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In March 2024, Bill Anderson, pharma giant Bayers CEO, wrote an op-ed in Fortune vowing to bust bureaucracy, slash red tape, and eliminate layers of middle management to create a more agile and innovative enterprise. Our radical reinvention will liberate our people while cutting 2 billion euros in annual costs by 2026, he wrote. I wrote soon after that what Anderson was doing wasnt genuine transformation but had all the telltale signs of transformation theater: a false sense of urgency calling for drastic action when none is needed, a rushed strategic process (with little or no time for analysis or dissent), and a large, premature public rollout. Today, more than a year later, Bayers stock remains near all-time lows and investors are increasingly frustrated and its not hard to see why. Anderson went into an organization that was already reeling and introduced even more stress and disruption, with predictable results. If you want to create genuine transformation, you need to start by creating a sense of safety. The Disruption Mindset By publishing his manifesto in Fortune just nine months into his tenure, Anderson was following the advice of many change gurus: create urgency. Burn the boats. Announce the plan loudly and publicly so theres no turning back. Thats the disruption mindset. But was that really necessaryor even helpful? The problems that Bayer faced had been building for years. Its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto made it liable for billions of dollars of lawsuits related to the herbicide Roundup, which is thought to cause cancer. The firm had been building up debt for years and it had long been clear that patents of blockbuster drugs, such as Xarelto, were set to expire. None of this was a secret to anyone. As Anderson himself noted, the stock price had fallen by half during his tenure and was at a 20-year low. Its also not clear how a reorganization would address those problems. Litigation and debt dont immediately disappear just because you eliminate middle managers, nor does it help discover new drugs to replace expiring patents. Consider what the last few years have been like for a typical Bayer employee. First came a massive restructuring after the Monsanto deal. Then came years of public headlines about lawsuits, debt, and falling performance. And now, a new CEO storms in and announces hes eliminating thousands of jobs and redesigning every role and process in the company. Would that make you feel liberated, as Anderson put it? Or terrified? The Truth About Disruption And Performance A key rationale underlying the disruption mindset is that it promotes creativity and innovation. Undermining the status quo, the logic goes, creates space for the new and different. Yet there is little evidence that this is an effective approach and much that suggests a disruptive environment impairs creativity and innovation. In Cultures of Growth, Stanford social psychologist Mary C. Murphy points out that disruption impedes the growth mindset that is so necessary for supporting an innovative culture. In particular, she cites Amy Edmondsons research on psychological safety, which indicates that fear inhibits learning. She also points to laboratory experiments that suggest that performance goals impede working memory, a key component of creative thinking. One thing that you begin to notice when you spend a lot of time around people who perform at a world-class level is that they are more prone to anxiety. So when you shake things up, youre most likely to rattle the very people you can least afford to lose and who can most easily leave. Bayers business is, on a certain level, fairly simple: As long as it produces a steady stream of breakthrough discoveries, things will go well. But once that dries up, it becomes very tough to make money. Sustaining that flow means attracting and motivating exactly the kind of smart, ambitious people who are most vulnerable toand least tolerant ofdisruptive management. Stability Fuels Innovation My friend Whitney Johnson has argued passionately for the need to disrupt ourselves. It is only through venturing out of our comfort zones that we can explore new things, gain new skills, and push our boundaries. Thats what makes the difference between mediocre also-rans and truly top performers. Yet when we had Whitney on the Changemaker Mindset podcast, I noticed something interesting. Whenever she reached a juncture where she needed to disrupt herself, she always mentioned her husband. As we discussed the pattern further, it soon became clear that it was the love and support from her husband that provided the safety and stability she needed to continually disrupt herself. Whitneys not alone. We all need a sense of safety if we are going to take risks. Thats why, when IBM was on the verge of collapse, Lou Gerstner made sure his first trip was t IBMs famed Thomas Watson Research Center, not to demand results, but to reassure the scientists that he was committed to supporting their work. When Alcoa was at a similar point, its new CEO, Paul ONeill, made his commitment to safety, not profits. Many would say that all sounds nice, but naive. The real world is hard-nosed and cutthroat. Yet both Gerstner and ONeill were seasoned leaders, not wide-eyed idealists, and both took failing companies and transformed them into record-setting profitability in a short time. They did it not by disrupting their organizations, but by making them feel safe enough to embrace change. Creating Safety In 1997, when Clayton Christensen first published The Innovators Dilemma and introduced the term disruptive innovation, it was a clarion call. His key insight was that, under certain conditions, the basis of competition in an industry shifts, and the strategies that once made incumbents successful can suddenly make them vulnerable. Yet what Christensen didnt anticipate was how seductive the idea of disruption would become. Soon, all manner of punditsmost of whom never read his book or understood his conceptswere preaching the gospel of disruption. Before you knew it, everything had to be disrupted all the time. But the truth was, we werent disrupting industries, but disrupting people. The unfortunate reality is that when most leaders talk about disruption, theyre not thinking about business strategy but elevating themselves. Disruption becomes a personal brand. A way to feel bold, daring, and visionary. Yet while they are glorifying themselves, theyre making things harder for everyone else and theres a cost to that. Genuinely visionary leaders know that disruption and safety go hand in hand. The safer you make your organization, the more you empower your people to think boldly, take risks, and explore new territory. The more stress you create, the more you drain cognitive capacity, limit creativity and shrink the space people have for insight, collaboration, and original thinking. To truly lead an enterprise, you need to empower the people in it. You do that by building trust, which can only thrive in an environment of safety and well-being. If you want bold action, you need to create a space in which it can thrive.
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E-Commerce
You had a whirlwind romance, and it was glorious. It started with a sun-drenched walk along a sandy beach and a frozen margarita from a swim-up bar. Your skin glistened, and the breeze smelled like citrus and pure freedom. You felt light, present, and unstoppable, remembering what it was like to laugh, breathe, and to finish a sentence without checking your email. Email? Whats email? Youre ready to become a full-time luddite with great skin. That radiant, unplugged, full-of-life version of you was your Out-Of-Office Self. And you fell hard. Head over heels. Ready to propose on the second date and elope on the third. But now the honeymoon is quite literally over, and youre staring at a suitcase that despite incredible advances in technology still wont unpack itself. Your inbox has needs that you have no desire to meet. Your manager wants just a quick sync. And the Slack and Teams pings seem to have unionized. God help us all. Now you’re sitting at your desk with post-vacation whiplash, wondering how to reconnect with Professional You without ghosting your Out-of-Office Self . . . or setting your laptop on fire. Welcome to the post-vacation breakup. Here’s how to survive it. Step 1: Honor the love you shared Dont pretend it didnt happen. You shouldnt sprint into your first day back like you didnt just spend a full week napping at noon, sipping something cold under an umbrella, and avoiding adult responsibilities. Your nervous system has a transition period, not a toggle switch, and its time to adjust. What this looks like in practice: Block off the first half of your first day back. Seriously. Decline meetings. Mute notifications. Give yourself 90 minutes of soft reentry to check your calendar, read your emails (then reread them), sip water like its a coping mechanism, and even stare into the void. Your brain needs to stretch before the sprint. Step 2: The first few meetings are like awkward post-breakup coffees Youre not the same person who clocked out the other week to catch a plane. You tasted freedom, and it was delicious. Five-star Michelin level. And now? Youre back on Zoom, nodding politely while someone goes way too deep on a conversation that absolutely couldve been an email. Deep breaths. Its okay to feel weird, annoyed, and wondering if you should have just bought a coffee shop and moved to that tiny coastal town. What this looks like in practice: This one is going to be tough, but resist the urge to swoop in and take charge. Dont offer to lead the meeting. And for the love of all that is holy, do not start volunteering for projects. Yes, youre good at jumping in and want to be helpful. But the impulse to come in hot is just a reflex to try to reassert control, show you still matter, and that youre back. You are good at your job, and a week or two away doesnt change that. Channel your vacation yogi and take a breath. Then ask questions like, Can you catch me up on where this stands? and let others do the talking. Stay curious and quiet. This isnt about avoiding responsibility, its about not steamrolling the lightness and clarity youve newly acquired. Step 3: Be emotionally honest (without sounding like a vacation martyr) No one loves the coworker who returns from paradise and starts every sentence with In Mexico . . . But pretending your soul didnt just taste oxygen? Thats not it either. What this looks like in practice:Say: Im back and catching up, trying to give myself some space so I can be useful by Thursday. Ping me if somethings urgent. You dont owe anyone an Oscar-worthy performance, just a human update. Because you are, after all, human. Shocking. Step 4: Dont go back to your situationship Time for some real talk . . . the version of work you left behind? It may not be the one worth recommitting to. Vacation doesnt just offer rest. It provides much needed clarity. The late-night emails, overscheduled Tuesdays, and projects that keep getting reprioritized might not be your forever match. And thats totally okay. What this looks like in practice:Sit down (coffee optional, but recommended) and ruthlessly audit your calendar. That standing 10 a.m. meeting? Maybe it can be async work. Truly reclaim your lunch break. And no, eating a salad while skimming a presentation doesnt count. Let one bad habit die so something better can live. Step 5: Let your OOO self leave a toothbrush (and maybe some pajamas) You dont have to choose between Vacation You and Work You. The goal shouldnt be a breakup but integration. What this looks like in practice:Keep one habit from vacation alive and thriving. Ten minutes of quiet coffee before inbox doomscrolling. Midday walks, even if it’s just pacing around your kitchen. A weekly Vortex of Creativity block on your calendar for deep work. Your OOO self had some (maybe not all!) good instincts, let one or two stick around. This isnt a breakup. Its a reunion You dont have to erase Vacation You to function at work. You just have to reintroduce them to each other. Vacation Self, meet Work Self. Hey, we both like coffee. That seems like something we can build a relationship from . . . Let your team meet the slightly softer, more present version of you. Let your calendar witness you . . . rest. Radical, I know. Youre still smart. Still capable. Still valuable. Even if you’re emotionally unavailable for the first 48 hours back.
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E-Commerce
In our chaotic and fast-paced world, emotional intelligence keeps us grounded. It helps us be successful in our work and remain satisfied with our lives. Often we focus on what it means to be emotionally intelligent, and what actions emotionally intelligent people take. However, we rarely ask what things emotionally intelligent people dont do. Here are seven habits emotionally intelligent people avoid at all costs. 1. Reacting impulsively Emotionally intelligent people know how important it is to not act impulsively. They understand that they are vulnerable in situations where they experience strong feelings and have trained themselves to wait until their emotions settle down. They are able to think through how to respond, instead of reacting from their emotions. This results in better decision-making and fewer regrets. 2. Suppressing their emotions While emotionally intelligent people dont let their emotions run amok, they also dont ignore or suppress their emotions. They will acknowledge and share their emotions during appropriate and safe situations. They understand that it helps them process their emotions if they are able to name and share their emotions in the right situation. In my book, Emotional Intelligence Game Changers, I delve more deeply into how to overcome negative emotions. 3. Finding fault with, criticizing, and putting others down While they will give feedback to others, emotionally intelligent people will never do this to punish them, belittle them, or make them feel bad. They will give feedback to help the other person make positive changes and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Their feedback will include providing alternative ways that the person could have dealt with a situation more effectively. 4. Gossiping Emotionally intelligent people recognize the dangers and toxicity of gossiping. They avoid people who gossip and refuse to encourage it. They prefer to make their own judgements of others, and if they have a problem with someone else, they chose to deal with them directly. They trust their own judgement and wont be easily swayed by the opinion of others or get caught up in groupthink. 5. Blowing setbacks and failures out of proportion We all have to deal with setbacks and failures. People with high emotional intelligence dont allow themselves to see failure as an indicator that they are personally flawed. They chose to frame failure as an opportunity for feedback for what they could do better or differently in the future. Instead of ruminating on what went wrong and what could have been done differently, they see the value in the lessons learned and understand that mistakes are a stepping stone to making better choices in the future. 6. Avoiding tough conversations Emotionally intelligent people do not enjoy difficult conversations more than anyone else does. They recognize, however, the perils of not having them. Instead of avoiding hard truths, they prepare for them. They make sure they are emotionally in control, and the conversation is in a private space. They do their best to be respectful, listen, look for opportunities for collaboration, and brainstorm constructive ideas for moving forward. 7. Holding grudges Like everyone else, emotionally intelligent people can feel hurt, betrayed, angry, and vengeful. However, they realize that holding grudges will only hurt them by taking up energy that could be more effectively used in their own growth and development. They may not forget, but instead chose to focus their energies on the positive and the future instead of things that have upset them in the past. If they do look back, they use it as a learning opportunity, rather than dwelling upon the wrong that was done to them.
Category:
E-Commerce
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