Is there such a thing as acquisition season? It seems that I have been in a lot of conversations about potential, pending, and actual acquisitions since the weather started to turn warmer. Even though acquisitions are more common than many people think, they are still...
It was a cold and dreary winter day. I sat in a conference room with a VP of Operations and his team of nine directors for their quarterly operations...
Leadership transitions are key inflection points in any enterprise. A well-executed transition will influence everything from customer retention to your employees’ morale and confidence in you, so this is one internal process you want to get right. ...
Tom shook his head in frustration and asked me, “Why do I have to keep overruling their decisions? I thought the people closest to the customer were supposed to...
Have you ever tried to lead a major organizational change that failed? I did years ago, and it hurt! I still remember the sting and the embarrassment of having to retract all of my bold statements and retreat from my position. That’s why, ever since, I’ve...
“How do I get my peers to speed up decision-making?” “How can I get the rest of the C-suite to agree to my recommendations for strategic investment? What worked at my old company isn’t working here. No one will commit.” “How can I get these people on...
Joe never meant to work for the same huge company three times, but without fail, each time he left to join the adventuresome world of a start-up, the start-up was acquired by his former employer within two years. Joe is one of ...
Today I’m going to introduce you to an insidious little brat that lives inside all of us. This little dude does fancy card tricks that keep us from seeing what’s really happening, and goes to great lengths to make sure we don’t...
The holidays had been so good to me that I couldn’t fit into my pants. Since I wasn’t getting very far on my own, I joined Weight Watchers six weeks ago, and now almost all of my pants fit again. As an observer of organizational culture...
“I’m stumped. I brought Chuck into Cisco as top talent, a process improvement expert with a great track record at other companies. I know he’s high potential, but he’s really struggling, and he’s frustrated, and he’s not getting the results that he’s capable of. I’m...