How I Built the Most Profitable Industrial Container Management Company in America (Part 3 of 3)

[Continued from Part 2…]

Once I had my vision firmly in place and had a team—from the office, to the production floor, to my delivery drivers—who had all bought into and co-owned that vision and the benefits it held for them, it was time to put the meat of the plan into action.

Key #3: Innovation

We hear the term “innovation” thrown around a lot; but what does it mean to truly innovate? I believe it means learning all the good there is to be gleaned from what has been done by those who have blazed trails ahead of us, without buying into any practices or beliefs that will keep us from seeing new opportunities. There’s a point of harmony in innovation that keeps us from “re-inventing the wheel” while seeing ways to make vehicles fly instead of using wheels at all. It’s a place where science meets art in a way unique to each innovator based on his or her experiences and ability to see what is ahead.

So I started dismantling and studying the established practices of the entire industry.

What was waning in effectiveness?

What was gaining momentum?

Why were these realities happening?

How much did end-user perception or persuasion play in these trends?

What changes in government regulation were underway…upcoming…possible?

How was use of our industry’s products changing in the marketplace?

What were users’ complaints, concerns, and ideas?

...I paid attention to everything I could possibly think of that might offer opportunities for positive change.

My team and I made many, many tweaks to everything from our inventory management system, to custom equipment modifications, to our sales approach. Having all eyes and ears open, looking for opportunities—big and small—for innovative forward movements, the big break made its appearance: a change in government regulations that was being paraded through the industry as a harmful strike to the profitability—and maybe even survival—of most of the players in our space.

This is where my being an industry outsider—someone with fresh eyes who was specifically looking for breakthroughs amid the clutter—paid off.

While everyone else was worrying about a significant forthcoming government mandate that would upset the status quo, I saw an opportunity for the introduction of a new service that had the potential to yield many times the profit of any other per-unit product or service currently being offered. So I tested it.

My clients told me I was nuts. My competitors, when they found out what I was doing, denounced me as a snot-nosed kid who didn’t belong in the business and should take my marbles and go home. One West Coast competitor who, for some reason, seemed to care about me, even put his arm around me at our national convention and explained to me why I was going about the business all wrong. He sincerely wanted to save me from myself.

But I saw the future, and my new service was just what the doctor ordered. So I stuck to my guns.

Despite a very real dislike for the position I had taken, my clients began to see the need for my new service. They came to understand that I had their best interest at heart. I was protecting them against potential problems with the government if they continued in their old paths. Within a matter of months, I was no longer hearing the nay-sayers, and my clients were thanking me for having their backs.

Perhaps most notable was the fact that at our next national convention—just one year from the time I was being called an uninformed new-comer who didn’t deserve to be in the business—almost every company in our industry across the country had adopted (stolen?) my model and were offering the same service I had introduced. Sure, I had a little fun with a jab or two at some of the old-timers during the event, but all in all, I was seen differently by my peers. Most of them realized I had been the one to see what they were missing.

It wasn’t too long after having run the regional operations of two national competitors out of my service area that I was contacted by two major players with offers to buy me out. Both were very clear with regard to their motives. It wasn’t my book of business or facility they wanted; they just wanted me gone. Maybe they were afraid my next innovation would be even more disruptive. Maybe they didn’t like a Johnny-come-lately showing them up. Maybe they just didn’t like my haircut. Whatever the reason, they made no bones about the fact I needed to find somewhere else to play.

A bidding war began between two competitors to buy my company, the company sold within a few months, and I was on my way to my next adventure—one in which I would ultimately do away with the traditional brick-and-mortar facilities used in that industry in favor of temporary, mobile solutions and, in that process, land my biggest paycheck yet. Maybe I’ll share the account of that journey another time.

Lessons Learned

I learned—or had reiterated to me—many life-changing lessons while building that container management business. Among them are these gems:

·        No one has a corner on “the way” anything should be done,

·        Having a fully invested team is paramount to success,

·       Questioning everything is where the real magic begins,

·       There will always be nay-sayers, and

·       Nothing good happens without taking a risk.

I hope you see ways to apply these experiences and principles in your business. If I can be of assistance, my door is open. Let’s talk.

***

About Me: I’m a strategist with three decades of business-building experience across an array of industries. I help business owners and decision-makers achieve their desired outcomes by increasing sales, streamlining operations, and seizing previously unseen opportunities. More about me, my clients, what I do, and my contact information can be found at http://bwpope.com.

How I Built the Most Profitable Container Management Company in America (Part 2 of 3)

If you missed Part 1 of this series, you may want to read it before proceeding.

After I had set my vision for what I wanted to accomplish with the turnaround of this company, I needed a team that could help me turn that vision into reality. I needed everyone—from my office staff, to my production crew, to my delivery drivers—to be completely on board. If we were going to dominate the marketplace, we needed 100% buy-in.

I’ll have to exert some restraint to not turn this post into a book. There were many details that led to my success in molding a winning team. I’d like to share the high-level points here and leave it to you and your team to determine how these same principles and practices can be applied in your business.

I began by developing my big-picture vision into a set of daily outcomes—how many units needed to be produced, maximum end-of-line rejections due to defects, number of units/day delivered to clients, and so on. Note that I did not make a plan as to how I was going to accomplish these things, but simply that these were the tangible results I needed each day to make my vision become a reality.

Key #2: Role Ownership

Once I had the daily requirements determined, it was time to involve my team. I called a meeting in which I shared my vision and the daily requirements, in terms of output and quality, needed to bring this vision to fruition. I was met with everything from indifference to significant resistance, which was what I expected. After all, these people had collected their paychecks without these requirements in the past. Why change?

Then I got them involved in a way that was meaningful to them…

“I’ve told you what I want,” I said to the group, “Now you tell me what you want in exchange for making these things happen.”

It took a while for their creativity to kick in, but when they saw me readily listing the suggestions that were being made—many of which they clearly thought were excessive—the flood gates opened. When we were done making the list of proposals—which included performance bonuses, early shift termination when quotas were met, company-paid lunches, and other such perks—most people in the group were laughing and making comments about how ridiculous the thought of my accepting these demands was; obviously assuming I would never say yes to even a portion of their ideas.

I asked them if it would be alright for me to take a day and think about their suggestions. They agreed, and headed back to their work stations, still laughing, jeering, and even poking fun at how foolish this waste-of-time meeting had been.

I had already run numbers and knew what I could pay for the performance for which I was asking. Some quick head math during the course of our meeting had already led me to know I could provide everything for which my team had asked, and still have room to provide some additional surprise perks along the way. A formal calculating of the numbers that afternoon told me my preliminary beliefs were correct.

When the team gathered for our follow-up visit the next day, the laughing, scoffing, and attitude that had prevailed the previous day continued. Everyone took their seats, undoubtedly certain they would hear some less-than-exciting news as to my findings. I had debated whether to slide into the acceptance of their proposal, or drop my acceptance like a bomb. I decided on that latter approach.

The Answer They Didn’t Expect

“Thank you for all your suggestions yesterday,” I began. “I’ve run the numbers, and I’m ready to give you everything you asked for.” Many were still talking among themselves and focused elsewhere when I made that statement. Then the room became completely silent. “What?” came a query from my plant foreman. “Say that again,” he went on.

I repeated myself: “I’ve run the numbers, and I’m ready to give you everything you asked for.” You could have heard a pin drop. I went on…

“This is the way it’s going to work. I’m not going to issue any reprimands for being late. I’m not going to conduct surprise status checks on the production floor. And I’m not going to personally handle end-of-shift inspections anymore. That’s all up to you.

“If you have a co-worker who is not performing, it’s up to you to help him see the vision and pick up his performance. When a piece of equipment goes down, your shift is over for the day without pay. Your opportunity to earn money will resume when the equipment has been repaired. You own this opportunity. It’s up to you to make of it what you will.”

I’ve never seen a more wide-eyed group of adults in my life. They were floored!

“Are we in agreement?” I asked. The answer came in an enthusiastic affirmative. “Let’s make it happen then!”

Instant Change

From that moment forward, quality improved until we beat the best of the best in the industry. Daily quotas were almost always met an hour or more before the end of the scheduled shift (which represented somewhere in the neighborhood of double our previous output). Equipment failures diminished to nearly zero. Poor performing employees were coached by their peers to improve performance. On two occasions, a delegation of team members approached me about firing those who were not catching the vision and improving. I still smile with satisfaction when I think of those team members coming to me as a group to get their non-performing peers ousted.

My favorite part of each day was standing by the time clock as my team clocked out early, having made more per hour for the day for having met their quota, and being paid at that higher rate for the hours they would not have to work, as well. “We’re ripping you off, Bryan!” was a common phrase my smiling team members would chant as they gave me high fives on their way out. Although I never said it out loud, my response was always, “Keep ripping me off, guys… Keep ripping me off.”

There is, of course, more to the entire account than what I have shared; but in short, I got my team to buy in to my vision by allowing them to take ownership of their roles in a way that was beneficial to them. I didn’t dictate the rewards. I didn’t mold the culture of the team. They did.

Those who “got it” stayed around and enjoyed the benefits of our joint efforts. Those who didn’t went on their way and were replaced by people who wanted what we had to offer.

My team took control of their work. I had more time to build other parts of the business.

They had a better job than they could get elsewhere. I had a killer team that made things happen.

They made more money. I made more money.

It doesn’t get much better than that. Role ownership by all team members is necessary if we’re to build a top-performing organization. After all, a successful company is a community of successful people. How can you help your people become more successful?

Check in for my final installment of this series when I’ll share the third key that launched this company from losing money to being the top profit performer in its industry.