FOREWORD

by Ken Blanchard

If you’ve just opened this book not knowing what to expect, you’re in for a big treat. Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive is not one of those useless collections of worn-out business school wisdom, but an extraordinary treasure chest of information you can apply immediately to your business, your life, your relationships, and your goals. I have mixed feelings saying this because one part of me wants everyone to learn from the insights, genius, and creativity I’ve come to love about Harvey Mackay, while another part wants to hoard the information for myself. In striving to build my own track record, I’m convinced if I were the only person around who had this book I’d lap the field. I know you will not want your competition to get their hands on this wonderful book.

What’s so special about this book? Plenty! Harvey Mackay has put together a collection of unforgettable life lessons—quick, to-the-point parables and principles that will be invaluable to the novice and the veteran alike at any point in their business or personal lives. You’re going to have fun comparing your favorite lessons with those of others who have read the book, whether they be business colleagues, friends, or family members.

What are my favorite lessons? Their titles alone will give you a taste for the vivid, commonsensical wisdom presented here:

• Smile and Say No Until Your Tongue Bleeds.
• Make Decisions with Your Heart, and What You’ll End Up with Is Heart Disease. Something I’ve known all along but couldn’t put into words.
• The Best Way to Chew Someone Out. When he absolutely has to take someone to the woodshed, Harvey prefers to hand them the paddle and let them do it themselves. He seats them in the boss’s chair and asks, “All right, Jack, what would you say if you were me?” I’ve tried it a few times and it works better than a One-Minute Reprimand, but don’t tell anybody.
• 66 Things You Ought to Know About Your Customers. Everyone talks about sticking close to the customer, but Harvey Mackay does it. He keeps a file on every customer in which he requires his salespeople to answer 66 questions about that customer—everything from their college alma mater to their favorite hobby to their spouse’s and children’s names and accomplishments. Harvey knows more about his customers than they know about themselves…and certainly more than the competition does! You’ll love the “Mackay 66.”
• Helping Your Kids Beat the Odds. The chapter that takes this extraordinary book out of the realm of the “business book” and makes it a book to share with your kids, of any age, touching every part of their lives. Mackay even has one rule to suggest to kids: Make believe your parents were right some of the time.

You might be wondering why you should listen to Harvey Mackay. Who’s he? Well, he’s a wise man—a super success. He’s a man who:

• As a volunteer, served as the catalyst for a phenomenal community effort that culminated in the building of the $75 million Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. He also has raised millions of dollars for everything from the American Cancer Society to sending the University of Minnesota Band to China.
• As a businessman, is founder and chairman of the $100 million Mackay Envelope Company, which is a marketing and profitability standard-setter for the industry.
• As a loyal alumnus, talked Lou Holtz into coming to Minnesota to coach and turn around the Gophers football program. And in a decisive coup, he raised $6 million in a matter of days for a ticket buyout that kept the Twins major-league baseball team in Minnesota.

Fortune magazine called Harvey Mackay “Mr. Make-Things-Happen.” USA Today said, “Mackay’s style is major league.” A Minnesota newspaper referred to Harvey Mackay as “The Ultimate Volunteer.” Lou Holtz, now the University of South Carolina football coach, claims, “When I came up here [Twin Cities] and the wind-chill factor was about fifty degrees below zero, Harvey sold me six refrigerators.” All this, and Harvey Mackay’s goals in life are to be a good husband, a good father, a good businessman, and an active participant in the community.

Harvey Mackay has done it all, and he has given us a chronicle of the success strokes and survival tactics, learned over three decades, that have led to many accomplishments. But read the book, and get better at whatever you do—the Mackay way. You’ll enjoy life more, and you might be surprised to find your most extravagant dreams becoming realities.

Thanks, Harvey!

—KENNETH BLANCHARD
Coauthor, The One Minute Manager