Helping Leaders to Avoid Disaster

Gleb Tsipursky pt 1

In the world we find ourselves today, with almost everything being driven by technology, business leaders make decisions that reach far beyond the immediate necessities of business. Often the decisions made will not see ramifications until far into the future. When the results come in, will the results received be the results desired?

If a wrong decision was made, but the intentions were good, is that still OK?

CEO’s are under constant pressure to deliver for stockholders and to increase the profitability of their companies. Often, Board of Directors, who are supposed to be the fiduciary’s of the company, often go for the quick buck as well. This often leads to problems down the road.

Think of Enron, Kodak, Blockbuster and MySpace just as examples. Bad examples. Where the leaders of those companies made short term decisions while ignoring the long term consequences. Or, as in the case of Kodak and Blockbuster, denied the coming future and changing technology and made decisions based on old, out dated data.

So many leaders today go with “gut instinct.” Often, we are told, “Go with your gut on this one.” When we hear that, the other person is actually say, “I don’t have enough information to give a valid response. So I’ll just rely on you.”

Well, my guest today is Gleb Tsipursky, otherwise known as the “Disaster Avoidance Expert.” He has made a career out of helping leaders and organizations avoid business disasters. He has written several books on this topic, but the one I invited him to talk about today is "Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Disaster"

He has over twenty years of experience in this area. He does consulting, coaching, speaking and assists in training hundreds of companies across North America, Europe and Australia. Examples of some of the companies he has helped are AFLAC, IBM, Honda, Wells Fargo and the World Wildlife Fund, just to name a few. He has been featured in over 400 different articles and has conducted over 350 interviews on CBS News, CNBC and others, as well as Time, Business Insider, Government Executive and Inc. Magazine.

He has a strong research and teaching background, with more than 15 years in academia, including seven years as a professor at the Ohio State University and, before that, as a Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also earned his PhD in the History of Behavioral Science.

You can read more about Gleb, his services and order his books, etc. by visiting his website at DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com.

The really good news is, he is here today to help YOU make the right decisions in your life, business or ministry as well. Help me welcome to the program, The Disaster Avoidance Expert, Gleb Tsipursky!

Gleb, thank you for taking the time to come on the program today!

The first question I always start with is this. Other than that brief bio (and an impressive bio, I might add), tell us in your own words, “Who is Gleb Tsipursky?”

In your book, a major take away is “You should never go with your gut in business decisions.” Why is that?

We see businesses in the news, some major businesses at that, reaping the repercussions of bad decisions made, possibly years ago. I know you have had to study some, if not most, of them. Have you noticed any patterns? And can you name a few for our audience so they can relate to what you are talking about? Maybe some ones in the past and a few from recent headlines?

Having learned leadership and decision making in the military, we are taught, “Identify the problem. Evaluate the options and resources at hand. Come up with and implement a solution. Evaluate the results and adjust as necessary.” For the most part, this method is used for time sensitive decisions. Like, in the heat of the moment type situation. General George Patton, Jr. once said, “Any plan implement now is better than a perfect plan TRIED later.” And again, that is basically talking about “in the heat of battle.”

Is there any business situation where the “gut decision” would have to be used?

As a staff officer, I learned the importance of evaluating the battle field, etc. and coming up a well thought out plan. But we always had contingency plans that could be implemented if certain situations came up that were not what we had originally planned for. In the military, they call it the “5 paragraph Operations Order.” It is used to get the leaders into critical thinking and planning.

In the business world, a current concept taught today is S-W-O-T. Where a leader is to figure out the Strength and Weakness of his or her own organization. Evaluate the Opportunity before them and balance that off the Threats presented. Is this sort of the same thing and does it work as well as it is believed to be?

You need to get a copy of Gleb’s book, “Never Go with Your Gut.” This book is awesome. I’ve read it and it is full of information that will transform how you think and make decisions. Daily decisions as well. All for the better, too. Amen!

Use the links down below to get your copy of the book or to get in touch with Gleb Tsipursky as well

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email: gleb@disasteravoidanceexperts.com

Website: www.disasteravoidanceexperts.com

LinkedIn: Gleb Tsipursky

Twitter: Gleb_Tsipursky

Book: Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Disaster – on Amazon

 

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