In the early 1990's I was working for a small software company in Seattle that developed mainframe database performance monitors. One day it was announced that we were being acquired by a much larger company. It was the first time in my career I had faced an acquisition and the horror stories I heard from co-workers were unsettling to say the least.

To be honest, the entire experience turned out to be relatively uneventful and even positive. I was able to work with great people who taught me a lot.  

I clearly remember one afternoon when my new boss chatted with me informally at a corporate retreat and simply asked, "Do you consider yourself a manager or a leader?"  Think about that for just a minute and ask yourself how you would answer that question.