Fixing the Graff-Pinkert parking lot

By Lloyd Graff.

I am spending $25,000 this summer to repave the parking lot, install a generator, fix the roof and redo the bathroom of the 21,000-square-foot factory my company, Graff-Pinkert, occupies. These are repairs I’ve put off for several years, but I am finally feeling confident enough about the future of our economy and my business to make some improvements that will not be directly reflected on my bottom line.

I also have raised the hourly wage I pay my key employees significantly, without them asking. Most of them have worked at the company for many years, and many of those years saw their hourly money stagnate.

These are difficult business choices because none of them were forced upon me. They all could have been pushed down the road, enabling me to pull out the money I invested in the business to buy out my brother last year.

But when my wife and I decided to do the buyout, our belief was that it was time to rebuild the company that had been so much of my life for 40 years.

For the last 15 years, machining and all of manufacturing in America has been in rolling decline. The decline was masked by the dot-com bump in the late 1990s that fueled the huge surge in telecom manufacturing. This disguised the shift in manufacturing to China, Korea and other parts of Asia. Manufacturing was being hollowed out, but it was not so visible.

Then we had the telecom bust that coincided with the tragedy of September 11. Bush tax cuts, war spending and the phony housing boom kept the economy from collapsing until 2007-2008. But then we had the horrendous recession that only Ben Bernanke managed to contain, by putting his finger in the economic dike with his imaginative interest rate manipulations.

Now, 15 years after this wicked decline started, the survivors in manufacturing in North America have fresh opportunity.

China has become a manufacturing behemoth, but its growth has been stagnating for a while. The Chinese are looking inward now, and about as much manufacturing is coming back here as there is leaving.

Automotive is in a cyclical rebound headed for 16 million units. More vehicles are being built here and in Mexico. Trucks are hot because construction has reawakened here. The shale boom in hydrocarbons is enormously fortuitous for the U.S. and will gain steam despite the determined opposition of environmentalists. The fear of terrorism has abated. Medical, telecom and electronics are in ascent, and ObamaCare is being pushed back.

This is a relatively bullish picture. There is never a perfect time to do anything. You can make a pessimistic case, emphasizing the budget deficit, rigor mortis in D.C., sluggish growth, bad education, and the Cubs rebuilding–again.

But I am paving the parking lot and raising my people because I want to be proud of where I work, and I want to show the folks who I depend on that I value them highly and I want them to stay.

Question: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the machining business?

My wife and I used to buy our drugs at Walgreens, the largest drug purveyor in Chicago and one of the largest in the United States. Now we don’t.

Figuring the retail value of my wife’s various medications and my heart medications – the alpha-blockers, beta-blockers and assorted linebackers – we used to spend several thousand dollars a year there.

Walgreens wasn’t a horrible store. The prices were fair, if American pharmaceutical prices can ever be labeled fair. We stopped going there primarily because they forgot about “niceness” at the pharmacy and frequently made us wait a half an hour or so at the drive-through. It is ironic that we took our business to Target’s pharmacy, which doesn’t even offer a drive-through drug pickup.

Walgreens promised us convenience, but disappointed. Target did not promise drive-through convenience but the store executed well what it did offer. We virtually never have to wait at the pickup counter at Target. The drug staff is friendly, courteous and knowledgeable. The cashiers are appropriately friendly and efficient. They run the store like they care about it.

My takeaway from my own behavior as a customer is that the key thing a seller must provide is consistent service with a smile. Walgreens provided my drugs and had competitive pricing, but they constantly annoyed me by taking too long and then not apologizing for the delay.

As I began writing this piece, I started thinking about the times I have failed people in my own business – disappointments that I probably thought were trivial like a phone call unreturned, a bill paid late, or a request by an employee ignored. Over time, I am sure the omissions, perceived rudenesses and egotism have cost me dearly.

We often think business rises or falls based on big ideas, creativity and boldness. Perhaps success depends more on having an efficient drive-through and smiling cashiers.

Question: What businesses have you abandoned?

Lloyd Graff is Owner and Chief Space Filler at Today’s Machining World and Graff-Pinkert & Co.

Bryan Brothers Chest Bump (mdjonline.com)

The Bryan twins, Mike and Bob, won the Wimbledon Tennis Doubles Championship Saturday. They now hold every Grand Slam Doubles title simultaneously, plus the Olympic Gold Medal won in London in 2012.

Mike and Bob Bryan have been winning at doubles since they won a 10 and under tournament when they were 6. At 35 they have won 91 professional events and the NCAA title when they were at Stanford. They own 15 Grand Slam Doubles titles. They have to be considered the greatest doubles team in the history of the sport.

The Bryan twins are not just twins, they are rare “mirror image” twins who have opposite features. One is right handed the other left, which is a significant advantage in covering a doubles court. Only 1% of live births are monozygotic twins (identical) and only 25% of those are “mirror”–opposite feature twins.

The Bryans come from a tennis family. Mother, Kathy, was a tour pro for several years and father, Wayne, teaches tennis and practices law. When Mike and Bob were kids their  parents forbade them from playing each other in tournaments. They alternated forfeiting to one another when they met in junior tournaments.

The Bryans’ trademark is a jumping chest bump to celebrate a victory or a well played shot. They usually bump fists after both made and missed shots. They give off a wonderful vibe of caring and positivity on the court.

Chest bumping violates the norms of pro tennis, though court celebration is hardly forbidden. Personally, I love the habits of mutual positive reinforcement the Bryans exhibit. I think that in many business relationships the fist bump, either physically or metaphorically, is neglected. Business-as-usual indifference among teammates can be death to energy and creativity on the court or in the shop. Sometimes it may seem forced, but the habits of encouragement never get old.

In professional tennis, doubles teams change like “musical chairs.” It is unusual for teammates to last three years together. The team the Bryans beat this year in the Wimbledon finals had been together for a year.

Naturally, the Bryans get peeved with one another at times. After a first round Wimbledon win in 2006, the brothers got into a fist fight in their rented apartment in London. While Mike had retreated to the bathroom, Bob smashed his cherished guitar. But afterward, they worked out their spat, going on to win Wimbledon for the first time.

Tennis is the Bryan family business. They have a rare and incredibly successful partnership that has flourished more than 25 years. They have made twinship and brotherhood into a huge asset. It’s fun to watch them on the court because their bond is genuine, seasoned and practiced. They are not only great doubles players, but also extremely loyal to one another, from all appearances.

Having had my doubles team in business with my brother recently break up after 40 years, I salute the Bryan brothers and their parents. What they have accomplished is a singular achievement by two remarkable siblings.

Questions: Do any sports celebrations offend you?

Do you have any rituals to celebrate victory in your job or business?

Lloyd Graff is chief space filler of Today’s Machining World and Graff-Pinkert & Co.