For the past few years, Pete Nelson, Gail Schaper-Gordon and Jamaal Wilkes have been interviewing world leaders, athletes, businessmen and politicians to find out what gives them the ability to prevail under tense conditions. After speaking with more than two dozen success stories, the three have compiled their findings in a book titled Success Under Fire, which will be available this fall. The three of them will be speaking before Valley business owners and operators on September 7. In 2001 while working for Internet service provider EarthLink, Nelson decided to form his own sales and marketing consulting business, but was looking for a consistent theme to teach his clients. Considering the nature of pressure, Nelson decided that successful people from all walks of life all manage to excel in crunch time. Nelson reasoned that if he talked to enough successful people, he’d find enough material to write a book. “In order to be successful, you have to be able to handle pressure very well, so I was looking for consistent principles that successful people use throughout their lives to get through pressure,” Nelson said. Later that year Nelson met Schaper-Gordon, who leads the professional consulting firm Win-Win Workplace Solutions. Her clients include the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, IndyMac Bank, Kaiser Permanente and others. After Nelson met her at the Pasadena Enterprise Center, he asked her to collaborate with him on his new project. Schaper-Gordon countered with an offer to be his co-author, and Nelson accepted. “I had been at a workshop where (author) Mark Victor Hansen was doing an all-day presentation and he kept saying that everybody has a book in them,” said Schaper-Gordon. “I kept saying to myself, ‘Everybody but me.’ But finally by the end of the day I was convinced.” Later, Nelson met former Los Angeles Laker Wilkes at an event for former Mayor James Hahn. Since his professional basketball days, Wilkes had continued his success in the real estate and mortgage businesses. Wilkes was interested in becoming a co-author and he helped expand the trio’s contact base, so the partnership was completed. The group spent the last few years interviewing local and internationally known success stories including J.D. Power, founder and chairman of J.D. Power & Associates; Congresswoman Diane Watson, the first African-American woman to be elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education and former Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia; Antonio Villaraigosa, the newly elected mayor of Los Angeles; Cal Ripken Jr., one of the greatest baseball players in history; and Bonny Herman, president and CEO of VICA. Nelson said that the book’s subjects were more willing to be interviewed than the book’s authors expected. “These people opened their door to us because they saw what is a very unique concept,” said Nelson. “They said they had never been approached by anyone in the media asking how they managed to get through crunch time.” After completing their interviews, the three identified a list of five consistent principles that their subjects applied to get through stressful situations. Each of them of course relied heavily on one or two principles. For example, many found they were most successful when passionately pursuing a vision or building relationships that provide needed support. Nelson, Schaper-Gordon and Wilkes will be presenting their findings on Wednesday, September 7 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at HomeTown Buffet at 6633 Fallbrook Avenue in Canoga Park. There is no charge for the event, which is co-hosted by Pierce College and the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, but attendance is limited to business owners and operators and reservations are required. Guests can register by calling (818) 379-7000.
