Leadership
disparate themes, common goals.
// INTERvIEWS BY DAvID GEE
LEADErSHiP. We can all agree it is as fundamental
to business success as just about anything, but the
consensus might end there. You start to get a wide
divergence of opinions as soon as you start to discuss
what constitutes good leadership, how you measure
leadership and on and on.
Certainly if you asked legendary GE CEO Jack
Welch those questions he would respond with very
different answers than would, say, a Bill George or
Ken Melrose.
And an employee who has invested years of
working for a company might have a different take
than someone who has strictly invested dollars.
Having said all that, we did have a few people in
mind to interview for this important section. After
much discussion and debate, however, we decided
to do it by committee, and take nuggets from a wide
range of people we have interviewed on the subject.
Our hope and goal certainly is that lessons
on leadership are contained in each and every
Minnesota Business Magazine issue, but we hope you
also find some weighty and worthy takeaways from
the collection below.
JOHn CHRISTEnSEn
CEO/playground director, ChartHouse Learning (May 2009)
It’s finding that childlike sense of wonder and curiosity, that notion of
discovering and creating excitement in another day and making sure you
don’t waste it in the drudgery and the mundane. Make it something better.
It can be better. It’s all in your approach. It’s common wisdom but not
common practice.
BEn GRAvES
President, Graves World Hospitality (January 2008)
When we do our employee surveys the highest-ranking response we get
is the answer to the question, “Are you proud of where you work?” We
make sure we empower—and appreciate—our employees. It’s not always
about how much money you make, we think it’s how appreciated you feel.
Shared goals, shared visions help build a team.
JILL BLASHACK STRAHAn
Founder & CEO, Tastefully Simple (June 2007)
As Stephen Covey says, “We get too busy driving to stop and get gas.” If
we’re going and going and not intentionally stopping to do whatever it is
that refills us, we’re going to burn out. Our thoughts control our emotions
and our emotions control our actions. As a company you need to step away
and look at things differently. It’s too easy to just keep your head down and
go 180 miles an hour.
MARILyn CARLSOn nELSOn
Chairman of the board, Carlson (March 2009)
I think my biggest job was to take a large, entrepreneurial company and
move it into being a truly global company, and that’s been a journey. We
continue to be family-owned and family-governed, but professionally
operated. That’s important because when that structure works well, it can
be wonderful and be an advantage.
BILL KUBAn
President/owner, Kurt Manufacturing (February 2009)
I have always tried to give employees the flexibility and freedom to explore
new areas, knowing sometimes they make their projections and sometimes
they don’t. There are signs all over the shop floor saying, “We don’t want
people that never fail, we want people that never give up.
