PINTO’S PROSE

Elements of Winning, by Jim Pinto

In response to criticism about his famous saying, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing,” American football coach Vince Lombardi eventually offered a repudiation, implying that what he meant to say was, “Winning is not everything - but making the effort to win is.”

After reviewing more of Lombardi’s sayings, one recognizes that he believed that the commitment to winning was secondary only to God, family and community. Winning in business is the lifeblood of any society. But defining “winning” is much like defining “success.” The simplistic definitions quickly generate misunderstandings. Clearly, competitiveness doesn’t mean that “anything goes.” Companies such as Enron didn’t win - they simply demonstrated a lack of ethics. California plunged into rolling brownouts during the height of a hot summer while Enron energy traders joked about some little old lady in California not being able to afford her power bills. Their supposed “winning streak” was quickly curtailed.

Economic success need not be morally corrupt. There’s corruption in every field, from the priesthood to politics. But most people want to win the right way. They want to be part of a successful enterprise. They want meaningful work, with the freedom to achieve success, not just survive. They want a better life for their families, colleagues, communities and society.

Experienced gurus recognize that excellence-indicators are not limited to just one element of any business; if one aspect of the business is clean, or corrupt, then it’s likely that other segments also have similar characteristics. Clearly, it starts with the leadership. In a good business, isolated problems and poor attitudes are quickly recognized and rooted out. If not, the “disease” spreads, irregularities become common and the organization collapses... Read more

» Feed Forward: Fully Engaged, by Gary Mintchell
It’s been a great year in the automation industry.

The lowest growth rate of the companies that I cover was about 6 percent. Most were in the double digits in growth percentage, especially in key markets. Ingredients for growth included focus on core business, targeted acquisitions and innovation. When all are growing, it’s hard to pick out the winners in the competition. I’m such a firm believer that strong competition is best for customers, that I believe at the end of the day, we’ll see that it was a good year for Automation World readers, too. At least from the point of view of getting new generations of products and services that will impact profits positively.

This year, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with the chief executive officers, either corporate or North American or both, of the 10 largest systems suppliers. I’ve found all of them focused on growth and winning. Some are growing by acquisition. While a few pundits in the industry are hoping for a blockbuster acquisition, every executive I’ve talked with is more interested in acquisitions that fill open spots in the portfolio. Take, for example, Rockwell Automation’s acquisitions of ICS Triplex for its safety solutions... Read more

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