Fred Smith

Second, align incentives with outcomes.

When FedEx couldn't get packages sorted fast enough, they switched from paying by the hour to paying by the shift.

And the problem solved itself overnight.

Third, loyalty can't be bought, only earned.

When FedEx nearly died, employees worked without pay and used personal credit cards for jet fuel.

Not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

Let's see how he did it.

It's time to listen and learn.

Fred Smith's story begins with transportation running through his family.

His grandfather commanded steamboats on the Mississippi River.

His father, James Frederick Smith, built that inheritance into something even bigger.

He created Dixie Greyhound lines connecting small southern towns that national carriers ignored.

Then he co-founded Tottle House restaurant chain, placing diners along his bus roads.

By the time Fred was born in 1944, his father had built an empire worth millions.

But Fred barely knew him.

James Frederick died in 1948 when Fred was four years old.

The death left behind an unusual arrangement.

Fred's father had locked the family fortune in trust funds that wouldn't be open until his children turned 21.

He built his wealth from nothing and understood how easily money could destroy character.

So Fred's mother, Sally Wallace Smith, raised her children in a unique situation.