Level 4: The Coalition of the Willing

You can feel the difference here. Most leaders stop too soon. In We’re All In, I described one of the most instructive cultural turnaround stories I have come across: the New Aetna. In the early 2000s, Aetna Healthcare was in serious trouble. It was losing roughly a million dollars a day. Its relationships with customers and … Read more

Level 2: The Follower Culture

It’s more organized than Level 1. It’s also more rigid. In We’re All In, I described what I witnessed as a young officer in the U.S. Army in West Germany in the mid-1970s. It was, looking back, a perfect example of a Follower culture at scale. The Army was in crisis. The clash of a … Read more

Who Is Your Battle Buddy in the Boardroom?

Why Every CEO Needs a Trusted Advisor Who Has Been in the Trenches In the military, the battle buddy concept is non-negotiable. You never go anywhere alone. Your battle buddy is your trusted partner, the person who shares your risks, watches your blind spots, holds you accountable when it matters most, and tells you the … Read more

Level 1: The Nametag Culture

When people show up but never buy in, and the clock is already running. In We’re All In, I described several case studies where cultures had decayed to the point of causing serious harm — not just to their bottom lines, but to real people. One of them was Barclays Bank. Barclays was among the leading … Read more

From Compliance to Commitment: How Adaptive Leadership Transforms Organizations

The old directive leadership style no longer works. Discover why a culture of commitment and adaptive communication are essential for executive success. Recently I sat down with George Torok, host of Your Intended Message, a business communication podcast, to discuss how Adaptive Leadership and effective communication are inseparable. For decades, many business leaders operated under a … Read more

Why Adaptive Leaders Must Adapt Now

The world didn’t send us a memo. But it did send a message. When I was writing The Power of Being All In, I had the opportunity to interview a number of senior leaders across industries about the leadership challenges they were navigating in a changed world. One of those conversations has stayed with me. … Read more