Leaders in London

I recently received a summary of 'sound-bites' from some of the high-profile presenters at this year's Leaders in London conference

These are the ones that particularly caught my attention:


RENÉ CARAYOL: Management vs Leadership

"If management is what we do, leadership is how we feel."

"Managers talk strategy. Leaders tell stories."



EDWARD DE BONO: On which comes first, ideas or data?

"I was in the desert and our guide was explaining the spikes on the local cacti. 'It's so they don't get eaten,' he said. 'No, it's not,' I said. 'The spikes help keep the air around the plant still, to minimise evaporation.' Everyone thinks it's to stop animals eating them. They looked at the data and came up with the idea. And that became the received wisdom. In fact, it's the wrong idea. Many organizations believe that if they collect enough data in their computers that will set their strategy for them. In fact, unless you see the data in different ways, you will be stuck with the same old notions."



MARCUS BUCKINGHAM: There's no such thing as corporate culture

"There is no great company culture, so stop looking for it. The best you can say about a great company is that it is the accumulation of lots of great teams. Culture varies enormously within large organizations."