Investor's Business Daily, May 24th, 2007
Talented people don't always get to the top. Sometimes they make wrong turns, says John Maxwell, author of "Talent Is Never Enough."
He points out that transforming talent into success is all about making the right work choices.
"That's how I can make my talent blossom," Maxwell told IBD. "That's where I can make huge progress."
Leaders know expertise is only a starting point. It's what you do with talent that makes or breaks a career.
Pick your passion. Maxwell says if you chase two rabbits, both will escape. If you stick with what you're good at and excited about, that's when you're in Maxwell's "talent plus" zone.
"Few people have discovered what they're truly good at," he said. "Fewer are disciplined enough to stay right there in that sweet spot."
Focus on possibilities. Want a picture of your potential? Maxwell suggests imagining someone like you, but who has fewer limitations and is in the right place at the right time. That's who you can be if you ignore perceived barriers to success.
"Excuses are just exit signs," Maxwell said. "Next thing you know you're off the highway."
Respect the road. Some like to say rising stars have it made, ignoring the years of hard work that went into making it.
Maxwell recalls when he gave a speech for 2,000 people who'd paid $200 each.
An audience member did the math and joked that he wanted that job. Maxwell answered: "Would you like to do what I did so you can do what I do?" It's a long road to success, with no shortcuts.
Lessons over lasagna. More than a good meal is shared at the family dinner table -- but you have to listen for the good stuff, says Jeffrey Fox.
For his book "How to Get to the Top: Business Lessons Learned at the Dinner Table," Fox polled leading executives on the bread-breaking insights that fed their successes.
"The dinner table is iconic and a metaphor for civilized living and learning," Fox told IBD.
Get to work. Jim Donald, CEO of Starbucks, is notoriously hands-on. During visits to his firm's locations, he makes sure to serve coffee.
"My mother wore an apron. I can wear an apron!" Donald told Fox.
The coffee boss learned from his single, jack-of-all-trades mother to do what has to be done, no matter the job.
Walk your talk. "All you have is your reputation, your word. Be a man of your word and you will be successful," Irvin Feld told his son.
In the 1960s, Feld revamped a failing Ringling Bros., promising the "Greatest Show on Earth." The circus delivered; it's performing nonstop into its third century.
Son Kenneth assured Disney executives he could grow its single ice show into an entire brand. "Disney on Ice" has since expanded to include 20 traveling shows.
Keep paying attention. The highest praise handed out by Beaulieu Vineyard Chairman Legh Knowles is: "He didn't go to school to eat his lunch."
Fox says that anyone who is too lazy to learn, at any age, is irrelevant.
