Ed Zander’s keynote presentation on day two of TIECON focused on the keys to creating and increasing the value of an organization. The conference theme of “Creating the Entrepreneurial Renaissance” was well served by Zanders example based blueprint for creating enough value to become a “Category Players”. By using experiences from his past at Sun and at present in Motorola, Zander shared the three main components of his blueprint: Vision, Focus and Execution (VFE).

“First you need a “compelling vision” that can usually be summed up in a one sentence which will be your vision statement” said Zander. “At Sun the vision statement, the “Network is the Computer” unified and motivated all employees to work towards a common goal.” ”Intelligence Everywhere” was the vision for Motorola.

Zander went on to describe the need for focus. “Knowledge is the key here. I expect my managers to sweat the details and have complete knowledge of customer and competition.” said Zander. He spoke passionately about placing big bets. At Motorola the current big bet is on “Seamless Mobility” which would allow the customer to carry a videoconference from their home to the car and to the office without interruption.

Finally he spoke about execution. He emphasized ownership of intellectual property as an important key to successful execution. “Knowing what to own and what to license could be the difference between being a category player or an also ran,” said Zander. He spoke about the differences between Sun and Motorola in terms of size and how execution mattered more as a company grows.

During the question and answer Zander’s affable and approachable personality, began to shine. He told personal stories from his days at Data General and was self critical about his skills as an engineer. His advice was to always hire people better than you. When asked about the keys to his success he answered “I really don’t know, I suppose luck has something to do with it” As I listened I was reminded of a quote: by Thomas Jefferson “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”---

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