CHICAGO -- "There is no excuse for not being able to take leadership in some area," stressed futurist Edie Weiner to attendees at the 2008 NACS State of the Industry Summit in partnership with CSP last Friday in Chicago. And values have nothing to do with leadership, said Weiner, a partner in the consulting firm Weiner, Edrich Brown Inc. "Most people focus on values, and we want to be guided by values. But we are more programmed to follow people we don't agree with but have a clear vision, than those we agree with and don't," she said.
Weiner picked two people clearly at opposite ends [image-nocss] of the value spectrum— Adolf Hitler and Mother Teresa—to discuss commonalities that all leaders possess: There is a vision and a passion for that vision; the leader has an ability to articulate that vision in words or deeds so well that a disinterested party will follow; and the leader will articulate that vision in a way that he or she will never be embarrassed.
Her third point is one that is sometimes overlooked, but critical. "If you take a look at the winners and losers, the winners are never embarrassed," said Weiner, citing politicians such as Ross Perot and Bill Clinton. Al Gore, however, "stumbled over who he was," said Weiner, and it cost him the 2000 election.
Weiner urged attendees to look at the trends around them, particularly those outside the industry, as opportunities to expand their businesses.
Competition, for one, can be great for business. When a new threat emerges, think how it can grow your business, as opposed to how it could harm your business, Weiner said. "We have to stop thinking about subtraction, and not even addition, but multiplication," she said.
Businesses too often think narrowly about their competition, and a perfect example is the entertainment industry. Initially, radio was thought to be dead when television gained mass acceptance. But instead, it evolved, dropping murder mysteries and instead offered more music and talk formats. The movie industry also was threatened by TV, but adapted by developing movies that were even grander in size and scope. Later, Hollywood fought videotaping technology, feeling it would cripple both TV and the movies. "However, each of them made more separately than they did before," said Weiner. A perfect example of the multiplication effect is the movie The Lion King, which is much more than just a movie; not only did families see the movie in the theater, they bought the videotape and soundtrack album, then the CD and DVD, and all of the licensed Disney products.
On the other hand, when digital downloads were introduced by companies like Napster, the music industry failed to capture the multiplication effect. At the time, Sony was renowned for its vision of portable, personal entertainment (like the Walkman), but fought to protect its music business by filing lawsuits. Meanwhile, a computer company with minimal presence in the music business saw the opportunity and the iPod was born. "Sony forgot its vision and relied on tactics to guide a strategy," said Weiner. "It should have been a Sony iPod."
"Do you have a vision—or a mission statement"" asked Weiner. If it's just the latter, "Big deal!" she said. "You want people with no stake in your future to follow you."
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