Marcia Daszko - Pivot, Disrupt, Transform: How Leaders Beat the Odds and Survive

Praise for PIVOT, DISRUPT, TRANSFORM

This book is an exceptional resource that will help leaders better understand how real leadership works; how to become comfortable with disruptive change; and how to create that change and thereby create your future. The alternative is to throw random solutions (i.e., best practices) at problems and hope for the best. If youre looking to open your mind to alternative understanding, this book is for you.

DR. KENNETH M. MACUR,
President, Medaille College, New York

This is a story about transformation and disruption, about recognizing and embracing change rather than ignoring and resisting it. This book fully recognizes the immense generational shift taking place with millennials and accepts that what influences and motivates them is significantly different than any generation that preceded them. Most important, the book provides actionable tools to help drive this change. This is an important read for anyone really interested in developing a highly functioning and modern business organization.

DAVE ZUCHOWSKI,
President of Hyundai, 20072017

Pivot, Disrupt, Transform is astonishing and leads you to a whole new world. You might hesitate to drop your old way of thinking that you learned at school or the way that you work. But this book deeply entices you to learn and turn around your thoughts and actions. You will see and experience the power of transformational change! Get on board and enjoy the ride!

KENJI FURUSHIRO,
President, Pasona N. A.

Marcia Daszkos insights go beyond the obvious to root causes. Many problems in corporations and businesses could be alleviated by a true understanding of what Marcia has to offer in her latest book. W. Edwards Deming said it, and those who understood prospered. Marcia continues the work.

PRISCILLA PETTY,
interviewer and producer, The Deming of America

Diversion Books

A Division of Diversion Publishing Corp.

443 Park Avenue South, Suite 1004

New York, New York 10016

www.DiversionBooks.com

Copyright 2018 by Marcia Daszko

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For more information, email

First Diversion Books edition October 2018.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63576-474-1

eBook ISBN: 978-1-63576-473-4

LSIDB/1810

DEDICATION

To my son and family:

Timothy, Terri, Owen, and Makoda Daszko

and Timothys father, Gene Daszko

To my parents,

Mary Lou and James Sullivan

To my mentors in life and work:

Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Dr. Perry Gluckman,

Dr. Myron Tribus, Patsy Schmelzer, and Dr. Mark Shal

To my family, friends, and clients:

You are special in so many ways!

To all who inspired and encouraged me with love
and challenges, and who instilled in me a love of learning
and making a difference

To the natural leaders, heroes, entrepreneurs, and all individuals with courage who make improvements, make a difference, are transformative change catalysts, speak up, and encourage others to ask questions and think different.

To all of you above, and those I havent met yet, thank you!

PREFACE

S ometimes we cant predict what will happen in life. The change in my career path more than twenty years ago changed my thinking about my work, my life, and the way I raised my son. With new learning, I disrupted my thinking, pivoted the direction I was headed in life, and experienced a personal transformation. My life was great, but then it took on a new, bolder meaning.

My first ten-year career in corporate communications and marketing led me to work for Dr. Perry Gluckman and his team of management consultants and statisticians. His company, Process Plus, was known for helping corporations like HP, 3Com, and Dow Chemical learn and apply Dr. W. Edwards Demings philosophy of leadership. After working there for a month, Perry asked me to do business development, and I asked, What am I selling? Perry sent me off to Dr. Demings four-day seminar held at the historic Del Coronado Hotel in San Diego, California where more than 1,500 senior executives from diverse industries and other sectors such as education, healthcare, and the military listened to his messages. But Dr. Deming, age eighty-six then, was challenging to understand. For me, he used unfamiliar words like process (my experience had been in marketing semiconductor processes), control charts, systems thinking, etc.

After the four days, I went to Perrys office and said, I dont know what he was talking about! Perry said, Dont worry, Ill teach you. The next three months I felt like I went through a PhD program. I read, studied, and had four- and five-hour long conversations every week or two with Perry. I also watched Perry give speeches and ask questions with our client executives, questions I had never heard before.

After a few months of intensive study and reading, I told Perry, I want to hear Dr. Deming again. Off I went to my second four-day seminar. What a difference! His words began to make sense, and I began to connect the dots with his messages about leadership, quality, continual improvement, the fourteen points, variation, and systems thinking.

The conference organizer, Dr. Nancy Mann, introduced me to Dr. Deming. We quickly engaged in a deep discussion, though I told him that I was just beginning to learn. He invited me to dinner that evening with a small group of senior vice presidents, an admiral, and a colonel. I was excruciatingly shy then and hoped I wouldnt choke on my food. I listened and watched the interactions. After dinner, Dr. Deming told me to come to the four-day seminars as often as I could. I went every three months and attended twenty of his seminars in total. Dr. Deming became my mentor, too. And I was fortunate to also study and learn from other great systems thinkers such as Dr. Myron Tribus, Dr. Peter Senge, and Dr. Russell Ackoff.

Their guidance and philosophy about work and education changed my life. But in 1993, two of my key mentors (Dr. Gluckman and Dr. Deming) died. What would I do? Clients still needed our help, so I continued to work with them and founded Marcia Daszko & Associates in 1994. I made a choice to keep doing what I loved. I also felt an obligation to my mentors to make a difference. I love that the philosophy I have learned from so many great mentors and colleagues has the capacity to facilitate positive change among people who want to work, improve, and lead together.

One of the most important messages that Dr. Deming and Dr. Gluckman taught me was to continually learn and discover. I learned a lot about their principles by helping leaders apply them. My son reminded me when I was writing this book that my mentors taught me foundational theories and principles, but I created strategic questions and methods to help leaders apply and accelerate their transformation work. My learning continued with my family, friends, colleagues, and clients.

I base this book on what I have learned from my mentors, from working with my clients for more than twenty-five years on strategic leadership and transformation consulting, teaching MBA classes, and continually asking questions and observing how people lead, learn, interact, and celebrate together.