What I learned from reading The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh. ----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] I believe it’s much the same in one’s profession: Superb, reliable results take time. [4:55] How Jack Dorsey describes The Score Takes Care of Itself: He took at team that was at the bottom and brought them to the top. He focused on the details. He didn’t say you need to win games. He said you need to tuck in your shirts. You need to clean your lockers. This is how we answer the phones here. He set a new standard of performance. [6:53] Bill Walsh on his father / What he learned from his early life [10:15] Bill Walsh on why should you care about your standard of performance: Pursuing your ambitions, especially those of any magnitude, can be grueling and hazardous, and produce agonizing failure along the way, but achieving those goals is among life’s most gratifying and thrilling experiences. [14:15] A great description of the book: Bill Walsh loved to teach. This is his final lecture on leadership. [16:20] Bill Walsh built a new culture. He calls it his Standard of Performance. [20:30] Make a commitment to be the best version of yourself— even when your current external results may not warrant that belief [26:16] The prime directive was not victory  [28:45] Winners act like winners before their winners  [32:20] Bill Walsh experiences the entrepreneurial roller coaster [37:00] An incredible story about his idea of the west coast offense [46:20] Be unswerving in moving towards your goal [47:25] Sweat the little details but the right little details [49:00] Don’t focus on your competitors —spend that time making yourself better so it is harder for them to compete against you [50:00] Don’t let anybody call you a genius / If you sleep on a win you’ll wake up with a loss / Success Disease [54:15] Without a healthy ego you’ve got a big problem  [58:05] There is no mystery to mastery  [1:03:05] A pretty package will not sell a crappy product  [1:04:16] Avoid burnout: Can you imagine how burned out you must be to wait fourteen years to return to doing something you love? ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

What I learned from reading Les Schwab Pride In Performance: Keep It Going! by Les Schwab. ----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---16 ideas from the book: Intensity is the price of excellence —Warren BuffettI am 68 years old now. And I've run it in overdrive my whole life. I've always wanted to be the best tire dealer, not necessarily the largest tire dealer.The people serving your customers are the most important people in your company:We have had over the years some people in the office that sometimes think they are more important than the stores. The office serves only one purpose, and that is to serve the stores. Some of our office people sometimes wonder about this. But I’ve warned them, don’t bitch to me because that is the way I want it. If you want to go out and start at the bottom changing tires and work into a manager job, then hop right to it. If it weren’t for those men in the stores working their butts off in all kinds of weather, missing meals, God awful hours, etc. you wouldn’t even have a job.If you’re not serving the customer, or supporting the folks who do, we don’t need you. —Sam Walton Let the people at the store level and your manager know you are behind them. They are the ones who make you successful, not the person in a nice office who has nothing to do today but to send out another damn directive. If it doesn't help the store, tear it up and tell the store to tell the office to go to hell.There are no shortcuts around quality, and quality starts with people. —Steve JobsPeople are the success of our company. Most anyone can sell tires. The only difference between a Les Schwab Tire Centre and most any tire dealership is the people working there.Sharing profits with your employees is a way to build people. Be unselfish for good reasons.We share 50% of our profits with all the employees in the store. My thinking has always been if I give away half the profits I still have half. If I share $10 million with people I still have $10 million left over. I don’t understand why businessmen can’t do this. It is being unselfish for good reasons. It helps a lot of people.Helping others succeed provides deep satisfaction:Success in life is being a good husband, a good father and you end up being a second father to hundreds of other men and women. Last night I attended a wedding of a young man from our office. This young man told me that two men had influenced his life, his father and me. That’s worth more than money.Promote from within —There’s no problem you can’t solve if you know your business from A to ZIn our 34 years of business, we have never hired a manager from the outside, nor have we ever hired an assistant manager directly to that job. Every single one of our more than 250 managers and assistant managers started at the bottom changing tires. They have all earned their management jobs by working up.Most businesses are poorly run. If you are on the ball you can beat them.We are different from most American corporations, as we think the most important people in the company are the people on the firing line; the ones who sell, do the service work and take care of the customer. Most American corporations have the fat salaries for the top people and treat the people at the end of the line as peons. I guess that is why, if you are on the ball, you can beat them on any type of fair competitive basis.Decision making should always be made at the lowest possible level:A company starts, it grows, and as it grows, more and more of the decision making moves to the main office. And this is one hell of a big mistake. The decision making should always be made at the lowest possible level. Give your manager the authority to make his own daily decisions, under certain guidelines of course, but let him run his show.You can innovate by doing the exact opposite of your competitorsMost tire businesses had a small showroom and all the tires were hidden in the warehouse. My thinking was to reverse —to make the showroom the warehouse.“Never, ever, think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.”—Charlie Munger One benefit of sharing profits with employees —less theft from within:Now that we share with all people, if any one employee sees another employee steal they are a weak kitten if they don’t report it. Why? Because this man is stealing from them, from his children. If he won’t fight for his children, he can’t be very much. For a company as large as ours we have very little dishonesty.Pay the highest wages possibleThe company paid low wages and had a lower overhead. The flaw was they didn’t get —with the low pay— near the quality of employees we had.Get out of your officeIf the store manager runs his store right, he doesn't have to spend hours and hours looking at the office reports; if he's doing okay the records will show it. In fact if he spends too much time in his office reading the mail, it is a sure thing his store will suffer. Sell tires, give service, keep expenses low, make sure everything is billed out, keep good communications with employees, be careful with credit, watch for leaks —do these things and you'll come out all right.Stay out of your officeStay out of a store for 30 days and you've forgotten 50 percent of what you know.Once you get on the ball, stay on the ball. OR as Sam Walton said when asked how he built Wal Mart. “We just got after it and *stayed* after it.”If we think there is a free lunch, if we rely on last year's results and ask for pay for non-productive items, then this company will turn the corner, too, and then we too will start down the hill. And once you start down, it is mighty hard to turn around. If we become complacent, brother it's all over with.There’s a rule they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School. It is: If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing to excess. —Edwin LandWhatever you do, you must do it with gusto, you must do it in volume. It is a case of repeat, repeat, repeat.Time Stamps: [0:01] I hope to pass on some of my theories of business. Should we fail to follow these policies, I would prefer that my name be taken off the business. [1:55] "If you want to read one book that will demonstrate really shrewd compensation systems in a whole chain of small businesses, read the autobiography of Les Schwab, who has a bunch of tire shops all over the Northwest. And he made a huge fortune in one of the world’s really difficult businesses by having shrewd systems. And he can tell you a lot better than we can.” —Charlie Munger  [8:55] The meeting between James Sinegal (the founder of Costco) and Jeff Bezos in 2001 and how it changed Amazon. [13:23] Les Schwab’s early life/ his father’s alcoholism / on his own at 16 [18:10] How Les Schwab made more money in high school than his principal. During the Great Depression! [21:00] Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love by Bill Gurley [25:55] How Les Schwab starts his business at 33 years old [28:22] Les Schwab’s unique ideas on profit sharing / being good at sales is like being a magician [34:45] I had made up my mind to do it differently [36:30] Determined to be independent / early days full of struggle / modest initial goals [39:09] Cap your downside and don’t build a business on someone else’s property [45:20] My thinking was to reverse it. / The idea of a tire showroom  [48:28] How to get the incentives right [57:03] Be kind. We are all temporary. The death of his son. [59:30] Falling out with his partners over money [1:02:44] Unselfish for good reasons [1:06:00] Life is hard for people who think they can take a shortcut [1:09:17] The company isn’t for sale. The stock will remain in the family / What would I do with the money? [1:11:55] Success in life is being a good husband, a good father and you end up being a second father to hundreds of other men and women. Last night I attended a wedding of a young man from our office. This young man told me that two men had influenced his life, his father and me. That’s worth more than money.[1:15:00] Most companies put the emphasis on the wrong part —“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Explore the early struggles and ambitions of IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad, his regrets as a successful entrepreneur, the revolutionary selling machine he built, the complexities of IKEA's multinational identity, and the challenges of wealth management. Learn about his frugal upbringing, the company's innovative customer experience, and the importance of embracing responsibility and progress in entrepreneurship.

Exploring the life of Hetty Green, America's richest woman in the Gilded Age, known for her unconventional approach to wealth accumulation, independence, and frugality. Her contrarian investment strategy, resilience during economic turmoil, and impactful legacy in a male-dominated world.

Explore the journey of Sony's founding post-World War II by Akio Morita, showcasing resilience and innovation. Learn about the success of the Sony Walkman despite challenges and the importance of strategic decision-making and long-term preparation. Contrasting US and Japan company cultures and challenges in the international business world offer intriguing insights.

Learn about Warren Buffett's investment philosophy, including focusing on a single great business and avoiding contracts you can't undo. Discover the importance of habits in business, the value of choosing the right opportunities, and the difference between capital-intensive and capital-light businesses. Gain insights on managing your career, the reputation of businesses, and the key to successful long-term investing.

What I learned from reading The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] What he was teaching were the lessons that had emerged from the unfolding of his own life [4:35] The dichotomy of Warren Buffett [9:20] Warren Buffett wants to be remembered as a teacher [11:52] Buffett’s idea of Inner scorecard vs Outer scorecard [13:49] Warren Buffett’s early family life [18:03] Learning to avoid the habit of thinking in only one direction (18:03), [24:30] Warren’s WHY [29:58] A young troublemaker and how Warren’s dad convinced him to change his behavior [32:20] Warren did what you are doing right now: Since a young age Warren had studied the lives of men like Jay Cooke, Daniel Drew, Jim Fisk, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie.[33:48] Turning a rejection into one of the best things to ever happen to him[38:30] Mimicry instead of independent thought: Warren didn’t understand why they couldn’t see what was right before their eyes. [42:20] One of the most inspiring things about reading biographies is you are constantly reminded that we all have the ability to improve. A young Warren Buffett was so afraid of public speaking he would vomit. [48:06] Warren learning from and working with his idol: Ben Graham[52:20] Warren’s advice for everyone: Sell yourself an hour a day [57:28] Intensity is the price of excellence and examples of people Warren wanted to do business with [1:01:08] Warren Buffett is an obsessive/Munger would later call Buffett an implacable acquirer, like John D. Rockefeller in the early days of assembling his empire, who let nobody and nothing get in his way. (1:01:08), [1:13:10] Warren Buffett on his biggest mistake [1:16:11] What Buffett valued in the lives of others/His idea about claim checks [1:19:25] His “Twenty Punches” approach to investing [1:22:38] Warren’s answer to the question, “What has been your greatest success and greatest failure?” ----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Explore the extraordinary life of Carroll Shelby, his passion for speed, determination, and ability to bounce back. Dive into his charismatic personality, love for fast cars, and refusal to work for anyone. Witness his legacy through legendary car creations and strategic partnerships with Ford.

What I learned from reading Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automobile Empire by Luca Dal Monte.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] Ferrari was animated by an extraordinary passion that led him to build a product with no equal[3:52] Lee Iacocca on why Enzo Ferrari will go as the greatest car manufacturer in history: "Ferrari spent every dollar chasing perfection." [8:50] Business lessons from his father  [11:47] Enzo Ferrari was not interested in school. He wanted to start working immediately. [16:36] The deaths of his father and brother [18:20] No job. No money. No connections. A young man desperate to succeed in life. [23:06] He learned something that he would never forget for the rest of his life: Not even the best driver had any chance of victory if he was not at the wheel of the best car. [24:20] Starting his first business which ends in bankruptcy.[28:31] Enzo learned from those who already accomplished what he was trying to do. [31:10] He does the best possible job at whatever task he is given. Even if he doesn't want to do it. Enzo focuses on being useful. [33:35] A young Enzo Ferrari is plagued with doubts and close to a nervous breakdown. [38:28] The large leave gaps for the small: The start of Scuderia Ferrari. [49:38] Enzo Ferrari at 33 years old. [51:30] For Enzo Ferrari it was always day 1.[52:33] Alfa Romeo pulls the plug/the end of Scuderia Ferrari, the birth of Ferrari.----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Enzo Ferrari, Founder of Ferrari, discusses his passion for his products, his extreme dedication, and his philosophy on building a business. The podcast explores the contrasting perspectives of Ferrari and Henry Ford II, the advantage of founder-led companies, and the mindset of successful entrepreneurs. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of passionate living and continuous improvement.