If you missed our conversation yesterday, I am so so sorry for you. It was unbelievable. Yesterday, three amazing purpose-driven leaders: Jim Weber, CEO, Brooks Running, Darrell Cavens, CEO, zuiliy and Darryl Rawlings, CEO, Trupanion shared their insights on how they discovered their true purpose – and how that transcends their leadership and impacts everything they do.
Here are their summary points and the Twitter highlights of the conversation:
Jim Weber, CEO, Brooks Running As the leader, you are the Chief Steward of the enterprise. Take full responsibility in every sense for every constituency: customers, employees, owners and the community. Manage risk and opportunities for both the short and long term.
Darrell Cavens, CEO, zulily Be okay to fail but fail small and try again. Sometimes over-planning makes people feel like they succeed, but they don’t appreciate how much more they could have done if they had tried and failed a number of times while moving the ball even farther down the field.
Darryl Rawlings, CEO, Trupanion When I was around 15 years old, my four-year-old dog had to go to the emergency room. The doctor knew what was wrong. It could be fixed, but it was going to cost $3,000, and my parents didn’t have the money. We didn’t leave with our dog that night.
My summary: If that isn’t the truest essence of purpose driven leadership, I don’t know what is.
@CEOpov: Darryl Rawlings, @Trupanion, Jim Weber (@brooksCEO), @brooksrunning & @dcavens, @zulily talk #purpose.
@ErinWilliams206: @BrooksCEO hates to fail but understands positive energy is best. Be competitive to win. Glass half full. #wtcceo @CEOpov
@uniquelyHR: When you’re an entrepreneur your customer’s in the building. #wtcseattle @BrooksCEO
@joshdirks: .@trupanion talked about being who u are at work as u are in your personal life, he’s a t-shirt & jeans guy who drops f bombs #wtcseattle
@uniquelyHR: Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themself. #wtcseattle @BrooksCEO
@joshdirks: .@brooksceo said purpose was something he thought a lot about, he found that he & other wanted to be part of something bigger. #wtcseattle
@WTCSeattle: “#Millennials are everything you’d want in an employee, but they won’t get on board without a purpose.” – Darryl Rawlings #WTCSeattle
@uniquelyHR: I love #Millennials but you’re not going to get them aligned unless you have purpose. #wtcseattle @trupanion
@joshdirks: With so much focus on #Millennials can u alienate other gens, @trupanion its just a big group of people, focus on individuals #wtcseattle
@WTCSeattle: @zulily “I want our people to be open-minded about taking risks.” – Darrell Cavens #WTCSeattle #CEOpov
@CEOpov: Darryl Rawlings, #CEO of @trupanion loves #millennials! & knows #purpose is an important driving factor for the generation. #WTCSeattle
@joshdirks: What is your leadership purpose? @brooksceo stewardship of organization by building culture, culture lasts & retains staff #wtcseattle
@uniquelyHR: The ultimate test of leadership is what’s happening around you. #wtcseattle @BrooksCEO
@CEOpov: @brooksCEO of @brooksrunning says to create a #vision for the company for employees to believe in. #WTCSeattle #purpose #leadership
@CEOpov: Be open about accepting #change but keep true to core values. – @dcavens of @zulily #WTCSeattle
@joshdirks: .@dcavens talks about managing culture through the acquisition of @zulily, have to prove it to them not just talk about it #wtcseattle
@CEOpov: How to lead #millennials: something new everyday, #inspiring work, interesting #culture & job mobility. .@dcavens @zulily #WTCSeattle
@daviesanddixon: @CEOpov As a #leader, do you love to win or hate to lose? #Leadership #CEOpov #CEOs #forum #asktheaudience #WTCSeattle
@CEOpov: For us, the customer-focus is what ties us all together. @BrooksCEO @brooksrunning #WTCSeattle #customerfocused #leadership #millennials
@WTCSeattle: @zulily “I want our people to be open-minded about taking risks.” – Darrell Cavens #WTCSeattle #CEOpov
@CEOpov: Engage the #ambition in employees – especially #millennials. .@brooksCEO of @brooksrunning #WTCSeattle #CEO #leadership
@daviesanddixon: We shouldn’t have to shed our personality when we go to work. Embrace individualism. Darryl Rawlings, @Trupanion #WTCSeattle #Leadership
@CEOpov: “I’m sitting here today because someone took a chance on me & I want to do that too.” @dcavens @zulily #millennials #leadership #WTCSeattle
@amricard: “I don’t think you should change who you are when you walk into work.” – Darrell Rawlings, @Trupanion #wtcseattle
@WTCSeattle: @zulily On having a geographically wide team: “There’s no silver bullet. Taking time is what makes it work.” – Darrell Cavens #WTCSeattle
@uniquelyHR: I spend 40%of my time on HR and people stuff #wtcseattle @dcavens
@Leasa_Mayer: “Are you a leader who loves to win, or hates to lose?” Great question to ponder. @CEOpov #WTCSeattle
@WTCSeattle: “Love to win or hate to lose?” Darrell: “Hate to lose.” Jim: “Hate to lose.” Darryl: “Love to win, but not afraid to lose.” #WTCSeattle
@joshdirks: Hate to lose or love to win? @brooksceo thought a lot about this, hated to lose but that creates neg energy so shifting to win #wtcseattle
@daviesanddixon: Great reminder from @dcavens @zulily that face time matters with remote employees, even in this digital age. #WTCseattle #leadership
@ErinWilliams206: @Trupanion CEO likes to win at strategy but likes to lose regarding tactics. Learn from mistakes. @CEOpov #wtcseattle
@uniquelyHR: If I make a mistake about tactics I embrace it. When it’s about people, it hurts a lot more. #wtcseattle @trupanion
@WTCSeattle: @BrooksCEO “Employee values and company values have to be aligned.” – Jim Weber #WTCSeattle #CEOpov
@joshdirks: Mentorship programs & expectations for other company leaders, @dcavens says it’s about making time, he has lunch w/ team members #wtcseattle
@uniquelyHR: The ingredients to a highly effective team really comes down to values. #wtcseattle @brooksceo
@zulily: “I’m sitting here today because someone took a chance on me & I want to do that too.” @dcavens @zulily #WTCSeattle
@joshdirks: .@brooksrunning got serious about leader dev 6yrs ago & are still trying to figure it out, it’s complicated & hard work #wtcseattle
@WTCSeattle: #ThankYou to @Trupanion CEO Darryl Rawlings, @brooksrunning CEO Jim Weber, and @zulily CEO Darrell Cavens for joining us today! #WTCSeattle
@bsidpadotcom: BSI really enjoyed todays #WTCSeattle event “From the CEOs Pespective” w/ @zulily @brooksrunning & @Trupanion #CEOs
For more conversation, follow on Twitter here. Shoutout to our video sponsor Regence. Stay tuned for video coverage of this event coming soon!
Find more CEO advice in my book “From the CEO’s Perspective” where I interview 20 top CEOs on how they are developing leaders in today’s world.