Ted Santos, Chief Thinking Officer of Worldwide Corporate Communications, Inc.

It's 10 minutes before the hour. "The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare."- Thane Yost

I have the distinct honor of having Ted Santos in the studio this morning. Ted and I met as members of the NY State Technonology Council Board of Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association (LISTA). Since we first met, I have always been very impressed with Ted's innovative creativity for improving organizational performmance on a continuous basis. It's a pleasure having you in the studio today, Ted.

What is the name of your company and what products or services does it provide?
The name of the company is Worldwide Corporate Communications, Inc. We are in the business of inventing the future. We coach, train and advice businesses to think differently and capitalize on unrealized opportunities (avoid missing opportunities). We also advice them to develop infrastructures to support future growth, like financial strategies, risk analysis, marketing, operations efficiencies, legal advice, sales training, leadership development, and implementing appropriate HR structures.

What role do you play in your organization?
I am the president and founder of the organization. My colleagues may refer to me as the Chief Thinking Officer. I am committed to leading the organization in thinking and creating something new, instead of doing the past in a way that appears more, better or different. When it comes to working with clients, I provide leadership development services for senior management. I also play a significant role in developing new business.

As a successful person, how did you get started?
I worked for a number of consulting firms and have experience turning around troubled companies. While working for my last employer, which was an executive coaching firm, as good as the firm was, I saw a few things missing. What was missing was once management creates a new paradigm for growing their business, it is imperative to build an infrastructure to support new growth. When I saw the opportunity to build an organization that provided a holistic approach, I made the decision to start my own company.

How did you learn what it takes to succeed?
Studying is part of it. However, a clear commitment as to what I wanted to accomplish and a desire to take risks is what allowed me to succeed in my career. Commitment, risk taking and discipline are things that I learned at a young age. Much of it was learned by playing sports, where commitment was necessary to succeed. However, without discipline to practice and learn the sport and the insight to take calculated risks, I would not have succeeded as an athlete. Those same principles have guided me in my professional life.

What personal/family activities do you enjoy?
Since I lost my parents 20 years ago, I have developed more of a parent relationship with my grandparents. My grandfather is well versed in current events. I enjoy speaking with him about business and political events. With regard to my personal time, I have a passion for travel. I have lived in Mexico, Costa Rica and Belize. I have traveled to places as remote as Greenland and Iceland. Travel is a great opportunity to learn things that I do not know and to see myself in unknown environments.

What experiences in your life have helped you expand who you are as a person?
The first was the death of my parents. I am the oldest of four children. At the age of 21, I immediately took leadership in the family. I took care of my youngest sister and learned a new level of responsibility.The other experience was becoming a business owner. I am responsible for everything. There is no one to blame except myself when things don't go as well as I expect. Ultimately, my performance drives my income. In addition, I learned the true meaning of "no man is an island". As a business owner, I have a different value for building a network of support. I learned the importance of allowing others to contribute to me.

What are your concerns about the world today?
I am most concerned about the way people communicate with one another. I believe that most conflict in the world could be averted if people communicated in a way that promoted compassion. Equally as important as compassion, is to listen to people in a way that leaves the other person with a feeling of being understood, even if you don't agree with them. Many wars, marriages and jobs could be saved if people learned to communicate more effectively.

If you had all the time and all the money you needed, what types of things would you do?
I would travel more extensively. That way, I could learn about other cultures in the world and what makes a culture successful or unsuccessful. That would give me greater insight into what works when developing effective communication.

Are there any tips or advice you would like to offer people?
I encourage travel. You will experience aspects of life that your birthplace cannot provide. As a result, you will learn new things about yourself and you get to see that there is more than one way to accomplish things.

What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
My aspiration is to create a business model that currently does not exist. The model will become a marketable service for my company. The goal is to use the model as an effective service for clients. In addition to providing services, I am interested in taking equity positions in small to medium sized businesses. That will allow my organization take an active role in growing other businesses whether we keep existing management in place or take over management ourselves. Ultimately, as an organization, we are interested in buying several companies in the same industry, that way we have the option of selling the consolidated company as one new enterprise or doing an IPO (Initial Public Offering).

What obstacles do you have to overcome to achieve your goals?
The biggest obstacle is capital.The other obstacle is to get a group of brilliant business people to think completely out of the box and build a business model that is not necessarily predicated on what they know. Building the model to which I am committed requires my entire team to think things that they have never thought and think through periodic confusion, while staying united as a team.

Which people have been role models to you?
This is the most difficult question for me. I have not used role models in the sense people think of role models. I do, however, ask myself how another person would handle a situation. For example, when my parents died, I asked myself: What would my father do in this situation? Outside of that, I have been my own role model. I suppose that is a longer and much riskier road. I am often left with the question: Who do I want to be? After that, it is up to me to take actions to be that person. Most often my strategy for taking action is done without a blue print to follow.

What are your favorite books, computer programs, or forms of entertainment?
Some of my favorite books are "Good to Great", "Communication Catalyst" by Mickey Connolley and "Being and Time" by Martin Heidegger.As for entertainment, I enjoy plays, I exercise and I enjoy training and competing for bicycle races.

What is it that you are most passionate about or gives you the greatest enjoyment in life?
I would have to say traveling.