Raja Gupata, who is retired now from Rohm & Haas, which was bought by Dow Chemical, was hoping to go back to India when Robert Haft and Company found him a job as financial analyst at Rohm & Haas.  He eventually got to go back to his native India, but along the way he became chairman/CEO of one of the world’s largest chemical companies.

What was your first job?  “I was a trainee in a steel mill in the summer of 1965 and it was 115 degrees for three months.  It convinced me this isn’t what I wanted to do the rest of my life.”  Why did you go into the chemical industry?  “That was a bit of an accident or coincidence.  I earned my M.B.A. in Finance at Drexel and I worked at Scott Paper Company and was thinking of going back to India.  Robert Haft and Company told me that Rohm & Haas, who I never heard of, needed a financial analyst and I saw they had an Indian subsidiary and I thought that was my ticket to go home.” What was your first job out of college?

 “When I finished my undergraduate I had a scholarship to go to Cornell for my Master’s, but Cornell overcommitted their funds and told me I had to pay for one semester or wait until spring.  I couldn’t afford the tuition.  I reached out to my professor and he offered me to be his assistant  for six months.” Did you have a mentor?  If so, what did you learn from him or her? “I was very fortunate to have many mentors.  At Rohm & Haas, I had four that were very helpful.  The first is Fred Schaefer, who went from controller to CFO.  I learned a lot from him.  I told him my goal was to run a business.  He told me to go to the fifth floor and have coffee and make friends and learn about the business.  He told me to network and reach out because no one would offer a big job unless I developed relationships.    The second was the head of Europe was Dr. Basil Vassiliou.  He was a Greek with excellent business sense, had strong opinions and was a tough task master.  Tough to please!  Very charming with great insights and challenged me.  He challenged me the most in terms of doing more, doing better, and communicating forthrightly.  He made me blossom.  He was my best mentor and friend.   Third and fourth were my former predecessors who were Vince Gregory, the first non-Haas to be CEO, and was CEO from 1970 to 1988.  I was his assistant for a couple of years.  We went from a high to a low.  We went from reporting  record profit to reporting a loss from 1974 to 1975 in the face of the first major oil crisis.  I got to watch him deal with adversity  while projecting a positive outlook about the company.  Vince was a strong personality.   He had a very commanding presence. The final one was the last CEO, Larry Wilson.  He was a man of few words,  an excellent listener, man of highest integrity, very wise and a great visionary.   To this day I keep in contact with all of them and consider them friends.  Should young executives look for mentors?  “I have a little different view.  Mentors should not be forced, but something that should happen naturally.  If it happens naturally it works better.  There is a notion that mentors should be people like you  who succeeded, for example, woman having women mentors and Asian having Asians.  You should look for someone different than like you.  You need a confidant.  They don’t have to be higher than you.  They can be a peer, superior, friend or family.”  What is the ideal profile of a good mentor?  “Somebody that believes in investing in people!   It’s someone who is willing to share their experiences.  Willing to let their hair down!  Not pretend they succeeded because they were the best, but because they were human.  They don’t have to have the same skills or field you are in.  They must want to see other people succeed.”  What is the importance of getting a graduate degree?  “A couple of things!   It gives you more of a specialization  while undergrad education is broad.  Getting a graduate degree helps you mature. It makes it easier to find employment.  The ‘real’ learning starts after you leave school.”  How important is it to go to an elite university?  “It gives you a head start and teaches you to compete with the best.  It gives you a network that you can always tap into.    It gives you instant confidence and credibility.”  What skills does it take to rise to the top of a Fortune 500 company?

“First there is no one single model that works.  Here are a few  things that  come to my mind.  The right fit of values  between the organization and the individual.  If the individual is aggressive and the organization is not it is a misfit.  When you go to a large organization there are many smart individuals.  It is the person who steps out of his or her comfort zone, asks for more responsibility and is proactive.  Clearly hard work and stamina.  Delivering results to create value for the organization.  An interest in team work.  And a lot of luck.  You need resilience and the ability to deal with adversity.  Learning from disappointment is the best teacher. Most of the mistakes are made when times are great.  People become confident and cocky and take big risks.  I learned a lot from the tough times we went through.  You needed to maintain your composure and stay focused.    Why do some smart people never move up?  “Probably a lack of soft skills.  It’s not all about intellect.  The smartest people are the ones who can explain complex topics in simple terms.    It’s all about connecting with people.”  Was there ever a time where your career was floundering and if so, how did you turn it around?  “There were a couple of times I almost left the company.  The last time was in 1984. It wasn’t what anyone did or said to me.  It was a sense that I wasn’t getting the experiences and opportunities that I was hoping to come my way.  When my mentors found out I was thinking of leaving they reached out to me and told me that my chance would come.  They believed more in me than I did in myself at that time.  I had lived in Europe 15 years and I didn’t know where I stood because I was out of the “inner circle”  at corporate headquarters.  You start making things up in your mind.  Careers do not move in a straight line.  One should not worry about where he or she will be in five years, but you do the best you can with what you have at hand.  Our organization is not the type where people who blew their horn got ahead.”  How do you avoid or overcome office politics?  “By not playing politics!  This is a hard learning process. There are organizations that are political and some are not.  My predecessor would never talk about someone. If someone came in his office and started to talk negatively about someone he would simple end the conversation abruptly.  He would only talk about problems and solutions and that stuck with me.”  What business leader that you have met that you were impressed with and why? “Jack Brennan at Vanguard.  He is an uncanny leader.  He is very focused and people oriented.  He is very performance oriented.  He has a great sense of accountability for results.”  What business books have you read that have influenced your career?  “A couple.  I liked “Good to Great,” by Jim Collins about sustained performance requires outstanding people and great cultures.  It  talks about companies that succeed over decades not over short periods of time.    The “Innovators Dilemma” by Clayton Christianson , which talks about re-inventing the company before they become obsolete.”  What is the one piece of advice you would give a young executive who wants to be CEO of a company?  “I would say persistence and confidence.  You have to consistently deliver results.  Doing more than what is asked of you.  They aren’t satisfied with the status quo.” “They are deeply interested in the people and talent development.”

David Novak, chairman/CEO of Yum! Brands, which owns and operates such fast food global staples such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, to name a few, wrote an autobiography called The Education of an Accidental CEO: Lessons Learned from the Trailer Park to the Corner Office (ISBN-978-0-307-39369-2).  He took a totally different route to the top of one of the largest companies in the world.  Mr. Novak got a bachelor of science in journalism from one of America’s best journalism schools at the University of Missouri.  His career moved from sales to advertising to brand management to operations to turning around fallen brands to running a public company with billions in world wide sales.

I enjoyed Mr. Novak’s book because it wasn’t the usual CEO biography about all of his great accomplishments.  He opened himself up and let the reader see that getting to the top is an imperfect process that requires hard work, risk taking, keeping an open mind to learn from others and the ability to not take one too seriously.  He is one of the few CEO’s of a Fortune 500 company that doesn’t have a master’s in business administration.  The following is an interview with Mr. Novak about his book and what he has learned along the way.

 Why did you write this book? 

“I wrote this book to give back the learning’s that I gained over the years from others.  I have a leadership program called “Taking People with You” to help people develop better results.  People kept asking me when I would write a book.”

 So the book was written as just a way to share your knowledge? 

No, the other reason was that our company is launching a major initiative with the United Nations Food Program.  All my proceeds will go to feeding hungry people around the world.  The hunger is issue is vastly misunderstood.  There are 25,000 people die of hunger each day and 18,000 are kids and we launched a global awareness campaign around the world.  My book is a small portion of the total effort and it was a logic time for me to write it and give back.”

 Who is the target buyer of the book? 

“The target reader is anyone is an avid learner and wants to accelerate their career and company from someone who has risen to the top in an untraditional way.”

 What was your first paying job as a teenager? 

“I delivered hand bills.  Direct mail kind of stuff!  I also mowed yards.  My first pay check came from being a janitor polishing floors and cleaning desks.”

   What do you like most about being a CEO? 

“I like teaching and aspiring others to win.”

 What do you like least about being a CEO? 

“That is hard one because I love my job.  What I like least is the time away from home.  On the other hand seeing the world has been one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me.”

 For people that aspire to be a CEO what type of hours do you think they should expect to put in? 

“I would say the average week is about 50 or more hours a week. The only way to do this job is to love it so it isn’t work.  It is your hobby.  I don’t think about going to work every day.  All the time I spend at work it is something that I do.  I personally try not to work on weekends.  That has helped me have some balance.  I have made it a priority to go to all significant family events such as my daughter’s hockey games”

  Is there one background that prepares someone better than another to be CEO of a company? 

“I think the best background is to work with great leaders to teach you what they know.  I was taught by Andy Pearson, a chairman/CEO of buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Wayne Calloway, chairm/CEO of Pepis, and others that ran public companies.  My degree was in journalism and that was a God send because it helped me be a good writer and communicator.  However I had to learn the fundamentals of business and I learned that through experience.  Along the way I was focused on marketing and I had to learn financial and operational skills.  I would say here what I know today and what I have to learn.  I am still a work in progress.”

 How do you change the mind sets of people who don’t feel like winners? 

“I think the biggest thing in a situation like that you have to get people to believe in themselves.  Then you need to acknowledge their success and growth along the way.  That begins to give you the confidence to be a winner.”

 How important are mentors and how do you find the right one? 

“Having a great coach is a great gift.  I think the key to getting a great coach is to take it in your own hands and go to the people you respect the most.  When I was a new CEO I didn’t have a lot of experience in the investment committee, but reached out to Warren Buffet and I learned from him.”

 Why do you think you were successful? 

“I would have to boil it down to I had great people who have given to me my entire life.  That is why was I am so passionate and open in my book.  I wanted to share my inner most feelings such as my successes and failures because that is what others have done for me.”

 How important is it to get an MBA? 

“It’s great facilitator to open up a lot of doors in business.  In many businesses today you don’t have a chance to get in.  I am not sure I could have done what I did today without an MBA.  I think I was able to get away with it because I went a non-traditional route.  You can advance without it, but a lot of things have to go your way.  Today I would recommend anyone going into business to get an MBA.”

 What do you look for in the people you hire? 

“I look for someone that is really passionate.  Someone who is substantive and has a track record of results!  The discriminator over time between good and great is if they are an avid learner.  I always ask would I want my daughter to work for this person.”

 How would you manage someone like yourself to get the most out of their talent? 

“I would lay out a bold goal and let them do their job and coach along the way.  I would be there as a coach if they needed me.  I would give them plenty of room to do what they need to get done.  A high performer doesn’t need someone to look over their shoulder. You take the decision away from the person they won’t be as engaged or learn.”

 Why do some hot chains like Chi Chi’s slip and fall and others like Pizza Hut survive over time? 

“The brands that survive keep themselves constantly current.  They never rest on what they are and focus on what they can be.”

 How do you re-establish a positive reputation after going through the problems Taco Bell suffered earlier this year?  

“You are 100% transparent.  You continue to develop an outstanding product and focus serving your customers with a smile and with value.  Time will heal all wounds.”

 What do you look for in board members? 

“I look for someone who fits in our culture.  Is committed to help our company grow and has relevant experience to give us guidance to take our company to the next level.”

 Have you ever considered going the entrepreneurial route and starting a company totally from scratch? 

“No!  I admire entrepreneurs.  It takes so much to build from scratch.  I am a professional manager.  To create that myself would be extremely challenging.  I like leading large organizations and I like that challenge.  I try to attack the big opportunities as entrepreneurially as I can.”

 If there is one piece of advice you would give an aspiring corporate leader what would that be? 

“Don’t look up, don’t look down and always look straight ahead when you are dealing with people.  The other thing I have found to drive results is celebrating the achievements of others.”

What was your first paying job as a kid?  “I was a bus boy at a Holiday Inn in South Carolina when I was 14 and I think I made about 75 cents per hour plus tips.”  What was your first paying job out of college?  “I was an officer in the Army.  I went to college on an ROTC scholarship and served for five years.” What did your parents do for a living?
 “My dad was a minister and my mother was an accountant.” Why did you go into the business world? “I needed to earn a living.  The reason I didn’t follow my dad into the ministry is that it requires a specific calling and I thought my talents were best for the business world.  I  never intended to stay in the Army because there wasn’t enough flexibility in what I could do professionally. It was a tremendous experience for transitioning from college to work life; however, it wasn’t what I wanted to do as a career.” What did you learn about leadership in the Army?“I learned that leadership is a process.  It is about having a clear mission, and defining clear roles for each individual.  You need to have team members that have transferable skills, and everyone has a specific role to play. You need to have a well defined succession plan in case something happens to the leader.  The Army was great in terms of management and skills training.  They constantly invest in training.” Did you have a role model in business? “I learned a lot from different people.  My father is my role model in life.  My father taught me about commitment and being available for people.  I was fortunate to follow a strong leader at McCormick named Bob Lawless.  In the Army I was an aide to General Charles Brown, and I got to see how a large organization was run and how to motivate  people at all different levels.” What is the hardest part of running a public company? “The constant scrutiny you get.  You have multiple “constituents” such as investors, employees, the board of directors, analysts and customers.  Every quarter you get a performance review.  It is a 24/7 commitment.”    What is the best part of running a public company? “The ability to make a difference and to put together the teams and plans to see the results of your decisions play out!  You get to meet some very interesting people such as other CEOs and political leaders.  It opens a lot of doors.” What is the hardest part of running consumer packaging company? “It is challenging to stay current on what the consumer is looking for.  You have to stay on top of the trends, and you have to be willing to move quickly.  You have to be an innovator.” What skills does someone need to climb up the corporate ladder to be CEO? “The essential skill is communication, first and foremost.  You are talking to people inside and outside the company.   You have to be able to tell a concise and interesting story.  The second skill is strategic thinking.  You have to understand the trends and adapt your company to those trends.  You need someone who is confident and optimistic, and you need stamina, persistence and a positive attitude.” What is the biggest business mistake you have made and how did you get over it? “I have had a number of products that haven’t worked out, but that is part of the game.  One-Step-Seasonings is a product that we launched in Canada that was very successful, and when I came into the US I wanted to introduce it to the American market.  I put on a lot of pressure to launch it, and I thought it would work here.  It didn’t work because tastes are different in the two markets, and we under-spent marketing wise.  We did eventually retool it so it would sell in the US.” Was there ever a time in your professional career that you had self doubts? “Yes!  In most jobs that I have gone into, I have had self-doubts.  Would I know enough about what the job required?  My first general manager’s job I wondered if I was up to the task.  I was up against a strong competitor.  Morale was low and the business was not profitable. I realized that I couldn’t show people that I had doubts, which everyone has, but I had to be positive and decisive.  As a leader, people are looking to you, and if you show confidence, they will have confidence.  I developed a plan with short-term goals that our team could accomplish and we successfully turned around the business.”  How have you managed to balance family and running a large company? “I have sons who are involved in sports.  I put their events in my calendar like a business meeting.  My predecessor told me you will have to pick and choose the events you  attend and there are always conflicts.  We try to schedule a family dinner at least two nights a week.  Staying connected is important.  I try to go away with the family twice a year, just us.”   What do you look for in the people that you hire? “I look for intelligence and cultural fit.  The biggest disaster is lack of fit.  For us, it is important that people work well in teams.  I always look for initiative and doing more than the job requires.  The other essential is integrity, which has to be a given.” What are the ingredients of a successful company? “A cultural passion for excellence.  Passion translates into winning.   You need to have a product advantage, better service or better costs.  You have to be better than everyone else in some way.  It has to be clear what that something extra is.” Is there any business books you would recommend an upcoming executive should read? “There are two books.  “Leaders Talk Leadership: Top Executives Speak Their Minds” by Meredith D. Ashby and Stephen A. Miles” which has leaders talk about leadership and culture.  “Team of Rivals,” by Doris Kearns Godwin, which isn’t a business book, but it, is a great book on leadership.” What skills will leaders need in the future that maybe different than today? “Global vision and adaptability.  Leaders have to be more adaptable because the pace of change is so great that you must be flexible.  The hard skills such as learning and embracing new technology are essential to improve your company’s performance.  Your competitors are going to change, and in some cases you will have competitors that you never had before.  So you constantly have to be evolving.” If you had one piece of advice to give an aspiring CEO what would that be? “Focus on the things that matter, which sounds simple.  As a CEO you have a range of things you can get involved in.  There are lots of distractions, and you have to find those things that will make a positive difference and focus on those.  People become frustrated when they work on the wrong stuff.  Focus on the right things and you’ll be happy with yourself and the job you’ve done.”

Timothy C. Draper is the Founder and a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. His original suggestion to use “viral marketing” in web-based e-mail to geometrically spread an Internet product to its market was instrumental to the successes of Hotmail and YahooMail, and has been adopted as a standard marketing technique to hundreds of businesses. On behalf of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mr. Draper serves on the boards of Glam.com, Tagworld, SocialText, decentral.tv, and Chroma Graphics.

Previous successes include: Skype (EBAY), Overture.com (YHOO), Baidu (BIDU), Parametric Technology (PMTC), Hotmail (MSFT), PLX Technologies (PLXT), Preview Travel (TVLY) and Digidesign (AVID), among others.He was #7 on Forbes Midas List and #52 on the list of the most influential Harvard Alumni.  Tim is also the course creator and Chairman of BizWorld, a 501c3 organization built around simulated teaching of entrepreneurship and business to children. He served on the California State Board of Education. In November of 2000, Mr. Draper launched a statewide cyber-initiative on school choice for the California General Election. 

Tim is a member of Singapore’s Economic Advisory Council and Ukraine’s Orange Circle. He is on the Board of U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business school.

What was your first job? 

“Counting integrated circuits for Measurex when I was 15.  The product measured thickness and moisture of paper. Before that,  I sold apples on the street.  One Summer, I bought oysters and sold them door to door.”

 What did your father do for a living? 

“My grandfather and father were VC’s.  My grandfather was the first  Silicon Valley venture capitalist in 1957. Before that he headed the economic part of the Marshall Plan for Germany and Japan after WWII. He was Undersecretary of State and Undersecretary of The Army for Eisenhower and Truman. Later in his career, he started the World Population Crisis Committee and worked with the Chinese to develop their one child per family policy. 

“My dad started Sutter Hill Ventures and funded Quantum, Qume, and LSI Logic and then worked as Chairman of the U.S. Export Import Bank.  He started the first venture fund for India called Draper International. He then started Draper Richards and is still at it.”

What was your first professional job out of college? 

“After I got my BS in electrical engineering at Stanford, I worked for HP as marketing engineer in their support division.  I moonlighted by starting a board game with my partner Heidi Roizen called Stanford The Game, which was a game based on college life at Stanford. I then tried to franchise it to other schools, but that didn’t work very well.  Then I went to Harvard Business School and worked as the Assistant to the President of Apollo Computer.  I then went to work for Alex. Brown & Sons as an Associate. Then I started Draper Associates, a family owned SBIC.”

Why did you become a venture capitalist? 

“Since my father and grandfather were VC’s, ironically, venture capital was the last thing I wanted to do.  I started a bunch of businesses before business school.  I then had more ideas when I got out of business school and I wanted to start them all.  I had some real passion for new business. Then I thought about how I could best help people who wanted to start businesses.  I looked around my class and thought that maybe I could help these guys become successful in what they wanted to do.  I went to Alex Brown where my job was venture capital and investment banking and then I broke off and went for it.”

How does one become a venture capitalist? 

“People have started or joined from different backgrounds.  Some come from large companies, some come from entrepreneurial backgrounds, some are brokers and some source a bunch of deals and bring them to VC’s and then build a venture practice of their own.”

How many hours a week do you have to put in? 

“From the day I started I haven’t stopped.  I don’t count the hours. It is around the clock. It has been a fascinating life and the business has taken off.  I love to build things, so for me it isn’t work.”

How do you balance family and your professional life? 

“I throw a switch in my head.  I do ask my family what they think about different ideas today, but when they were babies I threw a switch in my head and changed to Dad.  I coached sports and I made it to most of their big events.”

What is the best part of being a venture capitalist? 

“I like what we have been able to accomplish and what we may be able to  accomplish in the future.  There are some examples such as Hotmail and Skype.  We now have over 500 million people that can communicate for free in the world and we feel we have significantly helped in globalizing the economy.  Companies like these are helping knock down geographic barriers.  We are seeing countries start to cooperate with one another.  It’s become a major high priority for governments around the world to encourage entrepreneurship and venture capital. These companies are positively impacting them by spreading communications capabilities.  The information companies are helping people share information.”

What is the worst part of being a venture capitalist? 

“The best are the people I get to meet. The true entrepreneurs are so enthusiastic and I love sharing in their plans and their passion.  The worst for me was ironically when I was the richest. We were under siege and everyone and their brother had an idea for a dotcom.  I like it now when it is little more rational and people realize it takes a lot of work to build a company.  When it seems too easy then you get a lot of people in suits that aren’t in it for the long haul.”

What does it take to be a successful venture capitalist? 

“A lot of luck.  You have to be totally into it to be out there enough and see enough so your judgment becomes good enough to see the opportunities and take advantage of them.”

What do you look for when hiring venture associates? 

“We have full partnership here.  I am looking for someone who can add something new.  If they have a new group of people that they are attached to.  A specific area of expertise.  A market expertise.  It expands the mind and reach of the group.  We look for people who understand entrepreneurs and how they think and feel.”

Why doesn’t someone make it as a VC? 

“I don’t know.  If you are not pushing the edge.  If you don’t grow and network.  If you don’t recognize the need to expand your network and get ideas from different places.  If you aren’t looking beyond your group. If  you are provincial.  Today, it is critical that you be associated with a global network.”

What are the common traits of successful entrepreneurs you have invested in? 

“A pure focus, dedication and enthusiasm for what they are doing.  They inspire people to want to attach themselves to their mission.”

What are the common traits of entrepreneurs you have invested in that failed? 

“The founders didn’t have faith in each other.  When they are too much alike and they second guess each other.  When one is dominant and one doesn’t agree.  It’s usually more of a relationship problem than technology or market problem.”

What should an entrepreneur’s expectation be of a venture capitalist? 

“Money in exchange for stock.  Beyond that it depends on the venture capitalist on how that fund is run.  In some cases they get the experience of the VC and the VC’s network.  The network allows them to get connected with their first customer.  They can make introductions to key individuals and companies who can make them successful. 

“Each person who takes a board seat has a different slant on how they can help the company.  I focus on the business model and marketing and that is primarily because I created viral marketing and I think I can be one of the leading thinkers in that field.  I like to look at companies to see how they can maximize their reach and business model.  I always recommend they make sacrifices in the short term for long term gain.  If the entrepreneur is deciding between two paths I recommend they take the larger risk.”

Is there any books you would recommend? 

“Atlas Shrugged. And have them go see the movie “Accepted.”

Both are great entrepreneurial stories that help you get into the head of the entrepreneur.”

What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring venture capitalist? 

“It is a big world. I would suggest that he or she go to a place that is uncovered by venture capitalists.  I would get into why they would want to be one and why.  Some people do things for the wrong reasons.  You shouldn’t do it just for money or to make important decisions.  You have to do it from the heart.”

 Thomas Stemberg, who is a Managing General Partner of the Highland Consumer Fund and focuses on retail and consumer services companies, is the founder of Staples, the first mass market office super store where he served as CEO for sixteen years and Chairman for three additional years. Tom pioneered the office superstore industry when he wrote the business plans for Staples in 1986. Tom propelled Staples’ business growth through store expansion programs, a delivered office products business, growing international presence, and award-winning e-commerce operations ultimately creating a $14 billion company. Tom also founded ZOOTS, one of the country’s leading dry cleaning companies, as well as Olly Shoes, a leading children’s shoe retailer. Tom currently serves on the boards of Blue Tulip, CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), Guitar Center, lululemon athletica (Nasdaq: LULU), PETsMART, Inc. (Nasdaq: PETM) and Pharmaca.  He both his undergrad and graduate degrees from Harvard.What was your first paying job as a teenager? 

“My first paying job was mixing fertilizer in a fertilizer factory.”

 What was your first job out of college? 

“I went right to business school.  My first job out of college was being a manager trainee at Jewel diversified retailer based on Chicago.”

Why did you start Staples? 

“I had been fired my job having turned around a super market chain.  I was unemployed and had a year to find a job because THE OWNERS WERE SELLLING MY business out from under me. A guy named Leo Kahn, who had wanted to buy the super market chain, but lost, wanted to fund me. Leo told the guy who fired me to have me call him. We tried to find a grocery chain to buy and we couldn’t because of our non-competeS.  We looked at specialty retail and we decided on office products.”

Were either of your parents’ entrepreneurs? 

“My father was, he ran a restaurant and catering business and my mother had a sewing store.  My father was deceased by the time I started Staples.  I was told there was a psychological tie, but I don’t know its effect.”

How much money did you raise to start Staples? 

“I raised $4.5 million.”

 Did you have a business plan? 

“We had a business plan.”

Do you encourage entrepreneurs to develop business plans and if yes, why? 

“Yes!  First of all even there is change over time it is a solid exercise to understand your customer appeal is and understand who your competitors are.  Understanding key metrics and benchmarks are.  It helps you verify the market you are serving.  It helps you determine if your model has a sound economic basis.”

What did you underestimate when starting Staples? 

“How big it could be!  Our business plan took us to 23 stores and if we really dreamed it would be 100 stores and now it is 2,000 stores.  What surprised how many customers would come to shop us to save money and on the other hand how many wanted to have  US deliver the products to them, so that took us another year to do.”

What is the hardest part of raising capital? 

“Closing our deals which straddled the crash of 1987.  We had a commitment in late summer of 1987 and then the biggest crash since 1929.  Some of the investor’s  RS didn’t follow through, but we managed to get it done.”

Did you have a mentor? 

“I had two.  In a business sense Leo Kahn, who funded me, and in an academic sense it was Walter Salmon, who is the retailing guru at Harvard.”

Do you recommend getting a mentor? 

“You don’t get them, people evolve into mentors.  It’s not something you can go out and buy. I don’t think it is something you can seek out.  Someone likes you and wants to help you.  I have seen people try to campaign to have a mentor and it doesn’t work because it doesn’t come through naturally.”

What did you like most about starting a business? 

“Being able to control my own destiny.”

What did you like least? 

“In the early days you don’t have anywhere near the resources you have when you work for a larger organization.”

Is it important to get a master’s in business?  

“I think it is helpful.  You acquire certain knowledge such as determining cost of capital and return on investment in a comprehensive way.  They show you a lot of situations, which we ran into when starting Staples, that helped in our growing Staples.  You also make great contacts with faculty and students.  Some of the students end up being investors.”

What skills does a successful entrepreneur need? 

“Optimist!  Natural leader!  You have to learn to prioritize.”

Why do some smart and well financed entrepreneurs fail? 

“Often times the problem is the product or service they are doing is searching for a market like Segway Scooters.   You need a market that is looking for a solution.  Not the other way around.”

What was the biggest business mistake you ever made? 

“Not buying Office Depot for $14 million in 1987.  Not offering delivery service in the earliest days of Staples.”

What is the profile of the people you look to hire to build a successful organization? 

“People with very broad skill sets that can wear more than one hat!  In early stage companies it’s good to have people in the early stages of their life, but family comes into play and that makes it very hard.  I did it, but it’s hard.”

What books would you encourage an aspiring entrepreneur to read? 

“Two!  “Nuts” about Herb Kellerman  founder of Southwest Airlines.  “Built from Scratch” about Home Depot.”

 What is the one piece of advice you would give an aspiring entrepreneur? 

“Make sure you really understand two things that you are knowledgeable about the industry you are going into.  That you worked for good companies in that industry.  That you are providing a service customer actually need.”

Jerry Johnson, who has been a top executive for a variety of companies, is chairman of Radnor Trust, a financial institution.  Prior to joining Radnor Trust, Mr. Johnson was the president of eMoney Advisor and was the executive vice president at Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE), an operating company focused on acquiring and developing technology companies.  In that capacity, he was responsible for the success of several entrepreneurial companies, lending his management and industry expertise as he guided CEOs through corporate expansion, management team development, and in many cases initial public offerings.  Mr. Johnson also ran the network at US West, where he was responsible for the company’s largest division of more than 22,000 employees. 

Mr. Johnson serves on the boards of Radnor Trust Company, Axum Financial LLC, The Academy at Manayunk and The Elite Foundation.

 What was your first paying job? 

“It was when I was 16 and I drove a delivery truck for a boutique wedding shop in my home town of Freeport, Illinois.”

 What was your first job out of college? 

“I graduated when I was 20 and I came back mid-semester to catch up with my wife who was a year ahead of me.  I worked as teacher and counselor at Freeport High School and went to get my master’s at night.”

 What did your father do? 

“His last job was a supervisor at Deluxe Check Printing.”

 Who was your role model? 

“My first role model was my grandfather on my mother’s side.  He was a Baptist Minster, a deputy sheriff and a rail-roader.  He died when I was seven and I heard a lot about his ethics and that was reinforced by my father and my brother Del. 

“My grandfather was a strong influence and I wanted to emulate him.  I had another in business named Dr. Barney Parker, who was a superintendent of schools, and he made me a principal age at 22.  He gave me a lot of responsibility. 

“In business it was Jack McAllister, who was president of Northwestern Bell Telephone, and he became chairman of US West.  Jack taught me a couple of things.  He taught me about humility and leadership and the responsibility of leadership. 

“Jack was an incredible mentor who taught me to understand business from the ground floor so I would understand what people were going through.”

 Why did you become an executive? 

“When I left public school teaching I had kind of a plan if you will.  I was in graduate school planning to pursue an educational Doctorate.  My mentor in education said I should get college experience if I want to be president of a college. 

“I was interviewing for the dean’s job at Hamlin University.  I drove back to have lunch with my brother-in-law who worked for the phone company and my brother-in-law was having lunch with a recruiter from the phone company and he tried to get me to join the telephone company. 

“He wanted me in the executive management program.  I looked at it as an omen.  I thought I would go to the phone company and they would pay for my Ph.D and I would go back to education.  My mentors at the phone company did such a good job I abandon education.  Three years later I became a Sloan Fellow at MIT.  I abandoned the educational pursuit.”

 How difficult was it being an African American moving up in corporate America when you started? 

“I found because of the way I entered I found little resistance at the time which was 1976.  Because I had several experiences that matured me beyond my resume would suggest and because I entered the phone company in Minneapolis-St.Paul.  I didn’t experience the same things other African American colleagues that entered directly into the company. 

“I didn’t get a lot of resistance and I moved rapidly.  Now it goes back to my grandfather who was the first African American to be in our county.  My grandfather was head of the round house for the rail road and he had a skill set that allowed him to move around smoothly. 

“My grandfather and father made sure we would be comfortable with people from different cultures and we had a lot of comfort.  My brother and I were asked to join Country Clubs and we didn’t worry about being tokens we looked at an obligation to break the barrier and open doors.”

 Did you ever wonder if you would make it? 

“I still wonder because I don’t know what making it is.  There are still things I want to do and haven’t done.  There are still things undone.  I don’t believe leaders are developed.  I believe leadership is a calling.  If you believe in that higher level of calling you is in constant pursuit of that and being a leader is an honor.”

 What was your big break? 

“My biggest break when they made me a Sloan Fellow and I spent a year at MIT and working with 49 other fellows.  I ceased to become high flying manger with a great mentor.  I started to understand more of the sensitive issues of leadership. 

“There is a fine line between leadership and the intricacies.  I understood what was needed to be success on a national and international level.  I learned about how my decisions could impact the cultural of a company.  That started an incredible run on taking on more responsibility.”

 How much have things changed for African Americans in terms of career advancement in corporate America? 

“I think at the very senior level little has changed at the highest level.  There is just a handful of super stars running major companies and sitting on corporate boards.  At the next level there has been a tremendous break through.  The opportunities have opened up.  African American men and women are moving from director to VP level.”

 Are African American college graduates taking advantage of the opportunities? 

“A complicated answer!  African women are.  There are a disproportionate number of African men.  The men aren’t taking advantage.  A lot of work has to be done at the junior high level for African American men that cause them for succeeding.  There are more going to prison than to colleges.”

 Your late brother Del was a long time successful president/CEO of a manufacturing company and the first African American to be on a regional Federal Reserve board.  What did your parents do in raising you that allowed you to be such a great success? 

“My parents were big on giving us roots and wings.  We had a very solid upbringing.  We had both parents.  We had strong male influences from great grandfather, grandfather and father and that still has an impact on us.  My parents, like most parents, placed a extremely high value on education. 

“They took an active role with the PTA’s.  They made sure we were active in religious, social and cultural programs at an early age and took a very active role and who influenced us and that had a lot to do with it.  My father and all his brothers put a high value on ethics and integrity and who you did business with. 

“It was a mid-west kind of value.  We never compromised on that.  On the wing side they worked hard in making sure we had influences.  We weren’t poor, but we weren’t rich.  We took trips outside our normal environment at a time most African Americans didn’t do that.  When my brothers came back from the military or college they settled in other places, which helped broaden our circles.”

 What is the hardest part of dealing with corporate politics as you try to ascend the ladder? 

“Working around and with people that you don’t trust it’s a thing that zaps your energy and focus and makes for an unhealthy situation. I experienced people along the way that have done that and it is very disconcerting.  Fortunately, I had good mentors to talk to about that and helped me look over those shoulder and look at those people and what they were doing. 

“I think the biggest thing that I worked very hard to make sure they didn’t comprise my principals, which is very hard to do, because there is a thin line between power and responsibility.  You have to be responsible about managing power and that is why Tyco and others went the wrong way.”

 What is the best part of running a company? 

“Working with people and watching them grow and develop into leaders.  Beating corporate goals and that is what makes it fun.”

 What is the worst part of running a company? 

“Bureaucy, unethical people, Sarbox and different goals.”

 You have spent the bulk of your career in highly regulated industries such telecommunications and financial services, what is the key to success in these types of industries? 

“Service, service, service.  If you don’t provide good service someone will take your business away.”

  What, if any, business books influenced your career? 

“There are two.  “Built to Last,” by Jim Collins and Alvin Toffler‘s book “Future Shock,” which is about vision and doing things in lock step in what it take to build a culture around it.  I think about the stories in them.”

 Where do you think the greatest business opportunities will be going forward? 

“I think alternative fuels, this ethanol thing right now and not just the people working on it, but it now make it popular to be a farmer.  Corn is now an important commodity.  The need and the sciences are on both coasts and the enablers are in the mid-west.

“From an a world economic alternative fuels are important.  Gene mapping and finding links to diseases and I am involved with Wistar on prostate cancer.  They now found a link why African American men are predisposed to prostate cancer. 

“Telecommunications. The way people can receive and interrupt data on such small devices and the security issues that go along with them.”

 If there is one piece of advice you would give a young business focused African American what would that be? 

“Plan, plan, plan.  There is no reason with the Internet you can’t do a good long term plan.  I am big on strategic plans.  I don’t think anyone can see out more than two or three years and you have to have a good operating plan.  Then you need contingency plan.  Nothing goes exactly as you can expect.”

Alan B. Miller is Chairman and President of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE) which he founded in 1978.  UHS is one of the largest hospital management companies in the nation operating 132 facilities in 32 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico.  It recently sold its hospital subsidiary in France.  Net revenues of the Company are approximately $5 billion annually.  He also serves as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Universal Health Realty Income Trust – UHT (NYSE).  UHT is a REIT that he founded that has investments in 44 properties located in 15 states.  Prior to founding UHS Mr. Miller was Chairman and CEO of American Medicorp Inc. (NYSE), a nationwide leader in hospital management. Mr. Miller was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1991 and Financial World named him CEO of the Year in hospital management.  He was also named as one of the 100 most influential people in healthcare in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.  In 1992 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Carolina and received the George Washington University President’s Medal in 2002.  He also received the Chairman’s Award from the United Negro College Fund, the Americanism Award of ADL and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.  In 1999 he was presented with the first Lifetime Achievement award of the Federation of American Hospitals, who honored him for 30 years of industry leadership. Both Fortune Magazine and The Wall Street Journal noted Universal Health Services as having the highest return to shareholders (38%) of all health care providers for the 10 year period 1990-2000.  For the period 1992-2002, UHS also led the category at 29%.   He is a Trustee of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company and a Director of Broadlane, Inc.  He is a Director of the Philadelphia Regional Performing Arts Center (Kimmel) and Chairman Emeritus of the Opera Company of Philadelphia. At graduation from the College of William and Mary in Virginia he was commissioned in the U.S. Army and served in the 77^th Infantry Division retiring with the rank of Captain.  He served as a trustee of the William and Mary Endowment Fund, and is a life member of the school’s President’s Council.  In 1999 he received the William and Mary Medallion, the school’s highest alumni award.  The Business School faculty awarded him the Clark Medallion, its highest honor in 2007.  The William and Mary School of Business will be relocated to the newly constructed Alan B. Miller Hall in 2008. Mr. Miller earned his MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He served on the Executive Board and currently is a member of the Board of Overseers. He and his wife Jill have three children, two daughters and a son, Marc, who earned his MBA at The Wharton School in 1998.    What was your first paying job? 

“I had two jobs when I was a teenager.  I delivered groceries for a super market and I was a Western Union telegram bicycle delivery boy.”

What was your first job out of college? 

“I worked for one of the top advertising agencies in the world, Young and Rubicam.”

 Why did you go into business for yourself and why health care? “When was working for Young & Rubincam, I was on a fast track.  I loved working in Manhattan.  There were 2,000 smart articulate people in the firm. During my review, my boss said I’d end up running the place, but I figured it would take too long, so when one of my roommate at Wharton, who was financing schools and private hospitals, came to me with the idea building a network of investor owned hospitals. He kept after me, and finally I joined.  In three years, I became president of the company, which was public.  It was taken over, and on the next day I started Universal Health Services.”   Was your father or mother in business for themselves? 

“My father had one dry cleaning store.”

  Did you develop a business plan for the company for Universal Health Services? 

“I did.  I thought we would grow to $50 million in five years and we did it in one year.”

 Are business plans overrated? 

“If you want to raise money it is a necessity.  I don’t know how often actual results follow the business plan.  It is, however, very useful for thinking your way through. 

What do you attribute to your long tenure as leader of Universal Health Services? 

“I enjoy doing what I am doing.  There isn’t another occupation I would rather do.  I never had any other desires like writing the great novel or enter another industry.  We have done a very good job, and investors say I am really good at it.”

What part does luck play? 

“I believe in hard work and perseverance.  I believe in being open to opportunities.  You need to be open to new things.  I worked on a number of businesses when I was with the ad agency and was offered to join a variety of businesses by my clients, but I just didn’t do it.  None of them really excited me.  You can’t wait around for luck to happen.  When Napoleon was promoting his senior officers and generals and he would talk with other officers about the candidate qualifications – his final question was:  Tell me he was lucky.”

Did you have a mentor? 

“No.”

 Should young executives look for mentors and if so what is the profile of the ideal mentor? 

“You can learn a lot by reading and observing.   I read military, sports and business.  Sports are very instructive.  You get competitive people who don’t like to lose.  The best way to win is prepare and work hard.”

What attributes does a successful business leader need? 

“No. 1 you have to be honest and have integrity.  No. 2 is a positive attitude.  It helps to be smart and intelligent.  Perseverance!  Do what is necessary.  Learn about your business and adversaries.  You need to be passionate.”

Did you ever have a crisis of confidence and if so, how did you get over it? 

“I never had one.  When I was president of American Medicorp and it was taken over and I was down about that.  I knew I was a smart person.  I had a lot of self-confidence.  I had a lot of support from my family, and I’ve never lost confidence.

What is the biggest business mistake he ever made and what happened?”  

“I made an an enormous mistake - when American Medical was being taken over, our defense — which wasn’t a very good one now that I think about it — was that we were in the same industry (for profit hospitals) and it would have created an anti trust situation.  It was bad advice. What I should have done is put together a money group and be prepared if the anti trust defense failed, we should have made an offer to buy them. But I wasn’t experienced enough, and I believed the anti trust defense would have prevailed. As I look back, it was a poor decision. As a result, I lost the company.”

How did you build an environment that ranks among the 100 Best Places to work? 

“I believe that if you are going to work hard you have to like where you work.  I wanted a place where people wanted to come to work.  I really care about them.  I put special lights in the parking lot in the parking lot so that it is bright. We have a gym.  We have Christmas parties and summer picnics.  We created a place where people can progress.  You need a place where smart people can move up.  I didn’t want to

create a bureaucratic system.”

What type of people do you look to hire? 

“Smart, passionate, hard working, honest and with a record of success.  Past is a good predictor so I look at track records.”

  How did you manage to avoid micro-managing your business? 

“I am not a detailed person.  My degree was in marketing.  I am not an engineer.  They are into minutiae.  Overall, I am a big picture guy.  I am a generalist.”

What is the hardest part of being in two highly regulated industries health care and being a public company? 

“You have to put up with a lot of regulations to make sure that patients aren’t hurt, harmed or defrauded.  We do it the right way.  They make laws for the bad guys.”

Are there differences in style between today’s corporate leadership and leaders when you started your company? 

“I never paid much attention to CEO styles, but have through meetings and books observed strategies. What is different is the tenure of CEO’s is not as long as it used to be.  The job has become demanding.  You are spending less time with family because of travel. 

Why do you think you are successful? 

“I have been able to attract good people and listen to them.  I am intelligent, but not arrogant.  I don’t think I know everything.  I can make the final decision and I make them by listening to smart people telling me their different points of view.  You have to hire smart people whose opinions you respect.  We all make mistakes and hopefully you make less mistakes than good ones.  I am sports oriented and so I work more like a head coach.  I throw out the balls and keep the order, which is what Jim Lee Howell the old coach of the Giants in the 1950s used to say when having Tom Laundry and Vince Lombardi as his assistant coaches.”

Are there any business books you would recommend? 

“I have read a ton of books.  I  recommend  “Wooden on Leadership,” by John Wooden, the former coach of UCLA.   “Lessons from the Top,” by Thomas Neff, James Critin and Paul Brown.  I recommend reading plenty of biographies.”

If there is one piece of advice you would give an aspiring executive leader what would that be? 

“Work hard. Out work the other guy.”

Peter Thorwarth runs a business with thousands of employees nationwide out of his home in Phoenixville, Pa.  He is the founder and President of BMA Mystery Shopping, a nationwide service that he founded in 1991.  His clients include American Express, Circuit City, Corning, Mazda, Reebok, Sherwin-Williams, Skechers, and Slim-Fast.  Peter was born on Andrews Air Force in 1954 and raised outside of Philadelphia.   He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown CT. 

Peter teaches about mystery shopping for Temple University.  The following is an interview with Mr. Thorwarth on what lead him to become a leader in a business that few people know much about, but many want to be a part of because of the perks.

 What jobs did you have as a kid?   

“Camp counselor, rock band,”

 What did you go to college for?   

“Psychology.”

 What jobs did you have prior to starting your own business?   

I sold hardware, furniture and then radio advertising for KISS-100 and WFLN.

 Was your father or mother a business owner?  

“Father was a Radiologist at Chestnut Hill Hospital; Mother was homemaker.”

 What was your first entrepreneurial venture?   

“Mail order service for songwriters.”

Why did you start a mystery shopping business?  

“Because it benefits all parties so well – customers get better service and businesses improve their bottom line because customers are coming back and spreading positive word-of-mouth.  It also brings “fresh eyes” to view a business that often no longer sees its weaknesses, thereby giving the client a way to correct problems which may be turning customers off.  According to the University of Rochester, a customer who has a good experience will tell four people; a customer who has a bad experience will tell 11.”

How much money did it take to start your business? 

“$3,000”

Did you require outside investors? 

No

What are the common misunderstandings about mystery shopping?

1)      Doing it infrequently has little value.  It should be done at least quarterly.  Businesses should make it a standard part of their budget – it will always pay for itself.  Remember- It costs 4 times as much to get a new customer as it costs to get a new customer.

2)      Results from a subset of locations cannot be extrapolated – it is necessary to do them all.  What happens at one store has no bearing on what happens at another store in the same chain, even one that is nearby.

3)      Clients must take the second step, i.e. do things that will improve areas that were found lacking. Now that BMA has identified the shortcomings, train, communicate and reward in order to improve those aspects.

4)      Shoppers are not trying to make anyone look bad – they are just objectively reporting what does and does not happen.

5)      Shoppers rarely buy and keep things.  They either buy and return or come close to buying and then say “Let me think it over.”  It is mystery shopping, not mystery buying.

6)      Mystery shopping is very rarely a part time job and almost never a full time job for the shoppers themselves.  It is occasion, but interesting work.  Shoppers are paid as independent contractors and can work for as many companies as they choose.

7)      Important - Any advertising for mystery shoppers, whether online, in print, or on the radio, should not be trusted.  Instead of paying you to mystery shop, they want to sell you a list of mystery shoppers or inform about mystery shopping.  You can get both for free online at websites like Mysteryshop.org, Volition.com and BMA’s own website mystery-shopping.com

  How many shoppers do you have?  

“Over 400,000 total.  Over 70,000 with recently-confirmed email addresses.”

 What do you like most?   

“The variety – what we do for each client is unique.  The insight into corporate strategy - clients shows us what their concerns are and sometimes what their plans for the future are.”

Why do companies use mystery shoppers?

“Retailers, banks, restaurants, manufacturers. The applications are literally too may reason to list.  However most often it is to objectively and with great detail measure customer service compared with corporate expectations.  Other popular applications include price, signage and/or compliance audits, and incentive shops (salespeople are rewarded for doing what our client hopes).”

What does it take to be a good mystery shopper? 

“The best ones are dependable, think on their feet, and read the forms and guidelines carefully.”

What is the most difficult part of the business? 

“Clients who haven’t given sufficient thought to what their goals are and what is realistic.  Example: Talbots wanted us to have our mystery shoppers spend $300 in each of their 100+ stores so they could see if they were offered the Talbots charge card application.  When I asked, “Where  is this money going to come from?” they clearly hadn’t given it a thought.  Reebok gave us a list of stores that included stores that hadn’t been built yet and Macy’s (which no longer carried their shoes).”

How difficult is it to run a virtual business? 

“Not at all difficult for me.  It is very well suited to this industry.”

What does it take to be a success in business? 

“Dedication to understanding and then meeting and exceeding client’s needs.”

Why do people fail outside of under capitalization? 

“A lack of experience.  There is a very significant learning curve, because there are so many types of mystery shopping and so many ways that projects can go wrong.”

How important is it to have a competitive advantage? 

“It’s significant, but it’s more important to be dedicated and innovative.”

 How did you deal with the fear of going out on your own?   

“I enjoyed it and have other entrepreneurial concepts to explore.”

Have you ever gone through a down cycle where nothing seems to be working and if so how did you get yourself out of it? 

“This is a feast or famine business.  But I’ve learned time and again that new business (and returning customers) will come to us, because BMA has developed an excellent reputation nationwide over these last 15+ years.”

What business magazines do you read? 

 “I get most news from the Internet and most business news from NPR’s Marketplace programs.” 

What business books would you recommend reading?

“Guerilla Marketing by Jay Levinson.”

If there is one piece of advice you would give an entrepreneur what would it be? 

“Avoid fixed expenses and structure your business around variable expenses.”

The following is an interview with one of the region’s most accomplished CEO’s, Nicholas DeBenedictis Chairman/CEO of Aqua America, formerly Philadelphia Suburban Corporation.  Mr. DeBenedictis talks about working his way up from paper boy to state cabinet secretary to leader of one of the country’s largest water companies. DeBenedictis received a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drexel University in 1968, and a Master’s degree in environmental engineering and science from Drexel in 1969. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers between 1970 and 1973 serving in the rank of Captain.What was your first paying job as a teenager? 

“I was a paper boy for the Philadelphia Bulletin, who substituted for the guys who couldn’t deliver a route.”

 What was your first paying job out of college? 

“It was in college.  My father had an insurance appraisal business and he died and I took that over.  I sold it when I went into the Army right after I graduated.”

 What did your parents do? 

“My dad was in the insurance appraisal business.  My mother was a book keeper before I was born.”

 What did you learn from the military? 

“I was a captain in the military.  I spent three years in full-time and then I was in the reserved.  I learned disciplined.  How big organizations worked, patience, how to dum down information and when it is time to excel then you excel.  It prepared me well for future government jobs.”

 Why did you go into the business world? 

“As an engineer I was always in government jobs that focused on infrastructure.  I found that working in government is the business world.  We had goals and objectives.  We were rewarded for spending our budget.”

 Why did you learn from your government service? 

“I was managing public policy and politics.  I had handed congressional relationships.  I understood how politics worked.  I learned how to handle complex public problems such as nuclear reactors shutting down, SEPTA strikes, Amtak going bankrupt, bridge repair problems and coal mining and nuclear generation.  

“You learn in the government how to take care of problems so they don’t end up in your bosses lap.  What I learned from former Governor Dick Thornburg is to give the big picture stuff so I know the people working for me are doing it the right way.  I learned to ask about the salient issues.

 What did you learn from having multiple offices in different geographies? “I learned is to control centrally important departments such a human resources and public relations and you make sure you only have one lawyer handling legal issues.  You can have satellite offices, but they have to report to one group.  You don’t let local people make decisions on budget.  That has to be controlled centrally.”What did you learn from running one of the world’s largest chambers of commerce? 

“I learned that the door didn’t open Monday because you are a good guy.  You had to be good at raising money.  No one realizes that it is an entrepreneurial job.  That was the first job, other than my father’s business, that revenue was so important.  The second thing I learned was the dynamics of the small business and the affect it had on the economy.  I was used to working with large companies. 

“The transition from family owned businesses to hired gun professionally run organizations and a mix of small to medium size companies.  Small businesses were paying for networking, help with HR problems, health insurance and that is how we grew the chamber membership. 

“That changed the hustle factor because we had to be very aggressive.  We also had to protect the small businesses.  I had an appreciation for the value of small business.”

  How do you keep a regulated company growing so share holders remain happy? 

“As a regulated company you make sure your constituents are happy.  In order to do that you have to be a good at managing infrastructures and assets.  I am in a very capital intensive business.  We have a sticky business.  We haven’t lost a customer in 120 years. 

“We make sure our customers are happy, so we can get a fair increase.  Shareholders are happy if you can tie in your capital outlay as you grow your business. Our goal is to invest in assets in a timely business and provide excellent service for a fair price.”

 What is the hardest part of being CEO of a public company? 

“Government regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley and the institutional investor activity today! The pension funds and mutual funds are 80% owners of the company . These groups have become activist and they try to second guess the board even thought they haven’t spent time understanding the company.  There is more time spent on form than substance.  You have to make sure everyone is spending time making sure the process is right.”

 What is the best part of being CEO? 

“I think the fact that you can make the difference and grow a company.  I like being a regional advocate and growing a national company.

 What is the worst part of being CEO? 

“The constant quarterly hour-glass and explaining things to institutional investors!  There is a lot of time spent on quarterly statements, especially an infrastructure company.”

 Did you have a mentor and if so what did you learn from them? 

“My father and the second mentor was my older brother a small business person.  From working with my brother I learned about having to collect money and making sure people didn’t beat you out of money.  I learned a lot from former Governor Dick Thornburg, who was originally an engineer before becoming a lawyer about how to run a big organization.

“I learned about how to run a regulated business from Joe Paquette, who was the CEO of PECO when I was there.  I learned a lot from Walt Delessio, who probably had a greater impact on Philadelphia than anyone.  He mentored many of the leading CEO’s of the region.  He taught me how to think strategically.”

 What should a leader look for when recruiting board members?   

“Diversity!  I mean diversity of thought processes.  There is no such thing as a country club board anymore.  You can’t pick your friends anymore.  You need people with various experiences.  We have people who come from banking, government, energy and education.”

 What should they expect from board members? 

“Time commitment!  You don’t want people looking at their watch.  They are responsible for the company.  You want loyalty and patience for the company.  I don’t want a board member who doesn’t have a long term view.  We don’t have, because of the investment we made in infrastructure, have a plan to just flip the company.”

 What is the biggest mistake you have ever made as an executive and how did you get past it? 

“Everybody has made bad personnel selections.  The most important to hire the right people because it is hard to fire.  I overrated some people.  It is hard because they are top people and you become friendly with them and it hard when you have to get rid of them.”

 What does it take to be a leader? 

“You have to have confidence you are doing the right thing.  To be a good leader you have to focus on facts and not emotion.  Statistics not gut.  You have to measure how good you are doing.  You can’t measure everything by EBITA.  There are investments that you will make that will take time to payoff.”

      How important is talent? 

“In a business that is so traditional like ours it isn’t so important such as a software company.  Naturally we try to hire intelligent people.  But hiring hard working people who understand engineering, and customer service is important.  We need 10 B-plus information systems people that churn it out solutions to problems and get along with their colleagues.”

 What is the profile of the type of people you look to put into executive positions? 

“Hard workers!  I value people who put the time in.  If you look at the Bell curve only 5% are super intelligent.  We look for people with good education and former work experience.”

 How have you managed to balance family life with your career? 

“I have a good wife.  You need to marry somebody who understands it.  Your kids need to understand.  People think if you are in government that it is easy, but if you are entrepreneurial then you are going to put in a lot of hours.”

 What books would you recommend an aspiring CEO read? 

“7 Habbits of Highly Successful People” by Stephen Covey.”

 If there is one piece of advice you would give an aspiring executive what would that be? 

“To try to have a five year plan because you have to be planning!.  Realize the world changes so quick that you have to change instantaneously.  If I had not met the General of the Army and hadn’t taken an extra year with the military I wouldn’t have had a water resource background.  If at EPA and hadn’t learned about public policy I wouldn’t have been exposed to people like Governor Dick Thornburg and had served as a cabinet member.  One thing lead to another and that is how life works.”

 A native of Chicago, he earned his bachelor of arts degree from Northwestern University and his master’s degree in business administration from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. Conant is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), Chairman and Trustee of The Conference Board, Chairman of the Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Processors of America (GMA/FPA), and a Trustee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. What was your first paying job as a teenager? 

“I had a paper route in the cold winters north of Chicago.”

 What was your first paying job out of college? 

“I was a teaching tennis pro at a variety of places in the Chicago, New York and Massachusetts areas.”

 What did your parents do? 

“My father came back from World War II and everyone was talking about plastics, so he started a plastics packaging company.  He was an entrepreneur.  My mother was a homemaker and active in the community.”

 Why did you go into the business world? 

“I couldn’t make money in tennis.  The other reason I found business to be very intriguing.  I liked working with people to deal with challenging situations and business creates that kind of opportunity every day.”

 Why did you go into the food industry? 

“Because my specific area of focus out of graduate school was marketing and brand management and the consumer products industry was the most developed industry for brand management.  It was more about the discipline than the product.  I liked it because everyone understood what I was working on.  Even my mother and grandmother could understand what I was doing.”

 How do you keep a global brand relevant? 

“You have to be deeply in touch with the consumer in every geography you can be in.  You have to be willing to evolve your proposition.  You have to either grow it or it dies.  It is very Darwinian.  We choose growth because it beats the alternative.  Although our condensed soup business is over 112 years we are constantly improving it and keep it relevant.”

 What is the hardest part of being CEO of a public company? 

“Meeting the needs of multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously in a timely way.   You have customers, shareholders and employees.  You have to find a path that meets their needs and that is a challenge.”

    What is the best part of being CEO? 

“The sense of accomplishment when you do hit stride and meet the needs of all of your stakeholder groups.  When you hit stride it is a great feeling.”

 What is the worst part of being CEO? 

“When you don’t hit stride!  When you have to make right the decisions for the long term, but compromise your short term performance.  You have to do the right thing for the long term.  Along with that is all of the second guessing you have to deal with.”

 Did you have a mentor and if so what did you learn from them? 

“I had many mentors.  I don’t believe in one stop mentoring.  I believe there are people good at mentoring me at certain levels of their work life and some outside my work life.  One of the my best mentors was Neil McKenna, who was my outplacement coach when I was fired from Parker Brothers Toys and Games.  The company was acquired and my job was eliminated.  You are most vulnerable and impressionable when you are fired.  Neil provided an enormous amount of support for me about what I need to do and where I needed to go.”

 What is the biggest mistake you have ever made as an executive and how did you get past it? 

“I have made lots of hiring mistakes.  Then I don’t manage them very well.  I have trouble letting someone go if I made a personal commitment to them or moving them to a place they can contribute more.  I do it and I have learned to deal with these things head on, but it has taken me years to do this.  I have made many business mistakes, but I do correct the mistakes quickly.  I used to try to rationalize why I did what I did.  You need to acknowledge your mistakes, rectify them and move on.  I have also learned to trust your instincts.  Sometimes you want to wait for more information, but you know what you should do, which is trust your instincts.”

 What does it take to be a leader? 

“I think there are six things to be a leader that they have to:

• Inspire trust
• Create direction
• Drive organization alignment
• Build organization vitality and that is giving the group the energy to do what they need to do.
• Manage the execution with excellence
• Produce extraordinary results, which allow you to inspire trust

We call them six expectations.  At Campbell we three values, which are:

• Character-you have to be a high character person to lead.
• Competence-you have to know what you are doing.
• Team work-you have to be at your best with others.  We are a team environment.  You have to get energy from the team.

I have found those two combinations to create a great frame work for people to know what is expected of them as leaders.  If you were learning externally to mirror what we do at Campbells is Jim Collins Level Five Model in the book “Good to Great.” 

 How important is talent? 

“You can’t win with out talent.  When I got here we didn’t have the talent.  It’s all about talent management.  Leading and managing people is the single most important thing you do.”

 Did playing tennis have an impact on how you looked at business? 

“No!  It has impact on how I perform under pressure and I perform best under pressure.  In tennis you are out there on your own.  I can bring equanimity to high pressure situations.”

 What is the profile of the type of people you look to put into executive positions? 

“The people have those core values I mentioned.  If they showed great character, great functional competence and ability to thrive in a team environment they can be successful at Campbells. Those are the core values.”

 How have you managed to balance family life with your career? 

“It has worked just fine.  I advocate to every executive that you need to sort through what is important to you as a person and have your life organized in a way to devote your time to what matters most.  I write down what is important to me.  I write down my own mission statement and I revisit every month.  I ask myself if I am connected to my own mission statement.  It is something you have to work at, especially as a CEO.  You have to have your rudder in the water or you will be lost at sea.  That includes my family, faith, business environment, community and personal well being.  I look at those five territories and I ask myself how I am feeling about dealing with each of those areas.  I know if I am meeting each area I am operating at peak performance, if I am not then I have to double my efforts to get back on track.”

      What books would you recommend an aspiring CEO read? 

“I think reading is an important habit to cultivate as a leader.  The wisdom literature available is unbelievable.  Everything has been dealt with thousand times before.  If you are interested in leadership then you should study leadership.  The two foundational books I would recommend are “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey and “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.  I like “True North,” by Bill George, former chairman/CEO of Medtronic.”

 If there is one piece of advice you would give an aspiring executive what would that be? 

“View your leadership journey as a craft!  You will spend more hours doing and thinking about your leadership journey than anything else in your life, including your family.  I treat it like a craft and treat it like sacred ground.  You have to be student of the craft.  You have to devote yourself to it.  You have to take personal ownership of your leadership journey.  There are 10 two letter words it is “if it is to be, it is up to me.  One can’t expect it to come from somewhere else; it has to come from within from the person who aspires to be the leader.  You will be successful and it will be deeply meaningful.  If you embrace it with that kind of language it will take you to different place with meaning and fulfillment.  You have to be prepared to get lucky and you have to seize the moment.”

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