Michael Lee Stallard

Guy Kawasaki, Founding Partner of Garage Technology Ventures, best-selling author and Entrepreneur magazine columnist, just wrote on his Twitter that “The Connection Culture: A New Source of Competitive Advantage” is a “must read.” I hope you’ll agree! Guy also posted about it on his Open Forum blog.

You can download it for free by clicking here.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about healthcare organizations.  I recently spoke in New Haven to nearly 500 managers at Yale-New Haven Hospital and in Philadelphia to a group of CEOs that included several leaders from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.  I’ve written from the patient’s perspective about my wife Katie’s battles with breast and advanced ovarian cancer and about Dr. Herb Pardes, head of New York-Presbyterian Health System, and how he is leading his organization to deliver patient-centered care. Recently, I interviewed Bill Shannon, Chief Wisdom Officer, at DaVita, Inc., the leading provider of kidney dialysis services and shortly I’ll be hosting a webcast with Pat Charmel, CEO of Griffin Hospital, a perennial member of Fortune’s best places to work list.

Two books I recently read reminded me again just how critical connection is to health care. Read more »

Recently I’ve been spending more time in Washington, DC.  Earlier this year I spoke at the General Services Administration, the Executive Development Exchange Network (EDEN) and at  Senior Fellows and Friends.  In the coming months I’ll be speaking at the US Treasury Executive Institute, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Government Accountability Office.  

Washington, DC is abuzz with energy, enthusiasm  and a “can do” spirit.  Some government employees meet on their personal time in groups such as Senior Fellows and Friends and 13L to exchange ideas that  make government more effective.  They have come up with innovative practices and programs such as Flash Mentoring and FedPitch.  The private sector could learn much from these thoughtful civil servants who dedicate their professional lives to a cause greater than self.

Yesterday I had the privilege of joining Martha Dorris, the Deputy Associate Administrator at the GAO’s Office of Citizen Services and  AM 1500 Federal News Radio hosts Chris Dorobek and Francis Rose in an hour long discussion about my book, Fired Up or Burned Out, and creating Connection Cultures in Federal Government.  Martha is a dynamic leader and an intentional connector who is developing a Connection Culture at the GSA.  Chris and Francis are outgoing, intentional connectors too.  Their radio programs are thoughtful and encouraging.  They inform, educate, inspire and help federal government workers feel more connected. You can listen to our radio conversation by clicking on leadership and employee engagement in federal government.     

During this critical time in history when we are rethinking the roles of the government, private and social sectors, government is playing an increasingly important part in shaping our collective future.  To this end, President Obama is challenging federal workers to make a difference.  He inspires them with a vision of positive change, values their service and contributions, and gives them a voice by seeking their opinions and ideas. And I’m looking forward to spending more time in DC to encourage and advise leaders about how to develop Connection Cultures that will help release the genius of the dedicated individuals who work in federal government.

 






I recently completed a podcast interview with Scott Laningham, host of IBM’s developerWorks podcast interviews.  You can listen to the interview and download it on iTunes by clicking on employee engagement.











Insightory.com recently added me to its list of experts.  This website has a treasure trove of content.  Here is a link to my page on the website.

In outstanding businesses, people serve one another. Leaders serve employees and employees, in turn, serve customers. Customers respond by being loyal to the business and the employees they know. One way to reflect this servant mindset is to codify it in mutual promises. I learned from Admiral Vern Clark, who was the head of the US Navy from 2000-2005, that he told his leaders the sailors under their command promised to support and defend the US Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic, and they, as leaders, needed to make promises to sailors in return. Promises such as giving the sailors the training and resources needed to do their jobs. That make me think, what promises do we want from employees we lead and what promises should we make in return. I spoke this morning on Jim Blasingame’s radio program about his and you can hear it at this link.

Here are some promises to consider: Read more »

Tomorrow is the anniversary of D-Day when 160,000 Allied troops landed on French beaches and began the march to defeat Hitler. The Army has a website devoted to D-Day that I hope you will explore.  The visual images, accounts and statistics testify to the courage of Allied soldiers.  In addition, the story that I tell in a SmartByte video recorded for Athenaonline.com entitled Voice and Culture describes the American Army’s culture of ingenuity that historian Stephen Ambrose wrote was largely absent in the Nazi army.

The Economic Times in India published an article I wrote about inclusiveness at Pixar.

Last night I spoke to delightful group of Wharton alumni in Boston. It was a stimulating evening and I would like to thank Wendy Dalwin and Stuart Zimmerman of the the Wharton Club of Boston for inviting me to speak, and McKinsey & Company for hosting the event.