Archive for Leadership
Interviewing Irial Finan of Coca-Cola
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Irial Finan of Coca-Cola
We’ll be talking about sustainability: How do you meet the mandate for significant business growth while also reducing its carbon footprint? Supply chain: What are the most vexing challenges of running one of the world’s most global and complex supply chains (the company has more than 300 bottling partners worldwide) given resource scarcity, price volatility, and local market expectations? And leadership: What qualities are most important for a leader in an high visibility, international organization like Coca-Cola today — and in 10 years time?
I find Coca-Cola to be an interesting company as they have embraced end-to-end life cycle responsibility for their product. They also operate locally through their bottlers around the globe and have one of the most diverse management teams I’ve come across; they may be headquartered in Atlanta but they are truly global. We’ll have a lot to talk about.
What questions would you like me to pose to Irial? I’ll be writing a summary of our conversation upon my return.
Mackey vs. Schultz: Compare-and-Contrast CEOs
Posted by: | CommentsIt was by coincidence that I recently read both a profile of Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey and an interview with Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz. The Mackey piece appeared in The New Yorker in January — I happened to score this copy from the magazine swap at the dump
a couple of weeks ago — and the Schultz interview is in the current Harvard Business Review.
Both firms receive a greater percentage of my income than I’d like to admit though I can rationalize it through my insistence on fair trade coffee, organic veggies, grass fed beef, and all the rest. At the end of my reading adventure I found myself enthusiastic to give more of my business to Starbucks and feeling far less sanguine about Whole Foods. I thought about this for a bit — I’m a writer and know that some people give a better interview than others. I also admit to having a bad feeling about Mackey ever since he tried to charge a fee when I asked him to speak while I was at Harvard Business Publishing (the only sitting CEO ever to do so — and he also wanted an administrative fee to cover the work of his assistant in arranging his travel and processing the paperwork). His stealth online commenting didn’t sit well either. I never thought much about Schultz except when thinking that celebrity CEOs tend to get too much credit for their organizations’ success.
Based on these two pieces, Schultz seems to believe in and act on behalf of values that are bigger than himself; Mackey appears to see himself as the ultimate embodiment of the values of Whole Foods. The distinction is important and I have increasingly come to see the ability to embrace values and interests bigger than the self and getting others to embrace them as well as the very essence of leadership. I got the feeling that Mackey hoped the I, and the rest of his customers, can someday live up to his ideal; Schultz seemed focused on helping his customers and workers attain the heights to which they aspire. The title of the HBR piece says it all: “We had to own the mistakes.” Owning up to accountability and responsibility are essential if one is to lead.
I’m still happy to have a Whole Foods within walking distance as are better than most at everything from vegetable selection to worker compensation, but I’d welcome a change at the top. On the other hand, I am glad to have Schultz at the helm at Starbucks and will feel better as I quaff my latte knowing that he refused to cut worker health care benefits during the downturn. It was just one of the ways that he stayed focused on long-term value (and values) and stood up to the demands of investors during the turnaround. I have no such confidence that Mackey would show similar strength.
What do you think about the CEOs value to the brand? Am I making too much of the actions of either Schultz or Mackey?
Road Band or Session Players: A Leadership Challenge
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Alison Brown
I recently had the chance to interview Alison Brown and Garry West, the husband-and-wife team who run Compass Records in Nashville. I’ve known Alison since I recruited her to speak at a Harvard Business Publishing Burning Questions conference in 2003 — who could resist the story of an investment banker-turned Grammy Award-winning banjo player-turned record label founder? It was a tale of a passion for music that would not be denied and that turned not into a lark but into an ultimately more rewarding career.
I also interviewed her for Worthwhile magazine (Worthwhile A Brown interview).
I was in touch again recently because I am working on a book on leadership and wanted to get Alison and Garry’s insights into what it is like to lead people over whom you have little authority — musicians certainly fit the bill. While I have to save most of the leadership insights for the book, I did want to share part of the conversation that I found fascinating: the decision on whether to use an artist’s road band or session players when recording an album. Read More→
The Complexities of Happiness
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Happiness has been a hot topic for the past couple of years. Dan Gilbert’s book and Tal Ben-Shahar’s course at Harvard made plenty of headlines. One of the more interesting projects I’ve been involved with in this area was a half-day brainstorming session in which I brought together a number of experts on happiness, laughter, and positive psychology at the behest of a major consumer package goods company. We explored the major lines of thought and research. Given the peculiarities of academia, many of these people had never met each other and really enjoyed the experience.
You can check out a summary report of the session here: Happiness Report
I find sustainability and leadership to be deeply connected to happiness. Certainly understanding that wealth beyond a certain point does not boost happiness should be instrumental to slowing the growth, or reversing, our resource-intensive culture’s mad never-ending pursuit of the next geegaw — a climb that has us on the Hillary Step of Maslow’s hierarchy climbing without supplemental oxygen, reaching the point where the brain begins to degrade until all judgment is lost. Fortunately, there seems to be a growing realization that our deep interpersonal connections, experiences, and contributions are far more important to our sense of well being than the number of adjectives attached to our favorite latte. Read More→
Deepwater Horizon Recovery Up Close
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Through my work at Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, I’ve had an extraordinary opportunity to meet some of the leaders of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill recovery efforts this past weekend. Limited connectivity, however, kept me from posting live and photographs were prohibited for security reasons in many locations. The days started with a 7 a.m. breakfast briefing and went until at least 9 p.m. and some days later. Long, yes, but far shorter than the shifts that many of the responders were putting in.
First, I have to say that the professionalism and deep expertise of those involved in the recovery is truly impressive. For those of you who are cynical about the government, put it on the shelf with regard to these folks. The Coast Guard, NOAA, and many other federal, state, and local agencies are putting in 20+ hour days, their scientific knowledge and concern for the environment are genuine, and attention is being paid at the highest levels.
These folks know what they are doing when it comes to responding to an oil spill and are concerned about the environmental impact from the spill. Pick on the regulators — they deserve it — but be glad that these responders are on hand. Read More→
