Life in the Fast Lane

* * *

The hottest markets in the world today, according to Jeff Ake, vice-president of sales and marketing of Electronic Liquid Fillers (#194 in 1988), which derives more than half of its revenues from international business: Korea, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and China.

* * *

"By seeing the seed of failure in every success, we remain humble. By seeing the seed of success in every failure, we remain hopeful." -- Mel Ziegler, founder of Banana Republic and keynote speaker

* * *

Sharing detailed financial information with employees -- a practice we call open-book management -- is becoming more commonplace every year. Breakout sessions devoted to the subject were standing-room only. At Jack Stack's session, "The Great Game of Business," we asked how many attendees came from companies that distributed financial statements to employees at all levels of the organization. Well over half of the 130 people present raised their hands. It is doubtful that anyone would have raised a hand five years ago.

* * *

"The computer business is changing so quickly these days that sometimes we feel as if we're in the fresh-produce business." -- Safi Qureshey, cofounder and CEO of AST Research, in Irvine, Calif.

* * *

Don't look back: David Rasmussen of Turbine Consultants (#138 in 1990) made the Inc. 500 by outmaneuvering big companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse. That was easy, he says, given the huge overhead those companies carry. What concerns him is his current challenge: going head-to-head with the next generation of small, lean competitors.

* * *

"I made $5,000 last year . . . " -- pause -- ". . . which is really good." -- Daniel Harris, a student entrepreneur associated with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, updating attendees on the progress of his business since his presentation at last year's conference

Overheard at breakfast:
CEO #1: "What does your company do?"

CEO #2: "We're one of three real estate companies that made the list."

CEO #1: "Gee, it's great to meet someone who's doing well in real estate."

CEO #2: "Yeah, well, we specialize in bankruptcy and managing foreclosedproperties."

* *

"Maybe you should try hiking on Denali, in Alaska. It's amazing how fast you forget about your business when you're dodging grizzly bears." -- Michael Marvin, founder and CEO of MapInfo (#23 in 1992)

Sign of the times: With all the emphasis on fitness these days, Jim McCann thought his company, 800-FLOWERS, should offer a healthful alternative to a junk-food basket it had been selling, so he created a Healthy Harvest health-food basket. Today the junk food is outselling the healthful stuff 9 to 1.

* * *

"Selling is 90% art and 10% skill. Marketing is 90% skill and 10% art." -- Charlie Snyder, CEO of the Solem Division of J.M. Huber Corp.

* * *

Best one-liner of the conference, from Ron Seide, director of marketing of Kingston Technology (#1 in 1992): "What did it take to be #1 on the 1992 Inc. 500? I don't know, but it sure helped to have a really bad 1987."

"I'm very proud of those guys. They're good friends, and I wish them every success. But the truth is that they wouldn't be in business today if we had treated them right to begin with." -- Safi Qureshey, cofounder and CEO of AST Research, speaking about David Sun and John Tu, the founders of the #1 Inc. 500 company Kingston Technology and former employees of AST Research

Shaving Time

Even before the conference began, I received a lesson in time management from keynote speaker Harvey Mackay, who had telephoned me to discuss his upcoming speech. As we talked, I kept hearing a strange humming sound in the background. I finally asked him about it. "Oh, that," he said. "That's the clippers. I'm at my barber's having my hair cut." At your barber's? Then how, I asked, do you keep checking details on your schedule with your assistant? "Judy is sitting right here," he replied. "Whenever I get my hair cut, I rent the barber chair next to me so she and I can keep on working."

* * *

What a Difference a Decade Makes

Cecil Ursprung, 1991 Entrepreneur of the Year and CEO of Reflexite, in Avon, Conn., asked attendees at one session how the business environment has changed from the 1980s to the 1990s. Here's the list they came up with:

slower growth

tougher competition

more difficult to get bank financing

less room for price increases

loss of economic boom sectors, especially real estate and defense

harder to make money

more regulation

more litigation

increasing taxes

And bear in mind that this list was compiled by leaders of some of the country's most successful growing companies.

No Secrets

Ken Hendricks, founder and CEO of ABC Supply (#1 in 1986), on why he shares financial information; from a breakout session titled "Turning Losers into Winners":

"If we're so weak our competitors can take the information and use it against us, or our employees can go out and use it to compete with us, then we might as well get out of the business, because we really don't have anything in the first place. People aren't stupid. If you're doing something right and it works, then sooner or later they're going to figure it out and come after you. Can your people respond? Can you keep innovating? Can you stay ahead? These are the real questions you should be dealing with."