Bob Chapman Talks About Writing Your Eulogy

This is the second episode of our podcast where Barry-Wehmiller CEO Bob Chapman answer questions submitted by our social media audience. You will find the questions below. Don’t forget to go back and listen to part one.  We appreciate everyone who took the time to send in questions. Bob thought it was a wonderful dialogue. More to come!

A while back, we asked followers of Barry-Wehmiller on social media to send in questions for CEO Bob Chapman to answer on our podcast. We were overwhelmed by the response! We appreciate the time and thoughtfulness of everyone who submitted their questions. There were so many, the answers will be spread across multiple episodes of the podcast. Bob enjoyed the dialogue with you all so much, we will probably do this again in the future. In this time of Thanksgiving in the U.S. we are very thankful for all of the Barry-Wehmiller teammates around the world who are a daily inspiration and we’re thankful for you, loyal readers and followers, who help spread our message of Truly Human Leadership.

BW CEO Bob Chapman met Dr. Anita Sanchez a few years ago through a mutual friend, William Ury. Since then, Anita and her husband, Kit Tennis, have become great supporters of what we’re trying to do at Barry-Wehmiller, spreading the message about the power of Truly Human Leadership. As is described on her website, Anita’s book, The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times,  is a guide "in living as whole, joyful human beings in our modern lives. Through a series of breath-taking, up-lifting stories drawn from experiences of leaders in business and communities around the world as well as from her own amazing journey, the author inspires us to discover and trust our gifts showing us how to become the life-giving connection to all: People, Spirit and the Earth." The principles Anita writes about and their connection to her heritage align closely to the similarities Bob has identified between leadership and parenting. When we lead others, when it comes to building teams, having a connection – like a family – is so important. Sometimes, as leaders, we need to reconnect with the idea of what a family is to be able to connect with others. Anita’s book is filled with the wisdom to try to do that in order to move toward a world where people feel like they matter.  

Dr. Ken Druck has been a trusted advisor through the years, personally to Barry-Wehmiller CEO Bob Chapman, and also to the leadership of BW during some of our tough times. After the loss of his daughter, Ken decided to dedicate himself to helping others find their way through grief. He founded the Jenna Druck Center in his daughter’s honor and went on to be a source of hope to families affected by the tragedies of 9-11, Columbine, Katrina and Sandy Hook. A few years ago, we invited Ken to Barry-Wehmiller corporate headquarters in St. Louis as part of our Leadership Speaker Series. We at Barry-Wehmiller often talk about how listening is key to helping people feel valued, but that must be accompanied by empathy and compassion. In his talk, Ken spoke not only about how he processed his own grief, but he also talked about how to be a good friend and encourage those who are experiencing grief. But, the things that Ken discusses in this podcast can not only be guidelines to be compassionate to those experiencing grief, they're good things to think about when approaching people in everyday life. Especially during stressful or tense times. Our friends, family, teammates and acquaintances. In our workplaces, our neighborhoods and our homes.  

Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute is Barry-Wehmiller's consulting arm that specializes in helping other organizations unleash the extraordinary in their businesses and their people. They do this by helping those organizations identify, develop, and equip their leaders. You can learn more about Chapman & Co. at ccoleadership.com One company that Chapman & Co. has a long relationship with is Meijer, a midwestern chain of grocery stores that currently has about 270 stores with 70,000 team members. On this podcast, Barry Kirk, one of Chapman & Co.’s partners, has an indepth conversation with Dave Lopez and Josh Barber of Meijer. They talk about why Meijer began working with Chapman & Co. and share some of the results, as well as how they are trying to sustain those results. They also talk about a fascinating aspect of training that incorporates gamification. But most importantly, they share how they were able to let their leaders be leaders.

Michael Bungay Stanier (or MBS) is the founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations move from advice-driven to curiosity-led. They’ve trained hundreds of thousands of managers to be more coach-like and their clients range from Microsoft to Gucci. A few years ago, Barry-Wehmiller CEO, Bob Chapman, shared our leadership philosophy with MBS on the Great Work Podcast from Box of Crayons, which is where we were first introduced to his work. One of MBS's books, The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More and Change The Way You Lead Forever, has sold more than a million copies and is the best-selling coaching book of the century. The Coaching Habit very much resonates with our core principles at Barry-Wehmiller, you can see it in the title: “Say less, ask more.” In other words, listen. Really, truly listen. On this podcast, Michael talks about the difficulty leaders have in listening and why that may be, but he also gives practical suggestions on how leaders can be better coaches and help their people feel like they really matter

Jacob Stoller previously appeared on our podcast to discuss his last book, The Lean CEO: Leading the Way to World-Class Excellence. A number of years later, he has a new book: Productivity Reimagined: Shattering Performance Myths to Achieve Sustainable Growth. This episode features a fascinating conversation about the evolution of Jacob's thinking between the writing of his two books that coalesced around the idea of productivity. Mainly, are we viewing the idea of productivity through the correct lens and how can companies approach the idea of productivity in a more sustainable way? One that benefits not only the company, but the people within. Also on this episode, we touch on topics that are currently at the forefront of the productivity discussion, such as AI and remote work. Jacob's research into these aspects of poductivity may surprise you.

Barry-Wehmiller’s CEO, Bob Chapman, often says that to be a Truly Human Leader, you need to have the skills and courage to care. Often, when you are placed into the role of leadership the traditional way to view the people within your span of care is as functions. So, you try to get them to do what you want so you can be successful, not because you care about them. It’s not about who those people are or why they matter. They’re just a function for your success or the success of your organization. Caring is reserved for family and friends outside the doors of the office. But, Bob says, caring is what we need more of in the workplace. Everyone on the team – especially leaders -- needs to shed their emotional armor. It’s only then that we connect more deeply so that the 40 hours a week we spend away from home are not draining but fulfilling. As leaders, we should create work environments in which our team members feel safe, cared for and comfortable being their true, fully human selves. This is also one of the main insights in a new book in which Bob and Barry-Wehmiller are featured. It’s called The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out. It was written by four senior partners from McKinsey and Company, one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world. It’s a look-behind-the-curtain at McKinsey’s step-by-step approach to transforming leaders both professionally and personally, which was gleaned through lessons from its legendary CEO leadership program “The Bower Forum,” which has counseled 500+ global CEOs over the past decade, as well as McKinsey’s global CEO counseling practice. On today’s podcast, we feature a conversation between Bob and Ramesh Srinivasan, one of the McKinsey Senior partners who co-authored The Journey of Leadership. We’ll talk about what it means to lead from the inside out, and how that connects to Bob’s thoughts on caring in the workplace.

McKinsey and Company is one of the most, if not the most, prestigious consulting firms in the world. McKinsey creates immeasurable value for its clients, influences how the business world operates, and produces many of the world's business and political leaders. Barry-Wehmiller and our CEO, Bob Chapman were recently featured in an important new book written by four McKinsey Senior Partners. It’s called The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out. It was written by Hans-Werner Kaas, Dana Maor, Ramesh Srinivasan, and Kurt Strovink. The Journey of Leadership offers leaders a method by which they can assess their own leadership and reinvent their approach in a way that is in alignment with many of the principles Bob Chapman talks about, and that we often talk about on this podcast. The authors have packed it full of lessons from McKinsey’s legendary CEO leadership program “The Bower Forum,” which has counseled 500+ global CEOs over the past decade, as well as insights gleaned from McKinsey’s global CEO counseling practice. The Journey of Leadership shares how you can hone the psychological, emotional, and ultimately, the human attributes to be what we would call a Truly Human Leader. We at Barry-Wehmiller are honored to be one of the case studies in the book, appearing in chapter 12, which is titled: For People to Care, Show Them You Care.” On today’s podcast, we bring you a conversation between Bob Chapman and one of the authors of The Journey of Leadership, Hans-Werner Kaas. Hans-Werner introduces himself and explains the inspiration behind the book and he and Bob have a meaningful discussion about the importance of human-centered leadership.

Have you ever thought about what your eulogy might say? It’s kind of a macabre thought, but it’s actually a pretty important question. And it’s the topic of conversation on this podcast between Barry-Wehmiller CEO, Bob Chapman, and Garrett Potts, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida. As you’ve heard over several episodes of this podcast, Barry-Wehmiller is working with a number of universities to try and instill principles of Truly Human Leadership into business schools, so future leaders are not only taught the hard skills you’d expect they need in their career, but also the essential skills of how to be a caring leader. Bob met Garrett through those efforts and he came up with the idea of having students write their own eulogy. Bob challenged Garrett to impress upon his students to live their lives with intention and ask them, “When your life comes to its end, which eventually it will, what do you want people to say about your life?” On this podcast, you’ll hear why Bob and Garrett think this is an appropriate challenge for students at this point in their career, but you’ll also hear a broader discussion on the purpose of education and how better leaders can be created through it.