If you’re old enough to have been paying attention to politics in the 1990’s, then you’ve probably heard of Ross Perot. The short, fiery Texan ran for president in 1992 as an independent, facing off against George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, capturing the nation’s attention with his no-nonsense, anti-establishment approach, which earned him more popular votes than any other third party candidate in history.
But long before Perot stepped into the arena as a viable candidate, he was a hard-charging salesman, businessman, and philanthropist, overcoming the odds to become a business titan, and excelling through grit, willpower, and a seemingly preternatural ability to keep pushing through rejection, becoming what Fortune magazine called “the fastest, richest Texan,” in a 1968 cover story.
Early life
Ross Perot was born in Texarkana, Texas, in 1930. He got his first job at the tender age of 8, distributing the Texarkana Gazette as a paperboy. Later on, he joined the Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout in just 13 months, an early indicator of his penchant for overachievement.
After graduating from high school, Perot entered the United States Naval Academy, served as a junior officer on a destroyer, and later, an aircraft carrier. Once he left the Navy, he was ready to start his business career, and was naturally drawn to a role where someone as energetic and self-motivated as he was could thrive – the role of a salesman.
Selling for IBM
From RossPerot.com: “At IBM, Mr. Perot became a top computer salesman. He did so well that IBM considered cutting back his sales territory. To keep the territory, he offered to cut his commission rate instead. Then IBM decided to cap commissions. In 1962, his fifth year at IBM, he made his entire year’s quota in just 19 days.
Admittedly impatient and bored, he became intrigued with the idea of servicing computer software, noting that companies leasing from IBM sometimes had trouble learning how to use the technology. He saw a need for a service to design, install and operate data processing systems on a contract basis. He knew there was a market for building and running customized computer systems.
"What I gleaned from my customers was that they were desperate for more than the hardware. They wanted a finished product. They wanted the hardware, the software, the programming and operations, all optimized for their particular businesses, all at a predetermined price," he said.
He pitched the idea to IBM executives, but they rejected it, apparently content to stick with its near-monopoly on the hardware market.”
Entrepreneurship
In 1962, his wife Margot loaned him $1,000 from her teacher savings, and Perot (with his wife and sister as directors), started Electronic Data Systems, or EDS.
Never afraid of a little prospecting, Perot traveled the country, making 77 in-person or telephone sales calls before he was able to land his first client: Collins Radio, a communications company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“The company hired EDS to process weeks’ worth of data. With no employees, Mr. Perot recruited two computer experts to moonlight for EDS after working for their daytime jobs. Together, they processed Collins Radio’s data in just six weeks, finishing in late 1962. Payment meant that, for the first time, EDS had enough capital to hire a real staff.”
"Failures are like skinned knees," Perot once said, "painful but superficial."
Later business success
Under Perot’s leadership, EDS continued to thrive, and in the 1970’s, began to win state Medicare contracts, growing the company’s footprint (and revenue) by leaps and bounds. The company then broke into the banking sector, before expanding internationally. In 1980, EDS had over 10,000 employees.
In the 1980’s, General Motors bought EDS in a $2.5b deal – with EDS becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of GM. Later, Perot started Perot Systems with his son, Ross Jr. In 2009, Dell acquired Perot Systems for $3.9b. Perot was also an investor in Steve Jobs’ company NeXT, which he’d founded after leaving Apple in 1985.
Philosophy
While Perot is best known for his unorthodox presidential bid, his business success is just as impressive, with his son once calling him the “Bill Gates of the 60’s.” Perot was a brilliant entrepreneur, a high-achiever, and a straight-talking Texan.
But, perhaps above all, Perot was a consummate salesperson. He understood business because he understood people and how to solve their problems, once remarking: “Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering, and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationships.”
