It Takes Chutzpah: Leadership Predictions (or Dream Scenarios?) for 2010.

I thought we could have a bit of fun with this one…

If you could come up with a list of well-known Canadian (or, non Canadian) leaders and assign a specific task to each for 2010, what would that list look like?

Here’s what I’ve come up with (and I welcome your feedback):

Jim Balsillie: Resolves to take an interest in waterfront redevelopment, thereby undertaking the massive job of re-shaping the Toronto-side of Lake Ontario. If there’s ever a project that requires a bulldog with business savvy, this is it – and Balsillie is the guy.

Hunter Harrison: The retired CEO of CN comes out of his recent retirement, joins up with Paul Tellier (also a former CEO of CN and of Bombardier Inc.), and the two transportation executives become powerhouse co-CEOs of Air Canada. The result is a successful turnaround, thereby saving the airline from itself (and keeping cash in our federal coffers).
 
Rick George: The merger with Petro Canada accomplished, and with right-sizing out of the way, George turns Suncor Energy Inc. into a leading global energy company with significant oil sands assets. (Based on Suncor’s past success, and considering George’s significant abilities, this is a reachable goal. We need to build more global companies, or Canada will be well on its way to becoming another Belgium…)
 
And finally,
 
Steve Yzerman: As executive director of Canada's 2010 men's Olympic hockey team,
Yzerman leads us to gold in Vancouver. He then comes out of retirement, joins the Leafs as General Manager and Toronto wins the Stanley Cup in 2011. (Ya, right!)

Your thoughts on my predictions?

Stephen Colbert made a great comment this week on The Colbert Report. He said: “It takes alpha meat balls to stand up and say 'America, we suck’”. Of course, he was referring to Domino’s Pizza Inc. If you haven’t heard, Domino’s president, Patrick Doyle, is the face a new campaign of brutal honesty. He’s owning up to the fact that Domino’s has a culture and a business that have deteriorated over the years. In effect, Doyle is announcing to the world that he – personally – is going to ensure things improve.

Is this just a risky (but potentially brilliant) PR move? Maybe. But my feelings about Domino’s aside (I’m a Boston Pizza man), Doyle’s front-and-centre approach is remarkable.

My point is this: whether it’s Jim Balsillie taking on Toronto’s waterfront, or Patrick Doyle taking on pizza, the great leaders of 2010 will continue to be those who have a fire in their belly and the courage of their convictions (Yzerman especially – Go Canada!). And if any of the predictions I’ve made come true by the end of this year, it will be because of “above the line” leadership.

Who Are You and How Do Get Your Message Out: Communication Strategies for Leaders in 2010.

And speaking of PR, how much have you thought about your organization’s own media relations and/or communication strategy lately?

We think about it a lot at Waterstone.

There are a number of factors to consider – what does your audience want or need to hear, and how do you deliver a message that’s interesting, that reflects your brand, and, most importantly, that reflects your culture?

And then of course there’s the big question – what’s the best medium for a leader to use, in today’s media-confused environment?

Leaders have to tread carefully in 2010. For instance, the never-ending pressure to twitter…

If you’re Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, you can make insinuations about lurid encounters with Arianna Huffington high-above the ground while promoting your airline’s new service to Orange County (California) in a tweet and no one bats an eyelid.

But what about the rest of us? I’m in executive search. I recruit top talent for my clients. Do I tweet that I’ve just placed the most phenomenal candidate for a specific client? There are so many reasons why that simply won’t work.

I think a key to a good communication strategy these days is to have a conversation, or hope for the potential for one, with your audience; to talk to them about what you think is important and what you also think might be of interest to them. Since leadership and corporate culture are topics that are of great interest to me, The Waterline, this newsletter, feels right. But I am also interested in your thoughts, so please keep them coming (see the comments section at the end of this newsletter).

We can learn a lot from other Canadian leaders and their communication styles and tactics.

For instance:

Sean Durfy, CEO, WestJet:

“If you don’t have that, you’re screwed brother”.

Who’d of thought those words, uttered from the mouth of a Canadian CEO, would work so well? Although the campaign was for Microsoft, you can see it on YouTube. It’s a great example of the superb communication style of Sean Durfy: he’s credible, he’s fun – and funny – and he manages to wrap it all up with WestJet’s message. Brilliant.

Gordon Nixon, CEO, RBC: Nixon is a phenomenal communicator – which is not something you can say about most bank CEOs these days. Throughout the dark days of 2009 he was the voice of reason, dare I say it making us feel proud that the Canadian banking system was as solid as a Sherman tank (in comparison to the situation south of the border).  He’s consistent and accessible; confident and well-spoken. He readily acknowledges the skills and talents of his over 75,000 employees, and credits RBC’s corporate culture with its success.

Of course, leaders like Nixon and Durfy have teams behind them, who help them craft and hone their message, and who figure out the best and most relevant way of delivering those messages – whether it be YouTube or a press release. But good leaders are great communicators. Regardless of the medium, they know how to deliver the message. And in the case of Nixon and Durfy, they do it in such a way that it reflects their organization’s culture.

That to me is above the line.