June sure was busting out all over!

Thought Sparks Wrap Up – June 2024

If that reference sounds obscure, it’s from an old Rogers & Hammerstein musical that I was taken to as a child and every June, I simply cannot get it out of my head. It’s a pretty good metaphor for June of 2024 for me as well.  

If it’s the 25^th, I must be ... where? 

Novartis is sponsoring a state-of-the-art project on culture – I’m delighted to be part of it. It’s called the C-Lab, for Culture Leadership Advisory Board. The group is fascinating – a combination of internal Novartis leaders and subject matter experts such as Amy Edmondson, Lisa Bodell, Darren Shand (recently of the New Zealand All-Blacks), Linda Hill, Vyla Rollins, Sanyin Siang and Jean-Francoise Manzoni. We’re looking at ways in which Novartis’ four key cultural values – of being inspired, curious and unbossed with a rock-solid basis in integrity – can move the company forward. We got together in real life in Basel in June. First week of bursting! Aren’t we a good-looking research community? 

The second week of June brought another session of Leading Strategic Growth and Change, my Executive Education course at Columbia Business School. 26 industry leaders convened to work through their organizations’ strategic roadblocks. We had a slate of fascinating guest speakers, including my Columbia colleagues Jerry Kim and Adina Sterling, my partners in Valize Ron Boire and Kes Sampanthar and Erik Olesund of the New York Times. Topics included: how to channel office politics for forces of good, how leaders can focus on personal transformation to effect organizational transformation, and how we can reconsider AI as augmented intelligence. If any of this piques your interest, there’s still time to sign up for the fall session, running from October 14 to 18! 

Then in my final “bust” for June, I travel to California to direct a wonderful custom education program that Columbia Executive Education partners with Genentech to deliver. Our participants were getting especially dressed up as they were getting professional headshots made – that was a lot of fun. We learned from Greg Galle how to “think wrong” - to trick your brain into coming up with novel ideas. Jane Praeger showed how no matter how much we think we are rational; we make decisions based on stories. And it was a hoot to have Chris Yeh join to talk about the past, present and potential future of AI. He pointed out that we’ve been down the path of AI hoopla before, concluding that with every new development, AI isn’t really here yet (and investors lose boatloads of money in the process). 

In Case You Missed It

I hosted John Addison for a LinkedIn Live discussion. He formerly served as co-CEO of the financial services company Primerica, leading the company through the 2009 financial crisis and a knockout IPO. John is a remarkable leader – as he would say “real leadership” involves being yourself, being on the lookout for the well-being of your people and helping to make everyone’s day a little better than it would have been if you weren’t around.  

At the Coaching.com Summit, I led a session about permissionless organizations, and how decentralizing decision-making helps organizations become more agile, efficient, and better for employee wellbeing. The Summit ran through June 13, and I highly recommend checking out their other offerings! 

Thought Sparks 

In my session “The Permissionless Organization Has Arrived” for the Coaching.com Virtual Summit, we discussed how leaders can foster intrapreneurship in their organizations, how coaches can enable the permissionless mindset, and how to build culture beyond serendipitous bonding.  

Hiding failure can seriously impede our learning. When we only focus on the experiments that went well, we’re doomed to repeat our mistakes, and often end up setting goals that hedge our real potential. 

In the News 

How does this whole “permissionless organization” thing work in real life? Ask the teams at Amazon and CHI Overhead Doors. 

A conversation with Esther Dyson and Gary Shteyngart about the future  from the BCG Henderson Institute’s Thinkers and Ideas Podcast. We tackled everything from science fiction to social media! 

As a leader, are your words and actions aligning? And more on how leaders can model priorities for their organizations.  

The new playbook for strategy, which includes the realization that “industries” as we traditionally define them don’t really exist, and that “business as usual” doesn’t either! 

How Nike and Adobe revolutionized their business models to take advantage of “trapped value”, and retain their competitive advantage.  

Tool of the Month: Impact Network 

With flatter organizational structures and roles characterized by shorter tenures, leaders face the dual challenge of fewer development opportunities and the constant need for rapid adaptation. It's a dynamic environment that demands agility, resilience, and a robust support system. The only issue? Most organizations lack the infrastructure to develop their leaders to meet these challenges.  

Enter the Impact Network—a game-changing solution designed to empower leaders like you with the tools, insights, and connections needed to excel in today's complex world of work. It’s the brainchild of my longtime collaborator Ron Boire and I, after hearing time and time again the challenges that leaders are up against. Consider it your own personal board of directors: whether you're grappling with strategic decisions, seeking valuable feedback, or simply craving the camaraderie of peers who understand the unique challenges you face, the Impact Network offers a lifeline of support. 

We'll be launching two nodes of the Impact Network to begin: a global, virtual network, and an in-person network based in the NYC area. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis -- apply, learn more, and contact the team. 

Valize Advisory  

At Valize, we have recently reinvigorated our Advisory offerings. The traditional consulting model is ripe for disruption, especially considering the looming AI inflection point. Increasingly, we’re seeing firms need management advising that goes beyond billable hours, and actually drives continued strategic change.  

We’re joined by Kes Sampanthar and Scott Wolfson, recently of BCG and KPMG, for some really fascinating work around transformative AI solutions. Our engagements focus on helping organizations build lasting capabilities, helping leaders adapt to rapidly shifting market dynamics and evolving customer needs. 

Get in touch with the Valize team if this sounds like something your organization needs. 

Upcoming Events 

Join me for my Friday Fireside Chats, which are live discussions with experts across industries. They are newly hosted on LinkedIn Live, so please join the conversation and submit questions and comments! 

On August 16, I’ll be joined by Emma Seppälä, the author of "Sovereign: Reclaim your freedom, energy and power in a time of distraction, uncertainty, and chaos,” to discuss how social connection helps us maximize our potential. 

The Human Future of Work virtual kickoff event took place July 1. This is following the incredible in-person discussions we had with top CHRO’s earlier this spring. If you'd like to join the working group discussing how leaders can navigate the massive technological and social changes we’re living through, please be in touch! 

One last thing.... 

With the year officially half over (sorry to bring that up), may I politely ask, beyond AI, how are all those innovation projects you launched with great enthusiasm last January getting on? What I’ve seen is a lot of redirection of energy toward AI (not that that’s bad) but the disturbance of other important programs that may have a role to play in your future. If you’re interested in getting a sense for the state of the state of innovation in your organization is, you may want to tap into our Innovation Maturity Scale at Valize.  

Warmly, 

Rita