People are the Product
Volume 12, Number 27
Issue 575
In a recent Wall Street Journal there was an eighth of a page display advertisement on one of the stock quote pages that proclaimed, “’People are the product.’--Charles T. “Ted Bauer, 1919-2004, Fondly remembered by all the people he invested in.”
Intrigued, I took the time to “Google” Mr. Bauer and found that he was the founder of AIM Investments. Among his other accomplishments is that he was a naval aviator in WWII and is the namesake of the “Bauer School of ________” at least three major universities. But aside from all the national-newsworthy accomplishments that are historically remarked about at the passage of an obviously great man, he was also Jennifer Eley’s first boss. After learning about Ted Bauer, I would bet that being Jennifer Eley’s first boss was one of his favorite accomplishments. After all, when an entrepreneur dies, the money means nothing—it’s our legacy that really means something, especially the legacy of former employees who take our ethics and inspirations and form their own companies. I bet Mr. Bauer was pretty proud that his professional children (employees) had created hundreds—perhaps thousands—of grandchildren (their own small businesses).
Ms. Eley, of Pearland, Texas, wrote her own epitaph to Mr. Bauer at www.legacy.com, an Internet site that allows people to leave personalized condolences about the dearly departed. Her statement was simple, “I'm so sorry to hear of Mr. Bauer's passing. He was a wonderful, generous person. AIM was my first job out of college and I remember my time at AIM fondly. It was a great place to work because of the ideals and ethics he instilled in the company. My sincere condolences.” She signed her name above HER company’s name.
So I surfed over to her company’s site at www.epicgraphix.com. I read about Ms. Eley’s small company—the one that is a direct outgrowth of what the multi-bizillion dollar AIM Investments taught her. Her site is a humble one that proclaims, “Experienced in Web design and Internet marketing, I was previously a Marketing Manager in Electronic Commerce for a National Mutual Fund Company. I was in the Art Honor Society and Majored in Marketing while obtaining my BBA degree.” I’m sold. Ethics and pride above all else, the details of the task at hand can be worked out later.
I’ve always been intrigued about what bona-fides small business owners proclaim and I found Ms. Eley’s website refreshingly simple. In today’s business world, I think that the most important qualification is ethics and a willingness to passionately serve. That’s what you’ll find at www.epicgraphix.com. Heck, if I didn’t already have the best little website company in the world already (www.artdeptinc.com), I’d be hiring Jennifer Eley—even if she does live 2,000 miles away.
Ted Bauer and Jennifer Eley are two entrepreneurs who each founded companies that are very different but obviously built on the common values of success in their respective marketplaces and remembering where you came from and wanting to give back to workers and the community.
Companies like Bauer’s AIM Investments are huge, employing thousands of people internationally. On the other hand--and I’ll be honest—it’s hard to find a sole proprietorship that is smaller than Eley’s Epic Graphix.
It’s amazing how much you can find on the Internet about any company and anybody. I enjoyed my time sleuthing about Bauer, Eley and their companies. It underscored to me that no opportunity in the marketplace is too irrelevant and that no job well done by anyone--employee, customer, associate, competitor, rival, stranger--is too small or insignificant to not warrant a compliment.
Every entrepreneur is an actor to some extent and to a great extent they have a “supporting cast.” As I’ve said before, to accomplish anything worth accomplishing, you must have the help of other people. Every supporting cast needs to take their bows at predetermined times and each “job well done” needs to be recognized through applause.
When a successful business has their supporting cast proffer superior performance, it needs to be rewarded. The courage of people to associate themselves with a passionate entrepreneur needs to be rewarded with the type of recognition that motivates the worker.
Entrepreneurs who are motivational, teaching businesspeople need to charge their companies with lightening rods of rewarding positive movements forward while generating mistakes as the by-product of success.
What goes around comes around. If you are the type of entrepreneur that loves your people first, you will be rich in relationships and respect that cannot be bought with money. Employees don’t stick with one company forever—they move on and usually it’s for non-job related reasons. If you were the type of boss that was memorable by instilling positive entrepreneurial values, that former employee will start their company someday using your values and your education, like Ms. Eley did with Mr. Bauer’s.
Just as important as financial success in the marketplace is the concept of “legacy.” What sort of legacy will your company leave when you aren’t around anymore? What will former employees, associates, rivals, customers and friends write at www.legacy.com about you and your company? Will you have a Jennifer Eley to step forward to record that you changed their life?
Legacy is an interesting thing—it’s like an old house in constant need of maintenance. Your legacy needs constant work and tinkering and improvement. We can all work harder to be calmer and more proficient entrepreneurs that love people more.
The best legacy of all, though, is to be remembered as an impassioned entrepreneur who cared about the people that they served and thought constantly about bringing along the next generation to be even better.
David B. Robinson, CPA
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