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3 Things to Know About Tomorrow's Business Leaders

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Today's young business leaders are poised to outperform their more established counterparts - and that's not just the usual energy and naivety of youth talking.

Today's young leaders are emerging at a time when forces have converged to broaden people's expectations of business. This generation contains some of the savviest and most connected consumers in history. Many of them have seen their parents work in, and potentially be let go from, uninspiring business environments. They've grown up in an era when corporate scandal was frequent and corporate responsibility became a department.

On the other hand, they've also seen the extraordinary rise of social enterprises and start-ups that answer the question: "What problem are we trying to solve?" long before they ask: "What's the next big money maker?"

And now they're setting the bar higher.

Don't get me wrong. Up-and-coming leaders need and love profitability just as much as their predecessors, but they're savvy enough to see profit as the end, not the means. The big differentiator will be that successful leaders of the future will tap into the extraordinary value and competitive advantage that comes when their companies' missions - their core reasons for being - draw others in. They will hard-wire their operations to work effectively with others across society to deliver those missions and leverage resources in entirely new ways - and outperform the market as a result.

Here's what the new generation of CEOs will do differently.

Young leaders know why they're in business in the first place

For the next generation of game-changers, the payday (and what a payday it will be) grows out of setting ambitious missions that people actually care about. It seems so obvious, doesn't it? After all, a mission statement is your most important declaration to the world about why your business even exists. But take a look at most company missions and you'll find things like relevance and purpose woefully lacking.

Here are three red flags to look out for:

Uninspired mission statements are chronically narcissistic. This business of "we're going to be the #1" or "the industry leader" raises exactly one question: besides shareholders, who cares? Many up-and-coming leaders are starting to better understand that if consumers, employees, communities and even governments don't care about their company's mission, they'll be in dire straits fairly quickly.

Uninspired mission statements focus on the business model. A business model is not a mission and it never will be. Worse yet, elevating the business model to the level of mission makes a company far less capable of pivoting when market changes demand that their model evolves. Our future CEOs have grown up in an environment where the most agile businesses have been best at weathering storms.

Uninspired mission statements talk about how a company will behave. I'm reminded of a retail chain that seeks to "please customers and treat employees well". Since when did the bare minimum of behaviour constitute a mission?

Successful leaders of the future will understand the bigger picture. They will recognize the interplay between society's most pressing issues and the ability of their industries and companies to simultaneously solve those issues and thrive. They will recognize that major problems, left unchecked, will eventually block their business objectives.

Think about it. Nike won't survive if the world continues to become less physically active. Neither will ESPN. Banks lose relevance if the majority of a population can barely afford everyday expenses. An energy company doesn't stand a chance if it runs out of product. The theory holds true for pretty much any company of any size in any industry.

Put simply, future leaders will embrace missions that are visionary and describe what their companies will deliver to the world. And those missions will matter to a much larger group than just shareholders.

Young leaders see untapped value that's there for the taking

By now our new mainstream corporate heroes are solving massive problems during the course of daily business. This has huge implications.

First, they'll need to learn how to play really well with others. Corporations are famous for creating and then operating inside safe and controlled corporate bubbles. The new vanguard is about to burst that bubble. Truly ambitious missions require other people's participation - governments, non-profits, academics, to name just a few. Future leaders will need to define new ways to work with these groups more authentically and systemically than typical efforts seen today. If they get this right, our young leaders will start to experience a level of broad-based support from unlikely actors who actually want their companies to win. It will create a tailwind experienced by very few in the corporate sector so far, and illuminate the ridiculous amount of untapped value being left on the table today.

When a more broadly supported corporate mission is delivered authentically and consistently, companies can realize surprising cost savings and fewer barriers to business. The PR crises, risk-mitigation headaches, employee-retention or productivity issues that drain valuable dollars - they can all dissipate dramatically, freeing up resources for innovation and more strategic reinvestment. Imagine an employee base so proud of what they are working towards that they consistently over-deliver with great products, services and efficiency savings. If your own employees or others want you to win because you stand for something worth fighting for, they'll do whatever they can to help you.

Finally, missions that create shared purpose expand available market opportunity. Driving towards a mission that means something (and delivering on it) inherently expands the size of the pie versus an exhaustive and expensive effort to expand the size of an arbitrary slice. Because these companies are fundamentally solving a bigger problem, there's a bigger portion of the population to innovate for and a broader base of business opportunities to expand into legitimately over time.

There are some established companies we can look to for inspiration. Take Google, for example. Its mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". Democratizing access to information everywhere? That's world-changing. And it shows up in a ton of different ways, from emergency alerts that are the product of government partnerships to a re-imagined ISP experience (currently being tested in a few US cities) that provides connection speeds that are faster, cheaper and more reliable than anything people have experienced before. In an industry fraught with political challenges and sensitivities, Google is finding new ways to work across sectors. The result is expanded market opportunity and a roster of essential and valuable new supporters.

Indeed, those who lead the way will have big challenges pioneering how to get things done across the traditionally well-defined tri-sector territories. But they'll also be poised to extract significant business value (and profitability) that has been left on the table for a very long time.

Young leaders will stay off the Titanic

The vast majority of businesses currently operate within a system that puts shareholders first and incentivizes quarterly returns over sustainable growth. You could argue that deeply embedded corporate norms and a very powerful establishment will continue to stand in the way of progress, but I don't buy it. We're now talking about a century-old corporate financing legacy system whose time has come and gone. Young leaders don't have to put up with that, and many of the world's bravest CEOs today are already showing the way.

As an example, take a look at Tesla's eight-year, infinite-mile warranty. This was a bold move in a world where three-year, 36,000-mile warranties have long been the norm. Then Tesla did the unthinkable and extended its warranty to existing owners as well. CEO Elon Musk addressed investors and acknowledged the likely negative impact on short-term earnings. And then he went ahead and extended the warranties anyway. That's a clear signal that Tesla puts the interests of its customers and faith in its product ahead of any arbitrary, short-term KPI. It bucks the system in a big way, and it will also pay off far more in the long run.

Today, however, we're seeing new leaders buck the system entirely. They're finding alternate forms of capital, demanding new structures and resisting arbitrary corporate norms that have existed for decades.

I can't wait to see the group of revolutionaries who have the courage to go after missions that are bigger than themselves in the mainstream corporate world. And really, while the next generation may be pre-wired for this, real shifts will occur as the most established leaders of today make this seismic shift. These leaders will chart new territory for sure: resisting the creation of internal corporate bubbles and rewiring organizations for authentic multisector relationships - possible because they will lead business missions that unite, rather than separate.

From what I've seen so far, plenty of young people (and even a few current CEOs) have the guts to take this on. And if that's the sense of entitlement this generation is supposed to have, then I say bring it on.
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Author: Lisa MacCallum, Formerly Nike Inc Vice President (2001-2014), currently independent adviser, author, speaker and Young Global Leader. Image: A man walks past a wall painting labelled the "Map of Start-up" at the Google Campus start-up space in the Gangnam district of Seoul, May 8, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Why start-ups need female founders
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3 things to know about tomorrow's business leaders

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The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is tied to no political, partisan or national interests.

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12 Fictional Characters Leaders can Learn from

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12 fictional characters that leaders can learn from - Real Business

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Movies, TV programs and books have played a part in our lives for decades. So, from Darth Vader and Walter White to Iron Man and James T. Kirk, here are 12 fictional characters from which every leader can learn valuable lessons from.

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10 Personality Traits Needed to Succeed in Finance

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10 personality traits needed to succeed in finance

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Your resume can check every box on and you may hit all the right notes in your cover letter, but if you don't let have the 'right' personality, then you're unlikely to get an offer. Soft skills and personality traits are key to getting hired.

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It's Time for Businesses to Embrace Young Leadership

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Early in my career I was hired to be the managing editor of a daily business newspaper. I remember my first day on that job well.

As I walked around and introduced myself, I quickly realized I would be managing people twice my age and that I was considerably younger than most of the staff. Upon introducing myself as the new managing editor, some people laughed, some ignored me. One person chastised me by saying, “You’re the new editor? Give me a break. I’ve been working at this place longer than you’ve been alive.”

At the end of the day, I approached the publisher and shared my concerns and observations. The publisher responded candidly: “Look, I didn’t want to like you. I interviewed a lot of people for this job, but the fact is you were the best qualified. So, I decided to take a risk and I hired you. You can do this job. It’s not going to be easy, but you can do it.”

The publisher was right. That job wasn’t easy; it was hands down the most difficult job I’ve ever had. But that’s not the point. What I really want business leaders to ponder is the publisher’s decision to take a risk and hire someone young.

Youth Movement

It’s worth pondering because far too few leaders are opting to do this at a time when the business world desperately needs to hire young leaders.

Almost every single sector, save for technology, is predominantly led by people in the baby boomer generation, or those born between 1946-1964. When this generation came of age, the boomers were the largest generation in history and had the opportunity to move into positions of power and influence and stay there.

However, at the end of 2015, and for the first time in 34 years, boomers are no longer the workforce majority. It is now Generation Y, also known as millennials, and the majority of workers are in their late 20s and early 30s.

We’re experiencing the largest shift in human capital in history, yet one generation still holds nearly all the power in nearly every sector in nearly every corner of the world and the proverbial baton isn’t getting passed.

Consider these statistics:

Gallup reports that less than one-third of U.S. employees have been engaged in their jobs and workplaces during the past 17 years.

Deloitte’s Shift Index demonstrates that the profitability of 20,000 U.S. organizations has been declining since 1965.

The Conference Board reports that job satisfaction has been on a steady decline since 1987.

Executive research projects continually draw the same conclusion: succession planning isn’t a priority for 70 percent of executives.

Why is this happening?

For starters, we inherited institutions designed for the 20th century, which are unable to cope with the mounting pressures of constant change. Many organizations are still structured to maximize efficiency by way of clearly defined roles, which automatically creates resistance to any variance.

Whether they realize it or not, many companies today are structured such that they actively discourage passion.

Think about it. In the 20th century, corporations were built for scalable efficiency. Jobs were well defined and organized to support processes designed to meet plans and forecasts. Workers were trained to protect company information. Any collaboration with those outside of the organization was highly monitored or even discouraged. Most innovation was driven from within the company’s four walls, often without feedback or customer interaction.

Now we’ve moved into the 21st century — the talent economy. And today’s workers certainly don’t want to work in Industrial-era organizations with clearly defined roles, organizational silos, top-down management or predictability.

In the turbulent and competitive marketplace, we need leaders who are willing to disrupt the status quo, working in collaboration with young professionals willing to innovate and bring new solutions to the forefront. We need talent generation.

Consider Google. Employees are drawn to Google because working there means something more than just working for a technology company. In fact, Google is successful for reasons that have very little to do with what the company actually does.

Google was built on the premise that people want meaningful work, knowledge of what’s happening in their environment and the opportunity to shape that environment. Simply put, Google put its employees at the center of everything.

In other words, Google embodies the two trademarks of a 21st century organization: People first and future focused. Google has grown into a business that earns almost $90 billion in annual revenues and continually earns honors as the best company to work for in the world.

When more leaders make the conscious decision and take the appropriate actions to value people more than profits and invest in the next generation of talent, that’s not only when we will succeed at collaboration and innovation, it’s when we will reverse the decline, resolve the conflicts and ultimately prevent our economy from failing.

That publisher who decided to take a risk and hire me? I later found out the publisher had to convince the newspaper’s owner and board of directors to hire me. I was the youngest person and the only female on record to have held that leadership role.

I was a risk. And yet, the publisher advocated for me to have the opportunity to lead. But isn’t that every leader’s responsibility?

We desperately need leaders who are willing to disrupt status quo and work alongside and advocate on behalf of younger generations. The best leaders seek to add value to an organization, not slow it down or kill it entirely. The best leaders realize they don’t have all the answers and will benefit from the insights of a generation raised amid disruption and rapidly evolving technology and seeing the world through a different lens.

Employee engagement and productivity have steadily been declining for more than 50 years, and few have raised their voices in opposition or dedicated themselves to initiating a change.

It’s time to think about leadership, because our leadership is aging and our talent practices are failing. It’s time for a change. It’s time to make the future a priority for every generation.

Sarah Sladek is CEO of XYZ University, a leadership advisory firm. This article is based on insights from her most recent book, “Talent Generation.” To comment, email editor@talenteconomy.io.

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It's Time for Businesses to Embrace Young Leadership

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Early in my career I was hired to be the managing editor of a daily business newspaper. I remember my first day on that job well. As I walked around and introduced myself, I quickly realized I would be managing people twice my age and that I was considerably younger than most of the staff.

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When mysterious letters start arriving on his doorstep, Harry Potter has never heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

They are swiftly confiscated by his aunt and uncle.

Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a strange man bursts in with some important news: Harry Potter is a wizard and has been awarded a place to study at Hogwarts.

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Autem tantas scripserit id eum. Consul vocibus et vix, sed iusto paulo omnium ex, dicit tation ut vel.