Lessons for Leaders: The accidental art dealer featuring Bill Kieger with Art Force written July 2014 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

How both personal and business experiences can lead to successful endeavors

Bill Kieger knows how to manage money and people, but a corporate art program? Well, he figured that out, too.

Kieger is the CEO of Art Force, a subsidiary of General Finance & Development (GFD), both based in Minneapolis. If you ask him, he might say his foray into the art business happened quite by accident.

Kieger spent the bulk of his early career at American Express Financial Advisors, now Ameriprise, where he ran his own division overseeing 12 offices, 200 financial advisors and more than $4 billion in financial assets.

The time came, however, when he decided he wanted more time and freedom and decided to leave to run his own company. He departed Ameriprise on good terms and took over GFD, a micro-cap holding company then involved in developing medical technologies. Shortly after Kieger sold one of GFD's companies, a business broker brought a struggling corporate art consulting business to his attention.

"I did not know or want to be in the art business," he recalls.

But sometimes life is all about timing and experiences. At Ameriprise, Kieger had purchased art for their offices from the same company the broker was presenting to him, so he was familiar with the business.

"When I left Ameriprise, I sold the art I bought for the office and I made money on it," he says. "I eventually started looking at art as an asset."

In 2009, GFD (listed as GFDV on the OTC Markets) purchased the assets of the aforementioned art consultancy, and formed Corporate Art Force, rebranded to Art Force in 2014.

Kieger knew he had to do things differently in order to be successful. So his first step was relocating the company to where the Twin Cities artists congregate: the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.

His next move? Focusing on how to go to market. "We knew we had a business model that was not profitable and not working."

Art Force revamped the entire business model by introducing new roles and processes to improve their efficiencies and to better position themselves in the market.

For instance, he created a professional development and certification program for the art consultants, who previously had no formalized training or structured consulting process. Then, he created a sales and marketing department focused on market intelligence, marketing campaigns, lead generation, and business development. This freed the art consultants to focus more on what they do best – managing projects and working with clients to customize art to best reflect their culture and brand. After all, it doesn't make sense for a hospital to have art on the walls that does not consider the patient experience and outcomes.

"This intrinsic value of art cannot be overlooked," said Kieger.

But perhaps the biggest change they implemented was an "art as a service" model. In the past, the company sold the art outright to the end-user, which limited the company's growth potential. So Kieger and his team revamped their entire pricing model and initiated the "Smart Art Program," which is a recurring program for both the customer and for Art Force.

For a monthly fee, customers get original artwork that can be rotated out every six months. That means new art on the walls twice a year. The program provides Art Force with recurring revenues from each client. And let's not forget about the artists supported and promoted by Art Force.

What's more, Art Force invested in a web-based platform that has improved the company's ordering and fulfillment process, as well as their efficiencies. "This program simplifies the business for our customers, community of artists and our new business model," says Kieger. "It's a win-win-win."

And, while it took four years to develop and implement, the new business model seems to be working. From its humble origins in Minnesota, Art Force's now projects having art installations in 40 states in 2014.

Tips

1. Sometimes experiences from your personal life can apply to new ways to run your company.
2. Borrow processes from other industries and apply them to yours, if applicable.
3. Saying "No" at first can often open up reasons to say "Yes" later.
4. Looking for the "everybody wins" strategies often results in everybody winning.

Ripe for Change featuring Dale Klein with Parallel Technologies, Inc. written June 2014 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives
They say the early bird catches the worm. In the case of innovation, sometimes the worm puts up a fight.
Markets aren't always ready for a new product or process just because it's better. Entrepreneurs may spend millions on research and development, but they must also prepare for loyalty to inefficiency, a learning curve among decision makers and slow market adoption.
Dale Klein had a vision in 2005 to develop a company that unified technology infrastructures for both facilities management and information technology. He sold a system software integration firm in 2004 and was in the market to acquire an IT managed services business. He purchased Parallel Technologies, a struggling cabling installer. The company had been around since 1983 and had a few data center customers for new construction and upgrades, but it needed a turnaround.
As the company's new CEO, Klein had to assess the current talent and ended up reducing the workforce in order to hire talent beyond cabling installations. He had to improve the cash flow by cleaning up slow-to-pay customers and collecting long outstanding receivables, some more than a year old. He also focused on building a sales team and internal processes and controls to help the business run more efficiently.
Still, for about three years the company continued to serve cabling customers, building revenues from $5 million to about $21 million. Then in 2008, construction took a dive with the recession and only bottom-dollar firms were winning the new projects. "We were priced for quality and expertise," Klein said. "Our new projects dried up."
The timing was finally right. Parallel Technologies shifted focus to infrastructure solutions and data center consulting. By improving cash flow and efficiencies while recruiting stronger IT engineering talent early on, Klein had the foundational people and processes in place to take new solutions to market. He made a conscious decision to halt bottom-line growth in the interests of shifting the business model to support his original vision.
Today, Parallel Technologies attributes 65 percent of its business to designing and building infrastructure solutions, such as data centers and just 35 percent to field services and installation. The company is recognized as one of the fastest growing private businesses in the Twin Cities. Klein is still waiting to unroll the rest of his vision, which is to help his clients use the data across the enterprise infrastructure they’ve collected to support more timely and smarter business decisions. The company's new building is a physical tour of what customers can do with smart technologies and infrastructure.
"I grossly underestimated how long it would take to reach this stage, but we are now there," he said.
The moral of this company success story is to have a vision, certainly, but make sure you're prepared financially and strategically to ride out the lean times until the market catches up to your big ideas.
Tips for Timing Innovation to Market Demand

1. Identify unmet customer needs that you can deliver better than competitors.
2. Set your vision, prove the sales model and hire the talent you'll need to deliver it well.
3. Keep your bread and butter work as you transition to new products or services.
4. Bankroll your transition with good cash flow and efficient processes.
5. Retain customers by educating and upselling on your vision to match their goals.

Lessons for Leaders: Putting on a clinic featuring Gary Meyers with Massage Envy & The Joint written April 2014 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Franchises have long been the business model of choice for entrepreneurs who don't want to reinvent the wheel — or make a new wheel — but invest in a proven product or service for faster profits.

What happens, though, when an industry not normally modeled as a franchise is introduced to the franchise concept? Launched well, it can expand opportunities for the entrepreneur as well as the people directly serving customers.

Back in 2005, Gary Meyers embarked on a new twist of the franchise business model. After nearly two decades of frustration as the owner of Newport Collision Center in Newport, Minn. – brought on by a lack of control over margins because of insurance companies - he sold his business. For his next venture, he was interested in franchises for the turnkey approach, but didn't realize his ultimate franchise choice would support new industries that provided more full-time employment in Minnesota as well as growing revenue streams.

It started with Massage Envy. Because of Meyers, the Arizona-based franchisor now has 26 clinics in the region, becoming the largest employer of massage therapists in the state, with over 500 employed at this time. As the regional developer for the franchise, Meyers owns three of the clinics and assists franchisees in developing clinics in his territories including North Dakota, South Dakota and western Wisconsin. Customers purchase a monthly membership at the clinics and receive one massage a month at their convenience. In turn, each clinic can employ more full-time massage therapists than a traditional spa based on the sheer membership volume.

Growth hasn't been without challenges. Each store has 45 to 50 employees with average revenue per store of $1.3 million. Not only is this an operational challenge, but the store also needs to have enough therapists on hand to make the service convenient. Meyers had to build collaborations with 14 area colleges that offer massage therapy degrees to fill positions in existing and new stores. He also had the challenge of continuing education offerings to ensure therapists can retain their licenses and managing staff are efficient and professional.

And here's the twist. Meyers recently embarked on a new franchise venture, The Joint, to create chiropractic services in the same business model. "I saw the chiropractic industry the same as massage therapy. There are more chiropractors than can find jobs. The Joint business model will give them jobs, allow them to practice their trade, and make the business side of it easier. Again, customers will pay a monthly membership fee and receive chiropractic care based on their type of membership."

By locating the chiropractic practice near a Massage Envy clinic, Meyers creates operational efficiencies, too. "We've created new industries," he says. "As clinics scale their memberships, it provides a re-occurring revenue stream to cover expenses — and the rest is profit."

It's a vision that ties to contracts for up to 34 Massage Envy clinics and five The Joint clinics by 2015. Meyers Enterprises still relies on the turnkey franchise approach, but the market effect is great jobs for therapists, chiropractors and the entrepreneurs who invest in these franchises. Meyers' projected revenues for the three owned Massage Envy clinics and two The Joint clinics is $6 million in 2014.

If it becomes a business model worthy of envy, it can only help improve the state's — and country's — increasingly service-based economy.

Tips for Scaling Professional Business Models for Profit

1. Look for a service industry that appears commoditized.
2. Tie consumer membership arrangements to the service.
3. Provide inviting facilities for multiple professionals to serve members.
4. Follow a formula of memberships plus visits/month to equal overhead plus profit margin.

Lessons for Leaders: Banking on service featuring Arleen Sullivan and Carl Jones with Anchor Bank written February 2014 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

It's no secret that the banking industry overall has received bad marks in customer service and loyalty over the past 10 years. With public perception low on banking, it takes a fresh perspective in leadership to inspire customers to see one bank as different from another - better than another. It takes more than one individual sticking to principles and promises.

The executive leadership team at Anchor Bank embraced this truth by energizing core values established 30 years ago. The recession taught them to leave the corporatized branch mindset behind and make all levels of the bank approachable and accessible again. Training across their 15 Twin Cities area locations and a renewed approach to serving customers beyond the typical one-to-one banker relationship have supported stronger assets and sales.

"We call it 4Deep," explains Arleen Sullivan, who has served at the bank since 2003 and is now Market President, Business Banking East, serving the East Metro hub offices. "We want to ensure that a team of people within Anchor are assigned to each of our business customers. When we know our customers, we serve them better."

The team generally includes someone from Anchor Bank's leadership team, a relationship manager, and an expert in services such as cash management and credit. The goal is to ensure the customer forms strong working relationships with the right experts. For example, if a business owner has a question about succession planning or acquisitions, they have direct access to the right expertise, including CEO Carl Jones.

"We want to move as fast as a small business when decisions need to be made," explains Sullivan. Being flexible and nimble suits this bank, founded in the 1960s by entrepreneur Winton Jones, who grew it mainly through acquisitions in its early years (in the past 15 years, it's grown organically). His son, Carl Jones, now CEO, joined the bank in 1992 after pursuing a career in science and biomedical technology. Today, Anchor Bank is the seventh-largest bank in Minnesota.

Approachable executives are part of the Anchor Bank core value system, with key leaders meeting with customers on a regular basis. "Being in banking is a great way to give back to a community," notes Jones, who recalls his father always making customers his first priority and being involved in their business strategy and problem-solving. Through the bank's foundation, 5 percent of profits also go back to the communities in the form of scholarships, charitable, donations, and community development efforts.

Internally, Jones is the representative of the Jones family, supporting long-term customer relationships, seeking bank acquisition opportunities, and supporting the leadership team. That team has transformed in recent years from individual branch oversight to a larger focus and responsibility for the bank's role across the Twin Cities.

A metro focus rather than branch focus means that Sullivan and others have the access and support of the entire Twin Cities leadership, making the 4Deep program internal as well as external to operations. "Our prospective customers and employees tell us it's the active participation of our executives in our customer relationships that differentiates Anchor Bank from its competitors," she says.

Time will tell if the 4Deep program, launched in January 2012, can mend the fences of banking's past and play out in continued growth and loyalty for Anchor Bank, its customer base, and employees. But bank leaders who step out of their offices and back into deeper customer relationships can go far toward bank loyalty and a competitive reputation.

Tips for Deep Customer Service

1. Make sure that customers have strong relationships with more than one person, with defined roles that add actual value to the relationship.
2. Provide regular access to decision makers to strengthen the bond.
3. Introduce multiple services to enhance a customer's sense of value and loyalty.
4. Operate like a united company rather than a group of individuals or separate business unit.

Lessons for Leaders: Taking Ownership featuring Jim Gilliam with Montu Staffing Solutions written January 2014 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

After years of rising through the ranks of a large corporation, an ambitious executive will eventually ask the question: "What's next?"

A less-traveled path is to start or purchase a business. It sounds reasonable, but executive and owner roles have less in common than you think. One successful executive is facing that reality right now after leaving SuperValu, Inc. to own a small, Minneapolis-based staffing solutions provider.

Jim Gilliam joined SuperValu in 1982 as a division controller in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Over the years, he worked his way up through several positions of increasing responsibility to earn the role of President for the company's Northern Region. He oversaw 11 distribution centers in nine states comprising of 4,000 employees. His success included many incentives to stay and enjoy what he'd built, but something pulled him to rethink his future.

"I always had a desire to own my own business," Gilliam said. "Over the last few years of industry and economic changes, it seemed right to start looking for that opportunity."

Gilliam researched online and contacted business brokers. He connected with Dan Mulvaney, a business broker with Sunbelt Midwest who told him about Labor All Personnel. "When I found Labor All, I loved that it was in the people business. I love managing people and I've always been naturally good at it."

Under its second owner, Labor All had over 16 years of experience in staffing services to the industrial sector - representing hundreds of welders, truckers, machinists and other skilled and general labor to fill contracted or permanent staffing needs at companies throughout Minnesota. Researching further, Gilliam discovered a base of 10 employees who matched his profile for growth.

Knowing he could potentially take a major pay cut to pursue ownership, Gilliam put his financial ducks in a row by researching cash available in the company and financing options. Then he looked at the operational cash flow required as well as his personal cash flow to sustain him through the career transition.

Part of negotiations with the previous owner also entailed a month or so of on-boarding for Gilliam to observe operations and tailor his methods from there. The purchase closed in April 2013. One of Gilliam's first changes was an incentive plan of monthly bonuses for hitting sales goals, as well as a profit bonus at year-end.

As of October 2013, the company has been renamed Montu Staffing Solutions and sales are showing 28 percent growth from the previous year. The company now has four offices, in Columbia Heights, St. Paul, Anoka, and most recently Hopkins.

"My goal when I bought the company was that we'd at least match the previous year's performance," Gilliam says. "I freed employees to step up, that I trusted and expected them to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, and they did."

Using his skills in people management, Gilliam has been less hands-on than the previous owner. However, this has freed him to focus on learning the business side of the company - areas that he never oversaw in the corporate structure at SuperValu. The responsibility is on him now to understand unemployment benefits, taxes and banking.

Transitions from executive to owner aren't easy, but Gilliam's leap is showing promise. As a result, Montu Staffing Solutions has a new chapter to write after almost two decades in business.

Tips for Second Career Entrepreneurship

1. Perform due diligence by reviewing financials, revenue by customer, legal issues, and employees to make sure it’s the right opportunity.
2. If it makes sense, negotiate a continued relationship with the seller as a guide to running the business for the first month or so.
3. Create incentives and policies that motivate employees to step up under new ownership.
4. Learn the business side of the business: payroll, taxes, benefits, employment law, etc.

Lessons for Leaders: Managing mavericks featuring Scott Dongoske with Winthrop & Weinstine written December 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Television and movies popularize the maverick charting his or her own course in a hostile and changing environment. We cheer for these people and at the same time wait for their destruction. It's part of the fun.

In a business environment, the fine line between doing it your way and being part of a team isn't just fun and games. Companies need creativity and energy, but they also have responsibilities to produce consistent service and revenue. The backlash against flexible workplaces is just one example of organizations trying to rein in the individual in favor of the bottom line.

What if your organization is made up of mostly mavericks? Some businesses like law firms attract many people who graduated at the top of their class, were great athletes or served with honors in the military. Such individuals are naturally independent, but not necessarily business owners (or partial owners). One law firm has worked to address that distinction.

"Good leaders must balance the bureaucratic process of a business with the mavericks," explains Scott Dongoske, who for 12 years has served as president of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A., a 200 employee law firm with offices in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The firm has a local legacy that dates to 1979, and Dongoske has been an attorney at the firm since 1983.

Pointing out common ills like pricing pressure and competition, Dongoske says that law firms had to learn a different way of doing business over the past 10 years — or face extinction. At Winthrop & Weinstine, that has meant defining what its 'A' players look like, then constantly reviewing and improving compensation, technology, pricing and processes to support their success. It hasn't always been easy.

"Race horses don't like to be tethered," he says. "So we've created guidelines and evaluations to filter, attract and develop the right people. We want strong personalities who are highly competitive and who communicate very well, but they also need to understand how to act like an owner."

Being an owner means knowing how a law firm has to operate to serve clients and make money, then contributing to that model. From continuing legal education to how marketing dollars are spent and where attorneys network, Winthrop & Weinstine's structure requires a clear ROI for the individual and the firm.

Dongoske compares this task to a professional football coach who has to take a team of self-motivated but highly independent athletes and get them all moving in the same direction. The leadership approach is customized to each athlete, but the goal is the same. Winning football games or winning business, it should benefit everyone.

"Many people think they are a leader, but you're only a leader if you get people to follow you," Dongoske says.

Like Don Draper on the television show Mad Men, being a maverick only gets you so far. Then you have to produce for the company. Anything less is unacceptable if you want to stay on the A-team.

Tips for A-Team Leadership

1. Recognize the mavericks and give them room to differentiate your business.
2. Maintain balance by teaching the fundamentals of owning and operating the business.
3. Create hiring and development protocols that attract A players.
4. Regularly review and maximize compensation structures, technology, pricing and processes that support high performance.

A commanding approach featuring John Hoffman with Principal Financial Group written November 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

George Bernard Shaw said that "youth is wasted on the young." Despite their advantages of stamina and mental sharpness, not all young people take full advantage of life's opportunities.

Even if they do, few rise to the level of leadership often found among people in the second half of life. Some would say it takes more than youth to pursue the fast track. It takes sacrifice and boldness and risk.

John Hoffman, 36, is a rare example of those combined traits. As regional managing director of The Principal Financial Group of the Minnesota Business Center in Minnetonka, Hoffman oversees more than 100 independent financial advisors. And he's been doing it since he was 32.

Consistently an exceptional leader and leading one of the top producing offices for The Principal Financial Group, Hoffman's success hinges on a few key beliefs he has followed since starting his career in 2000.

"I soon discovered that I wasn't the best salesperson in the room nor the biggest expert in financial services" Hoffman says. But, he realized, he didn't need to be – he just had to be the best at helping people. Knowing that makes him "one of the most confident people in the room," he says.

He also makes no apologies about the fact that some people may not like him. "I have high expectations of people. They will either get and respect that or they won't. If I do the right things, then people's opinions of me is none of my business."

Hoffman makes no apologies about the fact that some people may not like him. "I have high expectations of people," he says. "They will either get and respect that or they won't. If I do the right things, then people's opinions of me is none of my business."

The "right things" to Hoffman include treating people equally, being respectful to everyone and knowing how to motivate and get the best out of people. When you oversee professionals who are essentially working for themselves, micro-management doesn't fly, he explained. "My role is to serve, support, motivate and challenge them."

When necessary, though, Hoffman pulls no punches. "We have a vision," he says. "If everyone does what's needed to be done to fulfill that vision, then others know we care about them and have their back. When they do not share our plan, vision or results, we have to go our separate ways."

Such a direct approach has come from past experiences of learning when to motivate and trust the results and when to cut losses and move on. The wrong team members can deplete a leader's energy to pursue the vision. "I prefer to come home at the end of each day still full of energy," added Hoffman, who is also a father and a volunteer in business, alumni, church and health care organizations.

So before we paint a picture of an unfeeling workaholic, you should know that Hoffman takes great care to be accessible to his team, to listen and be honest in his dealings. "People have to know you care about them. Leadership and parenting are alike that way. Sometimes it's not about coaching and teaching; it's just about spending time together."

Not all leaders take the direct, commanding approach that Hoffman does. At the end of the day, though, success speaks for itself. And most leaders I know are paid for their results. Admiration can come later when you're older.

Tips for Bold Leadership

1. Be bold and direct with expectations, then work harder than your competitors.
2. Conserve some energy for yourself at the end of the day.
3. Choose people who are self-sufficient and self-motivated and part ways with those who aren't.
4. Accept the fact that a percentage of people will not like you. Do the right things to achieve your vision anyway.
5. Be available when your team wants face time, and listen.

Lessons for Leaders: Diversify wisely featuring Chuck Palmer and Ulrike (Rike) Harrison with Wipfli written September 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Just one word can sum up how a friendly, small-town business can achieve global corporate success: "diversification." Taking feedback from clients is one way to diversify into new products or services. But growth also requires analytics, processes, outside counsel, and decision-making that must translate to daily work.

Sustaining a non-corporate, "Minnesota nice" culture becomes more difficult both internally and with client relationships through such growth. But one company has managed to both grow and keep its heart.

Wipfli has expanded by cultivating a diverse array of services. With 17 different business units in four locations in Minnesota, including a division for M&A and capital consulting and another for independent investment advisory services, Wipfli is not only one of the largest public accounting and consulting firms in Minnesota, but also in the United States.

Early on, Wipfli made diversification a long-term strategy. While other large companies prioritize analytics ahead of sustained client relationships, Wipfli took an inverse approach, using relationships as a bridge to develop new services and markets. "We want to be a business partner, not only their accountant," says Chuck Palmer, regional managing director in Minnesota. "Our clients provide us with constructive feedback that affirms they appreciate access to our diversity." Wipfli is constantly monitoring its clients' activities, challenges, and expectations.

Still, analytics and processes do follow once Wipfli recognizes a client need. The company reviews several aspects of diversification before pulling the trigger on a new service. For instance, if demand is high, it still needs to determine if the market is saturated with competition and whether potential clients will pay a rate that exceeds the cost of producing the new service. It also considers if it can grow the service by acquiring an existing provider or if it's more cost effective to develop it in-house.

Once Wipfli weighs the pros and cons of adding a particular service - and finds expansion desirable - it acknowledges the fact that diversification will always cost more and take longer than expected. In the end, diversification must contribute to the company’s progressive growth - so it has developed surveys, a client advisory board, and sophisticated analytics on win/loss, client use, and demand to determine a service's fit with the established service mix.

"To use client feedback properly, you have to be committed from the top," notes Ulrike (Rike) Harrison, chief growth officer. "We are very good at getting client feedback, but more importantly at using it to create positive change."

While diversifying allows a company to meet more needs, companies that try to be all things to everybody aren't really diversified. Wipfli has sustained its core accounting, tax, and consulting services as a strong foundation for more specialized consulting. "We have full-time dedicated resources for each of our business units as well as good partners outside of Wipfli to augment our expertise," Palmer explains. "Having a person or two who can sometimes perform a particular service won't result in long-term growth of that service."

It might follow that the more services a business can offer, the broader the spectrum of clients and the more success that results. But Wipfli has shown that successfully diversifying takes a full-fledged commitment of people, tools, and other resources, as well as close attention to quality and client expectations. As they augment services through operations in India, increased specialization, and adding partners such as Microsoft, sustaining that local, small-town feel is more challenging. But Wipfli is keeping an ear tuned to clients something that businesses of any size can't forget.

Tips for Diversification

1. Determine the true need, the significance, and sustainability.
2. Figure out if you can produce it profitably and sell it at a value-perceived price point.
3. Will it enhance your brand and service or will it detract?
4. See if there are opportunities to acquire it rather than create it in-house.
5. Is the market ripe for an unmet need or is it moving toward saturation

Transition Time featuring Jerry Hein, Rich Hanson and Mike Hanson with ECSI Systems Integrators, LLC written August 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Integration can mean a lot of different things in business. Some companies provide systems integration for their customers, but those same companies also must focus on integration within their operations to ensure growth. When the owners decide whether or not to merge with another company, integration has a whole different meaning.

The owners of ECSI, a system integrator in St. Paul, have experienced several layers of integration since founding the company in 1997. At each stage of integration, they've learned how to adapt their leadership styles, expectations and service promises in order to run a larger enterprise and take on larger Minnesota-based clients ranging from Grand Casino and Ecolab to the National Sports Center in Blaine and St. Jude Medical. The company has also supported systems integration for several city offices in Minnesota, mid-sized hospital facilities, and college campuses such as Bethel University.

Jerry Hein focused operations and Rich Hanson focused on sales when the two decided to leave their employer and start their own low-voltage systems integration service. Their new company would install and maintain fire alarm, security, communications and industry-specific applications.

Over the first five years, the owners evolved from being technical experts to real leaders who oversaw key performance indicators for planning, productivity and performance management. Hiring a service manager in 2002 helped them step out of direct operations to even larger executive roles. "We learned to create more sophisticated tools and practices that helped us manage our people and our jobs more effectively," said Hein.

By 2008, the partners were ready to consider a merger opportunity. Though an industry association board, they knew Mike Hanson, owner of St. Paul–based Hunt Electric Corporation. They began talking to him about how ECSI could enhance Hunt's primary focus on commercial electric contracting (it was already outsourcing much of its low voltage work). In turn, ECSI could consolidate costs and gain more resources for continued growth.

Once the two companies negotiated the merger, integration had its share of challenges. In addition to gaining the trust of the Hunt project managers and estimators, ECSI needed to communicate benefits to customers. Internally, the companies also had to integrate their cultures and employees. New key performance indicators and processes were required to operate a larger company.

The changes did result in losing some customers and employees. Revenue dropped as the owners focused on the transition. However, within two years revenue has gone up 30 percent from combined pre-merger revenue, Hein says. "We've gotten into larger accounts we couldn't get into on our own, and we've been able to diversify into additional low voltage services."

A successful integration, whether of electrical systems or people or processes, takes time and investment. In the long run, owners and employees alike will have the proper foundation to continue delivering high-quality customer results.

Tips for Merger Integration

1. Plan on and estimate down-time costs associated with integration.
2. Decide on what level of long-term cost savings will offset integration investment.
3. Manage customer expectations during integration through processes and communication.
4. Look for cost consolidation in areas such as human resources, insurance, benefits, and licensing.
5. Plan on difficult decisions with employees, including who to hire and areas for possible downsizing.

Supportive family featuring Bill Arrigoni with Supportive Living Solutions, LLC written July 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Bill Arrigoni was 13 years old when his future purpose came calling. His mother, Virginia, had just completed treatment for alcoholism. Seeing the need for addicts to have continuing care and more time in a safe environment, Virginia decided to turn her own home in St. Paul into a safe place for people to continue their chemical dependency recovery.

Arrigoni didn't know at the time - or even much later - that his mother's unusual decision would eventually lead him to be CEO of one of the largest services for housing and support to people with chemical dependency and mental illness in Minnesota. Supportive Living Solutions, has not only helped people lead better lives, it has also become a business in which several of his family members have taken leadership roles to sustain its future.

Arrigoni and his niece and president, Vicky Frahn, don't like to call Supportive Living Solutions a "family business," however. Most employees - biological family or work family - has had to earn their way up from entry level jobs to roles in human resources, finance or property management and client advocacy (a few have been hired from the outside for leadership positions). The staff teaches clients about goal setting, health, and leadership, and those same values have served the business team just as well.

"We never have power struggles or turf wars within the family or the management in the business. We have spent many hours and communicate consistently about what a healthy environment needs to look like," Arrigoni says. "We always choose healthy versus unhealthy leadership and communication."

Arrigoni has benefited from "game changer" influences in his life, such as strong mentor when he was 19 and personal leadership resources like the late author and speaker Zig Ziglar. Today, Arrigoni's passion for leadership and personal development is clearly evident.

In his youth, Arrigoni worked in corporate sales for several years before returning to college and become a pastor. He was running a church he started when his sister, Mary Ann Dukek, died unexpectedly. She had been running their late mother's growing business, which fell to Arrigoni and his niece.

"My niece and I took over what was a half-million dollar company with two locations in 1996," Arrigoni says. "In 2001, we purchased a $1.1 million business providing housing and services to clients with mental illness. Now my wife and daughters and son-in-law work in the business, and Vicky's children and sister are also involved."

The overall goal of health that Virginia Arrigoni set out to accomplish in 1973 has been realized three-fold in the company's healthy business, healthy management team, and healthier clients.

But Arrigoni knows the leadership must evolve as the company expands – into, for instance, home healthcare services. And he knows there's a need to define some transition strategies that will carry the family’s legacy through the next generations.

Harmony in business isn't easy to maintain, especially when family comes in the mix. But when the larger goals of excellent service and improving lives are emphasized consistently, personal conflict can resolve into healthy decisions.

Tips for Health in Business

1. Set expectations for advancement from entry-level positions.
2. Communicate and demonstrate a healthy work environment consistently.
3. Allow and expect people to earn their opportunities.
4. Align the organization’s purpose with concrete goals.
5. Diversify services and train leaders for the future.

Taking ownership featuring Chef Angelo Montes with Sole Mio written June 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Great American success stories are still happening, including this one in Woodbury. And like the stories of old, this story shows that hard work, the right connections, and passion can pay off.

Angelo Montes grew up in Biella, Italy, near Milan. He worked in restaurants from a young age, and held a dream of owning his own restaurant someday. It was a long time coming - including a recession-induced delay - but his dream was finally realized in October 2012 when he opened Sole Mio Ristorante in Woodbury, near I-494 and Valley Creek Road.

Montes is also now the recipient of not one, but two Chef of the Year awards from the American Culinary Federation.

As the son of a 100 percent Italian mother, I can vouch for the quality and authenticity of Montes' food. But it takes more than a great product or service to succeed in Minnesota's competitive dining scene. Montes credits many leaders along the way for helping him move from executive chef to owner.

Hard Work
After moving his family from Italy to Woodbury, MN in 1999, Montes got his start as a cook at Chianti Grill. His skills with food prep, organization and cookery soon had him consulting on improved recipes and staff management. As he advanced, Montes emphasized quality food and a great dining experience as well as respect for others.

"I am very competitive and I want to be the best," Montes said. "Not all employees take ownership in their job. I've had to learn how to motivate people to give more than they normally would."

For 10 years, Montes was head chef for three Chianti Grill locations – elevating them to be among the best Twin Cities restaurants. He learned how to communicate with different owners and learn all he could from their example. He was always upfront about his dream of opening a restaurant. "I helped them and they helped me." Montes says, "They taught me the business side of the restaurant business."

Montes also pursued certification in the American Culinary Federation, something few executive chefs in Minnesota hold. He also serves as a board member, building more connections and giving back to the industry.

Passion
As Montes will show you, big personalities can become big leaders even if they are in a small package. He is not tall of stature, but tall in character.

"I feel good because I am a good person," he says. "I love and care about people, and my integrity, the truth is very important to me."

The passion is evident when you dine at Sole Mio, from the preparation and plating of the food to the lively personalities of employees who seem to enjoy their work. The respect that Montes showed to his owners as a chef - and received in return - is coming full circle.

"I like to teach other chefs how to do more than cook in the restaurant industry," he says. "I would tell them there is risk in running your own business, but I am confident if I do the right things, the reward will come later."

Performance and profits featuring Ted Capistrant and Andy Wondra with Profit Builder Network written May 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

A new web tool helps business improve communication - and accountability.

Every great leader has skills and processes to ensure team accountability and achievement. Now, a Minnesota operations specialist has found a way to bottle such skills, he says, into an effective tool that aligns performance with profits. Ted Capistrant spent decades leading teams and ensuring efficient operations at Minnesota companies such as Securian and Marsden Building Maintenance. Then he started his own consulting practice with partner Andy Wondra and proceeded to help business owners improve their bottom line.

Their company, Profit Builder Network (PBN) in St. Paul, is a thought leader in team alignment and organizational development. Recently it launched a web-enabled tool that, when used for strategic planning, tracking and communication with employees, is designed to be like having the PBN team at the helm of your company's operations.

"There needs to be a performance feedback loop," says Capistrant. "Leaders need to plan, track the action and progress to the plan, then provide the necessary feedback consistently to ensure that people meet expectations and achieve results."

PBN built its web-enabled tool last year. Called Tracking Action, it allows owners to create concise company master, department and individual business plan summaries. "They must fit on one page and be read and understood in five minutes or less, or even the author will never read it again," says Capistrant.

Each plan includes measurable key performance indicators and milestones that are tracked each month with a high level performance dashboard. An unlimited number of employees can create their own plan, tied to each other's plans, for building a platform of cascading goals, to meet the company's overall objectives. Management can review and score each employee on his or her progress within the system. This closes the performance feedback loop. "The system is used in weekly review meetings to acknowledge progress and keep everyone accountable," says Wondra.

While many companies could benefit by hiring a planning expert to demonstrate the proper way to facilitate and utilize a great system, it normally takes years of practice to master the planning and execution process. "We take the complexity out of it because our system is set up for management down to employees," Wondra says.

One of the most significant aspects to formalizing an organizational development process is that progress is tracked historically, revealing not only the value of each employee but also the self-sufficiency of the organization. This data could become significant when owners are ready to sell because the value of talent is measurable, adding to the company's profit potential in the eyes of buyers.

Reaching goals and increasing profits is easier when everyone in the organization moves in the same direction. When employees understand their roles in that equation, you also improve retention. Capistrant says, "Our gratification comes from comparing our clients' bottom line before and after they adopt our principles and the Tracking Action system."

Tips for an accountability culture

1. Creative Freedom: Engage your people to participate in the creation and refinement of planning.
2. Common Format: Plans and performance tracking mechanisms need to be the same across the board, or communication will break down.
3. Consistent Feedback: Monthly tracking by everyone involved followed by frequent formal and informal feedback from leaders.

This thing called culture featuring Doug Portmann with Modern Molding, Inc. written February 2013 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

How one returning founder focused on creating the right environment for his employees

It was 2008 and Modern Molding in Delano was operating like a well-oiled machine. Founder Doug Portmann had taken some time away from business to learn to fly an Xtra (an acrobatic plane) competitively and to relax at his cabin on Woman Lake in northern Minnesota.

It seemed like a time that every hard-working entrepreneur dreams about: enjoying the fruits of one's labor after building a solid management team that can operate successfully whether you're there or not. But for Portmann, something was missing.

"I would take a bit of time off here and there but could never detach fully," he admits. "Frankly, I got bored with personal exploration. I needed to get more involved with the business again."

The true spirit of entrepreneurship tugged. Portmann responded by choosing to expand Modern Molding's facility by 37,000 square feet. He is more actively at the helm again, challenging his team to fill the space with new projects at a time when many companies are still recovering from negative to flat growth.

It's a worthy challenge. In order to grow from $3 million in revenue in 2001 to $9 million in 2011, Portmann had to let go of some control and reorganize his leadership structure. He hired a vice president of sales who evolved into a general manager of operations in charge of developing a new sales team. New process and procedures were established to make every area of the company more efficient. The company became ISO-certified. On-time delivery improved to more than 99.3 percent, and defects declined substantially to below 62 parts per million.

All of this change required time, money, and trial and error. Portmann thrived on it: "I have always worked for myself in several different small businesses in Minnesota. But when Modern Molding reached $3 million, I realized I needed more help."

But he hates borrowing money. Most of the company's growth came from investing profits back into the business and planning each move with profits and customer needs in mind rather than sales. Saving customers time by offering new tools and services in-house also saved customers money, which eventually led to more orders and profit.

Long ago, Modern Molding looked at ways to partner with customers on solutions rather than just take orders. The company is known for its design, engineering, and problem solving as much as for its production.

Today Portmann has become more interested in "this thing called culture," in finding ways to give back to his employees and to the community. He wants to be sure that his working environment is one where employees can be personally fulfilled and thrive.

"Our next opportunity is to more clearly define how we can better align with our core values and create ways to reward, recognize, and celebrate more effectively," he says.

It's a trend Portmann hopes to leverage for additional growth, something he can sink his teeth into as a seasoned entrepreneur looking for a fresh challenge.

As for resting on the fruits of one's labor Portmann has a better understanding now of a true Minnesota entrepreneur.

"There are different ways to fly," he says.

Highly accountable featuring Jim Redpath and Mark Gibbs with HLB Tautges Redpath written December 2012 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Jim Redpath, managing partner at accounting firm HLB Tautges Redpath, recalls the day that audit partner and shareholder Mark Gibbs called him out in front of the team for being late to a meeting.
"You're 10 minutes late, Jim," he said. "How can we start this meeting if you're not here?"

Gibbs wasn't fired. In fact, this episode was part of the paradigm shift that has helped the accounting firm realize a 21 percent increase in revenue since 2008 while most accounting firms have remained flat.

But let's back up a few years. In 2003, the White Bear Lake-based firm made a bold move as one of the few public accounting firms in the country to convert to a 100 percent employee-owned business structure. The ESOP structure solved partner concerns about succession, but was also the first step in rethinking how performance and accountability tied to compensation.

In theory, everyone loved the idea of becoming owners. But when the reality of new responsibilities and processes set in, the road was bumpy even at the top. Jim Redpath wasn't the most consistent rule abider; in fact, he preferred leading from the hip. While this style garnered respect and results over the years, the wake-up call from Gibbs helped Redpath see that good leaders must walk the new talk.

"I had reprimanded the team about missing meetings and showing up late and unprepared," Redpath says, "but if I couldn't model that behavior myself, then we weren’t going to succeed."

Success also couldn't come solely from the rainmakers, Redpath added. "We have balanced the focus between rainmakers and producers." Rather than just reward the rainmakers, the firm rewards other team members for getting and keeping clients through marketing and excellent client service.

The firm also encouraged employees to stick to personal marketing plans that hold them accountable to nurture leads and increase firm visibility. Non-billable activities such as speaking, niche service how-to articles and sponsorships are highly valued to "be with customers where they hang out," Redpath says. Throughout the process, turnover has been surprisingly low.

While this strategy is not rocket science, it's a paradigm shift from complete reliance on referrals to proactive, whole firm business development. "It's an all-about-the-client attitude," that extends to how clients are billed, says Redpath. Rather than being on the clock, the firm has moved to a project-based fee arrangement with clients in order to show a higher value for their services.

To expand the paradigm shift, the firm has systematized many expectations and processes so that new employees quickly buy into roles and expectations.

Gibbs, who also serves on the board of directors, noted that maverick Redpath is a convert: "He is a rule follower regarding accountability to internal operations and procedures. He's big on systems. No one misses a team meeting anymore."

This doesn't downplay innovation, however. As one of the first public accounting firms in the country to go paperless in 2000, HLB Tautges Redpath has retained key professionals who can work remotely from the firm's headquarters without missing a beat.

Getting complacent with the status quo, after all, seems to be the commodity death knell for professionals, evident in firm consolidation. "When you're finished changing, you're finished," says Gibbs.

In fact, that's strong advice for anyone in business to keep on the break room bulletin board - and model it.

Tips for Accountability

1. Document individual roles and expectations for clarity and tie them to the firm vision.
2. Every principle and partner should be able to recite the status of the sales pipeline.
3. Create personal marketing plans for key employees, accountable to the marketing department and endorsed by senior leaders.
4. Share and distribute compensation among the entire team that contributed to obtaining or cross-selling new business.
5. Never come to a meeting unprepared to contribute.

Creating Customers for Life featuring Steve Garske and Mike Hilliard with Par Aide Products Co. written November 2012 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

I work with CEOs and owners who feel frustrated these days by pricing pressures, competition from outside the United States that encroaches on their market share, and a general sense that customers will drop them at the slightest pushback on requests. It's easy to get reactionary and lose focus on core principles when profits don't measure up to expectations.

This is usually the time when I give the "what do you stand for" speech. I ask these leaders about their promise to customers, their vision for the company, and why they got into business in the first place. It's a way to test their passion and endurance, to redirect their energy toward the original ideals that first made them successful. Often they’ll talk about personal passions and a desire to solve problems — and there’s usually a story of origin that reminds them of who they were, are, and want to be.

When Steve Garske took over the family business from his father, Joe, in 1986, he thought that growth was about developing more diverse products, having more inventory and selling more units per quarter. He was wrong.

At the time, Par Aide Products Co. in Lino Lakes was known as the originator of the cherry red golf ball washers found on so many golf courses. The patented up/down washing mechanism sprung from Joe Garske's passion for golf and his realization that ball washers could be handy after an ugly shot from the rough. He demonstrated his invention at a PGA Tournament in 1954 and the product line expanded from there.

But Joe never focused on the number of products. He focused on the quality of the products and the satisfaction of customers. His son quickly learned that sticking to the original brand had to be priority one.

"We innovate on products that our customers need, want and appreciate," Steve Garske said of Par Aide's business model. "They trust our quality through our brand. As a result, we can make margin and volume exceptions in order to bring products to market that support the brand and may promote other higher volume products."

Keeping customers involved in this model is also a big part of the brand. Not only do customers dictate the product line innovations, they also get immediate response to questions and problems. Par Aide doesn't employ a receptionist or an automated service center. Live customer service reps answer the phones and have the power to fix a problem on the spot.

"You can waste a lot of money making $50 decisions that may seem efficient but don't help customers," said Mike Hilliard, vice president since 2000. "As long as our customer service reps do things for the right reasons, no one can give away too much or make a mistake with how a customer problem is resolved."

Of course, not every product change or innovation is a home run. But sticking to customer satisfaction 100 percent of the time keeps Par Aide's brand approval high in the market. "The customers who I have met and discussed problems with...they are customers for life," Steve Garske says.

Instead of looking outside the company for reasons or answers to decreased profits, maybe the answer is on the phone right now with a service request worth staying late to solve. It just might lead to your company's next great growth opportunity.

Tips for Lifelong Customers

• Know what you stand for: who you serve, what you promise and how you price and deliver it regardless of the competition.
• Train and empower customer service people to solve a problem in whatever way they think is best. Build a culture of service.
• Keep innovating even if sometimes you don't receive the expected ROI.
• Marketing must consistently identify who you are through your website, catalogues, ads, tradeshows, clothing and print materials.
• Act promptly to meet customer needs and stay late if necessary.

ALMOST LIVE from the 2015 Allied Executive Economic Symposium.

Bob Baur, Chief Global Economist for Principal Financial Group, discussed:

• how the recent global trends are unwind and the world is re-balancing;
• the closing of the China Investment boom;
• Reduced growth in China's economy on a permanent basis (due to 1 child policy shrink in labor force, peak productivity has passed, cost competitiveness diminishing and excess productive capacity has been achieved;
• the ending of the commodity super-cycle, which is undergoing a structural change that should last for years;
• closing down of global outsourcing and increase in domestic manufacturing, which should lead to increased wages for the middle class and continued reduced unemployment;
• European and Japanese economy expected to expand;
• Vanishing inflation phenomenon expected to continue with excess supply and capacity;
• Consumer will return to drive the economic engine;
• Era of low returns and expected increases in stock market to match profit growth.

Charlie Weaver, of the Minnesota Business Partnership, made a strong case for doing business in Minnesota from a corporate culture and quality of life perspective - including noting that St. Paul is the number 1 romantic city in the USA .  His discussion revolved around several initiatives legislatively which would be harmful to the Minnesota business community and went through some rather staggering statistics regarding the current tax burden shouldered by Minnesota businesses and their owners.

My good friends, Dale Klein (CEO of Parallel Technologies) and Travis Penrod (CEO of Interstate Companies, Inc.), together with Dan Ferrise (CEO of Miller Manufacturing) and David Green (COO of Supply Chain Services) spent ample time explaining the key performance indicators that drive their leadership of their respective organizations.  Travis explained how he starts with the global economy and works down from their to his sectors.  Dale discussed monitoring lead generation efforts so as to ensure that sales groups stay active.

The panel also discussed corporate culture and core values.  Dan Ferrise explained how the first step of his company's business planning process starts with a review of the mission statement, goal statement and core values statement.  He says "we hire to it and live with it."  Dale Klein discussed the intangibles his company strives for to make the work environment a fun place to be, i.e. basketball courts, golf simulator.

Next up - compensation strategies.  Each panel member described the percentage of growth in compensation for their teams - primarily reflecting an across the board cost of living increase.  They described the use of variable compensation to drive performance and having the variable measurements tie to culture.

This was just some of the highlights of this event.  I encourage all business leaders to explore the power of collaboration with peers.  Invest in yourself by joining Allied Executives.  Tom Fafinski (Member since 2002, part-time group facilitator since 2008).

Real Estate is Still Profitable to Hold and Pass On featuring Jennifer Olson Spadine with Guardian Property Management and Services, LLC written June 2012 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

It may seem that real estate is no longer the best investment or asset due to depreciating values in recent years. But in reality, the buyers' market is prompting more people to add real estate to their portfolios and holding it for future returns. Real estate offers tax advantages and is available to anyone as an investment. Plus, it can be passed on to the next generation.

Investors currently fall into two camps: intentional and accidental. In either case, real estate is a smart decision if the overall business plan and the risk involved in investing are thoroughly understood.

"The real estate industry is prime for investors now," says Jennifer Olson Spadine, owner of Guardian Property Management and Services, LLC in New Brighton. "You can buy homes cheaply and it's easy to find renters to cash low it now. When home values increase again, there will be nice equity to profit from upon sale."

Aside from experienced real estate investors who began purchasing foreclosed properties in 2010, there are also accidental owners who decide to rent out a home rather than try to sell it in a depressed market. Services such as Spadine's can assist the owner in locating and qualifying renters, collecting rent and maintaining the property.

Additionally, Spadine states that compliance with real estate rules and regulations as well as having a clear understanding of complex landlord statutes is imperative in order to protect owners from risks that could jeopardize their real estate or personal assets.

"Real estate is not a passive investment. You need to treat it as a business," she says. Spadine knows this from the experience of purchasing her real estate business in 2004, then experiencing a complete loss of income in 2009. She had to reinvent Guardian with a new business plan, employees who could transition to a real estate brokerage and management model built upon strict accountability. Last year, the business reported $1.1 million in revenue.

Spadine's clients own or rent properties in the Twin Cities metro area and down the I-94 corridor through Monticello, Albertville and St. Cloud.  Properties range from modest to luxury single-family homes to condos, and from market-rate, multi-family housing units to affordable housing. They also provide commercial real estate maintenance and services.

Real estate is a consideration for investors, but the holding period for real estate is traditionally much longer than we saw during the flip frenzy in the early 2000's. Currently, there are plenty of renters to fill properties, and as economic times change, renters will become more qualified to purchase, prices will increase, and we will see more flipping.

Successful investors are buying right - paying below current market value and minimizing risk with low debt-to-equity ratio. There is still a forecast of continued foreclosures. Location and condition are critical for resale value whenever the tide eventually turns. The bottom line is, real estate is still a good investment for those with a solid plan and the intention of building long-term, not short-term, wealth.

Trust before change featuring John Groves with Groves WorkReady, Inc. written January 2015 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

John Groves establishes trust before trying to make changes to a company culture.

Every day, companies lose money and productivity due to lost time from injured employees. Their cultures are historically designed to wait until someone files a claim upon being injured, but this often leads to higher costs and increased lost work time.

John Groves set out to change the way companies think about preventing injury. To that end, in 2007 he founded Groves WorkReady. The idea was to help companies keep employees health with early intervention, ergonomics, and best-practice training. Before his startup could gain traction, however, he would have to figure out how best to change widely held beliefs about health and fight entrenched ways of dealing with injury.

As many entrepreneurs do, Groves envisioned a better way to provide services. A physical therapist who owned three clinics in the Twin Cities area, he had grown frustrated with insurance reimbursement affecting outcomes and control over his business. He knew that a basic education in body mechanics and individual fitness could often prevent injury, rather than leaving companies and workers managing severe symptoms after the fact.

"I became excited about a business focused on keeping people healthy and helping to avoid injuries," he says. "That's the way it should be. But in my opinion, our health care system is still too focused on how to pay for it instead of how to avoid injury, and that's not right."

He founded Groves WorkReady in 2007 to change the way workers deal with pain and injury. His first step was to approach industries that have high concentrations of employees who historically suffer from musculoskeletal injuries. In most companies in the industries he picked, when people got injured, they were sent to the doctor and taken out of work for a period of time. Groves wanted to get to the issue before it became an injury, helping employers avoid the hassle and costs associated with recovery.

The biggest battle, he found, was establishing the trust that enables change. Employees had lots of assumptions about work, injury and insurance rather than facts. "We have to affect change in the culture at our client sites," says Groves. "Change is hard for anyone, so we really have to train the employees to think differently about their aches and pains. That’s not an easy thing to do."

Having someone from WorkReady onsite with the client company, it turns out, proved to be key. A physical therapist, occupational therapist or an athletic trainer is placed at each site on a weekly basis.

The interaction between those individuals and employees at the client company are crucial to limit risky behaviors and to have the opportunity to resolve potential injuries early on. Eventually, the employees learned they could interact with someone about an issue before it escalated to a serious situation.

"We discovered that in most scenarios, injury can be prevented by working with the symptoms earlier and engaging with employees at the time they identify a symptom or potential injury," says Groves. "We attack the root cause before it leads to a claim or loss."

Groves' proactive approach is one many business owners can appreciate. It empowers people to direct change rather than expecting change from a business mandate. Putting the right people on site built trusting relationships within the company, fostered education and provided early intervention. 

With a typical client, Groves says there are generally about 2,000 preventative interactions with their employees per year – all on a pre-loss or pre-claim basis. "People don't believe me when I tell them, but I can prove that we provide at least a 50 percent reduction in workers compensation claims a year," he says.

Groves' willingness to take on widely held cultural assumptions about work-related injuries creates an all-around win for his business, for employers and employees engaged in workplace wellness.

Tips

1. Focus on the root cause of an escalating corporate expense like workplace injuries. 
2. Develop a culture approach to improving the problem by engaging employees in solutions.
3. Institute best practices - with expert support - for safety and injury prevention that are achievable for everyone.
4. Celebrate small changes to shift the company culture in a healthier direction.

Strong Corporate Intelligence Always Wins featuring Paul Jaeb with Heartland Investigative Group written May 2012 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

One of the first rules in business: know your strengths. Another rule: Know your weaknesses. Large companies have entire departments and personnel dedicated to corporate intelligence, threats and weak links. But for small and mid-sized businesses, it’s been harder to access this valuable information.  The people who do this work tend to keep a low profile.  Since 1991, one Minnesota-based company has done just that, and built a multi-million-dollar business.

Heartland Investigative Group has touched just about every high profile case, story and deal in the Twin Cities. As a private investigator turned entrepreneur, CEO Paul Jaeb, 47, says that a company focused on rooting out and preventing the seven deadly sins in business is a round-the-clock mission. "People are often in crisis and need our help now," Jaeb says.

Just as importantly, Heartland has capitalized on the great need for businesses to proactively manage their threats and opportunities. Performing more than 100,000 background checks, the company also provides competitive intelligence, due diligence, executive consultation, research and analysis. All of this comes into play before companies make a critical hire, acquire another company, consider a partnership or enter an investment.

For large companies, Heartland augments internal corporate intelligence by gaining inside information as a neutral third party.  Even for small and mid-sized companies it’s essential to understand the value of corporate intelligence.  Heartland has discovered things like unauthorized manufacturing of a client’s goods as well as the true financials, assets and culture of a potential acquisition target.

One Heartland client called to report that its products were being manufactured in China.  Heartland was hired to find out who and where.  Another client wanted to investigate acquisition targets for details such as hours of operation, dock and parking lot traffic, raw materials quantities coming in, lines of production, shifts, etc…  This information allowed their client to calculate the actual output compared to the information that was given.

In certain circumstances, Heartland also provides and trains security personnel.

In 2002, Heartland acquired its biggest local competitor and in 2006 made a strategic acquisition in Denver, making it one of the largest corporate, financial and legal intelligence providers in the US.  Paul speaks nationally as an expert in the industry and is the former director of the National Association of Legal Investigators.

While some people still believe in and promote the power of a firm handshake, history is painting a new and dangerous story.  Jaeb is a symbol of the balance between privacy and public good, trust and betrayal. For business owners, success still appears to flow from knowing the truth and their own strengths and weaknesses - and then leveraging this information to make sound business decisions.