Why Not Win?: Reflections on a Fifty-Year Journey from the Segregated South to America's board rooms - and what it can teach us all

by Larry D. Thornton, Tom Joyner (Foreword by), Zillah Fluker (Introduction)

Overview

Aspiring business owners and executives seeking to climb to the next rung, young to mid-career professionals seeking tools for life achievement, and general readers interested in biographies of successful people will like Larry Thornton’s Why Not Win?. The book is a front-row seat to how one man altered his thinking to transform his life. The book begins with his growing up with brown skin in the 1960s in segregated Montgomery, Alabama. A desegregation school pioneer, Thornton was a classroom failure until a perceptive English teacher showed him he had value and encouraged him to go to college. Like the educator who changed his life, Thornton became a classroom teacher. But budget cuts took his job, and he decided to rewrite his story using his artistic talent. Thornton’s artistry and work ethic got him attention at Coca-Cola, both for the good and the bad. He had to figure out a way to navigate this new world, where higher-ups praised him but co-workers reminded him of his “blackness” by drawing a noose in his workstation. He persevered by learning to appreciate and embrace diversity, people resources, and conflicting opinions. While his success grew at Coca-Cola, Thornton did the unthinkable: set out to be the first African American to own a McDonald’s franchise in Birmingham. This thorny journey was peppered with threats, attempts to thwart his mission and a marriage he could not keep from falling apart. He absorbed the “try, try and try again” motto, and came to see that failure was a prelude to feasting upon the sweet fruit of success. Thornton’s own mother never had a checking account, but years after her passing he found himself on the board of directors for a major financial institution. He slowly became a part of a small fraternity of captains of industry and fought past guilt and insecurity to pave the way for others who look like him to join him at the table. Trying to fit into this new world, he learned that “Thank you,” “Please,” and “Excuse me” are perhaps three of the most powerful phrases in communication. Thornton made up his mind that he would spend each day on a mission to show his unbending gratitude for his life and its benefits by fostering a supreme attitude and maintaining consistency in vision, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to principles. Thornton’s journey from Madison Park, Montgomery, has been a long one. Why Not Win? reflects on his most useful lessons and the anecdotes associated with them. If he were a Zen monk, his koan might well be: “Plan your past.” By that he means, think ahead one day, one week, one year, even twenty years out, and decide today your desired outcome, and work for it. “Thank God for memories,” he says; “Let’s plan to make them pleasant ones.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781588383846
Publisher:	University of Georgia Press
Publication date:	04/01/2019
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

LARRY D. THORNTON has spent his life being the first African American to do many things –– the first to own a McDonald’s franchise in Birmingham, to serve on the board of directors of one of the country’s largest Coca-Cola bottling companies, to serve First Commercial Bank’s board, and the first to be named president for the legendary The Club. He has forged a path toward greatness while many times being the only person in the room who looks like him. He is an expert on overcoming adversity while maintaining dignity. Thornton grew up in the modest Madison Park community of Montgomery, Alabama, where being black and poor were synonymous. At age 12, he was among the black students who integrated one of the city’s white middle schools, thrusting him onto the front line of incessant racial attacks. That experience nearly hardened Thornton, but upon meeting his twelfth grade English teacher, Miss Nichols, that all changed. She saw something special in him and helped him see it, too. Thornton went on to college at Alabama State University and from there to forge a path toward ground-breaking achievements. Along the way, he developed a personal strategy for resiliency and success that he now shares with others who want a better, more fulfilling life.

LARRY D. THORNTON has spent his life being the first African American to do many things –– the first to own a McDonald’s franchise in Birmingham, to serve on the board of directors of one of the country’s largest Coca-Cola bottling companies, to serve First Commercial Bank’s board, and the first to be named president for the legendary The Club. He has forged a path toward greatness while many times being the only person in the room who looks like him. He is an expert on overcoming adversity while maintaining dignity. Thornton grew up in the modest Madison Park community of Montgomery, Alabama, where being black and poor were synonymous. At age 12, he was among the black students who integrated one of the city’s white middle schools, thrusting him onto the front line of incessant racial attacks. That experience nearly hardened Thornton, but upon meeting his twelfth grade English teacher, Miss Nichols, that all changed. She saw something special in him and helped him see it, too. Thornton went on to college at Alabama State University and from there to forge a path toward ground-breaking achievements. Along the way, he developed a personal strategy for resiliency and success that he now shares with others who want a better, more fulfilling life.

Read an Excerpt

7
Know Your Worth—and the Worth of Others
Ask yourself if you are willing to do more than you are paid to do. Today, it is as natural as breathing for me. I had long discovered that when you do the bare minimum, you are only shortchanging yourself. Limited effort yields limited rewards. It really is just as simple as that. So the question becomes, “Do we prefer a life of just working for a check, or would you prefer growth and development, personally and professionally?”
There is so much more to be gained from this philosophy of thinking; much more than a dollar. I cannot think of anything that keeps more of us at the lower rungs of the ladder than the one who says, “I am not coming in one minute early, and I’m not staying one minute late. Why should I for what they’re paying me?” It has been my experience that anyone who is not willing to do more than he or she is paid to do usually is not worth what he or she is being paid in the first place.
In my case, Coca-Cola had hired me, with a college degree, at $5-an-hour. But I did not allow that starting wage to ruffle my feathers. Coca-Cola had no real idea of who they had hired, but I knew. And, it would only be a matter of time before they knew as well.
Where we start out, even if in a disadvantaged place or location, is not nearly as important as where we decide we are going. We should ask ourselves if we are are being viewed as a replaceable employee or an invaluable member of the team. Are we being viewed as an intricate part of the overall success of the organization? Even so, it is okay to start out as an hourly worker. I had started as a $5-an-hour sign painter. But with this newfound approach, I was well on my way to becoming someone that the company would not want to replace.
If you’re looking at the clock and saying, “Oh, my God, it is only ten o’clock—I have six more hours to go,” then let that motivate you to re-position yourself for a pathway to a better experience. It may sound strange, but you know you have arrived when you are on the job and you look up at the clock and say, “Oh my, God, it’s already two o’clock. I haven’t done half of what I wanted to get done today.” If you find yourself saying that, then it means you have been so busy doing what gives you purpose that time has flown by.
I remember when, shortly after I was hired, our sign department got a visit from Chester. Chester was an advertising manager from another one of our facilities and the gentleman who would be responsible for orienting me. At the time, the team and I were getting ready for a rodeo show by painting 55-gallon barrels to look just like Coca-Cola cans.
Chester took a quick look at our work so far on the barrels, shook his head, and warned, “You know, if you do it that good and they see it, they are going to want it to look like that every time.”
Clearly, “they,” in Chester’s mind, were our bosses and, to him, life was a zero-sum game. If they wanted something, then we were probably going to lose something. But that wasn’t the way I was looking at things. And although I didn’t say it, I thought to myself, “If it doesn’t look like this, then it ain’t leaving the shop.” It was obvious that the two of us had very different mindsets.
Eventually, word of the new designs being produced out of my shop made its way to the desk of the vice president of corporate marketing and communications. The man made a special trip to my department to inquire of their origin. He complimented their style and design and demanded to know who should be credited with these signs. I think it is fair to say that “Larry Thornton” was the last name he expected to hear.
After just four months of working at Coca-Cola in Birmingham, the company promoted me to advertising manager. The promotion took me by surprise. I wasn’t looking to advance. Getting promoted was not part of my “six months and out” plan, but I had given them the best Larry I could be and they had quickly seen me as someone who should be leading the way. I’ve taken the position of never wanting to be more than I am, but I also never wanted to be less than I could be. Besides, being an advertising manager sounded like an interesting and exciting space to occupy. I accepted the challenge.
I remember my widowed father coming to visit me at work not long after my promotion. He was sitting in my office with me when several of my staff stepped in to report to me regarding one of our projects. My father just sat there in amazed silence until they left.
“Boy, you know you got a white man’s job?” he asked me.
In his own way, he was showering me with the highest praise. My father, who had lived in Madison Park, Montgomery, for most of his life, attending segregated schools and riding segregated buses to work, had never seen, and could not have imagined, his own son having white men reporting to him.
My father was not the only one who would have to come to terms with change. Several years later, Chester, the advertising manager who had cautioned me against creating designs that were too good, also faced change. Coca-Cola was discontinuing outdoor advertising at his particular sales center and he was given the option of early retirement, driving a route truck, or commuting forty miles each day to take a job reporting to me. Obviously, this was a difficult decision for him. He did not want to retire or drive a route truck. Having to report to the man he had previously trained would, understandably, be a blow to most people’s ego.
As Chester wrestled with his impending decision, I could tell he was having a tough time, and so I found a way to invite myself and my family to visit with him and his family at their home. It was a great afternoon of cooking out, swimming, and fishing off of his newly-fashioned pier. He had a wonderful family who went out of their way to make my wife, my son, and I feel welcome. And, when the opportunity presented itself, I made him a personal invitation to join my team in Birmingham. I told him that I did not have a management position for him at the time, but that I would really appreciate having his talent and experience as part of our very aggressive advertising campaign. Coca-Cola was right in the middle of a sign war with our arch-rival Pepsi that I felt quite responsible for initiating. It was a challenging time, but we were going to have fun, and if we were going to play, then why not win?
Chester did not give me an answer that afternoon but, as the day came to a close, his wife took a moment to quietly pull me aside and thank me for reaching out to them. My visit had put to rest her concerns for her husband’s unpleasant dilemma and, in the end, Chester agreed to come to Birmingham.
Once in Birmingham, Chester’s contributions were a tremendous asset in our battle with Pepsi. The ultimate result was a win—both of our families and for the Coca-Cola brand. As my career continued to develop, he went on to take my position as advertising manager, from where he recently retired.
The Most Important People on Earth
So often, we inadvertently discredit valuable people resources by insidiously practicing a very childish game that I call the “too syndrome.” It was harmful and counterproductive as a child and it is just as harmful and ineffective as adults. We close people out and retard our own growth by making surface judgments of one’s ability to contribute when we believe people to be: too fat or too skinny, too short or too tall, too smart or too dumb, too rich or too poor, too young or too old, too black or too white, and on and on and on. When we truly recognize the intrinsic value in everyone, we initiate an incalculable process of inclusion. This, in turn, fosters an economy of scale in people resources.
In his book Lead the Field, Earl Nightingale admonishes us to treat everyone we meet as if they were the most important person on earth. He says that we should do that for three excellent reasons:
First, to everyone you meet, they are the most important person on earth.
Second, that’s the way human beings ought to treat each other.
Finally, when we practice this approach, we set into motion a remarkable process for character development.
I still marvel at how profound Nightingale’s words are, especially when we realize that essentially everything that will ever come to us will be through and by people.
In my life, Miss Nichols could have easily looked no further than my academic missteps and in-school behavior and thought, “Larry is too dumb, too black, too unlearned, too far behind, and has too much of a chip on his shoulder about white people to amount to anything.”
For my part, I could have easily looked at Miss Nichols and thought, “She is too old, too white, too mean, too demanding, and too steeped in our segregated cultures to care anything about me.”
Chester could have looked at me and thought, “Larry is too focused on his own success to care about me.”
I could have looked at Chester and thought, “Chester is too proud to ever want to join my team.”
The president of Coca-Cola could have thought, “Larry is too inexperienced and too much of a loser to succeed in this company.”
I could have looked at the president and thought, “He is too busy, too arrogant, and too biased to want to hire me.”
Instead, we all treated each other with the respect that we mutually deserved. And what was the result?
Miss Nichols’ faith in me was validated.
With me trusting in Miss Nichols, I was repaid with a lifetime of inspiration.
Chester’s trust in my intentions was justified. He went on to finish a successful career with Coca-Cola.
With Chester joining us in Birmingham, my team was strengthened. We won the sign wars—at least by our estimation!
The president’s confidence in me working for Coca-Cola was validated. He found himself a hard-working, innovative employee.
With me on Coca-Cola’s team, I found a springboard for future business success.
In short, we all—Miss Nichols, Chester, the president and me—thought in terms of “two,” not “too.” We took the time to think in terms of two people interacting with one another, not one person being “too” this or “too” that. And, in the end, the results spoke for themselves.
To my niece, I would say: Reach out and go out to people. Become comfortable in making the first move in developing new relationships. Those who can build and service relationships are victors. And remember—it is difficult to lock people out without, at the same time, locking ourselves in. Learn to appreciate that which is different and those who disagree with you. Welcome and learn to appreciate the inherent beauty in as many people as possible.

Table of Contents

Contents   Foreword / ix   Introduction / xi   Prologue / 3 1 Why Not Win? / 7 2 Humble Beginnings Breed Humility for a Lifetime / 10 3 If You Can’t Take Anything . . . / 15 4 Old Battle Axe / 22 5 Don’t Be Afraid to Unwrap Your Gifts / 25 6 Drive the Right Bargain with Life / 35 7 Know Your Worth—and the Worth of Others / 40 8 Working From Your Center / 46 9 The Way You Respond Can Change Someone’s World / 48 10 Know Who You Are / 53 11 An Unexpected Phone Call / 59 12 The Pay-Off Isn’t Always Money / 64 13 Design Your Own Past / 67 14 Our Sixteen Hours / 72 15 The Rocky Road to Freedom / 81 16 Fight for What Is Yours / 88 17 Climb Your Mountain / 97 18 New Peaks and New Valleys / 101 19 Work Your Field / 104 20 Your Ultimate Success Lies in the Success of Others / 111 21 Embrace an Attitude of Gratitude / 116 22 Enjoying the Shade Provided by Others / 120

Editorial Reviews

Absolute words of wisdom! There are truly teachable moments throughout this masterpiece. The vignettes at the end of each paragraph are words to structure your life around, for each is more meaningful than the last. Incredibly honest! — Pat Green-Smith, Atlanta-region field service manager, McDonald’s, retired

From the Publisher