#24 RadEO with Lesley Waterkeyn from CWDi

RadEO

In this episode of RadEO, Ross chats to Lesley Waterkeyn, founder of Colourworks and now Group CEO of CDWi. They talk merging businesses and staying relevant after two decades in the industry. Lesley shares her experience in integrating two companies and how they got even more clients with the merge. Subscribe on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radeo/id1250841955) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5FhWL8wjR13nuU1gI7dUkY) About Lesley - Lesley built Colourworks from the ground-up and now heads up the CWDi Group. She is driven by her curiosity and her entrepreneurial mind spearheads the agency’s innovation and relevance. As Group CEO, she is responsible for the continuous growth of the business. She does this by setting the company’s vision and seeing it come to fruition in the company culture, procuring the right resources, monitoring performance and leading CSI initiatives. She won the IWEC award (International Women Entrepreneurs Challenge) in 2017 in recognition of her impact as a female business leader. Lesley’s business - CWDi Group - http://cwdi.co.za/ Show notes - 00:35 - Lesley’s elevator pitch 00:58 - What does a business challenge mean in your world? 01:45 - What path does one take to end up where you ended up? 03:05 - What are your favourite parts of your business, and which part do you wish you don’t have to deal with? 05:00 - Do you still support digital systems? 05:40 - How do you keep yourself engage after two decades? 06:35 - Have you kept the same staff as the business changes? 07:20 - How have you kept your skills relevant as things change? 08:33 - The Stay in Your Lane Document 09:20 - How does accountability look like your team? 10:00 - The Big Merge 12:22 - How do you navigate the minefield of a big merge? 13:55 - Negotiating the merge 14:57 - Lesley’s tips on a merge 16:28 - Matching culture and values by finding the right partner 17:00 - How did your clients respond to the merge? 19:10 - What role did BEE play in the merge? 20:05 - The 67 Logos Project 25:00 - Making the loudest noise 27:00 - How do you manage EO, merging companies and designing 67 logos? 29:40 - How do you connect back the EO experiences to your business? 31:30 - 2IC Forum 32:32 - What’s next for Lesley Waterkeyn? 33:30 - A strategy for growth through acquisition 36:26 - Are you the one running around sharing the values? Ross listen to this podcast (implementation strategies) - John Hagel | Moving From Pressure To Opportunity | SingularityU Greece Summit 2018 - https://youtu.be/AvfrnhQZ0SM – RadEO is a podcast for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneurs. It is hosted by Ross Drakes and Rich Mulholland and produced by the Entrepreneurs Organisation in South Africa. Tune in every 2 weeks to hear conversations with business owners who will share their experiences and stories of what they have learnt building their business and what drives them to keep going. If you have a business and want more information on EO, get in touch or visit our website eonetwork.org