100% Accountable

I’m in Fargo, North Dakota this week, teaching the 7 Mindsets to the employees of the local YMCA.  Soon, the good people of the Y will be leading the Mindset Revolution in their community!  This week’s story highlights an amazing entrepreneur from North Dakota with a winning mindset we can all learn from.

Douglas grew up surrounded by high expectations.  For over eighty years, his family operated a grain elevator in the small town of Arthur, North Dakota, and when Doug's father passed away, his mother joined the board of directors.  There was a mentality of accountability to everything they did, because in the grain elevator business, not living up to your commitments could mean losing a client for generations.

This upbringing first helped Doug express his entrepreneurial spirit in grade school, after he realized his hometown had no local newspaper.  Curious, creative, and a natural problem-solver, Doug started one himself, the Arthur Home News.  Then, in college, Doug successfully started a chimney sweeping business, but in order to set himself apart, he dressed for work in a top hat and tuxedo.  He was undoubtedly the best-dressed chimney sweep in town, but he still did the dirty job with pride.

After earning his bachelor's degree in his home state, Doug left to pursue an MBA at Stanford in California.  There, he made numerous friends who went on to careers in nearby Silicon Valley, but Doug chose to head to Chicago once he finished school.

Taking a consulting position, Doug gained national experience, accumulating contacts in both business and technology.  But even more significant was his first experience with the capabilities of personal computing software.

Having just finished a week of late-night number-crunching sessions, a sleep-deprived Doug was invited to try out one of the company’s latest investments:  an Apple II computer.  Doug had never used one, as personal computers weren’t found in offices and households like they often are today.  So when his co-worker used a spreadsheet program to calculate numbers, Doug was stunned to watch the machine complete in minutes what had previously taken him hours.   It was a revelation. 

The experience was still on his mind when Doug received a call from a pair of entrepreneurs operating a retail computer business in Fargo.  Theirs was the first Apple dealer in North Dakota, and they were also developing their own software. Doug decided to return home and visit their office. What he found was an operation located in an old clothing store, with programmers working in a back room still filled with shoe shelves.  But he also saw orders flying out the door.  Doug was confident that personal computing was the future, and he wanted to help build the business.  Working out a deal to join them, he mortgaged farmland he’d inherited from his father to invest $250,000. 

However, the reason he saw so many orders shipping that day was because there was a severe backlog going back months, and they were trying to catch up.  He had also underestimated the number of similar competitors in the field, originally believing there were less than ten, when in fact there were more than fifty.

Within a year, the company was worth less than when Doug first got involved, due to heavy competition with better-funded enterprises.  With the future uncertain, the founders wanted a way out, but Doug remained committed.  Gathering additional investment money from a group of relatives, he bought out his partners, determined to make the company successful.

His first major decision was to make service their focus.  The idea of technical support experts being easy to reach and responsive to questions simply didn’t exist yet. Doug established a model in which customers paid for guaranteed attention.  During one streak, the company went 402 days and successfully resolved more than 160,000 support calls in a row.  The philosophy matched perfectly with Doug’s own sense of personal accountability and the values that went back to his roots.

Consumers responded, and the service-driven approach was a success.  Within six years, Great Plains Software, led by CEO Douglas Burgum, had over 300 employees and was earning $22 million in annual sales.  The company was named to Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," and in 2001, Great Plains was purchased by Microsoft for $1.1 billion. 

Doug lives the 100% Accountable mindset, and you can too.  Begin with a dream, set high expectations, seek to add value to others, and be prepared to adjust as often as it takes to ultimately succeed.

Until next week...

Live Your Dreams

Take It from Me Kid

Jacob grew up in Long Island, NY.  At the age of fifteen, he started writing material for stand-up comedians.  He secretly wanted to perform the material himself, but was too shy.  Five years later, though, he was ready to try, and walked into a comedy club to audition.  He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t very good either.  For nine years, he performed in comedy clubs at night while working a variety of odd jobs during the day.

Jacob’s passion was comedy, but he needed to survive.  Over the years, he worked as an aluminum siding salesman, a circus acrobat, even a singing waiter, and was fired from each of those jobs.  Unfortunately, he was no more successful in comedy.  Frustrated with his lack of success, he quit comedy at the age of twenty-nine.  He later joked that he had been so bad that no one even realized he’d quit.

At the age of forty-five, Jacob returned to comedy.  In reality, he had never given it up, but had simply stopped performing.  During that time, he’d been writing hundreds of jokes to create a character that would help him stand out from all other comedians.  His moment came when a last minute cancellation gave him the chance to perform on the famous Ed Sullivan show.  His act was a hit.  Performing under his show business name, Rodney Dangerfield, he would be invited to perform more than thirty-five times on the Tonight Show, and eventually became known throughout show business as the king of comedy.  Over the span of his career, he helped launch many young comedians to stardom, including Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld and Roseanne Barr.  But while Dangerfield was enjoying the peak of his success, another young comedian named Edward was trying to establish himself as well.

Edward didn’t have an easy childhood.  His father died when he was young, and his mother became so ill that, at the age of eight, Edward was forced to live in foster care for a full year.  He would later say that it was during those tough times that he developed his sense of humor.

Edward was a street-smart kid, having grown up in a Brooklyn housing project before moving to Long Island when he was ten.  He was also a natural mimic.  His mother once said that he rarely spoke in his own voice, preferring instead to imitate everyone from Bugs Bunny to Al Green.  He often carried a briefcase full of joke books around at school, and was always one of the most popular students, if not one of the best.

At the age of seventeen, Edward was in a comedy club about to perform when in walked Rodney Dangerfield.  The other comedians were nervous, but Edward was prepared to deliver his best performance.  Judging by the audience’s reaction, he brought the house down.  After his set, he was beside himself with excitement when Dangerfield invited him to his table.  But he wasn’t prepared when Dangerfield told him he needed to clean up his act, and get rid of the foul language.  He advised Edward, “Take it from me kid, you’ll never go far in this business unless you make some changes.”

Edward decided not to take Dangerfield’s advice.  Five years after performing live in front of the king of comedy, Edward filmed his own comedy special for HBO.  He used the “F word” two hundred and eighty-one times in a single hour, and it wasn’t long before much of the world knew the name Eddie Murphy.  Eddie is the box office mega-star of films like Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places, The Nutty Professor, and Shrek… and these are just part of why he’s the second highest grossing actor in the United States.

Twenty years after Dangerfield gave Eddie his advice, they bumped into one another in the men’s room at a Las Vegas hotel.  They hadn’t spoken since that first meeting, but Dangerfield, never at a loss for a punch line, looked at Murphy, shrugged, and said, “Who knew?”

It’s always worthwhile to seek advice from others, especially those who have achieved what you desire.  But it also pays to remember the ten most powerful two letter words you’ll ever hear:  “If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me.”  You are 100% Accountable for your own happiness and success, and living your dreams will keep you laughing for the rest of your life.

Until next week...

Live Your Dreams

The Secret Recipe

Dave grew up in Chicago, the son of Native American parents.  He struggled in school and was often bullied. His father was a blue collar worker who instilled in Dave the importance of hard work and never giving up. When Dave was 18 he heard a motivational speaker deliver these words which forever changed his life: “If you believe in yourself and have passion, you can succeed.”  Dave decided to leave college and start his own business. Despite his enthusiasm, his first venture wasn’t a success. Dave still had a lot to learn.

Dave wasn’t ready to give up. His next idea was to make and sell miniature gardens to local florists in Chicago. He scraped together just enough money to make a few samples.  His designs were so impressive that a florist wanted to place a really large order. The problem was that Dave didn’t have enough money to fulfill the order, so he tried to talk the florist into ordering less. But the florist surprised Dave by offering to pay up front, and wrote Dave a check for $737.  At 19 years old, it was the largest amount of money he’d ever earned in his life.

For the next seven years, Dave worked long hours and formed relationships with every major retail florist in Chicago.  As a way to make extra income, he and a friend came up with a plan to buy a truckload of house plants from a grower in Florida to sell to local college students. By eliminating the middlemen, Dave and his friend were able to mark the plants up and still sell them for much less than normal retail price. They made $20,000 in two days. Dave felt invincible! Unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last long.

Dave used his large profits to purchase truckloads of new plants to sell. Then one of the worst storms in history hit the Midwest. Dave’s entire inventory was ruined and he wasn’t experienced enough to have insurance to cover his losses. Not only did he lose all of his money but he was forced to file bankruptcy. Dave fell into a state of depression. He started drinking, and one night he almost died in a car accident while alcohol-impaired. Dave was lucky to be alive, and he still wasn’t ready to give up on his dreams. He was out of money, so he decided to get a job selling paper goods to restaurants. He started slow and made his share of mistakes, but within six months he had taken a territory that had been last in the company and made it number one. More importantly, Dave discovered his true passion.

Throughout his life, Dave loved to experiment in the kitchen. He made a hobby of creating unique sauces and interesting meals. One day he met an entrepreneur who had an idea to open a theme-based restaurant. Dave became a consultant and was invited to join the restaurant as a minority partner. The restaurant was called the Rainforest Café and it became a huge success. While Dave enjoyed working with partners, he had a dream to open his own restaurant serving his favorite comfort food… BBQ.

Dave was living in a small town in Wisconsin. His friends begged him not to open a BBQ restaurant in that little town. They explained that the residents were primarily Nordic and wouldn’t know what good BBQ was. Dave said he had been perfecting a secret recipe for barbecue sauce for over 20 years and once people tried it, he would become famous. He was so confident that he named the place Dave’s Famous BBQ Shack.  But due to an error at the printer, the name came out Famous Dave’s.  He liked it and it was an instant success, selling over 8,000 meals a week to a community of only 1,800 people.

Famous Dave Anderson went on to franchise his BBQ chain, and it became one of the hottest concepts in the country. I first met Dave shortly after he started franchising. We were both speakers at a youth empowerment conference. Today there are over 175 Famous Dave restaurants in 37 states and they generate 500 million in annual sales. I saw Dave two weeks ago and jokingly asked him what he’s been up to the last 15 years and he said, “Oh, just selling ribs.”

Dave’s passion and determination to never let failure get in the way of his ultimate success provides a lesson for all of us. Here’s hoping you find your own secret recipe.

Until next week...

Live Your Dreams

Always on the Right Track

I recently received a text message from one of my former students who lives in New York City. He was letting me know he was ok after Hurricane Sandy devastated the area. We exchanged messages on other topics, including his business pursuits. He ended our chat with an upbeat message saying that his life is now on the right track. I’m familiar with the expression, “On the right track,” and I’ve used it before. It implies that sometimes we are not on the right path and when we become aware of this, we should do something about it.

I remember that when my wife and I decided to move to Atlanta we weren’t sure if it was the right decision. After all, we had both grown up in New York, and our families and friends still lived there. I vowed that we would visit New York often so our son, who was three when we moved, could experience the wonders of the city we grew up loving. On one visit, we introduced him to Italian Ices. For those wondering, Italian Ice is a refreshing dessert usually made without milk, yet it still has a creamy texture. Popular flavors include lemon, chocolate, and coconut, but in New York you can find stores that sell hundreds of flavors. Watching my son devour his first Italian Ice was priceless.

When we returned to Atlanta it wasn’t long before my son asked for more Italian Ice. I told him I would do some research and find a local shop that sold it. The next night at the dinner table he asked if I found a place. I told him I couldn’t find any local store that sold authentic Italian Ices and I thought this would end the conversation. Then he smiled at me and said, “Maybe there’s an opportunity for us to sell it.” My wife looked at me and said, “Oh great, now he’s talking like you too.”

I had no interest in selling Italian Ices, but I recognized an opportunity to teach my son some valuable lessons. So my response was simple, “Perhaps we should do some research to see if it’s a good idea.” Research to a kid meant visiting local ice cream shops every day after school. We ordered ice cream and asked the owners questions. He loved the research, but after two weeks, he was ready for something new. However, I became interested in the subject and opened several restaurants. Five years later I sold the restaurants to do something else. Was I on track or off track?

Then there’s the story of Harry. When he was in high school he wanted to become an actor. He moved to Hollywood and was fortunate to get a job that paid $150 a week so he could be an extra in movies. He believed this would help him become a full time actor. He did this for three years and never had any real breakthroughs.

Harry was so broke that he needed another job. He was good with carpentry, so he started to build cabinets and outdoor decks. He was making more money doing this than acting, but he didn’t give up hope. Instead, he found carpentry work in the entertainment business. He was hired to remodel the office of Francis Ford Coppola, a famous director. While doing the work, Steven Spielberg came to visit Coppola and thought Harry had the right look for a movie he was casting. He said it was too bad he was a carpenter and not an actor. Harry explained he was an actor, and after reading for the part, he got the role of Indiana Jones. You guessed it…Harry is Harrison Ford.

So was Harry on the right track when he picked up a hammer to help pay his bills? Perhaps when we keep our dreams in mind we are always on the right track. It’s our responsibility to figure out why the path we are on is the right track. That’s easier done with hindsight, but my suggestion for this week is to trust the path you are on knowing that at any time, you have the power to change directions.

Until next week…

Live Your Dreams

Road Maps Not Required

When I was 14 I moved in with my mother’s parents for a year. That was a year I will never forget. I remember my Grandpa Bill picking me up from school one Friday afternoon and asking if I wanted to get some ice cream. I was excited, but I asked why we were getting on the highway. He told me he heard about a great ice cream parlor in Ashville, North Carolina. We lived in Long Island, New York, so this drive for ice cream took over 13 hours. We stopped at a payphone to call my grandmother to let her know we wouldn't be home for dinner. What an adventure!

That summer Grandpa Bill asked if I wanted to go with him to pick up a new car. This time I asked some important questions. “Grandpa, where is the car you purchased and how long will it take to get there?” His reply was priceless, “Austin, Texas, and it should take us around 30 hours, but if we do some sightseeing we will be gone an entire week.” I grabbed a few things, hopped in the car and off we went. In those days we didn't have I-Pods or satellite radio. My grandfather played the same two cassette tapes over and over and over. By the 30th hour I could impersonate Frank Sinatra and Kenny Rogers.

I did find it peculiar that my grandfather never used a map. I remember asking him how we would find our way without one. I’m not sure if he was trying to teach me a life lesson or was simply a maverick when he said, “Imagine where you want to end up and get started in any direction…just be prepared to adjust along the way.”

I recently heard the story of a high school student named George. He dreamed of becoming a race car driver. He had trouble focusing in school because all he could think about was driving his car on the weekends. He was pretty reckless and he accumulated many speeding tickets. One night he pulled up to a red light and challenged the driver next to him to a drag race. When the light turned green, the two teen drivers took off. George crashed and almost died. His injuries were so severe that his dream of becoming a race car driver vanished.

Fortunate to be alive, George adjusted his dreams. He picked up a camera and started making amateur movies of race cars. He developed a passion for filming and pursued many opportunities. He took film classes at college and worked entry level jobs. He realized he could do what he loved and get paid when he was offered the chance to work a camera at a Rolling Stones concert. In his late twenties he wrote a screenplay and was hired to direct a movie about his passion for cars and racing. The film was called American Graffiti and George was nominated for two Academy Awards.

A few years later George wrote another movie. He was offered $150,000 to direct it. Instead of accepting the money, he made a counter offer. He would do the project at a much lower salary if he could have the license rights to all the merchandise. This was unheard of at the time, as movies rarely generated any money for merchandise so the movie studio immediately said yes.

George Lucas went on to direct Star Wars and the rest is history. Last week George sold his company, Lucasfilm, to Disney for over 4 billion dollars. He has promised to donate half of his earnings to support education. He believes the survival of our human race depends on our ability to teach children to imagine and then to adapt.

George created the character Yoda and one famous lines he wrote for him was, “There is no try, there is only do or do not.” Living your dreams begins with having a vision and then taking action. As my Grandfather suggested, you only need to get started in any direction. Life is complicated, but you will never be off course if you remember to adapt and adjust your path along the way. Here’s one last piece of advice from George, “May the force be with you!”

Until next week…

Live Your Dreams