http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/ 15 A Round-Up of Leadership Insights from the "On Leadership" Staff en Copyright 2011 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:33:23 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Washington Post blogs have moved. If you are subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog, you may need to re-subscribe with the new feed URL. If you stop receiving updates from this feed, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/rss where you can see all of our feeds and re-subscribe to this feed or sign up for new ones. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2011/03/the-rss-feed-for-this-blog-has-moved.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2011/03/the-rss-feed-for-this-blog-has-moved.html Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:33:23 -0500 A few weeks ago, we shared our list of five companies that really surprised us in 2010. At this point, it makes sense to shift our gaze forward and explore organizations that are poised to lead their respective industries in 2011. While you've definitely heard of one, chances are that there are a few surprises among our shortlist. So without further ado: 1. Dropbox So here's an increasingly common dilemma: you have a smartphone, iPad, home and work computer, and at various times you work on the same file with each. In the past, you would have to carry around a thumb drive or constantly email the document to yourself, but Dropbox has created a much simpler solution. The start-up has given its users a virtual 2-gigabyte hard drive, which can be used to store and access files in a secure folder housed in a Dropbox account. Any web-enabled device http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2011/01/five-companies-that-will-lead-in-2011.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2011/01/five-companies-that-will-lead-in-2011.html Leadership Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:13:25 -0500 We're fortunate that our jobs bring us into contact with a lot of good reading material, and over the course of 2010, we've happened upon a few fantastic articles. As we continue with the holiday spirit, we wanted to share five of the best profiles of leaders that we've read this year. 1. The Courage of Jill Costello, by Chris Ballard Although this article will break your heart, you shouldn't miss it. In 2009, Jill Costello was finishing her junior year at UC Berkeley and anticipating her senior season as coxswain on the women's crew team. As a young and seemingly healthy athlete, she was floored when she was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly before heading home for the summer. While many receive a cancer diagnosis, very few react like Jill. She stayed in school, was active in her treatment, and even managed to remain on the crew team for http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/12/top-five-articles-of-2010.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/12/top-five-articles-of-2010.html Leadership Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:51:06 -0500 While many assume that American businesses are struggling based on the high unemployment rate, the 18-month long Great Recession officially ended in June. The third quarter of 2010 brought higher profits for American businesses than any other quarter in recorded history. In this perplexing year that was good for business but bad for the American worker, we wanted to highlight five business organizations that have not only had good years financially, but have also made efforts to either take care of their employees, the environment or their local communities. 1. Honest Tea While HonestTea hit a marketing bonanza in 2009 when President Obama revealed that he was stocking the White House with the brew, it was also going through an internal identity struggle. Coca-Cola had purchased a 40 percent stake in HonestTea early in 2008, and many felt it was a mismatch. After all, HonestTea had positioned itself as the http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/12/five-standout-companies-of-2010.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/12/five-standout-companies-of-2010.html Leadership Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:54:55 -0500 As the year winds down, we're going to stay with our "Best of 2010" series. And this week, we're making the herculean effort of trying to distill all the great leaders who have surfaced in 2010 down to a meager five. While our selections might surprise you, each of these individuals has managed to cut against the grain, been true to his or her unique vision, and somehow galvanized resources to make a positive impact. And some have managed to set the stage for large-scale change that will last well into the foreseeable future. 1. Shaun White In a World Cup and Winter Olympics year when dozens of athletes floored us with their skill, power and off-field generosity, it's hard to narrow the field down to just one showstopper. From Drew Brees's community-first approach to leading an NFL team to Lindsey Vonn's gutsy gold-medal quest, 2010 showcased plenty of memorable http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/12/five-surprising-leaders-of-2010.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/12/five-surprising-leaders-of-2010.html Leadership Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:34:17 -0500 http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/five-must-see-online-resources.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/five-must-see-online-resources.html Leadership Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:49:50 -0500 Over the past few weeks, we've explored our disillusionment with the workplace and other longstanding societal issues, and framed the conversation largely in generational terms. While we believe that we've made incredibly astute points, we received the following comment from robjdisc: To move forward, let's have meaningful, civil conversations between generations and recognize who the new leaders / managers will be, and help them do the best they can. Robjdisc makes a good point, and we agree that the next generation of leaders should have help in doing the best they can. To start, rather than helping these future leaders tackle the larger issues that affect our country (e.g., multiple wars, educational reform, dearth of good movies, etc.), we'll address an issue that is common to younger managers in today's workplace: how can those in mid-level positions continue to grow at work, even when there's no sign of a promotion http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/curing-midlevel-syndrome.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/curing-midlevel-syndrome.html Leadership skills Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:32:00 -0500 While individual views of leadership are shaped by deeply personal experiences, the events common to a generation also subtly contribute. In thinking more recently about the themes common to Generation X, we've started examining the ideals and values of our youth that have yielded to a harsher reality as we aged. We've "creatively" labeled this the Gen-X Disillusionment, and to follow are four examples of unrealized social campaigns that have played out through our lifetime, leaving us to wonder about their impact on leadership decisions, desires and methods. 1. Give peace a chance Although we came of age during the vague but ever-present threat of nuclear fallout brought on by the Cold War, we were raised in a remarkably peaceful time. We learned from the echoes of the baby boomer's call for peace, understanding their collective recoil from Vietnam. We grew up in a world that avoided confrontation, recognizing the http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/the-gen-x-paradox.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/the-gen-x-paradox.html Leadership Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:13:42 -0500 As we all know, Generation X is stuck in the middle of the two largest generations in history (the baby boomers and the millennials). At the "Rally to Restore Sanity" this past weekend, Jon Stewart used the example of cars merging into the Lincoln Tunnel as proof that people make compromises every day in order to get things done. He highlighted a "you go, and then I go" philosophy that enables us to navigate through our lives. Just as with Stewart's congested tunnel, the modern workplace is jammed with three generations cramming to move forward, but sometimes it feels like there's simply too much in the way of our meager little Xer generation to merge. 1. X Sandwich A few weeks ago a column out of Richmond, VA, captured the generational debate: youngsters want the ol' fogeys out of the way, while the boomers want to keep on working, taking http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/gen-x-in-the-workplace-stuck-in-the-middle.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/11/gen-x-in-the-workplace-stuck-in-the-middle.html Young leaders Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:02:04 -0500 Okay, okay. So last week's piece got us a lot of flak for railing on the Baby Boomers and some of their breaches in trust. But it's a new week and, well let's face it, we really aren't here to demonize an entire generation. As Gen Xers we do have an interest, though, in exploring the challenges that we (and Gens Y and Z, for that matter) will inherit as the Baby Boomers begin to exit the workforce. And we're looking forward to further exploring how generations can come together to find solutions to today's concerns. But first: time to make amends. Here are some of the most well known, most successful, most predictable Baby Boomers (and one movie) to ever grace a five-point list. We're kicking this homage off with the big-name icons, and we'll give you our take on why they're trusted by younger generations. Then you can http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/back-atcha-boomers-the-tribute-list.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/back-atcha-boomers-the-tribute-list.html Leadership Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:01:49 -0500 In 1971, Pete Townshend of The Who pleaded, I'll get on my knees and pray; We don't get fooled again, railing against the "jaded and compliant" leaders of the day. Now, Townshend's Baby Boomers are the generation that's taken over, and they seem to be doing some fooling of their own. In the words of David Gergen, CNN analyst and former White House adviser, "The Baby Boomer generation is not working out very well, or as well as we hoped." Gergen made this proclamation two weeks ago at the World Business Forum, and also suggested that of paramount importance to any leader/follower relationship is trust. With that said, where's the trust between Baby Boom leaders and the generations they've been tasked to lead? Let's take a look at how Boomer leaders have butchered trust in four key areas... 1. Environment Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the pending fall-out of http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/dont-get-fooled-again-the-baby-boomers-leadership-failure.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/dont-get-fooled-again-the-baby-boomers-leadership-failure.html Leadership Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:36:34 -0500 Day two of HSM's World Business Forum offered an exciting lineup. Highlighted by Al Gore and James Cameron, the event certainly lived up to the first day's billing. Broken down into topics and major speakers, here's the recap: Economics Steve Levitt and Joseph Stiglitz started off the day by focusing on economic trends and insights. Steve Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics, stood on the stage and spoke to the audience in his midwestern, folksy way. More Garrison Keillor than corporate and economics visionary, Levitt spun personal stories about failure, striving for success and the importance of originality in a competitive market. Candidly, he shared his experiences of tremendous failings and how they pushed him to deviate from his more successful economist colleagues to focus on novel topics and studies. A truly talented storyteller, Levitt highlighted the value of inquiry and open-mindedness. In contrast, Stiglitz took the stage with a message and http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/world-business-forum-day-2.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/world-business-forum-day-2.html Leadership Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:00:08 -0500 Between the morning and afternoon sessions at the World Business Forum, I hustled across the street from Radio City Music Hall and listened to a panel discussion presented by MWW Group. The panel consisted of David Gergen, former White House Advisor, Jim Quigley, chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and Arkadi Kuhlmann, chairman and president of ING DIRECT USA. Entitled, Sustainable Leadership, one of the most intriguing takeaways from the panel was the shared perspective that trust is paramount to leadership, and that this reality has never seemed so ironic. With business and political leaders regularly losing the trust of the larger public, the panel agreed that one of the more fascinating leadership questions of the day is how to reconcile the general lack of trust in modern leaders? Building from that, this afternoon's presenters offered insights into how to handle this question. Charlene Li Li's experience and expertise http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/world-business-forum-day-1---second-half.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/world-business-forum-day-1---second-half.html Leadership Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:27:47 -0500 The 2010 HSM World Business Forum kicked off promptly at 9 AM. Patricia Meier, HSM CEO, took the stage of Radio City Music Hall, welcoming the 4000 attendees with a friendly introduction. She laid out the agenda for the next two days, and reminded everyone of just how impressive the speaker list is. Kicking off the event was Jim Collins and he didn't waste time diving in. Jim Collins Collins speaks passionately, a preacher of business case studies and stats, gesticulating around the pulpit delivering his sermon of success. He outlines a belief that greatness and defeat are data driven constructs formed of concrete stages. Decline is a function of hubris and denial, while success is a hard-won product of compassion and effort. Collins focused his talk on the collapse of business, breaking the process of corporate failure into five stages, but he continually flipped back into what makes success http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/world-business-forum.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/10/world-business-forum.html Leadership Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:47:13 -0500 http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/09/five-questions-for-the-billionaires-club.html?wprss=leadershipleadership_playlist http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/09/five-questions-for-the-billionaires-club.html Leadership Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:42:44 -0500