The traditional path to success typically involves specializing in a single industry. Skye Blanks is proving there’s another way.
As co-founder of Premo Cannabis Company, one of New Jersey’s top independent dispensaries, Chief Operations Officer at the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), and founder of Herman Todd Consulting Group, Skye Blanks has established himself as a boundary-breaking leader who derives strength from working across seemingly disconnected industries.
“I never saw the value in limiting myself to one sector,” says Blanks. “The most powerful insights often come from bringing perspectives from one industry into another.”
This cross-industry approach has yielded tangible results. At Premo Cannabis, Blanks leveraged his policy background to navigate complex regulations, helping establish Keyport’s first dispensary. Meanwhile, his entrepreneurial experience brings practical credibility to his ICSB work, where he directs the Knowledge Hubs Program supporting small businesses globally.
“The challenges facing small businesses are remarkably similar across sectors,” Blanks notes. “It’s about seeing the patterns that others miss because they’re too specialized in their outlook.”
His unique approach wasn’t planned from the beginning. After putting himself through college, Blanks gained experience as a Treasury Scholar in the U.S. Department of Treasury and as a Presidential Fellow at George Washington University. Rather than settling into a predictable career path, he deliberately sought opportunities that would expand his perspective.
“Success today isn’t about knowing everything about one thing,” Blanks explains. “It’s about understanding how different industries and disciplines connect.”
This philosophy has gained recognition. Skye Blanks has spoken at the United Nations for MSME Day, contributed to the Annual Global MSME Report, and received the ICSB Global Excellence Future Leader Award. Each achievement has reinforced his belief that modern leadership requires boundary-crossing capabilities.
Through Herman Todd Consulting Group, Blanks now helps other businesses apply this same cross-pollination approach. He identifies transferable solutions that have worked in one sector and adapts them to solve problems in another – a skill that’s increasingly valuable in a complex business landscape.
“When you work across cannabis, global policy, and business consulting, you develop a unique ability to spot opportunities that specialists simply can’t see,” says Blanks. “Each industry informs and strengthens my work in the others.”
For the next generation of leaders, Blanks suggests developing what he calls “translational thinking” – the ability to recognize patterns across different domains and adapt successful approaches from one context to another.
“The future belongs to those who can move comfortably between different worlds,” Blanks observes. “Not just understanding each individually, but seeing the connections between them that create new value.”
As industries continue to converge and traditional boundaries blur, Blanks’ multi-dimensional approach offers an instructive model for leadership that’s less about depth in a single domain and more about creating value at the intersections where innovation often happens.
“Leadership isn’t about mastering a single industry anymore,” Blanks concludes. “It’s about connecting dots that others don’t even realize exist on the same map.”
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