No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Die!
James Bond: Executive Coach?
What's in this month's Newsletter?
Main Feature: Bond, James Bond
Jobs and Talent
What I’ve Been Reading (Updated Format)
Personal and Professional Updates
Goldfinger - The Man with the… Leadership Blind Spot?
There’s an iconic scene in the famous James Bond film ‘Goldfinger’. You know the one I’m talking about: It’s the scene where Bond lies chained to a gold-plated table deep in Goldfinger’s lair while a laser menacingly burns toward Bond, who appears doomed to die a very painful and exotic death.
It’s a brilliant scene that I love for many reasons. Chief among them: Bond’s impromptu executive coaching. (Okay, stick with me here).
Rendered physically incapacitated on Goldfinger’s sacrificial altar, Bond first attempts to bargain with Goldfinger for his life only to quickly realize that Goldfinger has no interest in dealmaking (“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!”). Finally realizing the precariousness of his predicament, Bond then attempts what any handsome middle-aged British spy would venture to do when there are only moments to spare: Talk his way out of it.
Bond: Well, you're forgetting one thing. If I fail to report, 008 replaces me.
Goldfinger: I trust he will be more successful.
Bond: Well, he knows what I know!
Goldfinger: You know nothing, Mr. Bond.
So far, not so good. As the laser creeps toward an unfortunate point of contact and time is about to run out, Bond puts all his cards on the table and calls out the codename of Goldfinger’s secret plan: “Operation Grand Slam, for instance.” After a bit of delay, Goldfinger calls his bluff: “Two words you may have overheard, which cannot have the slightest significance to you or anyone in your organization.”
With only time for one last barb, Bond drops the hammer in the form of a brilliant question:
“....can you afford to take that chance?”
In this question, Goldfinger immediately sees Bond's logic. “You are quite right, Mr. Bond, you are worth more to me alive,” he admits as he switches off the deadly laser.
The dark lighting, the violin crescendo, the jump cuts. It’s drama at its finest (watch it here in full). But what’s it got to do with executive coaching?
****
First off, notice that it’s a question which moves Goldfinger to act. Not a plea or statement of fact. But it’s not just any powerful question, it is a question that forces Goldfinger to consider something that none of us like to ponder but all leaders know they must: It’s a question about his blind spots.
Donald Rumsfeld famously said “We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know.” Leaders – executives and otherwise – always rightly fear the unknown unknowns.
Lately, I keep hearing from leaders across industries that along with this evergreen concern they now fear a growing amount of known unknowns. That is, there is quite a bit they are certain that they don’t understand. And chief among these known unknowns is how they are doing as leaders.
This fear – that we are not operating with anywhere near complete knowledge of how our people actually view us – has been exacerbated by remote/hybrid work and become an elevated concern by a job market highly favorable to job seekers. What we don’t know has hurt us and will continue to do so. Our blind spots are growing more opaque.
To help address this need, I began creating a new product: The Leadership Blind Spot Analysis. A short, sweet service for leaders that involves psychometrics, feedback, and coaching in less than a month.
We begin with the Hogan Assessment suite consisting of the Hogan Personality Inventory, Hogan Development Survey, and the Motives, Values, and Preferences Inventory. We review the results together – results which indicate our reputational personality, or how we are likely to show up at work – and use them to create a custom 360 feedback survey which we then email out to colleagues. Finally, the results are calibrated into a simple one-page Leadership Blind Spot Analysis which anchors two executive coaching sessions. It’s an easy, simple approach that doesn’t disrupt any organizational performance management processes.
And I’m looking for a few guinea pigs who want to go through the process as I begin to roll out this product! So if you’re interested in this for yourself or for anyone at your organization, please let me know right away.
I can’t promise to be as dashing as Sean Connery circa 1964 (my wife enjoys watching these old Bond films with me quite a bit…). But I can suggest that if you’re a leader – or support a leader – who isn’t overly concerned with possible blind spots right now, you should ask yourself: Can you afford to take that chance?
At the very least, I can offer a bit of wisdom: A leader who doesn’t believe they have any meaningful blind spots has just proven that they do.
“True intuitive expertise is learned from prolonged experience with good feedback on mistakes.” – Daniel Kahneman
Jobs and Talent
Jobs:
HR Coordinator, Lionsgate (Colorado): My friend and former classmate is searching for an HR coordinator. ”We're looking for someone who is eager to learn and enjoys working in the Learning & Engagement space.”
Talent:
Are you – or is someone you know – on the job hunt? Let me know. Maybe I can showcase them here!
What I’ve Been Reading:
I’ve gotten mixed feedback on this section of the Newsletter. A handful have said they enjoy it while most… haven’t said anything at all, which I take to indicate a collective shrug. With that in mind, I’m going to be moving this section of the Newsletter strictly to the LinkedIn on the 4th of every month. It would make me very happy if you would subscribe to the LinkedIn version right here.
Personal & Professional Updates
Little Charlotte had a great time at a family wedding and managed to not have a total meltdown on the airplane or in the Atlanta airport…. which is more than I can say for any reasonable person visiting the Atlanta airport.
The Leadership Blind Spot Analysis is now available for an introductory price offer - please let me know if you or someone in your organization would benefit from it!
There are two more new products/services I’m going to be rolling out in the coming weeks/months… so please stay tuned!
That's it for this edition - please reach out if I can be at all helpful.
Be compassionate and intentional.