Great Work Interview Stew Friedman, author of Total Leadership
Be real.
Be whole.
Be innovative.
That’s the essence of Total Leadership, and Stew Friedman is the man behind it and the best-selling book of the same title. He’s been at the forefront of evolution of leadership thinking (and being) for more than twenty year as senior faculty at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. And he’s honed his thoughts on leadership by spending time as the Director of Ford’s Leadership Develop Centre.
In our conversation we chat about:
The “Jerry Maguire” moment in his own career, when leadership become critical
The importance of managing the boundaries
Why deciding who matters is one of the secrets to “being whole”
Great Work Interview Raj Sisodia, author of Firms of Endearment
Firms of Endearment. Surely one of the best business book titles ever, don’t you think?
Knowing my passion for Great Work and for a great pun, it was kismet that I was able to talk to Professor Raj Sisodia, Professor of Marketing at Bentley College. The starting point for his book is looking at companies that people – ordinary people – truly love, and then becoming curious about what’s behind the magic. Raj’s background as an engineer brings a distinctively analytical approach to figuring out what makes it all work so well. The final companies he surveyed had to spend less than the industry norm on marketing, and significantly over-perform in terms of being a trusted brand.
During our conversation on the importance of ‘Conscious Capitalism’ we touch on:
How engaged employees are often at the heart of a trusted brand
The importance of community connection to building trust
Why defining your ‘raise d’être’ allows you to transcend ‘profit maximization’
And how it can all come down to the elements that make up the acronym SPICE
You can learn more about the work of Conscious Capitalism (including highlights of their 2009 Summit) at consciouscapitalism.com
From Fast Company’s Innovation Uncensored Conference, here’s Nike’s CEO Mark Parker talking about advice he got from Steve Jobs.
OK, I know I’ve given away the punchline. And watch it anyway. Because truly, this is the fundamental, be-all-and-end-all secret of doing more Great Work.
Edit. Say No. Reduce the Good Work. Eliminate the Bad Work. It’s the No that opens up the Yes.
Great Work Quote 73 “Allow the gods of f*@k-up to bless us”
Allow the gods of f*@k-up to bless us.”
~ Mark Bowden
I’ve spent two weeks on the road with my colleague, friend and best-selling author Mark Bowden. It’s been a lot of fun, and over breakfasts and dinners we’ve chatted about all sorts of things. He’s a great story-teller, and with his long history in the theatre he’s got some great stories to tell. (If you ever meet him, ask him about Toya Wilcox and Prince Edward and him in a cab.)
Talking about comedy, he threw away this line which I reached in and pulled back from conversational oblivion. His point? It’s when it all goes wrong that true comedy, true versatility, true grit starts to show.
I love this quote. How about you?
(I was going to put in a YouTube clip of painful falls. But quite frankly, it was too painful. I’m sure you can find the pictures and videos you need to make the point…)
Great Work Interview Scott Wallace of Cirque du Soleil
Ten years ago, one company cropped up in all the business books – SouthWest Airlines. They’re still a brilliant company of course, but their story is well known. The new story is Cirque du Soleil, a 25 year old overnight success.
The Cirque recently visited Toronto for their marvelous and jaw-dropping show Ovo. Through a series of lucky coincidences, I got to interview Scott Wallace, the General Manger of that show. I’ve always wanted to peer under the Big Top and learn a little of how this amazing company worked.
Scott showed me around, and here’s what we discussed:
The secret to how you manage 200+ people from 15 different countries
How to balance providing support and removing responsibility
How insights into a good village help to structure the running of the travelling troupe
Ways of keeping things fresh when you’re running the same show night in and night out.
Be real.
Ten years ago, one company cropped up in all the business books – SouthWest Airlines. They’re still a brilliant company of course, but their story is well known. The new story is Cirque du Soleil, a 25 year old overnight success.