Ken Langone on Values, Culture and Founding The Home Depot
Paul Farmer CBE, CEO of Mind
Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera
Adm. Timothy J. Keating, USN (Ret.) and Brig. Gen. Robert S. Spalding III, USAF (Ret.)
An Update on Therapies and VaccinesKen Langone discusses how he helped grow The Home Depot from two stores in Atlanta into the largest home improvement retailer in the United States and why he thinks the keys to its success have been the company’s culture and its employees.
Langone on the culture of The Home Depot: “I've always said that the three most important things in the world, in my mind, are a kind word, a thoughtful gesture, and passion and enthusiasm for whatever you're doing. If you demonstrate a great love, a great passion for what you're doing, believe me, it's contagious or the person won't stay. So at Home Depot, we always had this notion that our people on the floor were as smart as we were... You always want to make sure you're fair and you're balanced, and, most importantly, recognize that each single person in that organization can make a contribution, can make a difference, can be the difference, but you have to make sure that they’re comfortable about doing that.”