IHA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
847-692-0110

Colin Powell Reveals Lessons In Leadership At International
Home & Housewares Show

CHICAGO (March 13, 2007)—A leader is more than just a title, it’s about trust, creating followers, motivating, and being open, Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) said today at the 2007 International Home & Housewares Show.

One of the most admired men in America, Powell has been a leader for most of his life, having led troops as both a military leader, as chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and as Secretary of State. Drawing on examples garnered from experience as both a leader on the world stage and as eyewitness to leadership in action, Powell illustrated for the audience precisely what it takes to be a leader and provided strategies for “taking charge” during times of great change and great crises. He demonstrated how to remain focused, take responsibility, and work towards improving processes, organizations, and people.

Owned and operated by the International Housewares Association (www.housewares.org), the Show is being held March 11-13 at McCormick Place, and features nearly 2,100 exhibitors from around the world, including almost 500 new companies, introducing thousands of new products.

Powell told the audience that he has slowly transitioned into a “normal life” after his long and prosperous military and political career. Yet even in his self-labeled “retirement” Powell remains busy, as a strategic limited partner at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm and as founder of America’s Promise—The Alliance for Youth, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young people, particularly by improving their employability. He is also working on building an education center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. that will celebrate and educate people about those who have served in all of the nation’s wars.

Powell first turned to the terrorist events of September 11, 2001 to illustrate his points about leadership and the qualities that make a leader.

The terrorist incident that happened on September 11, 2001, he said, “was a traumatic experience for everyone. We never thought that it would happen, so we went on the offense and put many procedures into place.” For example, the Visa system that allows visitors into the U.S. was tightened, but it was too much, he said. “As a result, many foreign students are not allowed into the U.S. But we shouldn’t make it too difficult for foreign students, because they can acquire valuable skills to help their countries. Plus, visiting America helps people understand what America is all about—we are not a sitcom, we are a leader and a nation of diversity that touches every nation in the world; we are kind, open, and welcoming and we must preserve that.”

Instead, he said, “The greatest weapon to fight terrorism is our military, our law enforcement agencies, and most importantly, the openness of our society. Terrorists cannot change the nature of who we are and our value system. If we try to shut out the world, we will no longer be the inspiration to the rest of the world. We have to show that we are fearless and proud.”

Leadership is also about creating a group of followers; you cannot have one without the other, he explained. “It’s about putting followers into the best possible position and communicating your company’s goals to everyone in the organization,” he said.

“Don’t just motivate your followers,” he added, “inspire them to be an important part of your organization. Create that inspirational attitude by setting high standards and by following through. Followers want to see leaders with integrity, with moral and physical courage, who recognize them and reward them and make them feel valued. Great leaders also prune their organization and weed out people who are not performing. Followers know who is performing and who is not, and they will slack off if they see a leader that doesn’t take charge.”

Yet the essence of all leadership is trust, he said. For example, he noted, “People around the world still trust America, and that is why we are a world leader. People still line up to get Visa’s to enter our country, and they still see us as a place of hope, dreams, and openness.”

Powell also explained why crises and challenges could be enormous opportunities to give one the potential to be a stronger leader and thus, “create a better world.” He cited political problems in the past with Russia, Europe (particularly France), Asia, Africa and Latin America that he encountered during his political career and how he changed his view of them.

For example, he says China has changed its economic system but not its political system, yet it is one of the world’s largest economies, soon to be the world’s largest, he predicted. Despite differences in political systems, he said, China is a “global friend to the U.S. and will remain one for years to come. That is an example of how one can overlook a perceived crisis or challenge to benefit all those involved.”

 He concluded by saying, “To be a leader you have to solve problems. The U.S. is still a leader. In your businesses, keep welcoming members, keep creating jobs and opportunities, keep moving, and keep open. You will encounter enemies, but keep moving on.”

In addition to Powell’s presentation, James L. Glenn, chairman of IHA’s board of directors and president/CEO of Whitney Design, Inc., said that the Association is in sound health.

“The work [IHA does] has a strategic impact on its members and the industry,” Glenn said.

“The IHA Board of Directors and staff have created a thriving show and have formed member services that add value to those that belong.”

Glenn outlined the Association’s accomplishments for the past year and its objectives for the future, including continuing to build a global marketplace, facilitating partnerships between suppliers and the global community, being The Home Authority, providing access to services at a lower cost for businesses, and being open to alliances that help build business, such as the International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) that negotiates freight contracts and partners with logistics providers to lower supply chain costs for IHA member companies. Other recently formed IHA alliances include the HECNA for export assistance, CORE for CEO’s to meet and share ideas, and CHESS for access to industry experts.

This year’s Show, Glenn explained, includes additional tools to help Show attendees, in particular, buyers, be more efficient. For example, buyers can receive exhibitor information before the Show, and are given a list of exhibitor booths and products they saw at the Show based on their badges being scanned. 

Glenn also noted that this year’s Show has a strong international presence, with one-third of the 22,000 buyers at the Show and 30 percent of the exhibitors coming from outside of the U.S.

The International Housewares Association is the 69-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (US) $301 billion at retail worldwide in 2005. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, the International Home & Housewares Show, and offers its 1,700 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer panel data through Housewares Market Watch, executive management peer groups, a unique community at www.housewares.org, and group buying discounts on business services.