ABELMAN IN IBD
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DT
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LEADERS & SUCCESS
Wind River's Ron Abelmann: Staying Finely Tuned
To Subtle Changes As They Happen
Date: 11/19/97
Author: Anna Bray Duff
Finally. Someone who can define that elusive but valuable commodity called street
smarts.
It's an ability to take in every detail of what's going on around you and instantly
discern what's of use to you, says Ron Abelmann, the 60- year-old chief executive of
Wind River Systems Inc., a developer of systems used in computerized products
ranging from fax machines to anti-lock brakes.
Street smarts is having ''all your senses finely tuned, and being able to see
opportunity in the course of a dialogue and say, 'That makes sense. That's relevant
to what I'm doing,' '' Abelmann said in an interview in his plain, uncluttered office in
Alameda, Calif.
That ability has helped Abelmann boost earnings growth at Wind River by an
annual average of 48% over the past
five years. Return on equity last year was 15.9%.
Abelmann may have honed his street smarts on the athletic field. He played soccer
and rugby for the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned bachelor's
and master's degrees in applied physics.
Sports like soccer require players to quickly respond to fast action that's continually
unfolding. It's not a matter of executing what's in the playbook. The sport demands
constantly adapting strategy to new conditions.
As an athlete he learned to scan the field carefully to gauge exactly what he had to
work with.
''Team sports,'' Abelmann said, ''is one of the greatest preparations for life.''
His role as company leader is much like that of a coach, which he says would be his
career if he had to pick a different one.
Abelmann emigrated to Los Angeles from South Africa with his family after he
graduated from high school.
He worked about 30 hours a week to put himself through college. He had several
jobs ranging from selling sporting goods to consulting as a grad student on the
original acoustics of the Dorothy Chandler Music Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Since college, Abelmann has been setting two-to-three-year goals for himself. He
picked that time line because, he found, over two or three years his perspectives
would have broadened enough to merit a new course.
''I would have a much clearer perspective of the future than I had today. Along the
line, it turned out my horizon didn't look entirely different, but I had a much broader
palette of choices.''
He first noticed the pattern while at UCLA. After completing his master's, Abelmann
began working on a doctorate in applied physics. He went as far as passing the
qualifying exam when he realized he wanted a more dynamic career than research.
So Abelmann revised his goals. He headed off to Stanford University to do an
MBA. After completing his business degree, he was offered several jobs but
decided to found his own company instead, Vantage Analysis Systems.
The firm, which he sold to ViewLogic Corp. in '92, developed simulation software
used in product design.
Abelmann says his physics background has proved helpful in more than the
technical part of the computer business. His study of physics has helped him think
through business problems in general.
The logic and causal-reasoning skills he developed allow him to reduce complex
business problems that, at first, may seem overwhelming.
''When you're deriving equations . . . you have to relate all these things together,
from the atomic level to the molecular level and so on, to draw conclusions. The
same thing really plays in business,'' he said.
Being able to work through daunting problems, though, isn't just a matter of logic,
but also of attitude. Abraham gets leverage from his experience that all problems can
be tackled.
''There's not a situation in business that I don't believe can be overcome, worked
around or worked into something positive,'' Abraham said. ''You can orchestrate
success through unbelievable mine fields.''
Abelmann says he was deeply influenced by two books, ''The Power of Positive
Thinking'' by Norman Vincent Peale and ''Psycho-Cybernetics'' by Maxwell Maltz.
Both books teach that the mind has the power to create destiny, he says. Abelmann
reminds himself of that lesson in occasional seminars on personal effectiveness.
''If you are focused and believe you can be a success, the more you visualize
yourself as a successful person, the more you behave accordingly.''
All that depends, however, on being able to assess your strengths - and push
yourself out of the comfort zone every so often.
He's doing that at Wind River Systems. Abelmann, who didn't develop the Wind
River technology, says he's still mastering the intricacies of its systems. The
company's founders brought him on board in '94 to map out and execute strategy.
''To make key decisions, I put my paranoid hat on and assess all of those things that
could go wrong. I prepare for contingencies, not for failure.''
(C) Copyright 1997 Investors Business Daily, Inc.
Metadata: WIND VIEW I/1004 I/8065 E/IBD E/SN1 E/FRT E/LAS |
