Winter 2018 Join Real Leaders Online for Regular Features and Leadership Tips

105 AMAZING TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN 2019

INSPIRE THE FUTURE www.real-leaders.com

CIAL EDIT The key to PE IO “ S N realizing a dream is to focus not on LEADERSHIP success but on PLAYBOOK significance.” INSIDE Oprah Winfrey

WOW! WORDS OF WISDOM OPRAH WINFREY WAYS TO ELON MUSK NELSON MANDELA BECOME MALALA TONY ROBBINS A LEGEND SHAUNA COXSEY DEVAL PATRICK HALIMA ADEN SHERYL SANDBERG PETER DIAMANDIS IS IT TIME MICHAEL BLOOMBERG GEORGE CLOONEY TO LEARN LAKEY PETERSON CHINESE?

HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR GOOD GUIDE | Communities REVOLUTIONIZING THE FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE & THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE LIVE.

SVN | Communities is an exciting and innovative program geared towards supporting grass roots, community-driven, place making projects by providing a matching grant to groups able to meet their crowdfunding goal. SALES

Together we are revitalizing our communities. LEASING PROPERTY MANAGEMENT For more information on how SVN is helping to shape the future of TENANT REPRESENTATION commercial real estate, visit us at www.svn.com/svn-communities. COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ADVISORS CORPORATE SERVICES

of locally-based leadership investing and collaborating in the ©2018 SVN INTERNATIONAL CORP. All Rights Reserved. SVN and the SVN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ADVISORS “ communities where our families live and work. logos are registered service marks of SVNIC. All SVN® offices are independently owned and operated. Kevin Maggiacomo CEO & President, SVN International“ Corp. svn.com 745 Atlantic Ave., Floor 8 | Boston, MA 02111 | Communities REVOLUTIONIZING THE FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE & THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE LIVE.

SVN International Corp. is a full-service commercial real estate franchisor comprised of over 1,600 commercial real estate Advisors and staff in over 200 offices around the globe. SVN is a commercial real estate firm that embraces the value of locally-based leadership investing and collaborating in the ©2018 SVN INTERNATIONAL CORP. All Rights Reserved. SVN and the SVN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ADVISORS “ communities where our families live and work. logos are registered service marks of SVNIC. All SVN® offices are independently owned and operated. Kevin Maggiacomo CEO & President, SVN International“ Corp. svn.com 745 Atlantic Ave., Floor 8 | Boston, MA 02111 CONTENTS

I tend to surround “myself with people Page 21: Holiday who share a certain Gifts For Good Guide. optimistic vision of the Twenty-six great gift ideas that keep on world – people more giving and inspire the future. Allbirds apt to ask why than footwear, shown here, why not. (page 22) promise all natural materials and claim to Neil Blumenthal,” be the world’s most Co-Founder Warby Parker comfortable shoe.

54/ Smart Tech Cool gadgets and ideas that change our world. 56/ Advice For The Richest Person in History 14/ Save The Date Here’s what Jeff Bezos should do with Meet like-minded people at his $143 billion. world-class events. 60/ Fix a Phone or Prison 16/ Inspire The Future The social enterprise beating knife crime Mythbusters who challenge the status quo. in Britain. 18/ First Houses on Mars 62/ Food Innovators Will be Eco-Friendly Baking sustainability into our culinary delights. The first Martian dwellings are already being planned. 64/ Deval Patrick Shaping a life worth living. 21/ Holiday Gifts for 66/ 7 Leadership Trends 2019 Good Guide Bigger, better, faster for your best year yet. Amazing gifts that promote social good. 68/ Bigger Than Plastic 30/ Oprah Winfrey Three ocean-lovers show that activism and Her greatest lessons and hopes for the future. adventure can go hand-in-hand. 34/ Destinations 70/ Leadership Playbook 2019 Sustainable places that will turn you green. Do you have the essential qualities that make a great leader? Find out here. 36/ Aluna - The Movie Can ancient wisdom save our future? 90/ Can Art Make You a Better Person? 38/ Be Chief A Spanish art consultant wants us to take art It’s a choice, not a title. off its pedestal. 40/ Are You Prepared For 92/ Get a Grip. You Can Break an Intelligent World? That Glass Ceiling What China can teach is about artificial World’s best female boulderer shows us how. intelligence. 94/ Fast Food Nation 46/ A View on Innovation The dark side of the all-American meal. Smart glass shows that it pays to focus on people in buildings. 96/ Top 8 Women CEOs under 40 48/ Michael Bloomberg That you’ve probably never heard of. Straight talk from a “C” student turned billionaire. 98/ Finding Common Ground One funeral, two former presidents, one message 52/ 101 Reasons to Get of unity Out of Bed 100/ My Son Died From Opioids Small world steps. Big planet heroes. So I changed the law. 102/ The Last Word Ten years after the crash - something you should know.

No cheating! Try the crossword on page 88 first. 1. Innovation4 2. Bipartisan 3. Mandela 4. Capital 5. Nobel 6. Fossil 7. Philanthropy 8. Tesla 9. Plastic 10. Opioids 11. Eco 12. Resources 13. Follow 14. Mentor 15. Goals 16. Disrupt 17. Blockchain 18. REAL-LEADERS.COM / SUMMER 2018 Capitalism 19. Mars 20. Feedback 21. AI 22. Significance 23. Diversity 24. Persistent 25. Community 26. Global 27. Ethical 28. Gender 29. Empathy 30. Mindfulness 31. Local 32. Lamborghini 33. Values VIDEO DO YOU HAVE UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS?

electric cars commonplace, but Elon is doing it. Sadly, this is the opposite of what most people are taught. As we grow up we are taught to conform to the way things are and to be “realistic.” You can’t make a living as a musician we’re told. Taylor Swift didn’t learn that. You need a college education to be successful. Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t accept that. You can’t live on another planet. Our grandchildren will probably laugh at that, thanks to unrealistic people that Do you ever wonder why some people are able to are making it possible. The most interesting and succeed in spite of enormous obstacles and others successful people in the world are unrealistic… are stopped by small setbacks? I don’t pretend to sometimes even considered unreasonable in their know all the reasons for this, but there is one quality expectations. They have a vision that redefines what I have found to be common in successful leaders we is possible and then they do it – while the reasonable have interviewed around the world, regardless of people are explaining why it can’t be done. The where they come from. Real leaders suffer from a unreasonables inspire a future that is far better than condition that is incurable; they all have unrealistic the world reasonable people would have us settle for. expectations. They believe that every problem Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad has a solution. They believe that they can solve Yunus described it to me this way. He said, “Real some significant problem that no one else has been leaders are able to see something that is unclear to able to solve. Somehow they were not properly others, but once described, they say, “yes, that’s it… domesticated as children into accepting the world that’s what we want.” as it is. They find it impossible to accept the concept Richard Branson may have summed it up best that they are powerless to change things. They have when he shared that “Real leaders see opportunities been told repeatedly that they are crazy, foolhardy, where others see only challenges.” unreasonable and unrealistic. And that is true! I must confess, the Real Leaders team is comprised It’s unrealistic for a 16 year-old girl to think that she of unrealistic people who believe that the world can prevail over the Taliban and be a world leader can be led by gender-balanced teams of visionary for girls education, but Malala earned a Nobel Peace leaders, and that we are all born to lead in our own Prize for doing just that. It’s unrealistic for a girl who way. In a short-sighted, paternalistic and parasitic grew up in poverty and dreamed of being an inspiring world some might question how realistic that vision teacher to think that she could become the first black is. But every day we see evidence that our vision is woman in America to achieve billionaire status (by becoming a reality. being an inspiring teacher to millions), but Oprah If you are one of the “realistic” people out there, did it. And it’s unrealistic for an immigrant to think try joining the millions of “unrealistic” people who he could disrupt the automotive industry and make are changing the world. You will never feel more alive than when you defy the odds and achieve something remarkable, and dare I say, “unrealistic.”

Investing For Impact. Mark Van Ness, Founder Real Leaders is an advocate for social entrepreneurship and far-sighted [email protected] leadership, investing for positive impact and amplifying the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Here are a few examples:

6 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 JOIN REAL LEADERS ONLINE FOR REGULAR FEATURES AND LEADERSHIP TIPS

STORIES THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU INTO INNOVATIVE ACTION

SUBSCRIBE www.real-leaders.com/shop

WWW.REAL-LEADERS.COM THE POWER OF YES

“Understand who you are. Be the same person, whether you’re talking to a homeless person or the President.” – Stedman Graham

I like hearing the word “yes.” It’s immediately uplifting and filled with new possibility. In putting this edition of Real Leaders together I heard the word often: “Yes, count me in,” “Yes, I’d love to,” “Yes, you may.” Collaboration used to be just a feel-good word, but it has become a pillar of our Grant Schreiber with Stedman Graham, a new member of the Real Leaders Advisory Board. modern economy and a crucial ingredient to success. Saying yes to a project, person or idea that STRIVE TO INSPIRE at first seems like an improbable match, a waste of time or a deviation from a busy schedule, can turn “When you learn, Liberating a new frontier. out to be one of your best decisions yet. In a world teach, when where entrepreneurs have mixed crickets with you get, give.” cookies (page 62), skateboards with sea waste (page 24), 3-D printers with Mars (page 18) and glazing – Maya Angelou. with smartphones (page 46), there must have been a time when – despite the craziness of the idea – someone said yes. There are 105 stories and ideas in this edition of Real Leaders. I challenge you to find one that inspires you, think of a crazy idea and find someone who will say yes. I’ll never forget the day I saw Oprah’s first Grant Schreiber, Editor televised show in 1986! I was fresh out of college [email protected] and wanted a career in journalism. I remember thinking, “that’s a strong woman who knows how to engage and inspire people.” Ever since then, she has been one of those influential people who has personally inspired me to speak out about issues that matter. I’d like to thank Ms. Winfrey MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE WITH US for “leading by example” and hope that we have honored her accordingly in this issue. In the spirit We all know, together, that humanity and the planet we share are in trouble. And we stand at a precipice. of the holidays and inspired by Oprah’s “Favorite Things” we have created a “Gifts for Good” guide Just as I stood at the precipice to walk onto a rocket ship to be part of a moonshot to build the that will help shine-a-light on gifts that deliver international space station, you all — right here, right now — stand on the precipice of an opportunity to social impact. Some call it “buying with a purpose” create and deliver moonshots that will transform our future. Join with us at the intersection of frontier but I call it “smart shopping which advances the world.” We invite you to explore! technology and impact investing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Julie Van Ness, President [email protected]

Colonel Ronald Garan, Jr., Former NASA Astronaut Julie Van Ness with Gayle King, co-anchor of CBS This Morning and Editor-at-large of The Oprah Magazine.

JOIN US AT REAL-LEADERS.COM OR FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER @REAL_LEADERS 8 ® REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 FIFTH ELEMENT FUND www.ﬁfthelement.fund Liberating a new frontier.

MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE WITH US

We all know, together, that humanity and the planet we share are in trouble. And we stand at a precipice. Just as I stood at the precipice to walk onto a rocket ship to be part of a moonshot to build the international space station, you all — right here, right now — stand on the precipice of an opportunity to create and deliver moonshots that will transform our future. Join with us at the intersection of frontier technology and impact investing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Colonel Ronald Garan, Jr., Former NASA Astronaut

FIFTH ELEMENT FUND® www.ﬁfthelement.fund HAVE AN OPINION YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE? EMAIL US AT [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Mark Van Ness Editor I enjoyed the article Grant Schreiber on Leonardo DiCaprio President in your last edition. It Julie Van Ness was refreshing to see Sales & Alliances a high-profile celebrity Jesse Pyrch speaking out on climate change - an issue that I Shortcuts Director think will come to define Kevin Edwards our future. When will Head Office everyone realize that we St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

LORNE CRAIG / WWW.UNITOONS.CA LORNE CRAIG / WWW.UNITOONS.CA have no Planet B? Even if climate deniers were U.S. Office Portland, Oregon, USA to be proved right, why would we risk not taking Global Office this seriously? Being Cape Town, South Africa proved wrong is a far bigger risk.” Distribution Network Barnes & Noble, Hudson, Whole Foods, BRIDGET THOMPSON Nobel Peace Prize Summit, United Nations Global Compact, World Economic Forum, YPO, Los Angeles Sustainable Business Conferences, READER’S VOICE Social Capital Conferences. Event Partners Singularity University, Sustainable Brands, YPO, Concordia, Big Path Capital, Real Leaders offers some great reflection on the biggest issues we face We First, Closing The Gap, Global Ethical today. The articles are relevant to the type of decision-making many Finance Forum, EcoDistricts, Opportunity Collaboration, MaRS Centre for Impact of us in business need to consider in a fast-changing world that Investing, Global Talent Management values the environment, human rights and societal problems above Leaders, Clean Business Investment Summit, Global Female Leaders Summit, Global all else. It’s rare to find a mix of business and social conscience that Resolutions, Impact Entrepreneurs, Nexus, shows this is possible. Catapult, TBLI Conference, Social Venture Network, Conscious Capitalism, SOCAP, Green Sports Alliance, Transitioning SEBASTIÁN LÓPEZ to Green, The Grameen Creative, National Madrid, Spain Association of Women Business Owners, Net Impact, Dream Change, Ethical Corporation, Clean Tech Open.

Contact us I travel regularly and enjoy [email protected] grabbing my copy of Real Be the first to receive Real www.real-leaders.com Leaders each quarter. Leaders at Hudson as I dash for I have been subscribed Subscribe at: Real Leaders is the registered trademark of my flight. My only regret is when Real-Leaders.com/Shop for the last year and really like your magazine. I like Real Leaders Inc., a registered B Corporation. the flight is a short one and I run © Real Leaders™ All rights reserved. No part out of time to finish reading! Your to think I understand the What a fantastic way of this publication may be reproduced, stored mag is entertaining, while at the basics of sustainability in a retrieval system or transmitted in any to honor the legacy of same time offering solid advice and social activism but form without the prior permission of the Nelson Mandela - by on how to introduce social impact thoroughly enjoy how this publisher. The views and opinions expressed in creating a leadership into my business. I also enjoy magazine is for all readers. Real Leaders are not necessarily those course that distills his of the publisher. The individuals, companies, reading about well-known leaders Real Leaders should be best qualities into a products and services featured in this who offer inspirational advice - a required reading for all program from which we publication are in no way endorsed by Real refreshing change from what I see young people, to set them can all learn. Thank you Leaders. ISSN 2222-3479 in the news each day! ” up for the challenges they for making me aware of will all inevitably face in the GREG FOSTER this in your latest edition, future.” Dallas TX it has made my day.” DEE ATKINS JENNIFER STEVENS Salt Lake City Cambridge MA

10 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 INVESTMENT AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE SINCE 1969. IMPACT INVESTING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.

Foster City, CA San Francisco, CA 650-571-5800 www.bailard.com

All investments have the risk of loss FOR OUR FREE WEEKLY WORDS OF WISDOM (WOW!) EMAIL SIGN UP HERE: WWW.REAL-LEADERS.COM/SHOP REPORT BACK

Technology Redefines Business. Real Leaders attended Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, California from August 20 NATHA PHAT / GETTY IMAGES PHAT NATHA – 22, where we conducted interviews Career Shortcuts in Video with technology thought leaders. This Two-and-a-half years ago, Kevin years theme was The Power of 10, Edwards sat with his best friend on celebrating their 10th anniversary, the Did you know positive impact of technology over campus, a well-known filmmaker, we’re on Apple the past ten years and the anticipated and asked him, “How do we turn News? Down- breakthroughs of the next ten. Real Leaders into something our load the app and search for friends would want to watch?” They EMBRACE A BETTER WAY “Real Leaders” embarked on a road trip up the West Coast of America, interviewing as many social entrepreneurs as they could. The result: 3-minute OF DOING BUSINESS. career “shortcuts” – getting to know Are You Being Wowed Every Friday? When you see the Certified B Corp mark, you know the company behind the product or service meets CEOs and entrepreneurs behind If you haven’t already signed up to receive our weekly Wow! Words of Wisdom email, you should. Our recent the highest standards of social and environmental impact. Certified B Corps are changing the way we the scenes and listening to their emails on 8 Characteristics of Disruptive Leaders, 3 Ways career advice. The response has to Deliver Bad News as a Leader and 30 Characteristics define success in business. And many of them are the brands you already know and love. been touching and widespread. of Future Leaders certainly got our readers attention – Learn more at bcorporation.net becoming our most shared stories ever. To receive your Real Leaders ShortCuts is ready to free, weekly dose of inspiration sign up here: #InspireTheFuture here: www.real-leaders.com/free-subscription www.youtube.com/RealLeadersMagazine GEORGE PETERS / GETTY IMAGES

CONVERSATIONS INTO ACTION

As part of a new media nonpartisan forum (alongside partnership with Concordia, the United Nations General the cross-sector partnership Assembly) brings together organization for social impact, decision-makers and opinion- Real Leaders participated in formers each year from the their annual summit in New York public, private and nonprofit between 24-25 September. We sectors to foster conversations did what we do best - interviews, around how to solve global the moderation of panel challenges. We were pleased to discussions and connecting be part of the conversation – that business leaders to great ideas. helped transform talk into action. The largest and most inclusive

12 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 EMBRACE A BETTER WAY OF DOING BUSINESS. When you see the Certified B Corp mark, you know the company behind the product or service meets the highest standards of social and environmental impact. Certified B Corps are changing the way we define success in business. And many of them are the brands you already know and love. Learn more at bcorporation.net

13 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM

Note: Real Leaders is a certified B Corporation EVENTS CALENDAR SAVE THE DATE Meet like-minded people and discover new opportunities in 2019

Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit February 13, 2019 | New York, NY www.bna.com/sustainablebizseries GreenBiz February 26-28, 2019 | Phoenix, Arizona www.greenbiz.com Big Path Capital MO Summit April 4-5, 2019 | Asheville, North Carolina www.momentumavl.com

Conscious Capitalism Annual Conference April 23-25, 2019 | Phoenix, Arizona www.conference.consciouscapitalism.org We Day April 25, 2019 | Los Angeles, California www.we.org

Sustainable Brands June 3-6, 2019 | Detroit, Michigan www.sustainablebrands.com/events SUNWOO JUNG / CSA IMAGE WEST END 61 GETTY IMAGES

Green Sports Alliance Summit June 19-20, 2019 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania www.summit.greensportsalliance.org/ register Singularity University Global Summit August 19-21, 2019 | San Francisco, California www.su.org/summits/su-global-summit

Exclusive Conference Discounts! Real Leaders has partnered with some of the world’s leading conferences. Visit Real-Leaders.com/discounts to view the special discounts we have negotiated on your behalf. Use the codes at checkout.

14 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 Doing Good Is Good Business.

At Geometry Global, we’re not only a marketing agency that does good work. We also create work that does good in the world.

Learn how you can do it too. Contact our CEO, Carl Hartman at [email protected] See some of our best work at geometry.com KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS INSPIRING THE FUTURE? EMAIL US AT [email protected] INSPIRE THE FUTURE

I look forward to FROM REFUGEE advocating“ for children around the world, just as TO FASHION RAMP others advocated for me. Somali-American supermodel and activist Halima Aden Halima Aden ” has become a UNICEF Ambassador. As a refugee herself, she uniquely understands the needs, hopes and dreams of the 30 million children around the world who have been forcibly displaced by conflict. Despite walking the ramps of New York Fashion Week and appearing on the cover of Vogue, the 20-year-old always had a long- standing dream of returning to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where she was born, to help those who are experiencing what she once did. “Although the children in Kakuma may be refugees, first and foremost they are children,” she says. “They deserve every opportunity to flourish, to hope, to dream, to be successful,” www.unicefusa.org

MYTH BUSTER (SUPERMODELS CAN’T BE ACTIVISTS) UNICEF USA

16 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 I welcome our new robotic “overlords. As long as they’re more R2-D2 in nature as opposed to that of a Terminator. Grant Imahara ”

MYTH BUSTER (ROBOTS HAVE NO MORALS)

GENERATION ROBOT Throughout the years, technology has improved drastically - creating machines and devices that were unimaginable 50 years ago. Perhaps the most advanced and interesting of society’s technological advancements is robots - but it’s also the most misunderstood. Grant Imahara, an electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host, best known for his work on the television series MythBusters, wants to debunk many of the fears. More than 70% of Americans express concern about a world in which machines perform many of the tasks done by humans. Imahara believes humans and robots can coexist and work together in harmony. “Robots not only have MOUSER/ GENERATION ROBOT MOUSER/ GENERATION a technological impact on society, but also a social and moral one,” says Imahara. Rather than doing repetitive, automated tasks, modern robots now involve psychology, because machines will increasingly be working alongside humans and thus need to understand people. www.mouser.com 17 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM THE TWO-WORLD’S-COLLIDE-SECTION THE FIRST HOUSES ON MARS WILL BE ECO-FRIENDLY The first human dwellings for Mars are already being planned. Ironically, these future structures have more in common with the Stone Age.

Habitat units will parachute down to the surface of Mars using airbags to cushion the landing. Once in place, the pods will be inflated remotely and connected together via tunnels. Soil and rock (“regolith”) will be moved into place by small robots and 3-D printers will construct exterior shells from recycled mission waste to protect against the planets harsh radiation. FOSTER + PARTNERS

18 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 The architects of Apple Park, the futuristic, multi-billion dollar new headquarters for Apple in Cupertino, California, have set their sights on a more ambitious construction project - Mars. London-based firm Foster + Partners have an ongoing collaboration with NASA to help develop habitable pods for the first citizens of this fourth planet from the sun, where an underground liquid ‘lake’ was recently detected in the depths of space. The architects won a NASA competition that aims to advance fundamental construction technologies that create off- world habitats. Foster + Partners won by scoring higher points for maximizing the use of local resources and waste from the space mission. Competitors were marked down for ideas that relied on water and imported construction materials. By using 30% recycled mission plastics with 70% Martian soil and rock, the winning architects demonstrated that sustainable, eco-friendly solutions are still possible 34 million miles from earth. “We hope that people are enthused and excited about the possibilities of the future,” says David Summerfield of Foster + Partners. “And that it will inspire the next generation to reach for the stars.”

19 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM Non-negotiable.

By 2020, over 50% of the workforce will be Millennials. Driven by purpose, they already choose employers and make purchasing decisions based on the social impact companies achieve. You need a plan. At Epic, we provide impact and giving solutions for individuals and corporations to support closely monitored social organizations. Together, let’s adapt your business to the expectations of a new generation.

Epic Foundation Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States, a Registered Charity in the United Kingdom and an endowment fund in France. We operate on a strict pro bono basis:100% Make giving the norm of the money we receive goes to the social organizations of the Epic Portfolio. www.epic.foundation

HOLIDAY

For Good

GUIDE Give a gift this holiday season that keeps on giving and inspires the future. 21 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM CHARMED I’M SURE Wear Your Cause on Your Wrist. Jewelery brand Alex and Ani create bespoke charm bracelets for causes around the world, having raised $50 million for non-profits worldwide to date. Founder, Carolyn Rafaelian, has turned what people wear on their wrists into a show of solidarity for a social cause. Along the way she’s turned her spiritual and mystical brand into a billion dollar company by focusing on positivity and empowerment. Such as this Spiral Sun Charm Bangle, that will donate 20% of the purchase price to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. www.alexandani.com

AN EYE ON THE FUTURE SIESTAS FOR FIESTAS Good Eyewear, Good Outcome. Putting The Wrap Warby Parker was founded with a on Hunger. rebellious spirit and a lofty objective: to Siestas For Fiestas’ offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary mission is to end price, while leading the way for socially poverty in and conscious businesses. Every idea starts around Cancun, with a problem. Their’s was simple: Mexico. Each glasses are too expensive. The eyewear brightly colored, industry is dominated by a single festive blanket company that has been able to keep provides a meal prices artificially high while reaping to a family in huge profits from consumers who have need. Founded by no other options. Warby Parker set out to Chris and Jesenia, create an alternative. Almost one billion a husband and people worldwide lack access to glasses, wife team from which means that 15% of the world’s Los Angeles, they population cannot effectively learn or were inspired work. Warby Parker partners with non- by the empathy profits like VisionSpring to ensure that of a local pastor for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is trying to feed his distributed to someone in need. community. www.warbyparker.com www.siestasforfiestas.com

22 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 WALK IN OUR SHOES Better Shoes in a Better Way. A native of New Zealand, Tim Brown was always well-versed in the magical qualities of merino wool. Inherently curious, he began asking himself why such a remarkable, sustainable resource was virtually absent in the footwear industry. And with that spirit of wonder, Allbirds was born and the journey began. After years of researching and tinkering, Tim teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, an engineer and renewables expert. Together, they crafted a revolutionary wool fabric made specifically for footwear. The outcome? An entirely new category of shoes inspired by natural materials. “No flashy logos. No senseless details. Just the world’s most comfortable shoes, made naturally and designed practically,” says Brown. The footwear industry often overlooks Mother Nature’s materials in favor of cheaper, synthetic alternatives. Allbirds think it’s time to change that. Considered the world’s most comfortable shoes, MAKE IT PERSONAL Emma Watson has said they, “Basically never come off my feet” and eco- conscious Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest investor in the company. Changing The Way The World Gifts. www.allbirds.com While working in the corporate world, Laura Hertz, co-founder of Gifts For Good, saw how commonplace it was for companies to give gifts to their employees and clients. Most of these gifts were just throwaways and ended up in a junk drawer. Along with serial entrepreneur, Jerry Eisenberg, she set out to inspire the world to gift thoughtfully. Such as this leather briefcase, that provides 7 days of schooling for a child in Honduras with every purchase. www.giftsforgood.com

SUPPLY CHAIN UNUSUAL The Gift That Gives 40% to Artisans. Indego Africa’s market-driven approach to artisan empowerment helps transform the lives of women, youth and refugees across Africa. They partner with women across the continent to create handcrafted, contemporary items. www.indegoafrica.org

23 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM GOING BEYOND THE BAG #GiveBackPack. State Bags began as a partnership between husband and wife team, Scot and Jacq Tatelman (pictured above). The Brooklyn-based social entrepreneurs have eyes trained for style but their hearts have always been with kids growing up in America’s most underfunded neighborhoods. For every backpack purchased, State will deliver another one (filled with essentials) to an PUSH FOR TOMORROW American child in need. After watching countless kids carrying their possessions Untangling Our Oceans. in ripped trash bags, Scot and Jacq Bureo, a Santiago-based company, creates skateboards decided to not only deliver much needed that prevent more than 30 square feet of harmful plastic supplies, but to also provide youth with fishnets from entering the ocean with each board. Proceeds the tools to reach their fullest potential support Chilean fishing communities. 18 billion pounds of and better their communities. And to plastic enter our waterways every year creating an ocean always have their backs. of plastic. Discarded fishing nets make up an estimated 10% www.statebags.com of plastic in the ocean, and have been found to be four times more harmful than all other forms of plastic pollution. Bureo’s programs provide a tangible, and profitable, solution to prevent this harmful material from entering our oceans. www.bureo.co SEWN WITH HOPE Freedom T. Every purchase of this T-shirt helps Sudara ADOPT, DON’T SHOP continue their work of Dogs Can Teach You empowering How To Be Human. women in India For three years, to live in freedom fashion and portrait from sex slavery. photographer Richard www.sudara.org Phibbs has donated his services to the Humane Society of New York, creating portraits of dogs that are up for adoption, as part of the Manhattan shelter’s work to find them homes. The best of his photographs are featured in this simple and moving album “Rescue Me!” along with the story of each dog on its journey from often-shocking circumstances of abandonment and rejection. Royalties from sales of the book benefit the Humane Society of New York. https://goo.gl/6U4sPL

24 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 NO KID-DING Goats For Good. This holiday season, give the gift of a goat. Seriously. With a $50 donation, you can provide an animal to a family in need. And it can make a huge difference. A hardy goat is the gift of sustainability, which means fertilizer, milk and food for families – especially those living in areas that cannot support less-durable critters. www.oxfamgifts.com BEST FOOT FORWARD Happy Soles For a Peaceful Soul. Friends Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion founded Veja, a line of socially conscious sneakers inspired by vintage volleyball shoes. The French house works with Brazilian farmers to produce its minimal, subtly-branded low- tops using organic NEVER FULLY DRESSED cotton, wild rubber, and other sustainable Buy Less, Choose Well. materials. London-based company Never Fully Dressed supports www.accompanyus.com social causes with their fashion. In 2010 they raised £2,500 for the Big Issue at a clothes show and then jumped on bikes to cycled from London to Paris to raise awareness. They’ve funded the building of a school and a water well in Tanzania. They’ve raised funds for Alzheimer’s, Bowel Cancer, Child. org, Marie Curie, Breast Cancer, Forgotten Women and many more. For the past five years, they’ve sold ‘ChariTees,’ including their famous “boob T,” that raises money for breast cancer. www.neverfullydressed.co.uk

ENRICH YOUR HOME WITH MEANING Unique Pieces From Unique Places. The Ankole Cowhorn Tumbler has been sculpted with style and is the perfect cup to use for a fun cocktail or a glass of water alike. Handcrafted in Uganda by the craftsmen of Wakiso district, each piece is truly original. A great alternative to environmentally-unfriendly plastic. Proceeds benefit the Wakiso community and the preservation of the Ankole cow, found only in East Africa. www.localandlejos.com

25 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM HOPE IN A CAN Diet Coke Polar Bear. This polar bear is made in Kenya by Acacia Creations, a group of female artisans, from recycled aluminum cans and bound with recycled telephone wire. The artisans are part of 5by20, Coca-Cola’s global commitment project to enable the economic empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs by 2020. www.cokestore.com/5by20

TIME FOR CHANGE Guilt-free Gold. Chopard, the 150-year-old Swiss watchmaker, has committed to using 100% “ethical gold” in their watches and jewelery. They ensure their gold is acquired from responsible sources and verified as having met international best practice for environmental and social standards. Since July 2018, Chopard gold has been sourced from traceable sources that ensure the metal is not from conflict-affected areas or financing conflict. www.chopard.com

BRAND YOURSELF Temporary Tattoos Are Trendy Again. Tattly’s talented artists partner with meaningful not-for-profit organizations to raise awareness and raise funds for a social cause. Their tattoos are designed by an all- star lineup of professional designers and illustrators. Sales of their “The Craziest Thing We Can do is Nothing” tattoo sees 80% of the purchase price supporting the “Charity: Water” initiative. Do nothing, or wear this tattoo and feel great about it. Tattly’s are safe, non-toxic and printed with vegetable-based ink, lasting on average 2-4 days. www.tattly.com

26 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 SOCKS THAT FIGHT MALARIA One Step at a Time. A child dies every two minutes from Malaria. By partnering with Malaria No More, Conscious Step Socks helps provide lifesaving tools to prevent this disease. www.fairtradewinds.net

RESET YOUR MIND Indigenous Wellness. Give the gift of a clear mind this holiday season. Sales of Incausa’s incense, soap, and meditation sets (above) support indigenous communities in founder Vinicius Vieira de Vieira’s native Brazil. “With this work, we hope to uplift the appreciation for their own traditions and stimulate a return of indigenous peoples back to their own cultures while giving them an opportunity to sustain a living on trade,” he says. www.incausa.co

LIVING THINGS Photosynthetic Furniture. How do people in a home cohabitate with microorganisms? Do you treat them as a pet, a houseplant, an appliance, furniture, or something completely unique? Designers Jacob Douenias, Ethan Frier, and Lena Tesone have created the concept of photosynthetic furniture by creating a lamp with microalgae, some of the most ancient and prolific organisms on earth. Despite accounting for less than 1% of the Earth’s total biomass, microalgae drive the biological pump which maintains our atmosphere. [email protected]

27 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LUXURIOUS BASICS A Statement About You And Your Values. Do you know where your clothes come from? Who made them? And in what conditions? The White T-shirt Co. wants to make the perfect white t-shirt without compromise to quality or style – a white T-shirt made with sustainability in mind, because they don’t believe in throw-away fashion. In 2002 the founders traveled to Denmark and met Green Cotton, the first company in the world to go organic way back in the 80’s. With a shared goal they talked, designed, tested and refined. All this for a T-shirt. www.thewhitetshirt.com

BAMBOO BIKES Stronger Than Aluminum And Just as Light. Bamboo is one of the most environmentally sound, natural materials on the planet. Greenstar bamboo bikes are made by hand to deliver performance, smooth comfort, unmatched beauty and environmental peace of mind. www.greenstarbikes.com

FIXING THE FASHION CHAINS Connected to The Source. Nisolo wants to push the fashion industry in a more sustainable direction – where success is based on more than just offering the cheapest price – a direction that not only values exceptional design, but the producer and the planet just as much as the end consumer. Workers at their shoe factory in Peru receive a fair trade wage that is 27% higher than standard. www.nisolo.com

28 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 HERBAN COWBOY Change Your Daily Routine. After years of fighting with suppliers who said it couldn’t be done, Luke and Lisa Vukmer, the WHERE AMERICAN IS MADE creators of Herban Cowboy, Why Open a Watch Factory in Detroit? created a healthy, cruelty- Shinola is working to bring free, American-made, manufacturing jobs back to Detroit and zero-animal ingredients back to America. They’ve partnered grooming regime that looks, with a group of extraordinary American feels and performs like manufacturers to build goods that “conventional products.” last – luxury watches, premium leather The recyclable packaging goods, jewelry, bicycles, audio products and the product inside have and journals. Of all the things they revolutionized the men’s create, American jobs may just be the personal care industry. thing they’re most proud of. www.herbancowboy.com www.shinola.com

VEGAN BAGS Animal-free Fashion. The founders of Matt & Nat (Material and Nature) have committed themselves to not using leather or any other animal- based materials in their designs. It just felt natural to them. Since 2007, they’ve used linings made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and recently introduced recycled bicycle tires to their collections. They’ve attracted brand ambassadors such as Natalie Portman, Olivia Wilde and Charlize Theron. www.mattandnat.com

29 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM “Do the work that comes straight from the soul of you.”

30 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 OPRAH WINFREY I DON’T BELIEVE IN FAILURE By Lucy Allen

OPRAH HOLDS A FASCINATING ROLE IN AMERICAN LIFE, WITH A CELEBRITY STATUS THAT GOES BEYOND ENTREPRENEUR, TV PERSONALITY AND WELLNESS GURU. MOST WILL AGREE THAT SHE IS CERTAINLY INSPIRATIONAL. SHE SHARES HER GREATEST LESSON, HER HOPES FOR THE FUTURE AND WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY. OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

31 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM Now, what I was able to do with The Oprah Show and the cultural statement we were able to make throughout the world, I feel very, What is the greatest lesson very proud of, but I think that when it comes to films, that I’m you’ve learned throughout really the new kid on the block. I always feel when I’m acting I’m your life and career? 60 out of my box. It’s the most intimidated I ever feel. sec My greatest lesson came from What wisdom would you pass on to future generations of Maya Angelou, when I first people in Hollywood who want to make films? met her. After I’d known her for a while, she said, ‘Baby, you Oprah in 60 The way to make movies is to do stuff you love. For 25 years I know, you need to know that Seconds worked on The Oprah Show, and Stedman [Graham – her partner] when people show you who they will tell you there were nights when I came home and it was hard are, you believe them the first Winfrey was born to even take off my clothes because I knew I was going to be into poverty in time. Your problem is it takes getting up four hours later. But I never really felt exhausted, like rural Mississippi you 29 times to see the same to a teenage, depleted. I felt exhausted, but I never felt depleted. Do the work lesson coming in a different single mother that comes straight from the soul of you, from your background, skirt, wearing a different pair of and later raised from stories that you’ve grown up with, from stories that bring pants.’ That has been one of my by her maternal you passion. The key to fulfillment, success, happiness and greatest wisdom teachings – to grandmother. They contentment in life is when you align your personality with what assess from people’s behavior, were so poor that your soul actually came to do. I believe everybody has a soul and Winfrey often wore their actions; and not just has their own personal spiritual energy. So when you can use your dresses made of towards me, but towards other potato sacks, for personality to serve whatever that thing is, you can’t help but be people; who they are and how which the local successful. they behave. Because if people children made fun If you do films that come from your soul, work or art that comes talk about other people, they’ll of her. She landed from inside you, you can’t miss. When you’re doing stuff that you talk about you. So, I think a job in radio while think might make money, that may be a hit, or you think may in business and in personal still in high school bring you some level of attention or success, it usually doesn’t. and began co- relationships, that’s always been All the great, wonderful experiences of my life that have brought anchoring the local my greatest lesson. Also staying evening news at the me to this moment have come from working from the interior grounded, you know, has been age of 19. of myself. That’s why it feels so authentic, because it actually is. really great for me. The Oprah When you do that, you’ll win. Winfrey Show aired for the first time You’re on top of the world right on September 8, 1986. The program now. What humbles you? was classified as a tabloid talk When I was called by the Golden show, which in the Globe Awards and was told they mid-1990s began wanted me to accept the Cecil adopting a less B. DeMille award in January tabloid-oriented 2018, I said, ‘I shouldn’t be format and hosted topics such as heart the person to get it.’ You know disease, geopolitics, why? I was working with Reese spirituality and Witherspoon at the time, and meditation. Oprah happened to just say to her in interviewed the make-up room one morning, celebrities on social ‘So how many movies have you issues they were done?’ She said, ‘Oh honey child, directly involved with, such as The key to fulfillment, I don’t know. It’s been so many.’ cancer, charity work And then I thought, ‘I hope or substance abuse. “success, happiness and she doesn’t ask me because I In 2003, Oprah think it’s been five.’ [laughs] became the world’s contentment in life is when I didn’t understand why they first black woman you align your personality wanted to give me an award. billionaire. Her Then, they explained that it was current net worth is with what your soul $2.8 billion. about overall entertainment. actually came to do.”

32 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 OPRAH’S You’ve always given great advice to everyone WORDS OF else. As you review your life, what advice different animals. In a court of would you give to a seven-year-old Oprah or law there are loopholes and WISDOM technicalities and bargains a 13-year-old Oprah? to be struck, but in life you’re either principled or you’re Age seven, I was so sad. At seven, all of my ON ENGAGING LIFE not. Do the right thing, real love came from my teachers. You have no Learn new lessons in life, especially when nobody’s idea of the power of noticing another human but don’t forget to learn looking. being and what it feels like when somebody the old one’s again. Pick a knows that they’ve been seen, truly seen. It’s ON ACHIEVEMENT problem, any problem – gun the greatest gift you can give, and from all violence, climate change, The moment I stopped trying those years of The Oprah Show, the greatest systemic racism, media bias, be someone else was when homelessness or addiction. the real me came through. lesson I learned was that after every show, These all remain unsolved. Your life journey is about someone would invariably say, in one way learning to become more of or another, ‘How was that?’ I would finish ON CYNICISM who you are and fulfilling the an interview with a father who killed his twin Declare war on one of our highest, truest expression of daughters, I’d finish an interview with Barack yourself as a human being. most dangerous enemies Obama, George Bush or Beyoncé. They’d all – cynicism. When that little You will do that through your say the same thing: ‘How was that?’ I started creature sinks its hooks into work and your relationships. you it’ll cloud your clarity, to see this common thread in humanity – For more inspiration and leadership where everybody wants to know how they did. compromise your integrity, motivation, sign up for our free lower your standards and Words of Wisdom email: ‘Did I do okay?’ ‘Did you hear me?’ ‘Did what choke your empathy. Sooner Real-Leaders.com/ free-subscription I say mean something to you?’ Recognizing or later cynicism shatters this in other people has helped me to your faith. become a person of compassion, a person of understanding, a person who can interview ON MAKING A DIFFERENCE It’s tempting to allow apathy anybody about anything because I know that to set in because anxiety gets at the core of them is the same as the core of broadcast on 157 channels, me. People just want to be heard. 24 hours a day. These times are here to let us know that There has been much social activism in we need to take a stand, America over the past year. Do you feel we with every ounce of wit and courage we can muster. What are moving in a better direction yet? are you willing to stand for? Put your honor where your From thousands and thousands of interviews mouth is, when you give your and watching people in their dysfunction, word keep it, show up, when something negative is brewing, the do the work and get your direct opposite reaction is also possible. hands dirty. Because for every action, there is an equal ON MORALITY and opposite reaction. When something as Don’t ever confuse what big as the Harvey Weinstein scandal started to is legal with what is moral unfold, I thought, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa!’ With

JOHN PHILLIPS / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES because they are entirely each day’s new revelation, I thought, ‘Here’s an opportunity for something powerful. How do we use this moment to elevate what is happening instead of continually victimize ourselves?’ There isn’t a culture, race, religion Oprah’s Life Lessons or workplace that hasn’t been affected by this “Work together in the service of something greater than yourself. My deepest satisfaction and particular issue. People didn’t feel they could biggest rewards have come from exactly that – picking a problem and doing something about speak up. There are so many women who it, because to somebody who’s hurting, something is everything. Vote. Pay attention to what the have endured so much and remained silent people who claim to represent you are doing and saying in your name. They represent you and if they’re not doing right by you and their policies are at odds with your core beliefs, then you and kept going because there was no other have a responsibility to send them packing. Remember that people died for your right to vote, so recourse. Now that we’ve all joined as one don’t let their sacrifice be in vain. Eat a good breakfast, pay your bills on time, recycle, make your voice, I think that it feels like empowerment to bed, aim high, say thank you to people and actually mean it. Ask for help when you need it and put your phone away at the dinner table (just sit on it). Know that what you tweet and post on those women who never had it. Instagram today might be asked about in a job interview tomorrow or even 20 years from today. Be nice to kids, elders and animals. Know that it’s better to be interested than interesting.” More stories at www.real-leaders.com

33 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM DESTINATIONS ASAF KLIGER

SWEDEN The Perfect Antidote to Global Warming. A hotel and art exhibition made of ice from the river Torne, each year reincarnated in a brand new design. A place to discover silence, northern lights, glistening snow clad forests, reindeer, cloudberries and kettle coffee. Watch the free-flowing river outside your window while standing in a room made from the same river in its frozen state. You can’t get much closer to SLOVENIA nature than that. Solar panels provide power. www.icehotel.com The World’s Most Sustainable Country (You’ve Never Heard of). The Adriatic enclave of Slovenia in Southern Central Europe, nestled among emerald fields, snowy peaks and sparkling waters is the world’s most sustainable country. The country achieved a mind- boggling 96 out of 100 sustainability indicators by the Netherlands-based organization Green Destinations. These included environment & climate, culture & authenticity and nature & biodiversity. Its capital Ljubljana was also anointed Europe’s Greenest Capital in 2016 by the European Union. Nearly 60% of Slovenia is covered in lush forests, and more than 40 parks and reserves are home to some 20,000 different plants and animals, with a network TAIWAN of diverse hiking trails. And the total Ancient Ways Offer New Experiences. population? Just over two million Nanliao Penghu is a community that has intentionally preserved the early people. They still have plenty of landscape and rural ways of Taiwanese life. Farmers could use tractors room for your next visit. and modern equipment to make their jobs easier if they wanted, but www.slovenia.info instead choose to honor traditional methods to keep their culture alive. Water is drawn from a well and elderly guides proudly highlight their non-toxic agricultural practices that compliment their commitment to low-carbon tourism. Facebook @NanliaoPenghu

34 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 “I DISLIKE FEELING AT HOME WHEN I’M ABROAD.” - GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

NEW YORK Earthcheck Gold Certified. The Pierre Hotel gives jobs to local residents and purchases local products. They are an active participant in the NYC Carbon Challenge – to reduce their current footprint by 30% by 2025. They also donate more than 900 pounds of food per year to a NY City program called City Harvest. www.thepierreny.com

FIJI Ocean Legend Inspires Hotel. One of the pioneers of eco-tourism, the Jean-Michael Cousteau Resort in Fiji was the first resort in the South Pacific region to recycle paper and plastic, and in the process set up a recycling program for the entire town of Savusavu. Jacques Cousteau’s son Jean-Michel conceived the hotel as a model to prove to the business community the economic benefits of environmental concern and design. www.fijiresort.com

UTAH Primal Luxury. Amangiri in Canyon Point, Utah, is constructed from completely natural materials with the intention of blending into the surroundings of the Southwest. The land is so pristine, that an Act of Congress had to be passed to allow construction. Every element has been kept in mind, from the sand to the surrounding mountains. Recycling and energy saving programs are utilized throughout the property and the on-site farm-to-table restaurant sources from neighboring, sustainable farms. With evidence in nearby caves of human habitation dating back 9,000 years, you can also get in touch, once again, with your primal self. www.aman.com

35 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM INDIGENOUS HEROES WATCH LIST

Aluna means “conscience.“ Watch the last theocratic chiefdom in America, hidden for centuries on a mountain in Colombia, speak about how they view the world. The Kogi have made this amazing documentary to help us understand how to avoid the destruction of ourselves and the world they are trying to protect. The Kogi have remained isolated from the rest of the world since the Spanish THE MESSAGE Conquistadors arrived in the The Kogi are profoundly frightened by what we are doing to the world, 1500s, and in order to preserve but also well aware that we have no their traditional way of life, they understanding of the forces which we rarely interact with the modern are unleashing. They believe that the only hope of survival for mankind is if world. Could ancient wisdom we can learn why they are so scared, offer a solution to our future? and they know that we will only believe Watch the full documentary what we can see. The core message of Aluna is that the Kogi understand – as here: https://goo.gl/B5PhZD we do not – that there are critical interconnections within the natural world. The Kogi say that without “Watching this movie made me so deeply sad. What thought, nothing could exist. This is complete idiots we must appear to the Kogi people, a problem, because we are not just not understanding basic principles of life. How did plundering the world, we are dumbing we become so totally disconnected from the wisdom it down, destroying both the physical of our Mother and how can we go back? There is so structure and the thought underpinning much we can learn from them. – Petra Gomersall existence. The Kogi are the last ” surviving civilization from the world of Aluna - The Movie the Inca and Aztec, and their cities are untouched by our world. The mountain Can Ancient Wisdom Save Our Future? they inhabit is an isolated triangular pyramid rising over 18,000 feet above the sea, the highest coastal mountain on earth. It sits on a separate tectonic plate from the Andes, and its unique structure means that it is virtually a miniature version of the planet, with all the world’s climates represented. The mountain is quite literally a micro- cosmos, a mirror of the planet on which every ecological zone is represented and in which most of the plants and animals of the planet can find a home. The journey to reach their native lands involves passing through a jungle region known to local tomb robbers and cocaine makers as “hell,” where nature and armed gangs combine to Alan Ereira is the producer and director of seal the Kogi away. Aluna. He’s an award-winning British author, Kogi spiritual leaders are raised in the dark for their first 18 years, historian and documentary filmmaker. In 1990 to communicate with “Aluna,” the the Kogi made an exception to their strict thought process that shapes and restrictions on contact with the outside world maintains reality, the source of life when they saw him as the filmmaker they and intelligence. They then become wanted to convey their message to the world. Mamos (Enlightened Ones). Some work He remains the only filmmaker ever to be at remote places which they call “hot allowed by the Kogi to film them. spots,” where they believe living energy pours into the world. They guard their isolation and secrecy so that they can continue this work.

Learn how Unilever is achieving growth with purpose. Together, we can empower others to bring out the beauty in themselves, their peers and the planet. Visit www.unileverpurpose.com/pc to hear more about Unilever’s Leaders’ impactful vision.

Untitled-2 1 4/11/2018 4:27:04 PM RETHINKING POWER READING LIST

Conventional Wisdom About Chiefs is All Wrong.

Conventional wisdom says that Chiefs Conventional wisdom has long are special. Chiefs are chosen, Chiefs defined “Chiefs” as rulers of have titles. And only those at the top people – those at the top of the have the power to truly be Chief. Fresh out of business school, I aspired to be organizational chart who hold among those at the top. I would work the most power. We’ve always hard to move up the ladders in the viewed Chiefs as “special,” hope that I could eventually earn a job as a Chief Executive Officer. selectively chosen to lead others. For years, I trusted that wisdom. It But conventional wisdom got it guided me into and through bigger and wrong, and that needs to change. bigger roles where I was responsible The book obliterates the notion for generating results for companies in many difficult situations, developing that only Chiefs with titles hold plans for success that focused on real power, a notion, according to a clear vision and winning strategy the author, that’s been holding to meet customers needs. Those plans often required raising capital, us back from achieving our true controlling costs, beating competition, potential. Rick Miller gives us and building positive community tips, tools, and case studies to relationships in order to succeed. do just that and reveals the But as I worked my way up through these assignments and had choices essential to achieving the privilege of working with many individual and organizational individuals who possessed a power transformation and growth. that had nothing to do with their title or position, my views shifted. In www.beingchief.com addition to these traditional areas of focus, I realized that the real key to sustaining success is to build an organization where a very high percentage of group members are “Read this one carefully – it’s a book to think fully engaged and feel the power of about, not finish. Rick has an inimitable way of being Chief. getting truth across. ” – Srikumar Rao, author I’ll distinguish my use of the word Be Chief: It’s a of Happiness at Work power from its usual interpretation where power is equated to position, Choice, Not a Title title, control, or authority. The power of being Chief is not at all conventional. By Rick Miller It’s a power that comes from within rather than being imposed upon from outside or above. It’s a steady, “This isn’t a book just to read – it’s a Know, Act and DO sustainable power rather than a huge book. Rick’s motivation is to empower each of us to Be burst that fizzles out before long. It’s a Chiefs – starting right now. This book couldn’t come at quiet, insightful power that we tap into a better time, as many of us face uncertainty about our to guide our decisions, choices, and lives, nation, and our world. – Claire Sommer future rather than an outside influence ” that veers us off our course. It’s a power that will feel right, rather than a power that you question. It’s a power “This book made me embrace who I am, which I that fully engages you and everyone sometimes find very uncomfortable. My footing isn’t around you. always sure because of my own struggles and obstacles As any management executive in life. But there’s always someone or something that can attest, unleashing that kind of comes into your life to give you wings. Rick Miller gave Rick Miller Rick Miller is an unconventional power is easier said than done. Today, me wings and the stories in this book demonstrated this reports indicate that seven in 10 turnaround specialist, a servant leader, and – with everyone he came into contact with. He earned workers are not giving 100% on the job. trust where there was distrust, and that’s huge. a go-to Chief. He is also an experienced and Many feel apathetic and powerless. – Sheryl English ” trusted confidant, an author, a sought-after Researchers estimate the cost of speaker, and an expert at driving sustainable this lost productivity at almost $500 growth. For over 30 years, Rick served as a billion annually. As an individual, you “For the new leader or veteran leader, Rick successful business executive in roles including may be surrounded by disengaged provides thoughtful insights and true stories President and/or CEO in a Fortune 10, a Fortune team members, and you may even face that same challenge yourself. about rebooting your approach to the challenge 30, a startup, and a non-profit. In each case, he Gail McGovern, By understanding the simple choices right in front of you. – was recruited from the outside to turn around President and CEO, American” Red Cross outlined in this book, you can solve poor performance in difficult times. both problems.

38 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 THE OPPORTUNITY IS RIPE

80% of consumers support brands that share their values

Download the Sustainable Brands Good Life Report.

sustainablebrands.com | [email protected] | 415-626-2212 “ The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.” Peter H. Diamandis

40 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 ARE YOU PREPARED FOR AN INTELLIGENT WORLD? Should robots be putting the cherry on top?

WHAT CHINA CAN TEACH US ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HOW HUMANS CAN GET A GRIP

41 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM WEST END 61 / GETTY IMAGES Last year, China’s government trillion of that total, dwarfing North put out its plan to lead the world America’s $3.7 trillion in gains. in AI by 2030. As Eric Schmidt has In 2017, China accounted for 48% explained, “it’s pretty simple. By 2020, of the world’s total AI startup funding, they will have caught up. By 2025, compared to America’s 38%. Already, they will be better than us. By 2030, Chinese investments in AI, chips and they will dominate the industries of electric vehicles have reached an AI.” And the figures don’t lie. estimated $300 billion. Meanwhile, With a $14 trillion GDP, China is AI giant Alibaba has unveiled plans predicted to account for over 35% to invest $15 billion in international of global economic growth from research labs from the U.S. to Israel, 2017 to 2019 – nearly double the with others following suit. Beijing U.S. GDP’s predicted 18%. And AI is has now mobilized local government Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, MD is the responsible for a big chunk of that. officials around AI entrepreneurship Founder & Executive Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers recently and research, led by billions in the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads projected AI’s deployment will add guiding funds and VC investments. the world in designing and operating And behind the scenes, a growing large-scale incentive competitions. $15.7 trillion to the global GDP by He is also the Executive Founder of 2030, with China taking home $7 force of driven AI entrepreneurs trains Singularity University. cutting-edge algorithms on some of the largest datasets available to date. Once disregarded as a market of ‘copycats’ looking to Silicon Valley for inspiration and know- how, China’s AI ecosystem has long departed this stage. Propelled by an abundance of government funds, smart infrastructure overhauls, leading AI research, and some of the world’s most driven entrepreneurs, China’s AI ecosystem is unstoppable. www.diamandis.com

HOW TO WIN LIKE CHINA. THE FOUR MAIN DRIVERS TIPPING THE AI BALANCE IN CHINA’S FAVOR *

While China’s It’s important to 04 01 Perhaps 02 03 Perhaps ‘copycat’ note that China GOVERNMENT ABUNDANT China’s biggest HUNGRY GROWING the greatest era saw a is still new to FUNDING DATA advantage ENTREPRENEURS EXPERTISE unifying force massive wave the game. But is the sheer behind China’s of mediocre- in a few short quantity of its skyrocketing quality products years, China’s data. Tencent’s AI industry is the country’s very own and unoriginal mimicry, it also forged AI community has caught up fast. WeChat platform alone has over central government. In 2017, China’s some of the most competitive, While the world’s most elite AI 889 million daily active users. That’s government issued its plan to make rapidly iterating entrepreneurs in the researchers still largely cluster in more than the entire population of China the global center of AI innovation, world. Refined by fire, Chinese tech the U.S., favoring companies like Europe. American users’ payment and aiming for a one trillion RMB (about entrepreneurs have stopped at nothing Google, Chinese tech giants are transportation data are fragmented $150 billion) AI industry by 2030. to beat the competition, pulling every quickly closing the gap. Already in across various platforms, Chinese Within a year, Chinese VC investors trick and tactic to smear, outpace and academia, Chinese AI researchers AI giants like Tencent have created were pouring record sums into AI outsmart parallel startups. Former stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their unified online ecosystems that startups, surpassing the U.S. to make founder-director of Google Brain, American contemporaries. We’ve also concentrate all your data in one up 48% of AI venture funding globally. Andrew Ng, noted the hunger raving seen increased collaboration between place. Platforms like WeChat Wallet Mayors across the country have built among Chinese entrepreneurs: “The China’s top tech firms and emerging and Alipay have data on everything out innovation zones, incubators and velocity of work is much faster in China student talent. Voice recognition from your dumplings purchase from a government-backed VC funds, even than in most of Silicon Valley. When software company iFlyTek has not only street vendor to your recent 100 RMB covering rent and clearing out avenues you spot a business opportunity in outcompeted teams from Alphabet’s donation to an earthquake relief fund. for AI startups and accelerators. China, the window of time you have to DeepMind, Facebook and IBM Watson This allows them to generate complex Beijing plans to invest $2 billion in an AI respond is very short.” in natural-language processing, but maps charting hundreds of millions of development park to drive R&D, patents has done so in its “second language” users’ every move. and societal innovation. of English.

* “AI Superpowers” by Kai-Fu Lee

42 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 “THERE ARE THREE ETHICAL DILEMMAS REGARDING AI: IMPACT ON HUMANS, INFORMATION SHARING AMONG RESEARCHERS AND HONESTY IN AI SOFTWARE.” – ANDREW NG, CO-INVENTOR, GOOGLE BRAIN

As China’s AI expertise has exploded, and startups have learned to tailor American copycat products to a Chinese audience, entrepreneurs are finally shrugging off their former ‘copycat’ reputation, building businesses with no analogs in the West.

43 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM Artificial intelligenceis poised to and business opportunities, while freeing fundamentally change how we live and people from the drudgery of hazardous or work. Whether it will be salvation or curse boring work. Depending who you talk to, will depend on the extent to which we get “it” could be all of these things, or at least to grips with it now. It is the dawn of a new toned down versions of them. age, when everything from climate change We are talking, of course, about artificial and the state of our cities to our personal intelligence: the rapidly growing ability of health and wellbeing will experience computers to imitate, and improve upon, dramatic improvements at a speed and many of the core functions of the human scale beyond anything achieved to date. brain. To paraphrase Apple: “This changes It’s a looming apocalypse, morphing everything.” Luckily, we’re at the stage beyond all human control, that could wipe of the journey where we can still, to a out civilization as we know it within our large extent, choose the route we take, lifetimes. It’s humanity’s redundancy notice, and shape its destination. Here’s what poised to wipe out vast numbers of jobs. some business leaders think about the It will generate vast numbers of new jobs looming AI revolution. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES LUCY PARKER, PARTNER, THE BRUNSWICK GROUP ELON MUSK, FOUNDER, TESLA

“Far-sighted business leaders are just Entrepreneur Elon Musk is among those beginning to grasp both the scale of this AI warning of the potential consequences of potential, and its power to disrupt existing AI. “Robots will do everything better than business models,” says Parker. She us… They will take your jobs [and the] recently interviewed 16 CEOs for the British government will have to pay your wage.” Academy’s Future of the Corporation Depending on the speed of AI rollout, initiative, and was struck by their near- McKinsey claims that as many as 700 unanimous sense that something million jobs could go by 2030. PwC momentous was under way. “They would suggests that 30% of those in the U.K. say, ‘Before we talk about anything, you could be automated by around the same need to understand that this is more time, compared to 38% in the U.S. and change than we’ve seen in our lifetime. 21% in Japan. Some of the hardest-hit It’s changing the business model, the could be developing countries that have employment model and customer model – recently industrialized and enjoyed a boom we are simply trying to harness it and work thanks to low-cost labor. Fiction authors out what to do.’” can sleep easy for a while longer, if the So how do they respond – with panic or hilarious attempt of an AI machine to write a excitement? Both, says Parker. “There is a Harry Potter sequel is anything to go by. In sense of rising panic on one hand, but on many situations, just because it’s technically the other, definitely excitement. If the point feasible to replace a human worker with of business leaders is to manage times of a robot, doesn’t mean it’s economically 44 disruption, then this is it in spades.” attractive to do so. REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 JOHN HAWKSWORTH, CHIEF ECONOMIST, PWC JOANNA BRYSON, AI RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF BATH

Few companies have made a massive Many experts think more robust commitment to retraining, and government involvement is essential, with acknowledged that they very clearly don’t AI being too powerful not to have have the skills for tomorrow. “Many of those government be part of the solution. skills – or at least the jobs they embody “People die and governments change – don’t even have names yet,” says because of stuff that happens with Hawksworth. “If, back in the 1980s, when software. It’s got to be more regulated,” I was leaving university, someone had told says Bryson. AI itself may be full of new, Ethical Corporation me they were going to be a web designer, bewildering stuff, but anyone who’s been has a mission to help I wouldn’t have known what on Earth involved with sustainability over the last 20 businesses around the they were talking about because that job years will find that at least some of the key globe do the right thing didn’t exist.” Similarly, he says, we might issues are starting to look strikingly familiar. by their customers and reasonably expect the 2030s to feature After all, at the core of the sustainability the world. They believe whole swathes of jobs yet to be invented. quest is the search to minimize the negative this is not only how PwC estimates that AI could add $15.7 consequences of human ingenuity (on the to guarantee a future trillion to the global economy by 2030 – planet, and other people) while maximizing for all, but also makes more than the current output of India and human potential. Pretty much the same can good business sense. China combined – resulting in an increase be said of AI. This is where all the lessons This is an excerpt from of 14% in global GDP. This in turn will help of systems thinking, which is at the heart of their report “Rise of create a demand for all kinds of goods sustainability, can be valuable. The Robot: Can We and services, some of which can only be Turn AI Into a Force supplied by humans. For Good?” www.EthicalCorp.com HOW ARE COMPANIES PREPARING THEIR WORKFORCES FOR THIS NEW REALITY?

AT&T MICROSOFT SODEXO INFOSYS

Workforce 2020 According to Sodexo is The need to involves pumping Microsoft Germany asking what future-proof $1bn into they won’t just be the essence staff has ensuring the delivering projects of service will compelled skills of 100,000 and signing them be: When the the Indian IT employees – off. In future it humanity of company to nearly a third of will offer “mega the person who teach staff about the total − don’t solutions”: provides the design thinking become obsolete. planning, service touches and about It also aims to installation, the humanity finding the change the operation, analysis of the person next problem mindset of long- and maintenance. receiving the to solve. serving staff. service.

45 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM ometimes the opportunity for innovation is in plain sight. Have you ever considered how much S is spent in real estate to feature picture- perfect views and install crystal-clear glass windows – only to have occupants miss those amazing views due to the heat and glare that also comes through? Window coverings are purchased at an additional cost due to the discomfort of the individuals inside and the well-intended benefits are lost. Look around any major city, and you’ll notice that roughly two-thirds of building windows are permanently covered with blinds or shades. It defeats the whole idea of using windows in the first place. What if there was a better way? After all, it hasn’t always been like this. For most of history, humans have lived in harmony with the outdoors; remember, we are originally an outdoor species. But over the course of history, we’ve found a way to create “My colleagues wake our own shelters, as a way of separating us from the elements and to protect ourselves. up each day believing in First came walls, doors, roofs and floors. Then something that no one we discovered that melting sand could make sheets of glass – a solid material you could see else believes yet. This through. Windows were not always accessible common purpose and to everyone in the early days and were indeed mission is what binds us together and enables us to create real change.”

Dr. Rao Mulpuri, CEO of View Inc. is a member of YPO SF Bay.

46 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 A VIEW OF INNOVATION By Jeff Platon a source of luxury and pride for those who could afford customer who says, “I love my blinds”. them. Now a staple of modern architecture, glass has The real estate industry is the largest in the world, to kept some of its magical allure - creating a barrier to the the tune of $10 trillion globally, but surprisingly, it’s also outside world, yet still inviting in the views and natural the slowest moving – partly due to risk aversion found light to lighten even the darkest of rooms. Recently, within its ranks. Mulpuri recognized that technology we’ve seen bigger and clearer windows appearing as advancement was the biggest disruptor of the past 100 the demand increases for a better connection to the years and wondered why real estate construction was outdoors. But this, “Also creates issues in terms of heat lagging so far behind. The 21st century is not kind to and glare – the building gets inefficient … and people are slow-moving industries – think video stores, camera film uncomfortable thermally and visually and then you are and cellphones with keyboards. Mulpuri believes View’s using blinds and shades to control the light,” says Dr. mission is to not only make the simple window better, Rao Mulpuri, CEO of View, Inc. and a member of YPO. but to also transform the entire real estate industry. One Based in Silicon Valley, View manufactures a new of Mulpuri’s mentors and friends, Fred Smith, the CEO generation of smart windows that let in natural light of FedEx, is keen on reminding his employees, “If you and views and enhance mental and physical wellbeing. don’t like change, you will hate extinction.” View’s customers include Century Link, Overstock, View currently holds more than 700 patents after ten FedEx, WeWork, Facebook, Hewlett Packard years of development and an investment of around $1 Enterprise, Regeneron and Kaiser Permanente across billion – a hefty price-tag for staying true to their dream 35 million square feet of buildings space with another of developing technology that will enable smart glass to 35 million in progress. The company has also made work at scale. great progress bringing smart windows to airports Aside from eliminating the need for blinds and with installations at San Francisco International reducing a building’s energy costs, Mulpuri is most Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Seattle- excited about the substantial health benefits View’s Tacoma International Airport and Charlotte Douglas windows bring to occupants. A recent HBR article International Airport. And in June 2018, Dallas Fort revealed natural light is the #1 office perk, and supports Worth International Airport announced they had a research study by Cornell University Professor Dr. awarded a contract to View to install smart windows in Alan Hedge who found optimization of natural light all DFW’s passenger terminals. in an office significantly improves health and wellness “While dynamically changing glass technology, that among workers. In fact, this research revealed that adjusts itself to light and heat is already 50 years old, it workers in View Dynamic Glass office environments never managed to move past small applications, such as reported a 51% drop in eyestrain, a 63% drop in transition sunglasses, car rear-view mirrors, and some headaches and a 56% reduction in drowsiness. airplanes. Up until ten years ago, when View stepped Like most disruptive companies, success is usually a in, it was an elusive technology that didn’t lend itself combination of great product and fearless, big thinking. to large-scale use in real estate. We have developed a Considering the advice he would give young leaders, self-tinting smart window, powered by a sophisticated Mulpuri believes that picking things that really mattered intelligence engine that responds intuitively to outside would be paramount. “Work on something game- conditions, day or night,” says Mulpuri. changing, because then the journey becomes worth it. “Someday, every window will be smart,” muses You’ll attract great talent and like-minded people and Mulpuri. “Today, every communication device is that powerful combination of talent, commitment, and mobile, yet landlines ruled only a short few years ago. upward spiral of creating something new will make it Likewise, there’s no reason to install windows and then worthwhile. My biggest advice? Attempt bigger.” cover them up to the detriment of the occupants’ health and wellness.” The company has yet to come across a www.viewglass.com

47 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM MICHAEL BLOOMBERG STRAIGHT TALK FROM A “C” “As long STUDENT as you can admit things TURNED to yourself, you can deal BILLIONAIRE with them and FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR then move on. AND FOUNDER OF GLOBAL I don’t lie to FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY myself, but I BLOOMBERG L.P., MICHAEL don’t harp on BLOOMBERG SHOWS THAT things and I NO ONE SAILS THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT ENCOUNTERING never, ever SOME ROUGH WATERS. THE look back.” BILLIONAIRE BELIEVES THAT IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU’LL THRIVE ON THE INEVITABLE CHALLENGES AND HAVE THE STAMINA TO ACHIEVE YOUR FULL POTENTIAL.

By Gillian Zoe Segal MONICA SCHIPPER / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES

48 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 49 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM “WE CAN TURN AROUND OUR COUNTRY’S CURRENT, WRONG-HEADED COURSE, IF WE START BASING OUR ACTIONS ON IDEAS, SHARED VALUES, AND A COMMITMENT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS WITHOUT REGARD FOR PARTY.” - MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

is, fifteen years later, they fired me. I was fired around the time the company was sold. They assembled an executive committee of seven people that decided who stayed and who went. One of the committee members did not like me – my crime being that I had been the assistant to his nemesis – and he convinced everyone else to vote against me. He was later killed in a plane crash, and the other six members of the executive committee became paying customers of mine. As somebody once said, “Living well is the best revenge.” I don’t remember being too pissed or feeling that bad about being fired. I think I have the same insecurities that everybody else has. The difference is that I don’t let them get in my way. There’s a great scene in the movie The Sting between Paul Newman’s and Robert Redford’s characters. They rob a bank and in the midst of doing this somebody GILLIAN ZOE SEGAL points a gun at Newman. Afterward, Redford asks him if he was scared. Newman replies, “Right MICHAEL’S down to my boots.” In college I had a straight C average. I think I PEARLS As long as you can admit things to yourself, you was just lazy, or maybe I was just too busy chasing 1. People want can deal with them and then move on. I don’t lie the girls. But then, first semester senior year, I recognition and to myself, but I don’t harp on things and I never, figured that if I wanted to go to graduate school respect. When I ever look back. If your mind starts to wander I’d better do something about my grades. So for walk into a building, to past events, the only advice I can give you is that one semester I took a double course load and I always make a don’t go. Just stop it! Think about something else. got all A’s. I applied to business school and I got point of shaking If you divert your attention, your mind won’t in, much to everybody’s amazement, particularly the hands of the immediately go back to the unpleasant occurrence, security people at mine. Then I went right back to getting C’s for my the door. If it wasn’t and when it eventually does, simply stop thinking last semester. for them, the rest about it again. After graduation, I thought I was going to serve of us wouldn’t be That’s how you quit smoking. You don’t have in Vietnam. In those days everybody was going able to conduct our to stop for the rest of your life, just stop for five to Vietnam. But they wouldn’t take me at the last business. They are minutes. Five minutes from now you probably minute because I have flat feet. Why it bothered just as important won’t want a cigarette. If you do, force yourself to them, I don’t know. So I needed to find a job all as the head of the stop for another five. Eventually, one of these fives company. I think the of a sudden. I went to work on Wall Street only egalitarian concept will end in not wanting a cigarette. And then one because a friend of mine said, “Call these two firms that America was day you’ll think, I’ve come so far and I don’t want – Goldman Sachs & Co. and Salomon Brothers & built around really go back. Hutzler (as it was called back then) – and tell them works. We have Had a place like Goldman Sachs called me after you want to be a trader or a salesman.” grown to have too I was fired from Salomon and wanted to make me Fortunately for me, securities trading and many distinctions a partner, I would’ve done it. But nobody offered between people. sales were considered second-class occupations me a job. Thank God for that! I started my own It’s important to in those days, so I got interviews at both recognize when company instead. I like that old Woody Allen firms. At Goldman I was introduced to the credit is due and quote: “Eighty percent of success is just showing managing partner like this: “Mr. Levy, this is not be stingy about up.” You create your own lot in life, and to be Mike Bloomberg.” At Salomon Brothers I was giving it. successful in business you’ve got to work hard. The introduced to some guy named Billy. We had a more you work, the better you do. It’s that simple. discussion, and afterward somebody came up 2. Use the words Some people say, “I can’t go into work today.” I’ve “we” and “us” when to me and said, “What’d Billy Salomon have to never missed a day of work in my life! After I was referring to your say?” I had just been introduced to the managing business. Never fired from Salomon, I still had about two months partner on a first-name basis! I felt that Salomon use “I” and “me.” It left before I was actually going to leave the firm, Brothers was the place for me. To say I fit in there sounds egotistical. but I still never missed a day. In fact, I made sure and loved what I was doing is an understatement. I that I worked six days a week from as early in the reveled in it every minute of the day. But the thing morning until as late as I could. I was searching for

50 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 new office space for myself during that period, but I called the broker and said I could only look on weekends because I didn’t want to take time off during the week. I didn’t want anyone to ever say that I didn’t work 110 percent. I had an ego problem with that. Be the first one in and the last one out. If you are there early and stay late, you get a chance to talk to people who would not otherwise take your call. I built many relationships by being early. You can call the chairman of the board of almost any company early in the morning. If he’s a good chairman, he’s there. The secretary’s not, so he’ll actually answer the phone. The best time to strike is when gatekeepers aren’t there! When I started developing Bloomberg, I wanted feedback. So every morning I’d arrive at the deli across the street from Merrill Lynch’s headquarters at six a.m. and buy coffee (with and without milk) and tea (with and without milk), plus a few sugars on the side. I’d go up and roam the halls looking to see if there happened to be somebody sitting in their office alone reading a newspaper. I’d walk in and say, “Hi, I’m Mike Bloomberg. I bought / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES S. SAVENOK ILYA you a cup of coffee. I’d just like to bend your ear.” Nobody is going to say, “Get outta here” if you just bought him or her a cup of coffee. When “You certainly can do someone would occasionally say, “I don’t drink everything. The people coffee,” I would say, “Well, then have a tea.” who do some things can Over the years, people have come to me and said, “You can’t do everything.” That is total do more. If you need to WATCH bullshit. You certainly can do everything. The CEOs give their get something tough people who do some things can do more. If you opinions on what done, give it to the most need to get something tough done, give it to the real leadership most overworked person in your organization. looks like: overworked person in There’s a reason why they’re overworked; they RealLeadersMagazine your organization.” get things done. I have an employee named Patti Harris; she should be written about instead of me. She runs my foundation, she runs the city, she has a husband, they have a great marriage, she’s got Bloomberg for twenty years, I decided it was time a great family (the kids turned out spectacularly), to do something different. Time to fire myself. they go on vacations, they ski, they scuba dive. If I wanted to turn over the company to others you go up to her with doubts that something can In 2016, Bloomberg without anyone thinking I was walking away from be accomplished because of this obstacle or that Philanthropies and it. Well, public service is a good excuse, and it’s of obstacle, she’ll look at you, smile, and say, “That’s Harvard University great interest to me. People say that government announced the creation nice, just do it,” and walk away. of the joint Bloomberg can’t be made to work efficiently and truly serve My parents were my role models. My father Harvard City Leadership the people. My response? “Bullshit!” Telling me was a bookkeeper for a little dairy company. Initiative. Funded by a something’s impossible is like waving a red flag He worked seven days a week until he checked $32 million gift from in front of a bull. Might as well go for it. So that’s himself into the hospital to die. At that point my Bloomberg, the Initiative what I’m working toward now. mother knew that she would have to start driving. will host up to 300 She went to the library, checked out a book on mayors from around Gillian Zoe Segal is the author of “Getting There: A the world for executive driving, took the car onto our little street, and training programs to Book of Mentors” and “New York Characters.” In taught herself how to drive. She got a friend to increase effective public “Getting There,” 30 leaders in diverse fields share take her to the DMV, took the test, and got her sector management and their secrets to navigating the rocky road to success. license. That was it. She just did it. After running innovation. Twitter: @GillianZoeSegal

51 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM BIG PLANET HEROES READING LIST ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES While the media bombards us with doom and gloom stories of a planet in peril, there are millions of people across the globe actually doing something about it. Some are household names, many are not, but all find at least one reason to get out of bed each day and help the world. This book introduces us to 101 everyday earth advocates Dr. Barbara Royal On What such as scientist Dr. Jane Goodall Got Her Out of Bed to (pictured below), filmmaker Co-publish This Book. Louie Psihoyos, business How did this book come about? innovators Rick Ridgeway and I had a conversation with a friend of Sir Richard Branson, global mine in Australia. Actually, she was here, and we sat down to lunch. economist John Hewson, and The conversation, like it does with Garbage singer Shirley Manson. many people, turned to the different They are asked three simple problems in the world. I’m like, “Oh, my questions: What gets them out of gosh, all these different things with climate change,” and then “What’s bed and why, what they are doing happening with the rhinos?” We tend about it and what can we all do to talk about animals because that’s about it. www.101reasonstogetoutofbed.com who we are. We were saying how tricky it is in the world to navigate. I’ve got children. What’s going to happen with them? “Such an inspiring book that my children also read it. It bought them to action because some of the steps are so What action did you decide to take? doable. Would make a great gift for anyone 10 to 99 years Suddenly, we just said, “Hey we know young. ” – Mike Gibson people who are doing great things. One Hundred & One Let’s talk about that.” We started talking about the people we knew that were doing amazing things. It Reasons to get Out of Bed was really fun. We said,, “I know a woman who does this, and there’s this Small World Steps. Big Planet Heroes guy who started that.”

How did you choose the people featured in the book? We knew a ton of people between us and we just called them up. You can’t believe that you can actually call up someone like Jane Goodall and say, “We’re doing this book and we’d like you in it.” Everyone we asked said yes.

What questions did you ask them? We asked these people three simple questions: What animal or environmental issue gets you out of bed, what are you doing about it and grew up in a suburban Australian Natasha Milne what can everyone else do about it? neighborhood, with a backyard full of beetles, We wanted it to be a resource birds, spiders and lizards. A photographer for that you could flip through and over 20 years in both New York and abroad, her see what a TV personality is doing, clients include Canon, Martha Stewart Living, what a rock star is doing, discover a and the UN Development Project in Mali, West racecar driver with a green car that Africa. She is on a mission to dedicate the is environmentally cool and go “wow!” Ultimately, we wanted readers to remainder of her life towards helping humanity rediscover well-known personalities unite in caring for our beautiful planet, and all and say, “Really? They did that?” her creatures. JEFF SPICER / GETTY IMAGES

52 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 Do You Know What Human Trafficking Looks Like in America?

“Escaping was hard. But the even harder part was...Now What?" — Survivor, USA

*Actual photos of survivors used with permission.

Rebecca Bender Initiative is a survivor-led nonprofit, dedicated to training community professionals and assisting survivors at job readiness. Because there is life after human trafficking.

REBECCABENDER.ORG COOL IDEAS CHANGING OUR WORLD FOR THE BETTER. MORE AT WWW.REAL-LEADERS.COM SMART TECH

SOLAR COOKING Invite The Sun To Your Next Barbecue. One Earth Design has developed a line of clean energy solar stoves that harnesses 92% of the sun’s rays. Co-founder and CEO, Dr. Catlin Powers (pictured right, wearing orange) holds two solar energy patents and has received 15 international awards and distinctions for her scientific research in the clean energy sector. SolSource

was developed as a solution the sport model, fits into a for energy poverty while 2-foot carry case, weighs only Powers worked with nomads 10 pounds and cooks a meal in in the Himalayas. Today, the just 10 minutes. It also heats revolutionary solar-powered up five times faster than a stoves are used by customers charcoal (carbon alert!) grill. in over 60 countries and Just add sunlight. When not has an equal chance of grilling, Powers can be found being found in a developing teaching sustainable business country without electricity, a and entrepreneurship at Santa Monica beach or your Harvard Center for Health and own backyard for your next Global Environment. barbecue. Their latest design, www.oneearthdesigns.com

PRODUCT SAFETY GOES FISHING Can These Genetically-modified Fish Make Food Safer For Everyone? Since the 1960s, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become increasingly important to scientific research, mainly because of characteristics that make it a valuable model for studying human genetics and disease. Chinese company Vitargent uses genetically-modified zebrafish embryos to test for toxicity in everyday products such as lipstick, milk, cooking oil and drinking water. Results are published in a “safe to buy” list for consumers. The fish can react to over GENOME RESEARCH LIMITED 1,000 toxic chemicals and share 84% of the same genes that relate to disease in humans. 40% of internationally- 20% of lipsticks 20% of milk products recognized face creams were found to contain failed bio-toxic tests. Many What’s harmful to them is likely harmful to failed the toxicity test, estrogenic endocrine consumers are unaware us. Thirty-year-old Eric Chen founded the with many containing disruptors - that can that “fresh milk” can be company after witnessing first-hand the ingredients that can potentially cause birth divided into liquid milk and effects of food safety scandals in China, such lead to cancer. Avoid defects. Choose lipsticks milk beverages. The former as the tainted infant formula scandal of 2008. Paraben preservatives. with fewer additives. being 50% safer overall. www.vitargent.com

54 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 The next practical step will be, of course, “hybridization – connected to our traditional very strong V12 and V10 engines.” - Stefano Domenicali, CEO

E-POWER INSIDE four international patents. Lamborghini’s Latest There’s not much detail on the bike itself from Innovation: A Bicycle. the legendary Italian Want a Lamborghini but car manufacturer, but a not the guilt of destroying battery powered bicycle the environment? is certainly a symbolic Automobili Lamborghini step in the right direction has signed a partnership and signals a greener with Italtechnology to future. The new E-Bikes develop the first range will initially be available of E-Bikes bearing in two versions: one for the Lamborghini outdoor activities and name. In keeping with a version dedicated to Lamborghini tradition, speed and performance the battery powered – quickly reaching the E-Bikes are masterpieces maximum speed allowed of advanced technology, by current regulations. aimed at an exclusive The battery life in “eco” and demanding clientele. mode has a maximum Conceived, designed, range of 90 miles (145 km) and built entirely in Italy, and full charge time is the bikes are the result four hours. As with their of more than five years cars, the Lamborghini of research and feature bike is not expected to be technological innovation, cheap, starting at around cutting-edge design, and $17,000. www.lamborghini.com

55 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM “A BRAND FOR A COMPANY IS LIKE A REPUTATION FOR A PERSON. YOU EARN REPUTATION BY TRYING TO DO HARD THINGS WELL.” - JEFF BEZOS

1. FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS 3. FUND OVERHEADS Take the time to understand the issues you want to address and your intended impact. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself Be aware of the real costs for up for failure. Let’s say you want to whatever philanthropic undertaking improve education in Seattle. Is that too you pursue. Some call it overhead, broad? Maybe you winnow it down to others, full funding. Regardless of improving graduation rates. But what name, it’s real. One can buy books for does that mean? Will your giving increase a reading program, but if the school graduation rates and the learning that can’t afford to heat the building, it allows a student to have truly earned isn’t hard to recognize that students that diploma? Or, is it about young people who sit wearing winter coats in cold being positioned for success in life – classrooms will likely learn less. whether it’s heading to college, further Failing to understand that vocational training or serving in the nonprofits can’t be successful unless armed forces. Be granular and specific. they are adequately resourced is a Difficult decisions will need to be made, mistake that far too many funders but the more focused your efforts are, make. I’m not suggesting funding the greater your chances of success. of overhead in lieu of programs or specific projects – they are not mutually exclusive. Acknowledge that programs have real and genuine operational costs associated with them that are critical to successful endeavors. No matter what you call it, overhead is not a luxury, nor is it glamorous. It’s a necessity. Fund it!

2. USE MULTIPLE TOOLS

Imagine you’re remodeling a kitchen. You’ll need a saw for cutting – in fact you’ll need a few. There’s a reciprocating saw for demo. A rotary saw for cutting lumber for framing. And you’ll need a miter saw to make angles align correctly on the trim. Just as there are different saws for specific jobs, there 4. are many philanthropic vehicles, each with OWN YOUR different applications, benefits and potential dangers if misused. BLIND SPOTS There are different types of foundations, which typically make grants and run programs. Other options include donor advised funds, supporting organizations, We all have them. Recognize those blind spots and and planned giving trusts. To choose the work through them so they don’t inadvertently right giving vehicle, you need to start with lead to bad decisions. Trust me on this, I learned your vision for your philanthropy and let the the hard way as part of a team that once decided structure follow. Begin by identifying your not to fund a project. In retrospect, my opposition goals, the activities you want to engage in, to the project was based on my view of the world and your tax priorities. Most importantly, through the lens of my own white, straight, male your choices are not limited. You can use privileged, suburban upbringing. It’s one of the most many giving vehicles to achieve your goals. embarrassing decisions I’ve ever been a part of and I’m ashamed of it. Yet I learned a valuable lesson: Equity for all communities will only come from working toward diversity and inclusiveness. I learned that it’s not about me, nor you Mr. Bezos. It’s about the beneficiaries of the services and programs we choose to fund. Actively get to know and listen to the people you are trying to help. Just as in business, success as a funder requires knowing your market, your audience, your “customers.”

56 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 5. EXPECT FAILURE ADVICE FOR THE Philanthropy is one of the only sectors – apart from dealing with one’s personal physician – where we expect perfection every time. We do so to our own RICHEST PERSON detriment. In philanthropy, as in life, things won’t always go right. Much like learning to walk, when a toddler stumbles, we don’t tell the child to give up IN HISTORY walking. Few things in philanthropy, as in business, are absolute successes or total failures. You will Just nine of the world’s wealthiest individuals scrape your knees along the way. That’s healthy. Just be ready to embrace what you learn from the have more combined wealth than the poorest inevitable stumbles. four billion people. Henry Berman of Exponent Philanthropy has this advice for Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos – now worth $143 billion.

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, will announce his plans this summer to give away some of his vast fortune. What he’ll fund has 6. become a popular guessing game in the media RECOGNIZE ITS and philanthropic circles. There’s no shortage INTERRELATED of people willing to tell him what to do with his NATURE wealth. I’m not here to do that. How he uses his money philanthropically is his choice and he Whatever you choose to fund is one piece of a should support his passions – not ours. greater ecosystem. Assume for the moment you’ve But as someone who has spent many years determined the best way to improve education is to address early childhood literacy, so you fund reading working with foundation trustees (and as one support programs for youngsters. Recognize that myself), I’ve learned some lessons about how every night some of those children return to a house philanthropists can succeed and how they can or apartment with very little to eat, or any number miss the mark. If Mr. Bezos wants to embody of things that directly impact their immediate and future success. Without addressing these the true ideals of philanthropy – to make a real confounding variables in the child’s life, attending a difference in people’s lives – here are six things reading program may not matter as much as we all he (and every person thinking about giving) might hope. Social problems do not exist in a vacuum. You likely will set out to address one problem and should consider. then find other systemic or root causes that also www.exponentphilanthropy.org need to be addressed. Programming and advocacy for systems change, working in tandem, is needed to move the proverbial needle. Early on, Mr. Bezos, you may have had a vision for what Amazon has become today, but you started with books. Just as you have grown Amazon, expect your philanthropy to evolve along the way. The question really “is, are you improving the world? You can do that in government, you can do that in a nonprofit, and you can do it in commercial enterprise. Jeff Bezos” AMAZON

57 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM BECOME INVOLVED IN OUR GLOBAL CONFERENCE NETWORK. EMAIL [email protected]

STATE OF THE NATIONS

“Great things Collaboration is defined as, “The action of working with someone to produce or create something.” As I look around, in business are stakeholders from the public, private, government and never done by non-profit sectors are increasingly involved in collaborative one person.” decision-making, in an attempt to help solve our biggest – Steve Jobs societal and environmental problems. Luckily, technology has helped to facilitate many of these discussions, many of which are now virtual. Yet, as we’ve seen here at Real Leaders, the best collaborative partnerships and ideas are still done in person – with CEOs from diverse backgrounds seeking partners with whom they can solve problems for the common good, while still making a profit.Real Leaders has partnered with leading conferences and events to encourage this way of thinking and working. As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, and a certified B Corporation, we believe that real leadership is defined by action, not talk. We invite you to act – and join us at one of our 30 partner events – to share your great ideas and tell us in person how you’re changing the world for the better.

Jesse Pyrch [email protected]

WE SUPPORT

58 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018

Cracked It estimates that 29% of all smartphones are cracked. Founder, Josh Babarinde (right), started the company to harness the smartphone repair market and use it to create opportunities for at-risk youth. “We’re all about giving people a leg up, not a handout,” he says.

Sitting in his cell, mulling a childhood shaped by fear, theft and drugs, gang member Jake knew things had S to change. He was part of Britain’s spiraling knife culture and feared it would all end badly. Jake was 15 when he first carried a knife - as protection. Friends had been stabbed, some had gone to prison and he said four had used their ‘protective’ knives to commit murder. “I was thinking ‘this is it, it’s just going to get worse.’ I wanted to change my life because under 24 is rising faster than any I was tired of doing illegal stuff.” other age group. Cracked It gets Enter Cracked It – an innovative paid by companies to offer on-the- business that teaches young spot repairs and by local councils offenders like 21-year-old Jake to offer training to young people. how to fix cracked smartphones, FIX A PHONE Britain is seen as a global leader boosting former inmates’ self in the innovative social enterprise esteem and confidence in the OR PRISON: sector, with about 70,000 ethical process. “iphone repairs are a businesses employing nearly a Trojan horse for getting them million people, according to Social engaged in work,” says Josh BEATING Enterprise UK, which represents Babarinde, a 25-year-old former the growing sector. Another youth worker who started the KNIFE CRIME organization, Steel Warriors, puts business three years ago. its efforts into repurposing the His social enterprise aims to weapons. This year it took some of tackle a knife crime epidemic in the IN BRITAIN the thousands of knives that police capital, beset by ever more inner- had taken off London’s streets, city stabbings. Knife crime rose A social enterprise aims melted them down and built an 16% in England and Wales in the 12 outdoor gym from the steel in an months to March 2018, official data to tackle the knife crime east London park. Founder Ben shows, logging the biggest annual epidemic in London by Wintour said he wanted the gym increase ever recorded. to start conversations about knife Knives were responsible for teaching young offenders crime. He also wanted somewhere more than a third of murders last how to fix cracked that provided a free workout for year and the government says the people who could not afford a gym. rise in offenses involving a knife or smartphones. sharp instrument is “persistent and The Thomson Reuters Foundation worrying.” By Lee Mannion is the charitable arm of Thomson There were more than 40,000 Reuters, that covers humanitarian knife attacks resulting in more news, women’s rights, trafficking, than 280 murders in the year to property rights, climate change and March 2018. The number of victims resilience. www.news.trust.org

60 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 #250KBY2030 “EDIBLE INSECTS ARE A KEY TO FUTURE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY.” — UNITED NATIONS REPORT, ‘FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR FOOD AND FEED SECURITY’ FOOD INNOVATORS COOKING A BETTER FUTURE Meet Your Food Before You Eat It. When chef Eneko Atxa (left) of Azurmendi restaurant in Spain first received a Sustainable Restaurant Award in 2014, it seemed the restaurant was already doing everything possible to care for the planet and the local community. But after improving the restaurant’s sustainability rating from 84% to 93% over four-years he has shown that in the search for a sustainable future, there are no limits that cannot be broken. The dining experience starts in the rooftop garden, where guests inspect the home-grown ingredients. Some of the ingredients you meet on the rooftop will form part of your menu, which consists of 75% vegetables, all locally produced and fully traceable. Through partnerships with local research centers, Atxa has also been working to bring back vegetable varieties that are going extinct, such as the local Gernika tomato. He has planted 800 trees around the restaurant and bought 100 hectares of forest nearby to compensate for their CO2 emissions. www.azurmendi.restaurant

CRICKET FLOUR The Most Sustainable Protein On The Planet. Crickets are plentiful, but how many people think about eating them? Bitty Foods have managed to create delicious foods with cricket flour - a tasty source of sustainable nutrition, packed with protein, healthy fats and micro- nutrients. CEO and founder, Megan Miller wants to help improve the global food system and develop a supply chain of BEYOND FISH STICKS eco-friendly protein that could Fully Traceable Seafood. feed billions. “We start with Salty Girl Seafood makes sustainable sustainably raised crickets, which seafood products for health-conscious are slow roasted to bring out their families. Founded by ocean-loving nutty, toasted flavor,” she says. women and fisheries scientists, they Then they get milled into a fine want to influence a generation of flour to become high-protein kids to eat more seafood and feel baked goods, free of grains, gluten, empowered by knowing where their and processed sugar. “If edible seafood comes from. Enter a code on insects become a part of the their packaging to discover the full mainstream global diet, we can story of the fish inside - where it was reduce greenhouse gases by 18%, caught and who caught it. “Knowing and lower the average cost of food your seafoods story matters,” says co- globally by 33%.” www.bittyfoods.com founder Norah Eddy. www.saltygirlseafood.com

62 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 URBAN FARMING A Shipping Container That Grows Your Food. Is it possible to think about food production without thinking about land and big plantations? Chinese company Alesca Life seem to think so. Their Every Day Nutrition product is a converted shipping container – a farm in a box – delivered to your door, allowing you to start commercial farming same day. Restaurants and hotels benefit from fresh onsite production of micro-greens BAKED IN VALUES VEGAN RISING and zero shipping is required, Immigrant Bakers in Training. Should Your Workplace Ban Meat? cutting out the entire supply Food incubator meets If everyone became vegetarian by chain, a concept called “Zero bakery training center meets 2050, food-related emissions would Mile Food.” The “container farm” community food hub. Hot drop by about 60%. Office-sharing can be placed inside an urban Bread Kitchen is bringing company WeWork, which operates building, idle parking space, office food justice and enterprise to in 22 countries, is going meat-free building, school, or even provide Harlem – Bakers in Training – a and will ban its 6,000 staff from nutrition for refugee camps. “No program that provides a paid expensing meals containing meat in a soil, no land, no water irrigation job for immigrant women. bid to “leave a better world for future facilities? No problem,” says They learn the craft of artisan generations.” Environmentalists cofounder Tianyi Peng. Their first bread-making, bakery math and say livestock farming is a major container was in service for 14 science, which enables them to contributor to global warming with years before being moved to the create breads from around the livestock accounting for more than suburbs of Beijing to begin a new world. By the time they leave, 14% of planet warming emissions. life as a farm - another great idea they’re ready for employment in www.wri.org for turning waste into treasure. artisan bakeries around the city. www.alescalife.com www.hotbreadkitchen.org

63 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM Deval Patrick has been successful in the world of business, government and non-profits. In a recent conversation, I was curious to learn what leadership lesson he had taken away from each. Emerging from a childhood in a Chicago tenement to graduating from Harvard Law School, and serving as Governor of Massachusetts, his journey has been a fascinating one. He is now a Managing Director at Bain Capital Double Impact, a social impact private equity fund he conceived and founded. Here, he shares refreshing words of wisdom, his life’s journey and some lessons along the way. JARED WICKERHAM / GETTY IMAGES

I keep meeting people my age who tell me they’ve reached a stage in their lives where they’re searching DEVAL PATRICK for meaning – something separate from their business or professional lives. I feel fortunate to have figured out relatively early how to inject this SHAPING A LIFE deeper meaning into my career. We all spend so much time at work that there is hardly time to separate our work lives from the rest of our lives, and little WORTH LIVING reason to separate our work values from our personal values in any event. By Mark Van Ness Finding that deeper meaning won’t happen overnight. For me, it required moving out of my comfort zone. When I was 21 years old and freshly graduated from college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about going to business school, joining the bank I’d worked at during

64 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 The qualities of a leader, “regardless of them being a political or business leader, are basically the same: Intellectual honesty, rigor, curiosity and humility.” summer break, going to law school, or even the seminary. challenge me to be better. Winning a Rockefeller Traveling Fellowship eventually From my experience, it’s middle management that makes made that decision for me. The scholarship required that I things happen. You can issue as many edicts as you want, live for a year in a non-Western culture and find a project to but if you don’t win middle management and they don’t work on. They offered me just enough money to get there understand what you’re trying to do and that you respect and back. I had never traveled outside the United States their role in making it happen, then you can fire off all the before and wanted to go to Africa, despite not knowing a directives you want, but nothing will move. You need to soul. After much correspondence, I finally got a response be open to hearing, “We tried this approach before you from a guy in Khartoum in Sudan, who said, “I don’t got here, and here’s why it didn’t work. Here’s a better way know what you’ll do, but we’ll figure it out.” So, I bought to accomplish the same thing. Here’s what you should be a backpack and set off for Khartoum. When I arrived, my focused on instead.” Humility, curiosity and being open to contact guy had left for Long Beach, California for two ideas can sometimes get the job done faster and better. years and had notified no-one of my arrival! As a leader, you need the courage sometimes to fail. Eventually, I persuaded the folks in the office (who An extraordinary result of a superior education is all the wanted nothing to do with me) that I could do something if options it brings. Yet, one of the strange things I’ve noticed they just gave me a chance. To get rid of me, they sent me is that graduates from these schools frequently seize up. to do a research project in Darfur – 700 miles away, across They’re afraid that if they exercise one of their many a desert. I rode on the back of a cargo truck for five days to options, they’ll lose out on others. Activating one of those a village with no mail, phones, airport or trains. I stayed for options may open up others you didn’t realize you had. One seven months and figured it out – learned the language, how of the fascinating things about the innovation economy in to do the job, how to make friends in a foreign language, which we currently find ourselves is that it’s required us to and how local customs worked. raise our tolerance for failure. We’re going to have to learn When you find yourself in a strange place, without your to tolerate failure in public policy too if we want to find new familiar support systems, you start focusing on what’s ways of doing things as a nation. essential in life. You think about what’s meaningful and When I was in 6th grade my teacher, Mrs. Quaintance, what really matters, not only short-term issues but what had 35 kids in her class who were just like me – all from lasts. These revelations don’t come to you in a flash, it challenged backgrounds – yet she managed to do much marinates over time, and as I look back at the zig-zag path more than keep order in our class. She took us to our first of my career, one of the reasons I’ve been willing to try new opera. I didn’t have a clue what they were singing about things outside my comfort zone is because this comfort (and still don’t today), but I loved it, and still do. She took us zone is pretty broad. Like my experience in Darfur, I knew to see The Sound of Music to expose us to modern European I’d figure things out. What I initially mistook for a problem history and taught us to count and greet in German. She became a blessing. was the first person to give me a sense of what a global The qualities of a leader, regardless whether the setting citizen might be. is political or business or law, are basically the same: Mrs. Quaintance’s leadership was subtle and responsive Intellectual honesty, rigor, curiosity and humility. We need to the gaps in our lives (that we didn’t even know we to stay curious and open to other people’s ideas. I’ve been had) and it made me hungry for more. That’s the kind of fortunate to surround myself with people who are smarter generous leadership that lifts you up and broadens your than me. They raise my game and have interesting ideas. horizons. It begins with an open mind and ends with a It doesn’t matter whether these people are my superiors or richer, more rewarding life. I hope to become that kind my subordinates. I just want to be around people who will of leader.

65 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM “Giving positive feedback is easy, but leaders must learn how to be critical as well. It’s possible to say, ‘I don’t agree with you,’ without making it personal.”

Questions on how to better manage human capital have topped students last year, she asked: “If you believe that most people come leadership conversations around the world for a very long time. In to work every day and want to do a good job, then what’s getting in an increasingly crazy world, the one word you should keep in mind their way? Do we have an environment, a collaborative environment, as you start your planning for next year is “simplicity.” Before she and the tools that are necessary so they can do their best work? Or became CEO of GM, Mary Barra was part of GM’s senior leadership is it painful to get the most simple task done?” So, if everyone is so team and had been working to bring the company, founded in 1908, busy, business is moving so incredibly fast and there’s so much to into the digital age. Her priorities included simplifying the company do, wouldn’t it make sense to make things simpler? Here are seven and eliminating bureaucracy. In a talk to Stanford Business School emerging leadership trends for 2019. 7 Leadership Trends By Grant Schreiber

01 KEEP IT SIMPLE

Over the past three years, the importance of moving away from complex structures and simplifying organizations has become clear. Many managers and entrepreneurs usually have one question after reviewing the dozens of processes and bureaucratic procedures they must put in place: “How do we make things more simple?” Not only will simplicity help companies become better equipped to face the challenges of fast-paced markets, but it will also help employees to focus more on practical and rewarding tasks. Great business ideas never came from being suffocated in red tape and checking boxes. Recognize that both you and your employees need the creative breathing space to become excited about an issue - the business plan, product, service or mission will flow from that.

03 INVEST IN HUMAN CAPITAL

The “Overwhelmed Employee” syndrome has been an enormous issue in companies stuck in an old generation, mid-level type management for years. In 02 REDESIGN YOUR addition, the arrival of young workers thirsty for meaningful MANAGEMENT STYLE projects is a factor to take into account. Corporations need Paying extra attention to your performance management to invest more time in creating process is what will make your organization stand space for their employees to out in the next couple of years. It’s crucial to establish allow honest feedback from communication in which leaders outline what they them (anonymous surveys are an expect from their employers regarding goals and ways to option). It will also help staff to measure their completion to achieve this success. Indeed, achieve success and help retain a a goal-oriented strategy gives employees clarity and a workforce that will feel supported higher motivation to achieve their goals. and needed. MERIEL JANE WAISSMAN / CSA IMAGES GETTY MERIEL JANE WAISSMAN 2019

66 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 “LEADERSHIP IS NOT ABOUT THE NEXT ELECTION, IT’S ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION.” – SIMON SINEK

04 DO LESS, LEAD MORE

HR and managers have increasingly become process designers. Leadership and management problems are simple by nature and what we as leaders 05 FORGET ABOUT 9 TO 5 need to do is use trial and error methods in our managing style. We do this The full-time employment model no longer makes sense. by letting our employees make more decisions and accepting that they might Research and studies have shown that long working hours make not get it right the first time. Our ability to do less and lead more will make us you less productive. Leaders, at any level, need to revise their better leaders. employment model to put individual performance at the core of their development – regardless of where it physically takes place or at what time. Working on the go, at home or allowing flexible hours outside the traditional nine-to-five office environment can work wonders with staff productivity. Acknowledging that employees have a personal life, and building work around it, can generate huge loyalty and more effective results if planned properly. This approach is an excellent way to respond to the needs of “purpose” and “meaning” that many young employees are seeking today.

Watch CEOs give their shortcuts to success: www.goo.gl/FF2QeX

06 MAKE TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR YOU

Technology plays a massive part in our professional and personal lives, and that’s okay. What’s not ok is that we’ve gone head-over- heels in our relationship with our devices and tend to rely on them too much. It’s crucial that managers step up and learn how technology can re-enforce their technical expertise and leadership, but not at the expense of human capital. Comprehensive leadership programs, such as those found at Harvard Business School, are great ways to learn how to control optimization and process flow, and a reminder that your smartphone can only do so much for you.

07 JUST DO IT

Rethink your company hierarchy. Human capital learns best by doing what they inherently know, and not always by regurgitating what they learned at business school. The principle is simple: Encourage a single employee, to act like an atom – the smallest particle of an element, making them aware that they also contain the same properties of the larger molecule (leadership). The reference to Nike in the subtitle above might make you smile, but it summarizes things well: people learn by doing.

67 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM “AT THE END BIGGER OF THE DAY IT IS SIMPLY A JOURNEY ABOUT THAN BEING THE BEST YOU CAN BE, NOT LETTING OTHER PLASTIC PEOPLE DEFINE WHO YOU ARE.” LAKEY PETERSON Three people who love the ocean, and hate the plastic in it, show that activism, the environment and an adventurous lifestyle can go hand-in-hand

Lakey Peterson, Chad Nelsen and Jed Jenkins are more accustomed to standing on a winners podium waving at cheering crowds. Yet in July, the three ocean activists found themselves sitting together at a panel discussion in Pacific City, Los Angeles, where the discussion was less about their latest exploits and more about their deep commitment to environmentally responsible action and the rise of microplastics in our oceans. Peterson (opposite) is currently ranked the number one women’s surfer in the world after winning the 2018 Roxy Pro. Known for her progressive aerial maneuvers, athletic force and rise through the ranks at a young age, she was already surfing competitively at age 11. Despite counting Nike and Hurley among her sponsors and easily able to ignore the social and environmental problems around her if she wanted to, Peterson is instead a deeply committed philanthropist, connected Dr. Chad Nelsen (left) grew up on the coast surfing, swimming and fishing, to several non-profits that serve the and eventually got his first job as an greater good of the environment. ocean lifeguard at Laguna Beach. These She has raised funds for H4O formative experiences gave him both love (Hands4Others) and worked firsthand and respect for the power and fragility on the implementation of their clean of the ocean. After studying geology water systems in developing countries. he realized that he could combine his She also sits on the Advisory Board for passion for science and protecting the Ocean Lovers Collective, helping to environment with his love of the ocean. His organization, Surfrider, has built a raise awareness around the plastic in network of coastal defenders (80 chapters our oceans. Earlier this year, a patch of and 70 youth clubs around the country) floating plastic garbage was discovered who transform their passion for the ocean off the coast of California - 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic covering twice into lasting protection. Bridging local the area of Texas. But, it’s the invisible plastic that concerns Peterson knowledge with national experts in law, the most; pieces that have bio-degraded to microscopic level and find policy and science, their unique approach their way into our seafood. “We really need to be aware of how much has produced 501 victories since 2006. plastic we use. It’s one of the biggest issues in the world today,” she “Protecting the environment needs more than science and government – it needs says. www.lakeypeterson.com people!” he says. www.surfrider.org

68 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 “WE MUST PLANT THE SEA AND HERD ITS ANIMALS USING THE SEA AS FARMERS INSTEAD OF HUNTERS. THAT IS WHAT CIVILIZATION IS ALL ABOUT - FARMING REPLACING HUNTING.” – JACQUES COUSTEAU

Jump First, Fear Later. After five years as founder of Invisible Children, an organization that shone a light on the dire situation of millions of hidden communities in Africa, Jed Jenkins knew it was time for change. In 2013, at age 30, he decided to ride his bike from Florence, Oregon to Patagonia, Chile, a distance of 14,000 miles. After garnering a massive online following for writing about his travels, he returned home to LA, where he cofounded byta, a company wanting to get rid of paper and plastic cups and replace the 500 billion disposable cups produced every year (many ending up in the ocean) with long-lasting aluminum. So far, byta has replaced over 5.5 million disposable cups. www.mybyta.com

MICROBEADS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF THE PROBLEM OF DESIGNING PRODUCTS FOR ONE-TIME USE: WE’RE STUCK WITH IT FOR OUR LIFETIME, OUR CHILDREN’S LIFETIME AND OUR GRANDCHILDREN’S LIFETIME.

On the eve of turning 30, and terrified of being funneled into a life he didn’t choose, Jed Jenkins quit his dream job and spent the next 16 months cycling from Oregon to Patagonia. His book To Shake The Sleeping Self is a chronicle of this journey and his belief in travel as a way of “waking us up” to life back home.

RECEIVE OUR FREE WEEKLY “WORDS OF WISDOM” EMAIL WITH INSPIRING STORIES FROM FAR-SIGHTED LEADERS. SIGN UP HERE: REAL-LEADERS.COM/SHOP 69 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM “EXTRAORDINARY LEADERS HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON: THEY NEVER SETTLE. THEY KNOW YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLERATE.” TONY ROBBINS

70 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 What are the essential qualities that make a great leader? What are the skills, strategies, or tools that we can use to shape our natural gifts into true effective leadership? Tony Robbins, the #1 Life & Business Strategist, and other leading business advisors, show us how to make 2019 our best year ever!

LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK

GUEST EDITED BY TONY ROBBINS

LIANA MONICA BORDEI / ALEX WILLIAMSON GETTY IMAGES 71 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM

LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

I N

D G

O Y

T A

A C

H K

UNLEASH W

THE

POWER

F ?

R S

WITHIN

O S

M C C A S S I V E S U

Part of my understanding has come from the fact that for decades I’ve been a leader called upon by leaders. I get the call when the fire starts. When the President of TONY ROBBINS the United States has to address the nation. When an athlete is burning down on national television and I’m required to intervene and create measurable change with learning For 40 years I’ve been obsessed on a moment’s notice. the answer to what makes a difference in the quality of The one thing that I’ve found that separates the people’s lives: Why is it that some people who are given quality of people’s lives – the single largest difference every advantage so often fail to achieve what they — is the capacity to lead. Leadership skills are not just a desire and deserve. In contrast, we all know people gift. Leadership skills are something anyone can learn. who have lived incredibly difficult lives – lives filled with Who is a leader? You and I both know it’s not always unimaginable challenges, and often injustice – who still the person who controls things by position. How many seem to find a way to breakthrough and get results, not times have we been in a meeting when the person at only for themselves, but also to serve others in a very the lowest position was influencing the direction of deep and meaningful way. a decision or a project? We all know that leadership I’ve had the honor of working in 100 countries —whether you are the CEO, or the manager, or the with more than 50 million people from every walk of mom — is about the ability to influence the thoughts, life: from incredible leaders to the most challenged emotions, and actions of other human beings. individuals you can imagine. We’ve had four million But here’s the key: there’s an energy to leadership. people in my live seminars, so at this point I’d have to

There’s a passion. There’s a level of connectedness that LIANA MONICA BORDEI / GETTY IMAGES be an idiot if I didn’t see that there are certain patterns leaders have with others. It’s their ability to get things that cause people to succeed and other patterns that done and make progress that sets them apart. cause people to fail – patterns that cause people to “LEADERSHIP All leaders have different styles. But leadership, in be overwhelmed and stressed out and other patterns its essence, comes from the same core qualities. It’s SKILLS ARE that allow people to find deep meaning and success in not just great oratory. The spirit of great leadership is virtually every aspect of their lives. SOMETHING the capacity to take visions and to influence others to ANYONE CAN do more than they would ever have done on their own. Great leaders help people raise their own standards so LEARN.” that regardless of whether or not the leader is present, the organization or individual still performs at a higher level than ever before. At its essence, leadership is Tony Robbins is the #1 Life & Business the ability to inspire people. It’s the ability to ignite the Strategist, #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. human spirit and execute consistently. He’s also a world authority on leadership Leadership is not luck, nor is it haphazard. Anyone psychology. His work has touched the lives who has been successful in any one area consistently is of top entertainers — from Aerosmith to not lucky. They are doing something unique. Remember, Green Day, to Usher and Pitbull. As well as success leaves clues! athletes like Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, and the Golden State Warriors. Billionaire business leaders seek his advice too; Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff is among those grateful for his coaching. www.tonyrobbins.com

72 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

01 Energy of a Leader Change, transformation, and results all require enormous energy. Many people fail to achieve what they want simply because the mind is willing but the body is weak. Without energy, nothing moves – nothing changes. But with energy, anything can be expanded or transformed. It is important to remember that there are multiple ways to expand your energy. One is to physically take care of yourself – to train your body so that you have that expanded sense Indra Nooyi. “If you of energy and endurance. But you want to improve can also find energy (even when the organization, you’re exhausted) by tapping into you have to improve a vision, a sense of purpose, which yourself – then the brings energy not only to yourself organization gets but to your team as well. pulled up with you.” Often, people feel exhausted not because they’re not in great physical shape or don’t have a vision, but because they have inner conflicts. They are trying to meet two different “masters” that don’t support each other, so their energy becomes divided.

TOP TIP: The best leaders are constantly upping their game within themselves, which is what makes others feel passionate about working with them and performing with them at the highest level. PAUL MORIGI / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES PAUL

02 Emotional Mastery

When all hell is breaking loose, your capacity to find your center, and to help yourself and others to find answers, comes down to your ability to direct and manage emotions. Extraordinary and effective leaders bring certainty into uncertain environments. “CLOSE THE GAP Whether it be in sports, business, or even a great parent, in times of uncertainty people are BETWEEN WHERE drawn to those who’ve somehow found a way to find an internal certainty that can guide them. That certainty is not that you as a leader have all the answers, but rather that there’s certainty YOU ARE TODAY inside you that, together with your team, you can find the answer and move forward. – AND WHERE What I really focus on is emotional fitness – psychological strength. Fitness is a state of readiness. Oftentimes, we have the capacity to deal with something; we know what to do, but YOU WANT TO BE. we don’t do what we know. That’s because we’re not in a state of readiness. IT CANNOT BE Being able to turn on the emotional certainty to use humor, playfulness, curiosity, compassion, and creativity in the middle of stressful environments gives you a flexibility – an PURCHASED, IT emotional strength – that can allow you to tackle any challenge with your team. And those MUST BE who do this consistently develop a reputation or a leadership brand. People look to them for support, vision, insight, and guidance. EARNED.”

TOP TIP: Leadership is about bringing certainty to the world of uncertainty.

73 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

03 Relationships

Ultimately the quality of your life is the quality TOP TIP: A simple question of your relationships. Relationships are built to ask yourself, or anyone 04 Purpose not just by practicing rapport skills, but by truly on your team is: how do understanding and appreciating where people you describe what you do Great leaders are purpose-driven. are coming from – wanting to step in their for a living? Do you call it They know not only what to do, but why they are doing it and they shoes, understanding their point of view and work? Your career? Or, is it are able to help other people tap finding a way to help them meet their needs your mission? while they meet the needs of the team and the into the power of WHY as well. The organization. more you can share with people the How well would you rate your own capacity driving purpose behind an outcome to go deep in relationships, to penetrate beyond or activity, the more they’ll be able to the surface of what people tell you to find out tap into what they desire, believe in, what’s really going on so that you can help or see as valuable. This is what can help you people and yourself take things to a new level ignite your team to higher performance and as a leader? make your leadership experience not only more effective, but also fulfilling. Work, career and mission. These three I WILL BUILD RELATIONSHIPS THIS YEAR BY words are very small, but their use will change ______the emotional content and the amount of psychological fuel you have to lead. If it’s work, then it tends to take more than it gives you. If it’s career, then it’s something you probably look Warren Buffett. “It takes 20 years to build a forward to and invest more energy in than is reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think absolutely necessary, and as a result you make about that, you’ll do things differently.” progress. But if it’s your mission, it is a source of psychological and spiritual “juice.” It’s something that when you are doing it, time disappears. After all, how long is a long time? When you hate what you are doing a minute can feel like MORIGI / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES PAUL an eternity, but when you are enjoying yourself “GREAT LEADERS ARE hours can go by and feel like minutes.

CONSTANTLY FINDING WAYS TO MY PURPOSE IS HONOR THEIR KEY PEOPLE AND ______CELEBRATE THEIR SUCCESS.” 05 Celebration

Extraordinary leaders understand that there’s only one thing that makes people happy long term and that’s progress. Progress equals happiness. Even if you are not where you want to be, if you can begin to make an immediate improvement in your body, in your relationship, in your company, in your division – if you can do something physical, something real that people can see and measure—you’ll find that people will start to tap into the power of progress. The real question to answer is, do you tend to exclusively focus on what people fail to achieve? Or do you capture their victories and honor them publicly? We all know that great leaders know to correct in private and praise in public. Waiting to praise until the ultimate outcome is achieved is a significant mistake made by many good leaders who have not yet tapped into their true greatness.

I WILL MAKE PUBLIC PRAISING A HABIT BY ______

74 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

06 Psychology of the Leader

In any organization, the chokehold on the growth of the business is almost always the psychology and the skill sets of the leader. Sometimes their psychology lacks energy: often, they are emotionally exhausted by things in their personal life, or sometimes there’s an energy leak because they are stressed about relationships within the organization or with clients that they are not connecting with. Sometimes the challenge stems from a lack of financial mastery, or other times it’s a lack of time mastery. I’ve found 80% of success is psychology and 20% is based on skill sets.

I REDUCE MY STRESS EACH DAY BY ______“THE ONLY ______LIMIT TO YOUR ______IMPACT IS YOUR ______IMAGINATION AND COMMITMENT.” LIANA MONICA BORDEI / GETTY IMAGES

07 The Importance of Contribution

To truly feed your spirit, remember this: The secret to living is giving. No matter how busy or broke you may be, you have something to offer others. So many people miss the opportunity to know that their life makes a difference – but it does. Your life matters – and if you align yourself to be congruent with the truth that you’re here not just to “get” but to give, then other people will feel your authenticity and they will open up to you. When you give back to other people and your community, it reminds you what you’re made for. Focusing on the needs of others has a way of motivating you to do more than you thought possible. You feel the benefits immediately. You become more productive. You find We grow, so we can give. creative solutions to problems. You find strength when you’re TOP TIP: exhausted. That’s because life supports that which improves the To truly feed your spirit, remember quality of life. When we contribute to our community, we become this: The secret to living is giving. TONY ROBBINS part of something that is bigger than ourselves. No matter how busy or broke you may be, you have something to offer MY LIFE IS ENHANCED BY GIVING MY others. So many people miss the TIME TREASURE TALENT TO opportunity to know that their life ______makes a difference – but it does. ______

RECEIVE OUR FREE WEEKLY “WORDS OF WISDOM” EMAIL WITH INSPIRING STORIES FROM FAR-SIGHTED LEADERS. SIGN UP HERE: REAL-LEADERS.COM/SHOP 75 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

That changed my life because it changed my belief that no one cared 08 Fulfillment about anybody else. I always did, but I thought I was the only one. And all Can you succeed in life and still not be fulfilled? How of a sudden, I had this evidence that many times in your life have you achieved what you set a stranger, someone who wanted out to do and then a short time later thought, “Is this TOP TIP: nothing from us, looked out for us on all there is?” There is a formula for success – called the The point is one of the more important days of the science of achievement – which is the process of taking this: What year. It was healing. It wasn’t the food. your dreams and making them real. will make It was the caring that was healing. It But living a fulfilled life is an art, not a science. What you fulfilled made me realize if others care about is fulfilling for one person may be boring to another, is to grow me and my family that I don’t even therefore fulfillment comes in as many textures as there and to give. know, then I need to care about them. are human beings. However, you must learn what That day I decided I was going to find a makes you fulfilled because here’s the truth: Success way, somehow, someday, to give back without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. and pay it forward. So how do we find fulfillment? So that’s what I did; I started taking There are universal elements of fulfillment and the action to start doing for others what number one element is that we must grow. If we don’t they did for me. That’s why I started grow, we won’t be fulfilled. The second is that you feeding people, beginning with just a must contribute beyond yourself. If our goals only serve few families, but building up over the ourselves, then achieving our goals will only make us years to millions. happy for a moment. But if your mission is to serve In the past three years, I’ve others, then not only will you leave a legacy of giving, personally funded and raised enough but you will be more fulfilled in life. money through matching donations to provide 300 million meals to hungry I AM GROWING PERSONALLY BY families in need, delivered through my partners at Feeding America. That’s ______Tyra Banks. “I’m competitive with more exciting to me than anything else ______myself. I always try I’ve done. And now, we’ve mapped to push past my out a plan to provide one billion meals I AM UNIQUELY ABLE TO SERVE OTHERS BY own borders.” together by 2025. ______I’ve donated 100% of the profits ______of my two personal finance books – Money: Master The Game and Unshakable (which came out in paperback on Sept 17th!) – to Feeding 09 Case Study: Feeding America America, where 99 cents of every $1 gift goes right back into the programs, I want to share a message with you about what I believe is still the number one instead of into bureaucratic black holes social issue in America: the hunger crisis. One out of every 8 people in America and executive salaries. Through their – and 1 in 6 children – struggles with hunger. They are “food insecure,” which nationwide network of 200 food banks, means that they have limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate we provide food to 46 million people, foods. It means they do not have access, at times, to enough food to lead active, including 12 million children and 7 healthy lives – to do everything that they want to do in their day. Not enough million seniors. energy to work, to grow, to flourish. Every $1 donated to Feeding Imagine for a moment what that feels like. To feel tired, deeply fatigued and America helps provide 10 meals to continuously running on empty. To want more in life, but not have the physical someone at risk of hunger – and for energy to work to obtain it. every dollar you donate, I match it in- Now think about living with a constant feeling of uncertainty, not knowing where kind. So if you give $10, that’s not 100 your next meal is coming from. To go through your day without the basic comfort meals, it’s 200. If you give $100, it’s of having nutritious food available to you, with no control over what you can 2,000 meals – that’s double the impact! put in your body as fuel for your life. Imagine what it would feel like to have total As I always say, the secret to living insecurity over this basic need. I know what that feels like. is giving. Money, by itself, is so empty. I’m from Azusa, California, and I grew up in what the USDA calls a food- It has no power except the power of insecure household. Let me tell you what that means as a kid. It means opening your giving. If you give wholeheartedly, the fridge when you come home from school and not having something to eat even when you feel you don’t have the like most kids do. And it means knowing that your parents are scraping by from money, I promise you will never have paycheck to paycheck, and that your family is just one unexpected expense away scarcity in your life. from not being able to put food on the table. Many of you know that when I was 11, a total stranger showed up at our door at Thanksgiving and gave us a meal. Not a next-door neighbor, or distant family member – a complete stranger. DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS / GETTY IMAGES

76 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

“IF YOU DO WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS COLIN ANDERSON / GETTY IMAGES DONE, YOU’LL GET WHAT YOU’VE

ALWAYS GOTTEN. A REAL DECISION Join Real Leaders and become a signatory to the IS MEASURED BY THE FACT THAT U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Long-term business success matters – and so do your workers, YOU’VE TAKEN A NEW ACTION. IF communities and the planet. The U.N. Global THERE’S NO ACTION, YOU HAVEN’T Compact can help you do business right for all. The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action TRULY DECIDED.” by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand- in-hand with strategies that build economic growth. www.unglobalcompact.org

77 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM

LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

S O

E N

E Q

L E

A S

E T

SEEK

AMAZING

C S

QUESTS

H G

E T I E M P O S S I B L

By Dean van Leeuwen Paul Cummins is a ceramic artist. He lives in Derby, UK, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. He is also the creator and mastermind behind the internationally acclaimed ‘Seas of Red’ installation at the Tower of London, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Great War. Here is his story and why quests are so important as you lead going into The Age of Quests.

10 The Quest For 888,246 Fallen Soldiers to Symbolize Peace THE FOUR QUALITIES OF During a sudden downpour in 2012, Paul Cummins sought refuge A LEADERSHIP QUEST: in a public library. He explored the archives and came across wills written by soldiers fighting in the first world war. One written phonetically, captivated him. Paul is dyslexic and the phonetics 01 02 03 04 made it easier for him to read. He realized that it was the will EXPLORE CREATE AN CHALLENGE DELIVER and last testament of a woman who had disguised herself and FOR BETTER INSPIRATIONAL THE IMPOSSIBLE MEANINGFUL WAYS gone off to fight and make the ultimate sacrifice in the trenches. DESTINATION BENEFITS TO SOCIETY A phrase: “Blood swept lands and seas of red where angels fear to tread” shot out. Paul was overwhelmed and it made him think about the war’s massive death toll. There were 888,246 British and Commonwealth fatalities during World War One. Fueled with a crazy idea, Paul embarked on an audacious quest to create nearly a million handmade ceramic poppies – a lone ceramics guy who became a real leader with a vision that inspired thousands of Dean van Leeuwen is a moonshot-provocateur volunteers to help make an impossible vision possible. and futurist. In 2017, cancer disrupted his life – something that has the power to change Quests Are Part of Every Culture’s Folklore everything. But, as with any disruptive Since the dawn of civilization, quests have been a driving force force, there are steps to be taken that can behind humankind’s’ progress. Take JFK’s moonshooting quest; influence and shape a positive outcome. or Nelson Mandela’s and Martin Luther King’s noble quests for all He believes in challenging people to use the persons to be free regardless of color or creed. But consider too power of business to do remarkable things and the Polynesian islander in a dug-out canoe who one-day said: believes that the most amazing innovations of the “Let’s go that way!” No one had ever been that way before. No 21st century are yet to be invented. “A remarkable century one even knew what existed that way. Quests are amazing, they will not just happen,” he says, “We have to create it.” He’s overcome the impossible, are open to anyone and they change on a quest to challenge people to unlearn and relearn, the world. mobilizing them to forge innovative solutions for a new “Age of Discovery” – move people to look at a disrupted world differently, embrace change, innovate and do mighty things. www.tomorrowtodayglobal.com PETER MACDIARMID / MATT CARDY / WPA POOL / GETTY IMAGES CARDY / WPA PETER MACDIARMID / MATT

78 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

WHAT WILD IDEA HAVE YOU FANTASIZED ABOUT THAT COULD BECOME YOUR QUEST? ______

“CONSIDER TOO THE POLYNESIAN ISLANDER IN A DUG-OUT CANOE WHO ONE-DAY SAID: “LET’S GO THAT WAY!” NO ONE HAD EVER BEEN THAT WAY BEFORE.”

Why Are Quests Important in 2019? We are living through revolutionary times. Every 150- 200 years forces of progress collide. You can see these disruptive periods in history: The Age of Enlightenment, The Renaissance, The Age of Discovery and The Industrial Revolution; when everything changes. The same is happening now. At Davos, the World Economic Forum called our current age: The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Not to knock them, but they could have been more creative – we are living in the Age of Quests. Never before have so many doors of progress opened up in the fields of science, health, engineering, education, entertainment and space travel. Perhaps the defining quest of our age will be a human Above: Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince colony on Mars. But you do not need to travel to the red William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry visit The planet for your own quest. Explore any of the 17 U.N. Tower of London’s ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red,’ a Sustainable Development Goals and you will discover a ceramic poppy installation by artist Paul Cummins. multitude of questing opportunities awaiting real leaders. When leaders get these four qualities right, amazing results happen, as Paul’s quest demonstrates:

79 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

Is There a Better Way? Paul Cummins left the library asking: Is there a better way? – To commemorate a century since the start of WW1. He devised an inspired solution: A ‘sea of red’ ceramic poppies, filling the moat around the Tower of London. “Ceramics are transient and fragile, like we are” says Paul in an interview with the Guardian. “They feel part of our very humanity. Societies have always been carbon-dated by their ceramics and pottery. I settled on poppies because of their color and links to war remembrance.”

An Inspiring Destination The goal: 888,246 ceramic poppies created and planted before 11 November 2014. There was no ambiguity and his quest was crystal clear.

Challenging The Impossible Making nearly one million ceramic poppies is an immense undertaking. Paul wanted the poppies to be individual, like every soldier. So, the ceramic flowers were lovingly handcrafted. But Paul operates alone out of a small studio. He needed an army of supporters to craft the 3,500 daily poppies required to meet his quest’s target and deadline. Plus, his quest required a poppy planting odyssey. It was calculated that one person working on their own would take three and a half years to plant all the poppies. In the end, 300 artists worked day and night for a year crafting the poppies;

and, over 27,000 people volunteered their

time planting, and ultimately removing, the

T T

B O

scarlet sea of remembrance.

R N

A E

Delivering Meaningful Benefits

W GET REAL

Quests require innovations. Paul devised

AND Remember the “Marshmallow Test”?

a revolutionary way to fund his quest and

Way back in 1960, scientists at Stanford

BECOME

the sale of poppies raised over £10m for N

University placed a marshmallow in

charities. Perhaps the greatest achievement

HUMAN

front of little kids, and explained to them

H though was the estimated five million people

R S that if they could wait 15 minutes to eat who came in person to pay homage, and for M R I O N E L AT it, they would be rewarded with two a time, the installation was the most viewed marshmallows. Ultimately, the kids who photograph on Google. could delay gratification ended up being generally more successful in their lives, So, what can you take with you as you even scoring higher on the SAT. look towards 2019? Today because By Erica Keswin True sustainability is like the of breakthrough technologies, anyone marshmallow test for business. I call it anywhere, with a radical idea, leveraging the playing the long game, and as important power of social can embark on a meaningful as it is, playing the long game is not easy. quest. It’s never been easier to make a real In the original marshmallow study, only difference in the world. Few leaders think 30% of the kids held out for their second in terms of their business and quests. The Richard Branson. “You treat. A truly human, thriving workplace great ones like Elon Musk, Richard Branson don’t learn to walk by has to do better than that. and Paul Cummins do it intuitively and they following rules. You achieve remarkable results. learn by doing, and by falling over.”

80 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

11 Sustainability 12 Culture THE BUSINESS MISSION THAT Not only is investing in the future the IS MOST IN LINE WITH MY Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, has increased right thing to do for the world and your VALUES IS the company’s stock value 300% since taking company, but top talent is also looking ______over. And he takes the long game very seriously, for companies that are willing to embrace crediting his success to a focus on culture. Because sustainability. As a matter of fact, they’re ______he is such a rock star, he fields a lot of questions demanding it. Nathaniel Koloc, Co-founder ______about how things are going now, and he says, and CEO of ReWork, a mission-driven ______“My response is very Eastern: We’re making great talent firm that connects professionals to progress, but we should never be done. This is a hiring managers, wrote in a 2013 Harvard ______way of being.” Business Review article: I love Nadella’s idea of the long game being a “way of being,” and I mention it in pretty much every “We’ve heard from associates at all the big talk I give. Unless we begin with ourselves and our management consultancies, analysts at the worldview, unless true sustainability is truly a value largest investment banks, developers at the we hold near and dear, we won’t have the stamina most prominent technology companies, “WE’RE to resist the urge to grab every marshmallow that and senior managers from Fortune 50 MAKING GREAT shows up on our plate. With that said, we also corporations, and they all tell us the same have to be sure to activate our way of being in the things. They are not picking their next job PROGRESS, BUT world, which isn’t easy—a 2016 survey by Bain & based on the size of the paycheck. They WE SHOULD Company established that just 2% of companies are instead looking for a worthwhile mission achieve their own sustainability goals. and promising team to join.” NEVER BE DONE. THIS IS A WAY This sense of mission and purpose is I AM ENHANCING THE CULTURE IN MY especially true of millennials, who, in my OF BEING.” ORGANIZATION BY opinion, are making the workplace more – SATYA NADELLA, CEO, ______human for all of us by insisting on getting MICROSOFT more from work than just a paycheck. ______

Erica Keswin is obsessed with all things workplace: talent retention, culture, meeting protocols, managing the digital deluge and robotics — anything and everything that helps people connect, and see for themselves why honoring relationships is good for business. She’s the author of Bring Your Human To Work, that examines how successful leaders are those who actively form quality relationships. www.ericakeswin.com SORBETTO / GETTY IMAGES

81 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

13 Values

More and more CEOs are speaking up and out for long-game goals that don’t always speak directly to their bottom line. In a recent memo to its 6,000 global employees, WeWork co-founder Miguel 14 The Long Game McKelvey announced that employees will no longer be able to expense meals that include meat, nor will the company purchase In 1970, Milton Friedman famously said, red meat, poultry or pork for WeWork events. In March of this year, “The social responsibility of business is to it was revealed that the Parkland school shooter bought his weapon increase profits.” Today, this small-minded at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Dick’s CEO Edward Stack, a gun-owner view has given way to a much more himself, pulled out the big guns. He decided to remove all assault- realistic version of the truth—increasing style rifles off the shelves forever, and to stop selling guns of any kind profits at any expense not only makes to people younger than 21, even though the decision was “not going trouble for the world, but misses an to be positive from a traffic standpoint and a sales standpoint.” important opportunity to be proactively What does vegetarianism have to do with co-working and why and intentionally engaged in something would a CEO do something that would (and in fact did) negatively much more meaningful. When leaders affect the bottom line? These CEOs get it. They know that big play the long game, they’re bringing business drives so much more than our economy—it shapes our their humanity to work, which is good for culture and society. And smart CEOs are taking responsibility people, great for business, and just might for more than just pleasing their investors and boards. In other change the world. words, they are finally answering to their real stakeholders—which, in a global economy, is all of us. As WeWork’s McKelvey writes, “New research indicates that avoiding meat is one of the biggest Monica Seles. I AM ALIGNING WITH PEOPLE AND things an individual can do to reduce their personal environmental “Everybody has their BUSINESSES THAT PLAY THE LONG GAME BY impact... even more than switching to a hybrid car.” story - at some point you have to say: ‘This ______is who I am: Now it’s I WILL DEMONSTRATE MY VALUES BY ______up to me to become ______what I want to be.’” NEILSON BARNARD / STRINGER GETTY IMAGES

I certainly started out as a novice in the areas of sustainable, ethical and social impact business practice a decade ago, but through both a desire and a necessity, I have picked up quite a bit of knowledge along the way. One thought is that companies need to be genuinely mission-driven when they build campaigns around these three areas. What do I mean? Consumers are smart. They know when a brand is running a campaign on a topic, say ethical leadership, solely for marketing or PR purposes. To build loyalty with consumers, brands need to practice what they preach — they actually need to reduce their carbon footprint instead of just talking about it. They actually need to hire female board members instead of just talking about it. Sustainability is an issue that’s close to my heart. When my brother Carter and I founded VeeV, we made the decision to donate 1% of

all sales to rainforest preservation. Back then, in the late 2000s, not

W E

B many companies were doing this. We capitalized on this, but it was A

E L

N N a bit frustrating to see so few companies actually trying to make a

T difference. E

BEING

F E

Today is different. It’s amazing to see industry leaders across the I

D T

REAL IS A

widest spectrum take this issue to heart and prove that eco-friendly

E L

H K

T practices and the bottom line don’t conflict (they actually complement

THE ONLY

each other). Ten years ago, these people were few and far between,

A OPTION

N whereas nowadays there are dozens of high profile examples. Elon

D L

W A Musk is an obvious one. Lyft is another, as it recently became a AL E W KING TH massive purchaser of carbon offsets. We’re even seeing this trend manifest itself in places you might not otherwise expect. Consider Larry Fink and what he’s done at Blackrock. The financial services industry isn’t typically known for supporting eco initiatives, but we’re seeing the tables turn, thanks in By Courtney & Carter Reum no small part to people like Larry. He and Blackrock have advocated for greater transparency in portfolio composition and disclosure amongst greenhouse gas emitting companies.

82 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

15 The Urgency of Ethical Leadership

We’ve really seen an uptick in holding leaders accountable – across business, sports, politics, you name it – for their actions within the past few years. This is most likely due to the heightened networking in our society, where everybody is connected. Of course, this isn’t always great “WE’VE MADE AN EFFORT and there are some TO LEAD MORE FROM THE instances that may be ALEX WILLIAMSON / GETTY IMAGES carried to the extreme, BACK. IN A SENSE, THIS but this has been a huge FREES US UP A BIT, AND net positive for society. All the more, I think HELPS US OVERSEE THE this is having a tangible BIGGER PICTURE.” effect on the youth. I WILL ADVANCE ETHICAL Change takes time, and LEADERSHIP THIS YEAR IN MY we’ll certainly continue ORGANIZATION BY to see some negative ______headlines, but from my ______seat, I see dozens of brilliant, rising leaders and ______17 Macro vs. Micro entrepreneurs, and it’s ______hard not to be optimistic. Viewpoint

As we reference in our book Shortcut Your Startup, we’re living in extraordinary times where the best leaders keep a “microscope in one eye and a telescope in the other.” To me, the micro 16 Motivating Others Courtney and Carter represents the individual. What difference can we Reum are Cofounders as individuals make? Use public transportation, My brother and I are both Type A personalities, which and Partners of M13, a modify your diets, etc. – we have all heard is neither a good nor a bad thing. It does mean that we brand development and this before. What really interests me is the often tend to lead from the front. This is beneficial in venture capital-focused organizational, macro level. There’s no magic certain settings, as it can motivate our team when we’re holding company. They formula for companies to be “sustainable.” Rather, in “sprint” mode. It’s a very positive thing when employees help scale their portfolio leaders need to determine how their organization and employers are full speed ahead for a project. But this companies and focus on can make a difference within the confines of their isn’t really how things are on a day-to-day basis, and it’s the nexus of consumer ecosystems. Here are some examples: Rothy’s certainly not scalable or sustainable over the long-term. products, technology, doesn’t just produce shoes – it produces shoes Recently, we’ve made an effort to lead more from and media. from recycled plastic. Bird’s scooters don’t just the back. In a sense, this frees us up a bit, and helps www.m13.co facilitate transportation – they alleviate congestion us oversee the bigger picture - meaning that we don’t and pollution in dense cities. At VeeV, we didn’t become bogged down. It also gives our team more just sell vodka – we donated 1% of all sales to autonomy to operate, which by itself motivates them (or rainforest preservation. Every company can (and at least it should!). All executives, managers, and leaders should) play a unique role in contributing to the should give this approach a shot. greater picture.

83 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM

LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

H A

S I

L O

U BALANCE

MALE AND

FEMALE

E I A D R A E R S H I P T

By Shelley Zalis

19 Forget Networking, Build Relationships

Networking is one and done; it’s shaking someone’s hand or swapping business cards. A relationship is memorable. I’ve always Think you know what makes a good leader? You may want to think again: felt that building relationships is the most a recent study conducted by Deloitte examined how leadership styles should important aspect of building a business. In my evolve to meet the expectations of today’s workers. It uncovered the rise of the first job, I was criticized for investing too much “Human CEO” – a leader who is able to balance hard (traditionally masculine) and time in clients. I heard the critique, but felt a soft (traditionally feminine) power traits. In fact, three of the top five characteristics strong conviction that this aspect of the job of good leadership, as identified by respondents, were soft power traits: being was important. After all, I want to know not communicative, flexible, and patient. The top five was rounded out by two hard only what my clients do, but who they are. power traits: being hardworking and confident. I’m so glad that I listened to my intuition, because relationships have been the biggest secret to my business success — and, in fact, how I started my company: I was at the 18 The rise of the Consumer Electronics Show back in 2013, and heard that women made up less than 5% “Human CEO” of attendees. I didn’t want to go by myself, so I invited some girlfriends in business to come Both men and women have masculine and with me and suggested that they also invite feminine qualities, so it’s a no-brainer that their friends. We ended up with a veritable we need a mix of both types of leadership Muhammad Yunus. pack; more than 50 women joined forces to styles for business success. However, the “When we want to walk the floor together and all the guys’ heads

rules for corporate culture were written long help the poor, we LIANA MONICA BORDEI / GETTY IMAGES were turning, wondering where we had all ago, for men, by men – and because of this, usually offer them come from. This was living, breathing, walking stereotypically masculine traits have defined charity. Most often proof of the power of pack — and my first culture and traditionally been more valued. we use charity to realization that a woman alone has power, but It’s crucial to also embrace your soft side and avoid recognizing the collectively we have impact. remember that different traits bring different problem and finding At The Girls’ Lounge, we have one rule: no things to the table. For instance, I had a the solution for it.” name tags. This encourages each of us to ‘heartbeat moment’ when I realized that some learn something new about the people around of my top (and traditionally feminine) qualities – us, other than their title or where they work. being nurturing, empathetic, and passionate – THE SOFT OR HARD QUALITY Instead, everyone, regardless of their level, are exactly what helped me be successful and THAT I AM ENHANCING can learn from each other and spend quality run my company like a family. It’s an unfortunate THIS YEAR IS time together. reality that we’re losing most of our leaders ______to caregiving, but the best characteristics of leaders today are the very characteristics that ______great caregivers embody. ______

84 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

LIST A WORK-RELATED PROBLEM HERE. THEN ASK TWO MEN AND TWO WOMEN TO SUGGEST A SOLUTION. COMPARE THE RESULTS – DO THE COMBINED ANSWERS OFFER A MORE COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION? ______

Shelley Zalis is the CEO of The Female Quotient and Founder of The Girls’ Lounge. She’s also a Chief troublemaker, innovation junkie, big idea thinker- upper and a uber-connector who chases passionate people, solar eclipses and equal rights. www.thefemalequotient.com

that spans genders and generations. When I brought Amen and nine of her classmates to the World Economic Forum earlier this year, she confirmed this. She looked out into the crowd of female leaders from around the world and said, “Ladies, you changed my life forever, and made me realize that my voice is as important as a man’s voice. It is my responsibility to go back and tell this to my sisters.” Mentoring young women like Sylvia was a life-changing 20 Mentorship Leads to a moment for me, too. It’s important to remember that you’re Lifetime of Impact” never too old or too senior to get advice. Wisdom that is learned from bottom up, top down, and all around. Be open Never forget that every human has a unique opportunity — and to picking up nuggets of knowledge from anyone you meet. I say, a responsibility — to make a difference in the world. While Everyone brings a different viewpoint to the table, and that is grandiose gestures are great, change can also happen in the merest likely a perspective that you can learn and benefit from. of moments. Amen, a young woman I met on a trip to Rwanda, really drove this home for me. I sat with her and her classmates, and THIS YEAR I WILL MENTOR together we unpacked a few key questions: What does confidence mean to you? What are your strengths? What are your fears? Then, ______we worked on how to transform fears into opportunities. Now that these girls feel empowered, they can be agents of change to the THIS YEAR I WILL BE MENTORED BY women (and men) in their lives — creating a ripple effect of impact ______

85 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

21 Work Smarter, Not

Harder

R O

“How do you do it all?” I hear this question a lot R

S A

— especially from women — and I have a quick R

E LEARN

G answer to it: There is no such thing as “doing

FROM E

it all.” It’s about doing it all your way. I always E Dr. Sylvia Earle. Dedicated to

S L

remind my team that, counterintuitive as it may REAL protecting our oceans. At age 83, she

seem, you don’t necessarily need more time to

is still exploring the deep and raising

LEADERS

O N

get more done. Instead, focus on what fuels you

awareness on how important ocean life

— and when you can pinpoint that, you’ll find K A , L L E is to human life on earth. yourself a lot more motivated. After all, it’s not a I S T E N & “to do” list, it’s a “to be” list. Focus on the things that matter and don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s important to embrace that life is a little “THE BEST messy, but that’s what makes it beautiful. There’s no such thing as work-life balance, SCIENTISTS AND because life doesn’t work in a 50-50 fashion. EXPLORERS HAVE You live one life with many dimensions, which includes your work, your family, your community, THE ATTRIBUTES your friends, and yourself. Depending on your OF KIDS! THEY ASK life stage, you might have to shift your priorities in different ways. Guide your choices with a QUESTION AND no regrets policy. When you’re faced with a HAVE A SENSE OF decision, look forward and ask yourself “will I feel bad if I miss this moment?” If the answer is yes, WONDER. THEY don’t miss it. HAVE CURIOSITY. ‘WHO, WHAT, I’M WORKING SMARTER, NOT HARDER BY ______WHERE, WHY, WHEN, AND HOW!” 22 Equality Benefits Everyone

Gender equality isn’t a female issue, it’s a social and economic imperative. Women make up “I LEARNED THAT COURAGE WAS half of the global population – but they hold just 5% of leadership positions at Fortune 500 NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR, companies. Looking at it from another angle, BUT THE TRIUMPH OVER IT. THE Nelson Mandela. Spent 29 there are fewer women at the helm of big years in jail and emerged, companies than men named John. However, BRAVE MAN IS NOT HE WHO DOES without bitterness, research shows that when women reach a NOT FEEL AFRAID, BUT HE WHO to become the first critical mass of influence at work and make democratically-elected up about 20-30% of leadership positions, the CONQUERS THAT FEAR.” president of South Africa. power dynamics shift. Gender equality benefits women, men, businesses, and societies. The reality is that an inclusive workplace is better in every way. Creating a culture of belonging is good for attracting talent, retention of said talent, innovation and your bottom line. However, if inclusion initiatives are to actually take hold in the workplace, it’s up to leadership to take charge and set an example that the rest of the company can follow. Leaders need to embrace a conscious mindset, clearly communicate diversity goals, and hold everyone – including themselves – accountable for meeting them. By championing equality, everyone wins.

I AM ADVANCING GENDER-BALANCED LEADERSHIP TEAMS BY ______

86 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

“I DON’T WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AS THE GIRL WHO WAS SHOT. I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AS THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP.”

Malala Yousafzai. Shot for encouraging girl’s education in Pakistan. Now one of the world’s most famous teenagers and inspiring young people everywhere.

WHEN I AM FEATURED IN REAL LEADERS, THE QUOTE I WOULD LIKE TO Juan Manuel Santos. BE KNOWN FOR IS Brokered peace “ONE DOESN’T MAKE ______between warring PEACE WITH ONE’S parties in Colombia ______that had been at FRIENDS. ONE MAKES ______war for 52 years, PEACE WITH ONE’S costing the country $9.3 million a day. ENEMIES.” “FAILURES ARE INFINITELY MORE INSTRUCTIVE THAN SUCCESSES.” “WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN’T AFRAID?”

Sheryl Sandberg. Used her position and influence as COO of Facebook to highlight equality in the workplace.

George Clooney. Used his star power, and proceeds from the Nespresso commercials, to fund a spy satellite over Sudan, that prevented genocide.

87 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK 2019

2 3

6 7 8

9 10 11 12 Beyond the hype, 13 14 15 THERE ARE MOONSHOTS. SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE 16 A CONSCIOUS LEADER? (And they will be about execution.) Complete our crossword puzzle 17 18 to discover if you’re a switched on leader. Some of the clues can be found in our magazine, with 19 20 some highlighted below with 22 a page number. If you’re really 21

stuck, turn to page two for the 23 24 answers.

25 26

27 28

29 30

MVKONKOMNU 32 MSKMQKOMNU= CO-PRODUCED BLOCKCHAIN PRODUCED SDG FRONTIER

33 FOR IMPACT FINANCE FORUM

Across Down 3. African leader from prisoner to president 1. Bright business ideas that secure the future 5. Invented dynamite, yet turned to peace 2. Ability to reconcile across political divides MPKMUKOMNU MRKMRKOMNU= 6. Dinosaur fuel in your tank 4. Human worth LAUNCHED DECADE OF WOMEN QUANTUM LAUNCHED #HACKQUANTUM 9. Kills marine life and takes 1,000 years to decompose 7. Benevolent giving towards humanity 10. A drug epidemic bigger than heroin 8. Serbian American electrical pioneer becomes a car CAMPAIGN SERIES IN LAGOS AND LONDON 14. Wise advisor that nurtures and guides 11. Three letters found before anything earth friendly 15. The United Nations has created 17 of these (back cover) 12. Dwindling assets to be safeguarded 17. Financial, virtual chains 13. The opposite of lead 23. Multi-cultural thought in a company 16. Shake up the way things have always been 24. Unflagging and determined leaders have this trait 18. A financial model being rethought for good 25. Group of citizens considered in the new economy 19. We may live here if Earth dies 26. Extent of Real Leaders magazine reach 20. Leaders improve with this honest response AN EPIC VENTURE FOR A BETTER WORLD 29. Sympathetic understanding of a problem 21. To be feared or embraced? (pg. 41) The SDG Impact Fund is the ﬁrst asset-inclusive Donor Advised Fund of its kind: an independent DAF 30. State of being conscious or aware of something 22. What to seek after success (Front cover) 31. Think global, act 27. Morally right dedicated exclusively to building a community of courageous leadership for bold solutions that de-risk and 32. A supercar bicycle (pg. 55) 28. The male/female balance we seek in boardrooms mainstream moonshots and “quantum leaps” to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 33. Align these moral codes in business for success

88 FIFTH ELEMENT FUND® REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 www.ﬁfthelement.fund Beyond the hype, THERE ARE MOONSHOTS. (And they will be about execution.)

MSKMQKOMNU= MVKONKOMNU CO-PRODUCED BLOCKCHAIN PRODUCED SDG FRONTIER FOR IMPACT FINANCE FORUM

MPKMUKOMNU MRKMRKOMNU= LAUNCHED DECADE OF WOMEN QUANTUM LAUNCHED #HACKQUANTUM CAMPAIGN SERIES IN LAGOS AND LONDON

AN EPIC VENTURE FOR A BETTER WORLD The SDG Impact Fund is the ﬁrst asset-inclusive Donor Advised Fund of its kind: an independent DAF dedicated exclusively to building a community of courageous leadership for bold solutions that de-risk and mainstream moonshots and “quantum leaps” to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

FIFTH ELEMENT FUND® www.ﬁfthelement.fund rt is often viewed Art should be as an elitist, “an echo, a feeling expensive past- time. What are of your heart... a your views on mirror, a container this? of memory. Wealthy people Jaume Plensa” spend most of their time producing or consuming, yet many are not satisfied with their lives. On the other hand, poor societies, despite working 24/7, cannot afford to cover the most basic necessities. This produces a disconnect with ourselves and drives us to live like robots. We all end up being slaves. Art can make anyone feel alive, no matter your wealth or job title. Art is a universal good.

What role should art play in society?

Art shakes us and moves us; takes us to that place where we can discover our inner beauty and humanness. It’s a tool that serves to rehumanize society, which is why we should support it.

How have you promoted art as a social and philanthropic force?

I was a top executive at a multinational company in Madrid, when ten years ago, I decided to give everything up and start a new business. I took a backpack and laptop and traveled to Latin-America where I met some of the most important philanthropic figures in that part of the world. I decided my business wouldn’t only focus on the “profane” side of CAN ART MAKE art. Art educates us, sensitizes us and make us more empathetic, and therefore better. I promote patronage, something I explored in YOU A BETTER my first bookThe Luck of Giving – because it’s not only those who receive who are lucky, but also those who share. PERSON? Why are artists so misunderstood by the SPANISH ART CONSULTANT, AUTHOR AND CEO, CARMEN REVIRIEGO, general public? WANTS US TO TAKE ART OFF ITS PEDESTAL. SHE BRINGS GREAT BUSINESS LEADERS AND INSTITUTIONS TOGETHER AROUND A SOCIAL Society has relayed the meaning of art in the wrong way. It’s been explained in a complex and COMMITMENT TO ART. metaphysical way and a lack of knowledge and education in this field has resulted in a lack of By Grant Schreiber interest by many. At the beginning of the 20th century a breakdown occurred where people started debating what art was. Founders of movements such as Cubism or Surrealism were not understood by the public until many years later – when they were considered geniuses.

90 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 Carmen Reviriego (right) with Express behind her, a painting by Robert Rauschenberg, 1963. Opposite: The Steel Man by Jaume Plensa.

Can art heal communities and societies?

Of course. Art has always been a representation of the society in which it’s made. Every artist expresses feelings, worries and concerns; emotions with which the viewer can identify. Emotions are timeless, the only thing that changes is the historical moment. Art is the heritage that we give to the future.

Art is usually seen as a non-essential subject in school, when seen against math and science. How do you change this perception, especially among young people?

Art helps us move away from a “winter of the soul” where societies spend most of their time producing, consuming and living like robots. We need to make our youth aware that the most important thing in life is to “stay alive” – in the deeper sense. We shouldn’t only train our brains, but also our souls. This is how we’ll create our biggest leaders for the future.

How has art changed lives for the better?

There are many artists committed to society through their art. The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei created an installation in 2016 where he covered the columns of the Konzerthaus Berlin with 14,000 orange lifejackets to highlight the refugee crisis in Europe. This type of art can help raise awareness around important issues.

How should business view art, rather than simply collecting art for corporate collections?

Some of arts biggest patrons are also brilliant businessman; people like Carlos Slim, once the richest person in the world. These are people who have achieved everything in business, and have decided to share their wealth with society through art. The Soumaya Museum, in Mexico City and the Perez Art Museum in Miami are two big museums that house art collections from these two business magnates. It also offers an opportunity for people who cannot travel the world to view important artworks without leaving their cities. www.fundacioncallia.org

91 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM I never imagined in my“ wildest dreams that climbing would be an Olympic sport. It’s such a young sport. This is like someone going, ‘Oh, you can go to Mars if you want.’ It feels that unlikely.” Shauna Coxsey GET A GRIP! YOU CAN BREAK THAT GLASS CEILING

MYTH Shauna Coxsey, the world’s best female boulderer BUSTER has been crowned World Cup champion twice - in (WOMEN CAN’T CLIMB 2016 and 2017. To Coxsey the proverbial ‘glass TO THE TOP) ceiling,’ the invisible barrier of discrimination that restrains women in the workplace, is there to be broken – by climbing past it. The 25-year-old British climber has mastered this challenging sport, which involves the negotiation of short routes, or ‘problems,’ close to the ground (usually below 15ft.) and without a rope. If she wants to add an Olympic gold to her medal collection when Tokyo rolls around in 2020, and the sport becomes an Olympic sport for the first time, she will have to add two new disciplines to her skill set: lead and speed climbing. Coxsey started climbing at age four with traditional bouldering equipment that involved chalk, a chalk bag, climbing shoes and a ‘crash mat’ to prevent injuries. The Cheshire native spent her gap year aged 19 (before a potential university spot) seeing if she could make it as a pro and has never looked back. Standing 5ft 4in tall, Coxsey has athletic fingers primed to grip hard. She trains for more than eight hours a day, six days a week and often dangles by her fingertips in 30-second stints for hours on end with additional weights strapped to her. She is only the third woman ever to scale a V14-difficulty rock face and founded the Women’s Climbing Symposium - an annual event aimed at inspiring more women to take up the sport. Her triumphs, however, haven’t come without their setbacks. She has snapped a tendon inside her one finger, suffered a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder. In 2016, another strong women, Queen Elizabeth II, who broke through the glass ceiling in 1953, bestowed her with an MBE during the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honors. Twitter: @shaunacoxsey HEIKO WILHELM / RED BULL CONTENT POOL HEIKO WILHELM / RED BULL CONTENT POOL

93 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM READING LIST Elitists have always looked down at fast food, criticizing how it tastes and regarding it as another tacky manifestation of American popular In 2001, Fast Food Nation was culture. The aesthetics of fast published to critical acclaim food are of much less concern to and became an international me than its impact upon the lives bestseller. Eric Schlosser’s of ordinary Americans, both as exposé revealed how the fast workers and consumers. Most of food industry has altered the all, I am concerned about its impact landscape of America, widened on the nation’s children. Fast food is heavily marketed to children and the gap between rich and poor, prepared by people who are barely fueled an epidemic of obesity, older than children. This is an and transformed food production industry that both feeds and feeds throughout the world. The book off the young. During the two years changed the way millions of spent researching this book, I ate people think about what they an enormous amount of fast food. eat and helped to launch todays Most of it tasted pretty good. That food movement. In newer is one of the main reasons people buy fast food; it has been carefully editions, Schlosser discusses designed to taste good. It’s also the growing interest in local inexpensive and convenient. But the and organic food, the continued value meals, two-for-one deals, and exploitation of poor workers by free refills of soda give a distorted the food industry, and the need sense of how much fast food to ensure that every American actually costs. The real price never has access to good, healthy, appears on the menu. affordable food. Fast Food Nation Fast food has joined Hollywood movies, blue jeans, and pop is as relevant today as it was music as one of America’s most nearly two decades ago. The prominent cultural exports. Unlike book inspires readers to look other commodities, however, fast beneath the surface of our food food isn’t viewed, read, played, Fast Food Nation: system, consider its impact on or worn. It enters the body and The Dark Side of the All-American Meal society and, most of all, think for becomes part of the consumer. ourselves. No other industry offers, both literally and figuratively, so much insight into the nature of mass consumption. Hundreds of millions of people buy fast food every day without giving it much thought, “ Schlosser shows how the fast food industry conquered both unaware of the subtle and not appetite and landscape. ” – The New Yorker. so subtle ramifications of their purchases. They rarely consider where this food came from, how it was made, what it is doing to Fast Food Nation is the kind of book that you hope “ the community around them. They young people read because it demonstrates far better than any social studies class the need for government just grab their tray off the counter, regulation, the unchecked power of multinational find a table, take a seat, unwrap corporations and the importance of our everyday the paper, and dig in. The whole decisions. ” – USA Today experience is transitory and soon Eric Schlosser is a New York Times bestselling forgotten. I’ve written this book author. His work has appeared in The Atlantic out of a belief that people should Monthly, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Vanity know what lies behind the shiny, Fair, and The Nation. In 1998 Schlosser wrote an “ Even if you don’t purchase or eat fast food, the buying power happy surface of every fast food of the industry still influences what you purchase at your local investigative piece on the fast food industry for transaction. They should know what supermarket. Agribusiness is a multi-billion dollar industry, more Rolling Stone. What began as a two-part article really lurks between those sesame- soulless and corporatized than ever before. Money is the name of for the magazine turned into the best-selling seed buns. As the old saying goes: the game, from soda makers to additive manufacturers, and the book Fast Food Nation, which was named Best You are what you eat. price we are paying is our health. ” – Maria Rechelbacher Business Book of the Year. He has been working on a book on the American prison system, which Excerpt reprinted by permission has been nearly 10 years in the making. of Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright Eric Schlosser.

RECEIVE OUR FREE WEEKLY “WORDS OF WISDOM” EMAIL WITH INSPIRING STORIES FROM FAR-SIGHTED LEADERS. SIGN UP HERE: REAL-LEADERS.COM/SHOP 94 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 April 4-5, 2019 Asheville, NC High Growth | Positive Impact CEO SUMMIT High Growth, Positive Impact Companies

“By far the best gathering to connect with other CEOs building a better world.”

Be inspired, engage and connect with 200 Impact CEOs.

Meet leading impact private equity funds.

Celebrate the RealLeaders 100 - the first ranking of the top 100 impact companies.

PRESENTED BY

FOUNDING SPONSORS What does it mean to be a top CEO? Firstly, it means you’ve grown your company revenues from the point you took over. Secondly, it means you’re overseeing a company that’s impacting the world for the better.

There are many CEOs who have decades of experience and are worthy of this list, but they haven’t been included here. Instead, eight female CEOs were chosen who are under 40 who already display the traits of an executive well beyond their years. Here are eight leading CEOs under forty that you’ve probably never heard of, along with their best piece of advice. Top 8 Women CEOs Under 40 YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF By Trevor Oldham

02 Nathalie Virem 01 Kelly Peller Virem is the CEO and founder of Peller is a 29-year-old CEO and Nathalie Virem Enterprises. She is an founder of NextGenVest. Her company International Keynote Speaker, 20-Time gives financial aid advice to Generation #1 International Bestseller, Leadership Z through text messages. Customers and Entrepreneurship Master and can text the company for advice on Global Citizen. financial aid at any hour of the day. 03 Alexis Irene Best piece of advice: Peller’s company has saved customers Virem had adopted a philosophy of learning Irene is a 24-year-old CEO and founder of Static more than $39 million by giving them to listen to her heart for answers. She Nails. She started her company from home and was access to more than $2.7 billion of had invested $70,000 in her business, but able to drive more than $500,000 of sales during financial aid that goes unclaimed each wasn’t seeing any results. The answer her first six months through strategic partnerships year. finally became clear... once transformed with Sephora and HSN. Irene’s company produces to a heart-led leader, she couldn’t go back. Best piece of advice: reusable, fake nails that apply with non-damaging Become obsessed with a problem you’re No matter how many obstacles came her glue and can be worn for 18 days and reapplied up trying to solve. If you’re not obsessed, you way, she always chose freedom and self- to six times. won’t be able to will yourself through your fulfillment over security. She persevered failures. and eventually found success. Never do Best piece of advice: something in life unless it makes you Your actions will always speak louder than your words. You happy each day. can talk about what you want to achieve, but at the end of the day you need to take action if you wish to see results.

Trevor Oldham Trevor Oldham is a 21-year-old entrepreneur and founder of Trevor James Media and former co-Founder of Become The Lion, a website that promotes the strongest version of yourself. Linkedin: @trevorjoldham

96 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 “I WAS ASKED WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THE RECESSION. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT AND DECIDED NOT TO TAKE PART.” – ALICE WALTON, CHAIR, CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART 04 Payal Kadakia

Kadakia is a 35-year-old co-founder of Classpass, a fitness booking app that is available in 39 cities. Within three years, her company had raised $84 million in funding. Best piece of advice: You need to keep moving forward. You will encounter setbacks in your business and you can let them define you, or you can do something about it. Always pick yourself up and continue to push forward. One day you’ll be amazed at how far ahead you are. 05 Katie Fang

The 26-year-old is CEO and founder of SchooLinks, a college and career readiness platform that runs a curriculum that helps students with self-discovery, career education, and college planning. Her purpose is to help students achieve a career they desire and attend the college of their choice. Best piece of advice: When you’re building your company you need to make sure that you understand your audience. Your company can never succeed if you don’t take the time to understand who you’ll market your product or service to. 06 Daisy Jing

Jing is a 28-year-old CEO and founder of Banish. Her company created an acne formula that doesn’t use benzoyl peroxide which can cause inflammation and redness among people with cystic acne. She developed an all-natural organic alternative and has turned over $3.5 million in revenue. She also has over 200,000 YouTube subscribers. Best piece of advice: What problem do you have, that other people might also have? This could be the big idea for your company because if you have a problem, there will always be others with exactly the same problem. Turn a problem into a solution by starting a company.

07 Polina Raygorodskaya 08 Shirley Chen Raygorodskaya is a 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of WanderU. Chen is a 29-year-old CEO and founder Her company is an airline search of Narrativ. Her company uses artificial engine for buses. WanderU intelligence to help retailers bid for clicks compares hundreds of different sites on product links in editorial content. for the best prices on bus travel and Chen has already received $3.5 million in has raised $8.1 million in funding. seed funding from Talis Capital and New Enterprise Associates. Best piece of advice: You can’t do it alone. You need to build a Best piece of advice: support team around you to help grow You need to understand the risks you’re taking. your company. Trying to build a company You will always need to take risks if you wish to without anyone else is the definition succeed, but your risks have to be disciplined. of insanity. Put your faith in others and Doing your research will minimize your rate of you’ll be rewarded. failure and you shouldn’t be quick to launch if you haven’t done your research.

97 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM WHO SAYS WE CAN’T AGREE ON ANYTHING? FINDING COMMON GROUND

WE THE PEOPLE PUTTING THE “UNITED” BACK IN “STATES”

The funeral of Senator John McCain on September 2 saw Americans from across the political divide united. Two former presidents, George W. Bush, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat, each delivered a eulogy. Despite their past political differences, one thing shone through – a belief that patriotism trumps party. >> “HE WAS HONORABLE, ALWAYS RECOGNIZING honor was in the atmosphere or from the firsthand experience of cruelty which left President George W. Bush THAT HIS OPPONENTS physical reminders that lasted his whole WERE STILL PATRIOTS life. Or from some deep well of moral Wherever John passed throughout the AND HUMAN BEINGS.” principle. Whatever the cause, it was this world, people immediately knew there was combination of courage and decency a leader in their midst. And in one epic life that defined John’s calling, and closely was written the courage of our country. For paralleled the calling of his country. John, it was a personal journey, hard fought. and swaggering. He spoke up for the Those in political power were not exempt. He could frustrate me, and I know he’d say little guy, forgotten people in forgotten At various points throughout his long career, the same thing about me. But he also made places. One friend from his naval academy John confronted policies and practices he me better. In recent years we sometimes days recalls John reacted to seeing an believed were unworthy of his country. John talked of that intense period like football upperclassman verbally abuse a steward. McCain would insist we are better than this. players, remembering a big game. In the Against all tradition, he told the jerk to pick America is better than this. John is the first process rivalry melted away. In the end on someone his own size. It was a familiar to tell you he was not a perfect man but I got to enjoy one of life’s great gifts, the refrain during the six decades of service. he dedicated his life to national ideals that friendship of John McCain, and I’ll miss it. Where does such strength and conviction are as perfect as men and women have yet John was above all a man with a code. come from? Perhaps from a family where conceived. He was motivated by a vision of He lived by a set of public virtues that America carried ever forward, ever upward, brought strength and purpose to his life and on the strength of its principles. He saw to his country. He was courageous, with a our country not only as a physical place courage that frightened his captors, and or power but as the carrier of enduring inspired his countrymen. He was honest, human aspirations. As an advocate for the no matter whom it offended. Presidents oppressed, as a defender of the peace, were not spared. He was honorable. Always as a promise, unwavering, undimmed, recognizing that his opponents were still unequaled. John was born to meet that kind patriots and human beings. He loved of challenge, to defend and demonstrate the freedom with a passion of a man who defining ideals of our nation. If we’re ever knew its absence. He respected the dignity tempted to forget who we are, grow weary inherent in every life, a dignity that does not of our cause, John’s voice will come as a stop at borders and cannot be erased by whisper over our shoulder: “We are better dictators. Perhaps above all John detested than this. America is better than this.” the abuse of power, could not abide bigots

98 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN REACHED ACROSS THE DIVIDE IN THE INTEREST OF THE COMMON GOOD.

● Normalized relations with Vietnam. In 1994 McCain sponsored a resolution urging full diplomatic recognition of the country, despite being imprisoned and tortured for 6 years by the Vietnamese. ● Led the fight for campaign finance reform. Enacted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 — to rein in the vast amounts of money swirling around politics. ● Sponsored the Detainee Treatment Act. Prohibited the inhumane treatment of prisoners. ● The Affordable Care Act. McCain’s vote was less an endorsement of Obamacare than it was a rebuke of the repeal bill being rushed without proper debate.

“...WE NEVER DOUBTED those rules, those norms are what bind THE OTHER MAN’S us together. Give shape and order to our President Barack Obama SINCERITY OR THE common life. Even when we disagree. OTHER’S PATRIOTISM, OR Especially when we disagree. President Bush and I are among the THAT WHEN ALL WAS SAID John understood as JFK understood, fortunate few who competed against John as Ronald Reagan understood that part of at the highest levels of politics. He made us AND DONE, WE WERE ON what makes our country great is that our better presidents just as he made the senate THE SAME TEAM.” membership is based not on our blood better, just as he makes this country better. line, not on what we look like, what our What better way to get a last laugh than last names are, not based on where our make George and I say nice things about moment, each day, each choice is a test. parents or grandparents came from or how him to a national audience? Most of all it And John McCain passed that test again and recently they arrived, but on adherence to showed a largeness of spirit. An ability to again and again. And that’s why when John a common creed that all of us are created see past differences in search of common spoke of virtues like service and valor they equal. Endowed by our creator with certain ground. And in fact on the surface, John weren’t just words to him, it was a truth that inalienable rights. and I could not have been more different. he had lived and for which he was prepared We didn’t advertise it, but every so often We’re of different generations. I came from to die. And it forced even the most cynical over the course of my presidency John a broken home and never knew my father. to consider what were we doing for our would come over to the White House and John was the scion of one of America’s country? What might we risk everything for? we’d just sit and talk in the oval office, just most distinguished military families. I Much has been said about what a the two of us. We would talk about policy have a reputation for keeping cool, John maverick John was. In fact, John was a and we’d talk about family and we’d talk not so much. We were standard bearers pretty conservative guy. Trust me, I was on about the state of our politics. And our of different American political traditions the receiving end of some of those votes. disagreements didn’t go away during these and throughout my presidency John never But he did understand that some principles private conversations. Those were real hesitated to tell me when he thought I was transcend politics. Some values transcend and they were often deep. But we enjoyed screwing up, which by his calculation was party. He considered it part of his duty the time we shared away from the bright about once a day. But for all our differences, to uphold those principles and uphold lights and we laughed with each other and for all of the times we sparred, I never those values. we learned from each other and we never tried to hide, and I think John came to John cared about the institutions of self doubted the other man’s sincerity or the understand the long-standing admiration government, our constitution, our bill of other’s patriotism, or that when all was said that I had for him. rights, rule of law. Separation of powers. He and done, we were on the same team. We In captivity John learned in ways that few knew that in a nation as big and boisterous never doubted we were on the same team. of us ever will the meaning of how each and diverse as ours, those institutions, CHIP SOMODEVILLA / YANA PASKOVA / GETTY IMAGES PASKOVA CHIP SOMODEVILLA / YANA

99 WINTER 2018 / REAL-LEADERS.COM Marybeth Cichocki speaks at the Fed Up rally, a coalition that unifies families, organizations, and allies from across the nation to end the opioid epidemic.

’ve read that it takes a village to raise a child. I’ve learned it also takes a village to save one. I witnessed the horror of I watching my youngest son, Matt struggle with the disease of addiction for seven years. Unfortunately, our story did not have a happy ending. Matt lost his battle on a bitter day in January 2015. I began to form my village several months after his death. I was told The door to saving Matt that my anger would surface, that In 2017, the Behavior Health Consortium I would become angry at Matt for “slammed shut 44 months ago, was formed, a consortium comprised of having a disease that was supposedly but the power of a mothers community advocates, law enforcement, self-inflicted, that this anger would grief blew another open. health care professionals and state help me come to terms with his leaders. On September 10 2018, I stood death. I can tell you, my anger did ” alongside the Governor surrounded by come, but, rather than Matt being advocates, legislatures, physicians and the target, the broken system of care law enforcement as three more Delaware for those suffering from addiction bills were signed into law, bills that the became my nemesis. MY SON DIED rest of the nation can certainly learn from: I became Matt’s voice, and over time I began to connect with people FROM OPIOIDS, HB 440. Sets up a model of care in who held the same view of this Emergency Departments throughout the broken system. Luckily, these people state when responding to victims of an also held power in my home state of SO I CHANGED overdose. The bill initiates the transfer of Delaware – a tiny state with a huge patients to a stabilization center where problem – ranked one of the top 10 THE LAW comprehensive treatment will be in place states effected by an epidemic that immediately. Before, overdose victims killed 72,000 in 2017. By Marybeth Cichocki were released shortly after arrival, with no In May of that year, I stood next hope of getting treatment. to the governor, surrounded by my village, as three hard-fought bills SB 206. Coordinates data sharing around the treatment of addiction between state agencies and the Delaware were signed into law. I went from Prescription Monitoring Program pride to profound grief that Matt was to study overdose data and create not sitting there giving me a thumbs buried feelings of hopelessness and recommendations for safer prescribing up for never giving up. despair resurfaced as I learned that and practices. Initiated after 2017 I left that meeting feeling my Matt’s best friend’s son was dead. statistics showed that 2,000 Delawareans advocacy work was done. Call me A victim of the broken system I’d suffered a non-fatal overdose yet naive, but I honestly thought these foolishly thought was fixed. continued to be prescribed opioids. bills would change the treatment That day I learned a fundamental for substance use disorder. I soon lesson. Advocacy was never meant to SB 225. Establishes alternative learned that bills and laws are be a sprint. It’s more of a marathon, treatments for back and other chronic only as powerful as the people run slowly with precision – a race that pain and encourages both patient and standing behind them. My fantasy continues without sight of the finish prescriber to use proven non-opioid of available treatment for everyone line. I dusted off my shoes and began methods of treating pain – massage was shattered by one phone call. My my journey back to advocacy. therapy, acupuncture, and yoga.

100 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018

THE LAST WORD

On March 14, 2012, more than three million people read Greg Smith’s bomb- shell op-ed in the New York Times titled, Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs. The tell-all column immediately went viral and hit a nerve among the general public who questioned the role of Wall Street in society – and the callous “take-the-money-and-run” mentality that brought the world economy to its knees. Here, he shares his vision for the future of big finance.

TEN YEARS AFTER THE CRASH - SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW

What made you take on one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world and what did you hope to achieve?

I wasn’t trying to take on one institution – I was trying to do what I thought was the right thing. Some of it has to do with my generation, versus my parent’s generation. I grew up being very idealistic. Parts of big finance have become a golden goose that many know has serious ethical problems, but no one’s willing to talk about it. This became increasingly uncomfortable for me. To a large extent I drank the Kool-Aid at Goldman Sachs. I was one of the heads of the summer intern program, used to fly to Stanford twice a year and recruit new people. I was very proud of what I would call the “old culture” of banking, that was focused on the long term, and where you aspired to

develop ten year relationships with people. In the early 2000’s, GP KIDD / GETTY IMAGES the majority of regulations that kept this old banking system in place, got overturned. Derivatives got deregulated and “Our parent’s leverage limits disappeared, which was actually a symptom generation was side of the transaction is foolish enough of a much larger problem – that the industries with the most about loyalty to fall for it, it’s a case of “buyers money effectively controlled politicians, who changed the beware,” and they should have known rules in order to get more campaign contributions. to a company, better. Business needs to have more With less rules, the old world model of, “Let’s first do right regardless of what idealistic leadership, where you do by the customer and the profits will follow,” turned into, “Let’s that company did. things right by the customer and know make five times more profit today, because we’re only in this that profits will follow. The Silicon business for another five or six years.” There was an attitude Our generation Valley mentality is a good example. of not caring what happened next. It was almost like a calling, has a loyalty to They make a lot of money but they that it was the right thing to do. If I hadn’t done it I would have values.” create a product that actually does felt I’d done the wrong thing by not speaking up. something, it actually adds some kind of value that changes the world Is the secretive world of big finance finally opening up? in a meaningful way. The financial industry at times moves money around in ways that people don’t understand, and then No, I don’t think so. I’ve devoted time to understanding extracts a fee for doing so, until they have a $10 million bonus how the process works between banks, politicians and the in their pockets. Young people have realized this and become public and what I’ve concluded is that the opaque system as disillusioned. They want to live their lives along a more moral it is today has purposefully been created. At worst there are framework. In finance two thirds of money is made behind politicians and regulators taking campaign contributions to closed doors, unregulated, no one sees these things publicly. keep quiet or change the laws, and at best there is just not That’s not capitalism anymore; it’s a rigged system. enough knowledge around the intricacies of finance. What style of leadership would best address the issues There seems to be an ongoing trend of people exposing you’ve mentioned? the secretive dealings of large corporations and institutions. Are people becoming fed-up? Ask: Does a leader act the same way and treat respectfully all employees of the company: From the janitor and college Some people will say that capitalism is about doing anything intern, through to the CEO? Is the leader the same authentic as long as you don’t go to jail and if the person on the other person in his or her personal life as in their professional life?

102 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2018 OUR RECYCLING SOFTWARE EARNED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR OUR CLIENTS IN 2018

Rick Perez, Founder of Avangard Innovative is a member of YPO Houston.

Rick Perez of Avangard Innovative is proving that you can do well by doing good. He does it every day by leveraging technology to help clients find TURN YOUR WASTE their hidden green assets. He’s creating a world where there’s no such thing as waste! INTO CASH IN 2019. WE’LL SHOW

WWW.AVAICG.COM YOU HOW JOIN REAL LEADERS FOR THE GLOBAL GOALS AND CHANGE THE WORLD! Decide which global goals you care about and take action to Inspire the Future! Tell us how at [email protected]

Subscribe to Real Leaders and discover leaders who support the United Nations 17 Imagine what can happen when citizens, CEOs, customers, Sustainable Development Goals. organizations and governments all focus on common goals. www.real-leaders.com/shop

836 million people still live One in nine people in the 17,000 fewer children die each An estimated 50% of In 46 countries, women now At least 1.8 billion people in extreme poverty and one world today (795 million) are day than in 1990, but more out-of-school children of hold more than 30% of seats in globally use a source of in five people in developing undernourished. 66 million than 6 million children still primary school age live in national parliament. drinking water that is fecally regions live on less than primary school children die before their fifth birthday conflict-affected areas. contaminated. US$1.25 per day. attend classes hungry. each year.

One in five people lack access 470 million jobs are needed In developing countries, 30% Income inequality increased Half of humanity – 3.5 billion Each year, an estimated to electricity. Three billion globally for new entrants to of agricultural production by 11% in developing countries people – live in cities today. one-third of all food produced people rely on wood, coal, the labor market between undergoes industrial process- between 1990 and 2010. This By 2030, 60% of the world’s – worth around USD1 trillion – charcoal or animal waste for 2016 and 2030. ing. In high-income countries, is a threat to long-term social population will live in urban ends up rotting in bins. cooking and heating. 98% is processed. and economic development. areas.

WE SUPPORT From 1880 to 2012, the average Over three billion people 23 hectares of arable land per Among the institutions most Over 4 billion people do not use global temperature increased depend on marine and coastal minute are lost to drought affected by corruption are the Internet, and 90% of them TM by 33.5°F. For each one degree biodiversity for their liveli- and desertification – 12 million the judiciary and police. Cor- are from the developing world. of temperature increase, grain hoods. Oceans contain 97% of hectares per year – where ruption, bribery, theft and tax 30% of the world’s youth are yields decline by about 5%. the Earth’s water 20 million tons of grain could evasion cost US$1.26 trillion for digital natives, active online for have been grown. developing countries per year. at least five years.

Throughout this edition of Real Leaders you’ll notice colorful squares – each representing one of the Sustainable Development Goals put forward by the United Nations. We have matched stories to a goal, to demonstrate how these goals can be applied to entrepreneurship.