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Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion Paperback – July 3, 2001

by Bernie Marcus (Author), Arthur Blank (Author), Bob Andelman (Author)

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One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years

When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.

Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people--and their associates--built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.

Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

Great Stories

  "Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus
  "My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot
  "Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive
  "Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign

A Company with a Conscience

  When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission to respond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies.
  The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.

Great Lessons

  Know your customer: In The Home Depot's case, customers don't pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices
  Why everyday low prices mean more sales overall: The marketing philosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton
  Market leadership: Why The Home Depot never goes to a major new market with plans to open just a few stores
  The strategy for profitable growth: How The Home Depot redefined its U.S. market from its $135  billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to a much larger pond of $365 billion
  How to change the rules of the game: How The Home Depot bypassed almost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers

Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.

Opening the First Store

"What the hell happened? Who screwed up the store? . . . Whatever time remained before the doors were scheduled to open for the first time, we sped around in forklifts, stomping on the brakes, scuffing up the flooring so it would once more look like a warehouse."

Customer Service

"If ever I saw an associate point a customer toward what they needed three aisles over, I would threaten to bite their finger. I would say, 'Don't ever let me see you point. You take the customer by the hand, and you bring them right where they need to be and you help them.'"

Giving Back

"When The Home Depot went public we realized that we had the financial capacity and wherewithal to give back to the communities where we did business. There is a concept in Judaism called tzedaka, which means 'to give back.' It is considered a mitzvah, a good deed, to give to someone who doesn't have, and we believe strongly in giving back to the community."

Selling the Vision

"We had to be psychologists, lovers, romancers, and con artists to get vendors aboard. Our ability to paint a picture of how that would take place--lowest prices, widest selection, and great customer service--was what convinced skeptical manufacturers to sell merchandise to us during the early years."

The Importance of Values

"I have never had anybody work for me in retailing who didn't work for me out of love, as opposed to fear. We carried this approach into building The Home Depot. We care about each other and we care about the customer. The things that we do for customers inside and outside the stores demonstrate our commitment to them. And then when something happens within the company, we circle the wagons. We help each other."

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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years

When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.

Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people--and their associates--built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.

Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

Great Stories

"Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus
"My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot
"Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive
"Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign

A Company with a Conscience

When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission to respond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies.
The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.

Great Lessons

Know your customer: In The Home Depot's case, customers don't pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices
Why everyday low prices mean more sales overall: The marketing philosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton
Market leadership: Why The Home Depot never goes to a major new market with plans to open just a few stores
The strategy for profitable growth: How The Home Depot redefined its U.S. market from its $135 billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to a much larger pond of $365 billion
How to change the rules of the game: How The Home Depot bypassed almost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers

Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.

Opening the First Store

"What the hell happened? Who screwed up the store? . . . Whatever time remained before the doors were scheduled to open for the first time, we sped around in forklifts, stomping on the brakes, scuffing up the flooring so it would once more look like a warehouse."

Customer Service

"If ever I saw an associate point a customer toward what they needed three aisles over, I would threaten to bite their finger. I would say, 'Don't ever let me see you point. You take the customer by the hand, and you bring them right where they need to be and you help them.'"

Giving Back

"When The Home Depot went public we realized that we had the financial capacity and wherewithal to give back to the communities where we did business. There is a concept in Judaism called tzedaka, which means 'to give back.' It is considered a mitzvah, a good deed, to give to someone who doesn't have, and we believe strongly in giving back to the community."

Selling the Vision

"We had to be psychologists, lovers, romancers, and con artists to get vendors aboard. Our ability to paint a picture of how that would take place--lowest prices, widest selection, and great customer service--was what convinced skeptical manufacturers to sell merchandise to us during the early years."

The Importance of Values

"I have never had anybody work for me in retailing who didn't work for me out of love, as opposed to fear. We carried this approach into building The Home Depot. We care about each other and we care about the customer. The things that we do for customers inside and outside the stores demonstrate our commitment to them. And then when something happens within the company, we circle the wagons. We help each other."

From the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years
When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.
Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people--and their associates--built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.
Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.
Great Stories
"Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus
"My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot
"Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive
"Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign

A Company with a Conscience
When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission torespond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies.
The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.

Great Lessons
Know your customer: In The Home Depot's case, customers don't pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices
Why everyday low prices mean more sales overall: The marketing philosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton
Market leadership: Why The Home Depot never goes to a major new market with plans to open just a few stores
The strategy for profitable growth: How The Home Depot redefined its U.S. market from its $135 billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to a much larger pond of $365 billion
How to change the rules of the game: How The Home Depot bypassed almost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers
Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.
Opening the First Store
"What the hell happened? Who screwed up the store? . . . Whatever time remained before the doors were scheduled to open for the first time, we sped around in forklifts, stomping on the brakes, scuffing up the flooring so it would once more look like a warehouse."
Customer Service
"If ever I saw an associate point a customer toward what they needed three aisles over, I would threaten to bite their finger. I would say, 'Don't ever let me see youpoint. You take the customer by the hand, and you bring them right where they need to be and you help them.'"
Giving Back
"When The Home Depot went public we realized that we had the financial capacity and wherewithal to give back to the communities where we did business. There is a concept in Judaism called tzedaka, which means 'to give back.' It is considered a mitzvah, a good deed, to give to someone who doesn't have, and we believe strongly in giving back to the community."
Selling the Vision
"We had to be psychologists, lovers, romancers, and con artists to get vendors aboard. Our ability to paint a picture of how that would take place--lowest prices, widest selection, and great customer service--was what convinced skeptical manufacturers to sell merchandise to us during the early years."
The Importance of Values
"I have never had anybody work for me in retailing who didn't work for me out of love, as opposed to fear. We carried this approach into building The Home Depot. We care about each other and we care about the customer. The things that we do for customers inside and outside the stores demonstrate our commitment to them. And then when something happens within the company, we circle the wagons. We help each other."

"From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Bernie Marcus is a cofounder of The Home Depot and currently serves as chairman of the board. From the company's inception until 1997, he served as CEO. With his wife, Billi Marcus, he founded the Marcus Foundation and the Marcus Developmental Resource Center, which provides support services for mentally impaired children and their parents. He is chairman of the Centers for Disease Control Foundation. He sits on many boards of directors, including the New York Stock Exchange, and participates in many civic organizations, including the City of Hope, a cancer research center, and the Shepherd Spinal Center.

Arthur Blank is a cofounder of The Home Depot and is the company's president and CEO. He serves on the board of trustees of several organizations, including the North Carolina Outward Bound School, the Carter Center, Emory University, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He was inducted into the Babson College Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs and was honored by the City of Hope for his fund-raising leadership. He has established the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation with his wife, Stephanie, and his children.

Bob Andelman is the author of 11 books, including his first biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Three of his co-authored books - Built From Scratch (written with the founders of The Home Depot), The Profit Zone (with Adrian Slywotzky) and Mean Business (with Albert J Dunlap) - were business bestsellers. His latest books include The Profiler (with Pat Brown) and his first work of fiction, The Consulate, a spy thriller written with Thomas Stutler. He also wrote a trio of sports-related books: Stadium For Rent, Why Men Watch Football, and The Corporate Athlete.

As the host of "Mr. Media" -- the popular online radio and TV show -- Andelman has posted more than 700 interviews with Hollywood, pop culture and media celebrities since beginning in February 2007.

Andelman lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

From the Hardcover edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"We Take Care of the Customer and Each Other"

You want a formula for success? Take two Jews who have just been fired, add an Irishman who just walked away from a bankruptcy and an Italian running a no-name investment banking firm. Add--then subtract--Ross Perot. Lease space from a shrinking discount chain, fill a space the size of a football field full of hardware (and a few hundred empty boxes), and you've got a company.

At least that's the way we did it.

* * *

The creation of The Home Depot began with two words in the spring of 1978: "You're fired!"

Twenty years ago, we were two out-of-work executives. Our situation was not a lot different than millions of others who were shown the door. We had little in the way of capital and faced some daunting personal and legal challenges as we tried to get our careers back on track.

In our early years, we lived on the edge, with no balance sheet and a lack of financing. It took great romancing to establish the vendor base necessary to open and maintain the broad product selection for which we quickly became known. We were always pushing boundaries beyond where our industry's conventional wisdom suggested we could go.
And it paid off: In just twenty years, our company, The Home Depot, has multiplied exponentially from four stores in Atlanta to 775 stores, 160,000 associates, and $30 billion in sales. Almost all of our growth has come from internal expansion and very little through acquisition. How did we and our associates do it?

Building The Home Depot was a tough, uphill battle from the day we started in a Los Angeles coffee shop shortly after we were fired. No one believed we could do it, and very few people trusted our judgment. Or they trusted our judgment, but just didn't think the whole concept of a home improvement warehouse with the lowest prices, best selection, and best service was going to work. They certainly didn't realize that what we were planning would turn out to be a revolution in the retail business.

While we want to tell the story of The Home Depot because it's a great entrepreneurial tale, our larger goal is to convey what we learned along the way about customers, associates, competitors, growing a business, building a brand, and many other topics everyone in business needs to know.

We're two regular guys from similar modest personal backgrounds and religious orientation who were given a strong drive to succeed by our respective parents. The values that form the core of The Home Depot's business philosophy are bigger than one person. They developed from our families as well as from key business experiences in the early days of our careers.

This book is the story of that virtually unparalleled growth and the values and culture that nourished it.

But we're not a company that's just about numbers. The numbers are important as a measure of our success. But we've attained them because of a culture that is agile and flexible enough to change direction as quickly as events demand it. When something isn't working in our stores, we don't keep doing it the wrong way simply because the rules say to do it that way. Instead, we do it the right way and change the rules. We do things because they're the right things to do for our customer.

A set of eight values has been our bedrock for the past twenty years. Although they were not put in writing until 1995, these values--the basis for the way we run the company--enabled us to explode across the North American landscape and will be the vehicle for reaching our ambitious goals in the international marketplace.

We're only as good as our people--especially the men and women working in our stores every day. If the front line isn't absolutely committed to the cause, we can't win. That's why we believe a sure way of growing this company is to clearly state our values and instill them in our associates. Values are beliefs that do not change over time; they guide our decisions and actions. They are the principles, beliefs, and standards of our company. We call this process of enculturation "breeding orange."

In summary, we care about the customer and we care about each other. As you'll see throughout this book, our values are not platitudes that are dead on arrival on a lobby wall plaque, but are the spine that shapes the way we do business. These are The Home Depot's core values, although they are so universal that they should apply to every company:

Excellent customer service. Doing whatever it takes to build customer loyalty.

Taking care of our people. The most important reason for The Home Depot's success.

Developing entrepreneurial spirit. We think of our organizational structure as an inverted pyramid: Stores and customers are at the top and senior management is on the bottom.

  Respect for all people. Talent and good people are everywhere, and we can't afford to overlook any source of good people.

  Building strong relationships with associates, customers, vendors, and communities.

  Doing the right thing, not just doing things right.

  Giving back to our communities as an integral part of doing business.

  Shareholder return. Investors in The Home Depot will benefit from the money they've given us to grow our business.

Our values empower people to be their best. If we can implant a value system that lets them apply their basic goodness and ingenuity to The Home Depot and its customers, that's all we need to succeed. That will allow them to do all the right things without us having to constantly tell them.

Nobody loves a company. A company is just a sign. Nobody loves brick and mortar.
These values are our company. They are our belief system, and we believe in them as much today as we did when the first Home Depot stores opened in June 1979. Without them, we're no different than our competition. Our competitors could copy them just as they've copied our stores, products, and merchandising ideas. But they would have to believe in the ideas underlying these values to make them effective, and that's a tough step to take.

The Home Depot--and other companies, such as Wal-Mart--have helped create a consumer revolution through low prices and wider availability of products that was unimaginable twenty years ago. Many of the products now offered by The Home Depot were either too expensive or available only through contractors. Contractors could only get them from distributors or wholesalers and, after all of the markups, many home improvement projects were beyond the means of many middle-class people. Who would have thought that today an average person could walk into a store and buy a complete designer kitchen for $3,000 and get the knowledge to install it at no extra cost? We helped create a market of male and female "weekend warriors" who confidently glide from project to project--and call on us for assistance whenever they hit a rough spot.

In 1981, before we went public, Bernie made speeches locally in the Atlanta area, where we are based. Standing before 400 members of a local Rotary Club, he asked, "How many people consider themselves real do-it-yourselfers?" He described a DIYer as someone who owned power saws, electric drills, etc., or who could change a light fixture. How many, he asked, could repair a toilet themselves rather than call a plumber? "A do-it-yourselfer is somebody who really can do those things," he said.

Out of 400 people, maybe 20 raised their hands.

In 1997, he made another speech to the same group and asked the same question. This time, only 15 out of 450 people did not raise their hands. We had changed America.

* * *

Our employees, customers, and investors all want to hear the story of The Home Depot. "Tell us how it started," they ask. Every colorful detail, every unforgettable, crazy character. When we do store visits, they ask endless questions about the early days of the company. They want to hear what happened, even the most familiar of business legends, in our own words.

Naturally, we enjoy telling these stories. But what's even more important to us is sharing what is learnable and transferable from our experience. For example, while we are still busy on a day-in, day-out basis as cofounders and senior executives, The Home Depot is not a cult of personality. One of our greatest accomplishments is hiring a cadre of people who are smarter than we are and who will one day run this business without us--even better than we did--and not miss a beat.

That's a vital issue to us. Because somewhere around the opening of the 300th Home Depot store a few years ago, we realized there would now be Home Depot stores that we would never visit in person, associates we would never shake hands with or personally welcome aboard.

For people like us who started the business and personally tagged and shelved merchandise and took care of customers in our first stores, to think that today we are opening up stores that we will never see is a scary thought. It is a sobering thought. That speaks to the growing size of the company and the importance of passing on what we know to others.

That raises another issue: It's one thing to have corporate values, but another thing to communicate them. When we had four stores, it was easy. We knew everyone by name and saw them on an almost daily basis. But with 761 stores and 160,000 associates, the challenge is much more complex. We can't control everything that goes on in that many stores. But our values are the magic of The Home Depot. By consistently and emphatically teaching and enculturating them through the ranks of managers and on to the people working in the stores, we know that each and every one of these 160,000 folks will take care of the customer and each other. The rest takes care of itself.

So as you read, we hope you'll pick up a few ideas for building your own business along the way.

* * *

Finally, there may come a day twenty years from now when we will want to go back and remember the truth about The Home Depot. That's the real reason we wrote this book. So we can sit rocking on a porch swing and say to each other, "My God, is that what happened? What a story that was; is it true?"

It is; every word of it. Cross our hearts and swear to bleed orange.

Bernie Marcus
Arthur Blank
Atlanta, Georgia
November 1998

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown Currency; Reprint edition (July 3, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812933788
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812933789
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.99 x 0.75 x 8.99 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #245,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #458 in Company Business Profiles (Books)
- #534 in Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement (Books)
- #1,628 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

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Bob Andelman
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Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of several best-selling biographical, business, management and sports books, including:
* Determined: A Lifetime of Love and Hate, War and Peace ... And What the Water Moccasin Taught Me (Mr. Media Books, 2018), written with Atlanta business and civic leader Felker Ward Jr. (Introduction by former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young.)
* Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (First Edition: M Press, 2005; Deluxe Second Edition: Twomorrows Publishing, 2015), the biography of the legendary artist and writer who is often credited with taking comic books out of the ghetto in the 1940s and establishing the market for adult, long-form comics - graphic novels - in the 1970s. A Spirited Life has been translated for Spanish and Italian editions. Andelman also read for the audiobook edition. https://ASpiritedLife.com (Introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon.)
* The Wawa Way (Running Press, 2014), written with Wawa Vice Chairman Howard Stoeckel.
* Building Atlanta (Chicago Review Press, 2014), written with African-American business pioneer and "bail bondsman" to the civil rights movement Herman J. Russell. (Introduction by former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young.)
* Keep Your Eye on the Marshmallow (Berkley/Penguin, 2013), written with nationally recognized motivational speaker Joachim de Posada.
* Fans Not Customers (Profile UK, 2012), written with Metro Bank UK and Commerce Bank US founder Vernon W. Hill II. (Introduction by bestselling management guru Tom Peters.)
* Mind Over Business (March 2012), self-help, motivational nonfiction written with sports and business trainer Ken Baum.
* The Consulate (March 2011), fiction written with former CIA and FBI agent Thomas R. Stutler.
* The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths (Hyperion/Voice, May 2010), written with nationally recognized criminal profiler and frequent CNN contributor Pat Brown. The book has been optioned by Warner Bros. Television and a pilot, "Trooper," was producer by Jerry Bruckheimer in 2012 for CBS and again for TNT in 2013. It has also been sold overseas in Japan, Korea, Germany, Portugal and Taiwan. Audible.com purchased audiobook rights.
* Four Seasons: The Philosophy of a Business (Portfolio/Penguin, 2009), by Isadore Sharp, founder and chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Andelman did not author or co-author this book but came in and helped Sharp near the end of the writing process by conducting dozens of interviews with Four Seasons managers and executives and contributing additional material to the finished manuscript.
* The Profit Zone: Lessons of Strategic Genius from the People Who Created the World's Most Valued Companies (Times Books/Random House, 1997), with Adrian Slywotzky and David Morrison, partners in Boston-based Mercer Management. The Profit Zone is Andelman's best selling book overall with more than 100,000 hardcover copies in print after 10 printings. Worldwide, The Profit Zone has been translated into Chinese (Complex and Simplified), Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
* Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion (Times Books/Random House, 1999), on which he collaborated with Home Depot co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Kramer endorsed the timelessness of Built From Scratch when he told his viewing audience, "Built from Scratch is the best of all those business biographies." Built From Scratch was translated for a Japanese edition.
* Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great (First Edition: Times Books/Random House, 1996; Second Edition: Mr. Media Books, 2014), with Albert J. Dunlap, chairman and CEO of Sunbeam. Published in hardcover, paperback and audiocassette. Mean Business was a finalist in the Financial Times of London Global Business Book Awards.
Since February 2007, Andelman has also produced and hosted the popular "Mr. Media Interviews" celebrity video podcast heard and seen on his own site, https://MrMedia.com, as well as syndicated to iTunes, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, MixCloud, Stitcher, Spreaker, SoundCloud, Alexa Podcasts, YouTube and many more.
Andelman and his wife Mimi live in St. Petersburg, Florida, and are parents of a 22-year-old son.
For more information:
Agent: Jeff Herman Jeff (at) JeffHerman.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobandelman
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-Media-Interviews-by-Bob-Andelman/10847855738
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/andelman
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrMediaRadio
Archive: https://andelman.com
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Arthur M. Blank
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ARTHUR M. BLANK Owner and Chairman, Blank Family of Businesses
Perhaps best known as co-founder of The Home Depot, Arthur Blank is now widely recognized for his diverse businesses. He has been distinguished by Forbes as one of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds 2017, Sports Business Journal’s Executive of the Year 2018 and Sports Business Journal’s one of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports 2016, 2017, and 2018.
In addition to the Blank Family Foundation, Blank’s Family of Businesses includes the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United; the nationwide PGA TOUR Superstore; three ranches in Montana, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, West Creek Ranch and Paradise Valley Ranch; and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which hosted the 2019 Super Bowl and is home to the Falcons and Atlanta United.
Blank believes in the importance of making a difference – professionally and personally. In addition to the company’s financial success, during his 23 years with The Home Depot the company donated more than $113 million to communities, while associates participated in hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer time. Blank is applying the same business acumen and values in building his competitive, successful and community-oriented businesses today.
Blank is dedicated to his own giving back. Since 1995, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has granted more than $560 million to support early childhood development, education, the arts, veteran-causes, and parks and greenspace. The foundation also leads giving programs for each of the for-profit businesses in Blank’s portfolio. Through his Foundation and businesses, Blank has donated nearly $7 million to COVID-19 pandemic relief.
A native of Queens, N.Y., Blank received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration with Distinction from Babson College. Blank resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is the father of six children and has six grandchildren. Consistent with the way he approaches work and life, his favorite T-shirt appropriately reads, “There is no finish line.”
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Bernie Marcus
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BERNIE MARCUS
Chairman, The Marcus Foundation
Philanthropist and public servant of the highest caliber, Bernie Marcus made a wide and lasting impact in his community and beyond.
In 1979, Mr. Marcus co-founded The Home Depot, Inc., the world's largest home improvement retailer, and was its first CEO. He was chairman until his retirement in 2002.
He then redirected his entrepreneurial spirit toward a variety of charitable endeavors, channeling his generosity through The Marcus Foundation, which focuses on Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise and the community.
Among The Marcus Foundation’s key grants:
--Grady Health System’s Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center and The Marcus Trauma Center
--To improve emergency care to trauma and acute neurological injury victims throughout Georgia, it gifted The Piedmont Heart Institute received a grant to establish the nation’s first heart valve reference center at Piedmont Hospital
--American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA) received a gift to help Magen David Adom (MDA) build a critically needed new underground national blood center in Israel
--The Shepherd Center’s Project Share ensures that members of the military and veterans get diagnosed and cared for without financial constraint
--Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals’ integrative health center that brings the best of all worlds – integrative, global and traditional health – to patients
--The Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem is a non-partisan and non-political think tank that deals with the complex issues facing the Israeli democratic society
--Both strong believers in contributing to the health of the world around them, Bernie and his wife Billi established The Marcus Institute, which provides programs for children with disorders of the brain and their families. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta joined forces with The Institute to create the Marcus Autism Center, which offers expanded services for children with autism. Bernie also was the initial funder of Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy national organization.
As a thank you to the associates, customers and shareholders of Atlanta and Georgia for the success of The Home Depot, where it is headquartered, Bernie created the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the northern hemisphere.
Bernie and Billi Marcus were among the first to sign The Giving Pledge, a commitment made by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will.
Encouraged by his mother to “always give back,” Mr. Marcus’ contributions are always given with the expectation that they will make a significant difference.
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Dorothy meyer

Great story

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024

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Leadership and Culture

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2020

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Great book! Although 22 yrs old it was a great read! Main points: leadership! Establishing a value driven corporate culture! Trusting employees, empowerment, decision making, good business sense, ken Langone!! Walking the floor of their stores. Like I. Previous books about GE and Ford with C.E.C, Workout, Home Depot engaged World Tours and Bernies Time. Also their 14 Points of Mgt, and all the great business stories they shared of success and failures. Great book!

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Richard of Connecticut

The INDISPENSIBLE history of building a business from one store with zero sales to a $100 BILLION company.

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2007

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It never ceases to amaze me in what it takes to satisfy a reader. When I read a book like this, I am basically asking myself several questions. How on earth did these guys do it? How did they come through the funnel and get it done. What was at stake? What were the major premises of the concept? Could it have failed, if so how? How close did it come to failing? Could some one else have done this, or replicated it, or perhaps have done it better.

A lot of life is pure fantasy. You have your own template of how things works, and you look at the world and you see that template everywhere. If you go out and try to apply this system and superimpose it onto the real world, it either fails or it succeeds. Sometimes the template is a good one, but the execution gets screwed up.

When I look at Home Depot, a story that I have an intimacy with, I found this particular book to be fabulous. There is nothing boring about it; in fact I found every page worthwhile. Having spent 35 years in Wall Street running money, and figuring out how does a company make a buck, I found this book even more worthwhile. If you are involved in the investment business, this becomes a particularly worthwhile read.

If you run a company or have aspirations towards a career in management, you better read this book, because there is something in it for everyone. For most of us, there is more than one thing in it. Peter Drucker the ultimate management mind of the 20th century probably said it best when he talked about the corporation as a living, breathing organism that required nourishment on a daily basis. You just can't assume that corporations will continue to exist simply because they exist now.

Every day a company fights for its corporate life, for its right to continue to exist. Those corporate entities that assume that they will always be around - NEVER LAST. Other entities out there either eat them up, or they suffer the slow final death of arrogance, and go out of business without even knowing why they went out.

Home Depot is the story of two guys that got up in the morning every morning, fighting for the right to keep doing it a better way. They lived by the credo that you have to keep moving or they will throw dirt on you. Some of the lessons and ideas you will learn from this book include the following:

· CUSTOMER SERVICE - You have to take care of good people, and constantly be on the lookout for them. If necessary hire them, even when you don't have the jobs for them because you may not get a second shot at them.

· DOING THE RIGHT THING ALL THE TIME - It can cost you money doing the right thing, but it comes back in spades. Something else happens when you do the right thing. People realize your efforts, and some will take advantage of you, but that will be more than offset by the multitude of others who will become loyal customers for life.

· NOBODY LOVES A COMPANY- They may love what you do, and what you do for them as customers, but there is no real loyalty to companies, at least in this generation. Home Depot always tried to make as many of their employees stockholders as possible, so that they could align the employee (associates at HD) goals with the corporate goals.

· THIS IS A TOUGH PLACE TO WORK IF YOU ARE INFLEXIBLE - This lesson was lost on the current Chairman, CEO Nardelli who was fired by the Board for his IMPERIAL management style. He also possessed no understanding of the Home Depot culture as he tried to superimpose his General Electric template on the company. He failed miserably but that's another book.

· IF YOU CAN SAVE THE CUSTOMER MONEY, DO IT - Always do the right thing by the customer, and you will have a customer for life. Go the extra mile for the customer. CULTIVATE the customer.

· THE FOUNDERS WERE LIVING ON THE FUMES OF DREAMS - I loved these stories. These guys Marcus and Blank were honest about what they faced, and several times this company was touching or facing bankruptcy. This is an important lesson. The way around it is to have twice as much capital as you think you need. This by itself was worth reading the entire book. This is priceless knowledge.

· IT'S ABOUT PRICE, SELECTION, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE - Never lose sight of this statement and act on it in your own business goals. Give people the best price you can, and the finest selection of merchandise. If you back it up with the industry's best customer service you have found for yourself a business model for success. It may sound simple, but try executing on it.

So let me let you in on a secret. I spent years with Bear Stearns well over 20 years ago as a limited partner. When I read the early financial stories of Home Depot on Wall Street, I knew that what the founders in this book were saying was the complete unvarnished truth.

The story of how Ross Perot, one of America's wealthiest men in the early 1980's blew having dominant control of this company is now the stuff of myths. Nevertheless it's a true story. The founders ultimately turned down Ross Perot as a shareholder. They believe Perot to be a control freak. Yes, Perot didn't want the founders driving around in a Cadillac. Perot was a Chevy man. Well, the Chevy man blew a $60 billion dollar fortune by not investing a couple of million in Home Depot.

Then there's Ken Langone, the financial guy behind this phenomenal story. Langone may be the only guy in America to be the IPO maven behind two all time American success stories. He successfully brought public both Ross Perot's EDS, and the Home Depot. Who else can say that? He also made a billion dollars in the process. Langone is a unique, fabulous, walk to the well with you kind of guy. Among Wall Street types, he is unique, and the Street needs many more like him.

There is a story in the book where Langone is involved in a stock sale to a very nasty executive who is very prominent in his own right. Every time the executive refuses to give in to Langone's price, Langone just keeps upping the ante on him. This goes on for pages. It is uproariously funny, and is deserving of retelling over and over again. You will love this book, and learn an enormous amount about business in the process. It should probably be required reading for all MBA programs in management.

If you have any desire to understand what it takes to dedicate your entire life to building something, especially in the business world than this book is a read for you. There's one more thing that I must get across that is compelling. Having spent my life involved with companies like Home Depot, and high-powered successful people, I have come to the conclusion that it does not have to work out successfully.

There is no such thing as one must succeed, or it was ordained that this must happen. As an example Home Depot could have gone out of business a half dozen times before becoming so financially solvent that the business model had to work.

Steve Jobs at Apple could have decided 20 years ago, to license that Apple operating system to the PC industry, and Gates and Microsoft would never have happened. GM could have decided to build quality cars 25 years ago, instead of building [...]for decades while the Japanese took the market away.

Al Gore could have concentrated just a little bit more on Florida in 2000, and George W. Bush would have never been. John Kerry could have fought off the challenge of the Swift Boat accusations, and Ohio would have gone his way, and with it the election.

In the end, it's really a question of who comes through the funnel, and that is not always predictable. As I read this wonderful book, I came to the conclusion once again, that yes, you have to go for it, and dedicate all to getting there, but there is no certitude that you are going to make it. Just make sure you follow YOUR PASSION, because no matter where you wind up, a PASSION FILLED LIFE is a life WORTH LIVING. Good luck.

Richard Stoyeck

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Billy K

How did we get lost?

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021

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Like this book and only half way through it. It screams how far Home Depot, has gotten away from the original ideals and ethos’s of how to do business. We now are focused on over head space management leaving the customer on the floor, with no one to assist.

We hire a person for seasonal work, then hire permanently assigning them to a department without any training. A disservice to the customer who as at the top of the inverted triangle as being the boss and cheating the associate who is right under the customer of a tool do their job.

A culture of keep knowledge to yourself because the new guy may threaten your job or show up one of your favorites. Yes favoritism.

Definitely not the Home Depot the founders built or envisioned.

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G. J Wiener

Quality Material

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2000

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I just finsihed reading this book and it is undoubtedly high quality material. Anyone reading this book gets a very informative history of the Home Depot and the two owners behind it. You also get a clear picture of the management style of the company as well as what their priorities are. I am not a do it yourself person when it comes to home maintenance so last wekend I decided to view the experience from the inside of one of Home Depot's stores. Not expecting to buy anything, I left with four items that I could use for my apartment. Let me tell you, the associates are all fairly nice people and the shelves are stacked up high. Was everything perfect in the store, no, but we all could improve ourselves in someway. Anyway, as a shareholder in the company, I am proud to say that this is a company that is going to be around for a long time. And this book truly depicts the Home Depot environment very well as it focuses on a very large audience.

6 people found this helpful

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Ron Nason

Great model for retail sales!

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018

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Very interesting chronicle of the history behind the evolution of The Home Depot! As a 15 year veteran of Home Depot I have lived what the founders created, so I found the book quite interesting to read. The book serves as a great model for how a retail business should be run. The inverted pyramid of corporate management and the companies core values, Take care of the associates on the front lines nes and the rest will take care of itself!

5 people found this helpful

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Neeraj Aggarwal

Elaborate advert for Home Depot

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2021

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Very interesting book but the authors displayed little to no vulnerability. They covered the harrassment scandal because they had to - but given how much they rave about their culture, I'd have expected a more objective narrative

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Troy Kirby

Awesome from start to finish

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021

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This audio book snuck up on me. It was very detailed in the mindset, positioning and branding of The Home Depot. And the stories were fantastic. I highly recommend it.

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Robert Nixon

Fantastic Book. A look behind the scenes at the creation and growth of an American giant.

Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book let's you in on the thinking, planning, fighting, pushing and unrelenting effort of the founders of this great company in getting it started and growing it into the behemoth it is now. If you ever wondered why it felt different in a good way, this book tells you how it was done.