Robert L. Sullivan III
The operating environment is always moving to higher levels of complexity. The answer to
complexity is--simplicity. Many companies fail to improve because they are in conflict with the
operating environment. Their leaders have long discontinued any program or process of self-
development, and they become what is termed "past-based." This puts their organization, within
the past-based paradigms of their leaders, in conflict with the operating environment. In short, the
organization becomes stagnant and enters a phase of decline.
Is there a formula that management can use to move the organization to a higher level?
Definitely there is and through this book it will be shared with you.
The author's underlying principle has always been that, leaders have the duty, above all, to learn
from others. He discovered the importance of this while coaching college-level football. A coach,
after all, is a student of the game and successful coaches must either continue learning, growing,
and achieving, or abdicate their mission as coaches. A LEADER, LIKE A COACH, MUST
"BE" SOMEONE TO HIS PEOPLE RATHER THAN "DO" FOR THEM. No matter how bad
the game gets, the coach cannot step onto the field and play the game for his players; he must
remain on the sideline. Coaches must be skilled at posting results; their expertise must extend to
three areas:
- They must know what they want to achieve.
- They must be able to communicate clearly what they want to achieve.
- They must be able to turn what they want to achieve into reality.
He believes that it is through people that performance of any kind, good or bad is posted. Coaches
seek out the "blue chip" athletes and develop them. Therefore, he asks, should an organization do
any less?
Read what some leaders had to say:
"The Formula will help you define the competitive position of the leadership in your organization
and help you find the answer to a critical question--are your leaders past-based or future-based."
- Gary Sasser, President/CEO, Averitt Express
"Whether in sports or business good competition brings out the best in people. This book presents
a great game plan for either, as well as life in general."
- Wayne Spain, COO, Averitt Express
"The title of this book has been carefully chosen by the author. If any of us think that moving an
LTL Carrier to elite performance does not include the elements of The Formula then we are badly
mistaken. Ward Trucking Corp 103.5 Operating Ratio in 1989; 92.0 Operating Ratio in 2002, The
Formula works!"
- Dave Ward, President, Ward Trucking Corporation
"If you want to improve the performance of your company, this is the book. The Formula saved
us."
- Dennis Britt, President, Service Transport, Inc.
The author is the Founder and President of Effective Management Systems, Inc., an Atlanta based
Consulting Firm, formed in 1986. Since starting this company, his passion has been to study
declining and failing companies. His unique ability to analyze an organization and sort problems
from symptoms permits him to create and develop a winning game plan for his clients. This
enables him to create exclusive workshops, which he teaches, such as "A Coaching Clinic for
Leaders" - "What is Your Operating Philosophy" - "Cost, Volume, Contribution."
He holds a Commercial Pilot Certificate, an instrument rating, Multi-Engine rating, and is also a
rated Helicopter Pilot.
Being a fan of challenge, he was a Competitive Power lifter for several years and coached
football at the college level.
His book, The Formula, is not academic theory, but instead based on 32 years of getting his nose
bloodied in the trenches, putting it on the line with every assignment, and real world experience.
To learn more about Mr. Sullivan, visit his web site at www.EffMgt.com.
I have been pining to discuss a little-known technique that the best leaders use to maintain growth and
increase the value of their organization. We agree now that failure to cope with human and organizational
issues, first and foremost, can bring your company smack-dab against the Barrier of Complexity. The
question is: How do you inure your company against human and organizational issues that prevent you
from being an Eagle? In today's market, to become an Eagle you have no choice but to build an
advantage over your competitors. But competitive advantage essentially means providing superior service
to the customer. This is what underpins competitive advantage. Customers must consider your service
superior; otherwise they will never reward your organization with their business.
There are three fundamental principles of competitive advantage:
- Leveraging the company's capabilities.
- Positioning within the industry.
- Neutralizing the competition.
The key is the first principle: leveraging capabilities and people. Remember: It is through people that
performance of any kind, good or bad is posted. Moreover, competitive advantage begins with the
selection of the leaders, who must share the vision and values of the company and then set to work trying
to develop them. Without strong, future-based leaders, neither your service center nor the company will
achieve this advantage triad in the face of competition.
In our industry, leaders for the most part are trained to be generalists - to lead and to function in several
areas. In the course of his career, a generalist works inbound, outbound, breakbulk, sales, and
administration, all of which should teach him or her how to manage a service center. Which is fine.
Earlier, I stated that a leader in the phase of rugged individualism should develop strong traits that will,
without a doubt, be beneficial throughout his career - even if, at some point, he reaches a barrier that
forces him to change from rugged individualist to member of a unique team. Making the transformation is
the key to sustained growth. Let's look at how this works psychologically.
Each of us has the potential of mastering some aspect of life, or even exhibiting genius. But since most of
us find it difficult to imagine ourselves as geniuses or are downright intimidated by the thought, I will use
this word sparingly. Let's call musicians like Mozart, Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford masters
of their domain. There are also masters of space - architects, painters, and sculptors. And there is athletic
mastery - Wayne Gretzky, Dan Marino, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods. They are all masters because they
learned to use and develop their unique ability to become great in their respective fields.
When we think of genius we normally think of a score high enough (usually 140 or above) on the
standard IQ test to earn the person that epithet. Most people don't understand that the standard IQ test
measures only one kind of intelligence: logical reasoning. There are other kinds of intelligence that could
never show up on an IQ test, but in which some masters could qualify as geniuses. One especially
poignant example is Mohammed Ali. When he was a teenager, he was administered a standard IQ test and
scored a measly 78 points, which is considered subnormal. Imagine - Mohammed Ali, one of the best-
known men in modern history, the greatest boxer of all time, a man with immeasurable charisma and
charm. There is just nothing "subnormal" about this guy! Why not? Because he has a unique ability. He
and others recognized it and, fortunately for him, there was a support structure to help him focus on this
unique ability.
This level of mastery is available to anyone devoted to developing it. The only catch is that you have not
only to identify your area of unique ability but also to create a support system that permits you to focus on
it.
How about another definition of mastery? Mastery as the continuous development of a unique ability to
ever- higher levels. Is this definition more complete?
As we move into the 21st century, I think the concept of genius or master will acquire more depth of
meaning. Today we still associate it with rugged individualism. We have been conditioned to believe a
master is a practitioner who chooses a life of isolation to concoct his leading-edge theory, product, or
service, which alters some paradigm and fosters a whole new way of looking at things. In information
technology Bill Gates or Michael Dell immediately come to mind. However, the dynamics of changes
taking place today are such that the masters of tomorrow will be the products of extraordinary teamwork
rather than just extraordinary minds.
This is the crux of another secret I want to share with you. Look at the latest changes taking place in
Microsoft. Bill Gates recently announced he was removing himself from the day-to-day management of
Microsoft in order to focus on developmental challenges. Yet by changing its internal structure Microsoft
is actually repositioning itself. Having anticipated a change in the rules of the game, Bill Gates aims to
focus his energy more in areas where his abilities are unique. Microsoft is reorganizing its strategy around
the unique abilities of its greatest human resources to create a competitive advantage designed to change
the rules of the game in its favor once again. I'll bet my money on this!
This is a powerful strategy, the future repercussions of which we could only guess at. I hope you can see
that.
In the end, it is not so much the particular individual who is the master or genius, in the sense still
recognized today, but how that individual can match up his unique abilities with other peoples' unique
abilities to produce the next generation of masters in the business world.
