
                       MENTAL, PHYSICAL, 
                     AND SPIRITUAL FITNESS 



                  JOHN W. TEETS, 32, KCCH 
                    Chairman, President and 
                    Chief Executive Officer 
                      The Dial Corporation 
                   1850 North Central Avenue 
                     Phoenix, Arizona 85004 

   If you live long enough, you very possibly will experience 
the sorrowful loss of loved ones and of material possessions. 

   In my case, my first trial of faith came when my young and 
healthy first wife passed away totally unexpectedly. And then, 
within a few short months, my brother, with whom I was 
extremely close, was killed in a freak accident. And again, in 
that same year, my first business, which I had poured my heart 
and energy into making a huge success (a shopping complex, 
including restaurant, stores, and an ice rink) burned to the 
ground in a spectacular fire. Suddenly, at age 30, I was a 
widowed father with two young daughters and out of business. If 
ever, here was a true test for one's emotional and spiritual 
foundations. 

   Although emotionally devastating at the time, in retrospect, 
those emotional hard knocks helped shape attitudes and values 
which have stayed with me to this day. As most of us learn, 
character is not always refined by good fortune, but rather is 
often forged on the anvil of adversity. 

   At times like these, survivors must dig down into themselves 
and call upon a Supreme Being for the purpose and toughness to 
carry on, to rebuild, to prevail. 

   I did, and though the recollection of that year still numbs 
me, it definitely forced a reassessment of my values, goals, 
and spirituality. I learned that I had to stop tackling 
problems emotionally and to start overcoming obstacles through 
planning 

   In 1956, I was raised at the Monitor Lodge No. 522 in Elgin, 
Illinois. The new insights on history and morality, ideas that 
I had not been fully exposed to prior to my becoming a Mason, 
in combination with Scripture, were a test for my spiritual 
values and beliefs. In addition, the close family 
relationships, the balanced approach to life, and the 
dedication and adherence to moral precepts that are in the 
Bible have expanded my leadership horizons, have helped me find 
peace in myself, and have increased my self-esteem. 

   And I've come to believe that my personal trials, along with 
the sense of individual responsibility inherited from my father 
and tempered through Freemasonry, gave me inner strengths that 
prepared me to lead one of America's Fortune 500 firms: The 
Dial Corporation. 

   From our new corporate headquarters, the Dial Tower in 
midtown Phoenix, Arizona, my management team directs the 
manufacturing and global marketing of consumer brands like 
Dial, Purex, and Brillo. We also serve food in airports and on 
airlines through our Dobbs Houses subsidiary, are the official 
cruise line of Walt Disney World with our Premier Cruise Lines, 
manufacture buses, operate national park facilities, and are 
the largest seller of money orders in the country through our 
Travelers Express subsidiary. Given such a diversity of 
businesses, there are many days that begin tough, stay tough, 
and end tough. For me, an extra measure of stamina flows from 
my lifelong dedication to physical fitness, as well as moral 
fitness. From an early age, my father advocated regular 
exercise for me and my three brothers. I believe that people 
who stay in shape gain an edge in dealing with stress, warding 
off disease, and enjoying a higher quality of life. And they 
also make better employees, as they are better able to 
withstand the daily rigors of competitive business. I keep a 
workout room in my own home, and I push myself to the limit 
with weight lifting and bench pressing. My family also 
participates actively in regular workouts. And while I could 
ride the elevator to my office atop Dial Tower, I frequently 
walk up the 24 flights. 

   Maintaining physical fitness helps your mental attitude. 
When you feel good and look good, your emotions are in better 
shape. You are more secure and comfortable in your life and 
job. You have more self-esteem and confidence. 

   Show me a person with a positive mental attitude, and I'll 
show you a winner. If you have a negative attitude toward 
yourself, your job and your family, then you almost always will 
be a failure. 

   Caring about my own health seems to heighten my concern for 
others. Several years ago, there was a certain amount of 
consternation associated with the establishment of our entire 
headquarters as a smoke-free work environment; today, with 
mounting evidence of the hazards of secondary tobacco smoke, I 
believe the majority of our employees are grateful that their 
company was a pioneer in ensuring unpolluted air in the 
workplace. 

   We also have had a deep and abiding concern regarding the 
environment. Over the past several years, in partnership with 
valued, major customers, our consumer products plants have 
intensified efforts to formulate and package goods with reduced 
impact upon the environment. We've set ambitious goals for 
recycling materials and reducing solid waste in America's 
landfills. Our companies have enthusiastically embraced the 
idea that the 1990s will be Dial's Decade of the Environment.  
"Take Less, Leave Less" is our motto. 

   Most prominent, perhaps, is our outreach to young Americans. 
Every January at the Touchdown Club Banquet in Washington, 
D.C., we present the prestigious Dial Award to the nation's 
outstanding male and female high school student/athletes. Past 
win-ners have included football running back Herschel Walker 
and hoopster whiz  (now  TV  commentator) Cheryl  Miller. In 
our headquarters community,  in  and  around  Phoenix, fully 
half of our charitable donations go to causes and scholarships 
which directly assist and educate children and minority youths. 

   Even after nearly 40 years of solid work, I still see 
something of myself in them. My first regular job, at age 14, 
was dessert boy at the Milk Pail Cafe in Dundee, Illinois. I 
entered my 20s as manager at another location. Soon I had a 49 
percent interest in my own placethe one that went up in smoke 
in 1963. 

   To snap me out of my despondency, a friend suggested that I 
apply to manage two restaurants operated by Greyhound Bus Lines 
at the 1964 New York World's Fair. What work! Eigh-teen-hour 
days. No days off. But at the fair there were only two 
profitable restaurants...both of them mine. 

   Successes at the fair led to a series of restaurant 
management positions, at Greyhound's Post Houses, at J.R. 
Thompson (owned by the Green Giant Corporation), at ITT's 
Canteen, run by Harold Geneena man who inspired many of the 
business procedures I use today. In 1975, Greyhound offered me 
a presidency in its food management group. Then, ten years ago 
came the chairmanship of a company represented by one of 
America's most recognizable logos, the running greyhound. 

   The logo was about all that was running at top speed. 
Airline deregulation was killing the intercity bus business. 
Also, our unionized Armour meatpacking plants didn't have a 
chance  competing  with  unorganized packers. Eventually we 
sold off those cash-hemorrhaging businesses, and more than 20 
other losing enterprises. 

   The reader may fairly ask, "Is this writer asking me to 
believe that a global, diversified corporation such as Dial 
could be led through a decade of raw, wrenching change under 
policies that in essence put into practice the Golden Rule?" 
From my heart, the answer is, "Yes." 

   As I see it, the high ideals and moral principles of 
American Freemasonry are in harmony with free enterprise at its 
best. Indeed, if the short definition of ethical conduct is, 
"doing the right thing when the law doesn't require it," that 
also works as a business philosophy. In recent times, ethical 
business conduct has been put to the test, and, unfortunately, 
has been found wanting. The nation's press has revealed case 
after case of insider trading scandals, contract kickbacks, 
consumer fraud, trust violations, and conflicts of interest. No 
wonder national surveys reflect widespread public disapproval 
of the business world! 

   I believe that more than two centuries of American business 
success can be traced to a solid value system handed down from 
parents to children. In my own case, I learned from a 
traditional journeyman father the axiom, "Give an honest day's 
work for an honest day's pay." Sure, that sounds quaintly old-
fashioned and simplistic, but it makes good sense as a cultural 
guideline, even today. 

   In my view, during the next decade, we must reexamine the 
sources of American social and moral powers. In times past, 
probably the high expectations of the family unit deserved more 
credit for ethical business behavior than the U.S. Constitution 
and all the laws of the land. Today this core social 
institution called family is under assault from a dozen 
directions. Responsibilities once considered the sacred duties 
of parents have been assumed by bureaucracy. Economic and 
social forces undermine parental authority. I certainly am not 
one to advocate a return to a breadwinner-homemaker household, 
but loss of touch with our children is a high price to pay for 
our modern lifestyle. 

   In the workplace, also, ethical procedures must be defined. 
Currently circulating through the business realm is the catch 
phrase "corporate culture." Although highly subjective, the 
notion of a company personality is valid. One of my fellow 
CEO's gave it a short, sweet meaning: "It's the way we do 
things around here." Beyond organizational policy, corporate 
culture is collectively shaped by people at work, day by day. 

   Collectively, a company acquires a distinct identity. It is 
the unique sum of the history, skills, values, language, 
traditions, and motivations of a work force. It may be 
difficult to prove, but I'm convinced that ethical actions by 
one employee can rub off on others. Often, it starts at the 
top. 

   Of course, The Dial Corporation, along with many other 
businesses, publishes its own code of conduct, designed to 
govern social and business relationships. More than somebody's 
arbitrary list of rules, the code attempts to elevate ethical 
behavior to a personal and business asset. Periodically subject 
to review in light of changing times, the code tries to spell 
out high standards of corporate citizenship, among them: 

     The company's mandate to deliver quality goods and 
      services at prices fair to the company and its 
      customers. 

     Unshakable rules prohibiting employee bribes and 
      kickbacks. 

     Participation in political activities that honor the 
      spirit, as well as the letter, of the law. 

   At Dial, at least once a year, every employee is required to 
refresh his or her understanding of the company code of 
conduct. 

   Now and then, I'm asked to sum up The Dial Corp's business 
creed. Usually these points are included: 

     Your positive enthusiastic attitude is equally as 
      important as your ability. 

     Link planning with persistence: plan your work, but also 
      work your plan. 

     You must be accountable for your actions. 

     Luck is the intersection where preparation meets 
      opportunity. 

     Creativity should spring from all sources of our company. 

     Decision-making is an exercise in raw courage. When in 
      doubt, examine the facts. 

     Before you borrow, remember you've got to pay it back. 

     Depend only on irrefutable information. And be sure you 
      have asked the right questions. 
  
     Failure has one bonus: you learn what doesn't work. 

     Self-control is central to all aspects of life. 

     In the end, winning in business begins with mastership 
      of detail. 

   Hanging on my office wall are words of Abraham Lincoln, "I 
will prepare myself and my time will come."  I firmly believe 
that, and preparation is paramount in all aspects of our 
business operations. 

   I also subscribe to the advice of Bro Theodore Roosevelt, 
"Our country calls not for a life of ease, but for the life of 
strenuous endeavor." 

   And the truth uttered by Jerome P. Fleishman: "It takes 
courage to live courage and strength and hope and humor have 
to be bought and paid for with pain and work and prayers and 
tears." 

   Such words of wisdom help a person sort out his priorities, 
and mine are in this order: my God, my family, my work. When I 
am gone, I hope I am remembered by these words: "He was a good 
father." 


-----

John W. Teets heads the Dial Corporation and is a member of 
Monitor Lodge No. 522 in Elgin, Illinois, and the Scottish Rite 
Bodies of Phoenix, Arizona. 

