Leaders and Strategies in Real Life: 8/13/19

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Instead of studying leadership, why not spend some time studying leaders and strategies in the wild? You can learn a lot from leadership experts, but you always see the leader and what he or she does through the expert’s personal lens. Supplement that learning with studying real leaders in real life situations and draw your own conclusions. The posts in this series will help you.

Every week I’ll point you to articles by and about real leaders in real situations and to articles about how real companies are faring in the marketplace. Read them. Think about them. Draw your own lessons and conclusions from them. Then try to apply those lessons in your own real life.

This week I’m pointing you to articles about Marico, Microsoft, GE Appliances, and Walmart.

From Vinika D. Rao: Oiling the Wheels of Change in Traditional Business: The Marico Story

“How a traditional family business built on spice became a multinational giant of consumer goods.”

From the Economist: Microsoft’s transformation required a change of culture

“LIKE AN NFL changing room, the technology industry is littered with the bodies of fallen champions, from AOL to Yahoo to Blackberry, in urgent need of rehabilitation. Ten years ago many might have expected Microsoft to end up in the same state. But the software giant has made a startling comeback, regularly vying for the title of the most valuable company on global stockmarkets, with a market capitalisation above $1trn.”

From Adrienne M. Selko: GE Appliances Uses Hands-On Approach to Boost Leadership Lean IQ

“The company created a hands-on leadership program called the Appliances Production System (APS) Immersion to raise lean knowledge.”

From Julia Hanna: Walmart’s Workforce of the Future

“A recent case study by William Kerr explores Walmart’s efforts on workforce makeup and training, digital infrastructure, and automation technology.”

From Robin Lewis: Walmart’s Losing Money in Its e-Commerce Business! So What?

“Is Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart beginning to buckle under the pressure from last century’s comfortable mindsets and a culture that has succeeded by doing the things they’ve always done, but just doing them better? Are stakeholders pushing back (the board included) on the radical transformation McMillon has set forth? Further, is he caving in under the relentlessly demanding Wall Street ‘short-termers?’ Even though Walmart won’t get an Amazon-like pass, in our opinion, McMillon must continue his bold charge forward to transform Walmart.”

For some ideas about how to get more from this series of posts, check out “Studying Leaders in the Wild.

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