How Business Can Restore America’s Greatness – Part 2 of 4

Part 2 – The Prosperity Formula and Three Pools of Demand*

When Bill Knudsen jumped into the leadership position that led to our victory in World War II, he knew that business leaders could both serve our country and do what was right for the shareholders at businesses like General Motors.

Knudsen saw great opportunity when three forces were aligned: demand, capital, and assets. Specifically, he knew that if he and his fellow industrialists transformed supply chains and product lines to meet the new demand for arms, munitions, ships, planes, and trucks that there were actual orders to be filled, and profits to be made filling them.

With the mind of an opportunistic business leader, Knudsen also saw a path to adequate funding resources as well as a set of assets others missed that together would provide the building blocks of his audacious strategy.

In The New Grand Strategy, authors Mykleby, Doherty, and Makower crystalize Knudsen’s “prosperity formula,” as Demand + CapitalStranded Assets = New Growth Scenario. They assert that today, as in 1940, the equation starts with demand.

Further, they see a similarly massive market opportunity currently being missed by American businesses, specifically in three pools of demand—walkable communities, regenerative agriculture, and resource productivity.

Walkable communities are the hottest properties in real estate. American tastes have changed, from the splendid isolation of the suburbs to what authors call the “half-mile lifestyle”—work, school, transit, doctors, restaurants, playgrounds, and entertainment all with a short walk from the front door. Between now and 2030, baby boomers and millennials will unite in their demand for a broader range of housing types (single-family, townhouse, live-work, condo, apartment) in “new urban” communities. The financial impact of this shift is estimated at approximately $225 billion annually in residential sales alone, before including another $23 billion in annual savings for avoided public-service expenditures like roads, sanitation, water, and other infrastructure. More broadly, walkable communities simultaneously address several other big issues including decarbonization, social fabric, and health and wellness. Meeting this demand is a winner on every level.

Regenerative agriculture describes our opportunity to meet the growing global demand for food. To meet rising population and income levels, according the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the world needs to increase global food production by 60 percent by 2050, and 100 percent of that will need to use farming techniques that restore soils and cleanse waterways. For American farmers, the increase in demand for food is already translating to record prices, but meeting this demand could translate to approximately $190 billion annually in additional revenue to farm operators, and end hunger worldwide.

Finally, resource productivity describes the incredible market opportunity to meet the energy and material needs of bringing three billion new middle-class aspirants into the global economy. The required revolution in resource allocation will power innovation in material sciences, engineering, advanced manufacturing, and energy production, distribution, and consumption. Embracing and hosting the resource productivity revolution would deliver a boost of more than $850 billion annually, or five percent of US GDP. America would be capturing the savings from reducing and eliminating waste, and producing a new era of innovative materials, goods, and services for domestic and global markets. America will also get back to making things again, as it dramatically reduces the potential for worldwide conflict based on scarcity.

Taken together, these three pools of demand alone generate an annual revenue opportunity of $1.3 trillion and create opportunities for true full-spectrum sustainability.

The book outlines current success stories in which alignment of business, social, and environmental priorities is generating triple bottom-line returns (for people, profit, planet) today. Companies ranging from Dupont and GM to PepsiCo, GE, and Whole Foods are demonstrating the path forward. Many more examples are offered.

Bill Knudsen knew that businesses with real orders for real things with real specifications offered a real start to long-lasting economic growth—a start more effective than any law Washington could pass or policy they could adopt. Yet, two more critical components of the prosperity formula needed to be addressed.

The next blog will review those elements while the final piece will make the case that the world needs the next set of Bill Knudsens to step up, and will offer a specific recommendation as to how.

In summary, this blog series is intended to prompt readers to fully explore The New Grand Strategy as what I believe is one of the most important books of our time.

 

 

*All content in this blog series is adapted from The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security, and Sustainability in the 21st Century with permission from authors Mark Mykleby, Patrick Doherty, and Joel Makower. Mr. Mykleby and Mr. Doherty currently serve as co-directors at the Strategic Innovation Lab (SIL) at Case Western Reserve University, as part of The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. Full disclosure: I proudly serve as a strategic advisor to the SIL.

Leave a comment →

How Business Can Restore America’s Greatness – Part 1 of 4

Part 1 – Introduction*

Bill Knudsen was president of General Motors when he decided that only business could prepare for America’s victory in World War II. He understood the role of business in restoring America’s greatness. With our country facing forces on several fronts that could have forever changed our democratic republic, thankfully Bill Knudsen stepped up.

As Arthur Herman noted in his 2012 book, Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II: “If the country was going to make itself seriously ready for war, neither the politicians nor the generals nor the admirals were willing to take the lead. American business and industry would have to figure it out on their own.”

Today, forces on multiple fronts again threaten our way of life domestically and around the world. This time the four antagonists are the rapid economic inclusion of three billion people, climate change and the depletion of our natural capital, the contained depression supporting income inequality, and the crumbling infrastructure at the foundation of our worldwide economy.

Taken together, these four fused and interlocking dilemmas comprise the global challenge of our time. It will require focused and determined leadership. Today, only America possesses the capacity, weight, and cultural wherewithal to lead change of this magnitude.

And once again, American business and industry need to figure it out. But how?

In The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security, and Sustainability in the 21st Century, authors Mark Mykleby, Patrick Doherty, and Joel Makower answer that question.

Specifically, the book offers lucidity about a viable path forward based on proven and important historical precedent. They outline a clear “prosperity formula” for business leaders to follow, including where the money will come from to fund the strategy.

Importantly, the authors also provide a new framing of full spectrum sustainability and what’s required to achieve sustainable growth. They offer a view that the old concept of sustainability as green (only) is problematic. Too many Americans associate sustainability with the notion of sacrifice in the name of Mother Earth, rather than how we might align our immediate self-interests of personal well-being with our long-term interest of generational and environmental well-being. The New Grand Strategy shows us how companies can do well by doing good.

The book outlines current success stories in which alignment of business, social, and environmental priorities is generating triple bottom-line returns (for people, profit, planet). Companies ranging from Bank of America and BASF to Cisco, Dow, and Ford are demonstrating the path forward. Many more examples are offered.

In the three blogs that follow this introduction, we will review the case offered in The New Grand Strategy:

In summary, this blog series is intended to prompt readers to fully explore The New Grand Strategy as what I believe to be one of the most important books of our time.

The world needs the next set of Bill Knudsens to step up, and we need them to do it now.

 

 

*All content in this blog series is adapted from The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America’s Prosperity, Security, and Sustainability in the 21st Century with permission from authors Mark Mykleby, Patrick Doherty, and Joel Makower. Mr. Mykleby and Mr. Doherty currently serve as co-directors at the Strategic Innovation Lab (SIL) at Case Western Reserve University, as part of The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. Full disclosure: I proudly serve as a strategic advisor to the SIL.

Leave a comment →

“We Change Best When We Are Strongest”

David Cooperrider is teaching an important course at Case Western Reserve University. As part of the school’s continuing education program, The New Change Equation: The 10 Most Powerful Change Management Tools offers an influential experience to help leaders bring out the best in human systems, rapidly and naturally. In The New Change Equation, David asserts, “We change best when we are strongest.” A key indicator of a company’s strength is the level of engagement of its employees.

David is a faculty director at the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. But he is perhaps best known as the author of Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change.

Then Secretary General of the United Nations, Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan, called upon David as an advisor and used appreciative inquiry to bring over 500 CEOs into a world summit at the UN. He shared, “Without your methodology of Appreciative Inquiry, it would have been very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to constructively engage so many leaders of business, civil society, and government.”

A UN leaders report for the Global Compact’s 8,000 corporations said, “Appreciative Inquiry is the best large group method in the world today.”

In our work at Being Chief, we have similarly focused on the conditions required to establish change-adaptive cultures as a prerequisite to create sustainable growth. Companies can only achieve sustainable growth when employees achieve it too.

The key is to help Chiefs at all levels to be fully engaged in their work, which will unlock their power. At their strongest, they will then be ready for change.

Leave a comment →

8 Ways for Mr. Trump to Succeed as Chief

As the world anticipates the impact of Donald J. Trump’s ascension to the role of U.S. President and commander-in-chief, many wonder who the leader will rely on for counsel.

Potential candidates are lining up and include former federal and state officials, business leaders familiar to the president-elect, campaign staffers, and Trump family members.

Thankfully, president-elect Trump has already signaled major shifts away from several controversial positions that polarized voters and spread broad concern about the future moral authority long attributed to the world’s remaining superpower. The future has not been decided yet.

Optimistically, I’d like to suggest two sources of sage counsel for our future president. Each man is a true Chief, connecting what he does (with discipline, creativity, and support for others) to who he is (with insight and a strong commitment to values).

Separately, each has earned the respect of tens of millions of followers worldwide. Together, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have recently shared a simple eight-part plan for success in The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.

Specifically, they offer “Eight Pillars of Joy,” which provide a foundation for happiness in the face of obstacles such as fear, stress, anger, grief, illness, and death. If our new commander-in-chief adopts this wise guidance, I believe he will be more successful at bringing our nation together, a goal he has expressed.

How can this eight-part plan be applied to the most demanding job in the world? Here’s my take:

  • Perspective – Listen to the problems and worries of each group.
  • Humility – Understand that you may not have all the answers.
  • Humor – Be able to laugh at yourself once in a while.
  • Acceptance – Acknowledge your limits.
  • Forgiveness – Forgive those who have treated you badly and seek forgiveness from those you have treated badly.
  • Gratitude – Be grateful for how far you have come.
  • Compassion – Have empathy for each person you encounter, each group affected by your policies, and each nation you engage.
  • Generosity – Give more than you receive. Always.

As individuals, each of us needs to make our own contribution to the future of our neighborhoods and communities, and to the world at large. It is important for each of us to be Chief as well, connecting what we do to who we are. Everyone has a role in creating a better future.

Author Frank Outlaw offers all of us additional sage counsel as we mindfully do our part:

“Watch your feelings, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch or actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character; it will become your destiny.”

So as we look to the future, let’s remain hopeful about choices others will make and hold ourselves accountable for our own.

What will you do today to contribute to a better future for us all?

Leave a comment →

Player-Coaches and Sustainable Success

Success in business has always had a lot in common with success in sports. Both have relied on vision, effort, skill, persistence, and values of teams of people. Historically, both have also generally relied on strong hierarchical leaders who coached their teams with well-designed systems. You think of Vince Lombardi or John Wooden in the same way you think of Sam Walton or Walt Disney. To sustain success in business today, you can continue to look to sports teams for clues. The new model for sustained success includes many more players who also serve as coaches on the field. These “player-coaches” are doing the work that it takes to become great. Some teams just figured it out first.

Having grown up outside Boston, MA, I followed the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Bruins, and the Celtics. By my 11th birthday in 1969, I knew what it meant to be a New England sports fan. Along the way I also learned something about success and what it takes to sustain it.

Spring in Boston meant stories of pitchers and catchers arriving in Scottsdale, Arizona and then Winter Haven, Florida ahead of the trip to legendary Fenway Park for the start of the baseball season. Recent fans might not remember that the long-standing drought of championships (starting in 1918 and ending in 2004) defined the frustration of sports in Boston for generations. There was one trip to the World Series during that period, but the “Impossible Dream” (how’s that for optimism?) season ended in 1967 with a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Starting in the fall of 1960, the Boston Patriots began playing football as part of the original group of American Football League (AFL) teams. As with the Sox, the Patriots made it to the Championship game just once in my early years. They were trounced by the San Diego Chargers by a score of 51–10.

Early winter brought the Bruins onto the ice at the venerable Boston Garden arena. During my first 11 years, the Bruins didn’t make the playoffs eight years in a row and were eliminated before reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in each of the other three years.

Salvation came shortly thereafter when the Celtics began playing basketball at the end of the sports seasons, and all was finally right with the world.

By my 11th birthday, the Boston Celtics had participated in 10 NBA Championship series. They won them all. (Actually, the Celtics won the year before I was born as well, with Bill Russell as MVP.) During the period, Bill was MVP four more times. During his last three seasons with the Celtics, he held the title of player-coach. Those who watched the Celtics closely will tell you that Bill was a player-coach long before they gave him the title.

Lesson learned: Sustained excellence requires player-coaches to be on the field, not on the sidelines.

Recently, I came upon a great article by Steve Wulf of ESPN. Steve offered amazing insight on this topic over 3 years ago:

“You watch LeBron James simultaneously cajole and carry the Heat. You marvel at the way Peyton Manning conducts the Broncos’ offense like a maestro. You see Yadier Molina shepherd the Cardinals’ pitching staff while hitting .367. You can’t imagine where the Bruins would be without Patrice Bergeron setting the pace of play and the tone of teamwork.”

LeBron and Peyton both led their teams to championships just last year!

Bottom line: Groups that achieve sustained excellence don’t look to the sidelines for leadership, they look for Chiefs on the field.

Do you ever step up to play the role of player-coach on your “team”? If you have a Chief title, do your team members to step up to be Chief when the opportunity presents itself? What results could your team drive if everyone viewed themselves as player-coaches? Can you see how much more likely it would be to deliver sustained success?

Incidentally, the player who holds the record for most games played in the NBA also won three championships with the Boston Celtics. He was named one of the 50 greatest players of all time. His name is Robert Parrish. His nickname is “the Chief.”

Leave a comment →

What Could a Gymnastics Coach Teach Business Leaders about Sustainable Growth?

One of the biggest stories in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio is the dominance of the U.S. women gymnasts. In addition to capturing gold for team performance and gold and silver for top individual awards, many believe that program members who did not qualify for the U.S. team would have medaled in Rio if the U.S. team had been given more slots.

As the national team coordinator for the U.S. women’s gymnastics program since 2001, Márta Károlyi has built a program that evolved a team from not winning a team gold until 1996 to being the envy of the world.

As coordinator, Márta has overseen all aspects of the women’s national team, ranging from, among other duties, selecting the athletes for competitions to making specific recommendations about what routines are performed. As a result, they have captured the team title at the last two Olympics, and American women have won the individual all-around at the last four Summer Games.

The sustainable growth of the U.S. women’s gymnastics program could have as much to do with how Márta runs the program as what she does as coordinator. And I believe business leaders could learn a lot from her approach.

Specifically, in my view, Márta Károlyi runs her programs with i3k—intelligence, intensity, integrity, and kindness. And according to some sources, that last element has made a big difference.

When Márta  and her husband Béla defected to the United States from Romania in 1981, they came with a reputation as successful gymnastic program builders. Aspiring athletes were drawn to their Houston gym, which turned out excellent gymnasts. Márta and Béla were named as U.S. coaches for the 1996 Olympic Games, and the team delivered the country’s first team gold medal.

Poor team performance between 1997 and 1999 led USA Gymnastics to hire Béla as national team coordinator, but rumors of his severe treatment of athletes surfaced. A poor U.S. showing in the 2000 Games prompted the replacement of Béla with Márta  as national team coordinator.

By many accounts, Márta continued previous practices of hard work, high expectations, and no tolerance for shortcuts (e.g. illegal substances), but she also smartly brought innovation to the training regimen, allowing gymnasts to train independently while convening monthly in her Houston gym. She also brought a softer and more flexible approach to dealing with the athletes and their trainers.

According to The Washington Times, “Gold medal winner Simone Biles needed support on an emotional level, and her coach, Aimee Boorman, said Márta’s ability to be both demanding and flexible was critical to Biles’ success.”

And while Márta ’s “look of fierce concentration is most familiar to fans of the sport,” according to the Times, “Away from the floor, it gives way to a friendly smile and talk about cooking, family and travel as she walks through the family’s rustic home in the Sam Houston National Forest.”

It appears that a little kindness when added to the mix has brought Márta closer to her athletes and stronger, sustainable success for the program.

The results have been nothing short of amazing. And as Márta retires at the end of the Rio Olympics, U.S. Women’s gymnastics is on solid footing atop the world.

Well done Márta.

Leave a comment →

Power—The Choice is Ours

In his Book of Awakening, Mark Nepo offers daily lessons intended to help readers interested in “having the life you want by being present to the life you have.”

Said differently, the book’s purpose is to enable anyone to unlock their true power.

Nepo’s March 2nd entry addresses our choice when it comes to power. He offers, “Originally, the word power meant able to be. In time, it was contracted to mean to be able. We suffer the difference.”

Nepo goes on to reference the common expression “more power to you.” He posits in general that power is a goal and specifically, more often than not, the goal is worldly power defined as power over things, people, and situations—a controlling power.

Nepo contrasts worldly power to inner power described as the power that comes from being a part of something larger—a connective power.

When we share this well-wish, our intent is either to offer controlling or connective power. When we receive it, similarly we have the choice.

Later in his June 23rd entry, Nepo once again offers us a clear choice. This time the choice is how to attain the power we seek.

“It leaves us with another choice: fame or peace, be a celebrity or celebrate being, work all our days to be seen or devote ourselves to seeing, build our identity on the attention we can get or find our place in the beauty of things by the attention we can give.”

Again, the choice is ours.

Leave a comment →

Dad Was My First Chief

Chiefs are powerful, but in my view not for the reasons most believe. Real Chiefs don’t owe their influence to a title or a position given to them by others. Rather they earn their influence by the internal choices they make to connect what they do to who they are. I learned about real Chiefs from a mild-mannered, kind, hard-working introvert—my Dad.

Dad taught many lessons that helped me both personally and professionally. Three stand out:

Dad also taught me how to think about power in an unconventional way. As a trained human resource professional, he knew groups that succeeded understood four truths about how to harness team power and unlock team potential:

  1. People with titles have power (authority)
  2. People with and without titles have a different type of power (influence & energy)
  3. Everyone is at their best when they feel powerful
  4. Everyone is different and makes their own choices about exercising power

As I reflect back on the celebration of Father’s Day, gratitude is the word that comes to mind. And while I have been blessed to know, and learn from, many great Chiefs, Dad was the first.

Thanks Dad.

Leave a comment →

How to Identify Real Power

Power is a noun with four primary definitions:

1.) Ability
2.) Influence
3.) Energy
4.) Positional authority

The biggest problem in business today is that too often we ignore the first three definitions due to our preoccupation with the fourth, positional authority. We look to the top of an organization chart to learn where the power lies in any team or group. The first time this mistake became clear to me was over 30 years ago. It has stuck with me ever since.

Shortly after I was named Director of Marketing for Unisys’ State Government unit, I traveled to meet District Manager Richard Gaddy and his very successful team in Florida. Richard’s team had done a masterful job over many years working with varied departments in Florida’s State Government to earn a reputation of trusted advisor.

On the first day of my visit, Richard set up review sessions for me with each of his sales managers to talk about their sales teams, followed by individual meetings with each sales representative. With one exception, I met every sales leader in the group that first day. Richard told me, with a smile, that I would meet the last member of his team the next day when I was scheduled to visit one of the largest customers in the district.

I asked Richard if he would be attending the meeting with us. He said, “No, Mike can handle it with you.” When I asked if I could get a briefing ahead of time Richard said, “Mike is at the customer site today but left this account plan for you to review,” as he handed me a thick packet of information.

That night I read the detailed account plan and was very impressed. It provided a thorough update on everything I needed to know including people, history, applications, opportunities, threats, and current priorities. It clearly laid out who we would meet with the next day, likely issues that would be raised, and our responses. The document blew me away. I went to bed looking forward to our morning meeting.

The next day at 8:00 a.m. sharp, a car pulled up to the circular driveway outside the front door of my hotel and out jumped Mike Willenborg. A big smile on his face, Mike extended his hand and said, “Good morning Rick!” with such gusto that I am sure every bellman within 30 yards jumped. I was beaming as I headed for the passenger’s seat.

Mike immediately went on the offensive. “How did yesterday go?” he asked as we settled in for our ride to the customer site. He was questioning me to assess my priorities and reactions to a cast of characters he knew well. Though we had met only minutes before, our conversation was lively and rather meaningful thanks to the way Mike was using open-ended questions to learn more about the latest executive who would soon be introduced to his means of livelihood. He asked if I had any questions about the briefing package he had prepared. His line of questioning was meant to ensure I was ready. But it was clear he had done his homework on me too.

During the next 30 minutes, he made reference to everything from my education and prior assignments to my volunteer work. And as we went back and forth during the drive, Mike’s enthusiasm for his customer and his role in helping his customer succeed came through like a bright light.

“Did you know that we have been identified as one of the top departments in the State for consistently delivering on our plans and staying under our budget projections? And we have been asked to present again this year at the national conference to highlight our best practices for using technology? We’re on a roll!” Mike’s enthusiasm was palpable.

He loved what he was doing, that was clear. And I could feel my normally high morning energy level surge even higher to match his.

The customer meetings were successful. Perhaps from Mike’s perspective, another suit from headquarters had been successfully introduced to his client and had not made a mess of things. From my perspective I knew I had been given a gift. I had felt the power of someone who was all-in.

The day after I arrived back at the home office I called Richard to talk about the visit. He picked up the phone and we talked about how the customer visit went but the subject quickly shifted to Mike.

Richard laughed when I described the impact my encounter with Mike had on me. He said, “Welcome to the club.” He told me many others had the same reaction to Mike. “He lifts everyone in the office,” Richard said.

“About a month ago I asked each sales manager to nominate a member of their team for a District Sales Council,” Richard told me. “I wanted us to do a better job sharing best practices across teams. Mike’s manager sent Mike and we are still talking about what happened. It was like Mike lit a fuse under his peers. Not only did they share best practices between each other, but they decided to reach out to other districts as well. And I credit Mike. He started a chain reaction. It was great.”

The truth was it didn’t matter that the organization chart showed that Mike sat three levels down from where I sat. In this case, Mike had the power. His ability, energy, and influence showed it.

Since that memorable event, I’ve seen many other extroverts like Mike—and just as many introverts—demonstrate enthusiasm and confidence from connecting what they do to who they are, each in their own unique way. I refer to these powerful leaders as Chiefs.

What could happen if your organization recognized where true power comes from?

Leave a comment →

10 Reasons to Be All-In at Work

Surveys indicate that more than 70% of workers are not fully engaged at work. You may be one of them. This pervasive problem costs business billions and often costs employees their health. The culprit most often cited? The boss. Survey after survey places the blame for poor engagement on supervisors who don’t know how to effectively lead employees.

But how can this be? Particularly when there is a nearly endless supply of readily available leadership podcasts, blogs, courses, and other training material? One source cites the 1.5 trillion books and articles written on the subject in just the last 10 years. The problem stems from a lack of effective material that does more than supply information. Leaders at ALL levels need information that helps them apply concepts to drive engagement.

If you are one of the millions of workers who don’t have a boss who gets it, what do you do? Consider following the All-In Roadmap to increase not only your engagement but also the engagement of everyone around you.

Here’s why. The All-In Roadmap is:

  • Simple – five key focus areas make it easy to apply the Roadmap.
  • Flexible – the Roadmap changes as you and your needs change.
  • Practical – case studies help you apply the five key focus areas to your own situations.
  • Applicable to companies of all sizes – from startups to multinationals, the Roadmap works.
  • Trans-industrial – the Roadmap works for product or service businesses, non-profits, or government.
  • Research-based – road tested and backed by research, the Roadmap is well supported.
  • A professional and personal tool – the Roadmap works in every area of your life.
  • Resilient during tough times – the Roadmap is proven even in market crashes and war zones.
  • Result-driven – the Roadmap has been used to triple the growth rate of million and billion dollar organizations.
  • FREE – you can sign up for the All-In Roadmap here.

Using the All-In Roadmap will help you and those around you engage, and drive sustainable growth.

What do you have to lose, other than the excuse that your boss is keeping you from being your very best?

It’s time to be All-In!

Leave a comment →

The Future of Business

The future of business, simply put, is making the future its business. And where better to look toward the future than to the business schools currently training our future leaders? Those of us looking for confidence in the future can take comfort in the great work being done by the worldwide network of PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) colleges and universities established in 2007 by the United Nations.

The idea to create PRME was officially introduced by the UN’s Global Compact Office at the Global Forum “Business as an Agent of World Benefit” at Case Western Reserve University, where I serve as a Strategic Advisor, in October 2006.

PRME’s mission is to “inspire and champion responsible management education, research, and thought leadership globally.” The Six Principles of PRME, inspired by internationally accepted values, are:

  • Purpose – working toward an inclusive and sustainable global economy
  • Values – global social responsibility
  • Method – creation of educational frameworks, materials, processes, and environments
  • Research – researching the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental, and economic value.
  • Partnership – exploring jointly effective approaches to challenges faced by corporations in meeting social and environmental responsibilities
  • Dialogue – facilitating dialogue between all interested parties and stakeholders

Sustainable growth is the only way forward for business today. Being Chief means making choices that move business in this direction. PRME is on the cutting edge of integrating sustainable business standards from the ground up—beginning with tomorrow’s leaders. More than 600 leading business schools and management-related academic institutions from over 80 countries comprise the PRME, many of which are also a part of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the “longest serving global association dedicated to advancing management education worldwide.”

In addition to Case Western, U.S. PRME members include leading business schools ranging from Bentley, Cornell, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M to University of California Berkeley as well as strong international representation ranging from Auckland University in New Zealand, Bangalore University in India, Cheung Kong University in China, and INSEAD in France.

Organizations such as PRME and AACSB are directing the future of business toward sustainable growth, and not a moment too soon.

Leave a comment →

For Business Success, Use the Force, Luke!

What does Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people have in common with ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’? Much more than you’d think. Both rely on our fascination with power and with those who wield it. And while Forbes and Star Wars offer very different views of power, your own business success could hinge on your ability to realize the Force—more specifically, your workForce.

Here’s why.

How do we define power? Forbes poses that four criteria determine the powerful:

How many people do they have power over?
How much money do they control?
Does their influence extend across multiple regions, industries, or aspects of life?
Do they actively wield their power?

This view of power is based on external, objectively identifiable elements. This year, Forbes editors determined that 73 individuals, representing one per 100 million people on Earth, were the most powerful. A significant 41 of the 73 (56%) are from the business community.

2015 represented the seventh year this list was published. Over that period, Forbes has identified 147 individuals, with only 22 appearing each and every year. Is it a surprise that 15 of these 22 (68%) are business leaders? Probably not.

Business success has always been all about influence and external power. Until now.

The Star Wars franchise offers a very different view of true power. Back in 1977, Obi Wan Kenobi offered the first description of an incredible power called the Force. “It’s an energy force created by all living things. It surrounds us; penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” Obi Wan offered no objectively identifiable criteria.

The Force is internal. In Star Wars, true power comes from inside an individual and exists only because of one’s relationships with others and life around them. Master Yoda explains, “A powerful ally the Force is. Life creates it, makes it grow. You must feel the force around you. Between you and me. The tree. The rock. Everywhere. Yes.”

Those who learn to be with the Force are the most powerful. They become Jedi warriors. At one point in the Star Wars series we learn over 10,000 individuals have become Jedis through the study of discipline and meditation.

Star Wars asserts that success comes from the internal power realized through harmony and by training to be one with the Force. Jedi warriors fully engage in their surroundings and serve others around them. And when needed, they wield the Force expertly.

But how can the Force help us in business?

Today, CEO surveys show their #1 concern is around people, culture, and engagement. Current estimates indicate that only a third of U.S. workers are fully engaged, costing business a whopping $370 billion annually.

The good news is that research shows engagement can be positively influenced by anyone in an organization. If you commit to increasing the Force in your workforce, growth will follow. Future Forbes lists will be increasingly populated by business leaders who understand the need to support this different type of power, growth, sharing, and harmony. In many ways, it’s the key to the sustainable growth movement that is on the rise.

There are many ways to increase the power of your employee group. The first step is to recognize that as an objective. Then you can incorporate discipline, creativity, support, insight, and values.

Naysayers in business would be wise to remember Darth Vader’s warning, “Don’t be too proud of this technological terror [the dreaded Death Star] you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.”

Cynics might also be reminded of Yoda’s wise counsel. Luke said, “I don’t believe it.” Yoda responded “That is why you fail.”

Leave a comment →

What Makes Chief Lars Sørensen #1 Worldwide?

In a recent Harvard Business Review article Chief Executive Officer Lars Sørensen at Novo Nordisk was selected as the best performing CEO in the world. Why?

The simple answer is truly sustainable growth—and ranking methodology.

The ranking was based on a brand new HBR rating criteria that attempted to balance sustained financial performance (weighted at 80%) with a mix of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measurements (weighted at 20%) for the first time. While many other publications offer CEO scorecards, ESG factors are typically left out of such rankings.

In the article Sørensen notes the true linkage between these factors, “Corporate social responsibility is nothing but maximizing the value of your company over a long period. In the long term, social and environmental issues become financial issues.”

While many could argue for a higher ESG weighting, simply adding a 20% factor had a big impact on several notable CEO’s.

For example, in 2014 Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos earned the #1 ranking on this same list when HBR excluded ESG factors and used a solely financially oriented mix of total shareholder return and changes in market capitalization. This year, Jeff dropped to #87. Others were not as impacted.

Notably, John Chambers at CISCO made a small move from #3 in 2014 to #2 in 2015. And this year’s superstar Lars Sørensen moved to the top from his #6 position last year. That’s quite a jump.

This well-conceived and developed article serves the business community well in offering a fresh report card methodology for consideration.

The key points to take away have less to do with who ranks where and more to do with changing the definition of what success looks like.

To those who would prefer to continue using solely a short term financial report card, Sørensen offers the last word, “The business of business is business—but with a long-term perspective.”

Disclaimer: As a type-1 diabetic, Novo Nordisk products keep me alive. But my admiration for Lars goes beyond my personal need to my belief that with an ESG focus Novo Nordisk will help all of us thrive in generations to come.

In my view, Lars Sørensen will remain at the top of the rankings independent of the methodology chosen.

He is a true Chief.

Leave a comment →

Business Education on the Right Track

In a recent New York Times op-ed, David Brooks reminds us that many of the original American universities were founded as religious institutions explicitly designed to cultivate students’ spiritual and moral values. Over the course of the 20th century, many institutions moved away from that mission.

But today the pendulum is shifting back in schools that lost this focus.

Brooks points out: “On almost every campus faculty members and administrators are trying to stem the careerist tide and to widen the system’s narrow definition of achievement. Institutes are popping up—with interdisciplinary humanities programs and even meditation centers—designed to cultivate the whole student: the emotional, spiritual, and moral sides and not just the intellectual.”

Educating the whole student offers high-impact benefits to society in many areas, perhaps none more than in business education. Here’s why:

  1. When businesses are poorly led, we all suffer.

Enron, Worldcom, and the Wall Street institutions responsible for the economic collapse of 2008 offer recent examples. Much of the country has yet to fully recover. And, unfortunately, too many people in power still believe unethical behavior is “just business.” We need more ethical leaders.

  1. Business is becoming the place where social problems are solved.

Fortunately, more businesses are stepping up to a new definition of sustainable success. Companies like Aetna are setting a new pace. Minimum wage increases are occurring at retailers like Walmart. Netflix is setting a new standard for paid family leave as Starbucks is investing in employee education. But the pace is too slow and we need more enlightened leaders.

  1. Business collaboration will accelerate much needed progress.

We need new business leaders capable of collaborative capitalism. These Chiefs can ensure that by working together more people are included as the economy grows. Working together, companies led by whole leaders can create a business alliance for the future.

As a graduate of both Bentley University and Columbia University, I have benefitted from curriculum that always included a focus on the whole student. More recently, I’ve had the privilege to work with other leading business schools where such a focus is clear, including U Penn/Wharton, Emory/Goizetta, Penn State/ Smeal, Weatherhead/Case Western, USC/Moore, and FDU/Silberman.

As more of the 517 US members of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) step up to the challenge of educating the whole student in a secularized yet morally and emotionally integrated manner, they will accelerate progress already made to create a better future for us all.

Just in time.

Leave a comment →