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.
 |
|
"One-in-a-Million" Minute by Steven J. Heaslip
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CHRISTMAS TIME….
1/06/12
Happy New Year! Don’t you find, sometimes, that holidays are
a time for strange encounters? Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but most times eye-opening. I
remember writing about one last year that embodied the holiday spirit (see “Lots of Heart” at www.be1inamillion.blogspot.com). This year, well, not so much. In
fact, I had two somewhat similar experiences. Each experience was in the midst of the holiday season and
each of them was disconcerting in and of itself. But it was my reaction to each that I want to talk to
you about.
So let me tell you about them: For the first encounter, I was at Lavo, a Restaurant/Bar
on 58th between Park and Madison, having holiday drinks with a friend of mine. I had to visit
the men’s room and as I entered, two men preceded me. Now the men’s room was not large.
Two “stand-up” stations and one “sit-down”. The guys who got there before
me went to the stand up spots, which left me with the sit-down station (even though I only needed to stand-up).
One guy says to the other guy; “I took my staff out to lunch today, and it cost me 500 bucks. 500
bucks of my own money for lunch for a bunch of retards”. “How much does 500 retard dollars
buy?” the other guys says. And they proceed to talk back and forth like this until I step out of
the stall.
For the second encounter, I was at 60th and Amsterdam, walking
back to my apartment. There was a couple slightly ahead of me. A well dressed distinguished
looking man in his 60’s, and a well dressed, slightly younger woman beside him. He was on his cell
phone and as I walked past them (I was walking faster), I heard him say “I’m standing beside a f*#king moron,
and you know who that is, who has no clue where she is going.” After he gets off the phone, he continued
to verbally abuse her. She said very softly “you need help” to which he replied “I need
help? I’m the most self-sufficient guy there is. I don’t need help with
anything.”
So how do you think I reacted? And how would you react?
Honestly – what do you think you would do?
Well,
in the men’s room, as I went to the sink to wash my hands, I kinda pushed one of the guys out of the way.
He said “Hey! What are you doing? I’m using the sink?” Well,
now that WE were engaged in a conversation, I let them both know what I heard and what I thought. Very
expressively by the way (my first job out of university was in a factory, so I know how to cuss someone out rather forcefully).
They actually both apologized, and I stepped out of the men’s room leaving them there to wonder what the hell
had happened, and feeling pretty good about myself.
And
on the street? Well, I did nothing. That’s right. Nothing.
And I still feel terribly about that.
You see, we can tell ourselves that some things are none of our business.
And to be sure, some things are. But when people are being abused or denigrated, or otherwise harmed
in some way, we should make it our business. You can pick the arena: business, politics, religion, sports,
entertainment, education, everywhere. There are stark examples of bad things being done to people that
no one confronts. And whether it’s the “it’s none of my business excuse” or any
other excuse, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR INACTION. And I can tell you, what happened on 60th street
that day between Christmas and New Year’s will not happen to me again. I will intervene every time
from now on.
(see “A Million and One Ways
to be One-in-a-Million”; Chapter 2 – The Gift, Chapter 3 – Luke….Use the Force)
|
