Let’s presume that environment and culture shape a child’s development. I grew up in an environment can be best described in one word – entrepreneurial. Not the glamorous “rah-rah, livin’ the dream” sort of entrepreneurial experience you read about in school. I’m talking about the struggles of a real family riding the roller coaster that start-ups behold as their mainstay attraction. That is the culture of my youth.
I was not directly active in these start-ups (I was a little young for the nuclear industry), but I did absorb the desire. It started in high school with a lawn care and landscaping business. I know – everyone in high school did that back in the day. Believe me, I’ve heard it. However, dare I brag that our company grew so successful that my partner continued well beyond high school. We were a touch more serious.
I have started companies ranging from restaurants to television production companies, executed turnarounds and held a number of executive roles over the course of my career. With each of these experiences I sharpen my leadership and business acumen.
I was once told that I “know everything”. Not true – I simply apply logic and rules for success to everything I do. The industries may differ, but the rules for success remain more constant and universal than people think.