Longaberger: An American Success Story: Dave Longaberger
Editorial Reviews
Although many businesspeople may not yet be familiar with Dave Longaberger and the hugely successful basket company that bears his name, they probably should be. The story of the man and his enterprise, as told in Longaberger: An American Success Story, is as informative and inspiring as any likely to pass their way. In fact, this plainspoken memoir–prepared with business writer Robert Shook shortly before Longaberger’s death from cancer in 1999–ought to be required for all entrepreneurs who think they really know what makes the business world go round.
In its pages, Longaberger candidly relates how he first learned to share and do his part as one of 12 children in a small house in tiny Dresden, Ohio–and how seemingly major drawbacks like epilepsy, stuttering, learning disabilities, and lack of a college education never deterred him. He tells how he kicked off his entrepreneurial career with a restaurant and grocery-drugstore before opening the basket company in 1973 as a part-time family affair, and how its workforce ultimately grew to 8,000 while revenues hit $1 billion. Longaberger fully explains overcoming his difficulties and learning the real secrets of business by shoveling snow and toiling in a grocery store as a youngster, and then selling baked goods and working in a factory as a young man. He also shows how this knowledge, and his penchant for the unconventional, became invaluable when he went into business for himself. The story includes Longaberger’s rationale for the moves he parlayed into success, and offers his specific management principles along with advice on how and why to implement them. At its heart, though, Longaberger’s message is deceptively simple. “If you remember nothing else about this book,” he writes, “I hope you realize that if a small-town boy like me can make it, anyone in America who’s willing to work hard should be able to earn a darn good living.” –Howard Rothman
From Publishers Weekly
The son of a basket-factory worker, Longaberger saw a market for fine handcrafted baskets in 1973, as the popularity of handmade crafts began to take hold. By 1999 (when Longaberger died of cancer), he had built a billion-dollar corporation employing 8,000 people. Longaberger, who graduated from high school at 21 and had learning disabilities and a severe stutter, certainly did not fit the profile of the typical CEO, yet from the evidence he was an exemplary one. He proudly proclaims that he learned about customer service and sales from driving a bread delivery route and running a restaurant and grocery store. Following his own vision, he built the company from its smalltown roots in Dresden, Ohio, at the same time that he developed a unique direct sales network. Engagingly folksy and self-deprecatingly funny, he champions facing adversity and growing stronger from it. The feel-good story of a very likable man applying his talents and making a big difference to his town and his family (he groomed his two daughters to succeed him) should engage readers on its own. Meanwhile, those searching for humane models for running a successful company will benefit from the 18 straightforward management principles that emerge from his success. As the man who believed a job should be at least 25% fun (it was a corporate policy), Longaberger, consummate salesman, also can’t stop himself from saying that his favorite sport was basketball.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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