The Business Fixer Blog by Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer®

Mitzi Perdue, Transformational Leadership Lessons Learned In Life

Written by Wes Schaeffer | Oct 20, 2020

Inspire your people to go the extra mile

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Transformational Leadership Tips you'll learn today on The Sales Podcast...

  • Daughter of the co-founder of Sheraton Hotels
  • Wife of Frank Perdue, Perdue Farms
  • His greatest deficit became his greatest asset
  • Frank Perdue was actually shy
  • His dad had him selling feed corn to overcome his shyness
  • Known as the "marketing icon of the world"
  • How to choose an ad agency
  • Studied advertising and interviewed 60 agencies
  • It was hard to differentiate a commodity


  • His competitors could say everything he could say about his chickens
  • His agency said he needed to be the face of the brand
Success in life depends on other people."
  • Frank Perdue spent hours practicing his lines
  • He would "give to the camera"
  • Frank was great at inspiring his staff to go the extra mile and stay with him for life
  • He knew the names of the frontline workers and their stories
  • He was an egalitarian
  • Mitzi was big into hospitality and wanted to entertain every employee at the company—16,000—but have them over 100 at a time, three times a month, for 17 years
  • William James,...
The deepest principle of human nature is the craving for appreciation."
  • Frank Perdue served at the buffet line to demonstrate and live servant leadership
  • Invited farmers and vendors and suppliers to dinner
  • Ernest Henderson was known for not sticking with things and he "sucked" at human relations
  • Success in life depends on other people
  • He read "How to Win Friends and Influence People"
  • He became a student of human nature
  • "Inspire, don't require."
  • Ernest Henderson started buying hotels during the Great Depression
  • He would reassure his employees
  • The first investment in his new hotels was behind the scenes to support his staff
  • Ernest Henderson was 40 in 1937 when he bought his first hotel
  • He knew German, French, and Italy and was in the import/export business
  • He would buy cameras and equipment after WWI at a great exchange rate
  • He and his brother and college roommate pooled their funds to make the first purchase
  • She started "Win This Fight" to combat human trafficking
  • Mark Victor Hansen loves this cause
  • Give yourself at least an hour of downtime to rest and reset your mind and body during stressful times
  • Stress hormones can shorten your life
  • A trafficker with five girls in his "stable" can earn $1,000,000 tax-free
  • Law enforcement needs more resources to stop these sex traffickers

Links Mentioned In The Sales Podcast