What will change?  Most obvious will be a new “look and feel” in our Marketing efforts.  As most know, Joe focused the majority of his time on Marketing since I was appointed President in October, 2003 (yes, it’s been four years already).  You can see Joe’s unique personality and his ability to relate to our customers not only in the EyeWatch, but also in our e-mail campaigns, web-site, and direct mail pieces. 

In preparation for Joe’s retirement, we have begun to work with an outside marketing agency and hired a very talented individual as MSI and MT&S’ Director of Marketing named Dorothea Rynearson.  The style of our marketing will naturally evolve.

But what about the EyeWatch?  The EyeWatch is without a doubt MSI’s most important marketing piece.  This has been “Joe’s baby” for over twenty years and arguably has become the most widely-read company newsletter in the industry.  There isn’t an industry event or Mazak distributor meeting that goes by without someone saying something to me about the EyeWatch.  So the answer is:  Nope, this baby isn’t going away.  In fact, we have had discussions with Joe about continuing to write Customer Stories beyond his retirement.  I have been with Joe on several customer interviews throughout the years - nobody does it better!

What will not change?  Entrepreneurs who sustain their business beyond their burning desire to succeed do so because they became great leaders.  And great leaders instill core values that permeate every fiber of their company.  It’s clear that Joe has accomplished this – and this will not change!  I have learned many lessons (what they don’t teach you in business school) from Joe throughout the 19 years I have worked with him; however, these core values will stay with me throughout my life and will not change within our company:

1.      Do business with integrity.  Whether it’s with customer, suppliers or other members of our company, be honest and forthright.  Admit your mistakes.  It may be painful in the short-run, but doing the “right thing” will payoff in spades in the long-run.

2.      Immediate Response -- Guaranteed Follow-up.  What does this mean?  The concept is really simple, but as much as we try to reinforce it, sometimes we stumble.  Immediate Response – Guaranteed Follow-up means that if a customer, supplier, MSI or MT&S member contacts you with a problem or opportunity, you get back to them as soon as humanly possible – with or without an answer.   If you have the answer, you’re done.  If you don’t have the answer, you simply say: “Hey, I got your message.  I don’t have an answer yet but here’s what I am going to do – and I will get back to you no later than…”  And then do what you said you were going do and get back to them.  It’s that simple!  And in today’s wireless society, there are no excuses.

3.      Relationships.  We got to where we are today by developing and maintaining strong relationships with our customers and suppliers.  Integrity, response and follow-up are good starting points; however, building relationships goes far beyond these basics:

o       Understand their needs and provide solutions;

o       Constantly look for ways to make them successful; and,

o       Even if there is not a project going on or an issue to be resolved, keep in-touch.  How are they doing?  How are we doing?

The final point I will make relates to the inevitable “big problem” our customers encounter from time to time – you know, the one that may need to be solved outside of normal business channels.  Over the past four years many of our customers have transitioned from calling Joe to calling me.  However, some customers have continued to call Joe because of their deep relationships and confidence that Joe will help them resolve the problem.  I want all customers to know that they can call me directly at (847) 490-7939 and I commit that I will do my best to provide Immediate Response and Guaranteed Follow-up and see to it that the “big problem” gets resolved.

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.