out-of-the-box solutions | The Barefoot Spirit

How the Irish Got Barefoot

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 14:53:28 +0000

Over one hundred years ago Michael’s grandfather, John Francis Houlihan, left his hometown of Limerick, Ireland, heading for the port city of Cork where he boarded a cattle steamer bound for America. The only passage he could afford was above deck, so in order to stay warm he had to huddle near the smokestack. It was there that he met and fell in love with Nelly Donohue from Donegal. When they finally arrived at Ellis Island they were incarcerated by United States Customs in separate dormitories, where they remained until they could document gainful employment for themselves inside the United States.

John Francis, being a horseman by trade, was able to secure a job cleaning the recently constructed Sutro Stables in San Francisco, California. That’s where the newly created San Francisco Police Department, which replaced the Vigilante Committee, kept their horses and those of the mayor and other public officials. Then, after two more months of correspondence he was finally able to secure a job for Nelly as a washerwoman and cook in a rooming house on Fell Street in San Francisco across from acres of sand dunes that would later become Golden Gate Park.

Nelly and John were married in the 1890s shortly after they moved to San Francisco. They both worked very hard to save enough to make a down payment on a flat in the then Irish ghetto of San Francisco known as the Mission District. Nelly did laundry and John was promoted from cleaning stables to Head Stable Keeper. In 1906 a terrific earthquake hit San Francisco and broke the underground gas mains, causing many huge fires, including one that destroyed Sutro Stables. John Francis, being a resourceful Irishman, only had time to save a few horses from the flames, so he chose to save the mayor’s prized Percherons. The mayor was so grateful that he asked John what he could do to show his appreciation, to which he replied, “I want to be the police officer who walks the beat in my own neighborhood,” and that’s what he did until he retired in 1941. During those years he watched the ghetto change, from Irish who had lifted themselves up by their own bootstraps into civil service jobs, to Italians who were refugees from WWI.

John Francis knew everyone in the Mission, so when Prohibition came to America, John was quick to make peace with the Italian families who brought their family tradition of winemaking with them from the Old Country. He saw the Great Depression and both world wars. He spoke with a thick brogue ‘til the day he died at the ripe old age of 98, surrounded by his wife Nelly, his only son John Charles and his four grandchildren, John, Michael, Mary Ellen, and William.

John Francis and Nelly used their savings to give their only child, John Charles, the best education possible. He graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law and married Emily L’Heureux, third generation Californian. John Charles went on to have a brilliant legal career and was instrumental in the development of containerized shipping. He helped build the Port of Oakland, which was one of the first container ports in the world. Shipping containers revolutionized world commerce by cutting losses and insurance costs to a fraction of what they had been when cargo was loaded and unloaded by hand. They go from factory, to truck, to ship, to rail, sealed and safe. John Charles traveled throughout the world promoting the idea of containerized shipping ports, and today these containers are a part of our lives.

One of John Charles’ sons, Michael, got into the wine business with Bonnie Harvey in 1986. They were put off by the snobbery and the pretension of the wine business and wanted to create a product that had a more friendly and approachable image. They named their winery “Barefoot Cellars” in memory of the way grapes were originally crushed, barefoot, by those Italian families in their bathtubs in the Mission District. Plus, in California, being barefoot was a sign of fun and freedom. It meant you had the day off, the weather was fine, and you were relaxed and happy at the beach, enjoying life. Barefoot Wines became very popular in California especially with the young at heart.

By 2005, Barefoot Wines were being sold across the U.S. and in 28 foreign countries. When the wines finally made it to Ireland, they came in through the same port Michael’s grandfather left as a young man, and in the same shipping containers Michael’s father, John Charles, helped to promote.

… And That’s How the Irish Got Barefoot! Cheers!

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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Problem Solving Barefoot Spirit Style

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 19:34:34 +0000

Entrepreneurs learn to eat problems for breakfast. It seems like there is an unending onslaught of daily challenges starting, growing, and keeping any new venture afloat. As soon as one is solved, another one pops up just like the arcade game whack-a-mole. If it’s not lack of capital, it’s access to market. If it’s not a personnel situation, it’s being discontinued by a big buyer.

When we speak to colleges of entrepreneurship, students often ask us, “How do you handle problems?” Well, we don’t have all the answers but we do have a proven formula for successfully staying afloat. Here are seven tips we use to solve any problem.

1 Relax! That’s right, chill. Getting all excited and freaked out can actually blind you to the solution. You need a calm demeanor to allow your eyes and ears to communicate with your brain and give it some time to think about the problem from all angles.

2 Blast off! Take the 10,000-foot view. Don’t just look at what you think the problem is, look at the bigger picture. You may be surprised to discover relationships that can give you clues to the solution. You may even discover solutions you couldn’t see when you were up close and personal with the problem.

3 Take Inventory! Just like when you run aground on a remote island, see what you’ve got in the boat, explore the island, and find out what you can use. Your resources may not be evident at first, so spend some time looking at everything you can utilize, including goods, friends, suppliers, and customers. Don’t forget your own people as they are often the source of solutions you would have never thought of.

4 Have Fun! Yes, make a game out of it. Assume there is a solution and the challenge is to put the pieces together like a big puzzle. Make sure to identify as many pieces as possible, and keep looking for more. Ask for help. Make a list. See how the pieces relate to each other.

5 Be Elegant! Many times the solution is a simple one that solves more than one problem. So get all your other problems out there on the table as well. The elegant solution is sometimes the best statement of the problem. So constantly restate the problem from different perspectives.

6 Find Allies! Who else is affected by the problem and stands to gain by its solution? Identify your allies. Then discuss your problem with them. You might be surprised to find out that they will be more likely to make accommodations on your behalf when they see how they will benefit. Look for the Win-Win solution!

7 Let it Simmer! The best solutions pop up when you least expect them. Even when you are not actively searching for a solution, “the little grey cells,” as Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot says, “are working all the time; they see everything.” So give them a lot to look at. Then take a break, get away from it all and let it simmer.

These are the steps we have found that consistently result in the best, and many times out-of-the-box solutions. Think of problems as challenges. They are mysteries and puzzles that you, your people, and your allies get to solve. Know that the answers are there. Discover the clues and wait for the elegant solution to reveal itself. And remember to have fun!

Who We Are

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

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