Be like a Vampire | Leadership 101

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 21:50:39 GMT

Use these steps to increase buy-in when in a new role.

Whether your mind immediately went to a funny or scary version of a vampire, there is something to learn from their approach especially when you are in a new role.

As leaders, we have to have various tools in our tool box to handle different situations. Sometimes stern, sometimes caring and a lot of in between. When I've taken on new roles, I always seem to come back to the same concept of "being invited into the home" before making drastic changes in the workplace. Sometimes you have to move fast, but usually, time invested in the people and the issues they face, personally or professionally, will go along ways to building a highly effective team faster.

While learning about team development, we often hear of Tuckman's 5 stages of group development which include:

Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning or Mourning

There are plenty of sources on the internet so I won't dive deep into them individually here but I've seen them at play consistently in most team dynamics. Whether in the jury room, the board room and many places in between. I've also observed times where a group never moves beyond one of the earlier phases and remain dysfunctional.

To avoid the latter in my last role, I met with each team member over a period of weeks for an informal discussion. I always use a prepared list to try to drive some consistency in these situations but the goal is to have an authentic discussion. I never take notes unless there is something striking said that I feel could be important. In those cases, I state that it's an important point that I don't want to lose. People seem to like those moments.

In many cases the answers to these questions may seem obvious but you'd be surprised the cultural issues they can surface. Below is the actual list of questions that I used in my last role:

What is your role?
Do you have a clear understanding of what your role is?
What do you like about your role?
What do you dislike about it?
What is the most challenging part of your day?
Whom do you report to?
What would you like to be doing 5 years from now?
What are the biggest issues you feel your department faces?
What do you feel are the strengths of our organization?
What do you think are the biggest issues our organization is facing?

These questions are just a starting point as the discussion will surface others. Your discussion will likely take several tangents that could be enlightening.

By being invited in, the real objective of the "Vampire approach" is to build trust within your team as rapidly as possible, as trust is the fuel that high-performing teams run on.

Good Luck!

Avoiding Disruption | Lessons I've learned

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 04:16:14 GMT

From the perspective of one pursuing disruption.

My first up close and personal experience with market disruption was on a fairly small yet impactful scale. I'd like to say that I foresaw it and successfully avoided it but in reality it was luck that helped me dodge the proverbial bullet.

During my freshman year in college, I was invited to participate in my first small business investment. I joined 4 others with diverse business backgrounds to acquire a very small niche company which manufactured equipment that made gift bows . Their equipment shipped all over the world and to some very large customers. One of the key reasons for their success was their patents which prevented others from achieving their high quality product at a high production rate. This also resulted in a high profit margin for a manufacturing company.

Flash forward several years, as I was exploring ways achieve my lifelong dream of launching or acquiring my own business, I decided to make an offer to buy out my partners. The plan was simple, modernize the business and add new products/services that would increase the potential and decrease the risks that come with being such a niche player.

An offer was drafted that would result in a 20x return and included one key clause, if they didn't feel like selling at that price, I would be willing to sell to them. Three of them jumped at the offer to buy me out. Another joined in selling. The deal was done.

As I went on to looking for another path to achieve my dream, I remember feeling seller's remorse for some time. That is until the disruption story for that old business began to unfold. The culprit, something that I never would have seen coming. Gift Bags.

If you are hoping for an analysis of the impact, I don't have that information for you as I've never seen the details of the aftermath. What I can share is that the business is still ongoing after being sold at a significant discount to the valuation that I had placed on it. In the years since, I've always kept that experience in mind whether looking to build or invest in another business.

Avoidance
Like many engaged in launching or leading a business today, it can be really difficult to assess where future assaults on your business may come from. Whether you are on offense or defense, you may find the following steps helpful.

1. Expand your understanding of the competition .
Look at your competition differently to improve your foresight to future influences. It is likely that your customers may have more choices than you are aware of. Their ultimate choice could be driven by a lot of different reasons but your organization will be better positioned to deal with changes in demand by understanding the options.

Below is one technique that could assist your organization in looking outside out of their normal understanding of their market. It may helpful to start outside of your market to get the brain storming going. This one is a quick look at the competition of United Airlines.

2. Increase your knowledge of global influences.
In this era, you'd better adjust your mindset to the fact that we live in a global society. The transfer of goods and information can happen so rapidly that the Pacific or Atlantic oceans cannot be considered a barrier of entry to your potential competition. There is a very good chance that your next competitor may come from offshore. Take a long look around at some of the low cost countries to scope out potential competitors that you weren't aware of.

While you're exploring overseas, either digitally or in person, try to identify a market or two that your product or service may resonate in.

3. Be the disruptor!
Startups thrive in this mode, yet ongoing businesses often struggle. Regardless of the age of your organization, I'd suggest taking the time to explore a little startup therapy.

Identify the right people in your organization that have key insights or great brainstorming skills. Their length of service in the organization doesn't matter and may actually be a hindrance. One technique to help identify these people is to think about who you would take with you if you were going to launch a new business in your space.

Get this group together and begin laying the ground work for your future.

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Be like a Vampire | Leadership 101

Use these steps to increase buy-in when in a new role.

Avoiding Disruption | Lessons I've learned

From the perspective of one pursuing disruption.