Brent D. Taylor - The Outsiders Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires

Contents

First published 2007 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 42 McDougall Street, Milton Qld 4064

Office also in Melbourne

Typeset in Berkely LT 11/13.2 pt

Brent D Taylor 2007

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Taylor, Brent D

The Outsiders Edge: the Making of Self-Made Billionaires.

Includes index.

ISBN 9780731407316 (pbk.).

1. Billionaires - Case studies. 2. Wealth. 3. Success in business. 4. Finance, Personal. I. Title.

332.02401

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Front cover (clockwise from left to right): Oprah Winfrey, Frank Lowy, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Richard Branson

Front cover: Newspix/Newspix/AFP Photo/Timothy A Clary

Back cover: Newspix/Newspix/Ross Schultz

Wiley bicentennial logo: Richard J Pacifico

Author images Merran Kelsall

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based upon the information in this publication.

About the author

Brent D Taylor was born and raised in several small towns in New Zealand. He gained a bachelor of engineering from Auckland University and then worked as a professional engineer in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. On leaving the profession he became a professional photographer and settled permanently in Australia. Brent returned to study at the University of Melbourne where he gained an honours degree in psychology. For the past twenty years he has worked as a successful market researcher for government and large corporations.

Brent has long been fascinated by extreme achievers and as a researcher he was constantly frustrated by the lack of explanation as to why extreme achievers are as they are. This was the catalyst for the long, exploratory journey that has resulted in The Outsiders Edge.

As a researcher, Brent is used to looking beyond conventional wisdom to find answers where others have tried and failed. In this case the explanation was in plain sight for all to see. Having discovered the secret, he was driven to write this book because no-one else was going to.

Brent is currently exploring the issues raised in this book and is running a survey on his website < www.brentdtaylor.com >. The findings from this survey will be used to form the basis of his forthcoming book; he would greatly appreciate your responses.

This book is dedicated to all the outsiders in the world who have so enriched us with their edge, particularly to the outsiders in my life, some of whom have used their edge to achieve great things and to the others who have not yet got there. No matter how small or large their achievements, all of them continue searching. For their ongoing support of this project, particular thanks go to all those friends who have helped me with encouragement, sage advice and infinite patience. Also, thanks to the first important outsiders in my life my father and mother and those other important outsiders, my children Grace, Luke and Sam.

Preface

The Outsiders Edge is the result of my long-held fascination with psychology and human behaviour, and, in particular, extreme achievement in business, politics, science and the arts. Wealth is an easily quantifiable form of outstanding success.

Initially, my interest in human behaviour led me to study psychology, in which I achieved an honours degree from the University of Melbourne in the 1980s. Since that time I have worked continuously in business as a market and social researcher helping clients understand individuals in social and business systems. Research methods I employ include focus groups and surveys, and I have conducted over 200 000 interviews. My clients are spread across a range of industries and include major retailers, developers, manufacturers, tollways, accident insurers, utility providers, education institutions, hospitals and government organisations.

Despite the different problems my clients present me, they all want to know the same thing what makes the biggest impact for their organisation? They also want to be told the answer in a simple and, if possible, positive and entertaining way. They dont want all the details they just want to know that the findings are underpinned by data and scientific methods.

After five years intensive research I wrote The Outsiders Edge because I wanted to share my discoveries. It has been investigated and written using the principles I apply as a professional researcher every day. In the book I discuss what makes a difference and then clearly and concisely explain my findings.

You will not find this book weighed down by excessive use of technical terms. Nor does it get lost among the many disciplines that it traverses.

I have briefly covered some topics that many learned books are dedicated to, and in which scientific and academic debate is heated. These topics include brain development, intelligence testing, learning theories, educational practice and the impact of genetics versus environment. There is plenty of reading to be done in all of these areas, so I have included a starter set of references for anyone who is interested in researching these topics further.

I apologise in advance to those with detailed scientific knowledge for any omissions in detail or if the arguments for their discipline arent fully presented. Only those parts relevant to the understanding of what makes self-made billionaires have been included in this book.

I would like to thank the large number of family, friends, colleagues and clients who have given me support, encouragement and critical advice over the five years I have been researching and writing this book.

Also, I would like to thank Michael Hanrahan for his early editing and encouragement, as well as the team at John Wiley & Sons for its support and help.

Part I

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1

Why havent I got what Bill Gates has?

Why is Bill Gates rich and not me? Many people wonder why they havent got a fortune as they struggle to pay the mortgage, send the kids to the dentist or buy economy airfares for the family to somewhere not very exotic. After all, Gates is just a human. Like everyone else, he was born of woman, had a father, was a baby once and, like us all, wore nappies and was spoonfed by his parents. He learned to walk and talk, and even now he still has to do most of the normal everyday things we do. Its a fair bet that he, like us, showers naked. So, why him? Thats what Im going to investigate in this book.

Gates, with apparently normal beginnings, miraculously became the worlds richest man with over $50 billion. He has a bigger cash flow than some small nations and can buy just about anything he wants. Gates certainly doesnt have any problem paying for his childrens dental care, he can buy a plane any time he wants to travel, and he could buy the exotic resort and the island it is on as well.