Sam We Are - Honoring Sam Taylor
phyl terry
Founder, Investor, Coach, Reader, Author – "Never Search Alone", "Customers Included"
Over the recent holiday break, amidst the Christmas decorations and New Year’s fireworks, one of our great lights went out. Sam Taylor passed away on December 29, 2017.
In the course of our lives, we count ourselves lucky if we meet someone who radiates love and goodwill, whose mere presence makes us better people, who is as warm, as friendly, as kind, and as smart as Sam Taylor. Ask those who knew him, they will tell you. Sam’s light was one of the brightest in the world.
I first met Sam at an industry conference called Shop.org in 2000 or 2001. He wore loud Hawaiian shirts, asked great questions, and was relentlessly positive. I recognized a fellow leader passionate about the customer experience and we became instant friends.
We did a lot of things together over the next 15 years. We hosted dinners, ran workshops in Omaha before the Buffett annual meeting, and promoted customer experience and humble leadership. He was always ready to help and always ready to live his principles.
As CEO of a Berkshire Hathaway company, Sam was one of the most senior members of my Councils. He was also among the most committed to the activity of asking for help, listening, and learning from peers, customers, colleagues, and others.
As I write this, I can hear his voice clearly laughing and downplaying my enthusiasm for him. He was humble and smart. Silly and serious. Deeply religious and loving of all.
He was unique.
And my life was made better because of Sam. Just knowing him made me want to keep giving and loving even more.
In this age of self-centered celebrity CEOs, Sam led with humility and cared deeply about his customers and employees.
I’ll never forget one demonstration of this at a dinner in Seattle several years ago.
Sam and I hosted a get-together for Internet retailers during the Shop.org conference in Seattle. Some of our longtime friends like Bill Bass, Angela Kapp, and Kevin Ertell joined us, as did many people we had just met. Companies like Walmart, Lululemon, Nike, Facebook, Amazon, and others were in the room.
In front of that group, Sam shared that in two days he himself would be moderating customer listening labs back in Omaha. He turned to me and said, “Phil, we are running listening labs and I’m not going to just attend, I’m going to moderate. I want everyone in my company to see how important I believe this is.”
That statement was impressive. Over 15 years, I’ve spoken to hundreds of companies. More than a few CEOs say they will spend time with customers, but almost none carry through with that commitment. Certainly none could match Sam.
Having said that, neither I nor the other executives present at that dinner in Seattle, knew what was going to happen next.
When Sam flew home to Omaha, his flight ran into bad weather and the pilot had to land in Denver.
Grounded there, Sam’s plan to be in Omaha the next morning at 8am had been foiled.
Or was it?
What did Sam do?
Did he cancel the customer listening labs?
Did he ask another team member to moderate?
No.
Sam rented a car in Denver and drove through the storm all night long. He arrived in Omaha at 7am, showered, dressed and got to the labs and for eight hours moderated sessions with customers.
Remarkable.
He may be the only CEO in the world to show that level of commitment to the customer and to his team.
Sam didn’t believe in obstacles.
When he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer that my own mother died from five years ago, he not only sought every treatment he could find but he developed a video series that would share his philosophy about life, leadership, and cancer (watch the series here).
I’ll share one more example and then we’ll get to a series of testimonials about Sam starting with Warren Buffett and including bosses, friends, colleagues, and council members.
Two years ago in Omaha, as he stood in front of a group of CEOs explaining what it was like to sell his company to Warren Buffett, Sam did something few leaders do in such a context. He cried.
What were those tears for?
Prior to agreeing to the Berkshire acquisition, Sam's board of directors had been pressuring him to outsource overseas many of his company's customer service efforts. Sam didn't want to do it. Then with the sale to Buffett, Sam was able to tell his employees through tears of joy that the Berkshire acquisition meant they would be able to keep their jobs. As he retold that story - and what it meant to his employees and their families - he cried again. All the CEOs in the room were unexpectedly touched.
Sam had a unique ability to connect with CEOs, customer service reps, warehouse employees - everyone and anyone. You can see Sam for yourself on an episode of Undercover Boss (you have to join Hulu or YouTube to see the full episode - and it's worth it).
I knew Sam in his professional role as an Internet pioneer. He also was very active in his church and deeply committed to his family.
A reception at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Omaha was held Thursday, Jan 4, 2018, and the funeral was held the following day, with burial at the Forest Lawn Cemetery. Some of our friends attended and mentioned it was a beautiful service. I found out that day that Sam and his family made me an honorary pall bearer along with other close friends like Bill Bass, Brett Hurt, and his boss and mentor, Warren Buffett. I was deeply honored - and at the same time - saddened for it brought home the reality of Sam's death.
With Sam’s light now out, I have decided to brighten my own. When I’m sad, I’m going to think of Sam. When bad weather or travel wears me out, I’m going to think of Sam. When I feel ashamed for crying in the workplace - because, paraphrasing Tom Hanks' character in League of their Own, "there’s no crying in business" - I’m going to think of Sam.
Every morning I plan to say:
Sam I am.
Sam I am.
Sam we are.
Join me.
With love and tears,
Phil
P.S. Below please read some of the statements by a few of the others who knew and loved Sam beginning with his most recent boss, Warren Buffett.
Testimonials for Sam
(click to read each testimonial - LinkedIn's poor formatting tools made it too hard to display these here)
Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
Secil Watson, EVP, Digital Solutions for Business at Wells Fargo Bank
Peter Cobb, Co-Founder, eBags and former Chairman of the Board Shop.org
Craig Hopkins, Chief Information Officer, City of San Antonio, Texas
Sean Murphy, VP Product, Target
John Seebeck, VP and GM eCommerce, CDW
Dave Bolotsky, Founder and CEO, Uncommon Goods
Chris Shimojima, Founder, C5 Advisory...and former CEO at Provide Commerce
Kevin Ertell, Global Digital Business Lead - Running, Nike
Steven Kahn, Principal Consultant, KahnFluence...and former VP, Internet at Victoria's Secret
Ken Seiff, Managing Partner, Beanstalk Ventures
Alison Stiefel, Head of Marketing, ShopStyle
Caroline Fabrigas, Scent Marketing Inc.
Paul Matker, CEO, Thanx Media, Inc.
Patti Freeman Evans...former VP, Research Director at Forrester Research
Steve Schlesinger, CEO, Schlesinger Associates
Munir Mashooqullah, President, Synergies WorldwideRich Last, Founding Partner, Axcelora...and former Chairman Emeritus at Shop.org
Memorials and Notes
Memorials to Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke Medical Center (https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dukehealth/?designation=3912597)
The family asks people to send their memories of Taylor to [email protected]
Phil, this is an incredible tribute to an incredible man. In the 17 years that I knew Sam, he was always smiling, always optimistic and always grateful. He will be deeply missed by so many.
Thanks for sharing this Phil. It's a wonderful tribute to a great guy. Sam was one-of-a-kind and an inspiration to learn from. Such a loss for our industry, his family and many friends.
UI / UX Designer at biBERK
7 年Sam was a great leader and will be missed by all who knew him. This is a lovely tribute.
Executive Leadership, Brand Strategist, Digital Transformation, Direct, Retail
7 年Sam was an amazing man and mentor to all of us. Always smiling and always positive. Thank you for that great testimonial to him.
Creative Director. Brand Director. Consultant. Board Member.
7 年Really sad news, had the privilege of working for Sam for a few years when he headed up the International division at Lands' End. Great boss and lovely man.