Ken Hendricks Quotes...

2ndGen

"Wrong location? Move it. Wrong people? Replace 'em. Wrong industry? I don't believe it. I've got a company in the machine tools industry, and we're doing great. I'd happily go into the coal business. It's how you look at something and how it's managed that make the difference."


"There are three sayings I live by, and one of them is 'The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.' That's what losing a job is like. That's why we have to bring them back."


"The guys who run the auto companies are out of touch with their customers and their employees. They ride to work in their limousines. They go up in their elevators and lock themselves in their offices. They don't walk out into the plants. They wouldn't even drive in the neighborhoods where their employees live. They give themselves big bonuses when the company isn't making any money. I'd make them get involved with the people who are building the cars. They've got to become real people."


"Our last annual managers meeting. I gave my motivational talk and then I asked, How many people here started as a forklift operator, a warehouse person, a roof loader, or a truck driver? We had 600 people and almost half of them stood up."


"I would have shared with the banks my long-term vision and got them involved instead of just going to them when I needed money. I should have got them on my team right from the start."


"The most overrated skill is skill. Luck is more important. The entrepreneur gets credit for being this genius, when really he was just at the right place at the right time."


“You don't go through life without failures. You don't give up. You go down fighting.”

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

JJLKEY75

Wow !!! It's hard not to relate to this man,Knowing where he came from and where he made it to. I almost feel like I know him so well just from his quotes. Being from around Madison,WI and dealing with ABC and there products on a daily basis it's hard to imagine what it would be like with out there services. I've struggled for many years trying to be my own boss while working for other people. Thank you for some inspiring quotes from a guy who made it and didint forget where he came from.

2ndGen

Your welcome.

I still read his interviews over and over and continue to gain from them.



Some great reading...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Hendricks

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20061201...hendricks.html

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/1129/184.html

P.S. When I got screwed on a deal in Florida and ended up literally homeless for a week, I happened upon the Inc. Interview on him and read it right there in the store. I could'nt even afford the $5. for the mag. I went to a work center where they have free computer usage for job hunting. I downloaded the interview that was online and carried it with me. It was like my bible.

Within literally 3 months, I had a truck, a fully equipped shop, an office & wharehouse, a residence and I had my business back. A month after that, I had a 2nd truck on the road and was fully equipped.
This was last year.
I just came back today from looking at a house to buy.

Ken Hendricks...definitely an inspiration for me.

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

DavidC

2ndGen,

Thanks for those links. It took me a couple of days to find time to read them but it was worth it. I had never heard of the man before reading your signature line.

One of ABC's latest aquisitions was one of our local lumber yards. They took over just this year and are giving Erie Materials a run for the money. IMO so far anyway, Erie has been the local leader in contractor sales and service.

You've picked a fine mentor.

Good Luck
Dave

__________________
www.CookContractingLLC.com

Patrick

He sounds like a nice guy, Im pretty sure though he had never been to my ABC branch. Cause it really sucks. Its in the worst possible neighborhood, its a mess, its filthy, the counter people are more interested in their mid morning bagel buffet than taking orders,

The warehouse which only has one available bay for pickups is always blocked with a salesman's truck or some non English speaking person loading siding into their minivan

The warehouse workers either do not speak English, teenagers that have no idea what you are talking about, or they are crazy mentally broken people that got fired from the other local distributors for having mental breakdowns on the job, OR EVEN WORSE YET, one of the counter poeple is in the warehouse because there is no one else to work, in which case you are screwed because they have no idea where anything is.

In either event 10 minutes multiplied times the number of items you are getting is the amount of time you will spend at the dock waiting for your order. Which most certainly will be 50-75 percent incorrect, even though its all printed nice and neat on the sales slip from the counter.

So I solute you Mr Hendricks for building such a solid Company!

__________________
Originally Posted by Celtic
Like I said...I'm sure you are very good at what you do ~ whatever that is and where ever it happens.

2ndGen

Thanks Dave.

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

2ndGen

Place a call to their headquarters...see what happens.
I've only had great experiences in their NY area stores.
If they can get that place straightened out like these NY stores,
you'd be one happy camper.

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

2ndGen

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

2ndGen

A good article I missed on Ken...

__________________
"I've been up on the roof. I know what those guys go through.
My whole life has been about making that profession respectable."
Ken Hendricks
www.SolutionsRoofing.com

BamBamm5144

It is too bad ABC has turned to crap and their are NUMEROUS suppliers out there who

1 - Treat their customers better
2 - Know their customers by name
3 - Work with their customer
4 - Deliver materials on time
5 - Deliver the right materials
6 - Deliver the right materials in the right area

It is funny because around here it seems like all the fly by night and hack companies purchase from ABC while all the guys with a good reputation purchase from a different supply company.

I hate when I HAVE to give them my money.

ohiohomedoctor

Around here its exactly the opposite. Crap from alside and company and great service from abc.

__________________
Matt Geddis
Home Remodeling Dayton Ohio
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A&E Exteriors

ABC runs the best game in town here, when I was an employee, I didn't think so, but when I started subbing and actually ordering roofs, making material runs, purchasing materials; I now sing a different tune. Had a great expierence with them when I did the in-laws' roof in Indy this spring.

My local branch sent me my specal order premium landmarks at 6:00 on Friday of labor day weekend. They would have made it a sooner, the driver got stuck in labor day traffic. Point to that story is, they took them off their delivery, put them on the boom truck and got them to me, they easily could have
"not gotten them in yet", or said "they came in too late", but they went the extra mile, to help me make my customer happy. (Happend to be my clean up guys parents house)

Stephen H

My experience with ABC is similar to Patricks' and BamBamms'.

It's definitely 2nd or 3rd choice for me.
I could write a book on what I hate about ABC- but in brief- one of the countermen I like- the others are either incompetent,surly or outright rude.

Many times waiting in line at the counter I have listened to the counterpeople get off the phone with a customer and then proceed to run down the customer they just talked to to their fellow workers-right in front of other customers.

It's very close to my house- but I almost always go to another supplier-even so---with ABC this year, no less than THREE seperate times this season I tried to buy copper sheets from them only to be told" we are out of stock"

and the answer to "when will you have more?" is ALWAYS "next thursday"- Yet their competitor ALWAYS has copper in stock and virtually everything else in stock as well-at the very least they have it tommorrow.
stephen