Chasing Greatness Blog

Sometimes the Master’s Degree Isn’t the Master.

I’ve missed you. The past two weeks have been overwhelming here, but I won’t miss another Wednesday Wisdom.

For the past few months, we conducted a massive interview process for a new addition to our team. Last week we hired someone with less education than others we interviewed, but one who could add greater value. I have to say, for me it was a no-brainer. Another strong candidate, well-polished with an advanced degree, expected to be hired but lacked the stuff an education cannot guarantee. Instead, I opted for the candidate in whom I saw passion, the one whose abilities complement our team and whose overall diversity of experience brings something we lacked.

Last week, we hired passion. In no way am I discounting the value of an advanced degree—never that; it’s just not our highest measuring rod. In a world full of people with Masters and Ph.D.s, it’s refreshing to know that our team is less impressed with credentials and more impressed with passion.

After all, that passion is what makes us so good at what we do!

No one can ever accuse me of being a prude, but what I’ve witnessed on television lately has caused me to pause and take note. Is it me, or has creativity been masked by crudeness and rudeness?

In a recent book by Amy Chua, Why Chinese Mothers Are Better, Amy cites why Chinese mothers never allow their children to watch TV or play video games. If you saw what I saw on television this week, you’d understand why.

Whatever happened to creativity? Has it been sacrificed for shock-and-awe? Has good writing been robbed by poor taste? What happens when we push the envelope so far we can’t take back the message? I have a challenge for up-and-coming writers-be creative without being crude. You can do it…James Cameron has been doing it for decades.

Come to our office and you would experience 15-hour days interrupted by conversations on everything from breast implants and religion to pop culture and how to fry chicken. Not the most common work place today, but we’ve managed to win a substantial amount of business doing what we do very well: being smart, innovative, providing good customer service, and, yes…work, work, work, work.

Work, work, work should not be mistaken for value. Many people work at a job, but not all bring value. So, how does one bring value? Value is assessed two ways: 1) an employer’s need and 2) an employee’s productivity.

• Need: Employers hire based on their requirement to fill a need; something needs to get done.
• Productivity: Does the employee deliver ahead of time and on time? Does he or she create additional ways to bring money to the business, help the supervisor leave early, or provide a solution to a problem?

I have a saying in business: “Before I meet the client, it’s our job to know what they need, how we are going to fill their needs, and how we’re going to prove we brought value.”

The question is…Are you valuable?

The Innovator, the Refiner, the Transformer-the Closer!

As an entrepreneur with a consulting firm, I am hired by companies for a variety of services, from program design to conference and meeting planning. Working as a transplant in these organizations enables me to be both a spectator and a participant in growing their business, reaching a new audience, or simply expanding their existing customer base. As you can imagine, working with both for-profit and non-profit businesses, Read the rest of this entry »

I just watched the Rihanna interview on 20/20 with Diane Sawyer and I must say it was outstanding. Rihanna’s maturity is amazing…she’s strong, beautiful, intelligent and resilient.  I felt as if I were watching a mature 30-year old, not a young 20-something (in the age of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan).  So much about the abuse has been played out in the media already, like a bad country musical. Read the rest of this entry »

As an entrepreneur, a big challenge for me is helping others move from mediocrity to excellence. As we move from mediocrity, there are three things that can never be challenged: education, experience, and excellence—what I’d like to call a triple threat or 3 Es. Education (our preparation), excellence (our presentation), and experience (our participation) align to optimize our greatness. Success is measured by one or all three of the above—what you have done, what you have learned, or what you have perfected. Read the rest of this entry »