During my MBA we were taught about the FedEx founding story [0].
The founder of FedEx got low on cash. So he took all the remaining cash (including what he owed in payroll) to Vegas and gambled it. And won, and paid his staff, and the rest is history.
We were taught that this was a great example of "entrepreneurial hustle". I was horrified.
How many founders copied this lesson? How many employees couldn't pay their mortgages because the CEO had learned the wrong lesson from this story?
This kind of nightmare irresponsibility needs to be punished, not glorified.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx_Express: "However, the company began to experience financial difficulties, losing up to a million USD a month. While waiting for a flight home to Memphis from Chicago after being turned down for capital by General Dynamics, Smith impulsively hopped on a flight to Las Vegas, where he won $27,000 playing blackjack. The winnings enabled the cash-strapped company to meet payroll the following Monday. "
It's actually unbelievable that this would be taught as anything but a cautionary tale of survivorship bias.
The FedEx founder got lucky. The countless others who tried a similar gamble didn't and unfortunately their story doesn't seem to be taught because "desperate founder gambled the employees salary and lost" just doesn't have the same ring.
I've heard that story, though I always kind of thought it sounded like bullshit. Obviously I have no way to prove that, I guess I'm just usually skeptical of gamblers bragging about their big winnings.
But yeah, even if it is true, then it's hardly a good lesson. "CEO took all remaining money to Vegas" isn't exactly something to idolize.
The founder of FedEx got low on cash. So he took all the remaining cash (including what he owed in payroll) to Vegas and gambled it. And won, and paid his staff, and the rest is history.
We were taught that this was a great example of "entrepreneurial hustle". I was horrified.
How many founders copied this lesson? How many employees couldn't pay their mortgages because the CEO had learned the wrong lesson from this story?
This kind of nightmare irresponsibility needs to be punished, not glorified.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx_Express: "However, the company began to experience financial difficulties, losing up to a million USD a month. While waiting for a flight home to Memphis from Chicago after being turned down for capital by General Dynamics, Smith impulsively hopped on a flight to Las Vegas, where he won $27,000 playing blackjack. The winnings enabled the cash-strapped company to meet payroll the following Monday. "