01. THE HILTON STORY
Conrad Nicholson Hiltonwas born in 1887 in San Antonio, Mexico Territory, the second of eight children. his father, an immigrant from Norway, hand built and lost several fortunes in speculative ventures. Their flagship business was a general store which enable them to build a large home with several bedrooms. During the panic of 1907, money was scarce. At young Conrad's suggestion, the Hilton family transformed their home into a modest inn. Each night, Conrad went to the train station to drum up business and for US$1, travellers were given a clean room meals cooked by Mary Hilton (the mother) and good hospitality. Eventually Conrad purchased his own hotel and after barely surviving the Great Depression, Hilton went on a buying and selling binge, building the Hilton Hotel chain into one of the world's most respected hospitality organization.
02. THE KIM DAE JUNG STORY
D.J. Kim as he is known was born the second son of a farmer on the tiny island of Ha Eui, Korea. In his early years, Kim grew up without formal schooling except for his passion for books and philosophy. Only in 1937, when his parents moved to Mokpo on the mainland was he able to get a proper education. However, at the end of World War II, when schools were closed, Kim had to start his career in the shipping business. On one business trip to Seoul, Kim saw the suffering of the people caused by bad politics. It was the beginning of a political career that was to see him facing death 5 times, beaten, kidnapped, spending 6 years in prison and 10 years in exile. But the more he was persecuted, the popular he became. During his years in jail, Kim would teach himself English, devouring the works of Mencius, Plato, Bertrand Russell and Abraham Lincoln. He would carry a pocket dictionary wherever he went and constantly looked up new words. At one point he was actually sentenced to death for treason. But somehow his life was spared when the United States came to the rescue. His sentence was commuted to life in prison and he was later put on a plane for the United State. It would seem like an irony or destiny that this 3 times failed presidency candidate would finally take over the helm of South Korea. When Kim stepped into presidency, South Korea's economy was in deep trouble and was already under the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Yes, everything that he had undergone in his life was meant to prepare him for this moment - to led his country out of the greatest economic crisis since the war.
03. THE KFC STORY
Colonel Harland D. Sanders was born in 1890 on a farm near Henryville, Indiana. When he was six years old, his father died. His mother then had to work as a seamstress while he care for his younger brother and sister. It was during that time that his mother taught the young boy the art of country cooking. Not long after his mother remarried, 12 year old Harland quit school, moved out of his family house and started the first of his many jobs that included farmhand, railroad conductor, fireman, insurance salesman, steamboat operator and many more. Eventually, Sanders opened a successful service station from which he fed travellers his specialty - fried chicken at a single table with six chairs. It seems as though adversity was a constant companion of Sanders. In 1939, his rapidly growing business was burned to the ground. Undaunted, Sanders built another restaurant and motel with a new twist. Anyone wishing to use the pay phone or ladies restroom had to actually walk through a replica of one of his motel rooms. This room-sized advertisement helped keep his motel business thriving. By the time Sanders was earning a comfortable living, another disaster struck. A new highway bypass carried away most of his customers. Business soured quickly and Sanders was forced to sell his business at an auction, The proceeds were just enough to cover his debts. Harland Sanders was already 66 years old and had nothing to show for nearly 55 years of labour. Rather than sit back and collect social security, he was determined to find another market niche. His most valuable asset was his secret recipe, which he called "Kentucky Fried Chicken". By 1956, Sanders was able to convince about a dozen restaurants to make and sell his chicken and pay him 4-US cent royalty on each piece they sold. Buoyed his modest success, Sanders packed his 1946 pickup truck with a 50 pound band of seasoning and pressure cooker and took to the road to sign up more 'franchisees'. By 1960, 400 restaurants in the united states and Canada were cooking Kentucky Fried Chicken. Within 4 years, the number of outlets approached 650 and annual sales reached US$37 million. Today there are nearly 10,000 Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants worldwide with more than 200,000 employees and annual sales in excess of US$8.2 billion.
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