The Billion Dollar Secret

by Rafael Badziag

  Chip Wilson is an advocate of lifelong development. He took advantage of numerous courses, but the Landmark course turned out to be the breakthrough in his business career. It was at Westbeach, his first business.

  I had two partners and we weren’t getting along. The company wasn’t making any money. I had one partner that was 10 years older and had kids and wanted a mortgage and a house, and I wanted to invest money in the company. And then my other partner was trying to be a middleman, but he hated conflict. So nothing was working about it.

  We went to the Landmark course together, and really we came out of it to leave the past in the past. We were going to create our present for our future, so we decided we wanted to sell the company, but in order to do that we had to do a bunch of things. So we got together and forgave the past, so to speak, and moved forward. I think that that was a turning point in my life: realizing I had choice in life to operate a lot differently than I had operated before, and I had multiple choices of ways to operate, as both a businessperson and a leader and as a father, and not any one way is correct. There’s multiple ways.

  You don’t need to know it all, but be the best in one thing and focus on it.

  Of course, growing requires self-reflection. First know yourself, know your talents and deficiencies. Only this way can you know where to improve and what to develop.

  Ron Sim recommends to “keep focused on your strong sides and perfect it.” Everything else you should delegate or find business partners that take it from you.

  Dilip Shanghvi, like many billionaires, improves constantly and competes with his own past performance.

  I want to do what I am doing well, and I want to be better than what I was in the past. I generally don’t compete with anybody else, but I compete with my own performance of the past.

  Keep focused on your strong sides and perfect it.

  — Ron Sim #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  For Petter Stordalen, this perpetual improvement is the main source of motivation:

  To do things better today than yesterday, but not as good as tomorrow.

  And keep in mind: There is always something you can improve.

  Sergey Galitskiy confessed this to me:

  I don’t believe that there is anything ideal that exists for me. There is not an ideal of things. I always want to improve. It is not obsessive, but I am an improver. My wife even sometimes gets angry at me because I always want to improve something, change something, relocate something.

  You never know everything. You always can learn something.

  I asked Mohed Altrad, the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2015, if there was a moment when he finally realized he knew how it all worked.

  I consider that I’ve never reached this point. Just really learn and carry on learning. The point is, are you justified to say, “I know everything”? Not really. I don’t subscribe to this logic.

  Frank Hasenfratz started with very little knowledge about doing business and has been improving his company for decades and decades, step-by-step; and the compound effect of this constant improvement is astonishing.

  It’s like day and night. The change is enormous, and it’s changing every day today. We don’t do things today like we did 10 years ago, and we didn’t do things 10 years ago like we did them 20 years ago. Our industry is changing rapidly. Almost everything is automated. You walk through our plants, there’s robots everywhere. When I got into business, I knew very little about business. You learn every day.

  It’s advisable to write down your lessons learned, like Frank does.

  Whatever I learn from, I write down every year, “Lessons Learned.” For 50 years. “Lessons Learned” is things we did wrong. That’s what the lesson is. And we made some big mistakes. I mean, I made some big mistakes. So every year, I write it down.

  As your company grows, your learning and your challenges change.

  To get to the next level, you often need to change your perspective and look at things from somebody else’s point of view.

  I asked Kim Beom-Su about the changes he needed to make about himself in order to achieve what he has achieved.

  I think the biggest thing that made an impact was having an open mind, or having a different perspective on things or relating to people with different perspectives. Ultimately, being aware that there is a limit to what you can achieve by looking at the world through my own framework, and realizing there is a different way. I think this was what was very important and played a big role in my success.

  The most important thing that I mention is to not be caught in your own mind frame. Having a new perspective, you have to be open to a new world and approach it with a new perspective in order to see a new solution and form a new relationship.

  Let’s sum it all up with the wisdom Manny Stul revealed to me:

  I think we’re on this planet to learn and to grow and to evolve, and as much as we all have aspirations and desires, it’s not the destination that’s important; it’s what you do along the way that’s important. That journey that you have to whatever goals you’re trying to achieve, that’s your life. Not the goals and the achievement and the money and the wealth and the power. That’s nonsense. It’s what you do along the way that’s important. That process ultimately determines your soul state of evolution. It’s just wonderful to keep aspiring to higher realms. I don’t do it consciously anymore. It’s sort of part of me just like the winning thing.

  We’re on this planet to learn and to grow and to evolve.

  — Manny Stul #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  It’s not the destination that’s important; it’s what you do along the way that’s important. That journey that you have to whatever goals you’re trying to achieve, that’s your life.

  — Manny Stul #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  - Drifters stop improving after they finish school. Their education quickly expires.

  - Millionaires stop improving when they achieve personal wealth. After that, their education decreases with time.

  - Billionaires never stop improving. They may not have schooling, but their education never stops growing.

  For more stories on this topic, go to:

  http://TheBillionDollarSecret.com/resources

  CHAPTER 18

  Live with Integrity

  If it is not right do not do it;

  if it is not true do not say it.

  —Marcus Aurelius

  It is possible to become a billionaire while maintaining personal integrity. In fact, it is necessary to uphold those values in order to have sustainable success in business. The billionaires in this book are excellent examples for that.

  Narayana Murthy’s life motto is “The softest pillow is a clear conscience.”

  Do Not Lie. Do Not Cheat. Do Not Steal.

  In some areas of our world, there is a conviction that you have to steal your first million. In fact, many people believe that the rich are immoral individuals who take advantage of others by lying and cheating. Nothing is further from the truth.

  While it is possible to become a millionaire by scamming people, such wealth is short-lived. Cheaters are caught by society, which eventually takes away their short-lived fortunes and punishes them. Don’t take shortcuts while compromising your integrity. You will never become a billionaire with this strategy.

  Compete fiercely and fairly, but don’t “cut in line.”

  Manny Stul, the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2016, found perfect words for it.

  I think people can be successful in the short term without integrity, but not in the long term. It ends up catching up with you, and you’ll pay a price for the lack of integrity, for doing wrong things. It may not be financial, but you’ll pay a price with family, health. Something will happen. It’s just karma. I’m a very firm believer that things equal out—if not immediately, sometime in the future. You see these people that do all these crooked things. I know that they’ll pay a price for it. How, I don’t know how, but there’ll be a price to be p
aid.

  Integrity is an important component in many billionaires’ company cultures.

  Honesty is one of the most important qualities of a businessperson. It’s the number one quality named by many billionaires.

  Manny Stul told me never to fool your customer:

  When I started my first business, I learned very early on that it’s imperative not to lie to maintain relationships and trust from people you’re dealing with. It’s very hard to win somebody’s trust, but once you’ve got it, you probably have it for life, and you can lose it instantly by lying. I believe that once you’ve lost somebody’s trust, you’ve lost it forever. Sure, they can forgive, sure, the relationship can be maintained, but it’s not the same as it was before when they believed you always tell the truth. Life’s so much easier when you’re telling the truth.

  I learned, more importantly than ever, never to lie, ever. Because if they catch you lying once, you can forget about it. Very important.

  And indeed, honesty is extremely important for long-term business success.

  I learned, more importantly than ever, never to lie, ever. Because if they catch you lying once, you can forget about it.

  — Manny Stul #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Don’t take anything that belongs to others. And don’t get involved in corruption even if it is expected from you and not complying hinders your business.

  India has deep bribing traditions. Its economy and social system are based on bribes. Naveen Jain had very humble beginnings in India.

  My father was an overseer. And we didn’t have to be poor actually because he was responsible for building the buildings for the government. It’s a good job. Except that in India they expect you to take a bribe. It is common culture that you will take a bribe. My dad decided that he wanted to be an honest man. He wasn’t going to take a bribe.

  This meant hunger, as his official salary wasn’t enough to support the family.

  The system works like that: He tells the contractor, “Hey, don’t put the cement, put half cement and half sand, the money that you save give us a piece of it.” He will take a small piece of it, pass it on to his boss, his boss will take his piece and pass it to his boss, and that’s why everybody in the food chain will get paid. But he didn’t.

  Every now and then, his boss will call the contractor and say, “Hey, I’m not seeing any money. Is he keeping it all?” And contractor will say, “Do you know what he’s asking me to do?” “What?” “He’s asking me to build the building to the spec. Have you ever heard of it? When I bid on the building, I knew I don’t have to use cement, so I bid low. Now, I have to use cement, I’m losing my shirt and you’re telling me why am I not giving money?”

  In government you don’t get fired, so every year he got transferred. “That son of a bitch needs to go. Send him out. He’s taking my money.” We moved from village to village to village until the most remote villages where there is no building to be built. So he’s not taking anybody’s bribe now. We grew up in villages where there was hardly any electricity, no schools, no tables, no chairs. You sit on the floor, you write on the floor.

  I remember very vividly, when I was 8 to 10 years old, I went to him and I said, “You know, you want to be honest, that’s your problem. You still have to be responsible and feed the family.” And I was very angry. And he looked at me and he said, “You know, I don’t know what to tell you. One day you will grow up and you will realize I have given you more than most parents have which would be the value of integrity. And you may not appreciate it today but someday you will.” And I still remember.…

  Narayana Murthy built Infosys in corrupt India. He didn’t accept bribing traditions either.

  We demonstrated that it is possible to run a large and successful business legally and ethically in India. I have never paid a bribe. And when there were demands in the beginning in the early 1990s, we resisted. That led to some delays in approvals from the government. But once they realized that we were not going to give in, they actually supported us because they wanted to see a few good people around them. That is a very important lesson for us in India and for people in other countries with corruption.

  Have Strong Values

  Success is a by-product of living strong values.

  Billionaires make sure they base their business on values.

  I asked Cai Dongqing what he avoids in business. He said: “We cannot do business just for doing business. We do business with principles.”

  Petter Stordalen’s formula for a good business consists of four values: “Integrity, honesty, openness, trustworthiness.”

  We cannot do business just for doing business. We do business with principles.

  — Cai Dongqing #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Be Humble

  One of the most important things Naveen Jain made me realize is this:

  Humility is a sign of success. So the only way you know you have been successful is when you become humble. If you still have an iota of arrogance in you, that means you’re still trying to prove something to someone or yourself. Actually, if you meet people who are not humble, they tell you that they are still on the path to success, but they have not been successful yet.

  Humility is a sign of success.

  — Naveen Jain #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  I was indeed surprised by the humility of the billionaires I interviewed. See it yourself in some of their statements.

  Dilip Shanghvi is a multibillionaire. He built Sun Pharma, the largest pharmaceutical company in India, and is the world’s wealthiest person in pharmaceuticals. I asked him what he was most proud about in his life.

  Personally, I don’t think we’ve done anything remarkable that I need to be proud of.

  Tony Tan Caktiong built Jollibee Foods, which, with an array of brands and thousands of restaurants, is Asia’s largest food service company. He became the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2004. But when I asked him what success is for him, he answered:

  I guess success, probably is … I think we are still going day by day. We don’t think we are overly successful.

  Cho Tak Wong started as an illiterate cowhand taking care of just one cow, in a poor, war-torn village in China. He built Fuyao Glass, and became the world’s largest auto glass manufacturer and the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2009. You read his stunning story in chapter 1. His life is full of inspiring experiences. Nevertheless, he told me:

  The reality is, I’m an ordinary person doing ordinary things every day, so no amazing story.

  Be Good Rather than Rich

  Dilip Shanghvi’s father used to say, “Money will make you a richer person, but you need to try and become a better person.” Dilip told me to not start measuring everything in terms of money.

  Similarly, when I asked Hüsnü Özyegin how he wanted to be remembered, he answered:

  I would like people to say, “He was a good man.” That’s all. That says a lot. Do you know what I mean? Not that “he was a rich man,” but “he was a good man.”

  The same answer I’ve heard in various forms from other billionaires.

  Money will make you a richer person, but you need to try and become a better person.

  — Dilip Shanghvi #BillionDollarGoldNuggets

  Wisely Choose Your Environment

  Surround yourself with people with high business ethics and morals.

  I asked Frank Stronach how he chooses his business partners.

  I choose people that I think have great character.

  Do business only with people you like and trust.

  Petter Stordalen told me, “I only do business with people I like. I do business with people I trust. If I don’t like them, I don’t do business with them.”

  Don’t spend time with cynical people who don’t have personal integrity.

  Stay Grounded

  Keep both feet on earth. Don’t let money influence your values, lifestyle, or relationships.

  Dilip Shanghvi stayed humble despite the great finan
cial success he has experienced.

  I try not to allow that money to influence my value system, my lifestyle, my relationship with people. I of course know people who are very successful, but my closest friends are friends from school.

  Similarly, Peter Hargreaves kept his friends from his youth. He still regularly goes with them to the local pub for a beer. He doesn’t let his wealth interfere with his lifestyle.

  You wouldn’t be able to tell their wealth when you see many of the self-made billionaires on the street. A striking example of this is Cai Dongqing. If I had to use just one word to describe him, it would be humility. Cai certainly stayed the simple, unpretentious person he was. He kept both feet on earth, didn’t lose contact with his roots. There is nothing luxurious about his appearance. He gives an impression of physical slightness, but there is a diamond inside, a strong, perseverant personality who never gives up until he achieves what he set out to do.

  Do Good

  Cho Tak Wong cautions to do good as it is beneficial for yourself.

  Every day, every little thing you are facing, you have to make a decision if what you do is good for your life, good for society, if it’s good for the state, if it is good for the human race. If it’s good, then you do it. But if it’s not, you will not do it. If you make sure to do things that benefit other people, then in the end it will be coming back to you and will benefit yourself.

  Manny Stul is a spiritual person. I asked him for one message he would like to share with the world audience. Here it is:

  Do good, and if you can’t, won’t, or are unable to, don’t do bad.