Reaching Your Full Potential As a Next-Generation Leader w/ Bill George (Former CEO Medtronic)

In this episode, Shamus Madan chats with Bill George about his book "True North," the "Great Resignation," and his time at Medtronic. They delve into the importance of a strong founding team, the significance of aiding others to reach their potential, and building a company culture at scale. They also discuss Facebook's pivot to Meta.

Bill George is a Professor at Harvard Business School (HBS), where he has taught leadership since 2004. He is the author of: Emerging Leader Edition of True North, Discover Your True North and The Discover Your True North Fieldbook, Authentic Leadership, True North, Finding Your True North, 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, and True North Groups.

He was chair and CEO of Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology company. Under his leadership, Medtronic’s market capitalization grew from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35 percent a year. He joined Medtronic in 1989 as president and COO, was CEO from 1991 to 2001, and was chair of the board from 1996 to 2002. Earlier in his career, he was an executive with Honeywell and Litton Industries and served in the U.S. Department of Defense.

He has served as a director of Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Novartis, Target, the Mayo Clinic, and World Economic Forum USA. He received the 2014 Bower Award for Business Leadership and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012. He has been named one of the Top 25 Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years by PBS, Executive of the Year by the Academy of Management, and Director of the Year by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Pre-Order Here: https://www.billgeorge.org/book/true-north-emerging-leader-edition

Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast (Shamus Madan)

(0:00) Introduction and background of Shamus Madan and the podcast (1:32) Guest Introduction: Bill George and his book "True North" (2:51) Discussion on the "Great Resignation" and career choices (6:33) Insight into Bill George's leadership experience at Medtronic (9:26) Importance of a strong founding team and hiring practices (13:01) Bill George's leadership journey: The 3 phases (17:26) The importance of helping others reach their potential (24:20) Building a company culture at scale: The Medtronic experience (38:00) Team building and decentralized approach in business (41:56) Downfalls of Facebook's pivot to Meta and trust in business (44:41) Episode wrap-up and where to find Bill George's book