Jim Lipuma is a respected Chicago-area entrepreneur who leads Rewards21, an innovative cash-back consumer rewards program, as co-founder and chief sales officer-at-large. Also an author, he wrote Lead From the Front: 101 Quips, Quotes and Anecdotes That Will Impact Your Career and Your Life, which came out in 2014. Jim also authored the book Pulling Levers: Building an Inspired Culture and Driving Winning Results Through Focus on the Four Ps, published in 2016. Jim Lipuma blogs regularly and has a number of pieces on LinkedIn regarding business topics that interest him.
In one post, he discusses the biopic about Ray Kroc, “The Founder,” and how his views about the McDonald’s success story fundamentally changed. While he admires the perseverance and commitment that went into the building of a major corporation, Lipuma is saddened that “lack of regard for others” was an ingredient in Kroc’s success. Leading should come from a positive space, in which energy and passion for one’s brand is the leading factor.
Lipuma gives an example of this from Lead From the Front and the concept of "winning by a dollar” – the idea that when the company wins, all employees win, and that teamwork transcends individual achievement. This concept can be hard to keep in focus in incentive-driven situations, where competitive instincts are used to drive results. But it can be accomplished if the winner secures victory in the right way, in which his or her efforts are recognized within a larger group context.
