Shane Parrish
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
That sounds obvious now, but in the early 1970s, this was a radical idea.
The McCains listened and followed it to the letter.
Within a few years, they had clients across Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and Denmark.
It was the same playbook every time.
Export first and hire locals to prove the market.
Build or buy a factory only if the numbers made sense.
Then came a question that tested Harrison's instincts on branding.
Should McCain sell under its own name in Germany or create a German-sounding brand?
The debate amongst his team lasted into the night.
The majority wanted a local name.
Harrison sat back and said almost nothing while everyone else argued.
Finally, around 8 o'clock in the evening, he ended it.
Boys, that was a great conversation.
Great.
Lots of input.
Now, here's what we're going to do.
We're going to call it McCain.
We're going to call it McCain.
Now, let's go and eat.
It was the right call.