Presenting sponsor:
Park Bank is honored to be the presenting sponsor of the MMAC/ COSBE Future 50 Awards for the 10th consecutive year. Congratulations to this fine group of organizations, their leaders, and employees.
I have had the opportunity to meet many of this year’s recipients. What struck me as I was introduced to these leaders is the unique differentiation they have carved out in their sector – and the passion they infuse into their organizations every day. This dynamic culture surely helps them attract passionate employees and respond quickly to market opportunities.
Over the years, I’ve learned how important it is to understand and pay attention to your organization’s culture. And, as a leader, how influential your role is. In the early stages of a business, your culture is still forming – in large part by your actions and reactions, what you pay attention to and what you reward. At any business stage, however, culture impacts organizational performance. In our own industry, we are seeing far too many examples of leaders and companies stepping away from their core purpose, their core belief system, to chase larger rewards. If you do not manage culture, it finds a way of managing your company.
Corporate culture has many definitions, but from a practical perspective, I’m referring to the underlying beliefs, values, customs, unwritten ground rules and assumptions held by a firm’s members. I’ve outlined a few questions you may find helpful in thinking about your own corporate culture and how it’s impacting your company’s performance:
- Are you living your core values?
- Is your message to the market and your employees in alignment with your processes and decision-making?
- Are you addressing those that don’t buy in?
- How are you personally setting an example?
- In what ways is your culture hindering your organizational performance?
- How can you use your culture to strengthen your performance?
Processes are easy to change; people, their beliefs and behaviors are not. Yet cultural integrity is an effective self-governance mechanism for firms that want to be in business for the long-run. Know who you are, stay true to your values, and you will never regret your business decisions.
P. Michael Mahoney. President and CEO, Park Bank
MMAC:
In its 21st year, the MMAC/COSBE Future 50 companies proved once again that growing companies can and do thrive – even in economic downturns. As a group, these companies provide a strong beacon of light amidst the bleak picture often painted of our overall economy.
The reasons for their success are as individual as the companies themselves. Some are new to the landscape, bringing novel products or services to their customers. Some have been in business for almost a century, but are finding innovative strategies that breathe new life and energy into their businesses. Commonly, they offer superior service and exceptional workplaces to retain and attract their greatest assets: their people. Many winners are investing in training and mentoring programs or developing unique and flexible work environments to ensure they will have the talent they need to continue to grow.
Combined, this year’s Future 50 had a total employment of 2,716 jobs and $612 million in revenue by year-end 2007 – a
26-percent increase over their combined revenue for 2006. The firms on the list represent a cross section of industries throughout the seven-county region. In addition to 15 manufacturers, 17 of this year’s winners are service-based firms; seven are in technology; five are in construction; four are in finance/real estate/insurance; and two are in wholesale trade.
If these diverse firms can make it in today’s economy – imagine what they will be doing in the years to come. Please join me in congratulating all of the winners on their achievements.
Tim Sheehy, President, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Media sponsor:
This year’s Future 50 Awards class of fast-growing companies in southeastern Wisconsin features a lot of new blood. The list includes only six “Master Mettle” companies that are winners of a Future 50 Award for the third time.
We applaud the “Master Mettle” winners: CCI, CoakleyTech, River Run Computers Inc., Steele Solutions, The Novo Group Inc. and The Sleep Wellness Institute Inc.
Trust me, it isn’t easy to get on the Future 50 list three times. To do so requires diligence, discipline and persistence. I encourage you to read their stories and learn from their strategical approaches to doing business.
Small Business Times is proud to once again be the media partner for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and its Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) in the presentation of the Future 50 Awards.
We also want to give special recognition and thanks to Park Bank, the Future 50 presenting sponsor, and to gold sponsors Humana and Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C., as well as “Master Mettle” Awards sponsor RCB Awards LLC.
Congratulations to the winners!
Dan Meyer, Publisher, Small Business Times
