Larry Page

Rule 1 - Don’t Be Evil

“We have a mantra: don't be evil, which is to do the best things we know how for our users, for our customers, for everyone,” says Page. “So I think if we were known for that, it would be a wonderful thing.” From its search technology to its advertising to its own charitable foundation, Page and Brin have striven to create Google after the fashion of their own morals. The company refuses to place advertisements for hard liquor and donates 1% of its profits to charitable causes all in an effort to not “be evil”.

“It’s just a personal preference,” says Brin. “We don’t allow gun ads, and the gun lobby got upset about that. We don’t try to put our sense of ethics into the search results, but we do when it comes to advertising.” In 2002, British founder of the Body Shop Anita Roddick called actor John Malkovich a “vomitous worm” in her blog. She quickly found a text ad for her site yanked from Google. Roddick had violated Google’s policy of accepting ads for sites that are “anti-” anything. Brin offered to reinstate her ads in exchange for the removal of the Malkovich comment, but Roddick refused. Instead of giving in and accepting the revenues from Roddick’s ads, Brin stood by his principles and kept her ad off Google.

“Things that would normally be side issues for another company carry the weight of responsibility for us,” says Brin. “We have tried to define precisely what it means to be a force for good – always do the right, ethical thing. Ultimately, ‘Don’t be evil’ seems the easiest way to summarize it.”

Page agrees, arguing that Google’s success will come about as a result and not in spite of their desire to maintain high moral standards. “We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served – as shareholders and in all other ways – by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains,” he says. “This is an important aspect of our culture and is broadly shared within the company.”

In order to comply with their mantra, Page and Brin try to keep Google as democratic as possible. In its searches, Google ranks every web page by evaluating all of the sites that link back to it. Thus, Google’s page rankings are based on Internet users themselves and which sites they have deemed most relevant. No amount of money can buy a better page ranking. Page and Brin also make sure that all advertisements on Google are clearly identified as ads so as not to mislead Internet users. Advertising on Google is always clearly identified as a “Sponsored Link.”

Google gives a number of advertising grants to nonprofit organizations, allowing them to receive free advertising on Google. Brin also notes that another social good is simply providing a free communication tool to everyone around the world. “A schoolchild in Cambodia can have a Gmail account,” he says. “We want our products to have positive social effects.”

Overall, Page and Brin want Google to continue to be a company that they can be proud of, not only because of its financial success but also because of its positive contribution to society. “We believe that believe that ‘Don’t be evil’ is only half of it,” says Brin. “There’s a ‘Be good’ rule also.”

Rule 2 - Look To the Future

“We are targeting innovation,” says Page. “The dream as conceived 25 years ago has not been achieved. Until software becomes the ultimate tool for collaboration, productivity, and efficiency, the work is not done. And there's nothing more fun than doing that work.”

Despite having created what can no doubt be considered one of the most successful Internet companies in history, Page and Brin are not content with their success. “It's clear there's a lot of room for improvement,” says Brin. “There's no inherent ceiling we’re hitting up on.” Google became an Internet giant by innovating, by looking into the future and anticipating a need. Today, the company continues to do just that, realizing that the door to greater opportunities is an ever-opening one.

“Your mind is tremendously efficient at weighing an enormous amount of information,” says Brin. “We want to make smarter search engines that do a lot of the work for us. The smarter we can make the search engine, the better. Where will it lead? Who knows? But it’s credible to imagine a leap as great as that from hunting through library stacks to a Google session, when we leap from today’s search engines to having the entirety of the world’s information as just one of our thoughts.”

When Brin and Page were first starting out, they realized the shortcomings of their competitors such as Yahoo! and decided to create their own cutting-edge technology. By creating a system that could not only organize and index web pages, but also evaluate their relevance and importance, Google had broken new ground. In order to maintain its position as one of the Internet leaders and visionaries, Google currently devotes much of its budget to exploration: 70% on core products, 20% on related products, and 10% on research.

“As we go forward, I hope we’re going to continue to use technology to make really big differences in how people live and work,” says Brin. To this end, Google has made it possible to use its technology even when you’re away from your desk. Cell phones and PDAs are just two of the devices that can now be wired with Google technology. Indeed, wherever searches are valuable, Google seems to be looking for new ways to offer solutions. Google has also started to include web search results beyond html files, such as PDF, Excel and PowerPoint files.

Google has also started expanding its infrastructure overseas in order to meet market-specific needs. In the company’s annual letter to investors, Page writes, “Our business environment changes rapidly and needs long-term investment. We will not hesitate to place major bets on promising new opportunities…We will not shy away from high-risk, high-reward projects because of short term earnings pressure.”

Despite their lofty goals and their seemingly unstoppable ambition, Brin admits that there are limits to the achievements of Google. “We are currently not planning on conquering the world,” he jokes. With four out of five Internet searches taking place on Google, Brin and Page have however undoubtedly conquered their industry.


Rule 3 - Establish a Strong Vision

“Basically, our goal is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful,” says Page. “That's our mission.”

When Page and Brin first started out, they began with one simple idea: not all websites were created equal. They thus decided to build a better search than what was currently out on the Internet. It was a simple mission with a single goal, which to this day, remains at the heart of the company. No matter how many countries Google expands into, no matter how many products it stretches its brand to and no matter how large the company grows, their mission to create the world’s perfect search engine continues to be the driving force behind everything the company does.

“The perfect search engine,” says Page, "would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want.” Despite the significant advances achieved by Google’s search technology, Page admits that, “we're a long, long ways from that.”

Key to Google’s success has been the ability of Page and Brin to rally the company around a single vision, and to focus on doing just one thing extremely well. Page and Brin know that it is better to be the best at one thing than to be mediocre at many. “Google does search,” says Page. “With one of the world's largest research groups focused exclusively on solving search problems, we know what we do well, and how we could do it better.”

Yes, Google has expanded its product line beyond its core search website. Gmail, Google Desktop and Google Maps are just a few of the examples of products that Google has introduced. But, not once has the company veered off course. It remains committed to improving search technology, and all of its products are offshoots of that single mission. “As we continue to build new products while making search better, our hope is to bring the power of search to previously unexplored areas, and to help users access and use even more of the ever-expanding information in their lives,” says Page. “Our dedication to improving search has also allowed us to apply what we've learned to new products.”

It is to this end, to improving its basic search technology, that Google devotes all of its energy. The Google spell checker and the fact that Google search results can be refined in over 35 languages are examples of this. The need for information crosses all borders and Google is devoted to becoming the best at meeting that need.



“When you grow, you continually have to invent new processes,” says Page. “We’ve done a pretty good job keeping up, but it’s an ongoing challenge.” By establishing a clear and single vision and staying committed to this throughout the course of the company’s life, Page and Brin have allowed Google to become a leader in its field. Many Internet companies do many other things well, but none can do precisely what Google does as well as Google does it.


Rule 4 - Take Care of Your Team

“Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything,” Page explains to his company’s investors. “Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people. We have been lucky to recruit many creative, principled and hard working stars. We hope to recruit many more in the future. We will reward and treat them well.”

Despite being the brainchild of Page and Brin, they are the first to admit that the company’s significant growth is the result of the creative and hard working team behind it. One of the management’s top priorities is simply “to have great people working for us,” as Brin says. But, it is not such an easy process. Indeed, the hiring process is one that Google takes very seriously.

In order to attract the best of the best, Page and Brin put much effort into creating a highly desirable environment in which to work. “We think a lot about how to maintain our culture and the fun elements,” says Page. “I don’t know if other companies care as much about those things as we do.”

To this end, engineers at Google are encouraged to spend up to 20% of their time on their own creative projects that might benefit the company. This has resulted in big successes such as Google News and AdSense. “In the same way Google puts users first when it comes to our online service, Google Inc. puts employees first when it comes to daily life in our Googleplex headquarters,” says Page. Employees are given meals free of charge, as well as onsite doctors and washing machines within the GooglePlex, which is decorated with lava lamps and large rubber balls.

“We are careful to consider the long-term advantages to the company of these benefits,” Page tells Google investors. “We believe it is easy to be penny wise and pound foolish with respect to benefits that can save employees considerable time and improve their health and productivity.”

Google also strives hard to maintain a flat organizational structure. “If you can run the company a bit more collaboratively, you get a better result, because you have more bandwidth and checking and balancing going on,” says Page. While the VP of engineering no longer gets 150 direct reports, few walls exist between programmers and management. Instead, Google thrives on its employees, who are all crammed together as efficiently as possible in order to create an energetic atmosphere. “Talented people are attracted to Google because we empower them to change the world,” says Page. “Google has large computational resources and distribution that enables individuals to make a difference.”

Page believes that it is because of the significant employee ownership of the company that has made Google what it is today. “Because of our employee talent, Google is doing exciting work in nearly every area of computer science,” he says. “Our main benefit is a workplace with important projects, where employees can contribute and grow.”

Rule 5 - Focus On the User

“Serving our end users is at the heart of what we do and remains our number one priority,” says Page. Despite being perhaps the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have its customers leave its website as quickly as possible, Google is no doubt committed to making those customers as satisfied as possible.

“From its inception, Google has focused on providing the best user experience possible,” says Page. “While many companies claim to put their customers first, few are able to resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value. Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site.”

To this end, Google has kept its user interface as clear and simple as possible and free from distracting and annoying advertising pop-ups and banners. It has created websites that load instantly and it ensures that all advertisements are labeled as such and are relevant to the user’s search. “By always pacing the interests of the user first, Google has built the most loyal audience on the web,” says Page. “And that growth has come not through TV ad campaigns, but through word of mouth from one satisfied user to another.”

Page claims that the keys to user satisfaction are to make the entire package work seamlessly and to give the user instant gratification. “You want answers and you want them right now,” he says. “Who are we to argue?” This is why Page and Brin obsess about shaving every last excess bit from their pages and to increase the efficiency of its servers, claiming that they continue to break their own speed records time after time. “Others assumed larger servers were the fastest way to handle massive amounts of data,” says Page. “Google found networked PCs to be faster. Where others accepted apparent speed limits imposed by search algorithms, Google wrote new algorithms that proved there were no limits. And Google continues to work on making it all go even faster.”

From their own experience, Page and Brin have learned the value of questioning accepted practices and inventing the right ones for them. They are not afraid of trying new things and learning from the results, all in the name of improving user experience. “We’re trying hard to find user needs that aren’t being met at all,” says Page.

But, perhaps the most significant evidence that Google’s priority is on the user lies in the fact that it is the users themselves who determine the search results. In contrast to its predecessors, Google’s revolutionary technology prioritized websites based on the number of links that linked back to a website. Thus, Internet users were, in effect, able to lend their vote to Google search results. “In general we’re trying to use the web’s self-organizing properties to decide which things to present,” says Page. “We don’t want to be in the position of having to decide these things. We take the responsibility seriously.

People depend on us.”

Jeff Bezos Rules

Jeff Bezos built the foundation of Amazon.com from the garage of his two-bedroom house rented outside of Seattle. He fashioned his first office tables from wooden doors, angle brackets, and two-by-four lumber purchased from Home Depot.

Rule
Be modest in your initial investment. For example, your laptop or PC shall not necessarily be top of the line. Your office location could be the corner of your living room, kitchen, bedroom, basement or garage. Save on office rent by all means. Be like Jeff Bezos who spent prudently and succeeded.



When Amazon was struggling to make profits for the first time, only its founder Jeff Bezos believed that the company's business goal could be achieved in a year's time. Jeff Bezos was highly motivated and he had his vision clearly etched in his mind. Everybody was astounded when Jeff Bezos achieved his goal after one year.

Rule

You should motivate yourself to succeed. The lesson that could be learned from Jeff Bezos is to lay down and make known in clear fashion your goal to every stake holder of your small business. They include your spouse and your web designer, among others.


It is said that change is the one single permanent thing on this planet. Amazon changed the way it does business through the years. First it was an online book seller. Next it expanded into selling music and videos. Its competitors have a hard time catching up with Jeff Bezos' innovative offerings.

Rule

Your home based business should be run like Amazon. You could be selling your single information product now. Two weeks from today you will have added another back-end product. Next month you will have introduced into your product line the inventory of the affiliate program you have joined in.
If your web site is content based, you should be adding new content every day. Casual visitors to your web site will become your regular visitors when they see new content every time they come back to your site. And these visitors will in the end become your regular customers.

Jeff Bezos and his wife were the first workers at Amazon. Their work ethics were marked with hard work and consistency, among others. These traits were handed down to their employees through the years.


Amazon was among the first, if not the first, to adopt online book retailing. When the major book sellers - Barnes Noble and Borders Books, among others - realized this new way of selling books, Amazon was miles ahead. Jeff Bezos surveyed the Internet horizon and embraced the best technology on sight.

Tip No. 7
Be among the first to embrace technology. Be warned though that new technologies come and go. Some of these technologies enable you to run your business fast and easy. Other technologies rob you of your money. Your duty is to examine each technology and assimilate the best into your own home based business.

Michael Dell

Rule 1 - Build Byte By Byte

“I've learned from experience that a company can grow too fast,” says Dell. “You have to be careful about expanding into new businesses because if you get into too many too quickly, you won't have the experience or the infrastructure to succeed.”It is said that there are two basic types of entrepreneurs. There is the roving deal junkie, who engages in a never-ending search for new deals and markets. Then, there is the methodical optimizer, who takes one good idea and works it to death. “I’m not a deal junkie,” says Dell. It is this quality that is perhaps the secret of Dell’s success. Once he knew he had landed on a great idea, Dell stuck to it. The few times he chose to veer off course, his company suffered. Dell learned from the mistake and would never make it again. For over 20 years, Dell has made the concentration of his company on the building of quality, custom-made computers to be sold directly to customers at a lower price than his competitors. That was what he was known for and that was what he excelled at. In 1991, Dell veered off course. He decided to expand his company and try selling products through computer superstores and warehouse clubs. The experiment failed. Looking back on that experience, Dell says, “It was just a bad chapter of the company’s history…[It] was both a violation of our core business strategy and incredibly confusing to our organization.” But, Dell took what he could from that mistake. “What's interesting is that when we corrected it, there was almost a galvanizing force on the culture and on the strategy of the company,” he says. “Because it became crystal clear to everyone what the strategy was and how we're going to execute, and it was reinforced with great success and growth.”Critics point to the lack of innovation occurring within Dell. In its first twenty years, Dell Computer had been awarded just 867 patents – less than the total many of its closest competitors receive in a single year. Skeptics also claimed that Dell was simply filling a niche market, which would soon expire. But, unlike in 1991, today, Dell knows his company’s place in the industry. Dell is no longer trying to go retail and he’s not trying to compete with the likes of Microsoft. Instead, Dell is focusing his company on what it’s done best since its inception, providing customized Dell computers direct to customers. And, since it uses standardized components, it admittedly doesn’t need to spend money on research and development. “Fortunately the niche became the whole market,” says Dell. “So our focus on executing the business model after that misadventure turned out to be a powerful force for us.”Dell’s direct business model – with no inventory and no middlemen – has withstood the tests of time and critics. By narrowing his focus, building up slowly and learning from his mistakes, Dell has transformed and revolutionized the industry.

Rule 2 - Develop a Customer-Focused Philosophy

“Let’s say you decide to buy a car – red, two-door,” says Dell. “All sold out – four months to get one – but a really convincing salesperson talks you into the blue, four-door and probably the rust-proofing too. The salesperson gets a nice commission, when she actually sold you a car you didn’t want. Then, the dealer sends a signal back to the factory that blue four-doors are selling really well – build some more!” Contrary to this, Dell’s philosophy is that, “We’ll listen, and we’ll respond…It’s about the customer. It’s that simple.”From day one, Dell has built his company up on the premise that what the customer says, goes. When he first started Dell Computer at the age of 19 in his University of Texas dorm room, Dell says his concept was simple: buy parts, assemble them, and sell the finished products directly to customers. He effectively eliminated big distributors and was able to reduce the end price he could charge. “You tell us what you want – how fast you want the programs to operate, how much memory, how expandable – and we will build it for you and ship it out, usually within three days,” he says. “And if ever you have a question or a problem about your system, you call us direct. We take direct responsibility for the complete satisfaction of each and every customer.”After his company had been in business for three years, Dell created the industry’s first on-site-service program. If there was a problem with your computer, you didn’t have to return to the store to have it looked at. You simply called Dell and a serviceman would come to your house and fix it. “That was a pretty important plus because we didn’t have any stores,” Dell jokingly recalls. Dell claims that his company operates on a relatively simple concept: “The most important thing is to satisfy our customers,” he says. “The second most important is to be profitable. If we don't do the first one well, the second one won't happen.” Thus, the focus of his company remains on concrete issues, such as improving delivery time, cutting operating costs and maintaining customer service. Dell believes in the importance of adding value “beyond the box”, looking at the customer’s total experience. To this end, he often aligns his company with complementary partners for increased efficiency. Today, Dell builds computers only in response to orders that the company has actually received from users, either by phone or the Internet. Users are able to dictate the company’s supply, relieving Dell of the risk that comes along with trying to predict market demand in the extremely unpredictable computer industry. Because Dell customizes its products, the company is also able to provide unmatched levels of customer service. For instance, on October 27, 1997, after the Asian economic crisis overwhelmed Nasdaq’s online trading site, Nasdaq called Dell, which proceeded to build eight custom-made PowerEdge servers in just 36 hours. Three days later, they were up and running for Nasdaq.

Rule 3 - Build a Company of Owners

“It’s one thing to create a culture that works,” says Dell. “It’s another to use that culture to create a measurable strategic advantage. You need to engender a sense of personal investment in all your employees, which comes down to three things: responsibility, accountability, and shared success.” Dell attributes a large part of his success to his ability to create a team behind him that feels every bit as personally devoted in the company as he does. “Creating a culture in which every person in your organization, at every level, thinks and acts like an owner means that you need to aim to connect individual performance with your company’s most important objectives.” For Dell, that means using specific quantitative measurements of overall company progress towards the goals of creating the best possible customer experience and enhancing shareholder value and applying those to every employee’s performance. “A company composed of individual owners is less focused on hierarchy and on who has the nicest office, and more intent on achieving those goals,” says Dell. “At Dell, everyone is an owner.”Dell is not one to micro-manage. He believes in hiring talented people, giving them significant responsibilities and letting them carry them out on their own. With responsibility comes accountability, as well as a share in the company’s success. He maintains as open a dialogue as possible between management and staff in order to promote the free-flow of ideas and cooperation. Dell is distrustful of overly rigid business processes and encourages his company to remain “allergic to hierarchy.”“One of the typical battlefields in a high-tech company lies between R&D and manufacturing,” says Dell. “The R&D guys make a product and say, 'OK, this one's done.' The manufacturing guys see it and say: 'What are we supposed to do with this?' At Dell, all R&D managers and all manufacturing managers report to one person who makes sure that each side sees the other side's problems and challenges. They empathize. They work together as a team.” On his frequent visits to Dell plants around the world, Dell is known to go down to the production line to talk to his workers, or offer a question and answer session to the employees. Dell believes his main role as Chairman of the company is to create a strong team by giving people the freedom and the courage to take risks. “I learned very early to surround myself with talented people who challenge convention, offer new ideas, and relentlessly drive for improvement. And to let those people thrive,” says Dell. “Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people…or find a different room.”Over the years, Dell has consistently been asked about when he would finally step down and let others run the company. “The truth is,” replies Dell, “other people have been helping run things at Dell for a long time. The greatest mistake you can make is thinking you can do it all by yourself.”

Rule 4 - Thrive On Change

Dell believes in the power of deriving strength from change. When speaking on the issue, he often makes a link between change and “the Chinese character for crisis which represents both danger and opportunity.” The success of his company has come about in large part due to Dell’s ability to not only withstand change, but also to take advantage of new opportunities.“The good thing about our model and our culture at Dell is that both are optimized for change,” says Dell. “In fact, both thrive on change.” If his company were unable to cope with the changing times, Dell knows he would have gone under long ago. “We dive headfirst into change,” he says. “Part of that is because it's all we’ve ever known, but it's also because today, it's a must…To thrive on change, you must understand how to give in to it, flow with it, and derive strength from it. There's no other way.”In 1994, Dell had already established himself as a major player in the computer industry. His company was doing well and its reputation was quickly spreading. But, Dell knew something big was about to shock the game. He knew that in little time, the Internet would soon be revolutionizing the entire industry. Instead of sitting back and trying to ignore what was coming, Dell decided to join the revolution. “The Internet is going to be mainstream and we need to be all over it,” Dell said. His company launched its website, which today represents one of the highest volume Internet commerce sites in the world. Dell.com accounts for almost 50% of the company’s overall revenue and is accessible in 18 languages throughout 42 countries. By not only being aware of the change that was going to take place but also by being willing to adapt to it and ride the wave, Dell was able to come out on top. “You have to use intuition,” he says. “Our business has so many variables that are changing so quickly. If you wait for all the right information and data, you’re too late.” Dell is willing to play it by ear and take what he sees as the necessary risks in order to make the best of the ever-changing situation in which he finds himself. “Some of these decisions you just have to go with limited information, decide what you think is right, and then make adjustments along the way,” he says. “It’s really a combination of data, intuition and monitoring the competitive landscape.”Dell has become a master at doing things ahead of the curve. He likens his ability to stay on top of change to that of the great hockey player Wayne Gretzky, “who once explained his success by saying that he didn’t skate to where the puck was, he skated to where the puck was going to be,” says Dell. “By the time our competitors have moved to where we were, we’re already somewhere else”.

Rule - 5


Think For Yourself
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“The first thing you should do is throw away that store-bought map and begin to draw your own,” says Dell. “It’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path at Dell.”Dell didn’t invent the personal computer, he didn’t invent the Internet, and he didn’t invent the concept of selling directly to customers. But, in his words, “There’s always an opportunity to make a difference. There is always the chance to refine something, to eliminate unnecessary steps, or to look at something in a new light.” It was in thinking outside the box, thinking for himself, and believing in his new ways of doing things that Dell was able to become a success. “When Dell got started, it didn’t come with a manual on how to become number 1 in the world,” he recalls. “We had to figure that out every step of the way. And with each new product and new market, the industry ‘experts’ said we’d fail.”There were those who had come before Dell, but none who did things quite the way he did. “You can stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before and see a little further,” he says. “And sometimes there’s an opportunity to achieve a major breakthrough with a completely new idea that re-defines the subject.” There were also those who said Dell should go back to school and leave the business world to the big men. “Just a few short years ago, we announced plans to build powerful computers at the center of the Internet (‘servers’ for those of you from the engineering school),” recalls Dell. “Through the chorus of naysayers, we emerged as a world leader in servers, and we continue to gain momentum. And as always, we did it our way, with customers – not the experts – in mind.”The lesson through all of this, says Dell, is to believe in what you’re doing no matter what happens or whoever doubts you. “If you’ve got an idea that’s really powerful, you’ve just got to ignore the people who tell you it won’t work, and hire people who embrace your vision,” he says. “Just have faith in the skills and the knowledge you’ve been blessed with and go. Because regrets are born of paths never taken.”Dell is all about winning. “That’s right, winning,” he says. But, Dell isn’t talking about making the most money or earning the most market share. For Dell, winning is about using your own potential to the maximum possible. “I’m talking about believing in yourself enough to become the best accountant, engineer, or teacher you can possibly be,” he says. “I’m talking about never measuring your success based on the success of others – because you just might set the bar too low.”And, the only way to win is to follow your own instincts. “Whether it’s evolution or revolution, there’s always a better way to build a computer, or map a genome, or liberate a country, or take a basketball team to the Final Four,” says Dell. “Just work to understand the world around you. Read books. Read websites. Read other people. Circle the pitfalls and highlight the opportunities. Then build a vision of how it could all be better and work like hell to make it happen.”

Ray Crok Rules

Rule 1 - “I believe in God, family, and McDonald's,” said Kroc. “And in the office, that order is reversed.”Despite not having found the fast-food industry until he was in his 50s, it soon became his entire life. From the moment Kroc first set his sights on the McDonald brother’s restaurant, he devoted almost every waking moment to realizing the potential that he saw in it. For Kroc, this wasn’t just another restaurant; he wanted his chain to be the biggest and the best in the country, and then the world. From the large scale marketing campaigns right down to the size and weight of his hamburger patties, Kroc ran his operation like the big business he knew it could one day be. “I didn’t invent the hamburger,” said Kroc. “I just took it more seriously than anyone else...We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else.” Time Magazine dubbed Kroc one of the world’s most influential builders and titans of industry because he did just that – he built a small business into a billion dollar enterprise and, he did it by focusing on the details and caring more about his business than anyone else. For Kroc, McDonald’s wasn’t just about serving hamburgers as quickly as possible; for him, it was an art. “It requires a certain kind of mind to see beauty in a hamburger bun,” he said. “Yet, is it any more unusual to find grace in the texture and softly curved silhouette of a bun than to reflect lovingly on the hackles of a favourite fishing fly? Or the arrangement of textures and colours in a butterfly's wing?” Not if you’re Ray Kroc; “Not if you're a McDonald's man. Not if you view the bun as an essential material in the art of serving a great many meals fast.”Kroc was a perfectionist; he wanted McDonald’s to be the best it possibly could be. “Perfection is very difficult to achieve, and perfection was what I wanted in McDonald's,” he said. “Everything else was secondary for me.” That is why, instead of simply selling the franchise rights to his milk-shake formula and hamburger recipe, Kroc branded a service. From the layout of the store, to the cleanliness of the parking lot, to the number of pickle slices on a patty, Kroc ensured that a McDonald’s in Delaware would provide the exact same quality service as one in Nevada. McDonald’s might portray an image of clowns and happy-go-lucky children, but behind the marketing, Kroc was an astute and shrewd entrepreneur who was all business. After the McDonald brothers refused to sell Kroc their very first store – the Big M – Kroc opened up a McDonald’s right across the street and drove them out of business. “If any of my competitors were drowning, I'd stick a hose in their mouth and turn on the water,” he said. “It is ridiculous to call this an industry. This is not. This is rat eat rat, dog eat dog. I'll kill 'em, and I'm going to kill 'em before they kill me. You're talking about the American way – of survival of the fittest.” Rule 2 - “None of us is as good as all of us,” Kroc would say. A strong proponent of teamwork, Kroc understood that his growing company could only continue its meteoric rise up if it had the support and the dedication of its workers behind it. In order to ensure staff loyalty and motivate his employees, Kroc did his best to guarantee that they were treated with respect and were able to operate on an equal playing field. In the early stages of the business, Kroc personally took charge of the entire hiring process. Once he had made the decision to bring someone on board the McDonald’s team, Kroc would give each and every one of them a badge with the title of Management Trainee. It didn’t matter what their actual job was; Kroc wanted every employee to feel valuable and like an important part of the team. Kroc would then tell his workers to think of a better way to do their job or of any improvements that could be made in customer service, which could then be written down and placed into a Suggestion Box. The effect of this was that it made McDonald’s employees, especially the new ones think that they were on their way up within the company. Even if you were just a janitor, as a Management Trainee you could feel like you were an important part of the management team. Kroc praised his workers and promoted them accordingly. In return, the majority of McDonald’s employees would love showing up to work every day and would deliver better service with a smile, which was a crucial component of Kroc’s strategy. “McDonald's is a people business, and that smile on that counter girl's face when she takes your order is a vital part of our image,” said Kroc. Kroc’s Suggestion Box wasn’t just a means to make his workers feel like they were valued. Rather, Kroc would use the ideas given to him by his staff to try and improve the business. Indeed, many of McDonald’s most successful products all started with innovations that came from the bottom up. The Happy Meal, for instance, which has become one of the chain’s trademarks and most successful products, was the result of ideas generated from people working within one of the McDonald’s restaurants. Kroc understood that since he was relatively removed from the daily operations of the chain and its customers, some of the best ideas were bound to be those that came from the people who were actually in charge of what was going on inside the four walls of his restaurants. “The success of additions such as the Filet-o-Fish, the Big Mac, Hot Apple Pie and Egg McMuffin…each evolved from an idea of one of our operators,” said Kroc. “So the company has benefited from the ingenuity of its small businessmen.” Kroc saw his staff, as well as his franchisees as his own internal customers and did his best to ensure that they too were equally as satisfied as the external customers they served.It was by embracing innovation, fostering a sense of teamwork, and rewarding hard work that Kroc ensured his workers were on board 100% towards achieving his dreams. Rule 3 - “If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business,” Kroc once said. He didn’t build a franchise empire with over 3,000 stores in just ten years by sitting back and repeating the same formula that had worked once over and over again. Instead, Kroc strove to constantly improve his company and retain his place at the forefront of the industry by taking advantage of new opportunities. Even when there was big risk involved, Kroc stared the gamble in the face and rolled the dice. Kroc didn’t invent the hamburger; he simply had a dream about what he could do with that burger and where he could take it with the right business model. From the very first day he met the McDonald brothers and witnessed their small operation and successful use of the Multi-mixer, Kroc could sense the possibilities. “When I saw it working that day in 1954, I felt like some latter-day Newton who’d just had an Idaho potato caromed off his skull,” Kroc said. “That night in my motel room I did a lot of heavy thinking about what I’d seen during the day. Visions of McDonald’s restaurants dotting crossroads all over the country paraded through my brain.”At that time, the most popular restaurants were those where customers came to dine in for a nice meal. But, with its paper plates, speedy service and on-the-go mentality, McDonald’s was breaking new ground. Kroc wasn’t afraid. Instead, he invested heavily in the company. Even during recession and weak economic times, Kroc remained firm in his commitment to the business and refused to let fear stand in his way. At one particularly hard point in time, when McDonald’s was suffering financially due to wider problems in the economy, the company’s executives decided to slow down construction in its expansion process, Kroc threw a tantrum, insisting that it made no sense to wait for the economy to improve because the cost of building would then also increase. Rather, Kroc said that the perfect time to build was when times were bad. He ignored the risk and was courageous enough to take advantage of both the good times and the bad. “I don't believe in saturation,” said Kroc. “We're thinking and talking worldwide.” Nothing about Kroc’s business strategy was small. From his talk to his deals to his expansion plan, Kroc liked to bet big. And, it was in betting big that his payoffs were even bigger. From his early days as a Multi-mixer salesman, Kroc said he developed an eye for what would work and what wouldn’t, and to take risks accordingly. “I considered myself a connoisseur of kitchens,” he said. “I prided myself on being able to tell which operations would appeal to the public and which would fail.”Growing his business was a continual process for Kroc, one which involved much risk and reward. But, it was only in striving to always be better and take advantage of new opportunities that Kroc became the legendary success that he did. “When you’re green, you’re growing,” said Kroc. “When you’re ripe, you rot.” To fellow entrepreneurs, Kroc posed this question: “Are you green and growing or ripe and rotting?” Rule 4 - “Luck is a dividend of sweat,” said Kroc. “The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” Despite all his hard work, Kroc was not always a lucky man. From his early days in starting up McDonald’s to even after the chain was a well-established global presence, Kroc experienced his fair share of failures. He was not immune to disappointment; what set Kroc apart from his competitors, however, was how he learned from his failures and bounced back. During his time as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross towards the end of World War I, Kroc met a fellow young and ambitious entrepreneur by the name of Walt Disney. When Kroc first began selling McDonald’s franchises around the country, he remembered Disney and sent him a letter in 1954. Disneyland was still under construction at the time, but anticipation about its prospects was great, and Kroc sensed an opportunity. “Dear Walt,” he began. “I feel somewhat presumptuous addressing you in this way. Yet I am sure you would not want me to address you any other way…I have very recently taken over the national franchise of the McDonald’s system. I would like to inquire if there may be an opportunity for a McDonald’s in your Disneyland Development.” An agreement with Disney would have been a significant boon to Kroc’s growing business but, for whatever reasons, Kroc never received a reply from his old army pal. Kroc could have become disheartened and lost faith in his goals. Instead, Kroc chose to remain undeterred and continued approaching other franchisors across the country. Crisscrossing the U.S., Kroc carried on planting McDonald’s restaurants wherever he could. Yes, he was turned down by what would have been one of his biggest franchisors to date, but Kroc didn’t let that stand in his way. Kroc’s failures weren’t just limited to his early on in his career. Even after McDonald’s had become a global empire and one of the most successful giants in the fast food industry, Kroc continued to come face to face with brick walls. The entrepreneur that he is, Kroc’s desire to take risks and innovate didn’t decrease with the success that he had already achieved. Instead, he continued to try new things in order to take his company to even greater heights. From upscale hamburger restaurants to German-tavern restaurants to pie shops and even other theme parks, Kroc’s endeavours were often met with dismal results. What kept Kroc going even throughout the most disappointing of failures? How did he bounce back from the twists of fate that could have just as easily ended his career? With his keen sense of future trends, Kroc had a strong belief in himself and his vision. And, he wasn’t doing it for the money: “If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours,” said Kroc. “All money means to me is a pride in accomplishment.” Rule 5 - “We're not in the hamburger business,” said Kroc. “We're in show business.” Kroc understood that it was all in the message; the success of McDonald’s was going to be based on how the company was perceived by the public. Thus, Kroc spent much time and effort developing an effective marketing plan. First and foremost, Kroc decided to focus on marketing at the local level. It was by thinking big, but acting small that Kroc was able to expand the chain into a global powerhouse. In the eyes of Kroc, each McDonald’s that he helped erect was a local business and also part of a local community. Thus, each franchise had to be marketed and tailored to its unique needs and those of its surroundings. In order to do this effectively, Kroc focused on marketing within the four walls of each unique store. By insisting that his franchise operators lived in the communities where they worked, Kroc was ensuring that they would be better equipped to understand the unique dynamics of their locations. This principle of neighbourhood marketing became one of the keys to the entire system. Much like Kroc had encouraged suggestions from his staff in a bottom-up manner, he also recognized that marketing had to be executed in a bottom-up strategy. Kroc understood that it was in each unique neighbourhood franchise that the retail war would be won or lost. Thus, while each McDonald’s outlet kept the basic standards in terms of “QSC” (quality, service and cleanliness), marketing needs were tailored to each. Kroc devoted a large part of the McDonald’s budget towards hiring regional advertising agencies. He believed having these local representatives who could work “on the ground” would help ensure that even as the company’s national stature and spending continued to grow, it could retain its overall localized system. These field executives would organize grand openings, birthday clubs and also help initiate a wide range of community programs. Community involvement was extremely important from Kroc’s point of view, but not simply for altruistic purposes. Kroc was an astute businessman who understood that community involvement was a key part of an effective marketing strategy. Contributing to the local neighbourhoods in which McDonald’s restaurants were located would improve public attitudes towards the expanding chain. This tradition of giving back that Kroc initiated so many years ago remains an integral part of the McDonald’s corporate philosophy. From Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami in South East Asia, to the Florida Hurricane and Camp Mickey D’s in San Antonio, Texas, McDonald’s continues to build its community presence. As the company carries on its expansion process today, it is increasingly embracing new forms of marketing and promotion. From celebrity endorsements to sports alliances, McDonald’s is making strategic moves into the worlds of music, fashion, sports and entertainment. And, while it undoubtedly has a national marketing presence, McDonald’s has not lost sight of Kroc’s original goals of creating predictable but unique restaurants, custom tailored to each individual neighbourhood. “We're not in the hamburger business,” said Kroc. “We're in show business.” Kroc understood that it was all in the message; the success of McDonald’s was going to be based on how the company was perceived by the public. Thus, Kroc spent much time and effort developing an effective marketing plan. First and foremost, Kroc decided to focus on marketing at the local level. It was by thinking big, but acting small that Kroc was able to expand the chain into a global powerhouse. In the eyes of Kroc, each McDonald’s that he helped erect was a local business and also part of a local community. Thus, each franchise had to be marketed and tailored to its unique needs and those of its surroundings. In order to do this effectively, Kroc focused on marketing within the four walls of each unique store. By insisting that his franchise operators lived in the communities where they worked, Kroc was ensuring that they would be better equipped to understand the unique dynamics of their locations. This principle of neighbourhood marketing became one of the keys to the entire system. Much like Kroc had encouraged suggestions from his staff in a bottom-up manner, he also recognized that marketing had to be executed in a bottom-up strategy. Kroc understood that it was in each unique neighbourhood franchise that the retail war would be won or lost. Thus, while each McDonald’s outlet kept the basic standards in terms of “QSC” (quality, service and cleanliness), marketing needs were tailored to each. Kroc devoted a large part of the McDonald’s budget towards hiring regional advertising agencies. He believed having these local representatives who could work “on the ground” would help ensure that even as the company’s national stature and spending continued to grow, it could retain its overall localized system. These field executives would organize grand openings, birthday clubs and also help initiate a wide range of community programs. Community involvement was extremely important from Kroc’s point of view, but not simply for altruistic purposes. Kroc was an astute businessman who understood that community involvement was a key part of an effective marketing strategy. Contributing to the local neighbourhoods in which McDonald’s restaurants were located would improve public attitudes towards the expanding chain. This tradition of giving back that Kroc initiated so many years ago remains an integral part of the McDonald’s corporate philosophy. From Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami in South East Asia, to the Florida Hurricane and Camp Mickey D’s in San Antonio, Texas, McDonald’s continues to build its community presence. As the company carries on its expansion process today, it is increasingly embracing new forms of marketing and promotion. From celebrity endorsements to sports alliances, McDonald’s is making strategic moves into the worlds of music, fashion, sports and entertainment. And, while it undoubtedly has a national marketing presence, McDonald’s has not lost sight of Kroc’s original goals of creating predictable but unique restaurants, custom tailored to each individual neighbourhood.

Sam Walton Rules

Rule 1 - “Individuals don’t win, teams do,” Walton once said. If you worked for Wal-Mart, Sam Walton was your partner, not your boss.

Rule 2 - There is only one boss,” . “The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

Rule 3 - “If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever,”

Rule 4 - “I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they've been,”

Rule 5 - “Don't take yourself so seriously,” . “Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun.”

Jack Welch Rules

Jack Welch, GE, General Electric, business, ceo, executive, idea, innovation, managment, money, oranization, rules, leadership, execution

Steve Job Rules

1. Steve Jobs said: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”Innovation has no limits. The only limit is your imagination. It’s time for you to begin thinking out of the box. If you are involved in a growing industry, think of ways to become more efficient; more customer friendly; and easier to do business with. If you are involved in a shrinking industry – get out of it quick and change before you become obsolete; out of work; or out of business. And remember that procrastination is not an option here. Start innovating now!2. Steve Jobs said: “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”There is no shortcut to excellence. You will have to make the commitment to make excellence your priority. Use your talents, abilities, and skills in the best way possible and get ahead of others by giving that little extra. Live by a higher standard and pay attention to the details that really do make the difference. Excellence is not difficult - simply decide right now to give it your best shot - and you will be amazed with what life gives you back.3. Steve Jobs said: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”I’ve got it down to four words: “Do what you love.” Seek out an occupation that gives you a sense of meaning, direction and satisfaction in life. Having a sense of purpose and striving towards goals gives life meaning, direction and satisfaction. It not only contributes to health and longevity, but also makes you feel better in difficult times. Do you jump out of bed on Monday mornings and look forward to the work week? If the answer is ‘no’ keep looking, you’ll know when you find it.4. Steve Jobs said: “You know, we don’t grow most of the food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we’re constantly taking things. It’s a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge.”Live in a way that is ethically responsible. Try to make a difference in this world and contribute to the higher good. You’ll find it gives more meaning to your life and it’s a great antidote to boredom. There is always so much to be done. And talk to others about what you are doing. Don’t preach or be self-righteous, or fanatical about it, that just puts people off, but at the same time, don’t be shy about setting an example, and use opportunities that arise to let others know what you are doing.5. Steve Jobs said: “There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.”It is the kind of mind that can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything. Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgements and prejudices. Think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement.6. Steve Jobs said: “We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.”Reams of academic studies over the decades have amply confirmed television’s pernicious mental and moral influences. And most TV watchers know that their habit is mind-numbing and wasteful, but still spend most of their time in front of that box. So turn your TV off and save some brain cells. But be cautious, you can turn your brain off by using a computer also. Try and have an intelligent conversation with someone who plays first person shooters for 8 hours a day. Or auto race games, or role-playing games.7. Steve Jobs said: “I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”Don’t equate making mistakes with being a mistake. There is no such thing as a successful person who has not failed or made mistakes, there are successful people who made mistakes and changed their lives or performance in response to them, and so got it right the next time. They viewed mistakes as warnings rather than signs of hopeless inadequacy. Never making a mistake means never living life to the full.8. Steve Jobs said: “I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.”Over the last decade, numerous books featuring lessons from historical figures have appeared on the shelves of bookstores around the world. And Socrates stands with Leonardo da Vinci, Nicholas Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein as a beacon of inspiration for independent thinkers. But he came first. Cicero said of Socrates that, “He called philosophy down from the skies and into the lives of men.” So use Socrates’ principles in your life, your work, your learning, and your relationships. It’s not about Socrates, it’s really about you, and how you can bring more truth, beauty and goodness into your life everyday.9. Steve Jobs said: “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?”Did you know that you have big things to accomplish in life? And did you know that those big things are getting rather dusty while you pour yourself another cup of coffee, and decide to mull things over rather than do them? We were all born with a gift to give in life, one which informs all of our desires, interests, passions and curiosities. This gift is, in fact, our purpose. And you don’t need permission to decide your own purpose. No boss, teacher, parent, priest or other authority can decide this for you. Just find that unique purpose.10. Steve Jobs said: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”Are you tired of living someone else’s dream? No doubt, its your life and you have every right to spend it in your own individual way without any hurdles or barriers from others. Give yourself a chance to nurture your creative qualities in a fear-free and pressure-free climate. Live a life that YOU choose and be your own boss.

Bill Rules

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.