Want To Learn Lessons From A Successful Entrepreneur?

By Ed Miseta, Chief Editor, Clinical Leader

By Ed Miseta, editor, Outsourced Pharma and Clinical Leader

What would you ask a successful entrepreneur if you could have a conversation with him over dinner or a drink? I use these opportunities to ask questions, take notes, and learn what I can about businesses, the economy, or any other topic that comes up. I recently enjoyed having dinner with entrepreneur Gary Hoover, who shared with me some lessons learned on knowledge acquisition.

To say the experience was entertaining and educational would be an understatement. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he was the founder of business information portal Hoovers.com. Born in Anderson, Indiana, a General Motors factory town, he began his entrepreneurial journey at an early age, subscribing to Fortune magazine at the age of 12. While other kids were playing games, he was memorizing companies and executives in the Fortune 500.
 

Ed Miseta (left) with Gary Hoover, teacher and entrepreneur.

Later in life he had some good teachers, having studied at the University of Chicago under Milton Friedman and two other Nobel Prize winners. He worked as a buyer for Federated Department Stores, and later joined May Department Stores as the head of acquisitions and strategic planning. At the age of 30 he created his first business, a book superstore called BOOKSTOP. When the business was only seven years old he and his investors sold it to Barnes & Noble for $41.5 million. He then started Reference Press, a business information publisher, which later turned into Hoovers.com and was sold to Dun & Bradstreet for $117 million. 

Over dinner, Hoover shared some of the lessons learned during his journeys. His discussion centered on learning, and the ways in which people become knowledgeable. He believes our base of knowledge comes from five primary areas: study, observation, conversation, thinking, and experimenting.

Study: Many people assume that education and studying are forms of passive learning. Hoover believes they need to be active. While studying or reading, highlight text, take notes, write in margins and question and research everything you learn. Reading something and forgetting it later will not add to your database of knowledge.

Observation: Hoover recommends you always slow down and take time to look around you, as there is a lot you can learn by observation. There are business ideas all around us, but most people don’t slow down long enough to see things that are right in front of them. While observing, write down what you see. Hoover himself is an avid note taker. Mention a book, article, movie, or anything else you may have seen or learned from, and chances are he is writing it down. The great British enterepeneur Richard Branson has over 3,000 notebooks on his shelf.

Conversation: Hoover admits he has learned many good lessons simply by listening and talking to people in elevators and listening in on conversations people have while shopping or even eating in restaurants. When you hear something interesting or valuable, he again recommends “write it down” so you can refer back to it later.

Thinking: When you take the time to think, in a quiet place by yourself, processing what you have learned using the other four methods, you’ll be amazed at the number of ideas that come to you. Don’t keep yourself so constantly occupied with minor details that you do not have the time to simply think and reflect on what you have learned.

Experimenting: If you don’t know whether or not something will work, test it. If you don’t test an idea, you’ll never know if it could work, and you’ll simply be a person full of unfulfilled ideas, waiting around for someone else to act on them.

Today Gary Hoover travels the world speaking to Fortune 500 executives, trade associations, entrepreneurs, and college and high school students about how enterprises are built and how they stand the test of time. For more information, you can visit his website.