Burgers, Billionaires, and Big Questions
IT WAS PROBABLY JUST ANOTHER day to most people, but July 10, 2017, was one of the most interesting days of my life. At 10:00 a.m. that summer morning, I was riding up an elevator in a nice, but not overly impressive, office building in downtown Omaha. Joining me in the elevator were my older son, Jimmy Haslam, investment banker Byron Trott, and a security agent who was escorting our trio to our appointment on the top floor. When the elevator dinged its final ding and the doors opened, we were greeted by the smiling face and warm reception of the man we had traveled all the way from East Tennessee to meet.
He extended his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Warren Buffett.”
Of course, we already knew who he was, so we introduced ourselves and the famed investor led us to his office. Now, if you know anything at all about Jimmy Haslam, you know my son tends to jump straight into matters of business; this day was no exception. But Warren interrupted him. “Hold on just a second.” Turning to me, he asked, “Jim, how old are you?”
“I’m eighty-six years old.”
“So am I!” he replied with a hint of growing interest, like a man putting a puzzle together piece-by-piece. “When is your birthday?”
“December 13, 1930.”
“Really? Mine is August 30.”
These days, most people can remember where they were on September 11, 2001. It is like a tragic right of passage in American culture for those old enough to own the memory. But Mr. Buffett had another question altogether. “Where were you on Pearl Harbor Day?” I couldn’t help but laugh because there aren’t many of us left in this world who have the sobering, yet high honor of answering that particular question.
Once we had gotten to know each other and had talked over some preliminary business matters for about an hour, Warren asked if we were hungry. We were, so we stepped back into the elevator and began heading down toward what I assumed would be a private dining room in the basement of the building, much like the ones we have at our Pilot Company1 headquarters back in Knoxville. Instead, the elevator opened into a parking garage.
Warren asked me to ride with him in his car and suggested that Jimmy ride with Byron. As we rode along, we began a conversation about philanthropy, something we are both passionate about. I assumed we were going to a country club for lunch, but instead, after about a five-minute drive, we arrived at the Hilton hotel. We followed Warren through the front doors and into the lobby where he was greeted left and right by staff members of the hotel. He led us all the way to a corner table in the back section of a little lunch café. We took our seats just as a waitress arrived to take our orders.
“Hi, Susie!” Warren said with a smile.
“Hello, Mr. Buffett,” she replied. “You want your usual, a cheeseburger and a Coke?”
This may have been usual for him, but this whole experience was very unusual for me. There we were, sitting at a corner table in a little café with the second-richest man in the world—and we were about to eat cheeseburgers! But just like most of the people I’ve crossed paths with over the years—from Army privates to company presidents, from small-town businessmen to big-city billionaires—I saw that Warren Buffet is just a regular guy. If anything, I’d say he’s actually humbler than most.
It was one of those moments you never forget. In fact, in that moment, I found myself yet again asking the same question I’ve pondered many times over the course of this incredible life God has granted me: how in the world did this happen? That’s the question I aim to address in this book.
And, though I usually don’t drink them, I went ahead and ordered a Coke too. Hey, if it’s good enough for Warren Buffett, I guess it’s good enough for me!
Mr. Buffet taught me more that day than how to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Looking back, I know I took away many other unique and significant impressions from my time with him, just as I have done with so many other incredible people and experiences in my life. Each one has taught me something valuable. Even when the times have been rough, each one has made me a better man, even when it has taken some time to get there. Each one has contributed to my story in remarkable ways.
Though it is my name on the cover of this book and my story you’re about to hear, it is really the stories of my interaction with others that I look forward to sharing the most. This is really our story, not mine. It is true that no man is an island; we are all connected, and these connections are what make any story—including mine—worth its salt.
This is the story of my family, our company, and me.
While my life has had its share of the same ups and downs that all people go through, I’ve had some unique experiences that my family feels just might leave you entertained, informed, and perhaps even encouraged or inspired. But if nothing else, I hope this is going to be fun.
We may not know each other, but as you’ve traveled down the interstate with your family, perhaps you’ve stopped for gas, coffee, or food at one of our Pilot Company locations and interacted with some of our 28,000 incredible team members. Regardless, you might be wondering why I am writing this book in the first place. There are three main reasons:
Regarding the first reason, you need to know that I am writing this book under extreme duress—or, should I say, at the loving insistence of my wonderful family. For years, they have been not-so-gently prodding me to write my story. Penning my own autobiography and memoir was not something I set out to do, nor is it something I ever thought I would do. Certain friends—like the talented and hilarious Coach Rick Barnes, who, as you will read, actually had a dream about me writing this book—have long suggested that I do so, but I’ve never seriously considered it until now.
Writing your own story has plenty of positives and negatives. From a negative side, it may look like you think your story is important enough to be written, which seems self-serving. The truth is, I do not have even the slightest desire to attempt to wax eloquent about my successes and failures. This is not a book where you’re going to watch me pat myself on the back. I don’t deserve anything of the sort. Besides, self-back-patting doesn’t make for very good reading, in my opinion. There are enough self-congratulating books out there, and I do not plan to add mine to the list.
But, as this story unfolds, there are some people I do want to pat on the back, and I think you will find they are more than worthy of accolades. The people in my story are the positives of my story—family, friends, mentors, Pilot Company team members—and how, together, we built the company. They are the reasons I have finally relented and agreed to write a book. The story is so tightly wound up in theirs that to tell mine is to tell theirs—and that is a prospect that makes me very happy.
I may not be a writer by trade, but I am a storyteller at heart, as any of my children, grandchildren, friends, or team members will attest. I love to reminisce about the details of the past, taking a stroll down Memory Lane just to see if the houses and lawns still look and smell the same as they did when I was there the first time. To that end, God has blessed me with what I think is a pretty decent memory for someone who is nearly ninety years old. Many of the stories you’ll hear live in my memory as if they happened yesterday, and compiling them has been a worthwhile and fulfilling experience.
As I look back on these memories, I can’t help but agree with my family and friends that I have indeed lived a blessed and eventful life. In fact, I beg you not to read these reflections only as the musings of a man who has been fortunate in business. Sure, I’ll share insights about business, but that is only one side of our story. I have experienced faith, failure, hope, happiness, love, loss, and a host of other emotions and events—many of which will sound funny, even if only to hear how I got it wrong. But, if you really want to get down to brass tacks, mine is a story of luck, both in my personal life and in business. In fact, I recognize that much of what’s happened to me does not happen to most people. In this respect, I have most definitely been lucky, something for which I am daily and eternally grateful.
However, I do think good things—and sometimes even lucky things—are happening to a lot of people, perhaps in ways they can’t recognize in the moment. Maybe an understanding of our story (including my many, many mistakes) will give you a fresh perspective of your own unique story. After all, you can’t produce opportunity, but you can prepare yourself to be ready for it if and when it comes.
Regardless, I can’t deny that I have lived a very different and exceptional story on this earth—one that I don’t deserve, but one that my family thinks you might enjoy.
There is so much that I look forward to sharing with you about many of the incredible people and experiences in my life, but to help you understand the way I’m going to do this, I must jump ahead a bit and introduce you to a key figure in my life: General Robert R. Neyland. General Neyland was one of the most accomplished and renowned football coaches of his era—and also one of my most respected mentors.
General Neyland was a native Texan born in Greenville in 1892. After graduating from high school, he entered Burleson Junior College in Greenville (a school that was shut down in 1930) and then spent a year at Texas A&M before being appointed to West Point. His father had hoped he would follow in his footsteps and become an attorney, but young Robert did not want to practice law. Rather, he was destined to train young men by putting them through a much different type of rigorous practice.
For the next three years at West Point, Neyland learned and excelled at military theory, knowledge, and discipline, but he also proved himself to be a standout all-around athlete. While he lettered in football both in 1914 (an undefeated season) and 1915, he was actually more widely known for his accomplishments on the baseball field and in the boxing ring.
Cadet Neyland was more than just a stellar athlete; he graduated near the top of his class in 1916, the year before the United States entered The Great War (WWI) already raging in Europe. Fresh out of the Academy, he was recruited to play professional baseball by the New York Giants, the Detroit Tigers, and the Philadelphia Athletics. However, as a skilled soldier possessing his own unique caliber of integrity and honor, Neyland refused to let other young men fight overseas while he played baseball. He turned down his pro offers and shipped out soon after graduation.
Neyland served with distinction in France during World War I, working with the Army Corp of Engineers. Near the end of the war, the Army reassigned him to train engineers at Fort Bliss, Texas. However, he was soon sent southward to join in the pursuit of Pancho Villa near the U.S.–Mexico border. His leadership acumen and attention to detail led to promotion after promotion until he became one of the youngest regimental commanders in the U.S. Army.
The Army then shipped him off to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a year of postgraduate studies in civil engineering. Little did anyone know at the time that the knowledge he gained during this year of study would someday help him dream and design one of the most impressive and historically hallowed stadiums in all of college football.
After MIT, he returned to West Point, where he was appointed an aide to then-Superintendent General Douglas MacArthur. It was at West Point that Neyland first became involved in coaching various sports, including football. In the spring of 1925, he was assigned to the University of Tennessee as the Professor of Military Science and Tactics—and he also became an assistant football coach for the Tennessee Volunteers (Vols). He was quickly promoted to position of Head Football Coach and Athletic Director by December of the same year. Over the next nine years with the Vols, Neyland led his football team to five undefeated seasons, including undefeated streaks of thirty-three and twenty-eight straight games!
In those days, every male student was required to take at least two years of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), so the Department of Military Science and Tactics had a larger influential presence on campus and within the university structure. This also meant there were multiple high-ranking military officers teaching on the campus. Neyland remained connected to the military during this time, teaching and coaching until 1934, when he was called back into full-time active service.
After serving in Panama for a year, he returned to Tennessee in 1936 as the Head Football Coach. His 1938 team went undefeated and was proclaimed National Champion by certain media outlets. (At that time, a consensus organization and system for ensuring an undisputed, unanimous champion had not yet been created.) The 1939 team not only went undefeated but was also the last team in college football history to hold all its opponents completely scoreless for an entire regular season.
Let that sink in: Neyland’s defense was so stout that no team scored a single point on them for an entire slate of regular season games—not even a field goal. The 1940 team also remained undefeated. Then, in 1941, Uncle Sam called upon him yet again to join in a more important defense: that of our nation against our formidable foes overseas. During World War II, he served in China and India, supervising the transportation of materials through monsoons and over mountains, navigating critical supplies and resources across the Himalayas to troops commanded by General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell.
Neyland was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. He was also made a member of the Order of the British Empire. But when he retired from military service in 1946 with the rank of Brigadier General, he was ready to come home to Knoxville to resume coaching the Tennessee Volunteers for another seven years.
It was during those last seven years that my path crossed his.
Hopefully, this little history lesson will help you understand how significant it was for me that this overweight young man—me—was lucky enough to be coached by a living legend at such a formative moment. I’ll talk much more about my years under General Neyland’s leadership later in this book. For now, I want to use one of the General’s most famous and practical tools as a framework for telling parts of my own story. He coined seven adages throughout his legendary career that, to this day, remain a solid roadmap for achieving victory on the football field. These are generally referred to as Neyland’s Game Maxims, and they still hang in the Tennessee locker room in the stadium that now bears his name. Every week, all the players recite the maxims together as a hallowed tradition before taking the field to face their opponent, and really, to face themselves.
These are reminders of what it takes to best position oneself and one’s team to win on the field of play, but, in my opinion, some of them can also be helpful in positioning oneself in life. Though there are modern versions that are slightly different in places, here are Neyland’s Game Maxims close to their original form as he taught them to us on a weekly basis. I still know them by heart:
You may or may not be a Tennessee fan, but if you follow college football at all, my bet is that you’ve heard these before, probably as part of a pregame television feature. While it is a moving experience simply to hear all the players recite the maxims in unison, I actually know what it feels like to hear General Neyland himself lead the entire team in reciting them together.
There was nothing quite like seeing General Neyland write the maxims by hand on the locker room blackboard before each game.
These experiences and principles still profoundly affect me today—so much so that, over the years, I have developed my own set of twelve life maxims as something to pass down to my grandchildren. A few years back, my younger son, former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, asked me to memorialize these maxims by sharing them at a speaking engagement. I’m glad he did, because the process helped me really hone and express those things that have proven to be most important in my life.
Though no team will ever chant these maxims before “running through the T” at Neyland Stadium, I will be sharing and expounding upon them where they fit throughout the course of my story—and I will also dedicate an entire chapter to them later in this book. For now, I’ll simply list them all here for reference.
Believe in the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the resurrection; and life everlasting. Worship regularly, study the Bible, and be united with Christ.
Optimists get things done! Positive attitudes always win!
Be humble, be kind, and always remember the less fortunate. It is always easy to be kind.
Your family must always come first. Everything else pales in comparison.
Get involved in the political process. Run for office and, if you don’t, find candidates you like and raise money and work to get them elected. Who serves on the School Board is just as important as who represents us in the United States Senate.
You must always set a good example. People will follow your example so make sure it is a good one. And remember, change is a positive and is your friend.
Always do the right thing. Always be faithful and accountable in every way.
Leaders simplify things; they don’t complicate things.
Stay in shape. Work out, run, walk, ride a bicycle inside or outside, but whatever you do, make sure you have a good cardio program, watch your weight, and get plenty of sleep. I recommend not drinking at all, but if you do drink, never drink excessively. Never use illegal drugs, and gambling will only get you in trouble.
There is no substitute for hard work. Never let anyone outwork you. Remember, time is your most important asset, so working smart is just as important as working hard. And you must have a purpose in life.
Be passionate in what you are doing, whether it’s at work, working in the community, or at play.
We must give back! Luke 12:48 says, “To whom much is given, much is required.” Give to your church, social causes, education, and the arts. It is your choice what you give to, but you must give back. The biblical tithe is 10 percent of your income, and that should be a minimum.
As I told you earlier, my family and friends have insisted that I write the details of my story, and I am honored by their request. However, this story would be nothing without them. So, several others will speak into the story in the Afterword As I sit here writing this, I’m not even sure what they will say; I have only asked them to be honest and share what is helpful, and I’ve instructed them not to simply pat me on the back. However, if they do so a little out of kindness, I suppose the right thing to do is to be grateful. But the point is that this is our story, so I thought you might want to hear their take and not just mine. I hope you will be enriched by the perspectives of the people who have enriched me the most.
Finally, for the sake of structure, I want to focus on General Neyland’s second game maxim as a format for the first section, which follows the chronological details of our story in life and in business. The second maxim says, “Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way, SCORE.”
As I said, I’ve had some lucky breaks—events and occurrences that proved to be instrumental in the direction of my life and story. None of them had anything to do with my superior ability, intellect, or worthiness. The lucky breaks just happened to me, and I did my best—not always successfully—to apply General Neyland’s second maxim, trying to make the most of what came my way.
To that end, the principle found in this second maxim—playing for breaks and trying to score if and when they come—is one of the key ways I will structure elements of our story in the pages ahead. Just as I have twelve life maxims, there are eight breaks that characterize the main narrative of my personal and business life. Many of these were seemingly small and fairly inconsequential in the moment, but that is the nature of life: it is rarely a series of big breaks.
Most of what matters in real life is made up of the small things. I learned that from General Neyland on the field of play, just as I later learned it by serving in the military, serving my family as a husband and father, and serving my team members leading Pilot Company. If we can live life gratefully taking notice and faithfully making the most of the small things we can control and affect, we will look back on our experiences and be shocked at all the big things behind us we could never predict or even clearly see as they were happening. I want to invite you to look back with me at our story… and especially at some of the incredible people who have affected me so deeply.
How did all this happen? Let me start by showing you the breaks that came my way.
1 The company name has had several variations over the years relative to what was happening during that time period. The names have included Pilot Oil Corporation, Pilot Flying J (PFJ), and Pilot Company. Throughout the pages to come I may use any of these names, but will most often refer to the company simply as Pilot.
2 “Line” in this sentence refers to offensive lineman, while “backs” refer to fullbacks and tailbacks. “Line” and “ends” in the second sentence refer to defensive lineman, defensive ends, and linebackers.
3 Many versions of this maxim read: “Carry the fight to ‘our opponent’ and keep it there all afternoon”. However, since Alabama always was and will always be our biggest rival, I prefer to recite it this way.