Retail
Creating a classic
How to balance focus and opportunity so your company is around for the long haul
By Kristy J. O'Hara
Smart Business Dallas | September 2008
Page 1 of 2
Sharon Anderson Wright
president and CEO, Half Price Books, Records, Magazines Inc.
When Sharon Anderson
Wright’s mother co-founded Half Price Books,
Records, Magazines Inc. in
1972, the motto was that the
company would buy anything
printed or recorded except yesterday’s newspaper.
That’s still true today, and that
philosophy has carried the $160
million media resale chain from
records and eight tracks to
DVDs and computer software.
As president and CEO, Wright
recognizes that the ability to
adapt in business is crucial
because the world changes so
quickly.
“Don’t be too rigid or too
stuck in your own ways that
you’re not looking at what’s
going on around you,” she
says. “You don’t want to be a
turtle — you’ve got to pop your
head out and look around at
what’s happening. Some companies have gone out because
they say, ‘This is how we do it,
and this is how we’ve always
done it.’”
Smart Business spoke with
Wright about how to look for
new opportunities while also
staying focused on your niche.
Focus but recognize opportunities. We see what happens to everyone else. We are careful but not
afraid. We don’t deviate too
much from the original concept
that’s always been successful.
We do try new things. We have
to be able to act quickly and
spontaneously, whether it’s an
item we could buy or a building.
We don’t agonize and take a
long time over opportunities.
We have to act quickly to get
things done.
Be aware and keep your eyes
open and listen to the people in
the environment around you.
Look at trends, money, politics
— your local area, what people
are doing.
It’s basically not being distracted or drawn into things without
looking at them carefully. I had
such an easy concept to go forward with. Once you’ve got the
concept, you just judge all new
opportunities and think if it fits
in with what you were originally
doing.
Don’t get full of yourself. You see
it happen so often — people get
all full of themselves. Realize
that you’re probably not as
smart as you think you are.
Respect the people that are
actually doing the work because
they probably know a whole lot
more than you do.
Have other outside interests. I
have my life and my kids — the
company is just a part of it. Don’t
let the company consume you.
There’s too much unknown to
get cocky about it. I don’t know
the details about everything. I
have great people who know all
the details and look out for me
and tell me what I need to
know. One time my husband
told me, when I was feeling
insecure, that Henry Ford had a
row of a buttons on his desk,
and he didn’t need to know anything. He just needed to know
which button to push to ask the
right question.
