Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It Yourself
Bernie Marcus with Catherine Lewis
William Morrow/An imprint of HarperCollins (October 2022)

How and why, when you do it yourself, “you can make a difference and maybe even change the world”

In this book written with valuable assistance by Catherine Lewis, Bernie Marcus really does (in his words) “kick up lots of dust” while examining his life and career thus far. As I worked my way through his lively narrative, I was reminded of three others: Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, Alfred Sloan, Jr.’s My Years with General Motors, and Andrew Grove’s Swimming Across. Three of these authors are among the greatest business leaders in modern times. Like Franklin, they encountered and prevailed against all manner of personal as well as professional challenges. They worked harder and smarter than their competition. Meanwhile, they learned lessons that countless others have found to be both timely and timeless.

Briefly, Bernie Marcus (born in 1929) is an American businessman. He and Arthur Blank co-founded Home Depot (in 1979).  Marcus was the company’s first CEO, and chairman, until retiring in 2002. Of greatest interest to me is what he and Blank, learned — especially from their prior association with Handy Dan Improvement Centers.  These lessons — don’ts as well as dos — contributed to the extraordinary success of Home Depot.  I was also grateful to learn about Marcus’ involvement with the Israeli Democracy Institute, Job Creators Network, the Georgia Aquarium, The Salvation Army, Autism Speaks, The Giving Pledge, The Shepherd Center and its SHARE Military Initiative, the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center, and countless other philanthropic initiatives in need of Marcus’ involvement and initiative generosity.

In a workplace environment and an entire industry well as throughout a community and even a society, Marcus has always viewed himself as a purpose-driven leader, one who exemplifies what Robert Greenleaf once characterized in an essay that first appeared in 1970): “The servant-leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

Marcus makes no such claim for himself…and does not have to. The authenticity of his values and the results of his efforts speak for themselves.

There are times when I think that the world is divided into two groups of people: those who divide the world into two groups and those who do not. Here’s a variation on that view: the world is divided into two groups: problem finders and problem solvers. Marcus divides his time and energy between both. He is results-driven but carefully selects where to commit time, energy, and other resources. Throughout history, all of the great leaders led by example. (I can’t think of one who did not. Can you?) Almost everything I know about Bernie Marcus is what I learned while reading this book. Based on that, I would welcome the chance to work with him as well as for him. I would enjoy the pleasure of his company. I would be grateful just to meet him and chat a bit. None of that will happen, of course.

But that pretty well sums up what I think of him and of this book.