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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
PO BOX 1031
Mesquite, TX 75150
There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
files on KeelyNet except where noted!
October 27, 1992
PEROTBUS.ASC
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This file was laboriously transcribed at KeelyNet from
the Perot video entitled,
"How to Build a Business & Create Jobs"
Perot is such an inspiration to all thinking Americans that this
info should be in print for easier reference, study and
contemplation. Enjoy!
All those who study the alternative sciences are ACUTELY aware of
what research efforts in these areas WOULD LEAD TO if properly
funded.
Since our studies in blocking gravity or building over-unity energy
generators require somewhat extensive electronics/mechanical labs,
we are trying to get a research facility together. We at KeelyNet
believe we have the keys/contacts to unlock one or both of these
areas in addition to other interesting product possibilities.
An 85,000 square foot building has been located and we are seeking
funding for $10 million to span a five year period as support and
backing for several researchers to be involved in several projects.
The primary thrust of the VANGARD SCIENCES RESEARCH CENTER is to
function as an Inventors' Co-Op to create new technologies and
devices that will be marketed or contracted for manufacturing. This
center will also provide for conferences, educational programs, a
major computer network, study center and other profit centers to
help sustain and grow this center as a revolutionary new business.
Ross Perot is an outstanding leader and inspiration for everyone to
try their hand at business. He started out on $1000 with a radical
new idea. We are looking into several approaches to achieving our
own goal of establishing this research center.
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Tips from Ross Perot's Business Experience
in Perot's own words
Small business right now is being starved for two things, CREDIT and
CAPITAL.
Industries of the future, Biotech, Microelectronics, Commercial
Aircraft, Robotics, Software, Computers, so on and so forth.
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Page 1
How does a person prepare for starting his own business?
My advice to the person who is considering starting a small business
is :
Serve an apprenticeship in an industry you are really excited
about. Let's assume you have a Masters Degree in Business
from Harvard, go to work 2nd and 3rd shift on the factory
floor, learn it from the bottom up, (get to) really know that
business, work there a few years, INSIST on doing EVERY job
and one of these days, a light is going on in your head and
you're going to have a REALLY unorthodox idea, an UNMET NEED.
The way you find it, is by burying yourself in an industry
YOU ADORE. That's the way you identify the unmet need and
THEN you have the GERM OF THE IDEA to START YOUR OWN COMPANY!
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What are the most important characteristics of a business founder?
Here is a profile, they're not the brightest people you ever met and
certainly I put myself in that category. They KNOW their strengths
and weaknesses. They surround themselves with people MORE talented
than they are BECAUSE they know THEIR strengths and weaknesses, and
each person in the organization PLAYS to his or her STRENGTHS.
There is a second characteristic, these people DON'T UNDERSTAND
FAILURE, they don't KNOW when they've lost. If you wrote a book
about any of them, again and again and again, they were beaten but
just never recognized it and went on to build a great company.
So, they have a level of perseverance and stick-to-it've ness that
is really unique. Now, they are people that others will respect and
trust. They are very simple people as a group.
They do what they say they will do, therefore they EARN the trust
and respect of people around them. And the ones who build the great
companies, live with their customers.
Sam Walton, standing on the floor of Wal-Mart, the richest man in
America, day after day after day. He didn't have to hire
consultants to tell him what his customers thought, they were
talking to Sam. There is a lesson here, the President of the United
States needs to be out there listening to the people also and not
taking polls. All these big corporations have financial reports and
consultant studies. Sam was out there, he had their finger tip
feel, nothing will ever replace it. Those are the characteristics.
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What if nobody likes that new business idea though?
Well there is good news and bad news folks, for example, my idea was
considered so bad, that I was stuck with the whole thing, now that
was painful in the early years, but that was pretty nice when it
worked. You can make it work, I had no financial support, nobody
would buy my stock, nobody would loan me any money, and here's the
good news, if you have to bootstrap it, it is cold rolled stainless
steel when you finish it because you have developed a pump.
You make a little money and you invest it back in the company, you
make a little more and you invest it back in the company and pretty
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soon it looks like an oil well in the Middle East just pumping
money.
Whereas, if you go the other way, see, you had too much money
around. Now that my businesses are very successful, we keep money
as a very scarce commodity. Now if people don't listen to anything
else I say tonite, please listen to this, brains, wits, creative
talents of a small high talent team will beat massive capital
spending 10 times out of 10.
So I use money like you use water going across Death Valley, you
conserve it and you use the brains and wits of your people. I could
tell you a thousand stories.
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Then that is your philosophy about spending money in a new company?
In a new company or a big company, see, use the talent, brains and
wits of your people and don't just throw money at every problem that
comes by.
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What is the most important trait that the founder must possess in
the early days?
Well, he has to have several, but one is, he just has to do
this...see the Wright Brothers HAD to fly. Two bicycle repairmen,
they had no business trying but they had to fly. Thomas Edison HAD
to invent the electric light. I think he tried every way in the
world and finally got down to his last option when he GOT IT, but he
HAD to do it.
That's a common characteristic, then beyond that is this point I
made earlier, know your strengths and weaknesses, surround yourself
with talented people. In summary, this very critical factor here is
recognizing that you can only do so much and getting the MULTIPLIER
of the talented team. Then you can grow, otherwise you're a one man
genius operation.
Only a handful of people in our great country can create jobs, but
thousands of honest, decent people, many brighter than you who
created the company are willing to work at those jobs but they are
totally dependent on you to keep an environment that protects their
jobs and creates thousands of new jobs each year.
Now the quality that got you going, the fact that you persevered,
the fact that you didn't quit, the fact that you didn't recognize
failure, the fact that you didn't know you had failed is the most
important quality you can have when you have a worldwide operation
and tens of thousands of people all over the world.
Just always focus on what you have to do AND DO IT!
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What is the single most important objective that the creator of a
new business must have?
If you don't listen to anything else I say tonite, it's got to be
the best in the world. The best in the world, you say, now wait a
minute, how about the best in Idaho. Sorry, best in Texas, NO, best
in the US, NO. We live in a tiny little world, we're stuck with it
and your theme song ought to be nobody does it better, nobody does
Page 3
it half as well as you and your team. Then you'll have people all
over the world coming around with bright notebooks trying to copy
you. Now that's where I'd like to see all of you.
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What are some important other objectives?
Service to your customer. The Customer is KING, if you just make
the customer king, everything will work out, see, if the customer is
king, then you've got to have the best people to make the best
products to serve your customer. In order to attract and keep the
best people you've got to have an environment where their goals and
dreams materialize too. So, it all just sort of fits together.
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Is it important to write down what your company is going to be
before you start it?
It's the most important thing you'll do. I did it on a yellow pad,
before I started my first company. All my hopes and all my goals
and philosophies were there, I wouldn't consider starting a business
without doing it, very simply and very straight-forwardly and have
everybody in your company know what their philosophies are, that's
the easy part. Then you as the founder have to live them day in and
day out.
People don't care what you preach, their interested in what you
practice. The worst thing you can do is have these lofty goals and
objectives and then not practice them. Live them, have everybody in
your company committed to them.
On the interview of new employees, discuss them with them and they
should be so specific that people are really excited about them or
do not want to be a part of your company, but at least they know
what they are getting into and they know you live it. As you build
your company, a lot of your satisfaction will come, if you run your
business in the center of the field of ethical behavior and not
along the sidelines.
Unfortunately, in the 80's in business, a lot of companies got cute,
the question was, is it legal or illegal, never ask yourself that.
You're only question is, is it right or wrong? Live in the center
of the field. Your customers will appreciate that, the people that
work with you will appreciate that and once you go public, believe
me, your stockholders will appreciate that.
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How does the founder of a new company decide who to hire?
It's the most important decision you'll make. You want very, very
talented people. Over the years I used to talk to our recruiters
and I said look, I don't care who you are, I don't care where you
come from, I don't care where you went to school, I don't care if
you went to school, I don't care what race you are, I don't care
what color you are, I don't care what religion you are.
Finally one of the recruiters, since we are in a high tech business
would say well Ross do you care about anything? I said you bet, I
care about what you can do and I care about what you've done lately.
Then we'd have a little talk on that because lately is everything,
you run into a lot of talented people who want to kick the ball
through the goal once and then walk around and display their
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clippings. Once you kick the ball through the goal, that's
yesterday's news. What are you going to do tomorrow?
That's the way business (works), the faster you run, the faster you
have to run. Particularly true in a global economy. The other
thing is, look for people who have a history of success. You say,
don't you want a cookie cutter, MBA, 3.6 grade average, etc. No,
none of that means anything.
Look for people who have a history of success since childhood. Look
for people who have a pattern of being the best. Look for people who
love to win because you're going to be in brutal competition. You
don't have to watch sports in this country anymore to satisfy your
competitive instincts, because all of us are playing in a worldwide
superbowl all day every day for our jobs.
So look for people who love to compete and love to win. And I
stressed this so hard one day, one of the fellows said, well what if
we run out of people who love to win, I said, well just get people
who can't stand to lose. Because if you have people who have that
motivation, on their own they have all this initiative and
creativity and you've got to set your people free.
A lot of these big companies keep people reigned in, I have a bust
of John Paul Jones right outside my office, he became a great Naval
hero because one enlisted man, acting on his own initiative and not
under John Paul Jones orders saved the day and made John Paul Jones
a hero. Everybody who works with me, when they walk past that, they
smile because they know that means, if there is something that needs
to be done, figure out what to do and use your head, don't wait for
me to tell you what to do, and in 9 cases out of 9, they'll come up
with a better idea than I had anyhow.
Now that's the way you get THE MULTIPLIER. A few other thumbrules,
if you have a corporate politician, fire him, if you find somebody
who is stealing, cheating or taking advantage of other people, in my
companies that will get you a free trip halfway around the world.
Only I fire those people, now that gets the word out that you don't
do that, that you work together in good faith and your ethical
standards are very high.
These are little things, but these are the difference between good
and great. Create a professional work environment where people are
having fun while they build the finest products. That is so
important and most people don't ever talk about it, but as long as
you're going to work hard, as long as you're going to be the best,
it's pretty important to look forward to it every morning and walk
out the door every night grinning.
Now we have another ground rule in my companies that I would
encourage you to adopt. Never go home at night mad, if you're upset
about something, go into whoever you need to talk to, get it off
your chest, get it worked out, come back in in the morning grinning.
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How important is the customer to all of this?
It's all important, ALL IMPORTANT, unfortunately in our country we
tend to forget the customer in many cases and as soon as you do, you
Page 5
lose touch with the customer, your business will deteriorate. It'll
take awhile, but anytime you think about that, go back to my story
about Mr. Walton, make sure that as you build your company, that you
know what your customers are thinking. That you are really, really
close to your customer.
I'll sum it up, LIsten to your customer very carefully, get a
Miracle Ear if you need it, then listen, listen, listen to your
front line people who work with the customer and you will know what
to do, you won't have to guess and you won't have to hire
consultants, you will know what to do.
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Should the company have clearly stated philosophies about the
selection and treatment of the people in the company?
Absolutely, and my advice is very simple here, all you have to do in
figuring out how to treat your people is say how do you want to be
treated? That's fascinating. You just wonder if some of these big
companies ever thought of that.
Just treat people the way you would like to be treated, is it wiser
for you to have me work for you or with you? The answer is obvious.
Is it wiser for you to treat me like dirt? Or to treat me as an
equal, and with dignity and respect. The answer is obvious.
Now, there is something in all of us, I'm third shift, high school
dropout, working on the loading dock, minimum wage and you're CEO.
Right in here, there is something inside me that says I'm unique,
I'm special. There's only one person in the world like me, I am a
human being, I've got a name, I don't want to be any of these three.
Just call me Ross, do you follow me?
Now, if you will treat me with dignity and respect, and treat me as
a human being, and here's one unsolicited piece of advice, to all
you fellows running companies, make sure that the folks that I just
described, your entry level people, have the same benefits you have,
they need them and that sends a message to the troops. A parable is
the old military message, First feed the troops in combat, then you
feed the officers.
Entry people need that health care, if you didn't have it, you could
pay for it out of your pocket. Very basic stuff, but you can build
an esprit and a team spirit that just makes it unfair for you to
climb in the ring with your competitors, if you treat your people as
equals, and you all team up together and take on the world and beat
them 10 times out of 10. That's what the game is all about.
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How do you handle the problems of fair treatment of women in the
workplace?
Well, women are so talented in my business, that the men are at a
disadvantage. But, I came up with a very simple rule in the early
days. I want to have an environment for the women in this company
where every man in this company would be delighted to have his
daughter work here. Now that cleans out everything in one phrase, I
mean that goes for how you treat them, that goes to fair treatment
in terms of recognition, promotions and so on and so forth, because
DADS are very protective of their daughters. I want this to be a
Page 6
place where you would be delighted to have your daughter work. In
every single aspect and the rest took care of itself.
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What about employee benefits?
Tiered benefits send a message. If I am entry level and I have
rotten benefits and you're a senior executive and you have great
benefits, well I am obviously very different from you. Now I can
understand that my salary would be different, but to realize that my
child could get the same medical attention that your's could get
from the benefits the company provides, sends a message.
A lot of these big companies have multi-tiered retirement funds, no
way. You check them, you'll find the executive fund is fully
funded, you work your way on down, some of those are not fully
funded. There should be one fund and then I'll guarantee you their
fully funded.
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What about incurring debt to build that new company?
My advice for people starting new companies is try to avoid debt at
all costs. If you have to, if it's capital intensive, you do it.
I'd recommend that you sell shares in the company first, we're going
to create enormous incentive for people to invest in small companies
so that it's easy to get cash in that doesn't have to be paid back,
you don't have that interest clock eating you alive.
See, every small businessman understands my concern with the
national debt. Cause his tiny little debt, that interest clock is
chewing him everyday, when he looks at 4 trillion dollars, he passes
out. But avoid it, it's like the measles, avoid it if you can, if
you have to have a little debt, fine, but remember, everything you
borrow, you gotta pay back. Brains and wits, brains and wits, keep
the borrowed money down.
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How do you gear up that new company so it will compete with the
established companies?
It's the easiest thing in the world. They will send in huge armies
and these armies are bureaucratic. Send in tiny high talent teams,
you'll beat them 10 times out of 10 and they will dismiss you as a
loony for showing up and they will go into cardiac arrest when you
win.
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How important is the founder once that new company begins to grow?
Well that's the interesting part, in my case at least, I just sort
of sit there and enjoy the action because you have all these
talented people. There is something I haven't said, you bring in
all these talented people, you treat them with dignity, everything's
going well but keep in mind and this is so important for every
company builder, all of those people had dreams too.
As the company grows, your dreams are being fulfilled, are these
people stockholders? Do they have a fair piece of the ownership?
Are you recognizing and rewarding their extraordinary contribution
by making them part owners of the company? Now let's assume you're
doing that. If you do everything all on compensation including
salaries, bonus, stock options but you don't give people what I call
Page 7
their psychic rewards, you're denying them a huge part of it. For
example, when they do something great, recognize it that day, not
six months later, that day.
Recognize it while their still sweating from the effort. The final
point here though, is you need to get out of the way and let them
move up and run the company. The ultimate reward for one of your
hot tigers is to give him your job. Well, you can be Chairman of
the Board, you can just be on the board. If you're the founder and
a big stockholder, you don't need a title.
Keep titles in the background. Keep performance in the foreground.
Don't have people making their career trying to be a Vice-President.
Have them make their career trying to win every single competition.
They'll probably wind up being President or King or whatever you
want to make them.
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If you could give company presidents just one piece of advice based
on your experience, what would that be?
It would be primarily to stay close to your customer. If I could
have two, I'd say stay close to your front line troops and the
customer and say three, once you bring all those talented people in
keep a magic environment where they want to stay and others want to
come in, then you can grow.
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How do you tap the full potential of each person on your team?
Well, each person is different, you need to understand, these are
not like nuts and bolts, these are human beings, each one is
different, you play to their strengths in order to tap their full
potential, and you keep an environment where they are free to
exercise their initiative and creativity.
The worst thing you can do to talented people is to freeze them in a
procedure-oriented environment where they are not able to think
creatively and come up with unorthodox ideas that believe it or not
are probably ten times better than mine, and very important, very,
very important, leave a lot of room for the 22-23 year olds that are
too young, too inexperienced to ever have a great idea, to come into
your office, kick the door open and say, well why don't we paint it
purple?
A radical, unorthodox new idea, most of my net worth today rests
squarely on the really weird ideas of people too young and too
inexperienced to have a great idea and all we did is listen, and 9
times out of 10, we'd take that young tiger and say OK, tough guy,
if you're so in love with it, here's a small team, here's everything
you need, just go do it and he'll walk out grinning and 3 months
later, he or she will have done something that most big companies
would take 5 years to do and spend hundreds of millions of dollars
on research and they would come back with it. Now that's the way
you get things done.
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Ross, as you build a new company, what is the importance of the
family?
I think the most important thing I can say to people building
businesses in this country today, how I started with nothing, wound
Page 8
up on the other side of the economic spectrum and I can tell you
that money is the most over-rated thing in the world. If you make
money your god in building your company, you probably won't get
there.
If you make being the best your goal, you probably will get there
and financial success will come as a by-product. But on all those
special days when your children need you at the Little League ball
field or at the Campfire Girl meetings or at the Girl Scouts
meetings or at the PTA meetings and all those once-in-a-lifetime
little opportunities when your children need you, if you're on the
road and you're not there and you neglect them, you're going to pay
a terrible price when their grown.
So, keep your priorities straight. Keep an environment where your
people can keep their priorities straight, and give a lot of
attention to your family. Now I've had the interesting experience
of knowing the wealthiest people in the worldand I can tell you that
if you have all the marbles and your family is a mess and your
children are a mess, you can be miserable and unhappy, even though
you're surrounded by things.
So, keep your priorities straight and from my own perspective, I can
tell you that I never felt wealthy until my children were grown, til
they were good citizens with a deep concern for other people and a
willingness to do something about it. Keep that kind of
environment, there is a very special time in your life when your
children are growing up, don't neglect your family to build your
company, if you do, you may wind up wealthy, but miserable.
Here is one that you've got to listen to. Success makes you
vulnerable, adversity builds strength. But success breeds arrogance
and complacency. How do you avoid that? Every heavyweight boxer
pays the price, gets there, becomes the champion of the world, then
starts his arrogant phase and some young person nobody ever heard of
knocks him off in the next fight.
Relish competition. The more brutal, the better. The bigger, the
better. The greater the odds against you, the better. That keeps
your organization lean and hard, always look for the tough ones and
go out to win every single point.
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Summarizing, how important building new businesses, how important is
that to the future of this country?
It's everything, for example, if we had stayed where we were 50
years ago, we'd still probably be building buggies and making buggy
whips and bridles and saddles. You have to keep moving forward.
Our great country and God bless the people in Washington, their not
villains, see, I don't understand brain surgery and they don't
understand business, and business is our problem and they talk to
economists. One of the candidates the other night on the debate was
bragging about how many economists he had on his staff. I just sat
their cringing, that's like having Faith Healers and Rain Makers.
These guys got us in this mess we're in.
Economists base everything on theory, what we need is people with
practical experience about business that KNOW how to do this. We
Page 9
practice 19th century capitalism because that was what used to work.
Japan and Germany didn't get capitalism until 1945, so they created
1950 capitalism. We've got 1850 capitalism, their moving towards
21st century capitalism and we have one of the two political parties
saying, Let's just keep things the way they are, while the other
party says, Let's have a little change, but they don't know what
they're talking about.
The people that asked me to go on the ballot are saying, Let's just
fix it and get ready for the 21st century, pass the American dream
onto our children. That's what we're talking about. Maybe the best
summary I could give you of the perserverance I'm talking about, is
one of Churchill's famous speeches, it's his shortest speech and
this is the entire speech, "Never give in, never give in, Never,
Never, Never!"
Thank you very much.
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For more details on Perot's ideas for how to change our government
and fix our problems, please read "United We Stand", available at
all bookstores.
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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If we can be of service, you may contact
Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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