"It is easier to go from failure to success than it is to go from excuses to success." -

Earlier this week I had a chance to sit down and ask my good friend Andre Laflamme some question via Skype.

During the last 16 years, I’ve interviewed somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 potential candidates. As you can imagine, after that many interviews someone has to really be extraordinary for me to remember their interview. I remember Andre’s vividly. I could not stop talking to my team and family about this guy that I had seen so much potential in. Once Andre came on he did not get off to a fast start, but I watched him work daily on himself and his business. We worked together for several years and I watched him climb the rankings to the very top of each new level of responsibility he was given.

Last year he was offered the opportunity to return back to Washington State and take over a team where he is leading a group of 12 sales managers and about 135 active agents. Combined this group will bring voluntary benefits for the first time into approximately 500 payroll accounts and produce $3.8 million in new business.

Besides being a great leader, Andre is a great husband and father and a good friend.

I just want to warn you of two things:

1. If you are someone who is comfortable making excuses for your poor performance, Andre’s attitude and drive might make you uncomfortable. He has always started by looking at himself first if things aren’t going well.
2. Our Skype connection we had that day wasn’t the greatest and there are just a couple of moments where his side of the conversation got just a little garbled.

You can find Andre on the beach in Culebra, Puerto Rico (he’s the guy on the far left) or via Linked In at http://linkd.in/1cCspG7