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.

  1. Happiness is good – Three goods: good for others, good for me, good at it
  2. 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)
  3. 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

  1. Three excuses for failure: fit, delivery, adjustment
  2. 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)
  3. Three due diligence questions mitigating organization, role, and personal risks.  (Where play) (Tony Hsieh, Zappos, Doug Yearley, Toll, Robert Gibbs, Facebook)
  4. Three possible entry approaches: Assimilate, Converge & Evolve, Shock (Ajay Banga, MasterCard, David Cameron, UK)
  5. Five steps to a turnaround: team, liquidity, costs, value proposition, customers (Sam Martin, A&P) or customers, cash, communication

MANAGE THE MESSAGE

  1. Power of a passionate focus (What matters) (Steve Jobs, Apple, JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Bill Clinton)
  2. Get the value proposition right (Brad Smith and Scott Cook, Intel)
  3. 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
  4. Three core communication components (How connect): target, message, implementation (Jaime Dimon, JP Morgan, Neal Shapiro, WNET, Charley Shimanski, Red Cross, Lars Bjork, QlikTech)
  5. Three target audience segments: supporter, detractors, watchers (George Papandreou, Greece)
  6. Five degrees of persuasion: tell, sell, test, consult, co-create (Martin Dempsey, US Armed Forces, Randy Chase, US Army)
  7. Six steps in negotiating (Henry Clay)
  8. Five keys to managing an unpredictable boss: behaviors, relationships, attitudes, values, environment

BUILD THE TEAM

  1. 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)
  2. Showing up, day one (Rudy Giuliani, NYC, Michael Brune, Sierra Club)
  3. The value of positive misdirection (Paul Callahan, Sail to Prevail)
  4. Three keys to a culture change: Prepare, Implement, Follow Through (Lyle Heidemann, True Value, Blair Taylor, Los Angeles Urban League)
  5. 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.)
  6. Three priorities in a smooth M&A Deal: early conversations, integration management office, stay close (Susan Salka, AMN Health, Rudy Karsan, Kenexa)
  7. Three steps to managing through a crisis: Prepare in advance, React to events, Bridge the gaps (Michael Bloomberg, Chris Christie)
  8. 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:

  1. Position Yourself for Success
  2. Engage the Culture and Your New Colleagues in the Right Context
  3. Embrace and Leverage the Fuzzy Front End Before Day One
  4. Take Control of Day One: Make a Powerful First Impression
  5. Drive Action by Activating and Directing an Ongoing Communication Network (Including Social Media)
  6. Embed a Strong Burning Imperative
  7. Exploit Key Milestones to Drive Team Performance
  8. Over-invest in Early Wins to Build Team Confidence
  9. Secure ADEPT People in the Right Roles and Deal with Inevitable Resistance
  10. Evolve People, Plans, and Practices to Capitalize on Changing Circumstances

Click here to read about each step in the playbook

Click here for YouTube videos highlighting each step