Wharton West Leadership Conference
Leadership in an Uncertain Era

In an environment of tremendous uncertainty, "leadership is more important than ever," said Lewis Platt, Chairman of the Boeing Company, in opening remarks at the Wharton West Leadership Conference on Leading in an Era of Change and Uncertainty. A wide-ranging set of speakers highlighted a range of leadership qualities and approaches that are particularly critical in uncertain times, including:

  • Communicating effectively: Effective communication is even more important in an environment of high noise and emotion. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. After a quarter with mediocre results, Jeffrey Rodek, Chairman and CEO of Hyperion Solutions Corp., gathered his top management team at one of the nicest hotels in the city. "They were expecting a lavish spread, but bread and water was the only thing served that evening," he said, telling his team that, "Based on the company's performance, this is all we deserve." He said he tries to be realistic but optimistic in communication with employees. And it is important for leaders to share the pain. "We had a rough first quarter last year and had to suspend the 401k match for our employees, but we reinstated it as soon as business recovered," said David Pottruck, CEO of Charles Schwab, Inc. "I didn't take my bonus that year because I felt it just wasn't right. I took the money and redistributed it to the 7,000 lowest-paid employees in the company."

  • Build shared values to increase maneuverability: Professor Eric Clemons, co-author of The Marine Corps Way: Using Maneuver Warfare To Lead a Winning Organization, looked to military examples to understand ways to create robust strategies in the fog of war. A culture of trust, integrity, and shared values allows the Marine Corps to move quickly. "Integrity is neither a luxury nor a cost of doing business, but a source of sustainable competitive advantage," he said. Sherron Watkins learned firsthand at Enron the serious business implications of corporate values and integrity. "I think there's a loss of servant leadership attitude among the new crop of leaders-to-be," she said. "In the end, corporations are nothing but a group of people, and so the ethical tone at the top is critical."

  • Engage passion and "test as you fly": Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who led the team that put a pair of robotic rovers on Mars in January 2004, said passion was as important as rocket fuel in making the project a success. "JPL does not pay as much as the private sector, but we get great people to do amazing things by giving them a clear sense of purpose," he said. He also encouraged leaders to create flexible planning and ongoing learning by "testing as you fly."

  • Be bold but build in adaptability: Dr. Vinton Cerf, one of the fathers of the broadest network on Earth, now has set his sights on creating an "interplanetary Internet." "To do the impossible, first you have to think that it is not," he said. To create an Internet across the solar system requires a very different design. When Cerf developed the simple yet flexible TCP/IP protocols that are the backbone of the Internet, he sought a design that "allows you to be resilient to change." In this sense, lack of a "vision" for the Internet was an asset. "We did not make any predictions for the Internet's uses by design," he said. "In that context, one might say that lack of mission and vision was a good thing. An organization that lacks vision must be able to adapt to anything." Russell Ackoff, Chairman of INTERACT, urged participants to look at the broader system in developing solutions and addressing uncertainty. When Ohio Match company faced lawsuits from users who burned their hands, they "dissolved" the problem by stepping back and placing the striker on the back of the matchbook.

  • Create diverse and inclusive planning processes: The most flexible and resilient strategies often come from joining diverse perspectives. John Warden, CEO and President of Venturist, Inc. and author of Winning in Fast Time, said the key to effective strategy building is to "engage everyone from the boardroom to the front lines in focused, compressed, and parallel operations." In planning the air attacks for the first Gulf War in 1991, Warden said they invited as many people to the room as they could, more than 200. "If the people in the room didn't know the answer to a critical question, there was always someone who could find out with a single phone call," he said.

  • Train for the "unplanned" event: Former NASA astronaut Dr. Tammy Jernigan, a veteran of five Space Shuttle flights, said astronauts trained for a wide range of possible scenarios. "From survival schools to performing intricate procedures underwater, astronauts ‘train to fly' in situations that simulate the space environment," she said. "The training was designed to teach astronauts that even though unexpected events may place you in a situation not of your making, you do have control over how you handle the situation."

  • Adopt and go: Uncertain and fast-paced environments often don't allow the luxury of long reflection. Sometimes leaders have to move forward in spite of uncertainty. Nora Denzel, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hewlett-Packard's Adaptive Enterprise & Software Global Business Unit, said the company faced "multiple technology choices" without a certain answer. After an appropriate period of review, their approach was to: "Pick one, any one, and go, rather than wait for a huge consensus," she said. "Make decisions quick and make them stick. Uncertainty is what bothers people. Speed reduces pain."

These are just a few of the insights from the conference. For a detailed white paper on the Wharton West Leadership Conference, click here.

If you missed the West Coast Leadership Conference, there is still time to sign up for the eighth annual Wharton Leadership Conference in Philadelphia, Leading in an Era of Uncertainty and Change, on June 2, 2004. We can offer $300 tuition benefit to all Wharton@Work: E-Buzz subscribers. Just put Wharton@Work: E-Buzz in the Special Notes section of the registration form.

    

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