Transform, Then Thrive:
A Tale of Corporate Transformation
By Steve Gandara
An Instructional leadership novel that chronicles the transformation of a company from surviving to thriving. Highlights real leadership experiences implementing the Excellent Cultures proven process of nearly five decades building the World’s Best Cultures for the World’s Best Companies.
From Surviving to Thriving…
Gavin Pearson and Stuart Smith were about as different as two people could ever be. Gavin grew up in one foster home after another until he was adopted by a loving couple. What began as a wonderful family suddenly changed when his adopted father was killed. Young Gavin with his widow mother barely made ends meet by her waiting tables and cleaning houses.
Stock values floundered, stagnated, and then vacillated at sub-standard levels. The Wall Street advisory firm sent Stuart a one-page profile of Gavin Pearson, saying, “He can transform your culture and turn NOP around. Wall Street loves him.” He was well-known for fostering the trust-and-openness high-performance team culture at Prominent Staffing Company. “Bring him on as CEO,” they said.
Stuart noted with disappointment that Gavin Pearson was not a younger version of himself. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Gavin had been immensely successful, but his credential screamed, “Brand ambassador for organizational development and cultural transformation” — exactly what Stuart detested as a lot of warm and fuzzy nonsense. For the love of big money, he had to abide by the Wall Street diktat. And for the love of being perceived as the man on top who pulled the right strings, he had to trust Gavin. Read more
