I’m always fascinated by trompe l’oeil painting. You know it when you see it but you still can’t believe what you’re seeing.  This visual illusion in art literally “fools the eye” into perceiving a painted detail as a three dimensional object. Like these costumes made of paper. Really.

Optical illusions were the order of the day at a major exhibition I just experienced at The Baker Museum in Naples, Florida entitled, Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper.

Dramatically staged life-size renditions of historic clothing and accessories for adults and children were “created completely from artfully painted, pleated, crumpled, and manipulated paper.”

Ditto for the delicate lace on Renaissance gowns, the buttons and pearl adornments and even the sparkling sequins on a 1920s flapper dress.

All constructed from only three types of paper.

As someone who played obsessively with paper dolls as a little girl, this exhibit spoke to me. A childhood fantasy come alive thanks to a 73-year old Belgian artist who gets my vote for Best.Job.Ever.

Not surprisingly, de Borchgrave’s first toys were pencils. She covered everything in sight with her drawings which led to a formal art education at age 14. After finishing school, she channeled her talent into advertising (for a short six months), painted silk, designed and sewed clothes for her friends and even drifted over to interior design work.

Eventually de Borchgrave opened her own studio designing clothing, jewelry and accessories before focusing on fabric design.

What I love about this passionately engaged artist’s story is how each phase of her career was preparing her for her ultimate destiny. In 1984 she visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where the idea struck her to create paper costumes inspired by great works of art.

De Borchgrave’s critically acclaimed portfolio of historically-inspired paper sculptures is extensive. Her recreation of Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress for the Kennedy archive in Boston speaks to the significance of her work.

“It was dusty and fragile, wrapped up in black tissue paper," de Borchgrave recalled. “The silk was dead, you couldn't touch it any more. It was preserved like a relic. The original is dead, but the paper one brings it to life again.”

The exhibition in Florida (unfortunately closing May 5) showcases paper sculpture masterpieces exploring 300 years of fashion history; Italian Renaissance costumes portrayed in Old Master paintings; the glamourous designs by Spanish fashion designer Mariano Fortuny; and fantastical ballet costumes designed by the likes of Picasso and Matisse for Les Ballet Russes.

The late French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, described Isabelle as “one of a kind; with a single sheet of paper, she creates the most beautiful dresses, the finest costumes, or, simply, a chain of white roses...Whether it becomes a shoe, a hat or a few strings of pearls, [Isabelle plays] with paper as a virtuoso plays an instrument."

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. — William Wordsworth

Anita Alvare (bio) Alvare Associates (610) 520-6140

Isabelle de Borchgrave   Fashioning Art From Paper   The Baker Museum

My sister Helen, a serial multi-tasker with no equal, shared a simple visual with me many years ago to describe how she manages to address and finesse the multitude of personal and business tasks that are littered in her path every day: Always keep the ball rolling forward.

There’s something about forward momentum that keeps the competitive juices flowing, companies in business, goals on task. And what better symbol for a relentless, challenging pursuit than a spherical object with a mind of its own (just ask a golfer).

I’ll admit that when I started my business, 38 April Fools Days ago, the experience felt more like total submersion in an Ikea Ball Pit.

(What was I thinking?)

It took an incredible support system and Herculean tenacity to fight the doubts, stabilize the vision, and simplify the challenge: Just get the ball from here to there already.

With that visual top-of-mind, “there” is where I gratefully reside today: (still) running a successful business that has dragged me to the precipice and back many times, and taught me the wisdom of the phrase, “change or die.”

But how does one actually get from here to there, arriving at that place, realizing that dream, attaining that goal? My suggestions:

1) Buy a ball (commit to something).

2) Remember that balance is key. The goal can’t be all-consuming or you’ll crash and burn.

3) Measure twice, cut once. Don’t lose yardage ignoring your gut or taking short cuts that will inevitably result in “call backs.”

4) Best not to go it alone. Roll with people who make work fun, judgements few, contributions many, success inevitable.

5) Stumble forward: Failure can actually help you gain ground faster.

I’m very proud that our company toughed it out (The Great Recession) and managed to defy the odds. The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that nearly one-fifth of business startups fail in the first five years and almost half of all employer establishments go under within five years.  Only about one-third survive 10 years or more.

I'm thinking of changing our tagline to Perseverantia Vincit (perseverance conquers).

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140

April Fools Day   Small Business Administration

Sitting in my car at a red light, I fought the urge to check my cell phone messages and decided to just take a look around. I found myself squinting at a historic marker in front of me and was so fascinated by what I read that I missed the light change until I was honked into consciousness (I was not on my phone!).

Guys like Joseph Price (1753-1828) exist to keep the rest of us humble. The plaque outside his stone colonial home commemorated his many skills and contributions to society:

Quaker Farmer. Innkeeper. Undertaker. Militiaman. Diarist. Saw Mill Operator. Milestone Installer. Carpenter. Turnpike Supervisor. Patriot. Concerned Citizen.

(Could the saw mill operation have been a feeder market for the undertaker business...?).

It made me think of a memorable rhyming quote from Adam Savage who said, “Jack of all trades, master of none, though often better than a master of one.”

Who is Adam Savage, you may ask?

Special Effects Designer/Fabricator. Actor. Educator. Toy Designer. Gallery Owner. Television Personality.

Another one of “those guys.”

I’d love to be one of “those guys.”

But I also see the merit in being “a master of one.”

It takes a long time to perfect and establish a reputation for one profession or passion, whatever that might be. But it's a big world out there if you take the time to look around (and stay off your phone).

Joseph Price moved from, "gig to gig," but unlike a millennial, he did it without the benefit of a computer, website or app.

A father of eight children, he was considered a renaissance man in his community and spent a lifetime building what we now call a "personal brand” (but something tells that wasn't his motivation).

What I liked about that simple plaque was how it summarized a life in only a few words. And what a wildly unconventional life it was.

A few days later I ran across a line in a poem that read, "Tell me, what is your plan to do with your one wild and precious life."

I think a New Year is a good time to start envisioning that plaque.

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140
Joseph Price   Jack of All Trades   Adam Savage

One of my sister’s favorite expressions (paraphrasing writer James Baldwin) is, “The most dangerous man is the man who has nothing to lose.” This powerful quote could well apply to the Philadelphia Eagles, the heartbreak kids in helmets who now find themselves facing the New England Patriots this Sunday in Super Bowl 52. Talk about nothing to lose...

“Positioning” — “the place a brand occupies in the mind of its target audience” — is everything when it comes to marketing a product or service...or a football team.

How do you stack up to the competition? How are you perceived by your customers? What do potential customers think of you (if they think about you at all)?

Philadelphia Eagles’ fans (of which I'm one) may be simultaneously the most loyal and pessimistic fans in NFL history. They love the brand but up until now, it has never really lived up to the promise.

When it really mattered, somehow the team always managed to fumble at first and goal.

Last August there was a “last wish” request included in a Philadelphia Inquirer obituary that captured the sentiment of a typical Eagles fan in Negadelphia.

As Jeffrey Clayton Riegel, a New Jersey electrician with a wicked sense of humor, was on his death bed, he told his oncologist to call him “Lucky.” And then he made his memorable last wish: to have eight players from the Philadelphia Eagles football team serve as his pallbearers.

Why?

“So the Eagles could let him down one last time."

You get the picture.

But now here “we” are.

NFC East Champions

Super Bowl bound.

We are led by humble backup quarterback Nick Foles (vs. the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history).

We have big name starters sidelined with injuries.

Yet suddenly our positioning has been “upgraded” from Losers to Underdogs. (And we have the sold-out dog masks from Amazon.com to prove it).

The Tipping Point author, Malcolm Gladwell wrote, “The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable. “

Like winning the Super Bowl, maybe?

At this writing, the Patriots are 4.5 favorites to win. But the line is shifting.

Along with hearts and minds.

Suddenly, everyone loves an underdog, a comeback story.

Face it, we’ve all been there at one time or another. We get it.

In 1962 Avis came out with its famous ad campaign against Hertz, “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder.” Legendary ad man David Ogilvy praised it as “a feat of diabolical positioning.”

Sometimes down is up.

Fly, Eagles, fly!

Positioning   Philadelphia Eagles  Underdogs  Nick Foles  Malcolm Gladwell

If renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright were alive today, he’d be posting selfies 24/7 standing in front of his buildings. Yet at the age of 88, in a 1957 television interview with Mike Wallace, the master of self-promotion declared “I have never sought publicity of any kind. I have yielded to it.” Whatever you say, Frank.

If you have a chance to visit New York City between now and October 1, treat yourself to an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art called, Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive. It includes some 450 of his works made from the 1890s through the 1950s and it’s just amazing how current, even futuristic, his designs look in the present day.

Probably one of Wright’s best known designs is New York’s sparkling white Guggenheim Museum (which I didn’t know was originally painted beige after Wright considered, but ultimately rejected, hues of orange, pink, and his favorite color, Cherokee red). Equally as famous is Fallingwater, a vacation home built from 1936 -1939 over a waterfall in southwest Pennsylvania for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner, Edgar J. Kaufmann.

But there is so much more: synagogues, churches, schools, country clubs, personal residences, (mile-high) skyscrapers, and planned communities – 767 buildings in all – as well as Wright furniture, tableware, and textile designs.

“The World’s Greatest Architect” was no slouch when it came to marketing, either, and there is a media section in the exhibition that features what looks like ancient archival TV footage.

But in the 1950s, television was the virtual reality of its day. Wright mastered the new medium and, much to the chagrin of his horrified professional peers, famously appeared as a Mystery Guest on the B-list celebrity gameshow, What’s My Line?  (panelists wore masks and asked leading questions trying to identify the guest).

When the show aired, Wright looked every bit of his 89 years and the moderator had to repeat questions as he was having a hard time hearing. But it wasn’t long before the panel figured out that the guest was self-employed, worked with his hands, had some experience with the law (more like run-ins), provided a service for both men who women, and might be a designer or architect “like Frank Lloyd Wright...” (As the words World Famous Architect flashed on the screen).

A year earlier, Wright appeared on the TV show The Mike Wallace Interview, coughing and clearing his throat while the future 60 Minutes commentator puffed away on his cigarettes.

The host’s intro line was: “I’m Mike Wallace; the cigarette is Philip Morris” (the show sponsor).

Wright obviously hadn’t hired a media coach to help him appear more likeable to the unwashed masses.

WALLACE: What do you think of the average man in the United States, who has little use for your ideas in architecture, in politics, in religion?

WRIGHT: Are you speaking of the common man?

WALLACE: The average man, the common man. I think you have sometimes called him part of the mobocracy – part of the mob.

WRIGHT: And I believe what you call the common man is what I call the common man, a man who believes in nothing he can’t see, and he can’t see anything he can’t put his hand on...He’s a block to progress.

Well, 62 years later, the mobocracy was out in force to admire the vision and accomplishments of one of the greatest architects – and showmen -- of the 20th Century.

Wright may not have thought much of us, but somehow we had the common sense to recognize a genius when we saw one.

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140

Frank Lloyd Wright   Museum of Modern Art   Mike Wallace   What’s My Line? Guggenheim Museum   Fallingwater

You never know what you’ll find in a stack of fifty cent paperbacks at a Flea Market. One title that caught my eye was Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. The author makes the case that nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. And unfortunately we live in an age of limitless everything.

I’m pretty sure Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, wasn’t thinking about buying The Washington Post and Whole Foods when he launched Amazon.com in 1994. He started by selling books online. He started with something, not everything.

I was drawn to Kleon’s provocative and intriguing title because I work with artists every day and personally like to frequent museums, galleries, historic homes and trendy retailers to absorb creative inspiration.

Kleon believes creativity is for everyone, no matter what your line of work or play. Once you’re attuned to it, there are thousands of random ideas floating out there waiting to be harnessed. Which influences we internalize and when we choose to call them up is where the magic begins.

That’s what Kleon means by “stealing.” Taking bits and pieces of creative influences and making them your own.

You are a mashup of anything you let into your life. Anyone can be creative if they surround themselves with the right influences, play nice and work hard.

And you don’t need to have endless resources at your disposal to get started opening that bakery, planting that garden or writing that song. Singer/songwriter Jack White said it best:

Telling yourself you have all the time
in the world, all the money in the world,
all the colors in the palette, anything
you want -- that just kills creativity.

As I was writing this, here was my horoscope for the day:

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The tools used to be creative will be a focus, but don't be fooled: The tools do not create. Creativity is in the head and heart. Fancy, expensive tools can actually work against the art.

Better to have a few bucks and an opening line.

When it comes to any creative endeavor, Kleon concedes that “narrowing the options is one of the hardest things to do; self-editing is one of the most difficult forms of self-discipline.”

The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom.

His book is a quick, fun read with great graphics, but if you’re a headline scanner, I’ll just go ahead and tell you the10 Things Nobody Told You (until now) About Being Creative:

1. Steal like an artist.
2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.
3. Write the book you want to read.
4. Use your hands.
5. Side projects and hobbies are important.
6. The secret: do good work and share it with people.
7. Geography is no longer our master.
8. Be nice (the world is a small town).
9. Be boring (it’s the only way to get work done).
10. Creativity is subtraction.

Definitely worth 50 cents.

Alvare Associates  Anita Alvare

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative   Austin Kleon   Creativity  Jeff Bezos   Amazon.com   Jack White

I’m thinking I’ve been in this business too long. When discussing design and branding, I remember a time when the mantra of every male client was, “Any color but pink!” Now it seems that both men and women alike are saying, “Any color, as long as it’s ‘millennial pink!’” At least that’s the word coming out of last month’s Milan Design Week. So it must be so.

Start looking around and you’ll begin to notice this muted shade of color — described as somewhere between beige and blush — appearing in furniture design, commercial office interiors, bathrooms, houseware products, cosmetics, toys and fashion.

This over-the-top island sofa from Spanish furniture brand Sancal is a perfect example of how millennial pink is making the design world unhinged.

As one who once painted their kitchen walls Pepto-Bismol pink (great complement to anything black), I may not qualify as an arbiter of good taste, but I do think I know a passing fad when I see one (i.e., women’s “cold shoulder” blouses).

But this is no Pepto-Bismol pink or Barbie Dream House pink. One confused reviewer described it as “sort of a grapefruit shade of apricotty salmon.”

Make no mistake about it: it’s pink, and the design community is breathless.

An early adopter piece in New York Magazine had millennial author Veronique Hylan describing millennial pink as “a non-color that doesn’t commit, whose semi-ugliness is proof of its sophistication.”

(I’m sold...)

She questioned her attraction to the color by asking:

“Do I like this because I like this or because I’m buying back my own re-packaged childhood in the form of blush-toned lip gloss and stickers? Because the Pantone industrial complex is direct-marketing to my generation?

Fortunately, in the end, the author had the good sense to question if she was overthinking things a bit...

And what’s the male “take” on this indescribable (don’t call it a pastel) color?

When it comes to men’s fashions, Esquire Magazine deemed millennial pink “an emblem of an age both ostensibly post-gender and at the same time, obsessed with gender politics, a palette of ‘wokeness’ and a soft-hued sign of the times.”

(I will save you the trouble of looking up the word “wokeness.” I did it for us. It means a measurable state of awareness about what’s happening in the world.)

I think it’s fair to say that on balance, pink shirts and ties are OK with most men; pink motorcycles and island sofas are not. Other than that, I don’t think men think-pink while daydreaming (I could be wrong).

Sadly, while you’ve been reading this blog, millennial pink has started inching its way over-and-out.  Once the hoi polloi — you and me — latch on to a trend, it’s so over.

Perhaps a good time for olive drab to start making a comeback...?

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140

Millennial Pink   Milan Design Week  Sancal   New York Magazine   Esquire Magazine

For the past few weeks I’ve kept a newspaper clipping on my desk about “Fearless Girl.” She’s the statue commissioned by State Street Global Advisors to “celebrate the power of women in leadership and the potential of the next generation of women leaders.” When I look at her I can’t help but think of the “fearful girl” who started her own business 36 years ago. Me.

Designed as a temporary installation in honor of International Women’s Day (March 8th), the statue was scheduled to be removed April 2 but the overwhelming public response caught City Hall’s attention.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week the decision to extend the Fearless Girl’s stay in Bowling Green Park, across from Wall Street’s “Charging Bull.” She’ll remain there until the next International Women’s Day, on March 8, 2018.

The Mayor called the statue a symbol of “standing up to fear, standing up to power, being able to find in yourself the strength to do what’s right.”

When I started my business in 1981, there was no Fearless Girl statue to inspire me and only a handful of women, fearless or otherwise, to look up to as role models. There wasn’t even a Charging Bull to defiantly stare down (the sculpture was installed in 1989 to symbolize American resilience after the 1987 stock market crash).

But in 2017 we have The Girl vs. The Bull. A David vs. Goliath pairing (and we know who won that contest...).

And I'm guessing it was that, the idea of always being in a contest with men and power, an endless take-no-prisoners-competition, that gave me pause every time I looked at that little girl.

I was at my sister’s house recently helping her to sort through furniture, papers, photos, and “stuff” as she was preparing to downsize and move from her big family home. Looking at all those beautiful things and memories – many headed for the consignment shop and trash – I blurted out, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could live our lives backwards. If we could see how things played out.”

...If we knew in advance which of the “stuff” that consumed our days, thoughts and financial resources would one day end up on the trash heap.

...If we could know with certainty which battles were worth fighting for...and those that weren’t.

...If we could calculate the true cost for remaining on the fast track, walking away from a challenge, succeeding at any price.

Fearless Girl, be fearful.

Charging Bull, slow down.

The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle (isn't it always).

Fear drove me to succeed, to do well by the people who were counting on me. It still does. When channeled correctly, it can serve to build inner strength, not diminish it.

Fear is my reminder that I don’t have all the answers all the time and that I might have to rely on others (even men/bulls...).

I’ve noticed in my long career that “the pros” are always nervous, “fearful” in a good way. That’s because they don’t want to disappoint, they care deeply about the quality of their deliverable, whatever that might be.

In our fast paced, technology-fueled business environment, charging full-speed-ahead is expected, even demanded. But this bull-in-a-china-shop approach is the reason we are seeing so much bad decision-making...so many clueless leaders...so many knee-jerk reactions to social media trends. The pace is exhausting. The outcome, disappointing.

So Fearless Girl, thanks for standing guard and inspiring business women everywhere. You are a fetching symbol that’s easy to understand and tempting to embrace. I hope your girlish fearlessness helps you to “stand up to power and find in yourself the strength to do what’s right.” You’ll need to be strong as you mature and face life’s Big Questions and Challenges.

Just know that sometimes it’s OK be fearful (but never OK to be afraid).

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140

Fearless Girl   State Street Global Advisors   Charging Bull   International Women’s Day

If well cared for, a bonsai tree will live 50 to 100 years longer than its creator’s lifespan. Yet the average lifespan of a Fortune 500 company dropped from 67 years in the 1920s to 15 years today, according to Richard Foster, a lecturer at the Yale School of Management. Just imagine what a Bonsai Master in the C-Suite could do to change that dynamic.

Ivan Watters, curator of the Chicago Botanic Garden bonsai collection, remarked that this ancient Asian art of creating miniature trees “requires a high degree of commitment, time-wise. Bonsai are like pets or small children and require a lot of attention and care. They also teach the development of patience, because you have to think in the long term, how will they look in 10, 15, 20 years?”

(Translation: Think and act strategically.)

John Yoshio Naka, an American horticulturist, teacher, author and master bonsai cultivator once advised, “Listen to the tree...it tells you where it wants to go!”

(Translation: Be open to another way.)

And then there’s this pithy wisdom from an old Japanese proverb:

When a bonsai stops growing, you know it’s dead.

(Translation: You’re no longer in business.)

Every year my husband and I would take our son to The Philadelphia Flower Show and he always made a beeline to the bonsai exhibit. We visited there again this week where I took this photo of a 59 year old bonsai next to its fledgling counterpart on the left.

But I knew better than to walk out with another (pricey) bonsai tree.

The name “bonsai” literally means “plant in a tray.” We’ve got plenty of empty, beautiful ceramic trays at home but the trees planted in them didn’t survive (we affectionately referred to our son’s collection as “everbrowns”).

So why do these symbols of harmony, peace, order of thoughts, balance, and all that is good in nature, so often atrophy long before their time?

For the same reasons that once-vibrant businesses, careers and dreams do.

Insufficient training.

Lack of patience, commitment and careful observation.

Loss of appetite for risk or adventure.

Waning creativity and passion.

Limited resources.

A non-nurturing environment.

Which brings us back full-circle to the Richard Foster Yale study. On average, a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) company is now being replaced every two weeks, and Foster estimates that 75 percent of the S&P 500 firms will be replaced by new firms by 2027. Just 10 short years away.

Might be time to onboard Mr. Miyagi of Karate Kid fame. He taught his bonsai-tending protégé Daniel san a-thing-or-two about mastering the vision thing:

"Close your eyes, concentrate. Think only tree..."

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140
Bonsai Tree   The Philadelphia Flower Show  Ivan Watters Chicago Botanic Garden  John Yoshio Naka   Richard Foster    Yale School of Management  Karate Kid   Mr. Miyagi

If you’re a fan of Struggling-Sweaty-Salesmen-Make-Good movies, or curious about people who can recognize and capitalize on unique opportunities, you won’t want to miss The Founder. It stars Michael Keaton in a biographical drama about Ray Kroc of McDonald’s fame that will have you cheering and jeering for two entertaining hours.

The Founder was the title Kroc had printed under his name on his business cards.

Those two words spiked the blood pressure of original McDonald’s restaurant founders – brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald – who spent most of the movie seething on the other end of a telephone line as their franchise partner Ray badgered them with relentless innovation ideas. They continually resisted in defense of quality and integrity.

These two nice guys hesitated and finished last with only a few million bucks in their pockets (as opposed to Kroc’s $500 million wad).

It will break your heart to see the brothers’ revolutionary restaurant concept hijacked by a Type “A” personality who is continually on the hunt for new ideas, processes, and business models. Ambition and vision win the day, but there are casualties along the way. And a lot of lessons learned.

Here are some of my takeaways:

Follow your instincts. If something you see or hear stops you in your tracks and appears to be something you’ve never seen or heard before, pay attention. In Kroc’s case, it was his first visit to the McDonald’s restaurant operation in San Bernadino, California. Fast service. Family atmosphere. Delicious burgers. No plates or utensils, just paper bags and wraps.

Guard your intellectual property. Much as I loved the McDonald brothers, they gave away the store. They freely shared all their secrets, innovations, branding and growth strategies with Kroc and he took the burger and ran.

Hire hungry people. Kroc’s first investors were his country club friends. They were basically parking their money and didn’t really care about the consistency of the brand. He moved on to hardworking door-to-door salesmen, church and synagogue groups, service club members...and their wives...and built a franchise system of strong, well-trained, invested managers who made more money for their families than they ever dreamed possible.

Protect your brand. Your company name should stand for something. Kroc revered the “McDonald’s” name. To him, it embodied everything that was good and right about America. He built his brand around that vision and his franchisees and customers bought into it. He delivered on the promise.

Never stop innovating: Powdered milkshakes to save on freezer energy costs. Limited menu selections to ensure consistent quality. Unique processes to speed up service. Hiring instincts and training at odds with convention. Kroc was a visionary. An entrepreneur with little patience for the status quo.

Know what business you’re really in: It took a lawyer to enlighten Kroc that he was in the real estate business, not food service. Own the land that the restaurants sit on and start raking in the cash from day one. He did just that and it fueled the financing he needed to grow the business globally.

Get it in writing: When Kroc finally renegotiated his deal with the McDonald brothers, giving him full control, instead of signing a contract awarding them their demand of 1% of annual profits, he convinced the exhausted siblings to “shake on it.” They did and never received another penny (royalties estimated at $100 million/year).

Persevere. Your day is coming. But only if you hang in, keep your eyes open, accept advice, and aren’t afraid to take risks or fail.

Play fair. The McDonald brothers did and they lost financially but they never compromised their integrity.

Sometimes when you lose, you win.

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140
McDonald’s   Ray Kroc   Richard and Maurice McDonald