Peter S. DeLisi

OTHER MAJOR CLIENT AND CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

1. "Issues for the 21st Century"

This presentation examines the broad-sweeping social, cultural and technological forces shaping society in the 21^st century. More specifically, the presentation will focus on Information Technology as a major enabler of these changes.

This presentation looks at the future information systems organization and discusses the following questions.

A. What are the trends affecting information systems organizations?

B. How will the I.S. organization add value in the future? What will be its role?

C. Which strategies will be successful?

D. How will the organization be structured?

E. What type of people will it take to make the I.S. organization successful?

F. How will the relationship with senior management be enhanced?

In this presentation, Pete ties together many contemporary themes such as organizational learning, leadership, the new sciences, and teaming. He goes on to show how they are all part of the same basic driving forces in nature and in society and that one of these forces is driving us all toward greater interdependence. He then outlines six practical strategies for achieving interdependence - whether between individuals, groups or organizations.

Borrowing from his highly successful article in the Sloan Management Review by the same title, Pete tells the story of an aboriginal tribe in Australia that was literally destroyed through the introduction of technology. He goes on to argue that information technologies are not neutral entities, but rather, have very serious human, social and cultural components which must be understood if we are to have them create value for our organizations. He also discusses the central role of organizational culture and details case experiences from his own consulting which support this central role.

In this highly motivational presentation, Pete argues that nothing happens in our American industrial system until someone sells something. He goes on to exalt the role of the salesperson and attributes the excitement and challenge of selling to the many roles which sales contains. Some of those he discusses are the salesperson's role as actor, teacher, therapist, gambler and dreamer. Borrowing from the tradition of selling, plus providing a fresh look at how selling is changing, Pete leaves the audience with a very positive profile of the professional salesperson.

In this presentation, Pete argues that organizations need to adapt a more "balanced" mindset if they are to be successful in the 21st century. American thinking has evolved from Western European culture and has tended to be dualistic and reductionistic. Pete uses numerous examples to show how we tend to view situations in American society as "either-or", versus the Oriental view of seeing things as "and" - a much more holistic view of the world. One example he uses is the balance between empowerment and control and uses the Persian Gulf War to illustrate how the Allies employed a "balanced" airforce to win the war.

In this presentation, Pete discusses the following topics:

A. The Life Cycle of a Merger/Acquisition

B. The Personal Element

C. The Cultural Element

D. Case Studies and What We Can Learn From Them

E. Coping in a Positive Way

Intended to prepare executives, managers and individuals who are anticipating a merger, or are in the process of implementing one, Pete outlines successful merger strategies.

Pete has often been described as the "consummate salesman". In this presentation, Pete puts a new and fresh perspective on what "consultative selling" is really all about. Combining his over 20 years of successful sales and marketing experience, with his current management consulting expertise, Pete discusses what salespeople can learn from the world of consulting. He also draws upon his experience in helping corporations chart a strategic direction for their salesforce and describes where he believes the professional salesperson of the future is going.

In this presentation, Pete dispels many of the myths about organizational culture. He discusses what culture is, what it is not, and its role in organizational success. Drawing on his own case study experiences, research and the recent literature, Pete discusses the central role of culture and how organizations can use it to their advantage.

What has happened to strategic planning? Is it still a valuable process for organizations to go through? If so, what is the best way to do it? In this presentation, Pete discusses the answers to these questions, while outlining powerful, new strategies that are just emerging. He also presents a practical approach to strategic planning, emphasizing "reduced time to results", organizational learning and senior management commitment. He outlines a seven step model which organizations can use to create their organizational future, while maintaining adaptability and flexibility - qualities which Pete insists are absolutely vital in these rapidly changing, dynamic times.

In this presentation, Pete traces the evolution of information systems from back office accounting systems, to operational systems, to functional and departmental systems. He argues that we must now continue to move up the classical pyramid and use information technology to support the strategic direction of the organization. Borrowing from his consulting experience as a "Strategy Consultant" and his 27 years in the information systems field, Pete provides a fresh and powerful perspective on the competitive uses of information technology.

Once one of the industrial stars of the 20th century, Digital Equipment Corporation has faded into relative obscurity in the information technology industry. Downsized from 130,000 employees to now a minority position as part of Compaq Corporation, this once great corporation lost the battle for survival. What happened to DEC? Ironically, at a time when IBM, HP and others were reporting losses, Digital was at the zenith of its success, and even then, sowing the seeds of its subsequent decline.

Digital’s failure was essentially a strategic and cultural failure. A remarkable interplay of strategy, culture and marketplace dynamics had propelled Digital to meteoric success. What led to its precipitous decline? A seemingly trivial symbol, "the DEC nod," may hold the clue to the reversal of its fortune. This presentation tells the sad story of a company fallen from greatness, and in the process, seeks to leave the audience with some lessons which hopefully will help them avert similar happenings in their own organizations.

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

• Academic Dean, Information Technology Leadership Program, Santa Clara University.
• Organizer and presenter at over 100 IT industry educational seminars.
• Former Sales Training Manager at Digital Equipment Corporation.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

• Fourteen years as President of a consulting firm.
• Twenty years of strategy consulting with over 100 major corporations.
• Twenty-seven years of senior sales and marketing experience with two of the largest and best respected corporations in the information technology field - IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation.
• Forty years overall in the information technology industry.
• Extensive organizational behavior experience. Over twenty-five years working with the foremost expert in this field, Ed Schein, from the MIT Sloan School.