Lunch With Lila

By Lila Booth

Before I invited Laya Martinez to lunch, I knew her to be a successful President and CEO of CPC Data Processing, Inc, a thriving Upper Darby firm offering a broad spectrum of services to clients such as Betz Laboratories, WHYY and the Rhom and Haas Company. I was soon to learn the unusual philosophy that drives her.

In her resume, Laya describes herself as indefatigable. She exuded that energy during our lunch conversation. "Who is Laya Martinez?" I asked. "An individualist," she responded. "I believe in the sanctity of each individual, free to live his life to its fullest, to pursue goals, to obtain happiness and success without interference of any outside force such as government controls." "As individual as I am," she continued, "a person must have relationships to be fulfilled."

"Given that clear philosophy," I asked, "how have you become a successful business woman in a world that does not necessarily agree with you?" 'First and foremost is hard work," she responded without hesitating, "eagerness, dedication, persistence." "I am not a fighter, I am goal driven. I have a sense of purpose and give it my all – more than 100%. I don't give up; I get up after I am knocked down, I am always thinking."

Laya feels her greatest achievement in life is her three children. "Raising my family was a science for me; it is the opposite of being cold and calculated," she explained. "Just as you use reason to create a successful business, you use reason to raise happy children. It is a constant thought process – ‘is it good or bad? right or wrong’?"

"Do you make any decisions based on gut feeling?" I challenged. "No, and no one should," she responded. "Feeling is the consequence of thought. Your emotions are the output of your thinking process." "But don't intuition and insight add a dimension of creativity?" I asked. "Insight does," she continued. "But I don't believe anything is gut feeling. Creativity comes from a mind thought. My philosophy is to make a conscious effort to realize that decisions come from the mind, not the gut."

I then asked Laya Martinez about the application of her philosophy to her business. "Data Processing specifically needs the use of a rational mind," she explained. "If you know your customer's business and you know your business, you come up with a solution and convince them it will solve their problem; then they will go for your services. When you display your eagerness they will feel comfortable that you will solve their problems, take care of them."

I was intrigued by what might be the results of her business philosophy. "Are you where you want to be," I asked. Laya responded, "I learned all my data processing from my husband. I worked for him when I was in school. After we were married, I worked with him. He was the foundation of the company. A year and a half ago, I went on my own. It is different; it is a sole burden. The success of the company comes from the guy at the top. The guy at the top drives the company." "It was time for you to become the 'guy at the top," I observed. "It was time for me to be on my own, attain it on my own, become the driving force to my success," she concluded.

Individualist, rational thinker, persistent, driven --- a unique woman, Laya Martinez gave us a unique message to contemplate.

Copyright 1994 Lila Booth. All Rights Reserved.

Lila Booth works with corporate clients throughout the United States and abroad to help their principals and managers communicate more effectively. Her clients say she gets them to ask themselves the difficult questions.