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.