Become the Instrument of Change

Living on Saipan has been a dream for me and my family. What started out as a possible two-year contract with the college has extended to 14 years. During those years, starting in 1997, we have seen many changes that have taken a toll on the individuals, businesses, and other organizations. We are currently in the midst of a transition that will make or break this place.

This wasn’t unforeseen; in fact, it was predicted by numerous other writers in the paper and individuals who are concerned about the future of the CNMI. One of the difficult things for me to witness is the disregard of undeveloped potential, and how many of our resources are wasted. Tony Pellegrino has written about the “acres of diamonds” that lie under our feet, but people ignore them to search elsewhere for solutions.

A couple of months ago, I promoted a concept called the BizGrowth Challenge that had the goal of gathering the various resources to assist business owners to be as successful as possible. Many agencies and individuals supported me in this effort, but for whatever reason, there was a lack of interest on the part of those we were trying to assist.

Let me step back and share some of my history and why I know there is huge potential, but one must be willing to start digging underneath their feet to discover the diamonds they are standing on. My first business was an advertising agency that I started while I was in graduate school in 1982. One of my clients was a small exercise equipment manufacture called Weslo, and I worked closely with one of the owners, Gary Stevenson, to develop marketing materials to promote their fitness equipment.

I eventually graduated with a master’s degree and joined the Air Force to fly as a navigator on the KC-135 aircraft, and Weslo went on to acquire the rights to name brand companies in the fitness industry such as ProForm, Gold’s Gym, and NordicTrack, and become a billion-dollar corporation under the name ICON Health & Fitness.

In the ensuing years, my experience with Weslo and their ultimate success caused me to pursue the answer to this question: “Why do some businesses experience spectacular success and create an ideal lifestyle for their owners, while the majority of business owners seem to create a “job” for themselves that makes it more difficult to live their ideal lifestyle?”

In pursuit to answer that question, I earned a second master’s degree in management, and spent countless hours and thousands of dollars devoted toward learning the business principles and strategies from the books, tapes and seminars of individuals who are considered the best in their field. I learned and applied effective business marketing and management concepts that could produce dramatic results over time, and free business owners to either pursue more opportunities or create a more balanced lifestyle as their business continued to grow.

In addition, I was told that the Air Force spent over $600,000 training me to create a flight plan and successfully navigate a multi-million dollar aircraft to complete its mission to get from point A to point B. Because of my previous business background and work with clients, I could see a lot of similarities in what I was doing as a navigator and what it takes to develop an effective strategy for a company to take their business as high as they want to go with it.

But here’s the rub, they must be willing to get on the runway and give it a full-throttle effort to take their business off the ground. If they don’t believe they can take off, they won’t even try. My biggest concern is that many business owners have given up and are thinking about their exit strategy (how they can get their business off the runway) instead of their takeoff strategy.

Yes, it has become extremely difficult for some to operate a business and turn a profit, but there are still many opportunities for those who are willing to try. Once an individual gives up, there is a 90 percent chance of failure. However, if a business owner maintains an open mind to examine the possibilities, and then gives it a full-throttle effort to tackle their biggest challenges and opportunities then they have a 90 percent chance of success.

Just like in my old navigation days, it requires you to know your destination, then create a plan, identify the needed resources, and then keep the image of your ultimate outcome constantly before you as you make the effort to accomplish critical goals that will allow you to achieve the vision you have for your business and personal life. Don’t remain stuck on the runway of life, hoping that the weather changes. Become the instrument of change.