Larry Bossidy: an example of superior leadership

With Larry Bossidy (right) the former CEO and Chairman of Allied Signal Corporation (Honeywell) at the Leadership Panel for a global executives association in Ireland. The panel was comprised of diverse supply chain executives who spoke about what the hallmarks of exceptional leadership ability. The panel members shared leadership stories from "the front lines"--these were essentially real-life situations that were brought up for this panel discussion. 

I was honored to have had the chance to meet with and have Larry Bossidy as a special guest this unique panel. He is one of the foremost executive leaders of the 20th Century as well as the 21st Century. Prior to Allied Signal/Honeywell, he was a top executive at GE for over 34 years. Upon his scheduled retirement from Honeywell in April of 2000 (Honeywell merged with Allied Signal in December 1999), he stepped back into his role as CEO and Chairman when General Electric attempted to acquire Honeywell in 2001. He retired again in 2002. To date, Larry Bossidy is a Contributor for CNBC, busy writing books and speaking. He is also currently serving on the Board of Berkshire Hills Bancorp and is an advisor to the private equity firm, Aurora Capital Group. 

Larry Bossidy is the co-author of:

Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right 

Execution:The Discipline of Getting Things Done

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The Flying V - a mutually beneficial relationship between leader and followers

Chicago finally received its first “real” snow of the season.  Snow gently sifted on us for 20 hours until we woke up today with bright sunshine and "8.”  I live in an urban setting, so it is a social imperative to get out first thing and shove the communal sidewalk.  The next order of business is to get the family dog out for a good run in the snow-covered park.   We were running mid-shin deep in snow when we first heard it.  We stopped and looked.  It was the flying V.

This is not a blog about the classic Gibson rock-n-roll electric guitar that originated in 1957 (http://www.flying-v.ch/).  It is about a gaggle of geese.

These geese were flying south; something they probably regret not doing sooner than a 17° day in January.  What I found fascinating was the honking.  Geese fly in a V formation.  This allows one goose to expend more energy by being the leader at the tip of the V while each successive goose gets the benefit of drafting.  In return, all the following geese honk their encouragement to the leader, thus giving the leader more impetus to fly faster and farther.  It is a mutually beneficial relationship between leader and followers.

From the leader’s perspective, this is a classic example of what can be accomplished when you have encouragement.  Having an advocate can get you through those times when you are tired, stressed, or so deep in the thick of a problem that you cannot see the forest for the trees. We all have had the relief that comes after talking to someone who knows us and our work, who tells us about the success in the bigger picture.  Advocates, cheerleaders if you will, are also a benefit when they acknowledge and celebrate our successes.  They incent us to achieve again and again.  Cheerleaders can give us the extra push that gets us where we want to be. 

Just like the geese, there is a benefit for the cheerleader too.  In the January-February 2012 Harvard Business Review, Shawn Achor authored an article called Positive Intelligence.  In the article, he points out that his research shows that the employees who “score the highest in providing social support are 40% more likely to receive a promotion in the following year.”  In addition, they feel higher job satisfaction.  By being a cheerleader you are not only providing support for others but boosting your own tangible and intangible rewards. 

Whenever you come across an action that has win-win possibilities, try it out!  After all, what is good for the goose, is also good for the gander.

Are you prepared for the Supply Chain Talent Crisis?

The CSCMP Annual Global Conference was held earlier this month (October).  I had the honor of serving on its planning committee and overseeing two tracks and one of the conference's mega sessions.  The Mega Sessions are held on the last day of the conference and focus on issues of major interest to most attendees.  


My Mega Session focused on the the current talent crisis in the supply chain arena. Ken Cottrill actually wrote the white paper on this particular topic at the end of 2010 for MIT entitled: Are You Prepared for the Supply Chain Talent Crisis?  The paper served as the basis for our "Talent Crisis Mega Session."  

The basic premise for Ken's paper revolves around the fact that supply chain is becoming a critical strategic piece in the health and future success of organizations.  Companies need the kind of supply chain talent that can offer not only high technical skills, but also broad business skills as well as the ability to operate in atmospheres of ambiguity.  

Tackling this talent crisis topic is best done by looking at the different perspectives of corporations, educators and recruiters.  Thus our panel consisted of Stewart Lumsden, the North American head of the SpencerStuart Supply Chain Practice, who provided a recruiter’s perspective; Rebecca Lyons, Vice President of Strategy and Supply Chain Services at Johnson & Johnson and Ty Gent, SVP Supply Chain Commercialization, GNG Sourcing and Contract Management, PepsiCo providing a corporate perspective; and Jarrod Goentzel, Ph.D., Executive Director, MIT Supply Chain Management Program, who gave us a talent provider point of view.  The panel members talked about the reality of the talent crisis and how their institutions were addressing it.  The focus was on cross-training with other disciplines within organizations, mentoring, and bringing in talent from other fields and training programs.

The Talent Crisis Mega Session was extremely well-attended. The standing-room-only crowd actively participated in the highly interactive 90-minute session. We've posted photos of the session on my Facebook Profile and the (very new) Stratman Partners Company Page. 


I have to say that this particular topic appealed to everyone. In other words, you're either the talent or the talent acquirer--both sides want to know the status of the marketplace. As an executive coach, I am a huge advocate for broadening leadership skills regardless of the position one holds.  This mega session provided an excellent forum for this message.  Supply chain is integral to the success of an organization and therefore supply chain needs to have talent with the tools necessary to understanding and fully participating in  the company’s strategy.  To read more, click here.  If you attended our Talent Crisis Mega Session, I'd love to get your feedback. Feel free to leave your comments here on this blog post.