Michael G. Winston

Michael G. Winston's Key Accomplishments Include . . .
An internationally respected and highly sought-after speaker with almost thirty 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" of businesses going through massive transformation. He worked closely with C-Suite Officers developing the business model, crafting strategy, architecting structure, creating culture, and selecting and developing leaders. Named one of the top business "thought-leaders" year after year, Michael Winston challenges managers to embrace change, to innovate, not imitate, and to lead from the heart.

Dr. Winston has served in executive positions for five esteemed Fortune 50 companies. He worked closely with the Chairman, Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officers of these companies developing business models, crafting strategy, architecting structure, creating culture and selecting and developing leaders.

Michael G. Winston's articles have been featured in Leader to Leader, Leadership Excellence, Business Forum, Executive Excellence and a host of other widely-respected publications. He has been widely quoted in major publications and books. Michael Winston's leadership development strategies have been embraced and utilized by such esteemed institutions as the University of Illinois Business School and its executive development programs.

Michael Winston has held top management positions at Merrill Lynch, Motorola, Bank of America, McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed Corporations during seismic changes in their industries. Named one of the top business "thought-leaders" year after year, Michael Winston challenges managers to embrace change, to innovate, not imitate, and to lead from the heart. What differentiates Michael G. Winston as a presenter is that he is not just speaking, writing, or consulting about it…he is doing it! Audiences especially appreciate his guidance and insight in turbulent times.

Michael Winston, a prominent executive in the field of organization management, is also a rarity among corporate whistle-blowers.  A former executive at the Countrywide Financial Corporation, Mr. Winston spent three years in a legal battle against Countrywide, the once-mighty mortgage giant, and its current owner, Bank of America, contending that he was punished and pushed out for not toeing the company line. In February 2011, a California jury agreed and awarded him damages. “I want to do my part to promote vision-driven, values-based leadership that is a force for good,” he said.

More About Michael Winston. . .
As Managing Director and Chief Leadership Officer for Bank of America's Countrywide Financial Corporation, Michael Winston lead the team that designed, developed and implemented the company's first-ever organization strategy, development and integration initiatives. In 2006, these efforts were rated 18th in America; the next year they were rated 8th best globally against 1000 other companies considered.

Michael Winston's work has been recognized year after year by inclusion in several "Top Business Thought-Leaders" lists. He appeared along with such notables as Tom Peters, John Kotter, Ken Blanchard, Dave Ulrich, Marcus Buckingham and Ram Charan.

As Global Head, Worldwide Leadership and Organization Development for Merrill Lynch, Michael Winston served during one of the most challenging periods in the history of the financial markets…before and after 9/11. 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 Winston spent over ten years at Motorola as Vice President and Managing Director, 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 was the creator of The Leading Edge, S.W.A.T., Vision, Strategy & Culture and PULSE and Co-Chaired the 6 Sigma Steering Committee, some of the most heralded and most benchmarked initiatives in business. Michael Winston's impact and recognition were of such stature that he was dubbed Motorola's "Ambassador of Change."

Michael Winston has also held top strategic human resources positions at McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed corporations during seismic shifts in the industry. At Lockheed Corporation, he worked closely with the world-renown "Skunkworks" and successfully scaled their warp-speed cycle-time and quality initiatives throughout the corporation.

With appearances in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the South Pacific and throughout North and South America, Michael Winston has presented to a list of organizations that looks like a "Who's Who" of global businesses including: American Express, Royal Dutch Shell, Kawasaki, Mattel, ING, Royal Philips Electronics, Levi Strauss, Wells Fargo Bank, AKZO, Los Angeles Times, Ingersoll Rand, 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, Michael Winston 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). Dr. Winston 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 Winston 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.

• The Power of 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. 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. The Power of Change will reveal proven strategies and tools to anticipate, drive and capitalize on change in 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.

• 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

  Rapidly changing technology, quick market saturation, unexpected competition, economic uncertainties - these all make succeeding in business harder than ever today. Companies that are ahead of the curve have a high intensity and consistent focus on markets, customers and competition. Building competitive advantage is not enough. You have to sustain competitive advantage. The required skills are not easy to master.The source of competitive advantage is a constantly moving target. The best competitors know how to keep moving, can adapt quickly to meet market and technology changes, and always stay on the cutting edge. Marketplace and organizational agility are prime factors of success. Dynamic organizations thrive through agility and infinite marketplace adaptation to become market leaders. Business strategies must and are changing in an effort to become more competitive. Many businesses must be totally revamped to reflect the new values, new management styles, and new ways of doing business necessary to meet the competitive challenge. Building Competitive Advantage covers the "new rules" for competitive vigor.

• 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.

• Target: Innovation

  Is your firm leading, managing and creating a culture for innovation success and business breakthroughs in this new global marketplace? Innovation is essential to compete in the global arena. To stay ahead of the curve, organizations need to redefine the rules of innovation and build a culture for innovation. How can you ensure that your idea generators dedicate themselves to your company-rather than taking their hot management notions to rival firms? What is the secret sauce that allows some companies to distinguish themselves in the way they create a climate in which new ideas are encouraged, recognized and rewarded? Target: Innovation reveals the new tools that enable us to harness an explosion of new, productive, innovative ideas in a changing world. Discover how to champion change, generate innovative solutions, reinvent your business model, and compete successfully in an ever-demanding global environment. This presentation is highlighted by rich illustrations of business trailblazers who charted a course into uncharted territory and brought glory to their names and phenomenal new opportunities to their companies. This presentation is especially relevant to leaders and companies that recognize that they must thrive on innovation and originality, encouraging risk-taking and divergent voices.

• Building Competitive Advantage

  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.