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Article: Entrepreneur set to receive honor says 100 percent commitment is key to success.
- Article from:
- The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
- Article date:
- February 9, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Commercial Appeal. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Maria Burnham
Feb. 9--Explaining the key to a successful business endeavor, Jim Phillips -- who has ushered in more than a few successes in his lifetime -- borrows a phrase from the military: "You've got to burn the boats."
What that means, the 54-year-old chief executive says, is that once you commit to a project, you have to commit 100 percent and leave no way out in case it starts to go sour.
"We will either win or die," he said. "You have to believe in what you do because very few other people are going to."
Phillips has burned his boats many times, including with his most recent challenge, the bioscience company Luminetx.