What is the reality-based revolution?

You can have peace, sanity, and happiness at work, and still achieve amazing results that don’t have to come at the expense of your personal well-being. It’s a concept that is taking over the world.

Why is it each of our own responsibility—not our manager’s—to calculate our precise value to our employer?

Most managers lie—not because they are bad people, but because they believe their employees can’t handle true, honest feedback. For this reason, you can’t expect accurate assessments from your manager. You can (and should) use your manager as a source of input as you evaluate your own value.

When you take responsibility for calculating your own value regularly, it becomes highly unlikely that you will get surprise negative feedback during your annual review. Taking personal responsibility for your value returns the ownership to you. I have found that this is the key to personal happiness. It helps you know what levers to pull to see the change you want in your life, without relying on others.

What is emotional expensiveness, and why does it carry more weight than any other factor in the new value equation?

Emotional expensiveness has a multiplier effect. One person’s emotional expensiveness creates drama that affects everyone, making it a greater liability. When you think about the people that exhaust you, does it really matter how good they are at their jobs? Not typically. We would rather work with someone who is easy to work with and doesn’t drain us emotionally. Organizations are no different.

How can boosting your value make you more successful and more fulfilled in your career?

Once you know how leaders in organizations actually determine your value, you can take steps to improve that value. Rock star performers who constantly hone their skills and stay drama-free get noticed very quickly. If that doesn’t happen, they are incredibly marketable. Really good people who have options are bound to be happier than less-than-stellar employees who allow their skills to fizzle out and become engrossed in stress and drama.

What can fans of your first book expect from The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace?

Fans of Reality-Based Leadership will see that I’ve provided a road map for everyone on how to be one of the favorites. The rules of the game have changed, and I’ve helped to demystify those changes as they relate to being a valuable member of any organization. In The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace, I help readers understand that I am on their side. I want the world to be a happier place, and it starts with taking personal accountability.

“Threats to brand relevance are always lurking around the corner. Your brand is virtually never immune from the risk of fading instead of being energized or being damaged instead of strengthened.”—David Aaker

We’re thrilled to announce the availability of our second product in our series of short format titles. This one is from David Aaker on something that we’re all faced with at some point: brand relevance.

As Aaker outlines in this short, to-the-point, easy-to-read, immediately-implementable piece, there are the three major issues that you need to consider if you and your organization are going to bring “big” innovation to market and create barriers to competitors. Download Three Threats to Brand Relevance to your favorite eReader or your desktop right now to put his proven strategies to work. It’s only $3.99!

Earth Day irks me. It should irk you, too, especially if you think we should be working toward a worldwide state of sustainable development. For so many companies, Earth Day has become an opportunity for press releases, cause marketing efforts, and special-edition, minimally reduced product packages. And that is all fine. But “fine” doesn’t do it if we’re truly invested in preserving our planet while simultaneously kick-starting economic growth and inclusive prosperity. I’m here to tell you that both are possible, why Earth Day only scratches the surface, and what we need to do differently.

1. First, we need to recognize that the terms “green” and “sustainability” are not interchangeable.

Earth Day is to most companies what New Year’s Day is to dieters. It’s a chance to get fired up and make some noise about “real change”—but a month later, we’re back to business as usual. “Green” is a fad diet, a quick fix. “Sustainability” encompasses broad, long-term changes that we can maintain over time to create lasting results. “Sustainability” is inclusive of social development, outreach, and the communities in which we operate.

For companies, sustainability is about achieving inclusive prosperity in perpetuity. “Green,” on the other hand, is—at best—about addressing environmental challenges alone. And that’s not enough, especially when that narrow view excludes the needs of the local communities from which companies extract natural resources. That’s narrow-minded thinking. That’s lazy. That’s choosing to cut off growth and profit opportunities. Our corporate leaders can do better. Their board directors and employees should demand better. Our public leaders can do better. And we must demand better from our elected representatives.

2. Earth Day interest among citizens leads companies to greenwash as a way to attract attention and capture new business

As long as companies believe promoting their “green” credentials in a way that goes beyond those credentials’ reality is in their best interests, they’ll continue to greenwash. But my response to these companies is: Don’t do it! Two out of three Fortune 500 companies see their sustainability efforts fail because they haven’t properly defined what sustainability is. I’ll say it again: “green” and “sustainability” are not interchangeable terms. Sustainability is not only the “green” stuff, such as environmental betterment and damage mitigation efforts—it’s also social responsibility and economic development.

Sustainability can happen, but we need to recognize the difference between quick-fixes and lasting, habitual changes that promote sustainability over the vagaries of “green.” And, just as importantly, we need to remove the corporate temptation to greenwash by educating ourselves and our fellow consumers about the difference between a “green” product and a real, sustainable business.

3. Earth Day feeds society’s collective desire for instant satisfaction and removing “to-dos” from their lists: “The pundits are telling us to reduce, reuse, and recycle. OK, today we will do so in order to feel like we did our part.”

To return to the New Year’s resolution metaphor: changing our habits on Earth Day—and only on Earth Day—is akin to crash dieting. Sure, we might make a small, temporary difference, but ultimately we may do more harm than good if we convince ourselves that we’ve done enough, and we stop there. Achieving a state of sustainability—prosperity in perpetuity—requires all of us to live sustainable behaviors daily. Earth Day encourages short-term thinking and action (let’s all turn off our lights for a period of time) and, once the day ends, citizens get to move on with their lives.

This approach simply will not cut it. Our goal should be to do away with Earth Day, not because the day is bad, and not because the activities are misguided (though some are)—but because we have finally been able to turn “one-off” activities into everyday beliefs and habits.

Once executives see that sustainability is not only broader than green but also the basis for competitive advantage, they will also begin to realize increased profit and economic development opportunities. This realization usually comes with another: “We can’t overcome our environmental and social challenges alone.” And that’s where the collaboration economy—working together with corporate rivals, with government agencies, and with society’s representatives to address common issues in a way that kick-starts inclusive prosperity—comes into play.

Earth Day must continue to exist. But not in a vacuum. We’re running out of time. Let’s draw a line in the sand. Let’s work together to tackle the greatest issues of our time. Companies will benefit by improving the likelihood of having the natural resources and the local licenses to operate as they need to succeed today and tomorrow. Governments will benefit by being relieved of some of the burden of coming up with financial capital to address problems that will likely take more than their elected terms to tackle. And we as citizens will benefit by being able to give our children a healthier and more sustainable world than the one we inherited.

Eric Lowitt is the author of The Collaboration Economy: How to Meet Business, Social, and Environmental Needs and Gain Competitive Advantage
and the founder of Nexus Global Advisors.

How do you define “conviction” in this context?

Conviction is a strong belief – belief in yourself, and belief in the people you are leading. It is the desire and belief that one can make a difference. It is the “fire in the belly” that serves as the engine of change. Without conviction, a leader’s actions do not ring true with people. It is only by leading with conviction that leaders can make a difference in their organizations, nations or families, and the Nine Pillars provide the skills needed to support that effort.

You say that leadership is the only sustainable advantage left. Why is that?

The world is quickly becoming commoditized. Speed and change with technology and universal knowledge have challenged virtually every competitive differentiation; one may copy or purchase products, processes, and strategies. What cannot be bought or copied is leadership that touches the hearts and engages the minds of the people. Leadership, when done right, can transform individuals, teams, and organizations. We know that there are no great or bad companies, only great or bad leadership. If you want innovation, motivation, and perspiration from your people, you must lead with inspiration. People are the prime mover, and effective leaders understand how to get results through their them.

You base your model of leadership on nine fundamental pillars. Are there certain pillars that leaders seem to struggle with more than others?

Each of the pillars is challenging in its own way. The most difficult is the pillar of “Knowing Oneself”; most leaders are oblivious to who they are, with limited awareness of their weaknesses. Not knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses can move organizations in the wrong direction, and sometimes into chaos. The second difficult pillar is “Collaboration”. Most societies value individual performance. When in a position of power, leaders may find it difficult to be vulnerable. Being unable to discuss issues with others can deprive the organization of realizing its full potential. Another difficulty is conducting an honest dialogue. Being able to speak the truth is not easy. In some societies like China, it is a cultural barrier known as “saving face”: some leaders want to be courteous and therefore never address what really needs to be said. Other leaders go overboard and, in the spirit of honesty, may seem uncaring or even brutal. The balance between what needs to be said and preserving the self-esteem of others is an area where many leaders are challenged. As a result, organizations live under a cloud of illusion and uncertainty.

Reaching one’s full leadership potential can be a long and difficult process. How do you encourage people to stick with it?

When we encounter leaders who are overwhelmed and discouraged, we encourage them to reflect on past behavior and analyze their contribution to the problem. What was their original vision or goal? How have they gone about pursuing their vision or goal? We offer them the opportunity to solicit feedback from others about how they come across. We make the case to listen more and talk less; to observe more and control less. We help them to listen to others as well as their own inner voice. We have them identify small wins they have had, which results in a more positive perspective. As they begin to understand themselves and their challenges in a more balanced way, they rededicate themselves to their leadership journey.

You’ve worked with leaders all over the world. Are these pillars universal?

Throughout our work around the world, we believe that the pillars are universal and timeless. The leadership challenges in various cultures are more similar than they are different. The concepts expresses in the pillars, when executed effectively, create better leaders who get better results wherever they may be. It is hard to argue with universal ideas like self-awareness and reflection, the need for collaboration, addressing conflict constructively, and coaching to develop and grow people.

Learn more about Leading with Conviction and order you copy here.