Читать книгу Upstanding - Frank A. Calderoni - Страница 8

I've learned more in the last 18 months than in 35 years in business. The combinations of a global pandemic, recession, and social justice movements are unlike anything we've experienced in our lifetime, and we're all dealing with the heightened expectations that employees, customers, and investors have of the business sector to lead the way through daily change. But these conditions have accelerated a huge shift that demands action if you and your business want to remain relevant.

How you show up, what you stand for, and what actions you take to that end—as an individual and as a leader in your organization—are now gating factors to lasting success. Today, the degree to which what you say and what you do are tightly aligned will often be a stronger success indicator than traditional professional or business fundamentals. There was a time when we separated our personal and professional personas, leaving opinions unrelated to work at home. Those days are gone.

People are holding companies accountable for societal, environmental, and governance practices with little to no patience for inaction. Growing and protecting brand value, whether it's for consumers or business-to-business, is contingent on organizations navigating uncharted waters of social change in hyperpolarized communities. And every one of us is making choices about what to buy from whom, driven not only by product or service quality, but by whose values align with our own and speak to a shared purpose.

The year 2020 was a moment of truth for character. And I'm proud of how the employees at Anaplan—the company I lead—persevered. Our ongoing emotional investment in living our values enabled shared resilience. Resilience that fueled our leaders and teams through the worst of circumstances. What we drew on was an upstanding character that we knowingly—and sometimes unknowingly—created to guide us with clarity and cohesion.

While the multiple crises of 2020 underscored the renewed and urgent relevance of company character, the cumulative factors, previously outlined, which affect all businesses and have led to this moment. To help navigate our shared experience, I wrote this book drawing on the artifacts and experiences I've cultivated as a leader. I've assembled wisdom from experts and peers in my network, included notable stories from business headlines, and shared methods to develop your own versions of upstanding character for your organizations. As a result, this book offers ways to think about company character, culture, and actions you and your teams can take to lead effectively now.

I definitely don't have all the answers, and I don't get it right all the time. But I am willing to keep trying. It's imperative we all do.