Collaborations
Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and author:
- Finding Your True North
- Finding Your True North A Personal Guide
- 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis
Nick Craig, president of ALI, met Bill George in 2006 at a Gallup Conference on leadership. Shortly in to their first conversation, they were struck by the synergies in their thinking and approaches to leadership development. Nick was excited to discover that Bill’s extensive industry experience, and academic research, validated the leadership development interventions and models he had been using successfully with his consulting clients for a number of years. In turn, George was very interested in the practical applications Nick had developed, and was actively applying in a variety of corporate settings, to foster authentic leadership.
They were both energized to meet someone who was ‘attacking’ Authentic Leadership from a different, but certainly complementary, angle. They began exploring ways to collaborate and learn from one another, and quickly found an opportunity to co-author a book.
Bill George’s bestselling book, True North, received strong reviews. Given Nick’s extensive consulting and workshop experience, this provided an excellent opportunity for Bill and Nick to collaborate on a follow-up book entitled The True North Personal Guide.
The authors used the Harvard Business Review research documented in True North and provides detailed exercises designed to allow one to access his/her authenticity as a leader. The True North Personal Guide was published in Spring 2008 and also received strong reviews.
Since the release of the personal guide, Bill and Nick have continued to collaborate to deliver corporate-based leadership development initiatives at GE, Unilever and many other companies, to bring new tools for authentic leadership development to discerning and motivated audiences.
When reflecting upon his first meeting with Bill, Nick remembers admiring Bill and thinking that, “Bill is a true authentic leader --- he is really walking the talk.” Several years, and a lot of work later, Nick is honored to continue collaborating with Bill and always looks forward to working, and spending time, with him.