Hello!
I’m Lois Sonstegard or @LoisS on the interwebs.
I know you are committed to be the best at what you do and are passionate to push forward and be even better.
You have innovated, bought and sold companies, developed amazing initiatives, and brought entrepreneurial zest to creating global companies that lead and challenge us to living purposefully, knowing why we do what we do.
You have developed health care and medical practice models that are game-changing and bring life to this discussion.
Your contributions will fundamentally transform how we think and do things. It is time everyone knows what you do.
I work as an author, speaker, researcher, innovator, trusted advisor to leaders who are pushing past their boundaries to innovate and change lives.
Specifically, I bring clarity to your vision and provide the processes and systems that enable you to achieve your results. I help you harness the energy of digital media to accelerate your growth.
I am also, a wife, mother, lover of research, and avid reader of books. I grew up in Japan where I learned to respect culture, language, differences, and the importance of inclusion. Each of these have grown me and shaped who I am. It is this “package” that I bring to you.
I am so glad you are here,
FEATURED IN
Global Business Development
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Indonesia
- Singapore
- Peoples Republic of China
- Taiwan
- Belgium
- France
- German
- Austria
- Italy
- Spain
- Greece
- Switzerland
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Norway
- Denmark
- Ireland
- Australia
- Turkey
- Israel
- United States of America
THE KEY TO SUCCESS:
BUILDING COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
I’ve come to believe that the secret to success – in business, health and nearly every aspect of your personal life – is building collaborative partnerships.
What shaped this belief?
A number of events in my life and people I’ve encountered, including:
- Growing up in post-war Japan where I saw my mother heal from her experience in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines … shared with my Japanese friends the need to understand one another … and watched an entire nation work together to rebuild itself after the devastation of war.
- Working with end-stage cancer patients at the University of Minnesota hospitals where I developed a program to bring hope where there seemed to be none. Amazingly, by basing our program on hope, we saw mortality rates improve -against all odds.
- Helping decrease mortality rates among West Texas women and children at Texas Tech University. This experience taught me to lay judgment aside and find ways to empower people.
- The premature birth of my first child who faced many medical challenges and who, we were told, would never learn to read, write or do math. By studying the brain, I was able to find alternative ways to teach him, so that he was able to earn his CPA and MBA and today is the CFO of a Fortune 100 company
- Starting a manufacturing company and taking it globally even though I had never created a start-up. By partnering with many different people, I learned distribution systems, appreciation for cultural differences and building relationships.
- Mentors and teachers I’ve been privileged to know In particular, executive leadership coach and author Marshall Goldsmith, who pioneered Stakeholder Centered Coaching, taught me the importance of pragmatic processes that create results.
From these experiences and my mentors, I learned to partner with many different people… to reach beyond my own limiting beliefs and doubts … to plan for the worst and build for the future … to focus not on what I don’t know but on what I do know. When people tell me “that’s not your experience set,” I look for solutions, build relationships and leverage my skills to develop the other tools I need. I also discovered that even the experts can be wrong, that real collaboration takes a unique mindset and skills and that those who dare to collaborate will achieve success they could never have dreamed was possible.
