About

Susan Liautaud

She is the author of two books The Power of Ethics and The Little Book of Big Ethical Questions from Simon & Schuster. She teaches ethics at Stanford University and serves as Chair of Council (board of trustees) of the London School of Economics and Political Science. She founded the non-profit platform The Ethics Incubator featuring interviews with global leaders in the arts, business, global affairs, sports and beyond. She also serves as Chair of Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Advisory Council. She serves on a number of global boards, including SAP AI Ethics Advisory Council, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the American Hospital of Paris board. She speaks fluent French and Spanish and intermediate Mandarin and Italian.

Susan’s methodology is holistic resilience custom-tailored to each client and grounded in positive ethics. She brings to every client uniquely diverse expertise in leadership, resilience coaching, ethics, global affairs, movement, and the arts.

DEGREES

• PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science
• Juris Doctor from Columbia University Law School
• MA in Chinese Studies from University of London School
• MA in Humanities from Stanford University
• BA in Comparative Literature and BA in Music from Stanford University

CERTIFICATIONS

• Certified resilience coach
• 3rd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate
• Yoga Alliance 200 RYS, certified yoga instructor
• Training in mindfulness meditation
  
  

Learning from clients, students and research

Discussions over the past five years with over 125 globally renowned corporate, investment fund, governmental and academic leaders and organizations reveal tremendous pressure on leaders due to the high-speed of change and unpredictable challenges. From AI to Covid-19 to geopolitical threats, almost every leader recounted both performance and employee challenges and concerns about their own well-being and that of those close to them.

Almost all conversations revealed a need to focus on resilience. I define resilience as growth through challenge, life transitions, and uncertainty—grounded in ethics. My clients want to feel confident making decisions now despite unpredictable outcomes. They want to build trust, connection, and the loyalty and confidence of a variety of stakeholders amidst uncertainty. Pro-business and pro-innovation ethical decision-making is the core of resilience – the centering force. From that center, your best performance enhancement, agility, adaptability, risk management, and opportunity creation are possible.

A committed resilience practice – tailored to your goals, needs, and resources – prevents burnout, reduces the risk of ethics crises, increases employee loyalty and performance, and improves workplace culture.

My coaching and advising work are custom-tailored to suit you and your organization. It is highly efficient and immediately scalable to teams and employees individually.

Resilience grounded in ethics is seamless across all areas of life from work, family, and friends to community and citizenship.

Mission

We guide individuals, organizations, and communities in building resilience, trust, connection, and confidence through ethical decision-making.

GROWTH, PEAK PERFORMANCE, AND WELL-BEING: HOW WE WORK

At Susan Liautaud & Associates Limited, we view ethical decision-making as the foundation for peak performance, resilience, and well-being. It is a practice—a life habit that increases agility, preparedness, and the capacity to thrive professionally and personally through today’s high-speed change, relentless unpredictable challenges, and life transition moments.

We guide you to:

• Improve performance
• Navigate high-stakes decisions in all areas of life
• Enhance well-being
• Diagnose and manage risk
• Identify and seize unexpected opportunities

Ethical decision-making and resilience are practices accessible to everyone and custom-tailored to your goals, values, resources and situation–-not a reaction to events or one-off crisis response. Resilience is important to each of us at all ages and stages of life.

“No mud, no lotus.” Thich Nhat Hanh

The lotus flower has a unique growth process and ability to bloom and thrive unscathed through adversity. Lotus seeds start in the mud of ponds and other wetlands. The plant reaches upward to the surface and then blooms into gorgeous flowers with no traces of the mud from which it emerges. At sunset, the flower closes up and re-opens the next day.

Experts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions have explained that the mud represents difficulties we face in life, and the flower bursting through mud unstained represents growth, purity, and realizing our fullest potential despite (or even growing through) challenges – in other words, resilience.

Where Do We Start: It’s All About You

Our values underpin every decision we make—from how we design our lives and respond to challenges beyond our control to how we show up in the world on a personal level. I tell clients and my Stanford University students that without integrity, we cannot be integrated. We do not bring our whole self to life. Without values, we do not maximize our strength to handle small bumps in the road, serious adversity, or even expected life transition moments.

I work with your values. I don’t tell you how to think or what to do or decide. I guide you in selecting a set of values that define you and help you make the decisions and take the actions that are right for you. And then I help you apply these to your specific challenges and adjust along the way.