Debbie is right except for
the nice thing she said about me.

She's right about the things I do but

what I primarily do now is
what I call kiss frogs.

I'm looking for business opportunities and

business investments to turn into
business princes so to speak.

And.

My background is is pretty crazy in and
diversified in that.

I've had multiple careers I'm
a serial entrepreneur and

maybe I can't keep a job very
long that might be part of it.

I don't know although
some of the careers have.

Have spam quite a long time but.

Briefly So you know at least
you'll have some perspective

to relate to as we talk about.

The things we're going
to talk about tonight.

My early career was in banking and

corporate banking I actually
started working in banking in

the mail room while I was
a student here at Georgia Tech and

I used to say to people if you read
somebody is mail every day for

three years you learn a lot about them so
that part of what I did I

ultimately moved off and
became the head of corporate banking for

the CNS bank which is
the predecessor here in Georgia.

Of what is now Bank of America.

And at the time we were
the largest bank in the south and

the most profitable bank in the south.

I followed that into.

An interesting switch which
was sporting goods and

I bought an interest in a company that
became the largest sporting goods.

Distributor in the South became president
of that company and an unknown or.

We represented since many
of you were athletes.

We represented exclusively
in the southeast.

Russell level attic.

Johnson and Johnson have let it all
the tape and trading learning products

every time you get tape you probably
use products that I use to sell or

Mark company sell rebel football
elements pony shoes at one time and

then later case which shoes and
several other

companies Don joining a braces
to bear baseballs and

softballs American baseball cap which
is the Major League batting helmet.

So anyway a lot of a lot of different
companies and we grew that company

not just in the traditional
sporting goods markets but

also in the retail markets we entered.

Russell athletic department
stores in the eighty's and and

also to the college bookstore market
which is all the logo did merchandise and

things that that you see
in college bookstores and

on retail shelves things that you
see in the Barnes and Noble store.

Up the Y. and so forth.

And some of you played basketball.

You know one of my claims
to infamy I guess was that.

When Bobby Kremlin's was
the men's basketball coach here.

And Homer ice was then
the athletic director.

Tech had an advantage a crisis with
its colors that most of you have.

How do you really know what text colors
are white and go lucky Well it's

good that a lot of people think it's navy
and gold or black and gold or whatever.

Well.

Back in the mid eighty's.

Bill Curry was the football coach and
he war there was on in CIA

rule that you couldn't wear
white jerseys at home for

a while there and traditionally through
most of Georgia Tech's football

history it wore white jerseys and
dull pants.

Hence yalla britches as it's football
uniforms under Coach Dodd and

coach Alexander and I don't know whether
Coach Iseman may have had different more.

But anyway.

So Tex football teams
defense was a nickname during

Curry's last year before he went
to the University of Alabama.

Was the Black Watch primarily because
they were black jerseys at home.

Tech and Ellis you petitioned the N.C.A.A.

while I was in the business to
allow you to have the N.C.A.A.

allow them to wear white at home and
because Tech N L S U traditionally

above for white at home and and
that passed we also did the Dallas Cowboy.

Uniforms and they were
superstitious about wearing blue.

So we created cowboy Blue which
was a brand new color for

them and was nine dyeing
lots between royal blue and

navy blue to create that but
anyway back to coach Graham and.

Homer standardized and

said we're not going to use black anymore
are dark colors going to be Navy.

So the baseball team and
all the other teams had to conform and

it happened that in the one nine hundred
eighty four eighty five basketball season.

Bobby had to buy a goal set of uniforms
and in and that set of uniforms.

I met with him and we talked.

About it he said Jay I hate gold and

I was at Appalachian State and
colors there were black and gold and

I never like the gold uniforms and I don't
think there are any pretty colors of go.

So help me with this because Dr Rice
says I got to buy a gold in so forth.

So we did lots of dye lots of golf
on you know we had a Laker go alone.

We had all will go wild and
light I'll go Old all

gold is that really mustardy ugly
color that the football team uses now.

And I am.

Well I don't go is really
the true tech collar

which is more of the color of their
football helmets before this recent.

Change and so forth.

So anyway we came up with
the Georgia Tech goal and also a shiny

uniform which you all wear now most of
you do when you wear the go uniform.

It's changed a little bit in style.

If you wear much longer
shorts now than they did.

You've seen the films of John Salley and
Mark Price and so forth.

Michael Jordan was really the person
that kind of got the long shorts to

be in vogue when he was with the bulls but
anyway.

So we've developed a number of
shades of gold in a special

lettering style that became
Georgia Tech gold and

it was exclusively Georgia Tech for
the first year.

And tech won its first A.C.C.
basketball championship in one nine

hundred eighty five here in Atlanta at the
Omni which is where Philips Arena is now.

And so that those go uniforms.

Kind of took on a special
meaning the next year.

Georgia Tech was rated
number one in the country

preseason by Sports Illustrated and
through the season.

They ended up being the number one
seed in the N.C.A.A. tournament.

And they drew the regional in Atlanta.

And they played here in Atlanta as
the number one seed Unfortunately they got

beat by L.A. shoo in and
didn't make it to the Final Four

final four that year was in Dallas and.

A sports writer in Dallas named
Blackie Sherrod who's a long time

sports writer sort of to Dallas
like Furhman Bisher is to Atlanta.

He probably wouldn't like that term
because he's not as old as firm and

I don't think but anyway he.

He did a thing that season
where he started with

The Last Kiss shootout in
the Thanksgiving tournaments the Maui

classic in Hawaii and he traveled all
over the United States watching teams

play through the end of the season
leading up to the Final Four.

And he did an article in The Dallas
Morning News during the weekend of

the final four and had supported
electives on the best mascot in the best

gymnasium to play in the best
cheerleaders and the best of whatever.

Well he best looking uniforms.

He said were George attacks and his
quote was if Liberace played basketball

this is what he would want to hear.

Which was the gold uniforms.

So you now get to think
about when you play

in those gold uniforms
that you're like you know.

Liberace you may never
play the same again.

But anyway.

After the sporting goods that we sell
that company to Russell athletic.

Then I was in the investment
banking business doing mergers and

acquisitions with a number of friends
started my own investment banking company

license technology and
intellectual property and

was on several boards one of which was
a company called Network communiqué.

Ancient's which I became president and
C.E.O. of and I go on or of it.

It's the largest publisher real estate
advertising in the world it publishes

the real estate book The Little digest
size book apartment finder magazine.

You probably used it.

If you've ever looked for an apartment.

You know a comes a magazine which of
the leading luxury homes publication.

And we operated websites that had
two million unique visitors a month.

So we grew that business from
forty million in revenues to

one hundred million in
profits by sixteen times and

sold it to a private equity group
in the early two thousand and

then I ran a company we started

a sign company private equity group
did I didn't initially start it.

It was losing two hundred thousand dollars
a month and the private equity group

asked if I would come in and see it as
C.E.O. and taken ownership position in it.

We turned it around.

In a less than a year to profitability
this sample company was and

Wiggins Mississippi.

Sasha knows where Wiggins is probably or

she's heard of it a little bit
north of Gulfport and Biloxi and

it built science primarily for the could
see you know industry after Katrina.

And we saw all that company took up any
that had been in the sign industry for

fifty years the one that
built the Gephardt for

the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi so.

And.

I have but I am an investor in several
other companies technology companies and

other companies so that gives you a little
framework have cast lots of frogs

most of those have been
successful some haven't.

Been as successful and

that's what we're going to talk about
John Madden just retired the other day

after a long broadcasting career
of thirty plus years and a great

career as a coach part of that he says
there are three kinds of people and

I think this is pretty instructive
those who might things happen

those who watch things happen and
I was to say what happened.

And I want you to think about what kind of
person you are among those thirty's ha.

Hopefully And I think all of you
probably fit into the make things

happen category because you're a Georgia
Tech students and future graduates

now want to tell you a few things and
this will cover a couple of the questions.

Two of you ask questions about what
I learned at Georgia Tech that helped

in my business career so
this is a testimonial for

Georgia Tech and
I see a typo there when I.

Where tech edu capitalized but
on what what you learn by being here.

You learn to be disciplined.

I mean you've got to
go to class every day.

You've got to study every day.

If you've got to do
things a day at a time.

Those of you are athletes or
those of you who are those

of you who are involved in other
activities outside of just class and

I'm sure all of you are in one way or
another have to really be structured and

organize to to get through
tag to as we say get out.

We talk more about getting
out the graduating.

You've got to be decisive Georgia Tech
does teach you to make decisions and

and in.

It helps you become accustomed
to wanting to make decisions and

if you're going to be
a leader in any area.

You've got to be able to make decisions
not all people are cut out for making

decisions and you can be quite successful
if you don't want to be in a decision

making moral but georgia tech helps train
you for that you have to work hard.

And that gets talked about
a lot everywhere but

you can't be successful if you don't
work hard and you can't succeed here.

If you don't.

It takes you to it teaches
you to be confident.

And you have confidence because you know
you're at one of the finest universities

in the world and
you're surrounded by great.

Faculty members but
even more great students every day

you're dealing with the best and by
doing that you gain a lot of confidence.

Hopefully your confidence
is shared with humility.

We'll talk more about that later
teachers who do appreciate Timor.

You'll find in a life and
and everything that you do

there aren't too many things that
you can do only on your own.

Maybe if you're an Olympics when I
don't swam or an individual events but

even in the relays they have Timor and

they've got teamwork with coaches and
trainers and so for so

not many of us can succeed without
understanding the need for other people.

You learn to think analytically
you learn to analyze problems and

get to the guts of the problem and

come up with solutions you
learn to be resourceful.

If tech teaches you anything.

It's to be creative and.

How do you pick the best classes
the best professors to to go to.

Sometimes the ones who give the best
grades I don't know whether Debbie

falls into that category or not but

you look for ways to get things done and.

You don't accept defeat you
will defeat get defeated.

Many times while your tag.

Whether it's.

You know in your sport one other
it's on an exam are in a course but

you know overcoming those
defeats is a key to success and

it teaches you to compete at the highest
level so you're competing with the bats.

Now let me tell you a brief story
about being virtually an educated.

As Debbie said I went to
graduate school at the.

Colgate Darden School that's the graduate
business school at the University of

Virginia.

And when I was and it's a two year in be a
program I was in my second air there and.

Had done pretty well in the school
was one of the the top students.

And I got a call from a fellow
Georgia Tech classmate of mine

who at the time was was in
the Navy Vietnam was going on and

he had been an R R O T C.

While it.

And he called me in April
about this time of year.

Mid to late April and said Jack.

I've just learned if I can get into
graduate school I can get an early out of

out of the Navy he was a lieutenant J.G.
in the Navy decorated officer.

He was married had two twin daughters.

Who became all American tennis players
at the University of Georgia that other.

School up the road which I call one of
the top five universities in Athens.

But any why he said if I can get in
graduate school I can get out of the Navy.

And I'm interested in Virginia because
it teaches on the case of math and

he was stationed in Norfolk.

So he would be an in-state
student he had a family

nice family atmosphere
in Charlottesville one.

So forth.

Well a little bit about why he
graduated number one and our class.

Of everybody not just
the management school he was number

one of the management's go but
he was number one in all of Georgia Tech

in one thousand nine hundred sixty
eight he made one B. in four years and

he was a math major Most of the time so
he didn't make it the easy way

he also was a campus leader he
was an officer in his fraternity.

He was a military officer
before going in the Navy was

he worked for a year in for
the First National Bank about Lana.

So he's a well rounded person.

So the next morning I
went to see Dr John Snow

who is the admissions director for
the business school at Virginia and

while I was waiting outside his office
in the ante room there was a table

with about six chairs around it
like you would see in a library.

And I'm sitting at the table waiting for
him to to see me and

on this table there are some file folders
that just happened to be laying out and.

I don't pay much attention
to these file folders and

their fall cabinets around the room.

And then and I kind of glance over and

I notice that my name's
on one of the folders.

And they're handwritten
notes on all the folders.

So and I notice all my folder I'm don't
have the guts at that stage to grab

my phone or and start looking at it but it
you know you see your name on a phone or

you don't expect to see it and
you're in the admissions office and

your curiosity starts running
Arroyo with things and

it was close enough to me that act
had read a couple of the comments and

one of the comments on my followed
her was virtually an educated J.D.S..

Well that really can piss me off first.

But secondly it.

It got my attention.

Well you know I didn't say anything and

it turns out what the people
in the office were doing.

I was about to graduate and
they were taking our classes falters and

moving them from the current file
to the you know used to be file and

so they just happen to be doing
that set of files that day so

I go in to say Dr Snuka tell him about my.

Dalam you know first I would
class all those things

I Just Tell You on
the business boards which back

then the perfect score was eight
hundred I think he made seven ninety.

I mean pretty good but all of them and the
deadline for applications was months ago.

They had accepted everybody
they were going to accept it.

So Dr Snow said well
if he's everything you

say as we're going to mail in
my application this afternoon.

And you tell him if he
gets it back in a week.

He's a man so Mike tells the story and
this isn't true but

it is true what I'm going to say
he says but it's not what happened

that I called him that night and say I
talked to the admissions director you're.

In the application fill it
out get it back in a week and

I'll see what I can do to help you.

I didn't tell him that.

Anyway he got in so.

Finally curiosity was
just driving me crazy.

We had dealt with Mike and I said Dr Snow.

I couldn't help but
notice this file folder out there and

one of them had by now you man and
said virtually an educated on the outside.

J.D..

You have any idea what that might be he
started laughing almost side splitting

laughter and he said.

Those admission followed
when you're going through

the admissions process the professors
who are on the admission committee for

that particular year write their
comments on the folder and

J.D. half is John D. forwards
John Forbes It was one of our professors

who was quite a eccentric kind of
character and self successful novelist.

C.P.S. a fluke.

He could get it for four miles in the air
with no one did dividing rods looking for

water but he taught analysis and
communication speech writing and

speeches and written papers for he said.

Forbes thinks that anybody
that graduates from a school

with a technical education
has no way to cation So

by that definition all of you
are virtually an educated.

So what I want to talk about
today is how you move beyond this

virtual line education to
become even more successful.

First.

Treat.

Education as a lifetime prospect.

I've got quotes on a lot
of these things and

some of my guests thought were cute but
you know read this if you can I

went to a bookstore and asked
the saleswoman Where's the self-help.

Section.

She said and she told me it would defeat
the purpose as George Carlin but.

You all talked about self-help earlier

in a couple of the book reports but
develop your own intellectual

property when you finish this class
when you alternately graduate.

From Georgia Tech you're just
beginning your education so

invest in yourself and
become lifelong learners.

You need to know what you don't know and
I ask for help.

It's OK not to know something.

It is OK to fail people.

Gosh I don't know.

Become B.S. perve you know to me

one of the kids I think to running
something and leading something

is to know when people come to us and
they're giving out a lot of ball.

So part of that is is digging in.

And knowing when people
are shooting straight.

Elliott gal I was on the board of the
Galloway school here in Atlanta which is

a very successful school from pre-K.
through high school.

Elliott Galloway taught English at
Westminster schools for a year and

years and he founded the Galloway
school his son Jeff Galloway is

a was a very successful track star at

North Carolina was in the Olympics and
won the first Peachtree Road Race and

several others and
that written several books on running but.

When Elliott asked me
to be on the board and

I My children didn't go
to a gala why school.

I asked him what his philosophy
on education was and

he said it's very simple.

Give young people give
children self-esteem.

And teach them to become very racist
readers might than feel good of.

Themselves and teach them at a very
early age to become self educators.

Pretty pretty smart philosophy for
anybody and

lie about not knowing about the A.C.C.

championship of the golf game by the way
congratulations to all of you all and.

I think Cameron and which ones.

Cameron.

You were second in the conference

tournament to right because two tied for
first right.

You're a one shot back are a lot.

Well congratulations to all of all of you.

But stay stay up on current affairs

subscribe to publications that
can help make you better.

I tell business faithful and
you all may not go into bed.

The law Street Journal.

Forbes.

Certain magazines with online.

Now you can read most of those things for
furry so

there's no excuse not to to
stay current and up to date be

the best you can be whatever you
decide to do decide to be good at it.

Don't ever become complacent.

The thing I see often
times with people who

are successful is they start
resting on their laurels and

sideman I got it made I'm I'm
really pretty good and

they quit doing the things they
got them there in the first place.

And I always think you know and
use that nodal that you've got up there.

And be willing to adapt to
change change is a certainty

when I was a student here
when you slide rules I mean

you guys have we didn't have cell
phones we didn't have the Internet.

We didn't have fax machines not
have the technology that you have

today the world is changing as.

Of rapid rate all the time and
if you don't prepare for change.

You will fail to develop
an inquisitive mind.

Curiosity killed the cat but for a while
I was a suspect state so you are right.

Curiosity is a wonderful thing and

as I said a minute ago Change is
constant ask questions be curious.

Believe me I don't think there
are many things that can

allow you to self educate
more then then curiosity.

When you do take a job or
if you already have a job.

Whatever your role is in that
job no matter what what level it

is it might be in the mailroom.

Like I was in it might be
you know sweeping the floor.

You can learn things
about it be observant.

But do research.

You know if you want to
be in that business.

Stuff study the market study competition.

Strengths opportunities risk.

You know if you go to work for
a petroleum company an energy company.

You know go out on your weekends and
go to a service station and

see what they're doing and
what what's happening.

You don't get it all from books you get
it from the people who are doing things I

call it taking the Colombo approach and
many of you may be too young to remember

Colombo the detective show he wore this
trenchcoat around and had it's a gar that

he chewed on and drove an ugly little car
and he would always go up to people and

say can't really figure out what's going
on in this case but maybe you can help me.

People will help you when I went
from the banking industry where I

knew pretty much how to do things.

Intuitively because I had been an it so
long to the sporting goods business.

I knew a lot about sports but
I didn't know all.

A lot about the details and

I went to people customers who didn't
know a lot about shoes are and

Leduc uniforms or what have you and I said
help me you are in the it's I mean I don't

know and
it's OK not to have all the answers and

people will take you under their
wings analyze the future too.

That's part of thinking where do
you think things are going to go.

You might not be you are right but
at least you'll be considering.

Common sense.

None of you would have gotten in georgia
tech unless you'd been pretty bright.

So you've got book smarts
you've got intelligence.

Now McGuire who was
the basketball coach for

Marquette who won the final four when it
was here in Atlanta in the late seventy's

said I think everyone should go to
college and get a degree then spent

six months as a bartender and six months
driving a cab then that being educated.

He's talking about street smarts and
common sense and

what I call walking around sense and
judgment the ability

to think through the whole situation and
you know when to take action and

you know how to separate the wheat
from the chap and to get to the guts

of the problem Georgia Tech helps
you do that part of your education.

And virtually every semester and

in almost every class is
helping own that skill.

Be a problem solver.

Help when I was at the bank.

We used to have our a lot of
people from Ivy League schools.

And I had an acronym for

some of those people called Help which
was highly educated low potential.

These were brilliant people academically
but they couldn't get in and

out of the right.

They didn't have this common so.

It's the walking around sand.

Not all of them.

It's not fair to pay anybody
with one broad brush but

make sure you're not to help.

Percy.

Learn how to get things done and part of
that is what I'll talk about later is

your people skills and so forth but
one of the things tech helps you do

is as I said earlier be resourceful and
learn how to get things done and

how to how to get to the root of
issues utilize the listening skills.

You know you bear said
you can observe a lot.

Just by watching wise men

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

Plato said that centuries ago.

So make sure when you talk you really
do have something to say you're not

just clap on your lips to.

To base a managed by walking around that

a term that was in I'm
a book years ago but

it's so true in whatever enterprise
you're in if you just walk around and

deal with the everyday
people that are doing things

the employees the customers better
turf suppliers you learn a lot.

Observe everything and
never quit thinking.

A.P. G.N.A.T. was the founder of the Bank
of America and he wants said I gave you

two ears and one mile than they
should be use and that proportion.

Be open minded and sometimes we have
a tendency to shout out other opinions.

And you can learn from other people.

If you couple listening with
the inquisitiveness on the other

slide I showed you can I ask Greg.

Questions but you gotta listen the people
will tell you if you're in sales

the customer will usually give
you the buying signals and

help you might the sale many
times they want to buy from you

you just need to listen to them and
let them tell you why.

Open the door policy and
my management style was all a lie to

create an atmosphere where anybody
in our company could come in and

talk to be about anything and.

You know they might not like my answer but

at least they knew why and and
we had a good discussion about it.

Listen if you had a T.V.

to listen and jumble the words you
can come up with the word silent.

Which means shot up.

And.

Somebody wants said learn to listen and
listen to learn.

You need to create a climate for
people to tell you what's wrong.

You know I want to talk about this more
later but you don't want to surround

yourself just with the ass people you
don't want to isolate yourself so

that you know the only thing
you hear is bad things

in World War two when
Churchill had a specific

person whose job it was to come
tell him bad things every day.

What was wrong.

Hitler on the other hand
created a culture around him

where he didn't want to hear any bad news.

So the way you got promoted as a Nazi
was to tell him what he wanted to hear.

Well ultimately.

That blew up in his face.

Luckily probably for
the world but you know.

But when people bring.

Their problems encourage them to
have solutions not just problems.

You know there's nothing worse than
somebody that just gripes all the time but

doesn't have a better way to do it so
I I try to encourage folks to our right.

That is legitimate.

What would you do about
it if if you were me and.

Usually they'll have a pretty good
idea if they're just griping and

they hadn't thought about it.

They don't know but
the next time they come they will.

Well have thought about it.

It's a very important.

Exercise splendid communication skills.

Probably I mean it's hard to say one thing
or two things is is the key and the life.

But communications is everything you
can hide your candle under that bushel

basket and nobody will ever know how great
you are you don't have to tell people how

great you are they'll learn it by your
deeds and your results but communication

the human connection is the key to
personal and career success Paul Meyer.

Your book Fierce conversations probably
yeah it was right down that line.

And I haven't read that
particular book but I.

Some of the things are today in your
book reviews are some of the things I

would say to eyeball ice fell Be direct.

That means take the pillows a while and
the other things and

shoot straight be concise don't
just ramble on ramble on and

ramble and not say anything tell
the truth and tell it with candor.

Give Credit and take the blind

you know Bear Bryant was one of the most
successful football coaches ever.

And.

You know when he retired he had the most
wins of anybody in the history of college

football and
I can never remember after a loss or

a tie him saying anything other than
I didn't have the team prepared.

I didn't do what i should we
as coaches lost this game.

And I also can never remember
a win where he didn't say

the players played great
they did this they did that.

Now maybe in the locker
room behind closed doors.

I promise you he chewed
on some people and.

You know it.

You know he made changes but.

You should never criticize
people in public.

Criticize him behind closed doors and
give them a why to improve.

You know just like out said
don't ask people to bring

you problems without solutions.

What don't criticize without
offering people ways to

improve also develop great oral skills.

Every opportunity that you
get take it to speak and

probably take classes to do it.

There may be speech groups on campus
there may be just a few things.

Maybe it's just to certain friends but

to the degree that you
can communicate verbally.

That's going to give you a big
advantage down the road because

people are going to honor stand you.

And respect you that way.

You've also got to be able
to communicate very well in

written communications and
frankly I think some of

the advantages that you have today
in the communications world.

Maybe disadvantages in
written communication.

Because you can text message and you can
send e-mails or without spell check and

you can do all sorts of things
that do communicate and

those are great forms of communication.

But if you're right if you're
on a business environment or

a professional environment.

You're going to have to
ultimately know how to write

affective memos affective
letters affective reports.

You're going to have to do it in a wide
book that is a reflection of you

when somebody reads it.

They're saying that stage you.

Are that.

Cameron or that's.

Bill you've got a.

You've got to be able to communicate.

Effectively and even then e-mails because
everything with your signature on it or

your stamp on it is you so.

Think about that you're influencing
people you might not think even

this early in your life but there
are people in this room I promise you that

every one of you are gonna be
any touch with in one way or

another during the next thirty or
forty years of your life.

So you're making impressions every
minute of every day share talked about.

Yes people share information if
you're ever in a leadership position

in a business share information with
your employees we used to have to

do several things I had State of
the business meetings every quarter and

which I went to every employee and

we had at network communications
eight hundred twenty five employees.

And then we had another sixteen
hundred employees that work for

our distributors throughout the.

Contre really throughout the world.

And every quarter we.

And I expose myself sometimes
it was by video but

I go to the to we were a twenty four seven
three hundred sixty five day operation.

So I'd go to the graveyard
shift at two am in the morning.

Talk to groups like you but
they were employees and

I'd go at seven in the morning and
go at nine at night.

And talk about how we were done.

Revenue wise profitability
wise how we were matching up

to our goals what our goals were
what the important things or.

I created a three by five card
like somewhere fact pull it

like this that I had five
things that I gave to

every employee and
I was basically tell them that up.

If you're not doing one of
those five things in your job.

We don't need your job doesn't mean we
don't need you doesn't mean you're not

a good employee but
if you're not doing one of

those five things you better
start thinking about what else.

You ought to be doing because
I wanted them focus and

we would talk about those we developed
a profit sharing plan where we gave ten

percent of all of our pretax profits
to the employees divided out among so

every quarter I'd say here's how we're
done on your profit sharing program and

if we keep on this track showed him
the budget showed him what our where

we were you'll get this many
weeks pay at the end of our year.

If you don't so you you let them know and
you make them feel a part of the team.

We had monthly birthday breakfast.

For every employee.

So if your birthday was in April
we had a meeting a breakfast

at seven thirty in the morning and
all these people had an.

April birthday come we bought a breakfast.

It was an hour mating they could ask any
question they wanted to about the business

myself and the two other founders of
the company were at these meetings and

we would answer them and then we published
all the answers like come on give you

the answers to my to your questions
tonight we publish the answers in our

newsletter that came out every two weeks
so we we publish an employee newsletter.

I can't tell you how many spouses of
employees used to come up to me at

Christmas parties or
various events and say I read

your network or
which was the name of our news a letter

every two weeks when it comes and I
really like the birthday breakfast stuff.

I can't believe you all are so
candid and honest with your.

I've never seen a company that So

I would tell them good news bad news and
some things they didn't want to hear but

at least they knew where we were
going get away from your desk.

Interact with everyone.

I've never seen anybody that was very
successful who stayed in their office

all day long and stayed tied to their
desk on the phone on the computer or

whatever if they deal with people.

Now there are people who
are computer programmers and

others who don't bail much with
people who do than say and

handwritten notes there is nothing more
powerful than writing somebody L.O.L.

handwritten No it only has to be one or
two sentences.

You don't have to write a book.

You know Pat Riley the coach
of the Lakers used to write

handwritten notes to people all
the time that he would bump into or

see you know it makes
people feel special to say

gosh they took the time just
to say joints in thanks for.

There is.

Good luck in your interview.

Good luck in your game
good luck in your career.

It makes people feel special and
when you make other people feel special.

Believe it or
not even though this it in your intent.

They start feeling special about you and
if people feel special about you

then all of a sudden you've got all these
advocates for you out in the world.

And you never know when one of those
people is going to present an opportunity

that might be the best you've ever
seen the passion and have a great

attitude Thomas Jefferson said nothing
can stop the man with a rock and.

We were really sexist back when he was
alive so man or woman with the right.

Mental attitude from achieving their goal.

Nothing on earth can help the person
with the wrong man lattitude

attitudes everything.

Charles Swindoll ludes very successful

men are says life is ten percent what
happens to you and ninety percent.

How you react to it.

So all of us have a choice
every single morning.

What we do attitudes of choice when
you get out of bed every morning

you can decide this is
going to be a great day or

this going to be a terrible day and
I as you go through the day.

You can adapt and change your attitude and

keep it positive and
I've traveled to all over the world but.

A funny thing in Ireland.

Often times I play golf over
there sometimes and some of the.

You know you get up and you see
the people that are in the the restaurant

are the people that are you know work for
the hotel and you say how you do.

And today their standard answer.

Almost all of them.

It's not that bad.

Well you know is it not
that they are great but

that's just kind of their attitude but.

Help those affected by your attitude.

You know there are all sorts of studies
about people with terminal illnesses and

serious serious illnesses who just
said I'm going to fight this and

I'm going to have a positive attitude and
it wasn't the medicine that cured

them it was as much as anything
the attitude have the will to win.

I mean you can be you choose to be
a whiner you can choose to be you're

a loser.

You hear the expression.

You know the octopus is the person
whose cup is half full.

The passivist is the person whose cup
it's half and a lot like to think not.

I like to think I don't
have a big enough got up.

You know it's.

So I think you know that you can be that
way to follow your passions have fun.

If you're not having fun.

What you're doing and

I don't mean play all the time but
you ought to have fun doing what you do.

And you've got a choice in
what you do every single day.

So have fun right.

McGuire who was the fourth person
hired by Federal Express and

ran their human resources department for
years and now is a noted speaker and

written books and so for
says connect your head with your heart.

You know you can't.

It's not just brains and
competence that makes you successful.

It's passion and feeling and
there's no organizations are feeling

you all the teams your sports
folks you know it's passion.

You know when you've got
passion out there on

the athletic field for
the golf course or the tennis court or.

And you know when this just.

I just want out of here.

Infectious enthusiasm and
feelings from the soil.

How many of you have ever been around
people who just Earth's enthusiastic.

Everybody got a raise their hand.

And I'm talking about her you know
she's pretty infectious it and she

she's enthusiastic hopefully she's
making you that the same one.

Ask yourself what would
you do money didn't matter

what would you do with your
life of money didn't matter.

Some of these things are career
development things that we'll talk about

to pepper Rodgers who is
a football coach here.

In the seventy's.

And quite a character and

he ran the which one often stood and he
wrote a book called fourth and long gone.

And it was.

A fiction book but it was about
coaching and football in the south.

And he said in that book that he saw
a sign on a service station wall and

Alabama.

That said work like you'll live for
ever play like there's no tomorrow.

That's a pretty good philosophy on life.

And you know work like you'll live forever
when your work and bust your tail.

But when you're flying and

you know you want to go around wants
now you need to do this responsibly.

But.

That I mention fright McGuire He
was also the marketing director for

Kentucky Fried Chicken.

When the colonel was there and
he has lots of stories there.

He helped turn that company into a verb.

There are many companies
that are verbs you know

we're going to Fedex something tomorrow.

We're going to drink a Coke.

We're going to google it.

Quite quite a successful company and
that company started.

You know they created a business
there was no business.

Fred Smith who was the founder of
Federal Express in Memphis wrote a term

paper when he was at Yale and he turns out
that he wasn't one of those help guys.

He was a highly educated ended and
a high potential.

I don't know what that spells it.

Yep help I guess that's the other and
for help I guess but.

And he got a C. on it or a D. on it but
he followed that passion and really

changed the whole packaging business and
and the way you get things and.

Several words that Frank use or see.

Opportunity is no way or
well if you take those that say Ward and

put a space between it.

It's now here man slaughter

and you change that a little bit and
it's man's laughter impossible.

I'm possible.

So it's just how you look at the things
I want of the things he talks about and

gets people to actually do and
I'm not going to have this done is

his montra song is the song
This Little Light of Mine.

I'm going to make it shine
let it shine let it shine.

Wonderful words to that and

he does that to get people
talking about your own light and

letting it shine and and being positive
having that wonderful latitude.

Words to forget because
that's the way we do it here.

You know how many times have
you heard that you know.

Put that out of your life and
how to your vocabulary.

It may be the way you do it here and
it may be the best way but

it's not always the only way.

Magical words I don't
know what do you think.

And if you ask people that.

You'll be amazed at how much
information and data you get

employed return on investment
employees want recognition as

an individual they want opportunity and
they want information.

If you provide those things
you'll do pretty good.

They want to know what do you expect of me
what's in it from a water my going to my.

What's my future potential and
what are the limits of authority.

What can I do and what can I not do.

It's OK to let people fail.

You know there's.

There's not a good manager or

a good coach around who doesn't give
people the opportunity to fail.

Because you never know how
good people are going to be

unless you push them to the limit.

What you find out the limit
then you come back.

Have a sense of humor a person
without a sense of humor.

It's like a wagon without springs it's
dealt to by every Pavel on the road.

Smile smile smile.

You know it.

They talk about it takes now less
energy to smile than to frown and

all that laugh at yourself.

Don't ever take yourself too seriously.

And as long as you you show people that
you're just a regular person like they

are you know somebody
tell me you want safety.

If you're an off somebody just imagine
them naked when you're talking to them.

Now it's not a pretty picture.

Sometimes but but at least you're
not taking things too seriously and

you know they put their shoes and
socks on in their dress.

Or slacks on one leg at a time
just like everybody else.

You know all of us are human.

Know when to use humor.

Now when it's appropriate.

There are times when it's not
appropriate be appropriate with humor

in today's political correctness whirl.

Humor that you could have used years ago.

You can't today.

But you want to put people in any case.

And when you put people a days
they're going to open up more to you.

And that communication that we talked
about earlier is going to start flowing.

One of you talked about you know.

At having coffee with people
when you get to work asking

me how their weekend was and so forth.

And yeah that's part of
putting people with these but

you're not doing it falsely
it's because you really care.

Taker esq he that's overcautious
will accomplish little.

Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt said
the only thing to fear is fear itself.

You know really what do you have to lose
one of the things that causes people

to not succeed as often as not is

they're scared to take over is
you know they got this job and

it's paying them a regular paycheck and
they get a benefit and a vacation and

unfortunately a lot of people right
when they get that good job go out and

buy a new car and lease the most
expensive apartment or buy how it's and

run their debts up on their credit cards
and then they're married to the company

because they don't think they can afford
to get out but you know you all are young.

And you know not Bill Gates has

a lot to lose you don't wind
up it's got a lot to lose.

But you know.

One of my.

My former partners.

Andy weathers used to say what
can they do send me to see

he was a set of Ari got in
the Navy already been to see so

many of the most successful people
I know took a risk early and

many of the wealthy as most successful
people I know were pretty dumb.

You know what I mean by that I'm
not saying that as an elitist.

I'm saying it because they didn't
understand how much risk they were taken.

You know one of the penalties that you
have is that you're all pretty smart.

So and B. and smart you figure out
all the why something won't work

and but
you know there are ways that will work to.

The worst thing that can happen to
you is that you have to try again.

And one thing I used to are still
tell people all the time.

Is that the good thing about life is that
when you make a decision if it turns

out not to be the best
decision in the world.

Unless it's life and death and some
treatment that's going to keep you alive.

You can make another decision.

You know very few of the decisions
you Mike are a lifetime sentence.

So whatever decision you
might take that chance.

Go for it.

What do you got to lose.

OK You know I get fired from
this job you get another job.

R.I..

You know lose a little bit of money
that's OK you do earn it back.

You've got a lifetime to earn it back.

Don't fear failure.

Let me give you one of
the best lessons in life and

the best lessons in life are from failures
I must tell a story about Bill battle.

You might know who Bill battle is.

Bill bad.

No In one thousand nine hundred
seventy was the youngest in C.I.

A football coach in the United States and
the youngest in history.

He was thirty two years so

he was younger then Lane Kiffin who
is now the coach and he was named

Bill was named the head football coach at
the University of Tennessee from one nine

hundred seventy through seventy six his
record was fifty nine twenty two and two

one of his problems though as the coach
as perceived by the Tennessee fans

was that he didn't beat Alabama and
Bill played at Alabama for

Bear Bryant when Bear Bryant won his
first national championship at Alabama.

We all grew up in Birmingham so.

All to me that lay the fans.

Put a moving van in as yard in Knoxville
and they hung in monetary not him but.

The likeness of him on
a tree in his front yard.

He got fired from Tennessee.

Went in to a business in Selma Alabama
where Bryant helped him get that job.

And.

Was on the board of that company and
alternately that company

did some licensing of of a few
different products sunglasses and

some other things and
they license their sunglasses to Disney

with Disney characters on the frame
Mickey Mouse and Donald and so forth.

What Coach Bryant told well.

I M G N Are international management.

Mark McCormick's company.

The one that Tiger Woods has and
all the the big names.

Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer Adam
Anyway they were bear Bryant's agent.

And Coach Bryant said.

Bill I'm getting ready.

Eddie to leave.

I am Jamie.

Why don't you.

Create a licensing company and
you represent me.

And while that you're doing that.

You ought to represent
the University of Alabama too and

this happened to be the year that
Bear Bryant was going to break and

Amos Alonzo Stagg's record for
the most wins ever in football.

So Bill started the collegiate
licensing company and

Alabama you moved to Atlanta
its headquarters were here.

Well we ended up signing up
not only Alabama but auburn

Mississippi State Ga Ga Tech
North Carolina DO WHITE far as.

In say you stay Clemson South
Carolina Florida State Miami Florida.

Anyway I Vanderbilt Tennessee.

Well he built that business to
represent over two hundred colleges and

universities became a multimillionaire.

And I want to tell him I said Bill you
became wealthy off of the same people and

the same passions as the people
who fired you at Tennessee.

Everybody buys anything
that has a tendency logo.

Or a Georgia Tech logo or anything else
pays the collegiate a licensing company or

the university pays the collegiate
licensing company a Roth.

So all those people that were big orange
were sending checks in directly to hand.

So he took a failure.

Even though he wasn't a failure.

He adds probably still the best record
in the history of Tennessee football but

he still got fired and
run out of town took a failure.

And built a huge success and
a couple of little over a year ago.

He sold his company to whom I am G..

So that's how it went full circle.

He started it off of N I N G
client who wanted to change.

And then ultimately sold the business
to them the detail oriented.

He who is not a good servant
will not be a good master Plato.

Don't be afraid to do the little
thing sometimes we think

you know that's beneath me I'm
not I want to get my hands dirty.

Believe me there is nothing to

Mania lower to below you to do and

any job even if you're the C.E.O. even if
you're the owner always be dependable.

My son who also graduated
at Georgia Tech and

ran track here on a track scholarship for
four years told me when he was ten years.

People will pay you a lot of money
to do things they don't want

to do especially if you do them better
than they do that do it themselves.

He had a yard service and
he has a ten year all and

he was making lots of money every way.

Cutting grass and just doing things
better than they do it themselves.

How many of you can give me examples
of companies with great service.

Somebody tell me.

Who do you think has good
really outstanding service.

Apple great example.

What else.

Is very displeased.

Another good example any others.

Who.

Chick fil A.

So about we were talking a friend and

I were talking just the other
day about how great chick fil a.

Does and how responsive they are and what
good employees they have one of my former.

Business partners had a saying he said.

Things went to heck and I am basket.

From a service standpoint when they
started putting pictures on cash registers

and I think about that a little bit.

But those are great examples but you.

We all do it today but

you could probably give me ten times
as many They give lousy service.

And you distinguish yourself.

Learn from the bottom as I
said I worked in the mailroom.

When I first went in the publishing
business I went down in Perth for

it on Saturdays and
Sundays with the perforate or so.

I'm down there.

Warning what they do and learning the
business from the ground floor up you've

got to build a foundation in your life and
in your career and you can't do it just.

From the top become
the source in your company.

No more than anybody else
knows about some subject.

You can't know more about everything.

But if there is a department you're
working and figure it out and learn more.

If you become a source all of a sudden
you're gonna have job security.

And you're going to get
paid pretty well for it and

you're going to get
a recognised when it's time to

promote somebody you've got to be
a great employee to be a great leader.

You know not many of us go into
the job as the head person.

The extra ten percent on
the Baseball Hall of Fame.

If you played professional baseball and
you were in the major leagues and

your health was OK and
you hit to eighty you could have a career

that might be ten or twenty years you
could make a lot of money a great career.

If you're just ten percent better.

Then you hit three hour late and
you're in the Hall of Fame.

Just think about it all of us can
be ten percent better if we try.

What would ten percent better do for
you on the P.G.A. Tour.

There wouldn't you or
they would be talking about Tiger Woods or

be talking about you now ten
percent better sparred to do.

You know the difference between
the number one player in the world and

probably the one fifty or two hundred.

Might be two shots three
shots that about right.

I don't know.

Probably not that much.

So that's two or three percent better.

But that's hard to achieve but.

All of us can be ten percent better
at something time management.

You know we're only given so
many ticks in this or

a lie and I had a friend who ran I

major organization here in town and
he never would exercise and he said.

He ran the country club and
he said Mr McDonald I only have so

many ticks I'm not going to
waste him on a treadmill.

So yeah that was his philosophy
on exercise I think it's

personally important that you stay fit and
have a have a fit mind but.

You've only got so
many ticks in your life career wise.

Everything's.

You've got to use and
time is the coin of your life.

So the only Colin you haven't only
you can determine how you spend it.

Be careful lest other people spend it for
you and believe me other people

can take up a lot of your time and
that may be OK.

Time is money you look at the clock
that was the mad hatter running for.

And Alice in Wonderland.

The future is something which everyone
reaches at the rate of sixty minutes

an hour.

Whatever he does.

Whoever he is all of us have
the same amount of time.

How do you use it until you
value yourself you won't buy

your time unless you value your
time you won't do anything.

With it.

Benjamin Franklin said last time is
never found again be all these people

are saying the same thing.

This is a time man on human
relations thing you could

discover more about a person an hour
apply a then a year of conversation.

Plato said that you know it's OK to
socialize with customers and people.

You know I allot of people have
said this and I've learned this and

I'm certainly not the golfer of that
some of the people here are but

you know I've always said I can learn more
about somebody on the golf course than

I can in any other way and
I met people and dealt with

people in environments like that that
I never wanted to do business with.

And I've met people that I've done lots

of business with the president
has a point just passed.

So you know minute you
say president's gone.

So I think about those things.

Exude leadership values most people work
just hard enough not to get fired and

get paid just enough money not to
quit you think about that now.

I don't think any of you are in that
category are going to be in that category.

But they're high percentage of people
out there who are just getting by.

So you can be a leader.

We're being silly.

But you've got to take charge.

You've got to show courage
leadership takes guts you have

to make tough decisions you've
got to accept responsibility you.

Admit when you're wrong and
you're gonna be wrong.

You're going to make mistakes.

You don't make any mistakes
you haven't tried anything.

You've got to set high standards.

You don't see many angles flying and
flocks so.

You need to create a culture
in your organization.

That rewards communication and
reward success.

You want people to communicate with you.

You've got to be consistent people
have to know where you stand and

how you will react in situation.

You've got to have one question integrity.

You know people want to trust you.

You've got to do what's right and

that's not always what's easiest
you have strength of character.

You know we've got a lot of business
leaders today who have competence but

they don't have character and
that's why we've got some

of the leadership crises that we have
on Wall Street and in government.

And in other places in our world.

You've got to be self-motivated
yeah nobody's going to

get you out of bed in the morning.

Nobody's going to tell you to war till
midnight some times and nobody's going to

tell you what to do people are going
to assume that you're going to.

You're going to do it yourself and
you've got that choice.

If you've got to be told to do something
all the time I can tell you as a person

who's dealt with a lots of orchids and
fellow employees.

If I got to tell somebody what to
do all the time I don't need them.

I haven't got time I
want people that can I

can say Here you go get this done
within your area of responsibility.

Persevered never never never give up.

Be results oriented you know.

Have a have a.

Scoreboard in life and

look at that from a result
standpoint work hard but work smart.

Working hard doesn't mean you have
to work twenty four hours a day.

There is working smart and
I'm probably guilty of working harder than

working smarter but that's why
I'm telling you to work smarter.

Have the drive to overcome
adversity be decisive.

There's nothing worse than
a million miles of wishy washy.

Casper milk toast who can't
make tough decisions.

Be tough minded.

You're going to have to make
some decisions in business and

a lot of your questions.

That you gave me talked about
dealing with tough decisions dealing

with adversity dating with people that
you didn't necessarily get along with.

And I'll talk about that a little later
have social and business maturity.

There's a time to have fun and
there was a time to do business.

You got to be mature in that and one
thing that you have to think of in your.

Your life and in your business
career is to try to maintain

appropriate behavior in your business
life try to keep your personal life and

your business life is separate and with.

You Tube and video phones and

Facebook and Twitter and
e-mail and everything else.

I mean you know you can go out and
do something that you think's

totally innocent with your friends and the
next thing you know it's on the web and

you know twenty million people saw
that lady saying in Britain and

in a few hours the other day.

On that British star idol whatever
it's call you know you never know.

You have to live.

Your life from a public stand point out of
business space and point as if everything

you do is going to be on the front
page of the newspaper or on You Tube.

If you don't mind that then
you'll probably be OK.

And one thing about you is
you think you're bulletproof.

It ain't gonna happen to me it will
develop humble self-confidence.

We heard cheap we drive cattle we lead
people lead me follow me here get out of

my way that's George Patton
he wasn't very humble.

But he was a great leader.

AGORA it's arrogance is the.

Twenty and of ignorance.

There's nothing worse than arrogance I
mean there is no date for anybody in life.

Nobody is so wonderful that
they deserve to be arrogant.

I don't care who it is.

You gang confidence of others.

If you are confident in yourself.

But you're respectfully confident
you're not out there blowing your horn

all the time people see your
dates they say your results.

You don't have to tell them how great you
are having a quiet self-assured does and

you know you all know you can
identify people that you know or

have dealt with in your life for

every day that that you just know are
confident that got it and whatever it is.

Preparation bells competence that
makes you good at what you do.

Competence builds trust.

So work on those things and

your confidence will go sky
high differentiate yourself.

Margaret mate said always
remember that you are absolutely

unique just like everybody else.

All of us are you know.

They all of us have characteristics
that are different from everybody else

find out what's unique about you and
accent your white that and

build on that so
that people will recognize your unique

qualities create a distinctive competence.

John Pena cabbage was one of my.

Classmates at the University of Virginia.

John was.

I was a guy who did his first year in
graduate school and then had to go.

Serve in the Army in Vietnam and
he came back and finished his

second year during my second year so
I didn't meet him until my second year.

But John was an undergraduate
at the University of Virginia

aerospace engineer three point
eight grade point average

He was a captain of the football
team leader on campus.

Kept him in the Army in Vietnam
decorated war hero came back and

was wanna our top students and
business go.

Well like again in our
second year seems like

a lot of things happened
late in the second year.

Well in the winter of the second
year you interviewed for jobs.

And I don't know how many of you
in if you're going through or

have gone through interviews Ranger and.

So you're not a lot.

I'm talking about those of you who haven't
yet will know we had a little interview

rooms there and the companies would
come and you would sign up for

the ones that you wanted to interview
with whole lot of the top companies that

interviewed was a company called
Boston Consulting Group still around

headquartered in Boston
mostly Harvard M.B.A.'s and

a lot of those guys had
that arrogance word.

Well.

None of us really want to go to work for
them but one of the things you do

early in the interview process
is you practice interview.

You'll sign up for interviews to
go through to get the experience

even though you don't really care
whether you get the job or not.

Well Boston Consulting all you
wanted to interview the top five or

six seven people in the class.

So you couldn't really sign up.

They chose who they interviewed.

Several of us were asked to
interview with them by them.

Well also what you do when the first
person goes in to the first

interview in the morning when
they come out everybody at why

did they ask you why they say
What do you need to know.

Well this interview her and

one question What makes you unique so
that was their big question.

Well John pin cabbage went into the.

To the room sat down
the guy pops that question.

Hammy sitting across this small table
about the size of want of these desk.

John Dowd and say a word to remember
he's I'm absolutely a military

officer brilliant student.

Handsome guy everything he got
out walked around the desk

kissed the guy on the cheek walked
back and sat down didn't say a word.

Again I just looked at him.

Finally they got back
on a broke up laughing.

John didn't get the job but you know
there are all sorts of things that can

make you unique so that's just
an example of one why again John.

I wanted the job he probably wouldn't have
done that but pretty clever I thought

Whatever you do do it better
than anyone else know more

about whatever you do than anyone else
as I said earlier it's job security and.

You.

Build interpersonal relationships
Plato said Be kind for everyone.

You made us fighting our battle.

You know.

Nobody knows what's behind.

Everybody else's eyes.

You can see the surface.

You can see what they seem to be a lie but

you don't really know until
you really get to know them.

What's in their heart.

You know what's going on in their life.

Life is I call it life is a contact sport.

You know everything you do
in life to this point and

from this point on will be
affected by people you know.

And by people who don't you.

They talk about the six degrees of
separation and honestly I think there

is a lot of truth to that I mean I've
met know lots of different people.

I can almost go nowhere without running
in to see either somebody I know

are somebody who know somebody that I know
and it happens in the strangest places.

Treat every one that you deal
with with respect at all levels.

It doesn't matter how Junior
are high it can be President Obama.

It can be the person who
whites on you at Chick fil A.

Be caring and
be compassionate have empathy.

Put yourself in somebody else's shoes.

That engender strongest.

I had bills these relationships praise and
give credit to folks believe me if.

Words of kindness and praise go miles and

miles toward building relationships
have time for other people.

Having time and being a good listener.

As we talk to about.

Earlier makes a lot of difference.

Quick story Don was the president and
chief operating officer

of the Coca-Cola company for
years by the way he's written a great book

he wrote it actually a couple of
years ago about ten ways to fail.

He says I don't know how to tell
people how to be successful but

I can tell them what not to do.

Are what to avoid to fail.

Anyway he.

Ironically lived in
Omaha Nebraska early in his career

across the street from
Warren Buffett both for young guys

making a way their families
played bridge on Friday night.

Well one buffet.

I asked Don Quixote a long time
to invest ten thousand dollars

in this new company he was starting
called Berkshire Hathaway and

key hotel didn't warrant I like you and
you're a nice guy but

I'm not invested in any money and a guy.

They've got to go to work every day if he
had invested that ten thousand dollars.

I'm told it be worth and this was a few
years ago ninety million dollars.

So now Don did pretty well at Coca-Cola
and he probably made a whole lot

of money investing in it to now Don
is on Berkshire Hathaway's board.

Warren Buffett is on
the Coca-Cola Company's board.

The forward to Don Quixote's book
is written by Warren Buffett.

You know you never know there are serious
two guys that are you all say.

That live on the same
street almost off their

paths probably made a lot
of difference and well.

Well continue to find mentors whatever
you do look at the people who.

Do it the best who are the most
successful people they are if you want

to be a come chair of the best coaches.

What can you learn from.

If you want to be a stock analysts
who are the best analysts by the like

John Penn cabbage the.

The guy who kissed the Boston Consulting
Group went on to be the leading

transportation stock analyst and
the United States and he still is today.

Any time a big transportation deal goes
through when Delta Northwest merged

the person quoted in The Wall Street
Journal about that was John pin Gav age.

The guy who gave the kids.

So you know he became the best
transportation analyst in the world.

Have role models have
people that you look up to

you might not even know these people but
you can still look up to them and

pick the things about them
that are special be a spawn.

You know learn everything you can and

be a student of human nature
find out which things you know.

Really irritate you about people and
which things might be appy and.

Can I see who makes it who doesn't.

Why.

Keep detail contact information.

You know with computers and
P.T.A.'s and other things.

Now you've got a way of keeping emails and

phone numbers and addresses and
and information and

maybe you put little information in there
about this is so and so as a birthday.

Are they really like NASCAR
racing are they like.

Butterflies whatever it
is those little things.

You know help you differentiate
yourself with them.

And you have ways of contacting you.

I'm going to Charlottesville tomorrow.

Well I'll look up before I
go to Charlottesville and

say OK who's in Charlottesville now that.

I run into or that I know or
that I ought to call or

do something I got a lot of things
that have to do they are but

I probably forgotten about somebody
that had a out of touch base with them.

Like I said write notes and
Bill parts from a reporter that

crosses into the communication and
human resources career planning and

that's what this course is
called I'm talking about it.

In the latter stages of this if you
don't know where you're going you

might wind up someplace else.

Yogi Bear.

You know decide you know if in
basketball of you've got the N.C.A.A.

tournament and they do the brackets and
there are sixty four to.

And at the end you've got one champion.

Well I tell people young people and
older ones.

That you need to create your
own bracket are in business

school terms they call it in the sage and
tree but and

put at the end of that bracket where the
champion would be where you want to be in

five years or ten years or whatever and
then work backward and see what branches.

Can get you there until you
get back to the present and

you're going to find out you've got
lots of ways of getting to your goal.

You know where also said.

If you come to the fork
in the road take it well.

He's got all sorts of funny moments but
you're going to

come to forks in the road and you're going
to have to choose one versus the other but

as we talk about if you have
to choose the wrong one.

You can get back on path.

Especially if you've got apply and

stay focused on what you're
doing set priorities.

The three by five card
that I've talked about.

You know write down the future.

This is a biased give all ticket but
in your three by five card room.

Write down three or

four things that you want to think about
each day and think about those things and

do something to relate to those who
carry it with the all the time.

Define your value system and
what I mean by a value system that's what

really you are that is your character
that's what's important to you.

What people or
events have had the greatest impact on and

it might be some person or
an event that you never knew but

in some way they are sure
they shaped your character.

It might be your mom or your dad or
grandparent or your aunt or

uncle it might be a teacher might
be a coach it might be a boss.

It might be Buddha it.

It could be anybody but and why and

think about that because your
values are shaped by that.

What three or four people do you respect
the most and why do you respect them and

what is it about those people that cause
you to respect and what makes you angry if

you think about what makes you angry and
I'm not talking about just going out and.

Not going to hole in the wall and
tearing down things but

all of us have things that irritate us or
drive its currency one of the things

that makes me angry is people who think
they're better than everybody else.

I just that drives me nuts because
nobody is better than anybody else.

I don't care how great they are and

I just don't like that arrogance and
people but that's just me.

What makes you happy.

I mean there are things that you just
really love to do when we talk about it

you know if money were
an object what would you do.

How would you spend your time.

You know there was a movie a year or
so ago called The Bucket List and

what would you do if you only had so
much to.

Time to live well those
also give you insight into

what's important to you and
what excites you.

There are all sorts of questions like this
what notable successes have you had in

your life and even though you
all are all by my standards.

I'm chronologically capable
here because of age but

even if I don't know anything but

you've had successes and
identify those you've

also had setbacks you've had failures
What can you learn about your successes

Why were you successful at whatever it
was maybe you might in a on a paper.

Maybe you were homecoming queen or

king maybe you are captain
of a sport maybe you.

Maybe you.

Won a poetry contest maybe
you won a talent contest.

Whatever it is.

Why did you fail and then why and

what did you learn from that failure
is just an opportunity to succeed.

It's nothing more.

What are your strengths and
weaknesses and all of us have it.

You've got to look.

Candidly in the mirror and wonder why
I would warn about my strengths and

weaknesses is I ask
people who know you best.

Ask them to write down what they
think your story in weightless is and

values are and independently right now
what you think they'll say and then

compare what they wrote to what you wrote
because that tells you whether you're

being realistic about yourself and one of
the you see yourself the way others did.

Ultimately that helps you
their personality testing.

There is Myers Briggs
there are all sorts of.

Sophisticated personality task out
there you can read books about it.

You can.

Come on line but
you can learn things by out there there's

a guy named memory molecule who wrote
a book called The modeling factor and

what he talks about in that
book is orning what kind of.

Boss you work for and

what kind of subordinate you would
be because your personality and

he sees a lot of people that fail
in their jobs being in the wrong

fit from an organization standpoint
not from a competent standpoint.

So you know one thing I know
about myself is I'm not good

working with people who
want to micromanage me.

If you want to tell me what to
do every day than you do it.

So that's just my personality.

So I need independents.

We can agree on what needs to be done.

We can set goals and objectives and
standards and you can measure me and

you can get rid of me if I don't do it but

don't tell me every
little step of the why.

We talked about goal setting setting and
the reverse decision tree put timelines

on it and you know have milestones
that you want to achieve.

Objective willing to look at your plan and
you only but not soon or

this isn't something you go saying
well I just had the plan to die and

then walk out tomorrow and
say five made it yet.

You know you're in
a marathon not a sprint.

So give yourself time to do it if
you evaluate your plan too quickly.

You'll get crazy about it and
you'll be switching things every day.

That's one of the things that I had to
work with with the young people who work

with me because the good dose is they
were aggressive and wanted to move ahead.

The bad news was their
impatience was well.

Why why haven't I done this and
why haven't I done that and

it tastes takes time and
sometimes you have to.

Pay your dues be realistic and
tell a story about Jesus and Moses playing

golf like they had kind of a slow day in
Heaven some others are suggested to Jesus.

Why don't we go down to earth and

play one of these great golf courses down
there because we got a few days off.

So so they they went down
to a great golf course and

now they come to this one hall and
it's got a poor it's a par

three it's got a beautiful fairway this
of beautiful golf course and then there's

water in front of the green and I'm pretty
green there and Moses says to Jesus.

You know Jesus I think we ought to play
the shorter tees up there on on this.

All you know our golf games are really.

Probably not up to be in and
on these championship teasin Jesus

is now saying Tiger Woods
played this all many times.

If Tiger Woods can do it.

Akon do it so he takes his five iron out
and he had to sit in it sails beautifully.

Up the fair Y. and gets just short of
the green and plops them to the water.

Well mouses you know being
subservient to Jesus.

Dashes down the fairway parks the water.

To notice where the ball went
retrieves Jesus ball bearings and.

Says and he says to Jesus.

You know let's get on those short piece.

No no.

Tiger Woods can do it.

Akon duty taser incident
again same thing little.

Right into the water again Moses goes out
parts the water gets involved comes by.

Well he says I'm not get your bottle.

Again.

You know what you really
need to be on those days.

It's Tiger Woods can do it.

I can do it.
He tees it up again and it's right back in

the water again and so since bugs is one
get as involved Jesus heads out there and

he's walking on the water looking for
is by well that's Force and

comes up from the previous old to the T.V.
and.

They look over there and
look at bugs is that said who's

that guy he is Jesus Christ and
said no he thinks he's Tiger Woods.

So you've got to be really
even if you're Jesus Christ.

You've got to be realistic about what
you're good at and what you're not.

There's a thing I call the pie
chart of life which is

balancing your a life your
business your family your church

your civic duties your hobbies
fitness extracurricular activities.

They're trying to also if
you look at the pie chart.

If you consider the pie chart one hundred
percent of your life and your time.

The more time you devote to any one
of those the last time you got for

everything else.

And most of us can only
be an A in one thing.

Maybe some people are going
to enough to be an A and

to if you're in a in business
you might not be in a family.

You might be a baby or a B. plus.

If you are on a your social life

you might not be in a business doesn't
mean you can't do well on it but

there are tradeoffs and
all I do this for is to show you and

make you think you know draw
all that circle yourself and

look at how you spend your life and
how you focus your time and

decide where you want to be in A and
where it's OK to be a C.

And where maybe you shouldn't
be spending much time.

One of the most beautiful beautiful
compensations of this life is that

no person can sincerely
try to help another

without helping themselves that's
a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson and.

I put that in there because I encourage
you to give back to Georgia tag.

So that others can reap the benefits
that you will enjoy I promise you

if you give back to Georgia Tech
the argy all get will far

exceed any of the contributions
that you make and give back and

life not just a Georgia Tech but
be a giver not not a taker.

If you use these suggestions and

certainly this isn't a panacea
this is not everything.

But there are just some ideas.

You probably can overcome
being virtually an educated

because all of you are by
the way the guy who.

I entered to Darden at
the beginning of this

Mike McCarthy who was also
virtually an educated by

John Forbes description graduated
first in his class at Darden.

There is hope for all of us.

Here's a quote from her
Brooks who was the coach of

the USA alum pick khaki team and
nineteen eighty.

You were born to play hockey.

God put you here today.

This is your moment.

That's what he said to that where a call
on an ice team and nineteen eighty.

Just before they went out and
beat Russia in the semifinal game to get

the opportunity to win the gold medal
which they did in the 1980's Olympics.

Well if you think about
this too is your moment.

If you follow your path.

Sions dream your dreams.

And be the best you can be
a you're going to be successful.

I want all of you the best in your career.

I mean you're.

Far worked up here to have an open
discussion to try to answer anything

that you might want to know we'll consider
this your birthday breakfasts and.

If I don't know the answer.

I'll tell you but.

They have I have any questions.

And right.

In

my life.

Every point plots.

There are things that I you know.

You probably don't think at because I've
been up here probably in your opinion way

too long but.

Things that I could you know
I could talk to you about

things that you know I could talk back.

I build a course around the US there.

So many things but every single thing
up there is something that applied.

In my life in one way or or another.

Which is why I'm trying to relate it
to you what would you like me to read

some of these answers would that pass
them around because there were several.

Several of the things they all
ask a buyout I tried to cover and

what I said but I specifically.

Answered the questions that.

That Debbie gave me I
used a debt of thing.

One time at a reunion which was a car
not any of you remember her car.

Johnny Carson used to get a novel Open
the answer would be on the Omble open.

Ed McMahon A sad.

Kick would read the answer and
Carnac would take the envelope and

open it and pull out the question.

I used to do some things
like that just for

fun but we're not going to CAR NEXT today.

Who's who's next.

And

you don't have nearly as much to
lose as you probably think you do.

I

guess I guess if I had to pick one and

I think you asked this
question of what perseverance.

You know the ability to stick to something
and fight through adversity and so forth.

Other.

That would be interpersonal relations and

you know being decent with people and
being able to communicate.

But perseverance is probably the one or
the other is integrity.

I don't think you can or
you can succeed with

without integrity in the sense of
financial success in the short run

made office a good example of that I mean
he is built people out of seventy five.

And.

This is so he he had money but

I wouldn't call him he doesn't
fit my definition of success.

So you've got to have character and
integrity to.

Well I think the most
famous person who said that

in maybe not in those exact words.

You know I've thought it too but
I won't take credit for

it was Norman Swartz Koff
talking about leading man and

battle in the Persian Gulf War He
said You've got to.

Help your soldiers know what to do.

Be prepared with what to do and then
you've got to let them go out there and

do their job in really call it failing.

If you don't want to fail in war but

he basically said you can't do it for
them if you're a general or a leader.

You've got to let people do it themselves.

Fright regard deserves credit for
that but I'm possible.

Well Georgia Tech teaches you to do that
Georgia Tech is probably in some wise

can cause you to be a little bit
risk averse because you figure out.

All the angles and you say gosh yeah this.

This may not work on the other hand

it helps you figure out all
the angles about why things can work.

So if you take it take the positive side
of that coin instead of the negative

side of that car and.

It can really work out great.

Ted Turner want said that that.

The only sin in this.

Success he ever had.

He failed in a lot of businesses before he
built the super station which was T.B.S..

Originally which then preceded C.N.N.
and other successes but

you know he he flopped on a lot
of things before he succeeded

right now.

I'll give you all another little tidbit.

I don't know whether this is mine or
I got it from somebody.

But once you get in your.

Your career.

I always say the two Dahmus people
in the world are the one you reply.

And they want to replace you.

Example.

President Obama is talking about how dumb
Bush was I mean and it's human nature.

I'm not picking on on the president.

I used to have people
when I was in the bank.

Would come in after
somebody got promoted and

they took over the other person's loans
and they'd say God this idiot who

was before me made all these crazy loans
and they had this and that and I said.

You know but the good thing about it
is that they're your loans now and

you've got to collect a man
you've got to make it or

because you can't go through
life blaming the other guy and.

So we all have to have to
take responsibility and

I I say that kiddingly that that
was are the two dumbest people but

you hear people a lot of
times blame other people when

what I would encourage everybody
to do is take the responsibility

yourself you're you've got
the cards you're dealt the hand

you've got you've got to play I'm all
of us would like to have a royal flush.

But not many of us go on.

You've got to do the best you
can with what you've got.

Well having respect for people and
being direct so they know where you stand.

Now people don't always like that.

I mean sometimes they want to
hear what they want to hear but

as long as you do it respectfully
you're not putting somebody down and

you're not saying it's the only way but
you you are telling people

you're being candid with them and but you
also have to be open minded and if they've

got a different point of view you can
be swayed you can't be inflexible and.

This is the only way you can do this.

Xerox the company.

Thought that.

And this is in Don Quixote's book but
in others too.

All they thought about was copiers they
actually had the first technology for

personal computers.

Why before.

I B M Apple ever dreamed about any of
this but they put all their resources in

to protecting the copying business
patent went out on that and

that company which reinvented itself and
as a pretty good company but it suffered

some tough times and now you've got
printers and copiers made by everybody.

Well you're right.

Well one of Vince Lombardi biggest
wins in his first Super Bowl season

was over the Bears and the Packers

were losing twenty to nothing at halftime
or twenty want something like that.

And all the players
said Man he's going to.

Got a comment here and
chew us out and rip us a new one.

He didn't even go in the locker room.

He let them.

Deal with their own pride
on their own sense and

then he went on right before half time and

he said I know you guys know what to do
and walked out and they won that game and.

Went on to win the championship.

Yeah yeah.

Yeah my ten man you make
my Hoddle Yeah right.

Yeah it's a great book.

You know front and

belt Welker he signed it.

It is a great book and
it talks a lot about Coach one Barty and

some of the players in your.

Yeah well it is a great book and one they
are encouraging of what you said in here

is read a lot to a man doesn't matter what
it is I'm a nick you might like to read.

Stephen King you might like Oprah
you might it doesn't matter history

because you know you help help exercise

your brain is just like
exercising your body and.

Thank you.

And then the people over
here thinking what on earth

am I going to say when I get to make it

right.

Not not many decisions are life sentences.

Why did I do that.

Well.

Short version of it.

One of my customers at the bank
called me on the phone one day and

said What are you going
to do long term and

I said said well you know I've
got a great job at the bank.

I was the senior most person ever for
my age I was.

In one of three people that were paying
attention only going to be the C.E.O.

of the bank someday if I stayed so I said
you know I've got a great career here if

I keep doing what I'm doing I could
ultimately were on the bank and

said if I went to another bank the only
way probably I would consider that would

be a jump shift a bridge term but
basically to not go to the next level.

But one at least one above that and
I said.

And if I chose to leave banking I would
probably want to own my own business.

Well he said well I know
how much you love sports.

And so forth and I have a client.

He was in the entrance business.

I have a client that
has a great company but

he's in his sixty's and
he doesn't have anybody in the company.

Who he feels like can run it after
he's gone he's got one daughter and

she's not interested in being in the
business most of his net worth is tied up

in this company and
I think you would be the perfect person to

take it to the next level and succeed him.

And would you be interested in talking
to him I said well I'm not looking for

a job but.

Sure.
So we had a lot.

Three years later I ended up doing
something and when I left the bank.

I was about to be promoted
to executive vice president.

They took that promotion out but
I tell the C.E.O.

of the bank that the main reason I
was leaving was to well I told him.

One thing and
then I'll tell you the other one was.

I said I want to see if I'm
as good as I think I am.