so what do you think – the leadership
crisis is it fixable yeah of course it’s
fixable you know but it’ll take time
like anything that we want to have any
lasting change it’s it’s the change is
more evolution of which the results will
be revolutionary revolutions tend to be
sudden and violent and there’s usually a
counter revolution
but the deftly needs to be there
definitely needs to be changed
and remember we got ourselves where we
are today as a result of the 80s and 90s
you know it was these pioneering new
ideas of how to run businesses where you
prioritize a shareholder you you stack
and yank people you know if they’re the
top 10% you promote them and if they’re
the bottom 10% you fire them and that’s
contributing to stock value you know and
and systematically for 20 years
companies dismantled the cultures and
environments and they’re suffering for
it you hear you hear it
I’m sure also companies are saying our
engagement numbers are low they’re
having problems on the people side you
know they’re they’re having trouble with
retention you know especially with the
youngest generation they don’t stay and
that’s not because the young generation
wants to have 15 jobs in 10 years that’s
because there’s nothing for them to stay
for and if good cultures and good
environments and good leadership were
everywhere then people would stay they
would offer their loyalty engagement
would be high I mean it’s most of the
things we hear talked about today
including traditional performance
metrics are usually the result of bad
leadership performance is broken though
a and it’s a it doesn’t seem to be you
know nothing seems to be coming along to
replace it I know the tech guys
especially the startups they’re all
having a go creating feedback tools but
I sense a you know even in our own
organization we’ve had struggles where
teams have never learned to live
together and once you put them living
together the kind of natural thing to do
is you know as soon as the kind of hit a
wall okay we want to be in a different
room we don’t like them let’s be down in
the tech world for obvious reasons is
enamored with technology and they think
technology can replace everything human
I’m all in favor of digital
you know reviewed you know tools at
cetera et cetera but they have to live
alongside and the problem is is too
often we use technology to replace so
you can’t use a digital tool to get
feedback for your company the only way
to truly understand is to wonder the
holes get to know people socialize solve
problems in a room not over email you
know it’s I think we we forget that
we’re still human and as much as we like
the convenience of Technology it can
never replace human beings and you’re
just you talking this morning about you
know management or leadership by email
and stuff like this I think everyone in
the world has kind of fallen foul to
this and and the distractions we live in
you know and it’s because it’s easier
for us it’s easier for me to send you an
email than it is to get on the phone
because there’s more anxiety on the
phone and then on an email it’s more
problems so this is the problem which is
we put ourselves at the center of the
universe
forgetting that human relationships are
built when we put other people at the
center of the universe you know your
relationship with with your spouse won’t
do very well if you put yourself at the
center of that relationship
well it’s no different in an office it’s
no different in business if what we do
is prioritize our interests then then
the the system the relationships
necessarily will suffer and what is you
know what’s change do you think in terms
of leadership what’s become irrelevant
well I think all too often the the old
Milton Friedman definition of business
that the purpose of business is to make
money is to maximize profits stakeholder
values take off and within the confines
of the law it’s a very low standard that
confines the law because there’s plenty
of companies that are doing things that
are really unethical but totally legal
you know we’re you know the laws aren’t
perfect so I think that’s not a high
enough standard quite frankly and I
think the definition of business that
was one man’s definition which is
convenient to a convenient definition to
those who’ve exploited it but I think we
need a new definition of business quite
frankly and it’s not a very old
definition of business you know I’m sort
of more of them Adam Smith guy you know
so
and you talked about the army this
morning you know just a sense of
leadership there is different because
your manager you’re protecting human
beings when when in in combat situations
it’s amazing how well the different
sister services work together in the
Army Navy Marines and Air Force they
they work brilliantly together it’s like
clockwork because the stakes are human
the stakes our lives right and
protecting innocent lives as well when
they do when a when they’re asked to do
their jobs but when they come back home
they fight like cats and dogs they’re
all over each other because the stakes
for some reason maybe they sense that
they’re different because they’re no
more lives but the the problem is is
that all the rules of leadership are the
same and so when we remember that the
stakes are always human I think it
increases our sense of responsibility
but but overall I think the business
world can learn a lot from them and and
the business world misunderstands how
they work you know break them down and
build them up is not how they do things
you know it’s not and in the business
world things there’s this super strict
hierarchy where you all you do is you do
as you’re told and nothing could be
further from the truth it’s just it’s
just not like that okay so and on those
if you look at some of the models that
are out there like Tony’s say from
Zappos he’s trying the electricity hello
Kristi and there’s wire our key does a
bunch of stuff going on out there I was
I was in San Francisco last year and one
of the one of the things that
intimidated me about America I hadn’t
been there for a while was that you know
everyone’s taught especially in San Fran
everyone’s talking about startups
there’s serial entrepreneurs you know
it’s kind of almost not good enough to
have one or two startups you’re kind of
going for 11 or 20 yeah and the
conversation is all about work and work
and work and work and kind of well the
work/life idea you know it’s kind of you
know it is what it is now life and work
have blended in together so I don’t even
know if we need to call it work life
anymore but we try to investigate that
when I’ve talked to people that have
come from Zappos
and I guess you know you have to be
internally and talking to Tony to to get
a sense of what it’s really like over
there but I think a lot of people
believe it’s it’s kind of too early it’s
like the Chinese saying the first bird
to fly is the first one to get shut down
so it’s great to try these new things
but it’s been a kind of struggle so
you’re talking about a change in an
economic model it allows you to do the
jobs you’d like to do and and have some
say in the direction of your own career
and to Tony’s credit and this is the
thing that I admire about Tony he has a
courage that very few CEOs have I mean
he’s got a very big very successful
company and that he’s willing to risk it
all on this new idea and they did some
trials first it wasn’t just out of the
gate but he he did the trials and went
went to the whole company very quickly
and he admits that they don’t have it
all figured out and that’s I really
admire that it may or may not work they
admit that it may or may not work but
what I love about Tony is the
understands that the traditional models
won’t work anymore
what work then won’t work now and he’s
willing to bet his company to experiment
with new forms and whether it fails or
succeeds he will pioneer new ways in
which our companies are organized and I
think that’s pretty admirable business
because if you think about think about
most popular public companies these days
where CEOs say stupid things like you
know we had to have redundancies I had
no choice really no choice you know or
these many of the CEOs of public
companies you know the the pressure from
outside and from from the stock markets
is is overwhelming and I and I’m I’m
sympathetic to the intensity of the
pressures they must have but the courage
to stand up to those pressures and to do
what you think is the right thing to do
despite that a fact that it may be
unpopular in the short term that’s what
Tony’s doing and that’s what I admire
yeah doesn’t come with getting too big
for you talked about banks this morning
as well
they’re easy to pick on politicians
money money’s a depositions in banks
here money is addictive on you money is
addictive and anybody who’s made any
knows that when you start making a lot
of it you want more of it and you become
very protective over the stuff that you
have when you have none of it you seem
you know it’s
little difference easy to talk yeah and
money money’s addictive I mean there’s
no there’s no getting around it so again
there’s balance there’s this balance
there’s nothing wrong with money per se
but if if you’re willing to sacrifice
people in order to get it that kind of
thing doesn’t breathe loyalty that that
that doesn’t last a lifetime and if it
does last those people aren’t very often
happy they take a bowl of pills in the
morning to get through the day so that
it comes with a cost it comes with a
cost but both sides come with a cost
then what the question is which one are
you willing to pay you know your wealth
your your you know sacrifice some some
of your interest in order to take care
of the lives of others to stay healthy
and happy and love your life or to
sacrifice all your love all your
happiness all your joy put your health
at risk to see a slightly higher number
at the end of the day and the bank
ledger have you ever been guilty of that
like my personal experience like I’ve
I’ve had health issues because I’m that
guy that you were talking about this
morning it’s a leadership one when you
can do it badly sometimes it’s it’s easy
it’s evening that Mac McDonald’s
hamburger every day without the silent
killer and just the fact the people
you’re leading it affects you
dramatically it is stressful to be that
leader it’s not easy it is not easy and
and I’ve suffered all of these things
that’s why I’ve written these books and
give these talks it’s my own personal
journey exactly and on both sides of the
equation yeah so I can say with
first-hand experience I like this better
and I’m still not perfect and I still
work hard every day and I still get a
lot of things wrong I don’t consider
myself an expert in leadership at all I
consider myself a student of leadership
and though my study may be more advanced
than others I still have so much to
learn so I’m a student of leadership and
I and I’m fascinated by it absolutely
fascinated by it it’s nice to hear that
that’s humble humbling and and and yet
so inspirational this morning that that
speech that you’ve given it you kind of
just feel the clap going on a little bit
longer and just on that note you know we
all kind of a lot of us go through life
or we’re looking for our purpose and
meaning and especially the younger
generation coming through it
what Simon cynics what’s your what’s
your purpose is there you know you
haven’t talked out loud about sure
easily what are you what are you looking
to change in the world absolutely I wake
up every single morning with a very
clear sense of purpose it’s to inspire
people to do what inspires them so
together we can change our world and I
have a very clear vision of the world I
want to live in I would like to live in
a world in which the vast majority of
people wake up every single morning
inspire to go to work they feel safe
when they’re there and they come home at
the end of the day fulfilled by the work
that they do and I’ve committed all of
my work and it doesn’t matter what form
it takes whether it’s speaking or
writing or teaching or advising or
doesn’t even matter what form it takes
in some way shape or form to help
advance that vision and move closer and
closer to it and my friends are my
allies you know we’re part of an army
that are trying to build this world
together that’s why I come to
conferences like this it gives me a
bully pulpit to share that vision with
the hope that some of the companies in
the room will start to change the way
they atleast view what they’re doing and
change the way they do things because
I’m just I’m just a preacher that’s all
I am unless companies actually affect
the change my vision will never come to
life and so well I know that so it’s
gonna take a lot of us and we all play a
different part we all play pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle and of which I am just one
piece bonzai I thank you very much thank
you very much it’s been an absolute
honor and pleasure to have you here
today thanks for giving me a stage to share my ideas
crisis is it fixable yeah of course it’s
fixable you know but it’ll take time
like anything that we want to have any
lasting change it’s it’s the change is
more evolution of which the results will
be revolutionary revolutions tend to be
sudden and violent and there’s usually a
counter revolution
but the deftly needs to be there
definitely needs to be changed
and remember we got ourselves where we
are today as a result of the 80s and 90s
you know it was these pioneering new
ideas of how to run businesses where you
prioritize a shareholder you you stack
and yank people you know if they’re the
top 10% you promote them and if they’re
the bottom 10% you fire them and that’s
contributing to stock value you know and
and systematically for 20 years
companies dismantled the cultures and
environments and they’re suffering for
it you hear you hear it
I’m sure also companies are saying our
engagement numbers are low they’re
having problems on the people side you
know they’re they’re having trouble with
retention you know especially with the
youngest generation they don’t stay and
that’s not because the young generation
wants to have 15 jobs in 10 years that’s
because there’s nothing for them to stay
for and if good cultures and good
environments and good leadership were
everywhere then people would stay they
would offer their loyalty engagement
would be high I mean it’s most of the
things we hear talked about today
including traditional performance
metrics are usually the result of bad
leadership performance is broken though
a and it’s a it doesn’t seem to be you
know nothing seems to be coming along to
replace it I know the tech guys
especially the startups they’re all
having a go creating feedback tools but
I sense a you know even in our own
organization we’ve had struggles where
teams have never learned to live
together and once you put them living
together the kind of natural thing to do
is you know as soon as the kind of hit a
wall okay we want to be in a different
room we don’t like them let’s be down in
the tech world for obvious reasons is
enamored with technology and they think
technology can replace everything human
I’m all in favor of digital
you know reviewed you know tools at
cetera et cetera but they have to live
alongside and the problem is is too
often we use technology to replace so
you can’t use a digital tool to get
feedback for your company the only way
to truly understand is to wonder the
holes get to know people socialize solve
problems in a room not over email you
know it’s I think we we forget that
we’re still human and as much as we like
the convenience of Technology it can
never replace human beings and you’re
just you talking this morning about you
know management or leadership by email
and stuff like this I think everyone in
the world has kind of fallen foul to
this and and the distractions we live in
you know and it’s because it’s easier
for us it’s easier for me to send you an
email than it is to get on the phone
because there’s more anxiety on the
phone and then on an email it’s more
problems so this is the problem which is
we put ourselves at the center of the
universe
forgetting that human relationships are
built when we put other people at the
center of the universe you know your
relationship with with your spouse won’t
do very well if you put yourself at the
center of that relationship
well it’s no different in an office it’s
no different in business if what we do
is prioritize our interests then then
the the system the relationships
necessarily will suffer and what is you
know what’s change do you think in terms
of leadership what’s become irrelevant
well I think all too often the the old
Milton Friedman definition of business
that the purpose of business is to make
money is to maximize profits stakeholder
values take off and within the confines
of the law it’s a very low standard that
confines the law because there’s plenty
of companies that are doing things that
are really unethical but totally legal
you know we’re you know the laws aren’t
perfect so I think that’s not a high
enough standard quite frankly and I
think the definition of business that
was one man’s definition which is
convenient to a convenient definition to
those who’ve exploited it but I think we
need a new definition of business quite
frankly and it’s not a very old
definition of business you know I’m sort
of more of them Adam Smith guy you know
so
and you talked about the army this
morning you know just a sense of
leadership there is different because
your manager you’re protecting human
beings when when in in combat situations
it’s amazing how well the different
sister services work together in the
Army Navy Marines and Air Force they
they work brilliantly together it’s like
clockwork because the stakes are human
the stakes our lives right and
protecting innocent lives as well when
they do when a when they’re asked to do
their jobs but when they come back home
they fight like cats and dogs they’re
all over each other because the stakes
for some reason maybe they sense that
they’re different because they’re no
more lives but the the problem is is
that all the rules of leadership are the
same and so when we remember that the
stakes are always human I think it
increases our sense of responsibility
but but overall I think the business
world can learn a lot from them and and
the business world misunderstands how
they work you know break them down and
build them up is not how they do things
you know it’s not and in the business
world things there’s this super strict
hierarchy where you all you do is you do
as you’re told and nothing could be
further from the truth it’s just it’s
just not like that okay so and on those
if you look at some of the models that
are out there like Tony’s say from
Zappos he’s trying the electricity hello
Kristi and there’s wire our key does a
bunch of stuff going on out there I was
I was in San Francisco last year and one
of the one of the things that
intimidated me about America I hadn’t
been there for a while was that you know
everyone’s taught especially in San Fran
everyone’s talking about startups
there’s serial entrepreneurs you know
it’s kind of almost not good enough to
have one or two startups you’re kind of
going for 11 or 20 yeah and the
conversation is all about work and work
and work and work and kind of well the
work/life idea you know it’s kind of you
know it is what it is now life and work
have blended in together so I don’t even
know if we need to call it work life
anymore but we try to investigate that
when I’ve talked to people that have
come from Zappos
and I guess you know you have to be
internally and talking to Tony to to get
a sense of what it’s really like over
there but I think a lot of people
believe it’s it’s kind of too early it’s
like the Chinese saying the first bird
to fly is the first one to get shut down
so it’s great to try these new things
but it’s been a kind of struggle so
you’re talking about a change in an
economic model it allows you to do the
jobs you’d like to do and and have some
say in the direction of your own career
and to Tony’s credit and this is the
thing that I admire about Tony he has a
courage that very few CEOs have I mean
he’s got a very big very successful
company and that he’s willing to risk it
all on this new idea and they did some
trials first it wasn’t just out of the
gate but he he did the trials and went
went to the whole company very quickly
and he admits that they don’t have it
all figured out and that’s I really
admire that it may or may not work they
admit that it may or may not work but
what I love about Tony is the
understands that the traditional models
won’t work anymore
what work then won’t work now and he’s
willing to bet his company to experiment
with new forms and whether it fails or
succeeds he will pioneer new ways in
which our companies are organized and I
think that’s pretty admirable business
because if you think about think about
most popular public companies these days
where CEOs say stupid things like you
know we had to have redundancies I had
no choice really no choice you know or
these many of the CEOs of public
companies you know the the pressure from
outside and from from the stock markets
is is overwhelming and I and I’m I’m
sympathetic to the intensity of the
pressures they must have but the courage
to stand up to those pressures and to do
what you think is the right thing to do
despite that a fact that it may be
unpopular in the short term that’s what
Tony’s doing and that’s what I admire
yeah doesn’t come with getting too big
for you talked about banks this morning
as well
they’re easy to pick on politicians
money money’s a depositions in banks
here money is addictive on you money is
addictive and anybody who’s made any
knows that when you start making a lot
of it you want more of it and you become
very protective over the stuff that you
have when you have none of it you seem
you know it’s
little difference easy to talk yeah and
money money’s addictive I mean there’s
no there’s no getting around it so again
there’s balance there’s this balance
there’s nothing wrong with money per se
but if if you’re willing to sacrifice
people in order to get it that kind of
thing doesn’t breathe loyalty that that
that doesn’t last a lifetime and if it
does last those people aren’t very often
happy they take a bowl of pills in the
morning to get through the day so that
it comes with a cost it comes with a
cost but both sides come with a cost
then what the question is which one are
you willing to pay you know your wealth
your your you know sacrifice some some
of your interest in order to take care
of the lives of others to stay healthy
and happy and love your life or to
sacrifice all your love all your
happiness all your joy put your health
at risk to see a slightly higher number
at the end of the day and the bank
ledger have you ever been guilty of that
like my personal experience like I’ve
I’ve had health issues because I’m that
guy that you were talking about this
morning it’s a leadership one when you
can do it badly sometimes it’s it’s easy
it’s evening that Mac McDonald’s
hamburger every day without the silent
killer and just the fact the people
you’re leading it affects you
dramatically it is stressful to be that
leader it’s not easy it is not easy and
and I’ve suffered all of these things
that’s why I’ve written these books and
give these talks it’s my own personal
journey exactly and on both sides of the
equation yeah so I can say with
first-hand experience I like this better
and I’m still not perfect and I still
work hard every day and I still get a
lot of things wrong I don’t consider
myself an expert in leadership at all I
consider myself a student of leadership
and though my study may be more advanced
than others I still have so much to
learn so I’m a student of leadership and
I and I’m fascinated by it absolutely
fascinated by it it’s nice to hear that
that’s humble humbling and and and yet
so inspirational this morning that that
speech that you’ve given it you kind of
just feel the clap going on a little bit
longer and just on that note you know we
all kind of a lot of us go through life
or we’re looking for our purpose and
meaning and especially the younger
generation coming through it
what Simon cynics what’s your what’s
your purpose is there you know you
haven’t talked out loud about sure
easily what are you what are you looking
to change in the world absolutely I wake
up every single morning with a very
clear sense of purpose it’s to inspire
people to do what inspires them so
together we can change our world and I
have a very clear vision of the world I
want to live in I would like to live in
a world in which the vast majority of
people wake up every single morning
inspire to go to work they feel safe
when they’re there and they come home at
the end of the day fulfilled by the work
that they do and I’ve committed all of
my work and it doesn’t matter what form
it takes whether it’s speaking or
writing or teaching or advising or
doesn’t even matter what form it takes
in some way shape or form to help
advance that vision and move closer and
closer to it and my friends are my
allies you know we’re part of an army
that are trying to build this world
together that’s why I come to
conferences like this it gives me a
bully pulpit to share that vision with
the hope that some of the companies in
the room will start to change the way
they atleast view what they’re doing and
change the way they do things because
I’m just I’m just a preacher that’s all
I am unless companies actually affect
the change my vision will never come to
life and so well I know that so it’s
gonna take a lot of us and we all play a
different part we all play pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle and of which I am just one
piece bonzai I thank you very much thank
you very much it’s been an absolute
honor and pleasure to have you here
today thanks for giving me a stage to share my ideas
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