Andrew C.M. Cooper: The Ethical Imperative

Andrew C.M. Cooper is an executive leader and apologist for compassionate business practices. He led as a history-making first Millennial and Black executive to serve as General Counsel of UPS Airlines, the world’s largest logistics airline with over 20,000 employees. His team was essential to the success of Operation Warp Speed, the United States’ pandemic vaccine relief effort. He’s the author of The Ethical Imperative: Leading with Conscience to Shape the Future of Business*.

We all know the power of relationships to help us grow. However, we don’t always seek out some of the non-traditional relationships that might help most. In this conversation, Andrew and I discuss three types of people we often overlook that will help us grow.

Key Points

• Many of us invest in organic, traditional relationships. Those are important, but not sufficient in such a dynamic world.


• Invest 30% of your time into relationships that will add skills, knowledge, or insights you can’t develop yourself.


• Shifters observe well, read between the lines, and help us adapt in uncertain and changing situations.


• Connectors will help your expand professional affiliations. Having a connector in your corner can be as helpful as being a connector yourself.


• People who first appear as sharks may be benevolent antagonists. Listen for what others around them say to determine who might challenge you in healthy ways.

Resources Mentioned

• The Ethical Imperative: Leading with Conscience to Shape the Future of Business* by Andrew C.M. Cooper

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• How to Strengthen Your Network, with Marissa King (episode 525)


• How to Build a Network While Still Doing Everything Else, with Ruth Gotian (episode 591)


• How to Recognize Remarkable People, with Guy Kawasaki (episode 671)

Production Credit

Coaching for Leaders is edited by Andrew Kroeger. Production support is provided by Sierra Priest.

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.