In this episode Erik Schön, a seasoned leader, executive, and strategist shares his insights on leadership, integrity, and flexibility, drawing inspirations from ancient giants like Sun Tzu, Lao Tzu, and John Boyd. Marcus and Erik discuss the importance of understanding and applying the philosophy of actions, not words, to navigate a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) environment. The discussion covers topics such as the definition and significance of integrity, using adversity as a teacher, and practical applications of ancient strategic principles in modern leadership. Erik also shares personal stories about applying these lessons during challenging times in his career.

Episode Highlights:

06:29 Applying Ancient Wisdom to Modern Leadership

11:00 The Balance of Autonomy and Alignment

23:29 Effortless Action and Leadership Misconceptions

30:35 The Influence of Bruce Lee and Taoism

31:51 Visualizing Business Strategies with Maps

34:20 The Power of Patterns in Leadership

35:58 Balancing Examples and Ambiguity in Writing

44:39 The Importance of Sustainable Work Practices

49:03 Understanding Boyd's OODA Loop

Erik Schön has successfully developed and deployed strategy for over 20 years in small, medium and large organizations. Hacker, software researcher and system engineer turned leader, executive and strategizer, Erik is leading global organizations in complex product development and service delivery.

Check out Erik’s books here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B086TVWK9T?ingress=0&visitId=679eb1ed-5ec2-4012-9579-a3252c5986c4

Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.