EnTrends

Relations and Sports Marketing. Graham
has since taken on the roles of CEO,
author, teacher, and motivational speaker.
In addition, he is a volunteer for various
charitable organizations, two of which he
founded.

Graham's primary position is that of CEO
at S. Graham & Associates, a Chicago-
based educational company that creates
corporate training and leadership
development programs. The Hyatt
Corporation, IBM, Manpower, Glaxo
Welcome, Frankel, and the Department of
Labor's Job Corps, have all been clients
of Graham. His company teaches people
the process of success and helps them
realize the important role of education in
their lives.

Graham says, "Often times in the
educational environment, people are
taught to memorize, take tests, and get
degrees, but they are not taught to create
opportunities for themselves and apply
the education to the world they live in.
Nobody teaches you how to live and
advance your goals and aspirations, or to
organize the environment you want to
work in. They don't teach you how to
impact the environment."

Graham has, therefore, developed a
process for building a foundation to
success through discovering ones' own
talents, capabilities, and passions. The
process, which tends toward self-
actualization, is outlined in his New York
Times Bestseller, You Can Make It
Happen: A Nine-Step Plan For Success.
Other books by Graham include: Build
Your Own Life Brand, You Can Make It
Happen, and Teens Can Make It Happen.

In his book for teens, Graham suggests
that students find out what they want to

focus on as a career choice, not what
others want. He says, "It is unfortunate
that some people go to school for years
and they don't focus on what they want
to do. They focus on what someone else
wants them to do. It causes a lot of
problems in the long-term. I try to save
them time by getting them to understand
their potential through this process."

In addition to being a CEO and best-
belling author, Graham is also an adjunct
professor with The Kellogg Graduate
School of Management at Northwestern
University in Chicago. He has combined
both his love for sports and passion for
teaching as an instructor in the sports
marketing curriculum for second-year
MBA students. He is also widely
acclaimed for a class called "Dynamics of
Leadership," that he has taught alongside
his long-time associate, Oprah Winfrey.

Graham reflects on the class saying, "It
was a great experience for both of us. It
was a first experience for her, but not for
me. I was able to bring some content and
teaching experience to the class and she
teaches everyday on television, so the
combination worked well. "

When asked if the celebrity status of the
two was a distraction in the classroom,
Graham replied, "People are more cynical
than they are if you just came in from

another university. There was a lot of
skepticism based on our coming in and
people looked at us wondering if we
could teach. You have to prove
yourself."

Graham maintains that he and Oprah
kept the class very professional and it
worked out well because the two believe
in what they do and enjoy the program.
"We were there because we wanted to
be there."

Graham says that he and Oprah are
essentially doing the same work. "She's
doing what she does on television, and I
am doing it on the ground. It is great
having someone to talk to about work. It
keeps us with common goals and
elements."

A typical day for Graham starts out with
exercise. "I learn a lot from working out
and the activities I do. A lot of the same
principles of discipline and
determination are used in business."
After arriving at his office, Graham
spends a great deal of time organizing
company components that support
education and, in turn, create diversified
income. Graham says that he has created
an integrated marketing system that
supports the theme of education.

In regards to the scope of his
operations, Graham says, "I am not
looking to develop a huge company. I
am trying to develop an effective
company and leverage the time and
resources I have. I don't necessarily
think bigger is better. The ability to
control and effectively make impact is
the most important thing." Graham feels
that one should maintain quality in his or
her business and not sacrifice it for ego.
Graham says that his company's greatest
success is the ability to change peoples'
lives through teaching them how to
make education relevant and reach their
full potential by finding out what their
talents are.

When asked if he works long or irregular
hours, Graham replied that he does not
necessarily have set hours with his
career. "I just work. But if your whole life
is built around what you love, you don't
really call it work."

Graham says that he has been fortunate
enough to incorporate his leisure time
with his business time. When he travels
and lectures, he also plays golf. "I see
the opportunity to work as an
opportunity to enjoy life and play a little
bit."

In his relationship with Oprah, Graham
says, "One of the advantages of being
an entrepreneur is the ability to take off
when you need to. We probably have
more time than most [people] together.

We can build our schedule around each
other." The two both enjoy reading a
great deal. Graham says that he reads a
lot of business books. Some of his
favorite authors are Peter Drucker, Steven
Cubby, and Tom Peters.

Graham says that he comes from a long
line of business people. His family has
created a strong business legacy that
started with the founding of The North
Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company
in 1896. It is the largest African American
insurance company in the world. Graham
says that his family has always enjoyed
owning their owning businesses and
being involved with enterprise. Graham's
father was a painter and carpenter and
Stedman and his siblings all worked for
him at one time or another.

When asked about mentors, Graham says
that, in addition to his parents, he has
learned a lot through the people he has
associated with as a Board Member in the
National Junior Achievement Program
and Athletes Against Drugs, a program
that he developed fifteen years ago.
Graham says that there has to be at least
fifty or a hundred people that have
helped him get to the level he aspires to.

Graham says that, if given the
opportunity, he would like to meet Bill
Gates, Jerry Levine, or Ted Turner. "I
enjoy watching people who have
succeeded against the odds and have
made a difference." One person Graham
admires is his long-time acquaintance,
Collin Powell.

When asked what he enjoys the most
about being an entrepreneur, Graham
says he loves "the ability to move on a
dime." He enjoys being able to take ideas
from A to Z and diversify himself as
much as possible. He likes thinking
outside the box and being creative.

As for his financial success, Graham says
that he has not splurged on any
particular items. "I don't want to have
external things dictate. It's more about the
internal with me. It's not about the car,
the house, or the material things. It's
about being happy and successful at
what you love to do. All the other things
come as a result of how successful you
are and what you are willing to sacrifice
for. That, a lot of times, is directly related
to how hard you work and whether you
are passionate about the work that you
do."

Graham says that developing a business
model and an organizational system that
works, will allow you to achieve most of
your dreams and anything else that you
want. He says that when one does not
have a road map or business plan, it is
easy to get off course. "I get as much
information as I can about what I am
doing before I do it. The success is in the
planning, not so much in the doing."

When it comes to advice he would give
other entrepreneurs starting out, Graham
says, "Do the things that you love.
Focus on your passion. Business is not
easy and there are a lot of different
facets. You have to have the energy to be
able to last and hang in there. That takes
a lot of work and time. You need to find
something you enjoy and don't mind
putting the time into."

Graham would like to teach and lecture
around the world as much as he can in
the following years. "I want to help as
many people as I can find out what their
true destiny path is."