Page 25 - The Way to the Top

Napoleon BARRAGAN

Chairman and CEO of 1-800-MATTRESS

I have been a merchant selling mattresses for more than twenty years. I
pursued the best brands, the best quality, the best value, and the most
innovative constructions to ensure I offered my customers the best. My

pursuit of this information resulted in long and arduous reviews of the
marketing materials that are carefully developed by each manufacturer.

Several years ago I had the good fortune to hire a vice president of
merchandising who had a wonderful résumé in the mattress business.
Shortly after settling in, he said, “Let’s open them up and see firsthand

what’s inside the mattresses we sell.” We opened our offerings, and our
competitors’ offerings, and we discovered that packaging and marketing
materials cannot be the only source of information.

I have always been, and want to continue to be, a trusting person, but

that does not negate the need to follow my vice president’s valuable
advice: Understand the content, and follow the pledge Microsoft has
adopted: Trust, but verify.

Trust, but verify