Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Human Assets Bring Life to Business Plans: CJ's Remarks at Rice Business Plan Competition 2009

Administaff sponsored the 3rd and 4th place overall award prizes at the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition in 2009. I was privileged to present these awards to Tendix Development, LLC, from Johns Hopkins University, (Winner also of the Tech Transfer Award, sponsored by DFJ Mercury) and Integrated Diagnostics, from Carnegie Mellon University, (Winner also of the earth/Space Life Science Innovation Award.)

I had less than 2 minutes to speak, and I wanted to use that venue to impact on this audience of talented entrepreneurs from around the world.

Following is the longer version of my talk:

"On the occasion of this grand and prestigious event, with some of the great current and future business minds assembled together, I share wisdom from a great mind of the past. Though he may not have contemplated the activities of the past several days when he spoke, you will most certainly make the application easily yourself. "

"Albert Einstein said, "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality." "

"What Einstein realized in experience was that there is a difference between mathematics and reality. There is a difference between theory and practicality. One is clean, neat, orderly, predictable and certain; the other is not. On paper, one always works; in reality, it may not. "

"It is as Almanas wrote to Squaredime in my latest book, The Squaredime Letters, “The real world of organizations is much different than what my textbooks led me to anticipate. It is complex, fuzzy, irregular, asymmetrical, random, and in continuous disequilibrium, much different from the orderly and sterile world represented in my early plans.” "

"So, in accordance with the experience of Einstein and Almanas, your business plans, as spectacular, as innovative, as creative and complete as they may be, do not a business make. "

"They now need infused life. And that life must come in the form of inspired, motivated, creative, and innovative people all voluntarily aligning to help create your vision and mission. That life, that unique assemblage of people will be your company’s most valuable, most important, and most critical asset. "

"How well you develop that asset will determine whether even a mediocre business plan becomes an outstanding business, or whether even an outstanding business plan, becomes but another mediocre one. "

"Today, in the end, outstanding or mediocre can make the difference between success and failure. "

"Your most important asset is at the heart of the Administaff mission. Administaff exists to stand shoulder to shoulder with you as our client, to strengthen your ability to best develop your human assets, maximizing your profitability and making life better for everyone involved. "

CJ Coolidge
Rice Business Plan Awards Banquet
April 18, 2009
Westin Galleria hotel
Houston, TX

We could all benefit from this message. It is our people and our people systems which create the greatest opportunity for our companies to succeed. Everything else is just paper.

CJ Coolidge is a regular contributor to HRTools.com.
Get your own copy of his groundbreaking book, The Squaredime Letters.
Visit CJ online at www.cjcoolidge.com.