I had a meeting with our creative people for possible marketing campaigns. Our discussion soon turned to the question, “What does it take to succeed in the industry?” I was intrigued by the answer, “a big ego.” Which leads me to ponder on the question, “Is a big EGO necessary for an entrepreneur or a leader to succeed?”

Many experts tell us that a healthy ego is necessary to be both a leader and an entrepreneur. I agree. I believe that a healthy sense of self is needed to achieve the confidence required to do great things. But the problem with ego is that it is hungry and it has a HUGE appetite. The more we achieve, the more likely our egos grow. The potential for disaster will occur when our egos have grown bigger that our capabilities.

We are taught by media that great accomplishments are done by a single great man, a visionary leader, CEO or entrepreneur. We all know the stories of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, in other words, men of great ego. But do we realize that these great men are also leading great teams of highly talented individuals that allow them to be greater? Media often does not tell the whole true story. It fails to tell the roles that other “small” people play in the success of these individuals. It also fails to tell the story of how these leaders manage their egos and mesh their teams to a common goal.

Henry Ford is famous as the father of the automobile. He is also credited with the invention of the assembly line. What is not reported are roles other people played in it. How many of us have heard of Peter E. Martin, the factory superintendent, Charles E. Sorensen, Martin’s assistant, C. Harold Wills, a draftsman and toolmaker, and Clarence W. Avery, and Charles Lewis, first line supervisors. They were Henry Ford’s engineers who helped come up with solutions that allowed the assembly line to become a reality. Among other improvements, they added a conveyer belt and built factories around the assembly line. With these improvements, it allowed Ford to produce 700,000 Model T’s, which was twice the output of all competitors combined.

It is in sports wherein we see ego and its effects on the team clearly. We often hear of the petulance and childish ego of today’s superstars. But when we hear stories of champions, we see a different story. Shaq managed his ego when he supported Dwayne Wade into realizing his potential. This led to the Miami Heats first Championship. His inability to continue to manage his ego recently led to the infamous incident wherein he called out former teammates Chris Quin and Dorell Wright, as well as the very publicized profanity laced rap about how Kobe will never win without him. It had totally changed the publics view of Shaq from champion to well , form your own conclusion. (Hint, his deputy sheriff badge was recently revoked.)

The San Antonio Spurs is a team that has no individual egos that are greater than the team goals. When Manu Ginobli won the sixth man of the year award, he said, ““I really don’t care about coming from the bench if that helps the team to win a championship. That is what I’m going to remember when I retire, the rings I have. Not the fact I played 28 minutes or 33 or my name being called in the starting lineup.”

The latest example are the current NBA champions Boston Celtics. It is a perfect example of how individual egos were meshed into the team goals. Paul Pierce was already an exceptional scorer the first day he put on the Celtic green. He was capable of lighting it up on the court every game but he suffered thru many seasons of playing for the green doormat. Ray Allen has been often described as having the purest stroke in the NBA. His shot never brought him close to the trophy. Kevin Garnett, the man child and physical “freak” of an athlete, who nature has gifted with speed and grace in a long lean 7 foot body, but his physical skills alone could not bring him up the mountain.

The best part of the story was the prominent and unlikely roles played by the “role” players, Rajan Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and yes Leon Powe, who shocked the Lakers into believing he had the letter “R” attached to his name. It is a perfect example of how turning Ego to WEgo will result in championships. Paul, Ray, and Kevin together with their coach Doc Rivers meshed their individual egos for the goals of the team. In doing so, they brought the 17th championship to the storied Boston Celtics franchise.

The moral: Ego may make the leader feel good about himself, but it is in managing and harnessing it, motivating and leading others that will transform his self perception of greatness to public perception and acknowledgement. Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at
stirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/

Perspective in real life is simply defined as a window to which our outlooks, thinking and points of view are reflected thru. How we perceive things will determine how we react to situations. In business, if we perceive people as competitors, we tend to be guarded and evasive. If we consider them allies, we are open and accommodating. If we perceive that the market will go up, we buy. If we perceive the markets will go down, we sell. So perspective especially in business does matter. But how is it shaped? And are we prepared to deal with the consequences of having the wrong perspective?

One of the funniest commercials I have heard over my favorite radio station, Y101, is the ad for Butterbean Cookies. It depicted a familiar situation of a man confessing to his woman about his wrongdoing. As she listens, the woman’s curiosity and alarm bells start spiking. She begins to wonder what was the grave deed committed , when the man blurts out, “I ate all your butterbean ! “ The reaction of the woman is the classic shock, anger and rant, “I do everything for you….I can’t believe you ate all my butterbean….”.

Let me tell you of this story. I have a friend who is from Bohol. She travels back and forth between Cebu and Bohol, balancing the demands of work and the serenity of a provincial home. She often racks her brain thinking about what to bring us from Bohol and what to bring her parents from Cebu as “Pasalubong”. I suggested to her a box of Butterbean cookies that she can pick up in the mall near the ferry terminal.

Thus, she bought 2 boxes of cookies, one to eat while on board the ferry and one to give to her parents. She then proceeded to the ferry terminal carrying her bag and a plastic bag containing her boxes of cookies. Upon arriving and checking in, she took a seat in the waiting area, and proceeded to work on her laptop while waiting for boarding time.

A few minutes later, an elderly gentleman sat down beside her, opened up a magazine and started reading. After a while, he reached down, grabbed a box of cookies and opened it. He looked at the cookie and started eating it. My friend was shocked at the man’s action. She restrained herself from getting upset taking into account that the man was a senior citizen.

After a while, her indignation got the best of her, and she reached out and took a cookie from the box and proceeded to eat it. She did not feel the need to explain herself and was uncomfortable doing so. The man expressed surprise, looked at her as she was munching, and proceeded to take 2 cookies from the box.

My friend started to get really bothered and reached out and took 2 cookies too. After which they both sat there in glum silence munching their cookies. When suddenly they both glanced at the box at the same time and noticed that there was only one cookie left. Before she could react, the man reached in and took it. He then got up abruptly and walked away.

My friend felt a raw surge of anger. She was debating with herself on whether or not to create a scene right there and then, or to run after the man to give him a “friendly lecture” on manners. After calming herself, she decided to have a “courteous” talk with the elderly gentleman. She kept her laptop and gathered her things. She picked up her plastic bag and noticed that there were still 2 boxes of cookies inside. Shocked, she glanced at the floor and noticed an empty plastic bag. Then the realization hit her, the cookies that they had been “sharing” were not hers but actually belonged to the elderly gentleman.

I once heard this analogy that the problem with the situation in the Philippines can be likened to the reaction of people to a stinky public toilet. Everybody passes by it, repelled by the grime and the smell. Everybody complains about it, pointing fingers on who’s responsibility it is to clean it. Because nobody does anything about it, the more people use it, the dirtier and stinkier it becomes. Till the point , wherein it becomes a fixture of our life. ,We just accept and live with it.

It does make you think , does’nt it? Businessmen talk in hushed tones about the difficulties of dealing with the system and its needs. We complain about it and yet we are used to it and we use it. We refuse to clean it, pointing the responsibility to others. The more we are used to it and the more we use it, the dirtier it becomes, hence, the vicious cycle.

A couple of weeks back, I wrote a column entitled “love what you do”. In it, I reprinted portions of the text of the commencement speech that Apple founder Steve Jobs gave to the graduating class of Stanford University in 2005. It generated a lot of positive reaction from people about doing something in life that they love to do. Yvette, for that matter, who I wrote about in the beginning of that column, actually quit her job to start a business that she loves to do. She quoted Steve Jobs when the latter said, “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything.” She wrote that she was happy and excited to begin.

Today’s headlines are full of news of impending and looming gloom, of crisis upon crisis. It bears down heavily on people when they read about looming price increases, especially in the price of gasoline. We begin to worry. Entrepreneurs, especially small ones , worry the most. I don’t have the answers nor will I even attempt to understand everybody’s situation. But I can help contribute to shaping people’s perspective to their situations. I would like to continue sharing the third part of the commencement speech that Steve Jobs gave to the 2005 graduating class of Standford University.

Steve began ominously by stating very matter of fact, “My third story is about death.”

One of the pressing problems that often dwells in the minds of successful entrepreneurs has to do with succession planning. How will the entrepreneur impart to his children the wisdom, values and skills that made the former successful.

A popular story among the members of the local country club is the difference between this rich man and his son. The rich man plays golf everyday and shows up at the club in an 8 year old car, and is as frugal and practical as they come. Later in the day, his son shows up, in the latest and most expensive sports car, attired in the latest fashion and bejeweled in the latest trinkets and technology. The friends of the rich man, knowing how hard he worked for his wealth, would often question the latter about his son. The rich man would reply with a wry grin, “I am the son of a poor man, he is the son of a rich man.”

I received an email about two stories, one of Al Capone’s lawyer and the second about a World War II hero. Let me share it with you. Al Capone, the infamous gangster of Chicago used to employ a brilliant lawyer named “Easy Eddie”. Eddie was very good at his job, allowing Al Capone to consistently run rings around the law. As a result, Eddie was rewarded handsomely with a huge mansion, cars, and whatever he desired. But Eddie’s most valuable possession was not material, but his son, whom he adored and showered with everything.

He tried to teach his son principles and values that he wished he could uphold. He wanted his son to be a much better man than he was. He wanted his son not to follow in his footsteps but to make something of himself and contribute to society. But, unfortunately, he realized that he will never be able to teach his son to do the right thing if he himself did not. He decided to set an example and repent. He turned himself in to the authorities and confessed to everything. He made the sacrifice to teach his son about doing the right thing, whatever the cost. His testimony played a key role in incriminating Al Capone. Less than a year later, “Easy Eddie” died in a blaze of gunfire, killed no doubt by his spurned “boss”.

The second story is about a World War II hero named Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day, while on a mission with his squadron, he noticed that his fuel was low. He was ordered to return to the carrier. On the way back, he saw an enemy squadron of Japanese Zeros heading for a sneak attack on the USS Lexington. He had no way of warning the fleet but knew that he could not allow them to continue with their plan.

He dove into the enemy formation, guns blazing away. He attacked enemy plane after enemy plane with desperate fury, knowing how many lives were at stake if the enemy squadron made it through. Soon, he ran out of ammunition, but valiantly did not relinquish his attack. He dove at the enemy planes, turning his plane into a missile, hoping to clip or crash into as many of the enemy as possible.

The Japanese fighter pilots had never seen anything like it. Butch O'Hare’s actions so unnerved them that they broke off the attack and headed off in another direction. Amazed to be alive, Butch flew his tattered plane home to the carrier. Upon landing, he made a report of the events to the incredulous looks of his senior officers. They reviewed the film from the gun mounted camera and the truth was revealed. Butch had downed five enemy aircraft and saved the carrier.

For his valiant efforts that fateful day of February 20,1942, Butch was awarded the congressional Medal of Honor, the first naval aviator ever to do receive such an honor. He also became the U.S. Navy’s first ACE of World War II. A year later, he was killed in action. He died at the age of 29. But his country and his hometown would not allow the memory of his actions to be forgotten. The airport in the City of Chicago was named in honor of the young man, O’Hare Airport. There is a memorial located in the airport between terminals 1 and 2, where Butch O’Hare’s statue and a display containing his medal of honor is displayed.

What is the relation of the two stories? Would you believe me if I told you that Lt. Commander Butch O’Hare is “Easy Edie’s” son? For many successful entrepreneurs, the question must be constantly asked, what are we really leaving for the next generation? If the question is not asked early or often enough, the next generation will not exceed the achievements and success of their fathers ,but will be more known as “sons of rich men”

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.


For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/