As I sat in the green room a few months ago getting ready to speak to leaders of Snap Chat, Evan Spiegel, the founder and CEO, walked in to greet me and said, "Jon you came to speak to us at a crucial time in 2018 and it's so great to have you back."
I remembered 2018 well. Evan had just read my newly released book The Power of Positive Leadership and invited me to speak to his core leadership team. Instagram had just launched the Stories feature and was coming after their business. Their stock price was down to $4 a share. Wall Street was losing faith in them and the marketplace was beating them down.
At the time, Evan said they were dealing with a ton of negativity and pessimism was seeping into their pores. They needed to change their mindset and approach to leadership and that's when I showed up.
Fast forward to me sitting in the green room a few months ago. Evan told me that after I shared the principles and framework of positive leadership in 2018 it was a game changer for them and their company.
Snap grew substantially, both in the number of employees and in revenue, and the stock soared to $83 a share. Evan told me that he brought me back again to speak to his 150 global leaders because he wanted every leader in the company to embrace positive leadership. He knew it wasn't just a nice way to lead but an essential way to lead going forward.
When he told me this, he had no idea how relevant and critical his statement would be based on what was about to come.
So much has changed in the last few months. Inflation has skyrocketed. The stock market has essentially crashed. Investors of all types of companies have lost billions of dollars and Snap and other companies are heading towards an uncertain future.
As I reflect on all this, I think about Snap in 2018 and know that Positive Leaders find a way forward. They rise and fall and rise again. They don't give up. They lead positive and lead the way. They believe the best is yet to come and give their best to create the best outcome. They control what they can control and focus on building great products and great teams who execute on their vision and plan. They tune out the naysayers, rise above the negativity and delete pessimism and insert optimism.
Positive leadership is not only essential, it is a competitive advantage! And you and your team need it now more than ever.
I believe in Positive Leaders like Evan Spiegel. I believe in Positive Leadership and I believe that those who embrace it will take on their current challenges, win today and thrive in the future!
-Jon
