The Benevolent Dictator

What does it require to take a concept rapidly and effectively from mind to market? The Benevolent Dictator recognizes that entrepreneurship is a gauntlet. Those who succeed are benevolent dictators—able to make the intricate process happen in days, weeks and months to win.

The Benevolent Dictator gives you no-nonsense how-to advice and examples that have worked. This non-traditional, gung-ho guide is not afraid to lay out the leadership methods that can effectively get a new business off the ground, and through the requisite fast-track growth phases that produce tangible success measured by your bottom line and your wallet.

• Learn critical specifics on how to move from idea development to build-out, through steps for continuous improvement, and on to the big cash out
• Features proven tools, strategies, and tactics that will help you bottle entrepreneurial lightning over and over again
• As the cofounder of office retail giant OfficeMax, the author turned a $3 million investment into a $1.5 billion sale in his 16 years as CEO

Beating the competition is never easy. For those times when you need an iron hand, then you also need the wisdom to know when and how to use it. Whether you're a business student, aspiring entrepreneur, or a practicing executive, you need to discover the winning ways of The Benevolent Dictator.

Author's Note xi

Phase One Start-Up 1

1. Lesson #1: To Successfully Launch a Start-Up, There Must Be a Benevolent Dictator 3

2. Lesson #2: The Best Ideas Can Come from What's Right in Front of Your Nose 11

3. Lesson #3: How to Find the Money to Make Big Money 18

4. Lesson #4: Once an Entrepreneur, Always an Entrepreneur 22

5. Lesson #5: It's Better to Be Lucky Than Just Good 25

6. Lesson #6: "GOYA"--The Only Way to Really Test an Idea 29

7. Lesson #7: Don't Underestimate the Power of Focus, Discipline, and Follow-Up 35

8. Lesson #8: Competition Stinks 39

Phase Two Build Out and Put the Idea to the Test 43

9. Lesson #9: Business Is a Series of "Go" and "No-Go" Decisions 45

10. Lesson #10: Treat an Idea Like Clay 53

11. Lesson #11: Always Be Prepared with Plan B . . . And Sometimes C and D 59

12. Lesson #12: You'll Never Reach Critical Goals without a Definitive Timetable 66

13. Lesson #13: Never Be as Weak as Your Weakest Link 70

14. Lesson #14: Raising Additional Capital Requires Creating Demand 74

15. Lesson #15: Everything You Wanted to Know about the "D" Word but Were Afraid to Ask 82

16. Lesson #16: Managing People Is about Achieving Objectives through Others 87

17. Lesson #17: Good Intentions Will Get You Only So Far 95

18. Lesson #18: Don't Open the Doors until the Start-Up Passes the Smell Test--And Don't Be Afraid to Call Time-Out Just to Be Sure 101

Phase Three Constant Reinvention 107

19. Lesson #19: Pot Stirring 101--The Key to Continuous Reinvention 109

20. Lesson #20: Is Perception Reality? How to Manage Risk, Take Chances, and Remain Standing 115

21. Lesson #21: How to Keep Lethargy at Bay . . . Or Why Time Is Your Most Precious Resource 122

22. Lesson #22: How to Avoid Analysis Paralysis by Learning When to Make "Battlefield" Decisions 128

23. Lesson #23: Don't Drink Your Own Bathwater--You Could Choke 135

24. Lesson #24: When the Wolf's at the Door, What You Do Can Make the Difference between Living to Fight Another Day and Going Down for the Count 140

25. Lesson #25: Using the "Mother Rule" Can Help You Avoid Costly Hiring Mistakes 148

26. Lesson #26: When Communicating, Cut to the Chase 153

27. Lesson #27: Survival Math--Business Is Not a Zero-Sum Game 160

28. Lesson #28: Manage by the Three Ps--Persistence, Perspiration, and Performance 165

29. Lesson #29: You Can't Live with "Em--How to Manage Prima Donnas, Employees Who Think It's Not Their Job," and the Perfectionists 170

30. Lesson #30: The Golden Rule of Trust and Respect: You've Got to Give to Get 175

31. Lesson #31: Why You Must Look at Business through the Customer's Eyes, Not Just from an Operator's Perspective 182

32. Lesson #32: When It's Time to Pull the Trigger and Fire a Customer or a Vendor 188

33. Lesson #33: Spurring Growth--How to Eat an Elephant One Bite at a Time 194

34. Lesson #34: If You Don't Like the Competition . . . Buy Them If You Can 199

35. Lesson #35: The Easiest Path to Hypergrowth Is with Other People's Money 204

36. Lesson #36: Beating the Competition Requires That You Know More about Their Vulnerabilities Than They Know about Themselves . . . And Knowing Yourself Better Than They Know You 210

37. Lesson #37: If You Negotiate with Yourself, You Have a Fool for an Opponent 217

Phase Four The Payday 223

38. Lesson #38: Payday . . . And Lessons from the IPO Road Show 225

39. Lesson #39: If the Flame Starts Flickering: How to Tell If the Fat Lady Is About to Sing 234

40. Lesson #40: How to Put Lightning Back in the Bottle Again and Again--Many Entrepreneurs Are Serial Entrepreneurs 242

Epilogue 253

Index 255

Michael Feuer cofounded OfficeMax in 1988 starting with one store and $20,000 of his own money, a partner, and a small group of investors. As CEO, he grew it to more than one thousand stores worldwide with annual sales topping $5 billion. He is also CEO of Max-Ventures, a venture capital and retail consulting firm, and cofounder and CEO of Max-Wellness, a comprehensive health and wellness retail chain that launched in 2010. After opening initial laboratory test stores in Florida and Ohio, a national roll-out is now underway.

Dustin S. Klein is the Publisher and Executive Editor of Smart Business Network, publishers of Smart Business, the nation's second-largest chain of regional business publications. He has interviewed thousands of senior executives and civic leaders across America. He is a regular presenter on business-related issues for public and private business audiences and is a frequent guest on television, radio, and Internet programs.

PRAISE FOR THE BENEVOLENT DICTATOR

"Michael stands out as one of those rare entrepreneurs who started with a blank piece of paper and built a national brand in a crowded field. His book chronicles the seldom discussed aspects of the how-tos of doing it and doing it big, fast." –CHRISTOPHER CONNOR, Chairman and CEO, Sherwin-Williams Company

"In this book, Michael reveals step-by-step how an entrepreneur can navigate the twists and turns of building an enterprise. Expect the unexpected in this narrative, which provides 'the best of the best' reading on how he did it, and how his experiences can help the reader do it, too." –MORRY WEISS, Chairman, American Greetings Corp.

"Sitting through business lectures can be boring at times. Reading The Benevolent Dictator is anything but with its fast-paced prose, punctuated with dry humor. This book uncorks the unique methods that the author used to create huge success by empowering his team and outwitting the competition. Read this book once and it's guaranteed you'll refer to it time and time again." –FELIX ZULAUF, twenty-year member of the Barron's Roundtable, The Dow Jones Business and Financial Weekly

"Using his unorthodox teaching style, Michael keeps my high-potential students on the edge of their seats. He guides readers, too, down the path to accelerated success. His secret is a preoccupation with achieving results; his gift is teaching others how to do it." –RICHARD L. OSBORNE, Theodore M. Alfred Professor of Management, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

"Michael Feuer isn't only 'benevolent,' he's also quick, insightful, experienced, and engaging. His lessons and manner of communicating have produced profound benefits to all who serve with him as he advises our board and leadership team. And that's exactly what readers will find when they learn from this vital, no-nonsense, no-holds-barred book."-ALLEN WEISS, MD, MBA, President and CEO, NCH Healthcare System

"The difference between Michael and many other successful CEOs is that he can explain how to replicate his success with his entertaining, yet insightful, and finely honed words. His book accentuates the obvious and unlocks the obscure to help put readers on their own fast track." -JACQUELINE WOODS, Chair, Kent State University; retired president, AT&T Ohio