Featuring the largest collections by artists like Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and more!
31 octubre, 2010
100.000 Paintings
Featuring the largest collections by artists like Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and more!
Inspiration: "The World's Best Quotes in 1-10 Words."
I've collected thousands of inspirational quotes. It seems that nearly everything that can be said, has been said, simply and eloquently, in a way that can seldom be improved. Winston Churchill wrote, "Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all." So, I collected "The world's best quotes in one to ten words." These are the quotes, and my comments: William S. Frank
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The Best Advice I Ever Got
"The Best Advice I Ever Got"
Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Meg Whitman, A.G. Lafley, and 24 other luminaries on the people who most influenced their business lives.
Warren Buffett, 74 CEO of Berkshire Hathaway You're right not because others agree with you, but because your facts are right. "I had two mentors: my dad, Howard Buffett, and Ben Graham. Here were these two guys who I revered and who over the years gave me tons of good advice. But when I think about what they said to me, the truth is, the first thing that comes to mind is bad advice. "I was not quite 21 when this happened, in 1951, and just getting out of business school at Columbia. I had just taken Ben's class there--and I was the most interested student you ever saw. I wanted to work for Ben at Graham-Newman Corp., and I had famously gone to him and offered to work for nothing. He said no. "But I still was determined to go into the securities business, and that's where Ben and my dad gave me the bad advice. They both thought it was a bad time to start. One thing on their minds was that the Dow Jones industrials had been above 200 all year, and yet there had never been a year when it didn't sell below 200. So they both said, 'You'll do fine, but this is not a good time to start.' "Now there's one thing that may have influenced my dad, and maybe Ben too. I was so immature. I was not only young-looking, I was young-acting. I was skinny. My hair looked awful. Maybe their advice was their polite way of saying that before I started selling stocks, I needed to mature a little, or I wasn't going to be successful. But they didn't say that to me; they said the other. Anyway, I didn't pay any attention. I went back to Omaha and started selling securities at my dad's firm, Buffett Falk. "My dad was a totally independent thinker. I suppose the fact that he was has influenced my own thinking some when it comes to buying stocks. Ben instructed me some there too. He said, 'You're neither right nor wrong because others agree with you. You're right because your facts and reasoning are right.' "Now, Ben--I started learning from him when I read his books on investing at the University of Nebraska. I had tried all kinds of investing up to then, but what he said, particularly in The Intelligent Investor, just lifted the scales from my eyes--things like 'margin of safety' and how to use 'Mr. Market' rather than letting him use you. I then went to Columbia just to take his class and later got that turndown when I asked him for a job. But I kept thinking about that idea when I went back to Omaha. I kept trying to sell Ben stocks and pestering him, sort of. And finally one day in 1954 I got a letter from him saying something to the effect of the next time you're in New York, I'd like to talk to you about something. I was elated! And I made a point of getting to New York immediately. "I went to work for Ben in August 1954, without ever having asked what my salary would be. It turned out to be $12,000, plus the next year I got a $2,000 bonus. I worked for both parts of the business: Graham- Newman was a regulated investment company, and Newman & Graham Ltd. was what we'd today call a hedge fund. But together they ran only $12 million! "Walter Schloss and I--though he left before long to start a hedge fund--worked together in a little room. We had a lot of fun with each other, plus we kept poring through the manuals, looking for cheap stocks. We never went out to visit any companies. Ben thought that would be cheating. And when we found something terrific, Ben would put 50,000 bucks into it. "By early 1956, Ben was planning to leave the firm to go to California. And I had already decided by then to go back to Omaha. I had a terrible time telling Ben about that: I'd go into his office and come back, and then go in and not do it, for a really long time. But his reaction was kind of the same as my dad would have had: whatever's best for you. "I had $9,800 at the end of 1950, and by 1956 I had $150,000. I figured with that I could live like a king. And I didn't know what I was going to do in Omaha. Maybe go to law school. I did not have a plan. I certainly didn't know I was going to start an investing partnership. But then a couple of months later, seven people wanted me to invest their money for them, and a partnership was the way to do it. And that began it all." Richard Branson, 54 Founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and the Virgin Group Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won't survive. "The person who had the biggest impact on me was Freddie Laker. He had been an aviator involved in the Berlin airlift and had made his money flying goods into Berlin at the end of World War II. He started a low-cost airline [Laker Airways, in 1966] that flew over the Atlantic. He was forced out of business by British Airways. I don't know whether I would have gone into the airline business without seeing what happened to him. He was a very charismatic figure. He was taking on the big guys. He would fly his own planes. He created a lot of excitement. "At the time, I was running a little record company; I was about 17 years old. The first time I met him was some years later. I was thinking about setting up my own airline. He gave me this advice: 'You'll never have the advertising power to outspend British Airways. You are going to have to get out there and use yourself. Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won't survive.' "The other advice he gave me: 'They [British Airways] will use every trick in the book [against you]. When that happens, three words matter. Only three words, and you've got to use them: Sue the bastards!' "I suspect if I hadn't sued British Airways [in 1992], Virgin Atlantic wouldn't have survived. And if I hadn't used myself to advertise the airline, then it also wouldn't have survived. "I named one of my airplanes after him: the Sir Freddie." Howard Schultz, 51 Chairman of Starbucks Recognize the skills and traits you don't possess, and hire people who have them. "Warren Bennis is one of the most respected scholars on leadership. And I was under a lucky star one day--I heard Warren speak at an event, and I was so impressed by what he said that I sought him out for advice. This was in the late 1980s, long before we were a public company. "Over the years, Warren has been a valued advisor and mentor, and he has become a trusted friend. It's hard to pinpoint just one piece of advice that he gave me, because his guidance was valuable on so many levels. Early on, I remember his words--he said this many times--that I needed to invest ahead of the growth curve and think beyond the status quo in terms of the skill base, the experience, and the quality of the people around me. He also told me that the art of becoming a great leader is in developing your ability to leave your own ego at the door and to recognize the skills and traits you don't possess and that you need to build a world-class organization. "This was harder than it sounds, because I wanted to build a different kind of company--a company that had a conscience. So it wasn't only that I needed people with skills and discipline and business acumen that complemented my own qualities, but most important, I needed to attract and retain people with like-minded values. What tied us together was not our respective disciplines, and it was not chasing an exit strategy driven by money. What tied us together was the dream of building a company that would achieve the fragile balance of profitability, shareholder value, a sense of benevolence, and a social conscience." A.G. Lafley, 57 Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble Have the courage to stick with a tough job. "My mom, a strong, proud Irish woman who died last year at 82, told me to have the courage of my convictions. She encouraged me to be independent and to be myself, and her advice was in my mind when I almost left P&G in my sixth year. It was 1982, and I decided to go to one of those boutique consulting firms in Connecticut. I even bought a house in Connecticut. I was getting out of P&G because I thought the bureaucracy was so stifling and the change was so slow. I was an associate--between a brand manager and a marketing director--and I was running a bunch of laundry brands. Steve Donovan was in charge of the soap business, and I handed him my resignation. "He tore it up. I said to him, 'I made a copy.' He said, 'Go home. Call me tonight.' Which was smart, not to negotiate with me right there. When I called him that night, he said, 'Don't come into the office for the next week. Come and see me every night.' So every night, I went to his home, and we'd have a beer or two. He kept working me over until he got to the root of my problem with P&G, which was the bureaucracy. He said, 'You're running away. You don't have the guts to stay and change it. You'll run from the next job too.' "That really ticked me off. I stayed. And from then on, every time something didn't work, I spoke up. I realized that you can make a difference if you speak up and set your mind to changing things." Sumner Redstone, 81 Chairman and CEO of Viacom Follow your own instincts, not those of people who see the world differently. "In my business career, I frequently turn to Ace Greenberg of Bear Stearns. I've known him for well over 15 years. In connection with all the transactions in which I have been involved, starting with the Paramount acquisition, Ace was one of my advisors. He has consistently advised me that you must follow your own instincts, rather than the views of naysayers or others who see the world in a different way. "I put that advice into practice with Viacom. I had a terrific battle--most people forget it--a really vicious battle with Terry Elks for Viacom. People said at the time that I overpaid. They said MTV was a fad. They said Nickelodeon would never make it. I knew so little at that time about our businesses. But I saw MTV not as just a music channel but as a cultural channel, a generational channel, and a channel that could travel around the world. As for Nickelodeon, my instincts as a parent and as a grandparent told me, What's more important to people than a kids' channel? My instincts also told me that children are pretty much the same all over the world. They have the same issues with their parents, with their teachers. Everyone said I overpaid. My investment was $500 million. And even at the low price of our stock today, my stock is worth many, many billions. And that is a great illustration of why Ace's advice has been so valuable." Meg Whitman, 48 CEO and President of eBay Be nice, do your best--and most important, keep it in perspective. "Several pieces of advice I've gotten in my life have really made a difference. "'Be nice to people.' This sounds like a platitude, but I'll never forget my father telling me that. I was 10, and I had been mean to someone. He said, 'There is no point in being mean to anyone at any time. You never know who you're going to meet later in life. And by the way, you don't change anything by being mean. Usually you don't get anywhere.' "Remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don't let anyone say, 'You're not smart enough ... it's too hard ... it's a dumb idea ... no one has done that before ... girls don't do that.' My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry about what others were saying about my career direction. "'Always do the best job you can do at whatever you're assigned, even if you think it's boring.' Jerry Parkinson, an assistant advertising manager and my boss at P&G, told me this in 1979. Here I was fresh out of Harvard Business School, and I was assigned to determine how big the hole in the Ivory shampoo bottle should be: three-eighths of an inch or one-eighth of an inch. I did research, focus groups ... and I would come home at night wondering how I had gone from HBS to this. But later I realized that any job you're given is an opportunity to prove yourself. "'Don't be a credit hog. If you're constantly in the neighborhood of good things, good things will happen to you.' Tom Tierney, who was my boss at Bain in 1981 and is now on the eBay board, told me this. It's true--you get ahead by crediting other people. "Finally, in 1998, I was in New York watching the ticker as eBay went public. My husband is a neurosurgeon. I called into his operating room and told him the great news. And he said, 'That's nice. But Meg, remember that it's not brain surgery.'" Jack Welch, 69 Former chairman and CEO of General Electric Be yourself. "It was 1979 or 1980. I was on the board of GE for the first time. And I was in Seattle for one of those three-day director outings. I had just gone to my first or second board meeting, and at a party for the directors afterwards, Paul Austin, the former chairman of Coke, came up to me. He was a reserved, formal man. Anyway, he must have noticed my starched shirt and how quiet I was in the meeting. I was all prim and proper. He said to me, 'Jack, don't forget who you are and how you got here.' I gave him an embarrassed 'Thanks.' But I knew what he meant. I had always been myself except in this instance. I had never been quiet. He hit me in the nose with it, and it was startling. Next meeting, I think I spoke up a bit." Sallie Krawcheck, 40 CFO of Citigroup Don't listen to the naysayers. "When I was a kid I was 'that kid' --freckles, braces, and very unfortunate glasses. If I wasn't the last chosen for the team, I was the second to last. There are so many heartbreaking stories I remember, like the time I finally managed to kick the ball in kickball. I was running for first base all excited, and then my glasses fell off and I had to go back and get them. The teasing was really tough. I wasn't just crying in class; I was falling apart at school. My grades went from A's to C's. "One day when I was really down, my mom sat me on the sofa. She spoke to me as though she was speaking to another adult, telling me to stop paying attention to the girls who were teasing me. She told me that they were naysayers who would sit on the sidelines and criticize those who were out there trying. She said that the reason they were doing it was because they were jealous. Looking back, I know they weren't really jealous, but at the time, I believed my mom. My grades went back up, and I never let the naysayers bother me again." Vivek Paul, 46 President and CEO of Wipro Technologies Don't limit yourself by past expectations. "The best advice I ever got was from an elephant trainer in the jungle outside Bangalore. I was doing a hike through the jungle as a tourist. I saw these large elephants tethered to a small stake. I asked him, 'How can you keep such a large elephant tied to such a small stake?' He said, 'When the elephants are small, they try to pull out the stake, and they fail. When they grow large, they never try to pull out the stake again.' That parable reminds me that we have to go for what we think we're fully capable of, not limit ourselves by what we've been in the past. When I took over Wipro in 1999, we were the first to articulate that an Indian company could be in the global top ten [of technology services firms]. As of 2004, we were. "The second-best piece of advice was something I learned from Jack Welch on one of his trips to India. He was commenting that every time he lands in New York he imagines that he's just been appointed chairman and that this is his first day in the role, and the guy before him was a real dud. He said, 'Every time, I think, What would I do that was different than the guy before? What big changes would I make?' I took that seriously. You should always think, 'How do I regenerate myself?' I don't do it religiously every time I fly internationally. But over Christmas break time, I set aside a day to zero-base myself. I force myself to do it every single year. "But the person I rely on most in terms of advice is somebody in my Young President's Organization group: John Donahoe [former managing partner at Bain & Co., now president of the eBay business unit]. John has been a life coach for me, helping me sort out the many conflicting business and personal priorities. He has given me great advice about raising high school kids. His suggestions are invaluable." Dick Parsons, 56 Chairman and CEO of Time Warner When you negotiate, leave a little something on the table. "The best business advice I ever received was from Steve Ross, who used to run this company. Steve was a friend. It was 1991 or 1992, and I was on the Time Warner board. I was going to be coming over to the company from the banking industry, and we were talking about how to get things done. Steve said to me, 'Dick, always remember this is a small business and a long life. You are going to see all these guys come around and around again, so how you treat them on each individual transaction is going to make an impression in the long haul. When you do deals, leave a little something to make everyone happy instead of trying to grab every nickel off the table.' "I've used that advice a thousand times since, literally. When I got to this company, for the first seven or eight years I was here I was the principal dealmaker, and I always took that advice with me into a negotiation. Most people in business do not follow that, though. Maybe there was a time when they did, but I don't think most people do now. I think people get hung up with their advisors, investment bankers, lawyers, and others, and every instance becomes a tug of war to see who can outduel the other to get the slightest little advantage on a transaction. But people don't keep in mind that the advisors are going to move on to the next deal, while you and I are going to have to see each other again." Andy Grove, 68 Chairman of Intel When "everyone knows" something to be true, nobody knows nothin'. "The best advice I ever got was from Alois Xavier Schmidt, my favorite professor at the City College of New York. A saying of his stayed with me and continued to influence me as the decades unfolded. He often said, 'When everybody knows that something is so, it means that nobody knows nothin'.' "Our little research group at Fairchild [Semiconductor] some 40 years ago started to study the characteristics of surface layers that were the heart of modern integrated circuits. At that time, 'everybody knew' that surface states, an artifice of quantum mechanics, would interfere with us building such chips. As it turns out, nobody knew nothin': We never found any surface states; what we found was trace contamination. When we identified and removed this, the road opened up to the chip industry as we know it today. "I remembered professor Schmidt's words again ten years ago, when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. 'Everybody knew' what treatment would be best for me. I thought that perhaps this was another case where common wisdom might be suspect and decided to do my own research, comparing all the known data about various treatment outcomes and coming up with less-than-conventional conclusions. Time and again, professor Schmidt's saying prompted me to think for myself, go back to first principles, and base knowledge on facts and analysis rather than on what 'everybody knew.'" Anne Mulcahy, 52 CEO of Xerox Remember the parable of the cow in the ditch. "One piece of advice I got has become a mantra at Xerox. It came from a very funny source. It was four years ago, and I was doing a customer breakfast in Dallas. We had invited a set of business leaders there. One was a plainspoken, self-made, streetwise guy [Albert C. Black Jr., president and CEO of On-Target Supplies & Logistics, a logistics management firm]. He came up to me and gave me this advice, and I have wound up using it constantly. 'When everything gets really complicated and you feel overwhelmed,' he told me, 'think about it this way: You gotta do three things. First, get the cow out of the ditch. Second, find out how the cow got into the ditch. Third, make sure you do whatever it takes so the cow doesn't go into the ditch again.' "Now, every time I talk about the turnaround at Xerox, I start with the cow in the ditch. The first thing is survival. The second thing is, figure out what happened. Learn from those lessons and make sure you've put a plan in place to recognize the signs, and never get there again. This has become sort of a catchphrase for the leadership team. It's just one of those incredibly simple commonsense stories to keep people grounded. I bet that businessman had no idea what kind of legs his story would have." Brian Grazer, 53 Academy Award--winning movie and TV producer, Imagine Entertainment All you really own are ideas and the confidence to write them down. "I've spent the last 18 years soliciting advice from people outside the movie business. Before that, I sought advice from people in the entertainment industry. So I've collected advice from close to 1,000 people over 30 years. Every month I create a new list of people to call. I call it my 'interesting people list.' I call, on average, five people a week--I'll personally call Eliot Spitzer or Isaac Asimov--and may end up meeting with one every two weeks. Ideally I like to meet these people in my office. And I ask them to tell me about their world. I meet these people to learn ultimately how to be a more efficient filmmaker. "My whole career has been built on one piece of advice that came from two people: [MCA founder] Jules Stein and [former MCA chairman] Lew Wasserman. In 1975 I was a law clerk at Warner Bros. I'd spent about a year trying to get a meeting with these two men. Finally they let me in to see them. They both said, separately, 'In order for you to be in the entertainment business, you have to have leverage. Since you have none--no money, no pedigree, no valuable relationships--you must have creative leverage. That exists only in your mind. So you need to write--put what's in your mind on paper. Then you'll own a piece of paper. That's leverage.' "With that advice, I wrote the story that became Splash, which was a fantasy that I had about meeting a mermaid. For years, I sent registered letters to myself--movie concepts and other ideas--so that I had my ideas officially on paper. I have about 1,000 letters in a vault. To this day, I feel that my real power is only that--ideas and the confidence to write them down." Rick Warren, 51 Minister, founder of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life Regularly sit at the feet of Peter Drucker. "In life you need mentors, and you need models. Models are the people you want to emulate. I recommend that your models be dead. I'm serious. You don't know how people are going to finish up. A lot of people start out like bottle rockets. They look great, but then the last half of their life is chaos. That can be quite devastating. "In my life, I've had at least three mentors: my father, Billy Graham, and Peter Drucker. They each taught me different things. Peter Drucker taught me about competence. I met him about 25 years ago. I was invited to a small seminar of CEOs, and Peter was there. As a young kid--I was about 25--I began to call him up, write him, go see him. I still go sit at the feet of Peter Drucker on a regular basis. I could give you 100 one-liners that Peter has honed into me. One of them is that there's a difference between effectiveness and efficiency. Efficiency is doing things right, and effectiveness is doing the right thing. A lot of churches--not just churches, but businesses and other organizations--are efficient, but they are not effective. "Another important thing that Peter has taught me is that results are always on the outside of your organization, not on the inside. Most people, when they're in a company, or in a church, or in an organization, they think, Oh, we're not doing well, we need to restructure. They make internal changes. But the truth is, all the growth is on the outside from people who are not using your product, not listening to your message, and not using your services." Jim Collins, 46 Author of the bestseller Good to Great The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities. "It was 1994. [My book] Built to Last had just come out. I mean, I was nobody. But a colleague knew Peter Drucker, and one day I got a message on my voicemail: 'This is Peter Drucker. I would be very pleased to meet you for a day in Claremont [Calif., where Drucker lives].' I call back, very nervous, and he says, 'Speak up! I'm not young anymore!' So I'm like, 'PETER DRUCKER, THIS IS JIM COLLINS!' And then he actually set aside a day. Think about the value of a day with Peter Drucker at age 85. The interesting thing is that he absolutely changed my life that day. In one day. "I was at a point where I could have started a consulting firm, Built to Last Consulting, or something. The first thing he asked was, 'Why are you driven to do this [start a consulting firm]?' I said I was driven by curiosity and impact. And he says, 'Ah, now you're getting in the realm of the existential. You must be crassly commercial.' "For a moment I had this image of going to Yoda for wisdom, and having him say, 'Have a Coke!' But he was either testing me, or it was a joke. I'm not sure which. "The huge thing he said to me was, 'Do you want to build ideas to last, or do you want to build an organization to last?' "I said I wanted to build ideas to last. "He said, 'Then you must not build an organization.' "His point was, the moment you have an organization, you have a beast to feed--this army of people. If you ever start developing ideas to feed the beast rather than having ideas that the beast feeds, your influence will go down, even if your commercial success goes up. Because there's a huge difference between teaching an idea and selling an idea. In the end, what are you in a battle for? You're battling to influence the thinking of powerful, discerning people. If you ever abuse that trust, you can lose them. So the moment that arrow changes direction, you're dead. "He said something else important: 'The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities.' Growth is easy. Saying no is hard. "I'll never forget asking, 'How can I ever pay you back?' and his saying, 'You've already paid me back. I've learned so much from our conversation.' That's when I realized where Drucker's greatness lay, that unlike a lot of people, he was not driven to say something. He was driven to learn something. "I feel proud that I followed the advice. It's a huge debt. I can never pay it back. The only thing I can do is give it to others. Drucker had said, 'Go out and make yourself useful.' That's how you pay Peter Drucker back. To do for other people what Peter Drucker did for me." Peter Drucker, 95 Business consultant Get good--or get out. "The most important instruction I received was when I was just 20 and three weeks into my first real job as a foreign affairs and business editor of the large-circulation afternoon paper in Frankfurt. I brought my first two editorials to the editor-in-chief, a German. He took one look at them and threw them back at me saying, 'They are no good at all.' After I'd been on the job for three weeks, he called me in and said, 'Drucker, if you don't improve radically in the next three weeks, you'd better look for another job.' "For me, that was the right treatment. He did not try to mentor me. The idea would have been considered absurd. The idea of mentoring was post-- World War II. In those days [before World War II] you were hired to do your job, and if you didn't do it, you were out. It was very simple." Ted Turner, 66 Founder of CNN and former vice chairman of Time Warner Start young. "The best advice I ever got came from my father. He told me to go to work at his billboard company when I was 12 years old. I worked 42 hours a week, just like an adult. I worked the first summer as a water boy, a runner, and an assistant to the construction crew. Over the next 12 summers, I worked in a different area every year. I learned sales and leasing. I could paint billboards. I can post bills. My father would explain how the business world works--how a good business depends on good labor relations, enthusiastic leadership, making a profit and reinvesting it. When I was 21 and went to work in the company full-time, I was ready. He passed away three years later, when I was 24, and I was able to take it over without a hitch. People couldn't believe how successful I was. This turned out to be the best business course I could have gotten." David Neeleman, 44 CEO of JetBlue Balance your work with your family. "I'm a God-fearing guy. And the best advice I ever got came from the head of our [Mormon] church, Gordon B. Hinkley. It was when we were going public in 2001, and I was caught up in the money, power, and glory. He cut me right down to size. In a conference where he was speaking, he reminded me, 'It's all about your family, your relationships. You've got to balance that with your work.' "So I set rules to be with my family and to keep everyone from encroaching on my time. I keep weekends as free as humanly possible. I try to make it home in time for nightly Scripture study and prayer as a family, and I try to make sure to take some good vacations when my kids are out of school. Those rules have had a positive effect on the business. I've seen so many people who have neglected their families. Now their kids are giving them trouble, so they're distracted. If you have a closer family, you can be a lot more focused when you're at work." Mickey Drexler, 60 CEO of J. Crew Bail out of a business that isn't growing. "It was 1980. I had been working at a department store [Bloomingdale's] for 12 years, and I knew I had to get out. There wasn't really a future there for me. I was offered the job of president at Ann Taylor [the women's-wear chain, a division of a now defunct corporation called Garfinckel Brooks Brothers Miller & Rhoads]. I thought about it--and when you are changing jobs, you think of all the reasons you should not do it. Then you get a little nervous. I said no. "That night I was having dinner with someone who was older and wiser, Arthur Levitt [then chairman of the American Stock Exchange], and I told him about the offer. He said, 'I would grab that position at Ann Taylor. Department stores are a nongrowth business.' "He was right. The next morning I told the corporation I was interested after all. I resigned the next week. That was by far the best advice I've gotten in my life. If I didn't have dinner with him that night, I don't think I would have called back and said I wanted the job. And I am not sure I'd be where I am today." Brian Roberts, 45 CEO of Comcast Let others take the credit. "My mentor is my father, Ralph, who turns 85 this month. When I wanted to start my Comcast career at corporate headquarters, my father wisely insisted that I learn the business from the field, even though that isn't the way he started. One of my first summer jobs in college was as a cable installer in New Kensington, Pa., near Pittsburgh. I struggled to climb the telephone poles, strung cable, and went into people's homes to wire them. I really learned the ropes from people at the system level. That experience drove home how important our technicians and customer service representatives are, and how dangerous some of those jobs are at times. That empathy and understanding was something Ralph knew couldn't be taught in corporate headquarters. "Ralph is a great listener. He doesn't feel the need to direct the conversation. Usually, when you come in, there's the problem and then there's the real problem; there's the agenda, and there's the hidden agenda. Just by listening and asking questions, he lets you get to the heart of the issue that you are chewing on. He's not looking to take credit for anybody's work. In fact, the single best piece of advice Ralph ever gave me was to let others take the credit. 'You're in a lucky position, and you know it,' he told me. 'You don't need all the glory. If you let others take the credit, it makes them feel like they're part of something special.' He's right. That's just the way Ralph is with me, and that's the way I try to be with others." Marc Benioff, 40 Founder and CEO of Salesforce.com Incorporate philanthropy into your corporate structure. "I was on a panel about business and philanthropy at a conference in 2001. Alan Hassenfeld, who at that time was CEO [now chairman] of Hasbro, took me aside afterward and told me I had a lot of good ideas, but I had to give them more structure. He said I should also incorporate the ideas of volunteerism [into Salesforce.com]. To meet somebody who had already fully integrated something like this into his company was critical. Hasbro has one of the richest philanthropic programs of any U.S. commercial organization. One of the many things they do is make toy donations to children's hospitals. It wasn't something Hasbro did by writing a check; it was part of their culture. "We ended up putting 1% of our equity into the nonprofit Salesforce.com Foundation, as well as 1% of our profits, which of course at the time were zero. But following Alan's advice, we also put in 1% of our employees' time. That's six days a year of company-paid time for volunteerism. Employees want to work for us because of these programs --they want to reach out and do volunteerism anyway, and we give them a structure. Also, we let nonprofits use our service for free. Alan's advice ended up being really important, because this is what sets Salesforce.com apart from being just another company." Hector Ruiz, 59 CEO of AMD Surround yourself with people of integrity, and get out of their way. "In my adult years as a manager, Bob Galvin, the former CEO of Motorola, was my most influential leader. He told me, 'A good leader knows he is doing a good job when he knows with certainty that he can say yes to anything his staff asks and feel totally confident that they will do the right thing.' If you surround yourself with the right people who have integrity, and they all understand well the goals and objectives of the organization, then the best thing to do as a leader is to get out of their way. I use this advice quite a bit at work. The right people will feel far more pressure to perform well when they are trusted. "I was given another piece of wisdom that has made a huge difference. When I was at Texas Instruments [from 1972 to 1977], my boss's boss, Al Stein, who was running the semiconductor business, one day asked me, 'What's the worst thing that could happen if you make a decision that doesn't work out?' I remember thinking, 'I guess I could get fired.' I realized that in the scheme of things, that seems so insignificant. It was almost like an epiphany." Donny Deutsch, 48 CEO of Deutsch Inc. and host of CNBC's The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch If you love something, the money will come.
Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Meg Whitman, A.G. Lafley, and 24 other luminaries on the people who most influenced their business lives.
Warren Buffett, 74 CEO of Berkshire Hathaway You're right not because others agree with you, but because your facts are right. "I had two mentors: my dad, Howard Buffett, and Ben Graham. Here were these two guys who I revered and who over the years gave me tons of good advice. But when I think about what they said to me, the truth is, the first thing that comes to mind is bad advice. "I was not quite 21 when this happened, in 1951, and just getting out of business school at Columbia. I had just taken Ben's class there--and I was the most interested student you ever saw. I wanted to work for Ben at Graham-Newman Corp., and I had famously gone to him and offered to work for nothing. He said no. "But I still was determined to go into the securities business, and that's where Ben and my dad gave me the bad advice. They both thought it was a bad time to start. One thing on their minds was that the Dow Jones industrials had been above 200 all year, and yet there had never been a year when it didn't sell below 200. So they both said, 'You'll do fine, but this is not a good time to start.' "Now there's one thing that may have influenced my dad, and maybe Ben too. I was so immature. I was not only young-looking, I was young-acting. I was skinny. My hair looked awful. Maybe their advice was their polite way of saying that before I started selling stocks, I needed to mature a little, or I wasn't going to be successful. But they didn't say that to me; they said the other. Anyway, I didn't pay any attention. I went back to Omaha and started selling securities at my dad's firm, Buffett Falk. "My dad was a totally independent thinker. I suppose the fact that he was has influenced my own thinking some when it comes to buying stocks. Ben instructed me some there too. He said, 'You're neither right nor wrong because others agree with you. You're right because your facts and reasoning are right.' "Now, Ben--I started learning from him when I read his books on investing at the University of Nebraska. I had tried all kinds of investing up to then, but what he said, particularly in The Intelligent Investor, just lifted the scales from my eyes--things like 'margin of safety' and how to use 'Mr. Market' rather than letting him use you. I then went to Columbia just to take his class and later got that turndown when I asked him for a job. But I kept thinking about that idea when I went back to Omaha. I kept trying to sell Ben stocks and pestering him, sort of. And finally one day in 1954 I got a letter from him saying something to the effect of the next time you're in New York, I'd like to talk to you about something. I was elated! And I made a point of getting to New York immediately. "I went to work for Ben in August 1954, without ever having asked what my salary would be. It turned out to be $12,000, plus the next year I got a $2,000 bonus. I worked for both parts of the business: Graham- Newman was a regulated investment company, and Newman & Graham Ltd. was what we'd today call a hedge fund. But together they ran only $12 million! "Walter Schloss and I--though he left before long to start a hedge fund--worked together in a little room. We had a lot of fun with each other, plus we kept poring through the manuals, looking for cheap stocks. We never went out to visit any companies. Ben thought that would be cheating. And when we found something terrific, Ben would put 50,000 bucks into it. "By early 1956, Ben was planning to leave the firm to go to California. And I had already decided by then to go back to Omaha. I had a terrible time telling Ben about that: I'd go into his office and come back, and then go in and not do it, for a really long time. But his reaction was kind of the same as my dad would have had: whatever's best for you. "I had $9,800 at the end of 1950, and by 1956 I had $150,000. I figured with that I could live like a king. And I didn't know what I was going to do in Omaha. Maybe go to law school. I did not have a plan. I certainly didn't know I was going to start an investing partnership. But then a couple of months later, seven people wanted me to invest their money for them, and a partnership was the way to do it. And that began it all." Richard Branson, 54 Founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and the Virgin Group Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won't survive. "The person who had the biggest impact on me was Freddie Laker. He had been an aviator involved in the Berlin airlift and had made his money flying goods into Berlin at the end of World War II. He started a low-cost airline [Laker Airways, in 1966] that flew over the Atlantic. He was forced out of business by British Airways. I don't know whether I would have gone into the airline business without seeing what happened to him. He was a very charismatic figure. He was taking on the big guys. He would fly his own planes. He created a lot of excitement. "At the time, I was running a little record company; I was about 17 years old. The first time I met him was some years later. I was thinking about setting up my own airline. He gave me this advice: 'You'll never have the advertising power to outspend British Airways. You are going to have to get out there and use yourself. Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won't survive.' "The other advice he gave me: 'They [British Airways] will use every trick in the book [against you]. When that happens, three words matter. Only three words, and you've got to use them: Sue the bastards!' "I suspect if I hadn't sued British Airways [in 1992], Virgin Atlantic wouldn't have survived. And if I hadn't used myself to advertise the airline, then it also wouldn't have survived. "I named one of my airplanes after him: the Sir Freddie." Howard Schultz, 51 Chairman of Starbucks Recognize the skills and traits you don't possess, and hire people who have them. "Warren Bennis is one of the most respected scholars on leadership. And I was under a lucky star one day--I heard Warren speak at an event, and I was so impressed by what he said that I sought him out for advice. This was in the late 1980s, long before we were a public company. "Over the years, Warren has been a valued advisor and mentor, and he has become a trusted friend. It's hard to pinpoint just one piece of advice that he gave me, because his guidance was valuable on so many levels. Early on, I remember his words--he said this many times--that I needed to invest ahead of the growth curve and think beyond the status quo in terms of the skill base, the experience, and the quality of the people around me. He also told me that the art of becoming a great leader is in developing your ability to leave your own ego at the door and to recognize the skills and traits you don't possess and that you need to build a world-class organization. "This was harder than it sounds, because I wanted to build a different kind of company--a company that had a conscience. So it wasn't only that I needed people with skills and discipline and business acumen that complemented my own qualities, but most important, I needed to attract and retain people with like-minded values. What tied us together was not our respective disciplines, and it was not chasing an exit strategy driven by money. What tied us together was the dream of building a company that would achieve the fragile balance of profitability, shareholder value, a sense of benevolence, and a social conscience." A.G. Lafley, 57 Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble Have the courage to stick with a tough job. "My mom, a strong, proud Irish woman who died last year at 82, told me to have the courage of my convictions. She encouraged me to be independent and to be myself, and her advice was in my mind when I almost left P&G in my sixth year. It was 1982, and I decided to go to one of those boutique consulting firms in Connecticut. I even bought a house in Connecticut. I was getting out of P&G because I thought the bureaucracy was so stifling and the change was so slow. I was an associate--between a brand manager and a marketing director--and I was running a bunch of laundry brands. Steve Donovan was in charge of the soap business, and I handed him my resignation. "He tore it up. I said to him, 'I made a copy.' He said, 'Go home. Call me tonight.' Which was smart, not to negotiate with me right there. When I called him that night, he said, 'Don't come into the office for the next week. Come and see me every night.' So every night, I went to his home, and we'd have a beer or two. He kept working me over until he got to the root of my problem with P&G, which was the bureaucracy. He said, 'You're running away. You don't have the guts to stay and change it. You'll run from the next job too.' "That really ticked me off. I stayed. And from then on, every time something didn't work, I spoke up. I realized that you can make a difference if you speak up and set your mind to changing things." Sumner Redstone, 81 Chairman and CEO of Viacom Follow your own instincts, not those of people who see the world differently. "In my business career, I frequently turn to Ace Greenberg of Bear Stearns. I've known him for well over 15 years. In connection with all the transactions in which I have been involved, starting with the Paramount acquisition, Ace was one of my advisors. He has consistently advised me that you must follow your own instincts, rather than the views of naysayers or others who see the world in a different way. "I put that advice into practice with Viacom. I had a terrific battle--most people forget it--a really vicious battle with Terry Elks for Viacom. People said at the time that I overpaid. They said MTV was a fad. They said Nickelodeon would never make it. I knew so little at that time about our businesses. But I saw MTV not as just a music channel but as a cultural channel, a generational channel, and a channel that could travel around the world. As for Nickelodeon, my instincts as a parent and as a grandparent told me, What's more important to people than a kids' channel? My instincts also told me that children are pretty much the same all over the world. They have the same issues with their parents, with their teachers. Everyone said I overpaid. My investment was $500 million. And even at the low price of our stock today, my stock is worth many, many billions. And that is a great illustration of why Ace's advice has been so valuable." Meg Whitman, 48 CEO and President of eBay Be nice, do your best--and most important, keep it in perspective. "Several pieces of advice I've gotten in my life have really made a difference. "'Be nice to people.' This sounds like a platitude, but I'll never forget my father telling me that. I was 10, and I had been mean to someone. He said, 'There is no point in being mean to anyone at any time. You never know who you're going to meet later in life. And by the way, you don't change anything by being mean. Usually you don't get anywhere.' "Remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don't let anyone say, 'You're not smart enough ... it's too hard ... it's a dumb idea ... no one has done that before ... girls don't do that.' My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry about what others were saying about my career direction. "'Always do the best job you can do at whatever you're assigned, even if you think it's boring.' Jerry Parkinson, an assistant advertising manager and my boss at P&G, told me this in 1979. Here I was fresh out of Harvard Business School, and I was assigned to determine how big the hole in the Ivory shampoo bottle should be: three-eighths of an inch or one-eighth of an inch. I did research, focus groups ... and I would come home at night wondering how I had gone from HBS to this. But later I realized that any job you're given is an opportunity to prove yourself. "'Don't be a credit hog. If you're constantly in the neighborhood of good things, good things will happen to you.' Tom Tierney, who was my boss at Bain in 1981 and is now on the eBay board, told me this. It's true--you get ahead by crediting other people. "Finally, in 1998, I was in New York watching the ticker as eBay went public. My husband is a neurosurgeon. I called into his operating room and told him the great news. And he said, 'That's nice. But Meg, remember that it's not brain surgery.'" Jack Welch, 69 Former chairman and CEO of General Electric Be yourself. "It was 1979 or 1980. I was on the board of GE for the first time. And I was in Seattle for one of those three-day director outings. I had just gone to my first or second board meeting, and at a party for the directors afterwards, Paul Austin, the former chairman of Coke, came up to me. He was a reserved, formal man. Anyway, he must have noticed my starched shirt and how quiet I was in the meeting. I was all prim and proper. He said to me, 'Jack, don't forget who you are and how you got here.' I gave him an embarrassed 'Thanks.' But I knew what he meant. I had always been myself except in this instance. I had never been quiet. He hit me in the nose with it, and it was startling. Next meeting, I think I spoke up a bit." Sallie Krawcheck, 40 CFO of Citigroup Don't listen to the naysayers. "When I was a kid I was 'that kid' --freckles, braces, and very unfortunate glasses. If I wasn't the last chosen for the team, I was the second to last. There are so many heartbreaking stories I remember, like the time I finally managed to kick the ball in kickball. I was running for first base all excited, and then my glasses fell off and I had to go back and get them. The teasing was really tough. I wasn't just crying in class; I was falling apart at school. My grades went from A's to C's. "One day when I was really down, my mom sat me on the sofa. She spoke to me as though she was speaking to another adult, telling me to stop paying attention to the girls who were teasing me. She told me that they were naysayers who would sit on the sidelines and criticize those who were out there trying. She said that the reason they were doing it was because they were jealous. Looking back, I know they weren't really jealous, but at the time, I believed my mom. My grades went back up, and I never let the naysayers bother me again." Vivek Paul, 46 President and CEO of Wipro Technologies Don't limit yourself by past expectations. "The best advice I ever got was from an elephant trainer in the jungle outside Bangalore. I was doing a hike through the jungle as a tourist. I saw these large elephants tethered to a small stake. I asked him, 'How can you keep such a large elephant tied to such a small stake?' He said, 'When the elephants are small, they try to pull out the stake, and they fail. When they grow large, they never try to pull out the stake again.' That parable reminds me that we have to go for what we think we're fully capable of, not limit ourselves by what we've been in the past. When I took over Wipro in 1999, we were the first to articulate that an Indian company could be in the global top ten [of technology services firms]. As of 2004, we were. "The second-best piece of advice was something I learned from Jack Welch on one of his trips to India. He was commenting that every time he lands in New York he imagines that he's just been appointed chairman and that this is his first day in the role, and the guy before him was a real dud. He said, 'Every time, I think, What would I do that was different than the guy before? What big changes would I make?' I took that seriously. You should always think, 'How do I regenerate myself?' I don't do it religiously every time I fly internationally. But over Christmas break time, I set aside a day to zero-base myself. I force myself to do it every single year. "But the person I rely on most in terms of advice is somebody in my Young President's Organization group: John Donahoe [former managing partner at Bain & Co., now president of the eBay business unit]. John has been a life coach for me, helping me sort out the many conflicting business and personal priorities. He has given me great advice about raising high school kids. His suggestions are invaluable." Dick Parsons, 56 Chairman and CEO of Time Warner When you negotiate, leave a little something on the table. "The best business advice I ever received was from Steve Ross, who used to run this company. Steve was a friend. It was 1991 or 1992, and I was on the Time Warner board. I was going to be coming over to the company from the banking industry, and we were talking about how to get things done. Steve said to me, 'Dick, always remember this is a small business and a long life. You are going to see all these guys come around and around again, so how you treat them on each individual transaction is going to make an impression in the long haul. When you do deals, leave a little something to make everyone happy instead of trying to grab every nickel off the table.' "I've used that advice a thousand times since, literally. When I got to this company, for the first seven or eight years I was here I was the principal dealmaker, and I always took that advice with me into a negotiation. Most people in business do not follow that, though. Maybe there was a time when they did, but I don't think most people do now. I think people get hung up with their advisors, investment bankers, lawyers, and others, and every instance becomes a tug of war to see who can outduel the other to get the slightest little advantage on a transaction. But people don't keep in mind that the advisors are going to move on to the next deal, while you and I are going to have to see each other again." Andy Grove, 68 Chairman of Intel When "everyone knows" something to be true, nobody knows nothin'. "The best advice I ever got was from Alois Xavier Schmidt, my favorite professor at the City College of New York. A saying of his stayed with me and continued to influence me as the decades unfolded. He often said, 'When everybody knows that something is so, it means that nobody knows nothin'.' "Our little research group at Fairchild [Semiconductor] some 40 years ago started to study the characteristics of surface layers that were the heart of modern integrated circuits. At that time, 'everybody knew' that surface states, an artifice of quantum mechanics, would interfere with us building such chips. As it turns out, nobody knew nothin': We never found any surface states; what we found was trace contamination. When we identified and removed this, the road opened up to the chip industry as we know it today. "I remembered professor Schmidt's words again ten years ago, when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. 'Everybody knew' what treatment would be best for me. I thought that perhaps this was another case where common wisdom might be suspect and decided to do my own research, comparing all the known data about various treatment outcomes and coming up with less-than-conventional conclusions. Time and again, professor Schmidt's saying prompted me to think for myself, go back to first principles, and base knowledge on facts and analysis rather than on what 'everybody knew.'" Anne Mulcahy, 52 CEO of Xerox Remember the parable of the cow in the ditch. "One piece of advice I got has become a mantra at Xerox. It came from a very funny source. It was four years ago, and I was doing a customer breakfast in Dallas. We had invited a set of business leaders there. One was a plainspoken, self-made, streetwise guy [Albert C. Black Jr., president and CEO of On-Target Supplies & Logistics, a logistics management firm]. He came up to me and gave me this advice, and I have wound up using it constantly. 'When everything gets really complicated and you feel overwhelmed,' he told me, 'think about it this way: You gotta do three things. First, get the cow out of the ditch. Second, find out how the cow got into the ditch. Third, make sure you do whatever it takes so the cow doesn't go into the ditch again.' "Now, every time I talk about the turnaround at Xerox, I start with the cow in the ditch. The first thing is survival. The second thing is, figure out what happened. Learn from those lessons and make sure you've put a plan in place to recognize the signs, and never get there again. This has become sort of a catchphrase for the leadership team. It's just one of those incredibly simple commonsense stories to keep people grounded. I bet that businessman had no idea what kind of legs his story would have." Brian Grazer, 53 Academy Award--winning movie and TV producer, Imagine Entertainment All you really own are ideas and the confidence to write them down. "I've spent the last 18 years soliciting advice from people outside the movie business. Before that, I sought advice from people in the entertainment industry. So I've collected advice from close to 1,000 people over 30 years. Every month I create a new list of people to call. I call it my 'interesting people list.' I call, on average, five people a week--I'll personally call Eliot Spitzer or Isaac Asimov--and may end up meeting with one every two weeks. Ideally I like to meet these people in my office. And I ask them to tell me about their world. I meet these people to learn ultimately how to be a more efficient filmmaker. "My whole career has been built on one piece of advice that came from two people: [MCA founder] Jules Stein and [former MCA chairman] Lew Wasserman. In 1975 I was a law clerk at Warner Bros. I'd spent about a year trying to get a meeting with these two men. Finally they let me in to see them. They both said, separately, 'In order for you to be in the entertainment business, you have to have leverage. Since you have none--no money, no pedigree, no valuable relationships--you must have creative leverage. That exists only in your mind. So you need to write--put what's in your mind on paper. Then you'll own a piece of paper. That's leverage.' "With that advice, I wrote the story that became Splash, which was a fantasy that I had about meeting a mermaid. For years, I sent registered letters to myself--movie concepts and other ideas--so that I had my ideas officially on paper. I have about 1,000 letters in a vault. To this day, I feel that my real power is only that--ideas and the confidence to write them down." Rick Warren, 51 Minister, founder of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life Regularly sit at the feet of Peter Drucker. "In life you need mentors, and you need models. Models are the people you want to emulate. I recommend that your models be dead. I'm serious. You don't know how people are going to finish up. A lot of people start out like bottle rockets. They look great, but then the last half of their life is chaos. That can be quite devastating. "In my life, I've had at least three mentors: my father, Billy Graham, and Peter Drucker. They each taught me different things. Peter Drucker taught me about competence. I met him about 25 years ago. I was invited to a small seminar of CEOs, and Peter was there. As a young kid--I was about 25--I began to call him up, write him, go see him. I still go sit at the feet of Peter Drucker on a regular basis. I could give you 100 one-liners that Peter has honed into me. One of them is that there's a difference between effectiveness and efficiency. Efficiency is doing things right, and effectiveness is doing the right thing. A lot of churches--not just churches, but businesses and other organizations--are efficient, but they are not effective. "Another important thing that Peter has taught me is that results are always on the outside of your organization, not on the inside. Most people, when they're in a company, or in a church, or in an organization, they think, Oh, we're not doing well, we need to restructure. They make internal changes. But the truth is, all the growth is on the outside from people who are not using your product, not listening to your message, and not using your services." Jim Collins, 46 Author of the bestseller Good to Great The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities. "It was 1994. [My book] Built to Last had just come out. I mean, I was nobody. But a colleague knew Peter Drucker, and one day I got a message on my voicemail: 'This is Peter Drucker. I would be very pleased to meet you for a day in Claremont [Calif., where Drucker lives].' I call back, very nervous, and he says, 'Speak up! I'm not young anymore!' So I'm like, 'PETER DRUCKER, THIS IS JIM COLLINS!' And then he actually set aside a day. Think about the value of a day with Peter Drucker at age 85. The interesting thing is that he absolutely changed my life that day. In one day. "I was at a point where I could have started a consulting firm, Built to Last Consulting, or something. The first thing he asked was, 'Why are you driven to do this [start a consulting firm]?' I said I was driven by curiosity and impact. And he says, 'Ah, now you're getting in the realm of the existential. You must be crassly commercial.' "For a moment I had this image of going to Yoda for wisdom, and having him say, 'Have a Coke!' But he was either testing me, or it was a joke. I'm not sure which. "The huge thing he said to me was, 'Do you want to build ideas to last, or do you want to build an organization to last?' "I said I wanted to build ideas to last. "He said, 'Then you must not build an organization.' "His point was, the moment you have an organization, you have a beast to feed--this army of people. If you ever start developing ideas to feed the beast rather than having ideas that the beast feeds, your influence will go down, even if your commercial success goes up. Because there's a huge difference between teaching an idea and selling an idea. In the end, what are you in a battle for? You're battling to influence the thinking of powerful, discerning people. If you ever abuse that trust, you can lose them. So the moment that arrow changes direction, you're dead. "He said something else important: 'The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities.' Growth is easy. Saying no is hard. "I'll never forget asking, 'How can I ever pay you back?' and his saying, 'You've already paid me back. I've learned so much from our conversation.' That's when I realized where Drucker's greatness lay, that unlike a lot of people, he was not driven to say something. He was driven to learn something. "I feel proud that I followed the advice. It's a huge debt. I can never pay it back. The only thing I can do is give it to others. Drucker had said, 'Go out and make yourself useful.' That's how you pay Peter Drucker back. To do for other people what Peter Drucker did for me." Peter Drucker, 95 Business consultant Get good--or get out. "The most important instruction I received was when I was just 20 and three weeks into my first real job as a foreign affairs and business editor of the large-circulation afternoon paper in Frankfurt. I brought my first two editorials to the editor-in-chief, a German. He took one look at them and threw them back at me saying, 'They are no good at all.' After I'd been on the job for three weeks, he called me in and said, 'Drucker, if you don't improve radically in the next three weeks, you'd better look for another job.' "For me, that was the right treatment. He did not try to mentor me. The idea would have been considered absurd. The idea of mentoring was post-- World War II. In those days [before World War II] you were hired to do your job, and if you didn't do it, you were out. It was very simple." Ted Turner, 66 Founder of CNN and former vice chairman of Time Warner Start young. "The best advice I ever got came from my father. He told me to go to work at his billboard company when I was 12 years old. I worked 42 hours a week, just like an adult. I worked the first summer as a water boy, a runner, and an assistant to the construction crew. Over the next 12 summers, I worked in a different area every year. I learned sales and leasing. I could paint billboards. I can post bills. My father would explain how the business world works--how a good business depends on good labor relations, enthusiastic leadership, making a profit and reinvesting it. When I was 21 and went to work in the company full-time, I was ready. He passed away three years later, when I was 24, and I was able to take it over without a hitch. People couldn't believe how successful I was. This turned out to be the best business course I could have gotten." David Neeleman, 44 CEO of JetBlue Balance your work with your family. "I'm a God-fearing guy. And the best advice I ever got came from the head of our [Mormon] church, Gordon B. Hinkley. It was when we were going public in 2001, and I was caught up in the money, power, and glory. He cut me right down to size. In a conference where he was speaking, he reminded me, 'It's all about your family, your relationships. You've got to balance that with your work.' "So I set rules to be with my family and to keep everyone from encroaching on my time. I keep weekends as free as humanly possible. I try to make it home in time for nightly Scripture study and prayer as a family, and I try to make sure to take some good vacations when my kids are out of school. Those rules have had a positive effect on the business. I've seen so many people who have neglected their families. Now their kids are giving them trouble, so they're distracted. If you have a closer family, you can be a lot more focused when you're at work." Mickey Drexler, 60 CEO of J. Crew Bail out of a business that isn't growing. "It was 1980. I had been working at a department store [Bloomingdale's] for 12 years, and I knew I had to get out. There wasn't really a future there for me. I was offered the job of president at Ann Taylor [the women's-wear chain, a division of a now defunct corporation called Garfinckel Brooks Brothers Miller & Rhoads]. I thought about it--and when you are changing jobs, you think of all the reasons you should not do it. Then you get a little nervous. I said no. "That night I was having dinner with someone who was older and wiser, Arthur Levitt [then chairman of the American Stock Exchange], and I told him about the offer. He said, 'I would grab that position at Ann Taylor. Department stores are a nongrowth business.' "He was right. The next morning I told the corporation I was interested after all. I resigned the next week. That was by far the best advice I've gotten in my life. If I didn't have dinner with him that night, I don't think I would have called back and said I wanted the job. And I am not sure I'd be where I am today." Brian Roberts, 45 CEO of Comcast Let others take the credit. "My mentor is my father, Ralph, who turns 85 this month. When I wanted to start my Comcast career at corporate headquarters, my father wisely insisted that I learn the business from the field, even though that isn't the way he started. One of my first summer jobs in college was as a cable installer in New Kensington, Pa., near Pittsburgh. I struggled to climb the telephone poles, strung cable, and went into people's homes to wire them. I really learned the ropes from people at the system level. That experience drove home how important our technicians and customer service representatives are, and how dangerous some of those jobs are at times. That empathy and understanding was something Ralph knew couldn't be taught in corporate headquarters. "Ralph is a great listener. He doesn't feel the need to direct the conversation. Usually, when you come in, there's the problem and then there's the real problem; there's the agenda, and there's the hidden agenda. Just by listening and asking questions, he lets you get to the heart of the issue that you are chewing on. He's not looking to take credit for anybody's work. In fact, the single best piece of advice Ralph ever gave me was to let others take the credit. 'You're in a lucky position, and you know it,' he told me. 'You don't need all the glory. If you let others take the credit, it makes them feel like they're part of something special.' He's right. That's just the way Ralph is with me, and that's the way I try to be with others." Marc Benioff, 40 Founder and CEO of Salesforce.com Incorporate philanthropy into your corporate structure. "I was on a panel about business and philanthropy at a conference in 2001. Alan Hassenfeld, who at that time was CEO [now chairman] of Hasbro, took me aside afterward and told me I had a lot of good ideas, but I had to give them more structure. He said I should also incorporate the ideas of volunteerism [into Salesforce.com]. To meet somebody who had already fully integrated something like this into his company was critical. Hasbro has one of the richest philanthropic programs of any U.S. commercial organization. One of the many things they do is make toy donations to children's hospitals. It wasn't something Hasbro did by writing a check; it was part of their culture. "We ended up putting 1% of our equity into the nonprofit Salesforce.com Foundation, as well as 1% of our profits, which of course at the time were zero. But following Alan's advice, we also put in 1% of our employees' time. That's six days a year of company-paid time for volunteerism. Employees want to work for us because of these programs --they want to reach out and do volunteerism anyway, and we give them a structure. Also, we let nonprofits use our service for free. Alan's advice ended up being really important, because this is what sets Salesforce.com apart from being just another company." Hector Ruiz, 59 CEO of AMD Surround yourself with people of integrity, and get out of their way. "In my adult years as a manager, Bob Galvin, the former CEO of Motorola, was my most influential leader. He told me, 'A good leader knows he is doing a good job when he knows with certainty that he can say yes to anything his staff asks and feel totally confident that they will do the right thing.' If you surround yourself with the right people who have integrity, and they all understand well the goals and objectives of the organization, then the best thing to do as a leader is to get out of their way. I use this advice quite a bit at work. The right people will feel far more pressure to perform well when they are trusted. "I was given another piece of wisdom that has made a huge difference. When I was at Texas Instruments [from 1972 to 1977], my boss's boss, Al Stein, who was running the semiconductor business, one day asked me, 'What's the worst thing that could happen if you make a decision that doesn't work out?' I remember thinking, 'I guess I could get fired.' I realized that in the scheme of things, that seems so insignificant. It was almost like an epiphany." Donny Deutsch, 48 CEO of Deutsch Inc. and host of CNBC's The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch If you love something, the money will come.
Las cincuenta reglas de liderazgo de Tom Peters
1. Los líderes crean oportunidades
2. Los líderes dicen "no lo sé"
3 . Los líderes pocas veces son los que hacen mejor las cosas
4 . Los líderes son desarrolladores de talento
5 . Los líderes son visionarios
6 . Los líderes son "mecánicos del beneficio"
7 . Los líderes entienden que .. ¡todo depende!
8 . Los líderes prosperan en la paradoja
9 . A los líderes les gusta el jaleo
10. Los líderes hacen
11. Los líderes repiten
12. Los líderes saben cuándo deben esperar
13. Los líderes están cabreados
14. Los líderes son optimistas
15 . Los líderes transmiten un gran propósito
16 . Los líderes atienden a detalles logísticos
17 . Los líderes se meten al lado de la acción
18 . Los líderes honran a los rebeldes
19 . Los líderes se juntan con los fanáticos
20 . Los líderes promocionan demos insólitas
21 . Los líderes cometen errores
22. Los líderes cometen grandes errores
23. Los líderes crean culturas libres de culpa
24 . Los líderes rompen barreras
25. Los líderes olvidan
26 . Los líderes son fanáticos del talento
27 . Los líderes crían otros líderes
28. Los líderes generan confianza
29. Los líderes son especialistas en las relaciones
30. Los líderes son entusiastas de la creación de redes de relaciones
31. Los líderes conectan
32 . Los líderes catapultan sus organizaciones en la estratosfera del valor añadido
33. Los líderes crean mercados nuevos
34. A los líderes les gusta la tecnología
35. Los líderes son vendedores extraordinarios
36 . A los líderes les gusta la política
37 . Los líderes dominan sus organizaciones
38. Los líderes son grandes aprendices
39 . Los líderes son grandes actores
40 . Los líderes son grandes narradores de historias
41 . A los líderes les gusta liderar
42 . Los líderes se conocen a sí mismos
43. Los lider aceptan la responsabilidad
44. Los líderes se centran
45. Los líderes toman descansos
46. Los líderes expresan pasión
47 . Los líderes son la marca
48 . Los líderes saben cuándo dejarlo
49. Los líderes llevan unniños dentro
50. Los líderes hacen las cosas que importan
2. Los líderes dicen "
10. Los líderes hacen
11. Los líderes repiten
12. Los líderes saben cuándo deben esperar
13. Los líderes están cabreados
14. Los líderes son optimistas
22. Los líderes cometen grandes errores
23. Los líderes crean culturas libres de culpa
25. Los líderes olvidan
28. Los líderes generan confianza
29. Los líderes son especialistas en las relaciones
30. Los líderes son entusiastas de la creación de redes de relaciones
31. Los líderes conectan
33. Los líderes crean mercados nuevos
34. A los líderes les gusta la tecnología
35. Los líderes son vendedores extraordinarios
38. Los líderes son grandes aprendices
43. Los lider aceptan la responsabilidad
44. Los líderes se centran
45. Los líderes toman descansos
46. Los líderes expresan pasión
49. Los líderes llevan un
50. Los líderes hacen las cosas que importan
Data, Information and Knowledge
Speech by Rick Wartzman
...bedrock Drucker idea: what he called “management by objectives and self control.” Under this framework, each manager should be held strictly accountable for the results of his performance. But what he does to reach those results, he—and only he (or she)—should control (so long as the means don’t fall outside of what is ethical or considered fundamentally sound).
...When it comes to knowledge and information, Peter asserted, “the producers of the data”—the accountants and IT people—“can’t possibly know what data the users need” so that it becomes genuinely useful information, and not just more noise.
understand the various knowledges. What is each one about? What is it trying to do? What are its central concerns and theories? What major new insights has it produced?”
...Among their friends, whom Peter first met when he was eight years old, was Sigmund Freud...
...Peter saw himself not so much as a management expert but, rather, as what he called a “social ecologist”—a close observer of the way human beings are organized across all sectors: in business but also in government and in the nonprofit arena.
...he attended classes taught by Joseph Schumpeter, whose theories of “creative destruction” and entrepreneurship had a huge influence on him.
...Peter’s assignment was to come in and assess GM’s operations, top to bottom, from the factory floor to the office of the automaker’s legendary chairman, Alfred Sloan.
...He predicted the Hitler-Stalin pact in the late ’30s. He predicted the fall of the Soviet Union long before most foreign policy experts did.Actually, “I don’t predict,” he said. “I just look out the window and see what’s visible but not yet seen.”
...What is needed to remedy this, according to Peter, is not, as a rule, “more data, more
technology, more speed.” What is needed is to step back and better determine what kind of information is required to perform the tasks at hand. What is needed are changes in
concepts—changes, Peter wrote, that will prove “at least as important as the changes in
technology.”...bedrock Drucker idea: what he called “management by objectives and self control.” Under this framework, each manager should be held strictly accountable for the results of his performance. But what he does to reach those results, he—and only he (or she)—should control (so long as the means don’t fall outside of what is ethical or considered fundamentally sound).
...When it comes to knowledge and information, Peter asserted, “the producers of the data”—the accountants and IT people—“can’t possibly know what data the users need” so that it becomes genuinely useful information, and not just more noise.
“Only individual knowledge workers . . . can convert data into information. And only
individual knowledge workers . . . can decide how to organize their information so that it
becomes their key to effective action.” Yet all too often, these individuals are not brought in when decisions are made on what information will be produced or how it will be arrayed.
...The secret to effectiveness is to link knowledge from one of these areas to others. “Only
connect,” he liked to quote the great novelist E.M. Forster as saying.
To be clear: Peter wasn’t calling for a new generation of polymaths—“those who are at
home in many knowledges”; as a matter of fact, he forecast, “we will probably become even more specialized. But what we do need—and what will define the educated person in the knowledge society—is the ability to
...Peter’s writing often label him a “business guru”—a tag that he detested and that, frankly, fails to do him justice in terms of the breadth of his thinking.
Las 10 claves del talento según Tom Peters
Tom Peters es lo que se conoce como un gurú, en todo lo amplio de esta palabra. Es uno de los más influyentes líderes en temas como innovación, creatividad, talento y “nueva” visión corporativa. En su libro “Re-imagina: Talento”, este maestro del management reseña lo que él llama “el kit de supervivencia de la marca personal”. He aquí los 10 atributos claves según el gurú.
1. PIENSA COMO EMPRENDEDOR
Sé el jefe de tu propio espectáculo. Reinventa todas las actuaciones para asegurarte de que realmente realcen tu marca personal. Debes actualizar tu “historial”, por lo menos, una vez al año. Imagínate como el CEO de “YO S.A.”. Piensa que hoy sólo estás “prestado” a tu actual trabajo.
2. SÉ SIEMPRE UN “REMATADOR”
Necesitas saber los pormenores de hacer dinero, sea en tu actual trabajo o como el CEO de “YO S.A.”. Conoce los números y mantén la vista pegada en el balance. Aquí lo clave es que tu historial, en la práctica, consiste un 98% en “cerrar el trato”. Como sabe un auténtico hombre de negocios, la vida es vender. “El buen intento” de cerrar una operación, en este caso, no es suficiente.
3. UTILIZA EL MARKETING
Esto no significa poner un anuncio en una revista de alta circulación. El mundo de la marca personal está lejos del viejo mundo den el que permaneciste durante 20 años... en el departamento de crédito y cobranza. Ahora saltarás de proyecto en proyecto, trabajando con desconocidos. Tendrás que venderte de nuevo en cada actuación. Vende tu punto de vista. Vende lo que vales. Vende tu “YO S.A.”.
4. PERSIGUE LA MAESTRÍA
Ya no es suficiente ser bueno en lo que haces y saber las reglas del marketing y el networking. Necesitas ser condenadamente especial en algo de valor económico específico. En una palabra: necesitas exhibir una ¡verdadera maestría! Esto es mucho más que tener una capacitación distinta. Debes trabajar obsesivamente en tu “arte”, como un artista o atleta de elite.
5. FOMENTA LA AMBIGÜEDAD
Aunque la maestría es esencial, ni siquiera eso será suficiente en un mundo donde las auténticas categorías de pensamiento y de acción están errando y cayendo constantemente. Tan importante como la capacidad de hacer una cosa extremadamente bien, es la capacidad de hacer una docena de cosas a la vez. Todo está a nuestra disposición. Nadie sabe a qué demonios se dedica. Debes ser capaz no sólo de “ocuparte de ello”, sino de fomentar realmente la ambigüedad.
6. RÍETE DE LAS GRANDES TONTERAS
Cultiva el sentido del humor. Esto no significa saber contar chistes, sino tener la capacidad de reírte del fabuloso prototipo que se auto-destruye... y ocuparte inmediatamente de la próxima interpretación. En la actual y turbulenta era, tendremos que equivocarnos mucho más frecuente y embarazosamente que antes. Triunfarán las empresas que toleran o incluso celebran el fracaso.
7. CONFÍA EN LA TECNOLOGÍA
No necesitas ser un experto en un paquete de software particular o saber programar. Pero debes apreciar instintivamente el hecho inequívoco de que Internet y todo lo que venga después pondrá boca abajo la empresa en un período de tiempo extraordinariamente corto.
8. PÓSTRATE ANTE EL JOVEN
Muchos tendremos “apetito por la tecnología”... pero, ¿llegaremos a “captarla” verdaderamente? ¡Ni pensarlo! Por eso tenemos que rodearnos de jóvenes. Cada equipo de proyecto debe incluir al menos un joven: alguien que no necesite “reinventarse” porque nació, se crió y se licenció genéticamente en la nueva economía.
9. ALIMENTA TU RED
La lealtad no está muerta y es más importante que nunca. Pero el eje de la lealtad ha girado 90 grados. La “lealtad antigua” era una lealtad vertical: a una jerarquía. Te agarrabas un escalón tras otro mientras escalabas una ladera vertical prescrita.
La “nueva lealtad” es horizontal: a una especialidad o un sector. Lo que importa es lo que piensan de tu trabajo tus compañeros. Debes formar y gestionar deliberadamente una red cada vez mayor de contactos profesionales en tu campo.
10. CULTIVA LA PASIÓN POR LA RENOVACIÓN
Hoy, un enfoque pasivo del perfeccionamiento profesional te dejará fuera de carrera. Revolucionar tu cartera de capacitaciones... al menos cada media docena de años, si no más a menudo, es ahora una necesidad de supervivencia mínima. Pregunta: ¿tienes un plan formal de renovación de la inversión? Y, si tienes uno, ¿es tan osado como demandan estos tiempos osados?
1. PIENSA COMO EMPRENDEDOR
Sé el jefe de tu propio espectáculo. Reinventa todas las actuaciones para asegurarte de que realmente realcen tu marca personal. Debes actualizar tu “historial”, por lo menos, una vez al año. Imagínate como el CEO de “YO S.A.”. Piensa que hoy sólo estás “prestado” a tu actual trabajo.
2. SÉ SIEMPRE UN “REMATADOR”
Necesitas saber los pormenores de hacer dinero, sea en tu actual trabajo o como el CEO de “YO S.A.”. Conoce los números y mantén la vista pegada en el balance. Aquí lo clave es que tu historial, en la práctica, consiste un 98% en “cerrar el trato”. Como sabe un auténtico hombre de negocios, la vida es vender. “El buen intento” de cerrar una operación, en este caso, no es suficiente.
3. UTILIZA EL MARKETING
Esto no significa poner un anuncio en una revista de alta circulación. El mundo de la marca personal está lejos del viejo mundo den el que permaneciste durante 20 años... en el departamento de crédito y cobranza. Ahora saltarás de proyecto en proyecto, trabajando con desconocidos. Tendrás que venderte de nuevo en cada actuación. Vende tu punto de vista. Vende lo que vales. Vende tu “YO S.A.”.
4. PERSIGUE LA MAESTRÍA
Ya no es suficiente ser bueno en lo que haces y saber las reglas del marketing y el networking. Necesitas ser condenadamente especial en algo de valor económico específico. En una palabra: necesitas exhibir una ¡verdadera maestría! Esto es mucho más que tener una capacitación distinta. Debes trabajar obsesivamente en tu “arte”, como un artista o atleta de elite.
5. FOMENTA LA AMBIGÜEDAD
Aunque la maestría es esencial, ni siquiera eso será suficiente en un mundo donde las auténticas categorías de pensamiento y de acción están errando y cayendo constantemente. Tan importante como la capacidad de hacer una cosa extremadamente bien, es la capacidad de hacer una docena de cosas a la vez. Todo está a nuestra disposición. Nadie sabe a qué demonios se dedica. Debes ser capaz no sólo de “ocuparte de ello”, sino de fomentar realmente la ambigüedad.
6. RÍETE DE LAS GRANDES TONTERAS
Cultiva el sentido del humor. Esto no significa saber contar chistes, sino tener la capacidad de reírte del fabuloso prototipo que se auto-destruye... y ocuparte inmediatamente de la próxima interpretación. En la actual y turbulenta era, tendremos que equivocarnos mucho más frecuente y embarazosamente que antes. Triunfarán las empresas que toleran o incluso celebran el fracaso.
7. CONFÍA EN LA TECNOLOGÍA
No necesitas ser un experto en un paquete de software particular o saber programar. Pero debes apreciar instintivamente el hecho inequívoco de que Internet y todo lo que venga después pondrá boca abajo la empresa en un período de tiempo extraordinariamente corto.
8. PÓSTRATE ANTE EL JOVEN
Muchos tendremos “apetito por la tecnología”... pero, ¿llegaremos a “captarla” verdaderamente? ¡Ni pensarlo! Por eso tenemos que rodearnos de jóvenes. Cada equipo de proyecto debe incluir al menos un joven: alguien que no necesite “reinventarse” porque nació, se crió y se licenció genéticamente en la nueva economía.
9. ALIMENTA TU RED
La lealtad no está muerta y es más importante que nunca. Pero el eje de la lealtad ha girado 90 grados. La “lealtad antigua” era una lealtad vertical: a una jerarquía. Te agarrabas un escalón tras otro mientras escalabas una ladera vertical prescrita.
La “nueva lealtad” es horizontal: a una especialidad o un sector. Lo que importa es lo que piensan de tu trabajo tus compañeros. Debes formar y gestionar deliberadamente una red cada vez mayor de contactos profesionales en tu campo.
10. CULTIVA LA PASIÓN POR LA RENOVACIÓN
Hoy, un enfoque pasivo del perfeccionamiento profesional te dejará fuera de carrera. Revolucionar tu cartera de capacitaciones... al menos cada media docena de años, si no más a menudo, es ahora una necesidad de supervivencia mínima. Pregunta: ¿tienes un plan formal de renovación de la inversión? Y, si tienes uno, ¿es tan osado como demandan estos tiempos osados?
¿Qué nos enseño el padre del Management: Peter Drucker ?
He taught generations of managers the importance of picking the best people, of focusing on opportunities and not problems , of getting on the same side of the desk as your customer, of the need to understand your competitive advantages, and to continue to refine them. He believed that talented people were the essential ingredient of every successful enterprise. Newsweek
Well before his death, before the almost obligatory accolades poured in, Drucker had already become a legend, of course. He was the guru's guru, a sage, kibitzer, doyen, and gadfly of business, all in one. He had moved fluidly among his various roles as journalist, professor, historian, economics commentator, and raconteur. Over his 95 prolific years, he had been a true Renaissance man, a teacher of religion, philosophy, political science, and Asian art, even a novelist. But his most important contribution, clearly, was in business. What John Maynard Keynes is to economics or W. Edwards Deming to quality, Drucker is to management.
Businessweek
His generosity of sprit explains much of Drucker's immense influence. I reflected back on his work, The Effective Executive, and his admonition to replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"
Jim Collins
“He was the creator and inventor of modern management,”
Tom Peters
When he wrote that glowing review of The End of Economic Man back in 1939, Churchill said of Peter: He “is one of those writers to whom almost anything can be forgiven because he not only has a mind of his own, but has the gift of starting other minds along a stimulating line of thought.”
Well before his death, before the almost obligatory accolades poured in, Drucker had already become a legend, of course. He was the guru's guru, a sage, kibitzer, doyen, and gadfly of business, all in one. He had moved fluidly among his various roles as journalist, professor, historian, economics commentator, and raconteur. Over his 95 prolific years, he had been a true Renaissance man, a teacher of religion, philosophy, political science, and Asian art, even a novelist. But his most important contribution, clearly, was in business. What John Maynard Keynes is to economics or W. Edwards Deming to quality, Drucker is to management.
Businessweek
His generosity of sprit explains much of Drucker's immense influence. I reflected back on his work, The Effective Executive, and his admonition to replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"
Jim Collins
“He was the creator and inventor of modern management,”
Tom Peters
When he wrote that glowing review of The End of Economic Man back in 1939, Churchill said of Peter: He “is one of those writers to whom almost anything can be forgiven because he not only has a mind of his own, but has the gift of starting other minds along a stimulating line of thought.”
¿Quien era Peter Drucker?
Prahalad called Drucker "a gift to the world.
"Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life and founding pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., talked about his mentor’s breadth of influence.
“I’m often embarrassed at how often I quote Peter Drucker,” Warren said. “He had a way of saying things simply. Peter was far more than the founder of modern management, far more than a brilliant man, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. He was a great soul. If I summed up Peter’s life in three words, it would be integrity, humility and generosity…. Peter was the only truly Renaissance man I’ve ever known. He had a way of looking at the world in a systems view that said it all matters.”
His generosity of sprit explains much of Drucker's immense influence. I reflected back on his work, The Effective Executive, and his admonition to replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"
Jim Collins
"Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life and founding pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., talked about his mentor’s breadth of influence.
“I’m often embarrassed at how often I quote Peter Drucker,” Warren said. “He had a way of saying things simply. Peter was far more than the founder of modern management, far more than a brilliant man, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. He was a great soul. If I summed up Peter’s life in three words, it would be integrity, humility and generosity…. Peter was the only truly Renaissance man I’ve ever known. He had a way of looking at the world in a systems view that said it all matters.”
His generosity of sprit explains much of Drucker's immense influence. I reflected back on his work, The Effective Executive, and his admonition to replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"
Jim Collins
Peter Drucker: Propósito y Misión de la Empresa
Solo una definición clara de la misión y el propósito de la empresa permite tener objetivos claros y realistas. Es el fundamento de las prioridades, las estrategias, los planes y las asignaciones de trabajo. La estructura se subordina a la estrategia. Esta determina cuales son las actividades esenciales de determinada empresa y la estrategia impone saber “qué es nuestra empresa y qué debería ser”.
La teoría de la empresa debe circular por toda la organización y todas las decisiones de los gerentes intermedios y el resto del personal deben ser tomadas teniendo en cuenta dicha teoría.
La respuesta a qué es la empresa aunque a primera vista parece obvia, puede generar discrepancias en cuanto a la respuesta por diferentes personas. Esta falta de coherencia tiende a que la gente quiera evitar la formulación para evitar conflictos.
Es necesario por lo tanto un método para fijar lo que es la empresa, pero teniendo en cuenta que la empresa se define por el deseo que el cliente satisface cuando compra un producto o un servicio. Por eso cualquier tentativa seria de determinar que es la empresa debe partir del cliente, sus realidades, valores, comportamiento, etc; pero ¿Quién es el cliente?.
Muchas empresas fracasan al no saber quién es realmente su cliente, y enfocar sus energías erróneamente. Una vez definido quién es nuestro cliente debemos preguntarnos que es valioso para él. Pero debe averiguarse lo que es realmente valioso para el cliente, y no lo que la empresa cree que es valioso para él. Este es otro gran error cometido por muchas empresas, el realizar un enfoque desde adentro en lugar de realizar un enfoque exterior en primer lugar.
Debe además nuestra empresa preguntarse cual es su carácter o su fin , pero desde su nacimiento, y no como una medida reactiva cuando surgen problemas. La administración necesita anticipar los cambios de la estructura del mercado que resultan de las modificaciones de la economía, la moda o el gusto, y de las iniciativas de la competencia; y reaccionar frente a estos cambios guiados por su fin.
Finalmente, la administración debe preguntarse que deseos del consumidor no se satisfacen adecuadamente con los servicios o productos que hoy se ofrecen; y acondicionar nuestros productos a sus requerimientos. También de esta manera encontraremos nichos de mercados aún no explotados.
Un análisis que también debemos realizar es el de comparar lo que es nuestra empresa con lo que debería ser y ajustar las brechas existentes para adecuarnos a lo que deseamos que sea. Y complementariamente con el anterior cambio, es necesario hacer un planeamiento del abandono de las antiguas cosas que no realizan una contribución a la satisfacción del cliente.
Consejos para Innovar
- ANALIZAR LAS OPORTUNIDADES: busca las fuentes, todas, de oportunidades para innovar. Algunas de ellas son: el mercado, los procesos, los cambios demográficos y los nuevos conocimientos. Esta búsqueda debe ser organizada Y estar cimentada sobre una base sistemática y regular.
- SALIR A OBSERVAR: no basta con concebir la idea y hacer el análisis financiero. Se debe salir a la calle, escuchar a las personas, preguntarles, observarlas, ahí se encuentran necesidades que permitirán ser cubiertas. "¿Cómo debe ser la innovación para que la gente desee usarla y
vea en ella su oportunidad?" - SIMPLIFICAR Y ENFOCAR: para que una innovación funcione debe ser simple y centrada. El pulso de la sencillez se da cuando la conocen y dicen "Es obvio ¿por qué no se me ocurrió a mi?". Además debe estar enfocada en una cosa, solucionar un problema, cubrir una necesidad. Pocas son las innovaciones diversificadas.
- EMPEZAR POR PEQUEÑO: Una innovación efectiva debe comenzar siendo pequeña. Es mucho más manejable, más flexible, más
fácil de corregir, además másbarata en términos de inversión de capital y de recursos humanos. Se puede empezar en grande? La respuesta es sí, pero es más sencillo corregir errores cuando se provee a seistiendas locales que cuando lo hacen a 23 supermercados en grandes ciudades. - BUSCAR LIDERAZGO: las innovaciones exitosas apuntan a ser líderes en su campo. No importa que el liderazgo se de en un pequeño segmento de mercado, lo que
vale es que se apunte a alcanzarlo, de otra manera sólo se crean las oportunidades para la competencia
¿Si volviera a reescribir el libro Innovation and Entrepreneurship , qué añadiría?
Hace algunos años usted dejó escrito las claves de la innovación. ¿Si volviera a reescribir el libro, qué añadiría?
Hoy necesitas de la organización que sea capaz de liderar el cambio, no la innovación. Hace cinco años se dio a luz una ingente cantidad de literatura sobre la creatividad, elemento esencial de la innovación. Sin embargo la creatividad es el resultado de un duro y sistemático trabajo. Hace cincuenta años todas las empresas querían ser innovadoras, pero a menos que fueras una empresa capaz de liderar los cambios bruscos del mercado, era imposible tener una mentalidad innovadora. La innovación exige un acercamiento sistemático, porque es muy impredecible. Observa: ¿Tienes una cremallera en los pantalones, verdad?
Sí, claro
¿No tiene botones?
No tiene botones
Si consideramos la invención de la cremallera, te darás cuenta de que es algo totalmente irracional. La cremallera podría no haber tenido éxito en la industria de la ropa, ya que fue inventada para sellar fardos de contenido pesado, como el grano, en los puertos. A nadie se le pasó por la cabeza la ropa. Sin embargo el mercado lo presentó de tal manera que se convirtió en algo diferente a lo que ideó su inventor. Y esto a ocurrido miles y miles de veces.
Te pondré otro ejemplo. Después de las enormes bajas de las Guerras Napoleónicas, fue necesario desarrollar una anestesia que pudiera ser usada en los campos de batalla. Una de las primeras cosas que surgieron fue la cocaína. Se suponía que no era adictiva, y todo el mundo comenzó a utilizarla incluso Sigmun Freud-, pero resultó que sí lo era, con lo que dejaron de administrarla. Alrededor de 1905, los alemanes inventaron la primera anestesia no adictiva, llamada novocaína. El inventor gastó los últimos veinte años de su vida intentando conseguir que todo el mundo la usara. Pero, ¿dónde y por quién fue usada? Por los estudiantes aspirantes a dentistas. El inventor no creyó que su noble invención pudiera usarse para algo tan mundano como la limpieza bucal. Así es cómo el mercado no siempre resulta ser lo que el inventor desea.
No más del 10 ó 15 por ciento de las innovaciones alcanzan los deseos de sus creadores. Otro 15, 20 ó 25 por ciento no alcanzan el rango de desastres, pero no se pueden considerar exitazos. El sesenta por ciento restante, en el mejor de los casos, son pies de página en los libros de historia. Y no nos debemos de olvidar del factor tiempo. Una invención podría no tener éxito, pero diez años más tarde alguien hace lo mismo con algunos cambios imperceptibles y tiene un rotundo éxito.
Peter Drucker: ¿Cuál es Nuestro Negocio y cuál Debería Ser?
Nada puede parecer más simple o más obvio que contestar cuál es el negocio de una compañía. Una fábrica de acero hace acero, un ferrocarril hace corrertrenes para transportar carga y pasajeros, una compañía de seguros cubre riesgos de incendio. En realidad, la pregunta parece tan simple que raramente se formula; la respuesta tan obvia, que raramente se da.
“¿Cuál es nuestro negocio?” es casi siempre una pregunta difícil que sólo se puede contestar luego de pensar y estudiar mucho.
Una de las respuestas más antiguas y más exitosas la dio Theodore N. Vail con respecto a la American Telephone and Telegraph hace casi cincuenta años: “Nuestro negocio es el servicio”. Esto suena obvio una vez que se ha dicho. Pero primero había que comprender que un sistema telefónico, siendo un monopolio natural, era susceptible de ser racionalizado, que en realidad un servicio telefónico de propiedad privada en un país desarrollado e industrializado era excepcional y necesitaba el apoyo de la comunidad para sobrevivir. En segundo término, había que comprender que el apoyo de la comunidad no podía obtenerse mediante campañas de propaganda o atacando a los críticos como “antinorteamericanos” o “socializantes”.
Sólo se podía obtener creando la satisfacción del cliente. Comprender esto significaba introducir innovaciones radicales en la política comercial. Significaba una constante adoctrinación de todos los empleados en la dedicación al servicio y a las relaciones públicas que dieran énfasis al servicio. Significaba acentuar la investigación y la superioridad técnica y una política financiera que presuponía que la compañía había de dar servicio doquiera existiese demanda y que era tarea de la gerencia encontrar el capital necesario y ganar con él. Retrospectivamente todas estas cosas son obvias y a pesar de todo, llevó bastante más de una década estudiarlas. ¿Hubiéramos pasado el período del New Deal sin un intento serio de nacionalizar los teléfonos si no fuera por el cuidadoso análisis que hizo de su negocio la Compañía de Teléfonos alrededor de 1905?
Lo que nuestro negocio es no lo determina el productor sino el consumidor.
No lo define el nombre de la compañía, los estatutos o el artículo bajo los cuales se constituye la sociedad, sino la necesidad que el consumidor satisface cuando compra un producto o un servicio. La pregunta solamente se puede contestar, por lo tanto, mirando el negocio desde afuera, desde el punto de vista del consumidor y del mercado. Lo que el consumidor ve, piensa, cree y necesita en un momento dado cualquiera debe ser tenido en cuenta tan seriamente como los informes de los vendedores, las pruebas realizadas por los ingenieros o las cifras del contador – lo que para pocas gerencias es fácil de realizar. Y la gerencia debe hacer un esfuerzo consciente para obtener respuestas honestas del consumidor mismo antes de intentar leer sus pensamientos.
Es por lo tanto responsabilidad primordial de la gerencia en su nivel superior preguntar “¿Cuál es nuestro negocio?” y asegurarse de que la pregunta se estudie minuciosamente y se conteste en forma correcta. En realidad, una forma segura de saber si un trabajo en particular es para la gerencia superior o no, es preguntar si le concierne esa respuesta y además si tiene responsabilidad respecto de ella.
El hecho de que la pregunta sea formulada tan rara vez –por lo menos en forma clara y aguda-y que tan rara vez se le dedique el estudio y el pensamiento adecuado, es quizás la causa aislada más importante de fracaso comercial. Recíprocamente, doquiera encontremos un negocio notablemente exitoso casi siempre encontraremos, como en el caso de la Compañía de Teléfonos, o en el de Sears, que su éxito se basa considerablemente en el hecho de formular la pregunta claramente y deliberadamente y en contestarla minuciosamente y en forma meditada.
“¿Cuál es nuestro negocio?” Tiene máxima importancia en los negocios prósperos.
El ejemplo de Sears también indica que esta pregunta no debe formularse solamente al nacer un negocio o cuando la compañía tiene dificultades. Por el contrario: formular la pregunta y estudiarla a fondo es más necesario cuando el negocio es próspero. Porque dejar de hacerlo entonces puede tener un resultado de rápida declinación.
Cuando nace un negocio, muchas veces no se puede formular la pregunta en forma que tenga significado. El hombre que prepara un nuevo líquido para limpiar y lo vende de puerta en puerta no necesita saber más que su mezcla saca las manchas mejor de las alfombras y los tapizados. Pero cuando el producto tiene salida, cuando tiene que emplear personas para que lo preparen y lo vendan, cuando tiene que decidir si seguirá vendiéndolo, directamente o por intermedio de minoristas, tiendas, supermercados o ferreterías; y qué productos adicionales necesita para tener una “línea” completa tiene que formular y contestar la pregunta: “¿Cuál es mi negocio?”. Si no la contesta cuando tiene éxito, aún con el mejor de los productos volverá pronto a tener que vender de puerta en puerta.
Es una pregunta tan importante en un negocio, que parece tener poco control sobre lo que produce físicamente –una mina de cobre, por ejemplo o una fábrica de acero- como en un negocio tal como una tienda minorista, o una compañía de seguros, que parece tener mayor control. Con toda seguridad, una mina de cobre produce cobre. Si no hay demanda de cobre, tendrá que cerrar. Pero el hecho de que haya demanda de cobre depende de todos modos sustancialmente de la acción de la gerencia con respecto a crear nuevos mercados, encontrar nuevos usos y en descubrir, con mucha anticipación, desarrollos del mercado o tecnológicos que pudieran crear oportunidades para el cobre o amenazar las existentes.
Las industrias determinadas por el producto o por el procedimiento –la fabricación de acero, la industria del petróleo, la industria química, la minería o los ferrocarriles- difieren del resto solamente en que están en forma inevitable en muchos negocios en vez de estar en uno sólo. Esto significa que tienen una tarea mucho más difícil para decidir cuál de las necesidades que sus clientes satisfacen con sus productos es más importante o más promisoria.
Lo que dejar de hacerlo puede significar está demostrado por el destino de la industria del carbón de antracita en los Estados Unidos y por la declinación continua de la posición competitiva de los ferrocarriles en el negocio de carga y pasajeros. Ninguna de estas industrias tenía que haber caído de la elevada posición que ocupaba hace menos de una generación si las gerencias hubieran pensado en qué negocio estaban, en lugar de considerar que la pregunta es tan obvia que se contesta sola.
¿Quién es el cliente?
El primer paso para saber cuál es nuestro negocio, es preguntar ¿Quién es el cliente y el cliente potencial? ¿Dónde está? ¿Cómo compra? ¿Cómo se puede llegar hasta él?
Una de las compañías que había nacido durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial decidió, después de la guerra, dedicarse a la producción de cajas para fusibles y para conmutadores de uso residencial. Inmediatamente tuvo que decidir si su cliente habría de ser el contratista de electricidad y el constructor, o el propietario que hace su instalación y sus propias reparaciones. Para llegar al primero se requería un importante esfuerzo a fin de crear una organización de distribución, en tanto que al propietario se lo podía alcanzar mediante los catálogos para ventas por correo y las tiendas minoristas de organización de distribución existentes, tales como Sears, Roebuck y Montgomery Ward.
Habiendo decidido a favor del contratista de electricidad por constituir un mercado mayor y más estable (aunque más difícil y mucho más competitivo) la compañía tenía que decidir dónde estaba el cliente. Esta pregunta, al parecer inocente, implicaba un análisis de población y tendencias del mercado. En realidad, guiarse por experiencias anteriores, hubiera representado el desastre para la compañía. La hubiera llevado a buscar su cliente en las grandes ciudades mientras que el desarrollo de la vivienda de post-guerra fue primordialmente suburbano. El motivo principal del éxito que obtuvo la compañía fue el hecho de haber previsto esto y haber montado una organización de comercialización dedicada a los suburbios, algo sin precedentes en la industria.
La pregunta ¿Cómo compra el cliente? Era bastante fácil de contestar en este caso; el contratista de electricidad compra a los mayoristas de especialidades. Pero el problema de cómo llegar hasta él era difícil, y aún hoy, después de casi diez años de operación, la compañía continúa indecisa y sigue probando distintos métodos, tales como vendedores o agentes del fabricante. Ha probado vender directamente al contratista por correo o desde depósitos centrales, de ventas propios. Ha probado algo que nunca se intentó antes en la industria: anunciar sus productos directamente al público, en forma de desarrollar la demanda por parte del consumidor. Estos experimentos han sido lo bastante exitosos como para dar un rodeo a la organización tradicional, mayoristas de la industria y sus altos gastos de distribución, barrerá el mercado.
La pregunta siguiente es: ¿Qué compra el cliente?. La gente de Cadillac dice que ellos fabrican automóviles y que su negocio es la División Cadillac de la General Motors. Pero, la persona que gasta cuatro mil dólares en un Cadillac, ¿compra un medio de transporte o compra primordialmente prestigio?.
En otras palabras, ¿Compite el Cadillac con el Chevrolet o el Ford o –para elegir un ejemplo extremo-con los diamantes y los tapados de visón?.
Los mejores ejemplos, tanto de las respuestas correctas como de las incorrectas a estas preguntas, se encuentran en la ascensión y la caída de la Compañía de Automóviles Packard, que hace sólo doce años era el competidor más formidable de Cadillac. La Packard sola entre los productos independientes de automóviles de alto precio, sobrevivió los primeros años de la depresión. Prosperó porque había analizado inteligentemente lo que compra el cliente y había ofrecido la respuesta correcta para una época de depresión: un coche de alto precio, pero planeado minuciosamente, sólido y sin ostentación, que se vendía y se anunciaba como un símbolo de solvencia y seguridad conservadoras en un mundo insolvente e inseguro. Pero alrededor de 1935 esta ya no era lo adecuado.
Desde entonces la Packard ha encontrado difícil establecer cuál es su mercado. Aunque tiene coche de alto precio, ellos no simbolizan que el cliente ha llegado, quizás porque su precio no es lo suficientemente alto. Aunque sacó coches de precio medio, no tuvo éxito en hacer que simbolizaran el valor monetario y la sólida posición alcanzada por el profesional triunfador. Ni siquiera la nueva gerencia que se hizo cargo recientemente pudo encontrar la respuesta correcta. Como consecuencia, en medio del auge general de las ventas, la Packard tuvo que asociarse con otra compañía para evitar el desastre.
Formular la pregunta “¿Qué compra el cliente?” es suficiente para demostrar lo inadecuados que son los conceptos de mercado y competencia en los cuales las gerencias basan habitualmente su acción.
El fabricante de cocinas a gas solía considerarse en competencia solamente con los demás fabricantes de cocinas a gas. Pero la dueña de casa, su cliente, no compra cocinas; compra lo mejor para cocinar los alimentos. Y esto puede ser una cocina eléctrica, a gas (ya sea elaborado, natural o envasado), a carbón, a leña, o cualquier combinación de ellas. Lo único que no admite –por lo menos en los Estados Unidos de hoy-es la caldera sobre el fuego abierto. Mañana ella podrá considerar una cocina que utilice ondas supersónicas o calor infrarrojo (o una en la cual corra agua sobre sustancias químicas que estén por descubrirse). Y puesto que ella, al ser el cliente, decide lo que el fabricante produce –puesto que sólo ella, que es el cliente, puede crear una mercadería económica-, el fabricante de cocinas a gas tiene que considerar que su negocio es proveer una forma de cocinar fácil, que su mercado es el de elementos para cocinar y competencia todos los proveedores de forma aceptables de cocinar.
Otro ejemplo: Hace veinticinco años, más o menos un pequeño fabricante de alimentos envasados de marca analizó su negocio, planteando la pregunta de qué compra realmente su cliente –el almacenero minorista- al comprar su producto.
La conclusión, y llevó cinco años de duro trabajo llegar a ella, fue que el almacenero minorista buscaba en el fabricante servicios gerenciales, especialmente en cuanto a consejos sobre compras, forma de llevar el inventario, teneduría de libros y exhibición del producto, antes que la mercadería, la cual podría obtener de muchas otras fuentes. Como resultado de esto, la compañía cambió el punto sobre el cual se concentraba su esfuerzo de ventas.
El vendedor se ha convertido en el agente de un servicio cuya primera responsabilidad es ayudar al cliente a solucionar sus propios problemas. Por supuesto que respaldará los productos de la compañía. Pero esperan de él que aconseje al cliente en forma objetiva e imparcial respecto a qué cantidad de productos de la competencia necesita, cómo debe exhibirlos y cómo debe venderlos. Y se lo juzga por normas de servicio y se le paga en primer término por su desempeño en este terreno. La ganancia y venta del producto de la compañía se ha convertido en un subproducto. La compañía aún considera esta decisión como responsable de su crecimiento de una posición de poca importancia a una de primer plano en la industria.
¿Qué tiene valor para el cliente?
Finalmente, queda la pregunta más difícil: “¿Qué considera el cliente como valor?” ¿Qué busca cuando compra el producto?.
La teoría económica tradicional ha contestado esta pregunta con una palabra: precio. Pero esto tiende a confundir. Con seguridad que existen pocos productos en los cuales el precio no sea una de las consideraciones más importantes. Pero, ante todo, “precio” no es un concepto simple.
Volviendo, con fines ilustrativos, al ejemplo del fabricante de cajas de fusibles y de conmutadores, digamos que los contratistas tienen una conciencia de precios extrema. Puesto que todas las cajas que compran tienen su garantía aceptada por la profesión así como por los inspectores de construcciones y los consumidores (el rótulo de los laboratorios de los aseguradores) hacen pocas diferencias de calidad entre las distintas marcas, pero buscan el producto más barato.
Pero leer “barato” en el sentido de menor precio del fabricante sería un grave error. Por el contrario, para el contratista, “barato” significa que el producto tiene un precio de fábrica bastante elevado, que el producto:
a) cuesta la menor cantidad de dinero una vez instalado,
b) alcanza este bajo costo final por exigir un mínimo de tiempo y habilidad para su instalación y
c) tiene un precio de fábrica lo suficientemente alto como para dar al contratista una buena utilidad.
Como los salarios de la mano de obra eléctrica calificada son muy altos, los bajos costos de instalación juegan un papel muy importante en contrarrestar los precios de fábrica altos. Además, según la tradición de facturación de su oficio, el contratista gana poco por la tarea de instalar. Si él mismo no constituye su propia mano de obra calificada, factura al cliente poco más que los costos reales de salarios. Su ganancia surge tradicionalmente de cobrar el doble de precio de fábrica por el producto que instala. El producto que costará menos al dueño de casa, con el menor de instalación y la mayor diferencia de precio sobre el producto, es decir, el mayor precio de fábrica, es, por lo tanto, para él el más barato. Y si precio es valor, el mayor precio de fábrica es el mayor valor para el contratista de electricidad.
Esto puede parecer una estructura de precios complicada. En realidad conozco muy pocas que sean tan simples. En la industria estadounidense del automóvil, donde la mayoría de los coches nuevos se venden a cambio de una unidad usada, el “precio” es en realidad una cambiante configuración de diferencias entre el precio de un auto segunda mano, el de uno de tercera, el de uno de cuarta, etc. Y el todo se complica por un lado, por la constante diferencia entre lo que el agente pagará por un coche usado y lo que pedirá por él, y por otro por las diferencias de los costos corrientes entre las distintas marcas y tamaños.
Sólo las matemáticas superiores pueden calcular el “precio” real de un automóvil.
Y, en segundo lugar, el precio es solamente una parte del valor. Está la gama completa de consideraciones respecto a la calidad: duración, buen funcionamiento, prestigio del fabricante, pureza, etc. Un precio elevado puede representar verdadero valor, como en los perfumes caros, las pieles caras o los vestidos exclusivos.
Finalmente, ¿qué se puede decir del concepto de valor considerado por el cliente como el servicio que se le presta? Hay pocas dudas, por ejemplo, de que el ama de casa estadounidense compra hoy artefactos eléctricos principalmente en base a la experiencia que en cuanto a servicio ha tenido ella misma, sus amigos o sus vecinos, con otros artefactos vendidos por la misma compañía. La rapidez con que puede obtener servicio en caso de que algo ande mal, la calidad del servicio y los costos del mismo se han convertido en factores determinantes principales de la decisión del comprador.
En realidad, lo que el cliente considera valor es tan complicado que sólo el cliente mismo lo puede contestar. La gerencia ni siquiera debe tratar de adivinarlo, sino que debe dirigirse siempre al cliente en una búsqueda sistemática de la respuesta.
¿Cuál será nuestro negocio?
Hasta ahora todas las preguntas relativas a la naturaleza de “nuestro negocio” se han referido al presente. Pero la gerencia debe también preguntar ¿Cuál será nuestro negocio? Esto implica descubrir cuatro cosas.
1. La primera es el potencial y la tendencia del mercado. ¿Cuán grande podemos esperar que sea nuestro mercado dentro de cinco o diez años, suponiendo que no ocurran cambios fundamentales en la estructura del mercado o la tecnología? Y ¿Cuáles son los factores que determinarán desarrollo?
2. Segundo, ¿Qué cambios son de esperar en la estructura del mercado como resultado del desarrollo económico, cambios de modas o gustos, o movimientos de la competencia? Y la “competencia” debe definirse de acuerdo con el concepto del cliente de qué producto compra o servicio compra. Y debe incluir la competencia indirecta además de la directa.
3. Tercero, ¿Qué innovaciones cambiarán las necesidades, cambiarán sus conceptos de valor o harán posible satisfacerle mejor en cuanto a valor? Esto debe estudiarse con respecto a la ingeniería y a la química y también con respecto a todas las actividades del negocio. Hay una tecnología en el negocio de pedidos de correo, en los bancos, en los seguros, en la dirección de las oficinas, en los depósitos, etc. lo mismo que en la metalurgia o en los combustibles. Una innovación no es sólo un servidor de las metas de comercialización del negocio, sino que es en sí una fuerza dinámica a la cual contribuye el negocio y que a su vez lo afecta. No es que la “investigación pura” sea en función de la empresa comercial, aunque en muchos casos las empresas comerciales han encontrado que ella es una manera de obtener resultados comerciales. Pero es “adelanto de las artes”, el mejoramiento constante de nuestra habilidad de hacer aplicando a ello nuestro mayor conocimiento; es una de las tareas de la empresa comercial y un factor principal de su supervivencia y su prosperidad.
4. Finalmente, ¿Qué necesidades tiene el consumidor que no sean satisfechas en forma adecuada por los productos y los servicios que se le ofrecen en la actualidad? La capacidad de formular esta pregunta y contestarla correctamente es lo que habitualmente constituye la diferencia entre una compañía que crece y una que depende para su desarrollo de la creciente de la marea de su economía o de su industria. Y quien se conforme en subir con la marea, también bajará con ella.
El ejemplo sobresaliente se observa, en el análisis de las necesidades insatisfechas del cliente, en el caso de Sears, Roebuck. Pero la cuestión es tan importante que cabe ofrecer más ejemplos.
Nuestro fabricante de cajas para fusibles y conmutadores formuló la pregunta en 1943, cuando tendría que decidir qué hacer después de la guerra, y dio una respuesta correcta: el cliente necesitaba un panel de conmutadores y fusibles que permitiera cargas eléctricas mucho mayores y que pudiera conectar más circuitos que los equipos existentes, los cuales en general habían sido diseñados antes de que se generalizaran los artefactos eléctricos. Pero estos nuevos equipos, al mismo tiempo, que poder soportar cargas eléctricas iguales al doble de las que permitían los paneles existentes, tendrías que costar, completamente instalados, mucho menos que dos y no mucho más que uno solo de los antiguos paneles.
Un dueño de casa que necesitara circuitos adicionales tendría que encontrar fácil y no mucho más caro, hacer que su electricista quitase el panel existente y lo reemplazara por uno nuevo de alta carga, en lugar de agregar un segundo panel de baja carga. El éxito del fabricante en analizar primero el problema y contestarlo luego mediante el diseño del panel de alta carga requerido fue el segundo factor de importancia en su rápido progreso. Pero, el no haber visto otra necesidad insatisfecha del cliente, fue en gran parte el motivo de sus realizaciones deprimente desde entonces.
La gerencia no vio que el cliente también quería un interruptor automático del circuito que ocupara el lugar de los poco prácticos fusibles, que cuando “saltan tienen que ser sometidos a inspección y recambio individual. Lo que hace aún mayor el fracaso de la gerencia es que vio la necesidad, pero sustituyó el criterio del cliente por el propio. Decidió que el cliente no sabía lo que quería y no estaba listo para un cambio tan radical. Cuando dos competidores lanzaron un interruptor doméstico de circuitos en 1950, tomaron desprevenida a la compañía y el cliente “que no estaba listo” dio una calurosa acogida al nuevo producto de la competencia.
Estableciendo estrategias ¿Y cuál debería ser?
No obstante, el análisis de nuestro negocio todavía no está completo. La gerencia aún tiene que preguntar: “¿Estamos en el negocio que corresponde o deberíamos cambiar de negocio?”.
Por supuesto que muchas compañías entran en un nuevo negocio por accidente; tropiezan con él en lugar de dirigir su rumbo hacia él. Pero la decisión de concentrar importantes energías y recursos sobre nuevos productos retirándolos de los antiguos; la decisión, en otras palabras, de convertir un accidente en un negocio, debe basarse de por sí en el análisis de ¿Cuál es nuestro negocio y cuál debería ser?
Una exitosa compañía de seguros del Medio Oeste, al analizar las necesidades de sus clientes, llegó a la conclusión de que los seguros de vida tradicionales dejan insatisfecha una importante necesidad del cliente: la garantía del poder adquisitivo de sus dólares. En otras palabras, los seguros de vida deben complementarse con inversiones, por medio de un sistema que incluya tanto el seguro común, o pensión en dólares, como una inversión. Para satisfacer estas necesidades la compañía de seguros compró una compañía de inversiones pequeña pero bien dirigida y ahora ofrece inversiones tanto a sus antiguos asegurados como a los nuevos clientes. De esta manera la compañía no solamente ha entrado en el negocio de dirigir inversiones, sino también en el de comercializar los títulos de capitalización correspondientes.
Otro ejemplo es el cambio realizado recientemente por un editor comercial al concentrarse en el servicio en lugar de hacerlo en las ventas. Esta compañía, que publica informes para los comerciantes sobre situación económica, impuestos, relaciones industriales y disposiciones del gobierno, sufrió una gran expansión durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la cual continuó al principio del período de post-guerra. Pero si bien las ventas continuaron creciendo año a año, el volumen total del negocio comenzó a estancarse alrededor de 1949 y las ganancias comenzaron a decrecer.
El análisis demostró que la culpa era de las bajas tarifas de renovación. No sólo tenía la fuerza de ventas que vender cada vez más para evitar que el volumen total decreciera, sino que el elevado costo de vender renovaciones amenazaba con comerse las ganancias resultantes de las ventas nuevas. Lo que en realidad se requería era un cambio completo del concepto de la gerencia en cuanto a la naturaleza del negocio, que de la venta de publicaciones a los nuevos clientes debía pasar a la conservación de los antiguos.
Esto hacía necesario un cambio de objetivos: en lugar de dramatizar la importancia de las cuotas de ventas nuevas, el énfasis recae ahora sobre las cuotas de renovaciones. Ello exigió un cambio de los principales esfuerzos, que en lugar de dirigirse a vender al cliente debía conducir a prestarle servicio. Exigió un cambio en la estructura de la organización: los gerentes de ventas regionales se convirtieron en gerentes cuya responsabilidad primordial era de obtener renovaciones y que tenían bajo sus órdenes tanto un gerente de ventas como un agente servicial. Exigió un cambio completo en la compensación de los vendedores, en el criterio de selección de los mismos y en los métodos utilizados para su entrenamiento. Demandó cambios en el contenido de la publicación, que implicaron darle mayor espacio a lo referente a las tendencias económicas y el planeamiento comercial a largo plazo.
Los cambios de la naturaleza del negocio que resultan de la innovación son demasiado conocidos para necesitar que se los documente. Todas las empresas principales en el terreno de la ingeniería y la química han crecido en gran escala haciendo incidir la innovación en sus negocios. Lo mismo es cierto con respecto a las compañías de seguros; el crecimiento de las que tienen éxito puede atribuirse en gran parte a su capacidad para desarrollarse nuevos negocios en base a innovaciones en lo que cubren los seguros. El crecimiento reciente, casi explosivo, de los seguros de salud, hospitalización y gastos de atención médica constituyen un ejemplo.
El cambio de la naturaleza del negocio puede también ser exigencia de consideraciones referentes a la productividad. Un pequeño mayorista de juguetes para Navidad, agregó un negocio enteramente distinto, la venta de ropas de playa, a fin de utilizar durante todo el año su principal recurso económico: su fuerza de ventas adiestrada. En este caso el aprovechamiento del tiempo exigió el agregado de un nuevo negocio.
Para mejorar la utilización productiva de sus recursos, otro pequeño fabricante decidió abandonar completamente la fabricación de máquinas herramientas y en su lugar se limita ahora a ser consultor de problemas y técnicas de soldaduras. Su fabricación, si bien beneficiosa, no lo era más que la de cientos de pequeñas compañías semejantes. Pero como consultor de soldadura estaba de por sí en una clasificación aparte. Mientras continuó fabricando utilizó su verdadero recurso productivo, su calidad de experto en soldadura, en un nivel de productividad y beneficio muy bajo.
Otro ejemplo muestra también un cambio de negocio para utilizar productivamente los recursos gerenciales del negocio. Una fabricación de medicamentos patentados, exitosa pero bastante pequeña, decidió hace veinte años que no obtenía una productividad completa de su grupo gerencial altamente adiestrado y altamente retribuido. Para alcanzar una productividad mayor decidió cambiar el suministro de cierta línea de productos por la dirección de negocios dedicados a la producción en masa de mercaderías envasadas de marca y con publicidad en toda la nación. La compañía continúa exitosamente con su negocio original. Pero en forma sistemática ha adquirido pequeñas compañías de marca que por falta de dirección, no habían tenido mucho éxito: una fabricaba alimentos para perros, una que hacía artículos de tocador para hombres, una que fabricaba cosméticos y perfumes, etc. En cada caso nuestra compañía ha proporcionado una dirección que ha levanta do el negocio a una situación sustancial y altamente beneficiosa.
No obstante, las consideraciones referentes al lucro no deberían de por sí llevar normalmente a cambios en la naturaleza del negocio. Por supuesto que u negocio puede llegar a ser tan poco beneficioso como para abandonarlo. Pero casi siempre la situación del mercado, la innovación o la productividad habrían aconsejado su abandono mucho antes. Por cierto que las consideraciones atinentes a la productividad limitan los negocios que podría encarar una empresa.
En realidad, una de las principales aplicaciones del lucro como unidad de medidas es la de prevenir contra tales negocios y evitar que la gerencia vierta dinero y energías en levantar a los débiles, achacosos y en declinación, en lugar de fortalecer a los fuertes y crecientes, entre sus aventuras. Por lo menos un buen criterio basado en el lucro, debiera bloquear la más peligrosa y engañosa de las coartadas para seguir la vía de menos resistencia: el argumento de que una aventura que por otra parte no es provechosa reditúa de por sí al “absorber gastos generales” (la traducción del contador de la frase “dos pueden vivir tan barato como uno”, Que es tan irracional y cuestionable como el original).
Pero si la decisión de entrar en un negocio es sólida cuando se toma en base a la situación del mercado, la innovación y la productividad, si es sólida de acuerdo con lo que hace un negocio, es responsabilidad de la gerencia hacerla producir la ganancia mínima necesaria. Dicho con brusquedad, es para eso que se les paga a las gerencias. Y si una gerencia no puede producir la ganancia mínima necesaria en un tiempo razonable, es su deber abdicar, para dar la oportunidad a otra gerencia de tratar de realizar la tarea en forma apropiada.
Estableciendo objetivos. Conclusión
Esta es simplemente otra forma de decir que un negocio debe dirigirse estableciendo objetivos. Estos objetivos deben establecerse en base a lo que es correcto y deseable para la empresa. No deben basarse en el expediente de las corrientes económicas o en una adaptación a ellas. La dirección de un negocio no puede basarse en la “intuición”. En realidad, en la economía industrial moderna, con su lapso largo entre una decisión y la maduración de sus frutos, el gerente intuitivo es un lujo que pocas compañías, grandes o pequeñas, puedan permitirse. Y en un negocio bien dirigido la ganancia no es lo que a uno le sale. Es lo que uno se propone hacer porque tiene que hacerlo.
Por supuesto que los objetivos no son un horario de ferrocarril. Se pueden comparar con la aguja de la brújula que guía a un barco. Si está firme (la aguja) señalando en línea recta, señala el puerto deseado. Pero durante la navegación el barco se apartará muchas millas de su curso para evitar una tormenta. Disminuirá su velocidad en la niebla y se detendrá enteramente ante un huracán. Hasta puede variar su destino en medio del océano y tomar rumbo hacia un nuevo puerto, quizás por haber estallado una guerra, quizás solamente porque su carga ha sido vendida mientras estaba en camino. Pero aún así, cuatro quintos de los viajes terminan en el puerto elegido y a la hora que se ha determinado. Y sin la brújula, el barco no hubiera podido encontrar el puerto ni calcular el tiempo que le llevaría llegar hasta él.
En forma similar, para alcanzar los objetivos hay que dar rodeos a fin de salvar obstáculos. En realidad, la capacidad de soslayar los obstáculos en lugar de cargar con ellos de cabeza es un requisito importante para dirigir mediante objetivos. En una época de depresión la marcha hacia el logro de los objetivos puede ser demorada considerablemente, hasta puede haber detenciones de corta duración. Y ciertas eventualidades –por ejemplo, la introducción de un nuevo producto por parte de la competencia- pueden cambiar los objetivos. Esta es una razón por la cual todos los objetivos deben ser revisados permanentemente. Pero aún así, la fijación de objetivos permite al negocio ir adonde debe en lugar de ser juguete del tiempo, los vientos y los accidentes.
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