Debriefing- Jean-Claude Biver- Leadership Theories and Application

What was Biver doing in his early 20s?

hippie lifestyle, running marathons, living in nature, random jobs, use it to prepare himself

Learning Objectives

examine how leaders bring change, how a leader can inspire, how leaders find passion and purpose, what its like to work for a visionary leader, how a leader invents and reinvents him/her self

Why own a swiss watch?

artistic, heritage, craftsmanship, luxury, status

the 1980's

70% of the watch jobs gone, 50% went bankrupt (Japanese quartz watches were more accurate and far less expensive than the mechanical watches produced by the Swiss), mechanical watches considered useless,, Japanese watches owned the market

Would you work for Jean-Claude Biver?

agressive, mean employer

Biver seems to be

a terrible manager, and a great leader, you can't argue with sucess

What does a vision mean?

clarity (define an existing problem or solves some sort of an unmet need that exists within the market conviction), conviction (willingness to put his reputation on the line), connection (capturing other people's imagination connecting people to a future reality

Jon Biver wanted other people to adopt

his vision as their own

Common Path for Visionary Leader

Prepare, sense, seize, and adapt

Early 70s Biver prepares himself

to see the world differently

At Omega, he sense the opportunity

to reinvent the market for mechanical watches than others in the Swiss industry are eager to abandon it

Seizes opportunity at Blancpain

buy it and turn around

Swatch Group: leave or stay

biver faced another career decision, at 51, battling legionnaire's disease, he is wealthy, his wife is expecting

Biver leaves swatch for humblot

takes 20% equity but demand 100% control, creates new vision, releases big bang watch with high demand, develops partnership with unconventional brands, responds to every email

Hublot Results

increased revenue 10x in 4 years, sold hublot to LV, appointed head of watchmaking at LV, replaces executives, partnerships with intel and google

Biver's Legancy

protegees became 1/2 in the swiss watch industry, only one Biver