Fall 1998

McCreary believes in setting great expectations striving to do more

Like most enterprising business executives, Jeff McCreary has a personal planner, Rolodex, cellular phone, and laptop computer to remind him about appointments, customer information and latest sales reports.

But the key to his professional life is contained in his personal purpose and vision statements, written on a small sheet of paper in his wallet.

The statements remind McCreary about his priorites and objectives — in business and life.

The personal purpose statement is rather simplistic: “Assist and inspire others to achieve the most from their capabilites and reach the highest level of personal satisfaction. To leave a lasting mark on the business landscape.” His personal vision statement is more direct: “Work in senior management of a company committed to being the ‘Best in the world’ in their given field. Operate in a culture of high business ethics, a commitment to customer satisfaction, innovative products and services, profitability and of being fun and fair.” McCreary has clearly achieved many of those goals. The 1979 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology electrical engineering graduate is vice president of Texas Instruments and manager of America’s sales and marketing for TI’s semiconductor group. His 600-person organization is responsible for $3 billion in yearly TI sales.

Since 1995, the Indianapolis native has initiated a DSP market development program in the distribution network that has added almost 2,000 new clients. He has led account development activities that have resulted in over 15 new accounts crossing the $15 million-per-year barrier. He also led the development and implementation of a design-win tracking system/process that has increased customer usage by an average of 45 percent per year over a three-year period.

“I believe in setting great expectations — for myself and my staff,” says McCreary, who has worked for TI since 1981 after honing his management magic in the Bell System. “I always believe that I can do more. I’m very demanding and I give a lot of feedback. I’m not easy to work for.”

Some of the principles that McCreary holds dear include:

* Get the most out of your capabilities.

* Continuously learn and improve.

* Commit yourself to winning. (“We keep score every day. Winning has to be important to you,” he says.)

In fact, in a 1995 TI company newsletter, McCreary listed in a personal profile that he would never be “satisfied with a weak effort.” As for his epitaph, he suggested the phrase: “He challenged everyone.”

This spring, he challenged members of Rose-Hulman’s Class of 1998 in the Development Office’s first-ever “Senior Giveback” program. McCreary presented each senior with a $1 bill. Each student was then asked to donate the dollar to Rose-Hulman, a small gesture to begin their philantrophic support of the college. McCreary matched each student’s dollar gift with one of his own.

“I thought it was a great idea to support a place that means so much to me,” says McCreary, who lives in Dallas with his wife (Syndii) and two sons (Connor, 4; and Max, 2). “I credit Rose-Hulman with giving me the solid personal and professional foundation that has led to many of my successes.”

— by Dale Long-