This document discusses blind spots that can prevent effective leadership. It addresses five specific blind spots: purpose, story, engagement, trust, and truth. For each blind spot, it provides examples of how that blind spot negatively impacts organizations and insights into addressing the blind spot to transform leadership. The overall message is that recognizing and addressing these common blind spots can help organizations become higher performing through improved leadership.

2. JIM HAUDAN
Chairman and Co-Founder, Root Inc.
Co-Author of What Are Your Blind Spots?
RICH BERENS
CEO and Chief Client Fanatic, Root Inc.
Co-Author of What Are Your Blind Spots?

6. This young man is 11 months old –
and he isn’t our youngest customer
by any means. For 7-Up is so pure,
so wholesome, you can even give it
to babies and feel good about it. Look
at the back of a 7-Up bottle. Notice that
all our ingredients are listed. (That isn’t
required of soft drinks, you know – but
we’re proud to do it and we think you’re
pleased that we do.) By the way, Mom,
when it comes to toddlers – if they like
to be coaxed to drink their milk, try this:
Add 7-Up to the milk in equal parts,
pouring the 7-Up gently into the milk.

9. “Areas where our existing beliefs
and experiences preclude us from
having the most enlightened view
of how to lead people effectively.”

10. 90%
of all strategies
aren’t well
executed.
Source: Robert Kaplan
and David Norton
WHAT DO THE BLIND
SPOTS COST?
70%
of employees
do not consider
themselves
actively engaged.
Source: Gallup

11. 70%
people are
sleepwalking
Employee Engagement Change 0%
Percent
Decrease
26%
35%
(Last 30 Years)
CANCER, TRAFFIC FATALITIES AND
EMPLOYEE DISENGAGEMENT

12. TRUTHTRUSTENGAGEMENTPURPOSE STORY
Insights into 5 leadership blind
spots that can transform the
way you lead.
OUR PROMISE

13. PURPOSE
Purpose matters,
but it doesn't drive
our numbers.
BLIND SPOT

14. $FINANCIAL
GROWTH
FEEL GOOD
ABOUT
WORK

15. Less than 50% thought that
their company was run in
a purpose driven way.
90% OF EMPLOYEES SAID THAT THEIR COMPANY
UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF PURPOSE

16. 14%
to
24%
300 MILLION
to
2BILLION
DOUBLE DIGIT
GROWTH

17. 5
MINUTES
TWICE
THE TIME
170%
REVENUE

18. PURPOSE AS A GROWTH STRATEGY
6X’s Shareholder Return
Outperformed 10 to 1
S&P
“Built to Last”
“Firms of Endearment”
“HBR 1996–2011” S&P Factor 10

19. PURPOSE IS
APROVEN
GROWTH
STRATEGY
THAT PRODUCES
MONEY
PROFIT
IS NOT A
PURPOSE
MEASURING
MONEY WON’T
PRODUCE IT

20. STORY
We have a compelling
story to tell that our
people care about.
BLIND SPOT

22. WHAT MAKES
YOUR VISION A
COMPELLING
HEADLINE TO
YOUR STORY?
VISION
STATEMENT
Describes what
winning looks like
Defines what uniquely
sets you apart from
the competition
Creates excitement in people to pursue the path

24. WHAT DO YOU THINK
OF WHEN I SAY THE
WORD…

25. POLAR
BEARS?
BEARS?

26. I HAVE
A DREAM
Practice Being Your Authentic Self

27. ENGAGEMENT
Rationale and logical
presentations
engage people’s
hearts and minds.
BLIND SPOT

28. DRUGS
THIS IS YOUR
BRAIN ON…

29. CONVERSATIONSPRESENTATIONS

30. JEFF BEZOS BANNED POWERPOINT IN HIS MEETINGS
“Narrative
is far more
effective.”

35. THE PROBLEMS
MOST ORGANIZATIONS
FACE CAN BE DIRECTLY
TRACED TO THEIR
INABILITY TO
THINK AND TALK
TOGETHER.
— William Isaacs

36. PEOPLE WILL
TOLERATE THE
CONCLUSIONS OF
THEIR LEADERS…
…BUT WILL ACT
ON THEIR OWN.

37. WHEN WAS THE
LAST TIME YOU…
…were truly listened to?
…felt your idea’s were valuable?
…believed you were critical to
solving the problem?

38. DIALOGUE STARTS WITH
GREAT QUESTIONS
1. When you die of natural causes,
what do you die from?
2. When you loose weight, where does
the fat go?
3. If it takes oxygen for a fire, how can
the sun burn so brightly without any
oxygen?
ABOUT YOUR
ORGANIZATION
1.
2.
3.

39. DIALOGUE STARTS WITH
GREAT QUESTIONS
ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION
1. Where in your business should you self-attack or disrupt
before your customers or competitors do?
2. What strategic opportunities should you be more aggressively
going after?
3. What should you stop doing to free up critical resources?

41. TRUST
People will not do the right
thing unless you tell them
what to do and hold them
accountable to do it.
BLIND SPOT

42. $1.2
million
AVERAGE
$2
million
HIGH PERFORMING

43. TRUST STATEMENT
“We claim that we are customer maniacs, but in the end, we are finance
and control maniacs who don’t trust our people would do the right thing
for our customers and our business if we took the controls off.”

44. THE BENEFITS OF TRUST
Roundabout
8 Vehicle Conflicts
8 Pedestrian Conflicts
Intersection
32 Vehicle Conflicts
24 Pedestrian Conflicts

45. HARDLINES NO LINESGUIDELINES

46. “It is being comfortable with some things you can’t control
and that some stuff will get created in the field that you are
not proud of. But the reality is that for every one of those,
you will get 20 that are way better than anything you could
have ever thought of. Plus, it has an energy and a
momentum that you could never create in a corporate
boardroom or in a training department.”
— Phil Cordell
Senior Vice President New Brand Development, Hilton Worldwide

47. TRUTH
My people feel safe
telling me what they
really think and feel.
BLIND SPOT

48. A TRUTH TELLING CULTURE IS DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE
Can I be sure my comments will be taken
the right way and my intention is for the
good of the business?
If I talk about things from my perspective,
will people think less of me because of
my answers?
If I say what I really think, could that be
a career-limiting move?
EMPLOYEE
Is critique an indictment of my leadership?
What if I don’t have all the answers?
If we really have an open door, will we just
have a compliant session that won’t help?
I am not comfortable with how vulnerable
I have to be if we really put everything on
the table.
LEADER
If I speak up and disagree, will I be the
team member who doesn’t get to play?

49. Direct
Reports
Promotion
Desk
Space
Raise
15
Minutes
of Fame
The Boss
POWER

51. THE ART
OF HAVING
TRUTHFUL
CONVERSATIONS

52. THE ART
OF HAVING
TRUTHFUL
CONVERSATIONS

53. THE ART
OF HAVING
TRUTHFUL
CONVERSATIONS

54. HOME BUILDING
“We do not probe
the business for
performance and
we don’t know
the difference
between good
and lucky in our
24 divisions.”
RESTAURANT
“We say we are a
people company,
yet we don’t
prioritize developing
people. We aren’t
good at it and don’t
like doing it.”
MANUFACTURING
“We don’t set stretch
credible goals that
are owned and
believed in through
execution.”

56. BE THE SPARK TO
CHALLENGE YOUR
EXISTING WAYS.

57. Book available on
Amazon and major
book stores.