Entrepreneurship: The “Gospel” According to Ted Turner, Founder, CNN

Seven inspirational lessons from the World’s Media Mogul

"We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event . . . we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' before we sign off."  Your guess is as good as mine! Those were the  words when CNN was launched in thundering words from the mouth of the man who is reputed to be the one the greatest media men ever in history.  He is known as the founder of the Cable News Network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel and also owns the Superstation TBS, TNT, the Atlanta Braves and Hawks sport organizations and other channels like the Cartoon Network. Ted Turner is one of the top 50 wealthiest men in the world according to Forbes.  Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III born November 19, 1938, is an American media mogul and philanthropist. He has been nicknamed severally; "Terrible Ted", "Captain Outrageous", and "The Mouth from the South” amongst others.  1.THINK AND GROW RICH  He is the creator of the classic that shook the world, Captain Planet.  Look at how he generated the idea for the classic animated series;  “Our children can inherit a legacy of wastefulness, or an action plan that can save our planet. That is why we created Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Recycling may be a chore for us, but it can be a natural action for our motivated and informed youth. We need a super hero for the Earth. Let’s call him Captain Planet.”   The historic and award-winning program animated television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers which he conceived with Barbara Pyle together was developed in 1989 and produced by Barbara Pyle and her team, Nick Boxer and Thom Beers, in partnership with DIC Enterprises in the US.  When the series finally launched to worldwide acclaim, the 113-episode series rockets to the top of the charts as the world’s first ever edutainment ‘eco-toon and has been syndicated in over 220 U.S. markets and in over 100 countries worldwide. 2.NEVER QUIT UNTIL YOU WIN  Ted once said that:  “You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win." He is a man who has actually lived the principles he preaches. He has been criticized many times but he has remained undeterred and persevered even though Cable News Network struggled from the its early beginnings.  Here him:  “All my life people have said that I wasn’t going to make it. They laughed at me when I started with CBS. They laughed at me when I started CNN. They laughed at me when I bought the Braves. They laughed at me when I bought the Hawks. They laughed at me when I bought MGM." “You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win... Watch me. I’m like a bulldog that won’t let go... Why do you think my own racing yacht is name ‘Tenacious’? Because I never quit. I’ve got a bunch of flags on my boat, but there ain’t no white flags. I don’t surrender. That’s the story of my life." After being expelled from University and divorced by his wife Turner's life took a turn for the worse when his father killed himself. Only 24 years old, Turner took over the family business, an outdoor advertising company that was deep in debt. Nobody believed he could turn it around. But he did!  3. SET GOALS BEYOND YOUR REACH Take a look at the goals that you've set for yourself. Does reading them over get you excited to start the day and get to work? Running a business can be a grind and it's easy to get lost in the day to day activities and lose sight as to why you started the business and what your bigger picture is. You need to have an ambitious vision that will inspire you and the people around you to give their very best. Hear him: "I like to do things that are bigger than me... You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for... Do something. Lead, follow or get out of the way." 4. STRIKE  THE BALANCE BETWEEN  MONEY, HAPPINESS AND HEALTH  Turner has been married and divorced three times: to Judy Nye (1960–64), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–88), and actress Jane Fonda (1991–2001). He has five children. One of Ted's daughters, Laura Turner Seydel, comes from the same environmental conservationist mold of her father currently serves as the Chairman for the Captain Planet Foundation.   It is clear that Ted could not handle his marriage the same way he did to business. But sacrificing ones marriage and family life on the alter of business can be costly! What does it profit a man if he gain all the money and loses his own health, family, happiness and peaceful mind? Now, you can think about that!  5. HARDWORK ALWAYS PAYS!  Nobody will tell you that starting or running a business is easy. Successful companies are created by entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a difference in their industries and country. They put in the time to make a unique product or service, market it effectively, overcome the hurdles that are put in their way, and eventually achieve success. You have to be smart about how you work but you also have to work hard. Reports have it that Ted Turner is an admitted overachiever and a workaholic. He frequently put in 18 hour workdays, slept most nights at CNN headquarters, and CNN staff regularly saw him leave his office to grab a cup of coffee in his bathrobe. Staff regularly worked six or seven days a week alongside Turner, with one worker claiming, “[Turner] was much more than a cheerleader. He was the kind of guy you’d want to run through a wall for.” Acknowledging that “the best way to lead is by example”, Turner inspired his staff to work just as hard as him to achieve their common goal. He once said: "CNN came out of my heart and soul. In 20 short years, by all the surveys, we became the world’s most respected news source. The New York Times had been there for 100 years. We did it in 20... Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise." 6. IT PAYS TO START EARLY!  Born 1938,  Turner began his career in the advertising business with his father selling space on billboards. Tragically, his father died but the memory of his father lived on and many believe his father to be the inspiration that gets Ted through the hard times. Profiting from the billboard business, Turner's jump start came in 1970 when he purchased Rice Communications which he later re-named Turner Broadcasting System. Losses in the first year totaled nearly $700,000. Turner was able to turn WSTG around and brought it to a #1 regional ranking. After nearly 9 years of traditional "wattage" broadcasting, Turner capitalized on the idea of satellite transmission communication to homes all over the world.  7. LEAVING A LEGACY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION The popular scripture in proverbs 22:13, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children” seems to have worked in the life of Ted.  Whichever way one looks at it, Ted Turner has transformed the world of telecommunications and brought the nations of the world closer through t his broadcasting business ventures and philanthropies. Through his nuclear threat initiative the turner Foundation, he now concentrates  his considerable energies  on defending life  on earth  from the multiple threatens  posed by environmental degradation  and weapons of mass destruction.  Turner serves as Chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors which donated his $1 billion gift to support.  In 2008, Ted wrote his autobiography with Bill Burke titled, “Call Me Ted” . He has had several books written about his life’s achievements by numerous authors. With his environmental consciousnesses and the desire to make the earth amore habitat friendly, you don’t need a prophesy to know that the now 74 year old will live for many more years!

Rethinking Your Competitive Strategy

Ideas for packaging and deploying your strategy tools

Strategy has been around for as the art of thinking about how to win in war, politics, and business.  In business, researchers and business leaders have developed many different strategic planning tools to help themselves think about how organizations can compete effectively. 

One of such strategy models is Dr. Ohmae’s 3 C’s Model. Dr. Omae is considered to be one of the top five management gurus in the world having worked with Mckinsey & Company and written many books on the subject. In his landmark book, the The Mind of the Strategist: the Art of Japanese Business”, he talks about a three-pronged strategy. The model is based on integrating the three most critical elements on which, he argues, business strategists need to focus:

·         The customer…defining the rewarders

·         The corporation …defining yourself

·         The competitors …defining others 

 He went on to explain that each of the three Cs is important in itself, but each C impacts the others.  A company might launched a product that perfectly satisfies its clients but if a competitor launches a similar product that is, much cheaper, , the first company would have to rethink its strategy. He argues that the customer stands at the centre of the business and must inform all strategy decisions. This underscore the significance of continues strategy development and deployment as an organization that is keen on achieving competitive advantage in the market place.

WHAT IS IN A STRATEGY?

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu, a high ranking military general and strategist during the late Spring and Autumn period.. It is said to be the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and is still read for its military insight.

The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has been the most famous and influential of China's Seven Military Classics: "for the last two thousand years it remained the most important military treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name. It has had an influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond.

Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy. The decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive actors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment; but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.

The word strategy comes from two Greek words, “stratus” which means an “army” and “agein” which is “to lead”. A strategist is therefore a person who acts as like he is leading an army. Corporate strategy refers to the long term plans of organizations by which its team members seek to achieve a set of objectives. 

THE ESSENCE OF STRATEGIC THINKING 

In one of the famous books of ancient mythology, the Odyssey, the great ancient battle between the Greek and the Trojans had been fought for many years over the most  beautiful  woman in the world, Helen. 

The Greeks were perceived to be stronger  but  were fighting  from outside the heavily built walls  of the Troy people  as they made all efforts to  seize to back the wife of Agamemnon , who and  been stolen  from the Prince of Troy.

After many years of deadlock and much loss of life including the great Achilles and some of the finest Greek warriors. One of the Greek warriors, a strategic thinker for that matter brought out an apparently silly but wonderful idea of building what has come to be known as Wooden House of Troy.

The Greek warriors went ahead to apply the strategy. They built a large wooden horse and hid the best of their soldiers in it at night.  The rest of the soldiers sailed away to hid as if they had given given up the fight.

Unfortunately, the unsuspecting Trojans ran out of their fortified city and went into jubilation over the defeat and surrender of the Greeks.  After a long celebration, they all slept.  The Greek soldiers who hidden themselves in the wooden horse then came out and set fire on the whole city and destroyed it.  That was how a battle that had gone on for years was finally ended, thanks to the idea of a strategic thinker! Today, the same kind of battle rages on with organizations battling to outwit each other, and the role of strategic thinkers cannot be overlooked. 

THE TWO STRATEGY MENTALITIES 

The Hedgehog and the Fox is an essay by the liberal philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin. The title is a reference to a fragment attributed to the ancient Greek poet Archilochus ,”the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing". He described the fox as a cunning creature that is always devising complex strategy to spring surpsirse attack on the hedgehog. On the contrary, the hedgehog threads trepidaciously minding its main business but is always awaked on its strategy for defense. 

In a similar vein, the international bestseller, James Collins, in his book, Built to Last also alluded to this phenomenon. He describes fox mentality organizations as those that have diffused, scattered, inconsistent and are unable to integrate their concepts into one unifying vision that the entire team can successfully pursue at a time. They instead stretch themselves on trying to pursue so many things at the same time and never get to achive any meaningful result.

The solution to the fox mentality is in companies making the effort to identify what they can do best and focusing on that. What drives the success of every business is the strategy engine and the leadership of the organization must strive to gear all its efforts to maximizing that advantage. 

The Hedgehog mentality companies on the other hand are able to define their core business and channel all other resources to retaining the full potential of thereof.  Hedgehog companies are focused and disciplined. They don’t jump on opportunities simply because they have seen others succeed in pursuing them. They don’t fire misguided missiles. They take calculated risks and move one step at a time. Their decisions are informed by their internal locus of control as well as happenings in their external environs. 

DEPLOYING AND DRIVING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE CAMPAIGN

Strategy is simply making definite choices about how to compete. Determine your competitive advantage. Your competing tool could be your price, packaging, distribution, pricing, and value –added services. Always remember that your wining strategy must apply to your situation. What is working for others may not necessarily work for you.

There are three basic elements that make strategy work. They are:

·         Painting the broad direction  of  the company to the entire team

·         Putting the right people behind it for effective execution

·         Executing the strategy with a conscientious monitoring and improvement

How then can organizations operating in competitive landscapes take the lead and maintain the success momentum? Here are five tips:  

1. FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE

For an organization to compete and excel, the entire team must be driven by the bigger picture. This is the long- term goal of the company. Every leadership minded company must be determined to avoid short- term decisions that has the capacity of crippling the potential of the organization like plaque. 

2. STRATEGICALLY POSITION THE ORGANIZATION TO LEAD

Preparation ahead of impending opportunities both within and outside ones industry is crucial; here. The essence of preparation ahead of impending opportunities in ones industry cannot be overemphasized.  Build the necessary capacities in terms of capital and human resources are key. Another crucial concern here is the realignment f the company’s structures and systems that empower people to deliver outstanding results.

3. APPLY STRATEGIC THINKLING

You can’t win without strategic thinking. In the story alluded to earlier, the Greeks won the battle against the Trojans because of the idea of a strategic thinker. Organizations that want to establish themselves as market leaders must build a team that is akin to strategic thinking.

Strategic thinking is the ability to think ahead, anticipate and envision the future, and be able to navigate one’s life, organization or country through the challenges of a fast-changing, globalizing world.

The ability to think strategically is a mark of strategic or visionary leaders – those able to envision a better future, develop strategies to match and align people behind to achieve the vision. Companies that lack strategic thinking will find it difficult on seizing emerging opportunities and may not be able to change the playing field in their favour.

What is strategic thinking? It is thinking the “Right Things” rather than just thinking “Things Right”. It is also about thinking “Out of the Box” Ghana’s business leadership coach, Prof. Pikay Richards of Manchester Business School in a presentation to business leaders in Accra recently on” Achieving Market Leadership: 

The Role of Strategic Thinking”  drew the relationship between strategic thinking and organizational leadership as “Strategic Thinking + Strategic Learning +Strategic Action

= Strategic Achievement.

Strategic thinkers are always asking vital questions such as: how will my industry look like in the next decade? Will my clientele base change in teams of taste, size and demands?   What are the major threats in this industry?  What are the innovations driving business success in this industry? What advertising strategies can work better for me? Which possible areas can I diversify? 

4. ALWAYS SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO COMPETE 

Pacesetters are not driven by the competition. They drive the competition.  A leader does not wait for others to introduce new products or services before they also do same.  Followers do that.  To excel in the current competition, you must operate with speed and accuracy.  You have to take the risk to tread unexploited territories before your competitors do.

It’s not funny. There are some companies who do not even know who their true competitors are. You need to develop criteria to help you define who your competitors are.  This is very vital in crafting the competitive strategy. 

Remember that you can learn from and apply strategy only based on your situation. Don’t just copy and do same even if you are in the same industry. Your strategy must be unique to your organization.  

5. MASTER AND DRIVE CHANGE ALL THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Change is the only constant in the world.  Customer service is changing and customers are becoming more sophiscated. Technology is driving the pace and flow of business. Until you to learn to change and apply drastic changes in every aspect of your business operations, you will find the competition boring. 

Highly respected Business Consultant, Jim Collins talks about the “The Myth of Fear-Driven Change” which he explained as the fear of being left behind, the fear of watching others win, the fear of presiding over monumental failure which are all are drivers of change. Competitively viable companies all not threaten by competition; they see it as positive forces which aid them in achieving greater success.

CONCLUSION

Competition is good but how the organization positions itself determines its success at competing in the market place.  Every business has its own peculiar challenges that inform its competitive strategy, what may work for one company, may not work for another. You can enhance your competitive advantage by rethinking your competitive strategy.  

Enjoy the rest of the week!

A tale of four entrepreneurs

Sensing and seizing emerging opportunities in the market place

  

Entrepreneurs have been noted for seeing opportunities where others see challenges. Their ability to tread places where others fear to venture is the distinguishing trade mark that sets them apart from others.

This week, we shall examine a popular passage in the scriptures to highlight some essential attributes of new venture creators.

The story which is about the four lepers is found in second kings chapter seven verses three to ten presents outstanding lessons for emerging entrepreneurs, and even establish businesses.   

Let me give you a little background. There was a severe famine in the city of Samaria. Food was very hard to come by to the extent that humans were being eaten. The neighboring town, Syria however had abundance of food. Having access to food will therefore demand going to the camp of the Syrians who were perceived as enemies and, that was deadly!  However, it took the courage of four lepers who took the risk to go down to the city to Samaria. Interestingly, their discovery led to the salvage of the entire city of Samaria.   

Let’s begin with the lessons……

1. ASKING RELEVANT QUESTIONS

The four lepers in case study began with a simple question in verse three: 

“Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die?......”

As an entrepreneur, you need to question the kind of services and products that is available in the market place. The questions on how service delivery be improved as well as how to make life easier for the customer and the latest developments in ones industry of practice are all key to competing successfully with established businesses. These and many other questions bothering on customers, branding and innovation, market leadership provides a veritable tool for attaining success at the market place. But it all begins with the willingness to take a risk!

2. TAKING CALCULATED RISKS  

Really, in business and life, there is no progress without risks. Every level of progress always involves risks. Even danger can never be overcome without taking risks. New venture creators are noted for taking risks here and there. Life itself is a risky venture. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Every activity around us involves risks. Think about it,  in crossing the road, you could be knock down by a car. Flying by air involves an element of risk. You could be involved in a plane crash but people still travel by plane.  How about deciding to spend the rest of your life with someone you had just known for just a few years…marriage!...it’s risky!

It is sad to note that many people will never start anything because of their risk averse nature.

Risks, Returns and Rewards

Stock market investment has a basic rule. The bigger the risk involved, the higher the reward or the returns. Stocks for instance have higher returns, high risk whiles bonds have low risks and low returns. The price tag for a bigger reward is therefore a higher risk and, this is non-negotiable! Until you are ready to take a higher risk, bigger opportunities and rewards will elude you.

Mark Twain was right when he said that  "twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."  

It doesn’t pay to be risk averse. It pays however to take calculated risk. Make a move and fail forward! 

3. EXPLORING OPPORTUNTIES 

Before every great opportunity is a bridge called risk. You can’t experience a Midas touch without stretching yourself to the limit.  As an entrepreneur, you need to seek progress no matter where you may currently find yourself. As long as you entertain fear, you will never be able to launch that product or service.

Seizing little opportunities along the path of life opens the door to other greater opportunities.  How the lepers could landed on such a great discovery and even carry the message to the king if they had stayed at the King’s gate? They saw their position as strategic and therefore utilized the opportunity to explore their dream. 

Verse five reads:

^“At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” ^. So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
The respected ancient leading English humorist, Jerome K. Jerome in his classic, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, remarked: 

“Opportunities fly by while we sit regretting the chances we have lost, and the happiness that comes to us we heed not, because of the happiness that is gone” .

Who knows there may be little opportunities that you could explore today by virtue of where you are now. May your eyes be opened to these little opportunities!   

4. MAKING SUCCESS SIGNIFICANT

A vital lesson can be observed in the ninth verse of second Kings Chapter seven: 

^“Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”

So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace”.

The four lepers had landed on a great discovery. But they did not keep all to themselves. One of the biggest challenges confronting startups and even bigger businesses today is the attitude of keeping useful information useful to themselves. Many are just not willing to share information! I believe many of the bad debts and the non-performing loans of banks could be reduced when commercial banks learn to share information with one another. 

Interestingly, there are people who believe that you can become wiser by hoarding useful information that could help other people, but history has proved it time and again that information gets refined and becomes more useful when it is shared.

You can’t grow your knowledge base and excel as an entrepreneur by taking pride in your little knowledge. The willingness to share and learn from one another is key in making progress from one stage to another.

There is the need to have knowledge intercourse with other significant stakeholders who are connected to the business.  

CONCLUSION

The story of the four lepers presents vital lessons for start ups seeking to exploit emerging opportunities in the market place.  

Firstly, opportunities lie unexploited because potential entrepreneurs are often afraid to take a risk, but the opportunities associated with taking calculated risk always outweigh any inherent danger. 

Moreso, jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along. Taking risks here and there always come with some kind of benefit. 

"Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise”, so says a Latin proverb.

All the best!