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Bad Boy Makes Good: Turner’s Success Factors

Article Overview: With his background in the classics, Turner had a penchant for recounting the successes of its greatest heroes: “When Alexander the Great took control when his dad died, he was twenty years old. He took the Macedonian Army, which was the best army in the world at the time, and conquered Greece, got the Greeks to all join with him, and then marched across the Hellespont and invaded Asia. They didn’t even know where the world ended at that time. And he was dead at thiry-three, thirteen years later. He kept marching. He hardly ever stopped. And he never lost a battle.”

Bad Boy Makes Good: Turner’s Success Factors

With his background in the classics, Turner had a penchant for recounting the successes of its greatest heroes: “When Alexander the Great took control when his dad died, he was twenty years old. He took the Macedonian Army, which was the best army in the world at the time, and conquered Greece, got the Greeks to all join with him, and then marched across the Hellespont and invaded Asia. They didn’t even know where the world ended at that time. And he was dead at thiry-three, thirteen years later. He kept marching. He hardly ever stopped. And he never lost a battle.”

Turner lost many a battle but he, like Alexander the Great, never stopped marching. How did he rise to success?

He Set High Goals: Turner became cable before cable was cool; he envisioned television news reporting as a live, 24-hour event when few others saw the feasibility; he purchased failing business after business in an attempt to revive them. Turner had big dreams and he wasn’t afraid to strive for them. “You play to win,” he said. “And you know you’ve won when the government stops you.”

He Never Gave Up or Gave In: When ABC reporter John Stossel advised Turner to stick to being an entrepreneur since his philanthropic donations probably wouldn’t go very far, Turner looked at Stossel as if he were crazy. Even after he had left the business world for the most part, people still doubted Turner’s ideas and abilities to achieve them. But, being Captain Tenacious, Turner rode out the storm to victory.

He Was Fearless: “I know what I'm having 'em put on my tombstone,” Turner says. “I have nothing more to say.” Never one to mince words, Turner thrived on the thrill of causing a stir in even the highest of circles. He kept his sense of humour and his playful sense of fun throughout his career, shocking his adversaries not only through his business ventures but also with his outrageous comments and propositions. He created a reputation as being an entrepreneur that was not afraid of anything and it served him well.

He Worked Hard: The concept of ‘pulling an all-nighter’ was foreign to Turner; for him all-nighters were a way of life. Although the 24-live format of CNN demanded his constant attention, Turner was the type of entrepreneur that would have devoted even more than 24 hours to his projects if he could have. It was his endless enthusiasm for his work that drove him past his competitors to new heights of success.

He Made An Impact: “I want to be Jiminy Cricket for America,” Turner once said. “There is no greater legacy that we can leave our children and grandchildren than a peaceful and safer world.” From making news around the world more accessible to everyone to contributing $1 billion to the UN, Turner has committed himself to leaving his mark on the world. It was his desire to have a significant impact with everything he did that made him strive for brilliance.

“I built a multibillion-dollar company, and I won the America's Cup,” says Turner reflecting on his career. “I was the greatest sailor in the world. I ran through three wives and numerous girlfriends, and I wore them all out! I smoked through life!” His entrepreneurial flair and his contribution to the media industry were revolutionary. Turner may no longer be the young, energetic and outrageous entrepreneur the world once knew, but don’t tell him that. “I’m still going fast!”

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Article Tags: abc reporter, adversaries, alexander the great, bad boy, business ventures, business world, feasibility, greeks, hellespont, john stossel, macedonian army, outrageous comments, penchant, philanthropic donations, reporter john stossel, sense of fun, sense of humour, television news, thirteen years, tombstone



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