A "no-nonsense motivator," Winget attacks traditional business wisdom and offers simple truths in his direct, thought-provoking, and humorous style.

"I am 'in your face' and irreverent. But I'm also entertaining, and I present universal truths that are hard to argue. I back up what I say with stories and facts. I talk about real people and real results," he says.

Winget draws from his books and a wealth of knowledge gained through his own voracious appetite for the written word, which includes reading more than 4,000 books in the past 20 years. He teaches audiences from his own experiences as a self-described "screw-up" who grew up dirt poor but figured out how to succeed in business.

"I've done everything in the world wrong, but I've learned from all of my mistakes," he says. "I give examples from my life--examples where the minute I start to describe situations and companies, people nod their heads and say, 'Boy, that happens to me, too.'"

Secret to Success

One of the biggest obstacles to success is not the mistakes we make, Winget says, but our reaction to them. "I don't tell people they aren't going to make mistakes, because they are. But people stay focused on the problem and not the solution. So, identify the problem, but don't wallow in it. Learn from it. I don't fault people for screwing up; I fault people for screwing up the same way over and over again," he explains.

On the other hand, Winget says, companies often take a Pollyanna-ish approach to their genuine shortcomings. "Companies need to put the rose-colored glasses away. None of this, 'We don't have problems, only opportunities.' Because you do have problems, and the quicker you realize and admit it, the quicker you can move to resolution."

In his experience, Winget also has learned that business often follows--or claims to follow--fatally flawed principles. Take teamwork, for example.

"Businesses talk about teamwork because it's a feel-good buzzword. They make the mistake of thinking the only way to get a job done is by working together and trying to force everyone into holding hands," he says.

The problem is that it doesn't work. "Business is not like one big happy family, just like no one has one big happy family themselves. Everyone has an idiot brother-in-law or that spooky uncle who shows up on holidays. So the problem is any business team is going to have one or more dysfunctional individuals--that person who just isn't going to work, which means the team isn't going to work," he says.

Instead, businesses should create a group of "dedicated superstar employees" who work independently toward a common goal. "Let people do what they do best and hold them accountable. In turn, they will count on each other to get the job done," says Winget.

It's a subtle, but important, distinction. "Letting people focus on what they do best means they will work their butts off. The key is while we work independently, we are working toward a common goal of selling a lot, serving the customer really well, and making the business successful so that we all get to keep working here," he says.

Personal Progress

In our own careers, Winget says, we also should refocus on the core principles people intuitively know work. "Honesty, integrity, personal and fiscal responsibility. Working hard, and spending less than you make. You have to be dedicated to those core principles," he explains.

Winget's keynote stands in stark contrast to buzzword-laden presentations. "People like my message. They like the style. They're tired of hearing stupid things--while they sound good at first and on the surface, you walk out of the room saying to yourself, 'That's not true,'" he says.

"We go to business meetings. We hear all these stupid clich?s, but then we go back to the real world and deal with real problems: I work with idiots; my customers are jerks; the economy stinks. So what should I do about it?" Winget asks.

In an era of instant gratification, the answer to that question is not going to be easy. "It's called 'work' for a reason," Winget says. "You have to work your butt off. You have to do it because it's the right thing and you said you were going to do it, whether you feel like it or not."

If that sounds like common sense, it is. Unfortunately, Winget points out, common sense is all too uncommon in the business world. "Companies and individuals lose sight of these things, but the individuals and companies I deal with and draw from are the most profitable and the best at what they do. And my ideas are so basic, so profoundly simple, that they're real hard to argue about."

If you don't like your circumstance, change it. If you don't, it's your fault. And if you disagree with that advice?

"Then prove me wrong," Winget says.