The Wastebroker Blog

Big Things Start Small - Part 2

Shortly after posting my first "Big Things Start Small" article about the history and growth of three one time small and now quite large companies, Harley Davidson, Miller Brewing and Allen Bradley, I came across the announcement that yet another "man are they big but started small" company, UPS, is, this month, celebrating its 100 year anniversary.  Everyone, of course, knows who UPS is today - but what about what they were back in 1907? 

I'll admit that, although my father worked for UPS for more than 10 years, I was not familiar with the company's humble beginnings.  In a story reminiscent of today's DOT COM start ups, UPS was started by two teenagers, Claude Ryan and Jim Casey, who, financed with a $100 loan, operated out of a basement in Seattle, WA.  Originally a messenger service, the teens called their enterprise "American Messenger Service".   In 1913, the boys acquired their first motor vehicle, a Model T Ford and, to reflect their new capabilities, renamed their company "Merchants Parcel Delivery".  When the company expanded its services in 1919 outside of the Seattle area, they changed the name again, to United Parcel Service.

Today, UPS is known far and wide not just by the unique design of their one of a kind package cars (I'm told you will never see a "used" UPS package car operated by another firm - they are destroyed after use), but by their desire to become "the" global supply chain partner to companies of all shapes and sizes.  UPS' slogan, "What can brown do for you?", may just be today's "where's the beef?" in terms of consumer recognition. 

In 100 years, UPS has grown from a company of two kids to a worldwide organization with more than 400,000 employees.  The company is, like so many innovative firms, often copied by never beaten (at least for long).  It's clear that the success and longevity of UPS, not unlike Harley, Miller, Allen Bradley and many others, is due not just to their commitment to be the best, but more importantly, to their commitment to take risks, anticipate the future needs of their clients and constantly change to meet those future needs.  While the competition is always looking through their windshield at UPS, UPS is always looking at the competition through the rear view mirror.  They stay in front by continuing to move forward and create the next opportunity, long before anyone who is following knows what's even going on.

In 2107, I expect that UPS will be called something different again since, for all we know package deliveries may be a thing of the past by then.  I don't doubt that they will face many challenges and obstacles along the way, just as they've done for their first 100 years.  Like all of us, they'll likely be challenged by ideas and technologies (think overnight delivery, but bigger) that can only be imagined today.  I'm pretty sure that UPS will still be in front.  How come? Simple.  They know where they came from, they don't accept that anything is not possible, they constantly focus on what will be good for their clients (and hard for the competition to replicate), they never stand still and, finally, they're curious and they aren't afraid of what they don't know.

How about you?  What can you do for you?

Big Things Start Small

Big Things Start Small

How many times have you heard someone mention a giant company like Harley Davidson, Miller Brewing or Allen Bradley and say something like, “Huh, must be nice.”  Companies like these are so large today that, for most of us, the thought of building a company as large, successful and widely recognized seems, well, not possible.

And you know what? They’re right.  It is impossible to create a company like Miller, Harley and Allen Bradley.  What’s not impossible, though, is to build one, and each of these companies is living proof of the reality of this possibility.

To make this a little easier to get our arms around, let’s go back in history a bit.  In 1855, Frederick Miller, the founder of Miller Brewery came to the

United States from Germany.  While Mr. Miller was a skilled brewer, he was not a skilled businessman.  Nonetheless, he came to this country to make the most of his opportunities.  And that he obviously did.  He purchased his first brewery, the Plank Road Brewery, the year he arrived.  Here and there, Mr. Miller simply began to build his business, barrel by barrel.  Today, Miller’s sales are more than $12 billion annually.

The Allen Bradley Company began in 1903 as a two-man operation.  Dr. Stanton Allen and Lynde Bradley, a high school dropout, had a dream of developing an electrical component that would assist the transfer of power in various kinds of machinery.  Their first product, the “carbon pile rheostat,” was both an innovation and a learning experience.  While it worked to successfully transfer the power as they had hoped, one of its primary materials was charcoal that quickly turned to dust when used, making the reliability and durability of their rheostat less than ideal.  Messrs. Allen and Bradley didn’t give up and in 1980, the company exceeded $1 billion in sales before being sold to Rockwell Automation.

Harley Davidson, the American’s American icon, also began in the most humble of ways.  Like Allen Bradley, Harley Davidson was started in 1903 by two partners, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson.  Their “factory” was a wooden shed measuring 10’ x 15’, about the size of the office I have today.  Their goal: to build a unique racing motorcycle and ultimately sell it to someone.  Today, Harley Davidson is both a product and an experience.  Its corporate office is located just down the road from its original wooden factory shed. Its sales eclipse $6 billion annually.

So what’s the lesson for us in these three companies?  Well, for one, great big things can start in real small places.  Each of these great companies began humbly, overcame many obstacles like the switch from analog to digital technology (Allen Bradley), prohibition (Miller) and quality problems that nearly bankrupted the company (Harley Davidson), but never gave up.  The second lesson is that things take time.  Each of these companies is more than 100 years old and all began to experience significant growth after the period where many businesses are already considered “mature.”  Great things don’t appear magically like some kind of Kodak moment.  Instead, they usually happen gradually yet progressively, like the movement of a clock.

The biggest lesson for me in these stories is the power of human beings to create things from nothing.  To take an idea, a skill, a desire or a passion and create something powerful, successful and sustaining.  Whatever our minds can conceive, we can create.  That’s an awesome thought.  It can also be a scary thought.   So let’s go way back in time for inspiration, way before Miller, Harley Davidson or Allen Bradley, before the United States and before the birth of Christ.  There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that simply states, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  How hard is it to take the first step?  You’re right – not very.

My Project

When I'm Invited ..........

The Light is not Always Bright

The Noise is Not Always Quiet

The Faces are not Always Smiling

The Tempers are not Always Calm

When I Arrive ..........

The Hole is not Always Large

The Distance is not Always Close

The Gears are not Always Turning

The Heat is not Always Cool

When I Work ..........

The Hurdles are not Always Low

The Solutions are not Always Clear

The Number of Try's is not Always One

The Time is not Always True

When I'm Done ..........

The Lights Burn as Bright as a Star

The Noise is Loud Like Applause

The Faces are Warm and Friendly

The Result is One of My Best