Longaberger: An American Success Story

Longaberger: An American Success Story

Longaberger: An American Success Story

Longaberger: An American Success Story

Paperback(First HarperBusiness Edition)

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Overview

Dave Longaberger was one of the most remarkable entrepreneurs of his generation. Overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds and employing a unique management philosophy, he created and grew his company into the largest maker of handcrafted baskets in the United States, employing thousands of people, revitalizing his community, and inspiring everyone with a commitment to quality and craftsmanship.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780060507787
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 08/14/2003
Edition description: First HarperBusiness Edition
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 973,736
Product dimensions: 5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Dave Longaberger was able to complete this book prior to his passing as a final gift to all who share the simple dream of making people's lives better.


Robert L. Shook has authored 48 books, including such best-selling books as The IBM Way, Hardball Selling, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Longaberger. He lives in Ohio.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1: Everything I Know About Business I Learned from My Mom and Dad

If growing up poor in a family of fourteen had its shortcomings, my brothers, sisters, and I didn't know it. Besides, none of the other kids in Dresden, Ohio, ever seemed any better off than we were.

My roots in Dresden go back to 1896. That's when my grandparents, Carrie and John Longaberger, moved here. Shortly thereafter, my grandfather started working at the Dresden Basket Company. In 1919, my dad, John Wendell Longaberger, followed in his father's footsteps. He dropped out of high school at age seventeen to work at the same basket factory. I don't think any man ever loved making baskets more than my dad. It showed in his work, and he became an excellent craftsman.

The six or so weavers who worked at the Dresden Basket Company before it closed during the Great Depression made baskets for local pottery companies, including those in nearby Roseville and Zanesville. The baskets were used to carry materials to and from the kiln, as well as for shipping finished ware. The pottery industry has long since replaced baskets with cardboard boxes and plastic crates.

In 1936 Mom and Dad bought a small frame house for $1,900 that had three bedrooms and one bathroom. Included in the purchase price was a small shop behind the house that had been used by the Dresden Basket Company before it shut down.

Dad found work as a back-tender-machine operator at the Dresden Paper Mill, where he worked the 6 A.M. to 2 P.M. shift. After work he made baskets for pottery companies, and before long he was designing and making baskets for personal use. His line included baskets for everyday shopping, to take on picnics, and so on. The sign in front of our house read THE OHIO WARE BASKET COMPANY.

For me, those were good days. In fact, I don't know how growing up could have been any better! We were a close-knit family. Even though we didn't have much in the way of material possessions, we were blessed to have each other, especially to have Mom and Dad. Although I never gave it much thought as a kid, our parents and the environment where we grow up have a strong influence on who we become as adults. We grew up knowing we had to work hard, be honest, and help others. Yet all of this is determined by the luck of the draw. We must play the hand that life deals us. It was my good fortune to have drawn a winning hand.

The Longabergers of Dresden, Ohio

In a town of fifteen hundred, I doubt if there was anyone in town who didn't know at least one or two Longabergers. Knowing everybody in town has its pros and cons. On the upside, people are friendly. You can go anywhere, and people call you by name. "Hey, Popeye, how's it going?" I'd hear all over town. "Popeye" was a nickname my grandfather gave me. When he first saw me, just hours after I was born, he thought my eyes popped out. Ever since, that's what my family, my teachers, and my friends have called me.

The downside of everybody knowing everybody in a small town is that if you do anything you're not supposed to, the word spreads like wildfire. Maybe this isn't so bad; in fact, I think it's why kids in small towns don't get into much trouble. When they do, they can't keep their parents from finding out.

In truth, none of us ever got into trouble, at least nothing serious. We had so much love and respect for Mom and Dad, we didn't want to do anything that could hurt or embarrass them. In a family as large as ours, there was a lot of peer pressure from eleven brothers and sisters. Nobody wanted to be the only one who would cause embarrassment to the family. I never would have finished high school except I promised Mom I wouldn't be the only one of her children not to graduate even though it took me so many years.

Growing up in a family of fourteen means you have to do your part. This is especially true in a small house with a single bathroom! Early on, we learned to share. Nobody tied it up for long. In the morning, there never seemed to be so much traffic that it made anyone late for school. We always took our baths at night, and, fortunately, all my sisters had straight hair so they didn't use curlers. In those days, my sisters rarely put on makeup; besides, it was too expensive. In a pinch, we could always run out the back door and down the alley to use the neighbor's outhouse.

With so many kids, we learned how to get organized. We also learned how to adjust to change. The second floor of our house was one big room with a stairway going up the middle. We slept in rows of single beds -- girls on the left side and boys on the right. Richie was born two years after me, and when we were little, we shared a single bed. Around the seventh grade or so, we were too big, and that's when we each got our own bed. There were two bedrooms on the first floor. One was for Mom and Dad, and the other room had bunk beds that belonged to the two oldest girls, Genevieve and Wendy. When they moved out, my two older brothers, Jerry and Larry, inherited that bedroom. Later, it became Richie's and mine.

We had a full house on Eighth Street, but that was our life, and that's all we knew. We didn't have scooters and bicycles, so we took turns playing with the toys we did have...

Table of Contents

Forewordvii
Prefacexiii
Acknowledgmentsxvii
Introductionxix
1.Everything I Know About Business I Learned from My Mom and Dad1
2.Earning My Master's Degree17
3.Six Weeks Ago I Couldn't Even Spell "Entrepreneur"--Now I Is One!29
4.How The Longaberger Company First Began52
5.Tell the Story73
6.Growing Up with My Daughters100
7.Hard Times119
8.Every Business Is a People Business136
9.Having Vision157
10.The Gift of Giving178
11.Eighteen Management Principles That I Live By189
12.Only in America215
AppendixImportant Dates in Longaberger History217
Index223

What People are Saying About This

Barbara Tober

A truly touching and motivational story told by a man whose values for both family and company are solid, strong and worthy of emulating.
—(Barbara Tober, chairman, Board of Governors, American Craft Museum)

E Gordon Gee

Dave Longaberger lived the American Dream and created that Dream for many thousands. Few stories are more touching and compelling ... savor the story of humble beginnings, high ideals, and big ideas.
—(E. Gordon Gee, chancellor, Vanderbilt University)

Jennifer Read Hawthorne

Dave Longaberger's story is an enormously entertaining and touching memoir of a brilliant, colorful man's vision and blueprint for success.
—(Jennifer Read Hawthorne, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul)

Interviews

A Message from Tami Longaberger
When initially asked to describe Longaberger: An American Success story, I found myself torn. On the one hand, I wanted to call it a business story. On the other hand, I thought of it as a memoir. I quickly realized the source of my indecision, however: In truth, the story of my father is inextricably linked to the company. The Dave Longaberger story is the Longaberger Company story, and therein lies the true uniqueness of our corporate heritage.

My father was not, by conventional standards, destined for success. He was not a good student. As a child, he suffered from dyslexia and epileptic seizures, and had a severe stutter. He graduated from high school at age 21, having spent three years in the fifth grade.

What my father did have, however, was vision, a passion for a product, undying faith in his employees, an incredible work ethic, and people skills to spare. From the time he was a young boy, he worked tirelessly. And with each job -- whether stocking groceries or shoveling snow -- he became a keen observer of the business and its customers, taking with him lessons that would become the foundation of his 18 Management Principles, upon which his own company would be based.

As a young man, he became convinced that Americans would crave the fine craftsmanship of the Longaberger hand-made baskets his father created as a hobby in a workshop behind the house. He believed in his product and employees so strongly that he risked everything -- and ignored many naysayers -- to sink all his capital into what, at the time, was a losing proposition.

Twenty-eight years later, the monument to his success is the billion-dollar Longaberger Company, which consists of of 8,000 employees and 70,000 sales associates, and millions of passionate collectors and consumers. Longaberger baskets are the indisputable standard-bearers of the industry, and they elicit a passion rarely seen among today's American consumers. The Longaberger Company remains one of the best places to work in the United States -- a business that to this day bears the indelible mark of my father's integrity, honesty, and "people first" attitude.

My father, who died of cancer in 1999, chose to write his story as one of his final acts. In his own words, he wanted to tell his story and in the process encourage others to follow their dreams, their instincts and their passions. Longaberger: An American Success Story is an entertaining story, but it's also a story of the strength and determination inherent in the human spirit. It's a story that I constantly refer to as I lead the Longaberger Company to new heights, and it's one we're proud to share with the American public. (Tami Longaberger, President and CEO, The Longaberger Company)

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