Gary Kusin – CEO of FedEx Kinkos
12 Oct
I just saw and met Gary Kusin, the CEO of Fedex Kinkos. He was giving a speech here at UT and drew in quit a large crowd. He called himself a “Forest Gump” of business because his success was simply the result of hard work. In a nutshell he stressed the trick to getting ahead was outworking the next guy.
He is a UT alumnus who graduated one December with a degree in Government…..that description will also fit me this December. It was very interesting hearing him speak about some of his friends and mentors such as Ross Perot, Jack Welch and Bill Gates. I breifly talked to him after the speech and got a picture:
The reason I am wearing a nametag is because of an idea I stole from “The Guy with the Nametag” Scott. He’s a motivational speaker who has been wearing a nametag for three years. I like the simplicity and effectiveness of the nametag. Now when I attend an event I make my own nametag. It helps people learn and remember your name and is great for starting conversations.
So far it has worked quite well. I usually forget I am wearing it and get thrown off when strangers call me by name! I bought a pack of 25 nametags for less than a dollar. It’s one of the easiest and cheapest ways to aid in meeting people.
-Nev
That’s awesome! Love the nametag idea too! Great for networking.. I’ll have to try that some time! :D
You got some guts man…I bet most college students would think it’s nerdy to wear a nametag, but it’s actually a pretty good idea.
Dave’s Journey to Financial Freedom
Gary Kusin’s pretty cool in my book. I was watching this CNN program called The TurnAround, where CEO from big companies comes in and help small business owners improve their operation. Gary Kushin was on this one episode, helping a dry cleaning business owner turn his business around and improving it.
Although he introduced all these interesting marketing concept for the business owner, he did also stress the hard work factor too.
But yeah, I hate those nametags. lol. Thats cool that its working out well though.
Gary Kucin “is a UT alumnus who graduated one December with a degree in Government…..that description will also fit me this December.”
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Yeah, and he also has an MBA from Harvard…which you conveniently forgot. Are you going to Harvard Business School this Spring?
Kucin is a heck of businessman, though. Great history of starting companies and flipping them.
Cool idea on the nametag. Is there anywhere that a transcript of Gary’s speach is posted – I like the Forest Gump analogy.
I still think Nev is a FAGGGGGGG! lol.
anal name tag tip: wear the name tag on your right side, that way when you shake hands the name tag is facing the person and more easily captures their attention.
I realize Gary Kusin got his MBA from Harvard…
However, after he graduated from UT, he had no plans on furthering his education.
From his story: He went to a party where he met a very rich man who went to Harvard. Not knowing how else to get rich, Mr. Kusin decided to go to Harvard! One year later he got in by striking a deal with the dean of the business school there.
As of now I also don’t have any plans to get my MBA…but maybe a simple party will change my mind :-)
Sorry, no transcript of his speech. However, he took some big risks (quitting great jobs to start some companies) and worked really hard. That combination worked out very well for him.
-Nev
Great post. It’s all about relationships. I always call it “relationship management”. It’s turned out to be a critical skill where I work, along with communication skills.
Now if I’d just get off my lazy butt and be half as motivated as you, I’d be waaaaay ahead.
Hazzard
Everybody Loves Your Money
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That’s great that you got to meet someone you look up to. However do your research Kusin has forced 5 of the companies he was head of into chapter 11.
Gary Kusin did turn around Kinko’s. From a good, friendly, service oriented business into a money grubbing, i don’t care what you need, ineffiecent, undermanned, shell of a business.
Kusin ruined Kinko’s — period. Now FedEx is faced with turning it around. Every day that goes by since his departure, they are uncovering the mess he has left. And as a consequence, this great company (FedEx) will again prove their worth at greatness in reputation, and exposing the Enronish Mentallity that this prick instituted at Kinko’s. He walked away with 60 million in cash, while leaving a trail of screwed co-workers and unhapy customers.
Everything Anonymous is correct. Don’t forget also that Kusin tried to buy back the employee shares from the Kinko’s employees at a discount just before selling Kinko’s to Fedex. If Gary had his way, we would have gotten less than half what Fedex paid for the shares. Thank God for independent oversight of the ESOP.
FedEx Corp. acquired privately held Kinko’s Inc. in February 2004 and rebranded it FedEx Kinko’s. The acquisition was made to expand FedEx retail access to the general public. After the acquisition, all FedEx Kinko’s locations exclusively offered only FedEx shipping.:-
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