When Travis Greenwood was nineteen, he learned a meaningful leadership lesson he still applies today as a small business owner. Travis was a sophomore in college, working as an intern at an association management firm. Each day, after work, he’d catch a bus to get back to his college campus. On one particular day, Skip, Vice President of the [ Read More ]
Team members at Solid Blend Technologies had a unified vision, but gaps in the company’s operations were starting to show. Solid Blend Technologies is a Dayton-based service water management company established in 1999. A company that’s growing often sees new, unforeseen challenges—and that was no different for Solid Blend Technologies, says Ken Elrich, President of Solid Blend Technologies and his wife, [ Read More ]
When the very first employee was hired at The Greentree Group, Travis Greenwood (now President & CEO of the strategic technology consulting firm), talked to his wife about how to bring the new team member onboard. His wife, Lisa, said, “Let’s send him something to welcome him, like a fruit basket.” So they did, and after 25 years, the tradition [ Read More ]
Several years ago, a customer came to Promotional Spring asking for point of purchase signage. (Promotional Spring is a company that creates experiences and solutions that help organizations to promote their products and services.) Even though they had asked for a specific deliverable, after further conversation, leaders at Promotional Spring realized the customer had 4 different pain points. Those challenges they [ Read More ]
It’s been said that in the knowledge economy, it’s now every individual's responsibility to innovate with the customer in mind. When developing a new product or service, does your organization get feedback from customers along the way? And, do you seek, find, and use those customer-driven insights to shape your products or services? Here are two things to keep [ Read More ]
People picked on my generation. People picked on my fathers’ generation. People are picking on this generation, and I think it’s wrong,” says Scott McGohan, CEO at McGohan Brabender, a company that provides employee benefit consulting, compliance, and health risk management. “We have to understand technology and communication paths that are going to be attractive [across generations], but to pretend [ Read More ]
This Insights post has been updated. For our latest thinking on professional management, see our most recent post here. In the video below a number of small business owners explain—in their own words—how professional management has helped their businesses. Professional management is something that can help you run your business, rather than letting it run you. It [ Read More ]
John Werner, President/CEO of White Commercial Corporation, knew something had changed around his organization when, one day, he walked by a conference room and noticed a meeting he was completely unaware was taking place. No invite or no notification—nothing. “We have a big window that you see from the hallway, and it looked like they were really getting work accomplished,” [ Read More ]
What’s one of the biggest challenges in small business today? Keeping employees motivated and productive, says Marty Grunder, President and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co., in Dayton, Ohio. Knowing how difficult this can be, Marty shared a few lessons on how to create a high-energy, productive atmosphere at work. Lesson #1: Make Time For Individuals to Express How They [ Read More ]
When hiring, LaRosa’s, Inc.’s philosophy is, “Good people know good people.” That’s why they make sure to tap their current employee base to help find additional great talent, says Steve Browne, Executive Director of HR at LaRosa’s. (LaRosa’s is a chain of pizza restaurants located in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.) “When we have openings, we go to our team [ Read More ]
Sitting on one of the office couches with the garage door open—the light and breeze freely flowing in—Adam Landrum, President & CEO at Up&Up took a moment to take in his surroundings. Adam was sitting in the Up&Up office, located in Greenville, South Carolina. He had designed the space to feel more like a coffee shop and bar rather [ Read More ]
Mike Mathile is an entrepreneur, family business executive, a private investor, husband, and father. He’s also an advisory and board member for multiple companies. While the business community may know him in such roles (Mike is Chairman of CYMI Holdings), many are unaware of the experience that’s greatly shaped how he leads today: his professional baseball past with the [ Read More ]
