Intertech has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for by Minnesota Business magazine. My thanks to our phenomenal customers and dedicated team members for making this possible.
Today is the official release date of my book. My thanks to Doug, Jessica, Eileen, Jaqueline, Zach, and the rest of the crew at Agate for their belief in and support of The 100.
What inspired you to write “the shortest book” on this subject?
When I attend a workshop or read a book or periodical, I’m the type of person who’s looking for the answer or core idea. Theory, while good to know, isn’t as useful to my business as practical, actionable, and proven ideas and tools are. My goal was to create a book where there were a lot of implementable ideas to grow and improve a business.
What was your own experience starting up Intertech? What lessons did you learn?
In the beginning, it was controlled chaos. I worked insane hours, I took on any project regardless of whether or not it was in my wheelhouse, and I was so focused working “in the business” that I didn’t work “on the business.” I learned a lot of lessons starting the firm.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was that great people make a great organization. When hiring, take time, be stringent, and be consistent. When I was starting out, I was so focused on not missing out on work or opportunities that I was too quick to hire—I’d hire someone over a coffee. Today, we have eight separate steps in our interview process and hire only one out of every 20 applicants. The process is thorough, and the right employees appreciate that we set a high bar. The wrong employees are weeded out or opt out themselves.
I also learned that life is short. For clients and employees, if it’s not a positive relationship, cut bait and move on. When starting out, I would tolerate the employee who was technically gifted but who acted like a prima donna. I would tolerate the client who used berating as a tool to get more “value” out of the work provided by our team.
Today, we have a thorough hiring process, but when we make a mistake in a new hire, we’re quick to fire. It’s a similar story for clients. While it doesn’t happen much, if there’s a client who sees us as a “bar of steel” and not a partner—or thinks raising their voice is a motivational tool—we’ll finish up the project professionally and pass on future opportunities.
The press kit for The 100: Building Blocks for Business Leadership has a Q&A with me on questions like why I wrote the book, how I started the firm, and advice for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Below is the first in a series.
Why did you decide to write The 100?
The 100 started as a guide for my employees to share how we do things at Intertech. As I started writing, I realized the concepts applied to many organizations and not just my firm. When I read a book, attend a conference, or read an article, I find myself earmarking the ideas that I want to implement. In The 100, my goal was to give readers something practical and actionable in each of the 100 sections. Hopefully, if the book hits home with a reader, their copy will have 100 earmarks.
MinnPost’s recent story on computer education at Chatfield Elementary in Belle Plaine (“The rise of coding: How one rural district is changing with the times“) was encouraging yet frustrating. The story described how all Chatfield second-graders are learning computer coding, with plans to make coding part of the curriculum for all Belle Plaine (K-12) students next year.
Read my article on MinnPost.