While the media may highlight notorious CEOs, like Enron's Kenneth Lay or real estate mogul Donald Trump, business author Jason Jennings told Couture Diamond Leadership Conference attendees that those are not the examples of leadership they should follow. In outlining five leadership secrets Jennings said the first was to avoid being the type of leader that the media has traditionally focused on. Rather than showy and in-your-face, he said the heads of the best-performing companies in the world take a more modest approach to their success. "They consider themselves stewards, with a sacred responsibility for the organization and the people in it," Jennings said at the conference, which began Tuesday at the Palace Hotel in Manhattan and concludes Wednesday. He gleaned these business strategies while putting together his latest book, Think Big, Act Small (Penguin Putnam, 2005). Top company management at the successful firms he profiled were open to sharing information, were accessible, had strong work ethics and stood for something, Jennings said. Other ideas he shared included the need for a company to have a cause, versus a mission statement or a "vision." "What is your cause, why do you get out of bed every morning?" he asked the Couture audience. Causes need to be big and bold—inclusive and not just goals, since they are meant to continue throughout the life of a business and not have an end point, he added. Jennings also emphasized the need for businesses to let go of the following: yesterday's breadwinners, who may not win today and can drain resources; ego, which can lead to wasted time and money; and the "same old/same old" habit of doing things a certain way simply because that's how it's always been done. Satisfying customers—67 percent of whom move on, despite being satisfied, according to statistics cited by Jennings—is not enough. "There are too many choices," he said. "Today, the minimum expectation when you walk into the store is that you're going to be satisfied." Rather than equally focus on every single customer, he advised companies to "completely satisfy the right customer." Finally, Jennings pointed to branding and adding value as keys to success. He gave the example of shopping for lettuce, in which consumers are willing to spend $5 for a bag of salad, compared to less than a $1 for a head of lettuce they have to chop themselves. Those in the diamond industry must bring this kind of value that consumers will pay more for, especially in the face of increased competition from the Internet. The Web was also a hot topic of discussion at the conference, with Hearts on Fire CEO and founder Glenn Rothman telling attendees that the picture for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers isn't as bleak as it's been made out to be. "We're seeing declining growth rates," he said, pointing out that Blue Nile and Odimo Inc. have both slowed down in terms of growth, and that Odimo (which runs Diamond.com) has yet to earn a profit. "I know people in this room whose growth rates exceed Blue Nile's and Odimo's." Rothman also said retailers who refuse to buy from wholesalers who sell to e-tailers are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Unless a retailer can replace these relationships, he considers it a risky move. Rather than viewing the Internet as a place where they might compete with their suppliers, retailers should regard it as they do discount retailers, such as Wal-Mart. Couture retailers aren't up in arms about wholesalers selling to the discounters, because it's a different consumer??and Rothman emphasized that the Internet consumer, too, is a different breed. "Stop worrying about the Internet and stay focused on what you do best," he urged, "and that's creating a retail luxury experience and a retail brand experience. CLICK HERE to access article at "National Jeweler": by Susan Thea Posnock