My EMBA Journey

I have been waiting to post this message since May. Finally I got some time to post my final blog. I received my MBA on May 17th 2008. 16 months of hard work has paid off.

This blog was originally started to capture experiences at Suffolk. As I have graduated from Suffolk, I thought I will complete this blog trail and start a new blog. For all my blog readers, Thank You for taking your precious time to see what I am up to. It has been a great journey with so many of my cohorts, teachers and other school and country friends !

How do you identify a true leader? What potential does a leader need to possess to inspire and lead a team of talented followers? As part of an organization behavior school research work, I stumbled upon a book signing video from Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard and famously known for merging HP with Compaq.

I was very inspired by her thought process, understanding of people, faces of fear, concept of change and her self integrity. Her answers to the questions where straight from her heart.

Following is an excerpt from GrassRootsLeadership. I watched the below segment on ESPN and started to look for the book named "Its Your Ship" written by Mike Abrashoff who was selected to become Commander of USS Benfold at the time, the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific Fleet.




We all face similar situation in our life where we have to lead teams and be able to set an example as a leader. In my opinion everyone should read the ten principles of Mike.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF MIKE ABRASHOFF



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NFL Leaders Using Mike's Playbook
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ESPN Monday Night Football Transcript
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Airtime- Sept 10, 2007 at 9:10PM Eastern

Mike Tirico: Here's Michelle Tafoya.

Michelle Tafoya: Well, let's talk about captains for a minute.

During the offseason, Carson Palmer's dad gave him a copy of this book. It's called It's Your Ship and it's by a naval captain who turned a mediocre ship into one of the best crews and best ships in the Navy. Now Carson read it cover to cover and he told me he took away two lessons from this.

Number One: If the people around you believe you care about them, they will follow you into battle

Number Two: The leader must be above the group but of the group.

And his teammates must believe in him. They voted him offensive team captain for the season, Mike. He said that was the single greatest honor of his career.

Mike Tirico: More important than the Heisman Trophy, he said. Kind of surprised us all when he said it.

You've seen that all kick-off weekend, those Captain C's, permanent captains, season-long captains by Roger Godell [NFL Commissioner], as part of the edict to increase the leadership and leadership awareness within each locker room. And the teams have voted for two captains. And we have seen alot of the familiar, big name players wearing those this week.
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Critical Characteristics of a good Leader: Mike White, PepsiCo International’s chairman and chief executive officer, told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience March 6 what he considers the six critical characteristics of good leaders:

• All good leaders have perspective. They simplify problems, ask the right questions, and balance long- and short-term interests. They listen more than they talk. Good leaders “need to be able to cut through the clutter and come up with a solution.”



• Successful leaders turn strategy into results. They face reality and adjust plans to achieve their goals. They motivate people and are decisive, adhering to the 70-30 rule: If you have 70 percent of the information it’s time to make a decision because “if you hold out for the last 30 percent you’re probably toast.”



• Great leaders have the courage to make changes, even when things are good. In 1996, when PepsiCo announced it was spinning off its restaurant business, Forbes magazine called the move a huge and irretrievable strategic blunder. It turned out to be a good move, but at the time it took a lot of courage, White said.



• Effective leaders are self aware and savvy. They know how to read people and organizations, and they flex their style to achieve results.



• True leaders have unshakeable integrity. They set the moral tone and ethical standard of an organization. They ask for help and seek the council of others.



• Proven leaders know how to build strong teams. A leader’s ability to recognize potential in others and foster it builds successful organizations.