right now? What can I do better or differently as your manager to support you? Marissa shares, “It's interesting when we first introduced the first 4x4 conversation, we just said, "Have a conversation," and people were freaking out going, "Where's the form? What do I fill out?" And then at the year end, they're like, "Where's my form? What do I fill out?" And we just kind of said, "Hey, we're all learning this together. At minimum, we want you to have this conversation. If you feel like documenting it, do it." And so that was what we did at the Restaurant Support Center. But then for our crew members, what we created was just kind of a template to walk through those four questions. But it also helped people to understand, "Hey, here's what I'm held accountable for," but it's not a traditional performance review form. It's really highly customized for that employee. And so that we have a different spin on that and that it's in a very Chipotle way and not a traditional performance review.” What you will learn: What first drew Marissa to HR How they scale their values and culture across 80,000 people What Marissa is most excited about regarding People Experience at Chipotle in 2020 The unique way they approach performance reviews Some specific mindsets and skills they look for in potential leaders How new employees get onboarded at Chipotle  

If you’re like most people, you often get caught up in your work and personal life. You’re busy every day with new activities, goals, and the mundane tasks of work and life. It can be hard to find time to be curious when you’re busy with all your other activities.    But curiosity is vital to our creativity and success. Curiosity allows us to solve problems, uncover opportunities, and have fun. It’s the curious people who shape the future.    So how can we balance our daily lives with the need to be curious? It comes down to making time to be curious. For most people, it takes real effort to set aside our daily tasks and allow our minds to wander and think of new possibilities. Here are five ways to make time to be curious.   Schedule it in. The most basic tactic is to simply schedule time to be curious. If it’s on your calendar, you’re more likely to actually do it. Scheduling in curiosity time can come in many forms, from giving yourself a few minutes to step away from your responsibilities to finding a new hobby or creative outlet. You don’t have to block out hours at a time—even just a 15-minute block can make a difference. And the more you schedule time to be curious, the more you’ll find yourself naturally becoming more curious.  Watch or read something new. Get out of your rut and watch a new movie or show you wouldn’t typically watch. Find a documentary, TED Talk, or podcast on a subject you know nothing about. Read a book in a genre you don’t typically read or a non-fiction book about something completely new. Let your mind ask questions as you read and wonder about the things you see.  Let your mind wander. Give yourself time to simply relax and let your mind be free. For some people this means meditation, while others let their mind wander while they spend time outside or exercise. Forget your to-do list and let your thoughts go wherever they want. Take time to dig deep and really think about things and different possibilities. You might find yourself on a completely new thought or question than where you originally began.  Explore with a partner. You might need the buddy system to become more curious. If you’re afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, try doing it with a friend. Find a new hobby or explore somewhere new together. Even just walking in someone else’s shoes can open your mind to new perspectives and curious possibilities.  Talk to new people. Most of us fall into the trap of simply searching online when we have a question, getting the answer, and moving on. Instead, try talking to new people. Find someone who is an expert or who can answer your questions and have a real conversation with them. You’ll likely go beyond where your internet search would have taken you. Talk to people wherever you go, listen to their ideas, and think of things from their point of view.   People are naturally curious, but those tendencies often get squashed and replaced by to-do lists and busyness. Finding time to tap into your natural curiosity and building the skill can drive your personal creativity and innovation and help you create the future of work. 

Rita McGrath is a professor at Columbia Business School and author of the new book, Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen. She was also recently ranked #5 on the Thinkers50 list for her work in strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship and for being a champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.    What does it actually mean to see around corners? Rita says it’s not about predicting the future, because predictions are hard, but it is about paying attention to signals. She says, “it's more about expanding your range of possibilities that you're considering, and then really being prepared to challenge your own assumptions. And I think that's really where the seeing around corners part is so valuable, because if you think about it, any business grows up with a set of assumptions about what's possible and what's not. And what an inflection point does is it really changes the nature of those assumptions.”    Companies have to be able to pay attention to possible disruptions that could affect the way they do business. But what tends to happen is companies get comfortable doing the same thing and they think as long as it is working now, it will continue to work in the future. Companies such as Blockbuster and Toys R Us didn’t pay attention to signals all around that would have allowed them to adapt with the times and because they failed to pay attention they are no longer around.   Rita explains that the way to keep a lookout for inflection points is to think of a disaster scenario that would have a huge impact on your company and then work backwards from that “time zero event” to see if it has merit. For example, for someone working at a business school an example of a scenario would be students lose interest and employers don’t really care about business degrees. So the time zero event could be 50% of all existing business programs shut down, working backwards what would have to happen for that to take place?    And by looking at all the evidence you can figure out either this is not a likely scenario at all so just forget about it, or it is a very real possibility so what can I do to shift my strategy.    So what can you start doing now to improve your ability to “see around corners”? Rita says, “I think the first thing is this idea of the edges, that you really need to embed ways of learning about what's happening, that isn't right in front of you, that's farther out. Go to conferences that aren't directly related to what you do, maybe take a training course. Today, you can learn almost anything in 10 minutes a day on YouTube, and that's really interesting. I read a lot. I actually... One of the reasons I really like my Twitter feed, and to some extent, LinkedIn, is a lot of the people that I interact with introduce me to sources I wouldn't necessarily have run across on my own. And I think that's another kind of interesting practice. I would say, this takes time. Now, it doesn't take huge amounts of time, but if you're spending every waking moment nose to the grindstone, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, you're much more vulnerable to missing things than if you give yourself a little bit of that imagination space.” What you will learn: What it means to see around corners  Why leaders struggle to see around corners How to spot inflection points and avoid downfalls in business Real life examples of companies who survived disruption How is the role of CEO going to change in the next 5-10 years

As AI and automation grow, employees are concerned for their job security. Adding to that fact is uncertainty about the unknown future of work and what it will take to succeed over the next decade and beyond.   There are lots of ideas of what it will take to future-proof your career, but the simplest and best thing you can do is this: be a coach and mentor.    All leaders should be coaches and mentors, but it’s not just limited to leaders. Employees at all levels can find people to coach and mentor, either at work or outside of work. A coach is different from a traditional boss. A coach gives honest feedback to their mentee, pushes them, unlocks their potential, and removes obstacles from their path. In fact, the ultimate goal of a coach or mentor is to make the person they’re mentoring more successful than them.    This isn’t how it’s always been. It used to be that leaders and managers sat at the top of organizations and pushed down anyone with talent who threatened their success. Today, we’re seeing more leaders embrace the coaching and mentoring philosophy. And it’s the best thing they could do for their careers.    As technology becomes more prevalent and starts to automate tasks and take over parts of our companies, what helps us stand out the most is our ability to be human. A machine will never be able to coach or mentor as well as a human, which means coaches and mentors will have a role in any organization. Every company would love to have an employee, no matter if they are a junior associate or a top executive, who cares about people enough to help them on their way and bring them to greater success. All it takes is a human who wants to help others.   The future of work is uncertain and can be scary at times. But the need to be human and help other people will always exist. If you want to future-proof your career, start by finding someone to coach or mentor. 

Tom Rath is a bestselling author and researcher who has spent the past two decades studying how work can improve human health and well-being. He has written several books, his newest one comes out in February and it is titled, Life’s Great Question: Discover How You Contribute to the World. Tom set out to write this book as a result of his personal reflections over the last several years. He says, “I've really been personally reflecting on, given my own health challenges and threats and my mortality, what are the most important things for people to get focused on? In particular, most of my writing and research is focused on that nexus of people and organizations, and how can we help people to lead better lives through the organizations that they're a part of? And one thing I've observed after 20 years of, kind of following this area is that we're often so quick to look inward and think about self-development and our own brand and how we can improve personally, and the more I have studied these topics, my big takeaway is that we can get more done and life is less stressful and more liberating when we find real concrete ways to focus almost all of our energies on the contribution we're making to other people” The book addresses topics such as how to separate our identity from our job title, why following our dreams is not always the best approach, and the things teams need to address in order to be effective.  One thing Tom has observed over the years is that the relationship between organizations and employees is broken. Why? Mostly because the basic structure of organizations today is outdated and ineffective for the modern age. It no longer suffices to bribe employees to work with monetary rewards, people today want more than that. They want purpose and meaning in the work that they do. They want to feel that they are contributing something to the organization and the world. As Tom shares, “I think the question is how quickly can we get to a place where each of us as individuals and organizations start to say, "Are we producing people who are better off when they go home at night?" They're healthier and they're more financially secured, that does matter. They have better relationships with their family members because they chose to be a part of this organization.” But this isn’t just up to the organizations to fix, individuals have a role as well. “Each of us has the responsibility to make sure that we're not tolerating a job or a work that's making our lives worse at the end of the day than we were when we showed up in the morning. And we need to start to ask some of those critical questions, ask the people around us, ask your best friend or your spouse, "Do you think I'm a better person because I'm doing this job right now versus where I was a year ago?" And sometimes they can help hold up a mirror where we need it as well.” What you will learn: Why Tom first started writing, even though it is not what he originally planned on doing How he approaches his day to day work and life What’s wrong with the employee-organization relationship and how do we fix it? Advice for leaders who want to be role models How to discover what you contribute to the world Why following your passions and dreams is not the best approach

Like most people, I’m constantly bombarded with requests from other people in both my personal and professional lives. I’m asked to meet friends for coffee, attend a conference, conduct an interview, answer questions for someone — the list goes on and on. I used to say yes to everything because I didn’t want to miss out on making a new connection. But over time, I felt myself becoming exhausted and depleted. I could never meet my own goals because I was spending all of my time helping other people. So I started saying no. It was difficult at first, but I learned that in order to see my own professional and personal success, I had to invest time in myself. When you say no, you’re really saying yes to something you want to do. Something for yourself that gives you purpose and meaning. As we become more connected with new technology, we’ll be even more inundated with requests. Learning how to say no is one of the most valuable things we can learn. You don’t need to be rude, but you also need to stand up for yourself. Here are three tips for saying no: Set boundaries Think of the most important things that you want to protect. Be selfish. If you really want to write a book or start a new business, decide from the beginning that you’ll say no to anything that gets in the way of those goals. With pre-determined boundaries, you don’t have to think about every offer but can quickly say yes or no. Be firm Don’t say maybe if you really want to say no. Be firm in your response and don’t leave the door open for the possibility that you might change your mind. Don’t offer an explanation Don’t feel like you have to give an excuse or explain yourself. Offering an explanation leaves the door open to saying yes in the future. If you feel you have to add something after saying no, give an alternative like introducing the person to someone else who could help. Learning how to say no is an invaluable skill for both your career and personal life. With practice, you can start saying no and start saying yes to yourself.

Dan Helfrich is the Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting, where he has worked for over 20 years. Although he had always wanted to be a sportscaster, once he graduated from Georgetown University, he had a choice between broadcasting and consulting and he ended up choosing consulting. And that choice has led him to where he is now, which is leading a team of 56,000 people.    Dan is very passionate about diversity and inclusion, which seems to be at the center of a lot of conversations today inside of organizations. Dan says, “I actually think some are talking about it as a theme, and I think that's wrong. Diversity and inclusion is an imperative, not a management fad, and not something to pay lip service to. And what we're doing is, we are putting diversity and inclusion, and I view those as related concepts, but that have distinct elements to them. We're putting that at the center of everything we do, we're striving for increasing the representation of our teams on a ton of dimensions, in terms of gender, and in terms of race, and in terms of sexual orientation, and in terms of veterans, and in terms of parents.”   So how does he make sure that diversity and inclusion is part of the DNA of an organization with a team of 56,000 people? First of all, Deloitte puts all of their leaders through unconcious bias training. Also, at the end of every meeting Dan personally asks two questions to the group--how can this team be more diverse and how can this team be more inclusive?    As Dan shares, “No team is ever diverse enough, and no environment is ever inclusive enough. And so, opening the conversation to that set of topics unleashes a whole lot of great thinking and a whole lot of dialogue that creates comfort level in an organization about talking about things like race, and talking about things like different ages in the workplace, and what that means, and what the implications are. And that, I have found to be incredibly powerful.”   His suggestion to leaders or even individuals inside of organizations is to ask questions and be curious. He says we need to be vulnerable and we should always seek to improve ourselves and our cultural awareness.    As a CEO Dan sees himself as a “captain”. He says, “I've played competitive sports my whole life, and there's many different ways that I see people showing up as the chief executive of an organization. The way I view it is, I've been bestowed a responsibility by a group of peers. And the best captains aren't necessarily the best players. They have leadership characteristics to coalesce and make the team perform at an optimal way, but there are superstars on my team that are way better than me at a bunch of different... A bunch of different dimensions of being a consultant. And I show up as a captain, knowing that I get the privilege to lead a group of peers, but I never forget that I'm serving that group of peers, and that's how I think of the role.” What you will learn:  How Dan leads a team of 56,000 How to candidly talk about diversity and inclusion inside your organization What makes a great leader How Dan makes tough choices Examples of how Dan has used empathy in his career How Dan fosters an environment of inclusion with the large number of individuals on his team

What does a typical day look like for you?  It’s a question I’ve asked of hundreds of CEOs and top business leaders around the world. They almost always tell me the same thing: they don’t have a typical day. Every day is full of different activities and meetings. If you want to follow in the footsteps of some of the most successful business leaders, avoid having a typical day. These people still have habits and commonalities throughout their days, but they avoid falling into the routine of doing the same mundane things every day. Avoiding a typical day can make you more creative and energized, which is good for your sanity and the success of your business.   So how do you avoid having a typical day? Here are five tips: Get out of the office. It’s easy to fall into the same routine when you’re in the same place all day, every day. Get out of the office and take your work on the road. Work from home or a coffee shop or even a communal workspace in your building. Visit customers and distributors. Take your team for an off-site meeting. Changing your scenery can change your mood and outlook.   Find a hobby. Try to find time every day to pursue a hobby. Having something to look forward to after work can motivate you to try something different at work. The hobby can be anything from cooking to exercising to basket weaving. Hobbies break up the monotonous schedule and get your creative juices flowing.   Avoid screens. One of the quickest ways to get sucked into a mundane routine is to spend all day looking at a screen. In our connected world, it may seem impossible to put your phone, tablet, and computer away, but it can be a good exercise in creative thinking that pushes you outside your regular day. Give your mind a break and spend screen-free time talking with people in person and seeing other parts of the business.  Talk to new people. Open your mind to new ideas and people. Invite a new co-worker out for coffee or just swing by the desk of someone you usually only communicate with via email. Face-to-face communication builds relationships and expands your network beyond just the people you see every day.  Change your schedule. Try mixing up your day by changing your schedule. Even small changes, like waking up 15 minutes earlier to run or read before work, can be a nudge to get out of your routine. If you normally do something after work, try doing it before work. Change your weekly meeting time, stay up late, or take a longer lunch break. These small changes can propel your day to something new.   Avoiding a typical day can get you out of a rut and help you be more connected and creative. These five simple steps can move your typical day to an unexpected and unique, atypical day.

Barri Rafferty is the President and CEO of Ketchum, a leading global public relations firm serving clients in over 70 countries. Ketchum has been named PR Agency of the Year and the winner of an unprecedented three consecutive Campaign of the Year Awards.    She became the first female CEO of a top-five global public relations firm at the beginning of 2018. In total, she has worked for Ketchum for 24 years. When asked what her leadership style is, Barri says, “My goal is to bring out the best in the people that work for me. So I feel like as a leader, I'm very much of a coach. I go... I move really fast, so I have to trust the people around me. And I really encourage us to all collaborate and work together. We have a lot of debate on... Any leadership team I ever have, I always think if people aren't debating and pushing back on me and there's not a few raised voices, or curse words every now and then, that it's probably not a good thing, right? We've gotta get in it, but we lock arms when we get out. And I also think I am a very nurturing leader too in a lot of ways. I still write birthday and anniversary cards, do personal gifts for the holidays”   As a leader Barri believes that communication is crucial. Having open, honest communication between employees and leaders really makes a difference in the culture of an organization. One of the ways she listens to her employees is through Glint Pulse surveys that take place three times per year at Ketchum. These surveys allow her to see what issues matter to employees and one issue they are focusing on currently is workplace flexibility.   In order to fully embrace this flexibility Barri understands it is important to make employees know it is available and allow them to take advantage of it without feeling bad about it. They have implemented flex February where everyone shares pictures of where they are working remotely on the company’s social media. They also believe in “Leaving Loudly” which means that instead of trying to sneak out or be quiet about leaving early due to a doctor’s appointment, child’s recital, family event, etc...you should tell people and feel good about it.    Diversity and inclusion is also very important to Barri and her team at Ketchum, especially as they are helping organizations create a message and reach potential clients. So they are working hard to make sure they have diversity in age, race, gender, location, political views, backgrounds, etc… When asked to give advice to anyone looking to be a better leader, Barri says, “I would say build a style that's authentic to you, right? I think if you have to put on one persona at home, and one persona at work, it's hard to be an authentic leader. So if you can build it from your personality, some of us are introverts, some of us are more introverts some are more expressive, some are more amiable, right, you have to start with that foundation and then build around it the leadership skills, but if you can show up at work as a leader true to your core, I think you're gonna be a better leader, no matter what.” What you will learn: How to build confidence as a leader How Barri keeps up with the fast pace of change A look at how the company fully embraces workplace flexibility How Ketchum is removing bias from the hiring process How Barri describes her leadership style A look at how Ketchum upskills and trains employees

Employee experience is the next big battleground for organizations. It’s crucial for building a place where people want to come to work because they are engaged and satisfied, not just because they have to be there. Many people think that employee experience is determined by executives, but in reality, it is something employees at all levels can control and shape.   A few decades ago, employees didn’t have any power. If they were frustrated with something at work, their only choice was to go home and complain to family and friends because they could make any real changes. But today’s world is different, and employees now have the power to shape their own work experiences. It doesn’t matter if you’re an entry level employee, mid-level manager, or executive. Here are five things you can do to shape your employee experience:   Talk to your manager. Have open and honest conversations with your manager about what you like about your experience and what you want to change. Don’t just complain; come with a solution. If you want to have more regular performance reviews, come prepared with a schedule and set time for regular feedback. Let your voice be heard. Speak up at work to make real change. Many organizations send out employee surveys to measure engagement and get suggestions. Respond to those surveys with thoughtful comments and share your ideas at focus groups and town hall meetings.   Volunteer. Get involved in your company by joining employee feedback groups or beta testing groups. Put yourself in a position to learn more about the company and share your ideas with the change-makers.    Use social media. Social media has given employees more power than ever before. Websites like Glassdoor allow employees to leave reviews and comments about their companies, and many organizations pay attention to what employees are saying. Use social media to share your experience and include suggestions for improvement.    Rally co-workers. If you want to see a change in your experience, chances are your co-workers do as well. If you have a great idea, run it by your co-workers and see who you can get on board. Your voice is more powerful with more people behind it, so use your collaborative thinking to gain traction for change.   Don’t just complain about what you want to change at work; take the steps to make real change. Employee experience isn’t about the organization designing an experience for you, it’s about you designing an experience with your organization.     

Martin Boehm is the Dean of IE Business School, one of the world’s leading higher education institutions. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but most of their programs consist of 80-90% international students.    The business school was ranked the 3rd European Business School by Financial Times, 1st Worldwide Distance Online MBA by QS, 1st Business School in Europe and 3rd in the world by The Aspen Institute, and 3rd Non-US MBA Business School by Forbes, just to name a few of their awards.    Education hasn’t changed much over the past 100+ years and it is becoming more apparent that we are in desperate need of change in this area. With all of the technological advances, the evolving workforce, and an incredibly face pace of change in the world today we have to update our way of educating to allow students to prepare for the future of work. And that is just what Martin and his team at IE Business School are doing.    One thing that has to change is we have to move from simply imparting knowledge and facts to students to helping students develop skills. In order for students to be prepared for the future they need to have skills like learning agility, curiosity, collaboration, problem solving, etc...So that instead of focusing in on one certain career path they have a wide set of skills that allow them to continually adapt and reinvent themselves when needed.   We are no longer living in a world where a person can study a specific field in college, graduate with a degree, and then work for the same company for 25, 30, or 40 years. With AI, automation, and new job creation individuals need to have a different set of skills and mindsets while in school as well as after graduation.    As Martin shares, “I think we have to reinvent ourselves or we're going to have to reinvent ourselves over our career multiple times. Maybe you might've heard people talk about the so-called T model, right? Where they actually say, well, education is about having a broad foundation.  I mean some basic skills and then the T is essentially about, I have to specialize and become an expert in something. Right? And that's going to serve me for the rest of my life over the next 30-40 years. I'm going to, that's what I'm going to be doing. I think what we're going to have to do is we're going to have to evolve from this T model to more of an M model or W model, which means, I mean there's going to be multiple times and throughout your lifetime, throughout your career where you might have to reinvent yourself and specialize in something.”   So who is responsible for keeping individuals consistently learning and upskilling? Martin says that learning does take some “intrinsic motivation” on the part of the individual. We as individuals need to do our part to find ways to learn new skills. We cannot leave this up to universities and organizations.    But organizations do not get a free pass either. Martin says, “For instance, if I as a CEO, if I as an organization understand that my company is going or my industry for the matter of fact is undergoing a fundamental transformation that is going to leave many of my employees and their skills as obsolete. I think I have an obligation. I think I have a responsibility as well to push them, to help them to actually transform in line with the industry in order to be able to acquire these skills in order to remain and stay relevant.” What you will learn: What is the IE Business School  How education is changing and why it is critical that it changes now How types of degrees could change in the future How the IE Business School is experimenting with education technology Martin’s advice on what to major in or what degree to focus on Steps we can take to become lifelong learners What today’s organizations are looking for when recruiting new graduates

Believe it or not, there’s more to life than work. When we’re stuck in the repetitive day-to-day where the majority of our time is spent at work, that can be hard to believe. Many people struggle with separating themselves from work and focusing on other things. But the truth is that we don’t live to work; we work so we can live.   Everyone is unique, but everyone has more in their lives than just work. How do you discover your life outside of work? Try these five tips:   Set boundaries. Work tends to expand to fit whatever time we have to get it done. Without limits, you may let yourself work all the time and feel like you have enough work that it needs to take all that time. If you set boundaries and decide you’ll leave the office or be done with work at a certain time every day, you’ll have more time for other activities and will likely find you can still get your work done in less time. Build relationships. For many people, one of the biggest parts of their life outside of work is relationships with other people, such as a spouse, kids, friends, or a significant other. Relationships of any kind encourage you to get out of the work mindset and enjoy time with other people. It could be meeting up with friends or making it to your kid’s soccer game. Building those relationships will motivate you to get out of the office.  Find your passion. A hobby is a great way to decompress after work and fill your life with a meaningful pursuit. Hobbies come in all forms, from exercising or baking to reading or knitting. Try something new and step out of your comfort zone. If you’re stuck without a hobby, think about where your thoughts go when you let them wander or the type of websites or magazines you peruse when you have a little free time.  Help others. Philanthropy and charity work is a great way to fill time. There are always ways we can help others in our communities and around the world. Volunteering and getting involved in charity work can provide a sense of purpose that acts as a motivator to step away from work.  Set goals. Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? Consider your whole being, not just where you’ll be in your career. Then set goals to get there. It could be learning a new skill, traveling somewhere new, or pushing your body with a new activity. Goals are powerful motivation tools to keep your progress on track.   Even though work is a big part of our lives, ultimately, we’re working so we can live happier, more engaged lives. We’re not working so we can just work more. Find those relationships and activities outside of work to turn you into a balanced and happy person—both at work and at home. 

Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products (2014) and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life (2019). He started and sold two tech companies and he has taught at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design. He has been studying and writing about behavior design and habit formation for many years and he became fascinated with how technology persuades people to do things they normally wouldn’t do. This is ultimately what led him to write his bestselling booked Hooked.    Nir’s newest book came about as a result of his search for a solution to a problem he had with staying focused and getting things done. Nir says, “Hooked is about building good habits, Indistractable is about how do we break bad habits.”   Being distracted is not a new problem. These days we tend to place the blame on technology, social media, smartphones, etc… But as Nir points out, “People have always been finding ways to escape boredom. So it's not a new [being distracted]... I don't think that it's necessarily a technology problem. I think that what's changed is that if you are looking to escape, it's easier than ever, that you can find that escape because it's just sitting here in our pocket.” Since the beginning of time people have been distracted by the news, by gossip, sports, movies and so on. Technology is something to turn to when we want to be distracted, but it is not the cause of our problem.  For example, during Nir’s 5 years of research for the book he found that one of the root causes for distraction in the workplace is a toxic corporate culture. When people are unhappy at work, when they feel like they have no say, when they feel like the work they do is meaningless they turn to distractions, and a lot of times they not only distract themselves, but they distract everyone around them.    Nir says that there are three attributes of companies who have an indistractable workplace culture. They are:   They give people psychological safety They give employees a forum to talk about problems and issues The management exemplifies what it means to be indistractable “When people do work in these type of toxic work environments with high expectations and low controls, the reason they get more distracted and get less done is because of that workplace culture that, in fact, by giving people agency and control over their time, ironically, they become way more productive because what are we doing, we're increasing their agency, that characteristic that's missing, the low control. Now we have high expectation with high control. That's a great work environment...The first step is to lead by example, follow the tactics in the book. There's hundreds of things that you can do, one at a time, you don't have to do everything all at once, but one at a time, you can start instituting these practices to become indistractable yourself to lead by example.” What you will learn: A look at the root cause of distraction in the workplace (hint: it’s not technology) The three qualities of a company that has an indistractable workplace culture How to balance important things and urgent things Four steps to becoming indistractable Why Nir hates to-do lists Nir’s simple advice for leaders How to overcome distractions in the workplace

When was the last time you were noticed at work? Did you get recognized at a meeting or even just receive a compliment from a boss or colleague for a job well done? It can be difficult to get noticed at work, especially in large organizations. With lots of moving parts and ongoing projects, it takes effort to stand out and be recognized. It also comes with risks. There’s always the possibility that a big step to get recognized could backfire or a project could end up not being as successful as anticipated. But those risks are worth taking because being noticed is crucial for your career.   People who get noticed will grow and thrive in the future of work. They’re the people managers turn to when a new opportunity arises and they have a chance to grow and develop. Of course, it’s important to do good work simply to be a good employee, but it also helps to get extra recognition.   How do you get noticed at work? Make yourself visible and stand out. Here are three tips to getting noticed for the right reasons: Get talking Don’t be afraid to speak up. You’re never going to get noticed if you sit in the back and don’t make your voice heard. Ask questions in meetings, start discussions, and ask for feedback. Share ideas on the organization’s internal collaboration system and join existing conversations. Give feedback and compliments to your co-workers, especially after big meetings or deadlines.  Volunteer Nearly every company has some sort of employee group or needs beta testers. Be the first to volunteer, even if the job doesn’t seem glamorous. The jobs no one wants can be the most beneficial because it shows you aren’t above helping. Volunteering introduces you to new people and helps you look like a team player.  Take on new projects  Don’t be scared to take on projects outside your comfort zone. Try to say yes more than you say no. When a new opportunity comes along, take it and hit the ground running. Your enthusiasm and boldness won’t go unnoticed. Pitching your own projects can even take it one step further.  Getting noticed at work helps build your personal brand. It creates and adds to your professional identity, which will be essential in the future. It takes a strong brand to have a future-proof career. Putting in the effort to step outside your comfort zone and get noticed at work can pay off with great opportunities, a larger network, and better prospects in the unknown future of work. 

Diane Hoskins is the co-CEO at Gensler, the largest global design and architecture firm with over 6,000 professionals across 50 offices. You may have seen some of the structures they have worked on, including the Shanghai Tower, the Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, the Microsoft headquarters in Ireland, the Ford Foundation Center in New York, and countless others all over the world. When speaking about the work that Gensler does, Diane says, “We bring insight-driven and research-driven design solutions to some of the most challenging and most amazing opportunities out there, all around the world. Working with leading companies in the tech industry and governments, and law firms, and organizations all over the world and also projects like airports, and sports stadiums and hospitality and even health and wellness. And really bringing a full 360 understanding of really the transformation of live, work, and play. And our deep research is helping us to bring insight into the design solutions that we offer with a goal of, at the center, really at the center of all of our work is the human experience.” Traditionally we have thought of workspaces as a place where people just show up to work, but it is really so much more than that now. It’s no longer just a space where we go from 9 to 5, because of the integration of work and life that is happening. As Diane shares the workspace is what allows people to connect, collaborate, share, innovate, and make a difference. A workspace should reflect the culture, the mission, and the purpose of the organization. This is a major shift that is taking place in workspace design. The old debate between open and closed spaces in the workplace is quickly becoming something of the past. It is becoming more apparent that it is a diverse work environment that is what makes the most sense. It’s important to have a mixture of open spaces that encourage collaboration and interactions as well as some closed spaces for phone calls, meetings, and individual work. Gensler is utilizing a lot of new technologies to help design workspaces that make sense for the needs of their individual clients. The ability to use data sensors, wearables, and algorithms in the design process is something that couldn’t have been done years ago and it is impacting the future of workspace design. So with all of these updates and changes, how do you keep your workplace relevant for years to come? Diane says, “There used to be a lot more specific design around the process, almost this idea of taking apart the process and then overlaying that on the floor plan and designing each department in its own way, and really looking at the actual work activity. And with the rate of change of what people do, and how companies are transforming, to your point, you basically can design something that will be obsolete you in a year, six months, or two years. And so the the understanding of what work is and how people work, is less about the process, which is probably a little bit more of a factory mindset, and more about, as we were talking earlier, it's about really supporting individual work, group work, and the organization itself. And ultimately then, there's total flexibility to be able to then support any work process, any new type of offering that that organization is going to bring to the markets, new kinds of people they may be bringing in, different generations and so on and so on.”   What you will learn: A look at the new role workspaces play How real estate impacts climate change and how Gensler is addressing the problem What role technology plays in workspace design What it’s like to work at Gensler How to keep your organization’s workspace relevant for years to come A look at the future of workspace design

Humans have changed naturally over time. There’s a reason we don’t live in caves and work over fires any more—we’ve found a better and more efficient way. Human evolution didn’t stop with technology or modern times. We’re still changing and evolving as we find better ways to do things and as our values and concerns change.   Many people think of employee experience as something that just happens at work. Organizations want to create a great environment where employees are happy to come each day, but they only think about what happens during normal business hours and only for things that are work-related. That’s the old way of thinking.    Employee experience relates to every aspect of a person’s life, not just their time at work. When they feel engaged and empowered at work, they likely feel calmer and more confident outside of work. They know they are welcome to bring their true selves to work without judgement, and they don’t feel the pressure of dividing their lives into strict boxes between their personal and professional time. The lines between work and home are blurring as a part of human evolution. Work isn’t something we do from just 9-5. It’s a part of who we are, but it isn’t all that we are.    Human evolution has also led to a greater emphasis on sustainability, health, and social causes. We build habits in these areas in our personal lives as more people try to create healthy and meaningful lives. But in many cases, those habits aren’t supported at work. In order to match the personal expectations employees bring with them, organizations need to change to create an all-encompassing employee experience.    Human values and thoughts are changing. People expect more out of their jobs and lives, and the two areas are no longer completely separate. That’s the nature of human evolution: our desires have grown and improved over time. In order to develop a strong and sustainable employee experience, organizations need to become more human and consider all aspects of their employees’ lives. Employee experience isn’t just a work thing—it’s a human evolution thing.   

  Don Tapscott is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at the Blockchain Research Institute and bestselling author of 16 books. His most recent book is Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business, and the World.    Don has been on the Thinkers50 list 5 times, most recently in 2017 when he was ranked #2 on the list. He also wrote the afterword for my 2012 book, The Collaborative Organization.    At the Blockchain Research Institute, Don and his team study hundreds of cases and stories within 15 industries in order to document the strategic implications of blockchain. Because of this research they are able to help leaders in business and government navigate the blockchain revolution.    Why do we need blockchain? As Don explains up until now we have had intermediaries such as banks, brockers, credit card companies, governments, etc… in order to make sure that assets are safe. But these intermediaries are getting hacked and they sometimes have processes that are outdated, lengthy and costly. That is where blockchain comes in.    The intermediaries will not disappear altogether, but the value will change. He says, “I think the opportunity to create new value, may be bigger than the old disintermediation. I mean, look at... Barnes and Noble suffered, but look at Amazon, it's the most valuable company in the world now. It's in the middle, right in that space. So I said, "The problem is, the leaders of the old middle are not typically the ones to create the new middles." So what happens to these people? Well, we're of the view the future is not something to be predicted, it's something to be achieved. It depends on what they do. And traditional people in the middle, I'd say Western Union, I wouldn't think that they have a huge chance. I don't know the company very well, but I don't see a lot of signs that they're trying to innovate a whole new model for remittances globally, using this technology. So it's really up to you.”   Blockchain still has a long way to go, it’s still, as Don says, “relatively immature”. It’s going to take awhile to fully implement it, but it is still a profound advancement and it is definitely going to impact the way we live and work.    Don’s advice to individuals and leaders is to be curious and look into blockchain to learn what you can about it. He says if you run a large corporation it doesn’t matter what function you are in--whether you are the CEO, in HR, even in marketing--you will be affected by blockchain and there will be big opportunities to utilize it.  What you will learn: What is blockchain and how is it impacting the future of work Don’s advice for the younger generation currently in college The implications of AI--will they be positive or negative? A look at specific trends that are forcing organizations to take blockchain more seriously now Don’s advice for both non-leaders and leaders on what we should be doing about blockchain

  The world of work is constantly changing. Perhaps one of the biggest changes is how we attract new talent. It used to be that whenever a company had a job to fill, people would line up to interview. They would share all of their qualifications and accomplishments to show the company why they should work there.   Things are different now. Just because a company has a job opening doesn’t mean people are automatically lining up to fill it. When potential job candidates come in, they’re more concerned about making sure the organization is the right fit for them instead of proving why they would be the best new employee. Instead of candidates convincing companies why they should work there, companies now have to convince job candidates why they should work for them.    What makes a potential employee want to work for an organization? They want to feel confident the company is the best fit for their interests, values, and skills. Job candidates want to be convinced in the following areas: Sense of purpose. Potential employees want to know the organization’s values and culture align with their own values. They want to feel a sense of purpose and know the work they are doing makes a difference. Companies that are the best at attracting top talent showcase their sense of purpose and make it evident in everything the company does.  Tools. What technology and software do employees use? Is it updated regularly? Employees want tools that allow them to get their jobs done well instead of being held back by slow or outdated supplies. A company that uses consumer-grade technology and is regularly updating will have an easier time convincing job candidates they are the right place to work.  Space. The physical space can tell a lot about an organization. When coming in for an interview, job candidates often want to walk through the space to get a feel of the company. Are co-workers collaborating, or is everyone working in silent cubicles? Is the layout welcoming? Physical space is one of the most tangible ways to showcase a company’s culture and can make a huge difference in how potential employees feel about the organization.  Leadership. What’s the organizational structure of the company? How involved are leaders? Job candidates want to know if leaders are open and transparent, or if the company follows a more outdated hierarchal structure. They likely want a manager who encourages open communication and who can become a mentor of sorts.   In today’s competitive talent landscape, companies need to convince people why they should work for you. Take time to showcase your company and ensure your culture, technology, structure, and physical space align with what job candidates are looking for.  

Ben Marcus is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Airmap, a company that develops the digital infrastructure, standards, and services for drones to fly safely at scale. Basically they create the digital highways that allow for drones to fly. He grew up near an airport and was always fascinated with aviation.    He became a pilot, a flight instructor and eventually a flight test engineer who certified planes. And it was while he was learning to fly that he began his journey to come up with the idea for AirMap.    Ben says, “When I was a flight instructor flying over Los Angeles, I used to fly every day, and have a student next to me, look down at the freeways, and they're jammed packed with people. These cars are just stopped, and I felt so bad for all these miserable people stuck in traffic and I'm the only one up here in the sky. And I was like, "Why is there not more people in the sky with me?" And so, I've dedicated my life and my career to helping extend the benefits of flight to more and more people in their daily lives.”   So what do drones have to do with the future of work? The fact is drones are already being used in a lot of industries to help with cost savings, employee safety, and training. Ben gave an example of how the telecommunications industry is using drones to help with the process of inspecting their antennas. This process is usually dangerous for human workers as well as time consuming, but now the drones are easily and safely able to take video of the equipment that employees can then review to ensure everything is working properly.     In the future we will also see drones used in more science fiction-like ways. Ben believes that drones will have a huge impact on the world of talent because we will be able to fly to work. This will change how organizations think about where to put their headquarters and how individual employees think about where to live.    “If you can fly to work, you can avoid all of that lost productivity, all of that expense, and you can basically live where you want. If you can fly at 100 miles an hour instead of being stuck in traffic at 20 miles an hour, you could live five times further away and have the same commute time. So I actually think that this is gonna lead to a de-urbanization trend and I think it will counter a lot of the negative consequences that have come from urbanization. I think we can have a lot more green space, we need far fewer parking lots and fewer roads. We can have a much more environmentally sustainable way of life going forward. So that's a really exciting future.”   Ben’s advice to business leaders is if you haven’t started working with drones yet and implementing them in ways across your organization, you should start now, because your competitors are most likely already working with drones.    “Many of these large enterprises that have been experimenting with drones are now moving from an experimentation phase into a scaling phase where they maybe have had a drone initiative in their innovation department and they're now moving that across the enterprise and figuring out how they can really make this a part of their workflow, how the data that's collected from drones can be integrated into their ERP systems, how do you really make this a part of the fabric of how our company operates? That's happening now in a lot of businesses across lots of industries all around the world. So, it's not too late, but you should get started right now.” What you will learn: How Ben got involved with drones and AirMap What do drones have to do with work, jobs, careers and the business world The impact drones will have on the world of talent Some cool examples of how drones could affect our daily lives How to ensure drone safety What listeners need to know or think about when it comes to drones

When you’re at work, do you spend more time hearing or listening? They may seem similar, but the differences between just hearing and actually listening are astounding. With all the technology and distractions we have today, it’s crucial for us to be able to take a step back and really listen to what’s being said. As automation and AI become more prevalent at work, listening is a distinctly human attribute that sets us apart. Robots and technology can hear, but they can’t truly listen.    How do you move from hearing to really listening? Here are three tips: Practice active listening Most people can tell when someone is actually listening to them and when they’re distracted and not really paying attention. It comes down to active listening. Hearing is a passive action, but really listening is active. To practice active listening, eliminate any distractions. Put your phone down, step away from the computer, or go into a quiet room. Make eye contact with the person speaking and show you’re paying attention and interested in what they’re saying. Active listening turns a conversation into a collaboration, not just a one-way street.  Try to apply and understand Shift your mindset to try to find value in what each person says. When you listen to understand, you start to see things from their point of view and can have your horizons expanded. Really focus on how you can understand and apply what the person is saying. The extra effort will increase how well you remember the conversation details in the future and make you a better listener.  Focus on more than just your response Many of us fall into the trap of focusing on what we’re going to say next instead of actually listening to the person speaking. We’re thinking of a counterargument or a point that will make us look good instead of actually focusing on what’s being said. If you need to respond to something, set those thoughts aside and focus on just listening to the speaker. Then take a few minutes after the conversation to gather your thoughts and craft a response.    The old saying, “Hearing is through the ears, listening is through the mind” has never been more true. To thrive in the future, organizations need to stay human, and that starts with employees and leaders who focus on the uniquely human attribute of listening. Listening instead of just hearing turns you into a better employee, leader, and individual. Put these tips into action to stop hearing and start listening. 

Chuck Kosal is the Chief Transformation Officer at Deloitte Tax, the tax function of the global firm Deloitte. Deloitte has a total of around 312,000 employees around the world and the tax function is made up of around 12,000 of those employees. They were actually named “Americas Tax Technology Firm of the Year” for the 2nd year in a row by the International Tax Review.    Deloitte’s mission is to create digital innovation that helps its clients adapt to accelerating globalization, increased regulatory and business complexities and other significant transformational changes in the corporate landscape. And in order to accomplish this the organization has to continually evolve to keep up with the needs of their clients.    Part of Chuck’s role is to help the organization navigate change and transformation. This can be a very challenging task because people tend to resist change. Chuck says, “You think in any conversation people always embrace change, they talk about how they want things to be better, how they want things to be different, but the reality is often, human nature is they want everybody around them to change, they think what they're doing is pretty spiffy, right? And so I could share an anecdotal example of a current technology we have in place, that everybody has complained about for a number of years. We announce that we're gonna change it and people scream and yell and drop to the floor and kick and scream like my youngest child, that, “don't take it away for me this terrible technology.” So, it's every day is spent navigating the organization, navigating the stakeholders, doing audience analysis to ensure I understand what's in it for the other side, showing empathy.”   Deloitte Tax is going through a digital transformation. As Chuck describes it, they are “trying to go from doing digital to being digital”. They realize that their clients are used to the quick and seamless interactions with companies like Amazon, Uber, Google, and these clients are going to expect the same service from Deloitte as well.    When it comes to organizational transformation Chuck says one of the biggest pitfalls companies encounter is the fear of taking the first step. “You'll hear a lot and I'm sure on your podcast, this idea of being bold. You don't actually need to be bold, you need to be brave. And you need to take the first step towards a change and I see that in the context of transformation. Digital or otherwise, any types of business transformation, even personal transformation, it's the first step that's the hardest. When you think about, it's that first workout that's the hardest, it's the first investment you make that's the hardest. And so I would say that's the biggest challenge that I would tell people. It's an easy challenge to overcome, just take your first step. Big or small, just take a step and see how it goes. And you might find that it's not as bad as you think and you might actually get some results that will inspire you to take a bigger step next time. But don't let paralysis be the enemy. Don't let this idea of how change might... What the outcome of change might be to not actually try it. And so I would say that's it, it's taking that first step.” What you will learn:  What does a Chief Transformation Officer do A look at the trends Chuck is paying attention to  How Deloitte is moving from doing digital to being digital How Chuck and his team are utilizing technology How companies can keep up with new technologies How to deal with change and approach people who are resistant to change The role of empathy in business Some of the pitfalls or mistakes companies make when going through transformation

How we work today is drastically different than it was even just a few years ago. It might seem like everything about the world of work is changing, but I narrowed it down to three main areas:   Technology and Connectivity The idea of working without a smartphone or the internet seems crazy, but that was standard practice not too long ago. Technology, especially AI and the Internet of Things, is constantly growing and evolving and bringing with it new opportunities for growth. Technology impacts how we work, where we work, and the type of work we do. Companies best positioned for the future leverage technology to increase productivity and efficiency.    Power to Employees  A power shift has been happening in recent years that puts employees in the driver’s seat. Instead of having to explain to companies why they need to work there, companies now must explain to employees why then need them to work there. With more power comes increased transparency and an openness between organizations and employees. It’s led to a greater emphasis on employee experience and better workspaces, diversity, and flexibility as organizations work to recruit and keep the best employees.    Creating Human Organizations and Leadership No company can exist without people. As technology increases and can be used to automate mundane tasks, organizations must find a way to become more human. Employees and leaders are emphasizing those uniquely human characteristics, such as collaboration, creativity, and vulnerability that can’t be replicated by machines. Human organizations allow employees to be unique and thrive and encourage leaders to act as coaches and mentors instead of just telling everyone what to do.   These three changes to the world of work—plus countless others—are hugely positive in creating a forward-thinking and welcoming environment. As technology takes over repetitive tasks, humans are free to work as they please, improve themselves, and work together to make huge strides. Organizations need to continually grow and improve to match the overall changes. Companies that embrace these changes instead of running away will be the most prepared for the future of work. 

Blake Morgan is a best-selling author, speaker and futurist who focuses on customer experience. Her new book, The Customer of the Future: Ten Guiding Principles for Winning Tomorrow’s Business, was just released on October 29. Creating great customer experience is critical for organizations looking to get and stay ahead. With all of the technologies we have and use on a daily basis (Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, etc…) as consumers we have come to expect personalized, easy, quick experiences. The problem is so many organizations are not keeping up with technology. Most, if not all, of us have stories about horrible experiences when interacting with insurance companies or cable companies or airlines. Creating great customer experience is intertwined with creating great employee experience, because it is employees who are fulfilled, happy, and engaged who are going to be willing to go above and beyond for the customers. Employees who do not have the resources, tools, and training to do their job correctly are not going to provide great customer experience. Blake shares a story that she heard from an HR executive at Workday, that proves this point completely. There was a salesperson who worked at the company, but he had a very hard time selling the software. The software itself was very hard to sell because it is only replaced every 10 years, but on top of that the salesperson was going through some difficult times personally, which made selling even harder. He had found out his daughter was suffering from an illness and the insurance he had through the company would not cover the medical attention his daughter would need. He approached HR to ask for an exception and surprisingly they were able to change his policy to cover what his daughter needed. He was so grateful and relieved that he had a complete turn around professionally. He became the highest grossing sales person at the company and he started bringing in million dollar deals. Blake says, “What I love about this story is that the head of HR didn't even remember approving this policy change for this young man because it was just so normal to be a human being and do the right thing for the human beings that work for you. And I think most companies, they've become so procedure obsessed, so operations obsessed, so money obsessed that they completely miss the human element, they treat their employees like robots, which is ironic because we're all afraid of being replaced by robots. Well, most companies already treat their employees like robots and their employees treat customers like robots.” Think of how much our customer experience would change if we could start by treating our employees with empathy, compassion, and kindness. “Being a successful business today takes hard work, but if you're just the one who has common sense, if you have integrity, if you have fair business practices, I believe that you can make it based on these old principles of integrity, of a commitment to being better. Jeff Bezos recently said, "I believe that one day Amazon will fail. Amazon will go bankrupt." And that's this humility, this awareness of... His company's own mortality. Like even Amazon could disappear overnight. That keeps him humble. And earning our keep every single day, no matter if it's in our relationships with our family, with our employees, with our customers, it's that humility. All of this could just go away. So every single day we need to try our best and commit to our originally established own vision and not let it lose its luster over time.”   What you will learn: How Blake got involved in the customer experience space What is the difference between customer service and customer experience A look at the biggest trend causing organizations to spend more time on customer experience How does employee experience fit in with customer experience Examples of companies who are getting customer experience right A look at the 10 guiding principles in Blake’s new book

Huge thanks to VMware for sponsoring this episode! If you want a free copy of my upcoming book The Future Leader, go to http://bit.ly/vmwaregiveaways ____________________________________________________ Today’s world is incredibly fast-paced and competitive. How do you stand out and build your career? By developing your personal brand.   Just like each company has a brand, each person also has a brand. It’s what you stand for and what you want people to know about you. Your personal brand could be a subject you are passionate about, a cause you care deeply for, or a message you want to share. A strong personal brand solidifies you as a subject matter expert and makes you more valuable in your company or in your own entrepreneurial endeavors. Building a personal brand takes time and effort. To build a maintain a strong personal brand, you need to focus on three areas: Consistency Choose a brand and stick with it. What are you going to share with people? What do you want them to know about you? Decide on one thing and be consistent. Your brand could be talking about the future of work (like mine) or being an expert on new medicine or aviation. Once you decide your brand and message, stay consistent. Don’t jump around to other topics, but instead stay in your lane and build your brand. Frequency Your brand becomes what you talk about all the time. The more often you talk about something, the more it will stick with people. Talk about your message in person, on social media, and in other personal and professional outlets. The goal is for people to instantly match you to your personal brand, but that only comes from talking about it often. Visibility To build your personal brand, you’ve got to get out there! Your message doesn’t mean anything if you don’t share it in a visible way. Post on social media, contribute to other websites and blogs, speak at conferences—the list goes on and on. Be visible and spread your message.   Building a personal brand is a continual process and doesn’t happen overnight. Choose a message or brand you’re passionate about and make it part of how you live and work. Your personal brand should be part of your walk and talk every day. Following these three steps can help you build a strong brand over time and make you stand out in our competitive world.