Interview with Cal Turner Jr., August 8, 2013

Partial Transcript: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Segment Synopsis: Cal Turner, Jr. says the family business and religion were the formative influences in his early life. He talks about his memories of members of his family.

Keywords: Family businesses; James Luther Turner; Scottsville (Ky.)

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Family-owned business enterprises.; Religion

Partial Transcript: I mean, can you think back now on the--and recall sort of--they were Depression-generation, right, so they--

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about how his father helped his grandfather acquire inventory from merchants that failed during the Great Depression, and how they would turn over that inventory. He talks about the difficult emotions of achieving business success upon the faltering of others.

Keywords: Bankruptcy sales; Family businesses; Luther Turner; The Great Depression

Subjects: Depressions--1929; Families.; Family-owned business enterprises.

Partial Transcript: What was school like? What do you remember about your school?

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about his early education in public school and church. He describes his teachers and church leaders as major influences on his life. He recalls various events of his childhood and life in small town America.

Keywords: Beach Bend Park; Bowling Green (Ky.); Scottsville Methodist Church; United Methodist Church; Vacation Bible School

Subjects: Childhood; Churches--Kentucky; Education--Kentucky; Religion

Partial Transcript: You talk about church being so important for you as a community early on, um, the point--at what point do you, young Cal, have this realization...

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about his conversion experience and the influences of church and community on his character. He says many church members encouraged him to be a minister, but a Methodist minister advised him to try other professions before considering the clergy. He says this set him on a course to enter the family business.

Keywords: Business; Christian ministry; Family businesses; Leadership

Subjects: Childhood; Churches--Kentucky; Family-owned business enterprises.; Religion

Partial Transcript: So how old are you at this point when, uh, your minister has this conversation with you and you begin to sort of shift your perception of you know--

Segment Synopsis: Turner describes going on visits to stores with his father as a child. He says his earliest calling for religious ministry occurred in his early teens, but the conversation with a clergyman that changed his mind took place in his late teens. He talks about his father and grandfather establishing a wholesale business based on liquidated merchandise, and market factors which compelled them to switch to a retail model.

Keywords: Cal Turner, Sr.; Family businesses; J. L. Turner & Son Wholesale; Luther Turner; Religious ministry

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Family-owned business enterprises.; Religion

Partial Transcript: The first Dollar General is in Springfield?

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about the establishment of the first Dollar General store in Springfield, Kentucky in 1955. He says the wholesale business began in 1939 as J. L. Turner & Son, and went into retailing in 1945. He says the early retail stores were 50 percent partnerships with the local manager and he describes advanced agreements for store valuation upon liquidation of the partnerships.

Keywords: Family businesses; J. L. Turner & Son; Partnerships; Retail company; Wholesale company

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family-owned business enterprises.

Partial Transcript: So, we're starting to transition into talking about your father, I really do want to talk about him because you all worked together--

Segment Synopsis: Turner says that business is how to take care of family. He says his father suggested running the business like a church, which meant keeping a family orientation. He talks about his relationships with his father and mother.

Keywords: Cal Turner, Sr.; Education; Family businesses; Golf; Laura Katherine Turner; Luther Turner; Public speaking; Schermerhorn Symphony

Subjects: Families.; Family-owned business enterprises.; Religion

Partial Transcript: Okay, so, you graduate from high school. It--it's time to make a big decision about your education.

Segment Synopsis: Turner says he decided to attend Vanderbilt University after his father offered to pay the cost. He recalls his experiences in attending college.

Keywords: Scottsville High School

Subjects: Education, Higher; Vanderbilt University

Partial Transcript: So, uh, tell me what, what, what next?

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about his experiences as a United States Naval officer after college and the life lessons he learned.

Keywords: John McCain, Sr.; Norfolk (Va.); Officer Candidate School; Orkney Islands; Thurso, Scotland

Subjects: Military service, Voluntary--United States.; United States. Navy.

Partial Transcript: Let's go back to before the break.

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about transitioning out of the Navy and into leadership with J. L. Turner & Son. He talks about his father's style of management before the company went public. He talks about using the word "now" from doodles his father made in making management telephone calls as the acronym "Needed Outcome of Work" which was a company efficiency initiative.

Keywords: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family businesses; J. L. Turner & Son

Subjects: Family-owned business enterprises.; Management.

Partial Transcript: Well, t--you talk about the company at that time; what was Dollar General's market? I mean every company has to have its niche...

Segment Synopsis: Turner says that his grandfather's principle of successful competition was to control overhead costs and achieve efficiency. He talks about Dollar General's market niche and its target customer base.

Keywords: Cal Turner, Sr.; Dollar store industry; Luther Turner

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family-owned business enterprises.

Partial Transcript: That, that's fantastic. I think in terms of management, a leadership principle, you, you've just empowered everyone.

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about listening skills as the key to leadership. He says a company leader has to overcome the natural reluctance of employees to be candid in answers. Turner talks about the process of taking the company public.

Keywords: Initial public offering; Leadership skills; Planagram

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family-owned business enterprises.; Management.

Partial Transcript: Well, you talk about being in the Navy and not knowing at times, being in a leadership position, not knowing what to do and doing the wrong thing...

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about the decision in the late '70s for him to take the role of company president while his father became chairman. He talks about taking strategic planning training along with several of his executives.

Keywords: American Management Association; Budget; Executive management; Hank Patterson; SWOT analysis; Strategic Planning and Implementation Center

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family-owned business enterprises.; Management.

Partial Transcript: Well, that seems to be part of your mission, right? Uh, or at least a part of your strategic plan.

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about the role strategic planning played in the success of Dollar General. He talks about the size and geographic locations of the company when it became publicly traded. He attributes the success of the company to its employees and customers and to running it as a religious ministry.

Keywords: Cost management; Initial public offering; Luther Turner; Retail pricing strategy; SWOT analysis; Strategic planning

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family-owned business enterprises.; Management.; Religion

Partial Transcript: Well, a while back you said that time is the only thing that God gives us, and I've read your book and know that you are a man of faith.

Segment Synopsis: Turner quotes his remarks upon retirement saying that DG stood for "doing good." He asserts that business leadership is inseparable from spiritual faith. Turner talks about his personal mission statement which emphasizes love as a human value.

Keywords: CEO; Leadership; Mission statement; Religious faith

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Family-owned business enterprises.; Religion

Partial Transcript: Talk about your time from '77 to 2003. Is that, is that when you retired?

Segment Synopsis: Turner says that the greatest challenge he ever faced in life and business was the period following two major acquisitions in 1986 which put the company in financial difficulty bordering on bankruptcy. He attributes the problem to a leadership crisis between him as CEO and his brother who was COO, based on sibling rivalry. He talks about dismissing his brother from the business, shortly followed by the death of his mother and the board's decision to force his father's resignation over a refusal to adopt computer automation. He says the crisis was caused by a lack of clear leadership that a public company needed.

Keywords: Board of directors; Chapter 11; John 15:5; Merger and acquisitions

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Families.; Family-owned business enterprises.; Management.

Partial Transcript: I think back on that moment in the office when he told you basically that he trusted you and--to make those decisions about strategic planning and those kind of things early on...

Segment Synopsis: Turner talks about his brother's career in banking after leaving Dollar General. He talks about his mutually affectionate relationship with his brother and the rest of his family with whom he reconciled after the management crisis. He closes by offering advice to incoming undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky to understand the limitations of knowledge and the need for lifetime learning.

Keywords: Banking; Family relationships

Subjects: Dollar General Store (Firm); Families.; Family-owned business enterprises.