Published on: Monday, October 11, 2010
How Do You Text Authenticity?
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Report from World Business Forum, New YorkThe reconciliation of old school values and cutting-edge technology was consummated on stage at Radio City Music Hall during the two days of the
World Business Forum this week. Some 30 business and policy leaders, nostalgic for times when trust, transparency and a handshake were the hallmarks of a deal, acknowledged the power of 21st century tools that connect one to millions in a moment and can shatter reputations at the press of a "send" button. Add into the mix a renewed emphasis on organizational culture and customer-centricity, and today's CEO has hands too full to barely pick up a BlackBerry.
Kicking off the event was the intense Jim Collins, author of
Good to Great,
Built to Last and
How the Mighty Fall, warning that "hubris born of success" is the first stage of a terminal organizational disease, and truly great leaders "have the guts to cut off your own arm if it has cancer." He cites CEOs Darwin Smith, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Anne Mulcahy, Xerox, and Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines, as examples of those who were willing to make that sacrifice "with the stoic will to do whatever it takes to make their enterprises truly great."
The role of the leader is very different today, said David Gergen, former advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. "Many of us grew up at a time when a CEO or General Patton was a lone individual who sent down messages from Mount Olympus. It's no longer possible to get results by ordering people around. In a crisis you have to have command and control, but, in general you have to be able to influence and persuade. They have to be inspired."
Filmmaker James Cameron confessed he had to adapt his leadership style from dictatorial to one that was more respectful and empowering. "I don't think I was always a good leader where I worked with people to get the best out of them," said the creator of Avatar, adding that these skills weren't innate for him, and he had to be open to learning so he wouldn't seem phony.
At a private event for select World Business Forum delegates, Gergen was among a panel who dug a little deeper on the topic of sustainable leadership, arriving at a list of required tangible skills: trust; reliability; the ability to inspire; leading beyond your boundaries; and values that can be adapted to rapidly changing circumstances.
"It also means consistency. I've worked for presidents who say one thing on Monday and something different on Tuesday or Thursday. Be candid, consistent and know what you're talking about," Gergen concluded.
A couple of presenters pointed out what they found were recent worst practices in leadership. Jack Welch specifically called out Hewlett-Packard for "committing sins over the last 10 years" and not developing future leadership. Gergen, concerned young people would consider Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg a role model, called the young CEO a "jerk" based on the portrayal of his character in the movie The Social Network.
Of Facebook, and all things social media, Charlene Li, author of
Open Leadership, said for companies to have a social strategy — and they must if they want to connect and build relationships with customers — means leaders have to give up control. To lead today is to be inspirational, to build relationships — with employees and customers — so they want to follow. Li acknowledged the
Bloggers Hub at Radio City as leaders because they had followers.
What these technologies do better is help manage relationships, said Li. "Think about what relationships mean in business and personally. Think about your spouse or partner. You can't control relationships. In business why would we think we should?"
Gergen used General David Petreus as an example of a leader who has mastered virtual connection and communication. "You can write him on a BlackBerry and you'll get an answer within an hour," said Gergen of Petreus. "He is open to feedback and conversations from the troops. He doesn't use it to manage or lead but to stay informed and connected."
By far, the show stopper was Nando Parrado, one of the survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash, which was later depicted in the movie
Alive. His powerful presentation, accompanied by photos of the crash site and recreations by
National Geographic, exemplified life or death crisis management, leadership challenges, teamwork and strategy, but, he said, the biggest lesson he learned on that mountain was that love was the most important thing. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away," said Parrado to the only standing ovation of the two-day event.
Robyn Greenspan
Lessons learned from and about six-figure leadership and executive career management
