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Inspiration

Respect is central to business building

s a new year and new decade begin, I'm think- contributed to his success. And as he built his career in
ing about the power of respect. Self respect payments, Green also respected his merchant customers,
and respect for others are integral to success, the card brands, banks and processors that made the
A including in the payments industry. This fact fledgling industry work. With mutual respect he built
was clear decades ago to Paul H. Green, the founder of solid relationships and grew a thriving business.
The Green Sheet Inc. In Good Selling! SM: Thirteen Weeks to
Personal Success, his sequel to Good Selling!: SM The Basics, Green also respected others who entered the industry
Green described his interaction with a Major General at in its early days. It was respect for the ingenuity and
Fort Hood in 1970 after Green received a Bronze Star for ability of these people that led him to start The Green Sheet
meritorious achievement in ground operations against back in 1983, when resources for sales professionals in
hostile forces in the Republic of Vietnam. payments were negligible. He knew the feet on the street
shouldn't be shoved out the door with minimal training;
In attempting to convince Green to choose a career in they deserved support. And he gained a reputation as an
the Army, the Major General said, "We see two kinds authority who would listen to concerns, get to the heart
of exits into civilian careers. We have the professional – of the matter and provide spot on information time after
that is, those who go into such things as medicine, law, time.
engineering and teaching. Then we have those who
fail to make it as professionals and wind up going into As The Green Sheet grew, Green consistently demonstrated
something like sales." respect for his employees, too, always doing more than
required, mentoring generously and promoting from
A proud choice within. He also demonstrated respect when he disagreed

Green stated that these "scare tactics" to get him to re- with others. He was passionate while standing up for his
enlist didn't work. It wasn't long before he left the Army beliefs, but he didn't belittle or bully to get his way. This
and returned to school while also working two jobs in enabled him to accomplish a great deal as an industry
sales – jobs in which he thrived. "As I remembered the advocate.
Major General's words, I realized the disconnect from
how I saw myself and how others might see me," Green So as a new year begins, my respect for our readers, our
wrote. "I had never considered myself someone who had many partners and our evolving publication remains
'failed to make it.' I had thought of myself as a professional. steadfast. And with mutual respect, I believe we can all
The sales profession was one in which I had considerable achieve our dreams.
pride – and that had begun to reward me with substantial
income. It was a conscious decision I had made to be
there."

While Green didn't mention respect specifically, there is
no doubt the high regard he had for his chosen profession Kate Gillespie, President and CEO

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