Dreamers, Winners – And Making A Difference

In this episode, we discuss with Professor Diane Swanson and Steve Burrows, CBE, the lessons we might have learned from the Enron, Madoff and Sub-Prime Mortgage adventures. We discuss the curious case of the MBA graduates and how they seemed to fail to protect us from the fallout of those adventures. Finally, we discuss the importance of curiosity and how a sense of ethics might prevent future similar adventures.

Implementing a corporate responsibility program requires executives to embrace fundamental ethical concepts and to lead by example. They have to walk-the-walk as they talk-the-talk. Similarly, those they lead just buy into the goals and importance of the program. In a perfect world scenario, the business schools would prepare its students to embrace these types of programs and to help implement it both with ethical gusto and with the enthusiasm that comes with knowing they are doing the right thing. Professor Diane Swanson chairs the Business Ethics Education Initiative at Kansas State. Her latest book is entitled: Embedding CSR into Corporate Culture: Challenging the Executive Mind.

Whether we are running a large or small business or whether we are dreaming of climbing a corporate ladder, we'll always find ourselves being confronted with difficult ethical questions. Sometimes, but not often, the answers might be find in a Code of Ethics. More often, we have to trust ourselves to do the right thing. Steve Burrows returns to our show to talk about his approach to ethics as the Executive Vice President of WSP, one of the worlds leading engineering professional services consulting firms that employs over 30,000 people. Steve is a winner who realized his dreams and who has made a difference for the better in the lives of those he's touched.

Amongst the greatest challenges we face in realizing our dreams is to motivate those around us to help us accomplish whatever we are setting out to do. In this episode, we'll discuss with our guest, Steve Burrows, CBE, his experiences over the years in motivating not just all those he led, but particularly in motivating those who are responsible for generating creative concepts. Steve is a world-renowned engineer. During his career, he has worked with companies that employed tens of thousands of employees around the world. As a result, he has a wealth of experience regarding how leadership and management have sought to motivate their employees and, in the process, get the best out of them. The breadth of Steve's experience is quite remarkable and we are excited to tap into his wisdom and insights as he worked at the highest levels all around the world.

Communication lies at the center of everything we do, both professionally and personally... While there is no magic wand that we can apply to help us communicate more effectively, what is available to us is the experience of those who have proven themselves to be effective communicators across different cultures... brbr Our guest, Steve Burrows, CBE, has done business around the world and has been recognized for his contribution to civil and structural engineering around the world by Her Majesty the Queen... Steve is a remarkably effective communicator and will help shine a light on the fine art of communication to help us realize our dreams.

There are many who rely on meditation and yoga to provide them with the balance and tranquility they need to make wise decisions… brbr There are many who believe that they are indispensible activities for realizing one’s dreams and achieving one’s potential… brbr Our guest, Kristen Eykel, has devoted her life to teaching yoga and meditation techniques.

The Chinese word for “crisis” is made up of two Chinese characters. The first is “danger.” The second also offers an “opportunity.” brbr Many see a crisis only in the context of danger. In doing so, many show their worst personality traits as they react to the perceived danger. Many lash out at those around them. Many are abusive and are too quick to focus on who is to blame for the crisis. brbr Many of those who face the crisis of cancer, however, offer a remarkable role model to the rest of us. Although they have every reason to feel resentful, disappointed, angry and bitter, many face their crisis with an almost overwhelming dignity. By doing so, we can all learn from them how we might handle our non-cancer crises. brbr Our guest, Dr. Arash Asher, has devoted his life to supporting those with cancer and their families and loved ones. He is Director of Cancer Survivorship and Rehabilitation at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

For some, the sustainability movement is something relatively new. They associate it with clean technology, new solar panel technologies and modern wind farms. And, of course, the relatively new science of climate change and the green movement… For others, they recognize that ancient civilizations and cultures have long practiced sustainability and have a tradition of building low energy building that, for example, took advantage of prevailing winds to cool those buildings. In essence, these civilizations drew on the lessons of their past. This is a lesson we should heed. Our guest, Steve Burrows, is a world-acclaimed engineer who was Project Director on high profile projects including the Dubai Towers, the Beijing Olympic Stadium and Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Steve also created two television series that focus on how ancient civilizations build structures that stood the test of time. These series are “Engineering the Impossible” and “Time Scanners.”

While there are those who don’t believe in the powerful force of spirituality, there are many more that do.

There are those who simply accept the space they’re in. While they may not particularly like that space, they’ve learned to live there.

There are those who dream of working with others to create something quite special. To realize their dreams, they must become collaborators

There are those who dream of doing what nobody has done before them. They see and imagine what others can’t. They are the visionaries.