Well thank you Debbie.

This class from my point of view
is your clients not my class.

I want.

To try to make the time that
we spend together time that.

Is valuable to you and beneficial to you.

So.

I'm going to.

Probably ask you about as many
questions as you asked me and

I'm going to try to make
it as interactive as I can.

Debbie tell you a little bit about me.

And I guess you hand it out
of bio what you guys probably

quickly put in the trash can.

But just to give you a brief overview

be on some of the things that Debbie
said on the types of industries and

businesses that I've been
involved in over my career I.

While I was a student here at.

Tech.

In the late sixty's I worked part
time I at the CNS bank which is.

Bank of America now in the mail room.

So I used to open up all the mail
addressed to the bank and decide who.

Who got it and I also drove a truck
around picking up checks and bringing

them back down town for us to process and
get to the Federal Reserve Bank and

perhaps also the first hooker for
the bank.

Not in the colloquial sense
that you might think but

the the bank was pretty innovative
back in the sixty's in that

it bought two helicopters to
fly around to the different

outlying banks that were
affiliates of it and pick up.

It beats cash letters or checks all
the checks process during the day.

And that was a way to get
them back downtown and

to get to the Federal Reserve Bank
which is also in downtown Atlanta

bit by at seven o'clock deadline.

So you could pick up an extra
day of what's called float.

So if if you take several million
dollars and you get an extra day of

interest on it that can add a lot
of earnings and profit to your.

TO YOUR BOTTOM LINE.

So I flew around in
the helicopter I wasn't the pilot.

Thank God But I and
some of those branches would actually

put the cash letter in a canvas bag and
literally

run it up the flagpole when we had a pole
when the helicopter with a hook on it.

And rather than a landing which
took more time and more fuel.

A lot was strapped in.

The casual letter and bring it back in.

Anyway so that was kind of an interesting
experience we tell people one time that.

If you read somebody is mail for three
years you'll learn a lot about them so

I learned a lot about banking and

the banking industry just
by being in the mail room.

One of the things I hope
by impart to you today is

is that no matter what your job or

your role are your act but
there are things you can learn from it.

That will help you in life.

So don't tell you any thing
that you do cavalierly

don't take things not seriously
because everything you do and

every part of the new me and
I influence something in your life later.

If you every.

Every minute of every
day is an opportunity.

After graduating from tech I
went full time to work for

in the banking industry and
I had been accepted to graduate business

school as Debbie said at the University
of Virginia which is the Darden School

now we didn't have a fancy name
like that for back then but I and I

worked for a year and then went to
graduate school for for two years.

Then came back and and
spent the next ten years in

corporate banking lending money to
major companies in the southeast and

throughout the United States and
analyzing financial statements looking at

learning a lot about a lot of different
businesses and managing people then I

moved into the sporting goods
industry I became president and

are now owner of the largest sporting
goods distributor in the south and

some of us here basketball players in
here and some are baseball players and

we have any other teams represented
anybody who plays sports.

And we've got your track and

my son ran track here
on a track scholarship.

He ran with Antonio McKay in my car
murmur and a bunch of guys that

that held the records at Tech for
several years.

He happened to be part of it
with three other famous guys.

But on the way in
the sporting goods business

one of the companies we represented
was Ross a last leg who is a sponsor.

Of Georgia path Latics now.

And we developed a lot of firsts
that are related to Georgia Tech.

Some of those were developed before I got
involved some more after I got involved

in it you may not know but

the first tearaway Jersey sent I was you
probably too young to even know what

a terabyte Jersey is of any I've ever
heard of a tearaway football jersey.

Anyway back in the fifty's and sixty's.

Tearaway jerseys were developed and
patented.

And they were a cotton Jersey
that was treated with acid.

So that basically when a defensive player
tried to tackle somebody it would sure it.

So you just grab cloth and.

You know these teams were were changing
jerseys literally their running backs and

receivers just every off and supply.

They got outlawed in one
thousand nine hundred eighty one.

But Russell developed
airway jerseys Russia and

Georgia Tech was the first
school where them.

The first double net baseball uniforms or

Georgia Tech by Russell the first.

Hockey uniform that Russell ever made
was the Atlanta flying when they were

the hockey team here before that their
answers there in Calgary now the T.V.

numbers of the football players have
numbers up here on their shoulders or

on the side of their jerseys.

Bobby Dodd Georgia Tech and

Russell develop those that were
the first team with T.V. numbers.

First team with names on the back of
the football jerseys was Georgia tag.

Lots of innovations when Bobby Crimmins
was the basketball coach here.

He came to me we supplied
all the uniforms for

all the colleges and professional teams
in the south and most of the highest.

Ghouls and little leagues but
he had to buy

gold uniforms the athletic director
at that time was Dr Homer rice and

Dr Rice said Bobby you got to buy
a set a goal uniforms this year.

Well Bobby.

Had been the head basketball coach at
Appalachian State before Georgia Tech and

Appalachian State colors were
going to soar like White far and

and so I met with him and this plan don't

like any pretty girl because I have to but

I got formed the way develop a bunch
of Die lots fourteen die a lot of zero

zero zero zero zero zero

zero zero

zero zero.

The final for
that year was in Dallas and a writer for

The Dallas Morning News did a time thing.

During the season where he toured all over
the country during the basketball season

he went to Alaska for the shoot
Alaska shoot out you want to Maui for

in a wife for the Maui classic and
coach Crimmins I

remember I asked one of his players
how long does it take to drive there.

Which obviously can't drive to Hawaii but
that was Bobby but

he great guy a great coach anyway.

At the end of the season this
writer Bucky Sherrod in Dallas.

Did superlatives on all the places
he had been you know the best mascot

the best place to watch a game the best
most exciting crowd the best hot dog.

Whatever well that year he said that
the best looking uniforms were George

attacks and because they were shiny and

silky looking and he said if Liberace
played basketball this is what he would

wire which I don't know if that
was a compliment or not but

tech unfortunately didn't make
it to the final four that year.

There are right number one in
the as I said the preseason and

in the N.C.A.A. tournaments but
they got beat by L.A.S.U.

here in Atlanta at the Omni
which is now Philips Arena and

ended up going to the Final Four.

And Lou of all won that year and a little
of all had a recruit named Purvis Allison.

From Savannah who although I
was came to Georgia Tech but

Bobby signed Tom Hammonds who did and
made all American here and.

Those two guys weren't going
to go to the same school.

I'm sure.

Derek and Zach and I'm on and

other basketball players went through went
through some of those recruiting things to

where they chose one school
over another book which player.

Went to one school versus the other.

Anyway fun experience we also
developed the Dallas Cowboy numbers

and blue jerseys they were suspicious and

superstitions about wearing
blue jerseys because they lost.

Back then when they wore blue Dallas
always wore a white jerseys and

silver pants and so
they wanted a new shade of blue so

we did nine dialogue between Navy and
Royal Blue to come out with cowboy blue.

Just some interesting things there.

We sell that company to
Russell corporation.

In the late eighty's then I did investment
banking merger and acquisition of.

Middle market companies and licensing of
technology and intellectual property.

Then served on a number of
boards became an owner and

president C.E.O. of the largest
publisher real estate advertising

in the world network communications which
is headquartered in Lawrenceville there

are some of you here from Lawrence
will and we publish the real

estate book The Little digest sized
magazine that you see in newsstands and

in boxes on the side of
the story apartment finder

magazine unique omes magazine which
is a luxury homes sold at Barnes and

Noble and so forth and
we sell that company in two thousand and

two to a private equity
group out of Boston then

served on several other boards and
ran a company.

As C.E.O. and owner.

That built commercial signs for

the casino industry in
Mississippi which after Katrina.

So we we would build the large
neon signs and the L.E.D.

boards similar to the sign out in
front of TAC across from the virus.

By the dormitories over over there and
others that you see around town.

So when people ask me what I do for
a living at say that I cast frogs.

Look at business opportunities
decide which ones to invest in and

get involved in trying to grow from there.

But so that gives you a little
bit of background about kind of

some of the things I've done
since since graduating.

John Madden the football coach for

underwriters and long time and
F L broadcaster.

Said one time there are three kinds of
people those who make things happen

those who watch things happen and
those who say what happened.

You need to think about what
kind of person are you.

Are you later.

Are you.

Follow or
are you just count out there in a fog.

With no direction because all to
mentally all of you have the potential

to make things happen and
be a part of making things happen.

Oftentimes I get asked about
what the Georgia Tech education

provides for
you in terms of being successful and.

Just to give you a little testimonial
you know Georgia Tech teaches you to be

disciplined.

You can't succeed at
Georgia Tech without doing

your homework each day
going to class each day.

Putting one foot in front of the other and
making things happen.

Some of you may have experienced early

in your career some of you've
been there a number of years.

So you've gotten past it but

that if you don't do those
things you won't last very long.

You've got to.

Be decisive.

It does help you learn how to make
decisions and how to analyze.

The facts and
circumstances and be decisive.

You've got to work hard and

you can't be successful at anything in
life if you don't work hard at it while

there are it's business whether
it's go whether it's athletics.

What other it's a life in general.

It teaches you confidence to because
you have to go through a lot of tough

things and you know I think a lot of
success comes from failures and from.

Not doing things as well
as you would like and

it also comes from doing things
a accomplishing things that you thought

that were tough that you thought
were a little tougher but

hopefully it teaches you to have
humility there enough people around here

who will put you in your place no
matter how great you think you are.

And having humility.

What I call humble self
confidence is is important.

Arrogance is.

Is a bad thing in you don't want
that teaches you the value of Timor.

There aren't many things
in life that you can go on.

No matter how great you
are it whatever you do you

need help of other people to succeed and
tech

has an informal culture
of helping one another.

You have to think analytically you've
got to be able to have the important

things problems sort out
what it's necessary.

What's not necessary and
really cut right to

the heart of the matter
teaches you to be resourceful

you find ways to get things done that
you never would have thought of.

Again.

Part of success in my opinion
teachers should not to accept defeat

you're going to get defeated and you know
I don't know anybody who is successful and

accomplished who hasn't failed as fallen
down but the winners get back up.

The winners dust themselves off and
go at it again

the ones who aren't winners quit run and
hide.

And it teaches you to compete
on the highest levels.

You know whether Georgia Tech and
education and background you can hold your

head up high with anybody in the world and
you have a world class reputation.

Let me give you a brief story
about graduate school and

it's about being virtually an educated and

it relates to your Georgia Tech degree.

When I was a second year student in that
at the University of Virginia graduate

school a good friend of mine who
graduated with me at Georgia Tech and

he graduated first in our
class overall he made one B.

in four years tag and
I think I guess that gave him a three

nine something grade point average pretty
smart guy but he was also well rounded.

And not just a bright guy but
well versed in other things.

Vietnam was going on for
the time it was winding down and

he called me one night and
said he was in the Navy as an officer and

he said that I can get an early out of
the Navy if I get into graduate school

and I know the deadline for
applying to graduate schools that's Pabst

this was April mid April and.

But I stationed there.

Norfolk Virginia.

I'd love to go to to you

is there anything you could do to
see if I might be able to get in.

So I said I'll check with the Dean
of Admissions tomorrow and

call you back tomorrow afternoon.

So I went to the dean of admissions and at
that time he had someone in his office so

I had to sit outside on a little Whiting
area and as I'm sitting there there

are file cabinets around these
tables where I'm sitting in and

there are several files on the table
near me and I happened to look

over I'm not trying to be nosy and
I see one of the files has my name on it.

And they're not sure written
on the outside of the file and

on the back part of the file and
it's turned over that way and

I'm not going over there and picking it
up and looking at it but I can see it.

It's about from here to
where those papers are and.

I noticed one of the things written on the
back of my file was virtually an educated.

Which you know I was about to graduate and
had done pretty well they

are I'd finished near the top
of the class and so forth but

I felt like I was OK and
that kind of shocked to be so

if I went in to visit the admissions
Dane and told him about my friend and

said you know he was officer of
the Navy leader in school had

a family to twenty authors who went on
to be all-American tennis players at

the University of Georgia and he had made

almost a perfect score on the business
boards the equivalent the S.A.T.'s for

business schools so forth so
he said well if he's as good as

you say is we're going to my eleven
application today and tell him a field.

It back by Monday Well he's in
they did and he got excepted.

So then I said.

Dr snuck that was the admission guy's
name I said I've got one question and

I couldn't help but see some of those
files sitting out there that I guess

you're purging our files out putting
the new files of next year's clients and

so forth and
on my file which happened to be out there.

It said virtually on educated J.D.S.
he started laughing.

It was almost side splitting and
he said Yeah.

John Forbes John D. Forbes who was one of
our professors and was on the admissions

team in terms of evaluating
potential students wrote that

on all the people who went to technical
schools backgrounds he felt like if

you didn't have a liberal arts education
that you didn't have an education.

If you studied math and
science and engineering and

other things you were an educated in his
view so by that definition all of you

were virtually an educated but
hopefully we're going to talk

about some things that you can do to move
beyond being virtually an educated and

to create success that I
get that out of there.

David.

Or one of

the things I want want to talk about is
that your education doesn't stop here.

To be successful you need to
educate yourself for a life.

Put a few quotes in these things.

I went to a bookstore a NASA saleswoman
Where's the self-help section.

She said if I told you it
would defeat the purpose.

That's a George Carlin quote but
you've got to develop your own and

a lecture on property but
invest in yourself become a lifelong

learner blame a things change.

Obviously you see things
changing every day but.

The things they are facing
as per your potential.

And some of you will be facing in
the next few months as graduates and

the job or all are totally
different than the things I faced

when I was a student or even students
face three or four years ago.

You need to know what you don't know
I call it becoming B.S. Peru for.

You know as a manager leading a company.

You can't have all the answers
you can't know everything but

you've got to know one to know when
somebody straight with you are not and.

You can't be afraid to ask for help.

There's no crime and doing that.

Eliot Galloway was the founder of

the Galloway school which is both
private school here in Atlanta.

He taught English at Westminster
before he founded the that school and

he had a very simple philosophy
I was on his board for

several years in the mid ninety's and his

philosophy of education was
give children self-esteem.

And teach them to become
Vo ratio's readers.

Which is pretty simple.

You know if people have
self-esteem if I believe in

themselves and if they love to read and

to educate themselves they're going to
probably do pretty well in life so.

I think it's important to stay
up to date on current affairs.

You know you need to know what's going
on in the world because that affects

decision and your going to make whether
their business decisions professional

the surgeons or
personal decisions be the best you can be.

I mean it's easy to
just slog through life.

Why do it why not be a little
bit better in baseball.

You play baseball or play baseball.

If if you are good enough to play
baseball at the major league level.

And you can hit to eighty and
stay healthy.

You can have a twenty year career and
do very well.

If you can be just ten percent better.

Which doesn't sound like a lot.

What would your batting average be.

Three o eight right.

Then where would you be at the end of
your career your Big Hall of Fame.

And less than one percent of the people
who play are in the Hall of Fame.

So if you just think about life
that way if you can just be five or

ten percent better.

How much better.

Do you think Tiger Woods is percentage
wise than the next best golfer.

It's less than one percent probably I
mean his stroke I don't know exactly

what it is right now but his stroke
average is probably in the high sixty.

And the next best player might
be a half a stroke worse.

But is anybody question whether Tiger
Woods is the best player in the world.

Maybe the best that's ever played.

So he'd tell you one percent better.

So you know whatever you do.

Just try to be better and all of us can
do every single day of our life that

allow the last to do something a little
bit better to put a little more energy

into something to put a little more effort
into something to learn a little more than

the next person about whatever it
is that we're doing to make you

basketball players you learn to watch
your opponent that you're going to play.

The next game and.

Study that opponent just a little
bit more and you find out.

Well he doesn't like to go to his
left as much as he does in the right.

Been typed into as you're probably
going to have a better chance of

staying on the ball from him or scoring
went on what's often certain events

your client you're going to play for
you and for your team.

They never be

complacent never be satisfied
with where you are you know.

I tell everybody that I'm around you know.

Don't be satisfied with the status quo.

No matter how successful you are no matter
how much fame fortune money whatever.

If you get complacent about it.

You're going to get knocked off and
it happens.

We've got examples of that
happening every single day.

In our lives and you know it's
nice to be on top but it's tough.

To stay there and
complacency is is a bad bad

book touristic so try to avoid that
ALWAYS THINK THINK for yourself.

I mean it's good to talk to other
people it's good to listen but

have a mind of your own and
think for yourself adapt to change.

I mean as I said earlier change is is
certain develop an inquisitive mind.

Stephen Wright said Curiosity
killed the cat but for

a while I was a suspect as
I said change is constant.

Being curious asking questions.

There was a T.V. show back years ago.

Again probably before you all remember but
you've seen it reruns probably Colombo.

And Peter Falk The actor
was in Colombo and

he had where this trench coat around and
chew on a Sadar and

drove a little Nash Rambler around and
he was always going up to people when

he was investigating crimes and saying I
don't quite understand this or that but

tell me more about it and
he use that curiosity as

a way of solving the crime
believe me there.

There is so much you can learn by
just asking bunches and bunches

of questions and it's OK to be curious
as I said earlier I asked for help.

I learned all that you can
about the business the markets.

If you're in business the competition
strikes opportunities risk.

One of the things that I
think some of you ask about.

Or you know what should
we be doing as students

to prepare for the job market or
future job market.

Given the tough economy and so forth.

Well this is part of why.

If you can do you can learn
about what makes you take

what you need to be focused on talk
about this a little bit later but

and you can go talk to people like me and
others you can talk

to people like Debbie and other professors
that you have you can talk to your coaches

you can talk to friends you can talk
to either one another and Associates.

You know Bill that network of people and
learn all you can so that you know

more about whatever it is that you're
interested in and the next person because.

When the market was great and

the economy was good businesses
would take gris gone people.

Well this alley is that how you say
I like Lee Lee has great potential.

So we'll give away a job and
trying them and

hopefully he'll fulfill that potential.

Well folks aren't hiring just on potential
today they're hiring on somebody

who differentiate themselves
more than the other person and

you've got to make yourself
stand out from those others and

one way you can do it is often about
all these things take the Colombo

approaches and
it's OK not to have all the answers.

OK to say I don't know but
it's not OK not to find out after

that you know part of your
education process every single day.

There are dozens of things
that we hear somebody talking

about are somebody ask us
about are we see on T.V.

read the newspaper say
on the enter net and

you say gosh I really wonder what
I'd like to know more about that.

Well go find out more about it.

I mean I know you don't have hours and
hours of time to do.

All this but but you've got time to
make yourself better and focus on that.

Analyze the future.

What are the things in the future
that are going to be avoided.

We'll talk about that a little later.

That's one of the things that you all ask.

I think to be successful.

You've got to have common sense.

I call it walking around Sam
step on their album Gar who

was a basketball coach at Marquette who
won a national championship in one nine

hundred seventy seven here and actually
at the Army base in North Carolina.

And he said I think everyone should
go to college and get a degree and

then spit in six months as a bartender and
six months driving a taxi.

Then they would really be educated.

You know the education you're getting
here is important for life but

life is an important education too and
having street smarts and

common sense walking around since
being able to deal with people and

not just be a book Smart is so important.

Judgment is think and
sort of the whole situation and

knowing when to take action
part of your education area

George attack is teaching you to
analyze teaching you to think.

Be a Problem Solver help as an acronym

that I used to use for some people who
want to these fancy Ivy League schools but

they had no common sense or
walking around since call them highly

educated low potential you
know you can be a genius but

if you don't know how to get along in
the world you're going to have problems

in Unfortunately I think we've got some
of that in Washington right now and

both parties are not
that's not a partisan the.

We've got five hundred people
up there in the Senate and

Isles and other places who
are very smart highly educated.

But if you look at some of
the things they do and proposed.

They don't have too much common sense and

you know the public is
saying that to them now.

Learn how to get things done
be results oriented you can't

you're going to be the smartest
person on earth and

have all the common sense in the world but
if you don't accomplish anything.

You're not going to get anywhere.

You know you Berra said you can all learn
a lot observe a lot by just watch and

utilize the listening skills and
some of these quotes wiser men

speak because they have something to say
foods because they have to say something.

You know think when you speak don't just
talk talk about managing by walking around

in any endeavor that you
are just get it in your little

cubicle are your home if you're in
a virtual office or your apartment or

wherever you are and
just isolate yourself.

See what others are doing
find out what's going on.

You'll find out the pol so
very thing and what's happening.

If you just pay attention to what's
around you observe everything and

never quit thinking and
all I and it's gone back

to that curious mind a founder a P.G. and
any of the Bank of America said you have.

Two errors and one mile thing they
should be used in that proportion.

I think that's a pretty good lesson
the open minded you know we don't always

even though we think we do have all the
best ideas other people have good ideas.

It's to say you've got to open
up your your mind to then

if you couple listening with your
curiosity inquisitiveness you can

ask great questions and in the interview
process sometimes the questions you ask

not the ones that are as
important as the ones they ask.

It will show how much you know now some
people like to ask questions to show us

Mark they are I don't encourage
that you know you see reporters

do that all the time on T.V. They ask
a question when they know the answer but

open door policy I always
in every business I've

had the privilege of being involved
in I always tried to keep an open

door policy where any
employee customer supplier.

Shareholder own or at any level
could talk to me about anything.

Again it's it's a white it
you learn what's going on.

You're not gonna keep up
with what's going on.

If you just do it for yourself.

Listen if you jump all those words.

And take one of the tease out
spell silent kind of interesting.

Shut up just learned a lesson

a lesson to learn create a climate for
people to tell you what's wrong.

It's it's OK for
people to come give you a bad moods.

You know how many folks
have you seen in the last

year who have failed in some way and
I look up.

They surrounded themselves with yes
people who tell them exactly what

they wanted to hear and they were
into the light from people that said.

You know here's really what's going on.

So you've got to create a climate for
that because people

get intimidated by levels of management or

power or water have you and
you can't let that happen.

You're the one that has to prevent that.

But encourage people who want to tell
you what's wrong to bring solutions

not just problems folks
always like to come and

tell you you know the sky is falling
the world's by and all that's fine but

I always encourage people to have
some sort of solution to don't don't

bring me a problem without a solution for
it may not be the only solution may not be

the best but at least show me you thought
about it if it involved you thought about

the problem then you're not helping the
situation splendid communications gains.

I think one of the things
that one of the things that

won are several of you asked
about what courses do you wish

you had had if you didn't or
when you were here that you did and

we did have a speech class and
and some other courses but

I think classes in communications and
improving your

written your verbal your presentation
skills your ability to think on your fee

to communicate with letters to
communicate with memorandums

now in the high tech world with
e-mails and text messages and

so forth and on the other side got to be
careful in today's tech world how you

communicate with Facebook and
all the social networks and everything.

You know some of you athletes especially

are in very high profile situations and
whatever.

Or you put on Facebook gets
read by millions of people and

that's what they think about you you
might think it's just going to the two or

three people that are your buddies and
you're bust in their chops or

doing whatever so you need to be careful.

Just what you.

How you say things because it's
public pen and it's a day or

the direct you know shoot
stright with people be asked and

meet around the bush and
try not to hurt people.

I mean you don't want to intentionally
hurt people's feelings but

there's no you're not helping
somebody did not tell them the truth.

So you need to suck it and I candid why.

But in a direct way they can size.

You know nobody wants to hear
somebody is go on and on.

Give Credit and take the blame if
you're in a leadership position.

I've never seen a great leader
who blamed everybody else.

Great Leaders lead other
people take the credit

they blame themselves when
they don't work right.

We've got too much finger pointing
today in leadership positions and

a lot of different places

tell the truth the truth is
going to be found out sooner or

later it does no good to sugarcoat it or
lie or

not tell the whole truth in
the long run telling the truth and

being candid is important
as I said earlier and

good feedback develop
good oral communication

skills if you have a chance to take
any public speaking courses so you.

Take them.

If you can't take them here take
them in now in the outside world.

They're offered all sorts of places and
they'll help you in life.

As you evolve into what are your
in a leadership role or

whether you're just an overall
where your team and

you have to make a presentation to get
funding on a project or what have you and

your ability to effectively and
persuasively do that is

important work on written
communication talents

letters memos reports emails I can't
tell you how many young people

today that I get letters from emails and

other correspondence that honestly it

saddens me from an education
standpoint because their

grammar their punctuation their
just written communication

skills are pretty lousy and not everybody
a lot of people have very good ones but

I think that's something that in
our Can it instant satisfaction.

So the society that we have today.

Text messages and all the slangs and

doing things you know without writing
the whole word out what John.

I understand all that but
it causes you not

to develop your skills
to write normally and

I'm not saying write some
eighteen page essay or letter but

when you read something that
has typographical errors or

mistakes or grammar errors or

what have you that gives you an impression
of the person who wrote it good or bad.

And you'll stand out you'll
be in that upper ten percent.

If you do it better than others.

If you have employees working for
you share information with them.

Every company that I've led.

We had state of the business meetings
where we would talk about how the business

was doing versus its goals for
the quarter.

What we were doing well what we weren't
doing well what what we could improve on

how they impacted that we had profit
sharing programs where they got cash for

us to doing well I'd tell them how
they're doing versus that we had birthday

breakfast every month we had
a breakfast meeting with myself and

usually we would involve a couple of
other managers in the company and

everybody who had a birthday that.

Could come to this breakfast
would feed them biscuits and

juice or coffee and whatever and

they had an hour to ask us any question
they wanted to about anything and

we would candidly answer
all those things and

then we wrote and published amount
of newsletter to all employees.

I've had some cases of employees
come up to me at Christmas

or family events and.

I can't blame file brutally
honest all are in those breakfast

meetings I've never seen a company
you know if it wasn't good.

We said it wasn't good but
what we could do to improve it.

And to maintain it makes
people a part of the team and

a part of the culture it
builds picture get away

from your desk this is the walking around
to talk about interact with with people.

Send handwritten notes.

Nothing makes people feel better or

more special than to get a handwritten
note a thank you note or.

Enjoyed seeing you are whatever and
it doesn't have to be long

can be a sentence or two but the fact
that you took the time to do that.

I heard long ago that one
of the Bass people at doing

that was Pat Riley the coach for the L.A.

Lakers and the Miami and
eggs that he your story right hand

written notes to people all the time and
you know if he's got time to do it.

You've got time to do it.

Again it differentiate your
little bit more it's OK to

send emails it's OK to
type a letter since in

just a handwritten little note
that personalizes a little bit.

That'll make you stand out a little
more be patient and have a passion and

have a great attitude
to make a passion for

whatever you do is one of the most
important keys to success.

And the other part is your attitude.

If you've got a great attitude.

You're going to do pretty
well I can take the best

most talented person on earth and whatever
it is you know they've got a sorry

attitude I can tell you they're
going to fail bar none.

And they've got a great attitude but
just a little bit of talent that person's

going to succeed and Thomas Jefferson

said nothing can stop them with the right
mental attitude from achieving his go.

Nothing on earth can help the man
with the wrong mental attitude.

Charles physical life is ten percent
what happens to you and ninety percent.

How you react to it you know.

Not much of life is why.

Happens to you.

Most of life is what we do about it and

add it to it's a daily choice
we can wake up every day and

decide on what kind of attitude
we're going to have nobody tells us.

You've got to have a lousy attitude today.

Now it tells us we've got a great at it.

Dave.
It's all us we can look in the mirror and

have a good one if we decide to do that.

It's good Aegis and the people around you.

Even if they've got a bad attitude.

They'll start having a better attitude.

If you have a good attitude
your health is affected.

I mean there are scientific studies that
say people with good positive attitudes

are healthier live longer
than people who don't have

the will to win that part of
attitude that's perseverance.

You hear they all sly saying.

You are you a person who's a half empty or

half full person are you an optimist or
pessimist ally.

I think people ought to be I
don't have a big enough glass.

It's all overflowing with with optimism

follow your passions and
have fun and whatever you do.

I mean you've got to have fun.

Seriously you know you can't have fun
one hundred percent of the time and

not be responsible not to be dependable.

But if you do whatever
you pursue in life and

you enjoy it and have fun at it you're
going to be good at it and you're

likely going to be pretty successful
at it and if you don't have fun at it.

Go find something that you do have fun and

life's too short to spend
your time being miserable.

Unless you have to and
luckily in this country we have

choices in God I was
one of the first four.

Employees hired at Federal Express and
Fed Ex is an interesting company

to study because there are many companies
whose names have become a verb.

We're going to Fed Ex something
today we're we're going to

google something or
whatever I want to have a Coke.

Even though it might be a Pepsi or
it might be a diet Dr Pepper it might be

you who or something but
connect your head with your heart

infectious enthusiasm
just feelings from the so

people see that people relate
to that a few look at successful

people plan a life in sports and
politics and

whatever they do they attract other people
because of their passion and enthusiasm.

I tell I ask people sometimes what
would you do have money didn't matter.

You know what would you do with
your life because that tells you

probably what you really
like what your passion me is

you know a lot of times we do things for
money.

We do things because we want to
automate a lot of money while money

won't make you happy by itself and
it's better than not having money but

still you've got to
connect your heart pepper

Rodgers who was a football
coach here in the seventy's and

was quite successful wrote
a book called forth and

long gone about football in the south.

He said in that book that there was a sign
on a service station wall in Alabama.

I don't know whether it was in Aniston or
not but

you know one obvious from my Aniston but
he said work like.

Well for
ever play like there's no tomorrow.

You know that's a pretty
good philosophy on life.

If you know work hard but
enjoy life play hard to

write Maguire The guy I
had talking about before.

Fed Ex that he was the marketing
director of Kentucky Fried Chicken and

some of the things he says is

you know some people say opportunity
is nowhere if you take those words and

split them up part it's
now here manslaughter.

In the hands laughter impossible.

I'm Possible and
if you think of the words to the song

This little light of mine
that we sang as children.

It's pretty good words
that you should forget and

people around you should forget our
Because that's the way we do it here.

How many of you hear that from time
to time when you go into a store or

go someplace drives me
crazy magical words or

I don't know what do you think that
back to the curiosity employee

are a lie are a lie is return on
investment in a financial sense but

for employees it's employees
want to be recognized as

individuals they want opportunity and
they want information.

If you provide those three things
you'll probably have a pretty

good culture they want to know what you
expect of them what's in it for them.

That's the opportunity and

what are the limits of my authority
you've got to let people fail to succeed.

You've got to have a sense of humor
in my opinion to be successful.

Smart.

I'll smile again it's probably.

If you smile and you're happy.

Most people around you are going to
be pretty happy if you've got that

negative sour puss look on your face.

Then people don't want to be around you

in every organization I have I don't like
especially when the negative people.

And I run negative people off.

Or I try out of my composite of.

And I have never seen
a successful business taking

organisation that had a lot
of negative people or

I am when you get that it can
destroy any kind of organization.

You see it in all sorts of things

don't take yourself too seriously
be able to laugh at yourself.

But know when to use humor and

one of the things you have to be
careful of in today's public or

all of the Internet and e-mail and
Facebook and Linked In and

all these other things is not
to do an appropriate thing.

But other people say and
when you get in to the workplace.

You've got to draw a line and
be professional.

It's OK to have your Mer but

you can't you know there is the right kind
of humor and the wrong kind of humor and.

Today's orrible you.

You have to be appropriate.

You have to handle yourself as
as a professional you can't

just be one of the boys or one of
the girls all the time you've got to.

It's OK if you go out for a drink after
work but you've got to draw the line.

You can't get it's not like
you might have in college or

on a weekend or what have you
around professional people that

you work with because it
will come back and bite you.

In the rear.

You just got to know when to when to
say you when if you're in a public

role you've got to be appropriate
there but put people in a nice

self-deprecating humor and
not taking yourself too seriously.

I think makes people more
comfortable in talking to you and

more comfortable with you.

He that is over conch

cautious will accomplish little
be willing to take Paris.

One of you.

All's questions is you know what.

What would you tell somebody who
wants to start their own business or

be in business for themselves and
I would tell you this.

Whether you want to be in business for

yourself or whether you're just
going out for the next job or

are looking at an opportunity
in your next year of school.

Don't be afraid to take risks.

F.D.R. said the only thing we
have to fear is fear itself.

What do you have to lose
if you take a risk.

Most of the risks that we're
taking aren't life threatening.

Now we've got soldiers out there that
are taking life threatening risk and

I'm not not talking about that but
most of the very very successful people I

know took a risk early in their life they
weren't afraid to they didn't get to come.

Ted Turner Bill Gates.

Steven Jobs story and
Steven Jobs one thing somebody question

about are entrepreneurs Baltimore an hour
and they be developed and I think it.

It's it's a little bit of both but

I think there is some parts that
you're born with he had a sigh.

Project when he was in school
in Palo Alto how high school.

And then he and Steve was there
the two guys who founded Apple.

Were building a computer.

Their first.

Computer as a science project and
they needed AI particular part and

they went to Radio Shack or
the equivalent to write a check.

Whatever it was back then and and

they they couldn't find this one
part that they were missing.

And so at the time I think was fifteen.

So those jobs went home that
night I pulled up the phone

book looked up David Packard's
home phone number.

That's David Packard of founded

Hewlett Packard you know what
Packard also was in Palo Alto.

I called him on the phone and

said Hi this is Steven Jobs I
am a high school student at

Palo Alto High School and
I'm working on a science project and

your company makes a part that
we can't get anywhere and

you're causing me to not be able to do
my science project I need that part.

When he got the part but that's gonna
excuse my language and balls and whatever.

So but he was that way at age fifteen and.

You know.

So it tells you a little bit
about the personality of the guy

who founded Apple one.

I Pods and i Phones and all these other
things you know the culture they are.

He had that at a very early age.

What's the worst thing that can happen to
you if you do take a risk to tell people

all the time one of the great things
in what we can make another decision.

You know if you're driving down the road.

And you should have gone right but
you go left.

Now do you keep going left for
the rest of the day

you usually turn around or
you'll turn right or

you'll stop even a prize for

a long time ladies are better than guys
but you'll go and make the right turn.

So you're making another decision or
you'll make a U.

turn her want to have
life is the same why.

There are very few decisions unless
their life threatening health issues

that you may that you can't change
by making another decision.

So I think sometimes we
build up the consequences

of taking a chance or
taking a risk to be far more

than they really are and
so don't fear failure.

So in the past lessons and

lives are our failures I'm going
to tell you about Bill battle.

Bill Battle was the youngest
football coach in the end.

He was the head football coach at
the University of Tennessee and

I want to say he was in his early thirty's
I want I don't know exactly how they were

placed a guy named Doug Dickey
who had been very successful.

And he was the head football coach.

There.

From nineteen seventy
even Nineteen seventy

six his record at Tennessee
was fifty nine twenty two and

two but he had a hard time beating
Alabama he played football for

Bear Bryant at Alabama in
Bear Bryant's first years at Alabama.

They won the national championship.

He was good friends with Coach.

But he just won in those twenty two lost.

In those six seven years whatever
that is so every word Alabama.

So the fans at Tennessee and
Knoxville moved to

put a moving van in as yard and
they hung in effigy from a tree

which you know was a dummy to look
like him with his name on it.

And basically they ran him
out of town he got fired.

Well after coaching he started
the collegiate law syncing company.

And some of you have paid money
to him several you've got a G.T.

had on how many of you have you
got a Georgia Tech sweat shirt on.

You got a buzz shirt on.

It looks like there is that up.

Anyway.

Bill's company Collegiate
a licensing company or

licenses all the logos and
trademarks for two hundred colleges and

universities throughout the United States.

So anytime somebody buys
something with a bold

Georgia Tech Alabama Roll Tide
Miami Hurricanes universe.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Syracuse
armed man Georgetown Hoyas all

Southern Cal Trojan all that stuff
he gets paid overall to yawn.

He's become a multi multimillionaire
off the same passions and

the saying people that
are ran him out of town so

his failure turned into a success because
Tennessee is one of those girls so

every time they buy something that
says Big Orange or you go Vols or

whatever he gets a little piece of that
money and he recently sold his company to.

I am G..

The company that Mark McCormack founded
that handles all of Tiger Woods money and

indorsements and it Arnold Palmer and
Jack Nicklaus and lots of people.

So anyway.

So often times you're you're what you
think are your biggest failures and

setbacks could be your biggest opportunity
and he's a good example of that.

To be successful.

You've got to be detail oriented Plato

said he was not a good servant
will not be a good master one

of the things that I would encourage all
of you to do is whatever role you have.

Going.

While you're in school and
when you get out of school.

Don't look at any job as being
too menial because every

one of those jobs is a building stone and
you're going to influence people.

I and build a reputation for
yourself with people that are going to

be able to help you down the road and
you're going to learn from those jobs.

If you if you can't do

the small stuff well most people are going
to figure you can do the big stuff well so

be dependable my son who
I said ran track here.

Tell me when he was ten years old
that people would pay you a lot of

money to do things that they
don't want to do specially if

you do it better than
they do it themselves.

He and another one of his buddies
had a grass cutting service and

they cut grass for people and you know
they made more money than a lot of

older people at that time does
ten year olds just working hard.

Can you all.

Give me examples of great service.

Are there any.

Businesses are institutions that you
think really you have great service.

Chick fil A A wonderful example.

Give me an example of somebody in Cathy.

Give me an example of somebody in
business that gives a lousy service

Taco Bell.

Somebody said once that Taco Bell.

They thought was the MC Mexican
phone company but you know

my gondolas doesn't give very good service
today compared to what they used to.

I want to my partners in the investment
banking business who is a P.H.D.

semiconductor scientist from Georgia Tech

told me one time that service
want to hack and I handbasket.

When they started putting
pictures on cash registers.

You know you never go into a store or

restaurant and
you buy a Diet Coke or somethin.

And it's ninety eight cents and
you give a dollar give them a dollar and

three pennies.

And they look at you
like you're from Mars.

You know why do you give
me those three pennies.

You know and I say they can't figure
out that you want to go back instead of

going on a dollar and
having two more pennies so

you have five pennies making
holes in your pocket.

In a service Apple is another
great example of a company with

with a wonderful service Nordstrom has
a department store has a great service.

You know there.

We can usually we're fed
ex has great service.

U.P.S. has great service to.

Both of those companies do pretty well.

Don't worry about getting
your hands dirty.

Again that's how you learn
really what's going on.

That's how you build your
foundation become the source

the other thing I would
tell you in terms of

your job search your career search
once you decide what industry.

You might be suitable for and we'll talk
about how you do that in a minute or

what you can do it.

Learn all you can if you become a resource
and people are coming to you because

you know something that's job security and
that's what gets you promoted.

You've got to be a great employee to be
a great leader told you about the extra

ten percent and
the Hall of Fame time management.

None of us have enough hours in the day.

So you've got you've got
to manage your time.

In Alice in Wonderland
they said time is money.

Look at the clock in future

something everyone reaches at
the rate of sixty minutes of an hour.

Whatever he does.

Whoever he is you know all
of us have sixty minutes.

That's one thing competitively
that nobody has over you.

They don't have more time
in the day than you do.

Of the person who uses his or
her time most effectively.

Is oftentimes going to be the one.

If you don't value yourself
you won't value your time.

And Benjamin Franklin said last

time is never found again you know
all these are quotes on time but

all I can tell you is you know.

Do things.

One of the things that I got taught
early in my career was to keep a diary

I don't do it anymore.

Like I used to although you
know electronically with.

I Phones and P.T.A.'s and so forth.

You kind of get things electronically but

I would keep a diary of what I did
each day just a brief diary but

to see how I was spending my time and

as I did those things you

know I could say well gosh
I spent two hours on this.

I probably should have only
spent thirty minutes on that and

I would have had more time that so
why to evaluate your time by just

keep a two week diary and do it in
thirty minute or hour anchorman's.

And just write down what what you did from

nine to nine thirty from nine
thirty to ten and so forth and

then did that help me get to whatever
I'm trying to accomplish better.

You know if you.

You know surf the internet or played.

Playstation two for five hours.

You know.

Might be why you didn't get
your assignment done or

whatever but
if you didn't study your play book.

Exude leadership by
George Carlin said most people

are just hard enough not to get fired and
get paid just enough money not to quit

if you think about that there's
a lot of truth in that but.

If you want to be a leader and

you want to be successful you need to
take charge you need to show courage.

You know.

You don't just be in charge
when things are going good.

You've got to be in charge
when things are going good.

You've got to accept responsibility.

That means responsibility for
things when they don't go well and

when they do go well you got to be able to
admit your mistakes to be able to correct

them better coach Johnson tells you
all about mistakes once in awhile.

Probably more than you want to hear but
but you all get better by

improving on those mistakes and
not making it again.

You've got to set high standards
if if your standards are low.

You're probably going to achieve them.

But you will not have achieved anything
that everybody else has an edgy you want

to set yourself apart you've got to
have higher standards than most people

create a culture if you're a leader that
rewards success and rewards communication.

You've got to be consistent
as a leader you know.

There are when you Bear Bryant was
coaching at Alabama there was probably not

a player that said they were like
Bear Bryant while they played for him.

But because he was a tough tough dude but

they respected him and
they loved him after they played for

him because he made them
better as football players and

better at life and he was consistent.

They always knew what he was thinking and
what he expected.

It's folks that are inconsistent
that aren't good leaders.

You've got to have one question and
gritty and

integrity to me is doing what's
right when people aren't watching

you know it's doing the right thing all

the time not just some of the time you've
got to have strength of character.

Yes.
To be self-motivated.

I don't know any successful person

that somebody has got to say are right
you need to get out a bit all right.

You need to go run your when
Sprint you need to go to class.

You need to do this or

do that you need to get that assignment
done the next way you know they do

it on their own all of us and they'd
kick it in the rear once in a while.

Not saying that other
motivation doesn't help but

virtually every successful person
that you ever will see and

all of you have examples we're going
to talk about some of your leaders.

I think they'll you'll say that they were
self-motivated you got a purse of A or

you've got to go through adversity.

You've got to have a lot more adversity
than you do the good times and

most winners will tell you.

Winning is great but

nothing is worse than losing and

you fail about ten times worse losing
then you feel good winning but

that's just you don't get
through the losing or

the setbacks because you want to enjoy
the winning and you want to be there.

You're results oriented
you know you're trying.

You set goals and
you set out a plan to achieve them.

You work hard but
you work smart you're not

just you know are beating your
head against a ball every day.

Your first working smart to
better at whatever you do you

can be the hardest worker on earth and
if you're just digging up a hole and

filling it back up with dirt
you're not accomplishing anything.

Have the drive to overcome
adversity I don't know.

Any successful people who don't
have an internal drive that just.

For them to go beyond what other people do

you have to be decisive to be a leader or
leaders have to make tough decisions and

tough choices and sometimes those
tough decisions don't work out and

you've got to make another decision but
at least you make the decision and

you go on to the next.

Decision.

Josh you have to make a decision on
every play a bunch of them down.

You've got to read how
many different people.

On most plays won or
tumor three three people.

So you've got to make three decisions.

If you make one of the wrong
if it's of the wrong worried.

Player you won't be as successful
if you have made all three right.

But you still got to go
through the playwright and

even if you make all three wrong.

It still could turn out to be a good boy.

If everybody else does their job.

So life is just like that we are all
making decisions every single day

and we're going to might wrong decisions
we're going to make getting direct

decisions because we have to
make them quickly sometimes and

we don't have all the information
that we'd like to have.

So don't be afraid of that you know there
are people that sit back inside and

I don't have enough information to
make the decision I need more facts.

Well if you did that what happened to you.

You get Kareem doing.

So you know and
that that's a football example.

But if you do that in
business you get creamed too.

If you sit back and white.

If I'm Microsoft and
I'm competing with Apple and

I sit there and sighed well.

You know Apple's done pretty well on
some of these things I think out as

white you get more information
all of a sudden you wake up.

And you won't have a business and
there are lots of businesses out there

that were out there in the eighty's that
and ninety's that aren't there today

digital equipment was one of the largest
computer server companies in the world

it hardly exists today
technology changes things

to you've got to be tough minded
you've got to make tough decisions.

As a leader.

You've got to make tough
people decisions sometimes and

you're not always whining
popularity contests.

But you've got to do
what you think is right.

That's why it's so important to
have strong values to have a system

of beliefs that say All right here's
why I'm making that decision.

It's not a personal decision.

This is what's best for
what we're trying to do.

Have social and

business maturity that SWAT I was
talking about earlier about you've got

to know when to apply and when to work and

how to separate to all work and
no play all play and no work.

Good.

You've got to have a balance of both
You've got to be well rounded and

you've got to maintain your appropriate
behavior in in your business life and

your public life because lots.

We don't think about it but we're role
models for people every single one.

All of you are a role model for somebody.

You don't know it probably but there's
probably some little kid out there.

Maybe a cause and it might be a brother or
sister it might be a school might it might

be some neighbor might be a teammate It
might be a class my is looking up to you.

And look it up to what you
do every single day and

they're not going to tell you that
probably maybe one day they will but

we all looked up to people when we were
going through life and we still do.

We've all got people that we said
Gosh they do pretty well I'd like

to be like them or half as good as them or
better than them whatever it is

think of yourself every single minute
you're a role model for somebody and

those of you in the public eye.

In sports your moral models then
others because more people see you.

So it's doubly important
that you do your life and

behave like you would expect
others to want you to behave.

Otherwise you'll get in trouble
like Steve Phillips did

not a good example of his behavior but

you know he had the world by the tail
a great job and all of a sudden he.

He led his moral compass get out of
the lie and now he lost his job.

He's probably going to lose his family and

the young lady who was
involved with lost her job.

They'll bounce back but
still it's a set by

develop confidence but
humble self-confidence.

It's OK to be cocky it's OK to be
confident I don't know any successful

person who doesn't have confidence but

I say arrogance is the twin of ignorance.

I mean nothing irritates me
more than arrogant people and I

may deserve to be arrogant because they've
accomplished a lot but in my opinion.

Nobody deserves to be arrogant.

No matter how great you are you
still put on your shoes wanted

to town like everybody else.

And you can have humility
to gain the confidence of

otters you've got to have
humility self assured this

even a quiet you don't have to boast about
yourself if you're good people know it.

It'll show up in the why you build
confidence is through preparation.

The more you do things the more
repetitive you are in things

the more confident you
will be Tiger Woods didn't

become the best golfer in the world
by just going out there and

thrown his ball on a T one one
day when he was twenty years ago.

I mean he's been doing it
since he was a baby almost.

If you're competent then you
build trust in people and

competence is how you get promoted and
how you achieve success.

You become great and better than
anybody else at whatever you do and

that might be something very small but

it's important to the total
organization of the total team.

If you do your part.

Well and

every other person does their par oil the
tamer of the organization will succeed.

If one person is a slacker.

And they're not going to do my part and
everybody else does.

There is while the team
won't be as successful and

to succeed in in life you need
to differentiate yourself.

I call it distinctive.

Competence be you name John Penn and
cabbage was a classmate of mine.

In graduate school and Virginia and
when we were about to graduate.

We had spent two years they are in their.

A lot of high falutin consulting
companies coming to recruit but

they only wanted to talk
to the top few spooks.

And one of them was Boston Consulting
Group which is a successful firm and.

Mostly Harvard M.B.A.'s and
you talk about arrogant.

These folks who are arrogant.

Well when you're going through the
recruiting process which some of you all

are and the interviewing process
one of the things you do is

you ask the folks who go into
the interview before you or

they want to know what questions
they asked what was it.

So you can be a little more prepared when
you go in or one of the questions that

this group had and all of us and Canada
said that not I was VERY want to work for

because they were too arrogant but
but we were.

We were going through
the interview process anyway their.

Question was What makes you
unique John Penn cabbage my

classmate was one of the top
students in our class.

He had graduated from undergraduate
school at the University of Virginia.

He was captain of the football team
a defensive back made all A.C.C.

when he was a college
student he was an aerospace

engineer with a three point nine grade
point average and undergraduate school.

Vietnam was going on.

So he had to go serve in
the Army he served in Vietnam.

He won several Purple Hearts and

awards he was kept in the army came back
to school and was one of our top guys.

So he's pretty and class leader to.

He goes into this interview and

we were sitting at a table
about like this a lot older.

As you all just got back
from Charlottesville No it's

everything's all the.

But yeah and
all table in the interview to sit near and

Johnson and Harvard as B.

and B.'s What makes you
unique Mr Pedagog John

stood up walked around the table and
kissed the gal on the cheek.

And.

Went back around to set what
you just silence for a while.

What.
Anyway it.

It can a humbled the interviewer
to realize what a stupid question.

He was asking.

But John obviously didn't get the job and
not one of us did.

But John went on to become
the leading transportation analysts

in the United States every
time there's an article about

the Delta Northwest merger when
that was going on or anything.

He's quoted in The Wall Street Journal and
everywhere so

he went on to continue to be
successful despite consulting but.

So that but you do need to think
about what makes you unique

you don't need to do it quite
the way John did and but

because your uniqueness and

all of us are unique in our own why
is what's going to set you apart from

other people in the long run know more
about the subject than anybody else.

Whatever you're doing that.

You gotta know more about B.N..

Are you a power forward.

Now that we've got the big boy back there.

So you don't have to play center anymore.

That a lot of power for.

So he's got to be able to
play away from the bad.

Get as well as under the bias kit and

be able to handle the ball and pass and
do all that right and rebound.

You should seek to be the best
power forward there is right

because you're going to be playing against
others that are playing the same position.

If if if if you know more about
the subject than somebody else.

John then cabbage knows more
about the transportation

industry from an investment from
a stop view than most other people.

That's why people go to find out how.

What they should invest in in
that industry and the airline and

other transportation industries
that creates value in job security.

Business say in life it's a contact sport.

You've got to build
interpersonal relationships.

Says Be kind for everyone you
meet is fighting a hard battle.

I mean none of us know what everybody
else is going through in life.

You need to treat people
with respect at all levels.

I talked to a few of
you before class about

you know they asked well how to how did
you go from this job to that job or

that company to that company and
that role of that role and

a lot of it related to
people that I knew and

had come across and
worked with worked around been exposed

to contacts and so
everything you do in life.

You're building a network of people
you're building relationships and

these relationships
are going to follow you.

You're all life.

And you've got in my opinion Georgia.

Attacked the bass networking opportunity
of any university in the world.

I mean I spent four years as
an undergraduate here and

my Georgia Tech contacts
to this day are some of

the most successful people on earth
not just from my point of view but

from other peoples and
the network of people that you have here.

If I were recruited if our
coach Johnson or coach.

Hewitt or coach or

Tonya the volleyball coach or
Michelle the basketball coach or.

Dale or any of those coaches in
our recruiting young people here.

The one of the things that
would sell the most and

I'm sure they probably do is
that the people you meet here.

And the people who have already been here

you can have a better
Rolodex in the world.

If you go to any other school on Earth and
you're not going to find

anything better when you're you're
making those contacts now and

you make contact with
people outside of here.

And throughout be caring and compassion.

Put yourself in other people's shoes and

think about how they feel praise and
give credit.

Don't just take credit
give credit have time for

other people interesting story
Don was the president of

the Coca-Cola Company and I'm going to
have you ever heard of Warren Buffett and

most of you Warren Buffet's one
of the wealthiest people on and

the war aligned and considered
the foremost investor in the world.

Berkshire Hathaway his company is
one of the most successful well.

Ironically Don King and
Warren Buffett lived across the street

from each other and Omaha Nebraska
which is Warren Buffett's hometown.

When both of them or in their twenty's
then you know just out of school

kind of getting along and their wives and

the two of them played bridge
together on Friday nights.

Well they became pretty
good friends then or and

Buffett decided to start
Berkshire Hathaway in the fifty's.

So he came across the street to
neighbor Don King went to Notre Dame.

And.

Worked in the food spirits
before he's with Coca-Cola but

food services business and.

He said Don I'm starting this new company
I'd like for you to fast in it but

let me get invest five thousand
dollars in it and tells a story.

Said Wow I like your Warren but

I'm not invest in five percent a guy
that doesn't go to work every day.

Well at he invested five thousand dollars
in Berkshire Hathaway at that time.

It would be worth over ninety
million dollars today.

So.

You never know who you may be or
know that might now keep you know

ultimately did invest in
Berkshire Hathaway and is on the board and

he invested in Coca-Cola so
he's probably worth over that.

Anyway but.

It's funny how these two people
are just neighbors playing cards

together find mentors find
people that you respect and

look up to and
see what you can learn from them.

That's part of being
successful to have them as.

Models be a spine and.

You can learn so much from other people
being a student of human nature.

The more you understand
about how people think and

react and feel the better you
will be working with people.

Keep detailed contact information
with the technology we have today.

You and some of you guys have.

Five thousand Facebook Kong attacks and
so forth.

So you all have a lot of that contact
information but keep that kind of

information you never know I have I've
got five thousand contacts in my i Phone.

Names and phone numbers and
e-mails and so forth.

There's not a city in the United States or

most places in the world that I
can't go to and type in the city or

the state come up with some people that
I can call to go have a beer with or

sit down with or what people that I
know I don't do that all the time but

some oftentimes I do and
ironically in life.

These people you know if you're open and
apply and or you want to say I want to

make a sale in this city you call somebody
say do you know anybody at this company or

do you know this person and
amazingly you get doors open for you that.

That you'd never expect as I
said earlier right handwritten.

Bill personal power bill some sort of
personal relationship with the people

you come in contact with.

Career planning that's
what this is all about and

some of you ask a lot of
questions about this Yogi Berra

said if you don't know where you're
going you might wind out someplace else.

You've got to chart a course for

your career and your life and
have apply and.

Well how do you.

Do they.
If you don't know what you want to do how

you're gonna know how to get there.

Well first you gotta figure
out what's important to you.

I'm skipping down a little bit but

that's the find your value system
what really is important to you.

What people or events of had
the greatest impact on you and

why why do you look up to
certain people what three or

four people do you respect the most
what really makes you angry.

What do you really not like to do and
what do you

not want to spend your time doing and
what makes you happy as I said earlier.

What would you do have
money didn't matter.

How would you spend your time.

What notable successes have you had and
why were you successful in those things.

What failures save you had and
what did you learn from those

what are your strengths what
are your weaknesses or.

What are your passions.

If your passions generate your energy.

If you're passionate about something
then you get your energetic about it.

Enthusiastic about it.

A development plan.

You know candor and honest with yourself
even ask other people when I was in

graduate school I wrote a paper on myself
my values my strengths my weaknesses all

these kinds of questions that I'm telling
you about and I had several classmates.

So I I asked them do a one page paper

telling me what you think my story is and
weaknesses are and

then I wrote a paper saying what
I thought they would say to

see if I was being honest with
myself to see if I was right.

Some of them I was right.

Some of them I was wrong but your friends.

Oftentimes will be brutally honest
with you and help you in that way.

There's also.

Personality testing available today
take advantage of those things they'll

help you learn what your lie and
what's important to you.

And so forth and there are certain careers
and opportunities that fit better.

Some are better for sale.

Some are better for engineering and
technical jobs bomb are better for

management types of jobs and
some people are entrepreneurial and

can run businesses and things themselves
some people need to work in a larger

organization with a support system
like government employees and

things like that some people
like to influence others

some they want to be teachers or
coaches or help in that way.

So there are all sorts of things but
once you figure out those things go

back up to that second bullet and
stay focused on it.

And then meet people go find people and

whatever it is you want to do if you
decide that you want to be a banker.

Then go find out who the best
bankers in town are and

go talk to you know what your job.

What do you like about your job.

What do you not like about your job.

What what should I do if I want
to be a banker what I mean.

OK you learn about things like that and
from them.

I ask them who are other
people I can go talk to and

learn about that you listen and
learn and then you share you

help other people your friends your peers
all of that is building your network.

And if you do those things the likelihood
of you standing out in the crowd.

When the people all
three jobs come around.

Is going to be about ten times
higher than if you know.

Sit back and
you know twiddle your thumbs and

then the day before the interview
you go on the Internet.

Look up the company and
rate a little bit about it.

Look at its financial
statement walk in there.

If you really know what successful
people do what the issues

are in the end of story.

What the future is what the challenges.

That's going to come across and
your enthusiasm and passion and

competence is going to grow
objectively evaluate your plan and.

This is after about.

You know people can
the millennium old generation

which is the twenty somethings and
I guess or that's a term for them.

You know one of the things
that is said about you all and

some of those I don't know whether it's
true or not is that you want it now.

And so forth and that you know you

want your hardworking your energetic
your very technically savvy.

But you know you want things without
paying the price may not be true but

that's that's at least a legend.

That's out there while you've
got to give one time to.

You know you can't say well I made it to
the C.E.O. in the first three months.

Therefore I need to change my goal.

I'm exaggerating but there are some
people that are almost that that bad.

You know sat on a course and and

evaluate it over a period of time but
not every manager every day.

Be realistic

about what you're doing the story about
Jesus and Moses playing golf and.

They had a day off from and they came
down to earth and they were at this great

golf course and they were about
to tee off on this hall and.

Moses lights up on the wall there.

There's a water hazard out in front of
the tee and you can go round to the right.

So Moses hits it over to the right to
do things pulls out a fire of Moses and

what do you do and
Jesus said I want you in a fire that's

the same Tiger Woods play this
many times and he had to fire and

considerate over that light and then the
approach shot to the gradients eagle maybe

easy birdie to ISIS and
I was just counting.

Nods and throws his hands up and
Jesus' teachings off from the wall

and plops down into the lake Moses

parts the water picks up
Jesus evolving Is it bad.

Jesus things it up again.

I was just this you still
he was in that five hour.

So yeah when Tiger Woods
can do not can do it.

So you hits it out there again
right back in the water.

Moses parts and goes gets involved
is in the ball but he said

you know that again I'm not getting
your ball you got to get it yourself.

And sure enough Tiger Woods
can do it back and

do it it's a back in the water again and

I was just you get your own ball the stem
Jesus is that they're walking on the water

going after his Vall The next for someone
comes up and looks at my always does and

says Who's that guy think he is Jesus
who says now I think these dagger woods.

So you've got to be realistic
about what you are who you are and

what you are all of us are Tiger Woods.

Next is what I call the pie chart of
life which is balancing all the things

in your life and you all have this now
you got school you some of you have jobs.

Some of you play sports.

You've got you know you've got
all sorts of sorts of things and

extracurricular activities other things

where it's gotten so he's cutting class.

OK.

So any why we've got to
balance all those things and

all of us would like to be an eye on
everything we want to be in a Ensco we

want to be in a civic activity and
we want to be an eye on our family and

we want to be and a church we want
to be and I and a business and.

It's almost impossible to do it.

So you get.

Life is about tradeoffs and you've got to
decide this is a little hard to see but

you've got to decide what you're going to
be and I and what you might have to be

a B N R A C three if you try to
be an eye on everything you're

probably going to be a C. a D. or an F. in
most everything because you can't do it.

So you've got to focus on what
you can really be good at

you might be good at two or
three things but maybe not all of them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said is one of
the most beautiful compensations in this

life that no person can certainly try to
help another without help in the yourself.

I want.
Encourage you in closing to give back to

Georgia Tech so that others can relate
from the benefits that you've achieved.

Here and
that you will enjoy I promise you that

your rewards will exceed
your contributions.

If.

If you use some of these suggestions you
can overcome being virtually an educated

by the way the guy who I entered
Darden who is also virtually

an educated finish first in his class they
are too so there's hope for all of us.

Herb Brooks who was the L.M. pick Aki.

When the USA hockey team.

Performed the miracle on ice and
nineteen eighty.

Before the game with Russia who was
the best hockey team in the world

at that time.

Tell the TAVI you were
born to play hockey.

God put you here today.

This is your moment.

Well for you all they went out.

Then the next day won the gold medal.

In the Olympics.

This is your moment if you follow your
pie passions and dream your dreams.

And be the best you can be in life can
be anything that you want it to be.

You've all got a wonderful opportunity.

Thanks and gonna open it up for questions.

Thank you thank you.