Headaches Maintaining Home Depot's entrepreneurial spirit as it grows bigger and more structured. It's as if he owned the place. Workday often starts at sunrise and ends past dusk. He can often be found visiting stores or huddling with vendors. Extremely organized, punctual.
Passion Runs an average of five or six miles each day.
Never misses participating in the six-mile Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta every July. As if he needs them. From the start, they've been on an expansion binge, opening an average of two stores a week in recent years. Business Philosophy Unabashed paternalism. When an employee wondered why the company had switched to a particular type of lumber, Blank was able to specify, without notes, exactly what the change would mean to Home Depot's profit margins.