Page 159 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Courage

sometimes, but in the end those who spoke up were respected
for it. Irv Klein, a retired multiple operator, remembered the
courage it took as Operators National Advertising Board
(OPNAD) chairman to stand up for the other operators dur-
ing one of their meetings. They were upset with Fred Turner,
who wanted permission to advertise a 99-cent Egg McMuffin
on national television. Concerned about advertising expenses,
the operators were opposed to it. “Fred came to me, and said,
‘Irv, I want you to do it for me,’” Irv recalled. “I said to him,
‘The operators voted not to do it.’ And he said to me, ‘Mr.
Klein, I want you to do it for me.’ And I said to him, ‘I went
from Irv to Mr. Klein—how does that work?’ He said, ‘Because
I’m telling you I really want this.’ And of course, there was a
guy in the back of the room who got up and said, ‘I think we
ought to “do it for Fred.”’ I was so annoyed at that point and
I said to him, ‘That isn’t what you said to me out in the hall
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15 minutes ago; it was, “Irv, go get ’em,” remember?’ Finally,
Fred got up and said the corporation would pay for the ad so
that the operators would not have to fund it. Later, Fred
returned to an afternoon session and said, ‘Irv and I don’t
always agree, but he was right on this one. So he’s right once
in a while.’”

Lesson Learned

People will respect you for having the courage to admit when
you’re wrong. Adding a dose of humor to the admission may
make it easier to smooth things over and move on.

Fred wasn’t afraid to admit when he was wrong. And Irv
might have tangled himself with politics, but instead he fought