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The Keys to Leading a Successful U.S. – European Business Expansion – with Sophie Boutelegier

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We speak with international expansion advisor Sophie Boutelegier about leading for a successful European-U.S. expansionAre you thinking that 2023 might be the year to expand your US company into Europe, or to expand your European company into the US?  If so, you’re in good company, according to our guest, Sophie Boutelegier, Founder and Chief Expansion Officer of Expandify. The question is, what does it take to lead a successful international expansion that provides a return on your investment? This is the focus of our conversation.

Sophie is an expert in international expansion and strategic alliances. Her core expertise lies in creating international expansion strategies, developing powerful go-to-market plans, and helping European businesses thrive in the US market. She works with entrepreneurs and business leaders to create and implement powerful strategies to achieve sustained, profitable revenue growth.

In this episode, we discuss Sophie’s views of the trends for European-US business expansion in 2023. She shares the most common assumption that business leaders need to examine when crafting their expansion strategy. We also discuss contrasts between the US and European approaches to expanding internationally. For example, Sophie shares the story of one of her European clients who increased their company’s success by developing an expansion strategy that accounted for differences in US market needs and culture. We also discuss highlights from 10 tips Sophie has developed to increase the success of expanding from Europe to the US. These tips can also help US companies expand intoEurope.

One of the keys to successful European-US expansion is thinking big, but starting small. Begin with a very specific focus and grow from there. – Sophie Boutelegier

This week on Growth Igniters Radio:

  • Sophie’s view on trends for European-US business expansion in 2023
  • The most common assumption business leaders need to examine about European-US expansion
  • A story of how she helped a European client successfully expand into the US
  • Three immediately useful ideas for increasing trust and mutual commitment to new relationships

Resources for This Episode:

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Leadership Fad or Lasting Transformation? Only Time Will Tell

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What makes the difference between leadership fads and transformational leadership that lasts and creates long-term growth? In this “Quick Take” episode, we share our insights on this issue, and how it can challenge even the savviest leadership teams.

We discuss how the challenges of transformational leadership for long-term growth can show up together, like a knot that’s hard to untangle. We briefly introduce the principles of what we call “The Three Growth Igniters® Paradoxes” that can naturally emerge when you’re leading a bold vision in the face of ambiguity.  We also provide tips on what you can do to anticipate and begin to untangle any paradoxical knots along your company’s growth journey.

The bolder your vision, the more you need to embrace paradoxical leadership
for lasting transformation. – Pam Harper

This week on Growth Igniters® Radio:
  • Why it takes time to distinguish between a leadership fad and transformational leadership for lasting growth
  • How leading a bold vision in the face of ambiguity can look like a tangle of leadership issues
  • How applying the principles of what we call “The Three Growth Igniters® Paradoxes can help untangle the knot
  • How anticipating and embracing the “Three Growth Igniters® Paradoxes can lead to long-term transformational outcomes
Resources Mentioned:

 

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

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Leading for Multi-Stakeholder Benefit in the New Year – with Andrew Hollo

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As we move into the New Year, you may be wondering what it will really take to lead your bold vision and strategy to create a lasting positive impact for society as you also build financial value. We’ve already seen that the leadership teams who foster strategic collaborations between their diverse stakeholders are achieving game-changing results in their industries as well as for the world as a whole. This can be challenging, but is possible.

Andrew Hollo shares insights on creating lasting positive benefit for multiple business and societal stakeholdersThat’s why Scott and I are featuring this fan-favorite conversation with Andrew Hollo, the director and principal consultant at Workwell Consulting.

Andrew  is one of Australia’s leading experts in realizing the potential of organizations and groups to develop big ideas and gain collective results. He does his best work in demanding, complex sectors and where work across organizational and sector boundaries is required. In over 20 years, he has led almost 1000 projects for clients who deliver substantial public value: government and non-government, privately held and non-profit organizations. He is also author of the book From Impossible to Possible. Learn more about Andrew Hollo

It’s not a question of environment or profit.
It’s how do we do environmental responsibility and profit? – Andrew Hollo

This week on Growth Igniters® Radio:

  • Why Andrew believes that multi-stakeholder societal benefit matters now more than ever
  • Top leadership implications for CEOs, C-Suites and Boards leading for net positive impact
  • Immediately useful ideas for leading an organization to build business value and create a lasting positive impact for society

Resources for This Episode:

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Balancing the Tension Between Cooperation and Competition

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Are you focused on creating stronger, more impactful strategic relationships in the New Year?  If so, one of the biggest challenges you may be facing is balancing the tension between cooperation and competition among your many stakeholders. With relationships of coopetition increasing across industries, rethinking our habits and assumptions will become more important than ever.

Friend & Doe and The Power of Habit - cooperation and competition That’s why in this “Quick Take” book pairing episode, we’re featuring our views on two very different classic best-selling business books: Friend & Foe by Adam Galinsky & Maurice Schweitzer and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. We share how, taken together, these two books can complement each other.

It’s natural to adopt habits of thought about who is a “friend” and who is a “foe.”  Yet, in this fast changing business environment, people, power dynamics and priorities keep changing.  When we challenge our habits of thought, we can keep finding common ground and work together towards mutually beneficial outcomes.

This week on Growth Igniters® Radio:
  • What impacted us about how Adam Galinsky & Maurice Schweitzer reframe cooperation and competition in Friend and Foe
  • What impacted us about Charles Duhigg’s stories about shaping and reshaping habits
  • Our thoughts on recognizing the cues that let us know it’s time to change a habit
Resources Mentioned:

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

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How Can CEOs Lead Civil Discourse On Sensitive Social and Political Issues? — with Amy Showalter

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In our increasingly complex business and societal environment, employee stakeholder activism continues to rise. Numerous studies show that CEOs are under increasing pressure to take a public stand and engage in the conversation.

Perhaps you’re considering how you are going to address this issue in the New Year and beyond.

That’s why we’re featuring this Fan Favorite episode. We speak with Amy Showalter, a grassroots and Political Action Committee influence expert, about how to acknowledge differences and maintain civil discourse about sensitive social and political issues inside and outside the workplace.

Amy is the Founder of The Showalter Group and author of the book, The Underdog Edge: How Everyday People Change the Minds of the Powerful. . . and Live to Tell About It. She is also a columnist for Bloomberg Government and Lobbyblog.com. Over 500 media outlets have featured her insight. This includes The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Politico, CNN Money.com, Foxnews.com, and CNBC.com. (read more about Amy Showalter below).

You’ll gain insights on:
  • The dynamics driving the growing trends of employee stakeholder activism
  • Why top leaders leaders need to actively navigate stakeholders’ concerns about sensitive social and political issues
  • The right way and wrong way for CEOs and other top leaders to encourage social/political conversations among employee stakeholders
  • Immediately useful ideas for encouraging civil discourse among employee stakeholders with competing social and political opinions

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Thinking Differently About Complex Leadership Issues

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What can top leaders gain from the books “Think Like a Freak” and “Predictably Irrational”?

If there’s one thing all great business leaders have in common, it’s that they never stop reading books—especially books that can enhance their leadership skills. In this Quick Take episode, we re-introduce our “Book Pairing” show format, sharing our take on how reading two related books in close sequence can help you think differently about complex leadership issues. The first two books that complement each other explore two popular behavioral economics books: Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner; and Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.

We briefly discuss the basic premise of each book and how they complement each other based upon the discipline of Behavioral Economics. We discuss why we agree with the Levitt and Dubner’s concept of  “thinking like a freak” and how it can help you go beyond what you observe to think differently and find the hidden side of complex leadership issues. We also discuss why we agree with Ariely’s concept of ‘predictably irrational” and his point that there are “predictable” hidden forces that drive how we make seemingly “irrational” decisions.  We also share our own thoughts and stories associated with the books’ themes, and how even well-intended incentives can sometimes have unintended consequences.

If people are doing things that don’t make sense to you, there’s always a reason. Look beyond the surface for clues about what’s really going on. – Pam Harper

This week on Growth Igniters Radio:

  • What to expect from our “Quick-Take Book Pairing” episode format
  • The common theme about thinking differently that link the two books: Behavioral Economics
  • The basic idea behind Think Like A Freak and what CEOs and other top leaders can gain from the book
  • The basic idea behind Predictably Irrational and what CEOs and other top leaders can gain from the book

Resources Mentioned:

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

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Making a Lasting Impact on Social and Environmental Issues – with Gail Bower

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Gail Bower discusses creating impact for environmental and social good

As we head toward the New Year, futurist Gail Bower joins us to share a leadership trend about making a lasting impact on social and environmental issues. She is an author, professional adviser, and the founder and President of Bower & Co. Consulting LLC. Her strategy firm works with mission-driven organizations to leverage their social and environmental impact goals to become profitable, trusted and beloved brands. Gail has been interviewed about her work by the New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, Marketplace, and other media.

We discuss the role of business leaders in ensuring that their company’s contributions toward social and environmental causes have a lasting impact. She explains where her passion for sustainability started, and shares how organizations can use their core values to bring strategic focus to their philanthropic efforts. She provides examples of companies that are leading the way in social and environmental sustainability. Gail also shares how leveraging core values can lead to more effective partnering relationships with customers and non-profit organizations that contribute to your communities and society as a whole.

The social and environmental impact you want your company to make also needs to align with who you are as a business, who you are as a brand, and with your strategic goals.
– Gail Bower

This week on Growth Igniters Radio:

  • The story behind Gail Bower’s passion for promoting positive social and environmental impact
  • Why companies should take a strategic approach to creating a lasting impact on social and environmental issues
  • Identifying  the core values that drive your social and environmental mission
  • Examples of companies that have great socio-environmental strategies
  • The role of top leadership in shaping strategies and organizations that create a lasting socio-environmental impact
  • How creating for-profit / nonprofit partnerships can help bring your social and environmental mission to life
  • Three immediately useful ideas for leading your company to make a lasting impact on social and environmental issues

Question to discuss with your team:
What can we do to create and begin to leverage an approach that can make a lasting impact on social and environmental issues?

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Gail Bower:

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Growth Igniters Radio. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content and information, visit our website

Honoring an Innovative and Forward-thinking CEO

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“Doing well by doing good” is a concept that many CEOs and other top leaders aspire to. However this aspiration can sometimes be a challenge to consistently pull off. Given this, we are excited that Chief Executive has named Marc Benioff, Founder, Chair and co-CEO of Salesforce, as their CEO of the Year for 2022. The selection committee praised him as an “Innovative and forward thinking CEO” who has been able to consistently achieve “exceptional business results while fostering greater sustainability, prosperity and equity within the business community and broader society.”

The leadership that led to Marc Benioff being selected as Chief Executive’s CEO of the Year also exemplifies what we call “Growth Igniters® Leadership”:  a mindset of expansive thinking, curiosity, and cultural intelligence that is foundational for leading a bold vision in a constantly changing world.

In this “Quick Take” episode, we share how Marc Benioff’s leadership can serve as an inspiration:  First,  the importance of living into your core values as a way of informing all strategic and operational decisions within their organization and across your ecosystem.  Second, how fostering an environment of continuous learning and gaining perspectives from various stakeholders can help you and your company keep  pace with both challenges and opportunities as  the world keeps changing. Third, staying flexible about the different leadership and management capabilities and styles that are necessary as your company evolves and grows over time.

It is possible to do well by doing good and achieve exceptional business results. The challenge is to do it in a way that’s right for you, your team, employees, customers, partners, and other stakeholders in your ecosystem. – Pam Harper

This week on Growth Igniters Radio:

  • What led Chief Executive to name Marc Benioff as their 2022 CEO of the year
  • How Marc Benioff exemplifies what we call “Growth Igniters® Leadership”
  • Living into your core values so that strategic and operational decisions can drive both exceptional business results and benefits to the broader society
  • How continuous learning can support resilience and an innovative mindset
  • The importance of going beyond employees to gain perspectives from customers, partners, and other stakeholders in your company’s ecosystem
  • Staying flexible to the need for a variety of leadership and management capabilities and styles as your organization evolves and grows

Question to discuss with your team:
How can we move beyond inspiration and create our own way of doing well by doing good?

Resources Mentioned:

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

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How Scenario Thinking Can Help CEOs Chart the Course with Tara Rethore

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Tara Rethore shares insights on the art of scenario thinkingTara Rethore is a C-suite advisor and the CEO of Strategy for Real, a strategy development and consulting company that helps organizations drive growth and profitability through a clear strategy and structured framework. She is the author of Charting the Course: CEO Tools to Align Strategy and Operations, which discusses scenario thinking and other tools she’s gathered throughout her 20+ years in the industry to help business leaders make their business strategies a reality.

Tara joins us today to describe how business leaders can use scenario thinking in the context of  preparing for the future. This helps with strategic thinking in a way that extends beyond financial modeling and contingency planning. She provides examples of how scenario thinking can be applied in an organization. She shares how leaders can help their team members more vividly see the company’s future and how it fits into the vision. Tara also shares how fostering a wide range of stakeholder conversations contributes to creating more expansive strategic scenarios .

Scenario thinking creates a habit that allows you to reach beyond what you already know.
— Tara Rethore

This week on Growth Igniters Radio:

  • How Tara came to write her book, Charting The Course
  • Defining scenario thinking in the context of business and why it can be valuable
  • Using a range of scenarios to make sense of a future we can’t see yet
  • Examples of companies that practice scenario thinking
  • The importance of cultivating a wide range of conversations to expand your strategic mindset
  • Practical ideas on how to apply scenario thinking in your organization

Question to discuss with your team:

  • What new conversations do we need to have at the C-suite and board level to increase the linkage between our strategy and where our operations are taking us?

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Tara Rethore:

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Growth Igniters Radio. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content and information, visit our website

What do you do when the signs are pointing in all directions?

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What would you do when the signs point to ambiguityWe all deal with ambiguity in so many situations. Consider the sign pictured here, which appeared in our neighborhood a little while ago. What would you do if you were a bus driver — would you turn left or would you drive straight ahead, or would you respond in some other way? Decisions are not always easy when the signs are not clear.

And of course, in business, ambiguity is also part of everyday life, whether you’re dealing changing global agreements, tariffs, trade wars, workforce change, or environmental issues. Ambiguity can make it even more difficult to make high-stakes, game-changing, go-big-or-go-home decisions for business growth.

In this episode, we share what we’ve learned about the keys of leading to make game-changing decisions in the face of ambiguity. We explain why ambiguity makes decision-making difficult and describe one fundamental element of what we’ve identified as “The Three Growth Igniters® Paradoxes.” We share the story of how helped a visionary company facing major ambiguity significantly accelerate momentum for growth. We also outline three practical ideas to help business leaders promote a culture that fosters open conversations.

The greater the ambiguity, the more important it is to seek out and embrace a variety of viewpoints
— Pam Harper

This week on Growth Igniters Radio:

  • How a wide range of viewpoints can help you lead a bold vision in the face of ambiguity
  • Why key decision-makers often have conflicting opinions when faced with ambiguity
  • The Growth Igniters® Paradoxes
  • The key to creating an environment that fosters open conversations
  • Positively reinforcing open conversations that can lead to faster, more effective decisions
  • How leaders who are “stars” shape open conversations in the informal culture

Resources Mentioned:

 

Accelerate to YOUR Next Level of Success

Please spread the word if you enjoyed this episode of Growth Igniters® Radio. Subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Join us on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, join the Growth Igniters® Community.