The Hard Life and Restless Mind of America's Education Billionaire

By: Bill BreenWed Dec 19, 2007 at 12:39 AM

John Sperling was born dirt-poor, fell in with Communists, and became a union organizer who led a strike that ended in disaster. Today, he runs the world's largest for-profit university -- and a company whose shares are defying gravity on Wall Street. So why do so many smart people say such terrible things about him? And why does he relish their attacks?

Take bet-the-farm risks. "I drove my company to near bankruptcy on a couple of occasions. That kind of bet-the-farm risk taking helped build the Apollo Group. But I had nowhere to go but up. I had nothing to lose."

Challenge authority. "If you challenge authority, but you're not tough enough or shrewd enough to carry it off, you'll be ill served by this advice. The same can be said for a number of characteristics that have served me best: opportunism, joy in conflict, a thrill from taking risks. None of them is a safe ride."

Never set a goal. "An English historian once observed, 'He goes farthest who knows not whence he goes.' There's much truth in this. If you have a goal, you're constrained by the goal. Organizations must have a coherent philosophy, a clear direction, and the strategies to make the journey successful."

Bill Breen (bbreen@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior editor. Learn more about the Apollo Group (www.apollogrp.edu) on the Web.