The first email I opened last Friday contained panic inflicting news.  It was a financial report and upon first review, we had made much less money than I expected and that we needed to maintain cash flow.  My first instinct was to panic, thinking about what I should do right this moment to fix the […]

Ask questions and more importantly, answer questions.  I meet with every department monthly to discuss key company performance metrics and how they link to profitability.  During these sessions, team members are encouraged to ask questions.  I have told them that I will answer any question they throw out.  If there are questions I am unwilling […]

I believe that people inside any organization fit into one of four levels of leadership.  A better term might actually be one of four types of leadership. Leader by Job Description Leader by Nature Leader by Example Leader by Just Doing Their Job For this example, please think of any individual in only one bucket. […]

Each month cross-functional teams present their progress and plans towards initiatives that have been deemed to be the most important business-wide projects. This round of initiatives began as complex, nebulous, big projects and every team struggled to get their arms around them. This month was different. Every group had details, specific actions and a confident […]

An HSI Sensing tradition is to hand out a basket containing everything a family needs for Christmas dinner to every employee. I love this tradition because it is just one small way that we reinforce that this really is a family business. Employees quickly become part of the extended family so we want to make […]

There was a fascinating article on Urban Meyer and his teaching philosophy in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend. Then after Ohio State obliterated Wisconsin to make the college football playoffs with their third string quarterback, I took a second look at this methodology. One of the principle takeaways from this article, was that […]

I was challenged several months ago to describe to my team my gifts and strengths. The intent behind this exercise was to clearly state how they can best support me as we work together towards achieving our organizational goals. I found this very difficult to do and especially awkward to talk about myself. Something felt […]

This week is our semi-annual bonus distribution and success sharing. These are some of my favorite days because it is a chance to pause and look back at our achievements. It is especially nice this week because we have done very well. This will be the largest amount we have distributed in some time. This […]

Many members of our management staff have continued in their service across generational leadership changes, sometimes spanning more than one. What I hear most often stated about those that stay and thrive under the next generation is that they are successful because they think like the new leadership. I cannot disagree more. This takes too […]

This week saw the establishment of the actual goals associated with our business driving metrics. What audacity! The objectives set relay a veritable optimism and bravado I have not seen inside our walls before. I love it! The management team not only believes in what we are doing, they believe in themselves and our staff. […]