Topics

Leadership

Give People Meaningful Reasons to Innovate

March 24, 2015 —

Give People Meaningful Reasons to Innovate

We often come back to the Fast Company blog post by Seth Kahan, a change specialist and author of, “Getting Innovation Right”, published in 2013. Many of our clients are looking for help creating a brand strategy and developing corporate values that will help create a culture of innovation. Seth presents three practical secrets for the innovative leader. We were particularly struck by his second secret: Secret #2. Articulate the Way Forward People rely on their leaders to craft a vision of the future that makes sense and can guide their everyday decisions. Most of the leaders I...
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Why Every CEO Should Pursue a Purpose Beyond Profit

January 21, 2015 —

Why Every CEO Should Pursue a Purpose Beyond Profit

It’s textbook management practice to formalize a company’s “mission, vision and values.” And while these are important steps in helping form a direction and way of being for a company, many CEOs are nonetheless challenged with a litany of business issues: Unengaged employees An inability to attract the new talent needed Customer defection Lack of marketplace differentiation Dissatisfied shareholders This list goes on and on, doesn’t it? Behind each of these business challenges is a big question: How can my business matter more to people? When your business truly...
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Leadership Is What Leadership Means

December 22, 2014 —

Leadership Is What Leadership Means

Gianpiero Petriglieri is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, a regular contributor to the HBR blog, and a prolific and insightful tweeter. Indeed, the title of this old, but relevant post is taken from one of his tweets promoting his piece on HBR, “There is no shortage of leaders.” Professor Petriglieri’s main point is that the methods and goals of leadership are misplaced.  He suggests that the current narrow view of leadership development and practice is falling short of what’s needed in today’s world. “There is no shortage of leadership at all.” “There are plenty of...
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Meaningful Leaders Resolution #1 for 2015

December 17, 2014 —

Meaningful Leaders Resolution #1 for 2015

Lead by proudly, confidently and passionately proclaiming a new destination for your customers, your employees and your business. Going beyond profit, declare your intention to do well by doing good. Give everyone the answer to their burning question, “Why?”. Why does your business exist? Why is that good? Why does that matter? Interested in learning more about how to create your Purpose Beyond...
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Winning Leaders Change the Conversation

October 14, 2014 —

Winning Leaders Change the Conversation

We recently came across an interview with Lee Clow, who has been responsible for a slew of famous ad campaigns, including the landmark 1984 Apple commercial. In the interview he talks about how he now describes his role: “Finding a voice as a tone for a brand is the art of what I do. I want to consider myself now as a media artist, not an advertising person, because advertising is kind of defined these days and has a negative stigma attached to it. But to be a media artist is to take a brand and find its voice and tell its story and make it interesting and likeable. I think brands are...
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How to Mindfully Lead Change

September 29, 2014 —

How to Mindfully Lead Change

Empathy in leadership In this thought-provoking video, KPCB* partner John Maeda reminds us of the importance of empathy in leadership. He suggests that leadership is a design problem, and notes that the best design comes from people who ask and listen before putting forward their ideas. Mindful leaders are, by nature, empathetic. They know that failing to listen first creates irrelevant communications and misunderstood gestures from leaders. As John Maeda says, “The people are there in the room, but nobody’s hearing what you say.” Connect more meaningfully To connect meaningfully to...
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Mindful Leadership Leads to Meaningful Business

August 1, 2014 —

Mindful Leadership Leads to Meaningful Business

Mindful Leadership “I believe leaders are most inspiring when their message is deeply personal and yet resonant with the concerns of others.” – Gianpiero Petriglieri, INSEAD There’s a parallel between what makes a strong leader and what defines a meaningful business. As my recent interview with Mindful leaders combine a strong sense of self purpose with a capacity to make that purpose meaningful to others Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at INSEAD underscores, a key driver of effective 21st Century business leadership will be mindfulness. Mindful...
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Why Brand Strategy Needs to Start in the C-Suite

July 1, 2014 —

Why Brand Strategy Needs to Start in the C-Suite

For brand strategies to have any real traction, they need to be born – at least in spirit – in the C-suite. Here are three reasons why: 1.  Capture and reflect vision The leadership team sets the vision for the enterprise. This vision informs the tone and spirit of the brand strategy. 2.  Engage senior management ownership A new brand strategy is a moment of transformation for the company. As active participants in the development of the brand strategy, senior leadership takes an ownership position in this change process. 3.  Signal senior management buy-in When it is well known...
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Leadership at a Time When People Know as Much About Your Business as You Know About Them

April 29, 2014 —

Leadership at a Time When People Know as Much About Your Business as You Know About Them

Welcome to transparency, whether you like it or not. This is the time when people have access to unprecedented amounts of information, including deep insights into what your company is up to. And they are using this information to form opinions – opinions that shape their attitudes toward your business; attitudes that drive their behavior with respect to your business. Be they employees, customers, partners, investors, or industry pundits, what you do, how you behave, and why you do what you do all become factors in deciding your company’s fate. Hence, our advice for leaders wishing to...
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When Leadership Aligns, Good Things Happen

April 28, 2014 —

When Leadership Aligns, Good Things Happen

Alignment of thought, meaning, and purpose among a leadership team is the new secret sauce of successful businesses. When your executive leadership team agree that, “we’re aligned around a true purpose, are living it in this way, and, are clear we want to do this because it truly matters,” the effect ripples through your organization.As leadership aligns in a more purposeful way, their direct reports have more direction, feel better about helping get the business where it needs to be, and believe their work truly matters. In turn, they help direct the rest of the company so...
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