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Lesson #5: Finding the Key Ingredients is the Key to Success

Article Overview: “We didn’t know beans about beans at the beginning, but we had $40,000 and a challenge that we thought would be fun,” recalls Newman of starting up his own company. “We poked around and asked each other ‘What do you think of that? Salt? Yeah. Maybe a little. And more Lemon.’”

Lesson #5: Finding the Key Ingredients is the Key to Success

“We didn’t know beans about beans at the beginning, but we had $40,000 and a challenge that we thought would be fun,” recalls Newman of starting up his own company. “We poked around and asked each other ‘What do you think of that? Salt? Yeah. Maybe a little. And more Lemon.’”

Much like Newman took the time to get the ingredients right for his first salad dressing, and every bottle thereafter, so too did he recognize the importance of combining the right ingredients for success. He was trying to create “the star of oil and vinegar and the oil and vinegar of the stars,” but whether it was making a movie or a bottle of salad dressing, Newman knew that it was the process behind the product that would be the key factor in making that product a hit.

In making a successful movie, the first step Newman would take in the process was to review the script. “Every time I get a script it’s a matter of trying to know what I could do with it,” he says. “I see colours, imagery. It has to have a smell. It’s like falling in love. You can’t give a reason why.” It was in dissecting all the ingredients of a script that Newman would decide whether or not to work on the project.

Once he decided to make a movie, Newman took the time to understand everything that was going into it. “Find out what everyone does on a film set, ask questions and listen,” Newman advises. “Study your craft and know who you are and what’s special about you.” Newman would also insist on having two weeks of dress rehearsal prior to filming, which, he says, “I do for nothing, and that has happened in almost every picture I’ve done since 1954.” He always heavily invested himself into the process of making a movie, which would speak volumes about the end result.

“There are many ingredients that go into making a film,” says Newman. “It baffles me, what works and what doesn’t.” Much like a movie, Newman knew that there were many essential ingredients that would have to go into both his dressings and sauces, and his business. There may not have ever been a ‘plan’ for his business, and claims “there never will be”, but Newman did take the time to discover the ingredients he would need. Above all else, what were the most important ingredients for business success according to Newman? Humour, whimsy and “not taking ourselves too seriously.”

In organizing a nationwide car race, Newman once told city representatives, “This race would be different from Long Beach, it would be different from Edmonton, and you guys will put your own signature on it.” Newman knew that each host location would have its own allure and character. Similarly, Newman had different recipes for each of his careers as an actor, racecar driver and entrepreneur. But, in the end, with each recipe, Newman was able to produce a winning result.

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Article Tags: dress rehearsal, end result, essential ingredients, falling in love, imagery, oil and vinegar, salad dressing



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