Business 'Characters'

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Here is a comment and question from another reader: Is it just me, or do you also notice a paucity of "real characters" in the business world and society as a whole. It seems that now days the only characters are those business tycoons with lots of money who have P.R. people or those that get entangled by the law.

Examples of past "real characters" would be Mr. Bumbleberry and Col. Sanders. You know, real promoters, and real people with real histories. Gary Dahl, aka ”Mr. Pet Rock,” and Howard Hughes would be others.

What are your ideas on why our society is often so bland? Can it have to do with everyone being so concerned about appearing so P.C.?

-Bored with the status quo”


Dear “Bored with the status quo,” I understand what you are saying. To add to the list, there are, of course, the “technical entrepreneurs.” One only has to look at the photo of the Microsoft founders, taken in 1978, to see a real “bunch of characters.”

http://kennethg.blogspot.com/2006/06/microsoft-founders.html

Who in their right mind would have risked investing any money with these people? Well, some folks did, and of course they became very, very, wealthy.

Hewlett–Packard had its beginnings in a tiny garage in Palo Alto, CA. William Hewlett and David Packard were ‘characters’ who spent a lot of time thinking about ways to improve things.

Don’t forget Ray Kroc, the milkshake machine salesman who became the icon of McDonald’s.

Harvey Gross, the founder of Harvey’s Casino and Resort at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, was another character, a meat salesman, who believed in quality. He and his wife opened a little place at Stateline, Nevada, and grew it into Harvey’s Resort and Casino.

Present day, though, there does seem to be fewer characters in the business world. Maybe it is the PC.