In May of 2018, I wrote an article called “A World Class Corporate Culture,” which was about a Pewaukee company, Harken Yacht Equipment. Harken is THE premier brand of sailing products in their market. But what sets Harken apart is their culture and their core values. These are embodied in their core values statement called…
You may have heard someone say, “I don’t think companies should do strategic planning.” That well-worn and sometimes misused process doesn’t accurately reflect the work that needs to be done, or the work that organizations need to do. When my company consults with client teams, I like to refer to our sessions as “strategic and…
Clearly, the COVID-19 crisis is the Black Swan event of our business careers and maybe even our lives. At this writing (April 15th) we are still faced with an unprecedented amount of uncertainty. For some reason, I found this quote from Stanley McChrystal, US Army General, Retired, comforting. “If this is your first crisis in life,…
In my last column, I asked: “Are They Better Than Nothing?” — meaning employees in our companies who may be doing more harm than good. In this column, let’s get more positive and look at how to build your “A” Team. It’s clear we accomplish more together as a team, than as individuals. So as…
The 2018 Jobs Reports have been great and overall that’s wonderful news for our economy. Unemployment is at a 50+ year low! Of course, for business owners, this is a good news/bad news story. The good news is there are many employed people available to buy our goods and services. The bad news is finding…
Mark Twain once said, “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.” For hundreds of years, people have compared their fellow human beings to man’s best friend. We just adopted a terrific Miniature Australian Labradoodle named “Harken” from the Labradoodle Corral in Hartford, Wisconsin. http://www.thelabradoodlecorral.com As the Corral’s owner, Jeff Nienhaus,…
I was honored and fortunate to participate in Harken Inc.’s 50th anniversary celebration – first in Pewaukee, and then on to Italy. Harken enthusiasts traveled from virtually every continent, at their own expense, to help the company mark this golden anniversary with events both fascinating and fantastic. Founders Olaf and Peter Harken are true rock…
Greetings from Bayeux, France! We are wrapping up a fantastic 12-day motorcycle tour across France with the Edelweiss Bike Travel motorcycle touring company. Starting with two bikes, Werner Wachter and his wife, Coral, founded Edelweiss in 1980 in Mieming, Austria. Today, they have a fleet of nearly 200 bikes, 55 tour guides, 23 office team…
About 20 years ago, I was in the midst of a business crisis. This tended to be a monthly occurrence, but this time, the situation was truly dire. I visited with Mike Dunham, founder of Effective Management Systems – EMS, a developer of ERP and CRM systems, today known as WorkWise/OnContact. I described my problem…
For most who travel through Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport, we see a sign as we exit airport security identifying “The Recombobulation Area.” We probably take that sign for granted – perhaps we shouldn’t. First a little history. Recombobulation is somewhat of a made-up word, wryly invented by Barry Bateman, Mitchell International’s now-retired airport manager. According…