Questions and Answers for Hank

Please feel free to write in and ask Hank a question. But please know, any questions specific to a company or a strategy will only be answered confidentially. To ask your own question write to info at phmintl.com.

 
Describe your job.
Helping company leaders, investors, and strategists understand the accelerating process of continual global change and its impact on stakeholders. Geopolitics, policy, and political influencers are more important than ever.

 
How would your PA describe you?
I have not had a PA since 1996. A PA is an outdated use of human capital for most companies and executives.

  

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
No job can be the worst because someone has to do that job. I’ve had many difficult jobs, some difficult physically, some difficult due to external factors. Cleaning 1,600 horse stalls during university holiday was difficult work, so too was trying to establish a consolidated market position for five newly acquired companies whose principals were still active. Now that was "herding cats!"

 

What was your worst blunder at work?
Of course there have been several. The issue isn’t what was wrong, but rather what was learned. And what has been learned allows me to focus on best outcomes.

 

And your best effort at work?
Again, I can think of several. The work products that develop from the blending of concept and consensus or concept and technology is very rewarding. Much of what we did in the 1990s is now de rigueur in how organizations interact with their members in terms of wellness, pharma persistency, disease management, and more. Today, my work in leadership and facilitation influences how leaders think and view a sector, and this is also rewarding. 

  

Has your job negatively impacted your personal life?
Actually, work has enhanced my personal life tremendously. Back in the mid-1990s we consciously made the decision to create a future that combined independent work and personal lives. I spend a great amount of time traveling internationally, which in itself can be challenging, but the advantages far outweigh the negative. Plus, the work itself is awesome; it is tough to beat meeting an executive, say from in Kuala Lumpur, and taking them to Warsaw for a design session.

Last, but not least, our work also has significant social impact. We’ve done financial inclusion work in South America, judicial reform in Macedonia, ethics facilitation for Tanzania government, hospital development in Malaysia, and more.

 

What is the most treasured possession in your office?
I’m generally not attached to material belongings and prefer to focus on concepts. So in that regard I don’t have “most treasured possessions.” But I do have a UN flag that I purchased in NY when I was there with a group of Tanzanian government officials. We had an unexpected visit with the Under Secretary of the United Nations, being she was Tanzanian. I particularly like the concept of the UN and the majority of its work.

  

When do you want to retire?
Retirement is a concept that is out of date for today’s knowledge workers. And yet retirement is a necessary stage of life for those who’ve spent a lifetime in manual labor. For me, I see no need to retire.

Furthermore, when one has life-work balance, and enjoys their work, there is little need for retirement.

 

What is the one business term you dislike?
Paradigm shift.  Enough said.

 

How do you want to be remembered?
I’m not that presumptuous…..