If I could bring all of my students back into the classroom, I would remind them of David Packard's admonition that in the long run, "more companies die of indigestion than starvation." If a company focuses on making creative contributions that fall in the middle of three intersecting circles -- what it is passionate about, what it can be the best in the world at, and what best drives a sustained profitable economic engine -- then growth will likely follow.
The research that went into my books showed that mediocre companies tend to focus on growth for growth's sake, whereas truly great companies focus on making creative, profitable contributions that are squarely focused on those three circles. Regardless of whether the market is up or down, great companies that adhere to those circles are, in the long run, likely to have more growth than they can handle -- indigestion, not starvation. The same holds true for creative people who discover what they are passionate about, what they are genetically encoded for, and how they can build an economic engine based on their contributions. Those who operate at the intersection of all three circles are more likely to face the problem of too much opportunity in their lives, not too little.
| The Important Distinction The stock market may go up - or down. But according to Jim Collins, that isn't the key distinction. Regardless of the market, what matters is whether you are a creator who is internally driven or a reactor who takes cues from the outside. | |
| Creator Internally driven, externally aware Pursues creative strategy Discovers genetic talents and applies them Builds an economic engine to get things done Many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities Growth follows from creative contribution Ambitious first and foremost for the work Focuses on building relationships Values self-improvement for its own sake Sets 10-to-25-year audacious goals Core values inform all efforts Seeks self-actualization |
Reactor Externally driven, without intrinsic passion Pursues competitive strategy Agenda of competence set by the outside world Gets things done to make a lot of money Few once-in-a-lifetime opportunities Seeks growth for growth's sake Ambitious first and foremost for self Focuses on transactions Driven largely by comparison to others Five years is long-term Nothing is sacred; expedience rules Seeks success |
The question: Which side are you on?
Abraham Maslow defined self-actualization as the process of discovering what you were made to do and making a commitment to do it with excellence. That is what the three circles are all about: making self-actualization work in a capitalist society. No one ever reached self-actualization simply by seizing a bubble moment to get rich and retire. Similarly, no one ever self-actualized by taking the cockroach strategy of just hunkering down and trying to survive until difficult times passed.
There are, of course, no guarantees. Luck is always a factor, and the dice can roll against you. But that does not change the fact that those who go about their lives and work with the passion to create and build in pursuit of self-created goals are the only ones who will find meaning in the end -- regardless of whether the dice roll their way. The fact of the matter is that life is short, and we only carry to our graves the inner integrity of our efforts. Only we know how we lived our lives, whether we cut corners, whether we did anything of value -- or whether we took the built-to-flip approach to life.
Meet Charles Lewis
In 1989, Charles Lewis left the world of high-profile broadcast journalism to invent the world of what he calls "public-service journalism." Lewis, who was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1998, founded the Center for Public Integrity in 1990 to pursue investigative projects that the major media were neglecting. During the past 12 years, the center has produced 10 books and more than 100 reports documenting the often-sordid ties between big money and big politics.
Isn't the problem limited to a few bad apples?
Not unless the whole world is your orchard. That's a lot of apples, folks! More companies are restating their earnings now than at any time in U.S. history. And by the way: They have dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the political process to weaken any laws that might exist to curb the excesses.
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Recent Comments | 2 Total
September 27, 2009 at 12:38am by Yono Suryadi
Thanks for this valuable information. Regards!
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