3 leadership lessons can we take away from the downfall of Theranos

3 leadership lessons can we take away from the downfall of Theranos3 leadership lessons can we take away from the downfall of TheranosTheranos was a company positioned to revolutionize blood testing. Just a few short years ago, the company was hailed as Silicon Valleys next great unicorn. Investors valued it at $9 billion, making Theranos founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest woman self-made billionaire, at least on paper.Holmes image blanketed the cover of major geschftsleben magazines where she often sported her trademark Steve Jobs turtleneck, evoking comparisons between the two leaders. Apparently, they also had a shared love of secrecy.Weeks ago Theranos quietly announced that it was shutting down its operations and Holmes is facing criminal fraud charges along with another key executive. Shes accused of defrauding investors, doctors and patients and is barred from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company for the next decade.So, what happened?How did a company that raised more than $700 million, with promises to revolutionize blood-tests by using just a few drops of blood, fall so spectacularly from grace?There is a lot to the story, which has been covered in the bestselling bookBad Blood, however here is the very high level version.As Theranos progressed from concept to reality, the technology didnt work as planned. Instead of coming clean, Theranos leadership, led by Holmes, chose to exaggerate and outright lie about the technology. This included running their blood test on traditional equipment, claiming it had been done on their machine.Theranos story is almost identical to the circumstances that led to theVolkswagens diesel engine scandal.Was it massive hubris? A crippling fear of failure? Deliberate deception?Perhaps well never know the underlying why behind it all, but we can take away a few leadership lessons from it beyond the obvious issue of Holmes integrity.1. Dont over promise and under deliverOver-promising i s something of an occupational hazard for leaders of fast-growing companies. While a promise of great things is by no means terrible, its the under-delivering part that is problematic. Once a promise is on the table, it creates serious pressure to meet goals, potentially unrealistic ones. Thats the danger zone.Before long, poor choices are being made as are claims that border on fiction. The line between aspirational thinking and truth begins to blur. By all means, set big, hairy, audacious goals. Just make sure to keep a sharp eye on progress and keep yur ego in check if outcomes arent as audacious as you had hoped.In high pressure situations, its all too easy to get caught up in our own vision however blurry and tweak the facts to support our goals.2. Trust but verifyIts amazing how many smart people will jump on a bandwagon just because its full of other smart people. Theranos had no shortage of star power. Both Secretary of Defense, James Mattis and former Secretary of State, H enry Kissinger, served on its board. But did they or any other powerhouses independently corroborate the companys claims before joining up? Apparently not. Google Ventures, who passed on investing, actually sent a venture capitalist to a Theranos Walgreens Wellness Center to take the revolutionary pinprick blood test and noticed they asked for far more than a prick.In our fast-moving society,its critically important to do your own due diligence. Following the herd might get you trampled.3. Build a team of dissentersAs I mentioned in last weeks Friday Forward, Respectful Disagreement, its critical that we have people in our life and on our professional team who are willing to disagree and push back. Holmes started down a path of lying and covering up poor results without anyone willing or able to stand up and challenge her decisions. She was known for hiring people close to her and insisting on extreme secrecy and security of information.Theranos downfall is yet another example where the cover-up is worse than the crime. Holmes may not have set out to deceive, but that doesnt matter anymore. What the situation reveals is how a few seemingly little lies can quickly evolve into something much bigger, ruining careers and reputations in the process.The path of no return is one every leader should strive to veer from. But if you do find yourself on this path, remember youll be more valued and respected for taking responsibility andowning your failures.This article was originally published on Quora.com.

United States Consumer Confidence

United States Consumer ConfidenceUnited States Consumer ConfidenceUnited States Consumer Confidence07/25/2017The latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index was released on Tuesday, July 25 based on data collected through July 14. Consumer confidence rose to the second highest level in 16 years exceeding expectations from some economists. Americans are feeling great about the current state of the economy and mora hopeful about the future.The Index now stands at a preliminary 121.1, up 3.8 points from the downward revision of 117.3 in June reflecting improved business conditions. The overall confidence reading of 121.1 was the highest since the confidence datenbankindex hit 124.9 in March of this year and both readings were the highest since the index stood at 128.6 in December 2000.Consumer confidence increased in July following a marginal decline in June, said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. Consumers assessment of current conditions remai ned at a 16-year high (July 2001, 151.3) and their expectations for the short-term outlook improved somewhat after cooling last month. Overall, consumers foresee the current economic expansion continuing well into the second half of this year.Americans assessment of the labor market improved. Those surveyed stating jobs are plentiful rose from 32.0 percent to 34.1 percent while persons claiming jobs are hard to get decreased slightly from 18.4 percent to 18.0 percent.The outlook for the labor market also improved. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead was unchanged at 19.2 percent, but those anticipating fewer jobs decreased from 14.6 percent to 13.3 percent.Consumer confidence for August 2017 will be released on Tuesday, August 29, 2017.Consumer confidence is a key measure of consumers attitudes. The survey, a closely followed barometer of consumer attitudes, measures confidence toward business conditions, short-term outlook, personal finances and jobs. In other wo rds it measures the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall state of the economy and their personal financial situation. If consumer confidence is high, consumers are more likely to make purchases. Vice-versa, if consumer confidence is low, consumers are more likely to save and spend less.

13 Best Companies for New Parents to Work

13 Best Companies for New Parents to Work13 Best Companies for New Parents to Work13 Best Companies for New Parents to WorkBalance work and family life like a boss - with the help of the right employer.Is this the year that you take on your most challenging, yet rewarding, job to date? Parenting that is. If youre thinking of becoming a parent, its important to know your companys policies in regards to parents. Does your employer offer paid maternity and paternity leave? If so, how much leave do they provide? What other programs or policies does your company have in place to help working parents?Paid maternity and paternity leave is about mora than just getting a break from your job for a few weeks. Its been proven that significant paid leave leads to healthier babies and happier parents. Postpartum depression increases when the mother receives less than 12 weeks of maternity leave or eight weeks paid leave.When it comes to supporting parents in the workplace, not all companies are e qual. Out of 196 countries in the world, there are only four that do not have federally mandated maternity leave policies. Unfortunately, the United States is one of them. While there are many countries that are far ahead of the U.S. when it comes to supporting parents in the workplace, you may not be ready to move abroad to start your family.That means youll want to find a great company right here in the United States.The good news is that there are companies that are taking it upon themselves to be proactive in the arena of supporting new parents in the workplace. Here are 13 of the best companies to work for if you plan on starting your family.A.T. KearneyHow does a year off with partial pay sound for a maternity or paternity leave? A.T. Kearney offers that to new parents (birth or adopted), plus the vorkaufsrecht to come back as part-time for the next year as a part of its Pathway for Parents program. The company also offers free family counseling and resources for caregivers an d educational assistance. On top of that, it is a very work-from-home friendly workplace, which helps its employees maintain a better work-life balance. IKEAIKEA is now offering up to four months leave for new parents. The best part of the policy is that its applicable to both mothers and fathers as well as adoptive and foster parents. The maternity and paternity leave policy works for both salaried and hourly employees. Its rare to see such progressive parental policies in the retail sector. On top of that, IKEA employees get a 15 percent discount, so you can save money while setting up that new nursery.SpotifyThis music streaming company is a hit with new parents. Spotify offers six months of paid leave to both mothers and fathers, regardless of their country. Flexible work arrangements and part-time return options also boost this already generous policy for working parents. Not surprisingly, Spotify stems from Sweden, where such policies are much mora commonplace.EtsyEtsy maintai ns a very inclusive parental leave policy. It offers a generous 26 weeks of 100 percent paid leave for all employees, regardless of gender or country of residence. It also does not discriminate against surrogates, adoptions, or other means of becoming new parents. The time off can be taken over the course of the first two years of the newborns life.AdobeAdobe also offers 26 weeks of maternity leave, but only 16 weeks for a paternity leave. While it may not be as impressive as Etsys policy, its still well ahead of the curve in accommodating working parents. Both birth and adoptive parents are titelblatted in the maternity leave.Johnson JohnsonWho knows babies like the people who make your favorite baby shampoo and baby powder? Johnson Johnson offers 17 weeks leave to new mothers and nine weeks to new fathers. Its policies cover all forms of new parents including adoptive and same sex. The time off can be spread out over the first year to help balance work and life while adjusting t o the new family dynamic.FacebookThe social networking giant dishes out 17 weeks for mothers and fathers that can be split up over the first year. The company wants to make sure you have enough time to post all those new baby pictures to Facebook. On top of that, new parents get $4,000 of baby cash for each baby born to help with some of those early bills. Facebook also subsidizes a number of programs to help with adoption, child care, and even egg freezing.TwitterNot to be left behind in the social media realm, Twitter dishes out 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave regardless of gender or birthing means. This new policy was established in 2016 to help even the score between moms and dads and create happier families and employees. Isnt that progressive?AmazonNew mothers can get 20 weeks of paid maternity leave from Amazon. Other parents (fathers and same-sex partners) only receive six weeks of paid leave. One interesting touch is that parents who work at Amazon can share up to six weeks of their leave with a partner who works at a company where there is no parental leave offered. Once the mother or primary caregiver is ready to head back to work, they can take advantage of the Ramp Back program, which offers eight weeks of flexible time as they get re-adjusted.NetflixNetflix offers new parents a full year of unlimited paid leave. The parent has the option to take the full year, work part time, or go back to work for a while and then take more leave within that year. The policy includes both salaried and hourly workers. To make it even better, Netflix offers unlimited vacation time.CitiAs of 2017, Citi has upped its maternal leave to 16 weeks. The banking giant also offers eight weeks for a second parent. These are upgraded from 13 and two. Not enough? How about an additional 10 weeks of protected unpaid leave within the first year? Thats a total of 26 weeks possible for a new mother. Parents can also take advantage of benefits offered by the Bright Horizons Care Advantage program.GoogleNever one to be left behind, Google offers 18 weeks paid leave for biological mothers and bumps that up to 22 weeks for mothers who experience difficulties during childbirth. Other primary caregivers can get up to 12 weeks of leave while secondary caregivers get up to seven. New parents are also given $500 worth of baby bonding bucks and priority placement at Bright Horizon child care centers.MicrosoftMicrosoft offers 20 weeks paid leave for birth mothers and 12 weeks for other new parents. New mothers also have the option to take 2 weeks of short term disability during the time leading up to their due date.These are by no means the only companies out there that are offering great benefits to new parents, but they are some of the most widely recognized. If trends continue, this list could continue to grow each year.While parental leave policies are not the only reason to choose an employer, with so many companies in the U.S. offering very little or even no perks at all for new parents, its worth noting. If youre planning on starting a family in the next year or two, it may be worth brushing up that resume and applying to one of these progressive companies to balance your work and family life.Click on the following link for more advice on work-life balance.The perfect job starts with the perfect resume. Submit yours for a free resume review.Recommended Reading10 of the Most Mom-Friendly WorkplacesLeadership Lessons From Kid PresidentThe vergammeln Fathers Guide to a Work-Life Balance