Robert Spence

Born under the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, a land dominated by airplanes and timber. I married my wife Kathy in 1964 and then we both graduated from the University of Washington in 1966. Part of my story and what I discuss relates to what I learned as a Marine Corps Officer in charge of a northern outpost in South Vietnam on the east side what was known as the McNamara Line, just below the DMZ.

Upon leaving the Marine Corps I joined my father's small lumber company and I began the process of learning what it meant to be an entrepreneur in a small business. For the next 28 years I ran the gauntlet of competition that encompassed learning the vast nature of international and domestic trade in wood products.  The architecture of cultures in Asia, Europe, and the United States employed wood in a multitude of ways, both for structural and aesthetic uses. I became engaged in the logistics and manufacturing of these products starting with the origins in the forests to the ultimate end use in all of these different societies from use of wood to build structures, doors and windows, furniture, window frames, grave markers and religious artifacts. I became involved in ocean freight, trucking, railroads, manufacturing processes, labor policy, safety programs, marketing strategies, computers, and every environmental policy from surface water runoff to air pollution and noise control. I also played a major role in changing tax policy as it effected manufacturing and discrimination against women and I was instrumental in changing the railroad and trucking regulations that were having a major impact on the United States economy.

This book is everything that I’ve learned over a period of 78 years when it comes to business, politics, and life in general. I hope the experiences in this book can help guide you to your success story.