Launch of 'Leadership through Disruption' by Andrew Liveris AO

They say if you want something done ask a busy person.  Well Andrew Liveris is indeed a busy person who has done something substantial with this book.

It draws on the life and work experience of someone who has operated at the highest levels of the US corporate sector.  It is, as Andrew writes in the introductory notes, the product of the insights he’s gained from “more than four decades of global experience” working “at the intersection of business, government, academia, the non-profit sector, and civil society”.

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At first glance the title – ‘Leadership Through Disruption’ – has an exquisite ambiguity to it.  Is it about leadership at a time of disruption or is it the confessions of a grenade thrower:  someone who leads by disrupting.  Well you will be relieved to know it is the former, although I suspect there may have been rare moments in Andrew’s illustrious career when he may have thrown the odd grenade for strategic effect.

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We stand today globally between a tipping point and a settling point.

The world order which was created in the aftermath of the second world war:  the so called rules based international order, the creation of multilateral institutions, the restraint of raw power through international law, the promotion of free markets and trade liberalisation.  These have all largely tipped over.

And we have yet to arrive at the settling point of what will replace the old order.  Can we avoid a cold war wrapped in a hard decoupling of the US and China?  Can we save let alone revive what is left of the architecture of international cooperation? Can we find enough common ground and shared will do deal with the many challenges from climate change, pandemics, nuclear proliferation and other so called problems without borders?  Can we learn to re-prosecute the case for an open economy at a time when protectionism is on the rise, the appeal of self reliance leads us to turn inward and fundamental concepts such as comparative advantage or market efficiency are airily dismissed as no longer relevant.

The answer to those questions will ultimately turn on the quality of our leaders, not just in government and politics, but also in business, the community, academia and all the other areas which constitute the complex ecosystem in which we live.

And yet we are facing everywhere a deficit in leadership.  This is not because of a lack of talent or conviction in our leadership class.  It is more profound than that.  It is because we are in a period of transition where the old leadership skills are no longer sufficient for an age of disruption and the new leadership skills are yet to be forged.

There is something about our social media saturated world which has blunted and distorted the antennae of leadership.

The old leadership skills had an instinctive sense of where the centre of gravity of an issue truly lay.  In this new era that sense is masked and distorted by the static of social media, the triumph of the urgent over the important, the perceived need to respond instantly and the challenges of cutting through the static to find substance.

There was a time when good policy could also be good politics.  Today the reverse seems to be the case:  the incentives favour the populist whose signature approach is to transform bad policy into good politics

Too many leaders today are day traders when they need to be long term investors because managing the daily media cycle or controlling the narrative are seen as the measures of success.

We all share a responsibility to change this.  Decrying the quality of leadership is easy and does not get you very far.  Far better to focus on how we get to a better place; how we can nurture and encourage a new approach to leadership; how to get to the point where leaders are able to cut through the distraction, to navigate and reconcile different interests, to take disruption as a given and still craft and implement long terms strategies.

Andrew’s book nudges us in this direction. Indeed it makes a passionate case for why there must be another way.

And he makes the case without falling into the dead end of cynicism.  His steadfast positivity is particularly evident in the concluding chapter, where Andrew recalls the words of advice that he once received from the late American politician and statesman, General Colin Powell.

To quote Andrew, paraphrasing General Powell:

“Do not stare in the rearview mirror. Do not glance at the side mirrors. Focus intensely through the front windshield, because that is where the future is. That is where the better days are – and that is where the better ways are found.”

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Andrew, I’d like to congratulate you on the work and thought that you’ve put into distilling your own life lessons, and career experiences, into this significant and very readable book.

I think you have fulfilled the very lofty description that’s included on the book’s jacket.

This actually is a: “must-read guide for aspiring and current leaders – in any industry”.

And this book reaffirms the very generous commitment that you’ve already made to developing future leaders through your contributions to the ‘Andrew N Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership’ at UQ.

On behalf of my University colleagues and indeed all of us, I thank you for your very personal and passionate commitment to developing the next generation of leaders.

Remarks by the Chancellor of The University of Queensland, Mr Peter Varghese AO at the launch of Leadership through Disruption by Andrew Liveris AO, Customs House 9 November 2023