The Way to the Top Read online

  Follow your heart

  Thomas J. BARRACK, Jr.

  Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Colony Capital, LLC

  Don’t confuse efforts with results.

  Only results count

  Napoleon BARRAGAN

  Chairman and CEO of 1-800-MATTRESS

  I have been a merchant selling mattresses for more than twenty years. I pursued the best brands, the best quality, the best value, and the most innovative constructions to ensure I offered my customers the best. My pursuit of this information resulted in long and arduous reviews of the marketing materials that are carefully developed by each manufacturer.

  Several years ago I had the good fortune to hire a vice president of merchandising who had a wonderful résumé in the mattress business. Shortly after settling in, he said, “Let’s open them up and see firsthand what’s inside the mattresses we sell.” We opened our offerings, and our competitors’ offerings, and we discovered that packaging and marketing materials cannot be the only source of information.

  I have always been, and want to continue to be, a trusting person, but that does not negate the need to follow my vice president’s valuable advice: Understand the content, and follow the pledge Microsoft has adopted: Trust, but verify.

  Trust, but verify

  Anne BEILER

  Founder and CEO of Auntie Anne’s, Inc.

  Keep going, gather good people around you to do what you can’t, and focus on your gift.

  Recipe for success

  Marc BENIOFF

  Chairman and CEO of salesforce.com

  Strange as it sounds, the best business advice I ever received wasn’t about how to make money—but how to give it away.

  In 1997, while I was an executive at Oracle Corporation, Colin Powell stood up with the five living presidents and launched America’s Promise—a program that challenged the nation to make a greater commitment to its youth. That motivated Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to start a corporate philanthropy program called Oracle’s Promise, and I was tapped to spend $100 million to get computers into schools. All of a sudden, I was living in two worlds. I spent half of my time in management meetings and the other half at schools in south-central Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Northern Ireland, and Israel.

  Although we placed thousands of computers in schools worldwide, our small team felt as if the efforts fell short of leveraging Oracle’s full philanthropic potential. I thought back to Colin Powell’s call to America’s companies to “take the lead” in getting involved in youth service projects and to give employees paid time off to participate in these programs. I realized that philanthropy was about more than giving away money and I knew that if we had been able to draw on Oracle’s full assets—its employees, its customers, and its partners—we could have made an even bigger contribution.

  That was a defining moment that helped inspire my concept of “integrated philanthropy,” the practice of emphasizing social service from the inception of a company. Shortly after I started salesforce.com, the company launched the salesforce.com/foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity with a mission of integrating philanthropy and business. In tandem with private funding sources, salesforce.com placed more than 1 percent of the new corporation’s shares into the foundation. It also committed to donating 1 percent of profits to the community and 1 percent of employee working hours to community service. The 1-1-1 model—equity, employee time, and profits—ensures that as the business grows so does its contribution to the communities in which it operates.

  Colin Powell calls the mission to get corporations involved in volunteering a “crusade.” If embraced, the possibilities are astounding. Just consider what would happen if a top-tier venture capital firm required the companies in which it invested to place 1 percent of their equity into a public charity serving the communities in which they do business. The potential of corporations who embed “doing good” into their business structure is boundless.

  In July 2000, salesforce.com/foundation opened its first computer center, providing free access to underserved youth, with Colin Powell in attendance. Since then, we have created nineteen such resources in San Francisco, a mobile computer lab in Hawaii, and twenty-four centers in nine other countries around the world, including Kenya, Romania, India, Israel, Laos, Germany, Nepal, Ireland, and Afghanistan. These community technology centers have reached more than fifty thousand people worldwide. Employees have performed eight thousand hours of community service, and corporations including AOL, Gateway, and Cisco have joined our effort, donating services, time, and expertise to these centers. We now have four foundation offices operating on the West and East Coasts of the United States as well as in Europe and Asia. Additionally, about half of the employees made stock or cash contributions in 2003 and we also received donations from outside individuals. It’s my personal goal to raise $100 to 200 million for the foundation over the next five years in cash and equity contributions.

  The salesforce.com/foundation has enriched our communities—as well as our company and our lives. The foundation is the secret weapon that keeps us grounded. People are here to do more than just make money; they make a positive impact on the world. One IT staffer spends every Monday at a salesforce.com/foundation technology lab, sharing his professional skills with the students he mentors; a member of our sales team works through a literacy program to provide support and a positive influence to an at-risk student; and our vice president of marketing teaches adults with no computer experience the skills they need to land a new job. Our employees know how to make community service a part of their lives and they know the rewards of giving back. I know that some of these people will go off and start their own companies and I hope they will take with them the model that Colin Powell has inspired us to build at salesforce.com.

  Contribute to the community

  Barbara G. BERGER

  President of Food City Markets, Inc.

  My dad, Robert Katz, founded our family business in 1953. While he was a visionary in the supermarket business, he was also very cautious in analyzing new locations. He always wanted to be prepared for any severe setback in business. When he died in 1996, I became President. I can still hear his voice, imparting his cautionary wisdom: “The sun doesn’t shine forever.”

  While growth and expansion are always a priority, plans and preparation for major downturns and new competition can save a business in bad times.

  During an upturn, prepare for the downturn

  Simon BERGSON

  Founder, President, and CEO of Manhattan Beer Distributors

  My father’s guidance, experience, and positive mentality have influenced me profoundly. After surviving fifty-eight months in three German concentration camps during World War II (Mauthausen, Sachsenhausen, and Auschwitz), he emigrated to America. Upon arriving with me, my elder two-year-old sister, my mother, and a mere six dollars, he started a men’s clothing business that eventually became an established company. When I started my beer distribution business in 1978, he gave me advice that was not only an explanation for his success and outlook, but also a familiar saying that permeated my childhood Brooklyn neighborhood of immigrants:

  “America is a great country; the harder you work, the luckier you get.”

  The harder you work, the luckier you get

  Angelica BERRIE

  CEO of Russ Berrie and Company, Inc.

  My late husband, Russ, died unexpectedly and left me to run the family business. I think often of the advice he once gave me, for it has served me well: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You can always fix them after. What is important is to get the facts and make a decision. Remember that no decision is still a decision.”

  Make mistakes

  Garry BETTY

  President and CEO of EarthLink

  Never accept the conventional wisdom that something cannot be done, and then, be willing to invest the sweat equity to make it happen.

  And it wouldn’t hurt to keep this idea in the back of your mind: If it sounds t
oo good to be true, it probably is.

  There is no substitute for hard work

  Robert J. BIRNBACH

  President and CEO of Primordium Holdings, LLC

  1. Be honest with yourself and do what you are comfortable doing instead of concerning yourself with what you think others want you to do. Good things, in various and unexpected ways, will occur naturally.

  2. Ideas have consequences. Whether you realize it or not, you become what you believe.

  3. You should always be willing to reassess the value of things. A corollary to that is, the value that others place on something is secondary to its value to you.

  Align your work with your values

  Cathie BLACK

  President of Hearst Magazines

  Early in my career, I was talking with a friend and mentor about why some people are real leaders and some people only seem to have the title. “The first step to being a real leader is to figure out exactly who you are,” she said. “And be that all the time.” It was great advice. Throughout my career, I’ve worked hard to make sure that when an employee encounters me on any level, he or she does not have to figure out who I am and what I stand for. It’s a matter of creating your own personal brand. And like any strong brand, you have to back it up by what you do.

  This kind of consistency seems to be growing more important as our confidence in leaders is slammed by constant body blows. People want to trust in leaders, but they have a lot of reasons not to. The day of the leader as icon has passed. Trust must be gained rather than conferred. People will give it only to someone who is real—to a person, not a title. A person who over time and through all conditions proves to be exactly who she says she is.

  Be who you are all the time

  Robert BOHANNON

  Chairman, President, and CEO of Viad Corp

  Richard Gregory, my first manager at General Electric Capital Corporation, offered me some advice early on in my career that holds true for all young workers.

  Picture it. You’re just starting out in your career. When someone offers you a new job opportunity, don’t ask how much money you will make or what your title will be. Ask these two questions instead:

  1. Who will I report to and what can he or she teach me?

  2. Regarding that individual, how is he or she perceived within the organization? (Osmosis is always at play. If she is viewed as a leader and winner, it will rub off on you. If she is viewed as an ineffective leader, that, too, will rub off.)

  Investigate future bosses

  Malcolm A. BORG

  Chairman of North Jersey Media Group

  As a young businessman, I followed this valuable strategy in developing work relationships: pay attention to what you like and don’t like about the way you see people “handle” other people. When you become a manager of others, follow the lead of the people whom you admired as managers and disregard the actions of those you didn’t.

  Imitate people you admire

  Robert C. BOWEN

  Chairman and CEO of Scientific Learning Corporation

  My grandmother counseled me repeatedly at a very young age that the most important decision I would make throughout my life and in all my endeavors would be with whom I elected to associate myself. Whom I chose as friends, as business associates, as mentors, and what I chose as a workplace would not only determine my successes, but more importantly who I would become. The times I have compromised this advice have led to some of my greatest failures. Fortunately, I have mostly stayed true to her wisdom. The result has been a rich and rewarding life, from both personal and business perspectives. The highly principled people with whom I have been fortunate enough to associate have enabled me to achieve well beyond what would have been reasonable to expect, despite some major disappointments and setbacks along the way.

  Be careful with whom you associate

  Mark A. BROWN

  President and CEO of Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts

  The business principles that have most effectively guided my twenty-four-year career in the vibrant gaming industry were instilled by my late father, John “Jack” Brown, a highly respected Union leader and a labor movement pioneer of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union in Atlantic City.

  Through my father’s actions, I witnessed at an early age how important it is to show employees respect and treat them with dignity and how critical their contributions are to an organization. I saw my father treat his Union members in a sincere and caring way, regardless of the nature of their problem, or more importantly, of their stature in society. I have tried to emulate this approach in my business environment, with a high degree of success and personal satisfaction.

  During a period in our nation’s business history when mistrust and skepticism are commonplace, I have found honest and respectful two-way communication with employees to be a primary factor in long-term company success, as well as in individual career growth and enrichment. Companies often underestimate employees’ business acumen and, as a result, withhold important information from the employee workforce. Although I do not think this is done maliciously, it reinforces the false belief that senior management has all the solutions. I have made it a mission to communicate to employees as much information as possible for a few key reasons. First, as stakeholders, they deserve to know both positive and negative news regarding their company. More important, I rely on their support and involvement in the operation of our business, and by engaging their minds, together we unleash an incredible collective power, which translates to a significant competitive advantage.

  Larry Bossidy, former CEO and Chairman of AlliedSignal and Honeywell International, once said, “At the end of the day, I bet on people, not strategies.” I have tried to live by these words, and I thank my late father for instilling in me a passion for people and a deep respect for the simple premise that people should always come first.

  I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge and recognize an inspirational business leader integral to my own career development—and the author of this book—Donald J. Trump. Although Donald is well-known for his dynamic business savvy, he is not given enough credit for practicing the philosophy I have described here. Donald has fostered and encouraged a commonsense business environment, and I thank him for believing in my ability to implement these principles in our company.

  Bet on people, not strategies

  William C. BYHAM

  Chairman and CEO of Development Dimensions International, Inc.

  Early in my career, I worked at the world headquarters of JC Penney. One of the senior executives there had a test through which he put all major decisions: “What would be the best thing that could happen from this decision and what would be the worst thing that could happen from this decision?” I observed him go through the analysis generated by this test many times and I was impressed enough to adopt it myself. It has served me well. Often I have identified a public relations problem or a key client risk that outweighs the minor benefit which would come from a particular action.

  Put your decisions through rigorous analysis

  Gregory B. CALHOUN

  President and CEO of Calhoun Enterprises

  Anytime your output exceeds your input, your upkeep will always be your downfall. So never spend more than you take in.

  Balance your accounts

  Jim CANTALUPO

  Chairman and CEO of McDonald’s Corporation

  I joined McDonald’s Corporation as controller in 1974. Ray Kroc, the legendary founder of the company, was then still actively involved in managing the business, so I was very anxious to do a good job in presenting my reports to him. When I handed him the reports, I noticed that he went directly to the sales and guest-count data, grumbling at the regions that were lagging, and smiling and nodding his head at the regions that were exceeding expectations. When he finished, I asked him if he wanted to know how our profits looked.

  “Listen, young man,” he said, “there’s something you need to know about McDonald�
��s. If we focus on satisfying our customers and take care of the top line of our business, the bottom line will always follow.”

  Thirty years later, I still consider that the best business advice I ever received. The key to McDonald’s success today continues to be both making the customer the boss and growing top-line sales at our restaurants by satisfying our customers better than anyone else. When we do that, everything else falls into place.

  Take care of the top line and the bottom will follow

  Gregory D. CASH

  President and CEO of Vasomedical, Inc.

  Two tenets of communication, “the size of the cannon” and “the twenty-four-hour rule,” have proven very useful to me in business.

  I have found, as I have moved up in organizations over the course of my career, that increasingly I need to be much more careful about what I say and how I say it. People tend to listen closely to senior management and read more into their pronouncements. Things passed off as casual statements when uttered by middle managers tend to carry more weight when spoken by senior-level staff. For instance, I once noticed a mark on a wall and commented on it, only to later find the entire hallway had been repainted based on that small statement. Always put yourself in the place of the audience when sending a message, because the size of the cannon making the noise is significant.

  Bearing this in mind, I have adopted what I call the twenty-four-hour rule. Whenever I receive a communication that elicits an emotional reaction, anger in particular, I am very careful about how I respond. If there is a chance that my drafted response is tainted by anger, I set it aside overnight or for a twenty-four-hour period. I then reread what I have written to determine if it reflects my true views or if emotion may have caused me to say something I might regret later. I then revise the communication to reflect the less emotional state I am in after the cooling-off period. This rule applies to letters, memorandums, and especially e-mail communication. E-mail is potentially the most dangerous, as it is so easy to press the SEND button versus posting a letter or circulating a memo.