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On Retreat with a client in western Norway, immersed in beauty

I write this newsletter
to help you
be the leader
the world needs you to be

People call me ‘the CEO Whisperer’ because of the discrete work I do with CEOs around the world. Amidst all their questions is a perennial: How do we survive the present and thrive in the future?

Now I’m thrilled to meet you—whether you are leading a country, company, community, a team, a family or yourself—since together we can go a long way toward changing the trajectory of humanity: for the better.

I frequently hear stories of how our institutions, systems, and culture, are broken and not working as we need them to. People express exhaustion from grappling with multiple crises across the environment, economy, geopolitics, technology and society. These complex challenges, arising from long-term socio-cultural cycles and shorter term political and structural shifts, reveal a need for new models of leadership—for truly human leadership.

We need truly human leaders

We are building a community of leaders who search together as we grapple with the questions that confront us at every level—from what it means to discover oneself to what it means to change the world—and how we can lead and care for others in our own circle of impact. We believe those answers start with us. We need to become the person we need to be, to become the leader we need to be.

We are united in a belief that the answers lie in a turn from pragmatic, short-term values, to principled, long-term, values. How do we infuse our lives and our world with truth and beauty and goodness as we navigate our way into the future? If you are a leader, how do you care for others along the way?

That’s what The CEO Whisperer is ultimately all about: helping leaders lead, wherever you lead, and doing so in a more human way. Understanding how to live fulfilling lives, and contribute to a flourishing society. And together find an answer to the pressing question: ‘how do we live … together?’

Here’s what I can offer you:

I bring you the ‘gold dust’ of leadership practice, sifted from twenty years of coaching, consulting and conversations with outstanding leaders, across a wide range of industries, in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the US. My CEO and Chairman level clients work in Government institutions, the biotech industry, global consulting and advisory, listed banks, insurance, mining, construction, retail, telecoms, transport; publishing, media and advertising, the superannuation and funds industry. In addition to that I have pro-bono clients among not-for-profit charities and the arts.

The power of questions

Curt Carlson, one of the world's leading innovation experts, who generated billions of dollars of value for clients when he was CEO of SRI Industries—including the invention of SIRI, which he sold to Apple— believes finding the right question, in order to make the best decision, is worth any amount of money. He said:

‘Anthony Howard asks critical questions. He starts by understanding the person and then helps them reframe their issues to identify their actual problem or opportunity, not just the one that seems initially obvious.

How much is it worth to identify the right problem?

Everything.’

At The CEO Whisperer we grapple with finding the right question to find the right answer.

The ultimate answer is simple: a turn to higher order values of care and compassion, of truth and goodness, of love and respect. The key to the remedy is beauty: attention to, and immersion in beauty. We are building a community of people who can reorient the world toward beauty, and renew our culture and institutions.

Why subscribe?

Our content spans a range of crucial topics: from personal mastery to leadership development, from designing your life to navigating complex global challenges; from making sense of the world, to caring for others. You will receive articles that provide actionable ideas to enhance your leadership capability, and practical philosophical perspectives to help you think differently.

You might enjoy these three as a start.

In addition, if you want to be a part of the community of people who are grappling with leadership in a more human way, you can expect:

  • Subscriber-only salons. Once a month we get together on zoom to talk about the fundamentals of leadership—not the kind of thing you will learn in an MBA or an airport best-seller, but deep insight and powerful tools from my own experience launching 5 businesses, mentoring more than 40 CEOs—where each engagement extends across many years—and conducting hundreds of workshops for executive teams.

  • You will be able to schedule personal, high impact coaching and consulting calls to help you identify the right question, or help you find new answers to the questions you face, at a significant discount to what my personal clients pay

  • On occasions we will host meetups in cities as I travel the world. And then we will find a way to get together in real life, person to person, over a coffee or a meal

  • Leadership Retreats. I have been taking clients on individual bespoke Retreats: a deep conversation in a place of great beauty, that enables them to step back from their busy lives, consider what truly matters, and reframe their thinking. In the future I will be offering these Retreats for small groups of half a dozen people at a time. Subscribers will be offered a 10% discount on the fee.

The CEO Whisperer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Why become a paid subscriber?

It’s simple really: you would like to support my work financially. It’s your way of saying “I’m with you”—and you have my enduring gratitude.

Join the Community

Come and be part of a community of people who are interested in building a more human world in the midst of the chaos and conflict. One of my primary drivers with The CEO Whisperer is to create a community of human-centred leaders. If you are trying to get to the future first in a more human way … consider doing it with us.

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Grappling with today's profound challenges, to help you be the leader the world needs, and cultivate a more human world in the midst of chaos.

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20+ years mentoring high-level CEOs. PhD in Leadership. Creator of Personalist Leadership model. Author of pioneering work on Human-centred Leadership. Wanderer, wonderer and motorcyclist.