Dilip Shanghvi
The Art of Effectiveness
Citizenship/Residence: India/Mumbai
A 63-year-old self-made billionaire, founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceuticals, India’s largest drug maker and among Asia’s Top 10 most valuable companies. He is currently the world’s wealthiest person in the pharmaceutical industry. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2010 and by Forbes in 2014, Indian of the Year by CNN, IBN and Businessman of the Year by Business India. In 2013, his Sun Pharma was awarded Company of the Year by the Business Standard and Economic Times. Forbes counts Sun Pharma among the World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: psychiatric medicines.
Business is … fun
Success is … when you achieve your objective.
Life motto: “My father once told me that a cashier at the bank counts a lot of money. But it’s important to keep in mind how much money he takes home. You can do business and count a lot of turnover, but it’s important to stay focused on the profit.”
Would like to meet in person: Mahatma Gandhi
Most valuable piece of advice for him: by his father: “Money will make you a richer person, but you need to try and become a better person.”
Passion: to build the business, grow the business
Skills he doesn’t have: “I don’t understand technology at a technical level. I try and simplify technology for myself in logical fashion, but I can’t understand it for its real complexity.”
Best books on business: Loyalty Factor by Carol Kinsey Goman and Good to Great and Built to Last by Jim Collins
Avoids in business: “Disputes, disagreements. I don’t like fighting with people. If I can live with it, then if you and I can’t get along, then I will stop our relationship and forget, even if we are to take a loss.”
The most admired leaders: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett
Ron Sim
Resourcefulness without Resources
Citizenship/Residence: Singapore
A 60-year-old self-made billionaire, founder, chairman, and CEO of OSIM International, the number one Healthy Lifestyle products brand in Asia with over 400 outlets in 21 countries. Main product: He is also a stakeholder in malls in Singapore and China. He is also the owner of TWG Tee, Brookstone, Richlife, and GNC. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Ernst & Young and the Businessman of the Year award by the Business Times. He is a dedicated philanthropist and enthusiastic triathlete pushing his employees to tackle this challenge as well.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: selling household products
Business is … about people. You build people to build business.
Success is when … you achieve what you believe that you can do. If you are happy with what you are doing, it’s success.
Life motto: “challenging my spirit to do my best”
Would like to meet in person: the first Emperor of China
Most valuable piece of advice for him: by his grandmother and mother: “Live the life for a very well purpose.”
Passion: “to create a successful legacy which I can be proud of, and satisfied with”
Skills he doesn’t have: “I always admire people doing some of the sports that I think I can’t do, like skateboard jumping or base jumping.”
The best book on business: Good to Great and Built to Last by Jim Collins
Still wants to achieve: to build a stronger team, stronger structure, stronger entities
Avoids in business: poor partnership
Most admired thought leaders: the first Emperor of China and Lee Kuan Yew
Michał Sołowow
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
Citizenship/Residence: Poland/Kielce
A 56-year-old self-made billionaire. He is the only person who floated five companies onto the Polish Stock Market (GPW). Michał has started up and sold several companies in the construction, real estate development, retail, and production sectors. His main assets are Barlinek (floorboards), Cersanit (sanitary ceramics and tiles), and Synthos (chemical industry). He also invests in technology and start-ups. At the same time, he was for many years one of the finest rally drivers in Europe. In 2014, he was chosen “the best entrepreneur of the post-communist Poland.” Currently, he is the wealthiest person in Poland.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: construction works
Life motto: “Don’t give up.”
Would like to meet in person: Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Robin Li (Baidu).
Passion: “My passion for 11 years has definitely been rallies. Generally my passion is sport, competition.”
Skills he doesn’t have: “I would like to be decidedly more consistent. Be systematic.”
The best book on business: It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small … It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow by Jason Jennings
Still wants to achieve: to be financially the most effective organization in the world
Most admired thought leaders: Lech Wałęsa
Petter Stordalen
The Strawberry Seller
Citizenship/Residence: Norway/Oslo
A 56-year-old self-made billionaire, nicknamed the King of Hotels, with nearly 200 hotels in his Nordic Choice hotel chain. He has built one of Norway’s greatest commercial real estate firms. His Strawberry group operates in real estate, finance, hotels, and the arts. He recently invested in a PR company and shook the Scandinavian publishing business with his new publishing company Strawberry Publishing. Petter is often described as the most flamboyant Scandinavian alive. He was chosen Entrepreneur of the Year 2010. He is an environmentalist and one of the greatest private philanthropists in Norway.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with “a project in Trondheim to connect three shopping centers into one, where nobody believed, and I believed, and the bonus was one million.”
Life motto: the strawberry philosophy: “Sell the berries you have, because these are the only ones you can sell.”
Would like to meet in person: Jesus
Most valuable piece of advice for him: Believe in your dreams.
Passion: “Hotels. Because it’s about people. I love people’s business.”
Skills he doesn’t have: to sing and play guitar
The best book on business: “I have not read any books on business, to be honest.… no. That’s not true. I have read one. Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon.”
Still wants to achieve: “to have a true triple bottom line company. That means that you have one area for profit, you have one area for sustainability, and you have one area for social responsibility, and all are equally important, and you release figures and targets on every one of these. We do this today, but we have a long way to go to be a true triple bottom line company.”
Avoids in business: “to work with people I don’t like”
Frank Stronach
The Road to Economic Freedom
Citizenship/Residence: Canada/Aurora, Ontario
An 86-year-old, self-made billionaire, an Austrian immigrant in Canada who founded Magna International, now one of the world’s greatest auto parts suppliers, with 170,000 employees in over 400 factories and other business centers spread across 27 countries and around $40 billion in revenues. In 2000, he was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award by Ernst & Young. His Stronach Group is America’s leading racetrack owner and operator. On top of that, he is one of the most successful horse breeders and owners in the world. He has also pursued a political career in Canada and Austria, which included founding a political party signed with his name and succeeding with it in the Austrian national election. Today, Frank produces beef on his nearly 100,000 acres in Florida.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: selling automobile components
Business is …
“economy. If the economy doesn’t function, nothing else will function.”
Success is … to be happy, healthy, and economically free.
Life motto: “I developed my own—to be free. Free, and also economically free.”
Would like to meet in person: Henry Ford
Most valuable piece of advice for him: “I grew up alone. Life taught me how to live.”
Passion: “I do like horses. I’ve been maybe the number one horse breeder in the world, in America, for many years.”
Skills he doesn’t have: “I constantly try to evaluate myself. I’m always trying to correct myself to be a better person.”
The best book on business: Henry Ford’s autobiography and Money, Gold and God Players by Roland Baader
Still wants to achieve: “to balance out the political management with the socioeconomic management by citizen representatives. You can’t let politicians make all the decisions for the country.”
Avoids in business: “I do avoid losses.”
Most admired thought leaders: Mao Zedong
Manny Stul
From Refugee to World Entrepreneur of the Year
Citizenship/Residence: Australia/Melbourne
A 70-year-old Australian self-made billionaire, chairman of Moose Toys, a global toy manufacturer considered one of the most innovative and fastest-growing companies in the industry. Its Shopkins toys were named the Girl Toy of the Year by the Toy Industry Association for two consecutive years, beating by numbers sold any other item in the industry, including Barbie, My Little Pony, and Lego. The company has received over 40 consumer and industry awards worldwide. Manny’s philanthropic commitment is directed at children and health care. Ernst & Young named him the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2016. He is the first Australian to receive that title.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: wholesaling innovative giftware
Business is … fun
Success is … health and happiness
Life motto: “Treat others exactly how you would like to be treated. And never give up.”
Would like to meet in person: Yogananda, Warren Buffett
Most valuable piece of advice for him: “Surround yourself with great people with integrity.”
Passion: business and sport
Skills he’d like to have: athletics, public speaking
The best book on business: Good to Great by Jim Collins
Still wants to achieve: “Sustain and grow the company to be bigger and more successful; keep growing spiritually.”
Avoids in business: “dealing with people who I’m very uncomfortable with.”
Most admired thought leaders: Buddha
Chip Wilson
40,000 Days, Then You’re Dead
Citizenship/Residence: Canada/Vancouver, British Columbia
A 63-year-old Canadian self-made billionaire, founder of Lululemon Athletica, a publicly traded technical sportswear retailer with the highest sales per square foot of all stores in the world and the highest margins of any retailer outside of jewelry and Apple. He also founded Westbeach, specializing in surf, skate, and snowboarding apparel, and is currently involved with Kit and Ace, specializing in technical casual wear. In 2004, Ernst & Young named him the Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year for Innovation and Marketing. His vast philanthropic activities include higher education in Canada (The Wilson School of Design), elementary education in Ethiopia (Imagine1Day), and local community projects in Vancouver.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: sports apparel
Business is … loving people
Success is … a healthy, loving family
Life motto: “Give without expectation of return.”
Would like to meet in person: Ayn Rand, Muhammad Ali, Jimi Hendrix
Most valuable piece of advice for him: “That I have two more big things in me after Lululemon.”
Passion: athletics
Skills he doesn’t have: “Being able to put my thoughts and ideas into a structural form.”
The best book on business: Good to Great by Jim Collins
Avoids in business: negotiations
Most admired thought leaders: Ayn Rand, Marcus Aurelius
Cho Tak Wong (Cao Dewang)
Heart of Amber
Citizenship/Residence: Hong Kong/Fuqing, China
The 72-year-old founder and chairman of Fuyao Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive glass. In 2014, Fuyao Group was listed on BCG Global Challengers Top 100 and on Fortune China’s Most Admired Companies five times consecutively. With donations going into the billions of dollars, he was awarded the China Charity Award for several years consecutively and named No.1 Philanthropist of the Year 2012 in China. Despite being an elementary school dropout, Wong became a self-made billionaire and the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, the only Chinese person who has ever won this accolade. He is the most respected entrepreneur in China, both by people and the government.
THE BUSINESS CARD
Made his first million with: production of water meter glass
Business is … a hobby
Success is … be respected by others
Life motto: “Continuously developing and making people around you improve together.”
Would like to meet in person: Wang Yung-ching, the Formosa Plastics founder, and Zeng Guofan, a historic Chinese leader
Passion: success
The best book on business: “the book about Zeng Goufan”
Still wants to achieve: “I have not finished yet. It’s only partially success. I keep working. I want Fuyao Glass all over the world, so everybody uses it.”
Avoids in business: “Anything which would hurt customer’s interest. Anything hurting other people I will not do.”
Most admired thought leaders: Confucius and Laozi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Today, as I am writing this, I am amazed at how many people are needed to make such a project happen. This is to give them their deserved recognition.
There are three people who inspired this book and without whom the idea to write it would never have crossed my mind. There is Jack Canfield, whose “Cliff Young Story” brought me on the path of self-development. Then T. Harv Eker, whose book The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind made me realize that our wealth was the result of our mindset. And finally, there is Napoleon Hill, whose book Think and Grow Rich made me want to research the minds of the very best entrepreneurs, like he did, but on a global scale. I want to express my gratitude to these outstanding thinkers. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I want to thank all the people who believed in my vision for this book from its very inception and trusted it could be accomplished against all odds. Thank you to all those people who supported me in this long process that sometimes resembled an uphill battle against skeptics in the publishing industry. Forgive me for using their first names only; this is for data protection reasons. But you guys know who you are.
This book would have stayed only a crazy idea if not for the persuasive Marco, who was the first person I revealed this idea to and who made me believe it could be done and provoked me to actually take the first step.
Let me express my gratitude to my assistants Mario, Mine, and Archie, who took up the challenge to work with me on setting up billionaire interviews at a time when this project was in an embryonic state and seemed so unreal and scary. Thank you, guys, you are my heroes!
Let me thank all those wonderful people who believed in the book’s vision to the degree that they put me in contact with the entrepreneurs interviewed in this book and supported all my requests throughout the project: Andrzej, Ayla, Magnus, Pandu, Rainer, Carolin, Frederick, Ronnie, Mary, Thomas, Markus, Mari, Uta, Julia, Anna, Sabrina, Don, Carlo, Elizabeth, Tim, Dana, Sergei, Selmo, Jonathan, Andrew, Rebecca, Xiaojing, Xiaozhi, Jessie, Esther, Alice, Connie, Kathryn, Samantha, Andrea, Buster, Desley, Simon, and Karen. Without you I wouldn’t have been a
ble to convince such extraordinary entrepreneurs to share their wisdom with us.
My thanks go to the protagonists of this book, the remarkable personalities who opened their hearts, souls, and minds to me so that you can benefit from their secrets. They are the modern-day business heroes who make the lives of millions easier through the products and services they provide. They belong to the greatest entrepreneurs of our times, the role models for every entrepreneur around the world. You will find their bios in the appendix and their stories on every page of this book. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for giving me this once-in-a-life-time opportunity. I am thankful for your hospitality, your openness, and the insights you’ve shared with my readers. I would like to give a special thanks to Jack Cowin, who opened many doors for me. Late in the project, he was for me what Andrew Carnegie was for Napoleon Hill—a connector, confidant, guide, and mentor, whose generosity I can’t stress enough. Thank you, Jack!
I would like to thank Melody and Mindy of Book Midwife, who helped me organize the material, crystallize my thoughts, and apply a massive amount of work to put all that on paper. Your great help can’t be underestimated.
Let’s not forget the industry veterans Gary, Grace, and Rick, who helped me find the way in the maze of the publishing industry. And Jack Canfield not only provided a great foreword but also shared his experience and gave me some decisive pieces of advice on how publishing works in the United States. Thank you!
Thank you to Nick, Greg, Angie, Christine, Brittany, Lindsey, and Mandy of DNA, who worked relentlessly on making my message heard in the world.
I want to thank Adi and Zoe for the best cappuccino in the world. It was the fuel that drove me for the long hours when I was working on this book. Your cafe is my second home.
My dear friends Albert, Andrea, Artur, Ingrid, Mike, and Monica found time in their busy lives to read through my imperfect manuscript and give me valuable feedback. Thank you for improving it considerably.
I want to thank my YouTube audience, all those kind people who were cheering me throughout this process for voicing their support and words of encouragement. Thank you! And I also want to express my gratitude to all the naysayers, who gave me many reasons to prove it could be done.
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