While in Dubai, I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting up with my former colleague at Avery Dennison, Xander Hoffman. After nearly a decade, we reconnected over a meal and great conversation. This chance encounter reminded me of the value of professional friendships—and how powerful it can be to revisit our shared history.

Discover how Hitachi Energy’s Power+ program empowers early-career professionals through impactful rotations, including Customer Connect. Learn from Sarah Peters and Haya Madhoun’s success stories.

At the latest Hitachi Town Hall, Bibian Sevegnani of the CCC delivered a powerful presentation about the Customer Connect Center’s mission, impact, and future goals. Her remarks highlighted the team’s dedication to providing world-class support for both customers and internal stakeholders.

Discover how to apply the Tuckman team development model—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing—to hybrid and remote teams. Build trust, boost collaboration, and lead high-caliber teams from anywhere.

This blog explores the concept of grit—a powerful blend of passion and perseverance—as the key trait that drives long-term success. Inspired by psychologist Angela Duckworth’s research, the post outlines 12 real-world habits that define gritty individuals, from pushing through failure and delaying gratification to staying kind under pressure and taking ownership of mistakes. Grit, more than talent or intelligence, sets high achievers apart—and the good news is, it’s a skill anyone can build with consistent effort.

Off-site events and bonding activities are often mistaken for real team building. Mars Inc. discovered that collaboration doesn’t start with trust—it starts with motivation. Learn how they replaced gimmicks with a performance-driven framework that fueled a 33% growth in one division and reshaped teamwork company-wide.

Ruiz’s The Four Agreements mirrors modern psychology more than ancient Toltec wisdom. Its four principles—be impeccable with your word, don’t take things personally, don’t make assumptions, and always do your best—align with cognitive-behavioral strategies to overcome limiting beliefs and promote personal growth.

The complex transitions leaders make.

This demonstrates how almost any group can build a successful organization if it figures out how to position these three building blocks. While it is sad today to see terrorists trying to make this same kind of organization, it is encouraging to see that when all civilized nations work together, we can splinter and collapse them, just like nations did to the pirates in the 18th century.

There is no shortage of advice for those who aspire to be effective leaders. One piece of advice may be particularly enticing: if you want to be a successful leader, ensure that you are seen as a leader and not a follower.

Presenting Sergio with the Customer Connect Challenge Coin

Haya Madhoun joins Customer Connect Americas.

Challenge Coins are a great source of recognition

I was reading an article about a recent Navy incident off the coast of San Diego. I reminded myself of the beauty and grace of flight deck operations, but also the incredible risk faced by those who are right now serving our country.

My son is a junior at Texas A&M University. He is attending the University with a Navy ROTC scholarship. For one of his Naval Science classes they discussed, ironically, electronic warfare.

Another year has passed, and I am reminded what a great team I am on. Thank you very much for the birthday wishes. I am grateful to share my workday with such a great group of colleagues.

Three members of the Americas team were recently invited to a tour of the transformer facility at Hitachi Energy.

Many professionals dream about shifting into a new role or perhaps an entirely new career. Of course, making the case for yourself in a new industry may be challenging, especially if you lack directly relevant experience.

Evolution has made humans helpful. We have evolved as a species to be “prosocial,” behaving in ways that are positive, helpful, and intended to promote social acceptance, connection, and friendship.

A surprise package from UPS today. It has been an intense five years. I contribute my success and longevity to the Customer Connect team as well as all of those who have supported the organization since its humble beginnings in 2018. My continuing thanks to all of my colleagues.

In 1785, students at Yale were ranked based on “optimi” being the highest rank, followed by second optimi, inferiore (lower), and pejores (worse).

I remember my first keynote speech for a major Fortune 50 financial institution. I wanted to make a powerful first impression, so I went to Nordstrom and spent 10% of my speaking fee on Jimmy Choo shoes that would “demonstrate my business success.”