Henry Juszkiewicz - CEO of Gibson Guitar
The Texas Union frequently brings CEO's and other speakers to UT, and this Thursday night was a speech given by Henry Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson Guitar who took the company from small and unprofitable to the most recognizable brand of guitar in the world.
He claims his passion for music coupled with his love for electronics since he was a kid helped him excel at running Gibson. He strongly emphasized that true success is best accomplished with passionate leadership.
A while later he was informed that Gibson Guitar Corp was for sale, but no one would buy it because it was a financial disaster. He moved to the Kansas to live near the company headquarters and observed the operation for a full 6 months while drawing up a concrete business plan. Once he purchased it, the company became profitable within 30 days because of his hard work and research. Since 1987 he has grown the business 20% every year.
Some of the main pieces of advice he gave were:
He claims his passion for music coupled with his love for electronics since he was a kid helped him excel at running Gibson. He strongly emphasized that true success is best accomplished with passionate leadership.
A while later he was informed that Gibson Guitar Corp was for sale, but no one would buy it because it was a financial disaster. He moved to the Kansas to live near the company headquarters and observed the operation for a full 6 months while drawing up a concrete business plan. Once he purchased it, the company became profitable within 30 days because of his hard work and research. Since 1987 he has grown the business 20% every year.
Some of the main pieces of advice he gave were:
- Have the tenacity and boldness to do things others won't.
- What's possible is only what you think is possible. He said he wanted to grow the company to impossible levels. He has now far exceeded everyone's expectations.
- Only allow people in your company who believe in your vision. If they don't believe in the company, they must go.
- Constantly grow and innovate.
- Give back to the community that helped build you.
Of course I had to get a picture with him. I actually brought my own guitar I've had for over 10 years to the speech to take a picture with:
The pictures came out....interesting. He covered the head of my guitar in both pictures because it wasn't a Gibson!
Labels: Meeting CEO's
posted by Neville @ 1:03 AM
18 comments
18 Comments:
Great post, as usual.
Dave's Journey to Financial Freedom
Bringing an old guitar with string on the strap to jam with the CEO of Gibson....now that's true frugality!
Regards from France.
Nev: The King of having his picture taken with successful CEO's.
There is no way you could disrespect this man any more than he has already disrespected his own industry, and the hardworking engineers he's stolen from. Read this article and learn the Truth:
http://stephengoldin.com/gibson/technohick01.html
Be careful of the businessmen you might meet on your way to being rich. The music industry would be better off without small-minded, greedy thieves like Juszkiewicz. Be good and make a lot of honest money.
Superb entry! I had the pleasure of interviewing Henry Juszkiewicz for my podcast not too long ago. Our chat turned into a six-part series! I've posted two episodes so far, with two more going up today. They're posted at http://www.guidewireconnection.com.
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