“Retirement is not in this company’s vocabulary,” Johnson once said. “If you are well and able to work, you can stay at the company and that’s what I plan to do.” And, that is exactly what he did. Right up until the time of his death, Johnson continued to play an active role in the company. Although he named his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, CEO of the company, he remained the inspiration behind its every move. He rose from the despair of welfare to become named the Greatest Minority Entrepreneur in U.S. History by Baylor University in 2003. A true rags to riches story, how did Johnson achieve the American Dream?
He Beat the Odds: Johnson was a black man living in poverty at a time of racial upheaval throughout the U.S. Nobody except his mother had any faith in him; nobody thought he could succeed and many didn’t want him to. Instead of succumbing to their disbelief, he used it to fire his desire to achieve his goals even more.
He Identified with his Consumer: Johnson had a special knack for getting into the heads of other people. Trusting his instincts, Johnson felt that there was a need to create a black presence in the mainstream media and he set out to fill that need. By hiring black staff, using black models and focusing on black-oriented content, Johnson was able to connect with this new market of black consumers in a way that no one else had yet been able or willing to do.
He Took Risks: Johnson created a cosmetics line when, not only would he be competing against giants like Estee Lauder and Revlon, but they had also actually told him that his idea was a bad one and would not succeed. He didn’t listen – he did it anyway and Estee Lauder and Revlon were left trailing in his dust. Johnson was willing to stick to his guns and do what he thought was right, however unpopular or risky it might have been.
He Knew How to Sell: “Failure is a word I don’t accept,” Johnson used to say. He knew how to connect to people in a way that made them want to see things along his lines. By approaching the art of selling from the point of view of what he could do for the customer as opposed to vice-versa, Johnson was able to close even the hardest deal. He mastered the art of the sale and thrived on the energy he got from doing it.
He Communicated Effectively: Johnson knew how to share his vision with people so that they would soon be yearning to come onside with him and achieve it together. By being prepared, passionate and confident, Johnson used his communication skills to take his company to the top.
On the 50th anniversary of the launch of Ebony, U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honour. Clinton said that Johnson gave “African Americans a voice and a face, in his words, ‘a new sense of somebody-ness.’” In doing so, he also became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in recent history and broke down numerous barriers along the way.
A Man of Firsts: How Johnson Achieved Success
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