描述
When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that, "You've just beenhit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. Afterall, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was thatthey now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehousestore that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices,excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined andcreative people-and their associates-built a business from nothing to 761stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with TheHome Depot's founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be atough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense ofresponsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful topeople in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.Great Stories"Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired ArthurBlank and Bernie Marcus "My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involvedwith The Home Depot "Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on theline to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive "Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd bepaying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertisingcampaign A Company with a ConscienceWhen disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrewhappen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission to respond. Theyreact from their hearts-whether that means keeping their store open allnight or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies. The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations likeHabitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its peopleto help lead and grow these community efforts. Great LessonsKnow your In The Home Depot's case, customers don't pay forwider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices Why everyday low prices mean more sales The marketingphilosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton Market Why The Home Depot never goes to a major newmarket with plans to open just a few stores The strategy for profitable How The Home Depot redefined itsU.S. market from its $135 billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to amuch larger pond of $365 billion How to change the rules of the How The Home Depot bypassedalmost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.Bernie Marcus is a cofounder of The Home Depot and currently servesas chairman of the board. From the company's inception until 1997, heserved as CEO. With his wife, Billie Marcus, he founded the MarcusDevelopmental Resource Center, which provides support services for mentallyimpaired children and their parents. He sits on many boards of directors,including the New York Stock Exchange, and participates in many civicorganizations, including the City of Hope, a cancer research center.Arthur Blank is a cofounder of The Home Depot and is the company'spresident and CEO. He serves on the board of trustees of severalorganizations, including the North Carolina Outward Bound School, theCarter Center, Emory University, and the National Conference of Christiansand Jews. He was inducted into the Babson College Academy of DistinguishedEntrepreneurs and was honored by the City of Hope for his fund-raisingleadership.Bob Andelman lives with his wife and daughter in St. Petersburg,Florida, and has collaborated on many bestselling business books, includingMean Business and The Profit Zone.