In homage to David Letterman, the following are my Top 10 quotes from the World Business Forum:

10. Just because something is simple doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to do. – Vijay Govindarajan, strategy and innovations expert

9. If you can never admit you don’t know the answer to a question, you can never get better – Steve Levitt, author of Freakonomics

8. In a world where everything is connected, anything is possible – Bill McDermott, SAP

7. Stop asking how to be successful, ask how to be useful – Advice from management guru Peter Drucker to Good to Great evangelist Jim Collins

6. Great people challenge each other, mediocre people hold each other back – Carlos Brito, CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev

5. Courage is the missing ingredient for innovation for most CEOs – A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Proctor & Gamble

4. Want more influence? Tell more stories – Joseph Grenny, author of Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

3. Don’t confuse improbable with impossible – because while they are often the same, the exceptions will kill you! – Al Gore

2. Leadership isn’t just about setting direction, but inspiring people to move in that direction – Charlene Li

1. Tough circumstances elevate you to either the best you can be, or the worst you can be – Nando Parrado, survivor of the 1972 Andes airplane crash

And an honorable mention to Al Gore for funniest line of the day – “I used to be the next President of the United States.” And to Jack Welch, for the most memorable quote of the day “The Internet is the Viagra of big business.”

Looking for more great moments at the World Business Forum? Check out my twitter feed @carreenwl and MWW’s @mwwgroup.

cwinters General Corporate, MWW Group David Letterman, World Business Forum

A lot of excellent speakers talked about leadership attributes over the past two days at the 2010 World Business Forum. What was interesting about Al Gore’s presentation this morning is that we witnessed many of those leadership traits in action.

When asked to list leadership skills yesterday at the MWW Group’s panel discussion on sustainable leadership, David Gergen cited “trust and the capacity to inspire others.” As Gore rolled through an hour-long presentation largely focused on the global climate crisis, inspiration virtually dripped from the stage.

Deloitte CEO Jim Quigley, speaking on the same panel, talked about vision and leadership. Gore offered multiple visions – a vision of what could happen if we don’t change, a vision if we do change and a vision for how to get there.

Jack Welch warned that complacency is one of the greatest dangers facing leaders. Clearly, Gore is one motivated individual when it comes to the topic of climate change. I doubt that complacency is anywhere in his vocabulary. And that, of course, leads to passion.

The words “passion” and “leadership” have been in lockstep in virtually every presentation over the past two days. Gore embodied passion when he spoke about the challenge – and the opportunity – associated with the climate crisis. I, for one, was ready to buckle up and follow him over the ramparts. I suspect that most of the audience felt the same way.

I frequently tell clients that the best way to communicate is to “show, don’t tell.” Most of the speakers at WBF10 have told us about leadership; Al Gore showed us what it looks like.

bsilver MWW Group al gore, climate change, Leadership, World Business Forum

Al Gore, Nobel Laureate and former Vice President of the United States spoke to the World Business Forum on Wednesday morning. Al spoke passionately about the current state of the environment and captivated the audience with his unique insight into one of the greatest challenges that we face today.

Mr. Gore is a man who knows a little something about leadership. For over thirty years, Al has been spreading the word about the perils of climate change and he is recognized around the world as being the foremost leader on the environment.

Mr. Gore epitomizes what it means to be a leader. During his decades long campaign to raise awareness and drive change to environmental policies and behavior, he’s received more than his fair amount of criticism. Despite the criticism, Al has never backed down. This is one of the tenets of true leadership.

Al Gore used his time at the World Business Forum to issue a charge to the leaders of American enterprises. Quoting an African proverb, Al said: “If you want to go quickly go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”

Today more than ever, the challenges that we face require us to “go far.” We need leaders who can unite and lead us so that we can go far together.

admin MWW Group al gore, climate change, Leadership

Marvin Odum the President of Shell Oil Company was interviewed on stage at the World Business Forum by Eric Pooley the Editor of Bloomberg Businessweek to discuss Shell’s leadership role in the global energy marketplace.

As the President of an oil company, Marvin faces a number of challenges in today’s environment. On one hand, oil companies are routinely demonized for their role in climate change and oil spills. On the other hand, the world that we live in today needs oil in order to function.

So what does the president of an oil company do to help maintain a positive reputation?

Marvin said that as an oil company, they’re fully committed to researching and developing alternative sources of energy. They’re allocating a lot of their resources to developing everything from bio-fuels to methods for carbon capture and storage. By exploring these alternative energy sources, Shell is not only practicing good business, but they’re also working to ensure that they will be seen as innovators in the field of alternative energy and thus helping to strengthen their reputation.

admin MWW Group alternative energy sources, reputation, shell oil company

I attended the World Business Forum today, and MWW Group hosted a terrific panel discussion on leadership. So it’s been the topic on my mind for the past few weeks.

It was on the WBF speakers’ minds, too. Over the course of the day, all of the speakers were talking about leadership, in one way or another. Jim Collins, Jack Welch, and David Gergen are leadership gurus. They offered words of wisdom to President Obama, the Board of HP, and the audience at World Business Forum. Jack Welch told us to hire people smarter than ourselves. David Gergen pronounced that there is a crisis in leadership today, and people don’t know who to trust. Jim Collins warned that successful leaders should be focused on responsibilities and outcomes, not jobs or titles, because the environment would continue to be tough for leaders:

“I don’t think we will have a new normal, I think we will have a continuous series of not normals.”

Thought provoking, for sure. And exactly what I hoped and expected them to speak about. But some of the others, like Charline Li (social networks), Martin Lindstrom (marketing) and Joseph Grenny (influence), it wasn’t what I was expecting. And it begs the question…is success in business – any business – fundamentally about leadership?

Here are some of my favorite takeaways about leadership from today’s discussions:

“No matter how sound the process, if you can’t influence people to execute, it is worthless” – Joseph Grenny

“Leadership isn’t just about setting direction, but about inspiring people to follow.” – Charlene Li

“Leadership requires making a connection with those who follow.” Jim Quigley
“You have moments of truth every day, all day. And your customers vote after every one of them.” Arkadi Kuhlman

“To sustain leadership, brands need to tap into your senses: sound + vision = emotional engagement, which ultimately equals brand preference” – Martin Lindstrom.

Tune in tomorrow for more from World Business Forum 2010.

cwinters MWW Group Leadership, World Business Forum

What makes great leadership? More importantly, what makes great leadership sustainable?

A panel of experts kicked that topic around for a while this afternoon during the lunch break Tuesday at the 2010 World Business Forum. Compelling topics, to be sure, and the team at MWW Group assembled an equally compelling panel that did it justice.

David Gergen. Advisor to four presidents. Editor at U.S. News & World Report.

Arkadi Kuhlmann. President of ING DIRECT USA. Author of a soon-to-be-published book on values-driven leadership.

Jim Quigley. CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Leader of a world-renowned consulting firm that today was named the leader in its field.

And Michael W. Kempner. President and founder of MWW Group. A classic entrepreneur who has built one of the nation’s leading PR firms.

In short, these guys know the topic and it was great to hear them strut it over the course of an hour. I’ve transcribed some snippets below, but to get the full experience, stop by www.mww.com and dial up the video of the session, which is archived on the Web site.

Kempner started things off with introductions, and then set the stage with some salient comments. “What do we need from our leaders to maintain the quality of life for citizens and employees, and to sustain greatness among our companies,” he asked. “What we have to do as organizations to keep up and compete in these extraordinary times? No one expected these challenges. No one would have anticipated this recessionary economy or the true impact of globalization, the shift to knowledge-based economy and speed of change. The only thing we know for certain is that change will continue.”

Kempner then asked the panelists to define leadership, and Kuhlman set the bar. “Leadership takes doubt out of the situation,” he said. “Leadership can eliminate doubt by being authentic, galvanizing emotions and having a vision that people can aspire to. People have a huge hunger for this – they’re looking forward it across the board.

“The questions become, how well can you articulate your values? Who you stand for and what you stand for? That’s what’s critically important, as it constantly resonates with people you work with. “

Added Quigley: “Sustainable leadership is leadership that works through the entire business cycle. It’s effective when you are rebooting your company and sustainable going forward. Leadership that’s all about this month’s numbers is not sustainable. “

Quigley talked at some length about values-based leadership, which is based on “sound principles that become timeless.” In it, leaders actually walk the talk and make people want to become part of the enterprise. That’s what people are looking for – belief in their leader.”

Kempner’s next question: What are the greatest challenges facing this generation of leadership?

Quigley: “It’s all about the people side of the equation. Leaders have to collaborate and communicate. And play ball. They have to have the ability to create teams and interact.”

Gergen: “Reputation for excellence matters. It’s about trust and continual refreshing of what you’re doing. Without that, it’s easy to be seen as yesterday.”

Kuhlmann: “The gap between what you say and what you do is much shorter than it was, in large part due to social media. The alignment of what you say and what you do is absolutely critical. It’s the only way to get through the noise and support a brand. And the most effective way to do this is to get on the side of the consumer through social media.”

Kempner wrapped things up with one final question. What are the skills necessary for a 21st Century leader.?

Gergen: “Trust and capacity to inspire others. Leaders have to lead beyond their own boundaries.”

Kuhlmann: “Be authentic. Have a willingness to commit and become vulnerable. Accept notion that you are vulnerable and risk failure.”

Quigley: “Trust, authenticity and nimbleness. Leadership and corporate reputation is linked together. The CEO must be the keeper of the flame.”

bsilver MWW Group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, ING Direct, Leadership, World Business Forum

Back in my reporting days, I spent a lot of time in the press box at some big events – Super Bowl, Olympics, NBA Finals, World Series. Regardless of the event or venue, the feeling before the clock started was always the same. There was a buzz, an undercurrent of energy, that was almost palatable. It’s a little like that this morning at Radio City Music Hall, about 10 minutes before the initial speaker, Jim Collins (author of Good to Great), gets things started. A hum, a crackle, a buzz. You gotta love it.

We’re really excited here at MWW Group to be part of this. There’s a killer agenda today with speakers like Charlene Li and David Gergen that will could easily satisfy a business information junkie. But the real excitement is going to happen away from the stage – great networking during the two days of the event, all kinds of information exchange among the bloggers and journalists in the Blogger Hub high above the main stage, and events that are being held around the actual Forum agenda.

MWW is proud to be sponsoring one of those events this afternoon – a luncheon hosted by our CEO, Michael W. Kempner. Stay tuned on this blog, www.returnonreputation.com, and on our Web site, www.mww.com, for a live stream. It’s going to be most excellent.

bsilver MWW Group World Business Forum

T-minus 16 hours and counting … give or take a few. That’s when the 2010 World Business Forum kicks off at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

It promises to be a full and scintillating couple of days, from Jim Collins’ opening session on how great companies sustain great results Tuesday morning to Wednesday afternoon’s closing presentation on creativity by filmmaker James Cameron. Sandwiched in between is an incredible agenda that includes presentations by leaders and business visionaries such as Al Gore, A.G. Lafley, Joseph Stiglitz, Jack Welch and Vijay Govindarajan.

At MWW Group, we’re honored to be a sponsor of the 2010 World Business Forum and particularly excited about Tuesday’s luncheon activities, when we’ll host a panel discussion on Sustainable Leadership.

The panel will be led by our CEO, Michael W. Kempner, and will feature former White House advisor David Gergen, Jim Quigley, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and Arkadi Kuhlmann, president of ING DIRECT USA.

The panel will explore the challenges of leadership today and the leadership imperatives of tomorrow, especially the importance of trust and transparency, increased globalization, rapid innovation and the notion of leadership democratization. In conjunction with the panel’s presentation, MWW will be releasing a white paper on sustainable leadership as well as results from an informal survey on the topic. Both will be available at www.mww.com.

All in all, it should make for a compelling theater, and you can have a front row seat. The panel will be streamed live at www.mww.com and you can follow along as well as submit questions to the panelists in real time through the conference hash tag, #WBF10. Additionally, a summary of the panel discussion will be posted on MWW’s Return on Reputation blog and video of the presentation will be archived on the MWW website.

bsilver MWW Group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, ING Direct, World Business Forum