20 Years of McCuistion: Motivation and Leadership

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series 20 Years of McCuistion

Motivation is often defined as that which gives purpose; action toward a desired goal. Sharing their stories on motivation on this 20^th anniversary segment are several of the leading motivational speakers in the country.

We hear from motivational speakers:

The late, Rosita Perez, CPAE
Ed Foreman, CPAE, Founder of the Successful Life Program
Vinnie Roazzi, successful businessman and the author of The Spirituality of Success
Margo Chisholm, mountaineer and author of To The Summit

We also hear from corporate governance and leadership experts:

Sharon Allen, Chairman of Deloitte and Touche, LLP
Bill George, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and former Medtronic CEO
Todd Bluedorn, CEO of Lennox International

… and many, many more.

Motivation

The late, Rosita Perez has the audience chuckling in the segment on The Healing Power of Humor as she describes her cold remedies when she is under the weather.

Ed Foremen joined us in 1994 and again in the studio the evening of the program’s taping. He talks about a motorcycle trip- and driving back to Texas from Louisiana. To test the bike he pushed the speed and flew down the road. All was well until he saw the flashing lights behind him. He had one thought (only briefly) of gunning the motor and crossing the Texas border. Of course he didn’t and when he stopped, the State Trooper asked for his license and said he had been clocked at 113 mph. Looking the license the trooper did a double take- “You’re 75 years old? Maybe you should act your age and you’d be a lot safer driving your age!”

Vinnie Roazzi and Margo Chisholm joined us in 1999, along with the late Art Berg, CPAE. The each spoke about their separate life challenges. Art Berg shared his story of the car accident that left him a quadriplegic and how life still goes on after the worst happens.

The notables are joined by Bob Buford, author of Halftime and Jim Sirbasku, of Profiles International, who assesses Dennis McCuistion’s leadership style- on camera, much to Dennis’s and the audience’s amusement. The motivation segment concludes with the late Ray Pellitier, CPAE, talking about coaching champions, as well as this author, Niki McCuistion, a coach and consultant, on the critical role coaching plays in helping individuals reach their goals.

Leadership and Governance

From motivation the program goes on to discuss leadership and governance. Dennis McCuistion talks about Jeff Skilling of Enron and how values and ethics are critical to successful leadership. Sharon Allen, Chairman of Deloitte and Touche, LLP and Todd Bluedorn, CEO of Lennox International, Inc. both comment on governance and ethics in corporate America, and how critical a role values play in the success of a company.

And to end the retrospective on motivation and leadership, Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronics and a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard, joins us from another segment to emphasize values in leadership and their critical role.

This program is one you won’t want to miss as it goes from humor, to inspiration and on to practical “how to’s”.

***

1817 – 02.21.10

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Posted by admin on Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Filed under Featured Program · Tagged with 1800, 1817, 2010, bill george, Deloitte, leadership, motivation, Sharon Allen

Is Corporate Ethics an Oxymoron?

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series corporate governance

Amidst the financial meltdown over the last few years, there has been a seeming breakdown of the ethics of corporate executives. Some observers believed that the regulatory changes under Sarbanes-Oxley legislation passed in 2002 would eliminate illegal and unethical behavior, but is that the case?

Joining Dennis McCuistion to discuss this and other issues surrounding this question are:

Sharon Allen: Chairman of Deloitte LLP
Todd M. Bluedorn: CEO of Lennox International,Inc
Jared Richardson: Sr. Counsel of Energy Future Holdings

Todd Bluedorn tells us that essentially corporate ethics are about basic compliance, “you don’t lie, cheat or steal.” He believes that there is more to this though, “It’s about selfless leadership… and a balance, not just being selfish. It’s also courage and an internal and moral ability and willingness to speak to truth.”

Sharon Allen tells us that the overall outlook for corporate America is good, it’s encouraging. Companies are focused on being good, ethical citizens, extending that to their employees and the individual stakeholders they serve. “It’s important to instill that… It’s too easy to say, ‘that’s business and that’s personal.’ No, ethics are ethics.”

Jared Richardson tells us that in any industry there is a code of ethics. A company is its “Ethos – which develops from the people that make up the organization.”

Dennis mentions Enron, one of the biggest debacles and corporate bankruptcies in history and asks about Enron’s corporate ethics. He mentions that Jeff Skilling had been interviewed by us in 2001 and made a point of referencing the companies 64 page ethics manual. Skilling also spoke to a group at Southern Methodist University that day- and he shows a short clip of that presentation, asking “was a lack of ethics involved in the downturn of Enron?” Todd’s comment: “Skilling would have failed the selfless test!’

The guests agree it’s important to differentiate what has happened in the last 18 months from “just” ethical causes. The meltdown was as a result of much more- structural issues and other fundamantal causes.

As Sharon reminds us regarding Sarbanes-Oxley,

“No oversight will ever solve internal problems… It still comes down to how an organization presents and governs.” Sharon cites a Deloitte study, that employees first look at ”their manager and then their direct supervisor for their moral compass,” before other factors such as positive reinforcement, compensation and their peers.

Todd reminds us that,”It’s important to have structure and compliance and to force people to face commitments. It’s not only relying on good people and leadership.”

Jared agrees, that yes, it’s about the tone at the top and the direction from senior leadership and establishing a culture of ethical compliance. But, he says,

“It goes beyond that, beyond the legal limits, if you will. It’s more than just the folks at the top, it’s at every level. The person you hire today at a starting analyst position may be a senior manager tomorrow.”

In response Dennis introduces a Pinkerton study that says 30% of the population not only will steal if the opportunity arises, they will create an opportunity to do so. Forty percent will steal if there is little danger of getting caught, and 30% won’t steal at all.

The guests discuss the pressure that organizations are under to produce, most especially in business downturns. They touch on the global economy and how there may be “unique practices acceptable elsewhere but not here.” Yes, global organizations are coalescing around acceptable standards.

Statistics on why people make unethical decisions in the workplace are discussed:

80% Lack of personal integrity
60% Job dissatisfaction
44% Financial rewards
41% Pressure to meet goals
39% Ignorance of code of conduct

They concur that at the end of the day- its still about personal integrity.

Todd Bluedorn leaves us with a thought that summarizes the theme behind this program, “If you live for today, you’re going to lose tomorrow.”

And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance,University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.