Eclipsing Leadership

In this Issue:

1. Eclipse Fervor & Further Lessons
2. Buggy Whips and Stockbrokers
3. The Foundation of?Resilience
4. America’s Very First IT Breakthrough
5. “Thinking in Bets” (at the Super Bowl)
6. Econ Recon

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The Eclipse Fervor & Further Lessons

What were you doing at approximately 2 pm CST yesterday? If you were like me, you ended your meeting that was scheduled until 2 pm early to don special glasses to watch the eclipse. Even in Chicago (not one of the best viewing places), the eclipse was a reminder of our place in the universe.

And today, after the fervor, the solar eclipse serves as a powerful metaphor for us as leaders.?

• Every organization will go through dark days, days where you must face difficulties, and how you deal with the problem is the real test of leadership.
• Winning teams are aligned.
• Even with 90+% of the sun covered in Chicago, the day was still bright. Even in the midst of total darkness, the sun’s corona—an aura of light—remained visible, offering a glimpse of its enduring power. What is the shining sun in your organization? How does your culture shine through?? Or your leadership?
• Leadership can have a dark side (ineffective or destructive). Where are you or others in your organization not shedding light for others to follow?
• In the same way that an eclipse disrupts the day, ushering in darkness, organizational change disrupts the status quo, introducing a period of darkness filled with challenges and chaos.

If you want to dwell further on how the solar eclipse can serve as metaphor, I recommend two articles:

1. The Eclipse and Leadership
2. The Eclipse and Change Management

Buggy Whips and Stockbrokers

A well-known analogy for obsolescence and failure to innovate is the demise of the buggy whip business with the advent of the automobile. But there are far larger industries that were?once viewed as unchangeable…until they weren’t.

“Few industries have seen as many acquisitions, mergers, and name changes as the American stock brokerage and investment banking industries. Perhaps only the equally old railroad industry has seen more such activity.” So begins an article on the financial sector that every senior executive should study regardless of their industry as the lessons apply to every industry.

It’s never too soon to apply lessons of past failure to today’s successes. Start by finding out what happened to a different industry “What became of my stockbroker?”

The Foundation of Resilience

Despite another remarkable employment report on Friday and continued strength in the stock market, there will eventually be a recession. One way to be ready is to build what in recent years has been called organizational “resilience” to respond when the unexpected, including recessions, occur. But resilience can be a complicated goal to achieve as all parts of the organization need to ready change and do so quickly.

But there is one element of resilience that if lacking, can make the others irrelevant:? Cash.

Andrew Carnegie, the founder of Carnegie Steel (and forerunner of US Steel) once remarked that “A man with money in a panic is a wise and valuable citizen. (In an earlier time, “panic” was the name severe recessions that usually culminated in “runs” on then unregulated banks with no deposit insurance and no Federal Reserve to step in.) Bill Gates “From the day he started Microsoft,…insisted on always having enough cash to in the bank to keep the company alive for 12 months with no revenue coming in.”

You may not be able to match Gates’ 12-month cash reserve, but a little liquidity planning can significantly up your odds of surviving a recession, downturn, or other unexpected event.

An article in Chief Executive Magazine offers a seven step model, including introducing a Cash Leadership Officer “CLO” that will help you in Putting Cash First:? The Secret to Business Resilience.

Thinking in Bets (at the Superbowl….and in life)

Annie Duke won the World Series of Poker in 2004. Since then, she has become a sought-after speaker by corporations?on managing the unavoidable aspect of decision making:? risk. Duke also penned a bestselling book,?“Thinking in Bets”?that is great reading for C-Level leaders.

If you like to vet your reading choices before buying books, check out this short, high-energy, fun video recap of the book, Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke - A Visual Summary (16 minutes) with some illustrations from the 2015 Super Bowl and Seattle Sea Hawks' Coach Pete Carroll’s fateful decision to call a pass play…and the importance of a Learning Pod (also known as, a Vistage Group).

America’s Very First IT Entrepreneur

Much of entrepreneurship today is in the arena of information technology. It’s therefore ironic that one of the greatest advances in information technology occurred nearly 300 years ago.

Benjamin Franklin is best known for his experiments with electricity and his role in the creation of our constitution. But an innovation Franklin introduced as a young man has had a far greater effect than you might imagine. He created a discussion group of merchants and professionals that he called “the Junto” (probably the first “Vistage”-like group in America). He had the idea of having this group share the few (and relatively expensive) books they owned among themselves and making them available to others - What we know now as a “public” library.

For very little money and using available resources (shared books) already available, he had a profound and lasting impact on the intellectual life of the young country. In his autobiography he noted the lending library’s crucial role in fostering democracy:? “These libraries have improved the general conversation of the Americans” and “made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries.”

Franklin helped create a demand for literacy which helped many improve themselves. Learn about a profound innovation that helped make America history:? How Ben Franklin Invented the Library as We Know It.

Econ Recon

A “Mind Blowing” metric:? In his latest FedWatch video, ITR Economics’ Brian Beaulieu shares 4 economic highlights you should be aware of. Three are positive for the short term; the fourth Mr. Beaulieu describes as “mind blowing” and not positive for the long term.

A Labor Market that Won’t Stop Working:? Wow! Another great employment report. Check out Brian Wesbury’s 1-page analysis of the 303,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls. But there are no unmixed blessings. The strong employment market is “good news for workers, but bad news for those hoping for early or more aggressive rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.”

Help me eclipse my current readership by sharing this newsletter. Always wishing you a productive week.

Sue Tinnish, PhD,?Vistage Chair, Facilitator, & Executive Coach

Find me easily at: 847.404.7325, [email protected], Twitter:?@STinnish, LinkedIn: www.dhirubhai.net/in/suetinnish, Website: https://vistage.com/chairs/sue.tinnish