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Lin Hart

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Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice.: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire Kindle Edition

by Lin Hart (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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2018 REVISED & RE-EDITED EDITION: As the man behind the unprecedented 1987 leveraged buyout of Beatrice Foods, Reginald F. Lewis established himself as a respected titan of Wall Street. His standing as the CEO of a billion dollar conglomerate while in his mid-forties surprised many, especially in light of his middle-class, African-American roots in Baltimore, Maryland. Yet the reality that Lewis, without the advantages of inherited wealth or family connections, would amass a fortune placing him on the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest individuals is undeniable and serves to amplify the truly remarkable achievement of this pioneering businessman.

What prepared the young man who would become one of the world's most respected executives for this unimaginable rise to the top. What can be learned from the formative years that shaped and molded Reginald F. Lewis into an American success story. Lin Hart's informative and inspirational new book, Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before the Billion-Dollar Empire, sets out to explore and shed first-hand insight on these precise topics. Focusing on the ten years between 1956 and 1966, when Baltimore teenagers Lin Hart and Reginald F. Lewis were particularly close, the book draws on shared experiences and memories from their years as high school students and then as college roommates at Virginia State.

With each entertaining, personal story, Lin Hart underscores the qualities that emerged during this period of Lewis's life, many of which would play a role in his future successes. Throughout what is clear is Lewis's will to succeed, his supreme confidence, and his unrelenting pursuit to move beyond the ordinary to become extraordinary. Richly layered with motivational insight and lovingly told with honest integrity, Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice combines the best attributes of a rousing memoir with the direct imperative of a self-help book, holding up the exceptional life of Reginald F. Lewis as an indisputable model for success.

Reading age

12 - 18 years
Print length

234 pages
Language

English
Grade level

6 - 12
Publication date

21 January 2013
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On Kindle Scribe
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About the Author

Lin Hart is a graduate of Virginia State University. He is a retired AT&T Network Systems Director. Lin and Reginald Lewis were neighborhood buddies growing up in West Baltimore, college roommates at Virginia State University and life long friends before Reginald's untimely death in 1993. Lin is married to Mary Frances (Washington) Hart. Mrs. Hart is a graduate of Virginia State University and Webster University. They have two children, Lin Hart Jr. and Gail Hart (deceased.) They also have three grandchildren. Lin and Frances currently reside in Chesterfield, MO

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AILCE8M
Publisher ‏ : ‎ LHA Publishing Company (21 January 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1252 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 234 pages

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Lin Hart

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My name is Linwood (Lin) Hart and I'm the author, "Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire." (2018 REVISED, RE-EDITED EDITION)

During his lifetime Reginald F. Lewis achieved great wealth and success on Wall Street, but this book is not about his wealth. It is about a period in Reginald's life, long before the wealth. It describes the difficulties and challenges he faced as a teenager and young man. Stories contained in this book, will provide an early glimpse into the making of the man, well before the making of the money. Readers will begin to understand how Reginalds carefully scripted planning and the force of his determination helped transform him from an ordinary young man to an extraordinary businessman/lawyer.

In the 70's thru the early 90's, Reginald F. Lewis was arguably the richest Black man on the planet. Regrettably, he passed away in 1993. In writing this book, I chose to focus on a specific 10-year period of Reginald his life. It was a period during which we were particularly close and it is a period little has been written about.

I'm a Maryland native, having lived as a teenager in the same West Baltimore neighborhood that Reginald F. Lewis's family moved to in 1952. Young Reginald and I met and became friends in 1956. We later became roommates and football teammates at Virginia State, remaining friends until Reginald's death in 1993.

I retired in 1995 from AT&T Network Systems. In my last position, I served as the Network Systems Engineering Director for International Services. I left to start my own company, Lin Hart & Associates specializing in professional speaker services and leadership coaching.

I am a graduate of Virginia State University. I currently reside with my wife, Frances, in Chesterfield, Missouri. We are the parents of two children, Lin Hart, Jr. and the late Gail Hart Stanfield.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lhacafe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReginaldFLewisBeforeTlcBeatrice/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linsr/

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The making of notable young black men.

Reviewed in the United States on 12 January 2013

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The significance of Lin's book is it shows why we need to constantly build up our young people. Both he and Reginald were destined to be solid members of the community, however these guys went well beyond anything any of us could have imagined. I was there during Reggie's climb and unfortunately did not see the world as he saw it. Reggie was concentrating on the future while many of us were dragging along the past. We were busy worrying about pot holes while Reggie was concentrating on learning to climb mountains. Every parent of a young African American or Hispanic male should see that a copy of this book is readily available in their home. Whenever the young male gets down because of the negative influences of people with low expectations or those low achievers who always seem to be around, he should be encouraged to pull out the books and read. The chapters covering Reggie's experience after leaving the campus of Virginia State should be enough to get him back on track. The experience before these chapters reflex a level of achievement that was exception during the 60's but what Reggie did after that was completely mind-boggling.

For those interested in understanding what it was like growing up in the ghetto during the late 50's and 60's, this is an excellent read. In addition, the role of the historically black colleges and universities is clearly demonstrated. I doubt if many of the folks presented in the book would have been as successfully had Virginia State University no been there to get them pointed in the right direction. Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire

One person found this helpful

Tom Newman

Leadership

Reviewed in the United States on 2 December 2012

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Lin Hart did an outstanding job of weaving the "journey to success" of Reginald F. Lewis from the least among us (the poor) to the successful few (wealthy) among us. The narrative begins in Baltimore in a neighborhood where "white flight" is dominating the eco-social environment where new social relationships are being established. In this new neighborhood, two young men from stable households meet and become friends. This book explores that friendship and bring meaning to lessons and experiences they learned along the route from their first encounter to Reginald's death.

Lin Hart illuminates how committed Reginald was to his goals and how he was able to achieve them even when odds were against him. Even in defeat as with his failure to make the football team, Reginald was able to refocus and energize his efforts to pursue bigger goals. Reginald was a hustler in that he was accomplishment driven and would not accept defeat in getting what he targeted. His attention to detail and planning, armed him with the knowledge and flexibility to outmaneuver his adversaries and win. He took ownership for his actions and his success had no equals.

The leadership of Reginald F Lewis reflected in this book is futuristic for the time he lived. He managed to win with robust goals, detail planning and knowledge of the environment he was working. He refused to accept the idea that he could not achieve what had been denied to Black Americans.

This is a great read in Leadership which is well written.

6 people found this helpful

Rachel

Lin Hart's Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice .. represents the work of a storyteller at his best!

Reviewed in the United States on 25 December 2012

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Lin Hart's Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion -Dollar Empire reveals a compelling storyteller at work. I found myself reading the book in one sitting. The insight it gives into the early lives of two very successful businessmen is well worth one's reading time. Through the friendly conversational tone one sees that the author himself is talented in many areas: business, public speaking, coaching, mentoring, and writing. It is clear that Lin Hart would have been successful as a professional athlete or radio/television broadcaster, had he chosen one of those fields. Overall, Hart's Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire represents the makings of a successful writer. He has at least one more book worth writing- his autobiography, and I am looking forward to reading it.

Reviewer, Lawrence E. Penn, Jr

2 people found this helpful

D. Abijah Dean

Components of Good Dialogue: The Container Analogy Hart and Lewis were ...

Reviewed in the United States on 5 April 2016

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Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice by Linwood Hart:
A Review.
Linwood Hart was a childhood friend, college roommate, football teammate, and fraternity brother to Reginald Lewis, lawyer, financier, philanthropist. This proximity gave him a unique perspective on Lewis and adds credibility to his account of Lewis' early life.
The Book's Layout
The end result is distinct from the parts. The author picks up steam and substance after a somewhat choppy start. The book is also a little achronological. He tends to move forward in time, move back, and then forward again. This aspect, however, does not detract from the substance of the read. It is a page turner.
Components of Good Dialogue: The Container Analogy
Hart and Lewis were close enough to engage is contentious, wide-ranging debates. Hart was neither intimidated by Lewis' energy nor was he fragile to Lewis' dogmas and judgments. According to Hart, Lewis had a habit of measuring people to determine if they were worth his time and could at times be dismissive of people that he didn't feel measured up. The following is an excerpt that describes their relationship:
"...Much like a cup or a bowl, in which we submit all of our views, opinions, and sometimes our feelings during a discussion or dialogue. When we engage others in this manner, what we say and how we say it becomes key in sustaining the relationship and the conversation. Knowing and trusting the other party beforehand is critical because all that we say and do goes into our relationship container. If all parties agree that their stake in the relationship is too important to mess it up, there's a good possibility their containers can sustain a lot of heat. Relationships that are not built this way can not sustain having a productive [contentious] conversation. You cannot pour steaming hot liquid into a container made of paper and expect it to hold up. Conversely [I think he meant similarly], you cannot expect to repeatedly pour White Hot Rhetoric into it and expect the relationship to last. In our case, there was much we disagreed on, but we were always able to set the container aside and let it cool off until the next engagement."
Lewis would later refer to these dorm-room debates as having prepared him for many business encounters that were often contentious.
Setbacks and Comebacks
Reginald Lewis was a bona fide high school, football, quarterbacking superstar. He and Hart, who did not take a college prep curriculum in high school but was always confident in his academic abilities, earned football scholarships to Virginia State University.
Setback 1: All football players had to take assessment exams to see whether they would have to take regular of remedial courses. Reginald Lewis did not pass these tests, but Lin Hart did. Lewis had to complete a year of remedial courses. He congratulated Hart on having passed the tests. Hart and another guy they thought was a brute were the only two to pass the tests.
Setback 2: Likely due to a nagging shoulder injury, Reginald Lewis had his football scholarship permanently revoked after his freshmen year and never played football again. He responded by doubling down on his school work and working part time in a number of odd jobs. He also attended summer school every summer to graduate on time and negotiated his way into a summer law program at Harvard Law School. Resilience!
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Lewis was motivated to join Kappa Alpha Psi after observing two [bruhs] who he felt always appeared to have their stuff together. His first attempt was postponed, Hart suspects, because of his grades. Hart and Al Banks (Banks, Hart, and Lewis were known on campus as the Baltimore boys) were accepted in the fall of 62. Hart had to drop because of an administrative error that left him one hour short of the requirement to pledge. Initially, Hart declared it was no way he was starting over, but Lewis used his powers of influence to convince Hart to join him in the spring. In spring 1963, both Hart and Lewis were accepted and completed the process to earn membership.
According to Hart, Lewis, who was usually reserved, was elated at having become a member of the fraternity. He let loose and celebrated his feat. He was known to wear his KAPsi golf cap around campus. He was a dedicated member to a point. His loyalty to the frat stopped at his prized vehicle, an Austin Healey, which he refused to let Al Banks use in a campus parade when Al ran for student council president (It was Hart's idea, not Al's). Another brother conceded and allowed Banks to use his jaguar. In all other respects, Lewis campaigned on Banks' behalf. Banks won the election.
Quips from the book!
"If you are going to play the part, then you had damn well better look the part."
"When competing for a job, individual performance matters, and at the end of the day, it's up to the individual to deliver."
"The most important step in playing in any game was finding a way to get in the game."
"Before you can talk someone...into helping you to achieve something extraordinary, you had to talk yourself into believing you were capable of pulling it off."
"Reginald was not someone who spent a lot of time worrying about what others thought of him."
"The fact most people operated without a plan or a specific set of goals meant they lacked the vision to see the vast number of opportunities being presented to them every day."
"Most successful people got that way because they were planners."
"Reginald was not the kind of person who required a lot of attention."
"A dominant posture that was appropriate for a college man was shoulders up, looking serious, and appearing...in control."
"The more we invest in adopting the right belief system, the more likely we are to arrive at our destination."
"Those who achieved great success were able to do so because they were able to envision themselves achieving great success in their mind's eye."
"Appearance and behavior are powerful tools when it comes to creating a successful image or the right impression."
"By not pushing the limits of our competence, we allow the good to become the enemy of great."
"He [Lewis] understood that success is determined by many factors, among the most important were a clear vision, determination, hard work, and timing."
Summary
Reginald Lewis was not the most capable student. He was not successful at becoming a college football quarterback. He had to wait to join the fraternity for what his Baltimore boys suspected were his grades. However, some of his greatest attributes were his big dreams, his tendency to push the limits of his capability, and overarching belief that once he was in, he was going to stay in. After graduating from VSU, Reginald finagled his way into a summer law program at Harvard Law School. Unbeknownst to Harvard Law, he had attended classes for a few months before they realized he had not been officially admitted. He convinced the dean to let him stay! Nupe!
Excellent read overall. Much respect to Brother Linwood Hart for taking the time to share his stories with the world.
Four of five stars. Highly recommended.

4 people found this helpful

Warren B. Edmonds

Now I Know the Rest of the Story

Reviewed in the United States on 19 December 2012

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Reading the Book, "Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire", was like going back in a time capsule to that period in time in the Book and reliving the moments I shared with the Author, Lin Hart and Reginald Lewis in Baltimore, MD. I now know how Lin and Reggie made it to the top of their business careers. The Book "unlocked the door to the secret formula" that led to their successful careers. The Book is steeped with a "How To" List of "Principles" to follow and "Goals to set" in order to reach your full potential using your "God-Given" talents. It is all in the Book and I congratulate Lin for documenting those formative years and sharing with others the "modus-operandi" to success. I also thank Lin and consider it an honor to be mentioned in his Book.

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Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice.: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire Kindle Edition

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