Grace Ueng: A bias for action, and joy in the climb

Editor’s Note: Grace Ueng is CEO of Savvy Growth, a leadership coaching and management consultancy founded in 2003. Her great passion to help leaders and the companies they run achieve their fullest potential combined with her empathy and ability to help leaders figure out their “why” is what clients value most. Grace writes a regular column for WRAL TechWire.

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Last month, I shared the events that led to a meeting with Eric Chang, who could be called one of the most important furniture designers in the country. This work led to the synthesis of seven themes which appear in my work, Project Peak: Climbing the Mountains of Life – Business and Beyond. In prior columns that relate to these seven themes, I wrote on the importance of becoming someone who asks questions, why failure can be a good thing, and how to channel your fear.

In this week’s column, we explore the final two themes: a bias toward action, and finding joy in your journey. Let’s climb in.

Grace Ueng: Failure is a good thing and speaking the future, now

Time, but joy

When Eric Chang and Dan Hellman began to conceive the idea that would launch the now-iconic Hellman-Chang brand and company, it took some time. They spent a good year researching the furniture business, something they understood was an area where neither of the co-founders possessed much, or any, knowledge or experience.

“It felt like taking a rocket to the moon without having worked at NASA,” Chang told me.

The summary is this: they each did a tremendous amount of research. But they also had fun researching. Together, that set the tone for their collaboration and for their company, now considered an industry-leader.

Here’s something they learned: traditionally, the industry is slow. A common bottleneck is due to the slow pace.

Grace Ueng: Asking life’s important questions

Bias for action

Chang counters that slow pace with a bias toward future action. That means that Chang is regularly thinking two to five years out, and planting seeds to get to that point.

“Even to this day, sometimes we’ll take projects on or try prototypes and there’s a second where we’re like, we might be in over our heads, but whatever, let’s go for it,” Hellman told me about their experience working together on the cultivation of these “seeds.”

It’s a learned attitude, and it can be practiced and sharpened.

“We’ve always had that attitude, and I think that’s important,” said Chang. “I think if you’re going to be an entrepreneur, if you’re going to try to have your own business, whether it’s creative or more business-focused, you’ve got to be willing to take risks.”

“You’ve got to be willing to step over the ledge and see where it takes you,” said Chang. Fortunately, for the company, both co-founders possessed an inclination toward action and continue to cultivate it. Chang summarized the concept to me in this way: “Where you say “yes” and then figure it out and learn from that.”

Grace Ueng: The power of visualization, and how to channel your fear

Enjoy the journey

Climbing a mountain takes time, and it takes skill. And it can be joyful, as well.

Even though Chang admitted to me that he believes there’s still room for growth in this area, as he described rarely celebrating anything, he believes in enjoying the process.

On one hand, Chang noted that he worries that celebrating too soon may lead to complacency which might keep him from reaching his next objective. But, many times, he said that he realizes this is not right, and that he can, and should, celebrate.

Project Peak: Climbing the Mountains of Life, Business and Beyond

What it takes

The process is fun, the journey is enjoyable, and that’s because creating is appealing. Doing something completely creative, putting yourself out there to design out of passion, well, that takes a great sense of pride and a great sense of self.

Creative art is all ego. Sales is the best form of recognition, Chang said. That comes when a client who loves what they have just been shipped calls to share their feedback: “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

So Chang plans to grow Hellman-Chang by making the most beautiful pieces in the world. With care and focus, the brand is positioned well, and doors are opening for the company. Chang understands that the Hellman-Chang brand has grown larger than a furniture company.

The brand is in the right place and going in the right direction, he noted. “This will allow us to grow into all things beautiful for the home – including lighting, fabrics, textiles and table top. We are excited to see where the company, and our clients, take us,” Chang concluded.

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Editor’s Note: This column is a reprint. Grace will return. This concludes a series of columns studying the seven themes of Project Peak, with Hellman-Chang as a case study. You may read more from Grace on WRAL TechWire, and her columns will continue.