Leading Change by Seth Kahan

09:26 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Royal Dutch Shell's 3-Pronged Vision for the Future

Peter Voser began his work as CEO, Royal Dutch Shell, July 2009. Formerly he was the CFO. When he addressed the World Business Forum today in New York City he spoke about Shell's priorities in the years ahead supplying energy for the world. These included expanding oil and gas resources, lowering CO2 emissions, and developing alternative fuel. Here are some sound bytes from his delivery:

By 2050 energy demands will double. There will be 3 billion energy consumers added to our global population. At the same time we must manage greenhouse gas emissions successfully.

Historically it has taken new energy sources 25 yrs to obtain 1% of the market. Biofuels are reaching 1% of market and could do so by middle of next decade.

Deploying new technology on a massive scale is not easy.

Fossil fuels will still provide 70% energy in 2050

Shell has 3 responses to our current situation:

   1 - We will expand the world's oil and gas resources, including deep sea and arctic.

   2 - We will reduce CO2 emissions. We have now a process for injecting CO2 in wells to help us extract oil and gas. Today the primary constraints for doing this are public support and cost. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this alone will deliver half of what needed.

   3 - We must develop alternative fuel - Shell will concentrate on biofuel.

The US produces 7% world's oil, and consumes 20% world's energy.

The US has a powerful contribution to make on world stage. Many nations are paying close attention to what happens in Congress. The US has a legacy of leadership: catalytic converters and Cap and Trade were invented in US.

Working together US & China would have powerful impact on climate change.

When Voser left the stage he had delivered a clear, consistent vision for Royal Dutch Shell. His message was concise, pointed, on message.

--------

Stay tuned today as I continue to cover the World Business Forum live from Radio City Music Hall.  

07:41 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

"There is No Such Thing as a Lost Cause... Unless You Give Up"

George Lucas, the filmwriter, producer, and director known best for his Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, was interviewed at the World Business Forum in Radio City Music Hall yesterday.

Most striking was the number of inventions he generated to support his films, including multitudes of breakthroughs in technology.

We started making movies in San Francisco where there were no film resources. We had to create everything from scratch: cheaper, better, faster. We invented it ourselves. For example, in Star Wars, we needed a way to pan across star ships while they were moving through space. We invented a whole new way of doing it - we got involved with Silcon Valley.

The circumstances are impossible, the resources are completely limited, and you have to really get yourself out there to get things done.

Lucas revolutionized the film industry with technological inventions that were enormous in their impact and bold in their execution.

Movies are an artform. My definition of art is a way of communicating emotions from one human being to another. For the most part that includes technology.

Once you get beyond the spoken word and dance, you're into technology. You can see even on the walls of the French caves where they paint antelope. They aren't doing antelopes. They're doing emotional-spiritual depictions of antelopes.

Mostly art has been a popular medium. It's a way of telling stories to the populous in an emotional way. If you're trying to convert people to religion, you can't write it out - you do the Sistine Chapel. In order to do the Sistine Chapel, there is a huge amount of technology involved.

When the interviewer asked him if public education is a lost cause, Lucas responded, There is no such thing as a lost cause... unless you give up. We're drowning. Humanity is drowning. We have to continue. The single most important thing we have as a species is our capacity to create knowledge and pass it along to next generation. That's what we do. That's our thing. We don't have claws. We have these brains.

The conversation turned to the George Lucas Education Foundation: What I am trying to do is go into schools and find the best practices - nobody was actually recording the best practices. Teachers move on and those ideas get lost. We wanted to categorize them and put them on line, so that anyone wants to know, here they are. The focus is not on schools and education, but on learning, what is the best way to learn.

--------

Stay tuned today as I continue to cover the World Business Forum live from Radio City Music Hall. 

02:35 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Rubenstein's Sobering Tour de Force

David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlisle Group, a global private-equity firm managing more than $84.5B of equity capital, delivered a non-stop monologue today at the World Business Forum in New York City. His delivery was chock-full of statistics to illustrate his dark and sobering forecasts in almost every sector. 

He said that his firm's phenomenal growth would not continue at such a dramatic rate as it has previously because of the ravaged state of affairs in all financial areas. 

A few excerpts from Rubenstein's delivery:

7.6 million people have lost their jobs in this recession.

The US government has $57 trillion in unfunded debt.

How much is $1 trillion? If you put $1 million in the bank on the day Jesus was born and then put $1 million in the bank every day after that for the next 2009 years, you still would not have $1 trlllion. You would have about $700 billion.

Emerging markets are much more important today as investment targets because of their rate of growth.

Inflation is coming.

Unemployment rates are rising to the point where 7 or 8 percent will become normal.

Benefits such as Medicare and Medicaid will undergo drastic cuts.

The US will be much less significant than we have been before.

Rubenstein went on rapid-fire. Here within the blogger community at the World Business Forum, few were able to keep up with him. He did not seem to pause for a breath.

Then something I thought strange happened. Toward the end of his presentation, he shifted into dispensing platitudes such as, "Think like a leader, be entrepreneurial, and give back to the community," and "If you don't love what you are doing now, do something else," and "You make your own luck; think like a leader." These, too, were delivered rapid-fire. It was as if he did not want us to be so discouraged by his previous delivery and was attempting to rectify the situation. 

The caliber of people presenting is indisputable. David Rubenstein's acumen is staggering. It's interesting to see how he took the stage and formatted his presentation: fact after fact, followed by bromides. I would turn to him in a New York minute for input on the economy and decisions on where to invest. I'll look to some of the other speakers for inspiration.

--------

01:30 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Lencioni Teaches Team Engagement

Patrick Lencioni is an expert in team performance. He is the author of eight best-selling books with over 2.5 million copies sold. After six years in print, his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team continues to be on national best-seller lists.

It's easy to see why. Immensely likable on stage he is adept at both entertaining and getting across his points with captivating stories, Dilbert-like in their tragicomic tone.

Here are some quips from his presentation today at the World Business Forum in New York City's Radio City Music Hall:

Leaders must learn to over-communicate: If you are a great leader, your people should be able to do an impression of you when you're not around.

When we focus on things outside of our circle of influence, our circle of influence shrinks.

Someone may say to me, "I work on a great team, but we don't win any games." I say to them, "No, you work on a crappy team. You just happen to like each other."

Wine is the great elixir of truth at many executive meetings.

One person - just one person - can change the dynamics of a team completely.

If they don't weigh-in, they're not going to buy in.

When we don't get conflict, we don't get commitment. We get half-hearted, eye-rolling commitment.

Peer pressure is the most important form of accountability we have on teams.

Some people say to me that they look forward to retiring so they can do work that benefits humankind. I want to say to them, The way you manage people has a profound impact on the way people go home and treat their family and kids. You have a ministry now.

While he points the way to high-functioning teams, clearly a pre-requisite for well-run organizations and increased effectiveness, he did not connect the dots to the challenges facing the global business community today, leaving that to the audience. I thought he was funny, entertaining, and had compelling content. I would have liked to learn how to apply his experience and insight to address some of the overwhelming challenges we are facing today in the business world.

-------- 

10:59 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Bill Conaty Sidesteps Issues, Plays it Safe at World Business Forum

The opening sequence this morning at the World Business Forum highlighted the turmoil, crisis, and upheaval our business world has faced over the last year. It was ominous, one newspaper after the other headlining the dire events that have transpired recently, hitting close to home. 

Bill George stepped up to the plate, identifying one bad situation after another and prescribing his recipes for solutions and making it through the impending darkness (eg, our empoyment crisis).

Bill Conaty, called an HR Superstar in 2007 by BusinessWeek, did not. He assumed the podium and walked 5,000 people through an old-school powerpoint that described leadership attributes, and then delineated his process for ensuring good leadership development in a large organization.  No doubt he presided over legendary talent managmeent at GE, but he did not address one single challenge in today's business climate (eg, our employment crisis).

After the presentation he sat down to be interviewed by Paddy Miller, Professor of Managing People in Organizations at IESE Business School. Paddy started by warning Bill he would ask a tough question. Then he questioned Conaty about the exceptionally large salaries of CEOs. Ok, I thought, here is Conaty's chance to say something good. Instead he responded by saying something like, '...the value is directly proportional to the stock price. As long as the shareholders are doing well, the CEO can do well himself.' I swear I could hear the labored breathing of the central antagonist in Star Wars as Conaty paired excessive executive pay with the price on the street.

Later an audience member asked, What about consultants - what is their fate in today's business climate? Conaty replied by saying that if they were not providing firm value add, they would be gone. I ask, if they are not providing firm value add, what are they doing there in the first place? You see I was not inspired. I will stop writing now.

--------

09:05 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

We’re Saving Big Business. We Need to Focus on Small Business.

Bill George’s core competency is his deep experience, in-depth understanding of America’s major players and the intricacies of business economics. He led Medtronics, joining as CEO in ’91. He grew Medtronic’s market capitalization from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35% a year, from 1996 to 2002. Today he delivered the opening keynote at the World Business Forum in NYC, where I saw him live.

He applies his 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, story-by-story illustrating how executives and organizations have either adhered or strayed at great cost to their organizations and our financial system.

George is a US business elder. His wisdom is penetrating, dispensed with clarity, aimed at long-term recovery. He often counters conventional intents and is not afraid to name names.  His presentation was a call to action. Here are some sound bytes:

We need to focus on the root cause of our problem, not the symptoms. The root cause of this financial mess is leaders who practice short-termness. It takes years to create solutions, not quarters.

The recession may be over, but hard times are ahead. We need to create jobs. 

Innovation makes good fortune, not the other way around.

We’re focusing on saving jobs. We need to focus on creating jobs. We’re saving big business. We need to focus on small business so the opportunity is there for great value creators.

Markets never come back the way they were. How are you going to get out in front? You can’t just have a defense team; you need an offense team.

George closed by quoting Robert Kennedy, "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." Then he said, Crisis may be your defining moment. Who are the members of your community? Who will you join forces with to make a difference?

--------

07:50 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

World Business Forum live - Day 1

It's a gorgeous morning in NYC - upper 50s, sunny & clear. Radio City Music Hall is alive with activity as thousands assemble for the World Business Forum, bringing together some of the leading thinkers of our time to debate and share their views on global issues.

Sponsors from 54 countries are bringing together leaders that include:

• Paul Krugman - 2008 Nobel prize winner in economic sciences: International Trade and Economic Geography, for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity
• Gary Hamel - One of the world's leading experts on business strategy. His latest book is The Future of Management. Read the exclusive interview on the WBF website.
• President Bill Clinton - 42nd President of the United States and Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation that focuses on bringing together leading thinkers, combatting climate change, treating HIV/AIDS & Malaria, fighting childhood obesity, promoting economic opportunity, and creating sustainable development in Africa
• George Lucas - founder of Edutopia, focusing on what works in public education.
• and 14 others, all of them world-class thought-leaders and business activists.

07:53 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

Monday Morning Magic: Looking Forward

Looking forward is about more than peering into the future; it's about excitement and enthusiasm and that makes all the difference in the world.

Here is what I am looking forward to:

* Today I pack my bags with anticipation, head down to Union Station where I will meet my good friend, Michael Margolis. He is a story/brand/marketing expert with whom I love to hang. He is always an inspiration - filled with Story Mojo. 

* We will board the train to NYC, where I am going to cover the World Business Forum. I'll be there, in Radio City Music Hall, Tuesday and Wednesday, listening to world-class thought-leaders including Gary Hamel, President Bill Clinton, Paul Krugman, T. Boone Pickens, George Lucas, and Bill George, among others.

* I will be blogging and tweeting the entire event, live from inside the music hall, as it happens. I am really looking forward to sharing what I learn as I learn it. I hope you will join me here on this blog for that (SethFast.com).  Follow me, too, on Twitter @SethKahan.

It's important to have things to look forward to, especially in challenging times. They add the oomph that fuels ingenuity and adds spice. If you are leading a change initiative, what are you doing to give that something extra to the people who are working hard on your program?  For that matter, what are you looking forward to in the week ahead? Share your enthusiasm - it's contagious.  

Ask others what they are looking forward to. Sharing in their anticipation can build a common fire, add an edge, contribute a call, and provide the pull that makes life worth living. It is the icing on the cake that helps overcome what otherwise might overwhelm.

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com 

Seth Kahan is a Change Leadership specialist. He has consulted with CEOs and executives in over 50 world-class organizations that include Shell, World Bank, Peace Corps, Marriott, Prudential, American Society of Association Executives, International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association, Project Management Institute, and NASA. He is the founder of Seth Kahan’s CEO Leaders Forum, a community of CEOs working together to innovate through the current economy. His next book, Getting Change Right: Guaranteeing Buy-In from Your Most Valuable Players, will be published in spring 2010 by Jossey-Bass.Visit his other blog, GettingChangeRight.com for more info on the book.  

03:48 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

Bill George: World Leaders Need to Think of the World like the Internet

Bill George, Harvard Professor and former CEO, Medtronic, will be keynoting the World Business Forum next Tuesday for the second year in a row. I spoke to him today. Here is some of what he told me:

Leaders need to think of the world like the Internet. It is less hierarchy and more interconnected than it has ever been before. Successful leaders understand this. They take the time to talk to everyone who has something to say regardless of their title. They find ways to stay in touch. Sure, it's a lot of work. It's very intense. It's a 24/7 kind of thing. But, it is what makes them successful. 

Further they need to deliver in both the short term and the long term. The last generation of leaders focused on the short term at the expense of the long term. You can see it on Wall Street. The value they destroyed was immense.

That said, I have great hope for the new wave of corporate leaders. We are moving toward a more responsible, more engaged leader, looking beyond their business. Today's leaders want to know what is really going to help, not just make a lot of money. They are adept at balancing immediate priorities with the long haul, and making real progress in both at the same time

I asked George about what he will say at the World Business Forum.

I get to frame the entire two days in the context of leadership, to set the pattern for the whole event. We will have the top leaders from many fields coming together at a time when we need to rethink leadership entirely.

I will draw from the latest events to illustrate my points. Ken Lewis just resigned yesterday. He is the last of the old guard on Wall Street to step aside. Wall Street is going through a massive change. Now we have a whole new generation of leaders on Wall Street. This is very exciting.

But, the recession is not over. I know Bernanke is saying the recession is over. But look, we have another big increase in job losses last month. 10% of Americans are officially unemployed and that number does not count those people who have given up looking for jobs, so it's really much more. There's a lot to do.  

This conference, the World Business Forum, is special because it brings the best minds of our time together when we really need it. You have very high profile leaders talking right in the midst of a very challenging and exciting time. This is a great opportunity to learn. Anyone who comes to this conference or reads about it through the blogs will be getting some great information from some of the best thinkers the world has to offer. 

I asked George about the skepticism that is on the street regarding today's corporate leaders.

We are all regular Joes. It's not a bunch of elite types talking only to each other, flying around on their personal planes, taking limos to their meetings. These are people just like the guy on the street. We have to get beyond this we-they stuff. We're all in this together.

The best leaders are finding much more personalized ways to communicate. You are going to see the successful organizations have leaders who know everyone, they make the time to engage.

--------

Join me here, next Tuesday and Wednesday as I cover Bill George's keynote and the entire World Business Forum live from Radio City Music Hall. I will also be tweeting, so follow me on Twitter, @SethKahan. I will be in great company. Other bloggers covering the event live are:

Wall Street Journal Paul Glader @wsj
The Huffington Post Shahien Nasiripour @huffbusiness
BusinessWeek.com Reena Jana @RJMAC
Reuters Felix Salmon @felixsalmon
Newsweek Katie Paul @newsweek
Business.com: What Works for Business Daniel Kehrer@whatworks
asmarterplanet.com Adam Christensen @smarterplanet
Jossey-Bass on Leadership Carolyn Carlstroem @josseybassbiz
mashable.com Ben Parr @benparr
billgeorge.org Zach Clayton @bill_george
The Big Picture Barry Ritholtz
Execunet Lauryn Franzoni @LaurynFranzoni
Execunet Robyn Greenspan @Robyngreenspan
Execunet Joseph McCool
Execunet Jeffrey Sherman Thompson
1 to 1 Media Don Peppers @donpeppers
Path Forward International Julie Lenzer Kirk@YourBoot
Path Forward International Renee Lewis @chiefcatalyst
Thought Bright Blog Robert McNeill
Working Knowledge Andrea Meyer @AndreaMeyer
Working Knowledge Dana Meyer @WorkingKnowledg
Business Boomer Arabella Santiago @businessboomer
Information Playground (EMC) Steve Todd @SteveTodd
Social Media Blog Stu Stuart Miniman @stu
Insights on Leadership and Employee Engagement Michael Lee Stallard @MichaelStallard
Avaya & Buzz Marketing for Tech Paul Dunay @pauldunay
Innoblog Renee Hopkins @Renee_Innosight
Business Strategy Innovation Blog Braden Kelley @innovate
HSMInspiringIdeas.com Graciela Gonzalez Biondo @HSMAmericas
Time Leadership Jim Estill @JimEstill
Goodness500.org Michael Mossoba @creativemichael
All Things Workplace Steve Roesler @steveroesler
Orrin Woodward Leadership Team Orrin Woodward@Orrin_Woodward
Influential Marketing Rohit Bhargava @rohitbhargava
Brain Leaders and Learners Dr. Ellen Weber @EllenfWeber
Brain Based Biz Dr. Robyn McMaster @RobynMcMaster
Triple Pundit Jen Boynton @triplepundit
Triple Pundit Nick Aster @triplepundit
Triple Pundit Ryan Mickle @triplepundit
Marketing Thoughts Blog Ken McArthur @kenmcArthur
Training Magazine’s Training Day Blog Margery Weinstein@margeryw
Awake at the Wheel Jonathan Fields @jonathanfields
Hot Mommas Project Kathy Korman Frey @chiefhotmomma
Vault.com Philip Stott @VaultCareers
Vault.com Linda Petock @VaultCareers
Economist Mom Diane Lim Rogers @EconomistMom
Hank Wasiak Hank Wasiak @hankwasiak
Chris Brady’s Leadership Blog Chris Brady @rascaltweets
The Complete Innovator Boris Pluskowski @bpluskowski
PR Mama Stephanie Smirnov @ssmirnov
Ramblings from a Glass Half Full Terry Starbucker @Starbucker
Conference Hound Jordan Enright-Schulz @conferencehound
Conference Hound Bruce Carlisle @conferencehound
Successful Blog Liz Strauss @lizstrauss
Collaboration Solutions in Industry Segments Bob Preston@BobPrestonCCO
5 Blogs Before Lunch David Allen Ibsen @daveibsen
Angry Bear Dan Crawford @angrybearecon
Angry Bear Ken Houghton @angrybearecon
Tree Hugger Matthew McDermott @matmcdermott

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com 

Seth Kahan is a Change Leadership specialist. He has consulted with CEOs and executives in over 50 world-class organizations that include Shell, World Bank, Peace Corps, Marriott, Prudential, American Society of Association Executives, International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association, Project Management Institute, and NASA. He is the founder of Seth Kahan’s CEO Leaders Forum, a community of CEOs working together to innovate through the current economy. His next book, Getting Change Right: Guaranteeing Buy-In from Your Most Valuable Players, will be published in spring 2010 by Jossey-Bass.Visit his other blog, GettingChangeRight.com for more info on the book.  

03:27 pm | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

A Growing Wave of Hospital Excellence

Today I am at the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky. This year's event sold out with over 5,000 nurses, health care workers, and hospital executives in attendance. These three days will showcase Magnet Hospitals. These are hospitals that have successfully transformed their culture to attract and retain good nurses. And this in the midst of a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify.

ANCC has successfully designed a program that creates a total cultural transformation for hospitals, beginning with the nurses and extending to all elements.  As a result these hospitals become centers of excellence in care. This means lower patient mortality, greater collaboration between nurses and doctors, evidence-based data collection to drive innovation, and even a better bottom-line.

The implementation is not cheap, costing significant resources in dollars, time, and effort. But, the transformation is undeniable. So much so that when U.S. News & World Report publishes its annual showcase of "America's Best Hospitals," being a Magnet facility contributes to the total score.

Today I learned that over 100 hospitals have either been designated or re-designated  Magnet status in the last year, adding to the growing wave of hospital excellence ANCC has sparked. Hospitals are required to submit documents to redesignate after 4 years in order to maintain their status.

The Commission on Magnet® has recognized 352 healthcare organizations in 44 states and Washington, DC, as well as four international healthcare organizations: two in Australia, one in New Zealand, and one in Beirut, Lebanon.

This is just in time, given the current spotlight on health care. ANCC has a special interactive map on their website to help you find a Magnet hospital near you.

The culture change happens by focusing on fourteen forces aggregated into five components. They are worth studying because of the results they are generating:

1. Transformational Leadership
Quality of Nursing Leadership
Management Style

2. Structural Empowerment
Organizational Structure
Personnel Policies and Programs
Community and the Healthcare Organization
Image of Nursing
Professional Development

3. Exemplary Professional Practice
Professional Models of Care
Consultation and Resources
Autonomy
Nurses as Teachers
Interdisciplinary Relationships

4. New Knowledge, Innovation, & Improvements
Quality Improvement

5. Empirical Quality Results
Quality of Care

The conference is pumped with enthusiasm. It is like a huge pep rally with thousands of practitioners cheering each other on, sharing know-how and expertise, and working together to bring a new model of health care excellence to hospitals across the land. This is exactly what we need: real hope for healthcare grounded in evidence-based practice.

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com 

Seth Kahan is a Change Leadership specialist. He has consulted with CEOs and executives in over 50 world-class organizations that include Shell, World Bank, Peace Corps, Marriott, Prudential, American Society of Association Executives, International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association, Project Management Institute, and NASA. He is the founder of Seth Kahan’s CEO Leaders Forum, a community of CEOs working together to innovate through the current economy. His next book, Getting Change Right: Guaranteeing Buy-In from Your Most Valuable Players, will be published in spring 2010 by Jossey-Bass.Visit his other blog, GettingChangeRight.com for more info on the book.