Leadership Rocks

Leadership is hard work. Making sustainable change is hard work. As leaders in this infinitely connected, Web 2.0, post-MTV world economy, we are constantly bombarded with data and stimuli from countless sources that vie for our attention. Today more than ever, leaders must be consistently “on their game” in their ability to triage information and make decisions quickly. Good leaders must therefore “Rock” as never before to keep up with this deluge and make sound decisions. However, I respectfully submit three additional R’s, which are also keys to great leadership:

• Rest: Get it consistently and protect it (a 20 minute “cat nap” when needed more than pays its way in productivity and freshening the mind!)
• Relax: As any committed leader knows, the demands of doing “it” well can take 24/7 of one’s time if allowed to. Time and fun with family and friends is mentally healing and offers huge perspective on business issues and opportunities.
• Reflect: Making time to THINK is one of the greatest gifts a leader can give to themselves and those whom they aspire to lead.

What is failure?

Every leader can look at their career and point to, often vividly, initiatives, projects or decisions that did not go as planned or that resulted in undesirable outcomes. These “failures” may have had business or personal consequences ranging from the inconvenient to the catastrophic; impacting many people, causing the demise of an enterprise, even leading to an ill-fated political conflict or war. Leaders are required and expected to make good decisions, often without the time or the data needed to make “perfect” decisions. Even well informed decisions that are consistent with strategic goals and organizational values can sometimes go awry or have unintended consequences. Every leader makes mistakes and errors in judgment; And consequences are what they are and must be dealt with, period. Good leaders make the best decisions they can based on the information available to them. Great leaders also acknowledge mistakes and take them forward as learning’s for themselves and their organizations in making future decisions. The only true failure is failure to do so.

Film matters

Tonight I attended the annual members appreciation reception for the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF), for which I am privileged to serve on the board as vice president of marketing. While speaking to the crowd of about 200 at the House of Blues Cambridge room, thanking Frank Bird and Cleveland Magazine for underwriting the event, thanking the audience for their support and introducing the Film Festival Staff.. I was struck by the same facts that I’m reminded of every year leading up to CIFF in the 5 years that I’ve served on the board. CIFF has a full time staff of 5 people who work tirelessly year round to put on what is arguably one of the best and most respected regional arts and cultural events in the world. Between November and March every year this small staff methodically but magically transforms into a seasonal paid staff of over 70, plus 300 volunteers who donate their time (many of them taking vacation to do so) during the 11 days of the Festival. A good board of directors/trustees provides good governance (more about board roles and structure another time) and empowers the operating management of the organization/company/community to execute. The 32nd Cleveland International Film Festival will open on March 6 and draw attendance of something over 50,000 to Tower City to celebrate the joy,drama, sorrow, humor and electricity of over 200 independent films from over 60 countries. This simply would not happen with out the leadership of Marcie Goodman and the execution of Patrick Shepard, Bill Guentzler, Debby Samples, Debbie Marshall and the host of seasonal staff and volunteers that bring the CIFF to life each Spring.

Film matters.

Welcome

As we redesigned the Cobalt Group website in anticipation of the exciting changes taking place, Patti and I both made decisions that we would start blogs. My entries will be about my experiences, my thoughts on leadership, entrepreneurship, government, public policy and personal reflections on current events. We hope to create a dialogue that stimulates thought, debate, creative thinking and healthy disagreement… first between us and we hope among those who choose to read and respond. Blogging is new to me and I will, as I always have, learn by doing. The views expressed here are my own and not those of my Cobalt Group partner or associates… believe me, they have their own. Diversity of thinking is what stimulates innovation, entrepreneurship and healthy democracy. I hope that you will engage me, and each other in celebrating this spirit.

Respectfully,

Mark Smith