12 O’Clock High

Richard Lummis and Tom Fox begin a two-part series on leadership lessons from Woodrow Wilson. In this Part 1, we look at lessons from Wilson’s formative years in growing up in the South, his educational career, his academic profession and thought leadership; his Presidency of Princeton, his governorship of New Jersey and the Presidential election of 1912. In Part 2 we will take up his Presidential years.

Highlights of this podcast include:

1. Intro of Woodrow Wilson
2. Discussion on impact of slavery on Wilson and being a Southerner
3. Academic Work History
4. Professor at Johns Hopkins
5. Publication of Congressional Government
6. Move to Wesleyan
7. Move to Princeton in 1992-textbooks on government
8. President of Princeton-1902
9. Achievements
10. Seeds of character defects revealed?
11. Health issues
12. Governor of New Jersey
13. Surprise Candidate- “it came to me unsought, unanimously, and without pledges to anybody about anything.”
14. Reformist and turned back the Bosses?
15. Nomination and Campaign of 1912
16. Dark Horse Candidate
17. Impact of William Jennings Bryan
18. New Freedom platform – breaking up trusts and lowering tariff rates
19. Leadership Lessons

Resources

Ten Ways to Judge a President

Woodrow Wilson Quotes

Woodrow Wilson-a Failure in Leadership

How Woodrow Wilson Lost the Peace

Woodrow Wilson-Life Before the Presidency

13 Leadership Lessons from WWI

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Richard Lummis and I are back for another episode of 12 O’Clock High, a podcast on business leadership. Today, we take up the issue of what is ‘focused leadership’. Our podcast is based on the Harvard Business Review article, The Focused Leader by Dan Goldman, who notes “A primary task of leadership is to direct attention. To do so, leaders must learn to focus their own attention. When we speak about being focused, we commonly mean thinking about one thing while filtering out distractions. But a wealth of recent research in neuroscience shows that we focus in many ways, for different purposes, drawing on different neural pathways—some of which work in concert, while others tend to stand in opposition. Grouping these modes of attention into three broad buckets—focusing on yourself, focusing on others, and focusing on the wider world—sheds new light on the practice of many essential leadership skills.” Richard Lummis and Tom Fox break it down for you. It consists of self-awareness, self-control, the empathy triad and building relationships. We look at it in the context of long-term strategy, innovation and system awareness.

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Richard Lummis and I are back for another episode of 12 O’Clock High, a podcast on business leadership. Today, we end this most unusual year of 2020 with our annual wrap up and look forward into 2020. We consider where have we been over the past year with our Presidential series, some of our favorite episodes and why researching Theodore Roosevelt was almost as much fun as recording the podcast series on leadership lessons from TR and we conclude with where we might head in 2021 and a sneak peek at our February month of leadership lessons from Oscar-winning best pictures. 

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 One of the key components for any successful business leader; yet one rarely discussed, is judgment. I was therefore intrigued by a Harvard Business Review article on the topic by Sir Andrew Likierman, entitled “The Elements of Good Judgment: How to Improve Your Decision-Making”. 

Most of us have heard, been told or believe that you should always ‘listen to your gut’ and that ‘gut instinct’ is something you either have or you do not. As Likierman noted, “A lot of ink has been spilled in the effort to understand what good judgment consists of. Some experts define it as an acquired instinct or “gut feeling” that somehow combines deep experience with analytic skills at an unconscious level to produce an insight or recognize a pattern that others overlook. At a high level this definition makes intuitive sense; but it is hard to move from understanding what judgment is to knowing how to acquire or even to recognize it.”

Interestingly, Likierman finds it all starts with listening and, more importantly, good listening. Listeners to the podcast series 12 O’Clock High, a podcast on business leadership will recognize that as a key trait for almost any successful business leader. Yet, perhaps even more significant, is that he has found that “leaders with good judgment tend to be good listeners and readers—able to hear what other people actually mean, and thus able to see patterns that others do not. They have a breadth of experiences and relationships that enable them to recognize parallels or analogies that others miss—and if they don’t know something, they’ll know someone who does and lean on that person’s judgment. They can recognize their own emotions and biases and take them out of the equation. They’re adept at expanding the array of choices under consideration. Finally, they remain grounded in the real world: In making a choice they also consider its implementation.”

Likierman identified six key elements of good judgment. They are: (1) learning, (2) trust, (3) experience, (4) detachment, (5) options and (6) delivery. It is important to define each of them and have actionable steps to improve your judgment making skills and help you make some sense of not only ambiguous information but the data, data, and data which will become the basis of many corporate decisions in 2020 and beyond.

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Richard Lummis is on assignment this week so I am pleased to host Tom Pilotti. Tom is a world-renowned trainer of professional sales teams. In this episode, he explains his sales training process and how leaders can benefit from not simply an understanding of how to sell and market but how those skills are needed by successful leaders. 

Some of the highlights include:

• Why is sales training so critical for business leaders?
• Why do most business leaders get sales so wrong?
• How can you sell during the era of Covid-19?
• Why is great leadership even more important now?

Resources 

To find out more about Tom Pilotti, check out his website by clicking here.

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Richard Lummis is on assignment this week so I am pleased to host Nick Gallo, co-CEO of ComplianceLine for a special episode. In this episode Nick and I take a deep dive into Doris Kearns Goodwin’s class Doris Kearns Goodwin Teaches U.S. Presidential History and Leadership, where Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin teaches you how to develop the leadership qualities of exceptional American presidents. In her class, Goodwin shares how some of the greatest presidents have made consequential decisions and how we can use their approach in our own lives. She also talks about how to heal divisions and build consensus. MasterClass is an immersive online experience that offers access to genius by allowing anyone to take online classes with the world’s best leaders, instructors and commentators. MasterClass produces the courses directly with the instructors to capture exactly what the masters want to teach. I highly recommend their classes as a great learning tool.

Some of the highlights include:

• Who is Doris Kearns Goodwin?
• What is MasterClass?
• Are great leaders born or made?
• Great leaders have the ability to not just react but embrace the unexpected.
• Making decisions and managing in a crisis.

Resources 

To find out more about MasterClass online learning, click here.

For more information on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s class Doris Kearns Goodwin Teaches U.S. Presidential History and Leadership, click here.

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Richard Lummis and Tom Fox continue their five-part series on leadership lessons from Theodore Roosevelt. We will look at lessons from Roosevelt’s early years in New York up to his cowboying days in Montana; the second phase of his public career, from NYC Police Commission to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, San Juan Hill and the Vice Presidency; his leadership from his Presidency; his life in the post-Presidency and the election of 1912 and we will end with leadership lessons from his post Bull Moose Party life, World War I and event surrounding his death. In this second episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned by Roosevelt in the second phase of his political career, which took him from Police Commissioner of NYC to the Vice Presidency.

Highlights of this podcast include:

What led to appointment to New York Civil Service Commission and then to the NYC Police Commissioner? His move to the National Stage as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. This led to his work in the War with Spain and Admiral Dewey in Manilla Bay. He founded the Rough Riders, his leadership in Cuba and ride up San Juan Hill. He becomes Governor of New York. This leads to joining the McKinley ticket in the election of 1896 and becoming Vice President. We conclude with three key leadership lessons, including: 1. Pick yourself up when you fall; 2. Find a cause; and 3. Communicate Simply and Directly Through Stories.

Resources

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 10 Leadership Lessons from the White House

6 Leadership Hacks From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

10 top Leadership Principles of Teddy Roosevelt

The Roosevelts: Eight presidential lessons in leadership

Lessons in Leadership from 100 years ago

Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership

10 Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Lessons

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Richard Lummis is on assignment this week so I am pleased to host Paul Mueller, who coaches on leadership. Mueller, a certified business coach, is the owner of Excel Business Coaching and Consulting, Inc, a Focal Point franchise. Paul’s passion is working with business owners to align their organizations around clear vision, mission, and value statements. These statements pave the way for them to achieve their goals for their businesses, families, employees, and communities.

 Some of the topics we discuss are Focal Point-Coaching and Training Excellence; the attributes of a broken culture and how Paul sees it sees it in a hierarchy. In an organization, what is the catalyst for change and what is the organizational model for change? Finally, what does the model of a healthy organization look like?

Resources 

Paul Mueller LinkedIn Page here

Paul Mueller website here

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Richard Lummis and Tom Fox begin a five-part series on leadership lessons from Theodore Roosevelt. We will look at lessons from Roosevelt’s early years in New York up to his cowboying days in Montana; the second phase of his public career, from NYC Police Commission to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, San Juan Hill and the Vice Presidency; his leadership from his Presidency; his life in the post-Presidency and the election of 1912 and we will end with leadership lessons from his post Bull Moose Party life, World War I and event surrounding his death. In this first episode, we consider the leadership lessons learned by Roosevelt from his parents, his sickly childhood, initial forays into public life, widowhood and cowboying in Montana.

Highlights of this podcast include:

Roosevelt’s parents, his upbringing, education and early book publishing. Roosevelt’s widowhood in his early 20s and his election to the New York State Assembly. From the Presidential election of 1884, up to his cowboying in Dakota. We conclude with three key leadership lessons, including 1. The beginning of his lifelong learning; 2. How he came to view merit, not privilege as the key to advancement, and 3. How hard work is required to be a great leader.

Resources

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 10 Leadership Lessons from the White House

6 Leadership Hacks From The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

10 top Leadership Principles of Teddy Roosevelt

The Roosevelts: Eight presidential lessons in leadership

Lessons in Leadership from 100 years ago

Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership

10 Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Lessons

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12 O’Clock High, an award-winning podcast on business leadership, brings together stories from history, the arts, sports and movies, research, and current events to consider leadership lessons. In this episode, Tom is joined by Jared Connors to navigate PFAS Regulations, Trade Sanctions, and Sustainability Reporting in 2025.

Tom welcomes former colleague Jared Connors to discuss key compliance issues as 2024 approaches. Their conversation dives into PFAS regulations, trade sanctions, sustainability reporting, and how businesses must navigate these complex landscapes. Jared explains the critical impact of PFAS ‘forever chemicals,’ shedding light on state-level and federal restrictions and the international obligations of companies involved in manufacturing and distribution. The episode also tackles the implications of trade sanctions and how companies can manage their supply chains to avoid disruptions, especially in light of global tensions and shifting political dynamics. Moving forward, Jared provides insight into upcoming sustainability reporting obligations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and California’s new stringent laws, emphasizing the importance of data collection and transparent reporting in mitigating risks. This episode provides a comprehensive overview for compliance professionals looking to stay ahead of regulatory changes and market expectations.

Key highlights:

• PFAS: The Forever Chemicals
• Sanctions and Trade Restrictions
• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
• Impact of Tariffs on Companies

 Resources:

Jared Connors on LinkedIn

Assent Compliance

Tom Fox

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