Stanford GSB Executive Education’s Post

“It’s lonely being the CEO of a company. What I loved about Stanford was I was sitting next to 30 other leaders who could be my virtual board of directors. I realized I wasn’t an island anymore because of this program. – Maurice Brewster The Black Leaders Program gave Maurice Brewster, founder and CEO of Mosaic Global Transportation, the knowledge and insights to grow as a business leader, role model, and mentor. Read to learn more about  his experience. #StanfordGSBExecEd https://lnkd.in/gwx3t-28

Third-party verification — what accountants call “assurance” — is crucial in ensuring companies produce quality financial reports. According to Associate Professor Brandon Gipper, the same is true for #ESG reporting. Working with Shawn Shi, PhD ’23, Gipper compiled 4,000 ESG reports published by S&P 500 firms between 2010 and 2020. The two then mined those reports for information on the firms’ ESG assurance practices relating to 11 metrics, from emissions and energy use to employees’ racial and gender demographics. Over the 10 years studied, Gipper and Shi observed that assurance of ESG reporting rose from 16% to 46%. The next step was to figure out what effect, if any, the increase in external auditing had on the quality of those disclosures. In the case of carbon emissions, Gipper and Shi found that assurance improved the quality of firms’ carbon accounting, sometimes by up to 34%. The more rigorous the assurance, the more accurate the accounting became. As Shi explains, “When you have a third party come in and help you verify these voluntarily disclosed numbers, the quality of those disclosed numbers goes up.” Gipper and Shi’s research is already informing policymakers and Gipper is hopeful it can guide current and future corporate leaders. As the next generation of business students focuses on sustainability, Gipper says, “They’ll have something to look at to tell them how they’re doing.” https://lnkd.in/gKBCevD7

“Go in with an open mind and see what the experience can offer you. The dividends will pay off through the coaching, the guidance, and the relationships you make.” – Ellen DeSanctis Ellen DeSanctis was senior VP at a multinational corporation when she retired. But her work wasn’t done. The Directors’ Consortium helped her prepare for the next chapter. Read to learn more about her experience. #StanfordGSBExecEd https://lnkd.in/g9JW8uaF

Clothing production can involve wasteful and harmful practices. In this new paper, Stanford GSB researchers explore how the apparel industry could refashion itself with #sustainability in mind. Barchi Gillai is the associate director of the Value Chain Innovation Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business. With Professor Hau Lee, Jessica Landzberg, MBA ’23, and Nina Sabharwal, MBA ’23, Gillai examined the harmful production processes behind everyday materials and ways to make them more sustainable. Polyester relies on fossil fuels. Not only is the fabric made from petrochemicals, it’s also energy-intensive to produce. The researchers propose switching to renewable energy and substituting virgin polyester with biosynthetic material and fibers that utilize carbon dioxide waste. Cotton production utilizes pesticides and consumes massive amounts of water. The coauthors advocate for non-chemical methods of pest control and conserving water through drip irrigation. While the researchers identify many problems on the production side, they recognize that consumers also contribute to the impact of fast fashion. “Consumers [must] take a part in this effort,” Gillai says. “If we embrace the need for change and if our shopping habits reflect this understanding, then we can help drive change in this industry.” https://lnkd.in/gDTA7FVF

“Stanford made this program very, very compact, with a whole lot of content. And they made it possible to do it in two weeks. And that’s what I wanted.” – Alexander Gruß Alexander attended the Executive Program in Strategy and Organization to prepare himself to take on a more significant executive role when it comes. He came away from the programs with new tools for tackling strategic problems, a broader view of leadership, and a global network of friends. Read to learn more about his experience. #StanfordGSBExecEd https://lnkd.in/gbB5BxGB

If you want to be a leader, you have to be ready for tough conversations. According to Professor Irv Grousbeck, that means communicating with conviction and compassion. In this episode of ‘Think Fast, Talk Smart’, Grousbeck, co-founder of Stanford GSB's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, emphasizes that effective communication balances seemingly opposing qualities: directness with respect, and strength with warmth. “Many students feel that if you’re direct with someone, somehow that’s harsh,” he says. “The art of good conversation management does involve directness and respect at the same time.” When approaching tough conversations, Grousbeck recommends using “we” to create a collaborative, rather than adversarial atmosphere. “The magic word in many of these conversations is ‘we,’” he says. By reframing conflict as collaboration, “both you and the other person are looking together at the problem to find a solution that works for both parties,” he says. Grousbeck says leaders also need to be compassionate, which they can achieve by speaking the truth even when it’s difficult. “Don’t mistake vagueness for compassion,” he says. “Being vague with somebody is not being compassionate. They deserve to know where they stand.” By balancing directness, respect, collaboration, and clarity, leaders can navigate tough conversations more successfully, fostering better relationships and outcomes within their teams and organizations. https://lnkd.in/g96RXaU8

Sign up today for a free weeklong preview of the Stanford LEAD online business program!   Experience a taste of Stanford LEAD July 16-24, 2024. During this preview, you’ll  join Stanford GSB faculty member Hayagreeva Rao and a global cohort of leaders to unlock the secrets of successful change management. 95% of past LEADers say Stanford LEAD was worth the investment. Don’t miss your opportunity to find out why! https://lnkd.in/g7CZh2kY

Investors are often attracted to the magnetism of eccentric CEOs. But as Associate Professor Amir Goldberg finds, charismatic leadership doesn’t always correlate with financial success. In a new study, Goldberg and several colleagues used a deep-learning model to analyze over 60,000 earnings call transcripts, observing how executives’ strikingly unorthodox language and persona — their "performative atypicality" — impacted analysts’ projections. They found that analysts assigned a premium to firms like Tesla and Green Dot, whose leaders tended to speak more unconventionally. The more a CEO’s behavior and speech seemed to mimic that of celebrated innovators, the higher the premium. However, this "atypicality premium" proved unjustified, as companies with atypical leaders tended to underperform compared to forecasts. Eccentricity and charisma, the researchers found, don’t always drive profitability. Goldberg cautions investors and analysts to rethink their assumptions about what makes a good leader. “If we interpret eccentricity or charisma as a signal of other qualities, like strategic vision or leadership — under the pressure to discover the next big thing — we end up making the same mistakes,” he says. #leadership https://lnkd.in/gFKuPf96

“If you’re only looking at one outcome, such as ‘I’m going to win or I’m going to lose,’ you’ve already lost.” – Kate Thompson Kate Thompson spends much of her time negotiating with developers and others to bring housing, hotels, cultural anchors, and landscape improvements to the once-downtrodden Rivers District Community in Calgary, Canada. In charge of overseeing $1 billion in development projects, Kate attended the Influence and Negotiation Strategies Program to reinforce her negotiation skills and embrace her influence – with the goal of delivering strongly on her organization’s urban renewal goals. Read to learn more about her experience. #StanfordGSBExecEd https://lnkd.in/gxa38-SQ