John Johnson grew up in a small shack with a tin roof in rural Arkansas. In an effort to give John more opportunities, his family moved to Chicago when he was 15 years old.However, coming from a poor area in Arkansas, his new classmates made fun of his accent and handmade clothes. To deal with his unpleasant school situation John turned to self-help books. He was inspired by the lessons from Dale Carnegie in dealing with adversity and unpleasant things.
Drawing on his experience of growing up black in the 1930s and 40s, and the lessons learned from Carnegie and other self-help writers, John decided that he wanted to start a magazine called Ebony to highlight successes in the black community. He figured he would need about $500 to fund the creation of Ebony magazine. When he went to his local bank he was told they could not give him a loan because he was black. Undaunted, he asked the loan officer where he might get the funding he needed. However, rather than just come out and ask the loan officer who else he could call on, he used the self-help lessons he had learned and framed the question in such a way that it was in the interest of the loan officer to provide a qualified lead.
His strategy worked; the loan officer even agreed to provide John with an introduction, and he finally secured his start-up funds. A little while later when he wanted an interview with the first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, he was denied based on her time constraints. Rather than move on he persevered and continued his correspondence with Eleanor’s office.
When he learned she was passing through Chicago he asked if she had the time to simply dictate a column for his magazine. It worked, she agreed, and with the article, his circulation doubled. Later when John wanted an interview with Eugene McDonald, the CEO of Zenith Radio, he did some research on McDonald and learned he was an arctic explorer. John secured a copy of A Negro Explorer at the North Pole signed by Matthew Henson, Admiral Robert Peary’s black assistant. While McDonald initially consented to the interview, he said there was no way he would advertise in Johnson’s magazine.
During the interview, Johnson presented Eugene with the autographed copy of the book and said his goal with the Ebony magazine was to highlight black success. Mr. McDonald was so touched by the gesture of the book he said “You know, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t advertise in this magazine” without ever even being asked. John Johnson knew that you had to tell people what was in it for them and they would happily help you achieve your objectives.
Do you know a person’s interest and sell your solutions to it? Do you take no for an answer, or do you keep looking for ways to accomplish your objectives?
