Duncan Hines Whipped Up Expectations Innovate To Succeed: Entrepreneur's insistence on high quality transformed the hospitality industry.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: KATHRYN LINDERMAN

It was 1935, and Duncan Hines and his wife, Florence, were at a loss. What on earth could they give friends for Christmas?

The couple was tired of sending the same old holiday cards everyone else sent. But they couldn't afford to give large gifts to all of their friends.

Ever the innovator, Hines came up with a solution that not only pleased family and friends, it almost single-handedly transformed consumer expectations and the hospitality industry in the U.S., experts say.

Hines (1880-1959), a traveling salesman, thought about one of the biggest things he and his wife enjoyed -- good food. But it wasn't easy to find while he traveled on work. In fact, Hines had come to realize that "some eating places on the road should be avoided like the plague, while others were well worth a return visit," according to a Duncan Hines Co. history.

To keep from repeating eating mistakes, he and Florence began keeping a log of the restaurants he'd been to. He noted specialties of the house in his log, as well as the quality of the food and service.

"The library paste served as gravy in some short-order places was a personal insult," Hines wrote.