As we reflect on some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time, who comes quickly to mind? Is it Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft? Stephen Jobs, co-founder of Apple? Mark Zuckerberg co-founder of Facebook? Or how about Ross William Ulbricht founder of the Silk Road? Ulbricht was a drug dealer. He is the guy who made a billion bucks selling drugs on-line before the federal government caught up with him and shut him down in 2013. But the genie is out of the bottle and others are … [Read more...]

What would Sam Walton do? I mean about the nation’s drug problem. Walton was an entrepreneur whose Wal-Mart stores changed the face of retailing and is number one on in the list of top ten companies in the world with annual revenues of close to $500 billion. Exxon Mobile, by the way ranks sixth and Apple ranks 9th. Sam died in 1992, but Wal-Mart, with headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas continues to dominate thanks to its legendary focus on individual customers and service. We … [Read more...]

  Early this year, we at ODAT voted to add my grandson, Nick, to the board of directors to bring some youthful perspectives to our deliberations. Nick, 26, is a graduate of Little Rock’s Central high school and the University of Arkansas and is the Sales and Marketing director for Arkansas Home Furnishings Association. Except for me, our board members are in their 60’s or older. I’m in my 80’s. In making the announcement to the media I noted that, “Nick brings to the board a … [Read more...]

                  Let’s begin marketing sobriety. I mean as a nation, a leader of the free world, let’s face the facts. Drug abuse is killing us, literally, and we need to stop it, grow up and get sober. When you think about it, sobriety is a great product—it lengthens lives, helps restore families, saves money, and adds friends. If you are living sober, the odds are that you will keep your job, your family and … [Read more...]

  With a net worth of $3.5 billion, Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot, has the credentials to promote self-reliance and faith. He is also a generous and focused philanthropist. His contributions have not gone unnoticed. He is a recent recipient of the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership which honors the ideals and principles that guided Simon’s giving. That includes the key values of personal responsibility, resourcefulness, volunteerism, scholarship, individual … [Read more...]