How a company responds during a crisis can speak volumes about its culture and character and of course the experience it wants to create for its people. Does it rush to sell its product and boost sales? Does it reach out to customers? Does it protect its management and lay off entry-level employees? Treating people well during times of prosperity is easy, but treating people well during times of stress and tension is what really matters.
What’s the top skill leaders need to succeed over the next decade and beyond? According to my interviews with more than 140 top CEOs, far and away the most needed skill is being able to think like a futurist.
Contrary to what some people believe, futurists don’t predict the future. Instead, they help make sure individuals and organizations aren’t surprised by what the future might bring. Thinking like a futurist involves looking at different possibilities and scenarios as opposed to picking one path and sticking to it.
As with anything in the business world, things evolve and change. The evolution that we are seeing today continues to shift organizational priorities more and more toward focusing on people and bringing humanity and experiences into our organizations. This is an immensely exciting thing to see! Years ago with the advent of what many would consider modern business, focusing on utility made sense. At the time, it was just common practice, and pretty much every organization took the same approach. Then, this shifted toward productivity, getting the most out of people.
Companies are going through difficult times right now with the current pandemic, and while Pehr is not currently the CEO of a company, he is no stranger to leading during challenging circumstances, including recessions. When asked how current leaders are handling organizations during this tough time, Pehr says there is one critical thing that leaders are not doing a good enough job with
Chris McCann knows a thing or two about flowers and gifts — and about leadership. He’s worked for 1–800-Flowers.com for more than 30 years and served as CEO since 2016. Chris helped lead the company as one of the first successful e-commerce sites and a global leader that includes numerous gifting mainstays.
Victor Hoskins is the President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. Most recently he led the team responsible for winning the Amazon HQ2, which will be bringing anywhere from 25,000 to 37,000 jobs to Northern Virginia.
Jason Fried is the co-Founder and CEO of Basecamp and bestselling author of Rework and It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work. He has also given a TED Talk titled Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work.
It’s rare that a company decides to disrupt itself. As André Calantzopoulos says, it takes a strong leader to survive major organizational changes.
Rita McGrath is a professor at Columbia Business School and author of the new book, Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen. She was also recently ranked #5 on the Thinkers50 list for her work in strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship and for being a champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.
As the world of work continues to evolve at a rapid pace, innovation continues to become both a top priority and a top challenge. In order to succeed and thrive in this rapidly changing world, organizations must adapt by implementing five innovation models, all five of these are crucial and are part of a broader innovation ecosystem. This is Part 3, Partner & Supplier Innovation. […]