Eric Joiner's Freightdawg.com - The Logistics and Supply Chain Blog!

The Mystery of Larry Hillblom - a DHL Founder

DHL today is a 64 billion dollar logistics company spanning the globe in movement of everything from envelopes to customer chartered jumbo jets.  Now a part of German conglomerate Deutsche Post,  few people know the history of the 3 Americans who founded the company in San Francisco, Ca. in the late 60's.  

A lot of people think DHL stands for something German, but in fact, it represents the names of the three founders.  Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn.   

Larry Hillblom is probably the most infamous of the 3 amigos for the simple reason that once the company became successful in transportation of international documents, primarily shipping line manifests before the age of electronic media, he became an international playboy.  Hillblom moved to Asia, fathered multiple children and then died a mysterious death in a plane crash.   

The article below, from Fortune Magazine, reviews a new book on Hillbloms life.  I am surprised its not a major motion picture.  60 Minutes did a report on Larry Hillblom and his multiple illegitimate children some time ago.  

DHL today has nothing to do with the historical roots of the three American founders, but the history itself is interesting reading. 

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FORTUNE -- Growing up fatherless on a peach farm in California, Larry Hillblom told friends he wanted to be like Howard Hughes some day. He came closer than anyone could have expected. Hillblom went into business, amassed a huge fortune, acquired an airline, built a secretive empire, sustained hideous injuries in a plane crash, and developed into a full-blown germaphobe eccentric.

For all that, there was an important difference between the two men. Hughes indulged his whims in Hollywood and Las Vegas, becoming an object of public fascination. Hillblom cut his wackadoodle swath across Micronesia, which is why you may not have heard of him.

Hillblom was the "H" in DHL, the international courier service, and is the subject of King Larry, a biography by James D. Scurlock. The author unquestionably has a nose for a good story. In 2006, two years before Lehman Brothers collapsed, he made a jeremiad movie called Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders. He published a book by the same name the following year.

With his new book, Scurlock has again hit upon a story that was crying out to be told. Hillblom, it seems, was a business monster -- a man with an unquenchable work ethic and no discernible moral compass. His principal hobby seems to have been deflowering virgins. A billionaire cheapskate, he was passionately devoted to a cause: shielding his money from the IRS. As soon as he had DHL up and running, he moved to Saipan, a U.S. protectorate with disputed (or at least disputable) tax regulations. There, dressing like a surfer and riding around in a DeLorean, he disported himself with breathtaking self-indulgence for 14 years.

via Click Here to read more of the original Fortune article

Leadership Hint: "You Need to Blog."

Guy Kawasaki is a venture capitalist and is very famous for his blog.  blog.guykawasaki.com. Guys blog contains great stuff!   I had it blog rolled for awhile, then after a couple of emails with Guy himself, decided that I shouldn't blog roll Guy Kawasaki for the simple reason that his world (VC finance) and mine (supply chain and logistics) are not the same.  He knows little of my world since he doesn't finance in my industry.  I know relatively little about his.  Dat's cool. 

"Respekt.. in the words of Ali G."

I got interested again in Guys site today.   He has a post up called the "The Nine Biggest Myths of the Workplace by Penelope Trunk"   These are excerpted from Trunk's book called  "Brazen Careerist: The New Rules For Success". This is a book that attempts to debunk some business thoughts and practices that Penelope thinks are overrated.  My assumption is that Guy Kawasaki agrees with Penelope Trunks missive.  That's nice internet validation...but I'm going to "pull a Shrek"...and say "hang on a minute".  I think there's more to this than what Penelope Trunk wrote.  I agree with some of her listed myths, and some I don't.

Here are Ms. Trunk's listed myths...(followed by my commentary)

You’ll be happier if you have a job you like - Certainly it's true.   If you like what you do you are likely to be more creative in what you contribute above and beyond what your pointy haired Dilbert boss says you have to do. Penelope says its all about optimism and personal relationships more than happiness, but if I am optimistic and love my job, I'm going to be happy and even better, I am going to be innovative.

Job-hopping will hurt you - Penelope says it won't hurt. Much depends on the HR person who receives your resume.  I'm 45 years old.  I've spent a number of years at most of my employers, followed by experience after 2000 in which I've spent a very healthy 2+ years at a few places.  I gained major experience at each.  Nevertheless, I'm sensitive about the appearance in my resume that perhaps there may have been job hopping. In todays market, changing jobs does not hurt if you can clearly show a trend in experience gained and value driven for each of your employers. You need to be able to articulate the value both in your resume and in person.

The glass ceiling still exists. - HECK YES.  It still does.  I look at the management boards of many of the companies I have worked for and frankly if you were a six foot plus tall white guy...you had a shot.  This isn't just a male/female/white/black deal.  This is a body type deal as well.  This was especially true in ocean liner shipping even up through the 1990's.  Tall, White and Male were the only keys to the executive washroom.

Office politics is about backstabbing - Yes.  Is that news?  Machiavelli wrote books?   Penelope says office politics is about being nice and helping people get what they want.  I'm wary of anybody who is too political. Generally speaking I like Penelope's ideas, but there are still plenty of people who smile with their mouths but not with their eyes...beware.

Do good work, and you’ll do fine.- Ahem.  Do good work producing new revenue.  Then you will be fine.  This is especially true in VC backed enterprises.  Penelope says be nice and self-promote.  I say earn the company some money first...then promote.  Depending on your role, saving the company money is as valuable as new money.  It all goes to the bottom line.

You need a good resume. - The blog is the new resume.   Anybody who wants to be a thought leader better start leading on-line. Having said that you still need a great paper resume.  However thats just a ticket to the show.  The recruiter you deal with, and most hiring authorities, are going to go on-line just to see what else they can see. Look up your name on google.  I bet you'll find quite a lot of stuff!   What you find on-line will impact an interviewers perception of you from an experience and a character viewpoint. A blog is an opportunity to demonstrate those qualities on your terms.  Please make SURE any facebook or MySpace accounts don't depict anything you wouldn't write at the top of your paper resume.

People with good networks are good at networking.  - Good networks make good networkers.  Virtually everybody who reads this post should go over to LinkedIn Networks and get busy.  Let me reiterate that the blog is the new resume. 

These days the thought leaders in any industry will be found on-line and in professional social networks.

Work hard and good things will come. Yes. This is true. However in the meantime "do humble works greatly and great works humbly". Dare to take advantage of new technology and every opportunity to communicate your personal vision.

Create the shiny new brand of you! - Blog.  Nuff said.   This is about personal branding.

Eric

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Business Books: Good Reading

12 Great Business books recommended by Freight Dawg readers.

In the market for something good to read on that next business trip, or need something by the bedside? These books are recommended by Freight Dawg readers as part of a survey I did through my LinkedIn Network.   There are some good ones here with a particular tilt toward the entrepreneurial.

1. The World Is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century  - Thomas L. Friedman
2. Our Iceburg is Melting - John Kotter
3. Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything - Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
4. The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary  - Joseph Michelli
5. Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
6. Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself   - Daniel H. Pink
7. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future  -   Daniel H. Pink
8. StrengthsFinder 2.0 - Tom Rath
9. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done  by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck
10. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die - Chip Heath and Dan Heath
11. The Goal - Eliyahu M. Goldratt
       
12. The Whole Brain Business Book - Ned Herrmann

Eric

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Are you a Certified A-Hole?

Many people have been called one.  Many people have worked with one, or more!  God forbid you are married to one. They come in all shapes and sizes and all ages, both male and female, and in virtually all industries.  I'm talking about your garden variety asshole.  You know the guy.  The naysayer, the whiner, the put down artist, the brown noser, the sarcasm specialist.    We all can recognize them instantly. They all seem to be on the road at once during morning rush hour. 

Up to now however, there has never been a definitive test.  Leave it to Guy Kawasaki, famed venture capitalist and blogger, to endorse and publish a "self qualifying examination".

Action Item: Take the test!

The Asshole Rating Self-Exam (ARSE)

I was originally going to tag this as a side rail link, but decided this was such a prominent item it just had to have its' own article!     The 24 question test was designed by Stanford professor, Bob Sutton, PhD in support of his book called The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't . 

The books purpose is to offer ideas on business transformation into companies that do not tolerate bad business behavior.  The basic idea of the book is that those people ...those assholes!..that demean colleagues, poison the work environment, import negativity everywhere... have to go!

Seems ironic that a VC endorses this book... but maybe thats the beauty of it. 

Now if we can just get the a-holes off the highway.

Eric