A Conversation with George
Part 2

Q

Who is the audience for the book and what do you hope readers will take away from it?

A

I think the audience for the book starts with past and current associates of Frank Russell Company and of Threshold Group. All of those people may like to know more about the history and culture where they work or have been a part of. After that, the sphere of interest expands to people in the investment industry, who might want to understand better where current practices came from. And in general, people in business, particularly those with an entrepreneurial bent, can benefit by seeing how treating people well produces good results.

What specifically do I hope readers will take away from it? I think Success By Ten provides a glimpse of other people's life experiences. When you read a book about an individual's life—and I've read quite a few of those—it's often quite interesting to see what challenges others have faced: You can learn from their experiences and, possibly, avoid some of the mistakes that other writers have made. That leaves you free to create your own mistakes.

Q

In the introduction you also mentioned students at business schools: You hoped to guide them in areas that are outside the focus of the normal B-school curriculum.

A

In business school, they don't teach you much about people skills, ethics, or why it's important to have fun. Based on my experience, the elements of success are much more important than what I was taught at business school.

That said, business school is still an important life step in the education process. I didn't get much out of the first year, but after I spent two years in the army it finally started to click. I think I wasn't ready for business school the first year; it was too soon after college. I hadn't had the chance to settle my mind and start a new thought process. So the second year was much more productive.

Q

Were they using the case study approach at Harvard at the time?

A

Yes. I like the case study approach because that’s life—somebody's real experience. They don't tell you the whole story; they stop half way through and you’re supposed to figure out what happened next. Sometimes you're right and sometimes you're wrong. I think most of the time you're wrong, but that’s okay.

What’s important is the opportunity to add whatever thought you had on the matter. You participate with your classmates and get their feedback so that you can conclude with a better estimate than what you might have come up with on your own. I like sharing ideas, because none of us have the whole answer. It’s really a matter of combining your thought process with those of a number of other people to get a better group answer than any one person can ever come up with.

Q

What kind of feedback have you received so far on Success by Ten?

A

Right now, the feedback comes from friends and colleagues who have read it in galleys. I got a very good response from Janine Terrano. She runs Topia, which is a software company in Tacoma. She has an up-and-coming enterprise and I've been mentoring her since 2002. She wrote a very nice memo, mentioning that her office has a view of both the Russell building and Mt. Rainier, both of which play roles in the story. Janine said that Success by Ten helped her bring her thinking about business into focus. So that's good if you can help people solve concrete business problems.

Another encouraging comment came from one of the top executives at Russell Investments. He called the book a “booster shot,” reminding him why he chose to build his career at Russell. These last few years have been tough for people in the financial services industry. If Success by Ten can give them a needed “shot in the arm,” that's great too.

Another friend of ours reported that his sister had been looking forward to retirement from a career in teaching. Then she read Success by Ten. Now she wants to get back to work in a philanthropic capacity. Sounds good to me, especially if her family supports it and she has fun doing it.

One more anecdote comes from our publisher, John Wiley and Sons. We've heard that people in the editorial department are now discussing some of their business issues in terms of the ten elements: That's eating your own cooking!

Of course the comments on the back cover are gratifying. We sent out requests for blurbs in the usual way. And I know that most of these people are my friends…But I still find it somewhat surprising because it is quite an impressive list! I have to say I'm pleased to see the book is resonating both with business leaders—people who think in organizational terms—and individuals, who are trying to figure out how to get fulfillment from their careers.

Q

Do you know of other organizations that have tried to implement the ten elements?

A

Both The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and EastWest Institute (EWI) have been deeply influenced by the culture that Jane and I built at Frank Russell Company. These relationships predate the book by many years, but the elements of the culture haven't changed. At different times, both Rich Ellings at NBR and John Mroz at EWI realized they needed a different kind of culture. And having worked with us for so long, they both had the opportunity to learn the culture at Frank Russell Company, and it just made sense that they would use it as a model.

Q

Will you be making personal appearances to promote the book? Any chance of seeing you on TV?

A

I have recently started to cut back on some of my commitments. I just resigned as Chairman of the boards at NBR and EastWest Institute. Both of them are great organizations, but I don't regret stepping down. I had been with them for quite a long time. Similarly, I don't think at this point in my life I want to go around promoting the book. I did stop by Russell Investments to sign copies and say hello to people. But I'm not going to go around the country trying to sell books; that's not my purpose. So no, you won't be seeing me peddling my wares at the Mall of America or on Oprah's couch.

Q

Any plans for another book?

A

Yes, but I don't plan on writing a sequel. I have talked a little bit about a personal history in collaboration with my grandson, Zac. It would cover aspects of my life outside of Frank Russell Company that most people don't know about: Family history—the fact that I am a twin. And some of the mountain climbing episodes are fairly interesting. Also, getting thrown in jail in Olympia, and some of the escapades that occurred when I was hitchhiking through Texas on my way to Mexico. In those days I was young and willing to take risks. They were interesting times.

In mountain climbing, particularly, I used to take risks. The one that I remember most vividly was in the Cascades, in the northern part of Washington state. We were working our way up a vertical face, about 300 feet high, and there was about 100 feet on the rope. I was leading with one guy behind me. I got up into a small cave that was shaped like a triangle, tilting downward, with a gravelly floor. Fortunately it was fairly narrow, because when I got up there, I slipped on the gravel and started to fall. Without thinking, I threw my arms outward and was able to hold myself by pushing against the two walls. If the cave opening had been any wider, only one arm would have caught and I'd have slipped out. I wouldn't be alive today. But both arms caught, so I survived. That was lucky. Recognizing luck is one of the key elements of business success; I've been lucky in life, too.

Q

This isn't a fair question because you describe ten elements of success in the book. But if a young entrepreneur came to you for a single piece of advice, what would it be?

A

If I have to limit myself to a really brief response I would say, “Look forward and not back. You've already been there, so don't waste time fussing about what's happened in the past. Look forward to what's going to happen. Ask yourself what you can do to make things better—to make your life better, to help others improve their lives and the community.” But the main thing is, look forward not back.