www.wealthandfinance-intl.com 19 Transactions Attorney of the Year - USA With more than three decades of helping leaders and organizations, over 18 million books in print, programs offered in more than 12 languages, and clients across six continents, The Ken Blanchard Companies is recognized as one of the world’s foremost leadership, organizational, and engagement consulting firms. The company’s groundbreaking thinking and memorable learner experiences create lasting behavioral change that has measurable impact on the organizations with which it works. Karla J. Pinckes, in-house attorney, has been with the company as its Business Contracts Manager since 2005. She told us more about the work of Blanchard and her role within the company, and shared her advice for success in the workplace. Blanchard has partnered with Fortune 500 companies, small to mid-sized businesses, governments, educational, and nonprofit organizations to develop leadership capacity, improve workplace cultures, and drive organizational change and strategic alignment. Using a collaborative diagnostic process, Blanchard helps identify each client’s unique needs and business issues, and then helps to develop an appropriate leadership strategy to increase employee engagement and organizational performance. As the innovator of SLII®, a widely used leadership development system, the company’s behavioral models add a situational context to the training experience. Karla notes that this allows individuals to learn to be more productive in real-world scenarios, and makes the shift from learning to doing easier and more efficient. “My role within the organization incorporates a number of important responsibilities, from sales support and corporate compliance and ethics, to cross-functional collaboration and training to drive operational excellence as well as management. More specifically, I draft, review, and negotiate contracts related to the company’s international indirect/ reseller network and direct sales efforts as well as conduct legal research related to these efforts. I also compose and implement policies to ensure compliance with data privacy and security regulations, anti- bribery (FCPA) and sanctions (OFAC) obligations, including third-party due diligence, all while ensuring adherence to federal government pricing and subcontractor requirements. I support company growth through continued education and peer discussions about industry standards, practices, and market trends, and provide guidance to executive management regarding these important topics. “We recently embraced a ‘do less, better’ mind-set, which will continue to guide our efforts going forward. We are also looking at our company WW160023 Name: Karla J. Pinckes, Esq. Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.kenblanchard.com Address: 125 State Place, Escondido, CA 92009 Telephone: 800-728-6000 in a new way; from Blanchard 1.0 to Blanchard 2.0. We updated our corporate values and spent considerable time, thought and effort ‘getting the right people on the bus’ as well as reminding ourselves who we are and what we do. We are in an excellent position for growth. “I believe in mentoring, which means empowering others with knowledge, skill, and opportunity so that they can achieve even greater success, personally and professionally. This also means giving them the autonomy to demonstrate their brilliance. My advice for success in the workplace is that people become the subject matter expert within their organizations. Their point of view will then be solicited to discuss and help resolve complex issues. I also recommend being a servant leader (more focused on others than self) who is ethical, believable, and intent on listening to learn (opens the mind to think about things in new ways which fosters innovation and creativity). As Ken Blanchard says, ‘Every day is a gift’; to me this means living a life full of love, meaning, friendship, humor, and authenticity.”