Leadercast 2017 (Revisited)

For those of you who read my review of Leadercast from a month ago, though I provided some valuable notes from what I experienced, there is no doubt that I started that post with some fairly critical commentary about the overall experience, and the concerns I had about the future of the event. I cannot fully retract those comments, because they are not only my experience, but my evaluated experience. Only a different future experience would be adequate to do so. At the same time, my hopes for the future of the Leadercast event have changed and I now feel willing to experience it again.

Leadercast is a huge event. I have mentioned that I have attended both the live event in Atlanta, as well as the simulcast here in Asheville, over many, many years. The event is held annually. As of late 2016, Leadercast is head up by a new CEO, Duane Cummings. Leadercast claims more than 100,000 attendees at this one day event, at more than 700 locations, in 20 different countries.

My most recent blog post was made on May 11th. You can imagine my surprise when on early May 12th there was message on my phone from none other than the CEO of Leadercast, Duane Cummings, wanting to talk to me about my concerns as posted on my blog. After fulfilling a few of my morning obligations, I returned his call that same day. Duane spent over 30 minutes with me discussing my concerns, and the present vision for Leadercast. He explained some of the opportunities that exist for regular attendees, and also that some of my concerns had been addressed this past year at the local Atlanta event. There were some explanations, such as the shorter event day, that I still question (it is only one day a year after all), however I understand the basis upon which the change was made. I also feel that I understand a little bit better about the difficulties in putting together such a large event meant to serve leaders of so many ages and demographics.

Most impressive is simply the fact that he called, and then followed up with an email, expressing that his intention for Leadercast is to serve all of the Leadercast community. One of the criticisms I mentioned to him in the call (not in the prior blog post) was that at the local event in Atlanta the speakers’ books were no longer being offered for sale. I did not write about it because it seemed somewhat minor, and more of a personal beef about the event. I explained to him my awareness that in just two years 50% of the workforce will be Millennials, but I offered to him the fact that also means that 50% will not be, and some of those people still prefer to read out of books, instead of interactive applications on an IPad. He explained to me that this was his first year leading the event, and that he actually brought the sale of books back to the Atlanta live event this year (2017). He indicated in his follow up email that as long as he is leading the event, they will still offer books for sale at the live event. Leadercast in Atlanta used to be a place where I purchased my leadership reading for a full 6 months, and this itself may bring me back to Atlanta to give it another chance.

Much to my surprise, a week after our phone call I received a large box at my office, addressed from Leadercast. It contained leadership books. I had neither asked for, nor in any way ordered any of these books. It was a gift which was very much appreciated by me. Of the books enclosed, I only already had one (which I gave to an Associate in my law firm). One I was not familiar with was “The Sensational Salesman” written by none other than Duane Cummings. It was the first one that I pulled out of the box, and the first I have finished reading. It is a well written parable book (such as the parable books that Patrick Lencioni writes). Not only do I highly recommend this book, but several of the life lessons that the main character of the book experiences were exemplified by Duane in these few communications I had with him. His book helped me understand that Leadercast is in good hands, and well poised for the future, if he believes and carries out what he writes about in his book. His call and interaction with me proved that is most likely the case. I highly recommend his book, and now will probably plan to attend Leadercast Live in Atlanta on May 4, 2018.

Thanks to Duane Cummings for making this one (of over a hundred thousand) member of the Leadercast community feel like his concerns are important. Thanks for living the leadership principles that you write about. A live example of servant leadership is always so much more impressive than what anyone can write in a book.

Leadercast 2017 – Great Content (but not enough of it)

I have attended Leadercast for many years. Occasionally I miss one due to a scheduling conflict, but I have been to most. I have attended live in Atlanta many times, have done the Executive Experience a few times, and have also attended a simulcast in Asheville two times. My observation is that though some content remains excellent, there is less of it. I am not exactly sure when the downturn occurred, but the fact that the event is ending one hour earlier in the day the last two years (end time of 330P instead of 430 PM), and the pullout of John Maxwell, (last appearing a few years ago), may have much to do with it. Pricing has escalated for the Executive Experience in Atlanta, though regular attendance is still affordable. It is my observation that as Leadercast has searched for new speakers to provide content, it seems that perhaps they have lost sight of the fact that not every great leader of an organization is a great speaker about, and teacher of, leadership. The sweet spot for Leadercast and other leadership conferences seems to be to find speakers who do both well. I am afraid that with fewer hours being filled, the odds are greater that one or two speakers who lack that special quality to teach and convey leadership content have a greater likelihood of affecting the overall impact and effectiveness of the event; the kind of impact that causes an attendee to say: “I can’t wait for next year”.

Having said the above, two regular speakers, Andy Stanley and Dr. Henry Cloud, as well as new (non-regular) speaker Dan Pink, provided excellent content. Though I am not sure I would have encouraged all of my law firm attorneys to attend the whole day, I wish that they had been there to hear these three excellent speakers, discussing their insights on leadership, and specifically on the topic of “Purpose”. Here is some of what learned:

Andy Stanley – His session was titled “Powered by Purpose”. As usual he started the day off with a practical and informative overview of the topic for the day. His view is that purpose is a means to an end. Folks tend to ask themselves: Why am I here? And, what is my purpose? He believes that until we are willing to be a means to an end, we will not have true purpose. He pointed out that he believes that those who simply devote themselves to themselves will have nothing but themselves to show for themselves. The point of purpose is to determine how you will serve others, and if your plan does not include service of others, it does not have true purpose. He left us with three action points:

  1. Look at everything we do through the lens of “means”.
  2. Pay attention to what stirs your heart in struggling to discover purpose.
  3. Surround yourself with “on purpose” people

Dan Pink went on to discuss the two types of purpose. The first is with a big “P”. It is that big, transcendent thing that an organization strives for to make a difference in the world. The second type is with a little “p”. It is all about making a contribution on a daily basis. Leaders should want their people to have both of these questions answered:

  1. Am I making a difference?
  2. Am I making a contribution?

Dan left us with two action points:

  1. As we go about what we do, ask the people who we work with more questions about why, instead of how? Be more informative to them about the why of what they are doing, instead of just the how.
  2. Dan made the point that great leaders are a sentence. He used examples such as Lincoln and Roosevelt, and described what sentence probably defined each of them. He challenged us with: What is your sentence?

Dr. Henry Cloud gave his usual excellent Leadercast presentation. The conference started with defining purpose and discussing how it is cultivated in an organization. Dr. Cloud spoke about accountability. He discussed what works when it comes to accountability, what does not, and why it does not.

He said that Purpose requires:

  1. Vision
  2. Engaged Talent
  3. Strategy
  4. Measurements and Accountability
  5. Fixing or Adapting to what is discovered in the process

The problem is that we are not all “10’s” as leaders in all of these things, and unless we have folks strong in all areas and hold them accountable, our organizations tend to look like the leader, and have the same strengths and weaknesses as the Leader has.

He stated that accountability in an organization is going to have certain characteristics:

  1. Clear agreed upon expectations
  2. When those expectations must be met (timing)
  3. How living up to expectations will be inspected
  4. Communication throughout the process

Leadership Lesson from the Past: Bernard Baruch – Profile in Leadership

I’m an avid reader of historical leadership. I have at least one book, if not more, on each President of the United States. I collect and read these books for one main purpose – to help further my leadership education and development. The story of each President – whether good or bad – contains numerous lessons in leadership.

This study of the Presidents has led me to discover a true treasure of leadership – persons who have worked with or otherwise influenced elected leaders, while never holding the highest office. To name just a few, I think of Seward’s involvement in the Lincoln Administration, the influence of Clementine Churchill during the periods that the United Kingdom was led by Winton Churchill and Alexander Hamilton’s influence during the infancy of the nation.

There is one “behind the scene” leader who I did not know that much about until very recently: Bernard Baruch. I just finished the 1957 book: Mr. Baruch: The Man, The Myth, The Eighty Years by Margaret L. Coit. Though it was written 60 years ago, I cannot recommend it highly enough; not only for its content, but for the excellent way it was written. Bernard Baruch made his fortune on Wall Street (he was the original “Wolf of Wall Street”) before turning to the political scene of the early 1900’s. He was a solid Democrat, but still called on by leaders of both parties, from Wilson through Eisenhower (with an apparent mid-term falling out with President Harry S. Truman). He never ran for office, and did not hold many formal positions in the various administrations, though the few he did hold were extremely important during difficult times in our country’s past. He was Chairman of the War Industries Board during World War I, and headed the American Delegation to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission after World War II. He was so much more than any position he ever held. He was truly a “trusted advisor”. Though Baruch was not a lawyer, that is a label every member of the legal profession desires, most believe they attain, but few actually do.

I thought it would be interesting to set out some of the passages from this very well written book which speak volume about Baruch and his leadership, and are lessons for leaders in law firms and other organizations:

From Page 673 – “He was great and he was small. He could be close fisted and perhaps the most generous man alive… He was naïve and sophisticated, vain on little things, and humble on great ones. He was ruthless and he was tender – and greater than the sum of his parts.”

Leadership Lesson – Leaders understand the setting/situation they are in and act accordingly, while never compromising on core principles and beliefs.

From Page 217 – “For, even to the novice observer, it was obvious that Bernard Baruch was by temperament a born diplomat, with a passion for getting people together and getting things done.

Leadership Lesson – Leaders focus on others first; they serve others and develop others, with the understanding of the importance of the team.

From Page 432 – “Baruch preferred power to responsibility. Roosevelt was going his own way. Sooner or later, if Baruch accepted office, a break would inevitably come, and any ‘break’ between him and the President would wreck his power and usefulness to the Administration. Baruch knew the rules of the game, and the first of these was loyalty. He urged McAdoo to support the President’s policies and, if he was dissatisfied, to take up the matter in private.”

Leadership Lesson – Leaders understand that it is not all about “me” but “we”, and that personal differences need to be aired out in private, and in the most productive way to achieve organizational success.

From Page 523 – “Yet they knew that his vanity never affected his judgment, that he was a financier who had never sold his country short. They knew him as a two-fisted fighting man whose strongest drive was what he spoke of least – patriotism, in which he could be ruthless.”

Leadership Lesson – Leaders are loyal, to both their team and the whole organization.