BizTimes Milwaukee | June 25, 2018 by BizTimes Media

| THE SECRETS OF 170 YEARS OF | FAMILY BUSINESS 13

| AURORA STUDYING CANCER’S | FINANCIAL TOLL 28

| HIGHER ED LEADERS FORM ALLIANCE | ON WORKFORCE NEEDS 31

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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 24, Number 7, June 25, 2018 – July 22, 2018. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, July and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2018 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

4 Leading Edge 4 NOW BY THE NUMBERS 5 FRESH DIGS 6 MY FAVORITE TECH 7 QUOTE/UNQUOTE 8 PROJECT PITCH IT 9 BIZTRAVELER 10 BIZ POLL WHO’S ON THE BOARD 11 FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION

13 News 13 T HE SECRETS TO 170 YEARS OF FAMILY BUSINESS. 15 MY TAKE

16 Real Estate 31 Special Report: Higher Education 33 Strategies

COVER STORY

33 FAMILY BUSINESS David Borst 34 COACHING Joe Sweeney 35 L EADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT George Satula

37 Biz Connections

Special Report

28 Health Care & Wellness Doctors at Aurora Health Care are studying the financial impacts of a cancer diagnosis.

37 NONPROFIT 38 AROUND TOWN 40 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 41 PERSONNEL FILE 42 MY TOUGHEST CHALLENGE

HELPING BUILD WISCONSIN

414-273-3507 | townbank.us JAY MACK President & CEO

JOHN JOHANNES Executive Vice President, Commercial Real Estate

GEORGE JUSTICE Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking

biztimes.com / 3

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES DAILY – The day’s most significant news → biztimes.com/subscribe

ARTHUR THOMAS

NOW

$160 million grant for I-94 North-South leaves funding questions By Arthur Thomas, staff writer The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Wisconsin $160 million for the widening of I-94 between Milwaukee and the Illinois state line, but the grant falls short of the $246.2 million the state requested to support an accelerated

timeline for the project. Widening I-94 in Racine County quickly became a top priority for the state after Foxconn Technology Group decided last year to locate along the freeway corridor. Officials even updated plans to include the

BY THE NUMBERS Foxconn Technology Group says it will have more than

500

employees at its North American headquarters in downtown Milwaukee. 4 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

possibility of autonomous vehicle lanes at the company’s suggestion. Other portions of the I-94 project in Kenosha and Milwaukee counties were completed in previous years, but funding was diverted towards other projects before all segments were completed. Lawmakers included $252 million in bonding authority for the state Department of Transportation to support the freeway expansion as part of the Foxconn legislation, but required the project also receive federal support. The state Department of Transportation applied last fall for an Infrastructure For Rebuilding America or INFRA grant, requesting $246.2 million in funding to cover a portion of the nearly $500 million in remaining costs. In announcing the $160 million grant, Gov. Scott Walker’s office said the funding would allow all lanes of I-94 North-South to be open by Memorial Day 2020, with full completion by 2021. The timeline for all lanes to be open is 19 months ahead of what was laid out in the grant application, and work from Highway 142 to Highway G is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving of next year. Without federal funding, officials said it would take until 2032 to complete the project. A Walker spokeswoman directed questions about where the

remaining $86.2 million in funding would come from, or if the shortfall will affect other projects around the state, to the DOT. Becky Kikkert, director of the office of public affairs at the DOT, said in an email the department would use additional transportation revenue bond cash balances to fund the project without delaying any other road projects in the state. “The balances exist because of a favorable market for our transportation revenue bonds, resulting in additional proceeds above face value on our bonds,” Kikkert said. The state also received $67.4 million in federal supplemental highway and redistribution funds, including $30 million for bridge projects. “Our plan is to invest in more highway projects, nearly 50 more local bridge projects, and complete the I-94 North-South project years ahead of schedule with this funding,” Walker said in a statement. “This is great news for Wisconsin. Not only are we keeping projects on time, we’re actually going to be able to do more projects across the state and get them done faster.” U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison), who wrote a letter of support for the grant application, also issued a statement saying she was proud to work across party lines to secure the funding. n

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

FRESH DIGS

TECHCANARY OW N E R / DE V E LOPE R : Dan Druml, Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling

A RC H I T E C T: Quorum Architects Inc. C O N T R AC T O R : Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling C O S T: N/A C O M P L E T E D : April 2018

WHEN REID HOLZWORTH decided to move his company TechCanary, a fast-growing technology firm, from Glendale to downtown Milwaukee, he wanted an office that showed the startup had matured. The 11,000-square-foot open concept space at 1322 N. Eighth St., which overlooks the new Milwaukee Bucks arena, has all the bells and whistles of a company that has arrived. It also has a car. The office, which is leased from Dan Druml, includes Holzworth’s race car, a built-in saltwater aquarium, and “The Chapel,” a loft with six overstuffed bean bag chairs where employees can rest or work. The TechCanary office is a long way from where Holzworth was in

2013, when he founded the insurance agency automation software company in a one-room office above the Panda Express restaurant at the Bayshore Town Center food court. TechCanary’s last office was above Trader Joe’s at Bayshore. “The funny thing is, this took a year to build out and when we first started doing this, we were afraid we wouldn’t have enough people to fill it,” Holzworth said. “Now, we’re going to outgrow it by the end of the year.” TechCanary currently has 60 employees and could eventually lease another one of Druml’s properties to accommodate continued growth, Holzworth said. n – Corrinne Hess biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

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MY FAVORITE TECH JUAN URBIETA

Executive chef and general manager, Ristorante Bartolotta

Juan Urbieta has served since 2002 as the executive chef and general manager at Ristorante Bartolotta, The Bartolotta Restaurants’ flagship concept. Urbieta joined the Milwaukee-based restaurant group in 1998 as a sous chef at Nonna Bartolotta’s and later at Mr. B’s - A Bartolotta Steakhouse. A native of Oaxaca, Mexico, Urbieta started his culinary career in 1993 in Los Angeles. He has since worked at restaurants in Denver, and at Spiaggia in Chicago, where he was trained by Paul Bartolotta and sent to Italy for a year to learn about Italian cuisine. As a head chef – and a family man – Urbieta relies on the following tech tools to follow industry trends and to stay in touch with friends and family members abroad:

TWITTER “I love Twitter. It’s easy to be very selective about what you want to learn or hear about. I follow sports, news, political commentators, and of course chefs, restaurants, wineries and everything that has to do with the restaurant world. You can follow me @J_Urbieta.”

WHATSAPP “I had to get this app to communicate with my numerous family members and old school friends back in Mexico and even Italy. It is a very popular app in other countries because it basically gives users free unlimited texting, calling and video calling, features that are common here in the U.S., but not necessarily elsewhere.”

LIFE360 “This is an app that allows you and your family to keep tabs on each other. Its GPS tells me when my son leaves the house, when he arrives at school and when he comes back home.”

FLIGHTRADAR24 “I’m an aviation fanatic so I love Flightradar24, an app that lets you see a live map of air traffic in your area or anywhere in the world. You can find out flight information, including the altitude, estimated arrival time, speed and direction the plane is flying.” n 6 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

“ QUOTE

unQUOTE

MEGAN MAN

”

G R O U P C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R , N O R T H W E S T E R N M U T U A L L I F E I N S U R A N C E C O . Megan Man, group creative director at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., was the keynote speaker at the Northwestern Mutual Luncheon: Becoming a Boss (Lady) during Milwaukee Young Professionals Week in April. She leads a team of more than 30 designers to create financial wellness products for Northwestern Mutual’s LearnVest division, and previously spent seven years at Huge leading design initiatives for brands like Google and American Express. n

“Directing is different from doing. Making great work happen through other people takes so much time and experience. The more you start to trust your team and empower your team, the happier they will be and you will be.”

“As women, how do we be decisive without being labeled aggressive, bossy, cold, tough? It’s something that some people might push you to be a little softer spoken or figure out different ways to sell your ideas. In the end, you just got to do what you got to do – sometimes, it takes being upfront to get your work out there and to get people to take you seriously.”

“Put yourself first. Figure out what you need and you’ll be surprised, as I was, to see that there are places out there that will create roles for you if they respect your work and they want to have you.”

“Since I’ve been in my design leadership role, I realized that not only is it important to design great products yourself – that is really satisfying – but it is also just as satisfying to get great work out of other people.”

“When I went back to work from maternity leave with my oldest child, I was back to working 60 hours a week and I reached a point where it was making me hate my job. As a mother, you need to make a decision about setting your boundaries and making sure you have your priorities straight, and that your team knows your priorities and that you work at a place that really respects those. Otherwise, it’s just going to burn you out.”

biztimes.com / 7

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

PROJECT PITCH IT LEADERSHIP: Andrew and Isaac Weins A D D R E S S: 12733 W. Arden Place, Butler WEBSITE: jdogjunkremoval.com/franchising/ menomonee-falls W H AT I T D O E S: Junk removal and disposal F O U N D E D: 2016

JDog puts $10,000 prize toward entrepreneur training By Molly Dill, staff writer

Butler-based franchise of JDog Junk Removal & Hauling, run by Andrew and Isaac Weins, has achieved top franchise status among all 90 JDog franchises nationwide. The company, which hauls junk away from commercial or residential properties, recently appeared on the Milwaukee iteration of popular entrepreneur pitch show “Shark Tank,” called “Project Pitch It,” which airs on WISN-TV Channel 12. “We basically remove anything except for hazardous waste, chemicals and spouses,” Andrew Weins joked to the judges, who are Milwaukee-area business moguls. JDog franchises are run exclusively by veterans. The Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based company’s goal is to hire 10,000 veterans by 2025. The Weins brothers are helping JDog establish four more Wisconsin franchises, in Green Bay, Appleton, Madison and Janesville, by identifying and training veteran franchisees. JDog was seeking a cash infusion to help. “They touched on the trust a couple of times but when you hire movers, sometimes you’re just a little nervous,” said entrepreneur Jim Lindenberg, a judge on the show. “With a veteran, feeling like you have that trust, that integrity there, that’s a great concept.” The Weins brothers also plan to help open 40 new JDog franchises covering 125 territories across the country over the next three years, Andrew said. “We’re not a master franchisee because we don’t sell the franchises…but we buy them basically at bulk pricing and then launch them across the country,” Andrew said. The Weins have about 15 employees in Butler, where they are currently renovating the new headquarters facility they bought in October. A

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

JDOG JUNK REMOVAL & HAULING

Andrew Weins

grand opening will be held June 27. “We’re developing our Butler site into also our training facility for all of our sites across the country,” Andrew said. Long-term, the Butler facility could house 50 employees between the franchise and the headquarters, Weins said. The franchise had about $900,000 in revenue in 2017. At the end of the “Project Pitch It” episode, JDog was awarded a $10,000 cash prize. “We were able to build our training program with that money … part of it was allowing our guys to travel to different sites and also bring people in to Milwaukee to train,” Andrew said. Andrew said he’s passionate about training veterans to be entrepreneurs because he struggled to find the right career and fit in to society after his military service, and he doesn’t want others to have the same challenges. “How do we take the skills learned in the military and help veterans reduce barriers to become entrepreneurs?” he asked. n

M I LW A U K E E P U B L I C L I B R A RY F O U N D AT I O N

MIND SHIFT PHONE: (866) 884-7144 WEB: mindshift.works

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8 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

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B I Z T R AV E L E R :

N E W YO R K C I T Y

LORI ROSENTHAL Vice president and Milwaukee facilities group leader, GRAEF

Lori Rosenthal, vice president and Milwaukee facilities group leader at Milwaukee-based engineering firm GRAEF, is an avid traveler. One destination, New York City, is among Rosenthal’s favorites. n

T R A N S P O R TAT I O N :

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

“I recently flew Southwest Airlines from Milwaukee. Southwest gets you to LaGuardia (Airport), which isn’t the easiest way to get into the city, but I like to challenge myself to use public transportation. It offers a different perspective. We took a bus to the train station and then took the train in to the city – it’s relatively easy, it just takes a little more planning.”

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

ACCO M M O DAT I O N S A N D F O O D : “The hotel rooms are expensive in New York. Some hotel chains that you might think of being a basic-budget hotel are actually really nice hotels in New York City.” E XC U R S I O N S:

“Certainly, if you’re there for a night or two, you should find a way to see a show. The theaters are small, very intimate compared to some of the places we’re used to in Milwaukee. If you go to the TKTS Discount Booths, you can get day-of tickets, often at half-price.” “There are always the things that you try to do the first few times you go – Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and Chinatown. The 9/11 Museum is worth visiting – they did a wonderful job with it. Grand Central Station is one of my favorite places. It’s majestic.”

“There is a really beautiful little park between Grand Central Station and a New York Public Library called Bryant Park. There is a nice restaurant right in the park (called Bryant Park Grill). Otherwise, there are so many options – a lot of diners, and I haven’t even mentioned SoHo. All of these places are areas you could stay for days in.”

T R AV E L T I P : “Take advantage of public transportation. It’s extremely easy, it’s safe and you get to see another part of the city, how people live and move around. I think it’s part of the overall experience.”

biztimes.com / 9

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Who’s on the Board?

HARLEY-DAVIDSON INC. • Michael Cave, chairman, former senior vice president of The Boeing Co. • Troy Alstead, president and chief executive officer of Ocean5, former chief operating officer of Starbucks Corp. • R. John Anderson, former president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. • Allan Golston, president U.S. program for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Levatich

• Matthew Levatich, president and CEO of Harley-Davidson • Sara Levinson, co-founder and director of Katapult, former executive of NFL Partners Inc. and MTV • N. Thomas Linebarger, chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc. • Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. • Maryrose Sylvester, president and CEO of Current • Jochen Zeitz, co-founder and co-chair of The B Team

from

CONCEPT

Madalyn Joy Designs LLC to

COMPLETION Manzeck meets with the client one-onone at her Port Washington studio to take measurements and discuss the garment. “This way we’re able to find your measurements and make the garments to fit you.”

Madalyn Manzeck creates bespoke, one-of-a-kind lingerie at her one-woman Port Washington startup, Madalyn Joy Designs LLC. She started the company after she began making her own lingerie while completing her bachelor’s in apparel and textile design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I hated wearing bras growing up, thought they were super uncomfortable, and then when I was at UW-Madison, I ended up making a robe and fell in love with the idea of lingerie.” From start to finish, each garment takes two to three weeks to make.

1 2

The client fills out a form with their personal information, measurements and budget.

Madalyn Joy products include robes, bras, pajamas, bodysuits and other lingerie. Manzeck has shown some of her collections at Milwaukee Fashion Week. “With each collection there’s been a different theme. Those are inspirations from different places and what I’m inspired by at the most at the moment.”

4 Using the client’s preferences, often enhanced with the use of a Pinterest board, Manzeck sketches the garment and shows it to the client.

Manzeck sources materials such as Chantilly lace and silk satin to create the garments. She makes a muslin design on a dress form to create the pattern before sewing the real thing.

biztimes.com / 11

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ARTHUR THOMAS

STORY COVER

1: Parts head towards the paint booth at the West Burleigh Street plant. 2: Parts entering the paint booth. 3: Parts are handled after emerging from the paint booth.

20 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer

tep outside on a summer day in the neighborhoods and subdivisions of metro Milwaukee and it’s not uncommon to hear the hum of a lawn mower cutting grass. There’s also a good chance the engine on that mower was made by Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp. The challenge for Briggs, however, is the odds that the lawn mower operator is also the homeowner are decreasing, and it is increasingly likely the lawn is being cut by a landscape professional with equipment trucked from job to job, instead of stored in a garage. For a company that hit its stride by helping bring lawn and garden equipment to the masses and was known for serving the residential market, the trend away from do-it-yourself towards do-itfor-me is a recipe for a major issue. Limited housing inventory for younger, first-time homebuyers only compounds the potential problem. “The business was oftentimes focused on residential and when housing was going straight up, the business was good,” said Todd Teske, chair-

man, president and chief executive officer of Briggs & Stratton. Sales of lawn mowers track closely with the new housing market and in the early 2000s, Briggs saw its revenue grow rapidly, peaking at $2.65 billion during its 2005 Todd Teske fiscal year. While that year was the first of eight straight years with more than $2 billion in revenue, it was also a high-water mark, and 10 of the next 12 years saw sales declines. Briggs divides its business into two segments. The engines segment provides engines to lawn and garden OEMs like Husqvarna Outdoor Products Group, MTD Products and Deere & Co. Major competitors include Honda Motor Co., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Kohler Co. The products segment produces lawn and garden equipment,

turf care products, portable and standby generators, pressure washers, snow throwers and job site products. That segment competes against Honda, Generac Power Systems Inc., Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., Deere & Co., Scag Power Equipment Inc. and others. Both segments have offerings for commercial and residential markets. Briggs made the strategic decision in 2012 to exit the mass market for lawn and garden products, opting to focus on supplying its OEM customers instead of competing against them, while still producing some high-end products. The decision, combined with a weak storm cycle since 2013 and an uneven housing market recovery, has pushed sales down by $324 million since 2011. “Right now we’re in really kind of a weird spot in terms of the housing cycle,” Teske said. But potential problems also create potential opportunities. So for the past eight years, Teske and his team have been working on the evolution of Briggs & Stratton. Those efforts appear to be paying off.

biztimes.com / 21

STORY COVER

The company’s guidance calls for a 7 percent revenue increase when it reports full-year results later this summer, even after a slow start to the selling season. Gross profit margins have also been trending in the right direction, steadily climbing from 16.3 percent in 2012 to 21.5 percent in 2017. After Teske and Briggs executives outlined their plan for increased emphasis on commercial growth, Tim Wojs, a senior research analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., wrote in a research memo that it was good to have increased visibility, but the plan also calls for an acceleration of revenue growth and the expansion of margins. “We prefer to see some initial traction play out,” Wojs wrote. The transformation has the company expanding its focus on the faster growing commercial side of the business. Engineers are now thinking

22 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

about and introducing electric, battery-powered products, and innovation – or “user-driven problem solving,” as Teske calls it – has become a new point of emphasis. “Customers are important,” Teske said. “But when we use the word customer around here, no one ever seems to know who we’re talking about. Are we talking about an OEM? Are we talking about a retailer or dealer? Are we talking about the end user? So we very deliberately started talking about users, people who use the equipment.” Even the goal of innovation has changed. Teske, who has been with the company for 22 years, acknowledged that Briggs had tried to be a fast-follower, seeking to quickly match the innovations of others. “What we found is we should be a leader in innovation,” he said.

CONNECTING WITH THE USER Briggs has introduced plenty of new features on its residential and commercial engines and products, including things designed to limit the storage space needed, reduce or eliminate the frequency of oil changes, and improve starting. But last fall, the company introduced an Internet of Things offering aimed at making life easier for commercial cutters, an increasingly important user for Briggs. InfoHub is a small device installed on a piece of gas-powered equipment. Users pay $260 upfront and a monthly subscription fee of $23 for each unit. Company officials say a key feature is that it doesn’t matter what brand of equipment the device is on; it just needs a spark plug and a battery to work. The device transmits data to a user interface,

CONTRIBUTED

6 4: A screenshot of the InfoHub system showing mowing patterns. 5: A screenshot of the InfoHub system with different color markers when a lawn mower is running or not. 6: The InfoHub gateway device installed on a Ferris lawn mower.

where businesses can track crew and equipment locations, mowing patterns and speeds, whether equipment is running, and log maintenance information. The offering also has tools to improve quoting and bidding and for demonstrating proof of service. “For us, it’s the first time something

doesn’t come off a line and we’re not bending metal,” said Carissa Gingras, director of marketing for global support at Briggs. The commercial turf InfoHub offering is an evolution of a similar product Briggs offers for its standby generators. The company launched the commercial lawn product with a pilot study on about 100 pieces of equipment in 2016. “We … thought that a lot of what would be valuable data to end users, to landscapers, would in fact be engine data,” Gingras said. “Wouldn’t they want to know how their engine is running on all of their equipment?” The landscapers Briggs worked with liked the tool, but Gingras said what they really wanted was a way to track their crews and equipment. So the InfoHub team – a core group of about a dozen people within Briggs’ support group – reconfigured the offering to reflect the lessons of the first

pilot and tried it out again, this time on 200 pieces of equipment. By tracking crews and equipment, one of the companies using the device discovered a potential two-hour time savings on cutting a 100-acre property that for years had taken a crew of 12 up to nine hours to complete, Gingras said. It turned out the team was actually waiting 30 minutes to start, double cutting some areas and then waiting 30 minutes to return to the shop. “These guys are not making money unless they’re out cutting grass,” said Andrew Ewig, a marketing manager on the InfoHub team. Briggs has built the InfoHub team from scratch, in some cases looking to the agriculture industry – where precise tracking of equipment is more advanced – for talent. The company worked with outside firms to develop the gateway and the user interface, but the team drove the design, customer research and development of sales tools. The work also extended to the legal department, to make sure data privacy protections were in place, and to accounting, to address the recognition of recurring revenue. Teske said it was important for the InfoHub team to be based in the Briggs & Stratton support business. That group works with the company’s three other business groups – engine and power, turf and consumer, and job site and standby – and he said the technology can eventually go across all three. “It’s going to go well beyond just commercial cut-

biztimes.com / 23

ARTHUR THOMAS

STORY COVER

PROVIDING POWER ARTHUR THOMAS

8 7: Products are assembled at the West Burleigh Street plant in space that was a warehouse a few years ago. 8: Production of pressure washers was among the work brought to Wisconsin from Georgia.

BRIGGS & STRATTON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

* MIDPOINT OF GUIDANCE AFTER Q3. SOURCE: SEC FILINGS.

24 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

ting, but we wanted to make sure we launched it the right way first to prove out the concept,” Teske said. He said his work on the board of Brown Deerbased Badger Meter Inc. and Texas-based Lennox International Inc., both of which have connected offerings in their own industries, helped inform the development of InfoHub. “It’s a cool space to be in, it’s a fun space to be in because it is untapped right now in a big way,” Teske said, describing the challenge as focusing on problems that users need addressed. “If you’re trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, no one is going to value it,” he said. “The cool factor lasts only so long; the value factor lasts a long time.”

The cultural shifts needed to understand connected technology and recurring revenue streams pale in comparison to a gas-powered engine maker breaking into battery-powered products. “That was a huge culture shift because essentially, we have historically thought ‘internal combustion engines’ all day, every day,” Teske said. The company increasingly thinks of its mission as providing power, not building engines. Just as a shift to think about users instead of customers has helped fuel innovation, the change in word choice has propelled Briggs’ battery work. For years, Briggs maintained an engine application center at its West Burleigh Street plant. The highly secure area is where customers bring their next generation of equipment to make sure it works with a Briggs engine. That work has given Briggs & Stratton engineers a lot of experience in using the power of an internal combustion engine to get the most work out of a piece of equipment. But to Teske, the experience was more about applying power and less about the source, so the company changed the testing facility’s name to the power application center to help shift the mindset toward batteries. “We know what torque curves are, we know what kind of conditions a blade needs to cut grass in, we know all these different kinds of conditions. How do we now take the power in that battery and apply it to get work done?” Teske asked. Like InfoHub, corporate structure has also played a role in the company’s development of battery technology. In 2010, Teske created a centralized research and development function that reports to him. Previously, those functions were embedded within each of the business groups. When the head of R&D retired a few years ago, Teske made it a point to find a battery expert to lead the team and ended up hiring one from the power tool industry. “People asked me, ‘Why are you hiring somebody that doesn’t have internal combustion engine experience?’” Teske recalled. “I said, ‘Because we have a lot of those around here; we don’t have many battery people.” In a little more than two years, Briggs has introduced 16 battery-powered products and 97

ARTHUR THOMAS

9 9: Snapper lawn tractors on an assembly line.

SKUs, including an 82-volt lithium ion battery that powers a series of engines. Steve Ryczek, global product manager for battery products at Briggs, said the company is having to evolve just as the automobile companies are evolving with electric vehicles. He said it is important for outdoor power equipment to have batteries built with that purpose in mind and added there will still likely be gas or diesel options moving forward. Teske said he feels “really good” about where Briggs is positioned for the electrification of lawn and garden equipment. “We’ll see how the market plays out. There is a

place for battery,” he said, adding the company will ultimately seek to be agnostic about the type of power source and it will be up to what users want. “Right now it’s really impossible to tell you how the mix shifts over time.”

INVESTING IN COMMERCIAL One clear shift in mix is the increasing emphasis on the commercial portion of the business. According to research from Baird analysts, Briggs has increased commercial revenue from $250 million

in fiscal 2012 to $434 million in fiscal 2017. The 12 percent compound annual growth rate included 6 percent organic growth. Briggs acquired Nebraska-based Allmand Bros. Inc., a maker of towable light towers, industrial heaters and solar LED arrow boards, in 2014. The next year, the company added Missouri-based Billy Goat Industries Inc., a maker of specialty turf equipment including aerators, sod cutters, overseeders, power rakes and brush cutters. Late last year, the company acquired the assets of Nebraska-based Ground Logic Inc., which designs and makes commercial spreaders and

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ARTHUR THOMAS

STORY COVER

10 10: Brett Birschbach, senior engineer manager at Briggs, discusses work in the noise, vibration and harshness lab.

sprayers used to apply fertilizers, pesticide and herbicide to lawns. The idea behind Briggs’ commercial strategy is to “fill out the trailer” of the professionals caring for many lawns today. Teske said there is more

the company can do to offer products to those companies, particularly with battery-powered tools. Ultimately, he said, it comes down to providing solid equipment that’s easy to use and allows commercial cutters to run their business better.

“To the extent that you can do things that allow businesses to be more productive with the people they do have, there’s huge value there,” he said, noting landscape firms are already finding it difficult to find enough help. Whether filling out the trailer comes from internal product development or acquisition depends, Teske said. If something will take a long time to develop and a potential acquisition target has a lot of intellectual property in the idea, Briggs is more likely to try to buy it. “A lot of times it comes back to speed to market,” he said. Briggs is also investing in its own operations. Last year, the company announced a $55 million business optimization program that includes moving Ferris commercial mower production to a new facility in New York and on-shoring production of Vanguard commercial engines to facilities in Auburn, Alabama and Statesboro, Georgia. Most Vanguard engines were previously produced in Japan as part of a joint venture with Daihatsu. Teske said the joint venture, which dates back to the 1980s, was in need of investment, with some equipment getting too old. “Any time we need to make an investment we’ll think about where should it be, rather than just putting it in somewhere,” he said. Bringing the Vanguard work to Georgia and Alabama will improve speed to market and keep

Thank You

attendees and sponsors On June 14, a distinguished group of family business owners and leaders of family-owned and closely held businesses in southeastern Wisconsin gathered at the Italian Community Center for the fourth annual Family & Closely Held Business Summit, presented by BizTimes Media. The morning event kicked-off with a presentation from Deb Houden, Ph.D., senior consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group. A family business presentation featuring Louie Gentine and Tom Faley followed. They shared their insights, philosophies and stories about three generations of Gentine family leadership at Sargento Foods. Attendees were then able to learn more at the 14 roundtable discussions on family and closely held business topics.

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production closer to the main customer base in the U.S., Teske said. It also brings production closer to engineering, most of which is based in Wisconsin.

WISCONSIN INVESTMENTS The Milwaukee area could also see some additional investment. BizTimes reported in April the company was in talks with Zilber Property Group to occupy a $28 million, 700,000-square-foot industrial building in Germantown. The company confirmed its interest in the project in early June, but Teske declined to discuss details during a recent interview. Any investment in local operations would be following a 2014 decision to close a manufacturing facility in McDonough, Georgia. Production of pressure washers, snow throwers and lawn tractors moved to the Burleigh facility in Wauwatosa, while zero-turn lawn mowers moved to New York. The investment in Wauwatosa brought former warehouse space back to life with manufacturing activity. The facility also saw new investment in its sound, vibration and harshness testing facility. The previous lab space was built in 1972, while the revamped version was opened in early 2017. “We had one, but this is state-of-the-art stuff now,” Teske said. The trend for most manufacturers has been to move work from the Midwest to southern states,

and Briggs was no different, with a chapter in its company history titled “Moving South.” Teske said the business climate in Wisconsin has become “dramatically better” than when he started with the company, and his commitment to the local workforce was that its Milwaukee-area plants would have an opportunity to get more work when it became available. “They came through,” he said of the local workforce.

automation has come down,” Teske said, adding employee skill levels have had to go up to handle the added technology. “We’ve been able to remain competitive, but we’ve invested a lot in our plants. We have more robots in one manufacturing cell than we had in the whole company 22 years ago when I started.” Teske said it is easy to get caught up in the things that cause fluctuations from quarter to quarter. The late start to this year’s spring, for in-

“ To the extent that you can do things that allow businesses to be more productive with the people they do have, there’s huge value there.” — Todd Teske, Briggs & Stratton Corp. Ross Winklbauer, a subdistrict director with the United Steelworkers, which represents more than 500 Briggs employees in the area, declined to comment on the union’s relationship with the company, citing ongoing contract negotiations. Briggs has 1,556 local employees and 5,195 worldwide. “A big part of the reason we’ve been able to stay in the U.S. over the last several years is the cost of

stance, could cost the company up to $40 million in revenue in the current fiscal year. Compared to the past, however, he said the underpinnings of the business are “so different than what (they were) and different in a really, really good way.” “I’m paid to be optimistic about the future,” he said. “I’m paid to help create a vision, but I’ll tell you, I’ve been optimistic. I’ve never been this optimistic.” n

The 14th annual BizExpo, held on May 31st at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino was a great success! Area professionals enhanced relationships, discovered new leads, closed deals and garnered exposure for their businesses. Furthermore, creativity was sparked, area entrepreneurs and innovators were honored and insights were shared at two major events and 18 strategy seminars. To learn more, see pictures or watch video clips from the event visit biztimes.com/bizexpo

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Special Report HEALTH CARE & WELLNESS

AURORA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Dr. Federico Sanchez, principal investigator on the clinical trial at Aurora Health Care, and Becky Dienberg consult with a patient.

Aurora researchers participate in clinical trial examining cancer’s financial toll By Lauren Anderson, staff writer

THE COST OF CANCER can be measured not only in the physical toll it takes on patients’ bodies or the emotional hardship they endure, but also in the financial burden of keeping up with the cost of care. Aurora Health Care Inc. is participating in a clinical trial focused not on the treatment of the disease, but rather on the study of “financial toxicity” – the condition patients find themselves in when facing the adverse financial effects of cancer treatment. The goal of the study is to gauge how often over a 12-month period a group of patients who are diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer experience financial hardship because of their cancer treatment. For some, the prospect of financial harm causes them to refuse treatment for their disease altogether. “We’ve noticed that older people who get treatment for cancer, particularly very advanced cancers, end up having a lot of financial

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toxicity,” said Dr. Federico Sanchez, medical director for oncology services at Aurora Cancer Care and the principal investigator for Aurora Research Institute. “Many of them go bankrupt from the treatment because there aren’t enough support systems built into our country.” To gather a full financial picture, researchers are taking a comprehensive look at participants’ financial status, including their income, assets, debt, employment status, health insurance coverage and quality of life. Participants complete questionnaires each time they report for treatment regarding their financial status and how cancer has affected it. Can they afford to take their children to the movies? Has their spouse had to take on extra work? Have they declared bankruptcy? While similar financial burdens are associated with all types of cancer, the study is focused on colorectal cancer because patients are often diagnosed around the age of 50 – a population group largely comprised of working professionals. Sanchez said the financial burden of cancer is particularly felt among this age group, as the condition precludes many patients’ ability to work while undergoing treatment.

“People can’t work with chemotherapy every week,” he said. “If you can’t work, you can’t produce. And if your family relies on you, you’re in trouble.” “For a family of three making the average income of $55,000 with employer-related insurance, most insurances now have a deductible between $4,000 to $6,000,” Sanchez added. “That’s 10 percent of your yearly income. If you get metastatic colorectal cancer, it’s about $16,000 a month for treatment. So you have to get payment plans and you’re not working and, with that, you can’t make your mortgage or car payments. What do you do? That’s financial toxicity.” It’s the first such federally-sponsored trial of its kind. The goal is to gather data from 275 to 400 patients nationwide. Ultimately, data collected from Aurora and other participating partners could leverage change at the federal level, Sanchez said. According to American Cancer Society data, average out-of-pocket costs for a patient diagnosed with stage II colorectal cancer who is covered on employer-sponsored insurance is $5,748. That’s compared to $10,114 for a patient

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on an individual plan and $8,573 for a patient covered by Medicare. Even with insurance, cancer patients often face unpredictable costs, including high co-insurance or deductibles, having to seek out-ofnetwork care, and needing treatment that’s not covered by their plan, according to the ACS. “You never anticipate that you need to save up for a potential cancer diagnosis,” said Laurie Bertrand, executive director in Wisconsin of the American Cancer Society. “It’s clear that having insurance is critical if Bertrand you’re diagnosed with cancer. And even with insurance, cancer patients often face unpredictability or unmanageable costs depending on what their policies cover. I know personally, watching a family member go through treatment, seeing those bills stack up and add up was just astonishing to see.” Gary Grunau, a Milwaukee real estate developer who is currently battling brain cancer, has observed firsthand the rising cost of cancer treatment. Fifteen years ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he ultimately beat.

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“When I had prostate cancer, I had no problems with the cost of drugs,” he said. “But now, as drugs get more and more sophisticated, they’re getting more expensive.” Grunau, who is covered under Medicare and a supplemental insurance plan, said the burden of cancer costs often falls on those who

lived a long life and I’ve had medical problems and I’ve found if you listen to your doctor and take care yourself, a lot of it will clear up. And sometimes you have to spend money you don’t think is necessary.” Oncology social workers at Aurora Health Care in recent years have added financial

“Over the years, more and more patients have come to us with their primary concerns being financial in nature.” – Brad Zimmerman, oncology social worker, Aurora Health Care

don’t have adequate insurance coverage to begin with. “There is always a hesitancy to spend money (on insurance) because you don’t know if you will need it,” he said. “You don’t want to buy it because you don’t think you will need it and when you need it, you can’t afford it … But I’ve

counseling to their array of patient services, responding to an increased demand for that type of care. “Over the years, more and more patients have come to us with their primary concerns being financial in nature,” said Brad Zimmerman, oncology social worker for Aurora Health

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Care. “It’s often the result of a number of different factors – the potential loss of employment as a result of the cancer diagnosis, the insurance aspect of it, deductibles and out-ofpocket costs, the cost of care itself. Many of the treatments can be costly and take their financial toll on folks.” Zimmerman said social workers will take a holistic look at patients’ financial status and help them find better footing. It could look like helping patients find better insurance coverage, securing lower-cost medications through national foundations and pharmaceutical manufacturers, or working with them on their employment options. Zimmerman said he is glad to see more research conducted around financial toxicity. “It’s another potential side effect of cancer,” he said. “Not only should we be treating patients for their physical needs, but also the financial piece because that impacts their decisions surrounding whether they could continue to afford to pursue care. It’s quite an exciting time right now because, as this type of concept is becoming more recognizable, there’s more that’s being done about it.” n

Nominate Today! 2018 Awards Categories

Call for Nominations BizTimes Media presents the fourth annual awards program to salute southeastern Wisconsin’s best corporate citizens and most effective nonprofit organizations. The awards will shine a light on excellence in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. The recipients of the awards will be saluted at a breakfast program on November 2nd, 2018. Nominate the people and for-profit organizations who are making a positive difference in the community by donating their time, talent and treasure. Nominate the nonprofit organizations that are making the region a better place to live, work and play. Self-nominations also are encouraged! 30 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

Corporate Citizenship Awards • Corporate Citizen of the Year • Next Generation Leadership • In-Kind Supporter • Corporate Volunteer of the Year • Lifetime Achievement Nonprofit Organizations, Leadership & Support Team Awards • Nonprofit organization of the year (Small & Large Categories) • Nonprofit Collaboration of the year award • Nonprofit Executive of the Year • Social Enterprise

Submit your nomination at biztimes.com/npawards Nomination deadline: September 6, 2018 Event date: November 2, 2018

Special Report HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education leaders form alliance to meet workforce needs By Lauren Anderson, staff writer AS SOON AS Foxconn Technology Group announced its plans to build a factory in southeastern Wisconsin, the region’s colleges were quick to pledge their willingness to add curricula, build new programs and customize training to meet the Taiwanese technology manufacturer’s needs. But the sheer size of the company’s planned operations in Mount Pleasant, including plans to eventually hire as many as 13,000 workers, has raised many questions about whether those individual colleges’ efforts will be sufficient to confront talent shortages. As the region prepares for Foxconn and braces itself for workforce shortages in many industries, it has prompted a new sense of urgency among southeastern Wisconsin’s higher education leaders to work in concert with one another. A steering committee of leaders from several higher education institutions has been

quietly working toward that end in recent months. Called Higher Education Regional Alliance, and known as HERA, the committee comprises leaders from the region’s three technical colleges, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University and Carthage College. It also includes Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Eve Hall, president of the Milwaukee Urban League, and leaders of education-related nonprofits Milwaukee Succeeds and Higher Expectations for Racine County. Committee members came together after realizing that the many separate conversations they were having related to workforce development could be more effective if all the region’s key players were at the table together. “We were having these discussions,” said Mark Mone, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, of the region’s higher

education leaders. “We were overlapping and running into each other and asking, ‘Who’s doing what?’ We thought there had to be a more efficient and effective way for us to have these discussions.” Not only that, Mone said, but there had to be a better way for employers to get connected to the pipeline of talent coming from the region’s schools. “From an employer’s perspective, it’s not very realistic for an employer to have more than four or five significant relationships with talent pipeline (institutions),” Mone said. “Let alone if there are 23 institutions of higher ed in southeast Wisconsin, they’re stretched. How about if we can band together and provide greater access to higher ed institutions from an employment portal, and vice-versa? What if we could have a better understanding of what the employer demands are and lining up our curriculum accordingly?” A dozen committee members gathered on a recent morning at Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Oak Creek campus to define and solidify HERA’s goals. Convening all of the leaders at that table – the steering committee’s fourth

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meeting in roughly the past three months – is the beginning point for greater collaboration, members say, as the group plans to invite representatives from all 23 colleges in the region to be part of the effort moving forward. The steering committee has distilled its conversations into three areas that HERA will tackle: raising the region’s college completion rate; increasing program innovation, growth and alignment; and better connecting employers with the talent coming out of the colleges. “Foxconn was a galvanizing force that really showed us what we’re not doing,” Mone said. “But while Foxconn will benefit, all regional employers should benefit considerably from this type of collaboration among higher ed.” The committee’s first goal – to increase college completion – is aimed at an issue particularly prevalent in Milwaukee, where only about 37 percent of residents have completed a post-secondary degree. “That’s a problem when you look at the state, which is at 48 percent,” said Vicki Martin, president of MATC. “Canada is at 59 percent. And South Korea is at 69 percent. To compete with the world, we really have to increase the (college) completion rate.” HERA’s work will also involve reimagining existing programs and pathways to accelerate the process of preparing students for the workforce. That could look like an expansion of dual enrollment programs, or pairing students with internships early on in their high school careers, or forging new articulation agreements among the region’s colleges. Julia Taylor said part of the solution could also be found in programs like The Commons, a Milwaukee student entrepreneurship program that gives students exposure to entrepreneur-

LAUREN ANDERSON

A dozen higher education and community leaders gathered recently to solidify the goals of the Higher Education Regional Alliance.

ial activities, as well as local corporations and mentors. Those kinds of programs promote the retention of homegrown talent. “A lot of students think of Kohl’s as a department store that their mom has shopped at or they think of Briggs & Stratton as a type of lawnmower, but don’t understand the types of innovations and technologies that are happening within these corporations,” Taylor said. The committee will rely on data that’s currently being collected from area employers about their current and future workforce needs. That survey – commissioned by the Milwaukee 7 economic development partnership and Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce – is currently underway. “It’s a data-driven process that will allow us to work ahead as to where the needs are,” Taylor said. “What do we need to develop in order to close those gaps for students and employers?” HERA will also focus on improving employers’ access to talent and providing more streamlined communication. This will benefit not only employers, but colleges, committee members said. Having better lines of communication will allow higher education to be more responsive to industry needs. Debbie Ford, chancellor of the University

of Wisconsin-Parkside, said the university has already started making adjustments in preparation for Foxconn, which will be located five miles away from the campus. It’s propelled the university’s curriculum to be more future-oriented, she said. “(Foxconn’s) focus is beyond just being a business,” Ford said. “They are focused on building out a science and technology park and really advancing technology and thinking more futuristically. One of the opportunities is to have us think more into the future – how do we make sure our curriculum is not just preparing students for today’s opportunities, but continues to prepare them for what’s on the horizon?” Still in its infancy stages, HERA has already proven to quell competition and increase collaboration among higher education institutions, Martin said. “We all get funded by the number of students we have,” Martin said. “So in the past it would be more like, ‘I need more students in my institution. It’s important that I get the lion’s share of folks out there.’ But now it’s more about making sure it’s a good student fit, that they’re at the right institution, that they complete, that they continue their education, that they get a family-sustaining wage. We’ve come together in ways we’ve never come together in the past.” n

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Strategies FAMILY BUSINESS

What’s in a name? Big implications for your family and business When people build a business with their name on it, many things go into the decision. Ego is one thing, but so is risk. Confidence is another thing, but so is faith. But at the end of the current generation, there remains a decision: Do we pass the business along, sell it, or close it? My research has indicated that one way to improve the odds of business survival from one generation to another is to sell the business to the next generation – don’t gift it! Selling the business, and the name, within the family gives ownership. Selling the business outside the family risks the legacy and gives up control of the one thing they can’t take away from you. This is why so many family businesses are deciding on the tough direction of closing the business. Yes, walking away from the business, walking away from residual income, walking away and taking the name off the door. Now that is a tough decision. But why do this? The name. There are very few things in life that can’t be taken away from you. Your life, your liberty and freedom can all be taken away. Some have said that death and taxes are the only two certainties. Perhaps true, but so are degrees and your name. Once you have earned an academic degree, unless you cheated and it can be proven, the degree is yours. Same with your name – once granted, it is yours. That is why it is so important to protect it. Recently, I ran into a thriving business that was closing its doors after decades of success. The firm had worth beyond the owners oper-

ating the business and could have been sold to an outside party and the company could have continued. I asked the owners why they were closing the business. Two words: the name. They wanted to protect their good reputation and they were not sure they could do that by selling it to another. There was no value high enough to cover the potential shame of losing the name or having it dragged through the mud in the future. So, the business closed. But that begs another question. Should a firm ever be named after the owner? Names are replete with an energy all their own. They carry history, hope for the future, but sometimes negativity. Need a demonstration? If my name was David Trump, what would go through your mind? You see, names have strong connotations attached to them, both right and wrong. When an owner decides she doesn’t want to risk the goodwill her name has accumulated after many years, do you blame her for self-preservation? The question this begs even more is, why name your business after yourself in the first place? Isn’t a name like Giganto or Acme safer than using your name? At a time of hysteria over #metoo, what if your last name was Cosby or Weinstein? Or let us give this a more historical context – Jefferson or Washington. Many a statue has fallen because of the name of the person, once heralded and now harangued. The decision to walk away from a business with your name on it is a tough one. Perhaps before we decide on naming the business, we really need to think about whether the joys of having our name so boldly proclaimed is worth the agony should our name be sullied. When I named my pocket square business Borst: The Brand, I was not too worried that my product would be in some way demonized. Besides, every fashion house has its name on the door: Dior, Gucci, Wang, McCarthy. But remember, we can sometimes be tainted by others who work there

and who have become infamous in their own right. Remember the chocolate company where Jeffrey Dahmer worked? What about the North Shore company that had millions stolen from it – rhymes with loss? See, I don’t even need to name the company… The name, your name, is very important. Safeguard it by thinking long and hard before you share it with a door or a company. n

DAVID BORST David Borst, Ed.D., is executive director and chief operating officer of the Family Business Legacy Institute, a regional resource hub for family business. He can be reached at davidb@fbli-usa.com. biztimes.com / 33

Strategies COACHING

The second half of life Not all teams come out in the second half with a completely different strategy – sometimes it just takes a new play or a slight tweak to help them win. The same approach can be taken in our personal and professional lives. Reflecting on how we’ve been playing the “game” of life may help us realize we need some minor, or major adjustments. As we face the third and fourth quarters of life, a transition or change of perspective is often on the horizon. In my latest book, “After Further Review,” I go deeper into the concepts that helped me develop a game plan for times of change and transition, and the third and fourth quarters of my life. In this third installment of my series for BizTimes Milwaukee readers, I’ll share tips and tools to help you practice ways to make this the best season of your life.

THIRD QUARTER: LIFE ON AUTOPILOT The third quarter of life takes place roughly from the late 40s into the 60s and has the potential to be the most dynamic stage of your life. It can also feel like a stage of gradual decline where your life is on autopilot – going through the motions day in and day out. Most describe this feeling as being “stuck in a rut.” For me, this was the feeling of smoldering discontent I experienced after the things that energized me in the second quarter no longer created the same excitement or satisfaction they once did. I needed to take a few actionable steps to set myself up to find a purpose that really mattered in the second half of my life. I recommend instituting the following: 34 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

1. Look at what you bring to the table. It’s likely you are at a point in your life where you have enormous capacity and fewer obligations, such as younger children and the demands of a career. Why not invest this time into things that really matter to you? 2. Do things that bring you joy. You don’t have to quit your job to invest time and capacity into things that excite you. How can you use your time and talents to make the world a better place? In the process, you may discover the life you’ve always wanted. 3. Get off your “but.” One of the most common practices of an individual with a life on autopilot is making excuses for inaction each day. By committing to get off your “but,” you are essentially committing to stop making excuses like… “I should join that group, but I’m so tired after work.”… “I know, but what if I fail?”… “I should change careers, but I am too old.” 4. Disconnect from technology. There is no doubt that our nation’s obsession with busyness is a side effect of technology and the noise in our lives. Everyone experiences a variety of distractions, but one of the most common themes is our inability to disconnect from our phones, tablets, and more. When we tune out the noise, we have time to think. Use this time to reflect on your daily priorities and life goals. 5. Develop practical, healthy habits. It’s important to find out what the triggers are for your habits and what actions you can use to replace routine behavior that is not serving you well. Maybe you check email first thing in the morning and become sidetracked for hours instead of doing work that makes you feel fulfilled. When this becomes an everyday occurrence and you habitually put off fulfilling work, it’s time to discover the cues that are causing you to become sidetracked and experiment

with replacement activities. 6. Make a plan. My friend Jack Canfield truly believes in the power of goal setting. He believes whatever goal you give to your subconscious mind, it will work day and night to achieve. To engage your subconscious mind, a goal has to be measurable. Are you unhappy about something that is happening right now or do you want to make a change in a single area of your life? Make requests that will make it more desirable to you and take the steps to change it yourself.

FOURTH QUARTER: TIME IS RUNNING OUT In football, the fourth quarter brings a sense of urgency and wondering of how you will finish. In life, the fourth quarter represents old age, and all too often you hear of people simply giving up as they enter their 70s. My model for the fourth quarter astronaut and senator John Glenn. He went back into outer space at the age of 78. When discussing his achievement, he said, “Just because I am aging doesn’t mean I stop having dreams.” I plan to keep dreaming to the end, and I recommend you do the same. n

JOE SWEENEY Joe Sweeney is a New York Times bestselling author of “Networking is a Contact Sport,” “Moving the Needle” and “After Further Review.” He is also a speaker, coach and trainer. He can be reached at joesweeney.com/contact.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

It works best when coupled with the systematic, hands-on guidance of a discerning coach, and not necessarily from a subject matter expert.

Developing future leaders How to build your bench strength In sports, the head coach trains and develops all of the players on the team; particularly those who are key to winning now, but also the upand-coming leaders and future stars. It’s called building bench strength. And it’s no different from what a CEO, president or business owner must do to grow and improve business performance over the long haul. In a company, the person at the top must deal with a variety of critical issues such as operations, sales, financials and strategy. Like sports, building and sustaining a business requires a strong bench of “playmakers” who are best supported by a company culture that stresses ongoing leadership development.

TRAINING VERSUS DEVELOPMENT These two learning models often become blurred. Training follows more of a classroom-style format, and includes learning about mainstream tools and techniques to improve business operations. Leadership development gives employees a chance to collaborate. It creates a dynamic “living laboratory” to address real-world issues and challenges. It builds upon improving problem-solving skills and people-solving skills, known as emotional intelligence. At its very core, leadership development must be experiential, contextual and mindful for participants. Typically, this is much more of a process rather than a traditional learning program. Think of it in terms of a journey, not a destination.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT BEST PRACTICES Best practices for leadership development should include: »» Learning through experiences that most closely match the real world. This usually works best in a smaller group setting in which employees are encouraged to discuss contrarian viewpoints. It creates space for greater analysis and critical thinking. It’s known as experiential learning. »» Contextual thinking to help equip aspiring leaders with skills to better understand the evolving business environment, deal with ambiguity and complexity, and align resources with objectives in order to capitalize on new opportunities. »» Interpersonal development that teaches listening skills, time management, collaboration among teams, accountability and leadership. Even with this renewed understanding of leadership development, can anything go wrong? Yes, indeed. Here are some of the missteps to avoid: »» Not giving employees a chance to use their new leadership skills in their current jobs. »» Burdensome “day job” responsibilities, which allow little or no time to make positive changes. »» Lapsing into old work habits and routines, which go unchecked over time. »» Resisting change. A fixed mindset of “this is the way we’ve always done things around here.” »» Conflicting policies, unclear strategies, and little or no support by the CEO, who fails to communicate priorities. These landmines strain the effectiveness of outcome-based leadership development. They discourage key employees from being motivat-

ed and, as a result, harm succession planning. They set up people to fail and leave little chance for the company to recoup its investment. Avoid these problems at all costs. More than ever, today’s businesses must be fertile grounds for new ideas, attitudes and processes. They must create an environment where it’s “psychologically safe” to question everything and challenge the status quo. The benefit of an ongoing leadership development process for key employees most often results in greater engagement, more accountability and better decision-making and communication. A business culture that focuses on continuous learning and leadership development, particularly at the key executive level, capitalizes on the only remaining competitive advantage other companies can’t analyze or copy. n

GEORGE SATULA George Satula is an executive leadership coach working primarily as a chair for three TEC CEO groups in southeastern Wisconsin. He is also a speaker and leadership development consultant. He can be reached at (262) 786-7400 or gsatula@ TECbuildsLeaders.com. biztimes.com / 35

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BizConnections NONPROFIT NEWS IMPACT10 0 AWARDS $10 0,0 0 0 TO ACTS HOUSING, IMPACT AND DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION Impact100 Greater Milwaukee, a local chapter of a national women’s nonprofit, has awarded $100,000 grants to ACTS Housing, Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin and IMPACT Inc. The three nonprofits were chosen at Impact100’s annual awards celebration, held at the Italian Community Center. The 334 female members of Impact100 Greater Milwaukee voted on the winners after hearing from five nonprofit finalists. “Each member casts her vote for the organizations she would like to receive a $100,000 grant,” said Anne Trunzo, co-president of Impact100 Greater Milwaukee. “Impact100

Greater Milwaukee allows each member’s $1,000 gift to have a much bigger impact than if we gave separately.” The five finalists included the three winning nonprofits, as well as Neighborhood House of Milwaukee Inc. and Radio Milwaukee Inc. Neighborhood House and Radio Milwaukee each received $17,000 merit grants. “Each of our five finalists is filling a critical role in our communities,” said Jamy Malatesta, co-president of Impact100 Greater Milwaukee. “We are excited to help support and highlight these programs that will have a great impact in the greater Milwaukee area.” — Lauren Anderson

c alendar Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast will host its second annual Celebrate the Promise event from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 28 at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. The event will honor four women leaders who are engaged in strengthening and building the community through their philanthropic and corporate leadership, and who serve as role models for girls. More information is available at gswise.org. The Milwaukee Brewers will host the 20th annual 5K Famous Racing Sausages Run/Walk at 8 a.m. on July 21 at Miller Park. The course will go around and through Miller Park, with the starting line located on Frederick Miller Way. All proceeds will benefit the Brewers Community Foundation and Fisher House Wisconsin. More information is available at brewers.race-mlb.com.

D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P Germantown-based Gehl Foods has awarded three $5,000 scholarships to dependents of Gehl Foods employees located at the company’s Germantown facility, and two $5,000 scholarships to those at its Lathrop, California facility | The Milwaukee Brewers recently donated new gloves, bats, baseballs, helmets and other equipment to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee’s RBI program, which serves hundreds of youth in the city | West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. recently celebrated its childcare providers with a donation to Milestones, Programs for Children at Indian Hill School in River Hills. The donation included planters, plants and gardening supplies to support the center’s existing garden.

nonprofit

SPOTLIGHT

BUBLR BIKES

275 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee (414) 931-1121 | bublrbikes.org Facebook: facebook.com/bublrbikes | Twitter: @bublrbikes

Year founded: 2013 Mission statement: Bublr Bikes delivers a sustainable, excellent bike share system for all. Primary focus: Bublr Bikes has grown from a handful of bikeshare stations in 2014 to 89 stations (with another 26 coming in 2019) and 750 bikes in Milwaukee, Shorewood, Wauwatosa and West Allis. Bublr was established to promote health, economic development, quality of life and preservation of the environment. Bublr is committed to making our system a viable transportation option for the diverse range of people who live, work and play in Milwaukee. Other focuses: Bublr supports the only job-readiness bike-tech training program in the country, in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Clubs, Dream Bikes and MATC. Employees at this location: 17 Executive leadership: Sally Sheperdson, executive director; James Davies, senior vice president of operations and planning Board of directors: Bruce Keyes, Barry Mainwood, Radhika Maheshwari, Tonieh Welland

Members at large: Deshea Agee, Michele Bria, Jennifer Ferguson, Juli Kaufmann, Noel Kegel, Eugene Manzanet, John Miller, Jeff Polenske, Rese Schneider, David Stamm Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes. What roles are you looking to fill? Marketing expertise; entrepreneur. Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: As with other forms of public transit, Bublr’s ridership revenue is not sufficient to cover our operating costs. Bublr is seeking financial support from companies and individuals who understand the value of bikeshare to the greater Milwaukee area and who are interested in helping Bublr remain a viable, thriving part of the community. Companies can fund a station near their location, sponsor a station or stations in other locations or help support our community engagement programming with a donation. Key fundraising events: Bublr recently held its first friend/ fundraiser, The Bublr Bash, which will be an annual event.

biztimes.com / 37

BizConnections AROUND TOWN

BizExpo 2018 BizTimes Media recently held its 14th annual BizExpo at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. The daylong event featured more than 100 area exhibitors, 18 strategy seminars, two main stage events, and an after hours networking event.

JULIE ANN BITTNER of Tricom and ERIC BECHER of Hatch Staffing Services.

KURT BOOS of Image360 Brookfield, DAVE WENDLAND of Hamacher Resource Group and NANCY ROBJOHNS of Hayat Pharmacy.

RICK APPLEBY of ActionCOACH of Elm Grove and JESSE DILL of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart P.C.

DONALD PLACIDI JR. and ALEXANDER KASPRZAK, both of PNC Bank and TOM MAGNOR of Sikich LLP.

MERI FRAHM and ERICA CONWAY, both of C2 Graphics Productivity Solutions LLC.

SUE MARKS of Cielo and KURT HEIKKINEN of Montage.

COLLEEN VALKOUN, SAMANTHA BRATEL, and QUINN, all of iHeartMedia.

MARY KEANE, SEAN MANNION and DEB ZULEGER , all of Golden Angels Investors.

DAN MEYER of BizTimes Media and JULI KAUFMANN of Fix Development. Photos by Maredithe Meyer and John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara

Date with a Plate ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis held its annual Date with a Plate fundraiser event recently at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. 10. ROHINI DESAI and BONNIE ANDERSON, both of Milwaukee Catholic Home.

11. JESSIE BUPP, LESLIE WALTKE, and MEGAN HAGEN, all of Aurora Health Care. 12. LIZ LISOTA of Zizzo Group and BETTY CALDWELL , retired. 13. JESSIE SCHWADE of Northwestern Mutual and SHARI SCHWADE , retired.

14. BRETT LUDWIG of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and KEVIN RICH and MELISSA BLEIDORN, both of Marquette University. 15. CHLOE CHIUMINATTO of Wipfli LLP and WALTER WENZEL of DCI-Artform. 16. GLENN KLEIMAN and DORI ZORI , both of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, and GISELA TERNER of Gisela Terner Educational Consulting. 17. MARGARET WELCH of Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. and MIKE WELCH of Johnson Controls International plc.

38 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

18. NORA BADI and MOHAMMED MOHAMMED, both of Aurora Health Care. Photos by Maredithe Meyer

Thank YouSponsors

FOR A FANTASTIC DATE WITH A PLATE 2018!

More than 260 guests enjoyed a beautiful evening celebrating ABCD. DIAMOND

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DESSERT SPONSOR Northern Trust

In October 2017, Keith Mardak, Chairman and CEO of the Hal Leonard Corporation, offered ABCD a four-year, $2 million challenge grant to launch the Mardak 2020 Breast Cancer Initiative, a comprehensive outreach program to increase awareness about ABCD’s free, personalized, nonclinical support for anyone affected by a breast cancer diagnosis. Matched in part with ABCD’s own fundraising, this grant is the largest single gift in the organization’s history. To ensure receipt of the full match, ABCD must raise an additional $250,000 year after year. With increased funds, ABCD’s goal is to double the number of people served each year by: ~ Deepening and expanding relationships with healthcare facilities ~ Investing in marketing and outreach initiatives ~ Strengthening programs for underserved populations

THE POWER OF ONE-TO-ONE

To each and every caller, we say, “Yes, we can help you. Yes, we hear you. Yes, we understand.”

As we move toward our 20th anniversary, our vision is that every woman or man affected by breast cancer knows about ABCD and has access to our free services, starting in Southeastern Wisconsin and building to the national level.

For more information: ABCDMentor.org 414.977.1780 programdept@abcdmentor.org

BizConnections VOLUME 24, NUMBER 7 | JUN 25, 2018

GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR

126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | ads@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7128 | reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com MANAGING EDITOR Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com REPORTER Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com REPORTER Corrinne Hess corri.hess@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com

— This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection.

COMMENTARY

Trump vs. Trudeau CANADA IS WISCONSIN’S most important international trade partner, by far. In 2017, Wisconsin businesses exported $6.89 billion worth of goods to Canada. The second highest export destination for state businesses was Mexico at $3.2 billion. Wisconsin imports from Canada in 2017 totaled $4.25 billion, so the state had a trade surplus of about $2.64 billion last year with Canada. Considering that, it’s troublesome to see tensions rising between President Donald Trump’s administration and Canada over trade issues. Making good on a major campaign pledge, Trump is taking a tough stand on trade, using tariffs to address what he says are “unfair” trade deals for the United States. In March, the Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Canada and Mexico were initially exempt pending a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. But after seeing little progress 40 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

there, Trump imposed the steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union on May 31. Earlier this year, Trump also instructed the U.S. Trade Representative to apply tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods. Leaders of the countries the tariffs were imposed upon were critical and threatened retaliatory tariffs, sparking fears of a trade war. But Trump isn’t concerned about that. “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump tweeted in March. “Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!” It’s not surprising to see Trump get into a trade dispute with China, but who anticipated a fight with Canada? At a press conference after the recent G7 meetings in Quebec, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “kind of insulting” for Trump to use national security concerns as a justification for the steel and aluminum tariffs. He said Canada would respond with retaliatory “equivalent tariffs.” Trump, as he usually does, punched back,

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE David Pinkus david.pinkus@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com INSIDE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Amanda Bruening amanda.bruening@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

Milwaukee River This photo, taken by Robert Barnes circa 1889, shows the Grand Avenue Bridge over the Milwaukee River, looking up Wisconsin Street (West Wisconsin Avenue). The photo was a souvenir of the 23rd encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Civil War veterans’ fraternal organization, published by the Milwaukee County Historical Society in 1889.

DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com

Independent & Locally Owned

ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

— Founded 1995 —

on Twitter saying Trudeau was being “very dishonest and weak.” Trump said the U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum were in response to steep tariffs Canada levies on dairy products. He used a figure of 270 percent, a claim that Politifact called “mostly true.” “Not fair to our farmers,” Trump said on Twitter. Still, U.S. farmers exported about $227 million in dairy goods to Canada last year, compared to $113 million in dairy imports from Canada, a 2-to-1 U.S. dairy trade surplus, according to Bloomberg. Overall, the U.S. had a $2.76 billion trade surplus from Canada last year. Despite Trump’s rhetoric, history shows trade wars have often been disruptive. A prolonged trade fight with Canada could hurt Wisconsin’s economy. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland

PERSONNEL FILE ADVERTISING

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

INSURANCE

Celtic Inc., Milwaukee

Horizon Retail Construction Inc., Sturtevant

TechCanary, Milwaukee

Celtic Inc. has promoted Kristen Johnson to media director. In her new role, Johnson is responsible for developing paid media strategies for agency clients and is involved in all aspects of the media planning process, including research, planning, negotiating, buying and evaluation.

ARCHITECTURE

HGA Architects, Milwaukee HGA Architects, Milwaukee, has hired Adaheid Mestad as design anthropologist and senior associate. In addition to working in the Milwaukee and Minneapolis offices, she will collaborate across national offices with HGA’s multidisciplinary research collaborative group to understand and design relevant features that enhance the user experience within space planning and design.

BANKING & FINANCE

PNC Bank, Milwaukee

Alwood

Lewis

PNC Bank has appointed Emily Alwood to relationship manager for public finance in Wisconsin, and Tessa Lewis to vice president, business banking. Based in Milwaukee, Alwood will lead the provision of capital solutions and tailored financial services to public sector and nonprofit entities, including state and local governments, school districts, higher education institutions and other not-for-profit organizations. Lewis will manage and develop small business banking relationships for clients based in Menomonee Falls, Germantown, Hartford, Kewaskum, West Bend and the greater Milwaukee region.

Fuehrer

O’Bryant

Horizon Retail Construction Inc. has hired Eric Fuehrer as senior human resources manager, promoted Portia Kekahbah O’Bryant from accounting supervisor to accounting risk manager, and promoted Colleen Kekahbah to business operations manager. Fuehrer will focus on training, organizational development and performance management. O’Bryant will be responsible for managing all accounting risk functions. Kekahbah will analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of program operations, develop life cycle cost analyses of projects, and create new or improved business practices.

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

La Macchia Group, Milwaukee La Macchia Group has named Kevin Mineard chief financial officer. Mineard has more than 18 years of finance and accounting experience for both public and private sector employers. His primary responsibilities are to oversee all financial operations and direct the preparation of financial reports, ensuring the reliability and integrity of all corporate assets.

HEALTH CARE & WELLNESS

Luther Manor, Wauwatosa Luther Manor has hired Debby Boyd as director of hospice.

TechCanary has hired Aaron Bowman as its new director of implementation, professional services. He will direct a team providing leadingedge cloud solutions on the Salesforce platform for insurance organizations.

LEGAL SERVICES

Lindner & Marsack S.C., Milwaukee Lindner & Marsack S.C. has hired David Keating as an attorney. Keating comes to Lindner & Marsack after serving as chief legal officer and secretary for Fortis Management Group LLC, where he provided legal advice and assistance on issues relating to resident care, regulatory compliance, reimbursement, fraud and abuse, human resources, labor relations, transactions and other areas affecting client operations.

MANUFACTURING

Arandell Corp., Menomonee Falls Arandell Corp. has hired V. Clark Vialle as a sales executive on its new business development sales team for its Northeastern/ Greater Boston market. Vialle will be responsible for new client acquisition and client consultation in areas of marketing strategy, quality and color improvements, paper, print production, and postal optimization.

MANUFACTURING

the continued growth in the power systems markets for IEA LLC and the data center and facilities markets for Silver Linings Systems LLC.

MANUFACTURING

Steele Solutions Inc., Franklin Steele Solutions Inc. has named Perry Pabich as chief operating officer. Pabich has experience in management and operations with manufacturers in Wisconsin and Illinois, including companies in the material handling industry.

NONPROFIT & PHILANTHROPY

YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, Milwaukee YWCA Southeast Wisconsin has named Ginny Finn chief development officer. She will provide organizational leadership in the areas of revenue and asset building; strategic communications; and public, private and community sector collaborations. An attorney who has consulted for nonprofits for more than 25 years, Finn most recently served as executive director for ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Lammi Sports Management, Milwaukee Lammi Sports Management has promoted Carley Sanfilippo to director of events and special projects.

Engendren Corp., Kenosha Engendren Corp. has hired Jerry Vastine as business development manager. He will be responsible for

Submit new hire and promotion announcements to: biztimes.com/personnel

biztimes.com / 41

BizConnections

TOUGHEST

Challenge

JIM MUELLER Position: President Company: mueller QAAS What it does: Health benefits consulting firm Career: Mueller founded mueller QAAS in 2012. Prior to forming the company, he served as president of Frank F. Haack & Associates for more than 20 years. From 1995 to 2005, Mueller served simultaneously as president of Haack and Wauwatosa-based insurance technology company Zywave Inc.

THE CHALLENGE In 1993, the Clinton health care plan sent insurance brokers into panic mode. Mueller and business partner Bill Haack took a proactive stance, creating a new electronic platform for their customers. Industry peers caught wind of what Haack & Associates had developed and asked to purchase the technology. “It seemed easy, then we realized when you export software, you are no longer an insurance company, you are a software company,” Mueller said. “We had about six months to learn 10 years’ worth of the software business.” With his integrity on the line, Mueller did not sleep well for six months. He said it was the worst time in his life, professionally. THE RESOLUTION Jim Emling, who was a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering student at the time, was hired. Between late 1995 and early 1996, Zywave was formed. (Emling later served as Zywave’s president from 2008 to 2013). The company has continued to grow, and today employs more than 300 people. But Zywave’s success created another challenge. In 2004, Mueller and Haack, the third-generation owner of Frank F. Haack & Associates, which was started in 1917, decided to sell Frank F. Haack & Associates to Hilb Rogal & Hobbs. Two people could no longer fund a technology company and an insurance company, which is why they sold Frank F. Haack, Mueller said. Four years later, New York City-based global firm Willis Group Holdings Ltd. purchased HRH for $2.1 billion.

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

THE TAKEAWAY

42 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUNE 25, 2018

At the time of the sale, Mueller was 46. Haack was 49. Mueller said neither saw it coming. “That was gut-wrenching. We had such a special culture, so we knew it was going to be different. When we sold, my heart was broken. But it was twice as hard when it was sold again to Willis,” Mueller said. Mueller learned that when an asset is sold, you no longer have control over the future, despite the best laid plans. “Even if you try to plan a soft landing, business is all about the money,” Mueller said. “The success of Zywave triggered an event we had control of, but we didn’t see the future unfolding the way it ultimately did when we started it in 1996.” n

To Experience Your Leadership Breakthrough, Start By Breaking Out Of Your Routine. BizTimes Leadership Academy: Executive Be a part of the next BizTimes Leadership Academy: Executive program. This is a unique, five-session program dedicated to supporting and transforming executive-level leaders. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss your opportunity to be part of the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best leadership training program. Customized leadership modeling, exposure to other leaders and strategy, discovery sessions, case-study application, and guest CEO speaker forums are just some of the tools we use to make you the leader you want to be. What you experience will positively impact you, your organization and every facet of your life. Sessions begin September 20, 2018. Register today at biztimesleadershipacademy.com

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