The master’s degree that Laurence Akiyoshi ’79 earned at UCR’s A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management was not his first degree or his last.
He had already earned a master’s in counseling psychology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and comparative literature at Sonoma State University. Akiyoshi followed up his UCR graduate degree with a master’s in dispute resolution and conflict management at Southern Baptist University and a Doctor of Education degree in organization change and leadership at the University of Southern California. This impressive pursuit of knowledge and expertise was augmented by the many certifications he earned at other institutions, such as UC Davis, Stanford University, The Wharton School, and several others.
“Each degree or certification was intentional and selected because I felt the work that I was doing required additional learning and instruction,” says Akiyoshi. “I wanted to understand better how organizations and businesses performed and what elements needed to be changed, improved, or developed to support improved effectiveness.”
On his own since he was 17 years old, Akiyoshi says the “ability to earn and save money was important.” Initially, he studied for two years at a community college, but he needed to earn money to continue with college. “So, I became a licensed merchant seaman. This was during the Vietnam War. I wound up going to Vietnam delivering military cargo and ammunitions,” he adds. “I would go out to sea for three to six months and then return to school.”
Akiyoshi’s early career in psychology and his steadfast dedication to broadening his knowledge have informed his approach as a business consultant for more than 40 years. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he currently is a contracted advisor providing guidance to executive teams globally in just about all aspects of business—from strategy and board relations to conflict resolution and change management—for CrowdStrike (in his 11th year), and Ideal Living and Tanzerra Resorts (in his fifth year with both), and a handful individual executive advisory roles.
The list of clients he’s supported over the decades is long and impressive across varied
industries: Apple, Cadence Design Systems, Action Learning Associates LLC, Repare Therapeutics, Cisco Systems, Storm Ventures, TopGolf, LinkedIn, Raising Cane’s, Intel Corp., Opus Capital, McAfee, Brinker International, Jackson Family Wines, Tenet Healthcare, CyberCSI, Sentons, AMD, Juniper Networks, Universal Studios, Nortel Networks, Sun Microsystems, United Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, and many, many others.
“At an organization level, I’ve worked with and advised CEOs and their executive teams through the early stages of building an organization, through the IPO process, and then successive stages of successful growth and industry achievement,” says Akiyoshi.
“Most importantly, I’ve been privileged to work with countless individuals who may never be noted for the day-in and day-out contributions to making a company successful, bringing their hearts and souls to the workplace, and creating communities where lasting friendships are formed and civility is demonstrated.”
With his extraordinary experience in aiding businesses as they start, grow, thrive, recharge, and succeed, we asked Akiyoshi to share his thoughts about his career and advice for his fellow alumni and friends of the UCR School of Business:
As a consultant, what do you provide your clients?
At the heart of my consulting practice is the view that organizations are living systems; they are communities. They can evolve, grow, and develop great capacity and capability. They can adapt, and they can decline and cease to exist, just like any living system.
Most of my assignments are long-term—six to 10 years. I work with the leadership and the organization through multiple stages of growth and development. I also work individually with executive leaders in their development and provide advisory services, which may be content-based for decisions they need to make or from a process perspective in how a decision or course of action is selected.
How do you approach each project?
At the macro or whole systems level, I’ve been brought in by VC and investment firms to advise and help the leadership within a forming organization on how to grow and scale the company. From a psychological perspective, there is often a parallel path in the development of the organization and in the development of those who are leading. So, I work with both.
What have you learned during your career?
I learned early on that conflict is not to be avoided, nor should I be judgmental toward another when they may express anger or negativity toward me. Rather, it’s a source of information to be worked with, and hopefully, can be transformed into a productive outcome and understanding.
These may sound overly simple, but I’ve also learned:
- Always be open to learning from others about the situation and from the actions I have taken
- Learn from mistakes and errors
- Always look for disconfirming data or information
- Stay connected to those I’ve worked with and develop relationships with individuals who see the world differently and think differently than I do- Meet people where they are and move them 5 percent
- Be respectful at all times because we never fully know what another has on their shoulders or what’s going on inside them
- Provide value in every conversation
- Help others save face
As a consultant, how do you find new clients?
All my work is referral-based. I’ve not produced any collateral, advertised, or have a website that markets me or my work in any way. I prefer the individual and human connection to jointly deciding whether to work together or not.
You have many degrees and certificates from various universities. Why have you steeped yourself in education, and what is your philosophy for a comprehensive higher education experience such as yours?
I could talk about this for hours. I firmly believe that all learning is interconnected. The world reflects all the pursuits that human beings can dedicate themselves fully to or just develop an understanding of and appreciation for them. Literature, for example, is timeless, multifaceted, complex, and simple, and it is the storytelling and narrative of human history and experience.
My work in organizations is the same. They are biological systems that can grow, thrive, adapt, and decline. They are led by individuals who are sometimes effective in developing workplace communities and at other times, poor at it, and sometimes destructive.
I wanted to understand the life cycle of organizations and how to consider, navigate, and align the simultaneous multiple systems and cycles that make up a complex organization system. Methods in dispute and conflict resolution, as well as influence, are also useful when seeking to change aspects of an organization and its incumbents. And my degree in education is foundational in that learning is a constant.
You are also a mentor to doctoral students at the University of Southern California. What advice would you impart to UCR Business undergraduate and graduate students as they work on their degrees, to recent alumni who are looking to move up in their industries, and to mid-career professionals who want to get the most out of the second half of their careers?
Current students: Be clear about your hopes and aspirations, what brings you excitement, and understand what work provides you and what work doesn’t or shouldn’t provide you.
Recent alumni: Ask yourself if you can demonstrate what you say you are capable of doing. For example, have you been in the role long enough to experience a couple of business cycles and see the results of your efforts or dealt with errors that you created?
Mid-career professionals: You must understand your motivations and have as much clarity as possible on what brings you joy and happiness. Consider carefully the changes and how they might affect others.
When you entered UCR, you were awarded one of four fellowships. These many years later, how do you view your graduate business education at UCR?
It was a life-changing experience. The focus of the study was to learn how to improve organization performance and productivity. The utility and content of the fellowship program were amazing, and I’ve applied all that I learned throughout my career. It’s still as relevant as ever.
What do you do to balance your life?
I am a trail runner, and I’m currently in Chamonix, France, training for a race at the end of the month. It is a 55K race in the Swiss and French Alps. I love trail running and I put in about 60 miles a week and run four to five races a year.
