The late Al Green was a merchandising genius who "thought rich," but not until he had gone through a shattering experience. At the start of his career he went into partnership with another man. He did very well, but after a year he decided he wanted the whole business so he could keep all of the profits. He knew he was a good promoter whose close attention to merchandising accounted for much of their profits, but in thinking only of his own contribution he was overlooking what his partner was contributing in the way of controlling financial affairs and customer service.
He bought his partner out, and continued to concentrate on merchandising. Because he thought about promoting as the big thing, he worked hardest on that rather than on customer service. Goodwill became non-existent. He went broke. He came to me for job-finding counsel.
Green could not understand how that could have happened to him. He was a man with great pride in his business astuteness, a trait that not only made his failure the more crushing, but also prohibited his seeking help from others. Not until his children began to suffer from the pinch was he forced to recognize that he needed help, something he had never asked before in his life. And help he certainly needed. He had thought so long in terms of profits for himself that he refused to consider at first how he could be profitable to others. Not until he had been helped to understand himself through analysis of his own achievements did he come to appreciate, in all humility, his real worth. ' Thus encouraged, he did a thorough job of Success Factor Analysis, deciding that he could use his talents to best advantage as a merchandiser of automobile products. Within a week of launching his program, he was offered a job at-$12,000 a year to manage a used car lot.
I'm afraid my own enthusiasm did not match his when he reported the success. "You've proved that you are worth a ten-thousand-dollar offer," I said, "but you certainly are worth a" lot more. Don't sell yourself short on the first offer. Borrow money if you have to, but think rich. Plan another attack, and go after a job that will really challenge your talents-and bring you the right pay for them."
His morale was bolstered and his imagination stimulated; he envisioned a job in which the used car lot would be run in conjunction with a good garage in which customers could get guaranteed service and related products could be merchandised. Two such jobs he uncovered within two weeks, the second of which he accepted at $14,000 a year. What is more, having discovered the value of service and goodwill, he promoted enough new business for his employer to bring in profits in excess of a hundred thousand the first year. His bonus - another $18,000, for a total of $32,000. Had he thought poor, he might have sold himself short to the first man who offered $12,000.
