
Lessons On Following A Sacrificed Change Agent From McKinsey’s New CEO, Bob Sternfels
Most change agents don’t survive their own change. The job of those following them is to help the organization get over the trauma inflicted by the change agent and then move forward benefitting from the most important of those changes. This requires an emotional, rational, and then inspirational approach.

Why Barcelona’s Boomerang President Joan Laporta Will Fail
F.C. Barcelona just elected Joan Laporta as its new president – largely because of his success in the role from 2003 to 2010. But he will fail if he tries to do the same thing again. His only path to success is to reinvent himself as he re-invents Barcelona. As Tariq...

The Real Reason McKinsey Is Firing Its CEO
Most change agents don’t survive their own change. McKinsey’s Global Managing Partner, Kevin Sneader either forgot that or ignored it and is paying the price as the first head of McKinsey in decades not to get reappointed for a second term. As the WSJ’s Scheck and...

The Only Way Marriott’s New CEO Can Make It Through One Of The Ultimate Hot Landings
As an executive onboarding into a new role, landings don’t get much hotter than what Tony Capuano is facing as Marriott’s new CEO, “one of the most challenging jobs in all of American business.” He’s replacing a successful CEO who died unexpectedly in the middle of...

Why Restoring Your Culture After The Pandemic Is Doomed To Fail
One of the second-order effects of the pandemic has been damage to relationships – a pillar of any organization’s culture. Some will not be able to restore those relationships and their previous cultures. Some will. Both will fail as they get left in the dust by...

Why Optionality Is Key To Post-Pandemic Planning
In normal times, leaders can choose between three strategic postures: shape, adapt, or reserve the right to play. However, for the vast majority of organizations, the only viable posture coming out of the pandemic is the third, reserving the right to play, keeping...

Leading Through an Extended Pandemic – Marco’s Pizza’s Recipe for Success
The Stockdale Paradox provides a powerful framework for leading through an extended pandemic born out of Stockdale’s multi-year prisoner of war experience. The heart of it is “Unwavering faith that you can and will prevail with the discipline to confront the most...

Helping Employees Manage Through COVID Wave II
COVID-19 reset everyone’s progress up Maslow’s hierarchy of physiological, safety, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs. As you helped your employees re-boot through the first wave of the pandemic, you needed to meet them where they were and move back...

How To Avoid The Self-Inflicted COVID Communication Disaster At JP Morgan Chase And Goldman Sachs
It’s surprising and stunning that JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have got this so wrong. As CNBC reported, both banks’ employees are learning about Coronavirus cases in their buildings from press reports and not from their leaders. Their policies are “to inform...

Which Next Role Increases Your Organization’s Effectiveness
If you want to get more done in the same amount of time you have to add resources. Every leader there ever was has faced the immutable law that scope is a function of resources and time. To get more done, you must add tools to make yourself and others more...