[shout]
“I feel happy. I feel healthy. I feel terrific,” we shouted, all 250 of us, at the behest of Dave Anderson, founding chairman of the Famous Dave’s restaurant chain.
And then louder, he urged, so we bellowed: “I FEEL HAPPY. I FEEL HEALTHY. I FEEL TERRIFIC.”Come on now, Anderson screamed, with all your energy! “I FEEL HAPPY. I FEEL HEALTHY. I FEEL TERRIFIC.”
The cheer thundered through the Calhoun Beach Club, where a sellout crowd hosted in December by Minnesota Entrepreneurs beamed and shouted along with the man they were saluting as Entrepreneur of the Year.
How could this be? I thought, yelling along with the rest.
Why were we all screaming and chanting and grinning at our neighbors? Bankers and accountants, financiers and business owners, and even myself — a 20-year business journalist who usually doesn’t go in for the rabid motivational speaker sort.
None of us could resist Anderson’s passion.
“In this great country of ours, if you have dreams incredible things will happen,” Anderson said, and people in the crowd started nodding: so true, so true.
“FAITH IS ALL ABOUT BELIEVING IN SOMETHING YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND,” Anderson exhorted, and we burst into applause.
“I want to encourage all of you, DO THINGS YOU’VE NEVER DONE BEFORE. UNLESS YOU GIVE UP ON YOURSELF THINGS DO WORK OUT,” Anderson roared, and by now if he had flung himself into the crowd we would have carried him around the block raised high.
Sure, we’ve all heard such slogans before, and dismissed them as so many clichés. But Anderson demonstrated the power of believing in what you do, and sharing it.
He got me thinking: Maybe we should all give it a try.
Why not gather your staff, and instead of soberly discussing the first quarter’s business goals, have a shout out.
Remember how exciting it is to create a company together.
Scream with joy that you don’t have to attend a three-day meeting via teleconference with the suits in Brussels.
Re-ignite the entrepreneurial spirit that caused you to start your company in the first place.
It’s fun, it feels good, and if everyone looks at you funny, just say Upsize made you do it.
Try it, all together, as Dave Anderson exhorted us to do at the end of his talk: “FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, I WILL LEAD, NOT FOLLOW. I WILL CREATE, NOT DESTROY…”Now, everyone, just a little louder.
— Beth Ewen
editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
bewen@upsizemag.com
