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Leslie L. Kossoff's Blog

Posted: Monday 17 May 2010
Leslie is an international executive advisor specializing in next generation strategy and corporate turnaround. Working with clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50s, her clients include Fidelity Investments, Seiko/Epson, Sony, 3M, Kraft Foods, the NHS and the US Navy. A former professor of business strategy, she serves on a number of Boards and is an award-winning author.

Learning from Sheryl Sandberg: future women leaders should choose their mentors wisely

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16 February 2012 by Leslie L. Kossoff (1 comment)

I’m a fan of Sheryl Sandberg – the COO of Facebook and much of the reason that, coming into its IPO, the company is valued at up to $100 billion.

Let’s face it, Mark Zuckerberg might have had a great idea – but he didn’t know how to turn it into a great company. Sandberg did and that’s exactly what she accomplished. She took the concept and turned it into a juggernaut.

A lot of how she did so was by looking for, at and to women – within the company and in its partnerships with advertisers and other revenue-generating relationships.

Quantifying best of breed development: from policy to profits

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23 July 2010 by Leslie L. Kossoff (1 comment)

Best of breed isn’t an option. It’s an imperative – for you and for your organization.

As I have described in the first two articles in the Becoming Best of Breed series, you, first, have to focus on your skills (Insight, June 2010), so that you can create the environment you and your organization need to succeed.

Becoming a best of breed organisation: the corporate perspective

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28 June 2010 by Leslie L. Kossoff (0 comments) Contrary to popular belief, “best of breed” can be – and is – quantified and quantifiable. It is not, nor should ever be allowed to fall into the category of, one of those lovely amorphous flavour of the month organisational change initiatives that have such high expectations and - too frequently - too disappointing outcomes.

Best of breed means just that. With your competition. In your innovation. The way you provide service. The profits you achieve and the markets you create.

And that means numbers. Which means you.

Becoming best of breed: what’s in it for me?

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17 May 2010 by Leslie L. Kossoff (2 comments)


In Silicon Valley there is a wonderful question – spoken and unspoken – that is part of every conversation. It’s WIIFM - What’s In It For Me? – and it is a key question for anyone who wants to succeed in anything they do.

Interestingly, while WIIFM sounds like a particularly selfish way of going about doing business, it isn’t. When you’re talking about becoming best of breed, the thing you always need to be looking at is WIIFM. Because the more you do, the more you bring to your organization.

The more you achieve and excel.