All posts by Keith Thompson

Fortune 500 companies in 1955

Career, Family, Life

The Fortune 500 is an annual list published by Fortune Magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Corporations by total revenue. Its first year was 1955. The average revenue for a fortune 500 company for 2017 was around $5.4 billion. Included in this list are both publicly traded companies and private companies. Since 1955 the 500 companies listed annually are simply the best of the best in the United States.

Why do I bring this up? Of late, I have been consumed in understanding what makes some companies stand the test of time while others fail. I recently ask some family members, what would they have done differently if they were the CEO of Sears 20 years ago? Interesting question. Knowing what you know today, it’s always easy to look back and see where the companies missed it. To make changes when you are in the middle of it, is another thing entirely. That said, some companies can adjust and adapt to changes where most companies can’t.

Did you know that of the fortune 500 companies listed in 1955, that only 60 are still around today? That means in 1955 that 440 of the 500 best companies in America have either failed, sold, closed or merged. That means that over time, roughly 8 out of every 10 major companies, fail. Isn’t that astounding?

I was with my pastor a few days ago talking about this very subject and why some business and some churches make it and some fail. What we discussed was profound. In most of life whether it is financial, marriage, job, exercise, diet, church, relationship, career etc. there seems to always be one main thing that you need to always do and focus on to last through the test of time. One thing that is more important than all the other things. You are the only person that can determine what that one thing is. In our line of work, our one thing is meeting new clients this week that you didn’t know last week. Among all the things we must do, that is the one thing we can never forget to focus on.

So large companies are not immune to this line of thinking. American Motors, Brown Shoe company, Studebaker, Collins Radio, Detroit Steel, Zenith Electronics etc. all have one thing in common. In 1955 they were among the best of the best and today, they do not exist. I often wonder what their one thing was that they got too busy to do. KT

Seeing what should have been

Life

This morning it was cold in Georgia as I pulled out of my driveway heading to the office. My truck was already warmed up and I was dressed in office attire going to work as I always do.

As I was pulling out of our neighborhood I saw man doing manual labor in the cold. He was close to my age and working in a job that many would consider, menial. If you read my blogs you know that I believe except for the grace of God, I would be similarly employed. I have no formal education and I stutter and neither of those qualifications make me worthy of the type of work I have been blessed to do. Seeing that man this morning almost brought tears to my eyes because I knew that by all accounts, it should have been me. I wanted so badly to help that man but didn’t know what I could have said or done that would have improved his life.

I turned the radio off and had a little prayer time where I thanked God for all he has done for me and my family and gave him all the gratitude for my life. Without the hand of God, I really don’t know where I would be. Sometimes, it helps us all to see a glimpse of where we almost ended up. KT

Old school

Life

We live in a world where many things are changing. The older I get the more I like things just like they are. I was in Starbucks the other day and this lady was in line and I had to stifle a grin. She had her iPhone out, while looking at her Apple watch and listening through her Apple Studio pod headphones. I guess the headphones would audibly read her texts and emails out loud. While standing there she got a text and it apparently when off on all three devices at the same time. I sort of (not really) felt sorry for her because It looked like she was going hurt her neck she jerked around so quick. Ha

Well,,, I do have a phone in my pocket, but my watch only has one function, it tells time, and I never wear headphones. Imagine that. Thinking about this lady in the line reminds me of something else I do that will really make me sound old. I use an actual physical date calendar you hold in your hands to tell me where I need to be. I ordered my first “Planner Pad” back around 1992 and have never changed. There is a calendar book in my office at home for every year since I started. The funny thing is I have never had to reset it, power it off or download an update. The one I use today looks just like the one I bought in 1992. If someone ask me what I was doing on August the 12th 1998, I could probably tell you where I was and what I was doing. I’m sorry, but you just can’t get that on a phone app.

In summary, many things are changing in the world in which we live but not everything needs to. I say, if it still works, keep doing it. KT

Christmas movies – time travel

Life

I am such a nostalgic guy around Christmas (I know what you are thinking,) but I love the Christmas movies that center around two themes. Either going back in time or forward in time. The movie, it’s a Wonderful Life, should be required watching for everyone. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) gets to glimpse what life in his town would look like had he never been born. The result is he became thankful for his life even with all its struggles. The movie, A Christmas Carol about a Scrooge, lets the angry man glimpse into his future and see what his life will look like if he doesn’t change. The result was he was able to change his life now and become more giving and kind. Several of the newer Christmas movies depict a situation where the person time travels to the future and sees the impact of what a decision today has on their future.

Yea, I know the actor always comes back to the present and changes their life and falls in love, but that is what Christmas movies are supposed to be like! Happy.

My point is that many decisions we make today will have everlasting (literally) effects on many people in our lives, especially on those closest to us. With every decision we should ask ourselves, will this decision help those I love or hurt those I love? In your mind, fast forward 5, 10 or 15 years and try to imagine the impact the decision you make today and how it will affect you and those closest to you. More times than we may want to admit, we already know the impact. Read that last sentence again. The question becomes, will we still make the same decision, or will we consider those closest to us?

I hope and trust that 2019 will be your year for good sound decisions that will result in a positive impact to your family and those closest to you. Merry Christmas! KT

The house in the mirror

Family, Life

I had a strange moment this morning while heading out to work. The sky was overcast, cold and raining. I got to the end of my driveway and realized I forgot to make sure I had closed the garage door, so I put the truck in reverse to look at the backup camera to confirm I had closed the door.

It was one of those moments where God taps you on the shoulder and whispers to your spirit, stop. I stopped with the truck in reverse with the backup camera showing our home and the strangest thoughts began to unfold in my mind and in my heart.

I realized how very very very blessed I am. As I looked at our home where we have lived for 19 years and the mental video player began to roll. I saw my bride, my daughters, my son in-laws, my granddaughters and all the financial blessings God had enabled my family to enjoy. I flashed back on my daughters when they were still living at home and the joys of graduations, proposals, meals together, special father moments, engagements, weddings, births of grandchildren etc. It was as though the last 19 years of my life played over a five-minute period. I thought about my beautiful wife and partner and our life together and how we met in high school and the 40 years of living we have had together. I realized for the 1000th time how blessed I am to have a wife like Elaine and a family like God has blessed us with.

I saw all this while looking at our home in the backup camera this morning. Sure, I had a lot of things to do today at the office and calls to make and people to meet with, but that moment in the truck at the end of the driveway was far more important that all the other stuff. It was in that moment that God stopped me and let me view a glimpse of the how and the who and the why of my life. I came face to face (in my mind) in that moment with the who (family) and the how (God) that made my life what it is today. It is my hope that between now and Christmas, you will also have a moment that reminds you of the blessings of your life. KT