“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, fast is deadly.” In the fast-paced business world, leaders need to remember to stay in touch with their overall businesses and with themselves.

Recently on DisrupTV, our hosts Vala Afshar and R “Ray” Wang interviewed Jerry Colonna, author of REBOOT: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up, Jay Ferro, CIO at Quikrete, and Constellation Research’s own Dion Hinchcliffe, VP & Principal Analyst, to learn some of the key qualities of effective leadership. Here are some quick takeaways from the episode:

Maximize Leadership Growth Through Radical Self-Inquiry

Jerry Colonna, hailed as the “CEO whisperer,” sat down to discuss his introspective leadership philosophy, which he champions in his new book, REBOOT: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up. Jerry is an advocate of “radical self-inquiry,” which he believes can help people confront the various aspects of themselves that hold them back from reaching their fullest potential. To be truly effective, leaders must learn to slow down and look inward. It is only after this process of self-evaluation that a course of action materializes for becoming a stronger leader.

When the discussion turned to the topic of busyness, Jerry suggested striving for a smooth workflow rather than having spikes in productivity. Many people want the appearance of busyness because being busy can be associated with output and personal value. Furthermore, people might be afraid to slow down and face negative emotions, preferring instead to brush them under the rug and focus on their work. Jerry discourages these tendencies and emphasizes the importance of slowing down to a smooth pace of work. As he says, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, fast is deadly.”

Enhance Business Strategy through CIO Integration

In the age of digital, the majority of organizations have some sort of digital presence according to Jay Ferro. Given this shift, the CIO must have their fingers on the pulse of all aspects of the business now more than ever. A bidirectional relationship should exist where CIOs learn the business functions from the other officers while catching them up on the technical side of things. When faced with a multitude of intricate technical problems, CIOs may forget to focus on their development as leaders. Jay emphasizes that the best CIOs are business leaders of people. In fact, with their specialized understanding of all things digital, we may see more CIOs taking the role of CEO in the future.

Navigate and Adapt to Pressures of Digital Transformation

Continuing the discussion of executive leadership in the digital transformation age, Dion Hinchcliffe emphasized the learning that CEOs are having to undergo to understand and develop new business models. The demands on the modern workforce are advancing rapidly, and many firms are finding themselves in dire need of education, hiring, and mentoring.

Though many businesses face uncharted terrain, there are plenty of digital transformation success stories to be found in all industries. To illustrate this point, Dion gave us a sneak peek at this year’s BT-150 winners, emphasizing the diversity of this year’s group across various sectors and industries. The BT-150 are leaders who Constellation Research identified for their successes in digital transformation leadership. This year’s list includes some great examples of leaders who are succeeding in the modern age of digital transformation.

As leaders brave the challenging and transitioning business landscape, introspection, awareness, and adaptability are three pivotal qualities that can help leaders reach a flow state that is infinitely more productive.


This is just a small glimpse at the great advice shared during the show. Please check out the full discussions in the video replay here or the podcast.

DisrupTV is a weekly Web series with hosts R “Ray” Wang and Vala Afshar. The show airs live at 11:00 a.m. PT/ 2:00 p.m. ET every Friday.