HAT ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT ENTREPRENEURSHIP HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
I want to thank the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame for this Lifetime Achievement honor. I’m flattered and I don’t really deserve it – YET - since I’m far from finished ( I hear my team groaning at that prospect ), but then I have some arthritis in my shoulder from my early pitching and tennis careers and I don’t deserve that either …. so I guess things eventually even out.
I’m going to start (as all good entrepreneurs should) by stealing a really good idea. It’s from Meryl Streep at the Oscars who figured out that, by the time you usually get around to thanking your family, the producers are already getting out the hook, turning off your mic and playing the music to drown you out.
So I want to begin by thanking my long-suffering and loving wife Judy who has been through more than 30 years of this journey with me and ever and always by my side and watching my back. Home is probably the only place where an entrepreneur gets to be totally honest – sharing all the rush and excitement of the process, but also sharing all the fears, disappointments and neurotic behaviors which are other parts of the deal – and it’s never easy on the people you live with. No one’s a hero at home. But I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have accomplished a fraction of what I have or been here today without her love, support and – yes – even occasional advice. And I’m also proud to report that some of Dad’s crazy work ethic, attention to detail, insistence on excellence and general enthusiasm has even been passed on to my two daughters as well.
Now, of course, Judy’s position on these matters would be slightly less grand than mine. She would say that I’m a big baby and that I cry at the movies. All true I must admit. But just because the movies are cheap popular entertainment and tug shamelessly at our heartstrings doesn’t mean that the emotions invoked by certain films are misplaced or not meaningful - especially to entrepreneurs. As an example, if you get a chance to see the new film Act of Valor and don’t come away at least sniffling, then you’re not a real entrepreneur at heart.
That’s because any good entrepreneur knows that doing anything important requires just as much skill, sacrifice and compassion as it does talent and hard work. And what great entrepreneurs really recognize, appreciate and, most importantly, respect is seeing true professionals exhibiting exceptional craft in any field. Sure there’s always a twinge of competition and jealousy, but there’s also an amazing sense of shared joy and pride when entrepreneurs see someone else doing an amazing job and hitting it out of the park.
And today, no one works harder or makes greater or more meaningful sacrifices than the men and women in our armed forces. Some of the things I’m proudest about at Tribeca Flashpoint are the work we (and our students do) for the USO and for charities providing services for our returning vets as well as the fact that some of our best and most serious students are veterans themselves. Pride and passion are contagious.
In addition, I actually think that we’re seeing spectacular and continuing evidence of a new pride of place here in Chicago with our new Energizer Bunny of a mayor. The whole city feels like it’s starting over and many of the same kinds of feelings, energy, excitement and emotion are present which have come to define the entrepreneurial process of disruptive change. And, of course, it all starts with start-ups. That’s where the new job growth is always created – not in small businesses, but in new businesses. At TFA, we certainly support the idea that Chicago is the place where digital start-ups get their start.
And before I go on, I do want to thank all of the members of the team at Tribeca Flashpoint (past and present) who are here tonight (and those who are not here, but hopefully still at work) for everything that they have done to help create one of the institutions that I’m proudest of - who work their butts off every day making a difference in the lives and futures of thousands of students - and who do it with a relentless passion, commitment and enthusiasm which every other college in the country wishes it could approximate and which virtually none of them will ever approach because they really don’t know the secret.
And what’s the secret – apart from great talented and dedicated people? It’s that education is NOT about filling some empty vessel with knowledge; it’s about igniting a passion for learning. And no one does that better than Flashpoint. And let me just add that if there’s anything more exciting, more rewarding and more critical than trying to build new models of education that will actually help prepare our kids for the globally competitive world that they are entering, I don’t know what it is.
Alas I digress. It’s hard, as you may already know, to keep me from talking about the Academy. In any case, when I was looking back over the last 55 years (since I started my first business) and trying to figure out what would make the most sense to talk about tonight, I promised myself that I would try to avoid the usual business magazine advice and clichés – although I have learned that there’s a reason things become clichés - and that’s because they are usually true. It is in fact “teamwork that makes the dream work” and it’s also true that the “rest of your life can actually be the best of your life” if you make it happen.
But tonight I want to talk about some different ideas, lessons I’ve painfully learned, and reflections which I hope will be of use and value to you as you go forward to build and grow your own businesses.
First, you will discover that (except for your grandmother) the people from whom you really learned things of value (good or bad) were not warm and fuzzy folks. They were sharp, hard-edged, driven people with a clear sense of purpose who were always asking more of you. And the real reason that those times were so instructive was that, in the midst of all of the blood, sweat and tears, and occasional screaming, you never doubted for a moment that they believed in you and that you were up to the task and could do whatever it took to get it done AND that they would be there working and standing right beside you when you did. People today don’t commit to institutions (if they ever really did), they commit to other people. It’s nice to be liked; it’s more important to be respected. Try to be one of those people.
Second, most of the world’s great art, films, games and music – as well as most of the great inventions throughout history – were ultimately the result and expression of a single, uncompromising vision - albeit managed, massaged, and manipulated through a sea of change, confusion and compromise. Consensus is about finding the middle ground and making people feel good about themselves and each other. Teamwork is about getting the help you need to see your vision through to completion. But these tools and approaches will only take you so far. In this life, you’ll each have a chance, a moment, an opportunity to make something special and spectacular and to make a difference – if you have the courage of your convictions, the confidence in your abilities, and if you’re willing to make and stick to the hard choices that will inevitably arise. Don’t miss the train – it won’t wait for you.
Third, get your priorities right right at the start. If you want to be an entrepreneur, get to the back of the line. The company (and its investors) comes first. The customers come second. The employees come next. And you come last. Get used to it. In more than 50 years, I’m proud to say that I never once put my personal desires, goals or even my financial interests ahead of those of my partners, investors, customers or employees. If anything, I’ve done just the opposite. I’ve done it all – lent risky money to employees and customers and even other entrepreneurs; co-signed home mortgages; helped with education and medical expenses; and subsidized people’s salaries when the various businesses couldn’t afford to do so. And I’d do it again in a minute. It just comes with the territory when you believe in what you doing and in the people that you’re doing it with.
Fourth, plan on biting your tongue and eating lots of humble pie. At least it’s not fattening. There are plenty of people who think I’m outspoken, demanding, hard to say “no” to, etc. and they’re not wrong, but they don’t know the half of it. In this life, especially when you make a business of being in the business of using other people’s money (which entrepreneurs almost always eventually do), you learn to hold your tongue and suck it up and to eat LOTS of crow. I love to hear about all these successful guys (as they used to say about my friend Steve Jobs) who don’t suffer fools gladly. That’s all well and good - especially for billionaires at the top of their game – but it’s just a formula for failure for the rest of us. Part of the curse of being an entrepreneur (and one of the best ads I ever wrote for TFA) said: “I’ve spent way too much time explaining my talents to people who have none”. The truth is that’s just another part of the job.
Fifth, nothing is more important than making room for people. All kinds of people – because talent comes in lots of different sizes, shapes and packages. We want the talent, but we aren’t always willing to understand that it’s a package deal. Some work all night; some don’t bath; some are insufferable and brilliant at the same time. You need to make room for these people and run interference for them if you want to build a great company. Too often, entrepreneurs try to find and hire people that look, act and talk like themselves and this never works beyond the first few employees. You need all kinds of people – even people just looking for a job – not a career and not looking to join your sacred crusade – just as long as they’re willing to do their job and do it as well as they can. And honestly, your employees also don’t have to love each other or go bowling every Thursday night. They just all need to show up and each do their jobs. Everything else is Kumbaya and gravy.
But the best part of having a terrific group of employees is when they leave the nest and go on to do great things themselves. I’ve had thousands of employees over the years and I couldn’t be prouder of how so many of them have turned out and how many are now leading companies all over the city and the country.
Lastly, I love sugar as much as the next guy (probably much more) and I have nothing against cupcake companies per se, but how about if we all hunker down and try to build some real businesses which will matter in the long run and which can help make a concrete difference in people’s lives. Education, energy, and health care – these sectors of the economy will all be disrupted and radically changed in our lifetimes – and these are also the areas that provide the greatest prospects for doing good while you’re doing well. It could just be me, but I’d rather have better batteries and cleaner cars than bacon or more butter in my candy bars.
H.A.T.
3-15-2012