What does it mean to mean to be good? The answer seems simple. But Tony Tjan, founder and CEO of The Cue Ball Group, goes in depth in his book "Good People," as to why that answer actually isn’t so easy.
Tjan spoke to Boston Public Radio about what he thinks makes someone worthy of the title “good.”
“It's one of these suitcase words that's so hard to unpack. We all say we want to be good people, but we don't know what it means," he said. "We are in this crisis of leadership. In 17 years, we have never had institutional trust so low. Think about this fact, 32 percent is the number that people are engaged in their workplace. That means nearly 67 percent of the workforce today wants to quit their job or are completely indifferent."
Furthermore, Tjan says being a good leader means recognizing other’s potential.
“For so long we thought about leaders as people that would be great followers. The new model of leadership needs to be leaders that are in the business of producing new leaders,” Tjan said.
Tjan that more leaders today, whether in business, politics, media etc., need to shift to the Warren Buffet philosophy.
An example of one company that utilizes this method is WD-40, the company which manufactures the signature multi-use house spray. Ninety-nine percent of employees at WD-40 love their job and would recommend it to a friend or colleague, Tjan says.
How do you find good people? Tjan says when in a position of leadership, try new methods of interviewing in the search for new employees.
“Leadership is a privilege. It is a privilege to serve," Tjan said. "When we talk about mentorship, mentorship has to begin with a relationship. We are in the business of helping others become a fuller version of their self so you need to think about questions that will help reveal, not that will help foster rehearsed responses."
Tony Tjan is founder and CEO of Cue Ball Group, a venture capital firm focused on digital and information media, enterprise Internet, and tech-enabled retail. His latest book is "Good People." To hear his interview in its entirety, click the audio player above.
