Roads To Success 4.4

A Little Video Store

As Wayne Huizenga, Jr. neared the completion of high school he saw his dream of working with and being more like his father transforming into something much more tangible.  College was the next step and then it would be a mere four years to finding a place in his father’s company, Waste Management, Inc.  He was aware of the respect and power his father acquired as the leader of a large, growing company.  He liked and enjoyed the lifestyle, the private jets, the yachts and the lavish trips.

In his I Am Second video presentation Wayne, Jr. said, “The stories that my mother would tell us about Jesus and trying to share about God quickly left my mind as I began to focus on what I had to do to be like dad.  I wanted all the things that he had.  I grew, went to college, and became very, very focused on what I had to do.”

But in 1984, in his third year of college, Wayne, Jr.'s plans were shattered with his father’s announcement that he had decided to retire from Waste Management.

Wayne, Jr. told the Secrets Of Success camera, “I remember thinking to myself, ‘what am I going to do with my life now?’  I had always known I was going to work at Waste Management and had trained for that my entire life.  I had worked at the landfill picking up garbage at age twelve.  I had worked at grinding containers and worked on the back of a truck.  I had worked at doing sales while I went through college.”

Wayne, Sr. assured his son that he could still work for the company, but Wayne, Jr. wasn’t interested.  He never believed he would actually get to work side-by-side with his father in Waste Management, but his heart had been set on being a part of his father’s business.  Essentially, a childhood dream had been destroyed.  “I was really very unsure of what the future held for me,” Wayne, Jr. said.  “I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do.”

But Wayne, Sr.’s next business venture in 1987 would soon put his son’s uncertainty to rest.  It concerned a single video store in Chicago and its owner who wanted to expand into the franchise business.

“Wayne, Sr. made an investment in a small company called Blockbuster Video,” explained Wayne, Jr.  “At the time it was himself and two of his partners from Waste Management.”

It was a deal that Wayne, Sr. almost passed on.  He rarely took the time to watch movies and didn’t even own a VCR.  But once he took a close look at the numbers and actually visited the Chicago store, he became excited about the potential.

“Wayne, Sr. and his partners were going to be passive investors with David Cook in this startup video company,” Wayne, Jr. elaborated.

Wayne, Sr.’s role in the new company would not remain passive for long.  A difference in philosophy regarding how best to grow the company led to David Cook retiring from actively running Blockbuster and selling his shares to Wayne, Sr.

“At that point Wayne, Sr. was in the position of having to protect the investment of his two friends as well as his own investment,” Wayne, Jr. elaborated.  “He took over the helm of Blockbuster Video which coincided with my graduating from college.”

The timing was perfect for Wayne, Jr.  He entered Blockbuster, as he had all his father’s businesses, at the ground floor.  He began as a store employee, worked his way up to store manager and eventually became a district manager.  From there he moved to special projects, working directly with Wayne, Sr. and the executive staff.  Working directly with his father was a dream-come-true for Wayne, Jr., but it was something of a challenge as well.

“It was an adjustment for me because I was treated no differently then any of the other employees,” Wayne, Jr. recalled.  “Often father and sons don’t work well together in business.  I’ve been blessed; it did work for Wayne, Sr. and me.  But it was definitely an adjustment for me.  He’s as intense at work as he is at play, and spending time with him in the workplace really lent an insight as to why I didn’t get to spend much time with him while I was growing up.”

As Wayne, Jr. was advancing through the ranks at Blockbuster, Fonda Hix reentered his life.

 © 2012 Philip Kassel