Valuable lessons from a self-made tire man

I often use the expression, "One person can make all the difference in the world."

That adage certainly applied to my friend Bruce Halle, who recently died. Bruce was the founder of Discount Tire, the nation's largest tire and wheel retailer, with 975 stores in 34 states and nearly 20,000 employees.

Bruce was a self-made man, working as a paperboy as I did, and even working as a gravedigger to support his family. He tried selling life insurance before he opened his first tire store in 1960 in Ann Arbor, Mich. He was the sole employee. His original inventory consisted of two new tires and four retreads. Like many entrepreneurs, Bruce did everything from cleaning toilets to painting signs.

The company grew at record speed because of Bruce's leadership and his three-pronged approach — provide reasonable prices, tremendous customer service and guarantee satisfaction. He believed that happy employees make happy customers. He taught his employees to live by the credo "Treat others the way you would want to be treated."

I'd like to focus on one of Bruce's quotes and offer my thoughts: "There are really just five simple lessons to life: Be honest, work hard, have fun, be grateful and pay it forward."

Tell the truth at all times to build solid relationships. Your word must be your bond. Complete honesty in little things is not a little thing at all.

Honesty, ethics, integrity, values, morals — all mean more or less the same thing; you can interchange them, because they all convey the single attribute that determines whether a person or an organization can be trusted.

Business and fun are not polar opposites. In fact, another piece of advice that I share frequently is "Do what you love, love what you do and you'll never have to work a day in your life." Adopt a "TGIM" attitude: Thank God It's Monday. A positive work environment encourages fun. Quite often, those are the most successful enterprises as well.

Gratitude should be a continuous attitude. It's very disheartening to see a decline in the use of "thank you" by so many. When I hold doors open for people, I seldom hear "Thank you." When I go shopping and buy something, I'm usually the one saying "Thank you for serving me!"

For a while, I thought it was just me being overly sensitive. But a few years ago, I was watching the "Late Show With David Letterman" and heard about a man who went into a store looking for an item. He found no one to help him. The clerks were uninterested at best, rude at worst. After much searching, he finally found the item himself. At the checkout counter, he found a long line of people and a clerk who definitely worked only at her own speed. Finally, he paid for his item, and the clerk threw it into a plastic bag and shoved his change at him.

The man had to say something, so he asked the cashier, "Can't you even say 'Thank you?' " And the cashier said, "It's printed on your receipt."

When you have the opportunity to do something kind or helpful for someone who doesn't expect it, take it! It's even better when the recipient doesn't know who is responsible. We all have enough time and resources to lend a hand. You might even make someone's day.

Mackay's Moral: Never discount the importance of honesty and hard work.