Letters

Readers react to articles from the October issue of Inc., including Jim Collins's "What Comes Next?," Hendrix Niemann's "The End of the Story," and Marc Ballon's "The Cheapest CEO in America."

Another year unfolds, and from the looks of our mail this month, readers seem more determined than ever to learn from failure, be frugal, work hard, find mechanisms that will change their lives, and grow wildly successful companies.

Lord Jim

After reading Jim Collins's October cover story, " What Comes Next?" Inc.'s editor-in-chief, George Gendron, wrote in that month's FYI that it had been years since anything he read had made such an impact on him. Many readers agreed:

After I read Collins's article, I felt as if a light switch had been turned on, suddenly illuminating the darkened room that had represented the future of my business. As a 25-year-old small-business owner in Pittsburgh, I have been struggling with "strategies" on how to grow my business. My ultimate goal is to leave a legacy for my future family and generations to come. Your thoughts on using mechanisms, rather than strategies, for building an enduring business are right on.

Sean M. Walters
Senior Partner
Traditional Concepts Financial Services
Pittsburgh

Collins's credo--"It's not what you make, it's what you stand for"--touched me. In times of change, both personal and professional, it's easy for me to get caught up in the whirlwind of what I do (or make) rather than take the time to formulate a simple declarative vision of what's important to me and what I stand for. I've always felt that what guides us in business should guide us in our personal life. Collins's article substantiated that for me.

Karen Budd Ris
Senior Health-care Consultant
UMS Group
Parsippany, N.J.

Abraham Lincoln said if he had eight hours to cut down a tree, he would spend six of them sharpening his ax. The unspoken message is that he still had to go out and spend two hours cutting down the tree. Today in corporate America the tendency is to spend six hours developing the perfect strategy and then two hours sitting around feeling good because we have a strategy. Collins's article really hit home.

Pete Eason
President
The Bellwhether Co.
Milford, Conn.

Many readers, like this one, wrote us about their own mechanisms:

In my own company, I use what I call the "lottery life test." I ask employees, If you won the lottery tomorrow, would you be doing the same work or living your life the same way you are now? If the answer is no, then they know a change is required.

Mark Klingbeil
President and General Manager
Integra Geoservices
Calgary, Alberta
Canada

And finally, this:

I enjoyed the very original thinking and unique points of view in the article. Our management team has read it with much interest, as well as Collins's book, Built to Last, which is a bit of a bible for us. Our foremost passion is to build something that endures. We have a small company, and size is not a particular goal, but being around for 100 years is.

Royal Robbins
President
Royal Robbins Co.
Modesto, Calif.

Robbins, who operates the Royal Robbins Co., a maker of outdoor clothing, also noted in his letter to Jim Collins, "Doing things that stand the test of time has long been an interest of mine. I see you are a rock climber, so you have perhaps heard of me." Collins certainly has. "Robbins is a legend in the world of climbing," Collins says. "He completed the first ascent of the NA wall on El Capitan, becoming a major pioneer in the 1960s. What a treat to get an E-mail from him. Cool!"

Hendrix Exodus

In " The End of the Story" (October), Hendrix Niemann wrote an account of his agonizing decision to close his business, Automatic Door Specialists Corp. We've followed Niemann's story since his decision to buy a business in 1990 (see our February 1990 and October 1991 issues). So have many readers.

I remember reading Hendrix Niemann's first article a few months after I started my business in 1990, and I wondered where we'd both be in 10 years. Although my company has done well over that time (making the Inc. 500 in 1995), I read "The End of the Story" with sadness, thinking, "There but for the grace of God go I." I hope it will teach prospective buyers of a business to focus on an industry in which they have some experience. Expertise is invaluable not only in evaluating a purchase but also in establishing a much-needed credibility with the employees you inherit.