Blog: Steve Bleistein, Top Expert in Dramatic Business Growth

We Can’t Always Prepare for a Tsunami

On March 11, 2011, the ground under Japan moved.

You know what happened next. The earthquake. The tsunami. The Fukushima nuclear plant. The world watched Japan face one of the worst compound disasters in modern history.

And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a Swedish clothing retailer had to figure out what to do with its Japan operation.

H&M’s acting CEO in Japan — a man named Hans Anderson — called headquarters in Stockholm. He needed instructions. He needed a plan.

And headquarters told him: “We don’t have one.”

Lessons from the Summit: A Conversation with Per Rasmussen, President of Millet Mountain Group Japan

On April 9th, I had the honor of conducting an onstage conversation with Per Rasmussen, President and Representative Director of Millet Mountain Group Japan, for

Incentive Pay Doesn’t Work

If I offered you more money for results, would you change anything that you are doing now? I have asked this very question to numerous

Practices That Accelerate Leadership Success

Below are my list of the top twenty-one practices that accelerate your success as a leader based on the most successful business leaders I know.

Throw Your Lot in

On the morning of March 11, 2011, I picked out a tie, checked myself in the mirror, and then left the house to go to

Conversation with Philips Japan CEO Jasper Westerink

On March 12th, I hosted an onstage conversation with Jasper Westerink, outgoing CEO of Philips Japan and Senior Vice President of Royal Philips, for the

Strategy? Forget All You Know!

Below are seven pieces of advice I give to business leaders based on the most successful strategy practices I know. Whenever I discuss these in

The Fallacy of Pain Points and Problems

Imagine enquiring about membership at a local gym, and a staff member asks, “What health problems do you suffer from, morbid obesity or something else?”

How to Improve without Change

I once cured my lifelong phobia of spiders by moving to Australia. When I stepped off the plane in Sydney, my phobia was instantly transformed

When to Leave your CEO Job

An ex-pat CEO of the Japanese subsidiary of a global European company intimated to me that he intends to leave his job. He was already

The Secret to Persuasive Strategy

All senior level executives and managers are asked to develop and present a strategy, whether global strategy, regional strategy, or simply strategy for a team

3 Pillars of Change Traction

If you want traction for change among individuals in your organization, it is only when there are clear standards of performance or behavior, accountability to

Motivation is Overrated

When a CEO asks me how to better motivate his or her employees to change, the focus is on the wrong thing. Motivation can get

Fairness to All in Firing

An executive I was asked to coach told me how she was at wits end trying without success to get a manager on her staff

Automate HR, Proliferate Mediocrity

Machine learning algorithms are no smarter than the humans they learn from, and in most cases not nearly as smart. I am no luddite. I

Org Dev? Forget All You Know!

Do you want to strengthen your business’s performance, and grow your business fast? Below are my top five pieces of advice that often run most

Be Unreasonable

Strategy is about creating the future, not predicting it. You develop strategy by starting with a bold vision of the business in the future and

Feedback is Not Always a Gift

Unsolicited feedback is meant only for the benefit of the person who gives it and never for the person to whom it is given. I

Takeaways: Conversation with Tom Byer—Japan-based author, entrepreneur, former professional athlete, and global authority on soccer education

On December 8th, I had the privilege of conducting an onstage conversation for the French and American Chambers of Commerce with Tom Byer—Japan-based author, entrepreneur,

First, Disrupt Yourself

There is no more powerful strategy for rapid business growth than market disruption. Every business strategy should include at least an element of disruption —

A Tight Labor Market is no Barrier to hiring the Best

At a recent event in Tokyo where I was speaking, I was asked how to hire excellent people in a tight labor market. I advise