A Conversation with Suzanne Bates

I’ve known Suzanne for about 20 years. She is the relatively rare example of the founder of a boutique firm who successfully built up its valuation, decided to sell, found the right time to sell, overcame the interruption of the pandemic, and closed with an international buyer. Her journey is a huge example of talent, success, and plain grit. Originating in the media business as a news anchor, she migrated to communications education and training, offering her coaching services and gradually built a company which obtained Fortune 500 clients. She describes, in this interview, the challenges encountered and overcome, often not so easily. (She started preparing to sell five years before the sale was actually consummated.) We talk about the impact today of remote learning, ChatGPT, and leadership in ambiguous times. While it may sound grandiose to say that AI will “change the world,” there are precedents, such as the Industrial Revolution, right down to the advent of the internet (which no one predicted). Should social media companies be treated as utilities and regulated (as is gas, electric, and water)? As you read this, I’ve recently been reinstated after being banished from Linkedin for reasons they won’t disclose! It's difficult to sell a business, no matter how successfully, and become someone’s “employee” once again. And it’s also difficult to decide who you are and what to do once that relationship also ends. Neither Suzanne nor I believe in “retirement.”  And neither should you.