When most people think about innovation, they typically have in mind familiar brands like Apple Computer, IBM, Amazon.com; in other words, global business powerhouses, often in high-tech.
But innovation and game-changing leadership should also happen in small, private, or family-owned entrepreneurial companies in traditional businesses. These are businesses like heating and air conditioning, auto dealerships, funeral homes, plumbers, pizza franchises, and the flower store at the corner that are part of our everyday lives. They are the engines of economic growth, yet too often are looked upon as old-fashioned, conservative, and predictable – and very definitely NOT sexy. Whatever else they may be, no one pictures them as enterprises where change and innovation are found.
“Squirrels, Boats, and Thoroughbreds” is a book intended to change your perception of traditional entrepreneurial business innovation. It contains ideas that I’ve gathered in two very dissimilar businesses: first, a startup telecom business, and second, as the owner of a highly successful traditional business, Apollo Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States.
Unless your furnace conks out, the air conditioning stops cooling your house, or the toilet stops working, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) and plumbing are not much on your mind. But for those of us in the business, HVAC and plumbing is a highly competitive business, with thin profit margins, and zero tolerance for errors. Repeat customers who value our expertise, ethical business practices, and efficient service are vital to our success. A negative review can have devastating consequences, just as a positive customer experience can boost sales.
This is business on the front lines, where dog-eat-dog competition, fast-changing customer needs, and the seemingly endless challenge of finding and retaining good employees keep owners up at night. Managers have to be flexible, open to change, and willing to find new ways to deliver excellence. Survival, in fact, depends on innovative management ideas that can accelerate sales, build customer (and employee) satisfaction, and generate jobs that contribute to your hometown’s economic vitality.
In that sense, traditional businesses are no different than the high-flying tech darlings that dominate business news coverage and most people’s ideas about innovation. What’s different, however, is this: in traditional businesses, the CEO typically knows every employee, and many customers, on a first-name basis. The organization may be traditional, but it can also be nimble – much more flexible than the giant corporation.
That’s a plus for the purposes of driving change and innovation. In “Squirrels, Boats, and Thoroughbreds,” I write about visualizing success and then mapping that path. I explain in detail my push-pull leadership model, in which I use rowing–I was a competitive rower in high school and college –as a formula for “pulling” together for success. Push-pull, I argue, is a critical management framework for growth because the principle is embedded in basic common sense: the best leaders pull with their troops (employees) and spend very little time pushing them like so many thumbtacks on a corkboard.
Looking at your entrepreneurial venture through the lens of innovation will result in an improved work atmosphere and a better bottom line.
Author bio: JAMIE GERDSEN is the President and CEO of Apollo Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing in Cincinnati, Ohio (US), and author of the new book SQUIRRELS, BOATS, AND THOROUGHBREDS: Lessons for Leading Change in Traditional Businesses. He attended Boston University and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including being named a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in both 2009 and 2012. For more information, please visit www.JamieGerdsen.com.
