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Stop and Sell the Roses
Lessons from Business and Life Jim McCann Finance, Business & Economics Ballantine | Hardcover | May 1998 $25.00 | 0-345-41675-9 |
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Lessons from Business and Life
Everybody knows Jim McCann. He's the "flower guy," the CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS, who appears in all those terrific television ads. McCann is actually a unique corporate leader who in less than a decade took his company from the verge of bankruptcy to a $300 million business that ranks as the world's largest florist. Now in this upbeat, engaging book, McCann tells the amazing story of how he bootstrapped his way to phenomenal business success--and how you can do it too.
Forget the hard sell, the killer instinct, the power suit, and the iron handshake. If you want to make a business take off these days, you need to base it on relationships--warm, real, human contact with the people you work with and sell to. McCann says it best: "Like all human relationships, business involves a need to make contact. Satisfy that need and the money will follow."
In Stop and Sell the Roses, McCann shares the secrets he learned along his unique road to success, a journey that began in one of New York's toughest neighborhoods and resulted in a multimillion-dollar business. Learn from McCann how to:
Funny, insightful, brimming with McCann's irresistible wit and street-smart wisdom, this is a business book like no other you've ever read--a book that will make you laugh as it gives you the tools you need to build your own winning business today.
"This is not your typical business book. Stop and Sell the
Roses is fun to read--a real page-turner--and is filled with insight,
humor, and great stories."
--Tracy Mullin, President, National Retail
Federation
"In Stop and Sell the Roses, Jim McCann provides
a blueprint for getting the most out of business and life."
--Chase
Carey, Chairman and CEO, Fox Television
"I have always been
impressed with Jim's understanding of how to build an agressive business
around warm, solid customer relationships. He has a lot to teach us
all."
--Ted Waitt, Chairman and CEO, Gateway 2000
"Stop and
Sell the Roses is a must read for individuals looking to accomplish great
things."
--Willie Davis, President, All Pro Broadcasting, Inc.; NFL
Hall-of-Famer, Green Bay Packers
"There are no thorns in Jim
McCann's book, Stop and Sell the Roses. His lessons in business and
life cut to the chase and shatter traditional business myths and icons.
Reading this book not only is a good investment in one's future and
career, it's also as entertaining as it is informative."
--Michael
Feuer, Cofounder and CEO, OfficeMax, Inc.
Excerpt
That may be true for families, but not for business. In my
experience, all unhappy businesses are the same: they go out of business.
But every successful business is a thing unto itself. If I hadn't seen an
ad for a flower franchise while wolfing down a baloney sandwich one
afternoon in Queens, I might today be the proud operator of a carwash on
Lefferts Boulevard, or maybe a McDonalds somewhere on Long Island. A lot
of things had to happen just right before my desire to be a businessman
turned into a successful enterprise. The original 1-800-FLOWERS guys in
Dallas had run out of time with their big idea so they would need to
unload the company. Bernie Lynch had to front me three months' worth of
flowers because my cash flow was basically minus. And on and on. So, yes,
there are lessons to draw from my experience, and I am not going to let
you finish this book without laying my deeply considered wisdom on you
(again). But before I do that, remember that businesses, like people, have
lives. And life is a one-time event....
Or, to put it another way,
opportunity never announces in advance when it is going to come knocking.
Make sure you're not hanging around in your underwear. Put some jeans on.
Answer the door.
When I was in college, I took World Lit 101, and among the books we had to
read was Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. We had a few choices, but I went
with Anna because the back cover said it had to do with adultery and I was
an eighteen-year-old boy, so I hoped for some hot parts. I have two things
to report. Although it is a terrific story, there are no hot parts. And
secondly, I urge you to consider the opening lines. "All unhappy families
are the same, each unhappy family has a different tale to
tell."
Use of
this excerpt from Stop and Sell the Roses by Jim McCann may be made
only for purposes of promoting the book, with no changes, editing, or
additions whatsoever, and must be accompanied by the following copyright
notice: Copyright© 1998 by Jim McCann. All rights reserved
