Leader’s Digest | February 2024

Welcome to the February 2024 edition of the Leader’s Digest, your monthly compass for navigating the world of business leadership. In this issue, we’ll dig deeper into the theme of Strategy.

Contents

• Exploring the Concept of Up-ruption
• Strategy + Planning = Strategic Planning—or Is It?
• PDF Guide: Best Interview Questions for Executive Recruitment
• Sneak Peek to the Behind the Scenes at NBF
• Inspirational Quote by Maryna Saprykina

New Leadership Insights

Exploring the Concept of Up-ruption

Disruption is a well-known concept for many, but have you heard of up-ruption? Greg Bernarda, who recently ranked on the Thinkers50 radar list and has co-authored the bestseller Value Proposition Design, developed the idea of up-ruption to urge leaders to rise from an era of disruption to an era of higher meaning. According to Greg, up-ruption represents a shift from merely reacting to disruption to proactively elevating value creation and societal purpose.

As Greg puts it, “Up-ruption is about undoing what is stuck or outdated and elevating it to its higher expression.” He emphasizes the importance of embracing complexity and adopting a mindset that transcends traditional business logic.

But how can you incorporate these insights into your own strategic thinking? Here are two action steps:

1️⃣ Shift your focus: Move from a narrow business mission to a broader societal purpose. Ask yourself: What larger societal need or possibility can our organization address?

2️⃣ Deliver on your purpose: Once you’ve identified your societal purpose, align your organization’s efforts towards achieving it. Keep it honest and straightforward, creating coherence for all stakeholders.

Ready to embark on your up-ruptive journey? Dive into our blog to learn more about how you can unlock innovation and drive growth in your organization!

Strategy + Planning = Strategic Planning – or Is It?

While strategic planning is an attractive word for business leaders, Roger Martin, one of the world’s leading thinkers on strategy, underlines that most strategic planning in business has nothing to do with strategy. So, let’s take a step back to basics. What is strategy?

”A strategy is an integrative set of choices that positions you on a playing field of your choice in a way that you win.” – Roger Martin

Focusing on planning alone can lead to complacency and missed opportunities, while great strategies have a clear logic and are adaptable to changing circumstances. Roger argues that in order to win, you need to focus on getting your strategy straight first. To do that, he gives a few concrete steps:

😬 Accept angst and uncertainty. ”You can’t prove in advance that your strategy will succeed.”

🔄 Lay out the logic, then tweak. “Strategy is a journey. What you want to have is a mechanism for tweaking it, honing it, refining it, so it gets better and better as you go along.”

📝 Keep it short. “It’s great if you can write your strategy on a single paper.”

For more insights on strategy, watch the full HBR video featuring Roger Martin.

NBF Spotlight

We’ve heard your requests to learn more about us and what we do. Join us behind the scenes as we introduce our speakers, share event updates, and more!

Speaker of the Month: Bozoma Saint John

• Previous Chief Brand Officer at Uber
• Former Global Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix
• Former Head of Marketing of Apple Music
• Entrepreneur, Author

Boz is a trailblazing marketing executive, entrepreneur, and author who has consistently broken barriers in various industries. With a career spanning roles at top companies like Uber and Netflix, Boz has earned widespread recognition such as an induction to the Marketing Hall of Fame (2022).

Beyond her leadership achievements, Boz passionately advocates for empowering underrepresented groups in the workplace and serves as an ambassador for the African Diaspora, philanthropic causes, and educational initiatives. Her journey from Ghana to the United States, coupled with her fearless leadership and dedication to authenticity, continues to inspire professionals worldwide.

At Nordic Business Forum 2024, Boz will share her expertise on how to “build badass brands”. Get ready to boost your marketing and brand strategy with Boz!

Expanding Horizons Together with Thinkers50

We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with the prestigious Thinkers50!

Thinkers50 is the world’s most reliable resource for identifying, ranking, and sharing the leading management ideas. Their community members, including notable speakers like Adam Grant and Amy Edmondson, have been some of the most popular speakers at our events. Now, we are partnering to enhance Thinkers50 events and collaborate on creating fantastic content for all of our communities.

Together with Thinkers50, we believe in the power of collaboration to create something greater than the sum of our parts. So, all aboard for what promises to be a fantastic journey!

Stop and Think

“In today’s uncertain world, I think that every business needs a resilience strategy.”

 

Maryna Saprykina