I had the great pleasure of giving the keynote address for Switzerland’s “Vacation Day” in beautiful Lugano, Switzerland. This event was produced for the tourism industry of Switzerland and was attended by over 1,000 professionals in the travel and tourism industry as well as representatives of the Swiss government. If you’d like to see the talk, here it is.

Also, if you are interested in learning about the unique challenges of “innovating” in the context of positioning a nation for growth, you may wish to read this interview with Jean-François Roth, former Swiss parliamentarian and senator (published by Swissinfo).

Thank you to FAST COMPANY magazine for selecting THE RIDDLE as one of its “smart books for 2008″.�

If you’d like to learn more about our discussions at the event - including tricks used by those in attendance to inspire Eureka moments (including why we tend to have our best ideas while taking a shower, stuck in traffic, and daydreaming) - click over to Sid Shaw’s blog at Rawthink.

p.s. photo courtesy of inventiveparent.com…a great idea: a shower head for kids!

Very few people have done for the field of leadership (say nothing of book publishing) what Dr. John Maxwell has done.  The greatest testament to his contributions are these:  1)  he’s sold over 12 million books on leadership-related topics and 2) through his companies, he has trained over 1 million leaders worldwide.  So, when one discovers (as I did this Labor Day weekend) that John has read, enjoyed, and reviewed your book…well, it is humbling to say the least.  Thanks John!  Read John’s review of HOPE.  And, while you’re there, sign-up for his newsletter.  It’s a breathe of fresh air that hits your inbox twice a month. 

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Dr. John Maxwell’s review of HOPE: How Triumphant Leaders Create the Future (Jossey-Bass, 20006)

I can’t be late
‘Cause then I guess I just won’t get paid
These are the days
When you wish your bed was already made
It’s just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
‘Cause that’s my fun day
My “I don’t have to run” day
It’s just another manic Monday

~ Lyrics from Manic Monday by the Bangles

Apparently, The Bangles aren’t the only ones dreading Monday. The National Employee Benchmarking Study has found that 80% of all U.S. workers do not plan to be with their current employers in 2 years. Alarmingly, most exiting employees cite leadership deficiency as one of their primary reasons for going elsewhere.

Presently, workers are switching jobs and careers like never before. Today’s employees crave meaning and increasingly search for a cause to believe rather than a compensation package to receive.

In Hope, Andrew Razeghi voices what he believes to be a timely message for leaders—bestow hope upon those you lead and give them a reason to believe. According to Razeghi, “Triumphant leaders—hopeful leaders—communicate meaning by virtue of their beliefs.” As he writes in Chapter 2, “While we tolerate those who appeal to our intellect, we follow those who appeal to our beliefs.”

Throughout the book, Razeghi explores the quality of hope in a leader and the benefits hope affords. Through interviews with top CEO’s, examples from history, evidence from science, and his own experiences, Razeghi builds a compelling case for the desirability of hope.

Abounding with quotes and images, the book seems to be about two-thirds illustrations and one-third prose, which makes for an enjoyable read. The first half of the book lays out the advantages of hope, whereas the second half focuses on specific beliefs and strategies for cultivating and applying hope.

LW subscribers should read slowly through the chapters on belief, 3 and 9, which are particularly valuable. In chapter 13, Razeghi discusses how to best communicate hope (through storytelling and images), a style he effectively employs in Hope.

When the road is dark, leaders need an inner light to give them guidance. When the team is down, a leader needs to communicate an unswerving believe that better days are ahead. In Hope, Razeghi paints memorable moments of hope triumphing over adversity, and his book will be an inspiration for those looking to leverage hope in their leadership.

Quotes from Hope:

“Triumphant leaders engage not only the heads but also the hearts of those who look to them for leadership.”
“Hope reduces inhibitions, and reduced inhibitions unleash creativity.”
“Wishful thinking will get you nowhere, but hopeful thinking will take you everywhere.”
“Create a culture of believers, and you will create an organization more resilient, more courageous, and more ably equipped to manage through ambiguity, around fear, and into the future.”

Here are a few of the folks who contributed signatures to the telescope - who are also profiled in the book.

Charles Schwab (founder and chairman of Charles Schwab & Co.); Dr. Marshall Nirenberg (Nobel Laureate awarded The Nobel Prize in 1968 for cracking the genetic code); Paul Orfalea (serial entrepreneur and legendary founder of Kinko’s); Jack Cakebread (founder of Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley); Dr. Jerry Linenger (NASA astronaut and MIR astronaut/cosmonaut); Tom McCoy (Advanced Micro Devices’ Chief Administrative Officer); Dr. Nawang Rabgyal (past-Director of the Office of Tibet-in-exile and Secretary to his Holiness the Dalai Lama); James Washburn (detective, cold case unit, the Chicago Police Department)

The question I have is this: where have all the leaders gone?

In this age of what have you done for me lately, press releases such as this one can be avoided.  It takes two things to fix this problem:  1)  create a culture of continuous innovation (Radio Shack has grown increasingly irrelevant to consumers, thus its demise).  Innovation, not only in product - but in business design - would have helped them avert layoffs (like many others who have walked down this road); and 2)  develop next generation leaders who know how to lead - not only from the income statement, but from a sense of duty, stewardship, and loyalty to those that choose to follow them.   

As for the issue of innovation, I’ll opine on that in another blog entry.  For the moment, let us consider an alternate leadership approach that Radio Shack and others might wish to try.  Under very similar circumstances - economic and geopolitical turbulence - consider what one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs did to turn things around in one of the most significant moments of uncertainty in U.S. history.  Meet Adolph Ochs.  The year was 1929. 

Imagine.  The world is coming apart at its seems.  Wall Street has crashed and the Great Depression is well underway.  If you think it’s tough today, imagine living then.  However, in this moment of uncertainty, consider what the the legendary publisher of The New York Times - Adolph Ochs - did to prevail.

First, Ochs sent a memo to his staff that read as follows: “We must set an example of optimism.  Please urge every department to go ahead as if we thought the best year in the world was ahead of us.”  However, this was not blind optimism.  Reason being: consider what he did next.  He put his money where his mouth was.  

Ochs took the profits generated during the roaring 1920s and used them to cover payroll thereby mitigating layoffs.  (Considering that 15 advertisers cancelled in a single week, essentially, this translated into a “better product”.  Why? Because the paper(s) he owned and managed now had the same editorial rigor with fewer ads.).  And third, rather than promoting the financial news story of the day, Ochs chose - as the most significant news story of the year - the triumphant return of Rear Admiral Byrd from Antarctica. 

He chose hope in the face of fear.  He invested in the future.  And he sent a message to his people that declared triumphantly, “Follow me.  You will be okay.”  Well, what newspaper do you think people became loyal to through the Great Depression?  What do you think happened to The New York Times circulation numbers as the economy improved?  And what do you suppose a newspaper is able to do with advertising rates when it has more readers than anyone else?  You got it.  Hope pays.

In the spirit of the 400 employees recently “e-fired” from Radio Shack and in honor of Adolph Ochs, I propose a new index: the Dow Jones Humanity Index (DJHI).  It would be comprised of publicly-traded companies and track behavior (such as this at Radio Shack) and subsequently assign a score for “good moves” and “bad moves”.  And here’s the catch: America would be allowed to vote.  Hey, if it works for finding Pop Stars, why not use it to find great leaders? (Kidding).  Why do we need an alternate index - a Dow Jones Humanity Index?  Because, sadly, to add insult to injury, the stock market responded favorably to Radio Shack’s less than courageous act.  Radio Shack traded up 1.6% on the news.

http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=0787981265