Interview with Business Tycoon and Magnate Mouli Cohen
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 4, 2007 — Business magnate and entrepreneur Mouli Cohen was recently interviewed on what it takes to be a great leader. What follows is a transcript of that interview.
Mouli, you have often commented that organizations need talented people a lot more than talented people need organizations. While this seems absolutely true most companies don't practice what they preach. Do you see this beginning to change? What organizations are taking their people seriously and how are they turning them into great leaders?
Mouli: A great example happening now is the case of Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express. I see Chenault as a leader by good example. He understands the value of attracting and retaining talent and he and his team have built an exceptionally rigorous leadership development program full of metrics, incentives, goals, values, calendars, etc.
One of the golden secrets of building a super-dominant company is by attracting the best talent continuously. Companies that provide people with opportunities to learn and grow attract hard-to-find talent in droves. By continually attracting the most promising candidates these firms become super-performing organizations. The cycle repeats each year and over time the firm becomes mega dominant in its field. This is the formula for long-term success in what is currently a very cutthroat and competitive global marketplace.
Who are some of the leaders who are leading the charge in this area? How big a monetary investment is it for these big firms to develop all of these HR programs?
Mouli: You are right to call it an investment. But honestly, how can today's global companies afford not to invest in attracting the best talent and helping them to grow into powerful leaders? In addition to Chenault of AMEX I also like what Jim Skinner (CEO, McDonald's), Bill Hawkins (Medtronic) and John Lechleiter (Eli Lilly) are doing. Jim Skinner personally reviews the development of his top 200 managers. This certainly is a time investment. Bill Hawkins says he spends 50% of his time on people issues. These are leaders who recognize the importance of keeping their workforce happy, challenged and constantly growing.
How do these companies go about setting up programs and an infrastructure to facilitate leadership development? Surely it cannot only rely on the CEO.
Mouli: Quite right. You have to build out the right type of HR department and consider creating a whole leadership development program. Take General Electric, for example. Under Jack Welch'S incredible leadership GE built one of the most impressive leadership/training facilities. Located an hour north of New York City GE's Crotonville is a beautiful 52-acre campus where thousands of managers are trained every year. This level of investment shows a true commitment to people and growth.
Here are some other best practices I've culled over the years through working with great leaders and also in the process of running my many start-ups. These are rules for businesses to live by:
1) Choose and assign assignments strategically – typically organizations assign people based on what they are good at and not what they need to work on. GE has traditionally done an incredible job of cross-training. GE also has the advantage of having so many different and diverse business divisions all over the world.
2) Develop leaders within their current jobs – moving leaders from a business division to another after a short period of time can cause great tension and stress within that group. Instead consider giving leaders a smaller, short-term assignment outside their immediate role. Companies like Nokia and Eli Lilly are doing so with great reported success.
3) Give constant feedback and support and be damn passionate in the process – so many companies neglect to provide ongoing feedback. As a result employees don't realize how much they have accomplished and begin not to care.
4) Do not just develop individuals … develop entire teams! – historically training is based around the individual. You have to take whole teams and teach them how to work together. This is what fosters true leadership and efficiency.
5) Inspire, don't fire – playing the role of the heavy-handed boss who issues direct orders no longer works in today's global economy. American Express, PG&E and countless others have all developed training programs for their top managers to help them learn how to inspire employees to do much more.
6) Leaders should actively participate in their communities – this is a great way for individuals who may never serve on a major corporate board to experience leadership by serving perhaps on a local, non-profit board. It's also inspiring to other co-workers and employees.
7) Leadership development must become part of the company's culture – creating great leaders is not about developing programs, it's a way of living. Honest feedback has to be permitted and encouraged. Some firms culturally do not accept this and that is a problem. Devoting significant time to mentoring needs to be encouraged as is working for non-profits, etc. These types of cultural standards have to be lived (not dictated) by everyone in the organization.
What if you are a very small company with say 50-100 people? Can you still accomplish many of these ambitious development and leadership goals?
Mouli: Smaller companies certainly have a different set of challenges than large, global corporations. However, I would argue that a great CEO of a smaller firm could accomplish many of these goals and spend more one-on-one time with employees.
Do you have any concluding thoughts or recommendations for CEOs in today's firms?
Mouli: No matter how good a job you think you are doing with people development, etc., there is always room for improvement. There is always someone out there doing a better job. This keeps you competitive and humble at the same time. Look around at the other great companies and feel inspired by them. Strive to do more in your organization and always reach for the stars.
About Mouli Cohen
In his career as an entrepreneur, Mouli has been one of the few to have success in biotechnology and high technology. His start-ups have generated well over $3B in shareholder value. In recognition of his ability to generate mega investment in the U.S. economy and the creation of thousands of U.S. jobs, Mouli was awarded the first-ever "Millionaire Residency" with full citizenship status by President George H. Bush. For press inquiries and more information please visit http://www.moulicohen.com or contact the Press Agent at 415-902-2802.