Musk and Jobs can be described as visionaries. I doubt that the leaders reporting to them would tolerate working for an autocrat and being micromanaged if, unlike Tesla and Apple, the company lacked the ‘cool factor” and didn’t produce inspiring widgets that change the world. Musk and Jobs are outliers—they are unique. Learn from and emulate them, without adopting the negative aspects of their leadership styles.
All lawmakers must be held to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. I like the standard to which Warren Buffett held the employees of Salomon Brothers when he served as interim CEO: “Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless.”
The Southwest Airlines meltdown is a lesson for all organizations. Determine what is mission critical and pursue a strategy to ensure that the mission can be fulfilled regardless of external adverse factors. Do you know what is mission critical for your company and can the mission still be fulfilled when events go south?
“Be someone that people want to follow,” and lead in a way that “makes everyone on your team feel like they matter.” The leadership philosophy and principles practiced by Coach Ted Lasso are universal. They transcend professions. Follow them and you will be successful leading your organization.
The first two principles of effective leadership: Be someone people want to follow. Lead in a way that makes everyone on your team feel like they matter. As we enter 2023, we should all be guided by what I identify as “first principles” of leadership. Unfortunately, many leaders in business, nonprofits and politics miss the mark.
Audit firms are the guardians that protect the investing public and those who rely on companies’ financial statements. It is imperative they have the capability to audit those companies and maintain their independence, especially when the fees received are a significant portion of the audit partner’s and audit firm’s income. They need to fire their client if they uncover a pattern of fraudulent practices.
Advertisers want to protect their brand. Companies are loath to advertise on a social media platform that allows posts which are baseless conspiracy theories or stir up discord, hatred and violence. They don’t want to be associated with hate speech posted on Twitter under the guise of free speech.
When I see staff organization titles like chief knowledge officer, chief visioning officer, chief sustainability officer, chief strategy officer and chief innovation officer, I wonder why these areas aren’t the responsibility of existing positions within the company. I also wonder about the lack of ownership by the line organization of the initiatives developed by staff “chiefs.”
Disbursing asylum seekers to a wide range of cities rather than having them remain in detention centers or funneling them into just a few cities will lessen the burden on any one state or city, especially those along our southern border. Biden also needs to do his job and implement a strategy to defend our southern border.
Musk needs to win back advertisers’ confidence by issuing a policy that states that tweets that are baseless unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, that are posted for the purpose of stirring up discord, hatred and violence and that undermine society will not be tolerated. He needs to ensure Twitter has skilled moderators to make those judgment calls.
Advice to all college students: If you can obtain entrepreneurship training, do so. It will differentiate you from your peers and make you more attractive to future employers. Advice to employers: Hire people with an entrepreneurial attitude and mindset. They get things done.
By not operating beyond your job description, you deprive yourself the opportunity to gain experience and demonstrate that you are worthy of a promotion into a position of increased responsibility. Don’t stifle your career. Want to impress your boss? Go beyond what is expected of you.
