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Meanderings from Jean's Desk....
Blog Archive
Feb 1, 2012: Transforming Our Thinking
Jan 2, 2012: Looking At Life From The Third Person This Year
Dec 15, 2011: There Is No Standing Still
Dec 1, 2011: Scarcity or Abundance?
Nov 15, 2011: Am I a Human Doing or a Human Being?
Oct 17, 2011: Seek Fresh Eyes To Ask Better Questions
Oct 1, 2011: Solving For A Greater Purpose
Sept 15, 2011: If Not Now Then When
August 22, 2011: Consider That Heaven Has A Better View
August 1, 2011: Though I May Not Be Gracious I Want Attention Too!
June 1, 2011: Albert Einstein And Problem Solving
Video
2009 Kenosha Business of the Year:
LMI Packaging Solutions, Inc.
Why Do You Still Do It!
As the CEO and owner of a privately held company that is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear. From business friends who have sold their companies, to candidates I am interviewing (yes we are hiring these days), everyone wants to know when and if I am going to sell the business? The latter is always a surprise to me because most often what they are most worried I may do as a mid-sized company owner is what their last large company employer just did. But it is a good question and this Holiday season the answer presented itself to me loud and clear.
We went into the Holiday season winning the Business of the Year award in our city. A video was done on us and when I saw it I felt a pride I had never felt before. Everything my dad, who started the company back in 1967, had dreamt about had become a reality and was featured in that video. He wanted customers to be taken care of the way they deserved to be and he wanted the people he employed to have a voice that was heard and respected, unlike his experience prior to starting this company.
Today, Customer Intimacy is a part of just about every conversation we have at LMI Packaging Solutions, and we have a lot of them. We have learned to talk about how we can positively affect our customers’ bottom lines and not just ours. It is a challenging and a great conversation.
At our quarterly companywide meetings in addition to discussing Customer Intimacy we have long had a practice of every employee contributing something uniquely theirs to share. Over the years many people have come up to me and asked if we could please discontinue that practice because public speaking scared them to death. But everyone having a voice was one of the core values the company was built on. Fortunately there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Instead of stopping the tradition of full expression we worked really hard to take the scare out and make those meetings safe for all to speak. We listened hard to everyone who spoke and made it clear that an “intolerable” was to negate or make fun of anything that was said in that forum. It didn’t happen overnight but eventually all assembled learned every person had something to say and every voice was important.
A few days before our Annual Christmas party this year I was told everyone was wondering what my question for them would be this year? It was an easy one for me; “What do you want to say to the rest of the team that helped you win the World Series”, because that is what we did this year. Against all odds we won the World Series of business and hit all our goals in a very tough economy. It was hard work and every single player had to nail his position, but with an effort better than I had ever seen before, the team did it. And as each person came up to give their remarks I was taken aback by what they had to say.
They thanked each other for providing them the opportunity to work. They thanked the company for holding our Fourth Annual Day of Caring giving them the opportunity to expose their children to something that was a very meaningful part of their world. Every single person was proud, happy and grateful to be a part of a community that made a difference for all its stakeholders and one they had personally played a huge part in creating. No one asked not to speak this time. Everyone was listened to and respected for what they had to say.
And for my part as I reflected on this past year, decade, and Holiday season I knew that is why I still do it after all these years. This isn’t work. This is just great living; being a part of a community that makes a difference in the world. That’s something meaningful to build on, not to sell.
I’ve included a link to our Business of the Year video here. Please take a look. This is the first of my bi-monthly blogs about LMI Packaging Solutions and the difference it strives to make in the world and all it has taught me. It has been a great journey which I so look forward to continuing and to all of you who are a part of our past, present and/or future, let me begin by saying the most important thing there is to say; a very heartfelt THANKS!
Questions, comments for Jean?
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