Intercity bus passengers deserve a great customer experience. This is not what they are getting in Philadelphia from Greyhound after the company abandoned their bus terminal and moved to curbside pickup and drop off of passengers. Greyhound claims they follow industry standards. When industry standards are inadequate, leading companies go beyond those standards to differentiate themselves from their competition. Why doesn’t Greyhound?
Walter Isaacson on what drives Elon Musk and how he leads
Every leader has their own leadership style. As a leader, Musk is an outlier, a disruptor, out to accomplish what he believes is possible. Musk is an engineer, so his hard technical skills and way of thinking fit well with Tesla, SpaceX and Boring. However, at X (formerly Twitter), technical skills are not the driver for success. People skills and emotional intelligence are, which is not his strong area.
College campuses are in turmoil. Administrators must defuse and de-escalate tensions
All forms of hate or violence, regardless to whom it is directed, must be condemned. When any group of students feels unsafe on campus, it is the responsibility of the university administration to protect them regardless of their race, nationality, religion or sexual orientation. Let’s hope all university administrators fulfill this responsibility.
CEOs have a responsibility to society, not just shareholders
All pharma CEOs need to understand that they have a responsibility beyond that to their shareholders. Maximizing profits for shareholders beyond what is needed to earn a return on R&D investment—at the expense of people who cannot afford their pharmaceuticals—is unethical. Business ethics should be taught not only in MBA school, but in all undergraduate and graduate programs.
JoAnne Epps leaves a legacy that we all can learn from
“One question every leader should be asking is, ‘How will I be remembered by my peers, colleagues, and employees?’” Leaders, think about what was said to honor and celebrate the life of Temple President JoAnne Epps. What do you want to be remembered by? There is no higher calling in life than leaving behind a meaningful legacy.
What Starbucks can learn from critical judgment mishap
A major characteristic of some customer-facing employees and corporate decision-makers is the lack of common sense and good critical judgment. This can expose your company to significant liability. People without these skills should not hold customer-facing or management positions.
Will record-breaking heat finally catalyze the GOP to respond to climate change
Will the GOP lead like they have done in the past when they voted to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970 and take lead out of gasoline in 1975? Not tackling climate change is disastrous for the economy and for families, property owners and small businesses—groups that the GOP claims they champion.
CEO of submersible exploring Titanic didn’t abide by cardinal rule that safety is paramount
A primary responsibility of all CEOs is to ensure the safety of those who place their trust in them. Risking one’s own life to advance technology is one thing. Risking the lives of others is quite another. Stockton Rush showed a callous disregard of his responsibility to his passengers.
A lesson in narrowing the political divide in our country
An email conversation with one of my readers narrowed the gap in our views because we listened to each other and acknowledged each other’s points even when we did not necessarily agree with them. We are all patriots. We need to talk to each other and not at each other about issues impacting our nation.
Will denial of a rail permit to haul liquified natural gas through Philadelphia kill the project?
LNG released during a derailment is not only highly flammable, but also can be explosive, risking a catastrophe to people, property and the environment. There are over 1,000 train derailments each year. When the risk is small, but the result of a derailment could be catastrophic, you don’t take the risk.
Florida’s DeSantis vs. Disney: How will swing voters react to Reedy Creek action?
The GOP used to be the party of limited government interference in the affairs of individuals and companies. No longer. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a possible Republican nominee for the presidency in 2024, is playing to the GOP’s base. Is DeSantis ignoring swing voters? Time will tell.
Customer-facing employees must possess emotional intelligence
How will a front-line customer-facing employee react in a volatile situation with a customer? They will fall back on their experiences, emotional intelligence, common sense and good critical judgment to defuse the situation.