1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?

Large enterprises move slowly and often value process over outcomes. As a disruptor large enterprises were never a great fit for me. I’m not a big fan of asking permission or committee groupthink.

2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I had a varied background in technology and leadership starting with my time in the military. I looked for leadership opportunities along the way and didn’t mind lots of hard work.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

These days my time is spent in mentoring clients, mentoring internal teams and educating. Most days are filled with zoom calls and podcasts from early in the morning until evening. We have business in Asia so the days have lengthened.

4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

When things go well pass along the credit. When things go poorly take the blame. That simple philosophy has helped me build high performing teams for more than 30 years.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Give and Take by Adam Grant. He captures the real ROI of a genuine pay-it-forward mindset. He put into words and backed up with data the rationale for helping grow your people, business relationships and personal relationship without any expectation of reciprocity.

6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?

Invest in making your best people as successful as possible and realize they will leave you to pursue their own journey. This builds a culture of alumni you can always count on in the future. It is fundamentally the only proper way to lead.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?

I’ve been willing to fight the good fight in large enterprises regardless of the impact on my own career. I never cared about CYA for the purpose of the next promotion. I suppose that is why I have to have my own business so I don’t have to deal with the political foolishness that infects so many large enterprises.