Friday, December 9, 2011

H.J. Heinz Overcomes Adversity as told by The Intuitive Group Inc

“To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.” -H.J. Heinz

Some may say the hardest part of reaching your goals is overcoming adversity. Without a doubt you will run into setbacks and sometimes complete failures on your road to success; how you bounce back from those will ultimately determine your future.

An American icon and leader in the industry, you would not think founder of the Heinz Company had many troubles to deal with. However, Henry John Heinz is no stranger to overcoming adversity.

H.J. Heinz was born in 1844 to a family that helped instill a strong business sense and a clear understanding of the importance of good values. At the age of 8 Heinz began selling vegetables form his mother’s garden door to door. A year later he was growing, grinding, bottling, and selling his own brand of horseradish sauce door to door. When Heinz was 12 he had created a business out of selling his horseradish. He had grown from his mother’s back yard garden to a 3 ½ acre garden with a horse and cart to assist in the deliveries; also by this time Heinz was no longer selling door to door, he had accounts with grocery stores in the Pittsburgh area making deliveries 3 times a week. In 1861, Heinz now 17 was making $2,400 a year (big money for that time). Heinz finished high school and attended a business school before going to work for his father at their brickyard. It was only a few years later that Henry John Heinz would soon start his own company.

In 1869, H.J. Heinz partnered with L.C. Noble and founded Heinz Noble & Company. They started off selling Heinz’s horseradish, sauerkraut, vinegar, and pickles. Six years later a depression swept over the United States and a few European countries (it was first called the Great Depression until the 1930s when it was renamed the panic of 1873) and lasted until 1879. Heinz Noble & Company went out of business. Even with the poor economic state, Heinz regrouped and a year later partnered with his brother and cousin to form F&J Heinz. The company outline was the same with a few additions including the infamous ketchup we all love today. It was not until 1888 that Heinz had gained financial control and paid off all debts. Two years later the Heinz Company was incorporated. In 1905, after opening their first foreign factory in England, it was safe to say that Henry John Heinz was a successful entrepreneur with a company bigger then he could imagine. H.J. Heinz passed away in 1919 leaving the business to his son. (The business never felt the effects of the 1930s Great Depression due to the preparation and knowledge Heinz had passed to his son.)

Now if you are like me you are wondering how the heck this man lost his business during a depression and was still able to open the same business a year later selling more products?!

Heinz strongly believed and followed high business ideals and principles that even people today find odd. His principles were simple and quaint; have decency, social justice, and use common sense above all else. Alone these principles don’t seem like much, but as Heinz has proven they are a recipe for enduring business success. He did not believe in any get rich quick schemes and believed if he wanted anything he was going to have to work hard for them. His biggest pet peeve was waste of any kind, whether it be materials, time, or opportunity. When conducting business Heinz followed the belief that you should do the right things that make vendors want to work with you and every profit should be fairly earned. The most important thing Heinz did, and anyone for that matter can do to find success, was keep his enthusiasm, cheerful personality, and passion for what he was doing. Even when times were tough it was said that you would never have guessed Heinz was struggling to keep his business.

Everyone wants to find their own form of success; whether that be to open your own business or complete the marathon you are training for, you’re attitude and passion can sometimes be more important than what you will learn in text books or from your mentors. Even when the going gets tough the best thing you can do to overcome adversity is keep your enthusiasm high and let your passion drive you!

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Work Ethic: What Does That Really Mean? 3 Tips shared by Intuitive Group Inc.

Work Ethic: What Does That Really Mean? 3 Tips

By Vickie Jimenez

(Follow her on Twitter)

Examining the Meaning of Work Ethic

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to examine what work ethic meant to me. I think there is a difference between having a work ethic as an employee and having a work ethic as an entrepreneur. For me, they are very different from one another.

Work Ethic as an Employee

I remember being an employee and selling myself to my employer and telling him my skill sets, my loyalty and my background at other companies. I gave them references and hoped to impress them enough to have them add me to their payroll with my promises of working hard, being a team player and being willing to add to their company’s bottom line.

When I was offered the position, I remember going in gung ho and working at my fullest. I gave it everything and then I would become disappointed about a lost promotion or disillusioned at some broken promise or something that did not go my way. Suddenly I would feel not 100% and go in at half mast, work like a robot and just meet the minimum.

The great thing about having a job vs. owning a business was simply that you could come to work with your “A” game or with your “F” game and still get paid the same amount. You do not have to be at your best all the time when you are at a job. You simply have to be consistent at your job. Show up and move through the day, some days good, some days not so good, however, that did not lower or increase your pay. I wasn’t playing at my “A” game most of the time. I was being a “B” to “C” player. I often didn’t feel connected to a mission of a job, only to what it could provide me. If I didn’t get that, I was not interested in working my best. It was an entitled way of being and I thought it smart.

This was not only harmful to my employer; it was more harmful to me. I began believing a story about what my life was and I began settling for mediocrity and thinking it was good.

The Entrepreneurial Work Ethic

One day I realized that I did not want to have a mediocre life. I wanted to be a business owner that played on a major scale. I did not want to play small anymore; I just wanted to be more and better. I wanted to achieve my vision before I died.

So I stepped out into the unknown and began my entrepreneurial journey. In this arena I found work ethic. I found that in order to win, I had to work with my “A” game every day. This made me happy because I was reaching and confronting thoughts and behaviors that had been holding me back all my life. I got to explore gifts and talents I never knew I had.

I got to feel real self-esteem not a false sense. Work ethic is not about working more, harder or faster. Work ethic for me is about becoming real with your work. Loving what you do and feeling like you want your “A” game to be the standard in your life. If this is you then I must tell you that you will have to step out into the unknown and begin the journey.

Here are 3 things I did that really helped me:

Create a self-vision: I created a vision about who I wanted to become in myself. I wanted to be courageous, action oriented, creative and a healthy strong leader. Then I began working towards becoming that. Not all at once either, I made plans and took classes that helped me become my vision. This helped me develop a healing plan for healing myself. It was so important for me because it gave me so many skill sets that were necessary to succeeding. I could not have gotten here with them.

Create a support system: When I began my journey, I created a support system for me. I did this to ensure my success. I got a coach, a therapist and a mastermind group. When I had these things in place I had created for myself, accountability, camaraderie and leadership. I simply created a cocoon of success for myself to help me transform and become what I wanted to experience myself as.

Read and listen to audios: I shut off my TV and began reading non-fiction books and biographies about subjects and people who have made it to where I wanted to go. I learned so much from this one simple thing. I started out by reading one book a month. Now I read anywhere from three to five non-fiction books a month because my love for learning has exploded and I love reading.

If you want to find true work ethic within yourself and live your highest vision, then I would invite you to use the tools I used and come and join the fun. Create your adventure, be well and thrive.

May you direct your dreams!

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