Fast Company Analysis
At the beginning of the year, Fast Company hosted the 2017 Innovation Festival where some of the most powerful and influential leaders congregated to share their knowledge and experience. The magazine editors then compiled this wealth of supremely valuable information and created a guide to leadership in the modern company. While there were a number of incredible topics discussed throughout the conference, there were 7 guiding principles that emerged as necessities for all leaders.
True leadership requires more than just agility and quick thinking
Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo reminds us that the role of CEO is no easy task and that a good leader must be able to adapt to any situation and work with whatever is in front of you. Nooyi exemplifies this with her implementation of a three-pillar strategy focusing on health, sustainability and empowerment. While on the surface, those may seem like misaligned foci for PerpsiCo to pursue, Indra is working hard to utilize her resources and change the perception of the company from “junk food” to a more impactful and socially responsible brand.
Humility and curiosity matter more than fame
The call of entrepreneurship is very deeply rooted in many people – that includes celebrities. Supermodel Karlie Kloss and A-lister Sarah Jessica Parker are great examples of superstars that have crossed the line into business ownership to pursue something they are passionate about. Whether focused on koding or fragrance and shoes, each of these ladies has created successful companies because of their thirst for knowledge and recognizing a need in society – not their stardom.
Millennials have answers – and questions
I found this sub-article particularly interesting because I fall in the “millennial” category and usually that term is laced with degradation and negativity. This refreshing view highlights the power of a good partnership, even if it is unlikely. I particularly appreciate the notion that both Spieth and Plank are able to find value and learn from each other, even though there is a large age difference. Too often it seems that some business owners or leaders devalue the experience, albeit limited, of millennials, when really their rigidness and inflexibility is the biggest hindrance to success.
Cognitive diversity can save the day
I love, love, love this notion of cognitive diversity! Regina Dugan really hit the nail on the head when saying that we not only “need people that look different, but people who think differently.” Different ways of thinking bring fresh perspectives and help us examine a problem or issue through a number of lenses to, hopefully, find the best solution possible.
We are all responsible
The importance of restructuring organizations to focus on more long-term measures of success than quarterly earnings to create a strategic plan is becoming a recurring theme. With that, the job of a CEO or leader is changing rapidly. They are requited to be more hands on to be successful and are no longer able to point the finger when something goes wrong. Chobani’s Hamdi Ulukaya is a great example of this modern leader from his nontraditional hiring policies to providing his employees with unique benefit packages. Ulukaya’s most impactful move has been his willingness to measure success through other means than the bottom line.
Social media isn’t social enough
Social media is a great business tool, but there is something organic in a face-to-face interaction that can never be replaced. Social media can help us reach our customers, but more than that we have to provide excellent experience when we actually interact with them or the reach means nothing. As we sit here on the forefront of an automation revolution, the interpersonal skills of employees when interacting with customers will be the deciding factor between one brand or another because machines will do all of the other stuff for us.
Business is the future
An anecdote about the atmosphere in the Fast Company offices after the 2016 presidential elections emphasizes the interconnected relationship between business and culture. As our society grows, we will need commerce to evolve along side it to provide much needed support. Companies are starting to make more money than some small countries, making the relationship between business and society even more entwined. It is becoming increasingly important for business leaders to create strategies that allow for social responsibility and provide the much-needed support to communities in which they operate. As it says in the article, “the future is what we make it. Let’s get to it.”
These seven guiding principles align quite nicely with my view on leadership, though some definitely more than others. As mention, I love the idea of cognitive diversity, the importance of a good partnership, knowing the value in human interaction and the emphasis placed on continual learning. The modern leader is unlike any we have seen before, so these principles are not only reasonable but having mastered them will be necessary to survive in today’s corporate world.
“What’s the Best Leadership Advice You Ever Received?”
This notion of the importance of human interaction is invaluable. From a very young age, my dad highlighted the importance of social interactions and human connection. I watched as my dad expanded his network at every turn, went with him to his morning lions club meetings to see the process and learned the value in soft skills. More recently, someone I had looked up to as a mentor at one point reinforced this notion by telling me that my network is my most valuable resource. While that relationship did not work out, those words come to me often, especially as I take steps towards a new venture. Utilizing my network has definitely been my key to success and the best advice I have gotten to date. I try to reinforce this in my employees as I develop their skill sets, that and the importance of an education. I want them to always be willing to learn something from every situation. I have a bonus structure based around education (if you are enrolled in school and get a 3.0 or higher for your total semester average, I buy you a gift from my own pocket) because it is extremely important to me.
“How Great Leaders Encourage Creativity”
This article highlights four ideas about fostering creativity: Don’t dictate; create pathways; avoid the obvious; hit rest. I definitely think that a dictator will stifle creativity while creating good communication pathways will encourage it. I am not sure that I necessarily agree with the “avoid the obvious,” idea just because sometimes the obvious solution is the best solution. It has been proven time and time again that there is something special in the innocence of a child, and sometimes we need to shed our experiences and approach problems with that type of simplicity. Finally, the idea of being able to “hit reset,” is probably the most important in encouraging creativity, in my opinion. Your team has to know that, not every idea is winner and that’s okay. Sometimes you have to go back to square one and try again. Providing your team with this opportunity to fail and keep going will help them grow more than any other thing. I think the only thing I would add would be that we need to reframe the way we look at creativity. It can be present in so many ways that aren’t the traditional ideas of being creative, and it is very important for people to know that EVERYONE can be creative, not just the artists, engineers, and creators.
“How Great Leaders Hire the Right People”
I found this article particularly interesting because I am currently struggling with a bad culture fit in my current position. The ideas expressed by these CEOs and business leaders gave me great tools moving forward in my career and when dealing with hiring. For me, “its all about the fit,” is 100% true. Had I asked more questions during the hiring process, or registered some red flags, I might have been able to save myself some much needed stress, because I truly truly do not fit in with the unique culture I am faced with. It has been a good lesson on what types of things to look for in the future, but I suppose hindsight is always 20/20. That being said, I am not sure that I am the right person for my current position. Many of the values deeply rooted in the organizational culture strongly oppose those of my personal values, such as acting with integrity and valuing your employees and empowering them, not oppressing them. It has had a negative impact not only on the organization by on my life. I am unmotivated to complete tasks, I care very little about the work that I do meaning the quality of my work is sub-par and I am just generally unhappy—I think the worst part about all of it is that I recognize these things as they are happening, and I am not sure how to derail this negativity train.
One saving grace is that I honestly believe I am having a positive impact on the people that work in my office, and one employee in particular is developing her skills and improving every day. She was definitely the right person for the job, though she does have room to grow. She creative, she is driven, she has a will to learn, and she worked in the operations department before she came upstairs to my office so she had a solid understanding of how things work within the organization, making it easier for her to sell our product. She has definitely had a very positive impact on the organization because things are working more smoothly, she has had the opportunity to train others and has succeeded, and she is able to problem solve well. At the young age of 19, I am impressed with her skills, especially considering her background, which could have been a big hindrance for her, but she has not allowed that to happen.
“How to Hold Meetings People Want to Attend”
I want to start by saying that I LOVED this article. We have a weekly staff meeting that I dread because of a number of the items discussed: there is no agenda or real plan for the meeting, people drone on and on about essentially nothing, and I lose at least an hour of the day every Tuesday. I need a focus and direction for my meetings, not this willy-nilly all-over-the-map madness. I wish we could “master the chat,” in our organization and “get shorter,” but it seems like even the smallest little thing turns into a huge ordeal. I honestly believe that my coworkers have just mastered the art of procrastination and they use meetings and a refusal to make stuff happen quickly to further that art.
Regina Dugan, VP of Engineering. Facebook
I really enjoyed reading about “cognitive diversity,” because I think it is an idea that is often times ignored even though there is so much emphasis placed on diversity in the modern work place. Dugan does a great job of highlighting the value in different thought processes and perspectives. A major theme of this entire program is being able to view the world through a number of lenses and I believe that is exactly what Dugan is doing when pursing cognitive diversity, so with that I believe she would be an excellent leader to work under.
David Lee, Chief Creative Officer, Square Space
Reading about David Lees approach to leadership was inspiring. His ability to encourage team work, utilize the strengths of the individual team members and pushing people outside of their comfort zones in order to grow have no doubt lead to his success as a leader. From what we have read, it is clear that he fosters creativity, has a personal connection with his employees, and encourages them to grow at every opportunity. I loved his quote about success: “success should be measured less by what you’ve done and more by what you want to do in the future.” When I am down about my current situation and have to remind myself that I am going on to bigger and better, so that approach to measuring success kind of put words to something I have been thinking about a lot lately. These qualities, and I am sure many more that were not discussed, lead me to believe David Lee is a superb leader.
Neil Blumenthal, CEO, Warby Parker
While the article about Warby Parker CEO, Neil Blumenthal and Restauranteur Daniel Meyer was supremely insightful, it was the video embedded in the article on the Fast Company website that made me want to include Neil Blumenthal in my top 4 great leaders. In the video he gives a very candid recap of what he thinks it means to be a great leader and he mentions things like collaboration, drive, passion, communication and focusing on the outcome of the project. He’s clearly very influential within his successful organization and is helping empower people both within his organization and across the globe. His approach is people-centric and you can see passion he has for his company. Blumenthal leads through example of what he believes to be the most important and impactful ways, which is why I believe he is an excellent leader.
Indra Nooyi, CEO, Pepsico
Last but most certainly not least, I chose to include Indra Nooyi in this piece, because, in all honesty, I have become obsessed with her since reading about her and her approach to leadership at PepsiCo. I love that she stepped into this challenging role and is using her power and influence to no only reframe the way people see PepsiCo, she is also trying to improve the world while she does it. She knew there was cause for concern in that she wanted to start a healthy living campaign at a predominantly junk food company, but she had the courage to do it anyway. She recognized that there was value in a number of product lines and developed a strategy that highlighted the strengths of each. Her new approach is helping to get people healthier, create sustainable business processes, and empower people around the world in the process. I love her emphasis on CSR, but that’s just a bonus for me. Her ability to clearly define the goals of the organization and to develop a strong strategic plan to achieve those goals allows it to be easily adopted and effectively implemented at every level of the organization. She has overcome so much adversity to establish herself as a major player in the global market, and for that not only do I believe her to be a great leader but she also inspires me.