Former Medtronic CEO: Leadership Secrets for Achieving Success Beyond Profits | Bill George | E71
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What leadership lessons did Bill learn from early failures?
You made a massive leap to a different industry. You zoom up the ladder. How did you make that transition?
you
How did personal losses shape Bill's leadership philosophy?
Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronics, currently an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, author, served on countless boards from Golden Sacks and ExxonMobil and Novartis and Target and more. Bill, I'm so glad to talk to you today because you had a pivotal moment at a young age where your father sparked an idea. Can you take us back in time?
Well, my father, I thought was a good consultant. He worked for Booz Allen. He pulled me aside when I was 10 and said, son, I feel like I failed to be a leader. I should have been. And I want you to become the leader I never became. And not only that, son, I'd like you to be head of a major corporation. Now, I've held stock in this company in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1937. It's called the Coca-Cola Company. You could be head of that company, son. Or if that's not enough, maybe there's a company in Cincinnati, Procter & Gamble, great company. There's an emerging computer company out on the East Coast called IBM. Wouldn't it be great to do that? Well, I can tell you, my mother was the source of my values.
And I was kind of pushing my father away with one hand and taking it in subliminally with the other. But somehow, I go into junior high, join lots of organizations, high school. I'm never selected to lead anything. I'm not chosen to be elected to the student council. I'm not head of any organization. I'm a good enough tennis player to play some Division I college tennis. But I wouldn't even co-captain a high school tennis team. So finally, my senior year, I said, I'm going to throw my hat in the ring and I'm going to run for president senior class. I was running against one other person, nice person, but I clearly thought I was a lot better qualified than he was. So when the votes came in, I lost by a margin of two to one.
So you can see I wasn't much of a leader because I really hadn't figured it out. But like a glutton for punishment, I went off to Georgia Tech to study engineering. I ran for office six more times. Lost all six. So now I'm 0 for 7 and feeling like a real loser. One of the best things that ever happened to me is a group of seniors pulled me aside and said, Bill, no one's ever going to want to work with you, much less be led by you, because you're moving so fast to get ahead, you don't take time for other people. And that was like a blow to the solar plexus. But you know, they were right. And I had a lot to learn.
What does it mean to prioritize purpose over profits?
I had to learn that leadership is really about relationships, about relationship with people. And I really worked hard on that, came back, led a lot of organizations at Georgia Tech, and then went off to Harvard Business School and led some organizations there as well.
So first of all, what made you try again and again and again? Because again, most people would not try six times. They got a rejection the first time and they'll say, well, it's not for me. Leadership is not it. I will just do whatever, something else. What made you continue?
Well, two things. One good, one maybe not so good, depending on your point of view. One, I'm very persistent and not easily defeated. And so I keep coming back. That's the one. The other one, maybe you think it's not so good, but I have a lot of confidence in my abilities. And there are a few things in terms of leadership that I thought I couldn't do. And so I've never felt like there's a ceiling.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What leadership lessons did Bill learn from early failures?
0:48–1:11
2
How did personal losses shape Bill's leadership philosophy?
1:11–3:35
3
What does it mean to prioritize purpose over profits?
3:35–5:32
4
How can mentoring across generations impact leadership?
5:32–6:33
5
What bold decisions did Bill make to challenge the FDA?
6:33–7:08
6
How did Bill measure success at Medtronic?
7:08–14:10
7
What advice does Bill have for emerging leaders?
14:10
8
How can leaders effectively build relationships?
3:01–57:25
Speakers
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