CEO a class act as he gets down to business of learning.

A gathering of undergraduate business students at the University of Vermont recently enjoyed an uncommon lesson on the business world from one of New York's top building services CEOs.

Gary Green, CEO of Alliance Building Services, one of New York's leading facility service contractors, spoke on "Business Advice I Wish Someone Had Given Me at UVM." Green graduated from UVM in 1988 and went on to receive a master of business administration degree from New York University.

Green's talk revolved around four topics: "What is an Entrepreneur?" "What is More Important: Wealth or Experience?" "Mentors: Do We Find Them or Do They Find Us?" and "How Do We De-Commoditize the Commodity?" A question-and-answer session with students followed Green's talk.

Green emphasized the importance of finding a good or service that is either not in the marketplace or is in strong demand. A successful organization, according to Green, revolves around an owner knowing his or her weaknesses, and finding appropriate partners or staff to perform the tasks involved in those areas.

"Very few entrepreneurs are both creators and executors," Green said. "If you're both, come see me after the meeting so I can come work for you? You need to not only know what you're good at, but know what you're bad at and add partners or staff to fill in those holes."

The emphasis should be on experience over wealth in your 20s. Green urged the students to gain as much experience as possible through internships, citing his time as a teenager when he served as a freight elevator operator and his experience studying floorplates and canvassing buildings as a young commercial real estate broker.

"I disliked most of these experiences and I wouldn't change them for the world," Green said.

Green urged the students to "be a student every day of your life and you will continue to grow."

The best way to sell to a consumer, Green said, is to make them forget that you're selling them something. "The longer the conversation, the greater your chances are," Green said. "Take people's minds off the sale and it's sold."

Green also spoke of his experience in providing exceptional service in what traditionally have been cut-and dry industries.

His security company, Classic Security, frequently holds counterterrorism seminars for its security guards with visiting NYPD officers. Alliance's cleaning arm, First Quality Mainte nance rewards its "cleaners of the year" with trophies and paid time off.

Perhaps the most important detail of running a successful business, Green concluded, is for an entrepreneur to enjoy what he or she does.