Governor Mitt Romney and Business and Economics

 

• Governor Mitt Romney was one of the nation’s most influential businessmen during the 80’s and 90’s. Invested in and/or acquired Staples, Dominos, Sealy and Sports Authority (among others) while C.E.O. of Bain Capital.

 

From the Life of Mitt Romney

 

 

Prior to his Olympic service, Romney enjoyed a noted career helping businesses grow and improve their operations. From 1978 to 1984, Mr. Romney was a Vice President at Bain & Company, Inc., a leading management consulting firm. Following a period of decline after Romney's departure, he returned as CEO several years later and engineered a complete recovery. Today, Bain & Company employs more than 2,000 people in 25 offices worldwide.

 

In 1984, Romney founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful venture capital and investment companies. Bain Capital helped launch hundreds of companies on a successful course, including Staples, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Domino's Pizza, Sealy, Brookstone, and The Sports Authority.

 

Quotes From Mitt Romney about Business

 

"I have today with me today Bob Pozen, formerly Vice Chairman and President of Fidelity who is now our chief of economic affairs. Part of his job is to keep clearing the underbrush of regulation and to make it easier to make businesses grow and thrive. We recently asked a couple of our agencies -- our economic development head and our environmental head -- and said, "You know, people who are thinking about starting biotechnology businesses need places to go where they can get environmental approval. Sometimes it takes the state a year or longer to give environmental approvals to someone who wants to put up a biotech lab of some kind. Why don't we pre-approve biotechnology permits in various areas of our commonwealth, so that as we compete for these kinds of entrepreneurs and businesses, they'll know this is a friendly place for people to do business?" We aim to be a very friendly place for people to do business to keep our tax burdens modest, to keep our regulatory burdens small, and to make the investments necessary to make this an attractive place for you to stay and grow."

 

Let me just note finally that as I think about my job in state government and as I think about your job in taking what you have innovated to market, I fall back on some of the principles I used to apply when I was also in the venture capital world. As some of you may know, I had the chance to work with a company that was ostensibly involved in venture capital and what we found on occasion -- actually what we found on every occasion -- was that no business worked like we thought it would and every business got into trouble at one time or another. It was the inevitable crisis. And I am convinced that the period of crisis is the greatest period of opportunity in any business' life, or in any enterprise's life, because you make choices at that time that determine exactly where you are going to be long term.

 

I am going to take a diversion here. I once did a consulting assignment for a company called the Charms Candy Company. I don't know if any of you remember Charm's Candy? Little Square candy -- you unwrap the cellophane -- sort of like a Lifesaver, only square.

 

Anyway, I met with the Chief Executive, owner of Charms and I said, "How big is your company?"

 

I was shocked. "$1 million in sales per year. That's all it is. A million dollars in sales."

 

I said, "Boy that is extraordinarily small. I had no idea you were so small. "

 

And he said, "Well, we used to be the number one, the number one candy company in America."

 

I think it was back in the forties and there was a spike in sugar prices and the price got so high and they got nervous so they entered into a long-term sugar contract to assure a secure source of supply. Their smaller competitor that didn't actually wrap the individual candies called Lifesavers decided to buy sugar on the spot market, and go up with it and down with it. To make a along story short, the market price for sugar came tumbling down, Lifesaver was able to buy sugar at a fraction of the cost of Charms. Charms went bankrupt and did not emerge until many years later and obviously as a much smaller company. That made all the difference. The decisions you make in those times of crisis, those tough times, can make all the difference.

 

In my experience, the things we had to do in the very difficult times follow a few key principals: Number one is to be honest about where you were and audit where you were. Audit was the first step. I don't mean by calling in Price Waterhouse Coopers, I mean by looking at your own company, your product and your technology, your people, your competitors, your financial setting, your debt structure, the whole thing and say let's audit where we are and be honest about where we are.

 

Number two is to fix the team and make sure you have the right people in place, because sometimes when things are good you sort of go along with same people you've had all along and then you don't make the tough decisions.

 

Number two was getting the team right and number three is what I'll call 'Focus, focus, focus' - deciding what is absolutely essential and focusing on that. Every time we got in trouble that I can recall in my investment career there was some aspect of failure to focus and the desire to do too many things for too many people, or too many markets or too many products. That focusing on where we had significant potential and what would help us accomplish our mission was to focus.

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My Thoughts on business

1. Companies should hire people with strong political or religious beliefs, even if it is not politically correct to do so.
2. It is is businesses best self interest to not allow their employees to talk about religion or politics.
3. Interpersonal Relationships at work
4. It's rude to go on and on about how cool the person was, who you took their place.
5. Your goal should be to always be completely accurate. In business and politics you should not exaggerate or over simplify.

 

 

 

Links

1. http://www.mass.gov/eoaf/index.html
2. http://ideastockexchange.com/buisness.htm

 

 

 

Business Sub-Catigories

Business

Career Quotes

Crisis Managment

Competing With Asia

Economy

Efficiency

Employment and Work

Fiscal Conservatism

Jobs

Management

 

Governor Mitt Romney and Business

 

Quotes from others about Business

 

• “I'll keep it short and sweet: family, religion, and friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.”
  • Montgomery Burns

 

• "When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary."
  • William Wrigley Jr.

 

An Extraordinary Business Leader

 

• Mitt Romney did better in business than any of the other candidates, Republican or Democrat.
• The first thing you will notice about him is that he is a good business manager, more than he is a politician. A lot of us think that the government should be more like a business, and less political.
• Member of the Board of Marriott Hotels
• Member of the Board of Staples

 

From the Life of Governor Mitt Romney

 

• Governor Mitt Romney was one of the nation’s most influential businessmen during the 80’s and 90’s. Invested in and/or acquired Staples, Dominos, Sealy and Sports Authority (among others) while CEO of Bain Capital.

 

• Prior to being elected governor, Romney was a cofounder and managing partner of Bain Capital, a Boston private equity firm.

 

• From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a Vice President of Bain & Company, Inc., a Boston-based management consulting firm. Later, as the company's CEO, he led it through a highly successful turnaround . Today, Bain & Company has 32 offices in 20 countries and over 2400 employees.

 

• In 1984, Romney co-founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful venture capital investment companies. Among the first companies it invested in was Staples, an office-supply store. In 1986 Staples, Inc., had one store. Today it has nearly 1,700. Bain Capital founded, acquired or invested in hundreds of companies including Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy and The Sports Authority.

 

Quotes from Mitt Romney on Business

• “As tough as our problems are, we have enormous potential in Massachusetts—a diverse economy, a highly-educated workforce and major academic and research institutions. We need the right agenda to unleash the power of these resources,” said Romney.
  • Governor Mitt Romney, 05-08-2003 Press Release

 

• “Massachusetts is one of the most attractive states in the nation in which to do business because of our tremendous resources. We have a highly educated workforce, some of the world’s finest health care institutions and top-of-the-line infrastructure,” said Romney. “Now, we need to do a better job of getting the word out.”
  • Governor Mitt Romney, 06-17-2003 Press Release

 

• “Today, we remember and recognize a true entrepreneur,” said Romney. “The establishment of this award will help us show our appreciation to the individuals who contribute to our economy and generate new wealth, prosperity and jobs.”
  • Governor Mitt Romney, 07-14-2003 Press Release

 

• “Each month, we will present this award to an individual who, like Bernie Goldhirsh, uses innovation and drive to grow small ideas into the businesses that make Massachusetts the leader we are.” Source: 07-14-2003 Press Release
• “Obviously, you faced a choice. You could have remained in Ohio, or moved to any of the other 49 states. Instead, you came to Massachusetts,” Romney told company officials at a welcoming ceremony. “We have the people, the capital and the technology market. But of course, you know all that. That’s why you came here.” Source: 07-18-2003 Press Release
• “Today, we recognize entrepreneurs from a truly innovative company,” said Romney. “Honoring Zipcar with this award shows our appreciation and value for entrepreneurs who contribute to our economy and generate new wealth, prosperity and jobs.” Source: 08-04-2003 Press Release
• “We need to make sure we have the best available information about the state of our economy,” said Romney. “The findings from this survey will help us to identify the competitive strengths and weaknesses of each region, which will help guide our efforts to improve the economy so that we can have more jobs.” Source: 08-13-2003 Press Release
• "The Massachusetts Business Corporation Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act will make it much simpler to conduct private sector transactions in the Commonwealth," said Romney. Source 12-04-2003 Press Release
• "These bills represent an important piece of housekeeping for the state’s business community, one that will allow our state to keep pace with new technology and other changes taking place in the world," Romney said. Source 12-04-2003 Press Release
• “We established this award to acknowledge and celebrate some of the state’s most innovative companies as well as to highlight the creative entrepreneurs who are helping to drive economic growth here in the Commonwealth,” said Romney. Source: 12-03-2003 Press Release
• “The story of Yankee Candle is a reminder that you don’t need to manufacture a cutting edge product to be innovative, exciting and extremely successful,” he added. Source: 12-03-2003 Press Release
• "Our economic policies are contributing to the improvement in the Massachusetts employment picture, but we still have more work to do. Holding the line on taxes and creating a business-friendly environment will continue to be among our highest priorities,” Romney said. Source: 05-27-2004 Press Release
• Romney said Straumann is the kind of innovative technology company that his economic development team is committed to attracting to Massachusetts. “The opening of Straumann’s new $50 million North American headquarters in Andover will bring 160 new manufacturing jobs to the Bay State right away and more than 300 over the next five years,” he said. Source: 05-27-2004 Press Release
• “High health insurance costs are making it impossible for our small business owners to provide a reasonably priced healthcare plan to their workers,” said Romney, meeting with Rick and Linda DeWolfe, who own DeWolfe and Sons Auto Repair. Source: 04-12-2005 Press Release
• “We are committed to developing an affordable product for small business owners who want to do the right thing by their employees, but can’t keep up with the cost,” Romney added. Source: 04-12-2005 Press Release
• “Small business is one of the backbones of our economy. It’s through the initiative and drive of people like Fred Curtis that we are creating jobs and opportunity in Massachusetts,” said Romney. From a 04-26-2005 Press Release
• “Permitting can take up to five years to complete, making it extremely difficult for businesses here to expand and add jobs,” said Romney. “If we’re serious about encouraging business investment and expansion, we have to take a chainsaw to the red tape that ties up the process for years and years.” From a 06-16-2005 Press Release
• “Grab your popcorn and soda, because Massachusetts is ready for its close-up,” said Romney. “Movie and television production has increased dramatically over the past 10 years and we want to get a piece of that growth by encouraging producers, directors, and crews to do their jobs right here in the Commonwealth.” From a 11-23-2005a Press Release

Business related press releases

 

2003

05-08-2003, ROMNEY OUTLINES JOBS PLAN, MAJOR NEW BIZ EXPANSION

06-17-2003, ROMNEY UNVEILS MARKETING EFFORT FOR BIZ EXPANSION

07-14-2003, ROMNEY CREATES NEW ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AWARD

07-18-2003, ROMNEY WELCOMES ANOTHER COMPANY TO MASSACHUSETTS

08-04-2003, ROMNEY HONORS ZIPCAR WITH ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AWARD

08-13-2003, ROMNEY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF BUSINESS LEADER SURVEY

12-04-2003, ROMNEY USHERS IN CHANGES TO AID BUSINESS COMMUNITY

12-03-2003, ROMNEY PRAISES YANKEE CANDLES ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

 

2004

05-27-2004, ROMNEY WELCOMES STRAUMANN USA TO MASSACHUSETTS

 

2005

04-12-2005, SMALL BUSINESSES TO BENEFIT UNDER ROMNEY HEALTHCARE PLAN

04-26-2005, ROMNEY PRAISES NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS AWARD RECIPIENT

06-16-2005, ROMNEY FILES BILL TO EXPEDITE LOCAL PERMITTING

11-23-2005a, "LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!" IN MASSACHUSETTS

 

 

Beliefs about Mitt Romney and Business

Mitt Romney is the most "pro-business" candidate.

Reasons to agree

1. Mitt Romney may be the most succesfull businessman to ever run for president.
2. Romney is not afraid to promote good businesses.
3. Small businesses to benefit under Romney healthcare plan.

Reasons to disagree

1. Things are more complicated than pro business, and anti-business. Everyone likes business, but what interest are more important than business interest? Everyone will have a different answer. For instance Mitt Romney has worked to stop Outsourcing.
2. Mitt Romney did better in business than any of the other candidates, Republican or Democrat.

 

Exterior Links

 

1. http://reason4romney.blogspot.com/search/label/Business