Leadership in Crisis, a Minnesota summit
White-haired Bill George starts us off with talk of subprime leadership, seeing "who was swimming naked," tales of Medtronic ethics, and the hope that we'll be the frog that defies nature and jumps out of the boiling water.
He promises universal lessons:
• Face yr own reality. Admit yr mistakes.
• (the rest are TBA, I guess)
eBay, Xerox, & Carlson CEOs are here, with a Harvard Fellow from CNN. We begin with Anne Mulcahy recounting her salvation of Xerox.
• know how bad things are (listen)
• keep optimistic
• align staff for common goals
• make clear action items for ppl
• don't hand out soundbytes (like my talk of unsustainable business models)
David the Fellow shares observations of leaders:
• ppl want to succeed
• 9/11 brought the country together
• Rudy read Churchill
• Obama's economists were prepared (studied Great Depression)
• predicting next crisis is hard
• Can we do a better job preparing?
• prez should encourage a climate of crisis
• all these problems (Soc Security, climate) have just been festering
Marilyn Carlson Nelson begins by talking in circles about integrating leaders from their silos. She takes exception to being bundled with subprime leaders. Her observations are as frilly as her white blouse: "Job creation is the best philanthropy there is."
• 9/11 was a command and control moment
• we were one of the first to call for a bridge
• we hired good ppl, which was good
• good culture/good credo: "go as a leader, dream with your all, and never give up!"
• take care of yr competitor's customers
• Napoleon wanted foot soldiers to feel like field marshals. Me too.
Then John gets asked where jobs are going to come from. He jokes about how many mistakes he's made and reflects on eBay's struggling sellers.
• this was a lousy Xmas season so we didn't buy tv ads. We gave it to eBay shoppers.
• we lost sight of our customers. Now, after many years, we're customer-driven
• "communication is everything" [ironically]
All: Ugh. The public is so impatient.
Marilyn: Are we even sustainable? Reboot.
We are likely to fire masses of ppl cyclically.
Bill: job situation sucks. How do we get good jobs?
John: Small business. Big biz is overseas. And technology makes small biz happen.
Marilyn: but you need big biz and banks for distribution.
John: creative ppl will find funding
Anne: we're cheating R&D for shortterm gain
David: our culture's going rancid over healthcare
Bill: what about new jobs??
David: 3-5M green jobs. But no nat'l strategy for innovation. Society needs a healthy culture of self-reliance.
Marilyn: how about just local plans?
Bill: how do we create good leaders?
Anne: it's starting, Bill. We just haven't been thoughtful enough about collaboration between govt, biz, and academia.
John: crisis is the best training for leadership. That's where you find yrself.
Bill asks how to survive a crisis. No one speaks up.
Anne: yr ppl inspire u. Lay in bed at night, asking "did I do everything I could today?"
David: test young ppl early. Look after yr ppl. Morale. Be a friend. Recognize yr anchors.
Marilyn: "I absolutely believe in anchors." perspective from within the crucible. "as long as you have breath you can recoup" we will get thru this!
John: a valley's never fun in the middle of it, and there's more coming. I was lowest-rated CEO in silicon valley! Friends and family reminded me of a better perspective. "Not what I know, but how fast I learn and adapt"
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
He promises universal lessons:
• Face yr own reality. Admit yr mistakes.
• (the rest are TBA, I guess)
eBay, Xerox, & Carlson CEOs are here, with a Harvard Fellow from CNN. We begin with Anne Mulcahy recounting her salvation of Xerox.
• know how bad things are (listen)
• keep optimistic
• align staff for common goals
• make clear action items for ppl
• don't hand out soundbytes (like my talk of unsustainable business models)
David the Fellow shares observations of leaders:
• ppl want to succeed
• 9/11 brought the country together
• Rudy read Churchill
• Obama's economists were prepared (studied Great Depression)
• predicting next crisis is hard
• Can we do a better job preparing?
• prez should encourage a climate of crisis
• all these problems (Soc Security, climate) have just been festering
Marilyn Carlson Nelson begins by talking in circles about integrating leaders from their silos. She takes exception to being bundled with subprime leaders. Her observations are as frilly as her white blouse: "Job creation is the best philanthropy there is."
• 9/11 was a command and control moment
• we were one of the first to call for a bridge
• we hired good ppl, which was good
• good culture/good credo: "go as a leader, dream with your all, and never give up!"
• take care of yr competitor's customers
• Napoleon wanted foot soldiers to feel like field marshals. Me too.
Then John gets asked where jobs are going to come from. He jokes about how many mistakes he's made and reflects on eBay's struggling sellers.
• this was a lousy Xmas season so we didn't buy tv ads. We gave it to eBay shoppers.
• we lost sight of our customers. Now, after many years, we're customer-driven
• "communication is everything" [ironically]
All: Ugh. The public is so impatient.
Marilyn: Are we even sustainable? Reboot.
We are likely to fire masses of ppl cyclically.
Bill: job situation sucks. How do we get good jobs?
John: Small business. Big biz is overseas. And technology makes small biz happen.
Marilyn: but you need big biz and banks for distribution.
John: creative ppl will find funding
Anne: we're cheating R&D for shortterm gain
David: our culture's going rancid over healthcare
Bill: what about new jobs??
David: 3-5M green jobs. But no nat'l strategy for innovation. Society needs a healthy culture of self-reliance.
Marilyn: how about just local plans?
Bill: how do we create good leaders?
Anne: it's starting, Bill. We just haven't been thoughtful enough about collaboration between govt, biz, and academia.
John: crisis is the best training for leadership. That's where you find yrself.
Bill asks how to survive a crisis. No one speaks up.
Anne: yr ppl inspire u. Lay in bed at night, asking "did I do everything I could today?"
David: test young ppl early. Look after yr ppl. Morale. Be a friend. Recognize yr anchors.
Marilyn: "I absolutely believe in anchors." perspective from within the crucible. "as long as you have breath you can recoup" we will get thru this!
John: a valley's never fun in the middle of it, and there's more coming. I was lowest-rated CEO in silicon valley! Friends and family reminded me of a better perspective. "Not what I know, but how fast I learn and adapt"
Posted via LiveJournal.app.