Always Think Big PDF
Preview Always Think Big
Always Think Big Dearborn Trade Publishing This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative informa- tion in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other pro- fessional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the ser- vices of a competent professional person should be sought. Acquisitions Editor: Mary B. Good Senior Project Editor: Trey Thoelcke Interior Design: Lucy Jenkins Cover Design: Design Alliance, Inc. Typesetting: Elizabeth Pitts 2002 by Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc. Published by Dearborn Trade Publishing, a Kaplan Professional Company All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 02 03 04 05 06 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McIngvale, Jim. Always think big : how Mattress Mack’s uncompromising attitude built the biggest single retail store in America / Jim McIngvale, Thomas N. Duening, John M. Ivancevich. p. cm. ISBN 0-7931-5375-1 1. Success in business. 2. Gallery Furniture (Houston, Tex.) I. Title: How Mattress Mack’s uncompromising attitude built the biggest single retail store in America. II. Duening, Thomas N. III. Ivancevich, John M. IV. Title. HF5386 .M193 2002 658—dc21 2002000371 Dearborn Trade books are available at special quantity discounts to use for sales promotions, employee premiums, or educational purposes. Please call our Special Sales Department to order or for more information, at 800-621- 9621, ext. 4455, or write Dearborn Trade Publishing, 155 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606-1719. C O N T E N T S I N T R O D U C T I O N V 1. Mattress Mack: An Introduction 1 2. Gallery Furniture: The World’s Furniture Store 27 3. PRINCIPLE 1 Establish a Values-Based Culture 53 4. PRINCIPLE 2 FAST—Focus, Action, Search, and Tenacity 79 5. PRINCIPLE 3 Action before Energy 99 6. PRINCIPLE 4 Sell with Pride 123 7. PRINCIPLE 5 Build Relationships 145 8. PRINCIPLE 6 Always Think Big 169 9. PRINCIPLE 7 Managing and Marketing Philanthropy 191 10. Personalizing Mack’s Lessons 211 I N D E X 2 3 9 iii I N T R O D U C T I O N For many years we have observed from a distance the ever-present, fast-talking, noisy, Gallery Furniture business owner, affectionately known as “Mattress Mack.” Jim McIngvale is a raspy-voiced marketing genius and charismatic leader who has amazed us again and again with his style, energy, passion to help others, and big ideas to entertain and delight custom- ers. Mack is a doer—a ready, fire, aim business icon. To give readers an idea of the scope of Mack’s abil- ity to think big, consider that his retail store, Gallery Furniture, sells more furniture per square foot of retail space than any store in the world! Mack has driven his vision to world class status. His single-site store in Houston, Texas, sells more than $200 million worth of furniture annually. Gallery stands alone, as the most productive furniture store in the world. That’s BIG! Mack’s influence extends far beyond Gallery Fur- niture. He is one of Houston’s most well-known phi- lanthropists and community leaders. You won’t read about Mack in the society pages attending this or that ball or gala. He doesn’t go in for those things. Mack’s philanthropy, like everything else, is done in a straight- forward, no-nonsense manner. If a cause catches his attention, he’s going to act in a BIG way to make a dif- ference. Whether he’s feeding tens of thousands of people at the Convention Center for Thanksgiving, v vi Introduction purchasing the Grand Champion Steer at the charity auction of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, or organizing a welcome-home party for Houston’s NBA Championship team, Mack ALWAYS THINKS BIG! Over the years in various business classes we have taught, we have taken informal surveys to determine the person students perceive as the most-recognized business leader in Texas. Since the mid-1980s to the present, Mack is the person most often identified. There is no contest. The second-place person usually receives about 5 percent to 10 percent of the mentions, and Mack gets about 80 percent. Students, like Mack’s employees and Gallery Furniture customers, are in awe of him. He is a whirling bundle of energy, a rapid- fire talker who has become a celebrity. Think of a mix of P.T. Barnum, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, and George Steinbrenner all rolled up into a single, dynamic personality. This mixture would be someone resembling Mack. He is a store owner with a flair for entertainment, a reputation for keeping prom- ises, a commitment to doing the right thing and help- ing others, and insisting with a steel fist on selling high-quality furniture at a fair price. Mack conducts no-nonsense business. An experience that illustrates Mack’s unique and entertaining style involved a sparring match with heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. The world champ was conducting an exhibition in Dallas in the late 1970s. At the time Mack was owner of several strug- gling health clubs. Mack went to the event to see Ali Introduction vii and to promote his health club business. Ali asked if anyone in the audience would like to box a few rounds with him. Mack raised his hand, and Ali told him to come on up into the ring. Mack actually had some am- ateur boxing training and thought it would be a lot of fun. When Mack got into the ring with Ali, he immedi- ately knew that if the champ wanted to he could flat- ten him in seconds. As their sparring began, Mack and Ali moved around the ring feeling each other out. When they got into a clinch, Ali whispered to Mack to knock him down. Ali told him that when Mack threw a punch, Ali would drop like a sack. Then he asked Mack to holler an insulting remark as he stood looking over the knocked-down champ. Mack thought, if I do what Ali is instructing me to do, these fans are going to riot. But Ali kept urging him to knock him down. Finally, after building up a brief moment of courage, Mack threw a roundhouse punch. Ali pretended like he was hit with a ton of bricks. He dropped to the floor and sprawled on the canvas. Ali, looking up at Mack and grinning, whis- pered for him to shout an insulting remark. Mack finally looked down and shouted, “I knocked the bum out!” The crowd recoiled, booed, and started to get rowdy. Mack feared that he wasn’t going to be able to get out of the building. Before things got out of hand, Ali jumped to his feet, put his arm around Mack, and roared with laugh- ter. The champ explained to the crowd that every- viii Introduction thing was fixed. Mack’s boxing skills couldn’t hurt a fly. The people in the audience roared, and Ali joked andentertained, turning them quickly into a laugh- ing, happy, wildly applauding mob. Mack was in the center of the ring, having the time of his life. Mack considers Ali the greatest heavyweight boxer in history and a great entertainer. Ali combined his great talent with showmanship to rise above all other boxers. Above all, Ali entertained his custom- ers, the audience. They couldn’t get enough of his style, antics, and gimmicks. Mack left this exhibition and hisAli match believing that entertainment had to be apart of any business. Ali was a role model who showed Mack firsthand how to win over an audience by being a showman. Although Mack couldn’t save his troubled health clubs, he has applied the Ali-style, delight-and-enter- tain approach to his Gallery Furniture customers. The unique and productive retail environment Mack has created provides stunning testimony to the power of a single-minded focus on customer delight. Ali knew his audience loved his audacity and ability to re-create himself again and again. Mack has the same laser focus on his customers, who delight in his ability to make each trip to Gallery Furniture exciting and new. We have conducted large and small behavioral science studies of executives and managers from around the world. Over 200 companies have permit- ted us to conduct detailed scientific studies of mana- gerial styles, characteristics, needs and motivations, Introduction ix emotions, and stress levels. Never have we found or been up close to anyone like Mack. He is a force of one, a single, unique character who happens to be one of the most successful businessmen in the world. We agreed to help Mack write this book to tell his business story and to illustrate his formula and princi- ples for success. We find in the Mack story, style and experience, principles that are applicable in nearly any business. Mack’s story is unique, inspirational, and in- structional all at the same time. Readers can benefit in many ways, professionally and personally, by examin- ing up close how, why, when, and where Mack thinks and operates. Some of Mack’s behavior is not easy to imitate. At 51 years old, he still works backbreaking 16-hour days too frequently to be admired. He is by his own admis- sion a workaholic. He works hard and with such a passion that it is contagious at Gallery Furniture. Employees and ex-employees respect and love him for being who he is, just Mack. Meet him at Gallery Furni- ture, and he is the same as when you meet him at a sporting event, charity dinner, or at a speech he is giv- ing in a grade school. Mack’s expressed and executed goal in business life is to delight customers. His simple philosophy is: The customer is always right. This is the enter- tainment business. We’re here to make sure people have fun. We don’t want them walking around like
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