SUCCESS IN THE REAL WORLD: Jamie Makuuchi
Jamie Makuuchi, the International Marketing Director for Johns Manville Corporation, has what some people may consider a glamourous job. 
In his fast-paced job, he jet sets between countries --52 so far -- "wines and dines" clients, and is in touch via his cell phone and laptop computer. But, the travel and stress are wearing, and he considers his job less than glamourous.
"Traveling for work is much different than traveling for pleasure. All I really see in the different countries I go to are hotel rooms and offices–I’m craning my neck in the taxi trips between meetings to get a peek at the country I’m in."
With so much time and money invested in his international travel, Jamie’s schedule has to be tight. His time management skills are crucial to the success of a trip. Because of this, Jamie values all of his time and relies heavily on a schedule, even scheduling in his "down-time."
Jamie also relies heavily on goal-setting. He writes his yearly goals down, both personally and professionally, and then breaks these into objectives to accomplish throughout the year. He tries to remind himself of his overall goals periodically, focusing on them, but not dwelling on them. His goals for this year include learning Spanish, reaching an even higher level of sales for his company, and buying a dog!
Jamie deals with diversity on a daily basis–not only while traveling, but also at his office. The workforce today is composed of many different types of people in all stages of life, and Jamie finds that tolerance, understanding and knowledge are the keys to his success.
"I try to read as much as I can about different cultures and their ways of communcating. There are all sorts of differences, and its good to know the idiosyncracies of each culture. But, its also somewhat humorous because as I’m learning their culture, they’re also studying American culture and when we communicate it gets a little mixed up! It really doesn’t matter if I get things down perfectly. What seems to make all the difference is that I’ve taken the time to learn."
Taking the time to learn is a valuable investment for Jamie, but it is hard to fit this into his schedule. However, continual learning has been one of the major keys to success for him, so he makes the time. While he is on the airplane, waiting in an airport, and before going to sleep he reads journals and skims relevant books for important information. Information is useless unless it is used, and Jamie uses the information in generating creative solutions to problems and to respond quickly to market forces. To be successful in today’s marketplace, Jamie believes that you have to develop the necessary skills and, above all else, invest in yourself by working very hard.
