
Why Customers’ Perception of Quality Is So Important • 29
a company called Wards, which he built up and renamed Circuit
City. In 1973, when Wards was near bankruptcy, Wurtzel was
asked where he wanted to take the company. His response: “I don’t
know.” He used questions to gain understanding, not to validate a
preconceived notion.
2. Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion. is is an extension of
“lead with questions, not answers.” Nucor, which made no money
in 1965, and by 1999 was the fourth-largest steelmaker in the world,
attributes its success to an ongoing series of general manager meet-
ings, where the general manager acted as med ...