Founder and Chairman of the Board, The HOW Institute for Society
“When you press the pause button on a machine it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they start.” -Dov Seidman
Dov Seidman is a successful entrepreneur and CEO, best-selling author and writer, and a teacher.
He has devoted his life and professional career to making philosophy and philosophical frameworks practical in the business arena and across all sectors of society on a global scale.
Seidman is the author of the New York Times best-seller “HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything,” which offers a philosophical framework for individual and organizational behavior in a world that is increasingly interconnected and interdependent.
Thought Leadership from Dov Seidman
The Magic of Leading With Purpose
The Magic of Leading with Purpose
A HOW Conversation about Leadership with Lisa Sherman
and Dov Seidman
We are in a time where unprecedented forces are reshaping our world faster than we can adapt our institutions, leadership, and even ourselves. In recent years, we have faced challenges on all sides—a global pandemic causing suffering, death, and economic destabilization; a reimagined workplace; technological advances that challenge human dignity and autonomy; a war in Ukraine and Israel that has shaken international alliances; and the rise of autocratic leaders across the globe. Beneath it all is a hunger to rediscover how we can come together as a human community with a moral framework to address these challenges. In such times, we look to the leaders who are demonstrating how to come together in common cause to pursue a better future that ensures more stable societies.
The conversation took place during HOW Conversations, The HOW Institute’s video series dedicated to highlighting moral leadership, principled decision-making, and values-based behavior in action, Dov Seidman discussed these issues with someone who is bringing together business leaders to tackle some of the most pressing issues we face today: Lisa Sherman the CEO and President of the Ad Council.
The discussion has been lightly edited for clarity. To see the complete session, visit The HOW Institute’s YouTube channel.
Dov Seidman:
How do you decide what issues to engage with? And what’s your playbook for bringing people together around thorny issues so that we can create more shared truth in the world?
Lisa Sherman:
The Ad Council was founded on the promise and the potential of the communications industry’s capacity to do good. Our industry is made up of extraordinarily talented people who are expert communicators, and who work on behalf of clients and brands to generate ideas that get people “to do things”. The Ad Council’s mission, our purpose, is to ensure that people can live happier, healthier, and safer lives through public education. That’s what we do. One of our priorities right now is addressing mental health, where, the data is quite sobering. Upwards of 50-60% of people are struggling with anxiety and depression. And the rates of suicide, especially among young people are higher than we’ve ever seen before.
DS:
We’ve talked about how so many companies’ ad campaigns proclaim their humanity: there’s the “human energy company” and the “human network,” yet another company says they have the “human element.” And some companies say their products can help us ”‘be more human” or even “bank more human.” But we know that it’s one thing to advertise your humanity, and it’s another thing to translate that proclamation into a human ethos of how we operate, how we relate to people and society. If you were a CEO of an organization that told the world that you’re human, what steps would you take to make your institution more human?
LS:
For me, it always goes back to: What is an organizations reason for being? What is our why? What are our values? How do we go about showing those values? And so, for us, it’s always about looking at: who are our stakeholders, what is important to them, and how do we continue to foster a society where everyone can thrive. I think grounding everything in purpose and values should hold true for every business enterprise.
DS:
What is the playbook that you seem to think is effective for a CEO or a business leader navigating a world in which you no longer get to say, “Hey, I just run a business.”
LS:
As a leader, I think finding the intersection between your company’s purpose and an individual’s purpose is where the magic happens. People want companies to stand for something more than just focusing on returns for their shareholders. For the longest time we lived in a world where that wasn’t the case. Today, the talent we work with has much more influence than I could have ever imagined 30 years ago. Every stakeholder (employees, suppliers, partners, communities we serve, and shareholders, are critical to success. I don’t think any company can be as effective as they want to be if they don’t consider all of these critical constituencies .
DS:
You’ve said that life and the path ahead is not linear, it’s curvilinear, that life doesn’t move in a straight line. That adage has animated your own personal journey of leadership. Tell us about leading when you’re so conscious that there isn’t a straight line in terms of becoming a better leader. How has your non-straight-line career informed your leadership in a way that others can emulate?
LS:
I think the non-linear aspects of my career—some were intentional zigs, and others were unintentional zags—taught me so much about handling challenging times. My perspective is that we must try new things, and it’s not all going to work. And that’s okay because we can learn so much more when things don’t work. I also know that to lead, especially in times of challenge and change, is very difficult. If you don’t have the trust of the team, then the things you need to do will be more difficult. I like to say that its important to lead at the speed of trust. I’m an impatient person. I like to move quickly, but I also learned the hard way that if I didn’t build the trust amongst the people that I was working with, we might have some short-term wins very quickly, but they would never stick.
DS:
You’ve said very publicly that you were in a corporate closet for 17 years and that when you came out of that closet, you were not only happier, you were more creative and more productive. And since then, you’ve also made it a mission to create workplaces where people can bring their full authentic selves to work. How has coming out changed your leadership?
LS:
When I finally had the courage to come out of the corporate closet, I thought that the benefit would be that I wasn’t hiding and holding onto a secret any longer. What I didn’t fully understand was how much energy it took to hide. I was freed up by not expending so much emotional energy making up stories. I called it pronoun puppetry. I would substitute “him, he” for “her” and “she” when people would ask what I did during the weekends. I didn’t have to think about any of that anymore, I exhaled for the first time in decades. I was able to think more clearly, be more creative . It changed the course of my life in so many ways. Given that experience, I do whatever I can to create an environment where people feel like they can step out whatever closet they are in and into the light.
DS:
Can you give advice to the next generation of people who are consciously and intentionally on a leadership journey?
LS:
I recommend asking yourself some key questions to find your personal purpose. What are the things you really care about? What are the values that you live by? I would also encourage folks to use their voice effectively, stay curious, have a belief in something, and then act on it.
DS:
What inspires hope in you?
LS:
I am very inspired by the young people that I work with every day because they bring a level of courage and authenticity that I did not have when I was just starting out and for many years into my career. That gives me a lot of hope. I love the spirit, the energy, and the passion that they bring. They are forcing us to be better leaders.
Dov Seidman
Dov Seidman is a successful entrepreneur, CEO, best-selling author,
and teacher. He has devoted his life and career to elevating individual
and organizational behavior, inspiring principled performance, nurturing
a culture of moral leadership, and building institutions committing to scaling
deep, sustainable, human values in the business arena and across all spheres
of society.
Seidman is the author of The New York Times best seller “HOW: Why HOW
We Do Anything Means Everything.” HOW is much more than a book. HOW is
a philosophical framework for changing the role of behavior, governance,
culture and leadership in contemporary society. Today, the HOW philosophy
impacts how businesses operate, how cities are run, how soldiers are trained,
how school systems prepare students and staff, and how professional sports
franchises win championships through how they develop team character and
build more respectful, trust-filled cultures.
Dov is so obsessed with the HOW that he created The HOW Institute for
Society in 2019 as a non-profit to build and nurture a culture of moral
leadership, principled decision-making, and values-based behavior. The
Institute seeks to enable individuals and institutions to meet the profound
social, economic, and technological changes of the 21st Century.
In 1994, Dov founded LRN, the leading ethics and compliance management
and education company, where he was CEO for 25 years and currently serves
as chairman, with a purpose to “help people around the world do the right
thing” and mission of “inspiring principled performance in business.” Since
then, LRN has helped over 25 million people in more than 100 countries
simultaneously navigate complex legal and regulatory environments and
make ethical decisions. Today, LRN helps more than 2,500 companies foster
ethical, responsible, and inclusive cultures, which, in turn, create sustainable
competitive advantage.
Led by a lifelong pursuit and passion for ethical leadership, Dov became the
partner to The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity in awarding The Elie Wiesel
Prize in Ethics in 2008. This annual competition challenges college students
to address the urgent and complex ethical issues facing the modern world.
He continues to support the Prize and is also a member of The Elie Wiesel
Foundation Board of Directors.
After the collapse of Enron, Seidman testified before the U.S. Sentencing
Commission, advocating for corporations to evolve from a check-the-box,
compliance-only approach to fostering ethical cultures and behaviors.
His proposals were adopted and currently serve as the standards by which
companies, cultures, and programs are evaluated.
Dov continues to work with and advise CEOs and other senior leaders to help
shape values-based and purpose-inspired corporate cultures, leadership and
governance models. Fortune often calls on Dov to write and speak about
the moral imperative of modern leadership, recognizing his “ability to take
the challenges that CEOs and other leaders face in their day-to-day roles
and place them in a broader context of decision-making.” Seidman is also a
contributing author for The New York Times and other prominent publications.
Dov was named a “Groundbreaker” by The New York Times for “his role in
changing the business world.” He has been referred to as a “Game Changer”
and “Principled Prophet” by Time Magazine for helping companies “thrive by
pursuing both profits and principles.”
Dov often speaks at leading private and public sector events. He was hired by
the NFL commissioner in 2014 to advocate to its owners and head coaches the
need for the NFL to create a culture where tolerance and respect were normal
expectations. He was the first, non-Apple employee to speak at The Steve Jobs
Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. He has talked about issues
concerning global leadership in Vatican City. He gave the commencement
address, “Doing the Right Thing,” at UCLA’s College of Letters and Science.
Seidman is often called upon as a keynote speaker at both private and public
events, such as the United Nations Global Compact, The World Economic
Forum, The World Business Forum, The Aspen Ideas Festival, and more.
Seidman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in moral philosophy from UCLA
and Oxford—where he served as captain of the Balliol College crew team. He
also has a law degree from Harvard Law School and an honorary doctorate
from Hebrew Union College. He was also given the Jurisprudence Award by the
Anti-Defamation League.
Dov is meaningfully involved in and supports organizations pursuing aligned
missions of significance and seeking to inspire positive change in our world.
Currently, Dov serves on the board of directors at The Elie Wiesel Foundation for
Humanity, The 92nd Street Y, The Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine,
and Planet Word.
Dov helps to educate and develop the next generation to become inspirational,
moral leaders and principled decision-makers. In the Fall of 2022, Dov
was appointed a Hauser Leader at The Center for Public Leadership at The
Harvard Kennedy School. Dov established The Herbert Morris Scholarship at
UCLA’s School of Law to support a first-year law school student who has a
demonstrated interest in philosophy and who aspires to make a meaningful
difference in the world
Twitter: @DovSeidman / LinkedIn / The HOW Institute for Society / LRN