OMG‼️ It’s MICHAEL WATKINS‼️Author of 15 books including the life changing bestseller FIRST 90 DAYS and the much needed Six disciplines of Strategic Thinking. He is a Professor of Leadership and Organizational change at IMD Lausanne, and was inducted into the Thinkers 50 hall of fame. Engineer, martial artist, rebel, AI aficionado, he is an educator at heart, and is on a mission to help people realize their true potential.

😱 How can you ensure you succeed in a new role, where 1 in 2 likely don’t? 

😱 How can you develop your strategic thinking when the world around you seems just TOO BUSY TO BE EFFECTIVE? 

In this episode of The Mindful Leadership Podcast, we dive into this and a whole lot more with Michael.

✅ Michael shares his story and the people and experiences that shaped him (this fun clip is truly priceless‼️) 

✅ His failure that paved the path for his amazing success 

✅ The most common accelerators and derailers when transitioning to a new role, and case studies for each

✅ Fundamental shifts impacting the world, and consequently leadership transitions in the 21 years since First 90 Days was published 

✅ What does Leadership of the future look like? And a story of an amazingly inspiring leader

✅ The biggest myth about strategy, and how poor strategic thinking creeps into strategy 

✅ Cases of strong strategic thinking across the organization, as well as the lack of it

✅ Digging into 3 of the Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking- what great looks like and cases and examples of the same

✅ His impact and his why 

✅ Rapid fire questions that turned out to be as fun as they are profound‼️

About Michael Watkins:

Michael D. Watkins is a globally recognized expert in his field and Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at

the International School of Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland. Over his career, he has designed and led world class programs at IMD, INSEAD, The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Harvard Business School. He is a Thinkers 50-ranked management influencer (2019 to present) and was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2023, in recognition of his enduring contributions to the field of management thinking.

Watkins is also the author and co-author of many books on leadership, negotiation, and diplomacy. In January 2024, he released his latest book, The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking. He is best known for his global bestseller, The First 90 Days, the classic reference for leaders in transition, which has sold approaching 2 million copies and is translated in 27 languages. Originally published in 2003 and updated in 2013, it was hailed “The Onboarding Bible" by The Economist and is listed among the best 100 business books of all time by 1-800-CEO-Read. In 2022, The First 90 Days was included in The HBR Press ”Ideas With Impact” list of books that are truly changing the way organizations do business. His book, Predictable Surprises: The Disasters You Should Have Seen Coming and How to Prevent Them, won the 2006 Kulp-Wright Book Award and was named a Strategy + Business best business book of 2004. Two of his books on negotiation and diplomacy, Breakthrough International Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World’s Toughest Post-Cold War Conflicts (2001) and Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers (2002), won the CPR Institute Negotiation Book Prize in 2001 and 2002, respectively.