Jane Linder on the Management Secrets Behind Wildly Successful Initiatives By: Published: Jan 24, 2019 The first 12 months of a CEO's tenure provides insights into the effectiveness of his or her leadership style, his or her priorities, and—most important—his or her fit in the organization. In January 2006, Robert Lopes joined Veritude, a division of Devonshire Investors, the private equity arm of Fidelity Investments, as its president and chief executive officer, bringing his significant professional experience in HR services and proven ability to successfully build a business. Lopes shares insights into his strategy, execution and lessons learned from the critical first months of his tenure. In addition to creating a three to five year plan help guide his employees, Lopes believes in the importance of establishing a culture that includes clearly defined goals and positive support to achieve business success.Veritude was founded in 1986 as the internal provider for Fidelity’s North American staffing needs. Today, it offers a full suite of services including recruitment process outsourcing, staffing, managed services, and consulting. To quote its mission statement, “It partners with clients to develop and deliver talent management solutions that adapt to changing business and demographic realities and drive competitive advantage.”Prior to Veritude, Lopes was a key member of the team that created ExcellerateHRO, a jointly owned business of EDS and Towers Perrin. When the new company was launched, Lopes assumed the pivotal role of vice president, Global Client Management. He brought together two cultures and more than 400 clients in five geographic regions to ensure a positive transition to the new company. For additional training on this topic, consider these AMA seminars: Strategy Execution: Getting it Done Strategic Agility and Resilience: Embracing Change to Drive Growth Planning and Managing Organizational Change Leading Innovation: Creating and Sustaining a Climate for Growth AMA’s Course for Presidents and CEOsHave you ever wondered why so-called "best management practice" produces mediocre results? What if a team wanted to do something truly spectacular? What if it wanted to make a real impact? In her new book Spiral Up. . . and Other Management Secrets...Have you ever wondered why so-called best management practice produces mediocre results? What if a team wanted to do something truly spectacular? What if it wanted to make a real impact? In her new book Spiral Up. . . and Other Management Secrets Behind Wildly Successful Initiatives, Jane C. Linder argues that if you want to work wonders, you've got to abandon the accepted, linear, day-by-day management mindset and step into the real world. It's anything but mechanical. Jane Linder is president of the Progress Board, LLC, a consulting company that specializes in helping clients put good ideas to work. Dr. Linder has been a professor at Harvard Business School and spent more than a decade as an executive in the technology industry. Her articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review, MITs Sloan Management Review, and Across the Board, among others. Author of Outsourcing for Radical Change, she lives in Charlestown, Massachusetts. In this week's Youve Been Spotted segment, Kevin Lee interviews participants from AMA's seminar "Communicating Up Down and Across the Organization." Listen to these participants share how they achieve lasting results and grow influence through communication.AMA_Edgewise_0733.mp3