Leadership: Empathy and Inspiration

In 2009 Simon Sinek rocked the business world with his TEDx talk entitled "How Great Leaders Inspire Action".  With over 50 million views (yes, you read that right), his simple talk (which later spawned his best selling book "Start With Why") inspired us all to rethink how we approached our customers, employees, vendors, bankes, lawyers, families, and friends.

Three years ago, Mr. Sinek again shared his thoughts.  During this period of social unrest, they could not be more important.  Watch Mr. Sinek explain why a leader's real job is not as much about being in charge, as much as it is about taking care of those in their charge.

How to Talk About Race in the Workplace

Wharton Business School professor Stephanie Creary has written a new opinion piece offering advice on how to effectively open up a conversation about race in the workplace. In the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Flloyd, and Rayshard Brooks, along with the caught-on-camera-racism of Amy Cooper, many companies have come out publicly against racism and inequality. As part of these public statements, companies are committing to more open discussions about race, as well as prioritizing diversity & inclusion education for their employees.

In her article Creary states “To eradicate systemic racism, it is important for managers to empower employees and provide them with resources for having productive conversations about race.” Many managers, however, feel ill-equipped to offer sage advice on ‘what to do’ when it comes to diversity and inclusion in their organizations. Creary discusses her own struggles as an African American professor to provide strategic frameworks to her students and leaders, and she introduces her RACE Framework:

R: Reduce anxiety by talking about race anyway. It may be an uncomfortable topic but conversations have to start somewhere.

A: Accept that anything related to race is either going to be visible or invisible. Not everyone identifies with a single race or a single conversation about race. Leave room for everyone.

C: Call on internal and external allies for help. Cultivate a diverse network of internal (managers, C-suite colleagues) and external (professors, clients, former colleagues, etc.) who are committed to having these same conversations.

E: Expect that you will need to provide some “answers”, practical tools, skill-based frameworks, etc. Lean on the same network of internal and external allies to provide tools that help employees understand that including race, diversity, and equality in company conversations is a priority.

Read the full article here, absorb her advice, and really learn how to apply her RACE Framework.

Deepfakes: Are You and Your Brand Ready?

In 1985, two researchers wrote an article predicting “The End of Photography as Evidence of Anything.”   The authors felt that emerging imaging technologies would allow photos to be created that would be indistinguishable from the real thing with obvious. The dangers of this are obvious. 

The camera may not lie, but people always have.  A new artificial intelligence technology known as “generative adversarial networks” have greatly magnified the ease with which almost anyone will soon be able  create compelling realistic videos that purport to represent real people and real events.  Known as “deepfaking,” former President Obama and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have already been falsely portrayed making provocative or inappropriate statements.

A recent Forbes article warns that “while impressive, today's deepfake technology is still not quite to parity with authentic video footage—by looking closely, it is typically possible to tell that a video is a deepfake. But the technology is improving at a breathtaking pace.  Experts predict that deepfakes will be indistinguishable from real images before long.“

CEOs and businesses are tempting targets.  The risks to our personal and brand reputations is chilling.  Take a minute for this article “Deepfakes are Going to Wreak Havoc on Society.  We Are Not Prepared.”   Get ready; it’s almost here.

A Turning Point for Change

Former President Barack Obama published a piece on Medium this week, addressing the protests nationwide following the death of George Floyd -- and, specifically, how he thinks people can move forward to "sustain momentum to bring about real change."

In it, he highlights the importance of voting and participation in the political process, especially at the state and local levels, where laws concerning criminal justice and police actions are largely formed. His words echo those that he spoke after the Sandyhook Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 20 children, all ages 6-7, along with 6 school personnel. Back then, he urged people to become “single issue voters”. Here, he not only urges this political strategy, but also points out the hope he feels seeing young people exercising their constitutional rights to protest.

Obama emphasizes that, especially in the midst of a pandemic, the next moments in American history can be a real “turning point” if we can channel our sadness and anger into peaceful and effective change.

Retirement in a Post-Corona Reality

The big problems we had pre-Corona may be just as big, or bigger, when we’re past it.   One challenge that many will have will be funding a retirement that - due to medical costs or forced layoffs - is far longer than they had planned for.

This article from Knowledge at Wharton explores some of the public/private strategies and partnerships that many help fill the gap between what many have, and what many will need.  Will you need help from options like these?  Check out “Living to 100: How Will We Afford Longer Lives?”

Our Own "Hail Mary"

In most of our favorite, guilty-pleasure disaster movies, each hero has a “Hail Mary” moment in which he or she makes a daring breakthrough that saves the day. In real life, and especially during this pandemic, we must take comfort in all of us making small changes that will lead to an ultimate victory. It is natural to find hope in news (or rumors) of medical breakthroughs (Remdesivir, the Oxford or Moderna Vaccine projects which hold promise, and false alarms like hydroxychloroquine).   But, real advancements take time and are hard to predict.  The belief that our own “Hail Mary” moment is imminent can seduce us into letting our guard down.

As many states start to re-open, a recent short HBR Blog post warns the “all-or-nothing approach…. makes for great theater. It does not, however, bear much resemblance to how actual big problems are solved… Big problems typically get tackled through a series of small solutions, each of which on its own may not seem particularly important, but that together can have a huge impact.”

A wise executive once said that “good management is consistent pressure, relentlessly applied”. Take a minute to reflect on why “we shouldn’t wait for a breakthrough in the Covid-19 Pandemic”, and what we should do in the meantime to help assure one.

Staying Optimistic When Everything Seems Wrong

Much has been made about practicing mindfulness in recent years, and for good reason. One of the tenets of mindfulness is to sit with and observe your emotional experience without reaction or judgment. So in a time of international crisis, when the future is uncertain, it is important to take time and sit with our worries, our fears, and our anger in order to maintain a healthy mental state. Kristen Wong has written a piece for the NY Times on how to hold on to hope for the future, even during times of a pandemic. Take a minute to read her advice, and then take another minute to check in with your emotional state.

Innovation vs. Coronavirus

Few people have had a greater impact on the tools we use in our jobs than Microsoft founder Bill Gates.  After retiring from Microsoft, he has deployed millions of dollars through the Gates Foundation into fighting disease in developing countries.  Several years ago in a TED talk he warned about the challenge of a pandemic. He’s now backing up his warning with the recent major investments he has made to produce a vaccine to fight COVID-19.

Mr. Gates has a new post on his blog that is worth your time to increase your Corona IQ. Check out “Innovation vs The Coronavirus: The First Modern Pandemic.”  At 13 pages it’s a long read (you can download the pdf) but worth the time.  If you’re short on time, he has graciously published an executive summary of the longer article in the Washington Post.

Earth Day Turns 50

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. As many of us remember, 1970s America was a place where industrial plants spewed smoke and sludge into the air with virtually no regulation, heavy and inefficient cars burned through leaded gasoline, and air pollution was commonly accepted as unavoidable. Then came the birth of the modern environmental movement. Thanks in large part to the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, grassroots movements united with students and the support of a few concerned politicians, and the first Earth Day was born. Earth Day 1970 brought 20 million Americans (at the time, 10% of the total population) into the streets and parks to demonstrate agains 150 years of unregulated pollution and greed.

One pioneer who has been at the forefront of the environmental movement around the world is Jane Goodall. Although she is most well known for her work with primates, Goodall is also an avid environmental and animal rights activist. Now she has a new documentary, appropriately premiering today, in which she discusses everything from animal empathy to COVID-19. It is available to stream on Disney+, or catch it live on the National Geographic channel. Give it a watch, and give thanks for one sweet world.

The Stockdale Paradox

In his book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins identified what he called “Level 5” leadership: a combination of humility and fierce resolve.  He proffered this as required and defining trait of those who build great, enduring companies.

One example he shared was that of Admiral James Stockdale, the highest ranking POW during the Vietnam conflict and how his leadership in an utterly uncertain situation required balancing the tension between the duality of faith and brutal facts that’s come to be known as the “Stockdale Paradox.”

To help leaders cope with the impact of Covid-19, Mr. Collins recently released a 7 minute video that explores “the Stockdale Paradox”, which is particularly relevant in the current context.  I hope you will take time for this before starting your week and share with the other leaders in your organization.   

Adm. James Stockdale