The Leadership Journal

A friend invited me to watch a Sounders Game, last week. For those of you who don’t know – the Seattle Sounders are a soccer team, playing in the U.S, Professional Soccer League –  MLS. It was a great event, we lost the match – but the atmosphere was great.

As I watched the game, I remembered a conversation I’d had with another friend -  who recently watched the Sounders take on one of the worlds best teams – Chelsea FC, of the English Premiership, in a friendly match. He talked about how Chelsea dominated the match with creative attacks and disciplined defence. Spraying passes effortlessly and making the game look more like a practice session. I heard similar feedback about another friendly, against FC Barcelona.

If you’re a die hard Sounders fan, you may disagree with this assessment – I wasn’t there, so I can’t judge. However, I’ve played and watched football (or Soccer), for most of my life and I’m quite knowledgeable about the worlds best leagues, and players.

As I listened to my friend go on and on about how well Chelsea played and how fit and strong -they looked, I asked him a question. Do you think any of our Seattle Sounder players could play for Chelsea? Are they good enough, and if not – why not?

I’d like to throw this out as an exercise to all you Leaders & soccer lovers out there.

1. What’s the key difference between both Football Clubs?
2. Why do you think the Chelsea players – played so much better than their counterparts, in the Sounders
3. Could a key player from Sounders FC, become a key player in Chelsea FC? What would it take for that to happen?

Now, think of Chelsea as a Fortune 50 Company – (such as Coca-cola, Procter & Gamble or Microsoft). The Sounders could be a much smaller, mid-tier Fortune 10,000 team.

1. What would be the key differences between both organizations?
2. What do you think would be the key differences between leaders in both organizations?
3. Do you think a leader from Sounders Inc could be succesful in Chelsea Inc? if not – why not?

Pls feel free to respond to my questions through comments on this blog post, or you could email me directly at leaders@theleadershipjournal.com

Servant Leader

Judy Elder

Earlier today, for some reason, I found myself thinking about Judy Elder. She was the GM, Consumer Products Division at Microsoft Canada, back in March ‘02. I probably have the  unfortunate distinction of being the last person she ever interviewed for a position at MSN Canada, she passed away on March 28th ‘02, at the age of 47. 

In addition to her role in the Consumer Products Division, Judy was also responsible for the Canadian retail and consumer marketing of all of Microsoft’s software, hardware tools and Xbox. She came to Microsoft Canada from IBM Canada, where she served as Vice-President, Communications and simultaneously held the position of Director of Integrated Marketing Communications for IBM North America. Prior to joining IBM Canada, Ms. Elder spent almost 18 years with Oglivy and Mather Advertising where she rose steadily through the ranks, culminating in a six-year term as President of Ogilvy One, Ogilvy and Mather’s direct and interactive marketing company. She also served as the Chair of the Canadian Marketing Association.

 Although I didn’t know Judy Elder personally, I remember being struck by her warmth and her smile. She had a way of making you feel at ease, even whilst asking tough, penetrating questions. I got the job, and during my first week – I ended up attending a memorial ceremony for Judy. The event was so well attended, and so moving, that I resolved to find out more about her. In doing so, I came across a speech she delivered to a Women’s Television Network series, organized by the Toronto Board of Trade. The speech was delivered just a few weeks before she died.  It was called “Mothers, Fathers, Men, Ambition: The people and values that motivate and shape women’s success”. The speech was so inspiring that it motivated top Canadian corporations to fund the Judy Project, a leadership forum for executive women at the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. (Those who think words can’t have a lasting impact, – should think again).

It is that Speech which I remembered – this morning, as I prepared to write a motivational email to one of my mentees. Although this speech targets women, we can all benefit from Judy’s assertions about Life, Loved Ones &  Ambition. In Jan ’05, 3 years after she passed away,  Judy Elder was amongst the first 12 people in Canada to be inducted into the Marketing Hall of Legends, along with great Canadian entrepreneurs who created iconic brands such as Roots, Tim Horton’s, President’s Choice and Cirque du Soleil. I’m honored to have met this woman, even for only an hour – and I encourage you all to read her speech – and send me your comments.

(If for some reason, you can’t access the pdf links in this blog post – you may need to download Adobe Reader 9  It’s free – and you’re not compelled to change your search tool bar, you can simply uncheck the box): Link to Download.

Servant Leader….

Hi there, as some of you may know – this journal exists to provide useful, tangible information on Leadership trends, for a global audience, around the world. We will strive to post our write-ups, on a bi-weekly bases, primarily on Saturday’s or Sundays. So, those of you who have RSS feeds, can look out for new write-ups, every couple of weeks.

We’re hopeful that you will be able to apply some of our suggestions during your work week, and share your insights and learnings with us, through comments on our blog posts or emails to leaders@theleadershipjournal.com.

Cheers,

Servant Leader