Ep 251: Tom O'Keefe & Jeff King - In 20

Fearless Creative Leadership

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

What do you think and why?

Tom O’Keefe and Jeff King are two of the four partners who have just merged their respective businesses, OKRP and Barkley.

Mergers are a forcing function for open-mindedness. And for doing things differently.

The ability to accept the need to do things differently, to truly change perspectives, is a never ending leadership challenge.

In my experience, you have to be pretty clear about your own point of view in order to embrace new ones.

Worry too much about providing strong leadership, and the temptation to stick to our beliefs — even in the face of evidence or views to the contrary — becomes almost like a drug. An addiction to being right or first or better.

This is perhaps the most damaging characteristic that any leader can possess. And too much of it will ensure you’re not a leader of very many or very much for very long.

When we are clear about why we think what we think, when we are free of insecurity or hubris or ego, then we can assess an alternative path with an open mind.

Mergers provoke the need to lead through this lens. Tom’s outline for unleashing the creative potential of the newly formed business is filled with best practice.

But regardless of external forcing functions — like mergers — being clear about why we think what we think is table stakes for the most fearless leaders.

So what do you think? And what will it take for you to see things from a different perspective?