Q & A

Entrepreneurism - Why America stands a chance to succeed in an increasingly globalized “Flat World”

1.) WHY DO YOU BELIEVE AMERICA WILL DO BETTER THAT MOST PEOPLE THINK VERSUS CHINA AND INDIA IN THE INCREASINGLY GLOBAL ECONOMY?

When we researched CEO Road Rules, we found examples over the country of entrepreneurs who were succeeding despite the trend towards overseas outsourcing. They were also doing great against big Fortune 1000 competitors and actually thriving despite tough economic conditions in their own backyards.

2.) WHY DID YOUR “ROAD RULES” CEOS DO SO WELL?

Our top CEOs interviewed for CEO Road Rules did three things very well, day in and day out. They focused their life and their business better, they surrounded themselves with better people at home and at work and they executed their overall life better in a balanced and consistent way.

3) FOCUS, PEOPLE AND EXECUTION. LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT EACH OF THESE.

Right focus involves finding the right type of work that makes you jump out of bed in the morning and seize the day. Our top CEOs found their niche early on and threw themselves into their work with passion and zest. This was contagious for their work team and customers. They also did more and better planning towards their life goals. They made sure their mission, vision and values were well thought out and developed with their entire work and family team proving input. Many entrepreneurs have their business plan on a napkin in their back pocket. Our top CEOs had done a lot of early planning with experts in business development and their products or service niche.

Right people means surrounding yourself with the people who will support you on the road to success and help you when things inevitably go south. Our top CEOs were deliberate over spans of 20-30 years in their selections of their lifemate, friends, mentors and employees and senior management. They believe that, when you surround yourself with people of optimism and good will, you will find success no matter what challenges are thrown at you along the way. Resiliency, the ability to bounce back after failure and make something good come of bad, was an amazing trait in these leaders.

Right execution seems simple - have the right focus and surround yourself with the right people to act on that focus. Many a good plan and people have failed because execution fell short of the mark. Our top CEOs learned how when to be a good cheerleader or a devil's advocate, and how to bring accountability into play that would encourage better work after failure, not crush the spirit of those who don't quite reach their goals.

Each of these 3 areas was a challenge in the workplace and even more difficult at home, dealing with their spouse and children. Legacy, looking beyond just material success to attaining Significance in one's life, is the pinnacle for the top CEO group. They don't want their net worth statement emblazoned on their tombstone - what will they accomplish in their life that makes a lasting difference?

4) HOW WILL MASTERING THE 3 AREAS OF FOCUS, PEOPLE AND EXECUTION, HELP A LEADER SUCCEED IS AN INCREASINGLY COMPLICATED WORLD?

Entrepreneurs have created the largest amount of net new jobs in this country since 9/11. This group of business pioneers is the backbone of what made this country great, and the evidence is they will continue to be the reason we compete effectively in the world. Many of our top CEO group beat foreign and big company competition by getting and keeping a better focus, having a dynamic team of people around them that could adjust faster as conditions changed and by executing extremely well.

Consumers are tired of automated voice mail systems and customer service people who can't communicate well or help them with their problems. The entrepreneurs profiled in CEO Road Rules have made sure these areas were their greatest strengths. There are a number of products, professions and businesses that can't be outsourced to India or China. For those that can, be better at what you do in the focus, people and execution categories are what make the difference.

5) WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF PUTTING THE 3 AREAS TOGETHER?

Peter Heineman grew up in New York with a father, uncle and other friends of the family who mentored him on how to be a great entrepreneur. He found his passion, fish farming, early on, but had to go through several not-so-successful attempts before finding his real niche, smoked salmon. He was an early adopter of going overseas and sourced some of his premium product in Sweden. His business steadily grew and had a record year in 1988 until disaster struck.

In January of 1989, his business burned to the ground. He and his employees were standing in the burned out shell of their building, looking up where the roof has previously been and watched as the snow fell on them. The blanket of white on the charred remains of their livihood created an eerie scene. A man came up and said, “Whoa, bad break I'd say. Really tough luck. Listen, I really need a few hundred pounds of smoked salmon, could you steer me somewhere else?
Peter and his employees stared numbly at the man, trying to figure out whether he was insensitive or just needed a good pop in the nose. Finally, Peter realized this was the first customer of the rest of his life. They found some undamaged salmon in an outside bin, managed the delivery and were off and running. His employees offered to work for free until they were through the crisis. Pete thanked them for the gesture, but declined since he had put aside enough through his right planning to see them through.

Peter and his team rebuilt the building better than before. They sold more salmon in the quarter the building burned down than in their previous year's record quarter. They went on to a record sales year and won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, beating out some of New York's best.

Peter put his focus and passion, people and network, and execution and resiliency skills to the test and came out with flying colors. This is a nation of Peter Heinemans who find ways to beat the odds.

6) YOU TALK IN THE CEO ROAD RULES BOOK ABOUT RIGHT LEGACY AS IT APPLIES TO CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. HOW DO TOP LEADERS RAISE GOOD KIDS WHO RAISE EVEN BETTER CHILDREN AND SO ON? THESE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE FACING GREAT CHALLENGES IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD, RIGHT?

Many of our top CEOs are model parents, while some made every mistake in the book but figured it out soon enough to help their kids succeed in life. If you model behaviors every single day and are not saying one thing and doing something else, kids get it. The toughest thing for many of our most successful CEOs interviewed was balancing their home life early on with growing a successful business. They found ways to be there for their children, whether it was regular talks about important subjects or just showing up at a soccer game.

Most of those we interviewed expect a tougher world to succeed for their children due in large part to the World is Flat challenges we've discussed. More and more jobless recoveries are likely to be the norm going forward no matter whether democrats or republicans are running the country. These megatrends are a much too powerful force.

Our CEO group feel that they have done all they can to give their children the ability to have good focus, have encouraged them to surround themselves with the right people and get away from the ones who would kill their dreams or encourage them to make poor choices and to follow through on what you start and make a difference in the world.

One of our CEOs, Al Bodford, is a highly successful owner of a major trucking company. His son Jason, in his view, will be even more successful in both his work and personal life. Al let Jason work from the bottom up, let him make his own mistakes and learn in the process and has been a constant mentor in the focus, people and execution areas of his life.

7) WHAT ARE SOME FINAL THOUGHTS?

We found that the strength of the entrepreneurial leaders in this country is inspiring. Their creativity and drive can be matched to their counterparts anywhere in the world. In fact, many emigrants from other countries come here just so they can catch the entrepreneurial fever and have been incredibly successful. The man who wrote the forward of our book, Nido Qubein, is a perfect Horatio Alger example. He came to this country from Lebanon with 450 in his pocket. He learned English and became president of the national speakers association. He has won numerous national awards, sits on various boards and is a top entrepreneur who embodies our focus, people and execution themes. In his inaugural address as President of High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, he asked the audience to consider what is possible given his own journey from rags to riches. He believes the American dream is alive and well. We hope many of those viewing (listening) will read our book, CEO Road Rules, and visit our road rules website for more inspiring stories.