A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
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In September 1970, economist Milton Friedman argued in an article for the New York Times Magazine that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” 50 years since that publication, leaders are still struggling with what, exactly, the social purpose of business should be. That struggle is being chronicled by Carl Erickson, Founder and Executive Board Chair of Atomic Object, a custom software design and development firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Erickson shares the existential angst behind ...
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
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In early 2013, Kyle Salyers walked into what he thought would be a typical post-financing board meeting. As Managing Director of CHV Capital and recent investor in Salt Lake City-based Health Catalyst, Salyers’ job was to ensure that his company’s investment was in good hands with the Health Catalyst management team. What happened in that meeting, however, was anything but typical. Rather than address the 128-page board packet previously submitted to Salyers and other attendees of the board meeting, Health Catalyst’s ...
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: Our hospital Executive Team is made up of seven members: 6 men and 1 woman (me, the Chief of Human Resources). During Executive Team meetings, I often find that my ideas are either not acknowledged or met with resistance until a male colleague restates the idea and gets credit as his original thought. I often point out, “I just said that,” but not even that comment seems to be heard. I’m tired of feeling invisible. Can you recommend another strategy that won’t fall on deaf ears?
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A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
The fire of 2009. The flood of 2013. The fire in the new headquarters in 2015. Each of these incidents in the past ten years might have made the owners of Fiasco Gelato seriously consider a name change. Instead, the Calgary-based small-batch artisan gelatiere kept cleaning up the damage and racking up recognition for its unwavering pursuit of greatness. All this while earning a B Corp rating of 110.9, slightly edging out Ben & Jerry's.
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Welcome to the fiftieth issue of CEE News!
For the past several years, I have been practicing a ritual each workday morning. Before I open my inbox or look at my To-Do list, I feed my need to learn and teach. I do this by scouring online for what’s been written in the last 24 hours on the topics of leadership, culture, and purpose. I look for trends, case studies, breakthroughs, breakdowns – anything that keeps me updated on noteworthy progress in the field. First, I check Google Alerts, which curates a grab bag of articles from both popular and obscure media. Next, I look at the latest ...
Welcome to the fifty-second issue of CEE News!
Can you relate to this story? Four monkeys are sitting in a cage staring at a bunch of bananas accessible only by steps hanging from the roof. Whenever the monkeys try to climb the steps to reach the bananas, a blast of cold water blocks them. After a few days, realizing there’s no point in trying to get the fruit, they naturally give up. Some humans then remove the water hose and replace one of the original monkeys with a new one.
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Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: I lead of team of six at a financial planning and advisory firm in Columbus, Ohio. The firm was founded 20 years ago. My team is made up mostly of more recent college graduates who have been asking for flexible hours for the past two years with no success. What’s more, new recruits are turning down open positions because of our inflexible work policy. My manager has (finally) agreed to listen to our team’s request for more flexible hours. Any tips for how to facilitate the dialogue?
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Welcome to the fifty-first issue of CEE News!
“The single biggest challenge that any organization will ever face is its own success.” – Simon Sinek
In the third most popular TED Talk of all time, Simon Sinek inspired leaders to reconnect with their organizational why. In just 18 minutes and with a rough sketch of concentric circles on a flip chart, Sinek shared what he said was “probably the world’s simplest idea.” Most organizations focus on what they do and how they do it. But only the most inspired organizations have leaders who start with why they do it first.
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