My Father’s Business: The Small-Town Values That Built Dollar General into a Billion-Dollar Company
Cal Turner Jr. with Rob Simbeck
Center Street (May 2018)

How an “acorn” in Scottsville, Kentucky, in 1919 became an “oak tree” with more than 16,000 “branches” today

Although it’s difficult for some people to believe, most of the Fortune 500 companies began as a small family-owned business, founded or co-founded by someone who proved to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs in U.S. business history. They include (in alpha order) Warren Bechtel, Curtis Carlson, W.W. Cargill, John Deere, Henry Ford, Fred Koch, Frank Mars, Ralph Roberts, and Thomas Watson Sr. In most instances, they were succeeded by a son as CEO.

Cal Turner Sr. and Cal Turner Jr. deserve to be included with other father-and-son executive successions that continue to have a substantial impact in the global marketplace. Few sons exceed the achievements of their father in ways and to the extent that Cal Jr. did while serving as CEO for 37 years. During that time, the number of Dollar General stores increased from 150 to more than 6,000; and sales increased from $40 million to more than $6 billion. My own opinion is that he selected the title of this book because the “father” also refers to the God this devout Christian honors.

These are three of the several reasons I hold this book in high regard. First, with Rob Simbeck’s assistance, Cal Jr. provides an abundance of information, insights, and counsel that help to explain the extraordinary growth and profitability of Dollar General.  As I worked my way through the narrative, I correlations with the thoughts of other pioneers in retail, notably Stanley Marcus (in Minding the Store), Conrad Hilton (Be My Guest), Sam Walton (Made in America), and Howard Schultz (Put Your Heart into It and Onward!). Great entrepreneurs are never afraid of getting dirt under their nails. They embrace Thomas Edison’s belief, “Vision without execution is hallucination.”

Also, Cal Jr. demonstrates the power of The Golden Rule viewed as a foundational business principle as well as an article of faith. Personal integrity and career success are emphatically NOT mutually-exclusive. It is no coincidence that the companies annually ranked among those most highly admired and best to work for are also annually ranked ranked among those that are most profitable and have the greatest cap value.

Finally, unlike most of the other books allegedly written by CEOs, My Father’s Business really does have a consistent voice and perspective that only Cal Jr. could possess. Yes, by all means credit Rob Simbeck for helping to give clarity to that voice and focus to that perspective.  However, as presumably he would be the first to point out, this book is primarily by and about Cal Turner, Junior’s life and work.

I highly recommend this book, especially to those who are now preparing for a career in business or have only recent embarked upon one.