In this conversation Deb Westphal, Chairman of the Board for Toffler Associates, talks with author and former GE Vice Chair Beth Comstock about the organizational transformation she led at GE through the rediscovery of the company culture and reigniting the passions that the company was founded on.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”

– Ronald Reagan, former U.S. President

The early hours of February 13th marked an important personal milestone. I had made it to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

The United States has long maintained a causal relationship between industrial capability and national security. As our domestic manufacturing capabilities continue to erode and fall behind those in other global superpowers, the outcomes are predictable. In a recent series of war simulations, research organization RAND pit the U.S. against China and Russia. The results were startling. We lose quickly and badly.[1]

At the turn of the 21st century, businesses faced the frightening unknown of Y2K. The possibility that computer systems would collapse as the clock turned over was a wake-up call. Those that had been operating with a degree of comfort and complacency faced the urgent need to think about if (and how) they could navigate and thrive if the computers we had become so dependent on toward the turn of the century didn’t work. While nothing came to pass from this fearful possibility, the preparedness was put to the test only a year later when the unimaginable happened on 9/11. Financial services firms, in particular, were slower to recover because they had not sufficiently planned for how to reconstitute their business in the event of such a catastrophe.

One day before #schoolstrike, the biggest day of global action focused on climate change, 16-year-old Greta Thunberg was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. In August 2018, she sat every day for three weeks outside the Swedish parliament in an independent protest. By January, she stood courageously before world leaders at Davos 2019 with a call to “hold no bars.” The day of #schoolstrike, an estimated 1.4 million inspired young people in 2,233 towns and cities across 128 countries stepped out of schools and into the streets to add their voices to hers.

Its that time of year again. Across thousands of (success-minded, forward-thinking) businesses, teams of people are heads down, working on annual strategic planning activities. As I step away from these types of day-to-day activities, I find myself reflecting on the value of such efforts and what adaptation must be made to serve us better in the future.

In 2014, Frank Kendall, then Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Technology and Logistics, advised the military services to “start looking at how to get quantities and lower risks,” replacing what he saw as ill-advised focus “on a small number of expensive objects.” [1] 

Nike’s Dream Crazier ad is sweeping its way across social media. Debuted during this week’s 91st Academy Awards, its message of female empowerment is clear and direct. Beautiful visuals of strong and confident female athletes flash, evoking physical and mental accomplishment. Tennis champion Serena Williams narrates.

Within a day of its release, the 90-second ad earned five million views on YouTube.

Risks to operations. Market share. Profitability. Business leaders are surrounded by risks big and small.  From Target to Wells Fargo to Facebook and Tesla, it’s not difficult to reference a situation that emerged and severely damaged a company’s reputation and bottom line. Your risk profile hinges on your susceptibility to events that may be internal and known – or external, unknown, and unexpected. With such a varied set of sources and impacts, resilience depends on numerous factors, including the nature of the industry and the maturity of your organization.

For more than four decades, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting has been a beacon for future-focused leaders. Held amongst the beautiful scenery of Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, the event brings together some of the world’s foremost heads of state, business leaders, policymakers, academics, and societal leaders. Their purpose is to engage in constructive, solutions-focused discourse about global issues and the challenges faced by humanity.