Attorney J.D. Thorne has relocated his J.D. Thorne Employment Law Managers practice to 225 E. Mason St., Suite 502, in Milwaukee. Thorne has been practicing law in the Milwaukee area since 1977.

ACE World Wide Group of Companies of Milwaukee has purchased the intermodal transportation company Seaway Cartage, also in Milwaukee, to strengthen its global transportation and distribution services, according to Alan S. Mileski, president and CEO. The acquisition gives ACE a five-acre Port of Milwaukee location for loading, unloading and storing steamship containers. The firm also gets an inventory of heavy-duty chassis for heavy-load shippers. Kenneth Filo, former president and owner of Seaway, has joined ACE World Wide Group of Companies as general manager-marketing.
Cream City Communications, a custom Web-based application business, has been acquired by private owners in Phoenix. The newly created company, Integral Productions (Integral Pro), will continue to offer e-business services in both states. "The Milwaukee market has treated us well over the last six years, but in order to continue our growth we need to reach out to new markets," said Jonathan Brewer, one of the three partners in Cream City Communications. Other partners are Nathan D. Bowen and Nathan A. Ferch. All three will remain part-owners in the new operation. Integral Pro will retain the Cream City staff and plans to add positions. The new company will add an online ordering and document-management platform, Meta Ordernet, to its offerings. Meta Ordernet was developed in 2000 for Metgraphix, a commercial printing and digital document services provider with locations in Phoenix and New Berlin.
The Stevens Law Office of Cedarburg and Mallery & Zimmerman have merged their firms. The Cedarburg office of Mallery & Zimmerman will be maintained at 708 Keup Rd. under the name Mallery, Zimmerman & Stevens. Shareholder John Stevens will continue to practice in the areas of trusts and estates in Cedarburg, Milwaukee and Carefree, Az. Besides the Milwaukee area and Arizona, offices are located in Wausau and Stevens Point.
Layton State Bank has re-opened its facility in Greendale’s historic village center after a major renovation project. The bank’s office is at 5850 Broad St.
Southeastern Wisconsin companies among 48 nominated for the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Manufacturer of the Year award include Accurate Pattern, Brookfield; Alto-Shaam, Menomonee Falls; American Orthodontics, Sheboygan; Bemis Manufacturing, Sheboygan Falls; DaimlerChrysler-Daimler Engine, Kenosha; InPro Corp., Muskego; K&B Innovations, North Lake; MGS Mfg. Group, Germantown; Open First, Milwaukee; Orbis Corp., Oconomowoc; Plymouth Foam, Plymouth; Quad/Graphics, Pewaukee; Saddlebrook BarnCams, Oconomowoc; Sharp Packaging Systems, Sussex; Specialty Tapes, Franksville; Visual Systems, Milwaukee; WennSoft, New Berlin; Wigwam Mills, Sheboygan; and Wiscraft, Milwaukee. Winners will be announced at a Feb. 27 banquet at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
Zoe Engineering has become a tenant of the Professional Dimensions Women’s Business Incubator in Milwaukee, according to the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. (WWBIC). The company has been started by Daphne Wilson, who recently received her Wisconsin Professional Engineer license. The incubator is located within the YWCAWomen’s Enterprise Center at 1915 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. WWBIC has also announced that Fanny Dunlap has started Kids You Choose, a poster and tee-shirt-design business. Dunlap is a 65-year-old legally blind African American woman who designed the posters about 15 years ago, before she began to lose her vision, she said. She went through WWBIC courses. WWBIC and the West Allis Small Business Development Program have helped Michael Smith and his fiancée Jennifer Lahmann finance their new company, Cleveland Avenue Automotive, at 8440 W. Cleveland Ave. in West Allis. WWBIC and West Allis have also helped finance Doc’s Stitches, a custom quilter for Wisconsin truckers. The company makes personalized denim quilts, primarily for truckers.

Jan. 24, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Building owners say Milwaukee ordinance is a facade
Revisions may be needed for city’s new law

By Charles Rathmann, of SBT

Owners of multi-story buildings in Milwaukee say a facade ordinance due to take effect in July is imposing thousands of dollars in inspection costs and should be revised.

The ordinance was created by the Milwaukee Common Council in response to two incidents in August 2000, when chunks of building facade crashed to city sidewalks.

As it is written, the ordinance, which was approved Aug. 18, 2001, eventually would require owners of every building more than five stories in height to pay for a hands-on inspection by a structural engineer every five years.

The cost for such an inspection on an even modest five-story building can be daunting, building owners say.

For the six-story, 100-unit Third Ward condominium building at 234 N. Broadway, inspection cost estimates range from $22,000 to $64,800, according to condominium association president and Historic Third Ward Association board member Doug Stonnman.

"We are expected to spend that money every five years," Stonnman said. "Now you are asking the owners of the property to just start dumping in the money to prove to the city you are maintaining your building. I think it’s kind of like the Napoleanic Code, where you are guilty until proven innocent. The two buildings they did have problems with — it was obvious that that those buildings needed to be repaired. The city has the rules right now to require that."

Stonnman and other building owners are critical of the fact the ordinance treats brick facades, which are less likely to fail, the same as those made of terra cotta or masonry.

The brick office condo building at East Buffalo Street and Broadway occupied in part by Historic Third Ward Association board member Marty Katz’s Wellston Properties would be treated just like a building with flaking, crumbling stucco.

"Thank goodness that none of the properties we manage are over five stories in height," Katz said. "Most of them are residential properties on the east side. On the other hand, I find it horrifically problematic. I have a general disdain for greater government involvement in my professional life. The good guys will do what needs to be done to get their buildings in shape. The guys who don’t care … don’t care about ordinances."

Katz worries that the ordinance could have a chilling effect on market prices for multi-story buildings.

"My concerns are not only whether I would consider purchasing the building in the first place," Katz said. "I am wondering about the long-term effects for insurance coverage. If the ordinance is in force, will insurance companies be forced to recognize this and lower premiums because there is no chance of negligence? Or will they walk away from facade-oriented claims because it is the responsibility of the business owner?"

Tom Bernacchi, vice president of Towne Realty’s commercial division, doubts that the ordinance would have an adverse affect on insurance claims, because normal wear and tear, which can eventually lead to some facade failures, is not typically covered by insurance.

Only facade failures attributable to a cause such as tornados, high winds or seismic activity would be covered, according to Bernacchi.

"However, if you do have your inspection, if you have a cause, certainly this should assist you in showing the problem did not exist two weeks ago; but then you had those high winds and now the problem does exist," Bernacchi said.

Bernacchi, who said he agreed philosophically with the intent of the ordinance, said he was primarily concerned with the difficulty of having the inspections completed in the time allotted.

"In the first round, which includes buildings built prior to 1920, we are going to have at least two or three buildings, depending on how they score one of the buildings, that had a facade replacement back in the 1960s," Bernacchi said. "As far as the ability to get it done, it is going to be difficult …. There are only so many engineers, so many restoration companies that have the expertise to go up and down these buildings with the engineers. And a lot of those companies are booked with work. Building owners in Chicago have fallen into the same problem — so much to be done and not enough professionals to get it done."

Members of the state chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and a representative of the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) met Jan. 13 at BOMA headquarters to hash out their differences over the ordinance, which was based on a similar rule in Chicago.

"City building inspectors can only do so much," DNS chief operations officer Tracy Williams said. "All we are asking them is take care of their properties in a more extensive way."

Williams stressed that despite claims to the contrary, the ordinance was not drafted to get the city off the hook for paying for the inspections. He said the ordinance already includes a provision to exempt buildings with recently reconstructed facades.

"I don’t think we are trying to not do inspections," Williams said. "Having a building this size, you have to take care of it. An owner can only see so much visually from the ground. Once you get above five stories, you need to be up there, hands-on …. If the entirety of a facade has been reconstructed like the (Marcus Center for the Performing Arts) just was, with all the stone replaced, and it was done under permit, we would show that, and the owner would get credit for it. But if someone just went up, checked the facade and did some tuck pointing, we don’t know about that."

According to Williams, a thorough inspection up close is crucial for terra cotta buildings.

"The biggest problem is buildings where the facade is fastened by metal ties," Williams said. "You get water behind the wall, and those metal ties can corrode. You have to look at that especially close. The next most dangerous is masonry-type construction where you have terra cotta as a decorative piece."

According to BOMA government relations director John Periard, the city is receptive to pursuing adjustments to the ordinance, which would affect between 100 and 120 buildings this year.

"The facade ordinance is based on the Chicago ordinance, but unlike in Chicago, if there is one small area of a facade that is a problem, the entire building must be reinspected the next year," Periard said. "The city has been reasonable in listening to our concerns. And the ordinance is less strict in some ways than the Chicago ordinance."

However, implementation of the Chicago ordinance was delayed for a year to allow building owners adequate time to comply. Also, provisions were added that required less frequent inspections for brick and other more durable facades than those constructed of masonry and terra cotta.

Periard is optimistic that the ordinance could be changed to account for the performance of the different facade materials, but he is less certain that building owners with regular maintenance and inspection programs could be exempted.

"If the build owner already has a maintenance plan in place, the owner should be exempted from the ordinance, the owner should be exempted from the mandated inspections," Periard said. "But I suspect the city would still like to see a structural engineer up there very five years. What we might be able to get at the outset here is a phased approach, where they have to do one side of a building per year so building managers could budget over a longer period of time. They would start with the side with the most exposure to pedestrian walkways."

Jan. 24, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Organists make pitch for Miller Park job

The Milwaukee Brewers will soon hold auditions for a new organist at Miller Park. The baseball team received applications for the job through Jan. 17 and will soon begin interviews and auditions, spokesman Jon Greenberg said.

The resumes were collected by Mike Jakubowski, the Brewers’ director of electronic services. The applicants ranged from church organists to people with professional performance experience, Greenberg said. “We’ve got double-digit applications. He tells me he’s got several really good candidates,” he said.

To attract the organist applicants, the Brewers posted a job description on the team’s Web site. The job will be a “part-time, seasonal” position, according to Greenberg, who declined to disclose the organist’s salary.

The team is seeking someone who can play traditional Milwaukee baseball fare, such as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Go, Brewers Go!” and “Roll Out the Barrel,” Greenberg said. However, the successful candidate also must be able to play popular music, he said. The team will pipe in recorded music to supplement the live organist.

When the Brewers open up with a pre-season game against the Minnesota Twins at Miller Park on March 28, the organ will return to baseball in Milwaukee for the first time since 1986, when Frank Charles tickled the ivories.

“We’re trying create that special feeling, that when you hear an organ, you think of baseball,” Greenberg said.

The idea of returning an organist to the ballpark came from a fan who made the request to Ulice Payne, the Brewers’ new president and chief executive officer, during a fan forum at Miller Park in October.

– Steve Jagler

Telaric changes name, bolsters growth consultancy

Telaric, a Mequon business advisory firm formed in 2000, has changed its name to Telaric Alliance and now operates as a new type of consulting firm that helps business owners and CEOs grow their companies, according to the firm’s founder.

"The members of Telaric Alliance, as senior executives for more than 20 years, were frustrated by the type of outside growth assistance available in the market, so we have been working for more than a year to put together the expertise and structure that would provide real value to business owners and CEOs," said Allen Oelschlaeger, a founder of Telaric Alliance (www.telaric.com).

Telaric started a technology business incubator in 2001 and had also focused on launching businesses with proprietary technology. The focus is now beyond start-ups and early-stage support.

Telaric Alliance’s focus is on business growth. Oelschlaeger noted that studies have shown that the key to a strong regional economy is the presence of a large number of rapidly growing companies. "Telaric Alliance is dedicated to working with business owners and CEOs in the region to make them part of this statistic," he said.

Oelschlaeger said Telaric Alliance "is the only consulting firm in the US that addresses all four ingredients of growth: the sources of growth (innovation and marketing) and the inputs to growth (money and people) through a tight integration of the following four practice areas:"

Strong training can make winners of low-skilled workers
Question:
We are a small manufacturing firm and operate in a “job shop” environment. Our problem has been that the folks we bring in at the entry level are less and less skilled than what we normally would find to be acceptable. We’ve lowered our standards to the point where I’m not sure we can go any lower. Many of these employees have poor basic skills, low self-esteem, poor work ethic, etc. and bring their personal problems into work. With unemployment so low, we can’t afford to be choosy and turn people away. I guess what I’m wondering is how to go about addressing their low-level skills as they come on board.
Answer:
I’m sure this is a question with which many of our readers can resonate. This is an interesting question and one that does not have a lot of easy answers. But we’ll give it a try.
First, let’s step back for a second and talk about the general context in which people work here in the late 20th century.
Clearly, the nature of work has changed. Jobs have become more technical and demand higher skill sets, even at the entry level. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 90% of the jobs which have been created in the last eight years have demanded college-level math and reading skills.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 21st century jobs will be increasingly even more demanding; 65% of all jobs in the new millennium will require more than a high school education. Twenty percent of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree and/or postgraduate education. Only 15% of jobs will be unskilled.
What you are seeing in your organization represents local evidence of the gap which exists between employees’ skill sets and the demands of the job. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that only about half of the students entering the workforce have the skills they need to do the jobs they are filling. Studies by other government agencies as well as private industry have concluded the same thing: US students graduate with poor academic skills, dysfunctional work habits, and inadequate occupational training. The widening gap between what is expected in the workplace and what prospective employees bring to the table is of concern to a variety of shareholders including educators, employers, and government officials.
Yet despite all of the negative commentary about the quality of education our students are receiving, it is also clear that one of the best things that a future worker can do is to stay in school. While it may be the case that staying in school does not guarantee the acquisition of skills which generalize to the job, leaving before graduation almost certainly portends a bleak future. In this regard, the U.S. Bureau of Labor tells us that the unemployment rate for high school graduates who do not enter college approximates 20%. Those who do not possess a high school diploma fare even worse.
So what then can be done to address this problem? One approach which is gaining momentum in some parts of the country is what is known as a school-to-work program. In essence, these are partnerships between business, labor, government, education, and community organizations that focus on preparing students for today’s high-tech business organizations. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the goals of such a program include:

Milwaukee’s Lincoln Avenue redevelopment on target
by Heather Stur, SBT Reporter
It all began with the purchase, renovation and sale of a residential duplex. In 1989, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation embarked on its mission to spur revitalization efforts of an area of Milwaukee’s south side stretching east-west from Lake Michigan to 21st Street and north-south from National Avenue to Oklahoma Avenue, with a main focus on the development of Lincoln Avenue.
Today, almost 10 years and $2 million later, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. lends its services – and its funds – to small businesses in its community.
“The businesses we lend to often are ones that might not be able to get a loan from a bank,” says Hilde Dewulf, project manager for the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. “But that doesn’t mean anyone can come in here and expect to get a loan. If someone needs a loan to start a new business, he or she must show a grasp of what it really means to be an entrepreneur, and that doesn’t come just by going to a seminar on how to start your own business.”
In addition to business loans, the redevelopment group provides neighborhood businesses with technical assistance, especially in accounting, the area Dewulf says small and start-up businesses seem to need the most help in.
A restaurateur on Lincoln Avenue spent several years in business paying his employees and his bills in cash straight out of his restaurant cash register. The redevelopment corporation not only taught the restaurateur accounting and bookkeeping skills, it also bought the building that housed his restaurant and rented it to him until he could buy it back.
This year, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. received from the City of Milwaukee a $10,000 Community Block Grant to finance accountant services at the redevelopment corporation. The grant was renewed for an additional $10,000 for 1999. Thanks to the grant, businesses that receive loans from the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. can get free accounting services for three months, including training to use the QuickBooks accounting program, and then pay $125 each month after that for continued accounting and tax-return servicing.
Although currently it owns no property, the redevelopment corporation has involved itself in renovation projects in the area. And through a partnership with Bay View High School from 1993 to 1997, students in a Bay View High construction class rehabilitated seven structures purchased by the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. with the help of $60,000 in grants from the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, and $100,000 in donations from various sources.
“We don’t want to own any property; we just want to fix up buildings so that private organizations will buy them,” says Michael Gapinski, executive director of the redevelopment corporation. “We want to get more people involved in the responsibility of redeveloping the area.”
The organization also participated in a project, known as “Basilica Square,” to enhance the physical quality of the street scene on Lincoln Avenue. The city approved a $750,000 capital improvement project, and Wisconsin Electric Power Co. invested more than $250,000 to bury overhead wiring around the Basilica of St. Josephat, while Landmark Lighting installed a system to illuminate the basilica at night. Harp lighting, newly planted greenery and a park were added to complete the project.
Initial project: renovation
In 1989, Merchants & Manufacturers Bancorporation was chartered and founded a community development corporation, the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp., led by Lincoln State Bank, which sought to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act via a community development corporation. Its initial action involved the renovation of a neighborhood duplex, but the holding company soon realized more was needed to help the area thrive. Thus, the Lincoln Fund was established.
In the same year that Merchants & Manufacturers Bancorporation was formed, Wisconsin Community Capital Corp. (WCC) approached Lincoln State Bank with a plan to create a pool of funds to be used for urban economic revitalization.
That plan evolved into the Lincoln Fund, a revolving loan fund of $550,000 for use by new or existing businesses located on Lincoln Avenue. Lincoln State Bank, Franklin State Bank and Lincoln Community Bank each contribute $150,000, along with WCC’s $100,000 contribution. In 1994, Warner Cable Communications, Inc., contributed $35,000 to the fund with the instructions that the money be used to start woman- and minority-owned businesses, and in 1996 M&I Marshall and Ilsley Bank joined the board of the community development corporation with a $150,000 contribution to the Lincoln Fund. To date, 60 loans – each ranging from $5,000 to $150,000 – have been given out for a total of $2 million loaned to businesses on and near Lincoln Avenue.
Historical precedence
Lincoln State Bank was founded in 1919 as a community bank to serve the local, widely Polish community that was underserved by downtown Milwaukee’s banks at the time, says Dewulf. The demographics of this south side neighborhood have changed over time – a largely Hispanic population has taken residence in the area – but the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp. functions much to the same end that Lincoln State Bank did almost 80 years ago.
When Jose Lopez decided two years ago to expand his National Avenue bakery by opening a second establishment at 1601 W. Lincoln Ave., the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce referred him to the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp., which aided him in all aspects of business expansion – from approving him for a loan to helping him get the proper licensing to set up a business in his chosen location.
“I saw a need in the neighborhood for the kind of product I offer,” says Lopez. “People in the neighborhood were tired of second-hand bakery and second-hand service. I have what they want. Also, the building on Lincoln Avenue was right for my business and was in a good location. I went to (the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp.) for financial assistance, and they helped me throughout the entire process.”
And the expansion of Lopez’s bakery isn’t stopping with the Lincoln Avenue store. In about two months, he plans to open a coffee shop and bakery at a third location at Mitchell and 11th Streets.
El Toro Bravo, a specialty meat market and deli located at 1518 W. Lincoln Ave., is scheduled to open in February or March due to the help of the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp., according to owner Raymundo Vazquez.
“[The Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corp.] has been holding my hand through the whole process of getting the business set up,” says Vazquez, whose family runs a similar business in Guadalajara, Mexico. “Lincoln Avenue was the right place for me to open the business.”
A model organization
In addition to continuing to act as a lending organization for businesses in the Lincoln Avenue area, the organization hopes other community development corporations will model themselves after the Lincoln Avenue one, says Dewulf. Such already is happening in the Midtown neighborhood around 27th and Galena Streets. According to Dewulf, M&I Marshall and Ilsley, Park and TCF banks put together a loan consortium to duplicate the Lincoln Fund in the Midtown neighborhood.
“Banks in other neighborhoods can look at Lincoln Avenue and see that neighborhoods that might have been neglected have great potential,” says Gapinski. “There are good businesses out there, and we’re hoping that more banks get involved to give these businesses a chance to revitalize the neighborhoods they’re in.”

Approach to senior management can make you a hero – or a chump
Fifth in a series
Last month we discussed getting to executives through a carefully positioned access letter. This month and next, we’ll talk about how to work through a contact at a target company to reach an executive.
No sales dialogue better tests a salesperson’s mettle than a discussion with a lower-level contact regarding getting to senior management. That single conversation requires every ounce of confidence, business sense and relationship skills you possess, along with a deep sense for the subtleties of the spoken word. Do it right, and you just might become immune to competition for the account. Do it wrong, and you could wind up toast.
You must consider several things as you decide how to frame your dialogue:

Johnson Controls CEO Jim Keyes
As chief executive of Johnson Controls, Inc., a multi-national company with 76,000 employees and $12.6 billion in annual sales, Jim Keyes faces numerous challenges as he works to keep Wisconsin’s largest company out ahead.
So how does a CEO with 10 years at the helm keep abreast of goings-on in a global company so large and spread out?
He reads plant safety reports. More than just a record of safety practices, the reports tell him a lot about morale and management of a particular plant.
“It tells how well our people are looking out for out employees – how they are treating them,” says the 58-year-old Keyes, who is the 1998-99 Sales and Marketing Executives of Milwaukee “Marketing Executive of the Year.”
If Keyes sees a plant racking up a lot of safety incidents, it’s an indicator of a larger problem, he says. Seven years ago, Johnson Controls automotive battery plant here in Milwaukee was the corporation’s worst performing unit in terms of safety. One manager threw up his hands and said the injuries were due to the heavy lifting that goes along with making car batteries.
Keyes made sure the safety issue was addressed, and today the battery plant is Johnson Controls’ best performing unit when it comes to safety.
“Safety reports tell you a lot more than just how safe the working environment is,” Keyes says in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Glendale. “It’s usually a sign that morale’s getting bad or something’s going wrong.”
It is that kind of analytical ability to focus and fix problems that has seen Johnson Controls quadruple sales during his tenure – from $3.1 billion when he took over as CEO in 1988 to $12.6 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1998. Sales rose 13% in 1998 over the previous fiscal year, with each of the company’s business units achieving record sales and earnings.
[Johnson Controls is the largest car battery manufacturer in North America. The company also makes automotive interior systems, and controls which regulate indoor environments. It also manages more than 600 million square feet of building space as part of its Integrated Facilities Management division.]
Keyes sits on the board of a number of Milwaukee area organizations. Marquette University President Father Robert Wild says Keyes lends a keen analytical presence to Marquette’s Board of Trustees.
“He misses very little,” Wild says. “He is wise. And he is not afraid to speak up if things should be done in a better fashion, He is a person we listen to and take very seriously. We are very fortunate to have him on our board.”
Keyes is an early riser, getting out of bed at 4:30 a.m. for his swim at the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He’s in the office by 6, and typically works a 12-hour day. He attributes that tendency both to his father – who worked until he was 80 – and his small town roots in Belmont, a village of 800 residents in southwestern Wisconsin.
“I think, for the most part, that people from smaller communities have a very good work ethic,” Keyes says, pointing to the success of Gov. Tommy Thompson, who is from Elroy. “But there’s a lot of luck involved.”
Keyes frequently travels internationally to stay abreast of Johnson Controls’ far-flung enterprises. Last year, the company acquired Becker Group and its European subsidiary for a reported $550 to $600 million, a move which is expected to increase the company’s international sales of automotive interior systems.
Organizations that stand still risk losing whatever competitive edge they currently possess, Keyes says, adding that product innovation and new product development are critical to the long-term survival of a business. [JCI’s Inspira thin-metal battery is significantly smaller and lighter than traditional lead-acid batteries, and could reduce vehicle weight by 20 pounds when it is introduced two years from now.]
Keyes is a major proponent of process improvement.
“We live in an environment where we don’t get price increases,” Keyes says. “Every year, our customers want price decreases in some form. So a lot of that cost reduction has to come from changes to make our process more efficient. We spend a lot of time on that.”
In meetings with his top managers, Keyes asks what the various business units can do to ensure that they are following the best business practices within their industry, or anywhere on the planet, for that matter.
“You’ve got to continually raise the bar,” Keyes says.
Since he first took a seat on the Johnson Controls board in 1985, the company has shifted its primary focus from building controls to automotive systems. Just as the business has changed over the last 13 years, don’t expect Johnson Controls to be the same company it was another 10 years from now.
“Business is going to keep changing very rapidly,” Keyes says. “I believe we are entering a period where all businesses are going to be greatly impacted by the Internet. Electronic commerce will make a great change, so the way we do business will be different, and the product we sell will be different.”
But the basic values of the company, Keyes says, will remain the same.
Keyes is a big believer in human capital as a strategic asset. He says acquiring talented people and putting them in the right position is a key to any company’s success, and should be part of any growing company’s strategic plan.
“If you spend more time there, you’ll need to spend less time in other places,” Keyes says. “At our last management meeting, both myself and our president stressed to our managers that they need to have top talent underneath them, because if they had to do the same thing tomorrow that they are doing today, then they aren’t going to grow anymore.”

Employee retention is no longer as simple as higher pay and more responsibility, says Howard Sosoff of BDO Seidman in Milwaukee. Employee retention is now one of a company’s greatest assets. Employers must recognize the value of retaining their workforce, as opposed to the costly pursuit of recruitment and retraining, Sosoff says.
The following are a few ways to retain your employees:
ˆ? Create lifestyle perks packages that include flexible scheduling, custom-made benefits packages, employee assistance programs and on-site amenities (such as child care, dry cleaning service, and shoe repair).
ˆ? Reward employees for a job well done with movie passes, tickets to sporting events, or an extra vacation day. Handwritten notes also go a long way toward recognizing performance.
ˆ? Establish a corporate culture that values employees.
ˆ? Offer “dress down” days in which employees can wear casual business attire.
ˆ? Institute a goal and incentives reward program.

As INSpire Insurance Solutions has grown, so has the need for programers to develop software for the property and casualty insurance industry.
The Sheboygan location has gone from 85 employees in 1989 to 200 by 1998, says Rick Gaumer, vice president of support services.
But, it’s not enough. INSpire could use an additional 25 to 30 programers, but there is no one in sight to fill these positions. In response, INSPire decided to grow its own by recruiting students right out of high school to attend a newly-formed program at nearby Lakeland College which trains them in computer science, and gives them the skills they need to go to work for the company.
“We’d like to hire experienced people where we can find them, but the reality is we have to grow some of our own,” Gaumer says.
Lakeland College and INSpire have formed an alliance in which the company pays up to $6,000 of a student’s annual tuition in exchange for a commitment to work for the company, says Dirk Zylman, Lakeland’s director of development. For each year they work after graduation, they receive reimbursement of $6000 per year up to $30,000. The 16 students currently enrolled in the pilot program will go to school 12 months out of the year, and will take a curriculum geared to INSpire’s criteria.
The students are invited to company events, and receive internships at the company by their second or third year of college, Zylman says. The students must maintain a grade point average of 2.75 in order to stay in the program and get a job with the company. Lakeland hopes to recruit 30 students a year to enter the program.
“The hope is, by spending three years in the program, and by getting to know INSpire and getting to know the community, these people are going to want to stay in the area and become part of the community,” Zylman says. “Hopefully, they are here because they want to be here, and not just looking at this as a weigh station.”
The problem is that many information technology workers are seduced by offers from companies in larger metropolitan areas. This setup is intended as a “golden handcuffs” arrangement in that the students will feel some obligation to stay after going through the program and having part of their tuition paid by their future employer, Zylman says.
For those who want to move on, INSpire has offices in Fort Worth, Columbia, S.C., and San Diego, Gaumer says.
“It’s a win all the way around,” notes Zylman, a former Firstar banker. “For INSpire, it’s a pool of prospective employees who know the company. For Lakeland, it represents a steady stream of incoming students, and it’s a win for the community because they are going to be positive, contributing members.”

Global economy creates opportunity for small manufacturers
On top of global competition and ever-higher customer expectations, small manufacturers face a labor shortage with no end in sight.
But, for those who are willing to meet the challenge, the global economy offers chances to small manufacturers they haven’t had before, says Vince Barker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee associate professor of management, and an expert on the dynamics of competition.
The first step is the simple realization that as a small manufacturer, you can tap into the advantages that exist in today’s global economy, Barker says.
“There’s no doubt, doing business is harder today, ” says Barker. “But [small manufacturers] have more opportunities to sell globally themselves, or to sell their goods to those who do.”
Two successful Waukesha County manufacturers which have done just that shared tips not only on surviving, but thriving in today’s world economy.
The first step is to cover the basics, says David L. Bahl, president of Weldall Manufacturing in Waukesha. Zero defects, 99% on-time delivery, and low price are minimum customer expectations today.
“You have to be able to deliver a quality product on time. That’s a given. And price is always a factor,” he says.
Weldall, a full-service metal fabricating job shop, has a 25-year track record. It began as a 250-square-foot welding shop in Wauwatosa. Now housed in a 45,000-square-foot facility in Waukesha, Weldall employs 90 workers, including welders certified to work on carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. It has estimated annual sales of more than $5 million.
Customer expectations about quality have grown tremendously over the past decade, says Bahl. But Weldall has, by necessity, always paid close attention to quality.
“The type of equipment we manufacture – cranes, excavating machinery – has to be done right,” Bahl says. “People’s lives depend on them. They carry high liability.”
To ensure quality, Weldall documents all incoming material and identifies it for traceability. In addition, it requires its welders to be certified.
What’s different today is the need to have your quality verified before you can move into some markets. Weldall’s attention to quality enabled the company to earn ISO 9000 certification, giving it approved-supplier status with major Fortune 500 companies.
The key to staying competitive in quality and price is finding quality workers, says Bahl. That’s his companies biggest challenge.
“The work is out there,” Bahl says. “It’s a matter of finding quality people to do it.”
Bahl hopes to hire 50 additional workers over the next two years. “I could go out and hire 50 workers today, but I need the right ones if I want to keep a good reputation.”
After your own house is in order, then you work on relationships, says Bahl. What you need is a strong base of steady customers.
Weldall depends on one in-house sales person to represent the company to potential customers, and “I’ll make calls myself,” says Bahl. It’s important that your sales person be knowledgeable both about your operation and your customer’s needs, he adds.
To build and maintain strong relationships, both with customers and employees, Bahl says he lives by “two golden rules” that have served him well. First, be honest with customers. Manufacturers today face such turn-around times that “you don’t have time to quote a price. You have to work on a time-and-materials basis. Your customers have to feel confident you’re giving them a good deal.”
To keep customers, you also have to be honest about what you can and can’t do, he adds. “We’ve turned down jobs because the lead time was too tight. You have to be able to follow through.”
His second rule: Treat employees well. “To succeed, you need good employees. When you have them, you want to keep them for a long time. If you don’t take care of them, someone else will.”
Another Waukesha success story, Acme Machell Co., Inc., is thriving on the second tier by supplying precision-molded rubber parts to other manufacturers who take them on the global market. That’s how every McDonald’s restaurant that sells soft-serve ice cream got a machine with Acme Machell parts in it.
Along with Waukesha Rubber Co., Acme Machell is responsible for making Waukesha County the leading rubber-product manufacturing region in the state. Its annual sales exceed $10 million.
Acme Machell serves an increasing number of manufacturers in the appliance, automotive, construction, electrical, food and beverage, machine tool, machinery, oil and gas, and paper industries. Among its world-class customers are Briggs and Stratton and Harley-Davidson.
To be a successful second-tier manufacturer, investing in quality control is key, says J.C. Riebe, president of the company his father founded in 1953.
“The number of vendors our customers use is shrinking,” Riebe says. “They are being more selective.”
Getting ISO 9002 designation has been important in obtaining new business, he says.
“It is a big sales tool,” Riebe says. “Now you have to be an approved-supplier to even get a quote on a job.”
Getting ISO 9002 certification requires a big investment, says Riebe. Not every manufacturer can do it. Riebe estimates it costs most companies between $25,000 to $50,000 to get the necessary quality controls in place.
But that’s not all the verification many large manufacturers need before they’ll do business with you, Riebe adds. “They will do their own quality audit before they give you an opportunity to bid.”
And they don’t stop checking on you after they award a contract, he adds. Major manufacturers send their own teams to do quality audits, many twice a year. Acme Machell hosts quality inspection teams from various manufacturers several times a month, says Riebe.
While quality has gained in importance in the past decade, price is just as much a factor, says Riebe.
“We constantly look for ways to make a product cheaper while maintaining its quality,” he says. “Sometimes you can’t reduce production costs. Then you may want to take a loss in your profit margin, just to keep some customers’ business.”
To sell the company as a high-quality supplier, you need to have the right sales people, says Riebe. Acme Machell uses carefully selected sales representatives.
“You must have knowledgeable sales people to get the word out. They are the first contact,” says Riebe. “They need to know what rubber is, what it can do, how it can meet a customer’s needs …”
Acme Machell uses a team approach to determine a customer’s needs, says Riebe. The firm sends personnel to work directly with national manufacturers for government contracts to supply all branches of the armed forces.
In addition to government contracts, 30% of its sales come from manufacturing high-precision automotive components.
That narrow, financially-rewarding niche has served the company well. “In 10 years, we went from nothing to $50 million gross,” says co-president Kevin Sinnett, who founded IDC with his brother John.
“We’ve been able to establish our little niche. But it’s never good advice to get stuck in one marketplace. There were some years that were pretty lean,” says Sinnett. “But now, it’s paying off.”

Be ready with the right response to offset objections
The last time you made a call to a current or potential customer, was it simply to sell a new product or maybe to handle a problem? How was your call received? Were you nervous, or did you feel good about placing the call? If you were nervous about the call, ask yourself why.
If the only time you contact a customer is to sell or handle a problem, you’re conditioning your customers to expect negatives and therefore resist your calls. When was the last time that you contacted a customer just to let him know about something that may interest him? Markets have changed, and so must our approach over the telephone. Here are some tips to help assure that your telephone efforts produce the long-term results that they need to:
1. Know what’s important to your customers before you call. What’s changing in their business and in their lives? Show them that they’re not just another call on a list of many.
2. Plan the call. Have a clear objective in mind, and be prepared to state the objective in terms of the benefit to the customer. Know what action needs to be taken. Do you want to schedule an appointment, etc.?
3. Show respect for a prospect’s time. Simply ask, “Do you have a minute?”, or “Did I catch you at a good time?” Be ready to reschedule the call if the prospect can’t talk at that time. After all, would you just barge into someone’s office and start your presentation?
4. Keep the call short and to the point. If your goal is to close for an appointment, do so quickly.
5. Always be there, but not only when it’s time to sell or handle a problem.
6. Match the style of the person you call. If you are working with someone who is brief and to the point, then be brief and to the point. You will be most effective if you employ the logic that your customer most quickly responds to.
7. Match the tone and pace of voice of the customer. This will help the customer to feel more comfortable with you. For instance, if the customer has a slower rate of speech, match that pace.
8. Be conversational. Use a cue card, not a script. Rehearse with co-workers before you make a call. Have a list of common objections handy for you to refer to. Have a general outline available to remind you of the sequence, but don’t read a script.
9. Be different from everyone else. Think of the types of calls you would respond negatively to. Do just the opposite.
10. Clarify stalls by asking open-ended questions. This is where most people get stuck. Customers use stalls when something isn’t quite right. Yet they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Use questions that help reveal the customer’s true intent.
Marcia Gauger is president of Impact Sales, a training and performance-improvement company with offices in Mukwonago and in Arkansas and California. Small Business Times readers can contact her in Mukwonago at 642-9610, or via fax at 501-964-0055.
Most common telephone stalls:
Stall Clarifying Questions
Send me some information.What specifically would you like to see?
Call me in a month.What do you see changing in a month?
Or, What will you be considering during that time?
Let me talk to my partner.What do you think his/her concerns will be?
I’m happy with my current supplier.What do you like most about them?
Let me think about it.What will you be considering?
You seem high priced.How much too much is it?
Or, What are you comparing it to?
I’m going to check around.Who will you be checking with?
Or, What are you looking for that you haven’t found with us?