We are brought up learning the value of teamwork and humility as adolescents, but too often it seems society has lost this virtue succumbing to individual glory and success. I am an avid basketball fan and found it to be a pleasant surprise this summer when the Detroit Pistons defeated the Lakers in five games. The Lakers had the best talent in the league, with two of the leagues most prolific scorers. They had a starting line-up which boasted four starters headed to the Hall of Fame. The Pistons beat one of the best teams probably ever assembled through defense, hustle, and unselfishness in a league that praises high scoring, flashy play from its stars.
This week Fred Smith, founder and CEO of FedEx Corporation, will be coming to campus to accept the William F. Glaser Entrepreneur of the Year award and speak as part of the Presidential Lecture series. Fred Smith is an example of what teamwork and humility can accomplish when a bold visionary undertakes the creation of an industry. He is a breath of fresh air, who breaks from the stereotypical mold of a pompous, egocentric CEO, with his simple approach to his extraordinary accomplishments.
The conception of FedEx stemmed from Smith’s senior thesis at Yale outlining an idea for overnight air delivery service, for which he received a C. His professor commented, “This concept is interesting and well formed, but in order to earn better than a C, the idea must be feasible.” You would think his professor would have known better. After accumulating $80 million in venture capital and family funds, an industry was born and Smith took globalization and manufacturing to previously inconceivable levels by integrating the supply chain, eliminating undesired inventory, and making the point of production almost irrelevant.
When asked how he has taken a concept and made it a $25 billion dollar corporation, Fred Smith often quotes a cartoon, Pogo the Possom. “If you want to be a great leader, find a big parade and run with it.” Smith essentially created the parade to jump in front of, but you will never hear him boast of his past accomplishments. When asked how Smith has continually produced prolonged results and transforming a start-up company to a medium sized corporation, now sitting as a giant in industry, Smith credits the success of FedEx as nothing magical. “I don’t think it’s any secret about what it takes to go from a start up to $25 billion company. The literature is all out there. There’s what you need to do to manage a company at start up and what you need to do when it’s transitioning, you know, into a medium size company and so forth. You just have to spend the time and effort to benchmark and learn the lessons of history and then have the discipline to apply those lessons.” As we continue our education and professional careers we must remember that the information is out there and it is up to us to take advantage of it. If Fred Smith can effectively learn the process of continually transforming a company, while actually starting and managing it at the same time, then as students we must have the time to explore our intellectual interests a little more outside the classroom.
We can all learn from Fred Smith, but beyond his unique vision and drive, is a man that we can all emulate. He is always enabling those around him to make the decisions and share the rewards. He was quoted in an article featured in Chief Executive magazine after being named the 2004 CEO of the Year, stating that the art of leadership “is being ready and able to subordinate one’s self-interest often to the greater good of the unit or organization.”
