Could the secret to business and leadership success stem from something as simple as developing a peaceful core?
After suffering a massive stroke that nearly killed him, John Addison, president and CEO of Addison Leadership Group and former co-CEO of Primerica, realized that the power of positive thinking basically saved his life. For John, a peaceful core is the place inside each of us where we can celebrate all the things about ourselves that is great, completely accept all our imperfections, and where we can totally focus on the positive.
With more than 25 years of leadership and personal development experience, John can help guide your readers to find their own peaceful core, including tips/advice such as:
John Addison is the president and CEO of Addison
Leadership Group after having served as the Co-CEO of Primerica, Inc. from 1999
to 2015. During his more than 25-year tenure at Primerica, Addison rose
in management and was critical to steering the company through many changes
including the company’s separation from Citigroup in 2009, which resulted in
one of the most successful IPOs of the decade. A world-class speaker and
motivator, Addison shares his business acumen and leadership insights through
speaking engagements, consulting opportunities and an upcoming book (February
2016).
Enjoy the interview on leadership and developing a peaceful core.
Faten Abdallah (FA): Define leader and
leadership.
John Addison (JA): Leadership is having the courage to live your true life—the
one you were put here to live—and to do it in a way that makes the world a
better place than it was before you got here. Great leadership, the kind of
leadership that endures, doesn’t spring up all at once, fully formed, out of
nowhere. Great leadership emerges over time as an expression of who you are and
what you do every day. More than anything, it takes shape as a result of
everyday practice.
From my perspective, a leader is a lighthouse, not a
weathervane. Lighthouses are needed when it’s stormy and foggy to provide ships
a safe way home. Similarly, a leader shines when times are tough. In addition,
a cornerstone of being a leader is that people know what you stand for. After a
while, people will know and anticipate how a leader will react without even
asking. Leaders have a consistency to their approach, effort, and values. While
there are clearly different styles of leadership, the one thing they have in
common is they are a rock – a person others can count on.
FA: What
percentage of men and women are in leadership positions?
JA: When it comes to men and women in leadership positions,
too often people think leadership is related to a job and title. I think it is
more important to realize that being a leader doesn’t necessarily have anything
to do this at all. For me, my mother was by far the most important and
influential leader in my life, but she was never in a VP position. She did,
however, influence and inspire everyone she came in contact with in her life
within our community and family. She provided a great example of how I wanted to
present myself and interact with people.
From my experience in life, typically women are better
than men at the kind of leadership I talk about and admire. By nature, women tend to be programmed to be
better leaders than men. Perhaps this is because women tend to be more
empathetic and are better listeners than broadcasters, while men tend to be a
lot more vocal – which sometimes can be mistaken for leadership!
And also to note, even if you’re not leading other
people, hopefully you’re leading yourself!
FA: What are
some myths about leadership?
JA: Many don’t realize, but leadership is pretty much
timeless. It boils down to the ability to convince people of the right answer, to
be someone who can inspire and show them the right direction to go in. The founding
fathers persuaded people to have a rebellion through courage and inspiration.
Today, however, many times leadership is style over substance, such as how
politicians just react and respond to recent polls vs. real actions and events.
FA: Are
leaders born naturally or trained?
JA: We are all born with certain skills that can be developed
into skill sets for leadership, such as the ability to communicate and speak in
front of people. The world is full of great communicators who aren’t great
leaders, as well as others who are nervous in front of a microphone but are exceptional
leaders. Overtime, you learn what it takes to be an effective leader and how
you allow your internal character to develop in life. The number one criterion
a leader needs is character. Today, however, our society tends to value style
over substance. Many historical leaders would probably be disregarded if they
were in the running today – such as based on their looks or speaking voice.
Real leadership, however, is about being the type of person people want to
follow and these are traits we learn throughout life.
FA: What are
some key areas one can strengthen their leadership skills?
JA: Authenticity and empathy are basic leadership traits.
They each help people to first trust and then like you. Very few people will
follow someone they don’t trust and like. In addition, key ways I suggest to
strengthen leadership include:
-
Turn off
the TV – the power of disassociation is more powerful than power of
association
-
Read books,
especially a biography of a great leader – read about people who made a
difference in their life and overcame adversity (i.e., Abraham Lincoln, Winston
Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt)
-
Actually
talk to people – learn to communicate in the real sense–not just through a
text—and actually show interest in
people
-
“Unplug”
– in the sense that your life shouldn’t be controlled by the news and
technology 24/7. Get off the internet and look up from your phone; learn to
have depth to what you believe
People need to have a conversation with others to
actually develop speaking skills. I am always shocked how out of touch people
seem to be. I am in the airport all the time traveling, and 9 out of 10 times I
see someone under 40 with ear buds in their ears and tapping away at their phones
or computers. They are surrounded by people but interacting with no one in
person.
In addition, as the power of persuasion is going away, if
someone has the ability to persuade people they will be ahead of the game in
the long run. The world is rapidly changing and there is no doubt that
technology has made how things are done dramatically different, so you have to
be quicker, smarter, and more adaptable to excel.
FA: List
resources where people can learn about leadership.
JA: While it can be destructive, the internet is equally
powerful, as it is a wealth of resources. I would advise people looking to
learn about leadership to find someone you admire who did something – someone
who actually overcame great odds and achieved something – and then research
them. Really immerse yourself in who they are; read about them, look at their
quotes, discover what they stood for. Then, “copy” their style but adapt it to
make it work for you and who you are.
You can find John Addison:
-
John
Addison, president and CEO of
Addison Leadership Group and former co-CEO of Primerica
Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc. From smart spending tips to personal finance advice, Andrea transforms everyday consumers into savvy shoppers. As a sought-after media source, she has been featured among such top news outlets as Good Morning America, Today, CNN, Dr. OZ, New York Times, MONEY Magazine, Huffington Post, Forbes and many more. For more information, visit AndreaWoroch.com or follow her on Twitter for daily savings advice and tips.
Toma Clark Haines is The Antiques Diva® – Chief
Executive Diva of The Antiques Diva® & Co European Tours – Europe’s largest
antiques touring and sourcing company.
As an American who has lived abroad nearly 15 years, it has been said
Clark Haines is conquering countries faster than Napoleon. Working with a team of 18+ locally-based
agents, The Antiques Diva® & Co offers customized antique buying tours in 8
countries (and counting) working with both the public as well as the
trade. Her favorite part of her job is
stocking clients antique stores and creating new trends in home fashions. 
Toma Clark Haines (TCH):If I think about my life history, antiques and
travel were always intertwined in my mind. My mother was a third generation
American. Her grandparents moved over from England and my whole life I grew up
hearing stories of far-away places and long-ago times. The past was always a part of my
present. As a child we ate with the
silverware my grandparents carried over on the boat when they moved to America. I have always been a traveler – whether in
my mind or in reality. I’ve traveled in
more than 45 countries – and to me antiques are another way of traveling. They transport you. Antiques transport you to other times, other
places and give glimpses into other lives. They tell a story - they’re more
than decor - they take you on adventure
to someplace less ordinary. That’s the
intent behind the tours my company The Antiques Diva & Co offers…. We are the largest antiques touring company
in Europe - offering one on one customized buying tours to both tourists as
well as the trade in 8 countries - France, Belgium, England, Italy, Germany,
Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Our
goal is to give our clients an opportunity to culturally cruise a country
through antiques - the pieces one buys on tour give glimpses into what life is
like inside those villa windows and Parisian apartments making their adventure
part of a greater story.
TCH: There are several rules of thought when it comes to
what makes antiques valuable. Die Hards
will tell you - “In order to be antique it must be 100 years old.” Working
internationally customs officials often accept “Almost Antiques” (those items that are 75 to 99 years old) as
an “antique” when it comes to import and export restrictions. And the antique trends as of late are bringing
Vintage into the modern day. Technically
- to be vintage an item should be from the 1940’s, 50’s or 60’s - but 1970’s
and 80’s ceramics and furniture are ruling the market at the moment. When it comes to what makes antiques unique
and valuable - I’d say exactly what I told myself on my 40th birthday…. “Age
Doesn’t Matter.” Whether it’s a piece
from the 1760’s, the 1860’s or the 1960’s - quality counts - how well it’s
constructed, the lines, especially anything hand-made or limited edition add
value, but decorative appeal counts most of all in todays market place. People today buy based upon an asthetic -
it’s less about pedigree and more about style.
While there are millions of fabulous antique value guide books giving
estimates on antiques - my opinion - the value of an antique - especially in
those decorative pieces - is entirely subjective. The right price for an antique is what they
buyer would be willing to pay - and working internationally - I know that price
changes by country and/or region. Value
changes according to country and their taste preferences - in France long lives
the Louis'… Gilt-wood still demands top euro.
Meanwhile in Holland where the Dutch like clean lines and interiors
anything Rococo is practically given away.
A Louis XV style console in France that might sale for 1500E in the
Netherlands might sell for 500E and then… bring that same item to America and
the vendors will multiply their purchase prices by a mark up of 3 to 5 times
their cost. So if you ask me… The real
value in antiques comes down to Love Sweet Love. If you buy what you love you’ll never regret
your purchases and it will always keep it’s value.
TCH: We’ve all heard the expression… “It’s Not What You
Know… It’s Who You Know.” When buying
antiques as with most things in life… getting the best price comes down to
relationships. If you find a vendor
whose style of inventory you love develop a relationship with them. They may not have that exact item you’re
looking for right now… but if you like their vibe/ their look then you can
entrust them to search for inventory of your behalf. The more you buy from one vendor inevitably
the better of price you get from that vendor when you buy multiple items. And returning customers are always given
priority in pricing. Be memorable. Chat
with the vendor. Most antique dealers
are in this business because they love what they do - and if they know you love what they do - they’ll appreciate
you appreciating them! When you return to their store - remind them what you
bought from them and why you love it. My
grandmother always said, “You can catch more flies with honey.” When buying Be
Nice. (Heck, regardless of what you’re doing in life… Be Nice… Life’s Too Short
For Anything Else!). Some of the worse
advice I’ve ever heard on antiquing is “point out the faults of what’s wrong
with piece.”… Don’t do this! First of all - it’s not nice - and doesn’t endear
you to vendors. Second of all… that 18th
C Spanish Console is Scratched??! Oh No! The vendor might need to RAISE THE
PRICE THEN - You’re paying extra for that PATINA. Antiques aren’t perfect - just as when we age
we get wrinkles and gray hair…. that’s what happens with antiques and those
signs of a life-well-lived are often what creates the patina that raises the
price not decreases it! Last but not
least - always - always - always - ask for a discount. If you don’t ask.. You dont receive. The polite way to ask for a discount (if you
dont feel comfortable negotiating) is to say “Is that your best price?” It’s
easy, direct and to the point - if the vendor has room in their profit margin
it puts them in control of choosing what discount to give you. And… sometimes you’ll be surprised. Once I
was going to offer a vendor 40Euro for an item marked 50E - but when I asked their
best price they responded 30E! 
TCH: While today clients and readers know me as The
Antiques Diva (R) - Chief Executive Diva of Europe’s largest antiques touring
(and sourcing) company - I haven’t always been a diva! In a past life I worked
in marketing and advertising working with clients such as Dunkin Donuts,
Target, McDonalds, and Pearl Vision. This background has been fundamental in
the growth of my company as I knew how
to market my services. I’ve always thought of myself as a creative person - and
never gave myself enough credit as a business woman. But what I learned about myself through
starting my own company was that I actually enjoyed the process of running a
business - making strategic decisions about the direction the company would take
and implementing them. I’ve also learned
in running a company - that it’s not all about me - it’s about my team. While I’m the face of the company - our
business could not operate without the body.
I have a team of 18 people who work with me and while we operate as a
whole - I’ve learned that I shouldn’t micro-manage them as in order for them to
operate at their peak performance they needed to have ownership in their
roles. I’ve learned I dont have to do it
all myself. Just because I can do something - doesn’t mean I have to do
it. I’ve learned to trust others, ask
for help and listen to others as getting outside opinions has been instrumental
to my companies success…. And last but not least… I’ve learned to Trust My
Instincts. Just because you ask for
advice - it doesn’t mean you have to take it.
As an entrepreneur you have to be both wise enough to ask for advice and
strong enough to trust your instincts on whats right for your company.
Building a sales team from scratch is one of the most difficult and important tasks of a CEO. Generating revenue through sales, especially as start-up capital diminishes, can make or break a company’s success. However, hiring the wrong salespeople costs dearly in time and treasure. Fortunately, there is a well-defined formula for success.
