BE 2.0 | Book Review

“Hire Diverse Talents, But Not Divergent Values.” (p. 244)

Declares Jim Collins and William Lazier (RIP) in the chapter on innovation near the end of his updated book, Beyond Entrepreneurship (BE 2.0). But how? Ultimately, our role as leaders centers on alignment, which we focus on during our Core Values Alignment workshop, drawing on findings in Collins’ Built to Last.

Recall from Built to Last we may define Core Ideology as Purpose + Core Values. Also, a useful Hierarchy of Guideposts from top to bottom:

Purpose
Values
Vision
Mission
Goals
Objectives

Reminds us of the significance of purpose-led decisions. Let’s consider an Academy Leadership Core Values workshop and initial development of our Personal Leadership Philosophy as stage one for organizational and personal transformation. BE 2.0 is a blueprint for a second stage, and in that light, this book review focuses on Chapter 4, Vision, further refining our definition of purpose, and Chapter 3, Leadership Style, suggesting ways we may better define both our organizational purpose and our individual self as a leader. The numerous stories and experiences spread throughout the book offer reinforcing examples that Collins’ models, such as The Hedgehog Concept (p. 160) and The Flywheel Effect (p. 161) are effective once we are operating first from a well-defined purpose.

Vision | Improved Definition

Collins informs us:

“The number one responsibility of a leader – is to catalyze a
clear and shared vision for the company and to secure commitment
to and vigorous pursuit of that vision.” (p. 90)

On page 91, we find a powerful visual diagram breaking down VISION into three components: Core Values and Beliefs, Purpose and Mission:

Tom Watson, legendary IBM CEO reflects: “If you want to do more than just make a lot of money – if you want to build an enduring, great company – then you need a vision.” (p. 92) Similar to considering the launch of a leadership development initiative, we may believe something as lofty as a vision statement is reserved for mid-size and larger organizations. Collins’ research indicates the opposite:

“…in every case, the vision was laid in place
when the company was still small.” (p. 94)

Consider four benefits of a corporate vision, particularly in our enduring Covid pandemic environment (p. 95):

1.   Vision forms the basis of extraordinary human effort.
2.   Vision provides a context for strategic and tactical decisions.
3.   Shared vision creates cohesion, teamwork, and community.
4.   Vision lays the groundwork for the company to evolve past dependence on a few key individuals.

These benefits tie directly to our findings in Aligning and Accomplishing Goals and Creating a Motivational Climate workshops. In the former, we share personal dreams and goals and in the latter we discover that motivation is tied directly our our deeply embedded instinctive (Energize2Lead) needs.

Leadership Style | Leadership Philosophy

Collins defines effective corporate leadership as the combination of leadership function and leadership style (p. 40) and we’ve already defined the primary function (responsibility).

If we view leadership style as a combination of common skills plus individual components, we’ve effectively created a worthy method of examining our leadership philosophy allowing identification of missing elements such as individual traits or quirks worth sharing 

Pages 45 – 89 illustrate through stories seven elements of leadership style:

1.   Authenticity
2.   Decisiveness
3.   Focus
4.   Personal Touch
5.   Hard/Soft People Skills
6.   Communication
7.   Ever Forward

Let’s tie each of these elements to the eight components our our leadership philosophy, as a self-improvement exercise. Are you authentic, or do your actions mirror your words? How comfortable are others offering you feedback, especially when you are not seeking it? How decisive are you, especially when defending individuals or organizational core values? Will you make an instinctive decision, even if it may turn out incorrect?

A frequently challenging part of leadership philosophy drafting is articulating priorities, or focus. Are your energies directed primarily to a project or financial result -- does it also include a focus on developing people? What in your leadership philosophy tells others what type of person you are – or, are any of your core values distinctive, such as empathy? Our stated operating principles and expectations may convey forms of communication (e.g. one-on-one always preferred, don’t hide behind email) and welcome an open, safe and collaborative environment.

Finally, our leadership philosophy should be uplifting and point a unified, aligned team toward our positive forward vision. Consider two bookend statements, one launching our philosophy and one affirming at the end.

Summary

Collins book is a valuable, recommended reference for any leader who wishes to ‘go deeper.” BE 2.0 is also an excellent companion for effective strategic planning, once we’ve effectively communicated our vision.

“There is a spiritual side to all of us.
We are speaking of the higher side of people…” (p. 88)