I spoke to Grant Schreiber, who is the publisher and Editor of Real Leaders, about his definition of "real leader", who he believes is the impactful leaders of 2017, the biggest shifts he's seen in the media landscape, how he's reacted to this shifts, the biggest challenges with growing a magazine, how the next generation of leaders can solve global problems and his best career advice.
Real Leaders magazine is the world's first sustainable business & leadership magazine and the international publication of the Young President's Organization (YPO). It is currently distributed to 24,000 of the world's top business leaders, in 130 countries, who control $6 trillion in GDP. Previous interviews and features have included Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, Muhammad Yunus, Oprah Winfrey, Sting and Forest Whitaker.
Before Real Leaders, he was the Founder and Publisher of both The South African Fashion Handbook and The South African Whisky Handbook. He was also the Creative Director of Leadership Magazine.
Dan Schawbel: How do you define a "real leader" and who do you believe are the most fascinating and impactful real leaders of 2017?
Grant Schreiber: Real leaders have always wielded influence in business and society. However, we’re seeing a change in what leadership means. It used to be the person or company with the most money; now it’s about the person with the best ideas. A single person with a great idea and limited resources can create something more powerful than an established company with dozens of employees. A real leader is someone who has looked at society and identified a cause around which they can build a business. I have met some fascinating leaders during the past year that have shown how an idea, mixed with passion, can achieve almost anything. Felix Finkbeiner is a 20-year-old boy from Germany who started planting trees at age nine. He’s now on track to plant a trillion trees with a global movement called Plant-for-the-Planet. The last time I called, his mother told me he was too busy with homework to come to the phone. Last week I received an invite to his Trillion Tree launch in Monaco, hosted by HSH Prince Albert II.
I interviewed Forest Whitaker, who is running a peace foundation in Southern Sudan. Better known for fighting intergalactic battles as an actor in Star Wars, in real life, he’s quietly brokering peace in Africa. I was impressed too, with Buzz Aldrin. Despite being 87, the second man to walk on the moon is still working out the trajectory for the Mars mission - proof that you have value at any age. Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, told me that her father would always ask what she’d failed at that week. His lesson was that trying is as important as the outcome. Now one of the world’s wealthiest women, she’s pledged most of her billions to The Giving Pledge founded by Bill Gates. Ultimately, what I learned from 2017 is that going to business school is no guarantee of success.
Schawbel: You've been involved in the media for decades as a CEO, editor and creative director. What have been the biggest shifts and developments in the media landscape since when you first started out?
Schreiber: Easy access to information from the digital revolution has been by far the most significant change. Consumers used to wait for their news to be delivered by others, now they create it themselves on social media. In a way, technology has democratized the media - anyone can now be a video producer, filmmaker, writer or broadcaster of an opinion to the world. However, knowing how to do this well is still an art – not everyone is a good storyteller or curator of information. The desk-bound office has been replaced by various staff on the move, using laptops and putting media together from anywhere in the world, without the need for an office. The company storeroom has shrunk to a portable hard drive. I was on a Volvo Ocean Race yacht recently, and the media photographs taken onboard are uploaded instantly by satellite to a media room in Amsterdam, from the middle of the ocean. Speed to market has become a significant consideration in almost every sector. The business model of media has changed dramatically. The big questions is: How do you value and monetize content in a market that is flooded with billions of insights, comments and opinions every day?
Schawbel: How have you reacted to these shifts?
Schreiber: I have become more focused on the magazine audience - who they are (membership organizations), where they congregate (events) and how they consume their information (digital or print). From a business perspective, it’s not about selling page advertising anymore. Real Leaders, for instance, is fast becoming a cause and a movement; where the values of the magazine have become an essential part of who we are and what we represent to the world. These values are easily transferred between multiple media platforms and are not necessarily restricted to our print magazine. We are also signatories to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By aligning ourselves to a higher (and internationally recognized) cause we benefit from a global network of like-minded leaders.
Schawbel: What were some of your biggest challenges growing your publications and how did you overcome them?
Schreiber: The biggest challenge in media is distribution. This is where any new publication needs to start - the final stage of production. Too many people think that a good idea for a magazine is good enough for success. Access to a quality audience is crucial and involves identifying and negotiating with people and organizations who share the same values as your readership. Collaboration is vital. I’ve never thought it a good idea that a magazine simply sits on a shelf waiting to get purchased; it needs to become active. In South Africa, I secured a deal with South African Fashion Week to give everyone who attended a free fashion magazine. It was a win-win situation: Fashion Week got free promotion, and I got a ready-made fashion audience that made our advertisers happy.
Schawbel: There are many global issues now, including global warming, poverty, automation and war. How can the next generation of leaders help solve these issues?
Schreiber: Business has become one of the most powerful forces in the world to address our most pressing problems. Politicians used to be the only people with a global outlook, but entrepreneurs have now adopted this attitude too. The rise of technology and social media has allowed anyone, anywhere to become aware of problems and opportunities and a notable trend is how many businesses are responding to the crisis they see around them - it’s seen as an opportunity for a new business idea, not something to despair about. Look at how many apps have sprung up to help refugees, how the use of recycled materials has increased in fashion and manufacturing to counter dwindling natural resources, the rise of the shared economy such as Uber and Airbnb that utilizes previously under-used space.
The next generation of leaders will seamlessly move from problem to solution; fixing a social issue and making money along the way. The old way of thinking - charity and philanthropy - will be seen as a one-way solution that isn’t sustainable. Once people realize that our problems are our biggest business and leadership opportunities, we should see a surge in prosperity and quality of life.
Schawbel: What are your top three pieces of career advice?
Schreiber: Your next big thing will happen when least expected; you can’t plan for it. Stay visible and don’t underestimate the value of sweat equity. Never underestimate the networking potential of a casual stroll around a conference venue when a boring speaker takes the stage.
