Des Walsh

How are you dealing with your stress?

Dealing with stress, Staying safe & sane in the executive chair!

Stress comes with leadership. Managing it can make the difference between success and failure, organizationally and personally. Part of managing it is to know and recognize the difference between positive and negative stress. The short story is this: positive stress makes you feel good and negative stress makes you feel…


Do you know how you lead?

Leader, Know Yourself

How often have you heard inadequate leaders, when things go wrong, blame their staff, their customers, their competitors or the government, or a combination of those? But never seem to show any awareness of their own shortcomings? In an age where there is constant pressure on companies large and small…


How can a leader handle a negative surprise?

How an Effective Leader Responds to a Negative Surprise

It was the beginning of a weekend back in 2013. Ford Motor Company’s then global head of social media Scott Monty was about to board a plane in Europe, bound for the US, when he spotted the Business Insider article with a headline asking was this the “worst Ford ad…


Mergers require CEOs to balance many stakeholders' needs.

How the Best CEOs Help Ensure a Successful Merger

In the first post of this two part series I wrote about: the current and ongoing high numbers and value of mergers and acquisitions worldwide the well-established pattern of a high level – at least 50% – of risk of failure reasons for mergers the need for adaptive leadership In…


What leadership skills are needed for merger boom time?

What Leadership Skills are Needed for Merger Boom Time?

These are high times for mergers and acquisitions.  In 2014, corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide reached a seven year high of around $4 trillion. KPMG’s 2015 M&A Outlook Survey Report was headed “The Boom is Back: M&A Reemerges as Leading Growth Strategy”. “Boom”? Does that sound like a good time…



Do you work for a fair weather leader?

How to Work with a Fair Weather Leader

How do you work with a fair weather leader? Why this question should have entrepreneurs take stock of the people leading their teams today!