20 Minutes of Winning

Winning Through People Skills requires engaging with others in ways that create mutual benefit.
In this episode, Larry discusses two women – Pat Greensmith and Walker Jones – who have taught him a lot about developing and using people skills. They have very different approaches– Pat tortured Larry with surprise inspections of his restaurants while Walker makes everyone she meets feel valued and appreciated. But both helped Larr...

When Larry Thornton started as an artist at Coca-Cola, a fellow artist went out of his way to orient Larry to the job. Six years later, that man’s job was being eliminated. Larry urged the man to work under him rather than take early retirement. When Larry moved on to McDonald’s, the man moved up into Larry’s former position. How these two individuals treated each other and mutually benefited from doing so can be captured in five s...

Confidence breeds winning. But most of us can’t manufacture confidence ourselves. We need others to help us get there. Larry Thornton was a poor-performing high school student until his white English teacher Miss Nichols invited him into her home for lunch – a very rare event in the late 1960s – and told him he was college material. Once Larry believed in himself, he could act with confidence and success followed. That is the essen...

Larry Thornton has built his business career in collaboration with two corporate icons: McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. Repetition – doing the same thing over and over and over – has been a key ingredient of the winning formula for both companies. For individuals, repetition channeled in the right direction creates good habits and good habits lead to winning. But repetition targeted the wrong way will create bad habits. Can you harness t...

Sears once dominated retailing, but its concept became stale. By the time executives tried to remake the company, it was too late. This is a common problem. If we wait until change is needed before making a change, we’ve usually waited too long. Larry Thornton gave up a good corporate career to become an entrepreneur. While his friends were making real money, Dr. Dave Ketchen decided at 21 to live on a tiny stipend for five years i...

How we see others, how others see us, and how we see ourselves are crucial questions that shape our perceptions and influence our actions. Some see categories of race, gender, age, and other demographics. Others see an individual with unique gifts and flaws. Winning by seeing others differently involves looking past categories and focusing on what the person before you has to offer. In today’s super-competitive landscape, not seein...

Can you absorb life’s blows and keep moving forward? When Larry Thornton launched his first McDonald’s, a rival franchise walked in the opening day and disrespectfully proclaimed he would be buying Larry out within six months. Rather than lash out in retaliation, Larry kept his eye on the prize and built a great business. Later the two became good friends. In an ironic twist, Larry eventually bought some of his former rival’s resta...