Mastering the Art of SuccessWRIGHT(^)
FORD
Any modicum of acclaim I managed to garner in the secular arena
only has real significance if used to implement a program to share and
promote growth in others. Success is in seeing all the agents, athletes,
students, and families with whom I’ve worked, accomplish their goals,
hopes, and dreams. This has been the main focus of my career; whether
fr om the aspect of a financial professional, author, speaker, or
consultant. So I guess you could say after a few decades of influencing
the lives of others, I am almost an “overnight success.”
WRIGHT^
I now know why Mark calls y ou “Mr. State Farm.” The mystery
is how did you find yourself in the speaking and consulting arena?
Ford
That was purely by accident. It was the summer of 1980 and the
company was having a sales and marketing meeting in Hutchinson,
Kansas. One of the features was a panel discussion of four agents. We
had the urban agent, rural agent, older established agent, and a new
ag ent. The topic was to be an analysis of the business climate titled
“Outlo ok for the ’80s.” Each agent was to give an outline, last ing about
five minutes, on how they would implement marketing, customer
service, and operations in the new decade, and then get into the
discussion. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately f or me, they had
no notes and no track to run on and the panel was to last another hour.
The moderator c al led a quick stretch break and asked me about my
twenty pages of notes and wanted to know if I could carry the meeting. I
agreed reluctantly but evidently he was quite pleased with the result.
We were seated at the table o f Cal Roebuck, the Regional Vice
President for State Farm Insurance. The evening’s keynote speaker
turned to me and said, “I heard great things about you and I want to
talk to you about a challenge and an opportunity.” That was the first
time I met Mark Victor Hansen, who kept me up half the night. He said
he had a friend named Cavett Robert and before I knew it, he had me
attending one of the first National Speakers Association Meetings in
California. The rest, as they say, is history.