The Clifton Review 

The Clifton Review is a tri-weekly column that examines the question of the Clifton project along with the evolution of the war between two billionaires. We covered the start of this war with articles describing the battle over easement rights, the mysterious burning of a home, the blocks to rebuilding, and countless questionable court filings.

The 2018 series salutes fashion mogul Peter Nygård’s Golden Jubilee detailing his rags to riches story and incredible business success over these past fifty years. The Clifton Review will take an inside look at how he did it. 

What It Takes To Be The Best

By P.J. Malone

How badly do you want to win when you participate in anything? Are you prepared to do what it takes?

We often laud winners because we admire their ability to achieve near impossible feats, to rise above the competition, and to be the best.

Why is this? Because we know that it is not easy to come out on top of any competition no matter the nature. And that’s exactly the point.

In order to be the best at anything, it requires such dedication and hard work that many people are not prepared to do what it takes. You have to really want something so badly that you can engage in the rigors involved in trying to achieve number one status.

From our study of fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s success, we’ve gotten a peek into some of the rigors he chose to engage in that allowed him to turn an eight-thousand-dollar company into many multi millions of dollars mega success over fifty years.

There are a number of clues as to how he has done this; many of which has to do with his characteristics: We’ve heard of his sixteen-hour days, his perfectionism, his attention to detail, his strategic thinking, and his belief that nothing is impossible to achieve.

We’ve talked about his ability to motivate his staff to help him achieve his goals, and his generosity in giving $10,000-dollar gifts to employees who have stayed with him for a quarter of a century or more.

But one of the standouts is Peter Nygard’s determination to be the best at everything that he does. It’s a standout not just because of this goal; it’s a standout because of what it takes to be the best and because of what he is prepared to do to be the best.

This story has been told of his doing what it takes, which is just one example from his teenage years.

When Peter was playing basketball in high school, he wanted to be the best at it. So everyday after basketball practice with the coach, which you could imagine is already late in the day, he would stay behind in the gym to practice his free throws.

However, Peter didn’t practice the way anyone else would. He would put serious pressure on himself. He told himself that he had to successfully make ten free throw shots in a row before he could go home for dinner.

So, even if he got to nine successful free throws, but then missed the tenth shot, he would have to start over again. There were times when he had to throw more than 100 free throw shots to achieve ten in a row.

When asked why he did this, Peter replied, “I wanted to place the same pressure on myself as I would have if I was playing in an actual basketball game.”

Peter’s hard work, competitive nature and drive to always be the best paid off. In high school he was a top athlete on every sports team, which included basketball, volleyball and track and field as well as curling, badminton and tennis.

I’m sure it helped that Peter’s mom, Hilkka, attended every one of his sporting events come rain or shine. As an athletic champion in so many of Glenlawn Collegiate (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada) sporting programs, Peter was the winner of the Male Athlete of the Year award at his graduation.

With such dedication and perfectionism, it was a no-brainer for the school to name Peter Nygård Male Athlete of the Year.

Would any of us be prepared to give that much time and sacrifice to be the best?

In business, that is often what it takes. It is the drive to be the best that allows a business person to work the long hours it takes, to make constant improvements, to be a strategic thinker, to be a perfectionist and pay uncompromising attention to details, and to motivate staff to do what it takes to achieve the company’s goals.

It is this kind of ceaseless drive and unending dedication that led to an 800-million-dollar success for Peter Nygard. There is no doubt that such an approach can lead to great business success for others also.

But how prepared are you to do what it takes?