Episode 80 - Dick Fuld Charisma Part 1
What is Charisma? A charming smile? A warm handshake? Being tall? Maybe functional charisma is more practical. Maybe it’s something we can master and use tactically.
The CEO of Lehman Brothers, Dick Fuld, was oftimes called a charismatic leader by subordinates. Someone who inspired his underlings. Underlings who were willing to follow Dick right over a cliff, and into the 2008 financial crash. But all the videos and pictures of Dick Fuld are CNN clips of him screaming about eating hearts. Or looking enraged at reporters. Or Dick, stern as a judge, confronting a panel of executives. In short, Dick looked very un-charismatic. So where’s the charm? The warmth? How can Dick be called Charismatic when he lacks every hallmark we classically associate with charisma?
In Part 1 we’ll talk about the primal origins of Charisma. And why storytelling and socialization, not tools, made us the dominant species on the planet. Then we’ll compare what we know about the evolution of charisma with our CEO, Dick Fuld.
In Part 2, we’ll learn how modern charisma works. We’ll share three small but mighty tools for you to master charisma and persuasiveness (backed by science, of course!) Lastly, we’ll ask the forward-thinking question about charisma - if all future businesses are going to be run by efficient algorithms, why do we even need charismatic CEOs like Dick? In short, if the ships will be sailing themselves, why do we need captains?
History Links:
https://nymag.com/news/business/52603/
https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/F-L/Fuld-Richard-S-Jr-1946.html
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp
https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/exhibition/lehman-brothers-timeline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q7W0hNSGMQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD9ry2Lgglw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnDbdQa_r38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A25EUhZGBws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E2BGidoNZU
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-good-reasons-why-lehman-failed/
https://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/29/dick-fulds-speech-dont-call-it-a-comeback-commentary.html
Science Links:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/the-charisma-effect/492740/
https://news.yale.edu/2019/10/21/yale-study-shows-class-bias-hiring-based-few-seconds-speech
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-good-leaders-dont-need-chari