C. Richard Weylman - The Power of Why: Breaking Out in a Competitive Marketplace

Further Study and Inspiration

BOOKS

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne

Brand: It Aint the Logo* (*Its What People Think of You) by Ted Matthews How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships by Richard Abraham

Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, with a foreword by Harvey Mackay

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

FILMS

Pay It Forward is a 2000 American film about a seventh grade boy given a social studies assignment to launch a project that changes the world. The boy starts a pay it forward movement, which means paying back a debt not to the person whom you owe but to someone else, so it starts off a wave of selfless giving. The film inspires behavior based on responding to someone elses needs without focusing strictly on yourself.

Breaking Away is about four teenage boys in Bloomington, Indiana, who create their own relay team to compete in the famous Indiana University Little 500 bicycle race against professionals from around the world and, against all odds, win at the last second. The story is a beautifully acted portrayal of team work success, and ranked eighth on the list of Americas 100 Most Inspiring Movies compiled by the American Film Institute.

Chariots of Fire is based on the true story of two runners from the University of Cambridge who compete together on the British team during the 1924 Olympics in Paris. One is a devout Scottish Christian who nearly ruins any chance for a medal by refusing to enter a race held on a Sunday. The other is a Jew who competes to silence prevailing anti-Semitism in England and Europe during this pre-WWII period. In the climactic finale, both win gold medals, inspiring the world with their altruism, self-sacrifice, and sense of universal brotherhood.

Working Girl is a film about cutthroat office politics inside the mergers and acquisitions department of a large Wall Street investment bank. A boss tries to take credit for her secretarys ideas, but ultimately is defeated by the spunk and intelligence of her younger rival. It demonstrates overcoming a tradition of a ruthless office culture by focusing solely on whats right for the customer.

The Blind Side is based on the true story of an impoverished black boy adopted by an affluent white Southern family and encouraged to play highly competitive football. As he gradually becomes successful we see how major community prejudice and widespread discrimination are confronted, with an inspiring and uplifting outcome.

First Position is a documentary film about preteen dancers from all over the world competing in the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, an annual competition for dancers ages nine to nineteen for a place at an elite ballet school and company. It demonstrates the amazing, obsessive, and often painful self-discipline required of these children and their parents in the pursuit of artistic excellence and professional opportunity. The films inspirational message can be applied to virtually all endeavor in building individual and team business success.