Winning Game #2: Cut Loose Clubhouse Chemistry Killers
The Cubs and Indians have had decades-long championship droughts and both teams have rebuilt themselves all the way back to instill a culture of united vision and sustained victories. In this 7-part series to match the 7 games of the World Series, Trent Clark, who worked in 3 baseball organizations – the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers, including three trips to the World Series with the Indians and Angels – shares his insight on the ingred
Being Agile, Adaptable, and Accountable -- Part 3 of 3 of Our Conversation With Ed Wehmer
During our recent conversation with Ed Wehmer, President and CEO of Wintrust Financial Corporation, we discussed maintaining a culture in the face of external pressures, such as outside regulations. We conclude our 3-part chat with this Leader With Courage by asking how leaders in his company share the workload effectively and evaluate others. Value Drivers: One of the problems leaders face is the prospect of doing too much and instead need to learn the what, how, when, and t
Conversation with Ed Wehmer (Part 2 of 3) -- How a Leader With Courage Preserves Culture Through the
In the continuation of our conversation with Ed Wehmer, President and CEO of Wintrust Financial Corporation, we talked about the kind of culture Ed built in the early days of the company that people could buy into. However, no matter what best-laid plans you have, the real challenge may occur when outside forces and even growth threaten to change that culture. We dove into this topic deeper in this part of my chat with this Leader With Courage. Value Drivers: During our conve
Leader With Courage: Edward Wehmer, President & CEO, Wintrust Financial Corporation (Part 1 of
When he founded Lake Forest Bank and Trust in 1991 and then Wintrust in 1998, Ed Wehmer solidified himself as a true Leader With Courage. Much of Wintrust’s growth can be tied back to Wehmer’s efforts in overseeing its day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives. In a recent conversation, Wehmer was able to share a variety of insights with us regarding his approach to leadership and leaving a mark on the financial industry. Value Drivers: Early on your career, you were to
How To Earn Compound Interest On Leading With Courage
Recognize this curve? It illustrates one of the most fundamental concepts in finance - compound interest. This is when interest on the principal sum of a loan or deposit is reinvested. As a result, in the next period, you earn interest on the principal plus the previously accumulated interest. As it turns out, compound interest isn’t an idea made exclusively for the economic world: It applies quite well to leadership too. When we gain experience for ourselves, what we’ve prev
The #1 Way Great Firms Die (And How Yours Can Avoid Being Next)
10,000 baby boomers will retire every day for each of the next 13 years according to estimates from the Social Security Administration and the Pew Research Center. That’s about 9 people per second, which means about 90 people retired in the time it took you to read this far. Yikes! Let’s think about the gravity of that alarming rate for a moment. Especially how it relates to aging baby boomers within your business. How many baby boomers do you have at the mid- or senior leade
How Leaders Stay Fresh And Help Others Step Up - Part 3 of 3 of the Conversation with Bryan Schwartz
With almost every leader we’ve spoken with, they’ve often stepped into a culture that they inherited in some way and had to reshape from there. Very few of them had to build it from scratch. What’s fascinating about Bryan Schwartz's story is that he really started as head of Levenfeld Pearlstein with a white piece of paper. Value Drivers: Brian, many of us talk about what we'd do if we could start with a white piece of paper. As the co-founder of Levenfeld Pearlstein, you a
How A Law Firm Wins By Aligning Its Disruptors (Part 2 of the Conversation with Bryan Schwartz)
People who rock the boat in your environment aren’t as bad as you think. In fact, they may be just what your business needs to approach challenges from a whole new perspective you wouldn’t have considered. Bryan Schwartz, Co-Founder of Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC., is a Leader With Courage who embraced this line of thinking during his tenure heading his law firm. We recently talked about the value of alignment and why you don’t need everybody on the team to agree in order to be
Leader With Courage: Bryan Schwartz, Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC (Part 1 of 3)
Our newest Leader with Courage profile is Bryan Schwartz, business attorney and co-founder of Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC. The first line of Bryan’s bio on his law firm’s website says a lot about how he views himself: “A businessman who happens to be a lawyer.” For the first 14 years of Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC., Bryan served as Managing Partner, providing him the insight and understanding of leading a successful business in a way few attorneys can relate to. Value Drivers: Yo
The Most Challenging Piece Of The Leadership Puzzle
From our research and client experience at Value Drivers, we’ve identified four attributes that comprise a Leader With Courage. After taking in this 4th and final component, I’ll encourage you to head to our free Leadership Assessment to see where you stand compared to other leaders we’ve interviewed and helped. In our previous posts, we were able to outline the first three core areas that a C-level executive (or an individual well on the path to becoming one) needed to posse
