Maxey Jarman was a shy, red-haired young man who was intrigued by science and was raised to be a devout Baptist. He enjoyed working with radios and automobiles while attending a public high school in Nashville, Tennessee that had an engineering and technology program. Maxey also helped start Nashville’s first radio station, WSM. After high school he became a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, in electrical engineering. When he was finishing his third year at MIT, Maxey’s father, James Franklin Jarman, asked him to return to Tennessee and help start a new shoe store, eliminating his previous partner who had done unethical things.
His father made Maxey work for a year as a laborer at the Nashville plant to learn the shoe business from scratch. Later Maxey worked in the shoe store for the new Jarman Shoe Company. After 9 years learning the shoe business, Maxey Jarman became president and his father became president of the company.
Maxey saw an opportunity to expand his footwear business and decided on a logical step-by-step plan of how to do it. Changed the name from Jarman Shoe Company to General Shoe Company during the depression and moved into retail. In Michigan, Maxey “bought a tanning plant,” produced shoe boxes, and supplied his manufacturing plants with chemicals, cement, and finishes. It bought other companies increasing its footwear line to include children’s and women’s footwear and clothing. He increased profits by selling his products through the retail stores bought by General Shoe Company.
In 1959, General Shoe Company changed its name to Genesco, Inc. By 1968, Maxey’s Jarman’s Genesco, Inc. had reached $ 1 billion in sales with 83,000 employees worldwide.
Maxey Jarman, President and CEO of Genesco was a devout Baptist who dedicated himself to many Christian philanthropic causes. For many years, Mr. Jarman taught Sunday School classes at his Baptist Church.
Fred Smith, Sr. came to work for Maxey Jarman at his General Shoe Company when he was 20 years old. Maxey became his mentor and friend for over 43 years. Fred Smith, Sr. became the mentor of Zig Ziglar and Dr. John Maxwell.
What are the 5 leadership lessons from Maxey Jarman that you will want to remember?
1) Maxey Jarman “listened with respect” and “stressed” to clarify ideas by putting them on paper. When a problem arises, write it down and write a solution to solve it. When Fred Smith had been working for Mr. Jarman for 3 months, he came up with a list of problems that he saw at the company. Mr. Jarman said after hearing Fred’s list: “Fred, I want you to take the next three weeks and write solutions for each and every thing that you found wrong.” When Fred saw Mr. Jarman again 3 weeks later, he had no solutions to the problems. Fred Smith said: “Mr. Jarmen put his long finger in my face and said:” We want you here and we want your suggestions, even criticism, but never criticize anything until you have a better way of working on the role. to show what you say and improve the condition. “Bacon said,” Writing makes an exact man. “Jarman worked on his personal development by listing the things he wanted to work on each year. Write to be specific and clear At his company, he said, “Emergencies were the evidence of poor planning.” He had few emergencies. He was reading to gain new knowledge every day and develop his mind.
2) Mr. Jarman was driven by responsibility, discipline and getting results. You can always count on him. Mr. Jarman’s “favorite story was how Jeb Stuart signed his reports to General Robert E. Lee,” Yours to Tell, “(YTCO). When Jeb Stuart wrote it he meant it and so did Maxey Jarman.
3) Mr. Jarman was always looking for opportunities for the future. Said, “Be thankful for all things.” He told Fred Smith, Sr. “It is not the plants we have built, but the people we have helped develop that I am most proud of.” Jarman was always helping others. He said, “Don’t try to strengthen people in their weaknesses; it is less productive than using their strengths.”
When someone said something about another executive saying, “He acts like he owns the place.” Maxey replied, “I’m glad you believe that, and I wish everyone here would believe it and act that way.” Fred Smith said, “I wanted everyone to have a genuine sense of ownership because I knew the motivation that develops.”
4) Before making a decision, I had an open mind. Once he made a decision, he was decisive. Fred Smith said: “Mr. Jarman would quickly review a decision when he thought it was morally wrong. Once he had the books open just to give an employee a $ 2.85 refund because” the question is not how much trouble, but how much trouble? We owe it to him? ”Mr. Jarman was honest, full of character and integrity.
5) Mr. Jarman didn’t believe in wasting time. He always stayed on topic and liked people to get to the point, clear and determined. Their conversations were always business and kept on topic.
What was Maxey Jarman’s mission for your company? “Genesco’s mission is to become the most customer-centric company in the footwear industry, consistently performing in the top quartile as measured by market share, sales growth, return on employed assets and operating income.”
By following Maxey Jarman’s 5 Leadership Lessons, you will have a stronger company with happier employees.