Michael Winston

Biography

With 25 years of cutting-edge experience as a business leader, change agent, and organization strategist, Michael G. Winston has been in the "eye of the storm" in businesses going through massive transformation.

As Global Head, Worldwide Leadership and Organization Development for Merrill Lynch, he served during one of the most challenging periods in the history of the financial markets... before and after 9/11/01. He held the highest functional role in the Corporation on the issues of organization structure, executive succession planning, leadership development and the management of change.

Previously, Michael spent over ten years at Motorola, heading up all organization design, large-scale change, leadership development and succession planning initiatives for the Communications businesses during the company`s meteoric rise from $6B to over $30B. He has also held top strategic human resources positions at McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed Corporations during seismic shifts in the industry.

An internationally-respected and highly sought-after speaker, Dr. Winston has a unique ability to inform, energize and empower his audience. His programs are high energy, high content, and high impact. With appearances in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the South Pacific and throughout North and South America, he has presented to a list of organizations that looks like a Who`s Who of global businesses (over 150 leading companies) including American Express, Royal Dutch Shell, Kawasaki, Mattel, Royal Philips Electronics, Levi Strauss, Wells Fargo Bank, AKZO, Los Angeles Times, TRW, First Union Bank, Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), Unilever and Union Carbide as well as dozens of industry and professional associations.

Concurrent with his corporate responsibilities, he has also addressed executives at Harvard, Stanford, University of California, Berkeley, INSEAD (France), Management Centre Europe (Belgium) and was Distinguished Adjunct Professor for 15 years at Stichting deBaak (The Netherlands). Michael was named Best Instructor at the University of Illinois and has served as adjunct professor in the graduate schools of business and management for the University of California, University of San Francisco, Golden Gate University and Pepperdine University.

Michael challenges managers to embrace change, to innovate, not imitate, and to lead from the heart. His presentations help leaders to translate learning into superior performance. Michael will tailor his presentations to drive home your objectives and will design them to suit your needs, from a 60-minute keynote speech to a one-day workshop to a powerful three-day executive retreat.

Michael holds a Masters Degree from the University of Notre Dame, a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and is a graduate of Executive Programs from Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania`s Wharton School.

Titles

Driving Change
Change is occurring at a blistering pace, leaving many businesses unprepared. Wave after wave of technological breakthroughs have revolutionized entire industries overnight. Wrenching political changes around the world are bringing new opportunities and fresh risks. Competition in global markets is growing fiercer by the day. More sophisticated customers expect ever-higher levels of quality, customization, convenience, and timeliness.

This is a time of change... a time of tremendous opportunity, but also one of substantial risk. In today`s business environment, where change is necessary for survival, organizations must be willing, able and eager to change. The business climate will likely experience continued turbulence. New regulatory challenges as well as lingering economic uncertainty pose significant challenges. Success will depend not only on size, but also on speed and competitiveness to capitalize on fast-moving changes in markets, technologies, and the general business landscape.

Driving Change equips organizations and leaders to dominate in this tough, competitive environment with the tools to anticipate, drive and capitalize on change.

Creating a High Performance Culture
The company that dominates in today`s tough business climate will be the one with the most energizing vision, soundest business strategies, most empowering structure and culture, and most talented leadership team. The key to success is designing a total system of improvement in which these key elements are aligned.

This exciting program contains the results of over two decades of research focused on Creating a High Performance Culture to generate world-class performance. Participants learn new strategies for promoting a new structure and culture that will support the quest for ever-higher levels of excellence in anticipating and exceeding customer needs, reducing cycle time, creating flawless product and service integrity and reliability, creating cost-competitive advantage, and developing best-in-class partnerships with employees, suppliers and customers.

Leadership... in the Eye of the Storm!
A changing business environment requires an increasingly high level of human performance within an increasingly complex business world. Leadership... in the Eye of the Storm details cutting-edge tools and strategies leaders use during turbulent times to tap and optimize the talents and skills of those around them - stimulating high performance, sparking creativity and imagination, encouraging teamwork and inspiring loyalty.

The key is stepping up to the task of creating an environment in which people want to, and can, perform at the highest levels of their potential. This program provides participants with the perspectives, strategies and tactics to shape both their personal destinies and their organization`s futures in an age of complexity and uncertainty.

Breakthrough: Organizational Learning
Today`s knowledge explosion and the galloping pace of change demand an unprecedented learning response from organizations. Rapidly evolving technology, diminishing natural resources, increasing global competition, and a more diverse workforce -- all are changes requiring organizations to learn more and to learn it faster in order to remain competitive.

To survive and prosper, companies must adopt a way of managing that is based on their capacity to learn and change -- consciously, continuously and quickly. "Learning organization" is not just a buzzword. It is a critical capability for any company that wants to navigate the coming years successfully.

This program uncovers the critical success factors discovered and employed by high-performing companies in becoming learning organizations.

Developing Human Capital
Today`s hyper-competition has eroded many traditional sources of competitive advantage. Technology can be copied or appropriated more and more quickly, economies of scale and scope are less important in a rapidly changing marketplace and a global business environment makes it more difficult to control access to resources or distribution channels.

The ways in which people are managed, in contrast, can lead to competitive advantages that are much harder to imitate. In today`s business environment, it is clear that human capital and intellect drive business success. As organizations become more and more dependent on technology, human capital becomes more critical to long-term competitive advantage.

In good times and bad, there has always been, and will always be, a war for talent. You cannot be a top company unless you have top people. Acquiring, building, supporting and leveraging a high-performance workforce have never been more critical for profitable growth... or client satisfaction. Developing Human Capital reveals important ways you can make your organization the premiere talent magnet.

Lessons from Legendary Leaders
Throughout history, great leaders have understood that change brings tremendous opportunities as well as fresh risks. In this presentation, you will learn how great leaders throughout the ages... from the ball field to the boardroom, from politics to science, learned to survive - and even thrive - during turbulent times by adhering to timeless principles and maintaining flexible visions. While clearly "the past is not prologue", we can still learn the characteristics that lead to abiding success from great leaders in all walks of life. They all consistently communicate vision, inspiration, courage and character... critical components for leadership greatness!

Lessons from Legendary Leaders provides a blueprint for the characteristics of true leadership, clearly illustrated with stories that make our understanding of these leaders clear, compelling and worthy of note and, perhaps, emulation.