Leadership Vanguard NYC Discoveries - December 2015

The Leadership Vanguard – New York Discoveries

Highlights from the Leadership Vanguard Global Exchange held in New York on 17-19 November 2015

Reinventing leadership. Reinventing growth.

Introduction 04

01 / Takeaway One 06 Old power, meet new power

02 / Takeaway Two 08 To learn how the tiger hunts,

go to the jungle, not the zoo

03 / Takeaway Three 10 Your brain will soon be in your pocket

04 / Takeaway Four 12 If no one’s listening, change the conversation

05 / Takeaway Five 14 The limits of your true potential are far

beyond the borders of your comfort zone

06 / Takeaway Six 16 Find your own ‘why’?

07 / Takeaway Seven 18 Who is the mentor and who is the mentee

08 / Takeaway Eight 20 The Vanguard – the anti-echo chamber

09 / Takeaway Nine 22 The more you give, the more you will receive

10 / Takeaway Ten 24 Negativity is the enemy inside our own minds

11 / Takeaway Eleven 26 Technology can drive us apart

12 / Takeaway Twelve 28 But technology can also bring us together

Xyntéo alone is responsible for this document and any errors it contains

Xyntéo © November 2015

Registered address:

3 Wesley Gate

Queen’s Road

Reading

RG1 4AP

United Kingdom

Registered in England number: 5314641

VAT registration number: 857 5824 79

Designed and typeset by oneagency.co



Contents

Introduction The Leadership Vanguard Global Exchange / Key Takeaways

4

Introduction to the Leadership Vanguard Global Exchange NYC —

The Leadership Vanguard gathered in New York on 17-19 November 2015 for the third and �nal Global Vanguard Exchange of its �rst year, following the exchanges in Singapore and Lisbon. This marked the end of year one and the beginning of year two, and saw next-generation leaders from across a range of companies meet to discuss the most pressing leadership challenges of our day.

It has been an incredible first year for the Leadership Vanguard

catalysts; future leaders from the partners Unilever, MasterCard,

DNV GL, Woodside and EDB of Singapore. Aided by beacons,

pathfinders and mentors, they have worked hard and come far since

Professor Bob Thurman, Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb and David

Bodanis helped us kick off the initiative at the Tate Museum in London

just one year ago. They have learned from and engaged with over

100 thought leaders, from counter-insurgency experts, humanitarian

leaders and Buddhist monks to scenarios planners, social media

pioneers, science historians and policy makers. They have met

face-to-face five times, met virtually over 100 times, posted 1500 times

on Yammer, blogged about their learnings, and incubated four project

pilots. They have also helped build a community of leaders that is

trying to drive material change towards future-fit growth.

In New York, the time had come to pass the baton over to year two.

With three new partners, Energias de Portugal, the International

Committee of the Red Cross and Ericsson, and a 60% increase in the

amount of catalysts participating, the Leadership Vanguard holds

great promise for its second year.

Gathered in this document are the stand-out moments and reflections

from our time together in New York.

Key Takeaway 01

The Leadership Vanguard Global Exchange / Key Takeaways

6

01 —Key Takeaway One Old power,meet new power —

A de�ning leadership challenge today is how to contend with the shift from ‘old power’ to ‘new power’. What does that mean? According to Jeremy Heimans, political activist and co-founder and CEO of the mobilising platform Purpose, it means that the power to create change in society is no longer held in the hands of the few, but in the hands of the many. It is no longer closed and leader-driven; this new power is open and driven by peers. Old power could be hoarded like a currency, but new power acts like a current, at its most powerful when it surges and �ows. Old power was driven from above, focusing on ‘downloads’, but new power rises up from below, driven by ‘uploads’ – sharing, contributions and participation.

This power shift is not just about technology and the advent of social

media. New power is not simply a Facebook page or a Twitter handle.

Though the Arab Spring is often referred to as the ‘Twitter revolution’,

remember that Assad, too, has an active presence not only on Twitter,

but also Instagram. Social media is just the tool. New power is about

how those tools are being used to drive the pressure from below

to topple the old structures on top. Neither is new power inherently

positive. ISIS is using new power with great success to spread

a disturbing and murderous ideology.

If you’re old power – my first piece of advice is to occupy yourself before you are occupied”Jeremy Heimans Purpose

Key Takeaway 02


8

02 —Key Takeaway Two To learn how the tiger hunts, go to the jungle, not the zoo —

A core deliverable of the Leadership Vanguard is to develop projects that test and advance future-�t growth. In our pilot year we developed two ideas focused on Myanmar – speci�cally how businesses could help put the country on the right growth trajectory. One of these projects is dedicated to providing renewable energy to remote villages, and the other aims to prevent the country from falling victim to the ‘resource curse’. When we presented these ideas to our panel in Lisbon (Per Heggenes, CEO of IKEA Foundation; Remi Eriksen, president and CEO of DNV GL Group; Angela Wilkinson, strategic foresight counsellor at OECD; and Bill Drayton, CEO of Ashoka), the most resounding piece of feedback we received was a) ‘Wonderful!’ and b) ‘What do the locals think? Have you talked to people in Myanmar?’.

So we went to Myanmar. We discovered that the villagers, though

certainly poor, were not miserable; they seem to live happy lives with

what they had. They were not technologically backward; almost every

student we met had a smart phone. And we saw that rural Myanmar was

not, in fact, a complete wasteland, covered by thick jungle; we found

instead a functioning society with roads, houses and schools. Getting

feet on the ground and going to where the problem is – this seems an

obvious thing to do, a no-brainer even. But in our quest for efficiency we

often neglect the dangers of rushing to solution without understanding

the different dimensions of the problem. In this era of wicked problems

– which multiply the risk of unintended consequences – it is especially

important to be thoughtful. Exploration is vital.

Our key breakthroughs came with the two field trips to Myanmar. We visited villages, met with local businesses, entrepreneurs and NGOs. We had assumed that those villages were all at the same starting point, completely identical, when in fact they are vastly different; in sizes, geography, technological advancement, access to energy and what they really wanted from a project like this”Eric Schneider MasterCard

Key Takeaway 03


10

03 —Key Takeaway Three Your brain will soon be in your pocket —

We are already seeing staggering developments in arti�cial body parts; replacing knees, hands, heart valves and more. The next frontier is our brain. Early applications will be restorative and corrective, repairing damaged tissue from accidents or birth defects. But not too far beyond that, actual brain augmentation will become a reality. That means learning French or mastering mathematics by simply sliding a chip into your head. It seems like science �ction, but not too long ago so did self-driving cars and voice-controlled gadgets that give you directions. Once this technology is available, we will �nd ourselves confronted by some sticky ethical and moral questions. Who decides who gets what? Will money decide?

The big revolution right now is that everything is happening on mobile. The average human being looks at his or her phone 150 times a day”Pedro Pina Google

With mobile phones becoming our main computers, the future really

is in our hands. With 1.9 billion smart phones in the world, the way we

work, learn and play is changing dramatically. We no longer need to

remember stats, food recipes or that shortcut to the mall, and we know

(and like!) what our friends and family have been up to long before we

meet at the dinner table. These little brains in our pockets are taking

over more and more of our thinking and planning, and simultaneously

customising our content.

As humans are developing computers and technology at a breath-

taking pace, how is this technology also ‘developing’ us?

Today we’re still moving along the curve of Moore’s law with the power of computers double approximately every two years. We’re getting close to the human brain. Siri is still about five magnitudes dumber than your brain! But we are closing that gap pretty fast. As a technologist I can say there’s no reason that that curve looks to stop. By 2025, when you’ve got the equivalent of your brain in your pocket, what is that going to mean? It’s going to change EVERYTHING!”Paul Horn New York University

Key Takeaway 04


12

04 —Key Takeaway Four If no one’s listening, change the conversation —

New power spreads like a wild�re from the bottom up, but it still needs someone to ignite it. Martin Luther lit the fuse of the reformation when he hammered his 95 theses onto a church door. Martin Luther King rallied thousands of people around the cause of civil liberties by preaching nonviolence.

Changing the dominant conversation takes more than information.

Humans are not rational beings. We see the limits of empiricism

clearly in the recent past of climate science. Despite the weight of

the facts, and their wide dissemination, scientists have struggled to

ignite the action when it was required. Chris Rapley, professor of

climate science at University College London, says: ‘We all like to think

that we’re very open to evidence, but all of the evidence suggests

that we are not. In fact, the evidence tells us that the smarter you are,

the better you are at self-justifying and retrenching your position.’

According to professor Rapley it is not enough for scientists to point to

data – they need to be leaders and communicators as well, making

meaning of this data and connecting with their stakeholders’ emotions.

This does not mean that leaders should abandon empiricism and

evidence. On the contrary. Part of the problem with some leaders

today is that they are proposing irrational action and packaging it

up as logical and pragmatic. So the Donald Trumps of this world may

make frightened, frustrated people feel better, but his proposals seem

to have only a weak relationship to the problems they purport to solve.

Tristram Stuart, a colleague of mine, wanted to help change people’s mind-sets about food waste, but he got nowhere with the supermarket chains. He invited 5000 people to Trafalgar Square, to eat recycled food cooked by the most famous chefs in England. By the time he went back to the supermarket chains to discuss the topic, the conversation had changed completely. Suddenly everyone had heard about food waste.”Valeria Budinich Ashoka Foundation

Key Takeaway 05


14

05 —Key Takeaway Five The limits of your true potential are far beyond the borders of your comfort zone —

The catalysts are all talented and capable people. Driven and e£ective, we want to know: what is the deliverable? When can we get down to action? And this is vital – part of what makes a Vanguard leader is a strong bias for movement, the ability and willingness to take action against considerable uncertainty. But Vanguard leadership means also attacking wicked, systems, problems, which by de�nition defy hasty action. Einstein said: ‘If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and �ve minutes on the solution’.

That is why we use phase one to explore, resisting the urge to dive

into solutions and ideas. We take the time to venture far afield from

our home industries, to get under the skin of subjects we normally

don’t encounter, challenging ourselves to consider them from

unfamiliar points of view. Without this exploration we cannot create

the space for the transformative ideas we need. According to Larry

Page, CEO of Google, the last couple of decades have been marked

by incremental innovation, as businesses tried to eke out more and

more efficiency. The result has been that we have become better and

better at doing the same things faster and faster. We’ve saved money

and increased productivity but we’re effectively stuck in the same

tracks. Google X’s philosophy is to pursue only radical innovation

– ‘moonshot’ ideas that make a ‘10x’ improvement of what already

exists – in the belief that it can actually be easier to build something

completely new rather than try to retrofit old structures.

Don’t dismiss the big, hairy questions. Don’t focus on areas close to your day jobs; you will not grow. Get out of your comfort zones”Harald Melwisch Unilever

Key Takeaway 06


16

06 —Key Takeaway Six Find your own ‘why’? —

We live in times of immense change. What helps companies stay relevant through such tumultuous times is their ability to innovate their business model around a timeless, human-centred mission. Several Vanguard partner organisations have been around for more than 130 years. Unilever was started by the Lever brothers in 1885, while the roots of DNV GL go back to 1864.

According to Simon Sinek, author and speaker on the topic of

purpose, it’s not the ‘what’ or ‘how’ that gives organisations (or

leaders) their power; it’s the ‘why?’ As he says; ‘Inspired leaders and

organisations – regardless of their size, regardless of their industry –

all think, act and communicate from the inside out.’

His favourite example is Apple, the highest valued company in the

world. The company creates and sells computers, smart phones

and music. But that’s not what is communicated. Sinek highlights the

difference: ‘We believe in challenging the status quo with everything

we do. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the

status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to

use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers.

Want to buy one?’

Each of you will take a separate, personal drive with you from the Vanguard. I found incredible inspiration in Lisbon, sitting next to a pathfinder. As a result I started my own NGO”Yasemin Bedir MasterCard

Key Takeaway 07


18

07 —Key Takeaway Seven Who is the mentor and who is the mentee —

In a survey by Harvard Business Review in April 2015, 71% of the CEOs asked said they were certain that company performance had improved as a result of mentorship.

John Knight, EVP of Global Strategy and Business Development

at Statoil, who mentored Sascha Müller of DNV GL; Yves Daccord,

Director-General of ICRC, who mentored Hanneke Willenborg

of Unilever, and; Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of EDB, who mentored

Tok Kian Seng of DNV GL, are just some of the year-one mentors who

have shared with us that they found incredible value in the process.

One even quipped: ‘Sometimes it’s hard to know who’s the mentor

and who’s the mentee.’

Vanguard mentorship is a two-way education. While mentees receive

guidance and challenges, mentors can get valuable knowledge

about talent acquisition and retention. Insight into trends from other

industries and sectors. An outlet for their own ideas and experience,

and the chance to interact with someone outside their regular circles.

Many leaders got there not because of expertise but because they had mentors along the way. CEOs are committed to making an impact along the way for the next generation. So seek out your mentor, identify the areas you’d like to focus on, the competencies you’d like to develop”Beh Swan Gin EDB of Singapore

Key Takeaway 08


20

08 —Key Takeaway Eight The Vanguard – the anti-echo chamber —

The ‘soap company’ that is working with Google and policymakers to stop illegal palm oil production in southeast Asia? The transactions company that is �ghting for �nancial inclusion in the developing world? In Unilever and MasterCard, we see two examples that, to succeed in a competitive environment de�ned by wicked problems, companies need to think and act beyond their companies and industries to the entire system in which they operate.

At the same time, it is impractical for companies to hire for all the

capabilities they need to function across systems. Could the Leadership

Vanguard be a way of complementing home-grown skills with

capabilities from across the wider system?

As the Vanguard enters year two, our partnership consists of five

global companies from different industries as well as EDB and

the ICRC. Catalysts hail from Asia, North and South America,

Europe, Australia and Africa, representing over 20 nationalities.

We have mechanical, data and chemical engineers, ship builders,

technologists, marketers, HR professionals, food safety and business

development specialists. In our pilot year we interacted with and

learned from over 100 beacons and pathfinders, giving us a much

wider pool of insights and wisdom.

We cannot develop all the leadership capacities that we need internally, so we need to look externally”Remi Eriksen DNV GL

Key Takeaway 09


22

09 —Key Takeaway Nine The more you give, the more you will receive —

Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, made headlines last year when he openly shared all of Tesla's patents. This choice was driven by his personal purpose: to solve tomorrow’s energy needs. He realised that by developing cars, solar panels and energy storage in secrecy behind high, patent-protecting walls, he would not reach that goal. But the move simultaneously makes a lot of business sense. Tesla is uniquely successful at making electric cars, and the more common and widespread electric cars become, the more cars Tesla will sell. So why not help the rest of the auto industry catch up and get rid of fossil fuel cars?

In Lisbon, Bob Thurman told us how capitalism in its original form was

inherently generous. It was about using the wealth you have to create

more wealth for other people. How can you make those around you

succeed just as much as yourself? Not just by easing their struggles,

but by actively helping them become better? You will find that the

more you give, the more others give back, and as you spend time

and energy on helping them succeed, they will spend the same to

help you. As Franklin Roosevelt said: ‘It is amazing how much you can

accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.’

One thing that has amazed me with this group is how you inspire others, how you give something to people around you so they feel enriched and stronger”Osvald Bjelland Xyntéo

Key Takeaway 10


24

10 —Key Takeaway Ten Negativity is the enemy inside our own minds —

In year one we explored people’s attraction to bad news. Why are we so much more apt to read a story about a death from disease than about the successful cure? This is partially because it is ingrained in our brains. When Stone-Age humans looked out the cave opening, those who enjoyed the blue sky instead of looking for predatory animals might not have made it to sundown. So we are always on the lookout for danger and threats, even if the only danger is a failed idea, some wasted time or stepping out of our comfort zone.

But it is also because 'yes' demands effort. ‘No’ is easy because it

accepts the status quo and assumes that change is impractical. ‘Yes’,

on the other hand, assumes that stasis is impractical and demands

a break from established wisdom. Most of us have ‘no’ as our go-to

answer; we think transformation is naïve. But as a year-one catalyst

said in Lisbon: ‘We must dare to be a bit naïve.’

You’re in the Vanguard - you’ve been chosen. It all seems nice, but you’re programmed to think it won’t work. It feels overwhelming. That is the enemy inside our mind. Deep down, there’s an idea that the good is weaker. But that’s crippling. The mantra you must keep repeating to yourself is: ‘Everything is possible. I am powerful. Whatever choice I make has infinite impact. It goes on beyond me.’ That’s infinitely more valuable than thinking about what can’t be achieved”Bob Thurman Columbia University

Key Takeaway 11


26

11 —Key Takeaway Eleven Technology can drive us apart —

Einstein said: ‘Information is not knowledge’. When we Google something, the results are not standard for that search; they are shaped by what we have Googled before. Most smart phones now have news apps that cater to the topics you are interested in, ignoring anything else. And through social media, we are connected with more people who feel like us, think like us, and vote like us. This polarising ‘echo-chamber’ e£ect gives us a heightened sense of security and belonging, but it ultimately leads to a division of society that skews reality. It has become extra visible during high-pressure situations such as the European refugee crisis, the climate negotiations in Paris or the looming US election.

Leaders need to break out of these echo-chambers to seek balanced

information and reliable evidence upon which to base their decision

making. In this landscape, the Leadership Vanguard can function as

a powerful ‘anti-echo chamber’ - a place in which to canvas a wide

spectrum of information and opinions, and to have our ideas

sense-checked by people of different industries, geographies

and disciplines.

Social media is not only bringing people together; it also has huge polarising effects. Over the last decade, the blogosphere has divided US politics to the degree that the two sides are no longer speaking. Communities only talk with communities and become polarised”Paul Horn New York University

Key Takeaway 12


28

12 —Key Takeaway Twelve But technology can also bring us together —

Observing the role of emerging mobile technologies in society, and especially the smart phones that Paul Horn and Pedro Pina pointed out were becoming ‘our new brains’, it is hard to see them as anything but driving loneliness and individual time glued to the screens. But used right, these technologies can also bring people together, around a shared purpose, interest or calling.

As Jeremy Heimans reflected, technology is not new power in and

of itself; it is simply the tool of new power, empowering people to

go beyond the large structures of old business platforms. Etsy is

disrupting the clothing, jewellery and accessories industries, where

large chains own most of the market, making it near-impossible for

small-time operators to sell their goods. Etsy connects person to

person, maker to consumer, so they can meet and get to know each

other, through its ‘same-day delivery’ approach. This creates human

connections outside large, established systems, much like Uber is

doing with transport and Airbnb with accommodations.

The technology is the enabler and facilitator, but the actual driver is

human needs and desires. The same approach also helped Beah, the

girl from Rio de Janeiro whose story Jeremy shared with us, rally an

entire neighbourhood to support her in saving her school, which was

due to be demolished. The tools are there for us to use.

We’ve just launched same-day delivery, which is drones for other companies, but we do it when it’s locally-based. 'We’re both in Brooklyn, let’s meet up and exchange it at a coffee shop.' That’s all through mobile phones and geo-locating and such. At the end of the day we can’t compete with Amazon financially, all we can do is focus on something that’s authentic and relationship driven”Matt Stinchcomb Etsy



theleadershipvanguard.com

Documents

Leadership Vanguard NYC Discoveries - December 2015