Today on episode twenty-three of the Doneson podcast, an in-depth study into Fred Smith of the FedX empire! FedX changed the course of the transportation and logistics on a world-wide scale when it was founded by Mr. Smith in 1971. The idea for an overnight delivery service stemmed from a disagreement with a professor at Yale. After that, Smith developed the business model that ended up being a game changer for the delivery industry. He continued aiming high by buying up Kinkos in order to compete with UPS and instituting overnight delivery between Asia and the US. But things weren't always easy for Fred Smith and sometimes he resorted to outlandish methods to keep his business afloat. The most notorious being taking the company's last $5000 to Vegas and betting it all on a blackjack game. Fortunately, it turned out in his favor and he won $27,000 and thereby saved his company. However, not everyone would agree that risks like that are worth it. A known member of the Yale secret society, Smith had his hand in a lot of powerful pockets, but is that the best approach to leadership and success?
