How Leaders Lead with David Novak

Episode: 3 More Questions (Klaus Kleinfeld)

Host: David Novak with Koula Callahan
Release Date: September 22, 2025

Episode Theme & Purpose

In this “Three More Questions” edition, Koula Callahan interviews host David Novak as they debrief his recent conversation with Klaus Kleinfeld, renowned former CEO of Siemens and Alcoa. The focus is on actionable leadership insights inspired by Klaus’s experience—delving into motivation, energy management, and the practical execution of big visions. The discussion serves to translate Klaus’s wisdom into practical strategies for listeners, with stories and frameworks that can help any leader elevate their impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Motivation in Leadership

(00:48 - 04:30)

• Legendary Leadership through Human Capital

  • Klaus Kleinfeld’s leadership at Siemens stood out because of his deep belief in motivating teams not only for performance but from the “soul level.”
  • Koula Callahan: “Klaus is the type of leader who really understands the importance and the value of motivating your team and making motivation a key piece of your culture.” (00:53)

• Measuring and Cultivating Motivation

  • David Novak emphasizes the necessity of going beyond formal culture surveys.
  • David Novak: “The classical way to measure your motivation…[is] culture surveys… But I think what leaders have to do is really know your people, know your audience.” (02:18)
  • Leaders must look for visible signs of connection and engagement—if “nobody's eyes are lit up, you know you're really not connecting.”
  • Emotional engagement comes from leaders sharing the “noble cause” of their work; people want to belong to something great rather than just “making a buck.”

• The Power of Stories

  • Stories reinforce the organization’s noble purpose and make employees feel their work matters.
  • David Novak: “Look for those stories… That’s what [the] employee was saying to Klaus when he said, ‘You gave us your soul back.’” (03:44)
  • Koula Callahan: “An excellent way to get to the heart of those people and what they're feeling is stories.” (04:30)

Notable Quote:

• “You want to have people pumped up, coming to work every day, wanting to do something that's exciting… Human capital and how people feel is what really drives your business.”
  — David Novak (01:08)

2. Managing Energy, Not Just Time

(04:55 - 07:56)

• Klaus’s Multi-Dimensional View on Energy

  • High performance is sustained by managing four energies: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

• David’s Practical Routine for Energy Management

  • Physical Energy: Daily morning workouts are crucial. If you wait, you may never do it.
  • Mental Energy: Prepares for the day by reviewing his schedule and meetings.
  • Emotional Energy: Keeps his mood and mindset positive to make better decisions (“You make your worst decisions when you’re angry and resentful. You make your best decisions when you’re high up in gratitude.”)
  • Spiritual Energy: Begins each morning reflecting on what he’s grateful for, which frames the day’s outlook.

• The ‘Assimilation Points’ Model and Focus

  • David uses an exercise with colored chips to illustrate focus: prioritize tasks that matter most (“blue chips”) rather than wasting energy on low-impact items.
  • “You only have so many assimilation points that you can handle in a day… Are you spending your assimilation points on the right things?” (06:55)

Notable Quote:

• “Focus on the things that really matter most… Are you spending your assimilation points on the right things?”
  — David Novak (06:55)

3. Turning Vision into Reality: ‘F Squared’ Approach

(08:02 - 09:44)

• Balancing Dreaming with Execution

  • Klaus insists leaders excel both in dreaming big and in reality-checking their dreams.
  • Koula Callahan: “You can't just have dreams. You also have to be an executor.” (08:19)

• David’s ‘F Squared’ Formula: Focus & Follow-up

  • Follow-up: Execution fails when leaders don’t check on progress; real results need systematic, consistent follow-up.
    • “So many people start something, but they never follow up. And… follow up is the biggest thing that really drives execution.” (08:29)
  • Focus: Avoid spreading the team thin with new ideas before completing prior actions. Ensure efforts stay aligned and manageable for the team.
    • “…before you go after that next idea, make sure you focus on what you've already asked people to do.” (09:17)
  • Constantly adding initiatives overwhelms teams and undercuts execution.

Notable Quote:

• “That frustrates people more than anything… when leaders just keep coming up with ideas…not recognizing that they haven't already done the first thing.”
  — David Novak (09:24)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On “Giving Our Soul Back”

  • “He reminded people how much what they do really matters. And when you do that, it's extremely powerful.”
    — David Novak (03:31)

• On Energy Rituals Among Leaders

  • “In almost all of the lightning rounds that you've done…it’s working out in the morning and some sort of meditation or reflection. The best, most successful people are doing these things.”
    — Koula Callahan (07:27)

• The Birth of ‘F Squared’

  • Koula Callahan: “‘F squared.’ I love it. That’s a new Novakian term.” (09:44)
  • David Novak: “I watched F1 this weekend… And so that's a dream and I'm gonna have to execute by following up and make sure it happens.” (09:48)

Key Timestamps

• 00:48 - Introduction of Klaus Kleinfeld; importance of motivation and “human capital”
• 02:18 - Measuring and driving motivation; the need for knowing people
• 03:44 - The impact of stories and noble cause
• 04:55 - Managing energy vs. managing time
• 05:19–07:56 - Detailed practices for managing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy
• 06:55 - The “assimilation points” analogy for focusing energy
• 08:02 - Dreaming vs. executing; “F squared” (Focus & Follow-up)
• 09:44–10:01 - Inspiration for “F squared”; connecting F1 racing to leadership action

Episode Tone & Style

The conversation is upbeat, practical, full of humor, and features the conversational warmth and real-world candor characteristic of David Novak and Koula Callahan. Personal anecdotes, leadership stories, and straightforward language keep the advice relatable and immediately actionable.

Takeaways for Leaders

• Prioritize inspiring a sense of purpose (“noble cause”) in teams.
• Measure motivation both formally and informally; seek out candid stories.
• Routinely manage all four types of energy—especially with habits of exercise, gratitude, and intentional focus.
• To turn big visions into reality, focus relentlessly and follow up systematically: “F squared.”
• Don’t overwhelm teams with new dreams before finishing what’s started.

For further insights:
Listen to the full episode, and stay tuned for next week’s conversation with Paul Brown, co-founder and CEO of Inspire Brands.