Speaking Topics

In my research I have found that courage is not just an individual psychological trait, but one that can be actively cultivated in others. This is crucially important because, as managers, we need our employees to not just call our attention to things that are amiss (as in the case of whistleblowers), but because customers and clients have increasingly high expectations that must be met. Instilling courage means that top managers must not only demonstrate this quality themselves, but also foster it among others. As market turbulence around us continues unabated, courage can be the new currency for organizational success.

Giving people the mere permission to make decisions isn’t enough, because most people still need to feel a sense of direction. This means that you have to cultivate in them the courage to make the right decisions on their own — and not just on a day-to-day basis, because you will never have the specific information, at any given moment, that they have. An organizational courage quotient that builds in a capacity for risk-taking and the tolerance for failures allows the company as a whole to learn and try again.

In this interactive lecture we will use a series of historical and contemporary cases to explore how learning to act with courage entails developing a purposeful and powerful self-narrative, or “narrative identity” as psychologists call it. Each of us has embedded within us a story of ourselves, based on our past experiences, that shapes our behavior. My research shows that leaders can trigger courage when they help others to reframe their self-narratives in specific ways. Some of these re-framings include: “Am I playing a heroic part in a virtuous quest? Do I feel that I have my teammate’s back, and that she has mine? If I’m facing a daunting task, does my manager support rather than punish me? Am I achieving mastery in my job? Am I trusted to act under my own power?” By helping followers answer these questions in the affirmative for themselves, leaders can encourage them to become courageous leaders in their own rights. We will use in-class exercises how each of us can be a catalyst for courageous action not only within ourselves but also in those around us.

As business leaders face increasingly uncertain markets they have to sometimes face unprecedented adversity and setbacks that may sometimes even look insurmountable. Facing up to such circumstances requires resilient leadership. This interactive lecture will provide a comprehensive model for how to develop and guide resilient leadership within organizations. It will also provide a detailed assessment of the actions of resilient leaders and some thoughts on how to develop such a leadership pipeline within your organization. Resilient leaders have to grapple with tremendous market uncertainty with no easy answers while at once projecting confidence to motivate their teams. What are the secrets to balancing determination to succeed with the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. It will conclude with a personal leadership roadmap for those seeking to develop those skills in themselves.

Leaders of a top management teams have to balance showing direction with including their team members in shaping the direction of their organizations. This interactive lecture will provide a comprehensive model for how to build, leverage, and guide successful top management teams. We will explore how leaders leverage their teams to shape and then mobilize impactful change within organizations. It will also provide a detailed assessment of the actions of successful leaders and some thoughts on how to develop such a leadership pipeline within your organization. It will conclude with a personal leadership roadmap for those seeking to develop those skills in themselves. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Leadership as dynamic relationship between managing vertically and horizontally
• Mobilizing and driving change to adapt to turbulent market conditions
• Embracing a mindset of playing to win
• Skills and behaviors of a real change leader

This lecture will focus on the inner journey of leadership. We will examine how leaders not only manage others around them but also themselves. Using illustrative cases and recent research we will discuss how outstanding leaders are equally adept at managing others as they are themselves. We will start with a discussion of how adept leaders understand their capabilities and their goals. But they also dig beneath them to uncover their underlying drivers, values and purpose. We will then explore how leaders who comprehend all these facets of themselves become authentic and impactful leaders within their organizations.

One way in which behavior is perpetuated is through our “hidden commitments” that are manifest at the organizational level through the culture, team level through local cultural beliefs, and also at the individual level through our own individual beliefs. Research suggests that an awareness of such beliefs can mitigate their limiting features. In this exercise we will uncover some of the productive and counter-productive hidden commitments we face at the organization-level, our business-unit level, and within ourselves. We will explore how we can reshape the counter-productive commitments while accentuating the productive commitments as we embark forward as a leader.

This interactive lecture will provide a comprehensive model for how to develop and guide successful leadership within matrix organizations. It will also provide a detailed assessment of the actions of successful leaders and some thoughts on how to develop such a leadership pipeline within your organization. Such leaders struggle to grapple with tremendous organizational uncertainty with no easy answers while at once projecting confidence to motivate their teams. What are the secrets to balancing determination to succeed with the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions in a matrix organizations. It will conclude with a personal leadership roadmap for those seeking to develop those skills in themselves. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Leadership as dynamic relationship between managing vertically and horizontally in a global organization
• Mobilizing and driving change to adapt to turbulent market conditions in such conditions
• Embracing a mindset of playing to win
• Skills and behaviors of a real change leader in matrix organizations

Sports coaches frequently refer to the notion of “playing to win” versus “playing not to lose.” Business executives have embraced this distinction as a way to comprehend a common pathology in many large organizations. Using this sports metaphor, we will discuss how the most effective business people shift their mindset from playing not to lose towards playing to win. We will not only define these two extremes but then discuss strategies that winning coaches use to get their teams to become winning teams. Lessons that emerge from this with broader application will be discussed. We will elaborate on this distinction to uncover what it means for you as a leader personally, but also for how you might lead your organizations going forward.  Some of the topics discussed will include:

• What is playing to win?
• What is playing not to lose? Why do many individuals and organizations fall under the spell of playing not to lose?
• How do large and successful organizations overcome the spell of playing not to lose and shift towards playing to win?
• What are some leadership imperatives for making this shift?

This interactive lecture will provide a comprehensive model for how to develop and guide successful global leadership within organizations. It will also provide a detailed assessment of the actions of successful leaders and some thoughts on how to develop such a leadership pipeline within your organization. Such leaders struggle to grapple with tremendous market uncertainty with no easy answers while at once projecting confidence to motivate their teams. What are the secrets to balancing determination to succeed with the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. It will conclude with a personal leadership roadmap for those seeking to develop those skills in themselves. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Leadership as dynamic relationship between managing vertically and horizontally in a global organization
• Mobilizing and driving change to adapt to turbulent market conditions in varying global contexts
• Embracing a mindset of playing to win in an uncertain global context
• Skills and behaviors of a real change leader who adapt to changing global conditions

What are some successful pathways to driving deep change within your organizations? This interactive lecture will provide a comprehensive model for how to develop and guide successful change within organizations. It will also provide a detailed assessment of the actions of successful leaders and some thoughts on how to develop such a leadership pipeline within your organization. The focus is not just on senior leadership but also on those in the middle. It will provide a personal leadership roadmap for those seeking to develop those skills in themselves. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Leadership as dynamic relationship between managing vertically and horizontally
• Mobilizing and driving change to adapt to turbulent market conditions
• Embracing a mindset of playing to win
• Skills and behaviors of a real change leader
• How to operate as a leader without much formal power
• Mobilizing and driving change from the middle

The vast majority of both major and minor change initiatives in enterprises fail. In this session we examine some of the typical pitfalls that firms face when they embark on change initiatives. We look at new models of successful change and consider both the role of leaders and also of followers in initiating and managing the successful transformation inside organizations. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• How to define a change strategy inside your organization
• A roadmap for executing a change strategy that works
• Balancing top-down with bottom-up initiatives
• Key pitfalls in leading change efforts inside your organization

This talk will explore why great companies derail and delineate some of the underlying reasons. We will look at some of the strategic, organizational, and people issues that may drive these outcomes. We will distill lessons for present-day organizations to avoid derailing and pursue market success.

Spurred by visions of the future and haunted by intense competition, companies are rushing to realize the goal of creating a customer-focused organization.  Despite the increasing need for a customer-focused strategy in a competitive business environment there are few paradigms of how companies can change their strategy and organization to become customer focused.  This session presents a roadmap of the stages through which companies evolve as they embark on this journey towards greater market focus. Through a series of cases about firms in a range of industries that have successfully embarked on some of these changes, we will develop a comprehensive blueprint for the market driven organization. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• What is a customer driven strategy?
• Is a customer driven strategy right for you?
• Obstacles to formulating and implementing a customer driven strategy
• The road to building a customer driven organization

To achieve profitable growth in today’s volatile economy requires becoming more efficient while also driving ever greater value to your customers. Doing “more with less” necessitates learning how to be maniacal about looking at all your activities through the lens of your customers. Through this it becomes easier to then distill where to devote resources and also where to cut back. We will analyze companies in the present context, discuss case studies, and identify how and where you should make changes to the way you think about strategy and resource decisions.  Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Identify and explore the essential foundations for driving growth through competitive advantage
• Examine some of the newest ways to drive greater productivity in a dynamic environment
• Investigate how leading firms in a range of industries use creative growth strategies to build and sustain profitable market positions
• Cultivate an understanding of how to drive profitable growth by simultaneously pursuing greater efficiency and customer-centered growth through case studies 
  

Those firms seeking to make customer centricity or outside-in thinking into something more than just a catchy corporate slogan, have to confront a number of external and internal challenges. A broad range of hidden obstacles that can limit organizations from achieving their goals will be discussed. Some of these include strategies for bridging internal silos that slow down decision making and foster an internal focus, hiring and developing “T-shaped” managers who can manage both vertically within authority boundaries as well as horizontally across authority boundaries, and overcoming the “knowing-doing gap” whereby we limit our ability to embrace lasting change. . 

We will finally elaborate on the importance of a play-to-win mindset for achieving market success through genuine customer centricity. We will not only define what it means but also discuss strategies that winning sports coaches use to get their teams to become winning teams. Lessons that emerge from this with broader application will be discussed.

To achieve growth in today’s volatile economy requires leveraging more than just traditional assets. Intangible assets in the form of customer relationship management, branding, organizational design along with traditional assets like property rights have become important pillars of competitive advantage. In the present context, firms are witnessing dramatic shifts in the competitive landscape with intensified competition and increasing commoditization of offerings. Spurred by visions of a dismal future and haunted by intense competition, companies are rushing to cut costs across the board. At the same time there are others who view this time as opportune to break away from the pack. While others are hunkering down, these few are running forward. How do such organizations deal with the seemingly competing sets of demands of cutting back and investing in the future? What do they do to expand while others contract? What tangible and intangible assets do they leverage to drive profitable growth?  How do you break through the inevitable trade-off between driving volume growth or maintaining margin in an increasingly competitive marketplace? In this session, we learn to think more creatively about leveraging your tangible and intangible assets as you develop strategies for growth. We will analyze companies in the present context, discuss case studies, and identify how and where you should make changes to the way you think about strategy and resource decisions.  Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Identify and explore the essential foundations for driving growth through competitive advantage
• Examine some of the newest organizational structures and strategies to continually modify those that work best in a dynamic environment
• Investigate how leading firms in a range of industries use creative growth strategies to build and sustain profitable market positions
• Cultivate an understanding of how to drive growth through case studies

To achieve success in today’s volatile economy many firms look to innovation as the secret sauce for their success. However, in the present context, firms are witnessing dramatic shifts in the competitive landscape with intensified competition and increasing commoditization of offerings leading to diminishing returns from innovation. Spurred by visions of a dismal future and haunted by intense competition, companies are rushing to find ways to make their R & D investments more productive. We will analyze companies in the present context, discuss case studies, and identify how and where you should make changes to the way you lead and make resource decisions.  Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Identify and explore the essential foundations for the shift from products to services to solutions
• Investigate how firms in a range of industries use platform innovation to build and sustain profitable market positions with top and bottom line growth in difficult markets
• Cultivate an understanding of how some firms leverage open innovation to tap into a dispersed resource base

To achieve success in today’s volatile economy is viewed by many as simply looking for avenues for survival. In the present context, firms are witnessing dramatic shifts in the competitive landscape with intensified competition and increasing commoditization of offerings. Spurred by visions of a dismal future and haunted by intense competition, companies are rushing to cut costs across the board. At the same time there are others who view this time as opportune to break away from the pack. While others are hunkering down, these few are running forward. How do such organizations deal with the seemingly competing sets of demands of cutting back and investing in the future? What do they do to expand while others contract? What tangible and intangible assets do they leverage to create advantage?  We will analyze companies in the present context, discuss case studies, and identify how and where you should make changes to the way you lead and make resource decisions.  Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Identify and explore the essential foundations for building competitive advantage in turbulent markets
• Investigate how firms in a range of industries use creative strategies to build and sustain profitable market positions with top and bottom line growth in difficult markets
• Cultivate an understanding of how these firms actually implement some of these changes to ensure success

Companies looking to grow in commoditizing markets like to say that they offer customer solutions—products and services bundled into packages that are hard to copy and can command a premium price. But few companies can actually deliver on that promise. Most companies are organized into product-focused business units that allow them to develop deep knowledge and expertise, but that obscure a holistic picture of customers and their needs. Building on my recent research into the challenges of top- and bottom-line growth, I have found that creating customer solutions can be a powerful way to stimulate growth—but only if companies are able to transcend their organizational silos to marshal all of their resources, including new technologies, toward delivering customer-focused solutions. For marketers, making this shift will involve a rethinking of their roles, the development of new skills, and in some cases, and creative agreements with external partners to both keep costs in line and enhance the appeal of solutions.
Using case examples of b-2-b and b-2-c companies, this lecture vividly demonstrates how marketers can creatively develop higher value customer solutions. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Strategic dilemmas in commodity markets
• Rationale for the rise of customer solutions
• Market impediments to solutions as a key differentiator
• Internal siloes as roadblocks to customer centric solutions

To achieve success in today’s volatile economy requires leveraging more than just traditional assets. Intangible assets in the form of customer relationship management, branding, organizational design and property rights have become important off balance sheet pillars of competitive advantage. In this session, we learn to think more creatively about leveraging your tangible and intangible assets as you develop strategies for building a sustainable competitive advantage. We will analyze companies in the present context, discuss case studies, and identify how and where you should make changes to the way you think about strategy and resource decisions.  Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Identify and explore the essential foundations for building competitive advantage
• Examine some of the newest organizational structures and strategies to continually modify those that work best in a dynamic environment
• Investigate how leading firms in a range of industries use creative strategies to build and sustain profitable market positions

A new mantra for many organizations today is to become a solution-centered organization. For some firms it is about enhancing the service content associated with their products and for others it is about extending their reach from selling products to selling experiences. While there is much talk of moving away from the old product-centric form to a new solution-centric organization, there is limited understanding of what this precisely means and how to go about it. In this session we will discuss the multiple facets of effective solutions. Using several recent case studies, we will examine some of the key enablers that allow firms to architect, sell, and implement solutions. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• What is a solution?
• Key facets of an effective solution
• Pricing and selling solutions
• Building solution driven organizations