David Chinsky & Associates

November 2009

The Leadership Fit® Newsletter is written and emailed monthly to leaders seeking the

clarity, confidence, effectiveness and vitality

necessary for achieving their highest level of leadership fitness™.

To learn more about our Institute for Leadership Fitness™, including dates for our upcoming programs in Ann Arbor, MI, Phoenix, AZ and Denver, CO, please visit

www.theleadershipfit.com/institute

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IN THIS ISSUE

Taking Freedom for Granted

What Feeds the Confidence of Your Team?

The Abysmal Lifespan of the Corporate Life Form

One More Thing

Taking Freedom for Granted

This week I am in Prague attending the 11th Annual Conference of the International Leadership Association. On Thursday, I had the privilege of speaking to conference participants on the subject of transformation in leadership.

At the opening ceremony on Wednesday, conference organizers reminded the gathering that this week marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution here in the Czech Republic. We heard from Vaclav Havel who was instrumental in leading the non-violent transition to a free Czech society and who went on to become President of the country.

Many Czech citizens who were alive in the 1950's - 1970's remember what life was like before the Velvet Revolution. Vaclav Havel, himself a noted playwright before he became a dissident, could not perform his own plays in public. People lived in constant fear, were restricted from going to the cinema and were not allowed to own a business.

Many of the freedoms we take for granted today in the U.S. and elsewhere simply weren't available to many in Eastern Europe before the pivotal events of the late 1980's. In talking with leaders from this side of the Atlantic at this week's conference, I can feel the powerful emotions shared by many who still remember what it was like before the turn of events that took place only 20 years ago.

What Feeds the Confidence

of Your Team?

Recently, I spent a couple of days with an executive management team facilitating their annual strategic planning process. This was my second year in a row working with this team and I was struck with how confidently each executive worked with his or her colleagues during our two-day meeting. The level of trust was high, evident by each team member's willingness and comfort in questioning one another's ideas and looking at issues from the perspective of the entire company and not just their respective division.

As we wrapped up our two days together, having helped them complete their ambitious 2010 strategic plan, I asked the team to identify and name their strengths, both individually and collectively. I know that these strengths, listed below, will continue to feed the confidence of this executive team as they take on the many challenges and opportunities of 2010.

Team Strengths

Deep knowledge of our market and customers
Empathy
Consistency in our communication
Ability to make decisions rapidly
Hard working
Aligned
Focused on execution
Fun loving
Detail-oriented
Willing to share resources
Open to change
Committed to success
None of us are self-serving
Good leadership skills
Good problem solving skills
Sense of humor

These strengths will motivate and support the actions of my client as they move into 2010 and beyond. What strengths feed the confidence of your team?

One More Thing

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson (recited by Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his inauguration)

The Abysmal Lifespan of the Corporate

Life Form

Each month, we review a book selected to both engage and challenge leaders as they seek to make a difference in their organizations.

Our pick this month is The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment by Arie de Geus. Leveraging his years of experience and contribution at Royal Dutch Shell, de Geus reports on research into what drives organizational longevity.

While the average lifespan of the human race approaches 75 years and beyond, the average life expectancy of a multinational corporation is somewhere between 40 and 50 years. In fact, a full third of the 1970 Fortune 500 had vanished by 1983. Few other institutions -- churches, armies or governments -- seem to have the abysmal demographics of the corporate life form.

According to de Geus, four key factors are associated with the longevity of a corporation. The first is sensitivity to its environment. Companies that survive into their hundreds tend to live in harmony with the world around them. The second factor is a strong sense of identity. Regardless of how large or diversified the durable company becomes, employees continue to feel part of one entity with an overall purpose.

Importantly, the third factor involves staying tolerant of divergent viewpoints. When these companies grow by acquisition, they often avoid the push to centralize, and instead place a premium on experimentation and different approaches, including new processes they bring into the corporation from other companies. Rather than imposing their way as the only way, these companies remain open and tolerant of competing ideas.

Finally, long-lived companies watch their cash. They are conservative when it comes to how they spend and invest their money. As a result, they have options in the future that their competitors often do not because of the availability of capital.

Interestingly, one of the factors not found to be associated with corporate longevity is profitability. While making money is important, these companies make purpose even more important.

For our current reading list, please click here.