Of Icons and Idols - This week Bob shows some love for a couple of people who helped guide his business career.

After a nice Valentine dinner with my wife, my mind wandered back to business. Occupational hazard, I guess. I began thinking about earlier Valentine’s days, when I was just beginning my career and dinner out on this holiday was a special treat we saved for.

That led me to think about how I started in business, certain people who helped shape my career, and those in business I admire today.

One of my present idols is Phil Knight who, with Bill Bowerman, founded Nike in 1978. By 1980 -- a mere two years -- Nike attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market. According to Phil Knight, the company's growth was due largely to "word-of-foot."  Knight always had a way with words.

In 1988, Knight had the common sense to approve the iconic slogan "Just Do It", which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Pretty impressive for a company that's less than half a century old. And that Swoosh! Recognized the world over.

Knight knew how to empower people to think outside the box (i.e., "Just Do It") and I admire him for that. I like to use the tool of empowerment with my people. Instead of "Just Do It", I tell them to "Just Figure It Out." Perhaps not as lyrical, but the meaning is the same: The power is within you.

However, the most lasting idol in my life will always be my dad. I admired his work ethic then, and I still do now. He worked for Lincoln Electric, a company driven to excel by providing incentives to people who were paid by the number of items they produced. Back in the day, it was called piecework. Everyone worked under the assumption that the more you produced, the more you were paid. Today we call it  incentive. In their 118-year history, Lincoln Electric never had a layoff. Not many companies can say that today. Under Lincoln's incentive-to-work model, Dad was able to provide nicely for our large family.

Part of Shamrock has been built by the lessons I learned from Dad and part continues to be motivated by my admiration for corporate leaders like Phil Knight. Give employees a challenge and they will live up to it -- and more. Empower employees to think outside the box and they will do more than ever imagined.

ONE LAST THING...

I think people are motivated by challenges and incentives; it's in the human spirit. Others may not agree. Beginning this month, we'll see, because we're introducing a new incentive program for employees. It challenges them to achieve their personal best. They're not competing with one another. Their only competition is themselves. My guess is that they'll all be winners.