The Secrets of Effective Leadership

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When most people hear the word “leadership,” they probably don’t think of the World’s Most Dangerous Bull. In the 1990s, “Bodacious” was the most feared animal on the national rodeo circuit. He was a take-no-prisoners, World Champion bucking bull.

So when I created a series of talks designed to motivate leaders in the toughest of corporate jobs, I knew exactly who the mascot should be. “Bodacious Leadership” was born.

What does it mean to be a “Bodacious Leader?”

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About the Author

Steven D. Wood is the hallmark for performance, integrity, leadership and volunteerism in corporate America. For more than 30 years, he has worked for an internationally known manufacturer of heating and air conditioning where he currently serves as a member of senior leadership. An avid community leader, Wood was recognized as the recipient of the Governors Certificate of Volunteer Service from the State of Texas for work in his community. He is dedicated to his Christian faith and has more than 20 years of speaking experience to audiences on leadership and faith-based topics. In his free time, he enjoys sailing and has captained sailboats throughout the Caribbean and sailed extensively in the Virgin Islands, Leeward and Windward Island chains. He and his wife of 35 years have two adult children and reside in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.

Leadership Inspirations – Blowing Your Own Horn

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“Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.”

Will Rogers (1879 – 1935)
Oklahoma’s Favorite Son, Cherokee cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 30a – An Interview with Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman, authors of The M-Factor, part 1 of 2

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 30a – An Interview with Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman, authors of The M-Factor, part 1 of 2 examines how to successfully integrate Millennials into the workforce from the perspectives of the Traditionalists, Boomers, and Gen Xers already there and the incoming Millennials themselves. During our discussion, Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman, authors of The M-Factor: How the Millennial Generation Is Rocking the Workplace and co-Founders and Partners of BridgeWorks, shares with us their insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • who Millennials are and their shared characteristics and traits
  • significant environmental factors, world events, and technologies that shape Millennial values, behaviors, and beliefs
  • seven trends associated with Millennials and the impact of each on the business environment

Additional Information

In addition to the incredible insights Lynne and David share in The M-Factor and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from their website, www.Generations.com.   Their book, The M-Factor, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

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About the Author

Lynne Lancaster is one of today’s foremost cultural translators. An expert on the generations, she is co-founder of BridgeWorks, a company that advises leaders, managers, and employees on how to conduct business more successfully by bridging generation gaps at work and in the marketplace. Her keynote speeches and workshops have enlightened and entertained high level audiences from many of America’s best companies, including 3M, American Express, Best Buy, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, and Wells Fargo, as well as from numerous public sector and nonprofit organizations. To read Lynne’s full biography, click here.

David Stillman is co-founder of BridgeWorks and one of the youngest keynote speakers to hit the national circuit. He co-authored the best selling business book, When Generations Collide, with Lynne in 2002. David has appeared nationally on CNN, CNBC, and the Today show and has been featured in such prestigious publications as TIME magazine, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, and USA Today. To read David’s full biography, click here.

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StrategyDriven Podcast Receives Top Honors in March

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The StrategyDriven Team would like to thank you, our listeners, for helping us achieve the third place ranking for the StrategyDriven Podcast from among the over 2800 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley in March!

In each episode, our co-hosts and their guests present a richer and deeper exploration of the principle, best practice, and warning flag articles found on the StrategyDriven website. Their discussions identify benefits, define implementation methods, and provide examples to help leaders increase alignment and heighten accountability within their organizations.

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. With your support, our community of listeners and readers has grown tremendously in the past several months. Please help us continue to grow by recommending the StrategyDriven Podcast to family, friends, and colleagues who you believe will benefit from listening.

Additionally, please consider voting for us monthly on Podcast Alley by clicking here. Casting your vote for the StrategyDriven Podcast improves our monthly ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, grows our community.

Thank you again for listening to and voting for the StrategyDriven Podcast!

StrategyDriven Podcast Series

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – You Don’t Get Something for Nothing

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Some would argue that with President Obama’s signing of health care legislation into law a great deal of uncertainty was eliminated from the marketplace. While the uncertainty associated with whether or not health care legislation would become law has been resolved, the new healthcare entitlement itself represents an injection of new uncertainty into the market. As is the case with many laws, the various regulatory agencies of the U.S. government must now determine the specifics of how the new law will be enacted. This process itself may take several years to accomplish; allowing the uncertainty to continue to fester within the U.S. marketplace. Additionally, legal challenges as to the constitutionality of the healthcare law also inject an unknown into the business environment. Thus, businesses are left to deal with the healthcare uncertainty at least for the time being.

One thing is for certain, you don’t get something for nothing. Provisions of the new healthcare law provide for the extension of benefits to millions of currently uninsured Americans. Insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage to individuals with pre-existing health conditions and there will no longer be lifetime insurance payout limits. Another requirement extends the age for which children can be carried on their parent’s insurance policy to twenty-six. …and the list goes on. All of these additional healthcare benefits have to be paid for by someone or some company even if the specifics of those payments remain unknown for some time.

Some leaders already estimated the cost of the new healthcare law on their organization as:

  • AT&T: $1,000 million
  • Verizon: $970 million
  • Deere & Co.: $150 million
  • Beoing Co.: $150 million
  • Caterpillar: $100 million
  • Prudential Financial: $100 million
  • Lockheed Martin Corp.: $96 million
  • 3M Co.: $85-$90 million
  • Exelon Corp.: $65 million
  • AK Steel: $31 million
  • Eaton: $25 million
  • Illinois Tool Works: $22 million
  • Xcel Energy: $17 million
  • Valero: $15-$20 million
  • Honeywell: $13 million
  • Goodrich: $10 million
  • Allegheny Technologies: $5 million1

Other companies warning of an increase in benefits costs include: Con-Way Inc., Navistar Inc., Xerox Corp., Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., and Met Life Inc.2

“The total cost of this [healthcare legislation] has been significantly underestimated,” said Jim Rogers, Chief Executive Officer of Duke Energy Corp. and a director of U.S. health insurer Cigna Corp. “Corporations are going to pay billions of dollars this year that no one even talked about in the debate and that’s just the beginning.”

Rogers said the health-care law makes it more economical for Duke Energy to pay a penalty for not providing health coverage for employees, forcing workers to “go shop” for a plan. The company won’t take this route, he said.

“Your health-care program is important; it demonstrates that you care about your employees,” he said. “So as a practical matter we won’t be driven by the most economic thing to do, we will be driven by taking care of our employees.”3

StrategyDriven Recommended Practices

So what is known? Unless the new healthcare law is found to be unconstitutional, it is reasonable to infer that existing capital within our economic system, regardless of its source, will be diverted in larger portions to the healthcare industry – and away from other market sectors. It is also reasonable to assume that those receiving health care coverage will make greater use of the medical services now available to them than simply the emergency room visits they were entitled to before. These reasonable yet broad assumptions drive StrategyDriven leaders to consider the following strategic options:

  • Eliminating, streamlining, and outsourcing all labor intensive work activities. The goal is to reduce hiring and/or eliminate headcount in order to avoid the potential costs associated with the new healthcare legislation. In the case of outsourcing, serious consideration should be given to transferring those functions not absolutely required to be performed within the United States to overseas providers.
  • Relocating operations to another country not as heavily burdened with taxes and other mandates. The goal is to reduce non-value adding payments required by the government. Consideration must be given to other added costs such as transportation and importation taxes when evaluating whether or not to relocate.
  • Examining the potential competitive advantage the organization’s health care program provides when seeking to attract and/or maintain talent. The goal is to use the organization’s healthcare benefits as a differentiator when acquiring and maintaining top performing individuals.
  • For those organizations providing products and/or services to the healthcare industry, reevaluating the company’s production capacity with respect to the potential change in the demand resulting from the influx of millions of newly insured patients. The goal is to be appropriately prepared and positioned to seize as much of the newly created market as possible.
  • For those organizations not currently providing products and/or services to the healthcare industry, considering the impact of the diversion of discretionary personal funds and/or corporate capital away from their market segment. This evaluation should take into account the extent to which the product and/or service is provided are a human or business necessity. The goal is to estimate the amount of business loss that may be incurred because of the diversion of personal and corporate funds to the healthcare industry.
  • For those organizations not currently providing products and/or services to the healthcare industry, evaluating the company’s capability and opportunity to provide products and/or services to the healthcare industry. The goal is to be appropriately prepared and positioned to seize some of the newly created market if it is reasonable for the organization to do so.

Final Request…

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective PodcastThe strength in our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us and sharing your perspectives regarding the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Sharing your thoughts improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast!

Sources

  1. “Companies Take Billions In Health Care Charges,” Reid Wilson, National Journal, April 2, 2010
  2. “Deere & Co. says new health care reform law will increase fiscal 2010 expenses by about $150M,” Josh Funk, Associated Press, March 25, 2010
  3. “Duke Energy Says Health Law to Result in ‘Large’ Cost (Update1),” Kim Chipman and Jordan Burke, Bloomberg, April 01, 2010

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