“The turning points of lives are not the great moments.
The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.”
George Washington
1732-1799
First President of the United States
And Commander of the Continental Army
The Great Resignation (No. 13)
Vistage Speaker on Culture and workplace demographics Dr. Gustavo Grodnitzky offers a useful recap of what comes after “The Great Resignation”; namely, “The Great Adaptation” . One of his suggestions for talent retention is the ongoing development of your people. (Shameless Self-promotion alert: Vistage can help with new offerings designed to do just that!)
Cyber Security and Current Events
The events unfolding in the Ukraine are remarkable and serious but may not be limited to that country. Perhaps the most significant and widespread may be cyber threats.
Vistage Cyber Security Speaker Mike Foster recently spoke to my group. He suggests some actions that can be quickly taken in the cyber security realm to protect your company. Check out his blog post “10 Things Every Organization Can Do Right Now to Protect Themselves from State Sponsored Foreign Attacks.”
I hope you’ll share this with your IT team or service provider. My thanks to Mr. Foster for sharing his expertise on short notice.
In a more strategic sense, this interview with former National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers attempts to answer “What Does the Invasion of Ukraine Mean for Cybersecurity?”
Remotely Accountable
Most firms are finding that remote work (and therefore, teams) is becoming a permanent part of the post Covid World. Accountability is hard enough in person; it will present new challenges when the team is dispersed.
Patrick Lencioni (5 Dysfunctions of a Team, 5 Temptations of a CEO) presented to our Chair community at its annual conference last year, and via webinar to our membership in January. Part of the members-only webinars has now been made available to our non-member friends. Check out a few of his thoughts in this short video “How do you hold remote teams accountable?”
Another excellent resource for our members is Vistage Chair and Speaker Greg Bustin who speaks on accountability to our groups around the country. Check out his summary article
Real Friends or Deal Friends?
Why are so many successful people so lonely? According to Harvard Professor and Atlantic Magazine contributor Arthur Brooks, it’s because the successful have “deal” friends, but not always “real” friends. Do you know the difference? Because you need both. Check out this three-minute interview with Mr. Brooks by author Daniel Pink. “This is why you need some “useless people” in your life.”
Boomer Bonus: Mr. Brooks wrote a book that Mr. Pink recommends “From Strength to Strength: Finding Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Your Life.” If you’d like an executive summary, check out this recent five minute interview with the author on Good Morning America.
And my personal favorite books for successful business leaders who are contemplating "what's next that will bring happiness?" is "Halftime" by Bob Buford. Mr. Buford's own experience as a successful business owner who exited through a transaction and his interviews of many other accomplished business leaders is summarized in his subsequent book "Finishing Well". In it he identifies a common theme for fulfillment of having a purpose in the second half of life. He provides some tools for identifying this purpose.
Econ Recon
Here's an interesting article on the economics of the Ukraine situation from ITR Economics: Economic Disruption of the Ukraine War.
Also, Vistage’s “CEO Pulse”: Inflation Resource Center.
A Message From Scott:
Friends,
Where do you get your advice? We've recently added two humble, hungry and smart business owners to our Vistage CEO peer group and now have just two remaining open seats before we reach our limit of 18 members.
Would you value getting agenda-free advice from these successful, non-competing, growth-oriented business leaders? If so contact me below to explore if you're a fit for one of these two remaining seats in our group.
Best,
Scott
