Table of Contents I. Prologue - Stanislav Knotek.................................................... ' II. The Unforgettable Thomas J. Bata..............................................9 Zdenek Pokluda - Coming Home to Zlín ..........................................10 Jiri F. Sedlácek - I did not join a company, but a way of life.................. 15 Rudolf Schuster - If you want to do business in this country, buy your property back....................................21 Jan Vrba - I can't sleep in a loss-making hotel .................... 27 Ján Holcík - If you help me, I will go to Slovakia....................29 Georgina Steinsky - The Embodiment of a Responsible Capitalist....................33 Alena Gajdušková - Thomas J. Bata will always be my inspiration..................38 Magda Vašáryová - A Memory That Will Never Fade.................................40 Matej Minác - The Day that Changed My Life..................................44 Jaroslav Rybka - Thomas J. Bata Lives On ......................................49 Michal Janský - If you don't know, just say so................................54 Michaela Šojdrová - If we aim high and work hard, we will succeed ................56 Pavel Stodulka - Let's drink a nip of Slivovitz to our health!.................58 Petr Chmela - Your pots are truly unbreakable...............................60 Jiri Rosenfeld - If You Want Good Co-Workers, Train Them Yourself..............62 Karel Horelka - Do my laces up tight, and I mean tight! ......................66 Jaroslav Odstrcil - I can't just sit around, waiting for my shoes to be re-soled .69 Libor Lukáš - And who do you think will be buying this? ................... 73 František Belícek - You're Bata? Anyone could say that!.......................... 76 Petr Sáhá - All it takes is just to keep going........................... 78 Lucie Pilipová - Tom, Sonja And Their Boundless Energy.........................82 Andrea Kadlcíková - As a matter of fact, I rest all the time......................85 František Hajdúch - Dolní Nemcí must be full of good, hard-working people.........87 Jan Pijácek - How Thomas J. Bata Helped To Build A Maypole In Vlcnov .......89 Leoš Novotný - Thomas J. Bata - Inspiring Visionary..........................92 Martina Kadlcíková - Even Door Handles Obeyed Him!.................................94 Miroslav Hovorák - Make a go of it or you will go! ..............................95 Ondrej Mazuch - He was like a friend .........................................97 Pavel Hajný - Coffee or tea?...........................................99 Pavel Velev - What are you going to do now that Mr. Bata has fired you? ... 101 Vera Maršíková - His dearest wish was never granted......................104 Stanislav Knotek - Saythatl jumped out as well.............................108 III. Turning An Omelet Back Into Eggs, or From Post-War Ruin To The Largest Shoemaking Company In The World The situation at the Bata organization after World War II....................... 116 Building the largest shoemaking empire in the world.............................123 IV. From Inexperience to Wisdom (selected articles, speeches and essays of Thomas J. Bata) Mountaineering in Switzerland (1929)............................................ 144 Our department stores in 40 years time (1934) .................................. 146 The importance of movement in business (1935)................................... 149 Thomas Jan Bata’s acceptance speech for the title of Doctor Honoris Causa (1992)... 153 Thomas J. Bata, the first chairman of the Alumni Club of the Bata School Of Work (1992) .... 157 People at the heart of the new economy (2000)................................... 160 Thomas J. Bata’s statement on the compensation claim for the nationalized Bata assets (2007)...................................... 166 Thomas J. Bata’s statement on Jan Antonin Bata's judicial rehabilitation (2007). 169 V. Some More Things We Should Know About Thomas J. Bata Overview of important posts with international reach and significance........... 171 Overview of prestigious titles and awards.......................................175 Junior Achievement Amabassador in the Czech Republic and Slovakia .............. 178 Birth and mission of the Thomas Bata Foundation.................................181 Commitment to Canadian Armed Forces.............................................186