Yes, if you’ve not yet bought and read mine, I certainly would love you to do so … as I believe you’ll find it inspirational and uplifting. From all reports, many are finding it an engaging read, including Jim, who wrote “I couldn’t put it down. It felt like I was with you during your journey.”
However, the book that I’m focused on here has just been released and is titled “My Father’s Business” … which you can define however you wish … with the subtitle of “The Small-Town Values That Built Dollar General into a Billion-Dollar Company,” written by Cal Turner, Junior.
This company truly began, like many, as a family business; what’s different in this story is that Cal Turner, Junior, is the third generation of the family to run the business, and he was the one to lead Dollar General in its greatest period of growth. If you are at all familiar with the world of business, if the third generation of a family is still involved with running the business, it too often is performing less well than in earlier years, as this person frequently is less engaged, and has less enthusiasm and charisma than the founder!
I discovered this book by way of a one-hour interview with Mr. Turner by well-known financial counselor and Radio talk-show host Dave Ramsey that recently aired on C-span, which you can watch and listen to here.
One of the key elements in achieving success that Cal Turner, Junior, fully embraced which the two preceding generations had not placed at the forefront, is what he calls “serving others!” If you’ve read RADIO … My Love, My Passion, you immediately recognize that in broadcasting our term for that is “The Listener is #1.”
The bottom line here, to me, is this man’s story offers a classic lesson in leadership, with Dave Ramsey finding it to be “… instructive in almost every area of life.” To be honest, I feel I connect with Mr. Turner through his growing up in a small community in Kentucky and my being from a country village in Pennsylvania “just one generation removed from the farm,” as I like to say.
From the Introduction of “My Father’s Business”:
This book is about my journey of self-discovery and is my attempt to share what I’ve learned about how all of us can flourish and how we can best work together for the good of organizations, communities, and our world. I hope that within it you will find keys to exploring your own life and becoming everything you are capable of being …
Whether you do read or have read my book, his book or both, I’d love to receive your comments and thoughts regarding leadership … my second Musings on the subject. If you’ve not read the first one, you’ll find it here.
Sharing one last thought related to managing any situation … I think Dave Ramsey said it best when he commented: “Bosses push … leaders pull!”
