K.C. Irving

"today it’s still just as good for us.” Another of K.C. Irving’s firm beliefs was in work, focus, work, and work some more. His son Arthur Irving told me that his father had no sense of time and had incredible energy. He could outwork and out- last people thirty years younger. Harrison McCain once observed that K.C. Irving had “great energy, wonderful energy. Never got tired.”"

"of gasoline, initially Primrose, and later Irving Oil. I once asked his son Arthur Irving why his father got into the oil and gas business. His answer: “Because he was selling automobiles and cars need oil and gas to run. Why give that business to someone else?” The logic does not end there – if it makes sense to sell oil and gasoline, then it also makes sense to build a refinery, and, if it makes sense to build a refinery, then it also makes sense to build ships to transport oil and gasoline from the refinery.8 That lesson would not be lost on Harrison McCain. K.C. Irving’s entrepreneurship skills were anchored in a few but"

"K.C. Irving was a master of vertical integration. Why sell someone else’s gasoline when you have an automobile dealership and service stations and when you can refine it yourself? One of his grandsons explains, “One company building and buying from or selling to one another and building a base that would allow you to export or expand into new markets and new products elsewhere. It was good then, and today it’s still just as good for us.”9 Another of K.C. Irving’s firm beliefs was in work, focus, work, and"

"knew that better than anyone.” Harrison also admired how K.C. Irving managed his public image, because it, along with his reputation, was crucial to his business suc- cess. Harrison maintained that, because K.C. Irving never gave inter- views, people simply believed that he had little interest in projecting a public image. Harrison insisted that nothing could be further from the truth. K.C. Irving knew better than anyone the role a public image has in business and how to manage it. Irving cultivated the image of a tough, demanding, shrewd, austere, tireless, sober, secretive, no- nonsense businessman, never to be outgunned. “Christ,” Harrison explained, “when K.C. Irving walked in to negotiate a business deal, the competition was already ready to give up and say I can’t compete with this guy. The competitor would lose before the competition began because everyone knew that you could never beat K.C. Irving.” Harrison admired K.C.’s management style, which he said was based"

"after ­Harrison and raising her newborn son Mark and daughter Ann. But Harrison was growing restless and could not let go of his desire to start his own business. He explained, “You know, I thought I was going to walk into a place and see a place to buy some day or a place I could offer to buy, and lo and behold I’d be in business. And it dawned on me one day that I was too busy doing too many things for that to happen, and that I had to make it happen. So I quit the job. So I had no job and no money, and I had to find a business.” K.C. Irving pressed"

"solve that potential problem. Harrison had what he had long hoped for. He was in business for himself with his brothers. There would be immense challenges ahead, but the new business had a number of advantages. The fast food busi- ness, with its heavy reliance on french fries, was about to take flight and change the food-restaurant business. In addition, governments were poised to play a far greater interventionist role in the economy. Harrison with his brothers, particularly Wallace, would ride these two advantages in building their multi-billion-dollar food empire. Both Harrison and Wallace had honed their skills at the feet of a business genius and one of the world’s great entrepreneurs, fellow New Brunswicker, K.C. Irving. Both remained forever grateful to him – but now they were on their own, hoping to emulate their mentor’s success."

"of the McCain family, believe me.” Harrison and Wallace also learned management by doing, by try- ing this and that, and by sharing information freely. They had no for- mal training, no management school training, and certainly no MBA degree. What they knew about management they had learned from K.C. Irving. Like him, they would lead by example, put in long hours, improvise when necessary, look a few years down the road, manage by suggestion, and give wide flexibility to their managers and staff to operate the way they saw fit. Harrison was never one to draft a memo when a phone call or a brief visit would do. They hired competent staff, no small feat in Florenceville, far from"

"to the what, the when, and the who. Harrison and Wallace had raw ambition, youth, energy, and an exceptionally strong work ethic. Both had gained invaluable business experience working under the ever-watchful eye of K.C. Irving. They also picked a fortuitous time to get into the frozen food business. The fast food industry was still in its infancy, but rapidly gaining momen- tum. Canada’s population was well into a growth spurt fuelled by the baby boom of the postwar period and the arrival of many new Can- adians. More important still, women were joining the workforce at an increasing rate. Two-income families meant eating out often and also easy-to-prepare meals to eat at home. Frozen french fries were a cru- cial ingredient of both. But launching a frozen food firm required a great deal more than"