John B. Izzo's Blog

When it comes to our careers, lives and leadership we are always looking for a superpower, something that will take us to the next level. I recently sat down with a company called Career Success to discuss what I have learned in my thirty years coaching leaders. It was a great conversation captured in an audio and video podcast. We covered a lot of ground on how to be a better leader and grow your career/life.

They asked for me for a career superpower and the answer was easy: The capacity to seek and use feedback to improve. One of my mentors Ken Blanchard called feedback “the breakfast of champions” and he was right. Yet most of us don’t seek it, don’t open up to it and then make changes based on it.

Research shows that one of the main reasons people stall in their careers or fail to rise as leaders is because of important feedback they received (often early in their careers) that they didn’t take seriously.

And we shouldn’t wait for feedback to come to us. We should seek it- even beg for it! Leaders should ask their people “What one or two things if I did them differently would make me an even better leader?” Spouses should ask their partner the same question. We should ask our children how we could be a better parent (Yes, they will tell you if you listen).

Asking for feedback is one thing, really being open to it is another. Most of us respond to feedback defensively. We respond by saying “Thank you…but” which means we are about to defend. Instead say “Thank you, tell me more.” Lean deeply into curiosity.

I see this in business too. Customers or clients give us important feedback and instead of being curious about their experiences we start defending. We learn nothing from defense and everything from humility.

The podcast was filled with lots of other great ideas for your career and life, so I hope you will take a listen. Meanwhile, who did you ask for feedback from today and did you REALLY listen to it? Doing so is a Superpower!

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about online dating and what that business model teaches us about customer loyalty in the digital age. Stay with me.

Over the past decade, we have come to the point where over fifty percent of people in the USA and Canada met their partner online. Dig a little deeper and it turns out that thirty percent or so met through online dating apps while the other twenty plus percent met through other online means like forums, social media and/or connecting after meeting during an online meeting. That’s why I was fascinated when the CEO of Match (the largest dating platform that also owns Tinder), Spencer Rascoff, recently addressed Gen Z’s shifting attitudes toward online dating. He’s been vocal about how dating apps need to evolve, especially as Gen Z users seek more authentic, low-pressure ways to connect. Rascoff acknowledged that apps can feel like a “numbers game,” leaving users frustrated and disconnected.

Honestly, I think the online dating mentality has infected almost every business. We send emails and texts instead of calls, the in-person lunch replaced by a quick zoom catch-up.

We forget at our peril that people desire real human connection – perhaps more than ever. The neuroscience suggests that loyalty to a brand or a business is more often driven by feelings than by facts. I do a great deal of work in the banking sector and one of the real challenges in retail banking is that most of us do most of our banking electronically. We rarely have personal connection. What banks are discovering is that it’s hard to keep people loyal in a digital world where a small quarter point interest from a fintech means people take their money elsewhere.  When loyalty gets disconnected from something personal, trouble follows.

I’ve been with the same bank for over thirty years mostly because I always had someone personal at the branch who knew me, cared about me and helped me when I needed it. I moved four times during those years and for three of those moves, one person at the branch made sure I was connected to someone at the new location. I call that the “Golden Thread.” Each time they kept the personal thread going. But the last time I moved, no one did that.

And guess what, over the last three years I have moved almost half the money to other places. They didn’t do anything wrong, but I lost that personal connection. Like internet dating, when the next offer from a fintech came along it was easy to swipe “right.”

So maybe Gen Z turning off internet dating is the canary in the coal mine for all of us. The power of remembering people’s names, of having a personal connection, of building valuable relationships, and of finding ways to make personal connections is more important than ever. Instead of sending that email, make a call. While it sure is efficient to meet by zoom, never forget the power of a “sit down” lunch face to face.

I’m doing a series of events this summer with branch leaders at one of the largest banks in the world. You can bet I am reminding those leaders that we long for real connections in an age of apps and impersonal algorithms. As you know, much of my work is about connecting with our team members and our customers.

Today, with almost half my assets now somewhere else, I am still waiting for a real human being to call me from the bank. I’ll let you know if the call ever comes.

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Ok bet I had you with the subject line? You were wondering what the heck is in Izzo’s mind now, talking about dogs, lions and sticks?

As the proud pet parent of two Golden Doodles, I know they both love sticks. If you throw it, they’re heading towards the stick at breakneck speed. I, the stick thrower, am but a small afterthought — it is the stick that interests them.

But what happens if you throw a stick in front of a lion? Fetch! Well, having spent some time around lions in Uganda, I can say it probably isn’t a very good idea. But what if you did? What you would discover is that the lion has little interest in the stick. The lion will turn and look at you. They aren’t all that interested in the stick; they want to find out the source of the stick because whatever is going on—lions seek the source of that important happening.

We discussed this metaphor in my latest podcast episode with Otto Scharmer from M.I.T. who has, like myself, been a student of systems thinking for most of his career. When you are thinking in systems, the result may be interesting but THE SOURCE which created the result is what really matters.

This is true in our lives, true for us as leaders, true for the organizations we lead and true for the societies we live in.

Why am I reacting this way to this person or situation, perhaps with anger? The person or situation is the stick but my history and how I see the world, how I interpret the actions of others, my own self-esteem and my other internal factors all comprise the source.

Why is our organization producing less than stellar results? The results are the stick but our culture, our relationships with our customers, our values, and our way of working– these are the sources.

Why is our society so polarized? The rants on social media and the inability to come together to solve problems are the stick, but the source is much deeper. On this one, it’s difficult to pinpoint the source but there are multiple factors. We mostly seek biased information from people who agree with us, and we rarely listen deeply to others, especially not those we disagree with. The personalities in media and politics today gain popular attention by feeding off dissent and division, and by giving them audience, we let them brew conflict instead of meaningful discussion. We cannot become less polarized without looking at the source of division, because that’s where the answer lies.

Scharmer grew up on a regenerative farm in Germany long before farms were labelled as such, they just were. His father told him that everything came back to the soil, that good soil produced good crops.

We tend to not focus on the source or the soil because it’s hard work. Looking at oneself requires deep attention, looking honestly at our culture and relationships requires soul searching and trying to find the roots of polarization is a lot more difficult than ranting at each other or complaining about the symptom.

In the weeks and months ahead, every time you become aware of a result, person, situation or system that isn’t to your liking – take your eye off the stick and ask: What is the source and what can I do about that? Because one thing is for sure: so long as you focus on the stick, nothing will really change or shift, but if you turn towards the source then a new way becomes possible.

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There is an old story about a man whose horse and carriage were stuck in the middle of a muddy stream when along came a philosopher who asked him, “Hey friend, have you thought about what the meaning of life is?”  To which the man replied with disdain, “Can’t you see I am stuck in the mud and don’t have time for a silly question like that!”

As someone who has been speaking about Purpose in business and life for over thirty years, I think a lot about that story these days. With global uncertainty, political turmoil, tariffs and rumours of recession, why would any business or leader focus on purpose with all this going on?

Well let me make the case that this is EXACTLY the time that purpose matters. Think about times in your own life when you had to overcome adversity, a time when you had to keep going even though things were difficult. I’m guessing the thing that got you through was focusing on why it mattered that you kept fighting.

As many of you know, my most popular book is Stepping Up in which I feature stories of people and teams that stepped up to make good things happen. When leaders ask me how to get their people to Step Up, I always ask this question, “Why should they step up?” Why does it matter that your company succeeds, that your products and services get in the hands of the people who need them? In other words, what’s your purpose?

In my experience, when times get challenging, we tend to start focusing too much on the numbers and not nearly enough on why it matters that we move the numbers. One of my current clients is FM, a large global property insurance company that insures properties for some of the largest companies in the world. They have a powerful stated purpose: We help protect your purpose. Yes, they insure properties, but their purpose is to help companies keep fulfilling and succeeding at their purpose. For that reason, they don’t simply cover your risk, the team of engineers and professionals help their customers prepare for, mitigate and avoid risk.

I’m pretty sure if a recession does come (they always do) that the team at FM will continue to pour their hearts into winning because winning isn’t just about numbers, it’s about this hundred- year-old plus company doing what it has always done-fulfill its purpose to protect their client’s purpose.

And if you think this doesn’t matter in your own life, remember that when we know our purpose and focus on it, research shows we are happier, more resilient and live longer.

So, if you or year team feel stuck in the mud, you might want to remember an old Zen saying: Meditate for fifteen minutes a day unless you are very busy, in which case mediate for an hour. In other words, staying connected to what really matters is even more important when things are tough. That way you and your people can remember why you started crossing that muddy stream in the first place.

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These past two weeks my life has been saturated with the one game I most love. As many of you know, I play tennis 4-5 times a week, play in tournaments and just spent two weeks after my return from a speaking tour in Miami and London to watch the world’s best tennis players compete at Indian Wells here in California. I saw seventeen year old Mirra Andreeva  take out the world # 1 and #2 players to win the championship. Then it occurred to me-I have never blogged about tennis, even though its such a big part of my life.

So, what has tennis taught me about, well, everything.

First. Focus on getting better more than you focus on the score. One of my tennis mentors told me “You play better when you aren’t focused on the score.” In any given match or point, the most important thing is whether I am getting better each time I play. Are my strokes improving, is my footwork getting better and am I adjusting each moment to my opponent’s game? On any given day, I may lose or win but if I focus on getting better at those three things, I will win more often. Business and life are like that. We may lose a sale or miss a metric but are we getting better at the important parts of our “game” and learning even when we lose?

Second. Judgment is the enemy of change, but awareness is the path to progress. One of my best coaches, Mark Sun, gave me a great piece of advice. After each point, especially if you lose, don’t judge yourself. Just notice what happened and ask what you might do differently next time. Research shows when we judge ourselves, we get discouraged or quit whether it’s trying to be better at some aspect of leadership, living a healthier lifestyle or persevering through an obstacle to reach a goal. But awareness is the path to progress. After each meeting – what did I notice? After each presentation – what did I notice? After each sales call – what did I notice? By being aware and asking those two simple questions, what did I notice and what do I want to do differently next time, we stay positive and keep making progress.

Third, Know your superpower. One of my coaches said to me once that every new player who comes to him for coaching wants to work on the weakest part of their game. Then he asked this question: Why would you want to spend all your time practicing the one shot you hope you never have to hit? In my case, my crosscourt forehand is my superpower. In fact, when people first play me, they often say: “Oh yeah you’re the guy with the forehand.” I do practice the lesser parts of my game, but I practice my forehand just as much or even more. The better I get at my superpower, the less I’ll have to hit any other shot. Businesses, leaders and professionals also have superpowers. They are the things that make us successful. We should work on our weaknesses, but it’s even more important to get so good at what we do best that we can outcompete every time.

Finally, I’ve learned that a happy life includes something you love so much you could do it every day and never get tired of it. I found that on the tennis court. My good friend Gene has been playing the game for seventy years and will turn ninety next week. He just gave up singles a few months ago. I am pretty sure finding something he loved is one of the secrets to a long and happy life.

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In 1969, there was a romantic comedy titled If It’s Tuesday it must be Belgium. The film was about a man taking a 9-country, 18-day tour of Europe. The phrase came to be used for a situation where your head is spinning and never even sure what city you are in.

Well, this is how many business leaders are feeling about now. It seems like every day there is a new headline and shift of direction. Tariffs or no tariffs, a war is ending or is a new one beginning, is AI the biggest business opportunity ever or about to become a commodity before it even becomes big, will insurance (or the inability to get it in a changing climate) be the next financial crisis? Oh, then there is the asteroid that now has a one in forty-three chance of hitting Earth in 2032 or the rapid acceleration of Bird Flu but stay calm-at least for now. That’s why my new keynote Future Proof Leadership is so timely.

Uncertainty is the new certainty.

How do we lead with so much up in the air? How do we become Future Proof? Here are my four principles for leading amidst uncertainty:

Prepare for multiple futures. Right now, there isn’t one future ahead of us. There are multiple futures. Leaders need to identify all the plausible futures and get Future Proof for the most disruptive ones. Whether in your industry or the global situation, it is critical to be as ready as we can to adapt to whatever might come.

Don’t be a Spectator. One of the temptations right now is to become passive just waiting to see what happens next. But the future isn’t a destination waiting for us to arrive. We need to be active in creating the future we want to happen. Part of being Future Proof is asking “what is the future we most want to happen and what can WE do to make it more likely.” This is as true for us as citizens as it is for us as business leaders-we make the future as much as the future makes us.

Remember uncertainty always brings opportunity. The one big upside of uncertainty is it always means opportunity. I can’t tell you right now what opportunities all this uncertainty will usher in, but I can guarantee you that if Leaders focus on what the world and their customers will need as things change, they will be the winners. It’s time to keep your eyes wide open.

Hold on to Your Values. When Jim Collins wrote his bestselling book Built to Last, he asked the question why do some organizations thrive through multiple cycles of change? The bottom line, those organizations held close to their core values while being open to how those values had to be applied in a changing situation. This is a good time to remind ourselves that values matter. Values like putting the customer first, doing the right thing, being open to innovation and adding more value to society than you take. Uncertainty often challenges us to step back from our deepest values, but this is a time to step in not back.

I’d love to hear how you and your organization are stepping up in these uncertain times. We would love to work with you on helping your leaders get Future Proof. Check out my new keynote .

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I was recently interviewed at a conference, and they asked, “What one quality matters most for effective leadership?” One word rolled off my tongue – Humility!

I’ve been thinking lately about the importance of Humility as a leadership competence. We normally think of Humility in terms of ego, arrogance and not being too full of oneself. While that matters, I think of Humility in leadership as being more about not getting wed to your ideas, being curious and open. The word Humility comes from the Latin root “humus”, meaning “ground” or “earth,” implying a sense of being grounded or close to the earth.

Lately my keynotes to Leaders have emphasized this quality of Humility and Curiosity as key attributes of effective leaders and organizations. Beware of the leader who says they have all the answers or even worse, thinks they have all the answers. There’s a pretty good chance they don’t have them and even worse, won’t likely surround themselves with people and ideas that challenge their way of thinking.

So how does Humility and its first cousin Curiosity show up for us as leaders?

-Be curious about feedback whether it is from your people, your customers and even your detractors. Instead of defending, lean in and listen deeply.

-Invite people to challenge your ideas and how you see things. Create an environment where challenging each other’s ideas is part of everyone’s job.

-Be self-aware. Just this week I had lunch with a colleague who was telling me how her CEO and COO see themselves as Open and Positive whereas their reports see them as the opposite. It reminded me of a guy I met on a plane years ago who was uber negative. When he asked what I did for a living I laid it on thick saying, “I teach people to be positive and optimistic and how being that way changes everything”. He responded: “It’s so nice to meet a guy who thinks like me!” I think self-awareness is a key part of curiosity and humility-wondering always where there is a disconnect between our walk and our self-perception.

-Finally, humility shows up when we assume we can learn something from others. That means being curious about what other companies do better than we do, curious about what other leaders are doing that we can learn from, and being curious about our blind spots.

A final note. A friend just returned from South Africa and said he was struck by the presence of tributes and statues of Nelson Mandela. Mandela once said: “The first thing for a leader is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact if you have not changed yourself. Greatness comes from being people of integrity, honesty and humility.”

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One of my most enduring memories from childhood was the regular appearance of the milk man’s truck which delivered dairy products to our home circa 1964 in Staten Island, New York. Bill the milk man delivered milk in durable glass bottles which we dutifully placed on our porch when empty. Those bottles were reused hundreds of times. We knew the man’s name and we knew where the milk came from.

My water heater is on its last leg, which after thirty years is pretty darn good. When I talked to a plumber about replacing it, they assured me my new one would not last thirty years. This struck me as odd since given advances in manufacturing, they could surely make one that lasts even longer. “Not a good economic model,” he told me. In other words, making things less durable has become good business.

I thought of Bill the milk man and my aging water heater this week when I had Tom Szaky, the founder of TerraCycle, on my podcast The Way Forward. Tom dropped out of Princeton to start his company that has become a global leader in recycling innovation. We discussed the state of waste across the globe, the hard truth that only about 4-7% of what we put in our blue boxes gets recycled, and the role waste plays in climate change (and the destruction of nature).

One of the most exciting efforts of TerraCycle is something they call Loop which is reimagining packaging. The idea is to manufacture durable packages that are owned by the manufacturer and are returned and reused. The idea is to make reusing as easy as throwing something away. While in its early stages, it shows promise for a new way of thinking. Well maybe an old way of thinking.

You see this week’s blog isn’t about recycling, it’s about how sometimes the best way to reimagine things is to remember a time when things were better. Once upon a time we bought a lot less stuff we didn’t need and fixed things instead of buying new ones. Once upon a time people with political differences didn’t finger point and blame but sat down to work out compromises. Once upon a time indigenous people who didn’t have the luxury of moving across the planet discovered that taking care of the environment ensured a good life going forward. Once upon a time products were made to last, not to break as soon as the warranty ends. Once upon a time most businesses had a name – we bought goods from real people we knew, like Milkman Bill.

I’m all for progress and innovation of course. Some things are a lot better than they used to be. We are more inclusive although diversity has a long way yet to go, and we’re able to connect with people around the globe in an instant. But I think we ought to look backward a little more. Sometimes the best way to go forward is to look back.

Tom’s podcast with me won’t be available until January, but here is his hierarchy for those of us who want to be eco waste champions. Buy less crap! Reuse or fix things. Buy used stuff. Buy durable stuff. Buy things made from recycled stuff. Buy recyclable stuff. Big hint: uncoated paper and aluminum are the best in terms of actually being recycled economically.

Here’s to looking back a little more to find a way forward.

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My daughter Lena stopped by for a visit this week on her way to Los Angeles where she will help organize fittings for pilots at Delta Airlines as they release new uniforms for the first time in decades. Her visit made me think about the curious case of Delta Airlines when it comes to growing your brand in a positive way.

When I first started flying, I was a loyal Delta flier when they had a slogan “We love to fly and it shows!” I always felt like they had a hospitality factor advantage. Then a major merger and years of cost cutting from profit-focused leadership led to the airline deteriorating as employees no longer felt empowered or proud. They were unhappy and it showed.

Today, Delta is coming back, and its attempt says a lot about how to win in the Purpose Revolution. The company started treating employees like team members again, empowered people to make decisions, led the way in doing away with expiration of airline points and added free wifi for Sky miles members. While Southwest had the old storyline, Delta was ranked recently as one of the ten most relevant companies in America alongside companies like Tesla and Google. Relevant is defined as the amount and percentage of positive social media posts/comments.

It turns out the majority of that was driven by employees speaking positively about Delta. This matters because a recent study showed we only believe about six percent of what companies say in advertisements. Yes SIX! Who do we believe? Well, about 75% of us say we believe what employees say about the company.

If you want to win in the Purpose Revolution, start by treating your employees like they matter. Start thinking about the world the way your customers think about it. After all, when Deloitte asked how employees decide if a company is purpose-focused, they look first to how you treat your customers and how you treat your employees. And if there is one metric you MUST measure in the Purpose Revolution: whether your people know and believe in your purpose. They are your best ambassadors. At Delta, they helped the company stand out in an industry where today it’s hard to build brand differentiation. Sorry Southwest, you’re yesterday’s old news now.

I stopped flying Delta years ago, but I am back now. I must admit they seem to love to fly again… and it shows.

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Little things tend to become big things in business and life. A small customer complaint is easy to fix when first raised, but much harder if you wait until they vent on social media. Research shows that early mistakes will derail your career if you don’t improve. The stuck points often relate to feedback you received early in your work life but didn’t take seriously enough to make improvements. Years later, with your personal brand already cemented, it takes a much greater effort to change how people see you. Countless businesses also suffer if they fail to evolve early. The folks at Blockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix on the cheap when it first appeared that the video might become passe. By the time they tried to change, the world had passed them by. Your partner tells you they need more attention and time from you. It wouldn’t take much to do it, but if you don’t, the relationship suffers years of neglect.

The same is true for big problems. This was evident to me a few weeks ago when Bill McKibben was a guest on my podcast The Way Forward-Regenerative Conversations. Bill is a noted journalist, author, and activist. He was a young journalist in the late 1980s writing for the New Yorker magazine when he wrote a series of articles on a then wild idea that humans might change the climate. In 1989, he wrote a book called The End of Nature giving him the distinction of being one of the first voices warning us about how carbon emissions could radically change Earth’s climate. In my conversation with Bill, I couldn’t help but think how things would be different right now if we had started making changes thirty years ago. The evidence was there even then, but we tend to wait until problems get big before we fix them. Bill is founder of two nonprofits, 350.org dedicated to activating change on climate and thirdact.org dedicated to engaging this generation of over 60’s to create a sustainable future. I think you will love listening to our conversation.

Just today an insurance client of mine was talking to me about the rise of catastrophic natural events impacting their business – from fires to floods. The cost of those catastrophic events is showing up now in our insurance bills, and in some cases, impacts our ability to obtain insurance at all. I suspect they wish more people had listened to Bill in 1989.

I can’t be sure what small problem or issue is showing up for you in your life, your community, or your business now, but I can be sure of one thing. Today is the best day to do something about it before it becomes a big problem. Little things have a way of becoming big things – consider it a maxim.

If you want to know some of the big challenges facing us as a society, please do subscribe and start listening to my new podcast The Way Forward as we explore some of the big and little things that will help create a regenerative tomorrow. I’d love your feedback on the podcast.

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