SmartBrief is partnering with Big Think to create a weekly video spotlight in SmartBrief on Leadership called “VIP Corner: Video Insights Powered by Big Think.” This week, we’re featuring John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods.
Trying to replicate a successful company culture can be a difficult task, but it’s not impossible. For John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, transferring the company’s culture into a new store is as easy as making yogurt.
What does he mean? Making yogurt involves introducing old yogurt culture into new milk. The old culture then turns the new milk into new yogurt. By injecting small but key parts of your company’s culture into the new store, you’ll be able to slowly grow it.
This means emphasizing your company’s core values, training your employees well and giving them the right leadership tools. Be the leader you want them to be, and they’ll naturally start to follow suit, Mackey said. (read more…)
SmartBrief is partnering with Big Think to create a weekly video spotlight in SmartBrief on Leadership called “VIP Corner: Video Insights Powered by Big Think.” This week, we’re featuring Charles Duhigg, author and investigative journalist.
A sharp awareness of the difference between a habit and a conscious decision could mean the difference between peace-keeping and daily riots, according to Charles Duhigg, a New York Times reporter and author.
Duhigg said the intrigue that spawned his recently penned book, “The Power of Habit,” came from a trip to a small city in Iraq, where an Army Major stopped yearlong city riots by removing kabob sellers from the plazas. Without the kabob sellers, hungry locals instead would go home for food — eliminating the need to crowd the streets. Understanding the simple habit of looking for food was a powerful tool for the major and formed the basis of Duhigg’s interest in habit formation. (read more…)
SmartBrief is partnering with Big Think to create a weekly video spotlight in SmartBrief on Leadership called “VIP Corner: Video Insights Powered by Big Think.” This week, we’re featuring Baratunde Thurston, director of digital for The Onion.
Clinging to a specifically defined career path might not be feasible “in a world defined by constant change,” said Baratunde Thurston, reflecting on his work as director of digital for The Onion, as well as an author and a comedian. Instead, Thurston predicted that careers can stand to be on a higher level — a storyteller, rather than a reporter for a local newspaper — as the focus shifts from what specific skill sets you have to what your unique mindset brings to the table.
“The security of a job is kind of what you make it and how flexible you can be, and so what principles are you building your career on?” Thurston said. (read more…)
Whether you call it leadership presence or executive presence, it’s a term that’s being discussed widely at companies. One recruiting professional I know said presence is the second-most-sought-after characteristic on his evaluation scorecard for candidates. It’s a business “it” factor, equally powerful whether you’re a CEO, a company employee or a small-business owner. In fact, companies are routinely hiring experts to cultivate presence in their executives, wrote Joann Lublin of The Wall Street Journal.
But what exactly is it? And how on earth does one get it?
First, let’s talk about what presence is not. It’s not about unabashed confidence, power postures or innate charisma. It’s not about a group of stylistic traits or a set of powerful gestures and sustained eye contact. That’s where so many communications trainers who teach presence skills go wrong. They’re not only providing poor advice — they’re having the wrong conversation entirely.
Presence isn’t a set of tricks to convince an audience that you’re powerful. (read more…)
Great leaders are interesting. They captivate, fascinate and intrigue us. It’s the interesting people with whom we want to engage, as they’re the ones who inspire and motivate us. The simple truth is few of us desire to be led by those whom we don’t find interesting. So my question is this: Are you interesting? In the text that follows I’ll share my thoughts on how anyone can become more interesting.
Most people I know think of themselves as being interesting people. That’s all well and good, but the real litmus test is whether or not others find you interesting. Are others desirous of having you be part of their inner circle, or do you constantly find yourself on the outside looking in? Do people seek you out for advice and counsel, or do they ignore you and just simply tolerate your presence? The real question is, do people hunger to be led by you? (read more…)
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