Why CEOs Should Model Vulnerability; Harvard Business Review (HBR), May

Jeffrey Cohn and 

U. Srinivasa Rangan

, Harvard Business Review (HBR); Why CEOs Should Model Vulnerability

"Set the Right Tone at the Top

Some CEOs still view vulnerability as a weakness. That’s too bad. Long gone are the days when CEOs can pretend to be omniscient. A crisis will quickly expose a leader’s weaknesses and blind spots. If he or she pretends to have all the answers and is reluctant to admit mistakes or ask for help, others in the leadership pipeline will almost assuredly adopt this same perspective. Because the leader casts a long shadow, this kind of obstinacy will inevitably create a downward spiral of succession failure, like it did at General Electric, Wells Fargo, and Boeing. On the other hand, CEOs willing to embrace vulnerability and transparency will create a uniquely fertile culture in which thinking deeply about one’s blind spots and development needs is not only tolerated, it’s encouraged and rewarded."

Nonprofits face crisis as baby-boomer leaders prepare to retire; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 2018

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Nonprofits face crisis as baby-boomer leaders prepare to retire

"Nonprofit workers pour their passions into causes such as providing food and shelter to the needy, counseling troubled veterans and staging live theater and music.

But nonprofit organizations often fall short taking care of themselves —  in grooming their next generation of executive leaders and helping their employees save enough for retirement.

Those are among the findings in new research by the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University that says the nonprofit sector faces a crisis as the current crop of baby boomers who lead them prepares to exit the workforce."

Close family ties, and a secret recipe, keep business going; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/24/16

Steve Twedt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Close family ties, and a secret recipe, keep business going:

"While the special seasoning recipe is kept locked away, the reason for the durability of the business may be no secret, suggested Kelly Hunt, Pittsburgh district director for the Small Business Administration, which named Ricci’s “Family Owned Business of the Year” in 2010.

“The No. 1 thing I have found is that there has to be someone in the family in each generation that shares that passion, and not just the passion, but who has the skill set,” she said...

Nonfamily businesses typically have organizational charts with a clear leadership structure where purchasing and hiring decisions get made in a disciplined and deliberative manner. “When you’re working with people who are not family, it’s more regimented. You can’t go and make a large purchase without talking to the CEO,” she said.

With a family business, “It kind of gets a little bit cloudier.”"

How does Wholey's in the Strip plan to preserve business legacy?; In The Lead, 5/3/16

Joyce Gannon, In The Lead; How does Wholey's in the Strip plan to preserve business legacy? :

"Many of them worked for the company as teens but rather than anoint any as the new leaders, Mr. Wholey and his brothers have developed a plan with specific guidelines for those who may be interested in a leadership role in the future:

First, obtain a college degree.

Second, work somewhere else for a minimum of two to three years.

Third, earn a promotion at that other job.

“That gives them a view of what the world is,” said Mr. Wholey, who was a concert promoter after he graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass...

For about 10 years, the family has sought advice from the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence about succession planning."