Getting the Picture: How Eastman Turned Kodak into a Star
Getting the Picture: How Eastman Turned Kodak into a Star
For Eastman, those two things were the same. Eastman had found a passion in photography that he had never known before. From never having taken a picture to starting up a company that focused on only that, Eastman was taking a risk. What was it that saw his risk through? What were the factors that took Eastman from his days as a high school dropout to being at the top of the country’s corporate ladder?
Inexperience: Because Eastman knew nothing about cameras when he first started, he did not know what could and could not be done. All he knew was that there had to be a simpler, less messy way to take a picture. It was that innocent idealism and naiveté that allowed him to dream the impossible.
Branding: “I have always admired the letter K's ability to strike a certain tone in one's ear, that tone of power and strength and resonance,” Eastman once said. While others might have called him crazy for caring so much about a name, Eastman understood that his name was an important part of his branding formula.
Innovation: Eastman’s business was seeing modest success in its early days, but he knew something was wrong. He knew that by making his camera so expensive, he was missing out on a huge market. By focusing on innovation and adapting his product to the wider market needs, Eastman was able to bring his success to a whole new level.
Leadership: He was a tough boss – many said a mean boss – who was not afraid to let people know what he was thinking. But Eastman also understood that leadership meant more than just laying down the law. By rewarding his workers with wage dividends and significant benefits, Eastman was cultivating within them a strong sense of loyalty and pride.
Strength: From economic downturns, to hostile employees, to product failures, Eastman encountered a wide gamut of obstacles on his path to success. He could have folded; he could have thrown in the towel on any one of those occasions. But, he did not. He kept going and kept working towards his goals. “Well, that's over,” he would say. “Now the one thing to do is forget it.”
Eastman’s passion for his work was such that when he felt as if he could no longer make a contribution, he felt there was no more point in going on in life. With a spinal disease that would have left him in a wheelchair and mentally deteriorating, Eastman wanted to end his life on a high note. He had a successful company he could look back on with pride, and that was enough for him.
Before he died, Eastman decided to give away most of his fortune – anonymously. “If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up,” he said. “He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work.”
Getting the Picture How Eastman Turned Kodak into a Star
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Eastman once said, “What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.”
For Eastman, those two things were the same. Eastman had found a passion in photography that he had never known before. From never having taken a picture to starting up a company that focused on only that, Eastman was taking a risk. What was it that saw his risk through? What were the factors that took Eastman from his days as a high school dropout to being at the top of the country’s corporate ladder?
Inexperience: Because Eastman knew nothing about cameras when he first started, he did not know what could and could not be done. All he knew was that there had to be a simpler, less messy way to take a picture. It was that innocent idealism and naiveté that allowed him to dream the impossible.
Branding: “I have always admired the letter K's ability to strike a certain tone in one's ear, that tone of power and strength and resonance,” Eastman once said. While others might have called him crazy for caring so much about a name, Eastman understood that his name was an important part of his branding formula.
Innovation: Eastman’s business was seeing modest success in its early days, but he knew something was wrong. He knew that by making his camera so expensive, he was missing out on a huge market. By focusing on innovation and adapting his product to the wider market needs, Eastman was able to bring his success to a whole new level.
Leadership: He was a tough boss – many said a mean boss – who was not afraid to let people know what he was thinking. But Eastman also understood that leadership meant more than just laying down the law. By rewarding his workers with wage dividends and significant benefits, Eastman was cultivating within them a strong sense of loyalty and pride.
Strength: From economic downturns, to hostile employees, to product failures, Eastman encountered a wide gamut of obstacles on his path to success. He could have folded; he could have thrown in the towel on any one of those occasions. But, he did not. He kept going and kept working towards his goals. “Well, that's over,” he would say. “Now the one thing to do is forget it.”
Eastman’s passion for his work was such that when he felt as if he could no longer make a contribution, he felt there was no more point in going on in life. With a spinal disease that would have left him in a wheelchair and mentally deteriorating, Eastman wanted to end his life on a high note. He had a successful company he could look back on with pride, and that was enough for him.
Before he died, Eastman decided to give away most of his fortune – anonymously. “If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up,” he said. “He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work.”
Getting the Picture How Eastman Turned Kodak into a Star
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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