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| Destination CEO: Jim McCann This video can be found on the Student DVD.Summary: Jim McCann is the CEO of 1-800-Flowers shown in the video from BusinessWeek TV on your student DVD. The road to a business career, no less executive management, was not typical for Jim McCann. He did not experience a traditional "climb up the corporate ladder." Looking for a career as a police officer, McCann attended the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC. His career path led him to a career in Social Services. A chance meeting with a friend provided McCann a chance to buy his first flower shop. It cost him $10,000 for his original shop located on 1st Ave and 62nd Street in New York. Initially, Jim’s passion and interest in the floral business was more of a part-time hobby. However, that soon changed as he began to grow and expand the business. There were many "firsts" pioneered by McCann in this industry. For example, he was the first to introduce the innovation of 24 hour ordering service, (that was 28 years ago). As time went on, he purchased ten additional flower shops. Looking for an opportunity to broaden his markets, he visited the Dallas-based 800 Flowers to pursue partnership opportunities. What he found, however, was a company in dire straights. Rather than collaborating with the company, he purchased it. He views his firm as both a leader in business innovation and as a change agent--24 hour ordering capabilities, the first to accept credit cards over the phone, the first to have an Internet presence on AOL. Now, 70% of his sales are from the Internet. Total sales this year reached $650 million, up 8% from the previous year. McCann credits his success as a business leader to his family roots that emphasized hard work and diligence. Prior to becoming CEO of this multimillion dollar enterprise, Jim McCann was a social service worker. He credits much of his innovative and creative abilities to working with his clients in that sector.Discussion Questions
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