Has anything changed during the last decade?
I do not think so. The following paragraphs summarize what I told an audience of recently MBA graduates at their 11th Annual Conference of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs in November 10, 2000. At the time, I was the President of Phelps Dodge Industries with responsibility for an operating group comprised of 50 plants in 27 countries engaged in the manufacture and sale of engineered products for the electrical, communications and automotive industries. The Group had revenues of $2 billion and employed over 5,000 people. After early retirement in 2002 and 35 years of corporate experience I became an entrepreneur. Bottom line, nothing has changed.
This is what I said then and what I would say today:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be with you on this special day. A few minutes ago my fellow panel members talked to you about the challenges and opportunities that you will face in this new era of e-commerce, globalization and high technology. These are indeed very exciting times! You will be part of a generation of leaders that will take our businesses to uncharted territories. It was only 30 years ago that I was sitting in a room like this wondering what it would take to be successful in Corporate America. Little did I suspect that one day I would be discussing with you my impressions on what is a very complex subject with no "clear cut" answers. My bottom line advice to you is this: "Business mirrors life. There will be highs, lows, compromises and sacrifices in your quest for success. Approach it as a journey and use your head, your heart and your gut to guide your decisions along the way." I am not going to spend any time stressing the need to be technically proficient in your field of expertise. That is the price of admission. Rather, I will share with you a simple model that has worked for me as I have progressed in the pursuit of my professional dreams. I refer to this model as my "Seven Ps"
Plan
Preparation
People
Passion
Proactive
Partnerships
Performance
P number one - Plan
Planning your future is like putting together a strategic plan. A Company defines its vision and you must do the same. For each of us, that vision is more like a dream. I had a dream and I am sure each of you has one. But you can't achieve that dream without following a disciplined and systematic process. What is your dream? What will it take to achieve it? Are you willing to make the personal sacrifices that may be required? Having the intent is not enough. It is the combination of will and vision that eventually allows you to reach your full potential.
And this takes me to the second P - Preparation
Education and experience are two critical factors for success. You must be obsessed with learning. Learning is a never-ending process. Some learning opportunities will be provided by your company but that alone is not enough. You must take the initiative and be in control of your professional development. And this requires significant commitment and personal sacrifice. I'm an avid reader and the number of books and magazines I read each year has a direct correlation to the number of air miles I travel. I firmly believe that to become a well-rounded businessperson you must expose yourself to a diverse range of subjects and viewpoints. I generally encourage my key managers to read between 3 and 4 newspapers a day, and 20 to 30 publications each month covering a wide range of topics: economics, finance, demographics, social issues and politics, management and technology. No single one of these topics should be considered in isolation and much less taken as the gospel. And if you're waiting for the one good book that will guide your entire career, forget about it...You are the author of this book and it is work in process. Instead, consider everything you read as an opportunity to germinate new ideas that you can apply to your business challenges. I can tell you from my own experience that even at this stage of my career I learn something everyday. Failure to do so translates into what I refer to as "intellectual obsolescence." None of us can afford that. The second component of preparation is experience. You are all probably familiar with the expression that there is no substitute for experience. In my professional life, I have never turned down an assignment that would increase my know-how of a process, a country, a company, a culture or any other subject essential to my future ability to accept more responsibilities.
P number three - People
There is a business adage that says that you will pass the same people in an organization on your way up as on your way down. I know this to be true from personal experience. And always remember that you are only as good as the people you work for, the people you work with and the people who work for you. Never abuse or misuse your power. You can be demanding but you must also be fair. And never forget to act on what is right and not on who is right. You also must mentor and develop the people in your organization. A decade ago, mentors were the "seasoned old guys" in the executive suite, and mentorees were the MBAs fresh out of school. Today thanks in large part to the rapid acceleration of technology development, mentoring is more diverse. It's not unusual, for example, to find a 25-year-old technology guru mentoring a group of seasoned leaders. Look for every opportunity to be both a mentoree and a mentor at every stage of your career. As I said, there is always more to learn, and as you advance, your experience can help others succeed. In addition to my mentoring role within my company, I have been a mentor and a lecturer at the University of Miami MIBS Program for several years. You would be amazed at what I have learned from your contemporaries both one-on-one and in the classroom. Transferring your knowledge to others is a very rewarding experience that can be accomplished at all levels of the organization.
P number four - Passion
Leading an organization requires you to be Passionately Committed. I have never met anyone who excels at anything that does not possess an inner fire. Ordinary efforts will only produce mediocre to average results. Drive and passion produce outstanding results. Sometimes, success leads to a false sense of comfort. Often, some of the best people lose their passion. When that dies, it is difficult if not impossible to sustain excellence. So, I encourage you to work hard to feed and fuel your inner passion.
P number five - Proactive
Today's rate of business change also will require you to be Proactive. You will be required to seize challenges and opportunities. Speed and innovation are the keys to staying ahead. Quick victory is the aim of competitive action. You need to move fast and move first. This does not mean that you will always do things right but you must always do what is right. You must have the intellectual honesty to acknowledge that some solutions or actions did not work. If they didn't, try something else. As President Roosevelt once said: "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something". Proactivity allows you to stay one step ahead and this is worth more than any other competitive advantage.
Successful executives also rely on the next "P" - Partnerships
In today's world you cannot do it alone. You'll need to forge alliances to offset your weaknesses, and to bring together diverse geographic and business cultures. You'll also need to harness the commitment of your team to get the job done. And let me emphasize the word TEAM. This would be a natural point for me to offer some anecdotes about the power of business partnerships, but instead, I'd like to put the emphasis on the partnership that you now have, or that you may have in the future, with your spouse, your significant other and your family. All of the business demands on your time will make it increasingly difficult for you to create a balance between your personal and professional life. I must confess that this is the area in which most of us fail, at least from time to time. And I am no exception. My wife Maria, who is here with me tonight, gets all the credit for providing the on-the-ground, day-to-day stability that our young sons needed in their formative years. But she, and my sons Manuel and Carlos held me accountable for being present at the important events, and there were no excuses accepted if I failed to pick up the telephone and check in each morning while they had breakfast, and again each evening to hear about their big events of the day. There is no right or wrong answer about how to calibrate the balance needed to make that partnership succeed. You will learn with time how and when to compromise. But you must learn how to do it sooner rather than later. Our families are often thought of as being in the background. But make no mistake about it. It is only through their support that we have a chance to advance in our business endeavors.
P number seven - Performance
Performance is critical. You must focus your efforts in results not politics. It is not how well you play the game or how much effort is applied. The end result is to create value for all your stakeholders. You'll also find that success is a constantly moving target. You will never be able to sit back and relax. It is true that you are only as good as what you deliver today. Get used to it. And remember this is driven more by the demands of the customer and the marketplace, than it is by your manager's expectations. Learn to stretch your expectations of yourself. At some point in your career you will become "good." But don't let good get in the way of becoming "great." If your quest is to be the best there is no room for complacency. You must aim higher and higher. Today's excellent performance will be average tomorrow if you do nothing to get better. Make continuous improvement a part of your life. Remember, becoming the best at what you do does not happen by accident. You must continuously work hard at it with passion and intensity. When you sum the total of your efforts you will achieve outstanding performance. From time to time, I hear managers describe someone else's good performance as "luck." But long-term business success is not "luck" unless you define luck as the point at which opportunities and preparations converge. You must be always ready to take advantage of an opportunity.
In fairness to this audience, I suspect I could not adequately address your interests unless I also speak about the subject of diversity. Be proud of who you are and where you come from. Use it to your advantage, but don't take advantage. Being a minority does not entitle you to anything. Each of us must earn what we have, and must maximize what we have been blessed with. I believe that diversity in a very broad sense is strength. It is in our differences, not our similarities that the most dynamic, exhilarating and life-changing experiences can be found. Allow your heritage to give you clarity of self -- to know who you are and what motivates you. But let your brain, and your guts and your heart - not your gender or the color of your skin -- lead you through life. As the global leaders of the future you must learn how to balance your technical strengths with the many cultural requirements of the people who you encounter.
You also must learn to be diplomats. I say diplomats because to become a global leader you must possess a keen understanding of the history, geography, religion and politics of the local economies in which you will conduct business. You must learn to be flexible, resilient and adaptive. Respect for local, country or regional culture is and will continue to be essential elements for success. Only "global leaders" will be able to strike the proper balance. As a member of this new breed of leaders you must be able to conduct business in at least two languages and let me emphasize the word "conduct."
The ability to read, write and speak a language is not sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the future. You must understand the culture and be sensitive to cultural differences. You must be able to create a seamless bond. A case in point. English has become and will continue to be the universal language of the Internet, but the cultures of the English-speaking world don't represent a universal culture. Economist Milton Friedman says it is now possible for a company located anywhere, using resources from anywhere, to produce a product anywhere that can be sold to customers everywhere. What Mr. Friedman does not tell you is that you cannot build the plant, purchase the resources, or market the product if you do not relate to each culture individually on its own merits and within its cultural paradigms. This is a most important and difficult point for global leaders to accept when learning to work with different cultures: A single paradigm does not work universally. You by virtue of your Hispanic background have the best of both worlds and an excellent foundation to accommodate the best of various cultures and to create new ways to lead business. You can make a difference. I went with confidence in the direction of my dreams and lived the life I always imagined for myself and my family. Now, it is your turn to create and follow your dreams. Thank you for your kind attention.
Mr. Iraola is the founder and CEO of The Aloaris Group, http://www.aloaris.com, a privately owned group that provides financing and manages start up ventures with the potential to revolutionize existing business models.
The Group also provides a full range of advisory services to companies operating or planning to operate in emerging markets. He is also a co founder and CEO of http://www.Homekeys.com a developer, integrator and provider of state of the art web-based information tools and services for the real estate industry.
Mr. Iraola currently serves on the Board of Directors of Central Hudson Energy Group Inc. (NYSE:CHG). He previously served on the Boards of Phelps Dodge Corporation (NYSE:PD), Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:PCU) and Schweitzer Mauduit International Inc. (NYSE:SWM).
No comments:
Post a Comment