Guess? Success Teaches Lessons in Leadership

Once again my very smart friend Tom Barrack of Colony Capital sent me one of his essays that was based on his pondering over a way “to chart a path to lead our team and our investors out of this jungle” in reference to what’s been going on with the economy. He found the answer while talking with one of his friends, Paul Marciano, the CEO of Guess?, Inc. Paul and his brothers are self-made and have built Guess into one of the most well-known fashion brands in the world.

He asked Paul what his insights were on the economy, and because Guess has a great balance sheet and is well positioned for economic turbulence, their discussion was focused on one issue: leadership. Leadership is not the ability to cut down the trees that are blocking the path out of the jungle, it is the ability to see what jungle we are in and then choose the path.

Paul Marciano’s exemplary behavior, as leader of his company, is to subordinate feelings and fear of changed circumstances to values and responsibility. That becomes the focus. His philosophy is simple: “What’s happening in the world is not good, and it will most likely get worse before it gets better, but what we are doing in the company is managing better, reducing costs and expanding market share while others are panicked, consequently, business and the future will be better than ever.”

When I read that, I realized how clear that message is, and what a great lesson in leadership it provides. He is making sure that their core values, their integrity, are remaining intact. And he points out that the future will be better than ever because of this approach. Tom adds these questions for emphasis, to make clear the focus of his own company: “What do we stand for, where are we going, what are the key attributes of success or failure, and what code monitors our conduct?”

This brings us to an important point: To be an effective leader, people must have trust and confidence in what you say and how you act. Guess creates, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion around the world, and as an industry, fashion is known for being capricious. But because Paul Marciano remains fixed on his principles, he takes the guesswork out of his future. My guess is that we should all do the same.

By Donald Trump.