Dear {FirstName},

We hope you've been enjoying your Monday Morning Motivator. If you've received this issue for the first time - welcome aboard! It only takes a couple of minutes to start your week off right with the MMM! Be encouraged by the success or great ideas of others in your business community. The MMM has community of 31,702 subscribers.

A Profile in Courage & Vision: Jake Burton

With the Winter Olympics going on in our beautiful city, this week we wanted to share Jake Burton's story with you. With how mainstream boarding has become it makes Jake's vision and courage that much more impressive.

As the early morning sun crests above the snow-covered mountain, Jake Burton adjusts his goggles, checks his bindings and takes a deep breath, looking down on his hometown of Stowe, Vt. The descent below is steep and fraught with peril only the most experienced snowboarder can embrace. Burton, now 55, takes one more breath, and repeats to himself, “This is snowboarding; you have to go for it,” before plunging down the mountain on a snowboard he created. For the owner of the leading snowboarding company in the world, this isn’t just an escape from a boring board meeting. This is the meeting, and Burton is on the clock. “

I’m usually trying out something new—a board, a boot, a binding or some piece of outerwear. I’m always testing something, it seems,” Burton says. It’s a far cry from the barn-based business he started 32 years ago, but the philosophy hasn’t wavered. Burton credits his success, in part, to listening and getting input from people who love the sport, including himself.

“Being around the scene, being exposed to it, and understanding that this is a youth-driven business is key,” says Burton, who holds round-table meetings with some of today’s most iconic snowboarders four to six times a year. “I’m often steering things in directions, but listening more to what is going on out there among young, core riders who are defining this sport is important.” Charting a New Course Jake Burton was intent on building a snowboard company even if it meant pioneering the sport. He did both.

Without Burton, though, those core riders would likely be pursuing some other sport. Before he went into business, modern snowboarding didn’t really exist. After finishing up an economics degree, he moved to Vermont and cultivated an idea to bring young people back to the slopes. By the late ’70s, Burton says, ski resorts were building large arcades to keep kids occupied while their parents skied. Young people had no interest in the sport. Burton modified the “Snurfer,” an early ancestor to the snowboard that included straps for the rider to hold and steer with. Instead of a clunky novelty device, he created a snowboard that was sleek, fast and, most important, not your father’s alpine skis. There was just one problem: Ski resorts wouldn’t allow snowboards.

“They would tell us they’d never seen [a snowboard] before and didn’t want us on their hill,” he says. “We had to convince them that it was a directional device. It was tough because everyone was a beginner back then. You can imagine a ski resort where everyone on the hill was in their first season.”

Burton worked tirelessly, both on his boards and the resorts. His first year, he only sold around 300 boards. He had blown through a $100,000 inheritance he’d received after his mother died when he was 17, and he was working two summer jobs in New York just to keep his fledgling business alive. On one sales trip to the slopes, he actually returned with more boards than he’d brought. “One shop returned some boards I had sold them,” he says. Burton was nearing a breaking point.

“It was blowing up in my face. I was alone. I didn’t have any employees,” Burton says of that first year. “I definitely remember not even wanting to get out of bed. I should just give up on this, I thought to myself. I was closer to failing than I even admit.”

That’s when Burton changed his entire business philosophy. Instead of treating it as a way to make a living, he decided to focus only on the sport. “This switch flipped on. From that point forward, I looked out for the sport and made sure that there was something there—that I was right [about its potential]. Once I got focused on that, everything started taking care of itself,” he says.

By year two, Burton had doubled his output, and snowboarding was beginning to catch on. But it wasn’t until he convinced a few ski resorts to allow boards on the slopes that his business began to take off. “Getting on their hills was huge,” Burton says. “It paved the way for the explosive growth.”

That growth points to an industry with an annual revenue of roughly $500 million. Burton Snowboards, which is a privately held company, reportedly captures 40 to 70 percent of the market share, depending on the specific category of goods.

Burton has grown his company just as he did the sport—slowly, carefully, relentlessly. As snowboarding grew in popularity, European companies contacted Burton about manufacturing his product. He and his wife moved overseas to work closely with their partners, ensuring the product met his standards. Today, the company boasts facilities across the globe and has expanded to include apparel, accessories, boots and binding divisions. Still the leading snowboard manufacturer in the world, Burton is synonymous with the sport. It sponsors Shaun White, 2006 Olympic gold medalist and the best-known name in the sport, and designed uniforms for the 2010 U.S. Olympics snowboarding team.

Having seen his idea bloom into a multimillion-dollar institution, Burton finally decided to take a step back. He promoted longtime employee Laurent Potdevin to act as president in 2002 and CEO in 2005. Burton still comes into the office most days and remains heavily involved in the development and testing of new products. And, of course, he’s still riding.

“I’ve got no plans to change anything,” Burton says. “I rode 117 days last year, and I’ll get my 100 in this year one way or the other.”

Have a great week unless you choose otherwise.

Drago

PS -  We’d love to hear what you think about a new campaign under development for SureSlim Canada. Please Click Here to view 3 TV ads currently in the mid stages of post-production. Are they compelling?  Do you think the messaging is clear? Thank you for taking a moment to help us help our client. We truly appreciate your time and opinion. 

Testimonial Of The Week - "Drago and his team are absolutely fantastic to work with." (Steve Darling, Anchor -Global TV News)

We also wanted to say Thank You for allowing us to meet with you every Monday Morning. The MMM has experienced incredible growth with a subscriber base of 31,702 people.

To Sign Up For The MMM, Click Here! 

We are truly grateful and humbled by the positive comments we receive weekly. If you enjoy the MMM please pass it along and let others know about it. To see our newsletter archives Click Here. 

Success Profile

This week's success profile is Jamie MacDonald and his partners at Maximum Impact Training & Development.

Maximum Impact started 5 years ago with one original partner and facilitator, Jamie MacDonald. He shared four key values with us that form the bedrock foundation for the development of people and effective teams everywhere:

- the belief in the worth of every individual - we all deserve to be invested in.
- the understanding that only truth transforms - without a bedrock of truth, training efforts blow away like chaff. 
- the difference between information vs. knowledge - it is only practical application that results in effective change.
- a commitment to "training in the fouth dimension" - there is no quick fix  it takes commitment over time to see your people develop.

Now Maximum's four partners, plus a half dozen associates, welcome HR specialist Susan Rafter, CHRP to the team. Congrats Susan!

To learn about the Workplace Training grant of $5000 for your business or not-for-profit organization call Susan before February 26 2010. 604-312-5424. She will take care of all the details or to find out more visit www.maximumimpact.ca

Can The Adam Advertising Group help your business, or do you have a success story we should hear about?

Contact Drago Adam at drago@AdamAdGroup.com
or call 604 937 - 8886 or 866 923 - 6477

PS :Thank You for sharing your Monday Mornings with us. The MMM started three years ago with 35 subscribers, today's issue is going out to over 31,702 Weekly Subscribers.

Click Here! for our newsletter archive.