<p>As you may know by now, I'm a big Charlie Rose fiend.&nbsp; I&nbsp;seldom miss an episode and I rarely delete one without watching it first... only when he gets locked-in on a topic for multiple days (which he is prone to do) do I "pass."&nbsp; Last night, 10/21/08, he had a stellar show from Harvard Business School's 100th Anniversary Celebration.&nbsp; Jeff Immelt and others served as panel members whom he interviewed.&nbsp; The topic: "Leadership in the 21st Century."&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/about/video.aspx?v=1_4umg3ofj">https://www.hbs.edu/about/video.aspx?v=1_4umg3ofj</a>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here are some highlights:</p>
<p>1. Borrow, Buy, Burn.&nbsp; "As a country, the US must stop borrowing from the Chinese to purchase oil from the Arabs to burn into the air."&nbsp;</p>
<p>2. Four&nbsp;Pillars for Any Global Company: "Education, Healthcare, Energy, and Financial Services."</p>
<p>3.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Scariest Formula During These Economically-Troubled Times = Illiquidity x High Unemployment x High Debt.&nbsp; "This formula handicaps us."</p>
<p>4. Regarding Innovation&nbsp;&amp; Entrepreneurship in America: We're rocking; and this is our future.&nbsp; We cannot compete internationally in terms of labor rates, but Americans are ingenious, and assuming that Energy Independence and Renewable Energies&nbsp;will be "the moonshot of our generation," we can export them -- and best practices --&nbsp;providing jobs, economic security, and&nbsp;improved living conditions around the world.</p>
<p>5.&nbsp;Three Key Areas of Current Entrepreneurship:&nbsp;(1)Digital/Internet Engineers -- Bits &amp; Bytes, (2)Biotech Engineers -- Bugs&nbsp;&amp; Drugs, (3)Greentech Engineers -- Biofuels &amp; Batteries</p>
<p>6.&nbsp;Three Key Market Segments for&nbsp;Today and the Future: Jeff Immelt described "thinking of brick as passe.&nbsp; And thinking in terms of 'developing countries' as passe."&nbsp; Instead, he&nbsp;shared how GE thinks of markets.&nbsp;&nbsp;"We see three segments.&nbsp; (1)Natural Resources Rich (Brazil, Australia, Russia, Middle East, Africa), (2)People-Driven Regions (China, India, Southeast Asia) where a local presence must be created to compete, and (3)Technology/Education Rich Regions (Western Europe, Japan).</p>
<p>7. Regarding&nbsp;Obama &amp; McCain: "Our head is with McCain, but our heart is with Obama."&nbsp; An interesting sentiment, spoken by one of India's most powerful businessmen.</p>
<p>8. And finally, let me share the 14 'key leadership traits' that were identified by the distinguished and diverse leadership panel, all of whom are HBS graduates:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<div>Take&nbsp;risks, make mistakes (otherwise you're not trying)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Exude confidence (not fear, worry, anxiety, hopelessness)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Be a fast learner (it's not what you know, but how quickly you can learn/adapt)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Decisiveness (without perfect knowledge)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Accountability (stand up for&nbsp;what you believe)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Transparency (people want your truth, but also your intention)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Unity (create opportunities for people to be part of something bigger than themselves or your current organization; think longer term)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Live an examined life</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Give</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Renew yourself ("I go to bed feeling like a failure, and awake saying, 'Hello, Handsome!'"&nbsp; - Jeff Immelt)&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Ideas are easy, execution is everything (and teams do it)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Think on your feet, communicate effectively</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Character (it's binary -- you either have it or you don't; and people can smell it)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Know your environment (we are approaching 300 countries... there is much to know)</div>
</li>
</ol>
<p>More next time...</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>