Ordinary People Who Achieve Extraordinary Success

What would successful people say if asked, “Would you like to have your story written in book about you and your extraordinary accomplishments?”

Some might respond with “A book about me? Why me? What would it be about? Who would be interested in reading about me?”

But they could be thinking, “Wow, that would really be exciting! Getting a chance to tell the world what I know, what I’ve done, and how I’ve done it. My story could help a lot of young people in my industry. My story could be an opportunity to begin to establish my legacy, my impact on business, my profession, or my community. Hmmm…tell me some more.”

Many people consider themselves “ordinary” even after they have achieved the extraordinary. Successful people know at some level that they have accomplished more than most others and they are proud of it even though they may consider themselves to be just like everyone else.

I’ve now written four books in my Values in America series. (I’m on my way to a dozen…it’s my personal twelve-step program.) The last two books have been real-life stories about one of the world’s greatest jet fighter pilots (Lieutenant Commander Scott Beare, USN, retired) and a world-class winemaker (Bill Williamson). I believe these stories are inspirational with important lessons about personal values and values-based business decisions.

I want to continue writing true stories about ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary success. There are certainly individuals out there who deserve to have their stories told. These people don’t have to be famous like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. There are plenty of “next tier successes” whose story could be told in an easy-to-read and entertaining style.

My guess is you already know someone who would like his or her story told in a book that could be a gift to family and friends and possibly sold to large audiences through Amazon and other outlets. If you do know someone who has achieved extraordinary success--someone whose inspiring story you believe needs to be told--send me his or her contact information. Thanks!

Culture Is A Key Success Factor

My friend and colleague, Richard Bell, is one of the exceptional group chairmen of Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO membership organization. In a conversation just yesterday, Richard confirmed that the work I’m doing building values-driven corporate cultures is becoming more and more relevant in today’s challenging business climate.

Richard’s experience working daily with leading CEOs in Silicon Valley suggests that it is getting harder and harder for business leaders to find “True North.” The vagaries in the market, radical changes in customer bases, and trying to predict the future in uncertain times are making it difficult for business leaders to maintain perspective.

“In the absence of landmarks and an external compass, successful business leaders are turning inward to rediscover their inner compasses. They are looking for a decision template so they can make thoughtful choices about how to lead with intention,” Richard explained.

He’s right, and when mindful leaders turn inward for guidance, they intuitively rediscover their own personal values. This process of rediscovering personal values is the first step in getting clarity. President Obama summed it up nicely in the second chapter of The Audacity of Hope:

"It is the language of values that people use to map their world. It is what can inspire them to take action… "

Personal values are the foundation for creating a values-driven corporate culture. Everyone knows how important it is to have the right people committed to the vision, strategy, and goals of the organization. In addition, a more subtle determinate of success is creating a culture of cooperation and collaboration wherein everyone in the company agrees on “how we do things around here.” This is the essence of an aligned corporate culture that is focused on success.

Companies with cultures based on positive values outperform their competition. They have greater retention of high performers who “fit” into the organization. They have better internal and external communication, more teamwork, greater employee and customer satisfaction, and higher productivity—all of which lead to increased profitability.

How to Destroy a Culture. If your culture is undermined—even by a just few employees in key positions—your company will most certainly face tough times. Today’s economic climate is difficult enough without having to deal with ineffective leadership and managers who look outward and blame others and external circumstances for poor performance rather than take responsibility for achieving the company’s goals. Now, more than ever, pulling together as a disciplined team is requisite for success.

Signs of a Dysfunctional Culture. Do any of these sound familiar?

• Old ways of working that are not results-oriented.


• Lack of accountability.


• When facing barriers to success, blame is externalized to circumstances (e.g., the economy) or others (someone else’s fault).


• Non-compliance with executive and senior management directives.


• A functional bias, not a business bias. Managers use narrow metrics to show performance in their areas without regard to overall corporate performance.


• A “not invented here” syndrome leading to an attitude of “I’ll do it myself.”


• A prevailing mindset of “I have nothing to learn from anyone unless they are a demonstrated superstar performer.”

These cultural artifacts are signs of a dysfunctional organization. If you don't pay attention to them now, you could have serious productivity and business performance problems in the long run.

Smart companies are regrouping in this tough business climate. They are committing to a set of core principles to cement organizational cohesiveness. They are preparing to meet today’s challenges and lay a foundation for the next upswing in the business cycle.

Here is a high-level outline of a proven approach for developing a values-driven culture that will align your workforce around a solid set of core principles, behaviors, and shared goals. These elements are the ingredients for a high-performing organization.

A Phased Approach to a Values-Driven Culture. This approach will align your executive team, management, and individual contributors across your entire workforce. It will provide the guiding principles and set expectations for how you want people to work toward achieving corporate, professional, and personal goals. Most important, it will establish a foundation for guiding positive actions at all levels in the organization, i.e., “The way we do things around here.”

Phase I engages the executive team and other influential employees to obtain buy-in for a culture change initiative. These leaders create and ratify the core values of the company with input from everyone in the organization.

Phase II engages key influencers at all levels in the organization to identify values-based behaviors that will be expected in the new culture. A corporate scorecard is also developed at this time to reinforce the appropriate on-the-job behaviors.

Phase III is a full-scale campaign rollout of the values and processes of the new corporate culture. Activities are designed to embed the new culture into all aspects of the regular business processes throughout the company, e.g., recruitment, hiring, reward & recognition, promotion, succession planning, strategic planning, etc.

Restructuring your corporate culture is a lot of work. But don’t forget: companies with values-driven cultures outperform their competition.

I welcome your comments.