The Harrison Group is Definitive. We are a strategic marketing consulting and research services firm. We partner with Fortune 1000 clients to build substantial, profitable growth through superior marketing consulting and research. We form lasting client relationships with some of the top brands and companies in the world.

Our core strengths have been successfully employed across consumer and business-to-business research engagements in more than 60 countries around the globe.

THE HARRISON GROUP

Knowing our clients and giving our professional all to earn their trust is what we are about. There is both a functional and emotional component to this approach. It allows us to understand a client, and it adds a human element to our intensely analytical work. We are client focused. We are thoughtful and proactive. But mostly we are experienced, dedicated people who ask serious questions and provide real answers.

Clients come to us with real business issues. They want to understand the structure of their market. They want a reliable picture of how customers feel about a new idea. They want to understand their competitive landscape. They want to know how much they should spend on media. They want to know the value of their brand.

We put the best science, research processes, sampling procedures and research people to work for them. We become the organized voice of the customer and the marketplace. We use advanced statistics to weed out noise. We sample the right people to increase validity. We conduct careful analyses to focus on the core of a problem. And we deliver results that define the best solution.

We understand that definitive conclusions are the product of an obsession with rigor and quality in the research process. Harrison people apply the highest standards of research excellence to our design, field, analytic and reporting processes. Each member of the team consults with the rest of the team to fill in the blanks with their respective expertise and experience.

Simply put, we are comprehensive. We have the methods. We have the technology. We have wonderful ways to talk to your customers. But above that, we have people who bring deep experience and an unyielding passion for discovery.

OUR STORY

The Harrison Group was originally formed in 1996 by former directors of strategic research at Yankelovich Partners. We had a vision: we wanted to take the best people, the best methods and the best analytics and build a research company for clients who wanted to put their customers at the forefront of their decision-making processes.

Harrison Group is the realization of that vision. We serve clients that integrate the very best science into their marketing programs, strategies and brand development. We knew that our challenge was formidable: in order to succeed, we had to win clients that operate at the highest levels in the marketing world.

Our staff is intensely passionate about our clients' businesses. Harrison people are not satisfied with only knowing what is. They need to discover why and how. We immerse ourselves in a client's business because we have this nearly unstoppable need to know. We do more than partner with clients. We totally engage them.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

We are a cohesive team of researchers, analysts, field experts, focus group facilitators, marketing experts, brand specialists and multivariate statisticians who have all specialized in the business of clear, definitive results. Members of our team have served in senior marketing and research positions with McKinsey & Company, Yankelovich, Yahoo!, Ernst & Young, the Survey Research Center, Edelman, MaPS and many of America's leading marketing corporations.

Doug Harrison

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Doug Harrison is the founding member of the Harrison Group, which he established in 1996. Under his leadership, the company has grown exponentially over the last decade. Harrison Group specializes in marrying attitudinal and behavioral information in producing actionable market segmentations, positioning/brand equity evaluations, new product forecasts, product/price/design optimization; all done with an orientation toward understanding the volume impact of marketing actions.

Growth of the company has been based on three core principals: First, a commitment to delivering insights to clients that surpass client expectations; second, market research findings anchored in real-world projections relative to the cost to a client's business; and third, responsibility to deliver clients outstanding results in which they can feel ownership.

Prior to founding Harrison Group, Doug ran strategic research and volumetric forecasting at Yankelovich Partners. Over the course of his career, he has directed the brand positioning and targeting strategies for some of the world's greatest companies and brands, including Coca-Cola, Motorola, American Express, McDonald's, Home Depot, Sara Lee, Honda, Yamaha, Louis Vuitton, Bank of America, Neuberger Berman, Bank of New York, GlaxoSmithKline, Fleet Bank, ScottsLawn, and InBev.

Doug has completed over 500 forecasts of business potential for an enormous range of products and services. Among his many accomplishments, he was also one of the pioneers automating the research process.

More recently, Doug helped formulate a groundbreaking study of ultra-wealth in America that has reshaped the way leading companies target that space. He is presently coauthoring a book called “American Dreamers: Living with Abundance in the Fourth Wave of American Wealth.

An honors graduate of Cornell University, Doug earned a BS degree in business and marketing in 1988.

Dr. Jim Taylor

VICE CHAIRMAN

Dr. Jim Taylor, Vice Chairman of Harrison Group, is among the country's most respected marketing and branding consultants. At Harrison Group, Jim directs syndicated research, provides clients with strategic marketing and branding advice and leads Harrison Group's proprietary Alpha Panel program, which enables companies to create "electronic communities" of highly involved customers and potential customers.

Jim is an acknowledged expert in the fields of branding, the use of interactive media for the community format, future forecasting and customer acquisition and retention. He provides advice of the highest level to many of the world's leading packaged goods, software, media, banking, customer service, business and financial services corporations. Among them: American Express, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Audi, Acura, Bombardier, Coca-Cola, Glaxo, Lawrence-Livermore Laboratories, the Walt Disney Company, DMB, The Lyle Anderson Company, Kapalua Resort, Louis Vuitton, Citibank, Bank of New York, Smith Barney, America's leading interactive game companies, the American Red Cross, World Wildlife Fund, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the U.S. Government and a host of additional Harrison Group clients too numerous to mention.

Jim has served as Chief Executive Officer of Yankelovich, Skelly & White; and later, was EVP and head of Hill and Knowlton's flagship New York office. He was Chief Marketing Officer of Ernst & Young and also held similar positions at Gateway Computers, Iomega Corporation and The Lyle Anderson Company.

Named "Marketer of the Year"by Brandweek, one of America's five leading business futurists by the Wall Street Journal and among its Distinguished Alumni by his alma mater, Michigan State, Jim is a highly sought-after speaker. His teachings, writings and lectures focus on the future, technology and marketplace strategy, wealth marketing, trends in U.S. and international business, the nature of a company's brand persona, and the integration of technology, culture and business profitability. He has lectured at many of the country's leading universities, including Harvard and Stanford, and for major business, governmental and civic organizations, including the American Association of Advertising Agencies, American Bar Association, American Automobile Association, American Global Web Trading Association, American Underwriters, the American Red Cross, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Security Association and Young Veterans Association.

Virtually every major business publication in America and most in Europe and Japan have quoted Jim. Moreover, he has contributed articles to a variety of top, far-ranging national publications, notably Advertising Age, American Demographics, Consumer Insights, Fast Company, Inc., National Geographic, New York Times, Architecture and Southern Living, among many others.

Co-principal of a number of milestone research studies such as the much lauded Worth-Harrison-Taylor Study of Wealth in America and Entertainment Now, Jim is also co-author of The 500 Year Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next and The Visionary's Handbook. He is currently working on a third book: American Dreamers: A Major Investigation of Wealth.

Paul Lundquist

PRESIDENT

Paul Lundquist is President of Harrison Group, having been with the firm since its inception in 1996. As part of the senior management team, he has been instrumental in growing the firm into one of the industry's top client-recommended marketing consulting and research service providers.

For seventeen years, Paul has been providing strategic counsel to clients on the full breadth of marketing issues: market segmentation, new product opportunity assessment and optimization, brand equity, product positioning, pricing strategy, brand strategy, and customer loyalty measurement. He serves as a senior advisor to clients in a range of industries, most notably high tech, media, telecommunications and consumer packaged goods.

He also offers substantial international research experience, having completed Harrison Group studies in over 55 countries. Prior to joining Harrison Group, Paul was a Research Director at Yankelovich Partners.

Paul holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration and Marketing Science from the University of Connecticut. When not in the office, he enjoys spending time with his family and playing the drums with an eleven-piece Rhythm & Blues band.

Lisa Carter

MANAGING PARTNER

Lisa Carter brings over 20 years of strategic marketing consulting and research experience to Harrison Group, utilizing her expertise in breakthrough product/service development, brand architecture, sales forecasting, market segmentation and product/pricing optimization.

Earlier, she was a Senior Marketing Engagement Manager for the Boston office of McKinsey & Co., where she led marketing-focused engagements and developed new knowledge, including articles on Breakthrough Product and Service Development . Prior to that, she was, successively, a Partner at MaPS (Marketing and Planning Systems) and Managing Partner of the Strategic Custom Research Group at Yankelovich Partners, with overall responsibility for research quality and product innovation, revenues and group profitability.

Lisa is a graduate of the University of Colorado/Boulder, from where she earned a B.S. in Business, Marketing Emphasis. When not at work, Lisa enjoys racing one-design sailboats and fishing with her husband Gary, in Marblehead, MA.

Case Braskamp

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Joining Harrison Group in early 2003, Case's experience encompasses qualitative and quantitative research in the fields of brand equity, extendibility and positioning, market segmentation and concept testing. Over the past eleven years, he has directed key strategic research initiatives for market leaders across a variety of industries, including Sprint, Abbott Labs, Labatt, Clorox, and Nestle Purina.

Case came to Harrison Group from StrategyOne, the market and public opinion research division of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, where he was a Senior Vice President. Earlier, he spent six years at Yankelovich Partners, where he became a Partner with new product development, client relationship and project management responsibilities.

Case received his B.A. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University and M.B.A. from New York University, with a dual concentration in Marketing and Finance.

Away from the office, he can be found on the golf course in warm weather months; and in winter, on the slopes.

Julie Wallace

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

With over fifteen years' experience in marketing research, Julie Wallace is responsible for operation of all of Harrison Group's support services, including finance, field services, general administration and human resources/personnel. Julie also serves as corporate secretary to Harrison Group's Board of Directors.

Prior to joining the company in January 2000, she was an Associate Director of data collection at Yankelovich Partners Inc., managing domestic and international fieldwork and vendor relationships.

Julie, a graduate of The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA (B.A., class of 1991), is a member of the Marketing Research Association and CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Organizations)

In her spare time, she enjoys painting, home repair and spending time with her family and friends.

Burr Brown

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Burr Brown is responsible for all of Harrison Group's business development efforts and oversees the company's custom sales, syndicated product development and corporate marketing.

Prior to joining Harrison Group in 2001, Burr was a partner at @plan, a division of DoubleClick, Inc. and ran their syndicated sales division. Burr has over seventeen years of research and sales experience with some of the world's leading market research and consulting firms, including: Yankelovich Partners, Roper Starch Worldwide and Marketing Corporation of America. Burr has spent his entire career with innovative companies that have pioneered new and groundbreaking research methodologies and bringing them to market.

Although a California native, Burr lives in Connecticut and is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego. In his spare time, Burr enjoys being humiliated on the golf course, riding motorcycles and fly fishing.

HARRISON GROUP SERVICES

Our clients tend to seek out our services for five purposes which typically are best addressed through a combination of several categories of strategic and tactical research:

1. To hear the voice of the customer:
Clients seek us out when they need to hear the clear voice of their customer. We are a channel: we bring the voice of the customer to the tables where decisions are made.
2. To make critical resource decisions:
Clients come to us when they must choose, among competing strategies, the one strategy that will yield the greatest outcome. We model alternatives and point a decisive finger at the best solution given client circumstances and opportunity.
3. To understand the structure of competitive markets:
Clients come to us to characterize customer segments and structural characteristics of complicated, competitive markets. Clients know we will show them their strengths, weaknesses and the magnitude of their opportunity.
4. To make a choice:
Whether pursuing price, inventory, brand, geography or targeted preferences, our clients find that the focused process in which we engage them gives them confidence in the decisions they make.
5. To best position their companies at the forefront of customers' minds:
Among the most difficult challenges our clients face are the processes of branding, managing brands and the self-examination that attends a thorough review of identity. We help clients understand the attributes that are true of their company, meaningful to their customers and distinct from their competitors. Our brand development process uses layered research methodologies to bring both the client and customers into the brand-development evolution.

Brand Equity & Positioning Direction.
Using qualitative and quantitative tools, these capabilities help clients establish brand power, positioning and customer appeal.
Market Structure & Segmentation.
These advanced statistical techniques help clients understand and value customer preferences, attitudes, motivation, demography and emotional and physical needs, uncovering unique, targetable segments.
Opportunity Assessment.
Assessments enable us to examine gaps in the market for existing products within known target segments providing information that helps identify desirable features, new product ideas, line extensions and design features.
Concept Screening & Volumetric Evaluation.
Using Internet-based data collection and survey management techniques, these services provide clients with market-validated measures of response and forecasted volume for new/restaged products (with multiple assumptions of message, medium, imagery and advertising leads).
Product/Pricing Optimization.
Using market-validated methodologies, product/pricing services creates demand projections that provide clients with demand and margin shifts for alternative pricing, media or product configurations.
Syndicated Research.
These large, Internet-based omnibus multi-client research projects assist clients who need an in-depth understanding of the trends, social changes and demographic shifts significantly impacting their businesses. We developed a flagship report on Generation Y sponsored by Nielsen Business Media that delved into every aspect of the world of teens. We also worked with American Express Publishing Company to produce a significant nationally generalizable study that produced unprecedented insights into the world of wealth and affluence of the top five percent of the American economic spectrum.

THE ANNUAL SURVEY OF AMERICAN WEALTH

Six million households make up the Affluent, Super-Affluent and Wealthy families in America. Largely middle-class in origin, middle-aged, and at the peak of their income-earning years, these consuders have a profound impact on the economy. This study will help you, your sales team, your marketers, and the people who touch your customers understand what makes these big-spending consumers tick.

The Survey of American Affluence is produced by American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group. 1,800 wealthy, affluent, and emerging affluent Americans offered us their opinions on their lives, their pocketbooks, their investments, their families, their shopping habits, and the brands and categories they love.

Methodology:

Fielded November 2007
1,800 emerging affluent, affluent, super-affluent, and wealthy American families. Emerging Affluent ($100,000 to $125,999 in discretionary household income); Affluent ($125,000 to $249,999); Super Affluent (from $250,999 to $499,999); Wealthy ($500,000 and above)
For each group we a sample large enough to assure confidence and reliability. Includes an oversample of the highest-income strata so that we could analyze and report on households of extraordinary wealth ($20 million in assets and above)

The Harrison Group - THE ANNUAL SURVEY OF AMERICAN WEALTH

THE ANNUAL SURVEY OF TEEN WEALTH

Just as Baby Boomers did two generations ago, the teens within Gen Y continue to transform the American marketing landscape. Today's teens are "super consumers" who depend on social networks, brands, technology and their own experiences to make purchase decisions.

The Harrison Group has just concluded an in-depth fourth wave of research on American Teenagers. This study has uncovered vital trends that this first true global generation will take with them into adulthood as architects of a new future.

These kids have proven to be marketer's best friend and their toughest challenge. With our study, you will learn which brands they admire and love… how, why, what and where they spend their time and money… what makes them happy… what they fear… and how they receive your message.

Methodology:

Fielded September-October 2007
1,000 teenagers between 13 and 18 years of age
We fielded an additional 200 affluent/wealthy teens ($15000,000 or more in household income) for the ability to conduct separate analysis
Nationally representative, including gender, race, and location

The Harrison Group - THE ANNUAL SURVEY OF TEEN WEALTH

IN THE MEDIA

A Cutting-Back Mentality

The Houston Chronicle

02/11/2008

L.M. Sixel

A couple of weeks ago I asked a wide variety of folks at shopping malls, gas stations and on the street if they were preparing for a possible recession. Virtually all said they were and ticked off the steps they were taking to reduce their expenses: bagging their lunches, dropping their cable TV and drinking the office swill instead of spending $4 on a double latte. For the most part, they weren't insecure about their jobs or their spouse's jobs. High gasoline prices or debt weren't killing them. It was just the time to cut back. Why? After all, economists argue that people don't usually tighten their belts unless they have to. Chalk it up to psychology. Or according to one market strategist, it's the rational response to an "emotional recession." The nation hasn't had a real recession for a long time, and most folks know them more as horror stories rather than from personal experience, said Jim Taylor, vice chairman of the Harrison Group, a market strategy firm in Waterbury, Conn. But recalling tales of stratospheric interest rates and bread lines arouses concern, something that was clear during the past Christmas season, Taylor said. "It went to an 'I need' instead of an 'I want' Christmas," he said. People also focused more on their families and relationships, and they seemed to spend less time complaining that they got the wrong gift. Another factor has consumers nervous: It's harder to use home equity lending to keep up spending levels. That's come to a "screeching halt," said Taylor, pointing to one survey that found 11 percent were relying on their rising equity to afford their lifestyle. There's something almost magical about cutting back, he said. It's sort of like satisfying the gods of ill fortune — and hopefully keeping them at bay. WORRYING IS CONTAGIOUS There's also the social factor to consider. Even if folks feel secure themselves, when they hear that people they know are worried, they tend to adopt that attitude too, said Jill Sundie, assistant professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. "Fear in general is a pretty powerful emotion," said Sundie, who focuses on consumer behavior. "If you see others panicking around you, it's a cue for you to panic too." She recalled the buildup to Hurricane Rita. It would be Sundie's first hurricane, and she wasn't worried because she had somewhere to go to ride out the storm and her home was insured. Her outlook changed when she went to the grocery store. Every single bottle of water was gone, she recalled. The store was teeming, and everyone was snapping up supplies and talking about the storm. "By the time I got home, I was completely freaked out about it," she said. Sundie likened that experience to the national concern over subprime mortgages. While economists are wringing their hands about the crisis, many folks aren't especially worried because it hasn't happened to them or anyone they know, she said, counting herself among that group. It doesn't seem real. FELT FAR AND WIDE So far, the restraint is showing. Retailers are reporting slower sales, with the 2007 holiday season the worst in five years. McDonald's reported last month that its December sales were flat at U.S. restaurants open more than a year. Starbucks Coffee is test-marketing $1 cups of coffee for its budget-conscious customers. Sherry Bailey is one of those thrifty consumers. The school crossing guard has substituted chicken for beef, carefully watches the expiration dates of milk and cheese products, and stocks up on specials at the grocery store. "I used to just buy it," said Bailey, who said she grew up without much money. "Now only if it's on sale." For every purchase, Bailey asks herself: "Can I do without?" Bailey enjoys going out to dinner but has cut back from once a week to once a month and favors places with two-for-one coupons. And now she orders water — from the tap. Bailey also is careful to set aside more savings. For every bill she pays, she puts another 50 percent aside just in case. It's all preparation, said Bailey, who is expecting $4-a-gallon gas this summer. "We're practicing now so when it comes I won't be scared. I'll be ready," she said.

CONTACT

The Harrison Group
One Exchange Place
21 West Main Street, Fl 5
Waterbury, Connecticut 06702
Toll-Free: (866) WEBPOLL (932-7655)
Telephone: (203) 573-0400
Fax: (203) 574-5850

Recession's real when rich feel it

The Denver Post

05/17/2008

Al Lewis

It's not a recession until the rich say it's a recession. And the rich now say it's a recession. The American Express Publishing Corp. and Harrison Group recently surveyed 638 well-to-do households, representing the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans. These 12 million households account for half of all U.S. retail spending and $4.1 trillion worth of consumption. More than 90 percent of them indicated they believe the U.S. economy is in a recession or on the precipice of one. "They are as down on the economy as you can imagine," said Jim Taylor, vice chairman of Harrison Group, which co-produces "The Annual Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America." Here's what they said: - "I think we are in for a long rough ride ahead," 73 percent. - "My company is looking at cutting costs and could be letting people go," 48 percent. - "I am looking closely at every spending category to see where we can save," 68 percent. - "I usually wait for something to go on sale before I buy it," 82 percent. High-end retailers are already feeling their well-heeled customers' pain. Last week, Nordstrom reported a 24 percent decline in first-quarter profit. And Whole Foods stock fell more than 12 percent after the company reporting a 13 percent decline in first-quarter profit. Sales of luxury cars are down, and even some million-dollar homes are falling into foreclosure. New consumer confidence numbers, reported Friday, show consumers at all levels are the sourest they've been in 28 years. Falling real estate values, soaring gasoline prices, a flat stock market and tightening credit have taken such a toll we look back to an era of stagflation for comparisons. Warren Buffett has said he believes we're in a recession. Billionaire trader George Soros has said he believes we're in the middle of a popping "super-bubble" that has been building for the past quarter century. "I consider this the biggest financial crisis of my lifetime," Soros told the New York Times last month. When the rich feel pinched, they begin to manage risks more carefully, investing less in ideas that might actually create jobs and reinvigorate the economy. "We're entering a period of serious risk management," said Taylor. "It's a very problematic sign." When it comes to pinpointing the causes of the recession, the rich are no different than you and me. Here's what they said in the survey: - "The real cause of this recession is the free and easy availability of debt in America," 81 percent. - "Big banks and corporations have again put the whole economy at risk," 69 percent. - "Poor leadership in Washington has brought about this recession," 68 percent. - "I am concerned that America is becoming a second-class economy," 67 percent. Perhaps this is a sign things have finally hit bottom and will start to turn around. Surely, we can't expect first-class people to live in a second-class economy. Al Lewis' column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Respond to him at blogs.denverpost.com/lewis, 303-954-1967 or alewis@denverpost.com.

A Cutting-Back Mentality

The Houston Chronicle

02/11/2008

L.M. Sixel

Wealthiest Americans Have Worries, Too

TheStreet.com

02/11/2008

Laura Moran

Wealth doesn't alleviate the financial concerns that Americans suffer -- it simply redirects the worries. At least, that's the conclusion of two surveys released recently by the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. The Opinion Research Corp., which conducted one of the surveys, found that 42% of those polled were concerned about the safety of their financial assets, including, stocks, bonds, and real estate other than their primary home. The poll, which surveyed 501 men and women with investible assets of greater than $1 million, also found that the majority of respondents have cyber-concerns. More than half -- 53% -- say they are concerned about identity theft, while about 15% are worried that their reputation or that of a family member will be damaged on online message boards, chat rooms or social networking sites. The 2007 Annual Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America, conducted by American Express Publishing and Harrison Group, surfaced similar sentiments. The Internet poll, which surveyed 1,300 individuals with an annual average household discretionary income above $375,000, also found that the wealthiest Americans still have everyday worries. Americans with over $125,000 in discretionary income reveal that they believe money has brought them considerable security and peace of mind, but expressed that they don't "really feel like they have a lot of money," and agree that having been "burned in business experiences has made me much more cautious." Like those with over $1 million in assets, some in this group had concerns that their financial security could vanish. Around half of all people who took part in the 2007 Annual Survey of Affluence and wealth in America indicated concerns about someday running out of money and their financial security. Jim Taylor, vice chairman of the Harrison Group, said that affluent Americans who were "once at the mercy of those who provided information" have gained the ability to study categories that they are interested in. These categories often include areas in which they may be insecure about their financial holdings. This has inspired people to a lifelong quest to become better and better and more knowledgeable. "Wealth and affluence is a journey from financial insecurity to a deep understanding of the transforming power of wealth. It takes a while, but people learn to turn their insecurities into lifelong learning," said the principal investigator of the research program.

Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?

Entrepreneur

02/01/2008

Andrea Cooper

DOES YOUR IDEA OF SUCCESS INCLUDE MORE THAN 6 ZEROS? ENTREPRENEURS WHO HAVE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF FINANCIAL SUCCESS REVEAL HOW YOU CAN DEVELOP THE "BILLIONAIRE MIND-SET." Back in the ''90s, the big goal for many entrepreneurs was to earn a million dollars. A million meant you had made it--you were not only thriving, you were rich. Alas, being a millionaire now just doesn't have the same cachet. To reach the same level of prestige now, you need to be a billionaire. Once, that might have been a far-fetched dream for entrepreneurs. But today, it isn't only global corporate kings who can luxuriate in such wealth and lead billion-dollar enterprises. Entrepreneurs are creating and running some of these wildly successful companies, too. You'll meet two of them--Marc Ecko and David Hitz--in the following pages. Marc Ecko once said he hoped people would think of him as Willy Wonka. It's easy to see why, because Ecko brings a sense of edgy wonder to his work. As chief creative officer of Marc Ecko Enterprises and co-founder with his twin sister, Marci Tapper, 35, and business partner Seth Gerszberg, 36, Ecko presides over an empire of clothing and accessory lines, such as Ecko Unltd. and Zoo York, as well as a video game and multimedia division and a magazine. Ecko (born Marc Milecofsky) began as an entrepreneur at age 14, painting T-shirts in his family's garage in New Jersey. He got the nickname "Echo" when he was born because his mother didn't know she was expecting twins. Ecko isn't known for being quiet now, though--his grand gestures include releasing a video on the web showing graffiti artists spray-painting "Still Free" on Air Force One in 2006. The video was so realistic that government officials checked to make sure the real presidential plane had not been vandalized. (It hadn't.) Last year, he bought Barry Bonds' record-breaking baseball for more than $750,000 and let people vote on what should happen to it. Ecko thinks bold in his business dealings, too. In addition to his wholesale operations, he plans to open 150 retail outlets by 2010, and a flagship store in Times Square is in the works. The New York City company earned sales in excess of $1.5 billion in 2007. We talked with Ecko about his business and having fun. You started the business while studying pharmacology at Rutgers. What did you want your business to be? At the time, I was just doing T-shirts, but I'd go to trade shows and see brands doing everything from snowboard jackets to jeans to leather. Every time, little bits of the business revealed itself. I was like, "That's fair game. I should be able to do that, too." Your company nearly went bankrupt about 10 years ago. Everybody was telling you to bail out. Why didn't you? We knew there wasn't anyone we were meeting in our space who was any smarter or working any harder than us. Maybe they had more experience. They didn't necessarily have more smarts. Here's the other thing, to be candid: You're $7 million in debt, $16 million in sales. You're functionally bankrupt. Who the hell is going to buy you? We were not a very attractive thing to purchase, even though we were putting ourselves out there on the block. It managed to get us a lot of interesting meetings with players and thinkers, though. People were intrigued by us. We were young and scrappy, and they found us charming, so they gave us the time of day. And man, every time we'd get a session, we'd just try to learn as much as possible. Like what? Everything. You're sitting across from the general merchandising manager. What's merchandising? Oh, you're in charge of information management systems. OK . . . what's that? You'd investigate who the players were; you'd ask what the best practices were. Your sales went from $16 million to $96 million by 2000. What changed? We stopped trying to sell the company. Then we had the good fortune of [talking to] Alan Finkelman. Alan's father was a part owner in a traditional sportswear company that sold mass, mainstream products to discounters and discount chains. But they had the infrastructure: the warehouse, the production shops, the computer systems. My partner Seth convinced Alan to help us. Alan could buy into our company. What it would allow us to do is focus on marketing, production, all the stuff we'd learned about in the pursuit of wanting to sell the company. Alan said if we could pay him back in two years, he'd let us buy back all of his percentage for the interest plus a dollar. That let us put our heads down and focus. Sure enough, in 18 months or so, we bought back his position. If it wasn't for him, we might not have ever had that outlet to turn it around. What kinds of mistakes did you make along the way? From 1999 to 2000, we had a hiccup in our sales. Frankly, I take most of the blame. I became arrogant about my capacity. I got first-class tickets to Amsterdam, Milan and Paris and went on a shopping trip. I came back with a soundtrack to a new direction. Coming off the heels of a very successful 18-month run-up, I thought I could do no wrong. I designed a line that was just shit. It was done in a very self-indulgent, ivory tower kind of way with no semblance of merchandising, no data as to what worked before, what are the colors that are working in the market--all the things you do that are best practices. The stuff got to retail and completely bombed. I sobered up. What did I do wrong? It was like a wind sprint to get back on course. To feel that pain again and feel like it could all disappear was a very healthy thing for refining our process and putting more quantitative analysis into the design. What is your role in the company today? I look for big, bold strokes--business development in new areas. It became very clear that the best thing I can do, rather than being deep in the weeds with design, is to be a muse to my organization. If I come in and say, "I want graphic T-shirts with deep V-necks," in three months, it'll be there. If I'm in the weeds, negotiating changes, it's just one more message that might or might not get executed. The more distance I've created from a hands-on, deep touch design perspective, the better and more effective I've been as a design leader. As chief creative officer, I've got a painting factory. I have a dozen or so oil painters and sculptors that are constantly building fine art for me. I'm trying to create images that I can't necessarily create in a purely commercial environment. It's like R&D almost. That artwork informs our designs in a huge way. Do you have any advice you want to give to readers? There's a book by Daniel Goleman, Working With Emotional Intelligence. That was a big tipping point for me, applying that to my business. I don't think there's one silver bullet that will shoot you to the moon. Not being emotional and being able to call shit on yourself and on the people around you is really important. And not having to worry about tap-dancing or tiptoeing around people's feelings. Just to be sober and say, "Look, this is how it really is." I think having an environment that lends itself to that without everyone getting pissy is really important. That, coupled with being passionate and being able to distinguish between the shades of passion and emotion, because there is a distinction. Being passionate doesn't give you license to be emotional. What new things do you want to do? Right now, one of our big focuses is our retail expansion. That's a great cultural shift for our company, controlling our own destiny. I'd like to do something on a really large scale relating to public school reform. I don't know how that's going to take shape. I'd love to one day create lots of public art for this country. There are more video game projects I've got cooking. Just to have fun--that's the most important thing. Is it still fun for you? It's so much fuckin' fun. I'm so lucky, it's ridiculous. Some days it's hard, a lot of heavy lifting. But I can always end the day thinking, "What else would I be doing?" If you can't envision doing something else, then you've got the right gig. In high school, David Hitz built a computer from a kit, but his mom warned him not to think of computers as a career. Good thing he didn't listen. Hitz, 45, founded Network Appliance (aka NetApp) in 1992 with James Lau, 48, to simplify digital storage. The Sunnyvale, California, company that began with less than a dozen full-time employees soared to 6,600 strong and $2.8 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2007, an increase of 36 percent from the 2006 fiscal year. Before age disqualified him, Hitz made Fortune's "40 Richest Under 40" list more than once. Here he describes the mind-set that helped him build a billion-dollar business, including how he learned valuable management lessons while herding, branding and castrating ranch cattle. Some people describe you as charismatic, and you've called yourself the loudmouth of the company. Are those traits important for NetApp to thrive? When a company is little, there's just a handful of you. It's relatively simple to get that group of people to figure out where they are going. As the company grows, one of the biggest challenges is to get all of the people headed in the same direction. To accomplish that, you need to be a loudmouth, and I mean that broadly. You need to talk, you need to write. Writing is an extremely powerful tool. It helps you test your thinking. Writing is also a great way of communicating to lots of people at once. I started a blog and I've written papers that I call future histories, which are my best attempts to describe how I think the world is going to look three years out, sometimes further. Is charisma one of those intangible qualities that would help someone achieve the success you've achieved? Maybe charisma is what happens when somebody is doing something they care about and shows passion for the thing they are doing. I really believe it's important to start by doing something you love. When we went public in late 1995, I was about 32. All of a sudden, I was a multimillionaire. It really [led to] some soul searching. I could do anything I wanted. What is it I wanted to do? I realized I was doing the thing I want to do. There isn't something else. Before graduating from Princeton, you studied at Deep Springs, a college where students work on a ranch. How did that experience influence you? Deep Springs is in the middle of nowhere. You're out there doing stuff and you don't necessarily know how to do it. That's part of the point. It's a very make-do environment. That lesson carries through to the startup world. When you're shipping a product with eight people, you'd better not be having very many fights where people say, "That's not my job because here's the thing I focus on." Whatever it is, you just figure it out and do it. That doesn't mean be stupid about it. Read a book. See if you can find someone who has done it before and talk to them. Occasionally, if it's important enough, you better hire someone to do it. But just dive in. When you launched this business, how big did you envision it? Nowhere near as big as it got, I can tell you that. When we put together our business plan, we believed that there was a total market of maybe 700 million. When did you think this could be a billion-dollar business? Our original concept in the early '90s was to do storage over Ethernet that would be useful for engineering environments. As the dotcom boom came in, you started seeing companies wonder, "How can I get all my stuff onto the internet?" We raised our hands and said, "Storage out over Ethernet--that's what we do." It really was the dotcom boom that took us to a billion dollars. We grew like crazy. From 1993, when we first shipped product, to 2001, every year we basically doubled--in revenue and head count. Your company celebrated its 15th anniversary last April. How do you sustain the business without going flat? Dan's [Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of NetApp] philosophy of market share is when you reach 10 percent market share in your current market, you'd better think about expanding to something much larger. And then when you reach 10 percent of that next strategic perimeter, you'd better think about expanding again. So you are always the scrappy little guy looking at what big guys you can be fighting against. When we started, we did storage for small UNIX workgroups. It was a very natural evolution to do storage for larger UNIX workgroups. Then we said we're going to do storage for Windows as well. Later we got out of the market for low-end storage for engineers--storage for individuals at their desktops--and into the market for the kind of storage that companies run their businesses on. That's a whole different zone of storage, and we had to develop whole new technologies. That opened up the market immensely. How do you stay engaged and interested? If the issues were all the same as five years ago, I wouldn't be interested. I love thinking about new problems. In 2003 or so, we were a $1 billion dollar company and now we're near three. That's an enormous difference. Have there ever been moments when you've wondered how to control the tidal wave you've created? Guess what: If you're doubling every year, you are not in control. You'd better figure out how to get a set of people, all of whom understand, roughly speaking, where you are trying to get to, and then trust them to do the stuff they're supposed to do. Not just because that's the most moral solution or the most fun--I can't imagine another model that will work at those growth rates. Some people may be surprised to hear you say that. A lot of people head toward mechanical analogies when they describe companies: "It's a well-oiled machine." I don't feel that way. A company is like something that grows. It's organic. You hire someone, and that person hires someone, and pretty soon there's a whole group of people. You didn't design it. Occasionally you might prune it or change it or rearrange things. Say I planted an acorn, weeded it, watered it and made sure it was in a sunny spot. Ten years later, there's an oak tree and someone says, "What does it feel like to have built that oak tree?" You participated. You helped. But there was the magic as well. The workings of 100 human minds combined together definitely might as well be magic. What essential characteristics do America's wealthiest entrepreneurs share? More important, how can you, too, develop these qualities? Read on to find out how to think like the entrepreneurial elite. The wealthiest entrepreneurs share some common characteristics, according to a 2007 study on affluence in the U.S. from American Express Publishing and The Harrison Group. Researchers looked at the top half of the top 1 percent of America's wealthiest individuals--those who have assets of $5 million and above. (The sampling was representative of the top 600,000 households in the U.S., whose mean value of household assets is $30.6 million.) Within this data set, they compared entrepreneurs with nonentrepreneurs. Among the findings: - Entrepreneurs are less likely to be college graduates than non-entrepreneurs. - They are more likely to attribute their success to determination, while nonentrepreneurs credit intelligence and education. - They say their happiness increases as they accumulate more money. - They are more likely to say money brings them self-confidence, while nonentrepreneurs say it brings them security. Author Martin Fridson identified some of the same qualities in his research for How to Be a Billionaire. "Extraordinary tenacity is right at the top of the list," he says. "Billionaires are not satisfied with as much money as they're ever likely to spend in their lives, so there's clearly something going on beyond mere material satisfaction." These entrepreneurs are competitive, desiring to surpass not only their rivals, but also their own past achievements. Such people can often find a way to turn defeat into victory, proving themselves right in their business judgments again and again. The billionaires Fridson profiled in his book, including Richard Branson, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Kirk Kerkorian and the late Laurence Tisch, all communicated effectively with employees, customers and other constituents. "You don't see recluses quietly making a billion in secret," Fridson points out. And, interestingly, he found that many of his subjects were very skilled poker or bridge players. They took pleasure in a bit of a gamble. That comfort with risk, Fridson says, is key: They like the feeling of playing for high stakes. Perhaps that leads billionaires to see possibilities where others don't. Billionaires have a different view of what reality could be, says Ken Siegel, a social psychologist and president of The Impact Group Inc., a group of psychotherapists who consult with global companies. Billionaires often have a desire to change the world. Bill Gates, who popularized the idea that you don't need paper to write or calculate, is a good example. "If you think about where we came from, using electric typewriters, [Gates' success] required a whole mind shift about reality," Siegel says. Such leaders want to be the driving force of change and have some control over the way their ideas are implemented. Though the American Express survey found that top-performing entrepreneurs place a higher value on money, Siegel cautions against using money as your primary motivation. "The more you focus on the financial potential you feel you are owed, the less likely you are to get there," he says. Instead, your focus should be on improving your services or products, with greater profits as the end result. Along with having success in mind, elite entrepreneurs use distinct business strategies to boost their companies' development, says Rita Gunther McGrath, associate professor at Columbia Business School and co-author of MarketBusters. To begin, they figure out a business model with the capacity for what McGrath calls "mind-blowing growth." Dell, for instance, used off-the-shelf components from a variety of suppliers, so it didn't face growth barriers that might have come from difficulties in making or designing components. While billionaires have a strong belief in their own abilities, the capacity to move forward aggressively, and a willingness to take risks they have thought through, they also hire very talented people to work alongside them. "Unlike a more typical entrepreneur, they are really good at building extremely capable teams without feeling threatened," says McGrath. Not all attributes common to billionaires are positive, Siegel observes. Those who achieve such great success can be extraordinarily independent, to the point that it's difficult for them to develop close, intimate relationships. Others can be narcissistic, with illusions of invulnerability--witness the recent spate of CEO excesses and fiscal improprieties. Still others can become so engrossed in their work that their families suffer, or they have no life outside of work. After all the sophisticated analysis, there's one quality billionaire entrepreneurs have that's impossible to deny, much as we might like to. "As corny as it sounds," says Fridson, "capacity to work hard is important."

This Ain't No Practice Life

The Murfreesboro Post

01/28/2008

Michael J. Blurt

I've been in my current vocation of coaching and leading others for over fifteen years now. Starting at the age of 15 while coaching a junior pro basketball team I have just now really figured out what I "do." For many of us we are taught from an early age to go to school, make good grades, go to college, and get a good job. For many of us though we want more than just a good life. For me, the enemy of the great is the good. Simply going to school, making good grades, and going to college does not deliver on the promise it proclaims. Happiness is found at the intersection of how you define success, what you value, and what matters most to you. Success is a constantly moving target and defined by the eyes of the beholder but I would suggest several ways to figure out what it is that drives your unique engine: 1. What are you deeply passionate about? 2. What are your natural talents? 3. What does your conscience steer you toward? 4. Where is there a need that the world will pay you to fulfill? I believe that at the intersection or nexus of these critical questions you begin to find your unique voice, or calling in life. In a recent article in Entrepreneur magazine, the Harrison Group Researchers looked at the top half of the top 1 percent of America's wealthiest people, those with assets of $5 million and above and found these interesting qualities about entrepreneurs vs. non entrepreneurs: 1. Entrepreneurs are less likely to be college graduates than non-entrepreneurs. 2. Entrepreneurs are more likely to attribute their success to determination, while others attribute their success to education and intelligence. 3. Entrepreneurs believe their happiness increases as they accumulate money. 4. Entrepreneurs believe that money brings them self-confidence, while others say it brings them security. My point to all of this is simple. Just going to school, making good grades, and going to college does not determine your level of success or happiness in life. If money drives your engine set out to make as much as you can. If accomplishment, spending time with family, or just taking pride in a job where you make little rows your boat, then so be it. At the end of the day we should all decide what our unique purpose is and what makes us happy. Mine just happens to be INFUSING purpose, passion, and intention into the lives of others. Over the past five years Micheal Burt has impacted over 100,000 people with a message about finding one's unique voice, inspiring others to find their voice, and closing the execution gaps that prohibit people and companies from being successful. Micheal serves as the Chief Leadership Officer for multiple companies including his own Maximum Success. Micheal has worked with State Farm, Dell, Inc., Cumulus Broadcasting, Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, Tennessee Health Care Association, Middle Tennessee State University, Phillips Mortgage Planning, Cornerstone Health Care, and many more. Go to www.michealburt.com to learn more. E-mail Micheal @ coachburt@maximumsuccess.org

From School To Love, Staten Island Teens Have The Answers

Staten Island Advance

01/20/2008

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Polling companies enjoy throwing out numbers on a variety of topics -- everything from how much people are exercising to what they're eating. We decided to actually gather some numbers that matter to teens. After polling 200 teenagers across Staten Island, we learned a number of things about the young adults of this borough. How do we feel about schoolwork? While 48 percent of those polled spend one hour or less a night on homework, 67 percent feel pressure to succeed in school. How do we feel about giving back to the community? More than half of those polled serve as volunteers. How do we feel about love? Out of those polled, 65 percent are not currently in a relationship. And how do Staten Island teens compare to those in the rest of the country on such topics as music and patriotism? According to a nationwide poll conducted by the Harrison Group, a Connecticut-based market research company, 75 percent of teens spend two to three hours a day listening to music. Out of the Staten Island teens we polled, 55 percent listen to music two to three hours daily. Nationally, are teenagers proud to call themselves American? Eighty-seven percent answered yes, and 82 percent of the teens we polled gave the same answer. Interested in learning more about your peers? Take a look at the figures below, taken from our poll of 200 Staten Island teens. HOW DO WE SPEND OUR TIME? -- 36 percent work six hours or more per week. -- 65 percent sleep six to nine hours a night. -- 36 percent spend less than one hour a day watching TV. -- 47 percent spend time with their friends one to two hours a day outside of school. WHAT ABOUT OUR LOVE LIFE? -- 39 percent said their longest relationship lasted six months. -- 33 percent have never had a boyfriend or girlfriend. HOW DO WE SPEND OUR MONEY -- 81 percent make their purchases at a mall, 13 percent shop online, and 6 percent shop at specialty stores. -- 53 percent spend $30 or more on food, clothes and activities a week. -- 64 percent do not pay any bills, 21 percent pay their own cell phone bill, 15 percent pay their own gasoline bill. HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT THE ISSUES? -- 76 percent are against the war in Iraq. -- 40 percent believe there should be prayer in school. -- 56 percent are pro-life. The following teen reporters conducted this poll: Eva Amesse, Arielle d'Auguste, Andrew DiLorenzo, Jill Feigelman, Julia Jankowski, John Kearney, Delia Rose Mandia, Tiffanie Perea, Meghan Pero, Eric Petillo, Danielle Raleigh, Brandon S. Touhey, Ai Yamanaka.