Leadership for Innovation: Bill George (Medtronic)

Wisdom From The Top with Guy Raz

Initially reluctant to go to Medtronic, his time at that company ultimately became a life changing experience for Bill George. Not only did he usher the company into the Fortune 500 and grow the enterprise value of the company by 60x, he really started to lock in on his growing passion to influence leadership. Then, his career took a turn toward academia and the study and teaching of leadership at Harvard Business School. (In fact, Guy actually took Bill George's class at Harvard in 2008, This conversation took place in 2020). Of the many books Bill George has authored, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership has become a seminal book in leadership studies. "Instead of exerting power over people," he says "empowerment is the way to go."