Strategy and Leadership: Course Introduction

Slide Deck Takeaways

• Be proud (of being at ND) and enjoy the ride
• Keurig was founded 29 years ago; the company wanted to change the world one coffee cup at a time
• Keurig is a $16B enterprise that owns Dr Pepper/Snapple
• CS 74 Ventures LLC is an investor in more than 20 different startups
• CS 74 Ventures LLC commits at least 50% of profits to charity/social/sustainable causes

Strategy

• Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a desired overall plan or action
• Strategy is doing it differently and that difference is better
• Successful strategy is about the big picture, but successful tactics win battles and are short-term oriented
• Example of strategy: Sherman's march to the sea, a series of maneuvers that outwitted and outfought the Army of Potomac in 1862
• A second move destroyed the South's ability to fight the war

Building a Better Boss

• Have a clear vision and strategy for the team
• Help employees with career development
• Express interest in all's success
• Have technical skills to advise team
• Be a good communicator and listener
• Be a good coach
• Be productive and results oriented
• Empower team and don't micromanage

Leadership Styles

• Different leaders have different styles
• Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, is known for yelling on stage
• Jack Welch, CEO of GE talked about core competency being people and wanting people that dream
• Haruka Nishimatsu, CEO of Japan Airlines, goes to work on the city bus, knocks down office walls, buys suits at a discount store, pops into planes and chats with flight attendants, takes blame for a bad experience of a customer, and when forced to cut calories for others, he also cut his own
• Some say, "Boss who wear Armani puts himself at arms length from his people"
• If management is distant and up in the clouds people just wait for orders, wants his people to think for themselves
• A leader shares economic pain
• General Colin Powell claims essence of leadership is trust
• Good leaders are people who are trusted by followers
• Good leaders lead selflessly and prepare followers
• Good leaders take risks with followers
• Good leaders take extra steps and get that spark from trust so people will follow you out of curiosity

Business Success & Failure

• The number one reason new business ventures fail is that they didn't sell enough
• Great strategists think creatively and outside the box
• Converse All-Stars were the shoe of choice, but then big sneaker brands emerged, forcing Converse to improve their product offering

Problem-Solving Approach

• Dolly Parton: “To enjoy the beauty of a rainbow, sometimes you have to put up with a little bit of rain"
• The road to success is rarely smoothly paved

Personal Examples

• Joe Girard was born into poverty, beaten by his father, kicked out of high school, arrested at 16, kicked out of the army, and was in debt

Required Viewing

• Ted Talk - Why we have too few women leaders | Sheryl Sandberg