Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’

I only find time to work out on weekends or business trips these days. With a company to run and a four year old to spend time with, who has time for workouts? True to form, on a recent business trip to Florida I hit the hotel gym. On my way there I found it funny that the place was swarming with security. But when I took my spot on the elliptical machine and scanned the room I realized why. My running mate to my left was President Obama himself!  It was hard to keep my eyes off of him, but I tried to appear unfazed. The man is fit. He ran at least four miles and then hit the elliptical machine for over 30 minutes.

As my fellow gym mates started to notice our high profile guest, he began to shake hands. There were only about 10 of us in there and he made a point to smile and interact with each one of us saying, "You’ve got to stay in shape".

If the President of the United States can find time to work out, can't I? Damn straight! Outside of inspiring me to work out more, I was also struck by the president’s positive, friendly demeanor, how he moved through the crowd and how security allowed him to interact.

You'd think they would close down the little gym for an hour to allow the President a private workout. But no, the Secret Service allowed us to go about our business and for the President to behave, as much as possible, like a regular Joe. In SOHO, where I live, they close down boutiques so celebrities can shop privately.  The president clearly doesn't subscribe to that ethos and I'm impressed. If the President can "walk with kings but keep the common touch," shouldn't all people in high places? Thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to be your "running mate!" It was an hour I will cherish forever.  End of Story

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No Comments » Written on July 23rd, 2012 by
Categories: Leadership, Miscellaneous Musings
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I read an interesting op-ed this week on women in the workplace. Some may be familiar with frequent Forbes contributor Tim Worstall. He’s written several contrarian pieces in his time (mostly in the tech space) with topics ranging from the pronounced death of Facebook to a potential Apple boycott. His flavor of this week however, is a discussion on whether women in the workplace “can have it all”. His conclusion: they can most certainly not.

Tim’s most recent piece discusses Monday’s news that 37-year old Marissa Mayer, former Google executive, will join Yahoo! as its new CEO (and one of a small club of female CEOs running Fortune 500 companies).  While there have been plenty of articles out this week exploring Mayer’s background and what this means for the company, Tim chooses to focus in on another aspect...Mayer’s baby bump. It was reported by several sources that Mayer disclosed her pregnancy to Yahoo’s board in June before her hire was made official. In her opinion, her pregnancy will have no effect on her position as CEO. In Tim’s opinion, it most certainly will. Mayer has stated she will only take a few weeks of maternity leave and be back in the office to tend to her new role. Tim – and many others I am sure – seem to think Mayer is unfit to make this call, being a first time mother let alone a first time CEO.

Tim’s article continues as a lament on the unfortunate fact that by our very nature, women, must always chose between work and motherhood. He thinks that one, undoubtedly, will take precedence.  He also details that while most have considered the “glass ceiling” to have been shattered and women to have the same pay opportunities that men do, mothers are an exception to this new rule. Of a similar note, Forbes reported earlier this year that women who keep their maiden names may do so for branding purposes and other studies indicated that by keeping their last name women actually have the potential to earn more than women who take their husband’s last name after marriage. Whether we agree with these ideas or not, this brings up an interesting argument.

Will women always be viewed as unequal to men in the work force simply by the very nature of our sex?
I’ll leave it up for discussion, but before I do so, it may be interesting to also consider the parallels between raising a child and leading a multi-billion dollar company. WSJ recently reported Mayer’s not the first one to raise a child and profits at the same time.

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2 comments Written on July 20th, 2012 by
Categories: From the News, Leadership, Management
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I have been saying for years that I'd like to shoot the individuals who coined the phrase "It's nothing personal, it's just business,” and made it part of our collective thinking. Thanks to Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, I feel validated in my intense dislike for the quote and its rampant, out-of-context use.

This past weekend I watched her amazing speech (below) to the graduating class of Harvard Business School and was inspired on so many levels. But the point she made about being an authentic human being in the workplace struck a chord. She said, "It is all professional, and all personal, at the same time." I couldn’t agree more.

It is sad that the corporate world has become so wooden, so overly scripted and so inhuman. As a consultant I walk the halls of many institutions and I am saddened by the behavior I see. And to see women in high-ranking roles never drop their guard and show their authentic selves is truly sad.

I recently met Sallie Krawcheck, former CEO of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, and was instantly impressed by her. She is honest, open, intelligent, authentic and funny. What a breath of fresh air. Contrastingly, I also recently attended a Wall Street Journal Viewpoints Breakfast featuring another senior woman and left disappointed. She was so scripted and polished; it was hard to feel as if you learned anything about her, or her organization. There was no authenticity or connection, and others felt the same.

Sandberg’s speech is a must-watch on every level and I agree with each and every message she delivered to the HBS class. If you haven’t watched it, check it out (and a special thank you to my colleague Vu Chung for insisting that I watch it!). CJP

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2 comments Written on May 30th, 2012 by
Categories: Business, From the News, Leadership
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Okay, okay. I know 2011 is a wrap and 2012 is underway. I also know that the “What’s Ahead for 2012” story can get very cliché. Nevertheless, news outlets and the blogosphere love to recap the year that was while forecasting the upcoming months. So I’ll apologize in advance for continuing to be cliché, but  I couldn’t help sharing the below video.

For the last few months, our Managing Partner, Jennifer Prosek, has been talking about the book “Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen. Jen covered the book and its premise as part of a recent post that you can view here. While I haven’t read the book yet (it’s currently on my nightstand waiting for a rainy Saturday afternoon), I have become a bit conditioned to keeping an eye out for mentions of the book or commentary from its authors.

It was for this reason that I was intrigued to watch a recent interview that CBS MoneyWatch did with Hansen. The topic: What CEOs should we watch in 2012?  While Hansen covers some intriguing, yet predicable, chief executives (Tim Cook, John Chambers, Lloyd Blankfein, Reed Hastings and Andrew Mason) it got me thinking. Who am I intrigued to watch? Certainly Meg Whitman (H-P), Tom Horton (American Airlines), Scott Thompson (Yahoo!) are all on my list, but who’s on yours? Give Hansen's interview a watch (below) and feel free to share your list/thoughts within the comments. CJP

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No Comments » Written on January 9th, 2012 by
Categories: Leadership
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

In my opinion, business books fall into three categories: research overload, author’s own bubble and just about right, the latter being a book that is well-balanced with the right amount of relevant research and the author’s perspective. Jim Collins’s “How the Mighty Fall” belongs in this last category.

Every organization, no matter how powerful, great, wealthy or big, is susceptible to decline. The reason for the decline most often has nothing to do with complacency or that the organization does not evolve. In fact, the research done by Mr. Collins and his colleagues shows that most of the companies that failed actually do change, but sometimes too much. The book looks at the decline of some of the world’s best companies, the reasons behind their demise and what others can learn from these failures. Based on the research, Mr. Collins and his team developed a five-stage process detailing the characteristics of failure, which is depicted in the chart below.

The book has just the right amount of research to support a theory and not too much technical jargon that bore the readers to death. The examples that Mr. Collins used are familiar companies with very strong business models, yet they are still failing or had failed. In addition to facts about these companies, Mr. Collins also offers tips on how to sustain the life of an organization. The one tip that sticks with me is having “the right people in key seats.” Sounds simple, but many failed companies did not quite get this concept.

Overall, I find “How the Mighty Fall” to be educational and quite entertaining. It’s a fast read with very interesting facts and tips. I highly recommend it.

Just for kicks, which company do you think is grasping for salvation right now? CJP

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1 Comment » Written on June 9th, 2011 by
Categories: Business, Communication, Industry Tips, Leadership, Marketing
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