Veritas started as a $50 million startup called Tolerant Systems building fault tolerant computer systems and grew to a $1.5 billion Fortune 1000 company through strategic transformations. It transitioned from hardware to software, acquired companies to expand its product lines and enter new markets, and established itself as the leader in storage management software. While the document discusses lessons learned from Veritas' success, such as the importance of strategic transformation, empowering employees, and confronting issues directly but thoughtfully. It emphasizes that great leadership requires being both a steward and having the courage to transform a business before it's too late.
This slide deck is basically my take on the future development of microservices. It is not so much a technological prediction as a tactical prediction.
It starts with taking stock of IT: Where do we come from, where are we right now and what are the trends that (most likely) will shape our future? I try to address those issues from several points of view, not necessarily creating a totally consistent picture of IT (which imo is not possible anyway), but trying to point out the most influential drivers of the past, today and the future.
Then I try to locate microservices in that picture with mutliple angles - where they blend in. Having done that, I try to show how microservices will evolve in the future based on my observations. And in order to complete the journey, based on the anticipated future of microservices, I try to give a few recommendations for microservices developers of today how to prepare for that evolution.
While - as written in the beginning - this is my take on the evolution of microservices and the voice track is missing, I still hope that it is a bit helpful and delivers some food for thought.
This slide deck dives a bit in history to understand where IT comes from, where we are now and why we are there and what our options are. It starts with exploring the paradigms of the markets companies live in, travels through matching organizational approaches and finally looks at the history and current state of IT.
Based on that and after a quick look at Conway's law the market paradigms and organizational approaches are evaluated with respect to the drivers they imply on IT in general and architecture particularly.
And after all that foreplay (which is necessary to really understand where we are and what the forces are) several architectural styles and technologies are located on the scale that the market paradigms and organizational approaches span. This way sort of an "architectural fitness detector" is provided which helps to make architectural choices based on needs instead of hypes or habits (which are way to often the choice drivers).
The slide deck then finishes up with a few mismatches that are seen quite often in reality and it can be seen how the distance between architectural choices on the presented scale can be used to quickly determine potential mismatches.
As always the voice track is missing but I hope that the slides are still of some help for you.
The hitchhiker's guide for the confused developerUwe Friedrichsen
This talk is basically a successor of the "DevOps is not enough talk", but with a broader focus.
In the talk, after a short motivation, I try to take stock of the current state of IT from different points of view. After looking at, where we came from and where we are, I add the most important trends I currently see that affect us in IT.
But knowing where we came from, where we are and where we are going to usually is not enough. The key point is using this information - in this talk for evaluating your current position as a software engineer and figuring out your desired future position.
As all the details from the first part of the talk make it hard to do this evaluation, I suggest creating a model (actually a framework) on a reduced detail level that makes the evaluation and planning easier. Defining that framework is the third part of the talk.
Finally, the last part consists of some general recommendations that - based on my understanding - help you as a software engineer to stay ahead of the curve for a while.
While this is extremely much stuff (I really consider to split that plethora of information covered in this talk up in several, single-topic talks) and as always the voice track is missing, I still hope that the slide deck gives you a few ideas worth pondering.
La disruption n’est pas seulement un mot tendance. C’est aussi une réalité qui bouscule tous les grands acteurs du marché. Que signifie-t-elle exactement ? Quels sont ses effets positifs et négatifs et comment la gérer ?
Software is changing the way traditional business operate. People now have smartphones in their pockets - a supercomputer that is 25,000 times more powerful and the minicomputers of the 1960s. This is changing people´s behaviour and how people shop and use services. The organizational structure created in the 20th century cannot survive when new digital solution are being offered. Software is changing the way traditional business operate. People now have smartphones in their pockets - a supercomputer that is 25,000 times more powerful and the minicomputers of the 1960s. This is changing people´s behaviour and how people shop and use services. The organizational structure created in the 20th century cannot survive when new digital solution are being offered. The hierarchical structure of these established companies assumes high coordination cost due to human activity. But when the coordination cost drops
The organizational structure that companies in the 20th century established was based on the fact that employees needed to do all the work. The coordination cost was high due to the effort and cost of employees, housing etc. Now we have software that can do this for use and the coordination cost drops to close-to-zero. Another thing is that things become free. Consider Flickr. Anybody can sign up and use the service for free. Only a fraction of the users get pro account and pay. How can Flickr make money on that? It turns out that services like this can.
Many businesses make money by giving things away. How can that possibly work? The music business has suffered severely with digital distribution of content. Should musicians put all there songs on YouTube? What is the future business model for music?
DevOps is not enough - Embedding DevOps in a broader contextUwe Friedrichsen
As the subtitle says, this talk tries to embed DevOps in a broader context. Therefore first briefly is sketched, how the state of IT is perceived by many people in IT. Additionally, DevOps is briefly defined by explaining the three ways as they were described in the book "The Phoenix Project".
After this short introduction the claim of the title is picked up: "Why is DevOps not enough?". In order to explain this claim, the history of economic markets and of IT are briefly explained. The bottomline is that almost all markets supported by IT have drastically changed in the years since IT became relevant for companies. Additionally, IT itself has changed dramatically in this period of time. Therefore, most of the common knowledge and best practices, we stick to in IT became counter-productive meanwhile because they solve a completely different problem, i.e., the problems of the times when the markets and IT itself were totally different.
The conclusion from the short examination of history is that we basically have to re-think IT as a whole, which is discussed briefly in the next section of the talk. This section first has a look at the new drivers that inflict change on IT. Then it derives the new goals of IT and shows some of the building blocks.
Having this new idea of IT at hand, the role of DevOps in it is finally considered. Starting with DevOps and its continuous pursuit of shortening cycle times in order to optimize outcome, DevOps can be used to drive the change of IT. This is exemplarily shown by starting with DevOps and then see, which question arise from that and what solutions it leads to. In the end of the example, many of the building blocks of the new IT are in place - just by starting with DevOps and continuously improving.
This is a very dense talk covering a lot of ground in order to lead to the final observation that DevOps can (and should) be used to drive the required change of IT and many detail have been left out. Also the voice track is missing of course, but I still hope that it provides you with some useful information.
This slide deck is basically my take on the future development of microservices. It is not so much a technological prediction as a tactical prediction.
It starts with taking stock of IT: Where do we come from, where are we right now and what are the trends that (most likely) will shape our future? I try to address those issues from several points of view, not necessarily creating a totally consistent picture of IT (which imo is not possible anyway), but trying to point out the most influential drivers of the past, today and the future.
Then I try to locate microservices in that picture with mutliple angles - where they blend in. Having done that, I try to show how microservices will evolve in the future based on my observations. And in order to complete the journey, based on the anticipated future of microservices, I try to give a few recommendations for microservices developers of today how to prepare for that evolution.
While - as written in the beginning - this is my take on the evolution of microservices and the voice track is missing, I still hope that it is a bit helpful and delivers some food for thought.
This slide deck dives a bit in history to understand where IT comes from, where we are now and why we are there and what our options are. It starts with exploring the paradigms of the markets companies live in, travels through matching organizational approaches and finally looks at the history and current state of IT.
Based on that and after a quick look at Conway's law the market paradigms and organizational approaches are evaluated with respect to the drivers they imply on IT in general and architecture particularly.
And after all that foreplay (which is necessary to really understand where we are and what the forces are) several architectural styles and technologies are located on the scale that the market paradigms and organizational approaches span. This way sort of an "architectural fitness detector" is provided which helps to make architectural choices based on needs instead of hypes or habits (which are way to often the choice drivers).
The slide deck then finishes up with a few mismatches that are seen quite often in reality and it can be seen how the distance between architectural choices on the presented scale can be used to quickly determine potential mismatches.
As always the voice track is missing but I hope that the slides are still of some help for you.
The hitchhiker's guide for the confused developerUwe Friedrichsen
This talk is basically a successor of the "DevOps is not enough talk", but with a broader focus.
In the talk, after a short motivation, I try to take stock of the current state of IT from different points of view. After looking at, where we came from and where we are, I add the most important trends I currently see that affect us in IT.
But knowing where we came from, where we are and where we are going to usually is not enough. The key point is using this information - in this talk for evaluating your current position as a software engineer and figuring out your desired future position.
As all the details from the first part of the talk make it hard to do this evaluation, I suggest creating a model (actually a framework) on a reduced detail level that makes the evaluation and planning easier. Defining that framework is the third part of the talk.
Finally, the last part consists of some general recommendations that - based on my understanding - help you as a software engineer to stay ahead of the curve for a while.
While this is extremely much stuff (I really consider to split that plethora of information covered in this talk up in several, single-topic talks) and as always the voice track is missing, I still hope that the slide deck gives you a few ideas worth pondering.
La disruption n’est pas seulement un mot tendance. C’est aussi une réalité qui bouscule tous les grands acteurs du marché. Que signifie-t-elle exactement ? Quels sont ses effets positifs et négatifs et comment la gérer ?
Software is changing the way traditional business operate. People now have smartphones in their pockets - a supercomputer that is 25,000 times more powerful and the minicomputers of the 1960s. This is changing people´s behaviour and how people shop and use services. The organizational structure created in the 20th century cannot survive when new digital solution are being offered. Software is changing the way traditional business operate. People now have smartphones in their pockets - a supercomputer that is 25,000 times more powerful and the minicomputers of the 1960s. This is changing people´s behaviour and how people shop and use services. The organizational structure created in the 20th century cannot survive when new digital solution are being offered. The hierarchical structure of these established companies assumes high coordination cost due to human activity. But when the coordination cost drops
The organizational structure that companies in the 20th century established was based on the fact that employees needed to do all the work. The coordination cost was high due to the effort and cost of employees, housing etc. Now we have software that can do this for use and the coordination cost drops to close-to-zero. Another thing is that things become free. Consider Flickr. Anybody can sign up and use the service for free. Only a fraction of the users get pro account and pay. How can Flickr make money on that? It turns out that services like this can.
Many businesses make money by giving things away. How can that possibly work? The music business has suffered severely with digital distribution of content. Should musicians put all there songs on YouTube? What is the future business model for music?
DevOps is not enough - Embedding DevOps in a broader contextUwe Friedrichsen
As the subtitle says, this talk tries to embed DevOps in a broader context. Therefore first briefly is sketched, how the state of IT is perceived by many people in IT. Additionally, DevOps is briefly defined by explaining the three ways as they were described in the book "The Phoenix Project".
After this short introduction the claim of the title is picked up: "Why is DevOps not enough?". In order to explain this claim, the history of economic markets and of IT are briefly explained. The bottomline is that almost all markets supported by IT have drastically changed in the years since IT became relevant for companies. Additionally, IT itself has changed dramatically in this period of time. Therefore, most of the common knowledge and best practices, we stick to in IT became counter-productive meanwhile because they solve a completely different problem, i.e., the problems of the times when the markets and IT itself were totally different.
The conclusion from the short examination of history is that we basically have to re-think IT as a whole, which is discussed briefly in the next section of the talk. This section first has a look at the new drivers that inflict change on IT. Then it derives the new goals of IT and shows some of the building blocks.
Having this new idea of IT at hand, the role of DevOps in it is finally considered. Starting with DevOps and its continuous pursuit of shortening cycle times in order to optimize outcome, DevOps can be used to drive the change of IT. This is exemplarily shown by starting with DevOps and then see, which question arise from that and what solutions it leads to. In the end of the example, many of the building blocks of the new IT are in place - just by starting with DevOps and continuously improving.
This is a very dense talk covering a lot of ground in order to lead to the final observation that DevOps can (and should) be used to drive the required change of IT and many detail have been left out. Also the voice track is missing of course, but I still hope that it provides you with some useful information.
The DNA of Data Quality and the Data GenomeJohn Owens
In this presentation John Owens of John Owens International shows how to identify, integrate and model all of the information and data needs of any enterprise of any size in any sector.
Who wants to make or receive the dreaded "Crisis Call"? Prevent that when you address - What Million Dollar Blind Spot Should You Uncover: before it finds you? Assure Million Dollar Profits!
> Tired of feeling like your organization is (1) a best kept secret, (2) stuck, or (3) coasting on past success? Well worth coffee or at least a 15 minute phone call.
> What finance, systems, or strategy do you need a 2nd opinion on to operate and execute better to attain your dreams?
> Why not create a unique triple win situation? Your client is better off, you are better off and I am better off.
Clients say Gary specializes in helping leaders increase revenue profitably with less stress by uncovering million dollar blind spots in time to avoid costly mistakes and make the best business decisions, carrying out rigorous due diligence and enterprise risk management reviews, and partnering with them on critical fiscal and financial projects.
Profile Including How Different From Other Consultants.
(a) Successful track record includes Big 4 CPA Audit Manager / Stanford MBA Operations, Finance and Marketing. (b) Worked in all major technology sectors and manufacturing, service, and distribution – helping over 200 companies. (c) Geographic background also includes Southwest, Southeast, West Coast and England. (d) Although usually have been the CFO, I have held all functional titles, including CEO, COO, CTO, CCO, Head of Sales and Partner. (e) Improve mergers, divestiture, banking relationships and capital structure.
Find out how I can make a huge difference for you in just one 30 minute complementary strategy session - SCHEDULE it today - and let's begin OUR success together.
> Direct contact at Gary Patterson,
> 678.319.4739
> Gary at fiscaldoctor.com
> http://www.Fiscaldoctor.com
Sample Wealth Dynamics Report - What Entrepreneur Profile are You?Roger Hamilton
This is a sample report from the Wealth Dynamics Profiling System, the leading personality assessment for entrepreneurs and business. The 'Deal Maker' Profile is one of eight paths to entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneurs like Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch and Simon Cowell share this profile. Which profile are you?
The DNA of Data Quality and the Data GenomeJohn Owens
In this presentation John Owens of John Owens International shows how to identify, integrate and model all of the information and data needs of any enterprise of any size in any sector.
Who wants to make or receive the dreaded "Crisis Call"? Prevent that when you address - What Million Dollar Blind Spot Should You Uncover: before it finds you? Assure Million Dollar Profits!
> Tired of feeling like your organization is (1) a best kept secret, (2) stuck, or (3) coasting on past success? Well worth coffee or at least a 15 minute phone call.
> What finance, systems, or strategy do you need a 2nd opinion on to operate and execute better to attain your dreams?
> Why not create a unique triple win situation? Your client is better off, you are better off and I am better off.
Clients say Gary specializes in helping leaders increase revenue profitably with less stress by uncovering million dollar blind spots in time to avoid costly mistakes and make the best business decisions, carrying out rigorous due diligence and enterprise risk management reviews, and partnering with them on critical fiscal and financial projects.
Profile Including How Different From Other Consultants.
(a) Successful track record includes Big 4 CPA Audit Manager / Stanford MBA Operations, Finance and Marketing. (b) Worked in all major technology sectors and manufacturing, service, and distribution – helping over 200 companies. (c) Geographic background also includes Southwest, Southeast, West Coast and England. (d) Although usually have been the CFO, I have held all functional titles, including CEO, COO, CTO, CCO, Head of Sales and Partner. (e) Improve mergers, divestiture, banking relationships and capital structure.
Find out how I can make a huge difference for you in just one 30 minute complementary strategy session - SCHEDULE it today - and let's begin OUR success together.
> Direct contact at Gary Patterson,
> 678.319.4739
> Gary at fiscaldoctor.com
> http://www.Fiscaldoctor.com
Sample Wealth Dynamics Report - What Entrepreneur Profile are You?Roger Hamilton
This is a sample report from the Wealth Dynamics Profiling System, the leading personality assessment for entrepreneurs and business. The 'Deal Maker' Profile is one of eight paths to entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneurs like Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch and Simon Cowell share this profile. Which profile are you?
Company Valuation webinar series - Tuesday, 4 June 2024FelixPerez547899
This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
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1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
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Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to ma...Lviv Startup Club
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to make small projects with small budgets profitable for the company (UA)
Kyiv PMDay 2024 Summer
Website – www.pmday.org
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/startuplviv
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3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
Enterprise Excellence is Inclusive Excellence.pdfKaiNexus
Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion.
What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization.
What might I learn?
A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo.
Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor.
Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
Putting the SPARK into Virtual Training.pptxCynthia Clay
This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
3. VERITAS – A Story of Strategic Transformation 1982 – 1993
Hardware to Software OEM business
1982 – 1988: Tolerant Systems
$50 M startup in the high availability fault tolerant systems business,
(Tandem built with microprocessors and Unix)
1989 – 1993: Tolerant Veritas the OEM company
Revenue $0 – $10 M
“Restarted” from Tolerant Systems (200 12 employees)
Established industry standard file and disk management software for
Unix
Novel OEM Business Model
Closed 60 OEM agreements and became industry standard
IPO in 1993, $64M market cap post money
However, the business as constituted would likely top out at
~ $50M / Yr…
Copyright M. Leslie 4
4. VERITAS – A Story of Strategic Transformation 1994 – 2000
Emergence as the leader in Storage Management Software
Revenue: $15 M – $1.2 B
Established Strategy for TRANSFORMATION in 1994
Additional System Products to sell to OEMs
Build EU products to sell to OEM’s customers and restructure OEM
agreements: Reseller (Revenue Center)+ OEM (Cost Center)
Acquire Backup Business and Direct Channel
Enter NT Market
1995: Acquired High Availability Failover Business (Strategy
Element 1)
Copyright M. Leslie 5
5. VERITAS – A Story of Strategic Transformation 1994 – 2000
Emergence as the leader in Storage Management Software
1997: Acquired Open Vision
Veritas and OV each had trailing revenues of $36M (shed ~ $15M of OV
products)
Acquired Direct and high-end Reseller Channel (Strategy Element 2)
Entered Backup / Recovery business (Strategy Element 3)
1999: Acquired Seagate Software and entered NT market (strategy
element 4)
2000: $1.2 B revenue, F 1000 company
Copyright M. Leslie 6
6. VERITAS – A Story of Strategic Transformation 2001 +
Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda…
2001: Hired new CEO
Revenue of $1.5 B – growth in revenue and profit in nuclear winter of
bursting tech bubble
Next Strategy for company:
Acquire VMware (2003)
Acquire Red Hat, Jboss, MySQL, etc., to build the complete server
stack to compete with Microsoft
Unfortunately…
Copyright M. Leslie 7
8. Copyright: Mark Leslie 2007
Great Businesses
Great Product / Great Market / Perfect Time
Rich in DEFENSIBLE and SUSTAINABLE BARRIERS to ENTRY
Intellectual property
Network Effect
Unique business models
Other
Yields:
High growth
High market share
High gross margins
High profits
High stock multiples
Market consolidation
…And the Rich Get Richer
9
9. Copyright: Mark Leslie 2007
Software is a Great Business
Making money in high-tech is all about getting paid for your IP
The better (and more unique) the IP, the more valuable
In the hardware business the IP is embodied and delivered in the
form of a “machine”
The business of making and shipping machines is error prone, which
can sap the profit from the business
In the software business you just deliver the IP – sometimes in the
form of bits transmitted over the ether…
At Veritas
At the extreme delivered a $1.50 CD in exchange for $20 million
Raised a total of $20 M including IPO, and ended with > 2.0 B in cash
10
10. Copyright: Mark Leslie 2007
The More Grandiose the Plan,
the Less Likely to Succeed
Tolerant Systems, Go Computing, General Magic, WebVan and
Zaplet were “grand plans”
… and so many others
But many of the great companies started out with small goals and
very little capital, and became “overnight successes”
…after many years
Like HP, Dell, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, Veritas, Ebay, Google,
VMware
… and so few others
11
11. Transformation – The Signature of
Great Companies
Copyright M. Leslie 12
BankruptcyStartup
Decline
Peak
Growth
time
12. Transformation – The Signature of
Great Companies
Copyright M. Leslie 13
Startup
time
Transformation
Transformation
13. Transformation – The Signature of
Great Companies (or NOT)
Apple
Cisco
GE
HP
Intel
Microsoft
Oracle
Sun Microsystems
Copyright M. Leslie 14
Chrysler
Computer Vision
Mainframe BUNCH
companies
Digital Equipment /
minicomputer companies
GM
Silicon Graphics
Sun Microsystems
15. Be a Steward, Not a Proprietor
T H E F I R S T P R I N C I P L E of leadership
Proprietorship is about “ME”
…and what you can do for me today
Stewardship is about “US”
…and what we can build together for the future
Copyright: Mark Leslie 2007 16
16. Copyright M. Leslie 17
Be Visible, Be Invisible
Be Visible
There is a large part of leadership which is public (and mostly obvious)
MBWA
Many and varied public meetings
Be exceptionally accessible
Be Invisible
The real work of leadership is behind the scenes, OFTEN ALONE
Leadership is creating an environment where:
You attract the best and the brightest people
…who can independently apply their intellect judgment and energy
…to advance the vision and goals of the organization
…and achieve a personal sense of accomplishment in their work
It is NOT “management”, which is accomplishing complex tasks through
others.
17. Copyright M. Leslie 18
“Glamorous” is the Opposite of
Leadership
Don’t get confused -- It is not about “ME”
A Leader must always think of others and put them first
You can be a comrade to your followers, but you can never be
one of them
When you are doing the “glamorous things”, you are just doing
your job on this team
Warning of Danger:
GLAMOUR IS VERY SEDUCTIVE…
18. Copyright M. Leslie 19
If You Are Loyal to One, You Are
Loyal to None
A leader must be loyal to the mission above all else
A leader is responsible for the well being of ALL of his
people
A leader is the keeper of fairness and equity in the
organization
19. Copyright M. Leslie 20
The Further You Are from a Problem
the Less You Know About It
Trust those on the front lines – they really do know more than those
“back home”.
The first line manager knows less about the specifics, and THE
NEXT manager knows even less.
When you get to the top you don’t really know anything about
anything anymore!
You trade situational knowledge for judgment, experience and
perspective
20. Copyright M. Leslie 21
The Higher Up you Get, the Fewer
Decisions You Should Make
Everyone “offers” you the decision
What is the impact of the decision
Have they thought about it?
Are they, more or less, in the right quadrant?
What is the downside?
Allowing others to make decisions has real meaning to them, and
develops their judgment and maturity
21. Copyright M. Leslie 22
The More Power You Give Away,
the More You Have
You empower individuals by giving them
Knowledge;
Authority; and,
An acceptable margin of execution error
“What I know that you don’t know makes me more powerful than
you.”
A leader has the power to level this playing field!!!
And diminish politicization of the organization
Empowered individuals will be loyal to the company and loyal to the
leadership
A loyal empowered workforce is a force multiplier for the leader
22. Copyright M. Leslie 23
Know Thyself
We all want to know everything, and be best at everything
It is a hallmark of great leaders that they know their own
Strengths (the easy part) and
Weaknesses (the hard part)
Likes
Dislikes
Augment your weaknesses with other people’s strengths
If possible find others to do the things you don’t like
Check to see if your self-assessment is shared by others
23. Copyright M. Leslie 24
Trust and You Will Be Trusted
The first level of trust is based on the “fair play” that is visibly
exercised
Great leadership comes from a deep sense of trust between the
leader and the led
As a leader, you MUST take the first step, you must trust first!
You may occasionally get disappointed, but the payoff is greater than
the cost
24. Copyright M. Leslie 25
Listen to Everyone, but Trust your
Own Judgment
Each business is complex and unique
There are no formulas, fads and gurus with quick and easy answers
Be genuinely open, listen constructively and learn
Hold your opinions in abeyance while you collect information – this is
counterintuitive to all we have learned. It is very hard to do!
At the end of the day, trust your own judgment
“If something does not seem to make sense…
…it most probably isn’t sensible”
25. Copyright M. Leslie 26
Confront the Issues Directly,
But be Thoughtful, Gracious and Caring
There are many tough things that you need to do
Firing one of your executives who is a friend
Negotiate hard deal
Go after a competitor
Reduce your work force
But you can do all things with caring and grace
Treat each and every person (and company) you meet with dignity and
respect
And…, you never know when you will run into them again…
26. Copyright M. Leslie 27
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and
Nothing but the Truth…
A key job of leaders is to “Fix Broken Stuff”
If you do not know what is broken, you can’t fix it
Everyone wants to tell you what they think you want to hear…
… in a way that will make them look good…
You must find a way to convince people that you need to know the
truth…
…and you must always “Honor the Messenger”
27. Copyright M. Leslie 28
There is Life after Death
In the course of events there WILL BE black days
…days so black that all you will see is despair
Everyone will be looking at you!
Communicate candidly and directly
Be calm and show them a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, but
not false hope
Focus on the things that you can do to make a difference
Overcoming adversity together forges teamwork and trust
Dark days are “leadership opportunities”
When things are great, remind people that there will be dark days
again
28. Only Those Who Are Both Paranoid
and Courageous Will Survive
Every Idea has a finite lifetime
You never know where and how the world might change – it’s just a
matter of time
It is all about Strategic Transformation
Do it early rather than late.
You may have to put your whole company at risk in order to save it
You need the courage to stay the course in spite of many who tell you
otherwise
It is the critical differentiator – it is what makes
Great Companies Great
Copyright M. Leslie 29
29. Copyright M. Leslie 30
There is No Finish Line…
Building a great company is like building a cathedral
Those who start it hopefully will not see its completion
Each accomplishment is a prelude to the next challenge
The IPO is not a “harvest”, simply one step on the long
road
30. Copyright M. Leslie 31
Values and Culture make it
worthwhile
We spend more time “at work” than any other single activity in our life
The outcome of our efforts is not always predictable so the quality of
the daily experience is important
Values and culture define the character of the company
Values and culture permit us to do our work with integrity, and to
conduct business in a civilized and honest environment
Values and culture help the organization to recruit the best, the
brightest, and the principled
Values and culture do NOT sap the competitive capability
31. Copyright M. Leslie 32
We All Have to Make Choices
Each time we make a decision, we leave a “road untaken” – we can
never know what “could have been…”
Success in anything requires:
COMMITMENT
FOCUS
INTENSITY
ENDURANCE
Whatever success we achieve, we will by definition sacrifice other
dimensions of life’s opportunities
34. Copyright M. Leslie 35
it is regret for the things we did not
do that is inconsolable.
Sidney J. Harris (1917–86)
Regret for the things we did can be
tempered by time;
35. Copyright M. Leslie 36
The Story of Veritas
And Some Things I Learned…
mleslie@leslieventures.com