Dr. Leslie Gadman

September, 2008 articles

In business, like everywhere else, times are changing and they are changing fast. Not long ago cost competition was the only competition. Operational effectiveness was the key driver and in manufacturing, the challenge was to bring all aspects of the operation into a single coherent process known as manufacturing resource planning (MRP). Later enterprise resource planning (ERP) came with the challenge of improving the efficiency of the whole business. Today, as costs reach an all time low, companies are turning to new ways to achieve differentiation. As they seek to become more responsive to the needs of customers, value networks are replacing value chains as more companies adopt the practice of network resource planning (NRP). Responsiveness is the key word; responsive to customers, supply chains, market opportunities. Looking ahead, as responsiveness becomes a commodity the new business challenge will move from responsiveness to velocity where the first correct response wins the business.

This evolution through cost, responsiveness and ultimately velocity will not happen in a linear and sequential fashion. As each succeeding dimension comes into play, it will not replace the others but will become for a time, the pre - eminent one. Once all three dimensions come fully into play the leading competitors will be able to use them to increasingly similar effect neutralizing each other. As a result, the basis of competition will move on to search for distinctive combinations of all three dimensions that will best match the evolving needs of different parts of the marketplace. Each combination will bring with it high levels of complexity and change. The more complexity, the more change, the more change the more complexity.

MINDFUL LEADERSHIP

Dealing with this combination of complexity and change requires a degree of mindfulness among C.E.O.'s and their teams that enables them to tap into the kind of knowledge that produces better and faster decisions and ultimately, better business results. The essence of Mindful Leadership is the ability to integratively interact organizational stability with adaptability and innovation to achieve emergent business and people performance that outperforms the competition. Mindful leaders create remarkable companies that consistently achieve that all important one degree of separation between themselves and their competition. Take, for example, the case of Howard Schultz Chairman and CEO of Starbucks Coffee. The story of Starbucks goes beyond a record of growth and success for, yes, another coffee company. Schultz built a different company in a different way. He proved that a company can lead with its heart and nurture its soul and still make money. Schultz, like other "Mindful Leaders" achieve success by creating and sustaining cultures that are continually conscious about their emotional responses to situations of uncertainty and ambiguity. In a world where differentiation is becoming increasingly harder to achieve, one degree of separation from your competition can mean a lot and applying the principles of mindfulness doesn't mean you have to sacrifice long - term value for shareholders.

Meaningful and sustained change in business, community, government, society, does not happen by accident or through simply imploring people to be creative, think differently, or change the way they do things. Meaningful and sustained change comes about through Mindful Leadership. Qualities arising from within the leader and providing speaking that engages listening and acting that brings about outstanding results. These results are sustained through a platform of stability and focus that leads to the eventual achievement of objectives. When all things are equal, which they so often are, Mindful Leaders create uniqueness in their products and services and the ways they are delivered. This uniqueness makes them outstanding in that they stand - out, not in an egotistical way, but in a way that is powerful in its simplicity. Standing out in business means winning more business, and standing out in other endeavours means winning in different ways. Whatever your perspective, there is little doubt that winning leads to increased interest and opportunity to disseminate new knowledge for the common good. The question is, can these skills be acquired or are they "hard wired" in the DNA of some of our best leaders?

BECOMING A MINDFUL LEADER

At ODERA Management Development we believe people can learn to engage their innate potential and bring into alignment the form, field and flow of their lives and businesses in such a way that remarkable things happen as if by accident. "A blessed conspiracy" as our team member Rob Richardson calls it. We believe this because, quite simply, to do otherwise would be counter to the way the universe works. We believe that by cultivating gratitude, intimacy and humility in our leaders is crucial to the evolution of business and life itself.

ODERA Management Development is offering this brand new development programme for senior executives who are seeking new ways to engage their creative potential and develop their capacity to lead and manage more effectively. Designed to be dynamic, on-going and aligned with the strategic challenges of their business, the programme aims to develop creativity and innovation in thinking and learning. It is practical in nature with emphasis on action and improvement. It meets the needs of those who seek to increase their capacity to continually develop new skills and awareness and provides the opportunity for self-motivation and self-empowerment.

Our unique teaching method promotes mutual learning and enhances participant's ability to reflect in depth on the knowledge, skills and requirements of a skilled business leader. Exchanging ideas with participants from a wide range of business sectors and learning new concepts, paradigms and practices from our highly skilled team, participants will experience learning as a continual and purposeful process of discovering insights, producing action, observing the consequences and adapting behaviour. This program combines two of ODERA's strengths: the combined years of experience of its programme team in the personal development of executives and managers and its research into the behaviours of highly effective C.E.O.'s. The result is a dynamic agenda that uses exclusive rating instruments, team exercises and feedback that focus on individual issues and needs. Above all, we recognise that each participant has valuable and unique experiences, knowledge of why things succeeded and failed, why some routes were taken and others avoided. How skills were acquired and what influenced perspectives on life. We recognise that each participant will bring valuable insights and experiences to the programme which will form a rich source of revelation and reflection.

The Mindful Leadership Programme is constantly evolving to reflect the latest business trends, faculty research and participant feedback. This three day programme comprises three themes:

• Understanding Our Evolving World
• Leading and the Practice of Mindfulness
• Leading and Managing Organisational Transformation

Above all, the power of the programme is its learner - centered approach based around a community of peers and experts from around the world. Each expert adds his or her unique perspective based on global research and practice that is both inspirational and controversial. Over the course of the workshop participants are helped to chart their future direction and plan the landmarks along the way. The atmosphere is stimulating, reassuring, confrontational and revelation. The question is, are you ready to be transformed?