Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion

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Built from Scratch is about two businessmen who achieve the American Dream by fundamentally changing the realm of home-improvement retailing. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, cofounders of the Home Depot, explain how they established the first national chain in the industry by concentrating on low prices, customer service, and strong leadership values.

Ultimately, this is a book about grit and determination. "Building the Home Depot was a tough, uphill battle from the day we started," they write. "No one believed we could do it and very few people trusted our judgment." The two cofounders launched the company only after they were fired by a California hardware retailer because of politics. The Home Depot lost $1 million in its first year of operation in Atlanta. Today it's one of the great successes on Wall Street, with more than 700 stores across the country and 160,000 employees.

One reason the book is so engaging is that it includes corporate anecdotes. A favorite: the company banned wild parties after several employees were demoted and a couple were fired in the wake of a drunken annual managers' meeting. Another yarn involves Sears, which made one of the worst financial mistakes in retailing history when it passed on a deal to purchase Home Depot in the early 1980s. The authors are self-serving at times; for example, they whine too much about paying $104.5 million to dispose of a sex-discrimination lawsuit. But there's no denying the smashing performance of Big Orange. Marcus and Blank paint a story with some sparkling advice for practically anyone in business. --Dan Ring

Book Description

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years

When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.

Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people--and their associates--built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.

Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

Great Stories

  "Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus
  "My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot
  "Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive
  "Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign

A Company with a Conscience

  When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission to respond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies.
  The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.

Great Lessons

  Know your customer: In The Home Depot's case, customers don't pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices
  Why everyday low prices mean more sales overall: The marketing philosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton
  Market leadership: Why The Home Depot never goes to a major new market with plans to open just a few stores
  The strategy for profitable growth: How The Home Depot redefined its U.S. market from its $135  billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to a much larger pond of $365 billion
  How to change the rules of the game: How The Home Depot bypassed almost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers

Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.

Opening the First Store

"What the hell happened? Who screwed up the store? . . . Whatever time remained before the doors were scheduled to open for the first time, we sped around in forklifts, stomping on the brakes, scuffing up the flooring so it would once more look like a warehouse."

Customer Service

"If ever I saw an associate point a customer toward what they needed three aisles over, I would threaten to bite their finger. I would say, 'Don't ever let me see you point. You take the customer by the hand, and you bring them right where they need to be and you help them.'"

Giving Back

"When The Home Depot went public we realized that we had the financial capacity and wherewithal to give back to the communities where we did business. There is a concept in Judaism called tzedaka, which means 'to give back.' It is considered a mitzvah, a good deed, to give to someone who doesn't have, and we believe strongly in giving back to the community."

Selling the Vision

"We had to be psychologists, lovers, romancers, and con artists to get vendors aboard. Our ability to paint a picture of how that would take place--lowest prices, widest selection, and great customer service--was what convinced skeptical manufacturers to sell merchandise to us during the early years."

The Importance of Values

"I have never had anybody work for me in retailing who didn't work for me out of love, as opposed to fear. We carried this approach into building The Home Depot. We care about each other and we care about the customer. The things that we do for customers inside and outside the stores demonstrate our commitment to them. And then when something happens within the company, we circle the wagons. We help each other."

Customer Reviews:

The INDISPENSIBLE history of building a business from one store with zero sales to a $100 BILLION company. .......2007-01-18

It never ceases to amaze me in what it takes to satisfy a reader. When I read a book like this, I am basically asking myself several questions. How on earth did these guys do it? How did they come through the funnel and get it done. What was at stake? What were the major premises of the concept? Could it have failed, if so how? How close did it come to failing? Could some one else have done this, or replicated it, or perhaps have done it better.

A lot of life is pure fantasy. You have your own template of how things works, and you look at the world and you see that template everywhere. If you go out and try to apply this system and superimpose it onto the real world, it either fails or it succeeds. Sometimes the template is a good one, but the execution gets screwed up.

When I look at Home Depot, a story that I have an intimacy with, I found this particular book to be fabulous. There is nothing boring about it; in fact I found every page worthwhile. Having spent 35 years in Wall Street running money, and figuring out how does a company make a buck, I found this book even more worthwhile. If you are involved in the investment business, this becomes a particularly worthwhile read.

If you run a company or have aspirations towards a career in management, you better read this book, because there is something in it for everyone. For most of us, there is more than one thing in it. Peter Drucker the ultimate management mind of the 20th century probably said it best when he talked about the corporation as a living, breathing organism that required nourishment on a daily basis. You just can't assume that corporations will continue to exist simply because they exist now.

Every day a company fights for its corporate life, for its right to continue to exist. Those corporate entities that assume that they will always be around - NEVER LAST. Other entities out there either eat them up, or they suffer the slow final death of arrogance, and go out of business without even knowing why they went out.

Home Depot is the story of two guys that got up in the morning every morning, fighting for the right to keep doing it a better way. They lived by the credo that you have to keep moving or they will throw dirt on you. Some of the lessons and ideas you will learn from this book include the following:

· CUSTOMER SERVICE - You have to take care of good people, and constantly be on the lookout for them. If necessary hire them, even when you don't have the jobs for them because you may not get a second shot at them.

· DOING THE RIGHT THING ALL THE TIME - It can cost you money doing the right thing, but it comes back in spades. Something else happens when you do the right thing. People realize your efforts, and some will take advantage of you, but that will be more than offset by the multitude of others who will become loyal customers for life.

· NOBODY LOVES A COMPANY- They may love what you do, and what you do for them as customers, but there is no real loyalty to companies, at least in this generation. Home Depot always tried to make as many of their employees stockholders as possible, so that they could align the employee (associates at HD) goals with the corporate goals.

· THIS IS A TOUGH PLACE TO WORK IF YOU ARE INFLEXIBLE - This lesson was lost on the current Chairman, CEO Nardelli who was fired by the Board for his IMPERIAL management style. He also possessed no understanding of the Home Depot culture as he tried to superimpose his General Electric template on the company. He failed miserably but that's another book.

· IF YOU CAN SAVE THE CUSTOMER MONEY, DO IT - Always do the right thing by the customer, and you will have a customer for life. Go the extra mile for the customer. CULTIVATE the customer.

· THE FOUNDERS WERE LIVING ON THE FUMES OF DREAMS - I loved these stories. These guys Marcus and Blank were honest about what they faced, and several times this company was touching or facing bankruptcy. This is an important lesson. The way around it is to have twice as much capital as you think you need. This by itself was worth reading the entire book. This is priceless knowledge.

· IT'S ABOUT PRICE, SELECTION, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE - Never lose sight of this statement and act on it in your own business goals. Give people the best price you can, and the finest selection of merchandise. If you back it up with the industry's best customer service you have found for yourself a business model for success. It may sound simple, but try executing on it.

So let me let you in on a secret. I spent years with Bear Stearns well over 20 years ago as a limited partner. When I read the early financial stories of Home Depot on Wall Street, I knew that what the founders in this book were saying was the complete unvarnished truth.

The story of how Ross Perot, one of America's wealthiest men in the early 1980's blew having dominant control of this company is now the stuff of myths. Nevertheless it's a true story. The founders ultimately turned down Ross Perot as a shareholder. They believe Perot to be a control freak. Yes, Perot didn't want the founders driving around in a Cadillac. Perot was a Chevy man. Well, the Chevy man blew a $60 billion dollar fortune by not investing a couple of million in Home Depot.

Then there's Ken Langone, the financial guy behind this phenomenal story. Langone may be the only guy in America to be the IPO maven behind two all time American success stories. He successfully brought public both Ross Perot's EDS, and the Home Depot. Who else can say that? He also made a billion dollars in the process. Langone is a unique, fabulous, walk to the well with you kind of guy. Among Wall Street types, he is unique, and the Street needs many more like him.

There is a story in the book where Langone is involved in a stock sale to a very nasty executive who is very prominent in his own right. Every time the executive refuses to give in to Langone's price, Langone just keeps upping the ante on him. This goes on for pages. It is uproariously funny, and is deserving of retelling over and over again. You will love this book, and learn an enormous amount about business in the process. It should probably be required reading for all MBA programs in management.

If you have any desire to understand what it takes to dedicate your entire life to building something, especially in the business world than this book is a read for you. There's one more thing that I must get across that is compelling. Having spent my life involved with companies like Home Depot, and high-powered successful people, I have come to the conclusion that it does not have to work out successfully.

There is no such thing as one must succeed, or it was ordained that this must happen. As an example Home Depot could have gone out of business a half dozen times before becoming so financially solvent that the business model had to work.

Steve Jobs at Apple could have decided 20 years ago, to license that Apple operating system to the PC industry, and Gates and Microsoft would never have happened. GM could have decided to build quality cars 25 years ago, instead of building [...]for decades while the Japanese took the market away.

Al Gore could have concentrated just a little bit more on Florida in 2000, and George W. Bush would have never been. John Kerry could have fought off the challenge of the Swift Boat accusations, and Ohio would have gone his way, and with it the election.

In the end, it's really a question of who comes through the funnel, and that is not always predictable. As I read this wonderful book, I came to the conclusion once again, that yes, you have to go for it, and dedicate all to getting there, but there is no certitude that you are going to make it. Just make sure you follow YOUR PASSION, because no matter where you wind up, a PASSION FILLED LIFE is a life WORTH LIVING. Good luck.

Richard Stoyeck

Home Depot provides a horrible experience.......2006-12-29

If you like wandering around with no service, ringing yourself out at the register, and watching a bunch of orange outfits ignore you, try Home Depot. The bigger the company gets, the more horrible the experience. Try True Hardware.

I'm rich. I started a company. I wrote a book........2004-08-24

What a laugh. Yes you!!! The average American with your wealthy silent investor in your pocket. You too can open a store.

Home Depot has spent a good deal of money trying to improve its image; including writing these books. HD has serious problems with women suing them.If you tell the customer that you are serving them well, and beat them over the head that they are receiving top notch lip service, then eventually some will believe it.

HD has spent millions improving their stores by widening ailses and better lighting. They claim to be industry leaders yet can't seem to shake Lowes from opening stores all around HD stores and even in HD's home Atlanta market.

They are very aggressive and drive their employees to bring shareholder value. They do offer products for less and have had great financial backing.

They also control costs by "Rifting" which means they fire people that start earning enough money that it becomes cheaper to train someone else.

Its one thing to write a book to laud yourself. Why not write about all the dirty tricks you pulled to get there.

Full of Lies.......2003-10-03

Let's face facts: home depot is known for abysmal service and really, really shoddy haphazard installations. They probably spend more on defending lawsuits than on store development. This book makes them look like such wizards, such brilliant and benevelont businessmen, when in fact they have done studies to see what the minimum level of customer service they can get away with is - and then tried to stretch that envelope.

I am sure Ken Lay could write books full of accolades to Enron. It would be just as true, and just as much a waste of time and money to read.

A great story..........2003-09-07

and very well told, which really makes this book a fast read (I had a hard time putting it down).

Provides, IMO, valuable information that will be useful for any business owner. I am glad these guys took the time to share their story, and I hope I get to meet them one day.

What a great way to spend a rainy weekend. You'll love it as it reads like a novel. And you'll never look at Home Depot the same way.

Average customer rating:
Built From Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew the Home Depot From Nothing To $30 Billion
Bernie Marcus
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press (CA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N75942

Average customer rating:
BUILT FROM SCRATCH: HOW A COUPLE OF REGULAR GUYS GREW THE HOME DEPOT FROM NOTHING TO $30 BILLION
MARCUS / BLANK / ANDELMAN
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NSGUPI

Average customer rating:
Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew the Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion
Bernie Marcus
Manufacturer: RANDOM HOUSE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5TYT4

Book Description

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REITS

GETTING STARTED IN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) offer small investors the chance to participate in a broad range of real estate opportunities across most major property sectors and geographic locations. But to make the most out of this proven investment vehicle, you must first gain a firm understanding of it.

Getting Started in Real Estate Investment Trusts provides an accessible introduction to the benefits and performance characteristics of REITs and examines the role they play in a well-diversified investment portfolio.

Divided into three comprehensive parts, Getting Started in Real Estate Investment Trusts covers a wide variety of issues within this field, including:

The legal and financial history of REITs
How REITs behave as an investment class and how they are best integrated into an investor's portfolio
The fundamental economic issues that affect real estate and how they impact REITs
Specific methods for analyzing REITs as an investment
Different types of REITs: residential, office, industrial, retail property, and more

Filled with in-depth insight and practical advice, Getting Started in Real Estate Investment Trusts is a valuable road map to an investment that can help stabilize and grow your portfolio for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

A REIT primer.......2007-08-27

Richard Imperiale's "Getting Started in Real Estate Investment Trusts" is a primer on REITs. While the content covers the range of REITs and he makes a case for including REITs in an investment portfolio, it is slightly basic. The subject of non-US REITs and tax issues a US investor should consider when investing overseas is not addressed. Too bad, a chapter or two covering foreign REITs would have improved this book substantially.

REITs 101.......2007-05-13

This book is absolutely great to get down to the basics of what REITs are. It's a very easy read and there are lots of very relevant graphs. The topic is not really difficult and this book really gives you what you need.

How-to manual for REIT profits.......2007-05-03

With the stock market seeming always ready to freeze or fall, author Richard Imperiale believes that investors who want cash return and diversification should consider Real-Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). You may remember some nasty history in decades past associated with shadowy real-estate tax shelters, but the U.S. Congress cleaned that mess up and created this rather stable investing medium instead. REITs' magnetism comes from their required payout from income, their ease of entry and exit, and their overall return, which usually matches stock market results. This makes REITs a nice way to accumulate wealth and line your 401k retirement pillow. Of course, since REITs are publicly traded, they face the stock market's uncertainties. After the "getting started" chapters, the author gets into the nitty-gritty of REIT securities analysis. As a boon for the very serious investor, Imperiale analyzes numerous real-estate sectors. He asserts that a substantial REIT infusion of 5% to 20% should make most portfolios "juicier," but he does not emphasize REITs' market negatives or today's erratic real-estate market. So with an added dose of caveat emptor, we recommend this book to people looking for access (without heartburn) into the numerous opportunities in the multitrillion dollar real-estate market, including a quick getaway if needed.

Getting Started in Real Estate Investment Trusts

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Getting Started in Real Estate Investment Trusts
Richard Imperiale
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6XYXG

Book Description

The basics through practical application—all in one book!

Potatoes are a crucial food crop around the world, grown in nearly 150 countries. The Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement, and Postharvest Management compiles everything you need to know about potato crop production in one well-organized reference. Leading international authorities clearly discuss the biology, genetics, breeding, diseases, and effective approaches for improvement of crop and handling after harvest. This one-of-a-kind text explores, from interdisciplinary perspectives, every aspect of potato crop management from seed germination to end use while presenting the most current research available.

The Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement, and Postharvest Management reviews both wild and cultivated potatoes, examining the crop's origins, history, and habitat. Cultivation techniques are discussed in detail, with emphasis on breeding, biotechnological, and agronomic methods that can improve yield and help ensure the health of the vegetable. Qualitative and quantitative genetic traits are comprehensively explained, and integrated management of pests, diseases, weed, and water are extensively considered. Various abiotic stresses are examined, including heat, drought, salinity, frost, and others. Potato crop's most devastating disease, late blight, is explored in detail. Different types of after-harvest storage are analyzed with an eye toward maintaining optimum freshness year-round, and a useful description of biochemical changes effected during storage is included. Processing and detailed information on food value are also reviewed. In addition, a final chapter explores true potato seed (TPS) options. The book includes detailed references and helpful tables, graphs, and figures to enhance understanding of material.

Topics in the Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement, and Postharvest Management include:

history

structure

biosystematics

genetics

breeding

biotechnology for improvement

approaches to improve quality

ecophysiology and agronomic management

comprehensive information on diseases and viruses

insects

abiotic stresses and their management

storage issues

processing

and much more!

The Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement, and Postharvest Management makes an invaluable desktop reference for educators, postgraduate students, researchers, and any potato industry professional. The text is also perfect for university reference libraries.

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Engineering for Potatoes

Manufacturer: Amer Society of Agricultural
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Machinery | Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Agricultural Engineering | Special Topics | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0916150798

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1993 potato cultivar postharvest evaluation
Loretta J Mikitzel
Manufacturer: Washington State University Postharvest Laboratory
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Vegetables | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006QIEQU

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Bruise reduction to reduce postharvest losses of potatoes in large scale operations: Postharvest losses of potatoes in Russia and Ukraine trip report
Will Anderson
Manufacturer: Postharvest Institute for Perishables, University of Idaho
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Vegetables | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Machinery | Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006R61HI

Average customer rating:
Control of postharvest Fusarium tuber dry rot of white potatoes (U.S. Agricultural Research Servie. Northeastern Region. ARS-NE-55)
S. S Leach
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006W2OH4

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Feasibility analysis of a potato packing and storage facility in Union County, New Mexico (Bulletin / New Mexico State University, Agricultural Experiment Station)
Constance L Falk
Manufacturer: New Mexico State University, Agricultural Experiment Station
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Vegetables | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006DIC10

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Postharvest losses in potatoes due to pathogenic agents
Harry S Fenwick
Manufacturer: The College
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Vegetables | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00072ZRMW

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Postharvest technologies of root and tuber crops in Cameroon: A survey (MeÌmoires et travaux de l'IRA)
F. A Numfor
Manufacturer: MinisteÌ€re de l'enseignement supeÌrieur et de la recherche scientifique, Institut de la recherche agronomique
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books | Biochemistry | General | Genetics | Molecular Biology | Morphology & Anatomy | Pathology | Photosynthesis | Physiology | Phytochemistry | Plant Geography
ASIN: B0007BG7HC

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Potatoes Postharvest
C. Bishop , R. Pringle , and A. K. Thompson
Manufacturer: CABI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Agricultural Engineering | Special Topics | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0851995020

Book Description

The potato is an important world crop. This book brings together the various postharvest considerations, including principles of storage, store design, potato handling, quality control, and store management. It describes the different technical methods of potato storage used worldwide, such
as box, bag, and bulk storage. It is essential reading for researchers and potato growers, both large-scale commercial producers and low-input tropical producers.

Separation of extraneous matter from agricultural products by the difference in the coefficient of restritution

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Separation of extraneous matter from agricultural products by the difference in the coefficient of restritution
R Feller
Manufacturer: BARD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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