CEO's Notebook

CEOs give advice on: identifying good leaders among your own staff; the benefits of offering an executive retirement plan; helping workers relax; and getting the most out of trade shows.

The leader within

Looking for executive talent? Don't overlook your own staff
By Mike Hofman

Countless entrepreneurs struggle to locate a successor. Not Dennis Brozak. More than a year ago, Brozak passed on the day-to-day operation of his $4-million company, Design Basics Inc., to the new company president, 53-year-old Linda Reimer. Where had he found her? At the copy machine.

Back in 1991, Reimer was a longtime director of a preschool who wanted a part-time summer job to occupy her spare time. She took a low-level job photocopying blueprints for Design Basics, an Omaha-based company that sells blueprints for homes via catalog. But she did that job so well that Brozak thought she had promise. He hired her full-time in 1994.

Over the next two years, Brozak gave Reimer various assignments that tested her leadership capabilities. First he made her a human-resources director and asked her to switch the department's focus from advocating employees' rights to developing their professional growth. She succeeded. Brozak began challenging her more and more. "I wanted to find out a lot about her," he says. "Can she manage and motivate people? Can she delegate accurately and appropriately? And she had to be able to fire people when necessary. She has a big heart, but she passed that test, too."

Then, to see if she understood the market and the industry, Brozak put Reimer in charge of one product, a catalog. The catalog's home designs sold well. Brozak then evaluated her financial acumen by making her an operations director; he watched how well she would use the company's money. Again, he says, she did well. So Brozak gave her control over all the company's publishing. Once more she produced a hit.

Finally, Brozak tested Reimer, by then a vice-president, with new product development. He figured that assignment would show whether she was a big-picture thinker. Reimer identified a new niche that has become a major profit center for the company. "She changed the direction of our sales," Brozak says.

By 1996, after 13 years at the company's helm, Brozak wanted more free time. He began passing on day-to-day operations to Reimer, giving her new responsibilities gradually to make sure she was ready to be promoted. In April 1997, Reimer officially became president. And Brozak says Design Basics is on track to grow by 17% in 1998.

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The right stuff

Obviously, not every employee is a hidden leader. Here are some traits that Brozak looked for in Reimer--and found.

Curiosity. "I couldn't learn fast enough about business," Reimer says of her early days at Design Basics. "I was like a sponge."

An affinity for finance. "As opposed to accounting," notes Brozak. There's a difference between recording the history of money and keeping the money in constant motion, he argues.

Shared values. Brozak has read Built to Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, and he subscribes to their notion that great companies have enduring core values. It's important to Brozak that Reimer relate to his core values: that all work is honorable and that everyone be paid a fair wage.

Passion for the business. Reimer's mother designed homes, and her father built them. Their love for building has been passed down. "Dennis and I share a passion for this company," Reimer says.

The ability to work well with the founder. "You need someone who can deal with the owner who grew the company from scratch--and who's still around," Brozak says. --M. H.

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Hot Tips

To get the most out of trade shows, Martin Connolly of Spinergy, in Wilton, Conn., shows up early. The CEO of the bike-wheel maker tries to arrive at the convention center at 6 a.m. That way, he gets to see all the booths without fighting crowds. During one such early-morning foray last year, he discovered an inventor whose design he ended up purchasing. The result: a new product line that Connolly predicts will generate millions in sales. --M. H.

Looking for inexpensive ways to improve your workplace? Try bartering for perks. For example, James Morel, the president of 1-800-POSTCARDS, a $4-million New York City-based postcard printer, bartered with a health club for free gym memberships for employees. One note: for tax purposes, 1-800-POSTCARDS has to track noncash transactions like bartering. You'll have to do the same. --M. H.

At OOP!, a $1-million specialty gift store in Providence, R.I., owners Jennifer Neuguth and David Riordan try to maintain a fun atmosphere in their store by regularly orchestrating offbeat workplace celebrations. Thanks to a book called Chase's Calendar of Events (NTC Contemporary Publishing Group, 800-323-4900, 1998, $59.95), OOP! has celebrated everything from National Hug Month to Willie Nelson's birthday. (The staff wore bandannas.) Neuguth says the celebrations attract customers to the store and keep her employees happy. --M. H.