INDEX
Accountability: focusing on less-critical issues can affect, 155; own your decisions, 142; Xerox's customer ownership mentality and, 77
Advisors. See Network of advisors
After-action review, 113
Amazon: “outside-insider” mentality of, 74–75, 165–166; revolutionary retail approach of, 3; unique performance metrics used by, 75
Apple Computer: competitor's dismissal of iPhone of, 77; how Jobs's curiosity benefited, 86; Jobs's work to create a strong team at, 148; Macintosh team at, 9–10; Microsoft's competition with, 53; revitalization under Steve Jobs, 9, 15; Samsung's competition with, 87; seizing on Xerox's failure to act, 26; short-cycle reviews of progress conducted at, 109; Steve Jobs's founding and leadership of, 7–10; “think different” advertising campaign of, 9. See also Jobs, Steve
“Asking the right questions,” 93–95
Assessment: developmental tests used for, 104; skip-level interviews of team members, 102–103; 360-degree assessments of your leadership, 98–100, 114, 137; 360-degree assessments of your team, 103–104, 115; tracking your decisions over time, 97–98; of your team's effectiveness, 101–102
Awareness: actions for increasing, 87–89; of customers and markets, 73–78, 88; of frontline colleagues, 78–83, 88; of high potentials, 83–85, 88–89; knowledge gained from seeing it for yourself, 90; learning log used to increase, 90; of outsiders, 85–87, 89. See also Self-awareness
Awareness actions: examining, 87, 90; knowledge gained from seeing it for yourself, 90; summary of actions moving forward, 88–89
B
BAE Systems, Inc., 127
Bain Capital, 31
Bank One, 10
Barings Bank, 120
Barron's, 139
The Beatles, 148
Behavioral flags: multiple sources of signals or, 124–125; paying attention to, 122–125, 130; types of behaviors, 122–124; weak signals or, 119–120
Beliefs. See Leader beliefs
Berkshire Hathaway, 107
Bezos, Jeff: insider-outsider mentality, 74–75, 165–166; revolutionary retail approach by, 3
Bird, Brad, 152
Black, Cathleen, 56
BlackBerry, 77
Blindspot identification: complete the leadership blindspot survey, 32–33; review your mistakes, 30–31; solicit feedback from those who know you, 31–32
Blindspot matrix: four types of leadership awareness in, 18, 20–21; illustration of the, 18; known strengths: you know what you know, 18; known weaknesses: you know what you don't know, 18, 19; showing increasing leader awareness, 21; showing increasing leader capacity, 21; unknown strengths: you don't know what you know, 18, 19–20
Blindspot situational factors: cognitive dissonance, 60–61; emotional bias, 59–60; experience gaps, 57–58; hierarchical distortions, 62–63; information overload, 58–59; misaligned incentives, 61–62; overconfidence, 63–65
Blindspot types: about your company, 38, 39, 48–51; about your markets, 38, 39, 52–54; about yourself, 38, 39, 40–44; about your team, 38, 39, 44–48
Blindspots: definition of, 18, 20–21; degrees of blindness, 22–28; growing self-awareness of your own, 17–18; identifying your own, 30–33; organizational culture that matches, 169–170; overcoming, 66–68; recognizing and learning to live with, 16; responses to, 28–29; self-confidence and self-doubt mediation by, 5–6; tenacity of, 57–65; willful, 65–66. See also Managing blindspots
Blindspots about your company: 13: failing to capture hearts and minds, 39, 48–49; 14: losing touch with your shop floor, 39, 49; 15: treating information and opinion as fact, 39, 50; 16: misreading the political landscape, 39, 50–51; 17: putting personal ambition before the company, 39, 51
Blindspots about your market: 18: clinging to the status quo, 39, 52; 19: underestimating your competitors, 39, 52–53; 20: being overly optimistic, 39, 53–54
Blindspots about your team: 7: failing to focus on the vital few issues, 39, 44–45; 8: not understanding your team model, 39, 45–46; 9: overrating the talent on your team, 39, 46; 10: avoiding the tough conversations, 39, 46–47; 11: trusting the wrong individuals, 39, 47
Blindspots about yourself: 1: overestimating your strategic capabilities, 39, 40; 2: valuing being right over being effective, 39, 40–41; 3: failing to balance the what with the how, 39, 41–42; 4: not seeing your impact on others, 39, 42–43; 5: believing the rules don't apply to you, 39, 43–44; 6: thinking the present is the past, 39, 44; description and example of, 38
Blogs: MyStarbucksIdea, 78; Wal-Mart's Lee's Garage, 82–83
Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim and Mauborgne), 87
BP oil spill, 112
Broadwell, Pamela, 64
Buffett, Warren, 107
C
Carlyle, 139
Caterpillar, 72
Central Intelligence Agency, 95
CEOs. See Leaders
Challenger shuttle disaster, 112
Challenging core assumptions, 111–112
Charles Schwab, 139
Chenault, Ken, 165
“Chosen” mentality belief, 9
Ciampa, Dan, 132
Citibank, 10
Citicorp, 167
Closed-ended questions, 93
Coach advisors, 138
Coca-Cola, 150
Collins, Jim, 161
Columbia shuttle disaster (2003): blindspots leading to the, 169; failure to ask the right questions contributing to, 94; failure to obtain necessary information contributing to, 65; how faulty assessment contributed to the, 23–25, 67; how inability to listen contributed to, 129; inability to see warning signs of the, 120; postmortem following the, 112
Common blindspots: about your company, 38, 39, 48–51; about your markets, 38, 39, 52–54; about your team, 38, 39, 44–48; about yourself, 38, 39, 40–44; derailing types of, 37–40; Lance Armstrong's example of self-delusion, 35–37
Communication: dynamics of communication distortions, 119, 120; learn to listen as part of your, 128–129, 130; promoting culture of straight talk, 119. See also Feedback
Company: blindspots about your, 39, 48–51; conduct deep dives in targeted areas of your, 108–109, 115; having advisors who offer independent views of your, 135–136, 145; perform short-cycle reviews of progress at your, 109–110, 115; review strategic performance metrics with your team, 105; solicit input from newcomers, outgoers, and outliers, 105–108; surface disconfirming data about your, 104–110; ten years of unmitigated success to destroy a, 110. See also Organizational culture
Compensating mechanisms: develop peripheral vision, 66–67; find trusted advisors, 67; promote productive fights, 67–68; see it for yourself, 66; seek out disconfirming data, 66
Competition: between Apple and Microsoft, 53; Sam Walton's study of his, 78; underestimating your, 39, 52–53; understanding how they meet customer needs, 77–78
Confidence: benefits of having, 4; benefits of having optimal margin of illusion, 5, 6, 165; challenge of balancing doubt and, 6–7, 165–171; how blindspots mediate between self-doubts and, 5–6; successful leader's ability to act with, 3–4. See also Overconfidence/hubris
Confidence-doubt balancing: ability of successful leaders to do, 3–5, 165–171; “productive narcissist” example of, 6–7, 143; surgeon training example of, 6
Confirmation bias, 59, 60, 95–96. See also Seeking disconfirming data action
Conflict: efforts to avoid, 149; embrace high-level and shun low-level, 155–157, 163; establishing ground rules for, 157–161, 164; promoting productive fights and, 67–68, 150–171
Contrarians: benefits of getting the perspectives of, 125; creating openings for, 125–126
Cook, Tim, 10
Correlated errors trap, 158
Crisis management advisors, 136–137, 145
Curiosity: as counterforce for rejecting differing opinions, 151; of outsiders, 86–87
Customer ownership mentality, 77
Customers: actions for increasing awareness of, 88; Amazon's metrics to assess performance with, 75; Amazon's successful approach to, 74–75; increasing awareness and perspective of, 73–78; J. Crew's approach to, 76–77; Lou Gerstner's approach reaching out to IBM, 74; plan of action for increasing awareness of, 89; Steve Jobs's approach to, 74. See also Markets
D
Darwin, Charles, 97
Data. See Information
Daytona 500 race tweets, 78
“Deal fever,” 96
Decision making: “filling in the gaps” occurrence in, 25; ground rules promoting productive conflict during, 158–160, 164; narrative fallacy affecting, 25; peripheral vision while focused on, 122; promoting culture of straight talk for, 119; response to blindspot and “below the waterline,” 28–29; three-strike rule to raise concerns during, 127–128
Decisions: ensuring one voice on execution of, 161–162, 164; narrative fallacy affecting, 25; own your, 142; productive conflict to make better, 158–160, 164; tracking over time, 97–98, 114
Degrees of blindness: failure to act, 25–26, 27, 28; faulty assessment, 23–25, 27; lack of awareness, 22–23, 27
Developing peripheral vision actions: to avoid communication distortions, 120; create openings for contrarians, 125–126, 130; establish a three-strike rule, 127–128, 130; know your team members, 121–122, 130; learn to listen, 128–129, 130; overcoming blindspots using, 66–67; pay attention to behavioral flags, 122–125, 130; scenario for examining need for, 118–121. See also Peripheral vision
“Developing Peripheral Vision” (Shaw and Ronald), 117
Developmental tests, 104
Devil's advocate: becoming your own, 96–97, 114; description and function of, 96
Dialogue sessions, 129
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), 15–16
Dimon, Jamie: blindspots about his team and JPMorgan, 10–13, 15, 62, 137; failure to ask the right questions, 93; failure to see for himself, 72
Drexler, Mickey, 67, 76–77, 81, 166–167
Dunning, David, 63
E
Echo chambers, 166
“Ecology of their delusions,” 10
E-mail traffic flag, 124
Enron scandal, 154
Expert advisors, 138
F
Facebook, 78
Failure to act: description of, 25–26, 27; general examples of, 27; leader examples of, 27; Xerox's experience with, 26
Faulty assessment: Columbia shuttle disaster (2003) as, 23–25, 67; description of, 27; general examples of, 27; leader examples of, 27
Fear Your Strengths (Kaplan and Kaiser), 20
Feedback: find trusted advisors to provide, 67; how a strong team become a primary source of, 148; how female gender roles can affect, 169–170; not seeing your impact on others and rejecting, 39, 42–43; obtaining further blindspot, 54; questions on your leadership blindspots for, 32; seeking “below the waterline” decision making, 28–29; seeking out disconfirming, 66, 91–115; solicit from those who know you, 31–32; on specific challenges, 141–142; story on peril of rejecting, 168–169; 360-degree assessments, 98–100, 103–104, 137; on your overall effectiveness, 141. See also Communication
Fidelity, 139
Findelstein, Sydney, 59
Finding Nemo (animated film), 148
Ford, Henry, 13–14, 15, 151, 166
Ford Motor Company, 13, 14, 92, 105
Ford Pinto case (1970s), 61–62
Frontline colleagues: actions for increasing awareness of, 88; increasing leader awareness of, 80–83; leadership being out of touch with, 78–80; plan of action for increasing awareness of, 89
Fumbling the Future (Smith and Alexander), 26
G
Gap, 67
Gawande, Atul, 6
General Electric (GE), 84, 111–112
General Motors (GM), 13–14, 120
Gerstner, Lou, 74
Ghosn, Carlos, 128
Giuliani, Rudy, 56
Gladwell, Malcolm, 64
Goizueta, Roberto C., 150
Goldsmith, Marshall, 168
Good to Great (Collins), 87
Green book (Pinto production design book), 61
H
Hale, Wayne, 129
Halo effect, 101
Ham, Linda, 24–25, 65, 67, 169
Hamel, Gary, 84
Hewlett-Packard (HP), 26, 31, 133, 136
Hierarchical distortions, 62–63
High potentials: actions for increasing awareness of, 88–89; awareness of, 83–85; GE's “Top 25” leaders approach to, 84; using a “get to know” list to reach out to, 84; plan of action for increasing awareness of, 89
Hubris/overconfidence, 63–65, 165, 170
Hume, David, 67
Hurricane Sandy aftermath, 55–57
I
IBM: Lou Gerstner's reaching out to customers of, 74; strategic planning process at, 26, 28; successful transformation of, 28; Wang Laboratories' emotional bias against, 59–60
Immelt, Jeff, 84
Inattentional blindness, 59
Information: ability to see weak signals, 119–120; asking the right questions the right way for, 93–95; Charles Darwin's habit of writing down all, 97; confirmation bias of seeking, 59, 60; correlated errors trap of converged, 158; dependence of leaders on others for, 72–73; gained from seeing it for yourself, 90; learning to listen to gather, 128–129, 130; productive fights to reveal “truthful,” 67–68; seeking out disconfirming, 66, 91–115; “tunnel blind” to disconfirming, 92
Insider-outsider mentality, 74–75, 165–166
iPhone, 77
Isaacson, Walter, 87
J
Japanese automobile industry, 120
JetBlue Airways, 125
Jimenez, Joseph, 138
Jobs, Steve: Apple's revitalization under, 9, 15; creating a strong time at Apple, 148; deep dives by, 109; examining blindspots of, 7–10, 14–15; failure to understand how his behavior affected others, 14–15; how his curiosity benefited Apple, 86; Isaacson's biography of, 87; Mickey Drexler's advice to, 67; personality characteristics of, 171; on pushing the human race forward, 13; reality distortion field exhibited by, 7–8, 10; short-cycle reviews of progress conducted by, 109; string of successes achieved by, 7; strong Lucasfilm team inherited by, 148; telling the customer what they want, 74. See also Apple Computer
Johari Window, 20
Johnson, Kevin, 81
Johnson, Lyndon, 92
JPMorgan Chase: Dimon's blindspot regarding problems at, 10–13, 15, 62, 137; failure to ask the right questions at, 93; London Whale incident at, 11, 12, 13, 62, 72, 93; scale and organizational complexity of, 72
Juniper Networks, 81
K
Kahneman, Daniel, 25, 158, 170
Kaiser, Robert, 20
Kanzler, Ernest, 14
Kass, Doug, 107
Kelleher, Herb, 79
Kennedy, John, 92
Kmart, 78
Known strengths: you know what you know, 18
Known weaknesses: you know what you don't know, 18, 19
KPMG, 139
Kun-hee, Lee, 87
Lack of awareness: description of, 27; Duke Energy and Progress Energy merger, 22–23; general examples of, 27; leader examples of, 27
Late ship rate (Amazon), 75
Leader beliefs: avoiding the tough conversations, 46; being overly optimistic, 53; believing the rules don't apply to you, 43; clinging to the status quo, 52; confirmation bias to support existing, 59; failing to balance the what with the how, 41; failing to capture hearts and minds, 48; failing to focus on the vital few, 44; losing touch with your shop floor, 49; misreading the political landscape, 50; not developing real successors, 48; not seeing your impact on others, 42; not understanding your team model, 45; overestimating strategic capabilities, 40; overrating the talent on your team, 46; putting personal ambition before the company, 51; seeking out that which disconfirms, 91–115; thinking the present is the past, 44; treating information and opinion as fact, 50; trusting the wrong individuals, 47; underestimating your competitors, 52; valuing being right over being effective, 40. See also Situational factors
Leader needs: to act with confidence, 3–4; to be aware of their own limitations, 4–5; matching type of advisor to specific, 138–139
Leaders: ability to see weak signals, 119–120; balancing confidence and self-awareness of limitations by, 3–7, 165–171; building a network of trusted advisors, 132–145; challenged to balance confidence and doubt, 6–7; compensating mechanisms used by successful, 66–68; defining reality and giving hope roles of, 165; dependence on others for information, 72–73; gender roles assigned to, 169–170; isolation felt by, 131–132; optimal margin of illusion held by, 5, 6, 165; potential for great self-delusion by great achievers, 35–37; promoting culture of straight talk, 119; unique set of attributes and blindspots by, 56
Leadership Blindspot Survey, 32–33
Leadership impact: become your own devil's advocate regarding your, 96–97; conduct in-depth 360 assessments on your, 98–100; extract leadership lessons learned, 100–101; secure trusted advisors on your, 137, 145; surface disconfirming data about your, 95–101, 114; track your decisions over time to assess your, 97–98
Leadership lessons learned, 100–101
Learning logs, 90
Learning to listen, 128–129, 130
Lee Kun-hee, 87
Lee's Garage blog (Wal-Mart), 82–83
Lenovo, 28
Leonard, Dorothy, 90
The Life of Pi (Martel), 16
Livestrong Foundation, 36
London Whale incident (2012), 11, 12, 13, 62, 72, 93
Loyalty, 151
Lungren, Terry, 81
M
M&M (morbidity and mortality) conference, 112–113
MacMillan, Steve, 122
Macy's, 81
Mad Money (TV show), 139
Madoff, Bernie, 60
Managing blindspots: build network of trusted advisors, 131, 145; develop peripheral vision, 66–67, 118–130; promote productive fights, 67–68, 147–171; see for yourself to increase awareness, 66, 73–90; seek out what disconfirms your beliefs, 66, 91–115. See also Blindspots
Markets: actions for increasing awareness of, 88; Amazon's metrics to assess performance with, 75; being overly optimistic about your, 39, 53–54; building a network of advisors on, 134–135, 145; challenge your core assumptions about, 111–112; clinging to the status quo, 39, 52; conduct pre- and postmortems, 112–114; identify and engage sentinels, 110–111; increasing awareness of and perspective on, 73–78; Procter & Gamble's monitoring of the, 75–76; underestimating your competitors, 39, 52–53. See also Customers
Martel, Yann, 16
McKinsey & Company, 154
McLaughlin, John, 95
McNamara, Robert, 92, 105, 152
Medtronics, 152
Mentor advisors, 139
Microsoft Office, 166
Microsoft Windows, 166
Mistakes: as the road to understanding blindspots, 31; value of reviewing your, 30–31
Model T, 13
Moore, Gordon, 112
Moral blindness, 60
Mount Kilimanjaro hike, 4
Mulally, Alan, 105
Mullen, Mike, 80
MyStarbucksIdea blog, 78
N
Nadler, David, 156
Narrative fallacy, 25
NASA: Challenger shuttle disaster, 112; Columbia shuttle disaster (2003) at, 23–25, 65, 67, 94, 112, 120, 129, 169; narrative fallacy experienced at, 25; “safety first” stated value of, 24
NASCAR Fan and Media Engagement Center, 78
Network of advisors, actions of: benefits to leaders of, 132–134; list your network of advisors, 145; match the type of advisor to your need, 138–139, 144; maximize the advice you receive, 139–143, 144; target areas where you need advice, 134–137, 143. See also Teams
Network of advisors, maximizing: ask for feedback on specific challenges, 141–142; ask for feedback on your overall effectiveness, 141; assess the breadth and quality of your network, 140; determine your criteria for selecting advisors, 140; importance to taking steps for, 139–140; invest in building your network, 140–141; own the decision, 142; test your advisors, 141
New York City Marathon, 56
NeXT, 8
9/11 terrorist attacks: damage to airline industry by the, 154–155; Guiliani's decision to hold NYC Marathon after, 56
Nissan, 128
Nonanswers, 123
Nonverbal behavior flags, 122–124
O
Off-line input flag, 124
Omissions, 123
Open-ended questions, 93
Optimal margin of illusion, 5, 6, 165
Optimism: blindspot related to unrealistic, 39, 53–54; as both strength and liability, 4
Oracle, 135
Order defect rate (ODR) [Amazon], 75
Organizational culture: creating a functional team culture within your, 153; creating openings for contrarians within norms of your, 125–126; leader blindspots that match the, 169–170; promoting straight talk as part of your, 119. See also Companies
Ortega, Amancio, 82
Outsiders: actions for increasing awareness of, 89; awareness of, 85–87; benefits of having curiosity about, 86–87; plan of action for increasing awareness of, 89; solicit input about your organization from, 107–108; types of, 85–86
Overcoming blindspots: compensating mechanisms for, 66–68; factors related to tenacity of blindspots, 57–65; how willful blindness is barrier to, 65–66
Overconfidence/hubris, 63–65, 165, 170. See also Confidence
P
Palmisano, Sam, 28, 73, 74, 128
Passive-aggressive team members, 152
Pepsi-Cola: John Scully brought to Apple from, 8; tampering incident facing, 136, 142
Perfect order percentage (POP) [Amazon], 75
Peripheral vision: description of, 119–120; overcoming blindspots with, 66–67. See also Developing peripheral vision actions
Personal impact. See Leadership impact
Pixar Animation Studios: curiosity driving innovation at, 86; Ed Catmull's successful leadership at, 15; short-cycle reviews of progress conducted at, 109–110; Steve Jobs's successful leadership at, 8, 10; strong Lucasfilm team forming the nucleus of, 148
Political dynamics advisors, 136, 145
Postmortem reviews, 112–113, 115
Premortem reviews, 113–114, 115
PricewaterhouseCoopers, 28
Procter & Gamble (P&G), 75–76, 80
Productive narcissists, 6–7, 143
Promoting productive fights: embrace high-level conflicts, 155–157, 163; ensure one voice on execution, 161–162, 164; establish ground rules for conflict, 157–161, 164; focus the team on the vital few priorities, 153–155, 163; hire a group of smart and passionate people, 150–153, 163; overcoming blindspots through, 67–68; shun low-level conflicts, 155–157, 163
Q
Questions: areas on which to focus your, 95; ask for alternatives, 95; ask for supporting data or examples, 94; ask open-ended, 93; asking the right, 93–95; avoid closed-ended yes or no, 93; beware of evasive, 94; don't lead the witness when asking, 94; give an opening for additional input, 95; paraphrase to surface next-level details, 94–95
R
Reality distortion field, 7–8, 10
Refund percentage (Amazon), 75
Renault, 128
Responses to blindspots: Bill Gore's approach to, 28–29; examples of different, 29
Roberto, Michael, 161
Rockefeller, John, 8
Rogers, Jim, 22
Rutgers University coaching scandal (2013), 65–66
S
SAS, 135
Scenario planning, 112
Schmidt, Eric, 125
Schultz, Kathryn, 92
Seeing it for yourself: customers and markets, 73–78, 88; example of increasing awareness plan of action, 89; frontline colleagues, 78–83, 88; high potentials, 83–85, 88–89; knowledge gained from, 90; learning log used to record, 90; outsiders and, 85–87, 89; overcoming blindspots by, 66
Seeking disconfirming data: about your leadership impact, 95–101, 114; about your markets, 110–114, 115; about your organization, 104–110, 115; about your team, 101–104, 115; asking the right questions in the right way, 93–95; Charles Darwin's habit of seeking disconfirming data, 97; overcoming blindspots by, 66; value and need for, 66, 91–92. See also Confirmation bias
Self-awareness: blindspot matrix for types of, 18–21; blindspots: you don't know what you don't know, 20–21; degrees of blindness and, 22–28; identifying your own blindspots, 30–33; known strengths: you know what you know, 18; known weaknesses: you know what you don't know, 19; one sign of growing, 17–18; unknown strengths: you don't know what you know, 19–20. See also Awareness
Self-delusion: Lance Armstrong's example of, 35–37; leader potential for, 37
Self-doubt: being self-aware of limitations, 4–5; challenge of balancing between confidence and, 3–7, 165–171; how blindspots mediate between confidence and, 5–6
Sense of entitlement, 165
Sentinels, identify and engage, 110–111
Sharer, Kevin, 128
Shifting position flags, 124
Short-cycle reviews, 109–110, 115
Silence, 123
Situational factors: cognitive dissonance, 60–61; emotional bias, 59–60; experience gaps, 57–58; hierarchical distortions, 62–63; information overload, 58–59; misaligned incentives, 61–62. See also Leader beliefs
Skip-level interviews, 102–103
Smith, Roger, 120
Sony, 10
Southwest Airlines, 79
Specific language flags, 123
Sponsor advisors, 139
Stanford University, 64
Staples, 81
Star Trek (TV show), 7
Starbucks, 78, 166; MyStarbucksIdea blog, 78
Status quo: blindspot of clinging to the, 39, 52; illustrative case on, 52
Strategic advisors, 134–135, 145
Stryker, 122
Surgeon training, 6
Sutton, Bob, 5
Swann, William, 167
T
T. Rowe Price, 139
Taleb, Nassim, 25
Talent: awareness of high potentials, 83–85, 88–89; biased perceptions of female, 169–170; failing to focus on vital few on your team, 39, 44–45; hire smart and passionate, 150–153, 163; overrating your team, 46
Team culture, 153
Team dynamics, 156
Team members: biased perceptions of female, 169–170; conduct skip-level interviews of, 102–103; create developmental tests for, 104; ground rules promoting productive fights among, 158–160, 164; hire smart and passionate people as, 150–153, 163; how interpersonal dynamics influence outcomes, 156; obtain in-depth assessments of, 103–104; passive-aggressive, 152; peripheral vision by knowing your, 121–122, 130; risk of miscommunication to, 120; short-cycle reviews, 109–110, 115; solicit input from newcomers, outgoers, and outliers, 105–108
Team roundtable discussions, 125
Teams: assess effectiveness of your, 101–102; becoming a primary source of good feedback, 148; blindspots about your, 39, 44–47; ensuring one voice on execution of decisions by, 161–162, 164; establishing ground rules promoting productive fights for, 158–160, 164; focusing them on the vital few priorities, 153–155, 163; halo effect in, 101; interpersonal dynamics influencing effectiveness of, 156; review strategic performance metrics with your, 105, 115; surface disconfirming data about your, 101–104, 114–115; value of building strong, 147–148. See also Network of advisors actions
Technological advisors, 135
“Think different” advertising campaign (Apple), 9
Three Mile Island disaster, 111
360-degree assessments: discussing results of with spouse, 137; of team members, 103–104, 115; of your leadership, 98–100, 114
Three-strike rule, 127–128, 130
Tough conversations, 39, 46–47
Toy Story (animated film), 86, 148
Trust: blindspot on trusting the wrong individuals, 39, 47; find advisors you can, 67
Trusted advisors: benefits to leaders, 132–134; list your network of, 145; match your need to the type of, 138–139, 144; maximize the advice you receive from, 139–143, 144; target areas where you need advice from, 134–137, 143
“Tunnel blind,” 92
Twitter, 78
Tylenol tampering incident, 136
U
Undercover Boss (TV show), 66
Underestimating competition, 39, 52–53
Unknown strengths: you don't know what you know, 18, 19–20
US Army's after-action review, 113
US Central Intelligence Agency, 63
US Joint Chiefs of Staff, 80
V
Vietnam War, 152
Vital few issues: description and importance of, 68; productive fights that reveal truth of, 67–68
W
Wall Street Journal, 60
Wal-Mart: innovative retail approach by, 3; Lee's Garage blog by, 82–83; Sam Walton's leadership of, 78, 79, 82
Walt Disney Company, 86
Weatherup, Craig, 136
Weill, Sanford, 167
Whitehead, Alfred North, 18
Whitman, Meg, 31
Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer (Roberto), 161
Women and gender roles, 169–170
Wozniak, Steve, 9
X
Xerox: Ann Mulcahy on creating strong teams at, 162; contrasting IBM's action with failure to act by, 26, 28; customer ownership mentality at, 77; PARC's innovations and failure to act by, 26, 166; steps for promoting productive conflicts at, 157–158
Y
Yahoo website, 139
Z
Zara, 82