Leadership Biz Cafe With Tanveer Naseer

How does a storied organization like Disney create an engaged, empowered workforce despite the current economic challenges, and what can other organizations learn from their experience? That's the basis of my conversation with international keynote speaker and former Disney executive Doug Lipp in this latest episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”.Doug began his career at Disney as one of the trainers at the Disney University at Disneyland. This lead to Doug joining the Walt Disney Imagineering team where he not only helped with the creation of Tokyo Disneyland, but also with the creation of the first international version of the Disney University.Doug then went on to lead the training team at the corporate headquarters of The Walt Disney Company, The Walt Disney Studios.Following his time at Disney, Doug co-developed with Stanford University professor C. Clarke the Interculture Relations Institute, where he taught diverse teams of professionals how to better navigate the intercultural waters of the global market.In

What does storytelling reveal to us as being the key attributes leaders everywhere need to exhibit to encourage employees to follow them both in good times and in bad? That's the basis of my conversation with Forbes columnist and leadership writer/consultant, Erika Andersen.Erika is the founding partner of Proteus, a coaching, consulting and training firm that focuses on leader readiness. Erika also serves as a consultant and advisor to CEOs and top executives from several organizations including GE, Gannett Corporation, Time Warner Cable, Rockwell Automation, Turner Broadcasting, and Madison Square Garden.In addition to her popular business blog on Forbes, Erika is the author of three books, including her latest one, “Leading So People Will Follow”, which examines the “hero story” motif and what it reveals as the six core attributes successful leaders use to inspire others to follow their leadership.Over the course of our conversation, Erika shares a number of stories and examples to illustrate these key lea

Why is it that some leaders are able to stretch and build the intelligence, creativity and motivation of their employees, while other leaders seem only to disengage and drain the collective talent found within their teams? That's the basis of my conversation with leadership researcher and best-selling author Liz Wiseman.Liz is the president of The Wiseman Group, a research and development firm that conducts research in the field of leadership and collective intelligence. Some of her clients include Nike, Apple, PayPal, Genentech, Dubai Bank, Salesforce.com, and Twitter. Prior to founding her research firm, Liz worked for 17 years at Oracle as the Vice President of Oracle University and the global leaders for Human Resource Development.In addition to writing for the Harvard Business Review, Liz co-wrote the Wall Street Journal bestseller, “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter”, which features some of the research she's done looking at leadership and collective intelligence.Over the course of

How can leaders be attentive to those they serve when their time is becoming increasingly fragmented and demands on it growing? How can recognizing the efforts of our employees lead to a sense of purpose and community and with it, a drive towards achieving excellence? These are a few of the topics I discuss with retired CEO and renowned leadership expert Doug Conant in the 10th episode of my leadership podcast show, “Leadership Biz Cafe”.For the last 10 years, Doug has served as the President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, which under his stewawdship was transformed from one of the worst Fortune 500 organizations in terms of employee engagement levels to one of the best.  As a result, Campbell's experienced not only improved productivity and profitability under his stewardship, but the company also received numerous awards recognizing the organization as one of the best places to work.Since retiring from Campbell's in 2011, Doug has remained quite active in the leadership field, both through his speaking e

Why do most efforts to improve team or individual performance fall apart within a short period of time? Why is it that our feelings of accomplishment diminish so quickly after we achieve a goal or target? These questions are just some of the topics I discuss with Stanford professor and author Shirzad Chamine in this episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”.Shirzad is the chairman of CTI, the largest coach-training organization in the world whose clients include managers and executives from Fortune 500 companies, as well as faculty from Stanford and Yale business schools. In addition to his PhD in neuroscience, Shirzad also holds a BA in psychology, an MS in electrical engineering and an MBA from Stanford, where he lectures.Shirzad's first book “Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential And How You Can Achieve Yours” has already become a New York Times bestseller, having received critical acclaim in both business and leadership circles.Over the course of our conversation

There's no question that social media is becoming an important channel through which organizations can share and converse with their audience, as well as attract potential new customers for their products/services. But how can organizations successfully navigate this growing field to order to ensure an ROI from their online efforts? That's the basis of my conversation with author and renowned marketing CEO Shama (Kabani) Hyder in this episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”.Shama is an international speaker, best-selling author and the award-winning CEO of The Marketing Zen Group – a global online marketing and PR firm. Fast Company has called Shama “an online marketing shaman” and Entrepreneur Magazine has dubbed her the “Zen Master of Marketing”. Her best-selling book “The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue” was recently re-released as a 2nd edition featuring more hands-on advice and how-to tips on how to be successful in your marketing efforts on

Regardless of whether the economy is going well or not, one thing that's remained consistent in the workplace over the last few decades is the reality that each of us is responsible for managing our careers and with it, the opportunities we obtain for professional growth and development. But how exactly do we obtain these opportunities to get ahead in our career? That's the focus of my conversation with executive coach and writer Joel Garfinkle in this episode of "Leadership Biz Cafe".Joel has been recognized as one of the Top 50 leadership coaches in the US, having worked with executives from many leading companies including Oracle, Google, Amazon, Ritz-Carlton, and Gap. He has also been featured in a number of respected media outlets such as ABC News, The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal.Joel has written seven books including his latest "Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level" in which he discusses the three key steps you should take to ensure you get those oppor

These days, everyone is talking about the importance of innovation to an organization's future, but what exactly does it take to be innovative and how do we start? That's the basis of my conversation with business strategist and author Andrea Kates in this latest episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”.Andrea is the founder of the Business Genome project and has led more than 250 business innovation initiatives with a variety of organizations, including Royal Dutch Shell (Asia-Pacific), Audi, Allstate, Continental Airlines, KPMG, and OnStar. In her bestselling book “Find Your Next: Using the Business Genome Process to Find Your Company's Next Competitive Edge”, Andrea shares her insights into the various business elements organizations need to employ if they are to create new innovation opportunities in the face of today's competitive, global market.Over the course of our conversation, Andrea and I discuss -What organizations really need to do to be innovative in today's global market.What the creation of the Cool R

How do we stop or curb drama in the workplace? That's the basis of my conversation with Marlene Chism in the fifth episode of my leadership podcast show, “Leadership Biz Cafe”.Marlene is a speaker, author and founder of The Stop Your Drama Methodology, an eight-part empowerment process to increase clarity and improve productivity and personal effectiveness. Marlene has a master’s degree in HR Development from Webster University and is the author of “Success is a Given: Reading the Signs While Reinventing Your Life”, as well as recently published “Stop Workplace Drama - Train Your Team to Have No Complaints, No Excuses and No Regrets”.Over the course of our conversation about how to manage workplace drama, Marlene and I discuss:Learning to appreciate the difference between the drama that arises at work and the drama that comes out from your reaction to that situation.How a lack of clarity leads to workplace conflict and what we can do to regain clarity when our perspective about what's going on around us becom

What role does humility play in today's leadership and how does this trait benefit leaders in facing the challenges present in today's global market? That's one of the questions I discuss with CEO Dave Balter in the latest episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”.Dave is the CEO and founder of the word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing company, BzzAgent, which has been featured on CBS News, the BBC, and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His company has also been the focus of two case studies done by Harvard Business School.Recently, Dave started a new web project titled “100 Days of Humility” in the hopes of drawing more attention to the need for greater humility in today's leadership. The goal of the project is to encourage people to share their thoughts on humility in leadership, with the community voting for the story or idea which best illustrates the important role humility plays in leading others.Over the course of our conversation about the importance of humility in leadership, Dave and I discuss:The personal experie

Does vision still play a key role for organizations in today's ever-changing world?  That the basis of my conversation with best-selling author and former executive Jesse Lyn Stoner in this episode of my leadership podcast show, "Leadership Biz Cafe".Jesse Lyn Stoner is a business consultant, former executive, and bestselling author. For over 30 years, she has worked with leaders in hundreds of organizations including Honda, Pfizer, Marriott, Edelman Public Relations, Yale University, and SAP.In this episode, we discuss some of the ideas she shares about vision in the international bestseller she co-authored with Ken Blanchard, “Full Steam Ahead: Unleash the Power of Vision In Your Work and Your Life”.Over the course of our conversation, Jesse and I discuss:Why creating a vision remains a critical tool for organizations to navigate the growing competitive market.The key elements necessary for creating an effective vision statement.Why organizations need to not only establish, but rank in importance, the value

How does creating meaningful work impact an organization's ability to succeed?  That's the basis of my conversation with Dr. Teresa Amabile and Dr. Steven Kramer.Teresa is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and a Director of Research at Harvard Business School. Steven is a developmental psychologist whose writings have appeared in such illustrious publications as the Harvard Business Review and The New York Times.In this episode, we discuss their research findings which serve as the basis for their new book “The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work”.Over the course of the discussion, Teresa, Steven and I discuss:Why leaders need to provide employees with responsibilities that create a sense of purpose or meaning.How experiencing setbacks can be more damaging to employee morale than leaders realize.What leaders should be managing, as opposed to what they think they should be managing, to encourage productivity in their organization.What

I'm delighted to present a new feature here on my site: a new podcast show called "Leadership Biz Cafe".  Through this new podcast, I plan on inviting business leaders and leadership experts to join me in conversations about their ideas and insights on the challenges and opportunities to be found in today's increasingly competitive and global market.For my first episode, I am pleased to welcome Guy Kawasaki, the best-selling author and former Chief Evangelist at Apple, to the guest chair.  Guy is the co-founder of the popular online content aggregator Alltop.com, as well as one of the founding partners of Garage Technology Ventures.  Earlier this year, he released his latest book called "Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions" which recently made the New York Times bestseller list.I had the opportunity to get an advance copy of Guy's book and after reading it, I invited him to be the first guest on my new podcast series which he graciously accepted.During the podcast, we discuss a number o