A short, fun book written by Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner telling their story of starting Newman’s Own and building it into an enormous, profitable, and beloved food company while donating more than $600 million to children along the way.
Aren't they adorable?
Go Get ‘Em!
Paul had a lot of faith in everybody. He just assumed it was going to turn out all right. He never questioned the ability of anybody. He never suggested that it was a hard task. He just wanted to have it done, and he wasn’t unreasonable, but he was totally involved during the design phase. He knew every finish, the hardware, every detail went by him.
I’m always shocked at what people are capable of when you get out of their way and let them do it! It should never be about telling anyone what to do. It should be about helping them know what they need to know, understand the problem, and letting them handle it their way. Interesting side-effect: over time, it ends up being less work — for you and them.
More Different
“Paul’s architectural theory,” Beeby says, “was that whenever you got to the point where you’d make something more the same or more different, always make it more different. Both of them were against any kind of regimentation or anything that had to do with institutionalization…”
Once your product or service has crossed a threshold of belonging to a particular category, being “more the same” no longer provides value. It increases your chances of getting grouped with the masses and forgotten. Be in a category but unlike anything else in that category.
Free of Ordinary Conventions
These were a couple of guys who were willing to take risks, had a great sense of humor, and were willing to try anything. So that opened up the idea that we could do something really special. Before that, I had the expectation of a normal job. But once I realized how free they were of ordinary conventions, then I realized we could expand what we might be able to do there.
It always feels like more can be done when people aren’t operating within industry norms. That’s because norms aren’t around to help you succeed, they’re around to keep you from failing. Much of the time, the industry accepted “best practice” is the first thing multiple companies tried that didn’t lead to catastrophic failure.
Telling Your Own Story
From the get-go, we had a policy of not advertising because (1) we thought it was tacky, (2) we found it was not always productive, and (3) we couldn’t afford the astronomically expensive campaigns to rival our giant competition.
They threw parties, had charity events, invited friends and customers to taste-test new products, and donated lots of money. They told their story to as many people as they could, but it was them telling the stories—not paying an intermediary to tell their stories for them.
Who Needs a Plan?
An interviewer recently asked him the secret of his success. Paul said, “I don’t have the slightest idea. We have no plan. We have never had a plan. Hotch and I comprise two of the great witless people in business—none of this is supposed to work, you understand. We are a testament to the theory of Random—whatever that means!”
Plans can get in the way. You end up doing things because it’s the plan, not because it’s the best thing to do. Working out a plan is always a helpful intellectual exercise, but it should never need to be rigidly followed.
How it’s “Always Done”
From the very beginning, we bucked tradition. When the experts said that something was “always done” in a certain way, we’d do it our way, which was sometimes the very opposite.
The way it’s “always done” or the “industry standard” is useless. It’s the easy answer with the minimum risk and little, if any, return. Where’s the fun in that?
About this Book
My all-time favorite book combining business, leadership, and entertainment. What book combines any of those two well, let alone all three?
≈