Business Leadership 3.0
Business Leadership 3.0
Business Leadership 30 - To learn more about this author, visit Neil Crofts's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
A few years ago I was discussing business leadership with an experienced business consultant and psychologist. He suggested that the next evolution of business leader would come from an HR background. His hypothesis was that the first generation of big business leaders in the industrial revolution was the idealistic, entrepreneurial and philosophical. They created great enterprise by solving the social problems of the day. Henry Ford is perhaps the icon of this form of leadership. This form of business leadership continues, but is no longer the dominant style. These leaders were followed by what Robert Reich calls “Supercapitalism” and the financially focussed CEO. Here everything is reduced to the binary simplicity of “does it make more money in the next quarter or not?” As competition for shareholders and customers increased the time horizon for this attitude grew shorter and shorter until, in the autumn of 2008, it imploded. Being cynical you might say that Kenneth Lay (Enron) or Fred Goodwin (RBS) are the icons of financially focussed leadership. We are beginning to see the dawning of a new generation of leadership and the “HR based leadership” thinking is only part of it. Will it become the new dominant form of leadership? Was the shock of the credit crunch enough to move us on to the next era of business leadership? This depends to some extent on whether we; as consumers, will continue to demand cheapness over value. As shareholders, will continue demand the greatest short term financial over enduring performance. And as voters will continue to allow lax regulation of business. The reality is that for business leadership to evolve it will need to do it all. Deliver on short and long term financial objectives, be financially competitive, deliver on environmental standards and deliver on a “spiritual” level. My view is that the new level business leaders will start from a base of brand and culture and radiate out from there. The short term financial returns we all understand, but the new level CEO will need to think 5-10 years ahead, as well as the next quarter profits. This means planning the wider direction of the business and being far more in tune with social priorities. The environment will be one of the greatest social priorities of the the next 10 years and also the one of the key dynamics for cost control. Using new technologies to drive down energy consumption and develop “in house” generation will be key strategies for driving cost out of business. Technology will be another key social dynamic as internet and mobile technologies will define how social and commercial relationships are mediated. Technology will also change the cost dynamics of production, transport, communication and administration. The “spiritual” level was not very fashionable with the “financially focussed” CEO, but it will make a comeback with the brand/culture focussed CEO. Spirituality is all about meaning and in the new era long term profitability will depend on a business being meaningful to both staff and customers. In today’s networked, hyper-connected, media saturated marketplace attention is golden. Holding the attention of customers and media requires something considerably deeper than discounts and TV ads. Offering “meaning” to customers creates connections and long lasting loyalty that is far more valuable than discounts. Apple are the meaning masters creating and distributing fantastic products at or below cost to make their core products more meaningful. Most Apple software is given away or sold very cheaply because it generates sales and loyalty for the hardware products. For meaning to be truly valuable it has to go beyond mere utility to create “love” for the product or brand. Love is the bit beyond the logical reasons for any relationship, the part of our commitment that is not necessarily rational, and is therefore more powerful. Long term business success will depend on customers loving our products and our brand. Love depends on trust and delivering value over and above the rational. Meaning for staff is the other part of the “spiritual” equation. We no longer live in an industrial world, few businesses want employees who just do what they are told. We need people to feel inspired, motivated, engaged and responsible. To do this they need to “own” the ideology of the business, to feel passionate about it’s objectives, it’s products and it’s effect on customers, community and society. To summarise - the next generation of business leader will be brand and culture focussed with creative and excellent financial discipline. They will also be technically savvy enough to understand how to use it to innovate to reduce environmental impact and costs. The businesses they create will be loved by customers and staff alike. They will be trusted because of their authenticity and deliver emotional as well as practical value.
Business Leadership 30 - To learn more about this author, visit Neil Crofts's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Neil's articles
 |
|
Inspiring Your Authentic Week - With motivation, energy and passion amazing things can be achieved. But the compass points in two directions and we have have a choice which direction we take.
|
|
 |
 |
|
Neil Crofts Video - 10 Leadership Lessons by Neil Crofts
|
|
|
 | ||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Woman business success Definitions of Success Why MLMs Fail TeleSeminar Etiquette Workplace Violence |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 GTD Times Posts
Best Posts for Productivity | |
 |
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
Top 50 Social Media Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||