Failure Is Not An Option
Delbert McDougal: A Developer's Unconventional Wisdom
by Tony Privett
Foreword by Coach Bob Knight
$29.95, color photos throughout
Published 2007 by Historical Publishing Network
ISBN 9781893619746
About the Book
In this Horatio Alger business story, Delbert McDougal started his own business with a $10,000 loan, followed by many evenings and weekends renting and maintaining a small apartment complex.
Over the next twenty five years, McDougal built a multi-million dollar apartment, property development, construction, and realty corporation.
The culmination of McDougal's success can be seen in the transformation of the North Overton neighborhood in Lubbock Texas, described as the largest privately-financed urban renewal project in America. His ability to succeed in the face of many setbacks is a model for any business person, from the sole proprietor to the corporate president.
Excerpt
After a successful career with General Electric, where he learned much about the housing industry while selling and servicing appliances to apartment owners, Delbert McDougal left to pursue his dream of owning his own apartment company. Beginning with a $10,000 loan, McDougal built a multi-million dollar apartment, property development, construction, and realty company over the next twenty-five years.
Today, the McDougal Companies owns or manages more than five thousand apartments in twelve Texas cities. His companies have developed or built more than $400 million in commercial and residential property, and his realty company has listed or sold more than $1.5 billion.
Home to the McDougal Companies is Lubbock, Texas, a city of more than 200,000 people. The city serves as a regional retail center, and its economic bases are driven by agriculture, a large medical community, and Texas Tech University.
Adjacent to the University is an historic neighborhood known as Overton Park. Built in the early 1900's, it was on this tract of land sandwiched between Texas Tech and downtown Lubbock, where Delbert and Carolyn McDougal began their family business.
About Legacy Editions
Legacy Editions is a newly created trade book imprint of Historical Publishing Network.
"For some time, we've wanted to create a business book division for general bookstore distribution, and felt that Failure is not an Option was the perfect book to launch it with," said Ron Lammert, president of HPN.
Historical Publishing Network is a subsidiary of Lammert Publications, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas. Since 1973, the company has produced directories, magazines and maps for chambers of commerce and trade associations. In addition, the company has owned several newspapers and magazines.
Lammert created Historical Publishing Network in 1995 with the mission of helping to preserve in print some of the nation's invaluable local historical narratives. The venture is also committed to building a mechanism to help generate needed funding for organizations dedicated to historic preservation.
