By Mary Toothman
THE LEDGER
LAKELAND — Up on the stage at Florida Southern College Monday, larger-than-life posters of T. Boone Pickens were on display and provided a few of his words of wisdom.
“Don’t quit.”
“Play by the rules.”
Pickens, 86. was at the George Jenkins Field House
to speak to hundreds of students and other invited guests. He offered up a few more “Boone-isms” during his visit. Rather than stand at a podium, he chose to speak informally with a small group of students seated on the stage. They had questions. He had answers.
And sometimes he just tossed out a bit of sage advice.
“If you have a good work ethic, you’re halfway there,” he said. “If you don’t, good luck.
“I’m 86 years old, and I still go to work every day.”
Saddle Creek Logistics Services of Lakeland sponsored “A Conversation with T. Boone Pickens.” Its chairman and founder, David Lyons, is an FSC trustee, and he introduced Pickens.
Named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people, Pickens is credited with leading a campaign of mergers and acquisitions that redesigned the culture of corporate governance in the 1980s. The shift was from management-centered, no-risk decision-making to today’s viewpoint that a company’s main goal is to boost shareholder wealth.
Today, he’s actively advocating for natural gas as an alternative fuel source, and he takes part in numerous humanitarian and environmental projects.
A student asked about his humanitarian endeavors. He said there’s one type of so-called giving back that he’s not buying. “You hear these guys running for office talking about ‘I want to give back.’
“I want to say, ‘Listen, pal, you’re up there because you want to be a congressman.'”
Giving money away is something that feels good to him, Pickens said. “I was put here to make money, and I was put here to make money so I could give it away.”
But don’t mistake him for someone who lives frugally and hands over his money to good causes.
The living frugally part — that does not apply to T. Boone Pickens. “I live very well, and I am not going to give that up,” he said happily.
In fact, he said, his plane was waiting to fly him back to Dallas.
He received a standing ovation.
“I thoroughly enjoyed Boone Pickens’ visit and his insights on leadership, energy and keeping our nation strong through alternative fuel sources,” FSC President Anne Kerr said after the talk. “It is easy to understand why his ideas, relentless focus and leadership are iconic in their broad-reaching impact.
“He is also a born teacher, and I was glad that he suggested a conversation with students rather than a for- mal speech,” said Kerr, who presented an honorary degree to Pickens.
“The event was a wonderful learning opportunity for all the students who were in attendance.”
In case they needed something to remember the event by, several tables in the lobby were stacked with copies of one of his books, free to FSC students.
Its title: “The First Billion is the Hardest.”
[ Mary Toothman can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7512. Her Twitter feed is @MaryToothman.]