To Build or Not to Build: That Is the Question

From the perspective of business executives, there are two ways to grow an enterprise: build or buy.

They ask whether it is appropriate to build a new business idea, product or service from scratch.  Or should the company buy an existing corporation that already provides the desired product or service?

The answer to that question: it depends. Either way, the solution is never simple.

Often, purchasing another organization is an

What Differentiates Leadership from Management?

Most of what is taught in business school has a focus on steady, incremental improvement.  I don’t want to throw that out.  I do, however, suggest that businesses can create quantum leaps.  And the difference between the two processes is what defines leadership.

So, where do I start?  I ask:  What’s the difference between a manager and a leader?  Managers become managers because

How Do You Know If You Are Living Your Purpose?

As a society, we continuously contemplate the meaning of life. In trying to define the reason for being, we attempt to understand the purpose of our own lives. That said, how do you know your purpose? 

Some believe that purpose can be derived from

Are Your Decisions Influenced by Things You Don’t Know You Don’t Know?

When I first meet with a client, I tell them something profound.  Within the first 20 minutes of that meeting, I tell them they are still making decisions as a five year old.  In every single case, they tell me that that does not apply to them.  Over the next 90 minutes, they say something different.  They come to the

What’s the Best Path to the C-Suite?

 

For many, the job of the CEO looks like hard work.  On the surface, observers see high responsibility, long hours and the weight of the company on the shoulders of a CEO.  When you peel off the layers and look closer, you see the keys to move up the corporate ladder have more to do with

Here’s Why Most Don’t Make It to the C-Suite

The path to the C-Suite is not for everyone.  That is where people with titles like CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, etc. work and serve as the leadership team in an organization. For those who make it, it can represent the quintessential career path of success.  To get there, it may require one to be well educated, business savvy, a sound decision maker, a leader, intelligent and much more.  From the outside, it may appear the requirements above are replaced by corporate politics.  Even though politics may play a role, the C-Level executive of the 21st Century will have to meet demands that may not have

Can You Have a Breakthrough Without Breakdowns?

A breakthrough can be a wonderful milestone in anyone’s personal life.  Or it can be a pivotal moment for a business. 

As children, we accomplished several breakthroughs by age five.  While those were monumental times, they were not

Are You Having Bad Meetings?

Too often, you hear employees complain about the amount of meetings they attend.  In some cases, they say there was no need for the meeting.  In others, you hear the meeting could have been accomplished through emails.  One of the worst outcomes of a meeting is the meeting after the meeting.  Those can turn into the real meeting where

Are We Unintentionally Raising Generations of Disadvantaged People?

Over the weekend, I spent a few hours with the older gentleman I know.  His wisdom is exceptional.  And I’m always prepared to hear what is on his mind.  As usual, he engaged me in a thought provoking conversation that may cross the boundaries of political correctness.  At the same time, it is a valuable conversation I would like to share. 

He started with the following: It is a parent’s job to prepare their children for life.  When they are negligent in that job, the child could grow up to be

Here's Why You Should Strive for Chaos in Your Company

Is Experience a False Indicator?

I was recently engaged in an online conversation about the difference between experience and opinion.  On the surface, they appear to be very different.  However, when you peel back the layers, you discover they are birds of a feather.

When we are born, it is like we are given a

Why Your Experience Rarely Matters

When ten people encounter an event together, why does each person recall a different story about it?  One’s point of view can obstruct what is seen.  By point of view, I’m referring to mental, not physical.  With that question, it makes you wonder: Do we really experience what we say we experience? 

The day we are born, we have no

Is Being Right Always Right?

From birth, there are certain things that all humans share, regardless of language or country.  When we are born, no one is born with the ability to walk, talk, feed themselves, tie shoes or write their name.  Each of us has gone through the process of learning those things.  And we failed many times in the process.  Those are some of the things that all healthy people share.  It is part of our human experience.  And it is part of the common ground that binds us together as a human race. 

At the same time, even though we all experienced times of failing, like falling over and over when first learning to walk, we somehow began learning the value of

Hard Lessons Learned by Managers

Whether you’re the CEO or a supervisor, you will learn many lessons throughout your career.  One resounding lesson learned by some managers is when to let go.  Let go of what?  You may ask.  In previous articles, I talked about three levels of performers in a corporation – high performers, average performers and under performers.  Then there is another group that can be one person or more, the

Going Beyond Diversity Training

 “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” –Frank A. Clark

Shifting the Focus

The corporate environment is ripe for women and minorities to step into leadership roles. To maintain those roles, it will be important to develop skills to handle larger obstacles. When you aspire for higher accountability, you must be prepared for

Why It’s Important to Be Able to Fail

“If you are not failing now and again, it’s a sign you’re playing it safe.”

Woody Allen 

For most of us, failure is something to avoid. Why? It makes us look bad. In some cases, we believe it makes us look incompetent.

Yet, when we go to the gym and lift weights, it is common to

How Do You Master Adversity - problems, challenges, etc.?

The Messy Multitasker

There are a plethora of articles that support or condemn multitasking.  Some say it takes 23% longer to finish one item when you multitask.  Others say the brain is evolving and could potentially compartmentalize tasks simultaneously, like a computer.  While both comments may have merit, there is an aspect of multitasking that is almost never discussed.  That is the

Workshop for Creating Breakthroughs

To register or learn more:  http://www.akerman.com/events/womanToWoman/

Ted Santos - Join Me on a Journey to Extraordinary

3 Reasons Great Collaboration Won’t Happen

In most companies, collaboration is a valuable part of corporate culture.  In fact, it’s expected that teams, departments and divisions work and share information together.  In some of the best companies, collaboration is well executed with outside vendors, suppliers and consultants.  Yet, for some reason, collaboration does not always happen.  Many businesses tend to be divided by silos – groups of people who function like clicks. 

Collaboration like corporate culture is the

The Paradox of Being Extraordinary

It’s been a while since I spoke withmy friend who I consider to be the wisest man in the world.  On this visit, as usual, he sparked up an amazing conversation.  He spoke to me about his life long commitment to befriend exceptional people.  He said they empower him to raise the stakes in his personal and professional ambitions.  He spoke in detail about what he learned from them.  More importantly, he spoke about the unexpected and sometimes twisted path to become extraordinary. 

To start, he stated, most people are unwilling to

What’s Wrong with Being a Brilliant Lone Wolf?

Our society has always been filled with brilliant people.  However, most of those talented people and their innovations will never be known by the public.  Why?  They were too smart to work with others.  And one person can’t do it all.  Furthermore, when they train and develop themselves, they

The Dark Side of Being Smart

While being smart is valuable, there is a dark side.  In some cases, being smart can serve as more of a shield to protect a person from being wrong.  In other cases, it can serve as a sword to invalidate others and back them off. Ultimately, it can allow the person to

Part 2 for Podcast: Ted Talks about Leadership and What Stops Breakthroughs

In part two of a lively interview with Karissa Thomas, Ted Santos dives into a discussion about leadership and breakthroughs. Karissa is the host of the Lady K Show.  And she asks Ted to openly discuss a number of counter intuitive perspectives on what makes someone a great leader to why breakthrough initiatives get derailed. 

In addition, Ted talks about common themes amongst CEOs of some of the largest corporations in the world.

Click to hear podcast: https://lnkd.in/bb5se36

What do you think? I would love to hear your feedback. And I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to write me about a specific topic, connect through my blog www.turnaroundip.blogspot.com.