Former Dollar General CEO Shares Story, Life Lessons with SF Students
November 14, 2024
Informed by small town values, a keen understanding of the needs of working-class people, and a hard-earned dose of business savvy, Cal Turner Jr., longtime CEO of Dollar General, tells the story of how he and his father built a small general store into a national retail powerhouse.
The Scottsville, Kentucky, native, billionaire, philanthropist, and author of “My Father’s Business,” Turner Jr., 84, shared his story and insights with Santa Fe College Business students and guests during a visit to Blount Center on Nov. 5.
Turner was invited by the Santa Fe College Foundation and was introduced by Santa Fe College President Dr. Paul Broadie II, who found inspiration in Turner’s care and love of people and the family values that helped grow the business.
“His story, his words of wisdom, and his journey can help every single person in this room,” Broadie said. “His journey is one of leadership and service.”
Turner said for many years he struggled with what he wanted to do in life and that while he “never felt like a retailer,” he still felt called to join the family business.
He told the story of being a young clerk in his uncle’s dry goods store and struggling to make sales. His aunt, a savvy saleswoman, got all the “big sales.” One day an old, disheveled farmer came into the store. Turner reluctantly waited on him and was dismissive knowing it was likely to be a small sale, only 39 cents. It was a personal item for the farmer’s wife.
Later, his uncle reminded him that this farmer had very little and purchasing the item was not only a great sacrifice, it was one he made for the person he loved.
It was a humbling lesson that ultimately undergirded Turner’s commitment to Dollar General’s mission “to give a better life to struggling people.”
Turner also touched on education and leadership.
He said the most important trait employers look for is the willingness to learn.
“If you can produce students who are good thinkers and who are interested in learning for the rest of their lives, that’s more important to us than even English,” he told the faculty.
On leadership, Turner noted that in the continental United States, everyone lives within five miles of a Dollar General.
“Most of that growth came after Turner management,” he said. “So, I changed my definition of a good leader.
“A good leader is someone whose successors are better.”
He also encouraged students to not be afraid to fail.
“I find myself more thankful for my failures than for my successes because I have learned more from my failures.
“When you succeed you are proud, and you don’t look at what you could have done better. You have to do that when you fail.”
Finally, Turner, who also discussed his deep faith in God, told the students, “Life is about putting your hand in the hand of your creator, who said my creation is good. That means there is good in every person here that God Almighty expects you to pursue. And I hope you do that.
“I hope you have the joy of doing that.”
