Thinking and conversations

["Ivan Webb" <Ivan.Webb@bigpond.com>]

Marcia Daszko recently wrote...
 
>Recently I met one of my former clients who was a CEO and is now the
Executive Director of a large trade association with 2,200 member
companies.  He 
told me, "Marcia, when I sat on this Board of Directors as a  CEO 15
years ago, every other CEO was a visionary thinker.  Ten years ago,  I
noticed there were 
50% visionary thinkers and 50% operational CEO's.   Today I have a Board
who are all Operational thinkers, not one visionary.   All they want to
talk about 
are the bottom line and cost-cutting."
 
>I am finding it a challenge to find people with courage, who want to
learn and lead.  What are your experiences?

The above quote actually says it all
(a) "...every other CEO was a visionary thinker ..."
(b) "... All they want to talk about are the bottom line and
cost-cutting"
Therefore, we can conclude that 'they'  are no longer talking about
visionary things.

Perhaps our conversations determine what we think. I know the common
wisdom has it the other way around. My experience was that Deming taught
things and provided or recommended tools that changed what people talked
about, and then their thinking, actions and experiences changed: I know
mine did!!

Leadership is fundamentally about changing what people talk about... the
thinking (and courage, learning and leading) will follow. 

Ivan Webb