While it is very easy to put on blinders and run through life, the rhino realizes that survival depends on constant observation and planning. A Rhinos vision can be likened to a mother’s vision-no matter what species she hails from. A mother’s main objective is to lead by example and protect herself and her herd of baby Rhinos.

While growing up you probably thought that your mother had eyes in the back of her head. You now know that she didn’t. However, what she did possess was an all-encompassing vision as she realized that she constantly had to be aware of her surroundings and protecting her herd, much like the Rhino’s lifelong vision.

What your mother envisioned was not just children running and playing. She crystallized her vision and saw dangers and pitfalls that may be lurking around any corner. Her visions, much like the Rhinos, gave clarity to her vision of her herd obtaining heights and depths that they were yet to realize.

That is not just blind faith; it is a very carefully calculated vision of what she wants for the future of her baby Rhinos, or herd. Now that is a leader that is not focusing on leadership or being in charge. That is a leader without blinders whom creates, shifts, and refines her vision based on circumstances, opponents of her herd, and activity in the herd.

Your mother, like the Rhino, believes without proof, that her herd will be a powerful force to be reckoned with. Part of that vision requires a little blind faith mixed with organizing, planning, and a 360° vision of what the world has to offer.

A Rhino, much like a mother, has eyes on the side of it’s head, allowing it to keep a 360-degree watch on everything that is going on around them, at all times. A Rhino’s babies run around with blinders on due to immaturity, lack of vision, and the blind faith that they innately posses for their mother. Her job is to instill her visions into her herd with skill and precise calculation.

The reality is that Rhino’s can only see approximately a 50 feet parameter around them. But that is insignificant to the mighty Rhino. What they envision is a world past the 50 feet and unexplored territory to be reckoned with.

The Rhino forms pictures in their mind of what they believe is out “there.” They become so steadfast in their vision that when they charge, they do so with their eyes closed. They are not interested in leading; they are interested in their target and exude so much power and bravery that they expect the herd to follow, much like a mother of any herd.

It all starts with the competitive arena which has actually made it more difficult for leaders and individuals alike to admit they have failed at something they attempted to do. Competition really starts in the womb and continues on with siblings, school, work, and personal relationships. Are we as individuals so pompous that we actually believe that we will succeed at everything we touch?

The truth is that it’s not necessarily the actual “act” of failure that hits us in the gut, knocking us to our knees; it’s the exercise of having to admit that we actually failed in the first place. That’s where the majority of our “failure” pain comes from. We are hard-wired for failure; we are just not hard-wired to admit it. What we are really craving is positive validation; and we can’t get that from failure… Unless we are able to turn the tables on the dreaded monster.

How do we come back afterward and ensure that we will do a better job the next time? The current crisis on Wall Street and within the technology sector stems from leaders’ avoiding the simple lesson of failure. We’ve all become so busy at not taking responsibility for anything that we’ve lost the opportunity inherent in failure. Historically speaking, there are many who failed before they succeeded. Abe Lincoln was defeated for state legislature and Speaker of the House for Illinois, lost the nomination to Congress and the Vice Presidency, was twice defeated for a seat in the US Senate, lost a job, failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown, ALL before becoming the 16th President of the United States. “The fact that millions have achieved great success after a ridiculous amount of failure should clearly prove to all that you can fail all the way to success.” Did I mention that Lincoln publicly acknowledged his failures? That’s the key to harnessing the power of failure. Admitting it and charging right through it. Success is about leveraging failure after failure without losing your ability to admit it.

A leader must understand that in order to achieve any measurable level of success, failure is necessary. Albert Einstein said, “Insanity consists of doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results.” One of the most valuable traits one can have as a leader is the ability to closely observe his or her mistakes and learn the lessons that create positive changes so that the next set of challenges presented will result in different outcomes.

Failure should not be seen as an unsuccessful attempt; rather, it can be viewed as a yet-unattained goal or as simply one more step toward eventual success. Leaders can truly embrace their fullest potential by actively embracing failure as the most important ingredient in the recipe for success.

The past can be a validated, comfortable place to hide, but it can also serve as a roadblock to innovation and growth instead of a bridge to a brighter, more prosperous future. Failure is temporary; success is long term. Great Leaders should not shut the door on their failures nor obsess over them endlessly. Instead, they need to use them as a tool with formidable force, as failures are the greatest teaching tool in existence. Observe their failures and analyze them, understanding they are not identified by their mistakes. One can overcome a great deal of fear-based thinking by understanding that we all fail and we all can go on to achieve great success from that failure.

Jack Welch, in his extraordinary book “Winning” notes resilience as one of the most important characteristics a leader can have: “The fourth characteristic [of senior leadership] is heavy-duty resilience. Every leader makes mistakes, every leader stumbles and falls. The question with a senior-level leader is, does she learn from her mistakes, regroup, and then get going again with renewed speed, conviction and confidence? The name for this trait is resilience, and it is important that a leader must have it going into a job because if she doesn’t, in a time of crisis time, is too late to learn it.”

Leaders encourage resilience in their teams by nurturing them through the recognition of failures and by encouraging them to build new and more successful habits in terms of failure. The magnitude of your achievements in life are directly proportional to your triviality of failure. If you don’t believe me, simply stand in the center of a busy airport and consider how many times the Wright Brothers did not get the plane off the ground! Yet they continued to try until they prevailed.

The greater your failure, the greater your potential in life is. Period! Failure is the price we pay to achieve the success, progress and validation that we enjoy in life. It is important as a leader to know that no matter how many times you fail, you are not a failure. Failure does not define you. What you do with failure creates those defining moments that enrich you as a leader.

Altering our failure mind-set assures us that while we cannot avoid failure, we can build on it, as it is the strongest foundation of great success. Reflecting on our experience from a new vantage point allows us to break down failure into specific bite size pieces, which can then be dissected and analyzed, helping us to determine the specific root cause of the failure.

Failure is not reserved for special people–nor is success. The only definitive difference between achievers and those who cease trying is how they approach, handle, and perceive their failures. Once success is achieved, the failures experienced are suddenly recognized as hard work and determination; thus we have achieved that very much sought-after validation.

In 1946 one of the founders of 20th Century Fox, Darryl Zanuck, said, “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” 20th Century Fox Television was founded in 1949. Mr. Zanuck clearly admitted failure and was obviously validated after the immense amount of success that the company soon garnered from the addition.

As leaders, our job is to keep our goals rooted in reality, but we must also embrace the understanding and opportunities that failure brings. That will indeed make our teams and our missions soar.
As leaders, our mission is to maintain our reality-driven goals, while realizing that without failure, our recipe for success will be missing the main ingredient. Validation is just the icing on the cake.

Keep Charging Hard!

Christian

The best chess players in the world will tell you that they are not just merely interested in the board game; they will tell you that they are strategists whom enjoy an intellectual cat and mouse where they are not anticipating their own next move, but rather their worthy opponents. They not only plan their next five or six moves in advance, they base their moves on those anticipated moves made by their opponent. This is much easier said than done, but it can be done; just ask Mikhail Botvinnik, Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov and the current World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand.

I hope that I have made that last passage very clear. Very simply, in order to plan your next moves you will have to study your opponent. While that is not a science, and may be risky at times, you will have to learn how your opponent thinks and try and anticipate the advantageous options that your opponent has. This is not a guessing game. Understanding your opponent will give you a clear idea of what he or she is trying to accomplish.

Studying your opponent in the business world has really become quite easy with the advent of the internet. Most every company has a website that provides pertinent information regarding their company. I am not suggesting that you spy on your opponent; I am merely suggesting that you be as prepared as you can for the time that you will come face to face or go head to head with them.

• Go to their company website and read about the company. Companies usually provide their history, their current workforce and their mission and goals statement. Read it. Now, some of the information may be superficial and probably will not give you private information, but it will give you enough information to at least understand their approach, motivation and goals. Besides, nothing impresses a business person more than when you know about their company and their company history.
• Ask for a business meeting or lunch. An opponent does not generally anticipate a move of this nature. Just let them know that while you understand that you might be opponents or adversaries in the work force, that you can also be allies.

There is another lesson from the Rhino in this. While A Rhino might appear as if he is just standing in place, this is not the case. He is developing his foresight and his plan at every moment. His 360° vision capabilities aide him in anticipating his opponents next move, thus being able to plan his. Forewarned is forearmed.

Now before you charge ahead with a business move, keep in mind that not all of these businesses or people are opponents or foes. They are you and your company’s peers. A lot can be learned from them, not just about them.

A successful businessman once shared with me his secret: “Don’t worry about their next move just figure it out. The best position to be in is when your opponent is worrying about your next move.” I have learned to live by this credo.

Foresight can be achieved only if it is activated. Become an active member of your business community. Enlist yourself and your staff in trade shows, business seminars and join professional organizations. As stated earlier, do your homework and read about successful businesses and business leaders. The mighty Rhino knows his community and other members of the animal kingdom. He knows the way they live and how they approach their targets. Take a lesson and practice using foresight by being proactive not reactive and get a jump on your opponents and competition.

Keep Charging Hard!

Christian

In a downturn, it’s easy for companies to say, “Times are tough. Of course we expect slower sales.” But companies with a rhino-like mind-set never take that attitude. Strategically minded companies with aggressive marketing thrive during recessionary periods. That’s because their competitors, who had been free riders when the economy was strong, tend to fold their tents when the economy sours, leaving the field wide open. Is your business charging intently and fearlessly with its marketing? Or is it pacing inside a cage, waiting for times to get better?

Let’s look at three qualities that comprise Rhino Marketing—and three companies that have leveraged these qualities to their advantage.

1. The rhino knows that when it comes to marketing, he must have a take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred approach. He ignores the doomsayers and creates products and services unique and attractive enough to turn them from “What’s that?” to “Must have!”

Apple launched its revised and updated iPhone 3G at a time when gas prices were nudging toward $5 a gallon, the housing market was in its biggest slump in decades and the general mood in the country was getting grim. Apple could have said, “Let’s hold off. This economy will never support a new, expensive phone.” But Apple didn’t; it charged like a rhino. Apple eschews traditional marketing approaches like focus groups and consumer studies. Instead, it invents a category, like the iPhone, the iPod or iTunes, and then it turns just about everybody into people who either are possessors of these things or wish they were. Like a rhino, Apple gets what it wants pretty much every time.

2. The rhino has a need for speed. When his competitors are slowing down and cutting back, the rhino charges forward, taking risks and accelerating growth.

• These days the shortest distance between two points is Southwest Airlines. According to Forbes, Southwest last year posted its 35th consecutive year of profitability, was the most punctual, lost the fewest bags and garnered the least complaints from its passengers. What made the difference? Southwest communicated the fact that while other airlines were cutting back on amenities and charging for services like checking bags, Southwest was actually offering more services, like Wi-Fi on its flights. In an era of zero consumer loyalty and enormous amounts of information available to all thanks to the Internet, can you possibly afford to give your customers less?

3. Practically no animal in the jungle has a tougher skin than the rhino. Rhinos are sometimes called living tanks because the bumps and grooves in their skin create the illusion that they are armor-plated. If you’re going to survive and thrive in tough times, you’d better be just as thick-skinned as the rhino.

• The Trump Network has just begun making its impact felt in the home-based arena with a commitment to providing those looking for financial change with a real chance to opt of the recession. With the current criticism surrounding the state of our economy today, the Trump Network has stepped away from the masses creating a company that is setting the pace for all future companies of its type to follow. Go to Facebook, the social networking Web site, and you can see the tremendous impact that the Trump Network is making on average, everyday individuals. Go to YouTube and you’ll find video clips of Donald J. Trump talking about his commitment to deliver the finest opportunity to the masses. While most companies are feeling the economic crunch, the Trump Network understands the big difference between opportunity and success and that tough times never last but tough people do.

Put it all together and you’ve got three top companies—Apple, Southwest and the Trump Network—all emulating various aspects of the rhino. They’re communicating their messages loudly and boldly, they’re offering speed and more services, and they’re taking a tough-skinned approach to criticism. Who knew that the ultimate marketing symbol of the age was a great big animal with one horn in the middle of his forehead? It’s time to put the power of the rhino to work in your marketing.

Think about it. With the simple push of a finger, a thermostat creates huge changes in our environment. It dictates how comfortable or uncomfortable we’ll be in our surroundings—and in some seasons, it even determines whether or not we can continue to function. If your home is too hot, you simply push a lever to the left, initiating electrical currents that signal the air conditioner to power up a compressor. The compressor begins to chill the air, which is systematically blown throughout your entire house by a fan. When the house is cooled to your desired temperature, the thermostat intelligently shuts off the fan and compressor. And, of course, the exact reverse happens when your house is too cold and you turn on the heater.

In either case, the thermostat repeats the cycle when the air temperature once again needs an adjustment. In other words, when you’re happy with your environment, you can leave the thermostat alone. When you’re unhappy with your environment . . . you adjust your thermostat. And, perhaps most miraculous of all, the thermostat will make your desires a reality to the exact degree you choose. You set a temperature, and without your having to give it another thought, your entire environment adjusts to that temperature.

Now here’s the good news. This amazing function of the thermostat isn’t just something reserved for the realm of technology. Most of us have a thermostat that adjusts the temperature of our home environment, but we also all carry with us a thermostat that adjusts the direction of our lives: our vision. If you’re happy with your life, your vision leads you forward as if automatically. If, however, you’re not happy with your life . . . or you feel you can do much better . . . then you need to adjust your thermostat. It’s time to fine-tune your vision.

1. There are countless benefits to having a clear, stated vision. Your vision . . .

• Identifies direction and purpose.
• Provides continuity, so that you can avoid the stutter effect of planning fits and starts.
• Promotes interest and commitment.
• Promotes laser-like focus.
• Results in efficiency and productivity.
• Alerts you and your stakeholders to problems and the need for change.
• Encourages openness to unique and creative solutions.
• Breaks you out of boundary thinking.
• Builds confidence.
• Builds loyalty through involvement.
• Promotes a sense of accountability and ownership.

2. Your vision must incorporate and promote your core beliefs. Your beliefs . . .

• Are a statement of your values.
• Are a public/visible declaration of your expected outcomes.
• Guide the actions of all involved.
• Reflect the knowledge, philosophy, and actions of all involved.
• Must meet your organizational goals as well as your community goals.
• Must be precise and practical.
• Are a foundation for strategic planning.

3. A leader understands—and avoids—the things that kill vision.

• Tradition
• Fear of ridicule
• Short-term thinking
• Stereotypes of people, conditions, roles, and governing councils
• Complacency of stakeholders
• Fatigued leaders
• Naysayers

If you walked into your house and discovered that it was too sweltering hot to move, you wouldn’t just plop down on the couch and live with it. You’d adjust your thermostat. So why do we so often accept less-than-optimal outcomes in our lives? We do have the power to alter the course of our lives. All we have to do is adjust our vision.

When you begin to incorporate the above action steps into your life and business, by first understanding how powerful a vision can be to your future, then beginning to think about what your vision must include and what negative influences it must exclude . . . you’ll find yourself moving forward free of all the old straining and confusion. With a vision, you’ll naturally leave behind ineffective and unsupported behaviors and start leveraging the daily practices that drive you toward success.

But there’s another kind of cancer that is talked about less often, but that is just as insidious. I’m talking about financial cancer. In today’s social and economic climate, financial cancer is spreading rampantly, and its effects are no less devastating than a health-related cancer’s. Like any other cancer, financial cancer starts with one cell—one ill-considered investment, one haphazard financial decision—and spreads quickly, undermining the health of the rest of the body, weakening all of your assets, your entire livelihood.

Creating financial health, wellbeing, and resilience is no different from maintaining physical health. If we want to reduce our risk of succumbing to the plague of financial cancer, we have to be prepared to follow the same path to robust financial health as the Rhino. The Rhino has immunity to financial cancer—and so can you. It’s about choosing consistently, on a daily basis, to incorporate the leadership actions that can act as changing agents in your financial body. Just as you care for your physical body by eating beneficial nutrients and exercising regularly, you can create financial fortitude by incorporating financial nutrients and leadership action that will lead you into an exciting, balanced, healthy life.

• The Rhino is healthy because his net worth is tied to his network. He leverages People Equity. In the health sphere, it’s been proven that people who don’t have a strong support network of family, friends, or colleagues succumb to illness more often than people who have a network to rely on. The same holds true in maintaining the health of your financial body. Our real value does not lie in the objects or assets we own, it lies in the people we connect with. You can’t stand up to financial cancer if you go it alone. Build contacts, mentor your team, ask questions of those who have forged the path ahead of you. Create an indestructible army to help you combat the threat of financial cancer.

• The Rhino never gives up. He knows he is never out of options. Imagine for a moment, those of you who are parents, that your child has been stricken with a deadly cancer. It’s a nightmare that no parent wants to think about—but indulge me for a moment. You know that your child will die if you don’t find a cure for this cancer. Suddenly, you hear of a doctor who practices somewhere on the other side of the country who has a failsafe cure. If you can just find her, she will cure your child. The catch is that you don’t know her name, and your child has a limited amount of time left. You know this doctor exists, she has the cure that will save your child, all you have to do is find her. But how? I guarantee you that you wouldn’t be sitting around in that situation saying, “I don’t have the resources,” or “I don’t know where to start.” You would try everything in your power—you would never run out of options. When you deeply believe there is no limit to your options, that’s when you can truly open your mind to finding a solution. That’s Rhino vision.

• The Rhino knows that it’s up to him to opt out. It’s that easy. You can opt out of the recession; the power is entirely yours. As tough as it is to own up to, we all choose to be affected by the recession—or not to be. It is in your power to say, “I choose to opt out. I choose to find other ways to create income. I choose to connect to new people who can lead me to new resources.” Understand that the future is in your hands, that you can choose to fall prey to the spread of financial cancer, or instead, choose to make healthy decisions and build a robust immune system. That’s the first step in recovering from the blow of the recession . . . and building indestructible Rhino immunity.

It’s true that health-related cancers are a terrifying fact of life in our world. There are some clear steps we can take to avoid them—not smoking, wearing sunscreen—but the reality is that health-related cancers can strike without warning or apparent reason. This is not true of financial cancer. Building Rhino immunity is your choice, and it’s in your power. It’s only a matter of deciding to incorporate, every day, the leadership action steps that will act as changing and reinvigorating agents in your financial body.

Three Ways You Can Re-Engage Your Leadership Communication Today:

1. Mean what you say and do what you say you will do.

2. Stop and listen to your team before you speak.

3. Everyone matters.Throw out old communication habits and using email as the primary form of communication. Work to communicate on a personal inspired level – holding weekly meetings with staff sans the email!

Failure is the main ingredient in the recipe for success; its 10 parts education, 20 parts effort and 70 parts failure. So why do we hang our heads, lower our eyelids, and cover our mouths, drenched in shame and disgrace, when admitting our failures?

It all starts with the competitive arena which has actually made it more difficult for leaders and individuals alike to admit they have failed at something they attempted to do. Competition really starts in the womb and continues on with siblings, school, work, and personal relationships. Are we as individuals so pompous that we actually believe that we will succeed at everything we touch?

The truth is that it’s not necessarily the actual “act” of failure that hits us in the gut, knocking us to our knees; it’s the exercise of having to admit that we actually failed in the first place. That’s where the majority of our “failure” pain comes from. We are hard-wired for failure; we are just not hard-wired to admit it. What we are really craving is positive validation; and we can’t get that from failure… Unless we are able to turn the tables on the dreaded monster.

How do we come back afterward and ensure that we will do a better job the next time? The current crisis on Wall Street and within the technology sector stems from leaders’ avoiding the simple lesson of failure. We’ve all become so busy at not taking responsibility for anything that we’ve lost the opportunity inherent in failure. Historically speaking, there are many who failed before they succeeded. Abe Lincoln was defeated for state legislature and Speaker of the House for Illinois, lost the nomination to Congress and the Vice Presidency, was twice defeated for a seat in the US Senate, lost a job, failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown, ALL before becoming the 16th President of the United States. “The fact that millions have achieved great success after a ridiculous amount of failure should clearly prove to all that you can achieve success through failure as well.” Did I mention that Lincoln publicly acknowledged his failures? That’s the key to harnessing the power of failure. Admitting it and charging right through it. Success is about leveraging failure after failure without losing your ability to admit it.

A leader must understand that in order to achieve any measurable level of success, failure is necessary. Albert Einstein said, “Insanity consists of doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results.” One of the most valuable traits one can have as a leader is the ability to closely observe his or her mistakes and learn the lessons that create positive changes so that the next set of challenges presented will result in different outcomes.

Failure should not be seen as an unsuccessful attempt; rather, it can be viewed as a yet-unattained goal or as simply one more step toward eventual success. Leaders can truly embrace their fullest potential by actively embracing failure as the most important ingredient in the recipe for success.
The past can be a validated, comfortable place to hide, but it can also serve as a roadblock to innovation and growth instead of a bridge to a brighter, more prosperous future. Failure is temporary; success is long term. Great Leaders should not shut the door on their failures nor obsess over them endlessly. Instead, they need to use them as a tool with formidable force, as failures are the greatest teaching tool in existence. Observe their failures and analyze them, understanding they are not identified by their mistakes. One can overcome a great deal of fear-based thinking by understanding that we all fail and we all can go on to achieve great success from that failure.

Jack Welch, in his extraordinary book “Winning” notes resilience as one of the most important characteristics a leader can have: “The fourth characteristic [of senior leadership] is heavy-duty resilience. Every leader makes mistakes, every leader stumbles and falls. The question with a senior-level leader is, does she learn from her mistakes, regroup, and then get going again with renewed speed, conviction and confidence? The name for this trait is resilience, and it is important that a leader must have it going into a job because if she doesn’t, in a time of crisis time, is too late to learn it.”

Leaders encourage resilience in their teams by nurturing them through the recognition of failures and by encouraging them to build new and more successful habits in terms of failure. The magnitude of your achievements in life are directly proportional to your triviality of failure. If you don’t believe me, simply stand in the center of a busy airport and consider how many times the Wright Brothers did not get the plane off the ground! Yet they continued to try until they prevailed.

The greater your failure, the greater your potential in life is. Period! Failure is the price we pay to achieve the success, progress and validation that we enjoy in life. It is important as a leader to know that no matter how many times you fail, you are not a failure. Failure does not define you. What you do with failure creates those defining moments that enrich you as a leader.

Altering our failure mind-set assures us that while we cannot avoid failure, we can build on it, as it is the strongest foundation of great success. Reflecting on our experience from a new vantage point allows us to break down failure into specific bite size pieces, which can then be dissected and analyzed, helping us to determine the specific root cause of the failure.

Failure is not reserved for special people–nor is success. The only definitive difference between achievers and those who cease trying is how they approach, handle, and perceive their failures. Once success is achieved, the failures experienced are suddenly recognized as hard work and determination; thus we have achieved that very much sought-after validation.

In 1946 one of the founders of 20th Century Fox, Darryl Zanuck, said, “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” 20th Century Fox Television was founded in 1949. Mr. Zanuck clearly admitted failure and was obviously validated after the immense amount of success that the company soon garnered from the addition.

As leaders, our job is to keep our goals rooted in reality, but we must also embrace the understanding and opportunities that failure brings. That will indeed make our teams and our missions soar.
As leaders, our mission is to maintain our reality-driven goals, while realizing that without failure, our recipe for success will be missing the main ingredient. Validation is just the icing on the cake.

PETER DRUCKER SAID, “It is easy to look good in a boom.” In a recession, it’s easy for leaders to say, “Times are tough. Nobody’s doing well. We expect a downturn in sales.” But what if leaders cultivated the mind-set that they can make money and thrive in any economy?

Where can we find the real tenets of leadership that show us how to face any challenge and overcome it? Business leaders are starved for effective role models, primarily because we’ve been looking in all the wrong places—like Washington or Wall Street.

If you want to see leadership, visit the zoo and head to the rhinoceros—the greatest role model for leadership. Why the rhino? He’s sensitive to his environment and a great listener. Listening is a key in leadership. As Drucker noted, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” The rhino is thick-skinned, well-balanced (on his l

arge three-toed feet) and poised, despite his ungainly appearance. And like a future-focused leader, the rhino is hard-charging when necessary, and he knows when to rest. He’s aware of what other animals in the vicinity are doing, but he doesn’t tailor his behavior to match or accommodate theirs. Great leaders set the pace, and like rhinos, are strong enough to carry the weight of the world on their well armored shoulders.

To succeed today, you need to emulate rhinos. Leaders with a rhino-like mind-set never assume that the environment determines their success. They know they can attract and make money in any economy. In fact, strategically minded leaders with aggressive mentalities thrive during recessionary periods. Their competitors tend to fold when the economy sours, leaving the field wide open for rhino-leaders to charge.

Three Examples of Rhino-Leaders:

Who are some of our modern-day rhino-leaders? Let’s look at three.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple. Jobs launched the updated iPhone at a time when gas prices were soaring, the housing market was in a big slump, and the mood in the country could be described as “grim and grimmer.” Jobs could have said, “Let’s hold off. The economy’s bad, and it will never support a new, expensive high-end phone.” Jobs didn’t waver. Instead, he charged like a rhino, and it worked.

When Jobs launched the iPhone in 2007, people were lined up around the block at Apple Stores, those distinctive and attractive sales environments, waiting impatiently to get their hands on Apple’s newest toy. A year later, people are still waiting in line. In a press release sent just three days after the 2008 launch of the 3G, Jobs announced that Apple had already sold 1 million new models. Apple will likely sell 4.47 million phones in the fourth quarter this year.

Steve Jobs eschews traditional marketing approaches like focus groups and consumer studies. He has an uncanny ability to take the pulse of the marketplace, bringing out not just new products but new ways of shopping. First, he invents a category, like the iPhone, the iPod or iTunes, and then he turns everybody into people who either possess these things or wish they did.

That’s the rhino approach in action: take no prisoners, ignore doomsayers, and create products unique enough and attractive enough to turn them from “what’s that?” to “must have.” Like a rhino, Jobs tramples everything in his path that suggests defeat. And he gets what he wants most of the time.

Another amazing characteristic of the rhino is his speed—a full-grown rhino is six-feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds, yet it can move at a speed of 35 miles an hour. Rhino-leaders revel in moving quickly and taking advantage of opportunities.

Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest. Southwest Airlines posted its 35th consecutive year of profitability, was the most punctual, lost the fewest bags, and had the fewest complaints. Why? Southwest has a rhino for a leader who communicates that while other airlines are cutting back on amenities and charging for services like checking bags, Southwest would offer more services, like Wi-Fi on its flights.

While the news media are creating negative marketing for Southwest’s competitors—writing stories on all the ways they are reducing services, cutting back flights and charging for services that used to be free—Kelly trumpets Southwest’s strategy of giving customers more. In an era of zero consumer loyalty and enormous information available to all, can you afford to give your customers less?

Tough times call for a tough role model, and no animal has a tougher skin than the rhino. Rhinos are sometimes called tanks because their skin appears to be divided into plates, creating the illusion that they are armorplated. If you’re going to survive and thrive in tough times, you must be just as thick-skinned as the rhino.

Norbert Reithofer, CEO of BMW. He is one thick-skinned rhino. Reithofer and BMW recently launched the 1 Series, a lower-end version, to appeal to younger, less-affluent buyers. When he began to hear criticism that the 1 Series was not a “pure” BMW, rather than bristle at the criticism, he created a marketing campaign via the Internet to let the world know that the 1 Series is every bit a BMW. For weeks, MSN.com and Yahoo.com advertised the 1 Series in dominant positions on their home pages. Go to YouTube and you’ll find video clips of the new cars. Other automakers have not embraced new media, which leaves them in a position to be trampled by the fast, thick-skinned, rhino-like Reithofer.

These three top leaders and companies emulate aspects of the rhino: they communicate their message boldly; they offer speed and more services instead of cutting back; and they take a tough-skinned approach to criticism and going after prospects. The rhino always stays on message and is never daunted by changing circumstances. There’s always one rhino in every industry. Make sure it’s you!

Christian D. Warren is a leadership consultant and author of Running with the Rhinos (Cirrus) and CEO of CDW Companies. Visit www.cdwcompanies.com.

ACTION: Start charging like a rhino.

While most of us might think that we want “to leave the past behind,” we are ignoring the future if we really have this mind set. The only real way to a clear future is to have a clear vision and total grasp of our past.

• Accept who you are. If you do not recognize and embrace your past, you will never be able to charge ahead and make a difference in the future.
• Realize that your past is a building block to your future. Whether you have eaten from the “silver spoon” or not, I promise that you have had advantages that have helped you be on the right track to success.
• NEVER stop listening. Every time that you listen to someone else, consider it a learning experience, even if you chose to never take their advice, they at least have given you a larger perspective. Just remember that listening is more important than talking and that you have listened in your past; otherwise you would not be here today.
• Give yourself and others a break. We ALL make mistakes, if we chose to learn from them, we are smart. If we chose to make the same mistakes over and over, we are gaining nothing.
• Believe it or not, your parents still know what they are talking about. They may not be “modern,” but there is wisdom in their words. You can gain knowledge and insight from them your whole life.

Sit down and write down your biggest mistakes. Knowing what you know now, how would you have handled the situation(s) differently? When moving forward, apply those solutions. Application is one of the biggest parts of learning. If you refuse to try new approaches, you will probably not forge ahead. A Rhino approaches every situation from a new vantage point; whether that be experience or location; the Rhino looks at every aspect of his vision, then charges.

Look back and reflect; frequently. It is healthy to go over past situations and pull knowledge and wisdom from them. As you charge ahead, realize that you are not a victim of your past, but rather a unique individual with the advantage of understanding the past and your mistakes.

Just remember that it is OK to ask questions. Not knowing something doesn’t show weakness. Asking for the correct answers shows your strength. The mighty Rhino does not stand alone. He is surrounded by his herd; without the herd he would have no real purpose other than self-preservation. The Rhino understands that his herd is his past and his future. Charge Ahead!