Guest – Dov Seidman


Dov Seidman has built a career, and pioneered an industry, around the idea that the most principled businesses are the most profitable over the  long-term.

Fourteen years ago, long before Enron, he founded LRN with a powerful vision that the world would be a better place if more people did the right thing. From that basic notion, he has grown a successful company that has  helped to shape the ways millions of employees, managers and leaders behave and interact all over the world. 

Dov is recognized as a thought leader on a range of topics – from achieving significance in our new 21st century world, to the importance of trust in personal and business dealings to succeeding with both principles and profits in mind.

In 2004, he testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission about the need for companies to develop ethical cultures instead of check-the-box, compliance-only approaches, and his views helped shape the amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

In 2007, his book, HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything in Business (and in Life), was published by John Wiley & Sons, detailing years of thought about business cultures, philosophy and success.  In the acclaimed book, Dov argues, out-behaving our competitors has become critical to out-performing them.  In our hyperconnected and hypertransparent world, it is no longer what we do that sets us apart from others, but how we do what we do that matters.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman prominently featured this thinking and excerpts from his interviews with Dov in the best-selling book, The World is Flat.  The updated edition, The World Is Flat 3.0, prominently features Dov’s philosophies as Rule #7 (proper use of outsourcing) and Rule #8 (“Hows Matter”) in Friedman’s nine rules for companies to embrace in a flat world.  

Dov is frequently invited to speak at leading industry events and to senior management and Boards of Directors.  His views have been quoted in hundreds of print and broadcast media.  Recent presentations include The National Press Club, The Milken Institute Forum, The Outstanding Directors Exchange and The Defense Industry Initiative’s Best Practices Forum.  Recent media appearances include ABC’s Good Morning America, BusinessWeek, Charlie Rose, Condé Nast Portfolio andThe New York Times.  He has also been a keynote speaker at UCLA’s annual commencement.

Dov earned simultaneous bachelor’s and master’s degrees, summa cum laude, in philosophy from UCLA. He later earned a B.A. with honors in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University, where he was a Newton-Tatum scholar and captain of the Balliol College crew team. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.  He and his wife Maria live in Los Angeles, where LRN is headquartered.

 

About LRN
LRN is dedicated to assisting its clients with developing ethical, sustainable and profitable cultures through a combination of robust education and management solutions, in-depth research and analysis and best practice advice and knowledge sharing.  Founded in 1993, the company has reached more than 10 million employees, operating in more than 120 countries around the world.  Headquartered in Los Angeles, LRN also maintains offices in New York, London and Mumbai.  More information is available at . 

About HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life)
In HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life), author and CEO of LRN Dov Seidman offers a radically different perspective on achieving success and significance in a more wired, fast-paced, transparent 21st century world.  Published by John Wiley & Sons in June 2007, HOW argues why sustainable advantage now lies in the realm of how we do what we do. More information is available at .