citizens | The Barefoot Spirit

Immigrants Built Our Economy

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 17:00:20 +0000

Michael’s grandfather, John Francis Houlihan, came over from Ireland in the late 1800s. He was 19 years old. The only passage he could book was above deck on an ocean steamer headed for New York loaded with cattle in the hold. All the immigrants had to make the crossing above deck, exposed to the inclement weather of the North Atlantic. It was cold and windy and at night, the immigrants would huddle next to the smokestacks for warmth. It was a long trip. It was there that he met Michael’s grandmother Nellie, also a teenager at the time, and they fell in love.

When they got to Ellis Island, they were incarcerated in separate prison-like housing until they could prove on paper that they had gainful employment. Communications took forever in those days, so they remained imprisoned for several months. Finally, the word came from San Francisco that John was offered a job cleaning stables at the Sutro Stables that housed the San Francisco Police Department’s horses. John knew horses, but wouldn’t leave until he secured a job for Nellie as a washerwoman in a boarding house in San Francisco.

When they got to San Francisco, they were met with open hostility and prejudice against Irish immigrants because they would take lowly jobs at very low wages. Further, they were viewed as unamerican “papists” because of their Catholic religion which emanated from the Pope in Rome.

In the years that followed, they scraped together enough to make a down payment on their own boarding house. They studied the constitution diligently and became naturalized citizens earning the right to vote. John worked his way up in the stable to become the head horseman. Nellie worked managing room rentals and provided cleaning services for transients.

In 1906, an 8.6 earthquake and ensuing fire destroyed the city. The Sutro stable caught fire. All of the horses perished except the mayor’s prized Percherons. In the confusion and calamity, John had the presence of mind to save them. The mayor asked John how he could possibly thank him. John replied, “Make me a beat cop in the Irish ghetto,” which was the Mission District at the time and the place John and Nellie called home.

John served as a beat cop, walking the streets of the Mission District for 40 years, serving the people of the Mission, keeping the peace, fighting crime, helping in the emergencies, and putting his life on the line. He saw the reconstruction of the City. He attended the Panama Pacific Exhibition in 1915. The Palace of Fine Arts is the only building left standing from the World’s Fair that showed the world that San Francisco was back in business and now; through the newly opened Panama Canal.

John saw World War I and the influx of Italian immigrants that came into the Mission immediately following. He saw prohibition force average Americans to break the law. He saw the Great Depression, the Repeal of Prohibition and World War II. All that time, he saw wave after wave of immigrants come into the Mission and work their way into better lives.

During that time, they had three children. Two died in childbirth. One survived. The survivor, Michael’s father; John Charles Houlihan, was a public servant. Michael’s father worked with others to develop containerized shipping which revolutionized the shipping industry and reduced what they used to call shrinkage, or pilfering by dock workers. The containers were now locked. This alone cut the cost of world commerce significantly. Several container ports sprang up all over the world in the 1970s and ’80s. Shipping was now efficient, safe, and dependable. It became a standard.

Immigrants Don’t Take Citizenship for Granted

Michael grew up spending summers with his Irish grandfather who constantly reminded him of the great opportunity the United States offered to get ahead. He told Michael that hard work paid off in America. He extolled the virtues of American citizenship and expressed deep gratitude for his chance to get ahead in the United States until the day he died.

John and his son gave back to the country in different ways, but their lives improve the lives of many Americans. Think of all the jobs that containerized shipping created, and for that matter, Barefoot Wine.

Immigrants are the backbone of the economy and are why America is so “Great”! Let’s welcome the immigrants who want to work and show their appreciation for having been given the chance. In order to become naturalized citizens and gain the right to vote, they have to learn about the constitution, the divisions of government; and why they exist as well as the checks and balances they provide. Native-born Americans have no such requirement. They can just vote without that knowledge, or not even vote at all. Immigrants generally don’t take citizenship for granted. They understand our government and they vote.

Let’s rethink the value of immigrants and let’s all vote! Democracy is not something immigrants take for granted. Why should we?

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Stop Single-Use Plastic Pollution by Leveling the Playing Field

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 17:00:58 +0000

The European Union finally voted this week on a proposition that’s been on the table since May 2018. It’s a proposition to ban single-use plastics. How this finally happened at this highest level of European government is a testament, in our opinion, to the more intelligent use of social media.

Enlightening documentaries like David Attenborough’s BBC Blue Planet Series and vivid YouTube posts like Richard Horner’s Dive through a sea of plastics have educated and motivated average citizens to demand controls on industry. Shocking videos like Dead whale had eaten 80 plastic bags and ‘Decades’ of deep-sea plastic pollution have finally created the political climate for new laws. Videos that demonstrate how tiny plastic fragments in the ocean can end up in fish and can be passed on to humans are a serious wake-up call for even the most apathetic consumer. But, producers have yet to catch up…

So, the 21st-century environmental action process goes something like this:

Activists and scientists decry the environmental problem that commercial and industrial practices are causing. (They are discredited by accusations of having a political agenda.)
The public gets confused because the proponents create debate and uncertainty. (Most consumers don’t actually see the pollution or realize its effect on their own health.)
Actual videos of the problem finally go viral on YouTube and other social platforms. (Many consumers see it for the first time and realize it will affect their own and their children’s health.)
Pressure mounts on elected officials to do something about it. (Industry won’t control itself so people resort to pressuring the government for more controls.)
Lawmakers pass laws controlling commerce and industry. (Consumers pay more in the short run in their desire to protect their health.)

It’s unfortunate that commerce and industry couldn’t see this coming and regulate themselves to a point that many of these types of environmental catastrophes would not have taken place …and continue to mount. As business people ourselves, we hate to see more arduous government controls clumsily pushed on industry. We know that these kinds of controls will hurt business in the short run by increasing costs. But, by the same token, it’s clear that industry will not control itself without governmental intervention. This is the price industry pays for no self-control. And the fact is that these controls will ultimately help new, non-polluting packaging industries that are currently competing with unfairly “cheaper” single-use plastic producers.

The Elephant in the Room…Competition

The elephant in the room that nobody wants to discuss is competition, plain and simple. Why would a perfectly sensitive company, concerned with the health and welfare of its employees and customers, go to single-use plastics in the first place? It’s simple. It’s competition! Because industry is not yet paying the real cost of pollution, it operates on the false premise that it’s cheaper to pollute. If one producer does it, they all have to do it!

The New European Law

Governmental controls will ultimately change that – but at a steep price to industry. Industry could avoid these controls if they could agree on their own rules and regulations to level the playing field. Perhaps this move by the European Union will send a clear message to American companies that their own consumers are watching these videos and fearing for their own health as well. Perhaps this new European law will send the message that viral videos demonstrating the unhealthy effects of industrial pollution result in more government controls.

What’s interesting about the European law is that it gets very specific. It bans outright single-use plastics where there are readily available alternatives such as paper and cardboard. It also bans cigarette filters which are the #1 pollutant on our beaches. This we can tell you from personal beach cleaning experience. It also calls for 90% of all plastic drink bottles to be collected for recycling by 2025. One member of the European Parliament said that without action now there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. Just imagine…

So, as much as we hate more governmental control, let’s level the playing field for business. Let’s not give polluters an unfair cost advantage that their competitors feel obligated to copy. Our lives and that of our children depend on it. So do all forms of life on the planet we call home. Producers, whether they be environmentally responsible or not, can only stay in business if end-users purchase their products. Consumers, we implore you to spend your money wisely. Check out the videos and decide for yourself!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Put More Money in the Bank by Treating Salespeople Right!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 17:00:08 +0000

Salespeople have been given a bad name. It is depicted in The Music Man, the musical decrying the manipulating tactics of a salesman selling horns in a town where no one needed them. It’s portrayed in old movies like Used Cars, where unsuspecting folks are tricked into buying wrecks. And it is in our minds when the phone rings and the caller has trouble pronouncing our names.

We have an entire generation that shuns sales and salespeople. They’ve even created a negative term to describe any approach to trying to convince another person to buy as “salesy.” It’s like the sales process itself is somehow bad or distasteful.

Maybe when we were kids, we overheard our parents complaining at the un-welcomed knock at the door, “Oh it’s that salesperson again. They‘re always trying to sell me something! They just won’t leave me alone!”

Fast-forward 20 years and those kids are now adults trying to start their own business. But they bring with them a prejudice that will actually hurt their business and cost them plenty!

We’re not going to sit here and say, “Nothing happens until the sale is made.” We’re not even going to say, “Everybody’s paycheck is a result of sales.” True as these statements may be, were going to focus on another reason to treat salespeople right.

The salesperson doesn’t just knock on the door of your business. They knock on the doors of your competitors’ businesses. While you are stuck in your office, warehouse, or production facility working to grow your business, they are outside, moving around, constantly surveying the market and keeping tabs on your competition. In other words, they know tons that you need to know!

If you keep them waiting for an hour because you think they are trying to get over on you, or worse, you want to send them a message about how you feel about salespeople altogether, you’re missing a giant opportunity to get the information you need to improve your odds of success.

When you hustle them in and out, cut them off, or treat them like second-class citizens, they’re not going to share what they know. In fact, they’ll want to make the visit as short as possible so they can share what they know with your enlightened competitors.

Why would a poorly treated salesperson let you in on an overstock situation that his boss was suffering that could benefit you with lower prices, free warehousing, and extended terms for the goods you need? They will save that offer for your competitors.

When we started Barefoot Wines, we really didn’t know what we were doing. We depended on the salespeople who knocked on our door to give us the insights they had about the changing dynamics of the marketplace and the strategies of our competitors. We didn’t keep them waiting. We didn’t treat them with disrespect. On the contrary, we invited them in like family members we hadn’t seen in a long time. We introduced them around the office. We took them to lunch.

It was a small investment for what we got in return. They walked us through complicated logistics, cash flow, and inventory and compliance challenges. They told us what our competition was up to. They turned us on to the best possible ways we could acquire the products we needed at the lowest possible costs. They were a Godsend!

They told us that we were their favorite sales call. They said they looked forward to seeing us succeed and they lived up to those words with Intel and discounts we could have never achieved otherwise.

So, the next time you hear that salesperson knocking on your door, that just might be the sound of opportunity knocking. It was for us, and with the right attitude, it can be for you!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Technology-Driven Fear and Impatience Can Blind Us to Long-Term Solutions

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 18:00:29 +0000

Our hearts went out to the Florida high school shooting victims, and to their families and friends. We were heartened by the courage of the surviving students. Their commitment to prevent gun violence on the heels of this horrific event certainly got everyone’s attention, including many elected officials.

The debate goes on about how to best safeguard our children. But is that debate being influenced by the effects of technology? Have we become blinded by fear, impatience, and cynicism?

Long ago the news media realized that they could sell more papers using fear than with education, hope, or understanding. They also realized that they were in the entertainment business. Sensational headlines with dire consequences caught people’s eye and got their money. Hollywood was quick to jump on the bandwagon proliferating violence in the movies. And now video games pander to youth with even more violence.

Today, fear is being amplified through more avenues, and in more platforms than humans have ever been exposed to. We have become overloaded with more information than we can possibly digest. We’ve become impatient for the bottom line, “the one thing,” and the quick fix. Add to this the feeling of disempowerment, a short attention span, and the sinister view that things can’t be changed, and we get a population seriously considering quick “solutions” that are oversimplified, dangerous, and ultimately cause more problems than they solve.

Such is the case with the increasingly popular suggestion that schools become “hardened targets.” Imagine that schools become like a hardened target in a war zone. The logic, if you could call it that, assumes that there is no other way to protect our children than to arm their teachers. It also assumes that teachers would not be initial targets themselves. It assumes a teacher could access a locked weapon in time and use it effectively, resulting in no students getting hurt. It also assumes that no perpetrators could access the teachers’ weapons. Does anyone believe that is possible? Really?!

What about all the other “soft” targets where people congregate. Do we then have to “harden” the malls, theaters, ball parks, markets, churches and concert halls as well? As mentioned, this hardening of targets assumes that there is no other way.

Years ago, our government began cutting back on funding for mental health, we reversed a ban on assault weapons, made them available to teenagers, and balked at extended background checks. So now, to make up for the reckless proliferation of weapons of war and more disturbed people on the street, we’re going to harden the schools? Well, that certainly won’t hurt gun sales. On the contrary, it may very well increase them as more citizens buy into fighting fire with more firepower. And where does that lead?

We think that the right to bear arms comes with certain responsibilities: refunding mental health care programs to help keep firearms out of the hands of the depressed, disturbed, or otherwise imbalanced; age limitations on the purchase of certain types of firearms; extended background checks; holding parents responsible for the security of their own firearms; and teaching students and others how to recognize increasingly isolated and disturbed students. Hardening our schools does nothing to address these core issues. It just proliferates the hardening of other people-rich soft targets. And it increases gun sales.

We support a more comprehensive solution. It will take some time and some thought. But if we truly want to reduce gun violence, there is no simple solution that doesn’t cause more problems down the line. Instead of hardening our schools, perhaps we should be heartening our attitude toward mental health, “entertainment”, and videogames. Let’s get to the root of gun violence and earn the right to bear arms responsibly.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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