Investing in Leadership Futures

Bananas vs. Pintos - Has the pendulum swung too far in mitigating against risk? by Dr. Dirk Baxter

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Since 1906 in the United States there has been an interesting transition in perspective worth noting as we move forward into unknown and uncertain times. Business leaders have gone from being coldly calculating; effectively ignoring a business’s responsibility to workers and the public (e.g., made famous in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”), through a more balanced approach to doing business, to a current mode that is wrought with figuring out what could possibly go wrong before taking too many steps. This newer mode has leaders deeply evaluating financial risks, far reaching public risks and brand risk in order to mitigate against negative outcomes. Though I am a fan of hedging against the downside, I wonder if the pendulum has swung too far from being blind to black swan events (defined as low probability but high impact events) to being scared of everything?

4 Legal Leadership Strategies to Build In-house Legal Capability

4 Legal Leadership Strategies to Build In-house Legal Capability by Dirk Baxter, PhD SPHR and Karen Steadman, PhD

Having the right in-house legal counsel team is an increasingly important facet of a successful talent strategy, however it is often neglected.  If your organization’s current state consists of what would be considered the bare minimum [individual PDPs (personal development plans), career planning meetings individually every 6-12 months, and recruiting for technical expertise], you might be in for some bad news.  The complexity of the modern market and political landscape requires a more agile and interpersonally savvy legal team than previous scenarios.  Here are four strategies that legal leadership should incorporate to help increase the team’s capability.

What Charlie Sheen’s recent performance should teach us about Talent Risk Mitigation

“The most important decisions that businesspeople make are not what decisions, but who decisions.”  - Jim Collins, “Good to Great”

In the entire Charlie Sheen saga that has been playing out over the past several weeks we really are seeing what can go wrong with mismanagement of top talent who make the company a lot of money.

Always Play your Best Hand: 3 Lessons from Poker for Raising your Leadership Game – Dr. Dirk Baxter and Dr. Karen Steadman

Watching poker tournaments is a fascinating lesson in human behavior.  While new and amateur players believe luck has a lot to do with winning, professionals approach poker exactly the opposite - every hand is an opportunity to play their best.   Every move is a conscious decision including folding when appropriate.  Lucky breaks are capitalized rather than anticipated.  The game is often long, the stakes high, and one cannot afford to drift in and out “hoping” for the best outcome.    In the world of work, many successful leaders have a similar focus – a balance of routine, high engagement levels, and the ability to take calculated risks that are far from haphazard.   Mike Caro, the “Mad Genius” of poker who is not only a professional player, but a behavioralist and casino executive as well, outlines lessons that transcend Texas Hold ‘Em.  Here are a few of our favorites:

Most of Your Profit comes from Borderline Decisions: Most poker winnings (and prevention of loss) come from borderline decisions –

Assessing Leaders Who Might Make Bad Decisions by Dr. Karen Steadman

I have a friend in the mortgage industry who shared the following sentiment with me about refinancing:

“Do not try to use common sense to understand this process, there is none of that in our industry at the moment.  The mantra in our industry is “rules over risk” which means that they are not concerned whether your loan represents a risk or not, it is all about whether we are able to meet the guidelines.”

Rules over risk?  This approach concerns me.