Editor-in-chief George Gendron's thoughts on the Inc. 500 companies.
Something extraordinary happens when you bring together in one room almost 1,000 leaders of Inc. 500 companies past and present. You can actually feel the entrepreneurial energy that is our nation's ultimate competitive advantage. As I stood at the podium preparing to open this year's Inc. 500 conference, in Columbus, Ohio, I found myself marveling yet again at what that energy can do. Six years ago, after all, most of the companies on the 1993 list were struggling to get started. Today they employ more than 50,000 people and generate more than $8 billion in sales.
This year's conference featured three days of speeches, seminars, roundtables, and workshops led by some of the country's most accomplished business thinkers and doers, on themes ranging from the art of building strategic relationships to the art of keeping personal relationships intact while building a fast-growth company. First, however, came the traditional opening-night sporting event, a game of touch football at Ohio State University Stadium. Governor George Voinovich joined Inc. 500 CEOs and the magazine's staff on the field, while Hall of Famers Sam Huff, Gale Sayers, Sonny Jurgensen, Paul Hornung, Ray Nitschke, and Paul Warfield watched from the sidelines. Midway through the second half, Inc. reporter Karen Carney hauled in a pass on a short down-and-out pattern. "Now that's one for the record books," said Governor Voinovich. "The first woman on the receiving end of a completed pass in Ohio State Stadium." Welcome to the new economy.
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"I'm probably the only guy you'll meet who really did mortgage the farm to get his business going."
-- Doug Burgum of Great Plains Software, who borrowed money against a small farm he owned in order to buy out the company's founders
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His and Hers: Dick Wilsdon of Western Nugget Transport (#113 in 1989) came to this year's conference as a spouse as well as an alumnus. His wife, Linda, is the founder of All Americas Inc. (#418 in 1993). The Wilsdons' matching Inc. 500 companies are in the same industry and operate out of opposite ends of the same building. I suppose it beats working together.
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"I used to be a lawyer. Now I call myself a 'humor consultant.' Whether or not you think the world needs a humor consultant, you have to agree it could use one less lawyer."
-- Malcolm Kushner, who spoke on the topic "Jest for Success"
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Our favorite business card at the conference belonged to Terry Tognietti, managing director of domestic operations for Drypers (#1 in 1993). The back of the card was a coupon worth $1 off any Drypers product. When you sell disposable diapers head-to-head against Procter & Gamble, you can't pass up any chance for a sale.
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"I consider it the highest compliment when my employees go out and start their own companies in competition with me. I always send them a plant to wish them well. Of course, it's a cactus."
-- Norman Brodsky, founder and CEO of Perfect Courier (#47 in 1984)
Cactus Garden: You can imagine Norm Brodsky's surprise at running into not one but two of his ex-employees at the conference. They'd come to him separately for a raise about seven years ago. He told them they'd have to go into business for themselves if they wanted to make more money. They did, and last year Glenn Cafritz made the list with Global Mail (#399 in 1993), while Albert Hernandez scored with Skynet Worldwide (#60 in 1993).
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"My granddaughter refers to me as 'a very important former public serpent," said erstwhile congressman and secretary of housing and urban development Jack Kemp. "Others have called me a witch doctor, a snake-oil salesman, a riverboat gambler, a voodoo economist -- and, hey, that was just coming from my fellow Republicans."
To us, Kemp was the keynote speaker at the 12th annual Inc. 500 Conference, held this year in Columbus, Ohio. He used the occasion to reiterate his belief in a brand of capitalism that allows every individual to aspire to ownership. "Capitalism is faith in the future," he said, using his father's early days in the delivery business as an example. "Talk about faith. He had a one-truck company called the California Delivery Service."
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What's a "Bad Job" Anyway? While labor economists wail that the new economy is creating bad jobs, Jeff Soowal told a workshop about launching Old Glory, his $40-million fashion company (#20 in 1993), by selling sweaters on street corners in Philadelphia. And the CEO of Phelps County Bank, Emma Lou Brent, reminded her listeners that she's worked her entire life for the same bank, where she started 25 years ago -- as a teller.
"My title is SOB -- Son of the Boss."
-- Overheard at the family-business roundtable
The best joke of the conference came from -- who else? -- humor consultant Malcolm Kushner. "A businessman sends a floral arrangement to a friend who is opening a new office. When he visits the office, he is horrified to see that the florist has sent over a wreath with a 'Rest in Peace' banner on it. Furious, the man calls the florist to complain. 'It could be worse,' says the florist. 'Somewhere in this town there's a bouquet in a cemetery with a note that says, "Good luck in your new location." ' "
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Perestroika: Among the many Inc. 500 founders with new start-ups are Mac McCullar and Audrey Tisdale of First American Rental (#66 in 1988), a furniture-rental company. The couple is participating in three new companies in the former Soviet Union. The businesses? Reinsurance, refitting of offices and apartments, and modular home building.
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"When the CEO steps down, everyone gets to move up. I suppose that means people were delighted when I left."
-- Doug Cobb, on his departure from the Cobb Group (#371 in 1990)
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What's in a Name: In introducing quality guru Phil Crosby, Daryl White of Compaq Computer noted that his company got its name by combining the words compatibility and quality. That was after its advisers had warned the founders they'd never get anywhere with the original name, Gateway. (Note: Gateway 2000 has been an Inc. 500 company for four years now, placing #2 in 1990, #1 in 1991, #2 in 1992, and #5 in 1993, and leading all other companies with more than $1.1 billion in total revenues.)
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"My industry traditionally refers to people who buy software as 'users.' It struck us that the word suggests a relationship to drugs. So we had the radical idea of coming up with another term for people who buy our products. We call them 'customers."
-- Doug Burgum, CEO of Great Plains Software
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More proof that the SBIR program is, dollar for dollar, one of the federal government's most effective tools for stimulating economic growth: Robert Fischer told us that his company, Optics I (#254 in 1993), got started with 10 Phase I and 3 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grants -- and has another Phase II on the way.
