Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World

Leaders Make the Future – by Bob Johnson

Reviewed by Michelle Lefebvre of DLA Creative, Inc.

Like many professionals today, I sometimes find it challenging to get through all of the books I'd like to. One way I'm able to stay on top of the latest business books is with Soundview Executive Book Summaries. One I recently read featured the above-mentioned book by Bob Johnson. Here's a quick summary of the ten skills he references.

First, as an introduction, Mr. Johnson explains that today's leaders need new skills to make a new future. Because we live in this world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and abiguity), the discipline of foresight can help leaders make better decisions today. It can also help them move from a negative VUCA (see above) to a positive VUCA (vision, understanding, clarity and agility).

1) Maker Instinct

According to Mr. Johnson, leaders with Maker Instinct have a constant drive to improve the organization around them. He also explains that while both managers and leaders want to know how things work, true leaders want to make them work better. Makers also like to be hands-on and see things from the inside. In my opinion, Steve Jobs embodies this trait.

2) Clarity

This is the ability to see beyond the stress, mess and chaos when others can't. It's the rare skill of being able to envision the future when others can barely muddle through the current day. It requires strength, discipline and the fortitude to overcome discouragement.

3) Dilemma Flipping

The ability to turn dilemmas (which, unlike problems, cannot be solved) into advantages and opportunities is a critical skill for today's leaders. Dilemma flippers turn hopelessness into hope.

4) Immersive Learning Ability

This is just what it sounds like and is often easier for younger generations for several generations. First, because they've grown up in the digital age and in a world in which they've had to filter out extraneous distractions. Second, as older generations reach higher levels of leadership, they are often insulated from the realities of what's happening "down below".

5) Bio-Empathy

Leaders in today's world must be able to make decisions while understanding and respecting nature and its patterns.

6) Constructive Depolarizing

This is the ability to calm tense situations where differences dominate and communication has broken down. It also includes the skill of bringing people from divergent cultures toward constructive engagement.

7) Quiet Transparency

Leaders must be open and honest, without being self-promotional about it. Quiet Transparency means that leaders will decide what measures are important to them (and to the people they lead) and then be completely open about those measures. Of course, as a matter of confidentiality and appropriateness, leaders still can't share everything.

8) Rapid Prototyping

Leadership through Rapid Prototyping almost goes without saying in this day and age. It's characterized by a trial-and-error mentality with an interest in getting projects started quickly. These leaders know – and accept – that there will be failures in the early stages of development. They emphasize education and in-the-field experience.

9) Smart Mob Organizing

This is the ability to create, engage with and nurture purposeful business or social change networks through the intelligent use of electronic and other media. It's a new world for some executives and although they may want to rely solely on their teams of younger social media experts, wise leaders will at least dabble in social media or request reverse mentoring from young pros in this area.

10) Commons Clearing

Mr. Johnson explains that Commons Clearing is the ability to seed, nurture and grow shared assets that can benefit other players – and sometimes allow competition at a higher level. He tells us that future leaders will be called upon to grow new places within which collaboration and mutual success can occur.

My synopsis of the Ten New Leadership Skills Executive Book Summary is only the tip of the iceberg. If you'd like to learn more about this book or the service itself, check out www.summary.com.

Just another touchpoint...

Should you consider an e-newsletter for your business in 2010? Perhaps. And how can you tell if it's being successful? One key is the Open Rate, which is the number of people who take the time to at least open your newsletter. According to the vendor we use to distribute our e-newsletter, there are statistics that show how you perform compare to others in your industry. In the Marketing/PR area, the average Open Rate is 13.5%. DLA Creative's average Open Rate is 43.2%. Are e-newsletters appropriate for YOUR organization? They could be - since a basic premise of marketing that you often have to make six contacts before a prospect takes action. This is just another touchpoint among those six. If you want to find out the average e-newsletter Open Rates for your industry, click here. We''ll see if we can help you beat the averages. Accountant 14.0% Crafts 27.0% Education 18.6% Gov. Agency 23.0% Legal Services 18.2% Marketing/PR 13.5% Medical Serv. 16.7% Non-Profit 20.0% Profess'l Serv. 15.4% Real Estate 14.8% Religious Org. 22.4% Retail 17.7% Salon/Spa 15.0% Technology 15.0% Travel/Tourism 15.5% Web Developer 17.4%

Does Your Marketing Rock?

'Click here to view our E-Newsletter for November 18, 2009'

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What is Redbox? And what does it mean to me?

If you're a business owner or manager, then Redbox is a business you should get to know.

Redbox Senior Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience, Gary Cohen, tells us his philosophy in a way that should matter to all of us.

"Simple, powerful business models that yield value to customers will succeed, whether they are online or off."

First of all, let me explain what Redbox is. This innovative video rental option serves as an alternative to stores like Blockbuster or online rental services such as Netflix. Instead, these freestanding kiosks are powered with a high-speed connection to authorize rental transactions and inventory of DVDs. You'll see them at grocery stores, drug stores and other retail locations, providing customers with immediate gratification – $1 at a time. It's a model that's working with estimates of earning up to $780 million in 2009.

Here's why it works, according to Cohen, "It's a great value to consumers. And it's a great value to our retail partners because we drive traffic to their stores and we also provide them a revenue share."

What's the take-away for YOUR business? First, think about how your industry has changed over the last 5 years. Or even the last year. How can you meet your clients' actual needs, rather than your perception of their needs? What partners do you need in the process of redefining who you are? (Redbox got retailers on board by sharing revenue with them.) How will you market the "new and improved" you?

Make a Difference in Someone's Life

You can make a difference in someone's life this year by volunteering your time. There are many worthy organizations in our community – and the people of Peoria always come through. Here are links to two of my favorites.

YWCA is the leading provider of homeless services in Peoria and expects a 30% increase this year.

Foster Pet Outreach takes in homeless, relinquished and abandoned animals who desperately need homes.

Shoe Sales Rise - Woo Hoo!

Anyone who knows me, knows of my love for shoes. So when CNBC announced that October shoe sales were up by 7.9% over the previous October, I thought it was worth mentioning on our blog.

Read the CNBC story on why they believe people are still buying shoes in today's economy.

My advertising isn't working!

As I mentioned in my recent InterBusiness Issues column, there are several reasons why your advertising might not be working. Business Week recently ran an article highlighting seven reasons why your advertising isn't working.

Some reasons I've mentioned before to our clients. Some of them are worth repeating. And some you may not want to hear. Here's an overview, as well as our local perspective. If you want to read the whole article, you can read it on the Business Week website.

Seven reasons your advertising might not be working:

1. It's boring.

2. It's boorish.

3. It's safe.

4. It's trying to do too much.

5. It hasn't been given time (or enough budget).

6. You like it. (Ouch!)

7. It's not an advertising problem (it's actually a product or other problem).

Obviously, there are many reasons why advertising doesn't work, but these are seven big ones on a national scope. Locally, here's what we've found.

Because the Central Illinois economy has been struggling lately, people are trying to do more with less, so we find that a combination of both 4 and 5 are the biggest hurdles in our community. Businesses are trying to cram a lot of messages into small print ad spaces (or short TV/radio spots) and then run those campaigns for a short period of time, reducing the likelihood of effectively communicating any clear message.

We also find that number 6 can be a problem in that clients sometimes get too close to their product or service, and forget their target audience. One surgeon that we started working with about six years ago once said to us, "You do the marketing and I'll do the surgery." It's turned out to be a really good relationship because he trusts us to communicate his message in a way that patients understand. He realizes that because he is so intelligent and spends his day interacting with other medical professionals that sometimes his way of communicating may not be most effective for delivering advertising messages to the average healthcare consumer.

Since DLA focuses on working with high-end professional organizations we rarely get to do anything too edgy, but we took a bit of a risk with a bank's Watchdog service and received good feedback on it. It was a little less "safe" than normal bank marketing (see number 3 above), but it got the point across for our client as we used fun imagery across various mediums.

So which of the 7 deadly marketing sins are you guilty of? And how can we help?

Are you being sold?

So you're watching Elisa and Jack on 30 Rock talk about whether the McFlurry is the best dessert in the world. Yeah, what about it?

Did you know that's a form of advertising known as product placement? And it's a type of stealth advertising that's grown 8% in the first half of 2009 with 9,540 prime-time product placements.

Some critics want the FCC to require networks to disclose these placements. Their proposals range from text running along the bottom of the screen to a flashing red light alerting viewers when an advertiser is pushing something. A red light – give me a break!

Look at shows like the Biggest Loser in which the dieting contestants hike from one Subway to another to get a meal as part of the contest. It seems like a natural part of the show and Tv viewers are smart enough to "get" that Subway paid to be a part of it. They also offer disclosures at the end of the show. ("Special consideration provided by Subway" for example.)

So what do you think? Where is the line? Talking about a McFlurry vs. walking to Subway? What about driving a certain kind of car or discussing brand name shoes (Hello, Sex in the City)? You decide. Are you being deceived? Or is it just the next generation of advertising?

Source: Facts have been taken from Business Week, October 26, 2009. Post also includes opinions of blog author, Michelle Lefebvre.