Читать книгу The Big Idea - Tony Richards - Страница 4

Do you want to get better?

Who doesn’t, right? But why do many people struggle with self-improvement? It could be your work life, personal life, relationships, etc. Tony Richards can help you transform your life towards the person you want to be. But like anything else, you’d better want it badly enough, listen and make changes. You see, I should know, as Tony has not only helped me personally, but he’s helped our company transform into a powerhouse organization. We’ve improved our profitability dramatically by implementing enormous change. We’ve made thirty-one acquisitions in three years and are growing the company to record heights.

How did we do it? We listened to Tony and his message. Listened and eventually rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We’ve been using Tony’s guidance to help us face our brutal facts and to come up with positive solutions. We’ve taken Tony’s advice and addressed all those issues that had been holding us back for so long. As you know change is very difficult. Tony first helped me understand my limitations as a leader, and then we worked on the company. Not only did our sales unit volumes set records, but our margins did as well! We went from losing money to profitability of $28 million in one year! Did we have challenges? No doubt! But Tony’s message resonated with me and my people, and so well that all it took was to understand that we were our own worst enemy and soon we began fixing it.

I realize our improved results sound simple, and in fact it was simple. But simple doesn’t mean it was easy! Our team had to realize we could in fact make the positive changes we needed to make in order for the company to succeed. Much of our challenge was simply getting our people to believe how good we could be. We used metrics to measure our key performance indicators. Our people gained alignment and began to understand that in order for us to reach our vision of a great company, change needed to be our best friend. Tony’s message was spot-on for us.

As I look back on my thirty-year career and the many challenges I’ve had, the majority of the solutions were to simply step up my leadership and take accountability for myself. I believe most of the time we know and understand the changes that need to be made in order to make progress, but for whatever reason we rationalize and procrastinate. For me it was gaining a better understanding of the talent and eventually making changes in my staff. For you it might be something else. We used real-life stories to prove our points. Whatever issues you or your company face, Tony’s book provides excellent solutions for you to pursue. Tony breaks the book down into four major categories: Leading Yourself, Leading Others, Leading Your Organization, and Leading Your Community. The book follows a perfect progression, as you can’t lead anyone else until you lead yourself.

Enjoy this wonderful book!

Mark Fenner

CEO, MFA Oil Company