Archive for February, 2010
Complacency or Reinvention: You Make the Call
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Last week I spoke to a group of women at the 10th annual Women in Leadership Conference at Rice University in Houston. The event was sponsored by the Jones School of Business chapter of the National Association of Woman MBAs (NAWMBA). The conference theme was “Where to Next? Reinvent Your Career”. Having been a university professor for 15 years, I initially thought that I was an odd choice to serve as a speaker on reinventing one’s career. Professors, after all, tend to be a stable lot and I did not necessarily see myself as an exception in that regard.
But in the process of preparing my remarks I realized that I have in fact made numerous transitions in my career and have reinvented myself on more than one occasion, all the while staying firmly rooted in the same profession. For starters, I have changed employers four times in 15 years. All moves I initiated and all were motivated by a desire to challenge and develop myself through new experiences and opportunities that accompanied each transition. Each move became more complicated and more consequential than the ones they preceded, and with that came an element of fear: Fear of failure; fear of making decisions that would adversely affect my family; fear of leaving behind friends and colleagues and sense of comfort and familiarity for people and an organization that I knew less well; and fear of not living up to expectations. (more…)
3/1/10 Leadership for Sustainable Personal and Organizational Success
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
In the upcoming ExxonMobil WIN (Women’s Interest Network) event commemorating Black History Month, Erika’s keynote speech will highlight a form of leadership in which women make themselves and others good, and feature ways to overcome conflicts that may get into the way of such leadership, in order to create sustainable personal and organizational success.
One attendee’s Feedback from this event: “Please tell Erika that her message inspired me. One of her messages today regarding making yourself good and doing good for other really struck a cord for me.
She also spoke about “Recognizing the power in knowing who you are.” Her words today were a confirmation to my power. Please know you have energized me and have put me on the
right path.”
Toyota: Too Little? Too Late?
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010This morning I saw the first Toyota commercial in which the firm not only acknowledged the problems in their vehicles that have resulted in not one, but two extensive and expensive recalls, but they apologized for not living up to their longstanding reputation for quality. The commercial I saw was clearly an attempt to tug on the emotions of its consumers while also informing customers about the specific actions Toyota is taking to repair the affected vehicles and rebuild trust in their brand. Unfortunately, the response may be too little too late.
In my work I have said that it is not always the crisis event itself (in Toyota’s case a faulty product), but it is the handling of a crisis that often most threatens a firm. Toyota is the latest example of this. (more…)
Toyota: Leading or Folding under Pressure?
Saturday, February 6th, 2010Last week a colleague asked me whether Toyota would become the next Johnson & Johnson in terms of being a pinnacle example of a firm handling a crisis well. At the time, the jury was still out. Toyota did seem to have moved swiftly and decisively in organizing a massive recall of cars across several product lines. And, like J & J, at the time of the initial recall Toyota enjoyed considerable good will, trust, and customer loyalty. On the surface, it seemed as if they could in fact weather the storm as a result of the high reserves of financial capital and consumers’ emotional commitment to the brand.
This week, however, things have completely unraveled for Toyota. (more…)