Happy New Year! My gift to you is 24 BRAVE frameworks that can help make your coming year happier. Headlines here. Click through to the original articles (on a combination of Forbes.com and PrimeGenesis) for more.
- Happiness is good – Three goods: good for others, good for me, good at it
- Five components of BRAVE leadership: Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values and Environment, supported by five questions: Where play? What matters? How win? How connect? What impact? (John Pepper, P&G, John Smale, P&G)
- Three main onboarding ideas: get a head start, manage the message, build the team (Ginni Rometty, IBM, Larry Page, Google, Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard, Caryn Lerner, Daffy’s) are the same keys to managing through the interim (Tim Cook, Apple, Lucas Papedemos, Greece)
GET A HEAD START
- Three excuses for failure: fit, delivery, adjustment
- The only three interview questions: Can you do the job? Will you love the job? Can we tolerate working with you? (Thank you Kevin Kelly, Heidrick & Struggles, and Bill Guy, Cornerstone)
- Three due diligence questions mitigating organization, role, and personal risks. (Where play) (Tony Hsieh, Zappos, Doug Yearley, Toll, Robert Gibbs, Facebook)
- Three possible entry approaches: Assimilate, Converge & Evolve, Shock (Ajay Banga, MasterCard, David Cameron, UK)
- Five steps to a turnaround: team, liquidity, costs, value proposition, customers (Sam Martin, A&P) or customers, cash, communication
MANAGE THE MESSAGE
- Power of a passionate focus (What matters) (Steve Jobs, Apple, JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Bill Clinton)
- Get the value proposition right (Brad Smith and Scott Cook, Intel)
- Strategic choices and posture (How win) (Jeff Immelt – disciplined strategy, culture, people over time, GE, Tony McDowell – zigging while others zag, Finch Paper, Steve Jobs, Apple – innovating ahead of the curve), Angela Merkel, Germany) Norbert Reithofer, BMW
- Three core communication components (How connect): target, message, implementation (Jaime Dimon, JP Morgan, Neal Shapiro, WNET, Charley Shimanski, Red Cross, Lars Bjork, QlikTech)
- Three target audience segments: supporter, detractors, watchers (George Papandreou, Greece)
- Five degrees of persuasion: tell, sell, test, consult, co-create (Martin Dempsey, US Armed Forces, Randy Chase, US Army)
- Six steps in negotiating (Henry Clay)
- Five keys to managing an unpredictable boss: behaviors, relationships, attitudes, values, environment
BUILD THE TEAM
- Five building blocks of a New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: Imperative, milestones, early wins, role sort, communication (Caryn Lerner, Daffy’s, Sue Hed, IBM, Richard Fain, Royal Carribean)
- Showing up, day one (Rudy Giuliani, NYC, Michael Brune, Sierra Club)
- The value of positive misdirection (Paul Callahan, Sail to Prevail)
- Three keys to a culture change: Prepare, Implement, Follow Through (Lyle Heidemann, True Value, Blair Taylor, Los Angeles Urban League)
- Five steps to getting the team right: mission, resources, sort, implement, adjust (Al Giaquinto, Plum Builders, Rex Ryan, NY Jets, George Reaves – The Animal School: Let the fish swim. Let the rabbits run. Let the eagles fly. We don’t want a school of average ducks.)
- Three priorities in a smooth M&A Deal: early conversations, integration management office, stay close (Susan Salka, AMN Health, Rudy Karsan, Kenexa)
- Three steps to managing through a crisis: Prepare in advance, React to events, Bridge the gaps (Michael Bloomberg, Chris Christie)
- The importance of adjusting along the way (Michael Duke, Walmart)
THE NEW LEADER’S PLAYBOOK
These are, of course, all examples of the ten steps of The New Leader’s Playbook:
- Position Yourself for Success
- Engage the Culture and Your New Colleagues in the Right Context
- Embrace and Leverage the Fuzzy Front End Before Day One
- Take Control of Day One: Make a Powerful First Impression
- Drive Action by Activating and Directing an Ongoing Communication Network (Including Social Media)
- Embed a Strong Burning Imperative
- Exploit Key Milestones to Drive Team Performance
- Over-invest in Early Wins to Build Team Confidence
- Secure ADEPT People in the Right Roles and Deal with Inevitable Resistance
- Evolve People, Plans, and Practices to Capitalize on Changing Circumstances
