Speaking Out
A new lens for navigating political and social issues in business.
Ukraine. Abortion. Gun violence. Voting rights. These are just a few of the political and social issues that business leaders have addressed in recent years. This phenomenon has gone mainstream over the past decade, and it has changed expectations of executive communication. It has also sparked a backlash.
Speaking Out: The New Rules of Business Leadership Communication explores why and how executives speak out, and it looks at the practices many have employed to meet the moment. It offers a new framework for understanding how to manage corporate communications challenges that emphasizes actions and accountability.
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Speaking Out
Georgetown University Press,
October 2024
A new lens for navigating political and social issues in business.
Speaking Out offers a new framework for understanding how to manage corporate communications challenges with a shared emphasis on actions and words. Case studies of leaders who have spoken out and backed their words with action are contrasted with those of others who have had mixed records on accountability, failed to show progress in public commitments or faced consequences for taking a stance. These real-world examples demonstrate the difference between public relations efforts that can be easily dismissed as spin and authentic communication that enhances credibility and trust.
The Smart Mission
MIT Press Axiom Medalist,
Business Intelligence/ Innovation, 2023
Why human skills and expertise, not technical tools, are what make projects succeed.
The project is the basic unit of work in many industries. Software applications, antiviral vaccines, launch-ready spacecraft: all were produced by a team and managed as a project. Project management emphasizes control, processes, and tools—but, according to The Smart Mission, that is not the right way to run a project. Human skills and expertise, not technical tools, are what make projects successful. Projects run on knowledge. This paradigm-shifting book—by three project management experts, all of whom have decades of experience at NASA and elsewhere—challenges the conventional wisdom on project management, focusing on the human dimension: learning, collaboration, teaming, communication, and culture.
Compelling People
Hudson Street / Penguin
Amazon Best Books of 2013, Business & Investing
Required reading at Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School.
Everyone wants to be more appealing and effective, but few believe we can manage the personal magnetism of a Bill Clinton or an Oprah Winfrey. John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut trace the path to influence through a balance of strength (the root of respect) and warmth (the root of affection). Each seems simple, but only a few of us figure out the tricky task of projecting both at once.
Drawing on cutting-edge social science research as well as their own work with Fortune 500 executives, members of Congress, TED speakers, and Nobel Prize winners, Neffinger and Kohut reveal how we size each other up—and how we can learn to win the admiration, respect, and affection we desire.