“I told ya so.”
Edition 76
Happy Sunday,
I’ve finally moved back home, got my internet running (a few minutes ago), am surrounded by boxes and a feeling that the world keeps underestimating 51% of its population. The Iranian regime has, and so have many Americans.
“I told ya so”
“I told ya so. Women in America made their voices heard, man. Y’all showed up and beat the hell out of them.” - U.S. President Joe Biden at the Howard Theatre in Washington on Thursday.
It’s been a week that’s surprised U.S. pundits and pollsters! The Democrats have won 50 seats, leaving 49 for Republicans. As other results trickle in and even if the Republicans end up neck and neck with the Dems, the deciding vote now lies with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. That means the Democrats have control over the Senate.
It’s a win for President Biden, who even last week had members of his own party ready to jump ship. Polls had them convinced the Democrat focus on women was too far down the “issues/concern agenda”.
The midterm results are a win, even if the result is shy of the 52 majority needed to break a filibuster (what’s that?) or codify Roe V Wade (what’s that?). While President Biden can thank Senator Catherine Cortez Masto for that last push in the state of Nevada, Trump’s candidates have taken quite a drubbing across the board.
The overall result is also quite different than what was being discussed last week, when I was in New York. I was hosting 2,700 CEOs from 80 countries at the annual YPO Edge summit. While it felt like a Vegas show, it was actually the largest gathering of CEOs anywhere on the planet. If YPO members were a country, these folks would have the world’s 3rd largest GDP. To underscore just how key they are to the global economy - here’s another stat - they employ more than 22 million people around the world. And they were told over and over again in New York by powerful U.S. voices - the American voter was worried about the economy and inflation. Roe V Wade, or the focus on women’s bodily autonomy was not as critical as the Democrats had made out.
Boy, were the pundits wrong! It’s surprising they didn’t/don’t make the connection between the economy and women’s rights. And the bros cheering Elon Musk as he told them to vote Red - well it’s a good reminder that not everything on social media is to be believed as reality on the ground. It’s a good reminder not to bank on polls either!
These pundits and leaders seemed to also forget young people, who registered in droves and voted early. The old fogies forgot that for Gen Z, the ‘S’ in ESG is part of their very being. (This article on ‘why can’t pollsters reach Gen Z’ is a fascinating read.)
What leadership looks like in 2022
If anyone is still in doubt that leadership in the 20’s looks very different to what MBA schools were spouting even 10 years ago, the U.S. midterms should be a clear signal. It is about Trust - from every stakeholder. This decade’s leader is one who is fearless and steers her/his teams with empathy and morals.
That sentiment was echoed by many of the stalwarts who shared the YPO stage with me - from Hedge Fund miracle maker Ray Dalio, comediane and host Stephen Colbert, Lawrence Summers, Scott Galloway, Ian Bremmer or Dov Seidman - They all agreed with Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School (HBS) Frances Frei:
“The best leaders build trust through authenticity, logic, and empathy”.
So let me introduce you to the women who pushed that impactful message through at YPO Edge. I’ll kick off with Frances - I’ve fan girl’ed her for a long time!
Frances Frei
When you meet Frances, you know she is going to be honest, blunt and charming as she tells you how to fix a messy organisation. She is a global thought leader on leadership and strategy, with one of the most popular classes at HBS. Her research investigates how leaders create the conditions for organizations and individuals to thrive by designing for excellence in strategy, operations and culture.
She regularly advises senior executives embarking on large-scale change initiatives and organizational transformation. Uber for example tapped her to sort out their bro-culture problems and she has. She became the ride-share company’s first Senior Vice President of Leadership and Strategy in 2017, with a mandate to help it navigate its very public crisis in leadership and culture.
“If you really believe being empathetic and authentic are going to take away from your profits you’re never going to get there. You have to genuinely believe that trust will accelerate your market cap and profits because if you are doing it for performative reasons, it will never work.” - Frances at YPO Edge
As an example, I asked her how or what could Elon Musk do regarding his rather problematic approach to his Twitter ownership? Frances’ answer? For a leader it needs to be all about learning. If Elon would be open to learning – his problems could be solved in 30 minutes. But, for that learning scenario to happen, he would need to listen and be empathetic!
That’s a lesson for us all indeed.
Poppy Jaman OBE
I’ve never looked across a room and felt an instant connection with someone. I’ve never shared many issues I’ve found difficult to talk about with anyone. But I did with Poppy and know a lifelong friendship has been born. She makes talking about vulnerability, powerful. She would!
Poppy is one of the world’s most respected workplace mental health experts and voices. She advocates, is a U.K. national policy advisor and also a social entrepreneur. Amongst the many hats she wears in the space, she is also the CEO of the City Mental Health Alliance (CMHA), a coalition of multinationals working together to create a culture of good mental health, building a global community influencing change and stigma.
In 2018, Poppy was awarded The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. She has won multiple awards; and has been recognised by FT readers as one of the world’s game-changing women.
My takeaway from Poppy has been simple yet powerful - Organisations who create spaces where vulnerability is a strength are the ones that will thrive!
Maria Ressa
Listening to Maria is always a blunt reminder that silence is acceptance. Her battle for the truth has been a beacon for journalists under fire, around the world.
“We are in the last two minutes of this game of democracy.”
“If you don’t have facts, you can’t have truths; if you don’t have truths, you can’t have trust.”
Those two lines from the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate hit every CEO in New York hard. Especially, for those who consider her their hero (of which I am one).
One of the co-founders of the Rappler online news site, and as its CEO and editor Maria has distinguished herself as a fearless defender of freedom of expression, has exposed the abuse of power, use of violence and increasing authoritarianism of the regime of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.
She is though still fighting a conviction in the Philippines for cyber libel which carries a prison sentence of more than 6 years' imprisonment. But even as she does that, keeps Rappler’s work going despite an order to shut down — Maria is also working with other Nobel laureates and nearly 150 organizations to design a 10-point action plan that can stop surveillance for profit. The woman never stops amazing the world with the impact she makes!
Anjali Sud
Anjali Sud may be dealing with a stock price that’s collapsed since its IPO, but she is nowhere close to being dismal or full of regrets. The 39-year-old CEO of Vimeo reinvented the company, which for 16 years was simply a tiny competitor to YouTube. She transformed it into a software company that serves video creators, spun it out and headed up its much celebrated IPO. But despite the ups and downs of a stock price, she has stuck firm to her belief that cyclical markets do not define the purpose or ethos of a company.
Anjali isn’t just a beacon for women colour becoming CEOs of publicly listed companies. She truly believes in ‘leading by example’. She became one of the most prominent publicly listed CEOs to take maternity leave for her second child, even during the toughest time for the business. And she was frank about her real anxiety in doing so. This MBA graduate who is constantly looking for a challenge says, more leaders and companies are starting to invest in and realize the ROI from a more inclusive workforce.
Lynn Martin
Lynn became the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Group’s second female CEO in 2021. The computer programmer knows that data, data, data and tools to handle them — are the only way the ‘S’ in ESG will become central to every organisation’s business model. Lynn firmly believes this is inevitable — that the ‘S’ is moving from a check box to core business strategy. And for the naysayers: She says - keep an eye on institutional investors - they are putting their money where their mouth is - and that is in quantifiable, measurable ESG. And Lynn would know - the NYSE is the world’s largest stock exchange, with 2,400 listed companies and a combined market capitalization of $36 trillion.
She has served as president of ICE Data Services and COO of ICE Clear U.S. Prior to ICE’s acquisition of NYSE Euronext in 2013, and in a number of leadership roles, including CEO of NYSE Liffe U.S. and CEO of New York Portfolio Clearing. Lynn started her career at IBM.
Now, I’m no techie but interestingly Lynn and I do share one fact - both of us started our tech exposure with the same computer - an early Commodore 64! (there..I just dated myself!)
Rana el Kaliouby
Rana says you’ve got to have a growth mindset! The CEO and co-founder of Affectiva, a facial and vocal recognition software that spun out of MIT Media Lab, is a lifelong learner whose mission is humanizing technology.
Rana’s book “Girl Decoded: A scientist's quest to reclaim humanity by bringing emotional intelligence to technology” gives you a peek into this AI icon’s purpose. The world is changing fast, but it doesn’t mean we need to leave emotions, care, or understanding behind.
I’m going to say Girl Decoded is a must read for us all, no matter how old we are or where we are from - The book doesn’t just give you a glimpse of the ‘what’ of Emotion AI, but importantly chronicles the why - via Rana’s journey from being a “nice Egyptian girl” to becoming a woman, carving her own path as she revolutionizes technology. When you meet Rana, you cannot imagine that she was ever anything but the confident technologist she is today. One who heads a company credited with defining the field of Emotion AI and who now works with 25% of the Fortune 500.
They Say My Generation..
Alyssa Gaines, an 18-year-old from Indianapolis is also the 6th U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate.
Her powerful poem written exclusively for YPO’s gathered CEOs is a powerful reminder to us all:
Her generation isn’t what we expect!