(Three hundred industry leaders gathered at the Women’s Foodservice Forum Executive Summit last week in Phoenix.  The conference featured educational content from industry leaders and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management faculty.  The caliber of the presentations was so high, I wanted to pass along some of the key learnings.  So beginning today and for the rest of the days this week, my brand as business bit will feature insights from the speakers.)

brand as business bit:

“HOW:  Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything,” the title of Dov Seidman’s book, pretty says it all.  As a moral philosopher and Founder, Chairman, and CEO of the business consultancy LRN , Dov believes principles, morals, and values must go together with business – and that businesses have the opportunity not simply to shift behavior, but to elevate it.  His entire talk was profound and covered a lot of ground including:

• The way we conduct business is a source of competitive advantage.  Instead of focusing on how to outsmart or outthink our competition, we should resolve to out-behave them – meaning lead, govern, operate, consume, form relationships, etc.
• Progress begins with trust.  All innovation is enabled by risk-taking and trust must exist before risk.  Organizations with high trust outperform others in innovation and financial performance. The virtue of trust lies in us trusting others first, not in them being trustworthy.
• Culture and strategy are becoming the same thing.  Culture is the only thing that isn’t copy-able.

Check back tomorrow for insights about persuasion and negotiation Kellogg  prof Tanya Menon at the Women’s Foodservice Forum Executive Summit.