248 - Why 72% of Executives Make Bad Calls - And How to Fix It | Cornelia Choe

A McKinsey study found that 72% of senior executives now make bad decisions as often as good ones and the world isn't slowing down to give them room to cat ch up. Wars, inflation, AI disruption, and an ever-growing list of stakeholders are colliding faster than most leadership models were built to handle. In this episode, Andrea Petrone sits down with Cornelia Choe, CEO of The Leaders Alliance and co-author, alongside Marshall Goldsmith, of the upcoming book The Panoramic Leader: How Great Leaders See Differently. Cornelia has advised CEOs, C-suite executives, and heads of multilateral organizations across five continents, with a background in private equity and Morgan Stanley, degrees from Georgetown University and Harvard Kennedy School, and a life lived across seven countries. Together, they unpack panoramic leadership, the discipline of updating the mental map that quietly drives every decision you make, before reality outpaces it. Cornelia walks through the GEM method (Get up close, Establish meaningful bonds, Map your evolving perspective) using real turnarounds at Ford and Best Buy, introduces the idea of "optimistic fear" through Serena Williams' comeback after her biggest loss, and gives leaders one simple question to find their own blind spots: who's not at my table? Key Takeaways: Why 72% of senior executives make bad decisions as often as good ones. How Alan Mulally turned around Ford by eating lunch in the employee cafeteria. Why your "mental map" can quietly turn into your biggest blind spot. How the GEM method helped Best Buy outmaneuver Amazon, Samsung, and Apple. Why "optimistic fear" fueled Serena Williams' comeback after her worst loss. How one question, "who's not at my table?" exposes hidden blind spots. Why leadership identity needs to flex across context without losing itself. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: 👉 BOOK PRE-ORDER LINK _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies  _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21  _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉  https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/   Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Cornelia Choe: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cornelia-choe/ Website: https://www.corneliachoe.com Book: The Panoramic Leader: How Great Leaders See Differently — with Marshall Goldsmith, out July 7 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX2XPRMV) Company: The Leaders Alliance