Greg Bustin Executive Leadership Blog

On October 8, 2007, future Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells unveiled to a national audience tuned in to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Buffalo Bills a list of rules quarterbacks must follow if they want to be successful in the National Football League.

Parcells’ rules – particularly Rule #9 – proved prophetic that Monday night as the Cowboys overcame quarterback Tony Romo’s five interceptions, a lost fumble and an eight-point deficit with 3:45 minutes in the game to win 25 – 24 in the final seconds.

CEOs are the quarterbacks of their team.  Whether you’re a veteran performer or a new leader – as Romo was at the time – these 11 rules could be helpful as you lead your team back from the worst recession in 80 years.  The rules are Parcells’.  The interpretations are mine.  click here for more...

In the 1960s, 70 million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults.

Concurrent with this phenomenon – or perhaps because of it – cultural change accelerated as the unprecedented size of this group and its members’ newfound power, abundance and willingness to challenge conventional thinking reshaped music, fashion, societal norms, education, politics and the workplace.

Some of this change was refreshing and helpful.  Some was not.

At the time, differences between Boomers (an endearing term applied years later) and their more conservative parents were explained as The Generation Gap.

At the core of the generational differences was a belief codified as “Don’t trust anyone over 30.”

Well, my friends, a gap is back.  And it’s inside your organization.  click here for more...

Due to popular response, this July 2009 bulletin is being re-distributed.

Americans celebrate our freedom from tyranny in the month of July. As we begin the second half of the year, it struck me that our personal and professional effectiveness for the balance of the year (and for the rest of our lives, for that matter) can be enhanced by acting more intentionally on our freedom of choice.

Most of us have the freedom to choose.  We can choose where we want to live.  Where we want to work.  What type of work we want to do.  Who we want to associate with at work and live with at home.   click here for more...

In the consulting firm I founded and led, we had the privilege of working with leaders at dozens of large, highly respected companies, including Avery Dennison, Burger King, Ericsson, Nextel, OGE Energy Corp., PepsiCo, TXU and Trammell Crow Company.

Today, I work mostly with CEOs and leadership teams of small and mid-size companies helping these leaders improve organizational and individual effectiveness.

Whether you work for a large organization or a small business, there’s a good chance you’re now being asked to wear more than one hat.  click here for more...

May 1 is the annual meeting – dubbed Woodstock for Capitalists – for shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, the company led by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.

The following excerpts from Buffett’s February 26 letter to shareholders provide a glimpse of the principles, priorities and practices that have guided Berkshire Hathaway to consistent levels of high performance.  click here for more...

Just 24 months ago, most companies around the world were having good years.

I saw this first-hand as I spoke to groups of executives in the Netherlands, Canada and throughout the U.S.

Sure, not all companies were doing well. Some were just getting by. Yet for many, 2008 was a banner year. Companies in operation for decades were posting record revenues and record profits.

Leaders were understandably pleased with the results. To what, I would ask, do you attribute this stellar performance? Great leadership, the executives would invariably reply – with tongue only partly in cheek.

But at some point in 2008 – earlier in the year for some organizations, later for others – revenue growth began to slow for companies that a few months earlier had generated impressive financial results. By the first quarter of 2009, growth had stalled. By the middle of 2009, sales had slowed to a trickle. Prices were slashed. Shifts were cut. Wages were frozen. Furloughs were initiated. Positions were eliminated and people were fired.

Flat became the new Up. What happened?  click here for more...

Comedian George Carlin was known for mixing observational humor with larger, social commentary.

His groundbreaking 1972 album “Class Clown” featured his most famous monologue, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” Carlin’s routine was aired by a radio station, caught the attention of the FCC and eventually wound up in the U.S. Supreme Court, where, in a 1978 5-4 decision, the high court ruled the FCC had the authority to prohibit such broadcasts (FCC v. Pacifica Foundation).

Regardless of what you think of Carlin’s brand of humor, the point is that Carlin spent a lifetime appreciating and poking fun at the power of words.

Words, after all, give voice to our thoughts. A thought that’s spoken then acted out produces a result. The result can be good. Or the result can be bad.

At a time when there’s still anxiety in the workplace, your colleagues are looking to you for leadership.

And at a time when what worked in the past, may not be working for you now, it’s time to bring a new view.

I’m not suggesting you change your principles. I’m suggesting you re-think your practices..  click here for more...

Last month, I spoke to six groups of CEOs and their key executives in Atlanta, Lexington (Kentucky), Grand Rapids (Michigan) and Richmond (Virginia). These leaders are members of Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO membership organization (www.vistage.com).

We were reminded that in difficult times the role of a leader is more important than ever.

A leader may be a manager, but a manager is not always a leader.

A manager directs and monitors people and the work they do. A leader sets the vision and creates opportunities for people to contribute to the achievement of that vision.

Why is leadership more important than ever? Because while the future may be looking brighter, it’s still uncertain. The workplace may be more active but people are still anxious. Normal routines have been turned upside down.

What if this is the New Normal?   click here for more...

Happy New Year!

You probably know that the Roman god Janus is the origin of the month we call January.

And you’re likely aware that Janus was most often depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions because of his ability to look into the past and see into the future.

But did you know that Janus was frequently used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of the past into the future, of one vision to another, and of one condition to another?

It’s this notion of transitioning from one condition to another that I’ll address here.

In the past three years, I’ve been invited to lead 45 planning sessions for the leadership teams of companies of all sizes, ages and industries, including not-for-profit organizations. The CEOs of most of these companies are members of Vistage, the world’s largest CEO organization (www.vistage.com). And I’ve spoken throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe to hundreds more leaders that are eager to improve their effectiveness.

What I’ve observed is that most organizations are two-faced.  click here for more...