Recharging at the Kellogg Leadership Conference-Part 1
There are at least two habits in my life that I just cannot kick. One is buying good books and putting them in my growing stack of things that I intend to read when I find the time. The other is attending every possible Kellogg Graduate School of Management event that I can find time for on my calendar. My Kellogg habit is intense: I am a graduate of their year-long Kellogg Management Institute (KMI 2000) and an Executive Scholar candidate with programs in Sales and Leadership under my belt. I also attend several updates and conferences per year if time permits.
Today I attended the annual Kellogg Leadership Conference–an event developed and managed by Kellogg MBA students and featuring some outstanding executive and academic presenters and panels. As always, I drove home tired from sitting most of the day, well-fed from the incredible Kellogg cuisine and my brain and note-pad bursting with ideas and thoughts on all things leadership.
The day kicked off with Kent Thiry, the dynamic Chairman and CEO of DaVita, a Fortune 500 provider of integrated dialysis services. (Do an internet search on Kent and you will understand why I’m not the only one impressed with him.) In addition to some anecdotes on his own career failures and successes and some great context on the turn-around and growth of DaVita, Kent outlined his perspectives on effective leaders and leadership. They were presented in the backdrop of advice to the MBA students that a fulfilled leader is a more effective leader. While they lose some of their impact without Kent presenting, the suggestions were genuine and compelling. I paraphrase:
- Effective leaders begin with the end in mind.
- Emerging leaders should maximize growth–not the speed of advancement.
- Management is a business skill–leadership is a human skill.
- Leadership is in the eyes of the led.
- Leadership is not about what you do–it’s about who you are
- Effective leaders make their commitment public, are not afraid to show their flaws/mistakes and hold themselves and expect everyone else to hold them accountable.
- To be an effective leader, pursue your passion.
- Speak your dream for your business–make a public commitment.
- Honor with care (reward for living up to values…not just business results
- Don’t whine when things get tough–you signed up for the job.
- One cannot pour from an empty cup–refresh and recharge yourself.
- True belief and alignment with the mission is required for success.
- Persevere–it takes time and hard work to build a culture
And last, but not least, he cited what he described as an old Native American aphorism: "Most people go to their graves with their music still inside them." He implored the audience members to not let that happen. I concur.
Next: Professor Harry Kraemer Jr (the former Chairman and CEO of Baxter Int’l) offers his Six Steps to Value Based Leadership.
The First Entry of Another Blog and How I Intend to Deliver Value
Welcome to the first entry!
I’ve waited a few weeks since setting up this blog on TypePad for just the right inspiration to kick things off. In the meantime, I’ve been reading as many other blogs as possible, searching for the key to producing something that resonates with readers, provides thought-provoking ideas and pithy commentary on compelling topics in management.
Although I read some great blogs (and some that perhaps were not so great), inspiration on how to take the world of blogging by storm never struck. It’s too bad, because without the magic of a really cool blog name or some cutting edge, biting commentary, it’s not clear how I will stand out with my practical, actionable ideas and perspectives on the business of management in the universe of way cooler blogs.
However, on the off-chance that you and your associates find some value in the discourse and dialog, it is only fair to make some commitments to the audience. Mine are as follows:
- Every entry will strive to offer something of actionable value to the reader. This blog is intended to communicate ideas and approaches to solving common and complex problems in leadership, strategy and sales & marketing. You should expect to walk away with at least one idea to think about for solving a problem in your business setting with every entry. If you don’t, call me on it.
- There will be no sugarcoating. The issues and solutions will be clearly communicated, without pulling punches. Poor executive practices are at the top of my list to stamp out, so those that engage in these poor practices will squirm when I call you out.
- All ideas and approaches put forth in this blog will be ethical and people-focused. It doesn’t matter what the topic is, I never lose track of the people component of running and growing a business.
- I use the word "Management" with a capital M in the blog on purpose. Without intending to invite debate about the difference between management and leadership (I get it and so should you), I am applying my own liberal definition of the term to take into account those many activities that we engage in to run and grow a business. For you leadership/management purists, my apology.
- Blogs should be a many-way conversation-most are not. I’m not sure why most postings go unacknowledged, other than there are too many blogs and too little time or whether people are screen shy. As Ken Blanchard indicated, "Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions," so I invite you to join me, grab a cup of coffee and tell me what is on your mind.
I hope that you enjoy the journey and that we get a chance to learn from each other. Let me know what you think.
And in case you think that I forgot, here are two great resources for you to check out. The team at Pragmatic Marketing does a great job for all things Product Marketing/Management and broader Marketing topics for the tech space. They have some wonderful resources, strong blogs and I speak from experience on their outstanding training services. Another source, this one focusing on leadership is Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership blog. Wally offers some great content of his own and aggregates other ideas to provide a one-stop shop for all things leadership. Enjoy!
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