If an organization is looking for a speaker that would excite their employees or an organization is looking for a keynote speaker for an annual event Billy Taylor would definitely be someone to engage. The Rotary Club of Akron had the privilege of listening to Mr. Taylor during our Tuesday, October 6, 2020 Club meeting. His theme throughout the presentation was “people driven excellence.” Both his business life and his personal life seems to follow that motto. Click here or on the video below to view the presentation.
Mr. Taylor is an American business executive, dynamic speaker, and leadership guru. He is the CEO and President of LinkedXL, a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm. Mr. Taylor spent 30 years with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT), serving as Director of North America Manufacturing and Chief Diversity and Inclusion 
Officer. As the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion for Goodyear, Mr. Taylor led diversity and inclusion strategies for 64,000 employees across the 22 countries where Goodyear operates.
Officer. As the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion for Goodyear, Mr. Taylor led diversity and inclusion strategies for 64,000 employees across the 22 countries where Goodyear operates.Mr. Taylor has been called upon by universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to drive and sustain effective results through embracing the culture and enabling employee ownership.
A servant leader, Mr. Taylor, is a member of the executive advisory board for two of the world leaders for knowledge in enterprise excellence, The Shingo Institute and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME).
He earned an MBA from Baker University, in Baldwin City, Kansas, and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Prairie View A&M University, in Prairie View, Texas.
The philosophy behind Mr. Taylor’s LinkedXL organization is that their practitioners coach and demonstrate business process excellence and lean leadership management from decades of practical experience driving transformational change in large and small scales diverse companies. Their insights on leadership are rooted in culture change and a passion for engaging people; a core element of transformational change that has become the centerpiece of LinkedXL’s client relations.
LinkedXL partners with clients to help manage the intersections of business. The intersections are where strategic elements and tactical execution overlap to break through and override silos to enable results.
LinkedXL consulting ensure strong linkages between planning, deploying, and executing strategy.
Mr Taylor challenged us with the questions, “How transparent are you with your employees, or work teams?” “What holds you back from growing in your company or achieving your goals?” “Is it a “sticky floor or a glass ceiling?”
“What are your standards to live by?” Mr. Taylor referenced on more than one occasion the influence his mother had on his success by always reminding him and holding him accountable to the standards he wished to live by.
Mr. Taylor talked about the 4 fundamentals of Human Need:
- We need to be heard
- We need to be understood
- We need to matter
- We need to be emancipated
We need to ask people what they need/want, followed by asking further to analyze the purpose.
What are the keys to success?
- Inspiring trust/creating a safe environment for change
- Key to being able to unlock “what is” in order to discover “what can be.” “Comfortable being uncomfortable.”
- Critical to measure what matters
- Deliberate practices incorporated into leadership practices
- Define winning (both at the job and in your personal life)
- Align yourself to winning
- Execute winning
Critical Lessons:
- Make people visible and they will make the organization valuable
- Right culture: Principles to live by
- Key performance actions
- Performance indicators
- Leverage the 4 Human Needs
- Psychological safety – celebrate
- All encounters matter.
While I have attempted to capture Mr. Taylor’s presentation, I encourage everyone to go to Mr. Taylor’s LinkedXL.com website for greater information about his approach to people driven excellence. Additional information can be found on his Linked In account.
