Posts by Fran Tarkenton
What I Learned About Business from the Cofounder of Waffle House
Earlier this month, we lost one of the great entrepreneurs. Joe Rogers Sr. was the cofounder of the Waffle House chain of diners, building the company from the ground up, from the first store in Avondale Estates outside Atlanta in 1955. Today, there are more than 1,900 Waffle House locations, and their yellow signs are…
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Surround Yourself with a Winning Team
Sports gives us such a great window into the rest of our lives. Over four quarters, nine innings, two halves, or whatever frame it uses, a game is a miniature lesson. The coaches and players prepare, come up with a plan. They put it into action. And within a few hours, there’s a winner and…
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Why You Need a Work Ethic Like Belichick and Saban
If you’re a football fan like me, than you’re living in maybe the most remarkable time in our sport’s history. With apologies to icons of past eras like Vince Lombardi, Paul Brown, and Bear Bryant, we are witnessing the greatest football coaches of all time in both the NFL and college football. Bill Belichick and…
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What Bouncing Back from 3 Lost Super Bowls Taught Me About Celebrating Failure
I failed. As a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, I failed three times — first against the Miami Dolphins, then against the Pittsburgh Steelers and finally against the Oakland Raiders. Three Super Bowls played, but not a championship ring in sight. I could’ve blamed my teammates, the coaches, bad luck or even the weather. But…
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Do Your Job
The New England Patriots have been the most successful football team of the 21st century. This Sunday they are playing in their 7th Super Bowl in the past 16 years, all with head coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady at quarterback. The source of the team’s incredible success can be summed up in a simple…
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The Circle of Technology
Both innovation and failure are indispensable to what we can call “the Circle of Technology,” which continually destroys, creates, destroys, and creates opportunity, markets, and livelihoods. The Circle of Technology is hardly a new concept. What I call the Age of Innovation and Failure began in the nineteenth century and exploded big time in the…
Read This ArticleFocus on Helping Others
What is your motivation? Are you motivated by money and personal advancement? When you wake up in the morning are you excited and energized because you know you are making a difference? Focus on the value that you bring. If you focus on this value to others, on helping them and not selling to them,…
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You Can Focus on the Positive But Don’t Forget About Reality
When I was a kid playing football growing up, my coaches loved to yell and scream. When you did something wrong, you heard all about it. A lot of coaches and leaders—then and now—are yellers and screamers, using that as their strategy for correcting problems. I didn’t like it back then, and that has never…
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4 Smart Relationships That Will Accelerate Your Small Business’ Success
Walmart and Sam’s Club founder Sam Walton was a master relationship builder. As my mentor and friend, he taught me that the mark of a successful entrepreneur is strong relationships. Sam once said, “We let folks know we’re interested in them and that they’re vital to us, ’cause they are.” This couldn’t be truer. Without…
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Past Performance Doesn’t Guarantee Anything
Every NFL season, we enter the year with expectations for each team. We think we know who will be good, who will be bad, and who will be in between. Then the games start. So today, for example, we’re 5 games into the 2016 season. The preseason expectations don’t really matter now; it’s all about…
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