COURSE Leadership Communication Strategies

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COURSE Leadership Communication Strategies
Presentation

• Sebastiano Masper, November 20 2006
• sebastianomasper_at_gmail.com

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an effective leader?

• How to become a leader?

• a famous leader?

• a good one?

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Issues

• manage
• Follow hierarchy rule
• Put numbers first
• Involve key player
• Stick with your agenda
• Reduce anxiety
• Learn good ideas inside the company

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Lessons from Jack Welch

• From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr. (born November 19,
  1935) was Chairman and CEO of General Electric
  between 1981 and 2001. Welch gained a solid
  reputation by using his uncanny business
  instincts and unique leadership strategies to run
  GE, increasing its market value by more than 400
  billion over two decades. He remains a
  highly-regarded figure in business circles due to
  his innovative management strategies and
  leadership style.

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Issues

• manage
• Follow hierarchy rule
• Put numbers first
• Involve key player
• Stick with your agenda
• Reduce anxiety
• Learn good ideas inside the company

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Break the Rules

• NO
• manage
• follow hierarchy rule
• put numbers first
• involve key player
• stick with your agenda
• reduce anxiety
• learn good ideas inside the company

• BUT
• Lead
• blow up bureaucracy
• put values first
• involve everyone
• rewrite your agenda
• instill confidence
• get good ideas from everywhere

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Why Welch is a Leader

• Jack Welch became the youngest CEO at GE.
• goal make GE the world's most competitive
  enterprise.
• problem to fix apparently none. GE was the world
  great manufacturer. Workers worked, managers
  managed and bureaucracy ruled the days.
• but, but... No growth or innovation.
• he started a cultural revolution encouraging
  creativity

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1.NOT Manage BUT Lead

• leadshow vision and get people passionate so
  they can't wait to execute his plan.
• anybody, not only managers can be leader and have
  good idea. "the hero is the person with a new
  idea".
• if GE should rely only on the CEO good ideas....
  "the place would sink in an hour"

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2. NOT follow hierarchy rule

• But blow up bureaucracy (fight it!)
• Slow decision making.
• Dracula rising from dead every few years
• Simplify!
• If a decision is taken in a week. The process is
  too complicated.
• Run GE like the corner grocery store
• know customer, their name, what they buy and
  weather they like your offering.

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3. NOT put numbers first

• But put values First
• Second chance if no good numbers.
• No second chance if not company values.
• Please customers to win new business
• Disdain bureacracy to be competitive
• No autocracy tolerated (intimidate workers).
• Walk the talk. Be example for others.

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4. NOT involve only key player

• But involve everyone in the game.
• Businesses need every brain in the company to
  succeed.
• Start from you, speak out and encourage other to
  speak out.
• Do not let any player in the bench.

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5. NOT stick with your agenda

• BUT rewrite your agenda.
• View any change as an opportunity not as a
  threat.
• Change is never over. And unexpected.
• Give goal not detailed strategy but have
  alternative plans.
• Si vis pacem para bellum If you want peace,
  prepare to the war
• Flavio Vegezio Renato, V sec. BC.
• If one does not expect the unexpected one will
  not find the truth (Eraclito)

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6. NOT reduce anxiety

• But instill confidence.
• The company needs motivate people to achieve
  goals.
• Encourage and value everybodys ideas.
• Leader has to create vision, help employees to
  have the right tool (ex. Training) and be free
  (from bureacreacy and micromanagement) to get
  achievement.
• Achievement build confidence.
• Would you follow you? Motto at Mutinational
  convention
• Giving people self-confidence is by far the most
  important thing I can do. J.W., 1999.

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7. learn good ideas inside the Co.

• BUT get good ideas from everywhere
• Six sigma pioneered by Motorola not GE.
• Not to be afraid to copy good ideas from a CEO
  of a Global Grop based in Europe.
• If you need to make a hole, do not build a
  drill, just buy one. Paolo Paolini - Info Tech
  Full Professor Politecnico Milano

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Have fun!

• Enjoy your job or you might be in the wrong one.
• Remove anything that made people less excited
  about going to work.
• Find a job that challenges your mind.
• You will never find out what you are truly
  capable of unless you have a job that inspires
  you.
• Never .. take itself too seriously
• ..press clippings often wrap todays fish. J.W.
  1999

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an effective leader?

• How to become a leader?

• a famous leader?

• a good one?

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a good leader?

• ...or bad leader?
• for GE?
• for shareholder?
• for employee?
• for himself?
• Corporate Americas competitiveness?

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a good leader or bad leader?

• Results from Google
• GOOD LEADER
• Jack Welch" "good leader 9380 results.
• Excerpt How to Be a Good Leader - Newsweek
  Business - MSNBC.com - Join Jack Welch for a Live
  Talk on Thursday, March 31
• "MSNBC is owned by General Electric 25 results
• BAD LEADER
• Jack Welch" bad leader 415 results.
• But includes good leaders include Jack Welch
• GOOD OR BAD LEADER
• Jack Welch" good or bad leader 15 results
• Only from economist.com

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a good leader or bad leader?

• Conclusion if you want to be perceived by the
  world as a good leader, you better buy
  televisions, newspapers and write books about a
  good leader you are!
• Better a gram of image than a kilo of facts
• Murphys Law translated from italian to english

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Questions?

• 1.
• 2.

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Thanks!

• sebastianomasper_at_gmail.com

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Bibliography

• The Welch Way Jeffrey Kramer
• Moral Mazes Robert Jackall
• Dizionario delle Sentenze - Renzo Tosi
• Google
• Wikipedia