Master the Matrix
While I sometimes hear CEOs complain about their lack of authority in a matrix organization, the most successful CEOs I know never do. They have all mastered the matrix, wield tremendous authority, and influence their own and the business’s advantage despite the ambiguities inherent to a matrix organization. If you are the CEO of a […]
No One is Indispensable
The success of any business rarely depends on any key manager or executive. It is only the mistaken belief in the indispensability of an executive that masks and suppresses the talent of others. Your leadership bench is often hiding in plain sight.
Three Success Factors for Robust Strategy
All strategic plans are perfect on paper in a theoretical static world. However, no strategic plan ever survives confrontation with the ever-changing realities of business and your perception of them. A robust strategy is one that can adapt rapidly to change in the environment as well as to change in your understanding of that environment. […]
Cultivating Boldness
The scarcest resource in a business today is not talent, money, or technical ability, but rather independent thought and the courage to act on it.
Never Presume Attitude
Years ago, I moved to Paris, started a business, and hired a French woman to help me with marketing. Early on, she and I met with a prospective customer, a vice president at a major publishing firm. I spoke and understood French but lacked the confidence to hold a business meeting in French at the […]
The Zeal of the Convert
You cannot rush buy-in, and that’s OK, because while buy-in is nice to have, professionalism is all you need. A vice president of sales told me matter-of-factly that I was wasting her time and mine when we met. Her CEO had just hired me to help improve the capability of her division, consisting of more […]
Conversation with World-Renowned Floral Artist and Entrepreneur Nicolai Bergmann
On February 4th, I was pleased to speak onstage with Nicolai Bergmann, a world-renowned floral artist and entrepreneur. As we talked, Nicolai produced a beautiful floral arrangement, which was later raffled off to a member of the audience. Below are my takeaways from the conversation. Even in your twenties, there is no reason not to […]
Be the Success Exception
Exceptions are “exceptional” by definition, and always exist no matter how rare. Just because research in organizational change shows a strong correlation between certain factors of success and failure does not make these axiomatic. My most successful clients make themselves the success exception, and you can too. In my experience, I have never seen any […]
Confronting Your Data-Driven Bureaucracy
The only data you need are those needed for making a decision. Yet in my experience, much data reported to head offices are rarely needed or used. At one point an individual datum might have been important for some kind of decision which is why its collection was mandated. Years later though, few people can […]
The Simplest Explanation is the Most Likely
The simplest explanation is most likely the right one. Occam’s Razor holds true not just for science but for international business as well—even in Japan. At a recent CEO forum of mostly non-Japanese and ex-pat business leaders in Tokyo, an American CEO wanted advice from peers in the room on overcoming the challenges of putative […]
English 
Japanese