by Author Harlan Steinbaum, Publisher HarperCollins
Many people have asked me what motivated me to write my book TOUGH CALLS FROM THE CORNER OFFICE. I was a CEO for many years and made literally thousands of decisions during that period of time, but there is one single decision that stood out above all of the rest. I call it my ‘Defining Moment.’ It was the decision that really helped shape me as a business person and had the greatest impact on me, my family and my company.
It’s a decision that is usually filled with anxiety or emotion and involves a lot of risk. Sometimes you don’t know it’s your defining moment until years later when you look back over your career. At other times you know right away. It can be the result of a crisis or it can be the result of monumental success.
I was working at Medicare-Glaser, a drug store chain founded by my father-in-law. In 1970, I became president. Soon after, we began looking for additional capital to grow the business. We received an acquisition offer from Pet, Inc., the huge, diversified conglomerate.
We were enthralled. This looked like the opportunity were had always dreamed about. By becoming a division of Pet, we could have the resources to tackle exciting new opportunities… and compete with the biggest players in the industry. So, we made the deal. Shortly thereafter I became a group president responsible for six out of the 17 operating divisions at Pet. From that vantage point, I had a better view of company management and philosophy. I saw that Pet moved slowly, and avoided risk. They were good people, but they placed a premium on MANAGING problems rather than SOLVING them. My original partners and I became convinced that we could achieve our goals for our former company by doing it ourselves.
We could make use of what we learned at Pet but we would be competitive and nimble……and take the right risks even without the resources of a huge conglomerate. At that moment, I faced the decision of a lifetime. It was my DEFINING MOMENT.
After a very tough negotiation, we arranged a leverage buyout and bought our company back. With our destiny in our own hands, we grew our company and transformed it into an industry leader, and we helped transform the industry itself.
As I thought about my experience, I wondered if other CEO’s had experienced defining moments. I found that they had. I found that their stories were compelling and absolutely fascinating. So I was motivated to write my book, TOUGH CALLS FROM THE CORNER OFFICE. The business leaders I interviewed are the antitheses of what you read about on Wall Street. These executives are ethical, determined and above all……courageous. The men and women in this book represent the best that American business has to offer.
by Author Harlan Steinbaum, Publisher HarperCollins
