Love & Business Don't Mix...Or Do They?

 

There are times in this life so outstanding, so out of the ordinary, they deserve to be recorded, pondered, and retold, all for the edification of everyone willing to tap in and be empowered. I had one of those experiences recently, in a most unexpected setting.

First, some background, because it is important to understand what happened recently in the context of what is happening in the larger world.

 

It’s no secret American business has been floundering for many years for a variety of reasons, especially since 2007 when the Great Recession took hold. From 1998 through 2007, business bankruptcy filings ranged from 28,000 to 44,000 per year. In 2009, there were 61,000. In 2010, 56,000. In 2011, 50,000. While the picture seems to be improving, projections indicate we are far from a recovery given the unemployment rate, looming inflation and flat GDP growth, not to mention public debt driving Europe to its knees, the shadow of things to come here at home.

 

So how is it a small office automation and business equipment company in northern California posted record growth in the last few years? And how was it there was such a spirit of joy and teamwork at a recent sales rally in Sacramento, even as other businesses flee California given the difficult business environment created in recent years?

 

In part, the answer is good old fashioned hard work, coupled with a competitive spirit driven by a real focus on doing the right thing for the customer. However, there is much more to the story.

 

I’ve been on the job with the Ray Morgan Company for only two weeks. I was recruited by executive management to fill a created position as marketing coordinator. I’m 58 years old, not the ideal age most employers might be interested in hiring. My sales recruiting business floundered some in recent years. And I was looking for the ‘ideal’ job. This is it. But it’s not just the role/responsibility that makes this a dream position. It’s the company, and the spirit of the people here.

 

Vice President Tito Molfino gave an especially poignant presentation at the kickoff. His subject: going beyond what you think you are capable of accomplishing. He urged people to have a ‘Bob Beamon’ moment.

 

For those who never heard or don’t recall, Bob Beamon was a long jumper in the 1968 Olympics. He had never jumped more than 27 feet. The record at the time was held by his teammate, friend and coach, Ralph Boston, at 27 feet, 4.75 inches.

 

Keep in mind, most long jump records are broken by inches or fractions of an inch. (Take note: Boston was willing to help Beamon, and in doing so, put his friend’s interests above his own, a watch word at RMC, both in terms of customer service and colleague interaction.)   

 

Long jump story short: Beamon jumped so far the electronic measuring system was incapable of recording it, so the old 'tale of the tape' had to be employed. When it was announced Beamon had set a new world record by jumping 29 feet 2.5 inches, breaking the record by almost two feet, the crowd went wild, and Beamon practically fainted from joy, adrenaline, emotion and an endorphin rush. Physiologists describe what Beamon experienced a “neural collapse,” saying he somehow brought forward the kind of super-human strength only displayed by people in life-threatening situations. (Check the video on YouTube!)

 

After Molfino’s presentation, people began sharing the “Beamon Moments” they had experienced personally, or the ones they’d witnessed in others. All that to say, the inspirational point was taken to heart: do more than you think you can, despite the adversity, because like Beamon, you can summon what it takes to radically exceed expectations.  

 

Like Beamon, organizations too can have their ‘moments.’

 

Let me point out two things about the Ray Morgan Company by way of illustrating the point. 

 

One, during our two-day kickoff last week, there was rarely a dry eye in the place. People celebrated team victories, cheered individual accomplishments, suffered with those facing devastating adversity, and inspired one another to do better. It was family +. The entire two-day kickoff was a “Beamon Moment.” 

 

Secondly, it is important to realize that nine years ago, the Ray Morgan Company operated in and around Chico, and was generating $9 million in annual revenue.

 

Today, RMC operates 16 branches covering all of central and northern California, western Nevada and southern Oregon. Today, RMC generates $50 million in annual revenue. That’s a “Bob Beamon Decade!”

 

Ray Morgan Co. CEO Jim Scarff started with the company 43 years ago. At that time, the eight employees celebrated their first Christmas around a table for lunch. Today, RMC employs more than 250 people in sales, service, administration and information technology. It is one of the premiere office technology companies in the country, the largest dealer of its kind west of the Mississippi, and the 3rd largest in the nation.

 

Scarff addressed the 101 sales people at the kickoff last week with heart-felt emotion, thanking everyone for another outstanding year, saying, “I just don’t know how you people do it. You said last year you would take us to $50 million, and you did! You are all just one outstanding group of people.”

 

This is the kind of CEO who makes it a point to walk to each and every employee at headquarters, daily, greeting each one by name. This is the kind of individual who calls to encourage the wife of a technician every day for weeks as her husband recovers from a serious illness. This is the kind of a man who gave a college grad--- living in his van--- an opportunity 32 years ago, and today, Greg Martin is the president of the Ray Morgan Company.

 

Martin carries the tradition forward, summing up at the awards banquet last week: “When you believe it, it isn’t selling, it’s love---love for our customers, and love for one another.”

 

Love? Talking about love in a business context? 

 

Hard work is great, but it’s not enough. Honesty and professionalism are essential, but they are not the beginning and the end. Excellent products and services and treating people the right way are all tremendously important. But nothing makes an organization bring all those elements together with such power as the unapologetic, unembarrassed declaration of love. 

 

That’s the magic ingredient. 

 

The people at RMC really do love one another, and we love our 10,000 customers. Apparently they love us too.

 

Love and business do mix after all.

 

 

 

By Allan Erickson | Marketing Coordinator | aerickson@raymorgan.com