561: Harvard’s Bill George on Leading Authentically in Today's Workplace

561: Harvard’s Bill George on Leading Authentically in Today's Workplace

In this wide-ranging and direct conversation, Bill George, former Medtronic CEO and Harvard Business School professor, offers a disciplined framework for leading in conditions of persistent volatility. Drawing from decades of leadership experience and research, George emphasizes that leadership today is no longer about managing processes, it is about confronting ambiguity, enabling experimentation, and sustaining purpose across shifting conditions.

Five themes stand out:

  1. Opportunity Must Be Created, Not Awaited. George argues that emerging leaders should not wait for promotions or formal permission. Instead, they should identify unaddressed problems, volunteer to lead, and deliver results without demanding titles. Career growth, he suggests, is a function of action, not seniority.

  2. Innovation Begins at the Front Lines. Whether referencing his early decision to cancel a Medtronic pacemaker program that lacked patient benefit, or urging leaders to spend less time in conference rooms and more with customers and staff, George insists that enduring breakthroughs stem from direct observation and empathy, not from internal data analysis alone.

  3. Risk Tolerance Determines Strategic Renewal. George contrasts firms that institutionalize risk such as Medtronic’s venture incubation model, with those that allow internal resistance to block change. Innovation, he asserts, must be structurally protected from corporate inertia, and leaders should be judged on the courage to champion unpopular ideas that later prove transformative.

  4. Culture Must Reward Learning Over Defensiveness. Drawing parallels between U.S., European, and Japanese innovation cultures, George critiques over-regulated, failure-averse systems that suppress experimentation. True progress, he says, requires the willingness to learn through trial, adaptation, and even initial failure.

  5. AI Is a Strategic Imperative, Not a Cost Play. Rather than using AI to drive out labor costs, George advocates for using it to rethink business models entirely, supporting frontline autonomy, enabling new services, and unlocking unmet needs. He cautions leaders against adopting a defensive posture and urges them to fund experiments that explore the true potential of the technology.

Throughout, George offers a leadership mindset anchored in authenticity, courage, and customer-centric design. His advice is clear: future leaders must raise their hands, operate at the edge, and move fast before the window of relevance closes.

Get Bill’s book here: https://shorturl.at/3iHRb

True North, Emerging Leader Edition: Leading Authentically in Today's Workplace

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97: The most important output in a consulting study | Management consulting project  | Benefits case

97: The most important output in a consulting study | Management consulting project  | Benefits case

An episode 96 of Strategy Skills iTunes podcast is here (Strategy Skills podcast is ranked among 5-10 top for careers in many countries worldwide).  One thing you always need to present in all of your management consulting projects is a business case. If you are not presenting a business case to a client, or a benefits case, I prefer the word benefits because it makes it clear you are looking for a benefit for a client, if you are not presenting a benefits case to a client you are making it very difficult for the client to make the decision to implement what you are saying in your recommendation as part of your management consulting project. www.FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to some episodes from our advanced #strategy programs.

21 Tammi 202010min

96: "Are you undervaluing your customers?" with Bain & Company's Rob Markey

96: "Are you undervaluing your customers?" with Bain & Company's Rob Markey

Listen to this thought-provoking discussion between Michael and Rob Markey, Bain and Company's partner.  Rob Markey, a partner and director at Bain & Company and the founder of the firm’s Global Customer Strategy and Marketing practice. He is a co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0 and is the host of the Net Promoter System podcast. He is based in New York. https://www.firmsconsulting.com/

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95: Value chain mapping | When value chain analysis are useful | Strategic management

95: Value chain mapping | When value chain analysis are useful | Strategic management

We have seen many value chain mapping examples. We have seen good value chain mapping, bad value chain mapping, incomplete value chain mapping. Ultimately, given the nature how value chain mapping will work, it can only do few things and it cannot do a few things. So if value chain mapping is presented to do things it cannot do it is flawed. When you do value chain analysis it is far more useful to see where profits are going to shift over time, that is one thing you have to do. Two, assign some probabilities of what are the odds of this happening. And 3, what influences those probabilities. You are analyzing the entire sector, the entire industry. A lot of things influencing a sector. Consumer spending can change with the recession. Recession can change things. Different legislation could cause profits move from point x to point y. Competitor making a misstep could cause it, new competitor entering, competitor going bankrupt. So whenever someone says I am so certain this will happen you should question their business judgement because you cannot predict the future. #valuechainmapping #valuechainanalysis #valuechainanalysisexplained https://www.firmsconsulting.com/

7 Tammi 20209min

94: Design the value chain you need | Value chain analysis | Management consulting

94: Design the value chain you need | Value chain analysis | Management consulting

An episode 94 of Strategy Skills iTunes podcast is here (Strategy Skills podcast is ranked among 5-10 top for careers in many countries worldwide).  www.FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to some episodes from our advanced #strategy programs.

31 Joulu 201917min

93: How to Manage Like Amazon (with CEO Advisor Ram Charan)

93: How to Manage Like Amazon (with CEO Advisor Ram Charan)

Every business wants to succeed like Amazon so we invited New York Times bestselling author & CEO Advisor Ram Charan to talk about How to Manage Like Amazon. From their high-velocity decision-making to their top talent hiring practices to their “Forever Day-1 Culture”, the insider secrets behind Amazon’s success are now within anyone’s grasp. Find out how Amazon does it and how you can too by listening to this fascinating conversation between Michael and Ram, whom Fortune calls “The most influential consultant alive” and whose book  Execution spent 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Ram's new book The Amazon Management System can be purchased here https://amzn.to/2RGGLy6 https://www.firmsconsulting.com

11 Joulu 201951min

92: Senior partner at McKinsey & a global leader of their Organization Practice

92: Senior partner at McKinsey & a global leader of their Organization Practice

Meet Bill Schaninger, Senior Partner at McKinsey and a global leader of their Organization Practice (based in Philadelphia). Bill focuses on driving large-scale organizational and cultural change for clients across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. An expert on the role of culture, values, talent and leadership in improving business outcomes, he helps executives enhance management effectiveness. Bill has published extensively in practitioner and academic journals, on organizational topics. FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to selected episodes from our advanced training programs.

25 Loka 20191h 10min

91: How do I know what is corporate strategy

91: How do I know what is corporate strategy

An episode 91 of Strategy Skills iTunes podcast is here (Strategy Skills podcast is ranked among 5-10 top for careers in many countries worldwide).  www.FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to some episodes from our advanced #strategicmanagement programs.

24 Syys 20195min

90: What makes corporate strategy different

90: What makes corporate strategy different

You can find more training resources here: Get free access to selected episodes when you sign up for email updates: https://www.firmsconsulting.com Get Access to Firmsconsulting Training by Becoming a Member Here: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/subscription-options/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firmsconsulting/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Firmsconsulting/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/firmsconsulting Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firmsconsulting

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