I WANT TO BUY THE BOOK
The title grabs
you, doesn’t it? Who on earth doesn’t want to be thought of as One-in-a-Million.
So of course you want to set yourself apart from the herd. Or as Jack Welch says, “get out
from the pile”. Well how do you do that? And can just about anybody do that? There are virtually millions of entry
level and middle managers in America looking for a way to set themselves apart from the rest. In addition
to simply getting the results, the qualities that get them noticed and valued are indeed elusive. A Million and One
Ways to be One-in-a Million therefore is a set of lessons and examples of behavior that, if practiced, allow us to be different – different
in very positive ways. Now let’s think about this for a minute. Who wakes up in
the morning and says “today I want to go out and be part of the herd” or “today I think I’ll just
blend in with the masses”. In today’s business culture, whether you work in a mega-multinational
company, a small business venture, or even work on your own for yourself – in order to be most successful, we must find
a way to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the pack. Companies have strived to do this with their
brands and products since the birth of consumerism. But, just like with products, it’s not about
being gimmicky or superficial – the old ‘dress for success’ isn’t good enough and isn’t where
we’ve evolved. What this book is about is providing ways for you to differentiate yourself in a manner
that is valued and appreciated, and in a way that should produce a meaningful impact to your success. Most
of these actions transcend the business sector with broad applicability and appeal and can be employed/engaged in our personal
lives, thereby developing ways to become “One-in-a-Million” with our spouses, children, friends and colleagues.
Doing your job well in today’s business environment is the price of entry. But just
doing a good job doesn’t ensure success and it isn’t the attribute that sets us apart. The
differentiating factor really lay in being different. One might think – “everybody
knows that!” The point is though, even if everybody knows it, they’re not practicing it!
You see, even when things seem self evident, understanding the impact of a particular behavior, and consciously and
explicitly attempting to practice it, is indeed how we improve ourselves.
AUTHOR BIO
Steven Heaslip
has worked for more than 25 years in the Human Resources field. Much of that time was spent with consumer products
giant, Unilever. Armed with his undergraduate degree in Chemistry, he started out as a Production Supervisor
Trainee in a soap factory in Toronto to eventually become the Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources for
Unilever's Elizabeth Arden's business headquartered in Manhattan. Recently, as the Senior Vice President and Chief
Human Resources Officer for International Flavores and Fragrances, (a publically traded $2.5 billion enterprise with approximately
5,500 associates operating in 37 countries around the world) and as a guest lecturer at Columbia and Fordham Universities,
Mr. Heaslip finds himself imparting these critical behaviorial lessons to many young managers and business school students
and the like. The response he elicits from them is dramatic. Mr. Heaslip holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from McMaster University. He also
is a Board Member of the Ray Festa Melanoma Foundation dedicated to building awareness and promoting the prevention
of Melanoma.
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"One-in-a-Million" Minute by Steven J. Heaslip
WOULD YOU STEP INTO THE BREAST….I MEAN THE
BREACH? 2/04/12
OK, forgive the title. But
I know you have been following the whole Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy. So tell me, would
you forgive them? Would you pretend it never happened?
Well,
no matter your answer, let’s think about all of this for a minute. There are many who have said that
“charity” or “medical care” should not be political. Come on. Really?
It is often political. In the US, public health care is a political football. And
indeed, many charities are not secular in nature. Let’s face it, there are catholic charities, jewish
charities, African American, Hispanic, all sorts of charities that are belief driven (not to be confused with mission driven).
So, up to this point in time, SGK has been very explicit about their mission (basically to eradicate breast cancer),
but has not been so explicit about their beliefs. That is, until a couple of days ago. They,
defacto, declared their belief to be Pro-Life. Now, I saw the founder of SGK, Nancy Brinker, on television
the day before the “switchback”, and let me tell you, the level of rationalization and soft-speak rivaled the
slickest most unprincipled politico. Even after a defacto declaration, she was unwilling to own it.
I am not going to weigh in on the issue of Pro-Life/Pro-Choice, because that isn’t
the point here. What I see here is the leadership of a very substantial charity with a very laudable mission
who lack principle. Had they come out and said, as a Board, we do not support abortion and therefore cannot
support Planned Parenthood, I may or may not be aligned with them, but I would have respected their principles.
But what did they do? They double-spoke, and ultimately caved, not because of a change of belief,
but because of money. They were losing support (and therefore money) at an alarming rate, and they lacked
the principle to stand up for their values, and lacked the principle to accept the consequences. And therefore, no matter your view; whether you agree or disagree with their
beliefs, this is not an organization worth supporting. And I’m not saying that we shouldn’t
support the cause. We should just make sure that we support the cause through other charitable organizations.
But remember, there is a lesson here for
all of us as individuals: Wear your beliefs on your sleeve. Celebrate them.
Accept the consequences of those beliefs and earn the respect of everyone.
(see “A Million and One Ways to be One-in-a-Million”; Chapter 2 – The Gift, Chapter
3 – Luke….Use the Force; Chapter 8 – You Always Have Choices)
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