It started as a normal Skype session between friends. One asked a question, the other responded with an answer. However in this case, the call was with two of the finest storytellers that the millennial generation has offered up. Michael, a tattoo’d Kentucky visual artist and Amir, an Afro-Arab social activist from Sudan. And then the moment broke in to that pure energy that we all pursue. “Alan, what is it that the 60s generation has to offer to the millennial’s of today?” they inquired. “We know it’s there and we want it.” The thoughts swooned in my head as…
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Today I turn 60. There’s something about that number, but the potential anxiety of hitting this “milestone” was completely alleviated by of a certain distant memory and a trip back to a favorite place of mine. Last week I was lucky enough to spend my time in a cabin in the Muir Woods. These woods are one of my favorite places. When I was a small tyke, my grandfather used to take me there when the butterflies would return from Mexico every year. And as I sat on the deck of my small cabin it seemed to me to be…
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Chocolate. Chocolate engraved with a word of wisdom. A Kickstarter project based around the idea of providing an underprivileged child a bar of chocolate every time someone purchases (thereby backing the project). I was in the midst of finishing Awakened Leadership when an e-mail arrived discussing this very project. How could I possibly resist? For the Love of Chocolate and Peru This email introduced me to a young man named Danny Jacobs. What immediately caught my attention was that Danny had been instrumental in many large capital raises involving high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley. And now this young leader…
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Sometime back I wrote about the new generation of leaders. I truly believe that what sets this generation apart is the simple statement, “make my professional life about something bigger than just me.” This group has signaled to the rest of the corporate world that ‘business as usual’ no longer attracts their leadership passion. It should come as no surprise that yesterday, as I scrolled through my newsfeed, Yahoo has decided to pay double for maternity and paternity leave. Additionally, they were very clear to note that this was not an attempt to make amends for any of their previous…
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I grew up surrounded by palm trees, Mexican food, and skateboards. And like many of my fellow Southern Californians, I am a diehard Lakers fan. My childhood included peering into a black and white 13 inch TV and rooting like hell for Jerry West to vanquish the hated Celtics in the 60s. No matter how many times we tried, we never reached the summit. And then came the 80s and a fellow by the name of Magic Johnson. To this day, I still think he is the greatest basketball player of all time. Why you might ask? Because Magic made…
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The situation was familiar to me. How many times had I been in a conference room with outstanding leaders, fighting to get to the bottom of an important concept? Here’s the scene: the ubiquitous chairs and tables, a PowerPoint projector, and unending coffee and water in the back of the room. As is usual in Corporatelandia, the concern is how a business can land a story with their customers. It was hard to shake them from this goal. You see I wanted them to understand that it was their story that was important, not the outside landing place that they…
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One of my favorite examples to illustrate the difference between “on the ground experience” and “mental concepts,” is driving on the freeway. Imagine you and I are driving together and I simply ask you, “How fast are we going?” I am sure at that point you would look at the speedometer and say something like “65 miles an hour”. Now most people, when reciting the speed, relate to the number on the speedometer. They have long-lost the actual sense of movement and are simply reporting what the dial reflects. It’s as if motion could be reported in a standstill way….
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Guest post for Switch and Shift The moment was striking. I sat in an airport conference room, peering out over the tarmac at the landings and takeoffs of various aircraft. I was about to meet with one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. No one could miss that this company was tasked to build these mammoth air machines, and more importantly, ensure they stayed in the air. What was at stake for this company was evident with every takeoff and touchdown. As I spoke to the senior management team, the words suddenly poured from my mouth: “If you…
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It was a typical afternoon in the office with the dogs snoring and files piled high on my desk. And then the phone rang. I could see that it was my son Michael calling in. He had just started his first company, a parking operation in the apparel district of Los Angeles. I regularly took his calls these days to give whatever help an old businessman could contribute. To be honest, I feel my son is a natural entrepreneur and needs little of my help, but a listening ear is always a good thing the first time around. And this…
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I’m declaring it. A corporation WILL become a mirror image of the leadership, the leadership persona and the leadership’s consistency with passion for a new and improved world! This passion and clarity stems from a voice within, knowing that which is important, demonstrating utter resolution to it whilst identifying real opportunity for change and realignment from it. One man who has spent a lifetime researching emotions, specifically in corporations, is Martyn Newman. He is a psychologist, co-creator of the ‘Emotional Capitalist Report’ for RocheMartin and a fellow Leadership Challenge advocate. This is how Martyn describes a leader: That Fire in…
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