Help me get 1000 posts

[The Story Teller]

June 15
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Sheldon Adelson and COMDEX
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“If at first your don’t succeed, try, try again.”
—Anonymous
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Sheldon Adelson first became an entrepreneur at the age of sixteen when he used his paper-route savings, a $3,000 loan, and a note from the seller to buy a small vending machine company. He placed the machines in nearby factories and collected the nickels to pay back the loan. Later, he bought a truck and began selling ice cream. Adelson went into the service during the Korean War and afterward took a job as a secretary to the owner of a financial magazine in New York City. In 1962 he co-founded a firm that acted as a finder for companies trying to locate capital, but the stock market reversal of 1970 left Adelson over a million dollars in debt.

Leaving Wall Street, Adelson went into condominium conversions, but he soon returned to publishing with his purchase of Communications User magazine in 1972. While attending a condominium-conversion trade show, he recognized the need for a similar show in the communications industry. Adelson staged his first trade show in 1973, when the microcomputer began making its way to the marketplace. Called COMDEX, his trade show for microcomputer dealers quickly became one of the world’s most respected computer trade shows. While others have failed, COMDEX continues to be one of the best. As a “side show,” Adelson’s company, The Interface Group, began providing attendees with travel packages and became one of the top ten tour businesses in the United States.

Consider This: A successful device used in one industry, such as the trade show, can often be tailored to meet the needs of an emerging industry. However, it is often those who get there first who establish themselves as the front-runner.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 16
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IBM’s Secret of Success
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“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”
—W. Somerset Maugham
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Throughout the much of the twentieth century, IBM has been one of the most respected corporations in America. Among the reasons for its success are the corporate beliefs that have been a part of the company from its beginning. The father-son team of Tom Watson and Tom Watson Jr. doggedly promoted a three-part mission for the corporation that became ingrained in every aspect of IBM’s operation. The principles are:

1. Respect for the individual.

2. Unparalleled customer service.

3. Excellence and superior performance.

What’s the big deal? Nearly every company espouses similar principles. The difference is the importance placed on the principles by IBM’s upper management. Tom Watson drilled the importance of the principles into the very fabric of his company. Rewards were given to those employees who exhibited outstanding support of the corporation’s values. One story tells about an IBM representative who needed to deliver a part for a broken computer across town. Bad weather had closed most of the bridges in the city, and traffic on those that remained open was backed up for miles. Not to be deterred, the quick-thinking IBMer put on a pair of skates, wove his way through the gridlock, and got the part to the customer in time.

Consider This: We all pay lip service to our principles. Do you believe in yours enough to make them an everyday part of your life? Expect the best of yourself and very often you will get it.

Submitted by Richard

 

[Palatka44]

Help me get 1000 posts by the end of the week. The 1000th poster will get 100 rep points. Good luck

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[The Story Teller]

June 17
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The Law of Venture Capital
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“Great moments start in obscurity with obscure people and sweep on to success if those obscure people are servants of great ideas.”
—Nashua Cavalier
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In his book Entrepreneurial Megabucks, A. David Silver invents “Silver's First Law of Venture Capital:” V = P x S x E. In the equation, P, S, and E represent qualities of a new venture. P is the size of the problem to be solved, S is the elegance of the proposed solution, and E represents the quality of the entrepreneurial team. By assigning numbers to each attribute, they can be multiplied together to calculate the worth of the enterprise (V). Using this technique, you can compare several potential investments and determine which has the highest chance of success (the highest value of V). Silver claims that many venture capitalists use the formula to determine where they will invest.

To be worthwhile, the size of a problem and the resulting solution must be large. In other words, there must be a market that is sufficiently large to pay for the venture. The elegance of the solution is also important. If the solution is elegant and difficult to reproduce, then it is reasonable to expect that it probably will not soon be copied by competitors. Perhaps the solution might be patentable. Finally, the quality of the entrepreneurial team is important. Many people have good ideas, but it takes a team with good ideas as well as the management ability to make things happen for a venture to be successful. All components are necessary for the final outcome (V) to make the value of the enterprise sufficiently high to warrant consideration by investors.

Consider This: What large problem is out there now waiting to be solved? What special interests or skills do you have to begin to solve such a problem?

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 18
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Gerber
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“The advertising man is a liaison between the products of business and the mind of the nation.”
—Glenn Frank
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Dan Gerber had to take his turn feeding his six-month-old baby hand-strained foods. Since his family business, the Freemont Canning Company, was involved in food processing, Dan naturally wondered if there might be a market for canned baby foods. However, there were some problems. The baby-food business was viewed as very risky. If a mistake were made, it could destroy the reputation of the entire company. Also, baby food would be more expensive to produce than conventional canned goods. A 4.5-ounce can of baby food would sell for 15 cents while a 10.5-ounce can of regular vegetables would sell for just a dime. The company was aware of the potential problems, but a survey of mothers and pediatricians yielded encouraging results.

In 1928 Fremont came out with a line of five canned baby foods, which was initially promoted with a coupon campaign. When the country began to slide into the Great Depression, the company decided to continue promotion of its baby food, and sales continued to rise. Competitors soon began to enter the market, and to garner a competitive edge, the firm sought to gain the trust of mothers by becoming experts in baby care. Part of the approach included providing informational pamphlets to pediatrician’s offices. Dorothy Gerber, Dan’s wife, helped to answer the more than 20,000 letters sent to the company by mothers seeking help with problems ranging from how to get babies to sleep to the best way to remove stains from bibs. In 1941 the enterprise changed its name to Gerber Products Company.

Consider This: A good idea must still be followed up by smart marketing and continued awareness of those who use the product.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 19
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The Magna Carta
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“Look back often and see what made our country the great nation it is today.”
—E. S. March
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The American Dream has been shaped by a few significant documents that have defined the methods by which people could seek freedom and happiness. Among those usually mentioned are the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. However, on June 19, 1215, nearly three centuries before Columbus arrived in the New World, King John of England signed the Magna Carta. That parchment was to become the first stepping-stone to the great documents of freedom written in early America. The Magna Carta guaranteed for the first time that a king must rule by law and that the king himself is subject to the law.

The Magna Carta was instrumental in shaping the foundation of America and in many ways influences how we run our households, our clubs, and our businesses today. The U.S. Constitution provides a framework under which our country is governed, defines the powers and limits of law, and seeks to ensure that the law applies equally to all people. In our homes, even when one parent has “power”, he or she is subject to societal constraints. In business, workers may put up with a little tyranny if they think it is for their own good, but Americans have a long tradition of rebelling against ill-used power. Americans tend to work well together in a society that strives to treat all people fairly and works toward the common good. History has shown that the American system of government has provided society with the greatest opportunities for all its people.

Consider This: Never forget or underestimate the heritage of the American Dream. Remember how the struggles of others won the freedom we enjoy today.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 20
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Inventors vs. Entrepreneurs
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“The conditions of success in life are the possession of judgment, experience, initiative and character.”
—Gustave Le Bon
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Many people tend to lump inventors and entrepreneurs together. While this may be correct in some instances, the process of inventing is much different from that of creating a company to bring the resulting product to the market. An inventor creates a solution to a particular problem; the entrepreneur organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of making the solution commercially viable. When Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine, it was probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. His poor business acumen led him on a roller-coaster ride of riches and poverty that ended in his suicide. Ole Evinrude invented the outboard motor, but without the business sense of his wife, Bess, his engine may have faded into obscurity. James Murray Spangler invented the vacuum cleaner, but it was William Hoover who made the invention a household word.

Many times an inventor may have enough business sense to start a small company and carve out a niche for the product. But if the enterprise becomes large, it often becomes unmanageable, and the inventor will have to find the proper management to help, sell the company to others, or watch it fail. Entrepreneurs may not actually invent anything. They may find an inventor and develop a team that can bring the idea to fruition, as in the case of Hoover. A good invention does not in itself make a viable business. The formula must include not only a good idea, but the entrepreneurial passion to take risks and the management skill to make it all work together.

Consider This: Ideas don’t mean a thing unless there are the other parts of the formula to make the idea successful in the marketplace.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 21
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Winton Blount
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“This is the age of the specialist. Charm and good manners are worth up to $30 a week. After that the pay-off is in direct ratio to the amount of specialized know-how in a fellow’s head.”
—Billy Rose
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After World War II, Winton Blount and his brother Houston decided to try to revive their family sand and gravel business, which had almost gone under during the war. When Winton went to Atlanta to purchase some surplus army equipment, he couldn’t resist some attractively priced tractors and scrapers. He figured the company could also go into the contracting business. The Blounts took small jobs and gained experience that allowed them to bid on and complete a wind tunnel for the air force in 1952. The experience they gained enabled them to successfully bid on other technical buildings for the air force and NASA. As America’s space program moved into high gear, those building projects were the first of many that required the kinds of specialized experience the Blounts had obtained on previous projects. Projects included an indoor ocean for the navy, nuclear reactors, a cyclotron, and an airline terminal at the Atlanta airport.

Construction is always cyclical, and to smooth out the business cycles, the Blounts diversified into manufacturing machinery and equipment. As a result of specializing in the construction of technically complex buildings, the Blounts were able to secure contracts that offered higher profit margins. By 1985, Blount, Inc. employed over 8,000 workers. Winton Blount used much of his fortune to benefit numerous charities. He also took leave from his business in 1968 to serve as America’s postmaster general.

Consider This: Specialization and expertise in doing the hard jobs often provide you with less competition and more chance for profit.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 22
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Alex Haley’s Roots
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“Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture.”
—William James
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Alex Haley, in his book Roots, contributed a new chapter to the American Dream. Haley showed millions of Americans the value of knowing who you are, where you came from, and the value of your heritage. The pinnacle event of the Roots miniseries was a long time coming for Haley. After retiring from the Coast Guard, he was determined to become a writer. During his first year, he eked out a measly $2,000 working sixteen-hour days. At one point, Haley took stock of his situation. He had two cans of sardines and eighteen cents to his name. Sensing that he had hit his lowest point, Haley put the items in a sack as a reminder. The next day, he received a check for an article he had written. For years, Haley kept that sack hanging like a trophy in his library.

Haley had made some progress as a writer when he began to write Roots. He remembers going deeply into debt as he spent much of his time sifting through old records in courthouses. “I owed everybody I had been able to borrow from.” Haley missed five deadlines and was bogged down trying to describe Kunta Kinte’s journey from Africa to America aboard a slave ship. Somehow, he found someone who would loan him more money and booked passage on a freighter. Haley spent ten days in the vessel’s cargo hold, stripped to his underwear and trying to imagine what it had been like for Kunta. The experience helped him gain an understanding of his forebears’ feelings, and he finally was able to complete the story.

Consider This: If you believe in what you want to become, you will gain the strength to overcome the valleys of depression and humiliation, and rise up to accomplish the task at hand.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 23
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Business Passion
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“A certain excessiveness seems a necessary element in all greatness.”
—Dr. Harvey Cushing
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Many Americans are content with not stepping out of bounds. Peer pressure and cultural mores tend to keep people in check and often prevent them from doing something fantastic. When Tom Peters and Nancy Austin were writing a book about American businesspeople who made things work when others merely limped along, they could find no better word to describe the phenomenon than passion. Passion is that quality that moves a person beyond the ordinary execution of a task. With passion, the objective becomes a personal quest. Extra hours do not mean anything. Skipping meals is a natural occurrence. The objective has given a certain meaning to existence, and the fulfillment of the goal is a journey of excitement and often joy.

People who have broken out of the ordinary learn to love their participation in life. They often go against the grain. When others shy away from a task, they seek it. They may be the first to volunteer. Then they tackle the task with excitement. That kind of attitude spreads to others, and the person who exhibits that attitude may become what Tom Peters calls a “champion.” Champions are the building blocks of many businesses. They may be the owners of a small enterprise or up-and-coming employees in a corporation. It is inevitable that champions will make mistakes, fail, and have successes. They will seek to make a difference in whatever they do. If they are allowed to make progress, they will attract people to their goals. If they are discouraged from making progress, they will go elsewhere.

Consider This: The organization that can tap into the energy of a champion can perform tasks that are impossible to accomplish by ordinary means.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 24
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Rose Blumkin’s Superstore
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“Probably the world’s greatest humorist was the man who named them easy payments.”
—Stanislas
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Even at age ninety, Rose Blumkin could “run rings around” the top graduates of America’s business schools and the Fortune 500 CEOs, stated a 1984 article in the Wall Street Journal. Rose emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1917, bribing her way past a border guard and traveling through China and Japan. The daughter of a poor rabbi, her success was due to a combination of brains, wit, and the determination to make something of herself. She told Journal reporter Frank James in 1984, “I’m born, thank God, with brains. In Russia you don’t have no adding machine or nothing, so you have to use your head. So I always used it.”

Rose Blumkin began her business career in a pawnshop at the age of forty-three. She ran the shop with her husband until his death 1950, and at that point she took off on her own. She established the Nebraska Furniture Mart, which became one of the largest furniture retailers in the U.S. However, things did not always go smoothly. During the Korean War, Blumkin had to borrow $50,000 on a short-term note to pay suppliers. Holding a special sale, she quickly made $250,000 in cash and paid off the loan. Once out of debt, Blumkin operated on a cash-only basis and provided her customers with a wide range of quality products selling for 20 percent to 30 percent below normal retail. One of the first to use the “superstore” concept successfully, Rose Blumkin sold Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983 for $60 million in a “handshake deal.”

Consider This: When times are good, getting into debt is easy, but when times are bad, debt can be fatal.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 25
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J. B. Fuqua
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“The strength of an organization is not I. It is we.”
—A. B. Zu Tavern
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John Brooks (J. B.) Fuqua was raised on a Virginia tobacco farm, but his sights were not set on farming. As a young schoolboy, a schoolteacher told Brooks that he could borrow books from Duke University by mail. That, he believes, was a turning point in his life. He ordered books on business and finance and read them from cover to cover, even though he understood only part of what he was reading. By the time he got out of high school, J. B. knew plenty about the business world. At age fourteen he became a ham-radio operator and by age nineteen was the chief engineer at a radio station. At age twenty-one he went to Augusta, Georgia, with a plan to start a new radio station. J. B. knew no one in the city, but within a few days, he had found people who would back his venture with their money, give him a share of the ownership, and let him manage the operation.

There are two important elements in Fuqua’s strategy: using other people’s money and using other people’s brains. Since he began with little money, Fuqua had to learn how to find people with money who would back him. Since there were many things about business he did not know, he hired people smarter than he to perform those tasks. Fuqua has become an expert on financial reports. Calling the footnotes the most important part of any report, Fuqua has bought and sold scores of businesses on his way to taking Fuqua Industries, Inc. into the Fortune 500.

Consider This: One person cannot have all the money and brains to build an empire. It takes resources and knowledge beyond what one person can muster—and it takes someone with the ability to bring those resources together.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 26
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Roger Horchow
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“Satisfied customers almost invariably become active agents for the advancement of the company’s business.”
—Unknown
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Since the first Montgomery Ward and Sears catalogues appeared in the late 1800s, everyone had known that mail order was a viable business, but most thought that the customers were rural households. Then came Roger Horchow, who discovered that the rich like to do their shopping from home as well—if the products are right. Using his savvy for picking good products, Horchow put together a company that defined the luxury mail-order business. A Yale graduate, Horchow chose to enter the retail field after working a summer job at the Lazarus store (the forerunner of Federated Department Stores) in Columbus, Ohio. After serving in the army during the Korean War, he accepted a job at Foley’s in Houston, where he eventually worked his way up to buyer.

Later, Horchow received direct-marketing experience at Neiman-Marcus as its vice president of mail order. In 1971 he became president of Kenton Corporation, a new mail-order business selling upscale merchandise. The business sustained losses of over a million dollars in its first two years. But despite such a poor beginning, Horchow saw great possibilities, and when Kenton was ready to sell, he scraped together $1 million to buy the company. With its name changed to The Horchow Collection, the business began showing a profit in 1973 and over the next several years carved out a substantial niche in the luxury mail-order business. One of the primary factors in Horchow’s success is his ability to select items that will appeal to his clientele. If he can’t think of someone for whom a particular item would make an appropriate gift, that item will never appear in his catalog.

Consider This: What kinds of clientele is your business leaving out?

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 27
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Curt Carlson and Gold Bond
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“Success is sweat plus effort.”
—A. A. Milne
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The son of Swedish immigrants, Curt Carlson was born into a family that stressed hard work, religious training, and the importance of family. By the time he had reached the age of eleven, Curt had his first paper route. While he was in college, he operated a corner newsstand and sold advertising. After Curt graduated with a degree in economics, he went to work as a soap salesman for Procter & Gamble. When he noticed a department store giving away redeemable coupons for each dollar’s worth of merchandise purchased, Curt thought the trading stamps also could build business for grocery stores. In 1938 he started the Gold Bond Stamp Company, and spent his evenings and weekends selling the idea to mom-and-pop groceries in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept caught on slowly at first, but soon Curt quit his full-time job to devote time to his new venture.

Just as the business was starting to take off, World War II paralyzed the market. The company managed to survive, and by the 1950s Gold Bond stamps were being offered by national chain stores. In the 1960s the trading stamp business peaked, and Curt Carlson began to diversify. He purchased the prestigious Radisson Hotel in Minneapolis and began to build a large chain of hotels throughout the United States and Canada. Other Carlson holdings include restaurants, marketing companies, travel agencies, and investment firms. Carlson has also taken a leadership role in supporting non-profit organizations. His company is a charter member of the Minnesota Keystone Club, which consists of businesses that donate 5 percent of their earnings to selected local organizations.

Consider This: Working hard and smart can still get you to the top. But don’t leave it at that, add persistence and patience.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 28
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Boys Town
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“He ain’t heavy, Father … he’s m’brother.”
—Boys Town slogan
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While operating a haven for homeless men in Omaha, Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan began to understand that such men had often begun life as neglected or abused children. That realization made him want to address the problem at its source—to work with neglected young boys and provide them with a way to escape from certain poverty. With support from his archbishop, Father Flanagan decided to change the direction of his ministry and open a home for such youthful castoffs.

On December 12, 1917, with a $90 donation, Father Flanagan began his ministry by taking in five troubled youngsters at a modest home in Omaha. News spread quickly, and by Christmas he was caring for twenty-five boys. Judges soon heard about the effectiveness of this ministry and sent so many boys that only those whose conditions were most desperate could be accepted. At first, local residents were generous with donations, but some complained about the growing number of delinquent boys in the neighborhood. Therefore, with support from friends and business owners, a farm was purchased ten miles outside Omaha where a “Boy’s Town” was erected. On October 22, 1921, Father Flanagan and the boys moved into their new home. The hastily constructed temporary buildings soon housed a growing “family” of more than 200 boys. Omaha citizens conducted several campaigns to raise support for the town, and in March 1922 ground was broken for a permanent five-story main building. Thousands of boys (and later girls) have experienced the benefits and responsibilities of a loving family though the ongoing ministry of Father Flanagan’s Boys Town.

Consider This: The best way to create a safe and free society is to give everyone an opportunity to succeed.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 29
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The Company Hero
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“Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.”
—Longfellow
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In business, as in all organizations, it is helpful to have a role model to follow. Heroes are not easy to come by, and when one appears, the most should be made of the moment. In many businesses the founder is the hero, the one who took the business from nothing to something with hard work, sweat, and commitment. The hero may have fallen at one point, only to rise above the situation and pursue the goal again. Tom Watson’s piano-selling days are well known to every IBM employee. His simple directives to “Think” and “Aim High” are repeated again and again, years after his death. Other heroes at IBM are treated royally with recognition, promotions, and monetary rewards.

What would Mary Kay Cosmetics be without the dynamic story of how its founder rose from nothing to become a giant in the industry? The story of Charles Steinmetz, the Austrian immigrant who worked for Thomas Edison, is a well-known part of the corporate lore at General Electric. And you can bet that the employees of Hewlett-Packard know the history of their founders. Even in smaller companies, heroes can be honored. The top salesperson or the employee who discovers how to save thousands of dollars should be recognized. This recognition not only inspires others, it also heightens their awareness of possible opportunities for them to excel. The result is a more motivated and usually happier employee and a more productive organization.

Consider This: Being shy about recognition is not a desired character trait. Your accomplishments can inspire others. If you keep your achievements to yourself, you are preventing others from recognizing their own potential.

Submitted by Richard

 

[The Story Teller]

June 30
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Warren Buffet’s Good Investments
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“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”
—James Conant
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There is no training you can receive in school that will thoroughly substitute for the lessons gained from hands-on experience. Warren Buffett started learning about business at age fifteen by buying some coin-operated pinball machines and putting them in local barbershops. Warren became interested in the stock market and studied it with a vengeance. He searched for the brightest investment firm and then applied for a job. Although he made good money, Warren felt the business was too mechanical and moved home to Omaha, where he eventually acquired control of Berkshire Hathaway, a textile manufacturer. Once he had control, the company’s earnings grew by more than 20 percent per annum for over fifteen years. Part of the growth was the result of Warren Buffet’s knack for picking sound investments.

A company that is a good investment, according to Buffett, exhibits the following traits: It offers a high return on investment capital. Its business is easy to understand, and most profits are generated in cash. It has a strong franchise and can raise prices. Its earnings are predictable, and it is not in an industry that is a natural target of regulation. Inventories are low, but there is a high asset-turnover ratio. The business is easily run and management is owner-oriented. Finally, the best business is one that receives royalties on the growth of others, requiring little capital itself.

Consider This: If you find an excellent business, invest! If you don’t know of such a business, study the market to find one or decide to start one on your own.

Submitted by Richard

 

[Palatka44]

Hey Story Teller your on a roll aren't you?

 

[Palatka44]

This is loads of fun

 

[The Story Teller]

Hey Story Teller your on a roll aren't you?

Just trying to help out..