As you may know, it was in September 2019 when I took a bold step in my career, renouncing my regional leadership position in a renowned multinational company – after 18 years of business. I decided to start a sabbatical in preparation for the second stage of my career.
It is true that many did not understand, because in practical terms I would be unemployed. I understand that this may be the biggest fear that keeps people from making decisions like this. However, taking risks has always been part of my personal and professional life. It just so happens that I could not convince myself that I would be an excellent corporate change strategist and transformational leader if I failed to fulfill my dreams, initiating the biggest change of all, the one that would need to start with me.
“I can affect change by transforming the only thing that I ever had control over in the first place and that is myself” – Deepak Chopra
I started a 36-week journey studying with the best universities in the world, in contact with the best professors, building a fantastic network and having access to the best reading materials. All of this added to my transformational leadership profile, my experience in leading changes, with a better understanding of my mistakes and successes, I thought that in the end I would end up with a lot to offer when I returned, exactly when companies would be preparing to plan their strategy of change for 2025.
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change” – Jim Rohn
In late March, I wrote an article to share the balance of my sabbatical experience, which was coming to an end. I ended up revealing that it was through this wonderful experience that I managed to build a bold vision for the future.
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
The bold vision for the future
Undertaking in an environment of constant change and transformation is usually not an easy task, especially this year, when we are facing the challenge that the coronavirus outbreak brings us. However, I always knew that if we have the right resilience to face the challenging times, we would find the best opportunities.
“Great things never came from Comfort Zone” – Unknown
When you build a solid foundation, have strong principles of honesty, integrity, ethics and compliance, have the right seniority, a history of results and business acumen, and are willing to take risks, entrepreneurship becomes easier. I knew that the difficult decision would be to create an innovative and disruptive business model that was no longer the same, and that could help other companies succeed in their transformation journey.
“Appreciating success requires the ability to adapt. Only by being open to change, will you have a real opportunity to make the most of your talent”- Nolan Ryan
With so many changes taking place in the corporate environment, it was necessary to think of something capable of helping others to navigate within their ecosystem in a conscious, unambiguous and decisive manner. New business models, digitalization of companies using strategies centered on digital platforms and artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, nanotechnology, IoT, low-end disruptive innovations, new-market disruptive innovations, all of these changes were disrupting traditional companies. The challenge was visible and latent and I had identified a very large lack of support in execution in Latin America.
With the right time to create, reflect, draw, sew the best of the content acquired by the renowned institutions that I went through, talking with old friends, doing pressure tests, I decided to create and incubate a start-up that would be specialized in transformational strategy.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old. But on building the new” – Socrates
When you have a fantastic network of excellent and competent people, better than you, who believe in you and share dreams like yours, but mostly important, sharing the strongest principles of honesty, respect, integrity, ethics and compliance, nothing could be more encouraging than forming the best team ever and embarking on this new journey together. In addition, if you managed to develop a unique and innovative methodology, encompassing all the knowledge that was acquired through the four business schools that are among the best in the world, then everything seemed to make a lot of sense to get started.
“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be” – Karen Ravn
Your next level of strategic transformation
As planned, my sabbatical ended at the end of April 2020, and today I am very happy to announce you firsthand the birth of DSI Partners, a company of which I will be very proud to serve as CEO.
DSI Partners’ ambition is to be recognized as an outstanding international strategy and management boutique, chosen to successfully identify, plan and execute the best strategic transformation initiative for our customers in Latin America. Our goals are to making right the first time, maximizing the return of the transformation, avoiding overloading the client’s organization, increasing the client’s agility and reaching its full realization.
“Change is the heartbeat of growth” – Scottie Somers
We use a unique methodology capable of combining a structured approach to problem solving based on data, using strategic planning and strategic change management techniques to enable our customers to develop and manage their transformational changes, increasing their competitive advantage for the next level. Mutatis, which in Latin means metamorphosis, is the name of the exclusive 5-step methodology of DSI Partners.
Our goal is to help companies like yours to navigate the ecosystem in a conscious, unambiguous and decisive manner. We add more value when your strategy is transformational in nature, whether it is a digital transformation or not. We make a difference when your initiative is a business imperative and when the result is paramount.
“In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital” – Warren G. Bennis
In addition, we are opening the first business academy in Latin America specializing in transformational strategy. The DSI Academy was designed to offer high-level executive education programs in disciplines related to transformational strategy. Our goal is to develop the knowledge of Latin American executives in transformational strategy, maximizing their lifelong learning experience.
By prioritizing learning, individuals and organizations can confidently find the future. Companies that adopt global changes towards lifelong learning will reap the benefits of having in-house talent, always up to date. Executives who strive to train and improve knowledge will find greater employment opportunities through the educational programs offered by DSI Academy.
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary” – Jim Rohn
Moreover, through the DSI Sustainability program, we decided to insert the principles of sustainability in each solution we offer, as we are convinced that the greatest legacy that we can leave in this world will be to preserve it for the next generations. We plan to work constantly in collaboration with our customers and their ecosystem to incorporate efficient sustainability practices into our solutions, helping to reduce knowledge gaps and establishing competitive advantages.
We are very proud to share that, since the beginning, we are connected to the community in which we operate, through the social program called DSI Connect. It is a giving back initiative developed by a team that truly believes that there is no transformation more impactful than what we can do for the needy people around us. With them, we will always be learning, including discovering each day much more about ourselves.
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They´re done by a team of people” – Steve Jobs
With great pleasure, I would like to introduce you to my partners and co-founders, a wonderful team of executives who will help me make this bold vision a reality and great across the Latin American region: Marcelo Fiszner (Vice President, Business Consulting , head of DSI Academy), Marco Quirino (Vice President, Business Consulting, head of DSI Consulting), Luiz Felipe Lemos (Vice President, Finance Consulting, CFO and CCO), Léa Sgai (Director of Client Generation), Estevão Barros (Business Consulting Director), Aldo Baeza (Director of Digital Transformation), Fernando Sartori (Legal Consulting Director) and Mateus William (Customer Community Director).
The transforming power of our butterfly
I would like to take the opportunity to share with you the reason why we chose the butterfly as the DSI Partners logo. As you already realized, transformation is part of our DNA, and we all understand that the butterfly represents the most iconic symbol of transformation. The green color of our butterfly symbolizes our family culture: we appreciate and nurture a family work environment where people are placed first. The digital lines seen in our butterfly serve to alert our customers that it makes no sense to talk about strategic transformation without having in mind the opportunities that digital transformation brings us.
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty” – Maya Angelou
The butterfly comes to remind us all that we live in a changing world, in a world in constant evolution and that we are part of this dynamic world, being part of that evolution. In this figurative language, we choose to affectionately call our customers the blue butterflies, the most beautiful and showy butterflies that exist; it represents a way of showing our deep appreciation and respect for their entire history and trajectory. At the same time, we also place ourselves as butterflies, and in doing so, we assume that we are equal to our customers in essence, with the same passion and without any arrogance.
However, sometimes, even though our customers have been transformed and have the strength to evolve, they may be unable to accept the changes that continue to happen, for various reasons. In that sense, DSI Partners tend to see their strengths more clearly than they do, because we understand the benefits of the changes they are facing, and we are ready to help them on their journey of transformation.
“What you deny subordinates you. What you accept transforms you” – Carl Jung
As the nature of work changes before our eyes, the only option we all have left is to keep changing and growing with the change. We hope you enjoyed learning a little about DSI Partners and you can learn more by following us on our social media or on our website (www.dsipartnersconsulting.com). Stay tuned, and soon we will bring more about DSI partners.
“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul” – Henry Ward Beecher
As always, I would like to express my gratitude for everything and everyone who supported my entire career and, by chance, are reading this post, for my family and friends. Special thanks to the DSI Partners team, who believed in this project with their minds and hearts.
