The end of Season Two heralds a new journey: the road to the Leading Smart Academy. The Academy will be a deep resource for leaders just starting out, those facing specific challenges, and veterans looking for a refresher. Sign up to be first in line. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/academy-road/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWill Tw...
Mar 25, 2021•2 min•Season 2Ep. 240
The most indelible cultural change is led from the top. Where the leader lives, promotes, recognizes, and corrects in furtherance of the effort. In this episode we explore a small example that can be a model for all organization culture change. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/time-change/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Music and Effects: https://zapsplat.com/ Connect:...
Mar 18, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 239
Bob Muglia has led teams from as many as 10,000 to a small startup, often taking over teams in distress and returning them to success. But his focus has always been as much on how teams work as much as what they do, in what he calls values-based leadership. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/bob-muglia/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWil...
Mar 11, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 238
Changing an organizational culture is a heavy lift even if the issue is not especially thorny. The real question is who can make that change? In this episode we explore an example where a fairly small cultural change requires a clear sense of how to change. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/sense-of-change/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/the...
Mar 04, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 237
Brian Pedersen’s team helps companies negotiate the maze of corporate taxes. On top of the unique experience that requires, he faces all the challenges met by any leader of knowledge workers. Yet Brian has done it all remotely, even before it was required. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/brian-pedersen/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCL...
Feb 25, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 236
When a solid team mixes with a clear vision and an outstanding culture, the resulting brew can be magical. Success that breeds more success, enough to break records. In this episode we explore the qualities necessary to create organizational harmonics. Twenty Thousand Hertz, the podcast, can be found wherever you get your podcasts or at https://20k.org/ Clips in this episode are used by permission. The Virtual Choir can be found at: https://ericwhitacre.com/the-virtual-choir/ More information, a...
Feb 18, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 235
David Sobeski has exercised his skill of a broad view with a detail focus at some of most customer-obsessed companies in the world including Disney and Nordstrom. All while remote working long before it was cool. This is my conversation with David Sobeski. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/david-sobeski/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLW...
Feb 11, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 234
What makes up an organization’s culture? What effect does culture have on the output of the team? Does a culture bend to the market or does the market select winners based on their culture? The series on organizational culture begins with: Culture Club. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/culture-club/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Music: Culture Club Connect: Facebook: ...
Feb 04, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 233
Liz Pearce was in marketing at Sony, Google, and Amazon, and then a marketing consultant. At one of her clients, she rose from contract marketing consultant to CEO. Now leading Seattle startup Fresh Chalk, she discusses her journey, leadership, and the CEO role. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/liz-pearce/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/the...
Jan 28, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 232
The series on communication wraps up with a look at cursing in the workplace. We explore my tendency to use expletives inappropriately as well as how cursing is indicative of organizational culture and the power of leaders. This time, "I Swear". More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/i-swear/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Music: https://musicbed.com/ Sound Effects: https://...
Jan 21, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 231
Donn Denman was an engineer at Apple in the very early years and is now at Google. In our conversation he shares what it was like working with Steve Jobs, what it’s like today at Google, and how vision and passion can change the world. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/donn-denman/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Sound effects: ZapSplat Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCL...
Jan 14, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 230
The series on communication continues with the best way to understand how your team and project are doing. There’s a wrong way and a right way to find out the answer to the question that keeps every leader up at night: “How’s it Going?” More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/hows-it-going/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWill Twitter: https:/...
Jan 07, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 229
The exploration into firing continues with a look at the low end. What is magical about the bottom ten percent? How does stack ranking cheat some people out of a good performance review? What exactly is poor performance? This is Bottom Feeder. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/bottom-feeder-redux/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme Music: John Stephens Additional Music: https://musicbed.com Sound effects: http...
Dec 31, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 228
How a brutal performance review meeting ended with me getting a stapler hurled at my head. And how that lead to one of my most steadfast rules: in the workplace, no surprises. More information, including a transcript and a place to provide comments, can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/duck-and-cover-redux/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme Music: John Stephens Additional Music: https://musicbed.com Sound Effects: https://zapsplat.com Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/...
Dec 24, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 227
Adam Bosworth has led major startup projects both inside and outside of seminal companies of the tech world. In our talk he shares what he learned about building teams and about the impact of company culture on the products, the team, and himself. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/adam-bosworth/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWill Twitt...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 226
The series on communication continues with a look at how to get good feedback. We examine the many pitfalls and one good way to use surveys as a mechanism to gauge your organization’s health. This is Survey Says. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/survey-says/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Sound: Family Feud Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWill Twitter: htt...
Dec 10, 2020•20 min•Season 2Ep. 225
Somasegar pushed Microsoft to “build the muscle” of remote work, long before it was cool … or required by the pandemic. He also stretched himself to become a venture capitalist. In this episode he shares what we all can learn from his journeys. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/somasegar-2 Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWill Twitter: ht...
Dec 03, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 224
Somasegar traveled from India to the US for his advanced degrees and ended up joining Microsoft for an illustrious 27-year career. Now he’s a venture capitalist. In this first of two episodes, he talks with us about his journey and his thoughts on leadership. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/somasegar-1 Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLW...
Nov 26, 2020•51 min•Season 2Ep. 223
The series on communication continues with the focus on listening. We examine why careful examination of the echo of a leader’s message can help not only make the team more effective but diagnose communication problems. This is Echolocation. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/echolocation/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Sound Effects: https://zapsplat.com Connect: Facebook: https:/...
Nov 19, 2020•24 min•Season 2Ep. 222
Peter Spiro’s work helped build Microsoft into an enterprise software giant. He also led one of the company’s most visible project downfalls. Through it all, he built a deep passion for leadership that he shares with anyone who’ll listen. This time with us. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/peter-spiro Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Sound Effects: https://zapsplat.com Connect: Fac...
Nov 12, 2020•55 min•Season 2Ep. 221
The series on communication continues with a look at why saying something once is never enough. Even a few times is insufficient. The key to successful leadership is a clear, consistent, and frequently expressed vision. This is: Repeat After Me. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/repeat-after-me/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Music: https://musicbed.com Sound Effects: h...
Nov 05, 2020•18 min•Season 2Ep. 220
Tod Nielsen is a multi-time CEO who heads the ERP company FinancialForce. His journey is one of ever-increasing responsibility all the way to the corner office. In this episode we explore his growth and leading through adversity, like the dot com bust and the pandemic. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/tod-nielsen/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook...
Oct 29, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 219
For the start of a series of episodes on communication as a leader, we delve into some scary territory: the boss’s mind. We explore why letting the team in there is, though terrifying, a great idea. This is: Not in Your Head. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/not-in-your-head/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Music: https://musicbed.com Connect: Facebook: https://facebook...
Oct 22, 2020•16 min•Season 2Ep. 218
Laura Butler is much more than just the first female Technical Fellow at Microsoft. She is a smart, thoughtful, and accomplished leader. In this conversation we talk leadership, especially as a woman, and her latest passion: investing in people. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/laura-butler/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/theCLWill Twitter:...
Oct 15, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 217
The corporate C-suite, with all its many Chiefs, has become crowded and unwieldy. Along with this has come some pretty crass pandering. This episode tracks the evolution of the executive offices over the last four centuries in this Suite Story. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/suite-story/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Sound effects: https://zapsplat.com Connect: Facebook: https...
Oct 08, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 216
Michael Kennedy’s experience leading finance operations around the world has served him well as the CFO of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, especially during a global pandemic. We talk being a change agent, international leadership, and vision in finance. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/michael-kennedy/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Connect: Facebook: https://facebook.com/th...
Oct 01, 2020•52 min•Season 2Ep. 215
The goal of creating a meritocracy seems admirable. But as Michael Sandel points out, it’s unobtainable, and working to get there creates a culture that is corrosive and divisive. We explore why merit is so hard to assign. Be careful with that Merit Badge. The episode of Stay Tuned that prompted this can be found here: https://cafe.com/stay-tuned/the-merit-trap-with-michael-sandel/ Michael Sandel’s book: The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? https://us.macmillan.com/books/97803...
Sep 24, 2020•22 min•Season 2Ep. 214
Brenda Leaks is developing the next generation of leaders. She does much of that by being an outstanding leader herself. Her op-ed in the Seattle Times on race and equity was a powerful example. In our conversation we discuss how you can lead on those topics too. Brenda’s Seattle Times Op-ed is here: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/we-must-have-difficult-conversations-about-racism-with-our-children/ More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clw...
Sep 17, 2020•53 min•Season 2Ep. 213
Sweating the details isn’t always about dollars and cents. It’s often the little changes a leader can make that improve life for their team. Even if it costs just a dime. They can add up to make a huge difference. This episode is about Every Little Thing. More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/every-little-thing/ Written and Produced: Chris Williams Original Theme written by: John Stephens Additional Music: https://musicbed.com Con...
Sep 10, 2020•18 min•Season 2Ep. 212
What do you do after you help Amazon grow by over 26,000 percent? You move on to the audacious goal of getting a billion people reading. In this conversation with David Risher CEO and co-founder of Worldreader we talk about leading in the world of non-profits. The Amazon easter egg page that is a thank you to David is here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=447307 More information, a transcript, and a place to provide comments can be found at: https://clwill.com/pod/david-...
Sep 03, 2020•56 min•Season 2Ep. 211
