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:
Thomas Watson Sr.
Founder
of IBM:
Thomas
Watson Sr.
Main
Life Accomplishments:
Thomas
J. Watson (February 17, 1874 in Campbell, New York - June 19, 1956) became
General Manager in 1914 and President in 1915 of the CTR Company, which
later changed its name to IBM, and rescued it from near extinction.
Because of this, he is considered to be the founder of IBM.
Prior to that, he worked for NCR in charge of its sales force, until he
was convicted for illegal anti-competitive sales practices (e.g. he used
to have people sell deliberately faulty cash registers, either second-hand
NCR or from competitors; soon after the second-hand NCR or competitors
cash register failed, an NCR salesperson would arrive to sell them a brand
new NCR cash register). He was sentenced, along with John H. Patterson
(the owner of NCR), to one year of imprisonment. Their conviction was
unpopular with the public, due to the efforts of Patterson and Watson to
help those affected by the 1913 Dayton, Ohio floods, but efforts to have
them pardoned by President Wilson were unsuccessful. However, the Court of
Appeals overturned the conviction on appeal in 1915, on the grounds that
important defense evidence should have been admitted.
He was famous for making his salespeople at both NCR and IBM attend
sing-a-longs (see The IBM Songbook below).
In 1937, Watson received the Eagle with Star medal from Adolf Hitler, for
the help IBM subsidiary Dehomag and its Hollerith punchcard machines
provided the Nazi regime for tabulating census data. After the outbreak of
the World War Two, Watson returned the medal, yet ensured the survival of
Dehomag. See Edwin Black's 'IBM and the Holocaust.'
Although he is well known for his alleged 1943 statement: "I think
there is a world market for maybe five computers", there is no
evidence he ever made it. The author Kevin Maney tried to find the origin
of the quote. He has been unable to locate any speeches or documents of
Watson's that contain this, nor is it present in any contemporary articles
about IBM. The earliest known citation is from 1986 on Usenet in the
signature of a poster from Convex Computer Corporation as "I think
there is a world market for about five computers" --Remark attributed
to Thomas J. Watson (Chairman of the Board of International Business
Machines),1943
Basics:
Born:
February 17, 1874 Campbell, New York, U.S.
Died:
June 19, 1956 New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality: American
Fields: Business
Main Accomplishments: Thomas John Watson, Sr. was the
American president of International Business Machines (IBM), who oversaw
that company's growth into an international force from the 1920s to the
1950s. Watson developed IBM's effective management style and turned it
into one of the most effective selling organizations yet seen, based
largely around punched card tabulating machines. A leading self-made
industrialist,[1] he was one of the richest men of his time and was called
the world's greatest salesman when he died in 1956.
Chronology
of Life Events:
Feb
17, 1874
Born
1896 - 1911
Having begun his career at National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio
1898
Watson joined the fast-growing National Cash Register Company as
salesman.
1914
he became CEO of Computing Tabulating Recording Company, a firm that
specialized in selling measurement devices for businesses.
1924
He changed the name to International Business Machines, a big name for
a small company, but he built the company to live up to its name.
1929
IBM garnered 20% of the punch-card market.
1930s
Began investing in research into computers.
1950s
He handed over the business to his son, Thomas Watson, Jr.,
1952
the Federal government instigated an antitrust suit against IBM,
charging that the firm controlled over 90 percent of all the tabulating
machines in the country.
1956
He died.
Early
Life:
Born
on February 17, 1874, he was very much the country boy. His father owned a
modest lumber business located in Painted Post, 20 miles west of Elmira in
northwestern New York State. He himself as a child was something of a
loner. An asthmatic, he was remembered as being shy at social gatherings.
Having given up his first job — teaching — after just one day, he took
a year's course in accounting and business at the local Miller School of
Commerce; finishing in May 1892. His second job as a $6 a week bookkeeper
was almost as brief as his first, giving way to a career as a peddler. He
joined a traveling salesman, George Cornwell, peddling organs and pianos
around the farms, for the local hardware store (William Bronsons). When
Cornwell left, he continued alone, earning the sum of $10 per week. It was
only after two years of this life that he realized he would be earning $70
per week if he were on a commission. The impact of his indignation on
making this discovery was such that he upped stakes and moved from his
familiar surroundings to the relative metropolis of Buffalo.
Watson then spent a very brief period selling sewing machines for Wheeler
and Wilcox. According to Tom Watson Jr., in his autobiography, "One
day my dad went into a roadside saloon to celebrate a sale and had too
much to drink. When the bar closed, he found that his entire rig —
horse, buggy, and samples — had been stolen. Wheeler and Wilcox fired
him and dunned him for the lost property. Word got around, of course, and
it took Dad more than a year to find another steady job." As Tom Jr.
went on to say "This anecdote never made it into IBM lore, which is
too bad, because it would have helped explain Father to the tens of
thousands of people who had to follow his rules."
In the meantime, Watson once more set out on the road selling. In this
case, his partner was C B Barron, a showman renowned for his disreputable
conduct; which Watson, as a lifelong Methodist, deplored. Jointly they
peddled shares of the Buffalo Building and Loan. They were soon very
successful, and with his proceeds Watson set up a butchers shop as an
investment. Unfortunately, true to form, Barron absconded with the
commission and the loan funds, leaving Watson with no money, no investment
(he lost the shop as a result), and no job. Thus for the second, but not
the last time, he was fired.
Wife
Background:
Jeannette
M. Kittredge, daughter of an Ohio industrialist. They had four children.
Father
Background:
His
father's modest Lumber business in New York state.
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.
|
