392: Robert Rosenberg - Leadership Lessons From The Former CEO Of Dunkin Donuts

Nov 16, 2020

Robert Rosenberg, the former CEO of Dunkin' Donuts, shares invaluable leadership lessons from his transformative journey leading the franchise giant. He emphasizes the importance of passion, persistence, and character in sustaining excellence. Rosenberg opens up about overcoming significant mistakes, advocating for 100% ownership and introspection. He discusses the necessity of adaptability, crisis management, and the importance of listening to team feedback. Additionally, Rosenberg highlights learning from experiences and emphasizes emotional intelligence as a key trait for effective leadership.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Traits of Exceptional Leaders

02:43 • 5min

Leadership Evolution and Lifelong Learning

07:43 • 28min

Essential Functions of Leadership and Organizational Communication

35:21 • 3min

Crisis Management and Leadership in Business

38:44 • 3min

Key Attributes for Effective Leadership Hiring

42:12 • 4min

Dunkin's Evolution and Embracing Change

45:48 • 12min

Leadership Is an Art

MAX DE PREE

In 'Leadership Is an Art', Max De Pree explores the concept of leadership as a form of stewardship, focusing on building relationships, initiating ideas, and creating a lasting value system. He stresses the importance of defining reality and expressing gratitude, and highlights the role of leaders in stimulating effectiveness, developing and defending civility and values, and nurturing new leaders. De Pree advocates for participative management, roving leadership, and a culture of respect and trust, emphasizing that good leadership is about serving the organization and its people rather than just achieving financial success.

Think Outside the Building

How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

In this book, Rosabeth Moss Kanter presents a new theory of advanced leadership, emphasizing the need to 'think outside the building' to tackle complex social and environmental problems. Kanter draws from her work with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard, sharing real-world examples and case studies of purpose-driven leaders who have made significant impacts in areas such as climate change, gun safety, inequality, and racial issues. The book highlights the importance of cross-sector collaboration, persuasion over position, and innovative problem-solving to achieve positive change.

Around the Corner to Around the World

Robert Rosenberg

In this book, Robert Rosenberg shares his insider perspective on the dramatic highs and lows of Dunkin' Donuts' rise to global prominence. The book distills the characteristics of a successful company through all phases of growth, provides a new perspective on the story behind one of the world’s most iconic brands, and reveals essential lessons learned from one of the most successful CEO runs in modern business history.

Good to Great

Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Jim Collins

In 'Good to Great,' Jim Collins and his research team investigate why some companies achieve long-term greatness while others do not. The book identifies key concepts such as Level 5 Leadership, the Hedgehog Concept, a Culture of Discipline, and the Flywheel Effect. These principles are derived from a comprehensive study comparing companies that made the leap to greatness with those that did not. The research highlights that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance but rather a result of conscious choice and discipline. The book provides practical insights and case studies to help businesses and leaders understand and apply these principles to achieve sustained greatness.

The best and the brightest

David Halberstam

This book by David Halberstam examines the decisions that led to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, particularly highlighting the roles of academics and intellectuals in President John F. Kennedy's administration. It delves into the lives and policies of key figures such as Robert McNamara, McGeorge Bundy, and Dean Rusk, and critiques the 'whiz kids' who implemented policies that often defied common sense. The book covers the period from 1960 to 1965 and beyond, providing a detailed account of the strategic blunders and moral crises that characterized the U.S. involvement in Vietnam[5][4][2].

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12

Notes:

Sustaining Excellence =
- Passion for what they do
- Persistence - "Life is lumpy." People fall and have to dust themselves off.
- Character - Must be trustworthy, caring, and sensitive to others
- Values driven - "When things go wrong, take the pain"
Bill Gates is an example of sustained excellence - "His persistence, his relationship with his wife Melinda. He's a great example of sustained excellence."
Bob describes the time early in his career when he made big mistakes and the board fired him.
- He said, "I needed to learn strategy. You can't blame your followers. You must take 100% ownership."
Read the book, The Best and The Brightest by David Halberstam
- "You need humility, you need to learn, you need emotional intelligence."
How he felt when he got fired?
- "Unbelievably sad. It hung heavy on my shoulders."
There are two ways to respond:
- Be a victim
- Be introspective
  - "I remember the moment vividly. I was reading The Best and The Brightest. Hubris was the problem. They weren't going to the front lines to understand what was happening. I thought, Oh my God, Halberstam could be talking about me."
  - "Our job is to LISTEN, get feedback, and fix it."
As a leader, you must have the willingness and ability to define reality, not what you want it to be.
- Read Max Dupree - The Art of Leadership
Understand The Stockdale Paradox - “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose —with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” ~ James Stockdale
Building trust in a crisis:
- The 4 elements to be trustworthy:
  - Sincerity - "Your public and private conversations should be the same"
  - Competence - It's not the same as never making a mistake.
  - Reliability - "Make promises. Deliver on those promises"
  - Care - "Treat people well. Care for their well being. It's not transactional. Treat them with dignity and respect."
How Bob stays so sharp at age 82:
- Lots of exercise - He trains 5 days a week
- Time with grandchildren
- Planning - "I still have a lot of gas left in the tank"
Have a dream -- "Happiness is a mood. You can design a mood."
- Satisfaction
- Peace
- Fulfillment
The four primary functions of a leader:
- Strategy - The CEO must shepherd the strategy
- People - Get the right people in the right jobs
- Communication - Align all constituencies behind the business. People must understand the mission
- Evolve - The world changes. Find a small team of experts to identify the issue, and leave the rest of the team alone to do their work
"You need thrill customers continuously."
"People will always be evaluating you as a leader. They look at your body language, and see how you respond."
Hiring qualities Bob looks for in a leader:
- Crisp thorough about the job assignment.
- Complementarity - The use Gallup's strengths. Focus on strengths and them filling a gap on the current team.
- Fit the culture. Need to be able to work with a team and collaborate.