INTRODUCTION

Cause there’s no pressure to drive us to take action and do something completely different from what we are in the habit of doing—a leap that could potentially even lead to the achievement of lifelong ambitions.

It’s contrary to our natural instincts as humans, but the Japanese business philosophy Kaisen, which means “change to improve,” is founded on the concept of constantly learning and working on improving oneself, daring to step out of one’s comfort zone and into unchartered waters.

The American author and leading expert in strategic thinking and management, Noel Tichy, calls this process the Learning Zone. It is going beyond the limits of your Comfort Zone, growing incrementally, constantly learning throughout your lifetime, as opposed to entering what he calls the Panic Zone, overwhelming yourself by taking on too much too quickly. People tend to underestimate what they can achieve in the long term and overestimate what they can accomplish in the next year.

To work on improving yourself in the long-term, you need to have a vision, which you can slowly but surely work towards. It may be in a constant flux of change and development but the best leaders have the ability to see possibilities that others don’t. Where some people may see only one desk, a leader sees a buzzing office in full force.

Vision propels us into the life we desire, for it is never losing sight of that vision that makes the unseen visible and the unknown possible, while making our suffering and disappointment bearable. Vision is the energy of progress—and it is our means of escape from the enslavement of the comfort zone.

Today more than ever we need business and political leaders who possess the skill to transfer ideas into realities and who have the courage to inspire nations. The visionaries who dare to dream big enough for all of us are few and far between.

Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of the Japanese manufacturer, Panasonic, famously had a 250-year corporate mission broken into 25-year sections, which reminds me of a story about one of the greatest creative and business masterminds of recent times, Walt Disney. The day Disneyland opened it had only one ride and virtually no visitors. Walt Disney sat on a bench and stared into space. A groundskeeper pitied the man and asked how he was doing. Without batting an eyelash, Disney stoically replied, “Fine” as he stared into the distance. “Sir, what are you doing?” , inquired the bewildered worker. “I’m looking at my mountain,” he stated. “I see the mountain right there.”

At the dedication ceremony of Space Mountain, the governor and local dignitaries were present as was Disney’s widow. The mayor introduced her and said, “It’s a pity that Mr. Walt Disney is not here today to see this mountain, but we’re glad his wife is here.” Mrs. Disney took her place at the podium, surveyed the crowd and then spoke, “Ladies and gentlemen, I must correct the Honorable Mayor. Walt already saw the mountain. It is you who are just now seeing it.”

Ricardo Salinas, Founder and CEO of Grupo Salinas, is a present-day visionary who has learned the value not only of standing up against the status quo and boldly challenging existing conventions, but of constantly looking for new ways for his businesses to evolve in the present, at the same time having a 10-year plan. The key to changing with the times is to have access to the most current information and to be able to adapt and respond to the market’s demands immediately. Salinas is the most avid reader I know, he makes it a priority to be up to date on what the latest technology is, and his company is permanently being pushed to adapt and make changes instantly.

He has cultivated an entrepreneurial spirit and has had the vision to create opportunities where none existed, overcoming the insurmountable hurdles and established forces that have not shared in his optimistic view of a modern Mexico in the twenty-first century; a Mexico that could become a first world nation and a respectable player on the world economic stage. When I met Ricardo Salinas socially in London in September 1991, I had no idea that this informal meeting would lead me to undertake new business challenges at what would later become Grupo Salinas—a career move that would change my life and my view of business forever.

As a young Cuban exile in Miami, I railed against my family and my friends’ insistence to live in the comfort zone of their former lives and customs, even though they were in the United States for good, with little or no hope of returning to Cuba. I did everything in my power to become my own man, and not only assimilate into but succeed in the American culture. I made the conscious decision to leave my comfort zone then for the first time. It would not be the last.

I became an accomplished businessman, a workaholic, who was driven to make it. I learned that the most important thing in your work career is to constantly reinvent yourself. People are always looking for the next best thing and the trick is to be on the lookout for other opportunities. I don’t believe in the theory, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” Fix it before it breaks; be one step ahead. The only constant in our world is change and so we have to embrace it.

One of my best assets in life has been my willingness to step out of my comfort zone and adapt to the opportunities that have come my way. Most of what I achieved, I learned by charging ahead regardless of politics and by trial and error or pure instinct. Those tactics eventually caught up to me. I took a step back and reevaluated my business style. In the end I reinvented myself at the hands of Ricardo Salinas. And that reinvention has taught me more about succeeding in business than I ever dreamed of.

In this book I want to impart the lessons I’ve learned on my journey to become a successful businessman. Through my personal experiences, stories and aphorisms I have borrowed from friends, family, ancient eastern teachings, Christian stories, folk tales, journalists and historians, I want to provide readers with useful tools and fuel for thought as they work their way through the minefields of modern business. I want to inspire them to have the courage to leave their comfort zones and achieve their fullest potential.

The primary example I focus on in the latter half of the book is my extraordinary experience with Ricardo Salinas, whose entrepreneurial spirit and business practices have opened my eyes not only to endless possibilities but to the way business can indeed succeed and prosper with planning and the vision to step into new territory, fearlessly leaving comfort zones behind.

Daring is a perfect way out of slavery:

An awkward step towards forging something new and better.

Daring drives us to achieve the highest performance.

We can go wrong, become exposed to criticism and be deemed a failure.

Daring demands placing ourselves in the line of fire.

It’s easier doing nothing at all.

Luis J.Echarte