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
|
|
SuperAttainer:
Guglielmo
Marconi
Inventor
of Wireless Communication:
Guglielmo
Marconi
Main
Life Accomplishments:
He
shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun, "in
recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless
telegraphy". Later in life, Marconi was an active Italian Fascist and
an apologist for their ideology (such as the attack by Italian forces in
Ethiopia).
Basics:
Born: April
25, 1874 in Palazzo Marescalchi, Bologna, Italy
Died: July 20, 1937 (aged 63) at Rome, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Religion: Roman Catholic
Fields: Science
Main Accomplishments: An Italian inventor, best known for his
development of a radiotelegraph system, which served as the foundation for
the establishment of numerous affiliated companies worldwide.
Chronology
of Life Events:
Apr
25 1874
Birth
of Guglielmo Marconi
1895
Marconi
moved his experimentation outdoors
1896
Marconi
traveled to London, England, accompanied by his mother
Mar
1897
Marconi
had transmitted Morse code signals over a distance of about 6 kilometres
(4 miles) across the Salisbury Plain
May
1897
Spanned
the Bristol Channel from Lavernock Point, South Wales to Brean Down, a
distance of 14 kilometres (8.7 miles)
1899
The
Marconi instruments were tested and the tests concerning his wireless
system found that the "[...] coherer, principle of which was
discovered some twenty years ago, [was] the only electrical instrument or
device contained in the apparatus that is at all new".
Dec
12 1901
Marconi
soon made the announcement using a 122-metre (400-foot) kite-supported
antenna for reception,
Dec
17 1902
A
transmission from the Marconi station in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada,
became the first radio message to cross the Atlantic in an eastward
direction.
Jan
18 1903
A
Marconi station built near Wellfleet, Massachusetts in 1901 sent a message
of greetings from Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States,
to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, marking the first transatlantic
radio transmission originating in the United States
1911
The
Marconi Company purchased the Lodge-Muirhead Syndicate, whose primary
asset was Oliver Lodge's 1897 tuning patent.)
1943
A
lawsuit regarding Marconi's numerous other radio patents was resolved in
the United States
1914
Marconi
was both made a Senatore in the Italian Senate, and appointed Honorary
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the United Kingdom
1924
He
was made a marchese by King Victor Emmanuel III
1923
Marconi
joined the Italian Fascist party
1930
Italian
dictator Benito Mussolini appointed him to be the President of the
Accademia d'Italia, which also made Marconi a member of the Fascist Grand
Council
1935
Marconi
made numerous radio speeches supporting the unprovoked attack, being
notorious enough for the BBC to ban him from talking about the subject.
Marconi was pro-war, in the era between the First and Second World War,
and he was condemned for such beliefs by many
1937
Death
of Maroconi
Early
Life:
Marconi
was born near Bologna, Italy, the second son of Giuseppe Marconi, an
Italian landowner, and his Irish wife, Annie Jameson, granddaughter of the
founder of the Jameson Whiskey distillery. Marconi was educated in
Bologna, Florence and, later, in Livorno. As a young child Marconi didn't
do very well in school. Baptized as a Catholic, he was brought up
Protestant by his mother and was a member of the Anglican Church. He
formally converted to Catholicism after his second marriage.
Guglielmo
inherited his mother's fair hair and blue eyes and although baptized a
Roman Catholic, he was brought up in her Anglican faith. Annie had a great
deal of influence over Marconi. He inherited the qualities of
tenaciousness and perseverance from Annie. He spent his childhood at the
family house, Villa Griffone, in Pontecchio, just outside Bologna, and
also at Florence and Leghorn, in the winters. She preferred Leghorn,
because one of her two sisters, Elisabeth Prescott, lived there. Annie
spent long breaks at Leghorn and Florence, but often went to the spa at
Porretta, a village near the Marconi's old family house. It was only on
these trips that the father accompanied his family. Normally, Annie and
the boys went on their own. The longest stay away from home, was a
three-year trip to Britain, beginning when Guglielmo was three.
Annie
then brought him to England for two years' elementary schooling, and later
they moved to Florence, where she preferred to spend her winters. Marconi
soon learned to become self-reliant, not by choice but by the combination
of his parents' geographically separate lives and his education at the
hands of a successive tutors. There was a scientific library nearby and
little Marconi delved into the books to his heart’s content. He loved
reading chemistry. He read almost all the books about steam engines and
burrowed into electricity. He also read about Benjamin Franklin and his
experiments with static electricity.
Marconi's
schooling was intermittent, often interrupted and full of failures.
Marconi was a reserved child, who had difficulty in making friends. He
loved building scientific toys and gadgets, most often in isolation. He
had made a miniature still that really distilled alcohol, built a roasting
spit (skewer for holding meat over fire) out of his cousin Daisy's sewing
machine, and an electric bell with metal wires and batteries. All his
inventiveness apparently did not help elevate his school performance.
Though
he was obedient, he also became introvert and spoke of "my
electricity" before he was even 10 years old. Left to his own
devices, he invented scientific toys and developed an aptitude for
dismantling and re-assembling mechanical objects. The young Marconi often
ran foul with his father who was strict with his children and was
frustrated by the way Guglielmo seemed to waste away the hours in the
attic. But such act hardly belied the future that had in store for this
young boy, Marconi.
Sometimes,
he used to climb the trees in front of his house and fall asleep on its
branches. He enjoyed horse riding and swimming. He used to get embarrassed
when people twitted him about his experiments. He would shut up his mouth
and go off to fish … and think.
Wife
Background:
Beatrice
O'Brien was the daughter of the late 13th Lord Inchiquin, descendant of a
warrior king of Ireland.
Father
Background:
Guiseppe
Marconi was the son of a wealthy landowner. He came from the Apennines,
mountains between Florence and Bologna in Italy. As a young man, he moved
to Bologna where in 1855, he married a local girl, who died a year later,
giving birth to their son. Giuseppe, a widower with an infant son, was
joined by his father, who bought the Villa Griffone at Pontecchio, 11
miles out of Bologna. Giuseppe managed the land while his father raised
silk worms.
Mother
Background:
Annie
Marconi was the daughter of Andrew Jameson of the Jameson Irish Whiskey
Company. Annie came from a Scotish - Irish family called the Jamesons,
who were, and are famous as whisky distillers. Annie was born at Daphne
Castle, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Ireland, and went to study music at the
Bologna Conservatory.
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.
|
