Bernie Marcus: The Home Depot Story [Outliers]

The Knowledge Project

Shane Parrish

Business, Society & Culture, Technology, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bernie Marcus is the co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot. This is how he built a culture of ownership, kept going when everyone turned him down, nearly lost it all, and created one of the most successful retailers in history. ----- Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:00) Part 1: An Accidental Miracle (09:29) Part 2: A Golden Horseshoe Kick (25:49) Part 3: Building From Nothing (38:53) Part 4: Orange Everywhere (49:40) Part 5: The Legacy (54:17) Lessons ----- Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------ Follow Shane Parrish:X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/shaneparrish Insta: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ ------ Thank you to the sponsors for this episode: .tech domains: Nothing says tech like being on .tech⁠⁠ https://get.tech/⁠ reMarkable: Get your paper tablet at ⁠https://www.reMarkable.com⁠ today ----- Sources: Marcus, Bernie, and Arthur Blank. Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion. New York: Crown Business, 1999. Best Practice Institute. "Bernie Marcus Interview." YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNP0YYDi1FY. ----- This episode is for informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's April 1978.
0:06.2	Bernie Marcus is 49 years old and his boss has just called the newspapers to announce that
0:11.1	he's firing him.
0:12.9	His boss even taunts him.
0:14.7	I'm going to fight you with the company's money and you're going to have to fight me with
0:18.1	your own money, which you don't have.
0:20.4	The worst part is?
0:21.6	He's right.
0:22.8	Bernie has nothing.
0:24.8	Bernie calls his friend, devastated.
0:26.7	Kenny, you told me I would get fired and it happened.
0:29.5	And now he's trying to destroy my life.
0:31.9	Ken's response, you've just been kicked in the ass with a golden horseshoe.
0:36.9	Bernie thought Ken had lost his mind.
0:39.4	18 months later, the Home Depot opened. 20 years later, Bernie was worth billions. So were his
0:45.9	partners and thousands of regular employees that became millionaires. They've revolutionized how
0:51.0	America thinks about home improvement. Getting fired was the best thing that
0:55.0	ever happened at Bernie Marcus. And once you hear this story, you'll understand why your worst
0:59.6	day might be your best opportunity. Welcome to the Knowledge Project. I'm your host, Shane Parrish.
1:06.3	This is an episode of Outliers, and it's all about mastering the best of what other people have
1:10.6	already figured out so you can use their lessons in your life. Today, we're going to talk about
1:16.0	Bernie Marcus and the incredible story of Home Depot. Bernie had no money. He walked away from
	...

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