Identifying
SuperAttainers
The
SuperAttainment Research Center is funding a multi-year study of high achieving individuals across a great variety of fields and geographies. The purpose is to determine key attributes indicating an propensity toward superior achievement that can be recognized by most people with experience managing other people.
The work is ongoing and is being expanded continuously.
The
SuperAttainment Research Center is an initiative to help people
in management positions identify high potential leaders and channel
them toward meaningful contributions to their organizations and to
society at large.
The
8 attributes of SuperAttainers listed below are considered some of
the
most common and easiest to identify when accompanied by other
aspects of career success.
8
Attributes of
SuperAttainers
1. Early Success
The Early Bird Gets the Worm…and Everything Else
SuperAttainers usually begin doing amazing things early in their life. In fields like music and sport, it has long been
understood that for a child to have a chance at greatness, he needs to begin around age 3 and then work at it for many years. In business and politics, unusual ability is also recognized early in a SuperAttainer’s career and is followed with many years of continued achievement. In the greatness game, it is the rabbit who wins the
race -- as long as he persists like the tortoise.
2. Contrarian
When in Rome, Don’t Do As the Romans
SuperAttainers generally think of themselves as different and apart from other people. They can often be described as rebellious and
disobedient by those who try to rule over them and are never willing crowd followers. Tremendous success seems to require doing things tremendously different.
Doing things a little better will yield results that are only a little better than others and this is not what SuperAttainers are interested in.
3. Conceited
The Pride Before The Rise
In order for someone to be thought of as great in the minds of others, he must first be thought of as great in his own mind. The tremendous achievements of SuperAttainers seem to be merely a realization in the outer world of what is already in their inner world. Predictably, it is uncommon for such people to be overly shy about describing their abundant abilities. Many SuperAttainers have come to recognize that being known as arrogant does not help their purpose and they do a good job of appearing modest. However, a bit of digging into their personality should uncover a deep feeling of self-significance.
4. Hard-Knocked
Nothing Succeeds Like Suffering
SuperAttainers have often experienced traumatic periods when their careers or even their lives were in great peril. It is during these times that they gain a deep seated feeling of personal vulnerability that can stay with them for the rest of their lives. The advantage to the future SuperAttainer is that they become consumed by the realization that they must accomplish all they can while they have the chance because it can all come crashing down at any time. It is a psychological condition that will drive them to greatness for
the rest of their lives.
5. Loner
One is Company, Two is a Crowd
SuperAttainers are often described by others as dreamers, outsiders, cold-hearted and similar labels often given to loners. They are comfortable spending long periods in the company of themselves to ponder, learn and envisage the future. Many develop a love of solitary activities such as book-reading early in their life. They are not usually enthusiastic participants in team activities except when they are
leading the group.
6. Mentored
& Motivated
Behind Every Great Man are His Parents
Parents often play
the key role in the cultivation and realization of SuperAttainers,
spending immense amounts of time and money to give their offspring
the skills, experiences and relationships required for immense
amounts of success. They tutor baby SuperAttainers from the crib,
send them to the best schools and put them in touch with the best
mentors. It has been shown that mothers, in particular, can play a
strong role if they are supremely confident in their son's innate
abilities and then take devoted and continuing action to develop
them.
7. Discontent
Patience is No Virtue
SuperAttainers have an abnormally intense need for continuous accomplishment. Success does not bring these people a sense of inner peace. There is always someone else to overtake or a higher target to aspire to. They are impatient, dissatisfied and edgy when not engaged in activities that lead to the fulfillment of their personal goals. They seem psychologically unstable in this regard compared with most people.
8. Promoted
Self-Flattery Gets You Everywhere
There have been many great people who have lived and died in the history of our species but nobody knows most of them because their achievements were inadequately documented. In order to be thought of as a great success by large numbers of people, someone needs to be a great success at publicizing the SuperAttainer. In most instances, it is the SuperAttainers
themselves who are great self-promoters. In other cases, another talented person takes on the critically important role.
TWO
TYPES OF SUPERATTAINERS
1. Aristocratic SuperAttainers
Pampered and pompous, these people excel despite having been given it all. They grow up with all the best things, attend the best schools and hobnob with the best minds. Because they are so deeply bonded to a powerful and privileged elite, they are often conservative and elitist. Real change seldom happens with these people in charge. On the plus side, they are less likely to lead themselves and their followers down paths of mutual destruction. Examples of Aristocratic SuperAttainers include: Winston Churchill, Peter the Great, Louis XIV and Frederick the Great.
2. Come-From-
Nothing
SuperAttainers
Rags to riches, these people pull themselves up to greatness through tremendous obstacles. Luck plays a role but most of their success is due to relentless force of character. Since they come from outside the establishment, they can be great agents of change. Unfortunately, they are prone to crash and burning when they inevitably overstretch themselves and their supporters. Examples of Come-From-Nothing SuperAttainers include: Joseph Stalin,
Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Mao Zedong.
Rules
for Managers
Rules
for Self-Help
Rules
for Parents
Men
Vs. Women
The
SuperAttainment Research Center is operated as a CSR
(Corporate Social Responsibility) activity of Chalre
Associates Executive Search to help business people identify and
develop future leaders for their organizations and society at
large.
Chalre
Associates is a regional provider of Executive Search services
in the emerging countries of the Asia Pacific region.
Multinational companies use them to bridge the gap between the local
environment and their world-class requirements in countries like
Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
 +632 892 6703
 +63 908 880 4178
 leaders@chalre.com
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SuperAttainer:
James Kraft
Founder
of Kraft Foods:
James
Kraft
Main
Life Accomplishments:
James
Kraft, son of a Canadian farmer, started a cheese delivery service in
1903. Driving a horse named Paddy, he supplied Chicago area grocers with
cheese he purchased at wholesale, delivering the cheese early in the
morning, before it could melt or spoil -- a key advantage in a time before
refrigeration was common. Many stores refused to even carry cheese in the
summer months, because it would rot before it was sold. As the business
grew, Kraft acquired his its own dairy facilities, and addressed the
spoilage problem by shredding Cheddar cheese, then heating it enough to
kill its inherent mold and bacteria, stopping the cheese aging process.
His patented, pasteurized cheese had a much longer shelf life than
ordinary cheese, though connoisseurs complained that Kraft had literally
"killed the cheese", and makers of what is now called
"natural cheese" -- unpasteurized -- demanded that Kraft be
forced to sell its product as "embalmed cheese". Instead,
federal regulations eventually required Kraft and other makers of altered
cheese products to market such foodstuffs as "processed cheese".
While James Kraft controlled the company, Kraft introduced Velveeta in
1928, Miracle Whip in 1933, macaroni and cheese in 1937, Parkay margarine
in 1940, sliced processed cheese in 1950, and Cheez Whiz in 1952.
"After we are gone", he wrote in a company newsletter,
"there will be Kraft salesmen trekking the veldt of Africa, braving
the snows of Siberia and battling the superstitions of Mongolia -- all
earnestly striving to increase sales, which by that time will be far in
excess of a hundred million".
Basics:
Born:
11-Dec-1874 Stevensville, Ontario, Canada
Died: Feb-1953
Chicago, IL
Nationality: Canadian-American
Fields: Business
Main Accomplishments: Inventor of processed cheese
Chronology
of Life Events:
11
Dec 1874
James
Kraft born in Stevensville, Ontario, Canada
1903
At
the age of 29, James Kraft founded of Kraft Foods, found himself stranded
in Chicago.
1909
His
brothers John, Charles, Fred, and Norman were all working for James Kraft
as president of a new company called JL Kraft Bros Co.
1910s
Canned
butter shipped to Asia
1914
The
cheeses were available in most towns across the United States.
1915
Kraft
sold $5,000 worth of pasteurised cheese in tins for export to India and
Asia. The next year sales went up to $150,000.
1916
Method
for processing cheese discovered. In 1916, Chicago businessman James L
Kraft invented a method for the pasteurisation and emulsification of
cheese. By halting the natural maturing of cheese during processing, he
had discovered a method for storing cheese indefinitely.
His invention of a cheese that could be stored indefinitely was soon
acknowledged as one of the greatest advances in cheese-making history.
1921
James
Kraft agreed to share the patent rights and in 1928 the two companies were
united as the Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation.
1925
James
Kraft and Fred Walker met in August 1925, and in 1926 the Kraft Walker
Cheese Company in Australia was formed."
1933
Kraft
started to use radio on an extensive scale.
1953
James
Kraft died in Chicago.
Early
Life:
James
Lewis Kraft, born in 1874 on a farm near Ontario, was the second of 11
children brought up with the religious teachings of his Mennonite parents.
At the age of 18, he took a job at Ferguson's grocery store in Fort Erie,
and later invested in a cheese company in Buffalo. He went to Chicago,
Illinois, to look after the company branch in that city, and while there,
his partners eased him out of the business.
Stranded in Chicago in 1903 with US$65 in capital, he put his knowledge of
merchandising to good use. He obtained a horse (called Paddy) and wagon,
and every day bought cheeses in the wholesale warehouse district of the
city and resold them to small stores, saving the merchants the task of
making the trip. The business began to prosper, and by 1909, several of
his brothers had joined the company as permanent employees: Charles H,
John H, Fred and Norman. In that year the business was incorporated under
the name of JL Kraft & Bros Co, with James L Kraft as president.
James Kraft's early experience with cheese instilled in him the desire to
improve, or change, certain qualities in cheese to give it a longer shelf
life and more uniform flavor. Until that time cheddar cheese, which was
the most widely sold variety in the United States, either moulded or dried
quickly so there was excessive waste. It also varied greatly in taste,
much of it having a strong or bitter flavour that was unpalatable.
From the small beginnings of selling a few standard varieties of cheese
wholesale, the company was distributing within a few years some 30
varieties of cheese packaged under the brand names of Kraft and Elkhorn,
and by 1914 the cheeses were available in most towns across the United
States. The company also began to manufacture its own products, including
new and traditional varieties of cheese. Most of its new cheeses were
packaged in glass jars or in foil-wrapped packages.
As a result of constant experimentation throughout the years to give
cheese longer lasting qualities, James Kraft's major contribution to the
cheese industry in America was processed cheese. His work resulted in a
product that could be packaged without waste, maintain a uniform quality,
and be sold in convenient sizes.
He sold US$5,000 worth of pasteurised cheese in tins in 1915, the first
lots going to India and Asia. The next year sales went up to US$150,000.
The new product was ideal for shipment over long distances, and the US
Government ordered more than 6 million pounds of Kraft cheese in tins to
feed soldiers during World War I.
A patent for what became known as processed cheese ('process cheese' in
America) was granted to Kraft in 1916. The Phenix Cheese Company (famous
for its Philadelphia cream cheese) had been working on a similar process
to produce Swiss Gruyère cheese but did not file its patent in time.
However, in 1921 James Kraft agreed to share the patent rights and in 1928
the two companies were united as the Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation.
The rapid growth of the company prompted Kraft to extend its production
into other areas of the United States. Later the company had cheese
production facilities in 23 states and the production efforts of farmers'
cooperatives in others. After the processed cheese was launched on a
national scale, Kraft added to its line the mass production of such
specialty cheeses such as Edam, Gouda and blue cheese.
In 1920, Kraft purchased MacLaren's Imperial Cheese Co Ltd and began
selling processed cheese in tins and loaves in Canada on a national scale.
The Canadian company was used to export Kraft products to Europe until
operations were established in England and Germany. James Kraft and Fred
Walker met in August 1925, and in 1926 the Kraft Walker Cheese Company in
Australia was formed.
From its earliest days, the rapid and continued growth of what was to
become the world's second largest food company was brought about by its
new product development and the use of innovative advertising methods.
James Kraft was an early user of all communications media and, as early as
1911, was advertising on Chicago elevated trains, using outdoor billboards
and mailing circulars to retail grocers. He was among the first to
advertise in consumer journals and to use coloured advertisements in
national magazines.
Wife
Background:
Pauline
Kraft.
Father
Background:
George
Kraft a farmer, father of James Kraft.
Mother
Background:
Minerva
Alice Tripp Kraft.
SuperAttainer
ANALYSIS
SECTION:
1. Early Success
When
did the SuperAttainer first display ability that was greatly above average
and what were his accomplishments?
REFERENCES:
1.
2. Contrarian
What actions did the SuperAttainer take that demonstrated a mindset that was
very different from those around him?
REFERENCES:
1.
3. Conceited
What are the actions and documented statements that exhibit an elevated
sense of self importance of the SuperAttainer?
REFERENCES:
1.
4. Hard-Knocked
During what events did the SuperAttainer experience personal misery and
severe anxiety?
REFERENCES:
1.
5. Loner
Is there evidence of the SuperAttainer being comfortable spending time apart
from others?
REFERENCES:
1.
6. Mentored &
Motivated
Who was vital to developing the SuperAttainer and guiding his career and
what significant actions were taken?
REFERENCES:
1.
7. Discontent
What evidence is there that the SuperAttainer was unsatisfied with even
great personal accomplishment?
REFERENCES:
1.
8. Promoted
What actions or events were responsible for publicizing the tremendous
achievements and abilities of the SuperAttainer?
REFERENCES:
1.
Overall
Score:
x
out of 8 = xx%
PASS
SuperAttainer
Type:
Describe
the factors in the SuperAttainer’s background to indicate whether he is a
Come-From-Nothing or Aristocratic type..
Conclusion:
Executive Search
& Management Consulting:
Chalre
Associates provides its Executive Search & Management
Consulting services throughout the emerging countries of the Asia
Pacific region with specific focus on Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand,
Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. Regional Managers use us to help
bridge the gap between local environments and the world-class
requirements of multinational corporations.
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