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          CEO Success Report  -  June 2002
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Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs
and business owners.

Contents of this issue...
   .. Welcome - A few words from the publisher, Gary Lockwood
   .. Thought-Starter - "Finding the Magic"
   .. Guest article - "Will and Vision"
   .. CEO Resources
   .. Quotes to use in your staff meeting this month
   .. Humor to lighten up the executive suite
   .. Contact the publisher
   .. Subscribe and unsubscribe instructions


See past issues of the CEO Success Report at:
     http://www.CEOSuccess.com/archives


=========================================================
    WELCOME to this issue of the CEO Success Report!
=========================================================


Hello again. I'm Gary Lockwood, President of CEO Success.

Welcome back once again to the CEO Success. I know you have
no shortage of material to read and I thank you for choosing to
read our newsletter.

We work hard to provide practical ideas, thought-provoking concepts
and useful information for you.

You (and about 1000 of your CEO peers), have honored me by
being a loyal subscriber. For that, I appreciate you.

My Thought-Starter today deals with the magic of your natural talents.

Imagine if you could spend most of your time doing what makes
you happy, where time flies and where it's easy for you.

Conventional wisdom says you should work on improving your
weaknesses. What a waste of time, talent and opportunity.
Successful entrepreneurs throughout history have achieved
greatness by focusing on their strengths. Today's Thought-Starter
helps you discover your natural talents.

May I ask a small favor? Please forward this issue to other CEOs
and company presidents who may be interested in receiving
these messages. Thank you.

And now for our guest article this month...

"Will and Vision" offers us a look at a different kind of world. We
aren't talking about a 'vision' that's sloganized and prettified and
pasted on a plaque. Our guest author discusses the kind of vision
that highlights the importance and value of a product or service to
many people and ultimately points the way to a new future. And, of
course, requires a 100% commitment to bring into reality.

Our guest article this month is from Paul Lemberg. In his article,
Paul contends, "Reaching your vision may take a long time. Vision
Without will won't get you there. Only great commitment can."
Read more about Paul at the end of his article.

I hope you enjoy receiving these articles and ideas to
help you sharpen your thinking about being an effective CEO.

My wish is that you use the ideas in the CEO Success Report to
get the results you really want. If you want some help in putting
them into practice, or if you have questions, email or call.

As you know, our specialty is Increasing the Effectiveness
and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs and business owners.

Enjoy this issue with my compliments.

Sincerely,
Gary Lockwood
CEO Success


===========================================
       This month's THOUGHT-STARTER
===========================================


          Finding the Magic

One of my clients is a brilliant commercial real estate broker
and developer in Birmingham, Alabama. Len is very successful by
any measure.

During our meeting this week, Len was describing the way he can
drive by a piece of property and instantly see, in his mind's eye,
the possibilities for that land. He is able to imagine all the
possible uses of the property and instantly select the one that
would produce the highest and best value.

The most amazing part of this is that Len can do this in a blink
of an eye. And, for Len, it is effortless. He just knows. Other
brokers and developers focus on the technical aspects of the
property, the zoning, the topography, the financial details and
so on. While these things are important (Len is good at these as
well), the real magic that Len brings to the table is his innate
ability to visualize the property being used in its most
valuable form.

My sister, Lana, has an amazing musical ear. Lana can listen to a
song on the radio one time, then sit down at her piano and play
the song perfectly and beautifully. I just don't know how she can
do that! And she has been able to do that since she was a child.
It's magical.

When I talk to Len about his ability and with Lana about her
talent, they both told me the same thing. They said that it was
easy. They just couldn't understand why other people can't do the
same feat.

For Lana and Len, and for you and me, the special ability (the
magic) seems so easy, it feels "normal".

Everyone has a natural aptitude in something. You, too, have a
special "gift". You may be especially good at working with
numbers, drawing pictures, teaching children, growing plants or
caring for those less fortunate than you. Your special talent may
involve music, athletic ability, empathy, writing, or working
with your hands.

Chances are, you don't even recognize your own aptitude. You
might think that all of us can see and appreciate the subtleties
of color the same as you. You may not get that some of us are not
as graceful as you. You might believe that all people are able to
effortlessly grow a beautiful garden.

The truth is that we are all very different. You are able to do
some things better than I can. And, I can do some things better
than you.

Remember in school, when you signed up for subjects in which you
were already knowledgeable? How did this make you feel? "Great!
This is going to be easy."

What advice did you get from your counselors? Probably, they
recommended you take classes where you were weakest. What a drag!

While learning new subjects is a great idea, striving to develop
weaknesses can work against you. Conventional wisdom says we
should work on improving our weaknesses. This is a terrible waste
of time, talent and opportunity.

Imagine what would have happened if Chopin, Einstein, Chris Evert,
or Pavarotti had followed that advice. All these people devoted
their life to developing their natural strengths. As a result,
they each were tops in their field.

Highly successful entrepreneurs, as well as top scientists,
artists, athletes and entertainers throughout history have
achieved greatness by focusing on their areas of strength.

How do you discover your natural talents? First, notice those
things that you do that seem easy for you. These are the things
that you can do that seem almost effortless. Often, the tasks
that are easy for us are those where we have a special aptitude.

Next, make note of those things you do where time just seems to
fly by. When you are doing these activities, you may look up and
realize that hours have passed without you even realizing it.
This is a good clue to activities where you have natural talent.

Finally, consider all the activities that make you happy. These
are things that make you smile. These are the tasks you would do
just for yourself, with no promise of gain, just because they're
fun, interesting and fulfilling.

Look through the three lists to find the common activities. These
are likely to be the areas of your natural aptitude and talent;
your magic. These are the areas of greatest potential for you.
Imagine if you could spend most of your time developing and
playing at something that makes you happy, where time flies and
where it's easy for you. Wow!

Don't get caught up in the old advice to work on your weaknesses.
Hire someone who is good where you are weak. Delegate tasks that
you don't enjoy to others who do enjoy those things. Automate the
repetitious tasks. Contract out the chores that you are not great
at doing.

No matter how hard you try, it is unlikely you will ever be more
than average in areas where you do not have an aptitude. Always
working on your weaknesses undermines your self-esteem since you
will focus mostly on your deficiencies.

On the other hand, working to develop your natural talents is
self-rewarding and motivating. Pursuing your talents allows you
to continually realize higher and higher levels of ability,
achievement and success. Invest your time and energy in being
great at something. Really great. Discover your magical talent.
You will be happier. And the recipients of your work, your
customers, will reward you for your excellence. What a combination;
doing what you love and people pay you for it!

Experience the immense satisfaction that comes with being superb
at something.

Find the magic!

   About the Author...
Gary Lockwood is Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the
Lives of CEOs, business owners and professionals.
Get the Free BizSuccess newsletter -
     http://www.bizsuccess.com/newsletter.htm
or send any blank email to mailto:subscribe@BizSuccess.com


==================================
          Guest Article
==================================


        Will and Vision
        By Paul Lemberg

Remember Chux--the disposable baby diaper that took the
market by storm in 1932?

Of course you don't. Back then, Chux saw its product as a
luxury item, and happily kept its little throwaway business
to itself for almost forty years. Then Pampers came along
in the 1960s, supported by a huge, mass-consumer vision
with persistence to match, and blew Chux out of the market--
transforming baby rearing forever.

And everyone knows the legend of the two Steves--Jobs and
Wozniak--who invented the personal computer in someone's
garage. Only they didn't. The Altair MITS came to market
long before in 1975. But Steve Jobs was the one with the
mammoth vision of a computer on every desk; and Apple II
became the first PC hit.

I just finished reading a brilliant book titled 'Will and Vision-How
Latecomers Grow to Dominate Markets', by Gerard Tellis and
Peter Golder.

This book takes the concept of vision and makes it something
concrete, demonstrating sixty-six cases where a huge vision
of value for a market, combined with persistence and indomitable
will, made the ingredients for blockbuster success. Along the way
the authors bury the concept of first mover advantage: They offer
numerous examples of companies that arrived second, third or
later, and went on to dominate their markets.

So what does 'Will and Vision' say are the key elements of
success?

The authors--academics grounded in research--not starry-eyed
growth consultants like yours truly--carefully reviewed the
historical record: vision was the number one success element.

That's right. Big fat vision--backed by persistence, will,
and relentless innovation.

Today's world offers many choices. People who lack vision are
apt to drift to the next appealing project as soon as things don't go
the way they planned. They lack persistence to achieve anything
important.

But 'Will and Vision' offers us a look at a different kind of world.
(Of course I'm biased. I've been shouting about vision and
commitment for years.) We aren't talking about a 'vision' that's
sloganized and prettified and pasted on a plaque. We mean the
kind of vision that highlights the importance and value of a product
or service to many people and ultimately points the way to a new
future. And, of course, requires a 100% commitment to bring into
reality. (Find out more about how leaders use vision in my article
Visions of Leadership.
http://www.lemberg.com/visionsofleadership.html)

More mass-value vision examples, from high tech and low:
Dell computers, not IBM or IMSAI; Sony video recorders, not
Ampex-who gave up a full ten year lead; Microsoft Internet
Explorer-not Netscape, or its predecessor, Links; McDonalds'
Ray Kroc-not the McDonald Brothers; Gillette-not Wilkinson Sword.

Leaders in each of these companies owned a point of view
that looked out further than any of their predecessors.

And that expansive vision enabled these people to gain
access and leverage the resources (Key #4), maintain the
persistence to bring the vision into reality (Key #2), and
sustain relentless creativity and innovations (Key #3), over
a period of years.

Here's the formula: Mass market + high utility = big vision.

Seeing what no one else can see ends up giving you a new
worldview.

Here are a few points about a successful vision taken from
the authors' research:

The vision must be unique. Not uniqueness of product per se,
but unique in the way your product serves the world;

The vision must be simple and easy to grasp;

Seeds of the vision typically exist in some form in other
products or services; (Thank goodness we don't all have to
be inventors or originals-only visionaries!)

Your new vision may be of a thing for which there is no market--
yet. (This last bit is illuminating for any of us stuck in
market research.)

And some important points regarding will:

Reaching your vision may take a long time. Vision without
will won't get you there. Only great commitment can;

A misplaced belief in luck or other unseen forces hinders
our ability to persist. We will find evidence that no such
luck exists, and use that as an excuse to quit.

And this great insight: persistence can manifest as a series
of minor solutions, and contrarily, complacency in small
successes can be a barrier to innovation that farsighted
vision requires.

Some additional tips for long-term success:

Maintain a continuous feedback loop and solicit others'
opinions regarding your execution;

Keep a sharp eye for market changes, and be willing to
respond quickly;

And as Andrew Grove suggests, paranoia drives innovation. A
healthy fear of competitors sneaking up on you can keep your
product or service fresh;

So how big is YOUR vision?

Is your vision big enough to drive the kind of success you
seek? Is your vision large enough to nourish and sustain
you? Is it important enough to mobilize the resources
necessary for its realization? Is it sufficiently inspiring
to partners and employees and customers and investors-and
all the other people you need to be successful?

If you don't think it's big enough, it may be time to get
your vision checked.

If you need assistance developing your vision and commitment
to it, seek help in Paul's book Faster Than the Speed of Change.
(www.lemberg.com/faster.html)

About the Author…
Paul Lemberg is Director of the Stratamax Research Institute. He
conducts a limited number of highly focused, three-day Growth
System Programs for companies that want to take bold action and
produce extraordinary results. He is also available to speak at
company meetings and conferences. To find out more
contact Paul at 888-854-6526 or mailto:paul@lemberg.com, or
visit his website at www.stratamax.com.

(Here's an amazon.com link for Will and Vision:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/007137549x/lembecompa)

(c) Paul Lemberg and Inventive Corp., 2002


=============================================
             RESOURCES for CEOs
=============================================



The Executive Committee - Chief Executives Working Together
http://www.CEOSuccess.com

     **  Attention CEOs
Business leaders are choosing a new way to better their companies
and themselves - through membership in TEC, an international
organization of CEOs.

Imagine the benefits of meeting regularly with a small group
of company leaders in your area to share experiences, exchange
ideas and solve common problems.

Thousands of chief executives turn to TEC for a learning
experience they cannot get anywhere else. We are committed
to connecting CEOs with the people, ideas and information they
need to help them improve their businesses and enhance their lives.

Check it out at        http://www.CEOSuccess.com


========================================================
      QUOTES to use in your staff meeting this month
========================================================


"Assumptions allow the best in life to pass you by."
        John Sales

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is
had to begin where he was."
        Richard L. Evans

"A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little
courage.
Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity
prevented them from making a first effort."
        Sydney Smith

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined."
        Henry David Thoreau

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured
with what is right in America."
        William J. Clinton


==========================================================
           HUMOR to lighten up the executive suite
==========================================================


I always try to go the extra mile at work, but my boss always
  finds me and brings me back.


A Long Time
 -----------
 "I've been married for forty-three years, and it ain't easy.
 By way of comparison, forty-three years is longer than most
 murderers spend in jail"
   - Irv Gilman

 President Bush met with the Queen last week for the very
 first time.  I think they hit it off.  The Queen never won
 the popular vote, she inherited the job from her father, and
 they both have embarrassing relatives.
   - Jay Leno

 "If you took NyQuil and No-Doz at the same time, would you
 dream you couldn't sleep?"
   - Carrot Top

               ***excerpts from: http://www.joker.org/ ***


=================================
       CONTACT CEO Success
=================================


Gary Lockwood is the publisher of the CEO Success Report.
   Email:  mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com
   Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) *  (909) 739-7444
   Fax: (909) 494-4314


========================================
         Your Comments, please?
========================================


I appreciate feedback, corrections, and comments about the
CEO Success Report. Please send your thoughts to:
  Gary@CEOSuccess.com mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com


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