Case in Point: How Steve Case Achieved Success
Case in Point: How Steve Case Achieved Success
Perseverance: “I think it's really about hope and optimism and possibility,” says Case. “Some day we were going to be living in a more interactive world…I think just that vision of that, that some day that was going to happen, I think, propelled us.” Case recognized that in the early stages of not only a new technology, but also a new company, it would always be difficult to get others to catch onto your idea. Nevertheless, he stuck to his vision and worked to make it a reality.
Out-of-the-Box Thinking: “I'm an entrepreneur. I like building companies, but I also like building projects,” says Case. “The question for me is how do you get more change, more out of-the-box thinking, and more focused on scaling in the charitable sector.” Whether you run a business or not, Case believes that success in any walk of life requires creative thinking and a little bit of risk taking. Thinking like an entrepreneur is what sets apart those who succeed from those who do not.
Perspective: “You've got to be able to take a step back and not be so caught up in the day-to-day that you don't have a sense of the broader tectonic shifts, and maybe you have to make some adjustment, which is why the perspective part is important,” says Case. “Look at the world as sort of a mosaic and kind of see how the pieces come together.” Having a sense of perspective was what allowed Case to see his success – or lack thereof in the early stages – as a process that would evolve when it was ready. “You stick it out,” he says. “You just got to.”
Innovation: “We do believe we're on the path of building what may be the most valuable company and most respected company in the world someday, and we're going to continue to focus on making that happen,” Case once said of AOL. It was only by taking the lead, by taking risks and by venturing where others hadn’t yet that AOL was able to come out on top.
Solidarity: “Spending more of your time figuring out who you want to have on your team, and then pointing them in the direction that you want to go is really critical,” says Case. “You're only as strong as your team…No one person can really make it happen.” Case understood that it was the people he chose to align himself with professionally that would be one of the key ingredients to his success.
“If you're doing something new you've got to have a vision,” says Case. “You've got to have some north star you're aiming for, and you just believe somehow you'll get there.” Indeed, Case arrived at his north star and he brought Americans along with him for the ride.
Case in Point How Steve Case Achieved Success
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“I focus less on looking back and more on looking forward,” says Case. “That was all interesting. It was a great journey for 20-plus years. Some ups, some downs but overall a great experience. The question now is ‘What’s the next journey? What's the next challenge?’” From selling fruit baskets in college to ranking on Forbes’ list of the wealthiest Americans, Case had come a long way to create a company that would soon become a household name and go down in history for its impact on people’s lives as well as its multi-billion dollar merger. Just how did this boy, who once dreamed of becoming a rock star, become the successful entrepreneur that he is today?
Perseverance: “I think it's really about hope and optimism and possibility,” says Case. “Some day we were going to be living in a more interactive world…I think just that vision of that, that some day that was going to happen, I think, propelled us.” Case recognized that in the early stages of not only a new technology, but also a new company, it would always be difficult to get others to catch onto your idea. Nevertheless, he stuck to his vision and worked to make it a reality.
Out-of-the-Box Thinking: “I'm an entrepreneur. I like building companies, but I also like building projects,” says Case. “The question for me is how do you get more change, more out of-the-box thinking, and more focused on scaling in the charitable sector.” Whether you run a business or not, Case believes that success in any walk of life requires creative thinking and a little bit of risk taking. Thinking like an entrepreneur is what sets apart those who succeed from those who do not.
Perspective: “You've got to be able to take a step back and not be so caught up in the day-to-day that you don't have a sense of the broader tectonic shifts, and maybe you have to make some adjustment, which is why the perspective part is important,” says Case. “Look at the world as sort of a mosaic and kind of see how the pieces come together.” Having a sense of perspective was what allowed Case to see his success – or lack thereof in the early stages – as a process that would evolve when it was ready. “You stick it out,” he says. “You just got to.”
Innovation: “We do believe we're on the path of building what may be the most valuable company and most respected company in the world someday, and we're going to continue to focus on making that happen,” Case once said of AOL. It was only by taking the lead, by taking risks and by venturing where others hadn’t yet that AOL was able to come out on top.
Solidarity: “Spending more of your time figuring out who you want to have on your team, and then pointing them in the direction that you want to go is really critical,” says Case. “You're only as strong as your team…No one person can really make it happen.” Case understood that it was the people he chose to align himself with professionally that would be one of the key ingredients to his success.
“If you're doing something new you've got to have a vision,” says Case. “You've got to have some north star you're aiming for, and you just believe somehow you'll get there.” Indeed, Case arrived at his north star and he brought Americans along with him for the ride.
Case in Point How Steve Case Achieved Success
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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