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Warren Buffet is the one of the richest person in the world. Many people are fascinated by the secret of his success. This book leverages that hype, and targets not the usual audience of investors, but instead entrepreneurs.
To people outside Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and California, R.C. Willey doesn’t really “ring a bell.” However within those states, this home appliance/furniture retail giant has created quite a loyal following bordering fanatical, making it one of the jewels in the Conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, chaired by Warren Buffet.
The book can be divided into 3 parts. The introduction takes narrative approach and details the background of the company which got the name from its founder. However it was after R.C. Willey’s death that Bill Child, the son-in-law, took over and really launched it on the path towards prosperity.
The body of the book contains chapters that read like case studies on business success. Even though the industry is retail, the lessons transcend well and are very relevant to anyone who wish to start their own business.
They include:
- Don’t give up
- Relationship Matters
- Be Frugal
- Involve your family if possible in the business
- Stick to principles
- Plan for the long term
Specifically in chapter 10, Bill lists some of the rules of his success:
- Treat every customer the way you wan to be treated
- Little things make all the difference
- Be honest
- Do the right thing
- Don’t follow the herd
- Hire the right personnel
- Treat employees like family
Towards the end, we finally get the story of how R.C. Willey was sold to Berkshire Hathaway. And more interestingly the chemistry and friendship that eventually emerged between Bill Child and Warren Buffet.
The readers get a good description of Warren’s affable personality and style of management based on integrity, humor and common sense. However the real star of the book is Bill Child, whom we get to see maturing from a prospective teacher, to a struggling entrepreneur, to the CEO of a major corporation.
Admirably even after selling his corporation, Bill still exhibited an insatiable hunger to improve his company, and took enormous personal financial risks that paid off huge.
As mentioned earlier, the book can be read on several different levels. 1) As an inspiring account of a man’s struggle to achieve the American dream through hard work, innovation, and the ability to fulfill the needs of others. 2) A series of business case studies for other entrepreneurs, or 3) for investors who wish identify similar gems.
Other valuable aspects of the books dealt not with success, but failures of competitors. I wish that the author had expended on those stories instead of offering succinct explanations.
The book is commissioned by John Child, who really only wrote the Afterward section, where he outlined another 13 philosophies on management. Some of them are redundant and overlaps his 7 rules of success.
Overall at 168 pages and medium page size, I finished the book within several hours, and really enjoyed it. If you have your own business, or think about starting one, I’d highly recommend this book.
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Marketers and salespeople are taught very early in their careers to “sell the sizzle, not the steak.” Why would they do that? The idea is to involve the senses and imagination of the customers, and get them excited and easier to part with their hard earn money. You can find examples in almost very luxury brand.
But as a buyer, I want the freakin steak! Sure it’d be nice to have the sizzle as well. But if I’m paying for it, I want something substantial, not some hype or glamorization that will soon vanish after purchase.
Unfortunately most people don’t really look for the value. Instead they will get what makes them feel better, and often pay a premium. With the economy downturn, that spendthrift tenacity has moderated.
The same is true in many area of life. The things that we buy, wear, live, drive. We’re trying to show off to the world that we’re special and deserving.
It’s also brain versus heart. The heart is emotional and buys things based gut feelings. The brain is analytical, and trying to weight the pros and cons.
So if you want to make sure that you get the steak, ask the following questions when making a purchase:
- Do I really need this? Needs and wants are often confused. Need is the steak. Want is the sizzle.
- Am I buying this because it will make me feel better? Not to minimize this emotion, but depression shouldn’t be mitigated by spending money! Go out exercise, socialize, and get the energy flowing.
- Who’s putting the thought there? We like to pride ourselves as independent thinkers. But some desires are actually planted by clever marketers.
A basic rule of getting the steak is to look for quality and value. Quality is doing something that it’s suppose to do, ideally for a long time without maintenance. Value is getting more for less. The sizzle is reverse, or getting less for more. It’s a game that companies, governments, and people play with your perception. That’s why you have to be consciously aware of it. Don’t get suckered by the images. They’re illusion that fade away. Or to borrow a Star War reference, they’re “Jedi Mind Tricks.”
Some more tricks that marketers use to sell the sizzle is by stressing factors like:
- Sexiness. Sex sells. It’s almost a timeless statement. But by focusing on a product’s qualities like youthfulness, attractiveness, and vitality are powerful motivators to cause people buy things.
- Health. People cares about their health which directly relates to their quality and length of the life.
- Prestige. Most people are social creatures and care vastly how others perceive them. Status symbols tell others without words of our supposed status in life. People who wish to set themselves apart are keenly aware of these items.
All these factors are shortcuts that bypass our rationality, and instead to get us to automatically pay more. Be vigilant and buy things only on your terms.
As a seller it makes sense to focus on the sizzle. But as a buyer, get the biggest, juiciest steak for the least amount of money.
In this early 90s commercial, Andre Agassi, a famous tennis player once said, “Image is Everything.” He was a celebrity that seem to care more about partying & his hair, instead of his game. Looking back, it’s easy to laugh at the corniness.
But the reality is that in many competitive arena today, such as sports, politics, and business, people still cultivate carefully manicured images through words, wardrobe, & possessions. The aim is to create favorable impressions from others. But is it authentic? The answer for many unfortunately is no. Now I’m not saying that people should be slobs. I applaud people for taking care of their looks. But I am saying that often times the exterior image puts up a wall that prevents us from truly connect with others. It places more importance on how other people might perceive us, instead of how we really are with flaws, and all. So show some your vulnerabilities. The risk might not be as bad as you think. While the reward might outweigh whatever flashy image might help you attain.
Agassi eventually did become a lot more authentic. He shaved his head, and focused more on his game, and married the second time a woman who care more about him, instead his fame. He ended up winning many more times, both on and off the court. Read more about his fascinating story here.
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A lot of people are using antibacterial hand sanitizers, wipes, and soaps to prevent sickness like the swine flu. But in the long run, they do more harm than good. Sure the sanitizer might kill much of the germs. But the survivors will eventually become even more deadlier and harder to kill. Here’s a recent FDA warning on one of the products:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm164845.htm
I saw this first hand with a banker recently who had not 1, but 2 different brand of sanitizers on her desk! She supposedly use them several times per day. You’d think she’d the healthiest person in her office. But when I revisited a week later, her nose was running like the Niagara Fall, and her voice made her sound like a dude…
These bacteria killing products are marketed as silver bullets. But whatever happened to just washing hands frequently with regular soap, and avoid unnecessary touching the eyes, mouth and nose with your hands? Do that, and we’ll be much healthier, spread less sickness, and avoid creating killer super germs!
Changes are inevitable. They’re a natural part of life. We can either initiate man
y of the changes, or let them happen to us. Or to put it more bluntly, either be the steamroller, or the pavement.
Making positive changes require good planning & then taking action. The former means think things through. Define goals & objectives, them write a series of step to accomplish them. Then it’s time to take action, hopefully without procrastination. Like that old saying, “Journey of a thousand miles start with a single step.”
So start today, and identify the changes that you want in your own life.
After abandoning the habit almost a year ago, I am once again writing my goals each morning. The format consists of 10 things that I want to accomplish in my life, and 10 this year. The two categories help me to better maintain both a long term, and a short term perspective.
It’s a valuable mental exercise that helps me stay focused if I ever become distracted by meaningless activities. Earl Nightingale, a prominent expert on success & self-improvement once said that “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal." There are a lot of things that I want to accomplish by design, instead of chance. Guess I’d better hustle.
At the risk of sounding morbid and stating the obvious, all of us will die one day. But assuming there’s no apocalyptical event that wipes out humanity, or more accurately its technology, then the digital records of ourselves will essentially last forever.
This has huge implications. In the past only a miniscule number of people gets remembered by history, while hundreds of billions lived, died, and were forgotten.
But in the future, people can form a much clearer and sharper impressions of us through our photos, videos, and writings. Social networking sites such as Facebook makes this archive especially easy. We slowly accumulate a digital record of our lives that will be here forever… How will we be judged? Tragically wasted, or full of life? And are we recording our real selves, or merely a carefully crafted image presented to the outside world?
Pictures and videos are great for immortalizing our appearances & actions. But what about our thoughts? Unless we take the time to write them down. No one will truly know who we really are.
So start writing. And imagine yourself as a recorder of history. Because in a very real sense, you are.
Life is full of distractions that prevent us to do really meaningful things. The distractions are usually entertaining, enjoyable and easy, whereas the meaningful things usually take a long stretch of uninterrupted time. But the latter has the most impact on our future. I made this observation about my own life, and realized that I needed to cut back on certain activities, such as playing games, watching movies, and dancing. I will still do them occasionally to relax, but only after the more important things in my life are taken care of, such as family, relationships, and health.
I will audit my time more frequently to ensure that I’m on track.
Consideration for other people’s feelings and perspective is an hallmark of empathy. The lack of which often piss people off. In my early 20s, I gave a speech in front of my Toastmasters group about how our society seems to place importance on youth, and how people would go to great length to hide signs of aging, like dying their hair. Coincidentally there was a woman in her 50’s with jet black hair. I remembered vividly seeing her facing muscle twitched as I mention that point. She probably thought that I was singling her out. Even though it was just a matter of not thinking before speaking. Afterwards in the parking lot, she seemed livid and was complaining to another attendee. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But thinking about it now, she probably hated the sight of me afterwards.
These days I make an effort not to offend people needlessly. Now sometimes there are positions where I’m passionate about and I will take a stand. But even then I try to be diplomatic instead blunt. I don’t always succeed, but at least I make an effort. I think pissing people off needlessly is really stupid.
On the flip side, People have done or said stupid, rude, or insensitive stuff in front me. Most of the time I let it go like water off the the duck’s feather. I think sooner or later, Karma will catch up to them. I do however try to learn from the situations, and avoid doing the same when I’m with others. For examples, 1) Don’t walk away when someone’s talking with me. It’s just plain rude. 2) When taking pictures in social gathering, make an effort to get everybody. Otherwise when you leave someone out, especially consistently in multiple gatherings, it sends a message that you don’t think of them highly…
Had a great time attending a Karaoke party & then hiked Mt. Si with friends. This time I went all the way to the top! The view was incredible. Only drawback was that I didn’t make to Folklife as planned. Oh well still have memories from last year.