The primary job of a leader is to constantly assess the situation, develop an impactful plan that will make a significant difference, and then implement with excellence. Being a leader is not about simply managing a bunch of activities that enable you to participate in some manner in what’s going on in your industry. Unfortunately, that’s what the IBM CEO, who has been in the job five years now, seems to be doing.
Types of Events:
Business & Non-Profit Gatherings of All Types, Industry Association Meetings, Leadership Training Sessions, Strategic Planning Exercises
Topic Areas of Focus:
Courageous Leadership, Operational Effectiveness, Generating Innovation, Causes and Cures of Bureaucracy, Breaking Down Fiefdoms and Silos
Some Past Clients:
Roche Pharmaceuticals, Delta Airlines, PepsiCo, Deutsche Bank, Automobile Manufacturers Association, Chubb Insurance
Click Here for more information about having Bob speak at an event.
Perspectives on Bob's Books
What's Holding You Back?
"A must read for both emerging and established executives! Bob Herbold provides ten clear guidelines that will enable managers to become strong, proactive leaders."
- J.Lechleiter, retired Chairman, President and CEO of Eli Lilly & Company
Seduced By Success
"Bob Herbold gets to the heart of why successful organizations and individuals often go into a tail-spin, and how this can be avoided. His thorough reviews of specific companies we all know make this a very useful book, and I highly recommend it."
- Indra K. Nooyi, Chairperson & CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.
The Fiefdom Syndrome
"Turf wars and bureaucracy can undermine even the strongest corporate strategies. Drawing on lessons learned throughout his distinguished career, Bob describes innovative and practical ways to tackle this pervasive problem."
- Bill Gates, Co-Founder, Microsoft Corporation and Co-Founder, Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationClick here to learn more about these books
Bob's Gutsy Leadership Blog
Subscribe to Bob's
Blog by email:
Click here for RSS feeds
Bob regularly writes blog posts and articles with his areas of focus being leadership, organizational effectiveness. Below you will find the titles and hot-links of his most recent efforts:
Gillette has dominated the razor business for decades. They have religiously followed a narrow strategy of adding new features and convincing consumers via advertising that they are worth the increased price. In the last three years Gillette has had some competition. It came in the form of low cost shave clubs and surprisingly, Gillette just continued to introduce new, pricier products; for example, a razor with a swiveling ball hinge that allows the blade to pivot. Its latest move was to file a patent application for a razor cartridge that heats up.
One of the hardest things for a leader to do is to terminate a project; even if it has been clear for quite a while that its potential is minimal. Two factors are typically at work; 1) the leader doesn’t want to kill the project because it may appear that he/she has failed; and 2) the people assigned to the project will aggressively pressure the leader to continue since they worry about what will happen to them! The result is that most speculative projects end up living far too long of a life before they either die a natural death or the leader gets up enough courage to admit that this one didn’t work out.
