John B. Izzo's Blog, page 4

Learning About Leadership From A Sixteen Year Old

Global Climate Strike in Vancouver, BC – September 2019

One simple definition of a leader is
“anyone who has a significant influence on the actions of others.” By that
simple definition, few people in recent memory have had more direct impact on
getting others to act then sixteen year old Greta Thunberg from Sweden who
inspired millions of people to participate in likely the largest global
“strike” in history. Regardless of whether you agree with her, we need to act
NOW on climate change. I happen to agree wholeheartedly! As students of
leadership, I thought we might look at what we can learn from her obvious
impact. I even about wrote a poem my own reaction to Greta and all the young
people speaking up around the world.

Greta’s Story

For those of you not familiar with her
story, Greta Thunberg’s journey began when she became deeply concerned about
both climate change as well as the state of the Earth’s environment and started
skipping school once a week and “striking” outside the Swedish Parliament.

The climate strikes eventually spread across
the globe, with millions of people participating including myself in my home
city. In the week of the strikes, Greta met with global leaders and even spoke
before the US Congress and the United Nations General Assembly, challenging
world leaders, asking “How dare you rob my childhood and future?” by not taking
real action on the environment.

So, what can we learn from Greta’s example?

Be Authentic

The first leadership lesson from Greta
Thunberg is her authenticity. When people watch her speak, they see the message
is coming from the heart. While some skeptics have accused her of being a
“pawn” in some larger game, the vast majority of people see her for what she
is: an earnest young woman deeply troubled about her future and the future of
her generation. Authenticity matters deeply when it comes to leadership so
whatever you do, please do it better from inside.

Leaders Sacrifice First

We follow leaders who demonstrate
sacrifice themselves. Martin Luther King Jr. lived with constant threats on his
life and his family. Gandhi was arrested numerous times. The CEO of Delta
Airlines had no pay for a year while his company went through a challenging
time. Greta is sacrificing a time in her life when most young people can simply
enjoy life. She is sacrificing at the risk of ridicule, and her mother gave up
her career as an opera singer to support Greta’s desire that she limit her
carbon footprint by not flying on airplanes. She even sailed across the
Atlantic in rough waters to come to the USA instead of flying, which we all
know was no picnic. If you aren’t willing to sacrifice, you sure can’t ask
others to do so.

Challenge the Status Quo

Real leaders challenge the status quo,
they run against the grain. If you really want to be a leader, you’d better be
willing to buck the trend. Much of great leadership is a willingness to speak
the truth. While the world’s leaders have done endless commissioning of reports,
declared climate emergencies, and made hollow commitments to save the ocean, and
species, Greta spoke the truth that little REAL action is happening. Almost
every leader who truly has influence is willing to tell the Emperor they have
no clothes.

Believe You Can Have Influence

In my book Stepping
Up, I researched stories of people who
had stepped up to make a big difference. One of the key factors was that they
were “naïve” enough to think they could change things. Imagine a sixteen year old
believing that “striking” from school once per week and sitting on the steps of
the Swedish Parliament would lead to change? I imagine how many people mocked
her and told her to go back to school! Imagine how many people thought “poor
little girl,” no one will even notice. Instead she believed she “mattered”
and that by stepping up she could influence. Look what happened. Are you acting
like you can truly change things?

Empower Others to Act and Be Humble

Finally, great leaders are always aware
that their ultimate act of leadership is to empower others. Greta Thunberg is a
role models that does not play the hero. Instead she calls on others to follow.
When she talked to world leaders like the US Congress and they were admiring
her courage she said: “Don’t listen to me, I am just a schoolgirl. Listen to
the scientists!” If you want the credit, you probably won’t accomplish much
as a leader. Greta may get lots of credit, but she has role modeled a desire to
empower others to act. How about you?

Communicate from the Heart & Talk Straight

This is what Greta Thunberg did at her TEDx talk

Here is a recent poem that I wrote.

The Children Speak by Dr. John Izzo

The children speak

But we do not listen

They
ask us to be mindful

but
we do not mind them

We
seem to attend

But
we have not heard

They
come into the halls

of
power and money

with
sure voices of concern

We
admire their courage

Praise
their intentions

Then
pat them on the head

To
say we know better

They
speak a language

long
lost on us

of
obvious answers

to
complex questions

asking
what good is school

when
no one seems to learn

of
what use is hope

when
no one ever acts

They
see our hypocrisy

Our
convenient excuses

How
disabled we are

In
the care for their future

And
ask us to step up before we are done

Or
give up the reigns to ones yet to come

Maybe
it is time for us to sit

To
be told to be quiet

Time
for us to go to school

To
admit we failed the course

Going
back to our child to ask again

If
perhaps, we might have something to learn

The
children speak

It
is time to listen

They
ask us to be mindful

And
mind them we must

It’s
time to attend

And
show we have heard

The post Learning About Leadership From A Sixteen Year Old appeared first on Dr John Izzo.

Four Ways to Discover & Coach Purpose

Just this past week I spoke to 350 HR
leaders and then to 500 CEOs and entrepreneurs about the Power of Purpose.
I showed them how purpose can win customers, engage team members and help all
of us achieve our personal best. One of the key elements of leading for purpose
is identifying your own purpose and coaching others to identify theirs. When
team members work from a place of purpose, they are more engaged and perform
better on every metric we care about, so helping coach purpose is one of the
keys to effective leadership.

My experience shows that most people have
a pretty good idea of what their purpose is. Here are four questions I use to
help people truly uncover their purpose:

What drives you?
When do you feel most engaged at work?On days you feel
you REALLY made a difference – what did you do? If you were gone
from the team, what would people miss? If you were gone from your family or
network what would people say was missed? How do you change the room in a
positive way?When you were a
child, what did you love to do & what irritated you?

That last question is an
interesting one that was suggested by my wife Janice, a high school teacher.
She says that most of should reflect on what we loved to do and what irritated
us as children. In my case, what I loved to do was learn and tell stories. What
irritated me was seeing people and situations where compassion and kindness was
lacking. I always cared deeply for people and all living things. Not
surprisingly, my purpose is to inspire individuals, organizations and society
to be more compassionate and just.

The truth is, most
people already know their purpose. But we as leaders are afraid to ask what it
is. At my keynotes, I often give the audience less
than one minute to answer the question “What is your purpose?” Then I ask each
person to connect with someone else and share it. The room becomes energized with
a positive buzz. I then ask, “When was the last time you knew you were living
your purpose?”

I ask for a show of hands of how
many people felt the purpose they named felt roughly “quite right.” Around the
world about 90-95% of the hands go up. With less than one minute of preparation,
most people can name their purpose.

Once You Have Your
Purpose…Then What

So, what happens after you identify
your purpose or find out a team member’s purpose? Well here are three simple
actions:

Write it down
and look at it every day before you start your day. Find an image or something that reminds you why you
are here.Every time you
get to “live your purpose” in small or large ways, take a moment and notice it. Breathe it in. When you see someone on your team live
their purpose, let them know you noticed.Finally, ask
yourself each day, “How could I live my purpose more deeply?” Ask team members, “How could you bring your purpose
to life even more in our workplace?”

If you want to know more about my talks and sessions on purpose, please read more information here.

Meanwhile, get clear on your
purpose and start asking team members about theirs. The results might surprise
you!

The post Four Ways to Discover & Coach Purpose appeared first on Dr John Izzo.

Why I Pledged to STOP Posting Bad News

This summer I made a personal pledge to stop posting bad news on social media. I want to tell you why and show you how making that choice matters for us as leaders.

Let’s
start with why I made that pledge. This summer, I found my social media feeds
on Facebook, etc. overwhelmed with bad news postings: stories about melting ice
in Greenland, dire warnings about how fast climate change is accelerating,
whales dying from ocean plastic, elephants going extinct, mass shootings and on
it went. I then noticed that most of the comments to the postings were equally
grim- those of us who were reading them were feeling even less inspired to
change things for the better. So, I made a simple pledge: I would no
longer post the latest bad news, instead I would only post stories
about people stepping up to try to do something about the big problems we face.

Now before you tune me out, let me tell you WHY I think this will create
more change and WHY this is as relevant for you in your business as in society. Let’s
first do a CHANGE 101 lesson. Human beings are herd creatures for the most
part. It turns out that if you tell people that other people are Stepping Up,
it makes them more likely to do so themselves.

So, whether it is bad news in your business or your neighborhood, spreading
bad news only makes people complacent but posting stories of people doing
something good makes us feel we CAN and SHOULD do something.

Fascinating
studies were done in hotels trying to get people to re-use their towels to save
energy. Turns out the best way to get people to do that is to post a sign in
the bathroom that says something like “80% of the people who stay in the hotel
choose to re-use their towels”. The average increase in compliance was 20%! It
went up another 10% when you changed it to “80% of the people who stayed in
THIS room.” In other words, all the signs about the world going to hell
in a hand basket didn’t motivate people, but saying other people were stepping
up motivated them.

The second thing is that from a brain perspective, bad news activates the
most primitive part of the human brain. I will spare you
neuroscience details, but the bottom line is that when we activate fear, it
provokes fight or flee. Fleeing often means trying to forget the bad news,
fighting means just trying to survive.

Most of the time, when an organization is facing bad news- the last thing
we want is people running around in flight or fight. We want them to be
creative, to find innovative ways to make changes, and it turns out that
showing people how others are doing that very thing activates creativity.

Now I
can read your mind so here goes. Whether in society or business, isn’t
that the equivalent of putting your head in the sand? Didn’t Jim
Collins find in his book Good to Great that one of the first things you need to
do if you want BIG change is to “face the brutal facts?” And he was
right…BUT! Facing the brutal facts is important whether it is climate
change, plastic in the ocean or a competitive business challenge requiring a
shift.

But rubbing people’s noses in the brutal facts doesn’t work. I have seen so
many leaders spend several years reminding their people of the harsh facts,
change or die, we are on a burning platform and on it goes. And once people get
it, it makes things worse. Better to focus on the Burning Ambition- here is
what it looks like when we take action to change.

So now
I am spreading stories of people stepping up to make things better, to do
something about plastic, climate, violence and I challenge you as a
leader to think about this: If you want your people to do more of anything,
start telling more stories about people who ARE already stepping up to do those
very things.

Maybe
you will join me in this pledge and see what happens. Thank you for your
support in making the world a better place.

The post Why I Pledged to STOP Posting Bad News appeared first on Dr John Izzo.

How to Get Gen Z Connected to Your Purpose

In the Purpose Revolution there is good news and bad news when it comes to getting customers and employees connected to your purpose. The good news is customers and employees across all generations want to be connected to brands they believe in. The bad news is that few brands are really succeeding either with employees or customers.

A recent study looked at perceptions among Gen Z (basically 25 years old and under) looked at how they see companies on social issues. What emerged is relevant across generations. Sixty-eight percent said that corporate support for social causes improves their perception of the brand, and fifty-eight percent said it impacts their buying choices. Bad news: only 12% could identify specific companies with a cause.

The lessons that emerged from the research fully support the advice in my book  The Purpose Revolution.

First, be consistent and focused. Dove has been focused on redefining beauty and body image for fifteen years, so not surprisingly, 58% of Gen Z know this and are positive about Dove as a brand. The company is also growing 30% faster than their competition. Even if you support many causes, STAY FOCUSED ON A CORE ISSUE. Many times, companies which actually contribute less to social good, but who are known for something, do better and get more traction from their work. The moral is not to do less good, but to have a focus that connects you with your core customer.

Second, be bold. Patagonia has the highest consistent positive association with a cause in the Gen Z survey. The company has been bold and even courted controversy when they took on the President of the United States on the issue of public land use. The Purpose Revolution requires boldness and people will respond to courage. Of course, those who disagree may opt out, but the loyalty of those who align with your values will grow. Chick-Fil-A is an example of courage with their “closed on Sunday” policy which attracts the loyalty of consumers who love their stance.

Third, be loud. If your company is supporting social issues be LOUD and PROUD. Make it clear on the label, in your social media, in your employee meetings, and so on. Don’t hide your light. Nike got lots of powerful social media benefit from their stand on social justice with the Colin Kaepernick. But months later, only 27 percent associated them with racial justice. So, you’d better keep it central.

Finally, Be Authentic. But here is where it gets interesting: Gen Z see authenticity differently. Rather than feel your cause must align with your business, they feel any cause is fair game so long as the company is sincere and consistent in tackling that issue.

Reference:

Most Brands’ Support of Causes Is Not Breaking Through to Gen Z

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Two Words Each Person AND Every Company Must Embrace

One of the constant questions that I am asked is: How do we get better? Leaders want to know how they become better leaders, organizations want to know how they can improve for customers and employees, sales people want to know how to sell more, couples want to know how to improve their marriage, you name it. We all want to get better.

In my talks on Stepping Up Your Game, based on my book Stepping Up, I like to talk about two words we must embrace if we want to step to the next level.

I want to ask you what your relationship is with two key words: Criticism and Comparison. Our relationship with those words is a very good predictor of whether and how much we improve both in our work and personal lives.

Let’s start with the word criticism. Most of us don’t like to be criticized. When we do get criticized, we usually move to a place of defense. We say, “Thanks, but let me explain.” Few of us seek criticism on a regular basis and if we do, we try only to ask the “friendliest” for it. But I think people who keep getting better and companies that constantly improve go out and seek criticism.

Some of you are asking why I didn’t use the word feedback? I could have, but most of us are a lot more comfortable with positive feedback than being criticized. We need positive feedback just as much, but we can handle that already. I want to provoke you to ask if you regularly ask others to tell you where you can do better? Ask your customers where did you mess up? Ask your team members what you need to stop doing as a leader? Ask your life partner what drives you nuts that I can fix?

Many of us think we are better with criticism than we are. Once I asked a coaching client of mine, “So how are you with criticism?” and she said, “I am great with it, whenever there is something to be criticized I always speak up.” So, honesty time, how is your organization with criticism? How are leaders at really hearing what you need to improve?

The second word is Comparison. Now our grandparents told us never to compare ourselves with others. Of course, they were right if your main reason to compare is to assess how you measure up. But comparison is critical to becoming more successful. When I was advising Qantas Airlines on their culture, I was struck by the fact that even though they are routinely named one of the safest airlines in the world, they constantly compare themselves to others to find how they can better themselves.

When it comes to comparison, the better you get, the more you need to start comparing yourselves to different people or companies. When the University of Connecticut wanted to get better, they compared their metrics to five other major universities. Once they were better than those five, they identified another five who were even better. You get the idea.

A corollary of all of this is to make sure you hang out with people better than you. Married couples should have couple friends with much better marriages, parents should spend time with parents who are better than they are, leaders should find out who is more admired and has better numbers and hang out with those leaders. Of course, when you start comparing yourself to people better than yourself, remember it isn’t to make you feel inferior, it is to become like those you admire. Keep comparing and you will get closer to their qualities over time.

So, in your life and in your organization, what is the relationship you have with criticism and comparison. Want it? Don’t want it? Welcome it? Try to avoid it? Seek it or just hope it happens?

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How to Hire People with a Sense of Purpose

A large study by LinkedIn showed that about 34% of the global workforce is purpose focused, meaning that purpose is a major factor driving their choices at work. More importantly, in my book The Purpose Revolution we show evidence that team members who are focused on purpose perform better on almost every metric we care about as leaders: engagement, commitment, service, productivity- and they even call in sick less!

At a recent large session with leaders last week in Michigan I was asked, “How do we hire for purpose?” It is an important question. While leaders can, and should, help all team members to find purpose in their work, it sure is easier to hire people who have it already. As my co-author Jeff always says, “You might be able to train a turkey to climb a tree, but it’s easier to hire a squirrel.”

So here are three simple suggestions:

Recruit for Purpose

Advertise jobs focusing on job purpose rather than job function. Rather than list all the tasks the job involves, focus on the real difference that function makes. By focusing on purpose, people who are more purpose focused will be more likely to apply. For example, if you are hiring housekeepers in a hotel or hospital, focus on “You will create a great environment for people to get healthy or be comfortable away from home” and “You will be part of a team that can make people’s day through your caring.”

Interview for Purpose

During interviews, ask people where they found purpose in their previous or current job. Here is the way I like to ask it: “On a day when you went home in your previous job feeling you really made a difference to something you care about, what happened that day?” Don’t over coach the answer, see how they respond. The most purpose focused people will have an answer.

Ask What Their Purpose Is?

Finally, be bold and ask them, “In your last job, what was your purpose?” Ask: “As you think about your life, what would you say your purpose is?” So many leaders and business owners are afraid to ask these kinds of questions, but why not? We want to know if people have a purpose beyond money and we want to know whether their purpose connects to what they will be doing in the job we are hiring them for.

Don’t Forget- Share Your Own Purpose

One final thought: make sure you share your purpose when you interview people. Remember, purpose focused people want to work with others who share that orientation so tell them your purpose and the purpose of your company or team.

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Three Reasons Purpose is a Game Changer

It has been a great start to the month as I worked with over a thousand health care workers on finding more purpose in work while advising a new consulting client, one of the largest educational companies in the world, on how to shift their culture towards purpose.

As I speak and advise clients on Leading for Purpose, I am often asked why Purpose is a game changer for companies and for individuals. In my newest book The Purpose Revolution, I discuss this in detail. But today I want to share three reasons why purpose is a game changer.

First, in an age of commoditization where manufactured products are virtually indistinguishable from one brand to another, “belief driven” consumers are rewarding brands they believe in. According to the 2018 Edelman Earned Brand Study, most consumers are checking their gut as much as their wallets when making a buying decision. The research found 64% of consumers around the world are “belief-driven” buyers, including 59% in the U.S. The U.S. percentage is up 12 points from last year. In short, belief-driven buyers can be defined as people who believe brands should take a stand on important issues. About one-third of consumers regularly reward companies they believe in with their business or punish those they don’t believe in. On average, companies like Dove and Ben & Jerry’s that have a purpose connection with their customers are growing 30% faster.

Second, purpose transforms our own work and gives us energy. Recently as I spoke to groups about purpose, I said that “the cure for exhaustion is not necessarily rest, often it is wholeheartedness.” Many of the people I meet in business today are exhausted. But that exhaustion does not simply come from overwork. Exhaustion often comes from the feeling that our work is just about money or task, rather than a deeper calling. In my sessions, I asked participants to name their purpose and share it with another person. In each case, participants talked about how their energy changed as they reconnected to their purpose. Most of us know what our purpose is, but when we name it and claim it, and then begin to ask how we can live it more fully in our work, a profound shift occurs. On every metric, people who see their job as a purpose outperform those who don’t.

The final reason why purpose is a game changer is that when we focus on our purpose, it leads us to great new business opportunities. When we focus on the true needs of others in society, we discover new business opportunities. Think of how Airbnb started when the two founders had a hard time finding a reasonably priced place to stay while traveling. They discovered an important need that later because one of the world’s most successful brands. When we start asking about how we can solve the real problems people face, we dig into our purpose and amazing things happen. Tinder, the dating app, happened because there was a need for a faster and easier way to meet people. It may have started out as a hookup app, but now is a place where people can find their soul mates…and the company makes money though the creation of new possibilities.

These three reasons amplify why you should take purpose seriously. In doing so, you will live longer and healthier, and your curiosity about the needs of people and society might just be your next great business idea.

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The Two Qualities of True Leaders We Follow

Have you ever wondered what qualities are most important if you want to be a leader that people follow? My good friend Jim Kouzes has been asking people around the world for several decades why they follow their chosen leaders. Not surprisingly, the two most highly rated qualities are honesty and inspiration. Honesty is bigger than just telling the truth, it is about being trustworthy. If you think about it, people connect with leaders because they trust them, admire them, and feel inspired by their vision. In the business world, this means we identify with our leader’s drive to create something good to serve our customers and fill a need in society.

What is Trust?

Trust is being a straight shooter. It is telling the truth and standing up for the truth against opposition. Being trustworthy means showing people what you stand for and what your values are, by living them. It means asking and inviting people to hold you accountable to your word. It means having a positive mindset because people trust leaders who believe in them.

Ask yourself this: Do people know what I stand for? Do they know what I expect of myself as a leader? Do I speak positively about others? Do I walk my talk?

Are you Inspiring?

In my talks and coaching conversations, I share research that leaders who create vision are able to drive their teams towards engagement, commitment and results. Simply being a good manager is not a very good predictor of these things. What people want is a leader who truly inspires them to see how their role matters. People need to find purpose in their work and once they understand how their contribution impacts their colleagues and customers, this opens the opportunity to create an authentic vision of greatness, where they see the contribution they make to society.

Ask yourself: Do I consistently communicate the real purpose of our work- focusing on the positive difference we make for customers and society? Do I have a vision of greatness- an authentic idea of how we are different because we make the world better?

Today I want to talk about the qualities of trust and inspiration in a man who truly demonstrated them through his life and career.

A great leader died two weeks ago

His name was John Bogle who founded The Vanguard Group, the second largest manager of money in the world. I met John Bogle, known as Jack, shortly after I wrote my first book Awakening Corporate Soul, in 1994. Within five minutes of meeting him I knew he was the real thing and I knew he had a palpable purpose.

Jack was an authentic, honest, straight shooter and he inspired a financial revolution by popularizing the Exchange Traded Fund, a marketable security which allowed the average investor to maintain a diversified portfolio with low fees. He believed that investors had been getting the short end of the stick and wanted to change that, and he did! His simple vision was to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

If you are looking for advice on how to be a great leader of character, look no further than John Bogle’s advice to Georgetown University in the 2007 Commencement Address:

“There are never enough citizens with determined hearts, courageous character, intelligent minds, and idealistic souls to do it. Yes, our world already has quite enough guns, political platitudes, arrogance, disingenuousness, self-interest, snobbishness, superficiality, war, and the certainty that God is on one side or the other. But it never has enough conscience, nor enough tolerance, idealism, justice, compassion, wisdom, humility, self-sacrifice for the greater good, integrity, courtesy, poetry, laughter, and generosity of substance and spirit. It is these elements that I urge you to carry into your careers, and remember that the great game of life is not about money; it is about doing your best to build the world anew.”

The most simple and straightforward ticket to being a leader that people want to follow, is to be trustworthy and inspiring! Work on those two things every day, and you could create worldwide impact the way Jack did.

The post The Two Qualities of True Leaders We Follow appeared first on Dr John Izzo.

The Two Qualities of True Leaders

Have you ever wondered what qualities are most important if you want to be a leader that people follow? My good friend Jim Kouzes has been asking people around the world for several decades why they follow their chosen leaders. Not surprisingly, the two most highly rated qualities are honesty and inspiration. Honesty is bigger than just telling the truth, it is about being trustworthy. If you think about it, people connect with leaders because they trust them, admire them, and feel inspired by their vision. In the business world, this means we identify with our leader’s drive to create something good to serve our customers and fill a need in society.

What is Trust?

Trust is being a straight shooter. It is telling the truth and standing up for the truth against opposition. Being trustworthy means showing people what you stand for and what your values are, by living them. It means asking and inviting people to hold you accountable to your word. It means having a positive mindset because people trust leaders who believe in them.

Ask yourself this: Do people know what I stand for? Do they know what I expect of myself as a leader? Do I speak positively about others? Do I walk my talk?

Are you Inspiring?

In my talks and coaching conversations, I share research that leaders who create vision are able to drive their teams towards engagement, commitment and results. Simply being a good manager is not a very good predictor of these things. What people want is a leader who truly inspires them to see how their role matters. People need to find purpose in their work and once they understand how their contribution impacts their colleagues and customers, this opens the opportunity to create an authentic vision of greatness, where they see the contribution they make to society.

Ask yourself: Do I consistently communicate the real purpose of our work- focusing on the positive difference we make for customers and society? Do I have a vision of greatness- an authentic idea of how we are different because we make the world better?

Today I want to talk about the qualities of trust and inspiration in a man who truly demonstrated them through his life and career.

A great leader died two weeks ago

His name was John Bogle who founded The Vanguard Group, the second largest manager of money in the world. I met John Bogle, known as Jack, shortly after I wrote my first book Awakening Corporate Soul, in 1994. Within five minutes of meeting him I knew he was the real thing and I knew he had a palpable purpose.

Jack was an authentic, honest, straight shooter and he inspired a financial revolution by popularizing the Exchange Traded Fund, a marketable security which allowed the average investor to maintain a diversified portfolio with low fees. He believed that investors had been getting the short end of the stick and wanted to change that, and he did! His simple vision was to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

If you are looking for advice on how to be a great leader of character, look no further than John Bogle’s advice to Georgetown University in the 2007 Commencement Address:

“There are never enough citizens with determined hearts, courageous character, intelligent minds, and idealistic souls to do it. Yes, our world already has quite enough guns, political platitudes, arrogance, disingenuousness, self-interest, snobbishness, superficiality, war, and the certainty that God is on one side or the other. But it never has enough conscience, nor enough tolerance, idealism, justice, compassion, wisdom, humility, self-sacrifice for the greater good, integrity, courtesy, poetry, laughter, and generosity of substance and spirit. It is these elements that I urge you to carry into your careers, and remember that the great game of life is not about money; it is about doing your best to build the world anew.”

The most simple and straightforward ticket to being a leader that people want to follow, is to be trustworthy and inspiring! Work on those two things every day, and you could create worldwide impact the way Jack did.

The post The Two Qualities of True Leaders appeared first on Dr John Izzo.

Three Trends to Watch in 2019

I am fascinated by developing human potential. I have written nine books and spent almost thirty years helping leaders and companies stay ahead of the curve in terms of their leadership, purpose and burden of responsibility. My clients say their work with me sharpens their competitive edge and keeps them motivated to serve their customers, build up their employees and make greater gains in goals around corporate social responsibility. So, as a follow up to my 2018 book The Purpose Revolution: How Leaders Create Engagement and Competitive Advantage in an Age of Social Good, I am sharing three key trends to consider as we start the new year in a powerful way.

Trend One: It will get even harder to differentiate your business,  so you’d better think differently

In most businesses today, we are increasingly in a world where most of the levers used to differentiate ourselves keep getting harder. I call it the age of product commoditization, where the differentiators of price, quality, and service mostly get you into the game. The Amazon world we live in has created a place where price is set by the lowest competitor. With a few notable exceptions, our products are rarely fundamentally different than our competition. We create, they imitate. Even companies like Apple are finding it increasingly hard to be different. Quality and great service still matter but they are now base expectations. So, what’s left? To me it is all about relationship. Have we created a relationship with our customers that is based on a connection to their values?  In my latest book The Purpose Revolution, I show that companies who make a values and purpose connection with customers are growing about 30% faster than those who don’t. I also show that when customers have a values connection with a company, they remain loyal and don’t switch brands when competitors lower their price. A great example of values loyalty is Ben & Jerry’s, where a third of customers buy ice cream from them because they believe in the company’s values which revolve around social, environmental and economic ethics. The Ben & Jerry’s fans never switch even when other premium ice creams are cheaper. So, what is the relationship you have with your customers- Do they truly have a relationship with you and a deep sense of connection to shared values?

Trend Two: Disruption will continue to accelerate, so you’d better be disrupting, not waiting to get disrupted

Years ago, I used to give lots of sessions on Managing Change. I stopped that because the future doesn’t belong to those who manage change but to those who CREATE IT! Instead I give talks on Leading for Transformational Change. Disruption is the order of the day and creating change in every industry. Today, machines manage portfolios as well or better than humans. People compare and source products themselves so middle men and distributors are struggling. Just when you think you can glide, someone else starts disrupting! One of our clients is FAIR, a new form of car ownership that lets you buy a car on subscription just like watching a film on Netflix. They are disrupting the business of vehicle sales that has been stable since the 1950s. So, what do we do if disruption is going to keep accelerating? The answer is simple but hard: focus on disrupting yourself! On a recent visit to Google they put it this way, “You better be asking how to put yourself out of business because someone else is in a basement doing that very thing.” Most people have heard of the dating app Tinder, but how many know it was created by match.com. Why? The CEO sent some of his best people in the company to the basement and said, “Put us out of business before someone else does.” They invented Tinder, a faster way to meet people. Now both companies are thriving, but just imagine if someone else had invented Tinder instead?

Trend Three: Busyness & Stress will keep growing, so you’d better take your own wellbeing seriously

The final trend is that we aren’t going to get any less busy or stressed in the world of work. As one of my clients says, “It’s like drinking water from a fire hose.” Surveys show people are more stressed and more time starved than ever. So, we’d better double down on wellbeing both for ourselves and our organizations. Recently I spoke to a group of high-powered CEOs gathering in Scottsdale and they asked me to speak to them about how to “be more happy in 2019.” People who are happy perform better, are more creative and make better decisions. So smart companies and wise leaders aren’t leaving wellbeing to chance. Staying happy and reducing stress needs to be serious business in business. What are you doing to increase your happiness and calm amidst the storm? What is your business doing to truly help people thrive?

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