Now, what on earth do foreign bishops, monarchs and prime ministers have to with business leadership looking to sustain peak performance here and now? Only this: the bishops represent vision and values, the big picture and the long story across time and place; the monarch represents identity and community, the self understanding of the organization (nation); and the prime minister represents strategy in action, meeting the demands of the current situation. And power passes from one to the next, in that order!

This provides a powerful lesson for contemporary leaders. First, start with vision and values, defining and nurturing a rich story that all employees, partners and audiences buy into. Next, manage and maintain their self-understanding and sense of community. And only in that context take strategic action. Without the first two, the latter has no ground to stand on, and no force behind it. This is a recipe for unsustainability.

Here’s the exception that proves the rule: Napoleon Bonaparte, always seeking radical change, ascribed to the great-man-alone theory, presuming to impose and imprint his will on all comers. No bishops for him, Napoleon crowned himself, becoming the emperor after having at one time gladly settled for the title “first citizen.”  He died in exile, a prisoner on a remote island 2000 km away.

Fifth century Byzantium is a long time ago and a long way away. But until it fell in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks, the “new Romans” held it together in a way that was the envy of the time and a lesson to the ages. They knew how to sustain a civilixation. Until they lost the ability to innovate, but that’s another story.

They taught us this that all masterful leaders and critical teams must make real: Vision & Values > Identity & Community > Strategy & Action.

In that order.

Resilience

Resilience is a key driver of sustainable peak performance. More than conventional strength, it is the ability to maintain forward momentum and even flourish not simply despite, but because of significant challenges. We identify seven Pillars of Resilience: Navigating Uncertainty, Meaning-Making, Relation and Connection, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Brand Expression, Self-Command, and Dynamic Balance.  

With a plunging stock price, crisis management teams a-scrambling, congressional drubbing, possible criminal investigations, and media speculation about BP’s long term survival prospects as an independent going concern, BP’s future is certainly unclear. While it’s best for any organization to build the pillars of resilience proactively, it seems certain that if BP hopes to flourish, it will need to use this experience as an opportunity to seek to grow first in resilience. In the real world, strength requires and even builds of resilience as much or even more than standard business measures.

Ethics

For the sake of discussion, let’s remain agnostic about alleged or real ethical lapses on the part of BP. This muc is certain: we see our Stakeholder-driven Ethics framework, in which ethics are what stakeholders say they are, clearly supported and vindicated by BP’s recent behavior and experience. For better or worse, right or wrong, BP has seen customers, shareholders, strategic partners, two branches of federal  government (so far), the media, and the court of public opinion all pile on to make BP public enemy number one. While a vast number of other wells remain functioning as intended, and the extent to which the decisions that led to the gulf disaster  were driven by a few individuals or a corporate culture (possibly abetted by insufficient or compromised government involvement) remains unclear, the fact remains that just one disaster, driven by specific decisions, is enough to undermine BP’s reputation, despite years of pro-environmental brand advertising. 

Strong dividends and basic humanity are not enough. Regulation and engineering standards are not enough. In order to practice not only environmental sustainability, but sustainable performance, BP and all other organizations need both an embedded stakeholder-driven ethic and a deep foundation of brand resilience.

Ignore this at your peril.

There’s more to it, but this is a start.

Internal documents strongly suggest that Dell knew the computers were defective, yet they consciously decided to “not proactively bring problems to the attention of customers”, and to “emphasize uncertainty”.  My favorite part of the article has to be Dell telling the math department at the University of Texas that all of their computers were failing at once because UT had forced them to do difficult math calculations.

Dell’s strategy of controlling their supply chain has been a favorite of business school case studies for years.  Unfortunately, it appears that Dell’s laser like focus on delivering low-cost computers became the singular driving force in the organization, divorced from any embedded sense of ethical behavior, brand management, or visionary leadership.

This lapse in judgement will cost Dell billions in repair costs, brand value, and litigation.   Unfortunately, vacuums that exist with regards to ethics and leadership often represent hidden costs.  As a result, it is all to easy for seemingly successful organizations to operate under the direction of ethically flawed leadership and strategy, as long as current financial returns are positive.    The NFL’s refusal to acknowledge the long-term impact of head injuries, or to a lesser extent, Apple’s current denial of reception issues with it’s newest Iphone are examples of financially successful organizations obscuring the truth to succeed in the marketplace.

Leaders of every organization should take the time to define their company’s Dynamic Essence, and make sure that it can be applied across the entire organization ethically, with long-term market success in mind.  If the unique driving force for your organization does not explicitly preclude ethically questionable behaviors, or worse,  it requires explicitly deceiving your customers, rest assured that the truth will leak,  faster than the components inside Dell’s faulty computers.

1. Improvement is not innovation. Improvement makes things better. Innovation makes new things.

2. Innovation is not possible without creativity.

3. Creativity is the necessary precondition for innovation. 

4.  Innovation is an action, but creativity is a state. We do innovation, but only after we are creative.

5. Creativity is a practice. It is not a talent. This distinction is meaningful and crucial.

6. Creativity is developed as a skill only after it is approached as a practice.

7. Innovation can’t be forced. When try to force it, we reduced it to a function of luck at best and we destroy it at worst.

8. Innovation can be invited and helped along by understanding the nature of creativity and its relationship to innovation.

9. While suffering is often associated with creativity, it is merely one of its catalysts. And it is unsustainable. The majority of creativity comes from something closer to joy.

10.  Creation does not come from nothing.  Creation is always a new take on something. We do not pull it out of thin air; rather, we work with existing materials.

11. We are all born with creativity. We just need to access it.

Look for our whitepaper about Innovation our website soon.

Unfortunately, this is a common question posed by our clients.  Figuring out how to navigate the sick organization is often the single biggest source of stress and energy depletion among employees.  And while our clients are leaders themselves, they complain that they often find it  difficult to sustainably lead from a fearless, generative and intuitive place when they are constantly victimized by inconsistent managerial policy, organizations that lack a clear sense of vision and executive leadership that comes from a place of ego, depletion and compromise.  

In a recent conversation, a client described a situation in which the CEO chose to publicly berate her for being late, while she was interviewing a potential new hire.  Our client admitted that she was 5 minutes late passing the candidate over to the CEO’s office, however the cause of the delay was the candidate being passed to her late as well.  Compounding the issue, when the CEO discovered that the delay had actually originated as a result of earlier interviews, he asked our client to implicate one of her colleagues as the original source of the delay.  Think of this.  The CEO has likely embarrassed the candidate, set up a dynamic where two members of his leadership team are potentially at odds with one another, and he has communicated that their time spent interviewing the candidate was not highly valued, at least not as highly valued as his own. Our client says this type of behavior is typical.

In cases such as these, it is clear that the major culprit in our advising relationships is often not in the room. The question then becomes two-fold.

1) How do we help our clients to find a sustainable place from which to lead within their organizations?

2) How do we help the sick organization or leader that is currently not our client?

In the best of all situations, the CEO would realize this act as one in a deep, pattern of behavior and call us the next day.  In the real world however the solution is simpler, but requires a bit more energy and time.  When working from within an organization that is not operating at its best, it is more important than ever to lead and act from one’s Dynamic Essence.  Be authentic and focused about what drives and energizes you and makes you a strong leader within your organization.  We provide our clients with support and tools to stay focused on acting from this authentic place.  In turn, Dynamic Essence becomes a wellspring of  purpose and indentity from which our clients sustainably generate the emotional energy required to thrive in a sick organization.  And as we have often observed, leading with a fearless, generative and intuitive spark, will often, but not always, inspire change in the organization around you.

Shift 1. Effort to Energy. Of course, Obama gets fatigued like any other human being, but in his constant public appearances, he always appeared lively, alert, present, focused, and tireless throughout the long slog of the campaign. Few people can manage a schedule like that (and McCain is to be commended for taking on the challenge at age 72), but Obama clearly appeared to be tapping into an endless reserve of energy. He displayed even more as time went on, and his energy became self-sustaining. Effort can’t win against this kind of effortless and sustainable energy.

Shift 2. Proficiency to Expression. Obama’s native intelligence affords him a comprehensive grasp of policy, and he’s a quick study. But more importantly, he is superb at expression, both in his oratory skill and also in his ability to articulate a vision and rally people to it. Obama simply spoke his deeply-held truth; he put it out there. He displayed the inhibition that has the power to drive change.

Shift 3. Expertise to Perspective.  Here’s what we wrote in our e-book and other materials about perspective: “Perspective provides an authoritative interpretation of the here and now, as well as what is to come. It sees deeply into the nature of people and circumstances with honesty, integrity, insight, and fearlessness. It knows the score, the real story. Perspective makes us truly visionary.” Obama did this. 

Shift 4. Commitment to Intention. A political campaign is nothing if not a place for incredible commitment. However, in the cacophony of committed voices, on all sides, Obama kept his cool and led from Intention. We write this about Intention: “Intention has the power to make vision real. It is what happens when we get free from distraction and decide to come from our core. Intention says ‘yes,’ with confidence and purity of purpose. True intention is different from will. Will is about ego and power, and it’s prevalent in the Excellence Trap. Not so with Intention. True intention is rare, so it both inspires people and attracts the necessary resources to make vision real.” Intention defines Obama’s approach to leadership. This intention resonated to the rank and file, across the aisle, even to would-be adversaries.

Shift 5. Knowledge to Wisdom. It is impossible to know everything necessary to never misspeak in a presidential campaign. And Obama is no exception, particularly given his relative inexperience. But rather than try to overcome knowledge gaps with deep ideology, spin, or distractions, Obama demonstrated Wisdom. He consistently confounded, surprised, challenged, or inspired legions both in the way in which he handled a number of attacks and crises, and in the manner in which he sustained a vision of post-partisanship, new ideas, and new coalitions for a new era. He had a sense of rightness in what he chose to do and say that served him well. Detractors called this rhetoric or flash, but Obama won, and in large part buy “flipping” red states and creating a broader coalition that included former detractors, including white working class males, Hilary loyalists, moderate republicans, and African-American leadership figures (the proof of the latter is evident the tears of joy Jesse Jackson shed in Grant Park).

Leadership mastery confounds mere excellence by achieving the extra 5% that defines greatness. McCain’s campaign threw everything they had at Obama, and still he triumphed without apparently breaking a sweat. McCain had smart people who displayed all the virtues of excellence: effort, proficiency, commitment, expertise and knowledge. But it wasn’t enough. Obama won by showing masterful leadership in his campaign, and by suggesting that he would do the same in his presidency. Conversely, McCain appeared increasingly angry, tired, and cut off from his own core beliefs. His strategy was more visible, calling into question the integrity and even the existence of his core beliefs (until he shared them in his concession speech, considered by many to be his finest moment), and causing former supporters from 2000 or 2004 to abandon him.

Obama also displayed the Five  Markers of Mastery: fearlessness (by getting into the race against the odds and taking his vision everywhere he went), gracefulness (by staying cool under great pressure, never taking the bait), generativeness (by championing new ideas and new visions), effortlessness (see above), and intuitiveness (intuiting that America was ready for him, and intuiting the best ways to respond to attacks and crises, from Rev. Wright, to  alleged links to terrorists, to charges of Marxism).

Now Obama will reap the Five Rewards of Mastery: sustainability (by building upon a deep and powerful foundation of aligned mastery), integrity (by entering office with a clear agenda, largely unsullied by dirty campaign tricks and marriages of convenience), attraction (by attracting goodwill and talent, at all levels of society), attunement (aligning a broad cross-section of global supporters and partners), and capacity (the big payoff for everything else). Ultimately, if he delivers on his campaign “promise,” Obama will enjoy unprecendented levels of effectiveness, alignment, and sustainability, and leave a lasting legacy. This is what masters do.

 Throughout the campaign, many people on both sides of the political divide spoke about how Obama is not just a set of polices, but is rather a “very special person” and a “once in a lifetime leader.” If you are an Obama supporter, you can rest assured that you have a masterful leader working for you. To the extent that business leaders are fearful of Obama’s more liberal-leaning statements regarding tax policy, you have two choices. You can work with him, trusting upon the perspective, wisdom, and pragmatism that comes with mastery. Or you can seek to undermine him from the outset. But note that if you oppose Obama and look forward to a shift in direction in the next election, you will not defeat him with mere excellence, or with only a bundle of alternative policies. A master can only be met with more mastery, so you’ll need to find a master. A real one.

In tough economic times, like these, the stakes are high and the pressure is on leaders to make wise and sometimes tough decisions. Failure is both not an option, as well as a genuine possibility lurking in the doorway. The margin of error is diminished. We can’t afford to be wrong.

Ironically, for the big decisions, those with a straight path to the bottom line, the usual tools of management decision-making won’t suffice. Data, analysis, sophisticated models, and decision trees and matrixes will only get us so far. It’s kid’s stuff. These tools are not predictive. They are a cost of entry, never a differentiator or driver of sustainable competitive advantage (not even with the smartest consultants in tow). Moreover, these decisions never take place in a vacuum, and the complexities of real-time business life reduce our confidence in them. A leader trapped in mere excellence will typically over-rely upon these models, and then hope like hell that he or she is right. This undermines their own wellness and productivity, and that of everyone else working under the same conditions, which is to say their people.

There are two popular but unproductive and costly options that many leaders choose when confronting having to live with high stakes decisions:

1. Bluff/Spin/Blame. These managers have all the data and people lined up to take the blame if things go wrong.

2. Escape from Reality. These managers rely on force of will and ego in an attempt to sell themselves and the world on their vision and interpretation of events even when it is clear to any objective observer that they are simply full of it.

When the leader chooses it, the entire company lives with it. Please note: these two strategies are not limited to mediocre and failed managers; that’s too easy. Rather, we see them, almost daily, being practiced by excellent managers. That is to say, managers who have pursued and achieved excellence by practicing the Five Virtues of Excellence; people with a track record, senior leaders. This is what happens in the Excellence Trap.

There is a better way! Leaders in Mastery know that, after they have gathered and analyzed data and considered options, they simly choose a direction. Then they make it real. They bring the Five Pillars of Mastery (energy, expression, perspective, intention and wisdom), and that of every person in the entire organization to bear upon whatever path they choose, whatever context they are in; they engage, they flourish, they improvise and adapt, they inspire and align, they lead. It’s that simple, and that rare.

Try this: for every data point you consider when confronting a tough decision, spend as much time considering the Five Shifts of Mastery. Or let’s make it even easier: pick a direction and run with it. If you’re smart, capable, and have done a modicum of due diligance, you’ll succeed either way. Leadership Masters make their own reality, they don’t impose a fantasy on others. And to use the language of competition, a leader working to escape excellence and achieve mastery is already enjoying a powerful competitive advantage. Consider this: excellent managers try to  control the uncontrollable, and waste resources in the process. Masterful leaders create the future, establish the outcome, and gather resources as they go. It’s the leadership equivalent of creating opportunity while others panic (and let’s face it, most people, even excellent people, do panic. They’re panicing on Wall St as I write this).

That’s something you can stake your business on, particularly in tough times.