Zuckerberg - 6 Secrets to His Success

"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes."

- Washington Irving

The 6 Secrets to Success from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg were disclosed recently in an article from an insider who worked with him to build the company. As they embark on a huge IPO, I think it is helpful to peer into his world and see what he views as the keys to his success. 

1. Believe in yourself.
2. Just get it done - even if it is isn't perfect. "Don't let perfect get in the way of good", you can tweak it later.
3. Stick to your vision - tune out the naysayers.
4. Loyalty breeds success. "Helping other people actualize their dreams and hopes is central to how the world turns."
5. Live below your means.
6. Follow your passion - not the money. His "why" or core purpose is to "make the world more open and connected."

Read the whole story here.

All Impossible, Become Possible (no typo)

"Find something we feel good, when you feel good, all impossible become possible. Believe."

-- Manuel De Los Santos
("Destined to Play Major League Baseball")

In his broken English, Manuel tells us what it means to be "an owner" and how not to think like a victim.

Owners know that they alone control their thoughts and that they alone are responsible for what they achieve in life and business. Whatever obstacles arise they know that no one is going to bail them out, it is up to them to overcome the fear and take action.

Victims, on the other hand, believe that everything happens to them. That "things" outside their control are the cause of their situation. Things happen to them. Life is not fair. You and I know victim thinking when we or those around us use language like:

"I'll try, I can't, I know I need to but, I can't believe this happened to me..."

Rather than:

"I am, I will, I committed to, Just do it..."

Knowing your core purpose, your "Why", the things you love to do and when you are doing them you are at your best goes a long way in having those owners thoughts and taking those actions. Find yours and "Just do it".

This 3 minute video tells his story about how he found his "why" and changed his life.

Manuel De Los Santos

4 Factors That Will Solve Global Shortages

"I'm not saying we don't have our set of problems - climate crisis, species extinction, water and energy shortage - we surely do. [But] ultimately we knock them down."
-- Peter Diamandis, Technophilanthropist

Do you grow discouraged listening and reading the news every day? Watch this 16 minute TED talk by Peter Diamandis and find out why the future, no the today, is so exciting and how it is only going to get better.

He cites the following as the key factors that will continue to solve our problems.

1. Exponential Technologies- massive, ever faster developments (infinite computing, 3D printing, robotics, digital medicine, Artificial Intelligence, sensors, synthetic biology)
2. The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Innovator - Burt Rutan, Chris Anderson, etc.
3. The Technophilanthropist - think Bill Gates, Jeff Skoll, Pierre Omidyar, Elon Musk
4. The Rising Billion - by 2020, 3 billion more people will be on the internet, the new middle class. A bigger market but, more important, 3 billion minds we have not heard from.

He talks about the technology ready now to distill any water, salt, sewage, etc. for 3 cents a gallon, portable hand held devices that will allow people to self-diagnose illnesses anywhere in the world, etc.

Get a positive boost to your day and show it to your kids. It is a good time to be alive.

All the best,
Rick Wallace

Weekly Quote: Simple & Complicated

"Good ideas are not adopted automatically.
They must be driven into practice with courageous patience."
-- Hyman Rickover, Admiral

The following is from Seth Godin:

“There are two ways to begin an answer to most questions we face in organizations:

"It's simple" and

"It's complicated."

Both are usually true. At 10,000 feet, most challenges are simple. But actually making something work is quite complicated.

Nuance is the sign of an intelligent observer. Nuance shows restraint and maturity and an understanding of the underlying mechanics of whatever problem we're wrestling with. After
all, if the solution was simple, we would have solved it already.

On the other hand, resorting to nuance early and often can also be a sign of fear, of an unwillingness to go out on a limb and make a difference. Hence the reactions of boards hiring
consultants and CEOs, or of passionate primary voters. "Don't tell me it's complicated. Just show me the guts to make something happen."

My vote: your goals and your strategy must be simple. You must have passion and certainty in order to make a difference as a leader. Your tactics, on the other hand, should be layered,
multi-dimensional and reflect the patience of someone who cares about reaching a goal.

When Howard Schultz talks about coffee or Jill Greenberg talks about lighting or Cory Booker talks about education, they can impatiently demand clear and simple results. At the same
time, successful leaders see the nuance they'll need in executing to get there.

The paradox is that the simplicity we often seek in search of solutions rarely leads to the patient
leadership we need to get them.”

- Seth

As leaders we have to develop new habits and have a process to ensure follow up and execution of the the Goals and Strategies we define for the organization. If you tend to not be able to follow through and execute solutions in your business learn more about a process that does work by
signing up to recieve Free - The Leadership Matrix ebook.


All the best,
Rick Wallace

Weekly Quote: Inflection Points

"There is at least one point in the history of any company when you have to change dramatically to rise to the next level of performance. Miss that moment, and you start to decline."

-- Andy Grove, Intel CEO

As he says, there is at least one point, but usually there are many points along the way where we either go backward or forward depending on whether we recognize that point in time, what actions we take and how well we lead.

Another fact:
To respond properly we have to change some parts of our culture, the beliefs we share, to implement the dramatic changes necessary to ensure we continue to grow. At these critical points in the life of a business we need to rekindle a Culture of Accountability that, I would bet, has been lost along the way somewhere.

Remember the "owner" vs "victim" distinction? As a leader you must communicate, educate and follow up in systematic ways to get everyone thinking like an owner, being accountable for their thoughts, actions and results.

Look at Kodak. They were a highly successful company living off analog (film) photography, but a few people at Kodak were busy inventing digital products and applying for a whole ream of patents around the technology. Way ahead of everyone.

Recently they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold off mega $millions of those
patents. Why?

One could say it was because they made bad decisions or implemented bad strategy. But it was really deeper that. It goes back to their culture. They thought like victims, not assuming accountability and thus let someone or something else make the decisions for them.

They had developed a "victim" culture, they watched "while the world was changing around hem". They hung on to the cash cow and feared launching digital products because it would eat away at their own analog film products. All the while "blaming" their decline, like a victim, on
circumstances outside their control - on new technology.

So this was their "inflection point". Their leadership had a chance to think like an owner, but their culture and the beliefs that reinforced it, had deteriorated so far that they could not focus their thoughts, actions and results on winning in the digital age.

"Only when you assume full accountability for your thoughts, feelings, actions and results can you direct your own destiny: otherwise someone or something will do it for you."."

- OZ Principle

We have invited Diana Southall a friend, client and associate to be our guest this week. Diana has worked with two of my clients recently and gotten rave reviews for the turnaround she has inspired and the people pain she has relieved with both of them. She doesn't tell you how to do it, she rolls up her sleeves and helps you do it.

She is conducting a workshop starting March 28th. All the details are below. I also recommend her Ebook "9 Steps to Solve People Pains in Your Business".
Sign up for FREE report on her website.



The People Plan - Value Proposition

Quote

"We have 100 employees so that means we have 100 different personalities!"
-Bill Crawford, Plant Manager at local manufacturing firm

Article

Why is employee management so hard? Because employees are individuals with their own preferences, attitudes, work style and personality.

Once your company hires that first employee, you will experience some type of People Pain!

• You spend too much of your time responding to issues such as employee's attitude or performance
• Your employees generally do their jobs, but you don't see that they are committed to excellence
• You have too much to do, but do not trust your staff enough to delegate more
• When you want to hire someone, it is too time consuming or you are not confident you will find the "right person."

How can you possibly get everyone to be excited about their jobs, work together as
a team to achieve results, and positively hold each other accountable?

Luckily, there is a proven method to manage your employees that can attract, retain, and
motivate most employees to achieve maximum performance.

You need the Right People, Doing the Right Things, and Doing (It) Right (a People
Plan).

Right People

• Develop your current employees
• Recruit and select the Right People

Doing the Right Things

• Define job expectations

Doing It Right

• Manage employee performance to get result

Want to develop your own People Plan?

Starting March 28, University at Buffalo Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership is
offering a 3 night People Plan seminar.

More details are available in the People Plan Seminar Brochure.

March 28
Finding the "Right People": 11 Steps to recruiting & selecting the Ideal Candidate

April 23
Developing Your Current Employees

May 23
Managing Employee Performance: Getting Agreement & Results

Presenter: Diana Southall (CEL 2006, MBA, Senior HR Professional)

© The People Plan, by HR Foundations

Roar Like A Lion

"I may not be the lion, but it was left to me to give the lion's roar."
--Winston Churchill

This short video takes 3:53 to watch.

All the best,
Rick Wallace