#105 Les Schwab (Charlie Munger recommended this book)

What I learned from reading Les Schwab Pride In Performance: Keep It Going! by Les Schwab.  ---- 16 ideas from the book:  Intensity is the price of excellence —Warren Buffett I am 68 years old now. And I've run it in overdrive my whole life. I've always wanted to be the best tire dealer, not necessarily the largest tire dealer. The people serving your customers are the most important people in your company: We have had over the years some people in the office that sometimes think they are more important than the stores. The office serves only one purpose, and that is to serve the stores. Some of our office people sometimes wonder about this. But I’ve warned them, don’t bitch to me because that is the way I want it. If you want to go out and start at the bottom changing tires and work into a manager job, then hop right to it. If it weren’t for those men in the stores working their butts off in all kinds of weather, missing meals, God awful hours, etc. you wouldn’t even have a job. If you’re not serving the customer, or supporting the folks who do, we don’t need you. —Sam Walton  Let the people at the store level and your manager know you are behind them. They are the ones who make you successful, not the person in a nice office who has nothing to do today but to send out another damn directive. If it doesn't help the store, tear it up and tell the store to tell the office to go to hell. There are no shortcuts around quality, and quality starts with people. —Steve Jobs People are the success of our company. Most anyone can sell tires. The only difference between a Les Schwab Tire Centre and most any tire dealership is the people working there. Sharing profits with your employees is a way to build people. Be unselfish for good reasons. We share 50% of our profits with all the employees in the store. My thinking has always been if I give away half the profits I still have half. If I share $10 million with people I still have $10 million left over. I don’t understand why