What Makes Great Great

364 Pages·1996·1.6 MB·English

by  Dennis Kimbro

Also by Dennis Kimbro
Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice (coauthor)
Daily Motivations for African American Success

A previous edition of this book was originally published in 1998 by Doubleday, a division of
Random House, Inc. It is here reprinted by arrangement with Doubleday.
What Makes the Great Great. Copyright © 1998 by Dennis Kimbro. All rights reserved. Printed in
the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For
information, address: Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published
material: Excerpt from My American Journey by Colin L. Powell with Joseph E. Persico. Copyright
© 1995 by Colin L. Powell. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc. Excerpt from Having
Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First One Hundred Years by Sarah and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy
Hill Hearth. Published in 1993 by Kodansha America, Inc., © by Amy Hill Hearth, Sarah Louise
Delany, and Annie Elizabeth Delany. Excerpt from “The Creation,” from God’s Trombones by
James Weldon Johnson. Copyright 1927 The Viking Press, Inc., renewed © 1995 by Grace Nail
Johnson. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc.
BROADWAY BOOKS and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are trademarks of Broadway
Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Visit our website at www.broadwaybooks.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has cataloged the previous edition as:
Kimbro, Dennis Paul, 1950–
What makes the great great: strategies for extraordinary achievement /
Dennis P. Kimbro.
p. cm.
1. Afro-Americans—Psychology. 2. Afro-Americans—
Life skills guides. 3. Motivation (Psychology)—
United States. I. Title.
E185.625.K55 1997
158′.1′08996073—dc20 96-24662
eISBN: 978-0-30778608-1
v3.1
To MY STUDENTS, past and present, at Clark Atlanta University. I’ve said it before: You’re too
sharp to fail. To Joseph McCauley, my father-in-law, the role model that we desperately need;
and to Pat, officially you are my wife; in reality you’re much more: champion, coach, best friend,
and the greatest person I’ve ever known.
Acknowledgments
No effort over time is without roots somewhere else. This book is no
exception. In my case, I had the pleasure of working with some real
pros. They include: my agents, Carl DeSantis and Jerry Butler, who’ve
been by my side every page of the way. Together, they’re the best in the
business.
Lori Lipsky and Rob Robertson, my editors, whose appropriate blend
of enthusiasm and criticism strengthened the book immensely.
Gloria Gilbert and Pauline Roberson, dear friends, who have been
wonderfully supportive.
Without the help of Diane Howell, Linda Keene, Raymond Fears, Amy
Hilliard-Jones, Cheri Henderson, and my 1994 MBA class, the Kimbro
Executive Profile would not have been possible.
Lisa Oliver, my assistant at Clark Atlanta University, kept me on
schedule and allowed me to put my best foot forward. Elizabeth Waters
at Nike offered much-needed financial support.
Ruby McCauley, a real gem, and Louise Sims and Alice Hopkins, all
experts in life, whose nuggets of wisdom were felt on every page of this
book.
My daughters, Kelli, Kim, and MacKenzie, whose love drives me on.
They are constantly forced to share my time. I promise to make it up to
you.
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Greatest Discovery
Chapter 1: The Greatest Gift: The Gift of Life
Chapter 2: The Greatest Question: “What Does It Take?”
Chapter 3: The Greatest Journey: The Journey into Your Mind!
Chapter 4: The Greatest Asset: “Right”-eousness
Chapter 5: The Greatest Advice: Work!
Chapter 6: The Greatest Secret: You Are Already Rich!
Chapter 7: The Greatest Victory: Triumph of the Human Spirit
Chapter 8: The Greatest Need: Prayer
Chapter 9: The Greatest Story Ever Told: Leaving a Legacy
The Kimbro Executive Profile
African American Consumption Patterns, 1993-95
Introduction:
The Greatest Discovery
• The Greatest Discovery
• The Power of This Strange Key
• Change Your Thoughts and Change Your World
• How I Uncovered the Secret
• The Nine Principles of Extraordinary Achievement
• The Best Medicine
If you want to be great and successful, you must walk
hand-in-hand, side by side with great and successful people.
—N Q
IDO UBEIN
People with dreams know no poverty.
Each of us is as rich as our own dreams.
—B E. M
ENJAMIN AYS
Build it well, whate’er you do;
Build it straight and strong and true;
Build it clean and high and broad;
Build it for the eye of God.
—A
NONYMOUS
H much better it is to get wisdom than gold!
OW
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
—P
ROVERBS 16:16
As Bill Pinkney entered his office for the last time, he saw shock in the
faces of his coworkers and heard anger in their voices. On most Fridays,
friendly greetings echoed the plant. Anticipating the weekend, workers
normally waved and smiled across chest-high dividers. This particular
morning they clustered in small groups, whispering among themselves as
though the world had come to an end. And then the news hit.
“What? I’ve been fired? You must be joking!”
Pinkney couldn’t believe his ears. He went to his office with a sense of
dread. A long envelope from personnel lay on the desk with his name
typed on it in bold print. That morning, along with several of his
coworkers, Pinkney learned that his services, though “valued” by his
employer, were no longer required. Imagine, after nearly thirty years of
tireless duty for a major Chicago-based cosmetics firm, this fifty-seven-
year-old black man was just the latest statistic in the never-ending
corporate battle to trim costs and improve efficiency. Though his
employer was simply reacting to economic downturns within the health
and beauty aids market, Pinkney felt cheated and defeated.
He had struggled up through the ranks—from an hourly worker in
research and development with Revlon to a well-paid makeup consultant
with Johnson Products, gaining promotions and admiration along the
way. What he lacked in terms of formal education, Pinkney more than
offset in industry know-how, touting a wide range of experience. It
hadn’t taken him long to prove his worth. And although he’d heard
rumors about layoffs on different occasions, no one really believed the
day would come. The industry seemed safe. Pinkney, along with many of
his coworkers, felt blessed to have a job that was so secure. He’d felt his
position would be around for a long time.
“Then, out of the blue, reality hit me,” Pinkney sadly remembers.
“After all those years of hard work, they just handed me a pink slip and
it was over. I was loyal, talented, and committed to the bottom line. I
even took work home to meet deadlines. But none of it seemed to
matter. Dear Mr. Pinkney, we are sorry to inform you that …
By midmorning, Pinkney had said sad good-byes to old friends,
collected his belongings and severance check, and boarded the train for
the long ride home to face his wife and reorganize his life. He was